Till The WICKED End | A Maze Runner Story (English Version)

32. Into an uncertain future

The third guard, who was still standing next to the door, now cleared his throat. I had jumped up and had to hold onto Thomas to keep from falling over. With a veil of tears in front of my eyes, I looked at the man.
"It's about time. Miss Anna, Mr Thomas. If you would please follow me." With those words, he turned and left the room.
Perplexed, I stared after him. What had he just called us? I remembered being called that back when I had worked for WICKED. But now we were clearly their prisoners. The print on our T-shirts alone proved this.
Then I felt Thomas put a hand on my back and gently push me forward. I obeyed and together we followed the guard out of the room. Here, several soldiers and doctors were busy anaesthetising, tying up and transporting away the infected. WICKED actually seemed to be escaping.
"What is going on here?" I asked the man who was now also leading us out of this room and into the corridor.
"We are under attack. Our move has been accelerated."
Thomas and I exchanged a look. We agreed that we knew who was attacking WICKED. Gally seemed to have kept his word a lot faster than I had expected. But that was good, wasn't it? The Right Arm would be able to save the youths. And Newt.
Only they wouldn't be able to bring us back. I touched Thomas's hand briefly and could sense that he knew this too. And there was something else. I looked at him questioningly, but as he began to speak quietly as we followed the man now into a lift, what my brother had to tell me I had already secretly known.
"I talked to Shepherd. We made a deal. If we go with them and volunteer to do our part to rebuild the world, WICKED will leave our friends alone once and for all. I'm sorry I didn't clear this with you."
Now the way the guard was dealing with us made sense too.
I nodded and replied, "I know, Tommy. It's the right thing to do. It's really time we did the right thing. Let's do it for Chuck, for Alby, for Winston and Jeff. For all those who died for us. We can't let it be in vain. None of it."
He nodded again and squeezed my hand briefly, then we followed the man out of the lift and found ourselves in the large hall where the vehicles were. The gate was open and men were walking back and forth as they loaded supplies into a Berg that was outside with the loading ramp wide open. A slightly smaller Berg was loaded with the Cranks from the lab, who still seemed to be stunned. By all appearances we were as good as ready to leave, because Shepherd and Avery were now also coming out of the lift, which was still behind us. A smile spread across the woman's face and she stepped between Thomas and me as she put her hands on our shoulders.
"You are doing the right thing. Come, let us save the world." With those words she pushed us forward and we obeyed.
Something about what she said and how she said it gave me new hope. Hope that we really were doing the right thing. That all those we had lost on our way here had not died in vain and those who were still alive would be safe. And maybe one day we would see our friends again.
Quickly we crossed the hall now and headed for a helicopter that seemed to be waiting for us. As we climbed in, I could hear the big Berg take off, closely followed by the smaller one. The helicopter was now also starting its rotor blades and a vibration went through our bench.
"Ma'am," the pilot said then and Shepherd looked ahead questioningly. "The High Council has arrived. They are all safe."
The doctor nodded with satisfaction. "Launch. All the sooner we can start saving humanity."
The vibration was getting stronger now and the sounds of the rotors louder and louder.
"The other young people. What about them?" I asked aloud.
Avery pointed out the window. "They're free. As promised."
Thomas and I rushed over to look out. As we were now getting further and further away from the ground, I could see a group of people in grey t-shirts standing there looking around, lost and confused. In the midst of this group I could make out Newt, who stood out clearly from them because of his dark clothes. I felt another big lump in my throat as I realised he was looking up at us, completely uncomprehending of all these events.
But he was free. He was alive and he would make it, I firmly believed. I had been able to give him the second chance he deserved. More than any other person on this planet.
And slowly but surely, another feeling rose in me. A hope for a better time to come. For all the people who were infected and lost. Maybe we could really help them, maybe we could really heal them.
While Shepherd told Thomas and me how she planned to make the serum and how many people we would be able to cure in a short time if her calculations were correct, I looked out the window at the clouds we were now approaching. On the horizon we were now flying towards, the sun was setting. The sight of it warmed my heart. I cupped the cartridge case with Newt's letter in my hand and almost felt his presence in this world. That feeling, the knowledge that he was alive, nestled deep in my heart, reconnecting its broken parts. A world where Newt was alive was more than worth saving.
I still held the pod tightly in my hand and took Thomas's with the other, ready now to finally remember how we had gotten to WICKED back then, what felt like an eternity ago, as I slowly drifted off to sleep. We were flying into an uncertain future, not knowing what to expect. But what I did know was that I had resisted WICKED long enough. I would never forgive them for what they had done to us, but one thing was certain: we were now allies in the fight to preserve humanity. And I would fight side by side with the enemy.
Thomas squeezed my hand just before I finally fell asleep and I sensed we were thinking the same thing.
Maybe we really could save the world.