The Gladers from the Isle (ABANDONED)

Before the Swipe

~One Week Later~

Thomas was making his way to a lesson with Minho, when he passed a corridor that looked strangely familiar. A flash of blue light struck in his mind and he pictured an image from what felt like years ago.

"Answer me, shank: was there homework?" Minho asked, getting agitated as he rifled through his duffel bag. Thomas blinked his brown eyes. What just happened?

"Did you see that?"

"Man. I'm not playing. Was there homework for History?"

Thomas tried to rack his brain for the memory that he'd just seen. He couldn't find it anywhere in his mind. Was it just a simple case of déjà vu? "No," he finally responded.

"Thank you," Minho said.

They made their way into the queue of Auradon students that filed into the History classroom. They'd been tutored privately to catch up with the rest of their year, and this was their second History lesson with the rest of their class. They were learning about Camelot and the famed knights of the Round Table, and Minho was determined to make an effort. He wanted to meet them all, one day. Perhaps they'd all go on a school trip to Camelot and be personally introduced to the knights.

One of their classmates was Lennie, the son of Sir Leon. Unlike most of the descendants of Auradon's royals and heroes, Lennie was exceedingly kind, and had obviously inherited his father's maturity. He had made a point of talking to Minho, and answering lots of his intrigued questions about the knights.

Thomas, however, had been distracted for the entire lesson. What had he just seen?

"And if you all turn to page thirty-five in your books, you will read about King Arthur and Morgana, and what happened in their past to lead up to their dispute," the teacher instructed. These words sparked an idea in Thomas' mind. The images he'd seen were from his past: Before the Isle! It seemed to not have happened for Minho, so he made a silent decision to ask Newt and Teresa later.

~

Teresa had been discovering all sorts of things. For days, while visiting the offices of WCKD, she'd experienced similar flashbacks to Thomas, and Ava Paige soon realised that she wouldn't be able to keep secrets from her new protégé forever.

"Teresa," she began as the girl entered her office that afternoon during a free period. "Janson tells me you've been experiencing flashbacks: visions of certain images. Is that true?" She asked. Teresa nodded. Ava took a breath. She was taking a risk, but the Pysch standing next to her assured her that if it 'went wrong', she could erase the memory from Teresa's mind, and they could try again another time. "Please sit down, Teresa."

Even as she pulled the blue spin-chair at the white desk, Teresa saw a flash of images corresponding with a few words - the same ones the Chancellor had just used. She must have noticed that, too, because she shifted forward in her chair. "Years before the Isle, the Flare virus struck the earth."

Teresa could tell she was stalling because she'd already told her this.

"That's when WCKD was created: to help find a cure." She paused again, licking her lips and clasping her hands together. Teresa remained silent. "We found, and gathered, about a hundred children: children who were not affected at all by the virus and showed no symptoms despite being infected by it."

Teresa's breath hitched in her throat. Immunity to the Flare was possible? "You... I was right before; you put us there!" She exclaimed.

"Yes," Ava Paige said simply. Teresa was taken aback by her nonchalance, and was urged to listen. The Psych looked at the chancellor, who shook her head: 'it's fine'.
"The virus, as you know, causes anger and stress. To find a cure, we needed to study what the immune brain looks like under immense stress, and how its activity differs from that of a normal brain." Teresa listened, captivated.

"The immune people, who the public have called 'munies' are very interesting. There seems to be a higher level of intelligence in their minds, and - often - increased athleticism. We've tested most of the population of Auradon over the past two years, thanks to new technology, and we've also discovered that those with stronger magical powers are less likely to be affected by the virus."

"So... why us: why a bunch of kids?"

"The country was in panic-mode. Nobody knew what to do. Even people who weren't afflicted by the virus were going crazy: overbuying toilet paper and various other store-bought items as though we had reached an apocalypse! We did the first thing we could think of, and children's immunity was much stronger than those of their adult counterparts."

"And how's the progress going now? My friends you've left on the Isle for committing no crime; without decent food or supplies, what about them?"

Ava smiled. "The lack of supplies was a temporary issue. Your friends are well-fed and safe now. They have no reason to leave the Maze," she fabricated.

Teresa took a breath, allowing the information to soak in. There was a knock at the door and the chancellor suddenly stood up in surprise. "Teresa, I'm sorry, I'm going to have to dismiss you. I forgot that I had a meeting with someone very important. Our chauffer will drive you back to Auradon Prep. I'll contact you another time."

She was quickly ushered out through a side door and it was closed immediately behind her. Teresa pressed her ear against the door and listened carefully. She could have sworn she could hear the Fairy Godmother speaking.

"Is there a problem?" Someone asked. Teresa gasped, and looked up to see one of the WCKD security guards.

"No... none at all." She walked down the brightly-lit hallway to the lift and pressed the 'down' button. Once it arrived, she went inside. The metal doors slid closed behind her.

~

"Where are the VKs?" Teresa asked upon entering the boys' dormitory that evening.

"Oh, they're baking, or something," Newt responded. He was sitting with Thomas on his bed. "Minho's gone to the toilet."

"Okay. What did you want to talk to me about?" She asked Thomas.

"Have you been having visions of-"

Her eyes widened. "Yes."

"I had them years ago when we were first in the Maze," Newt began. "Alby and some of the others did, too. But... I suppose we just grew to ignore them. It didn't do us any buggin' good, after all." He tutted. "I've got no bloody idea what we do with it now. What did you see?"

"Lots of blue lights," Teresa began, "offices... it was like a hospital but... stranger." Should she tell the boys what Ava Paige had told her? They didn't even know she'd been working with her, and that would be a lot to explain. Her blue eyes grew distant.

Chatter filled the corridor outside the room, growing louder before the door was flung open by Jay. Minho and Carlos were behind him. "Well," Teresa decided. "I should probably get to sleep. Goodnight."

"Night, Teresa!" She passed the boys and made her way through the corridor.