When The Storm Comes (When We're Older alternative ending)

alone

! TW !

Mae

When I woke up the Berg was on solid ground again. The jolt of the giant metal ship as it touched the ground shook me to consciousness, and I was once again left in confusion. Where was I? How long have I been out? What was happening? The usual questions flew around my mind like hawks circling their prey. Blinking hard a few times to clear my blurred vision, I glanced out the window in hopes the scenery around me would provide an answer.

Unlike most of the earth I'd seen since escaping from The Maze, the sight outside of the Berg window was not dry and deserted. There was no sign of sand dunes or brown farmland anywhere in sight. My eyes met the hydrated green rolling hills, a heavy gray fog blocking my view of the horizon. The only things I could make out through my unclear perspective was a few trees and bushes scattered about, a black iron fence, and a pair of train tracks that were practically buried in moss a few meters away from the barrier. Rain was falling from the dark clouds above, feeding the vastness that laid just outside of the Berg. There was an eeriness to the land in which we had traveled to—maybe if I were here with Newt or Thomas or Vince or Minho I would have found comfort in the empty land.

"Get the girl..." Jansen spoke to a soldier as he pushed open a black umbrella, nearly hitting a few of the doctors in the process. He nodded towards me, a few of the soldiers moving toward my corner. The rain whipped into the side of the ship as they unfastened me from the restraints, a few rolls of thunder sounding from above. My head darted toward the window again, looking for any sign of lightning. I ignored the slight speck of reassurance that infiltrated my mind when I saw there was none.

"Come on." The guard grabbed me harshly by the wrist, as if holding me tight enough to keep me from running away if I were to. It would be stupid to try to break free now—I had no idea where I was, I had nothing, and all these soldiers had launchers still. That, and the fact that it was absolutely pouring outside.

My legs stung as I used them for the first time in who knows how long. I had no idea how long I was sitting in that corner, and even when I was conscious I was in too much pain to try and use my muscles. I was paying for it now. The soreness hit me like a bat in the back of the knee. My hand reached out for support, holding the wall as I balanced myself on my aching limbs. The guard tried to push me forward, to which I told him I needed time to balance myself before walking. Once I felt like I was able to move without collapsing, I took a small step forward, then another one, and another.

Wincing with every movement I made, I somehow managed to make it out of the Berg and onto the soggy grass. Jansen and Ava were walking together underneath an umbrella a few meters in front of me. I squinted my eyes as the rain stung them, the precipitation sending chills down my spine. Guards once again grabbed my arms, a little gentler this time, and began to follow the crowd of men and women that had exited the Berg.

Feet splashing against the divots in the grass that were filled with mud, I managed to lift my head and open my pinched eyes just enough to make out where our destination was.

It was bigger than the last facility. If you could call it that. The gray, concrete building that I resonated with WICKED, wasn't a gray concrete building at all. It looked more a like a run down house made of strictly red brick and marble. Long branches of dark green ivy crawled up the corners, finding homes in the subtle cracks in the foundation. From what I could see, the house was at least three stories—massive marble columns held up a balcony that protruded out of a second-story room, looking out at the front garden. Only it was too big to be called a simple "garden" we had landed in. Rows of trees and shrubbery decorated the area, perfectly symmetrical to one another. There was a black iron fence surrounding the mansion, keeping anyone from going in or out unnoticed.