Arthur let out a long groan of frustration as Alby left before shifting, his bandages digging into his side. "You gotta be nice Artie, You'll set a bad example." Newt rubbed his thumb over Arthur's knuckles, dusting over each individual creasing.
"I...
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"Hello. My name is Doctor Ava Paige." Arthur had gravitated away from Newt and in front of the screen, looking at the woman on the screen with a look that Newt couldn't describe. "I'm Director of Operations of the Catastrophe Killzone Department. If you're watching this, that means you have successfully completed the Maze Trials. I wish I could be there in person to congratulate you but circumstances seem to have prevented it." A crowd had gathered around the screen and all of their eyes were now only on her.
"I'm sure by now, you must all be very confused, angry, frightened." They couldn't tear their eyes away from the screen. "I can only assure you, that everything that's happened to you. Everything we've done to you. It was all done for a reason."
Arthur swore the woman who called herself Ava looked at him, a brief glance before she started talking again, Minho shifted, uncomfortable with the lady on the screen even though she seemed to
"You won't remember but the Sun has scorched our world." A picture of a hazy sun came onto the screen, followed by images of hundreds of burning trees and people. Newt looked between the photos his eyes wide in disbelief.
"Billions of lives were lost to fire, famine, suffering on a global scale. The fallout was unimaginable. What came next was worse." She took a long pause as her face came onto the screen, her face as unaffected as before, as if she had said this a million times before.
"We called it the Flare." A dark picture that made Arthur's stomach churn showed up on the screen as he clenched his hand at his side.
"A deadly virus that attacks the brain." A section of somebody moving a brain out of its cavity leaving behind dark matter showed up. "It is violent, unpredictable and incurable."
Arthur didn't know why the videos of the man, whose veins had all turned as dark as lead resided in him. Why did it seem so unfamiliar whilst everyone else seemed some form of used to it, even if they didn't know?
Or so we thought. In time, a new generation emerged that survived the virus. Suddenly, there was a reason to hope for a cure. But finding it would not be easy. The young would have to be tested, even sacrificed inside harsh environments where their brain activity could be studied. All in an effort to understand what makes them different, what makes you different? You may not realize it, but you're very important."
Something changed, people began falling over, and getting shot and they couldn't keep up.
"Unfortunately, your trials have only just begun. As you will no doubt soon discover, not everyone agrees with our methods. Progress is slow, and people are scared. It may be too late for us, for me, but not for you. The outside world awaits. Remember..." A man began shooting at the glass and Ava shifted allowing herself to pull out a gun and press it to her temple. "Wicked is good." Arthur shook his head and turned away, refusing to look as he clung to Newt who stood behind him. The sound of a bullet echoed off the walls and there was a sombre silence.
