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

we're going public

stories gonna get a little cray-cray from here on

No POV
2 months later

Ava Paige paced in her suite, hands behind her back and her head down. Her heels clicked against the shining tile, the bright screen in front of her lighting up the dark room.

Breaking her repetitive pacing, she walked over to the small coffee table adjacent to a white leather couch. Grabbing the red folder, her head spun with thoughts about Subject A-3. During her latest health checkup, she was found pregnant with none other than the child of one of the boys in her Maze. She guessed it was subject A-5, the boy Mae seemed to have formed a close friendship with.

Dropping the folder on the table again, Ava plopped herself onto the couch, her hand finding her forehead immediately. She didn't even look up when the sliding door opened, and another pair of footsteps entered the room. She knew who it was immediately.

"What was I thinking, Jansen?" Ava mumbled as he walked to the bar cart. "Sending a girl in a Maze full of boys... This was supposed to be an experiment, not some game show where everyone finds love."

Jansen chuckled as he poured a drink. "It's not your fault, Ava. They're just some stupid kids who don't know how to keep it in their pants."

He turned and started towards his boss, handing her the glass. The corner of her lips turned upwards as she gratefully took the drink from his grasp, taking a long sip before finally continuing.

"I guess I'm just...confused." She said, honestly.

Jansen furrowed his brows, crossing his arms. "What do you mean?"

Ava sighed and leaned back, gesturing to the screen and Mae. "Why did she come back in the first place?"

She looked up at Jansen for an answer. When he remained silent, she continued.

"On that terrible night in Denver. We lost half of our doctors and half of the progress we made."

"Yes, but here we have our strongest doctors and critical pieces of evidence that weren't lost in the destruction. We have kids, we have her." He motioned to the screen. "And we don't have a group of teenagers or a group of Cranks to get in our way now. This is...better than what we had before, Ava."

"But she's pregnant, Jansen." Ava reasoned, picking up the glass of alcohol again. "We need that baby to survive so we can have another test subject. Another immune. Which means, we can't experiment on Mae as much anymore. Our progress is being delayed no matter what."

"What about the other immunes? The other's that are healthy and have been cooperating every step of the way?"

Ava just shook her head in denial. "You and I both know that the chemicals in their brain won't develop to the strength we need for the harvest. Without simulations like The Maze..."

She trailed off, her eyes wandering to the screen again. She stared at Mae, wondering what brought her back to WICKED that day. She was free, she escaped. Why did she come back? And why didn't Teresa? Looking into Mae's eyes, it was almost as though she was trying to read her mind. Get the answers she knew Mae would never give up. But the longer she stared, the more her mind brought her back to the day she captured her.

"Jansen, can I ask you something?"

Jansen nodded. "Anything."

She paused, thinking carefully of her words before she spoke them.

"On the day of the destruction, did Mae say anything...strange to you? Before I got there?"

He looked at the ceiling, trying to remember the day and the events that happened. He racked his brain for something...anything that would answer Ava's question. Just as he was about to shake his head and bear the disappointed look on his boss's face, he remembered.