𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐃 ➤ 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐦𝐫

prologue

PROLOGUE
third person

the sun was setting, casting long shadows across the barren landscape where the WCKD facility stood, cold and unfeeling against the warm hues of the evening sky. inside its sterile walls, two children sat huddled together, their hands clasped tightly, as if the world could never pull them apart.

ariel had been at the WCKD facility for as long as she could remember. she didn't know much about the world beyond the cold, white walls, only that she had been brought here when she was very young, taken from a life she could barely recall. there were others like her—children with frightened eyes, all trying to make sense of the strange, controlled world they had been thrust into. but none of them mattered to her as much as the boy sitting beside her.

thomas.

they had met on one of those first days when WCKD had taken them in, scared and confused. she remembered the way his eyes had looked—just as lost as hers, but with a spark of determination that had drawn her to him. they had clung to each other ever since, their bond growing stronger with every passing day.

at first, they were just kids, surviving in the only way they knew how: together. they played games in the facility's corridors, whispered secrets in the dark, and dreamed of a world beyond the walls. as they grew older, their friendship deepened, blossoming into something more—a quiet, steadfast love that neither of them could fully comprehend but both understood was the most important thing in their lives.

they were inseparable, a small flicker of light in the dark, sterile world of WCKD.

but as they grew, so did the realization that WCKD had plans for them—plans that had nothing to do with the innocent dreams they shared. they were being trained, tested, and shaped for something far more sinister than they could have imagined. and despite their best efforts to remain children, untouched by the harshness of the world, the reality of their situation began to seep into their lives.

the day they took thomas away was the worst day of ariel's life.

they had been sitting together, as they often did, in one of the facility's many common rooms. thomas knew what was yet to come, but he couldn't admit it to ariel, yet she deserved to know. the girl sat beside him, resting her head on his shoulder. he took a breath, unveiling the devastating truth of his fate. she denied it, she continued to deny it, realizing by the tears in his eyes that there was nothing to deny. her thomas would be gone soon.

then the door had opened, and the plans they made together were shattered.

two WCKD operatives had entered, along with ava paige, their faces impassive as they approached. ariel had felt thomas stiffen beside her, his hand tightening around hers as they released from their final hug. the operatives didn't say much—just that thomas was being taken to another part of the facility. that he had been chosen for a new role.

ariel had known what that meant. she had heard the rumors, the whispers among the other children. chosen to work for WCKD. chosen to be part of their plan.

she had protested, of course. she had clung to thomas, tears streaming down her face as she begged them not to take him away. but it was no use. they were children in the hands of a machine that cared nothing for their feelings, their love, or their desperation.

thomas had fought, too, but his resolve had crumbled as he looked into ariel's tear-streaked face. he had promised her he would come back. he had sworn it, over and over, as they dragged him away. his last words echoed in her mind long after he was gone.

"i won't forget you, ary. ill come back for you, i promise. ill come back."

but he never did.

the days turned into weeks, the weeks into months, and eventually, a year passed. WCKD's grip on her tightened, her world growing colder and lonelier with every passing day. her friends were gone, one by one taken away for WCKD's experiments, their futures sealed in the same cold, unfeeling hands that had taken thomas from her.

ariel was left alone, a shell of the girl she had once been, her heart hollowed out by loss and fear. overtime she grew a burning passion that one day, she'd take down WCKD. her soul grew numb, she couldn't feel a thing, couldn't care for anything. but even in the darkest moments, she clung to the memory of thomas, to the promise he had made. it was the only thing that kept her going, the only thing that kept her from breaking entirely.

and then, one day, they came for her.

the operatives arrived with the same impassive faces, the same cold demeanor. but this time, there was something different—an air of finality, of inevitability. they didn't say much, just that she had been chosen for something special. something important.

she was going to the glade, they told her. she was going to help them with a crucial part of their experiment. she was going to be their weapon.

ariel had heard of the glade—whispers among the children, tales of a place where boys were sent, only to be trapped in a maze with no way out. a place of danger, of fear, of uncertainty. but she hadn't known that she would be part of it.

the thought of it terrified her, but she was too broken, too numb, to resist. if this was her fate, then so be it. at least it would be an end to the emptiness, the loneliness that had consumed her.

as they prepared her for the journey, ariel's mind drifted to thomas. he was gone now, probably far beyond her reach, his memory the only thing she had left. she wondered if he still thought of her if he remembered the promise he had made.

but as she was being led to the transport that would take her to the glade, something unexpected happened. a familiar face appeared—a face she had longed to see for so long.

thomas.

he was different now, older, more hardened by the things he had seen and done. but his eyes were the same, filled with that spark of determination she had always admired. when he saw her, his face softened, the hardness melting away as he reached out for her.

"ary," he breathed, his voice thick with emotion.

"tommy?" ariel could hardly believe it was him. she thought she had been dreaming, that WCKD had finally broken her mind.

but he was real, and he was here, standing before her, his hands reaching for hers as if he was afraid she might disappear if he let go.

the two bickered, the usual bickering that comes with talking to ariel. but also a whole lot of love.

ariel's heart swelled with emotion, tears pricking her eyes. she wanted to say so much, to tell him everything she had felt in the year they had been apart, but all she could do was throw her arms around him, holding him as if her life depended on it.

"how?" she managed to ask, her voice muffled against his chest.

thomas held her tightly, his hand running through her hair in a comforting gesture. "mary helped me. i told her i couldn't let you go alone. that i couldn't lose you again. she understood, and she made it happen."

ariel pulled back just enough to look up at him, her eyes searching his face for any sign that this wasn't real. "you came for me."

thomas nodded, his expression serious. "i told you i wouldn't forget you, ariel. i promised."

ariel's breath hitched, a mix of relief and fear washing over her. she didn't know what awaited them in the Glade, what WCKD had planned, but for the first time in a long time, she felt something other than despair.

she felt hope.

they were going into the unknown, into a world filled with danger and uncertainty. but they were going together. and that made all the difference.

as they were led to the transport, side by side, thomas took her hand, squeezing it tightly.

"no matter what happens," he whispered, his voice steady, "we'll face it together."

ariel nodded, squeezing his hand in return. "together."

and as the doors closed behind them, sealing their fate, they knew that whatever lay ahead, they would face it as they always had—side by side, their love stronger than any maze WCKD could throw at them.

Because in a world full of fear and uncertainty, their love was the one thing that could never be taken away.