She Was Their Cure (Rewritten) - A Maze Runner Fanfiction

The Maze and the End

Thomas led the charge into the Maze, adrenaline coursing through him as he darted down the narrow paths. Minho kept pace behind him, scanning their surroundings with keen eyes. The walls loomed high on either side, casting ominous shadows, but Thomas felt a flicker of hope; they were free, at least for now.

"Stay close!" Thomas shouted over his shoulder as they navigated the twisting passages. Chuck clutched the rod tightly, his eyes wide with fear and determination.

"Stay behind us!" Minho instructed Chuck, handing the rod to him. "You too, Teresa!"

"I won't leave him!" Teresa insisted, her voice firm. They exchanged a resolute nod before the group continued forward, hearts pounding in unison.

As they rounded a corner, Thomas's breath caught in his throat. A Griever loomed ahead, its grotesque form illuminated by the dim light. "Minho!" he called out, adrenaline surging.

"Go! Now!" Minho urged, pushing Chuck and Teresa behind him.

"Stick to the plan!" Thomas yelled, rallying the others as they prepared to attack. They charged forward, but the Griever was quicker. It lashed out, grabbing one of the Gladers and tossing him aside like a rag doll.

"Chuck! Grab the rod!" Thomas shouted, his voice strained as he fought off a wave of panic. But in the chaos, Chuck lost his grip on the rod. He leaned over the edge, desperately reaching for it.

"Get back!" Teresa screamed as she yanked him up, just as multiple Grievers emerged from the shadows, closing in on them.

"Run!" Thomas shouted, leading the way toward the door they had spotted in the distance. They sprinted, adrenaline propelling them forward as the sound of Grievers echoed behind them.

In a frenzy, they reached the door marked with an eight-digit code. "Minho, what's the pattern?" Thomas asked urgently.

"7, 1, 5 ,2, 6, 4, 8, 3" Minho barked back, glancing over his shoulder.

Teresa hurriedly punched in the code. The door creaked open just as the Grievers were upon them. They charged inside, narrowly escaping as the doors slammed shut, blocking the Grievers from following.

"Is it over?" Chuck panted, glancing back at the closed door, still visibly shaken.

"Not yet," Newt replied, scanning their surroundings as lights flickered on, revealing a long hallway. They moved cautiously, following the glowing lights until they reached a small exit door.

"Seriously?" Frypan scoffed, disappointment evident in his voice. "After all that?"

With trepidation, Teresa pushed open the door, revealing a gruesome scene. Dead bodies littered the floor, broken lights hanging overhead. The air felt thick with despair. Minho carefully nudged a gun out of a corpse's hand, just in case.

They stepped further into the control room, surrounded by machines and screens, a chilling realization settling in: they had been watched the entire time. As they explored, Minho's eyes froze on a particular screen, the footage drawing him in.

There, he saw himself from years ago, a younger version of himself smiling as he handed Aurora a stick. She stumbled joyfully, laughter echoing in the room, the innocence of childhood so vibrant. But the illusion shattered when the video clicked off, leaving him staring at his reflection, the smile fading from his face.

Thomas and Teresa focused on their own computers, each discovering fragments of their pasts. Suddenly, Newt clicked a button, and a video began to play. A doctor appeared on the screen.

"I'm Dr. Paige," she introduced herself, her voice calm yet chilling. She explained the trials, the outbreak of a virus called the Flare, and how they studied the kids.

"WCKD is good," she concluded before the camera panned away, and in a shocking moment, she shot herself in the head.

"Holy crap!" Thomas gasped, glancing over at the dead doctor sprawled on the floor. "Is this real?"

"What do we do now?" Chuck asked, his voice quivering with uncertainty.

"We need to get out of here," Thomas urged, feeling a swell of urgency as he stepped toward the exit.

But as they moved, a voice echoed through the room, "No."

They all whipped around, eyes widening as Gally stepped into view, a gun in one hand and his flower crown in the other.

"You can't leave," Gally said, his voice shaky but resolute.

"Gally, we're free!" Thomas protested, trying to reason with him. "We've escaped the Maze!"

"You think you're free out there?" Gally's gaze hardened. "There's no escape, not without Aurora."

The weight of his words hung heavy in the air, and the Gladers who knew Aurora exchanged troubled glances. Gally had given up hope.

"Put the gun down," Thomas pleaded, taking a cautious step forward. "You're not thinking straight."

"I belong to the Maze!" Gally shouted, his voice trembling with intensity. "We all do!"

"Gally, please!" Thomas implored, desperate to break through his resolve.

Just as Gally moved to pull the trigger, Chuck jumped in front of Thomas. "No!" Thomas yelled.

Minho acted on instinct, throwing his spear at Gally. The weapon struck true, piercing Gally's side.

A gunshot rang out, the echo reverberating through the room. Thomas watched in horror as Chuck crumpled to the ground, a look of shock on his face.

"Chuck!" Thomas screamed, rushing to his side. "Stay with me!"

Chuck gasped, his hands trembling as he reached for the small wooden figure he had made. "Thank you... for everything," he whispered, his voice fading.

"No! Don't go!" Thomas begged, tears streaming down his face as he cradled Chuck's head in his hands.

Around them, the others cried out in despair, Newt's expression a mask of anguish as he realized they had lost yet another innocent soul.

As Chuck took his final breath, Thomas broke down, his sobs echoing through the chamber. "I'm so sorry!" he cried, the weight of his failures crashing over him like waves.

Suddenly, the door burst open, armed men storming in, grabbing everyone in sight. Thomas struggled to hold onto Chuck, but they pulled him away, tears blurring his vision.

Gally, still alive, breathed out a few words, a whisper of apology for Aurora.

The men dragged Thomas and the others onto a helicopter, assuring them they were safe. As the helicopter lifted off over the desolate desert, Thomas looked down at the Glade and the Maze, the horrors of their past swirling in his mind.

"Everything is going to change," one man said, looking at Thomas with an unreadable expression.

Clutching the wooden figure Chuck had given him, Thomas felt a promise bubbling to the surface within him—a determination to honor Chuck's memory.

In a sterile meeting room, Dr. Paige stood before her colleagues, her demeanor resolute. "The Maze trials were a success," she announced. "More survivors than expected, but more the merrier. Thomas continues to surprise and impress us. For now, it seems they've taken the bait. It's too soon to say they can be the key to everything, but it's time to move forward to Phase Two."

With those words, the nightmare was far from over, and Thomas knew deep in his heart that this was just the beginning of a darker journey ahead.