The New Distance [The Scorch Trials Book]

e p i l o g u e

"What shall we do with her now?"

"Run her through all the tests again. Twice." Chancellor Paige commanded in a voice as cold as ice but at the same time gentle, like a mother who only wanted the best for her child. "We need to be sure. We can't afford errors." The doctor nodded and left.

An uncomfortable silence spread across the room as the Chancellor pondered over her greatest mistake yet. She had thought it impossible how she hadn't seen this coming. Nobody had. Her council was seated at the table, patiently awaiting what she had to say.

"I'm afraid I might have...miscalculated." She cleared her throat. "Thomas was-" her voice cracked, which lead her to pause. "Thomas wasn't the test subject with the most reactive killzone, as we previously thought. We found out only recently that one human variable offered more reactions to the stimulants than all of the test subjects combined." She turned the screen behind her on, images and of her daughter flashed momentarily before an image of her brain appeared. "With this much brain activity, the Flare had easily spread to her whole brain, but her cerebral capacity remained the same. The first results told us that she was in no way immune and the virus was slowly destroying her brain as it should, albeit too slowly." The image switched to tables and graphs far too complicated for anyone to comprehend at once. "Her brain was fighting. If the virus even so much as makes an advance to attack her, the brain would retaliate and react in a special way to keep the virus at bay. Whatever her brain is doing, it's doing a good job at it. Our scan showed a flat out zero percent brain damage."

"But she's not immune. Does that mean she can still infect others?" An official spoke with eyebrows furrowed.

"Tests are currently being run to find out." The Chancellor answered. "But we are taking no chances. She is, and will remain to be, a variable of the Trials."

"What is her brain doing?" Another one asked. "Expanding? Retracting? Excreting a new type of endocrine?"

"We won't know for sure until we complete all the tests." She lied. All the tests that could be done without harming Sanza were completed. The ultimate task was to dissect her brain, and only then can WICKED have their answers. But Chancellor Paige didn't deem the world officials worthy enough to know that. Because even if the world so desperately needed the cure, she needed her daughter more.

A few more questions were asked and answered with the most minimal information shared. She was treading on dangerous waters and one wrong word could cause her to lose everything. The meeting ended in due time. One official approached her as the rest started to file out of the room. He was the head of all the world's armed forces, a sturdy man, and a just one at that.

"We understand how hard this is for you, Chancellor." He started. "It's not easy watching kids die through the Trials, especially your daughter. We admire your commitment."

"Thank you for your kind words, General." She nodded at him with a stiff smile, not reaching her eyes.

"WICKED is good."