Desire ❃ newt

cнapтer 45

For a long moment, no one said anything, and all I saw were blank faces. I felt the sweat beading on my forehead, slicking my hands; I was terrified to keep going.

Newt looked completely baffled and finally broke the silence. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, first there's something I have to share. About Teresa and Thomas. There's a reason Gally accused me of so much stuff, and why everyone who's gone through the Changing recognizes me."

I expected questions—an eruption of voices—but the room was dead silent.

"Teresa and Thomas are . . . different," I continued. "We all were part of the Maze Trials from the very beginning—but against our will, I swear it."

Minho was the one to speak up now. "Kameron, what're you talking about?"

"Teresa and Thomas were used by the Creators. If you had your full memories back, you'd probably want to kill them but I had to tell you this myself to show you theh can be trusted now. So you'll believe me when I tell you the only way we can get out of here."

I quickly scanned the faces of the Keepers, wondering one last time if I should say it, if they would understand but I knew I had to. I had to.

I took a deep breath, then said it. "Teresa and Thomas helped design the Maze. We helped create the whole thing."

Everyone seemed too stunned to respond. Blank faces stared back at me once again. Thomas fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Newt finally asked. "They're bloody sixteen-year-olds. How could they have created the Maze?"

I couldn't help doubting it a little myself—but I knew what I'd remembered. As crazy as it was, I knew it for the truth. "They were . . . smart and I think it might be part of the Variables but most importantly, Teresa and Thomas have a . . . gift that made them very valuable as they designed and built this place." I stopped, knowing it must all sound absurd.

"Speak!" Newt yelled. "Spit it out!"

"They're telepathic! They can talk to each other in their freaking heads!" Saying it out loud almost made me feel ashamed, like I distrusted Thomas.

Newt blinked in surprise; someone coughed.

"But listen to me," I continued, in a hurry to defend himself. "They forced them to help. I don't know how or why, but they did." I paused. "Maybe it was to see if they could gain your trust despite having been a part of them. Maybe they were meant all along to be the ones to reveal how to escape. Whatever the reason, with your Maps we figured out the code and we need to use it now."

I looked around, and surprisingly, astonishingly, no one seemed angry. Most of the Gladers continued to stare blankly at me or shook their heads in wonder or disbelief. And for some odd reason, Minho was smiling.

"It's true, and I'm sorry," I continued. "But I can tell you this—they're in the same boat with you now. Teresa and Thomas were sent here just like anyone else, and they can die just as easily but the Creators have seen enough—it's time for the final test. I guess I needed the Changing to add the final pieces of the puzzle. Anyway, I wanted you to know the truth, to know there's a chance we can do this."

Newt shook his head back and forth, staring at the ground. Then he looked up, took in the other Keepers. "The Creators—those shanks did this to us, not Tommy and Teresa. The Creators . . . and they'll be sorry."

"Whatever," Minho said, "who gives a klunk about all that—just get on with the escape already."

A lump formed in my throat. I was so relieved I almost couldn't speak. I had been sure they'd put Thomas under major heat for my confession, if not throw him off the Cliff. The rest of what I had to say almost seemed easy now. "There's a computer station in a place we've never looked before. The code will open a door for us to get out of the Maze. It also shuts down the Grievers so they can't follow us—if we can just survive long enough to get to that point."

"A place we've never looked before?" Alby asked. "What do you think we've been doing for two years?"

"Trust me, you've never been to this spot." Minho stood up. "Well, where is it?"

"It's almost suicide," I said, knowing I was putting off the answer. "The Grievers will come after us whenever we try to do it. All of them. The final test." I wanted to make sure they understood the stakes. The odds of everyone surviving were slim.

"So where is it?" Newt asked, leaning forward in his chair.

"Over the Cliff," I answered. "We have to go through the Griever Hole."

"And what were you doing in the Changing?" Minho asked, making me sit up straight.

"I was with Thomas . . . we're twins and I'm immune." I spoke as if I was talking foreign. "I don't know what I'm immune to, but I am."