The dejavu was real. When Thomas fell through the floor, he ended up back in the WICKED facility he and the first Gladers had landed in when they escaped the first maze. The long hallways looked the same but that was where the similarities ended. When he tried to find the control room where Chuck had been killed months ago, he just ended up at another crossroads, no matter which direction he went. It was almost the most disorienting experience of his life, second only to waking up in the box.
Thomas momentarily relived the moment. It seemed like another life. His memories were just as far out of reach as they were then. His life was just as much WICKED's as it was then. His friends were just as trapped as they were then. Nothing had changed. Everyone was just more depressed. And now WICKED was trying to pull some kind of Matrix trick on him. Thomas figured the underground facility must just have different branches or something. If he could just find the control room, he could figure out some way to get his friends out too. They were depending on him to find another way out. He couldn't let them down.
MEANWHILE IN A SECRET PLACE...
"He's doing well, isn't he, Dr. Paige?" The young girl, an intern no older than 14 presumably, spoke with a soft English accent. Her lab coat was sharp and pristine, her hair in a neat ponytail, he clipboard held in front of her. Dr. Ava Paige stood beside her, watching a boy named Thomas run through Sub-Level One's corridors on a collection of computer monitors.
"He's done better. He believes he is no longer in the Maze. We knew this new variable would be rather disorienting but I did not think it would take him quite so long to figure it out." Paige said dismissively. She had seen Thomas run faster, think faster. This was far from "well" for him. She had to force herself not to criticize him; this was exactly what she expected to happen.
"Don't be so bitter, Doctor. He'll figure it out any minute now. I'm sure of it." The intern said, allowing a reassuring grin, though not to Ava. She felt almost as if she was trying to reassure Thomas instead. After so long watching him in the Maze since she'd received her internship, she almost felt like she knew him. She had to remind herself sometimes that she wasn't on his team. She was a scientist, an observer, a collector of data. Nothing more. She would not meet Thomas and the other Glad- subjects. She found herself thinking more and more like them the more she watched, the more she understood their lives.
"Is that so, Kira? You are on the observation deck quite often, I believe? Watching the Glade, that is." Paige said, questioning. Kira tried not to let it intimidate her.
"Yes, Doctor. I was hired for my computer and observation skills." She said. Kira couldn't help being proud of herself whenever she remembered the day she got that letter in the mail, the one confirming her acceptance to WICKED's elite internship program. It was not just an incredible opportunity for her, either. It was an escape. Kira could still picture her brother's face when he swept her into a tight hug, insisting she leave right away, get away from their father as soon as possible, telling her not to worry about him, he would be okay. Leaving Dash behind with their abrasive father had been the hardest thing she had ever had to do. Now, watching Thomas run until he couldn't breathe, all to save his friends, she could imagine what he must have been feeling when he had to leave Chuck's body behind after the first Maze Trials.
Paige checked her watch. "Well. I believe you have worked plenty long enough. A girl your age should be getting more sleep. I insist you take the rest of the evening off. I don't want to see you back on the observation deck any earlier than noon tomorrow. Understood?" She did not speak threateningly but Kira knew a warning when she heard one. Paige didn't want her watching the Gladers for the next day. That could only mean one thing.
"Understood, Doctor." Kira nodded and turned to leave. She only took a few steps before looking back over her shoulder. "You should be getting more sleep, too, Doctor." With that, she turned and began the long walk back to her quarters. It took only moments for Kira to make her decision. With every step, she saw Thomas sprinting through the Maze, sprinting through Sub-Level One, sprinting for nothing because it was all just one elaborate experiment and she knew that he knew that. As she passed the main observation deck, she saw him crouched over Chuck, arms wrapped around him like he was trying to hold his friend together just long enough to save him. When Kira arrived at her room, she kept walking. She had a plan and only 24 hours to make it work.
(Below: Raffey Cassidy as Kira)
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