WICKED is good

Chapter 7: Experiments

Seven months later, there was still no word of Ben. WICKED claimed they were doing everything they could to find him, but Thomas knew they had given up and stopped sending as many people out to look for him.
Thomas sighed.
"You okay, Tom?" Teresa asked as they walked towards WICKED headquarters. Dr. Paige had requested to meet them because she had some news to share.
"I'm fine," Thomas lied. "So what do you think Dr. Paige wants to tell us?" He asked, clearly changing the subject.
Teresa looked like she didn't believe him but didn't pry. "I don't know. Maybe we're getting a raise or something."
"We don't get paid," Thomas pointed out.
"Exactly."
Thomas laughed which was a nice contrast to the hopelessness he'd been feeling.
"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," he said.
As soon as they made it inside the building, Thomas walked towards Dr. Paige's office. He knew the route by heart and probably could've made it blindfolded. She was the only person he completely trusted after the incident with Ben so Thomas liked to visit as often as he could.
   "Thomas, Teresa, so nice to see you," Dr. Paige smiled as soon as they arrived at her door. "Come inside."
   The two followed her in and took a seat in the chairs.
   Dr. Paige folded her hands together and placed them on her desk. "I have two things to address," she started. "First, I would like to apologize. The search for Benjamin has been temporarily revoked."
   "But—" Thomas started before she continued talking.
   "We've looked throughout this whole city. The council now believe he was taken outside of these walls. We don't have the resources to risks sending anyone out there. Until then, the search has been postponed."
   Thomas shut his eyes. This wasn't fair. How could those people—those rebels—just kidnap Ben and take him outside the city? What if he got hurt? What if the cranks got to him? What if he was already dead? Thomas heart turned to lead.
   "I know it's frustrating Thomas," Dr. Paige consoled. "But we aren't giving up. We believe the rebels have set up a base with our equipment somewhere and are running all sorts of tests on Benjamin. We believe he is safe."
   Thomas took a deep breath. When he exhaled, he let out all of his worries over Ben. Stressing wouldn't help him right now. "What's the other news?" He asked, surprisingly calm.
   "Chancellor Anderson has decided to start studying the killzone again. This time, they will only be puzzles to test the killzone and easy physical activities."
   "Wait," Teresa said excitedly. "You mean you're going to start running tests on Immunes? To find a cure?"
   Dr. Paige smiled. "Precisely."
   Teresa smiled so wide, Thomas thought he'd never seen someone happier.
   "Well, I don't get what's so great about it," Thomas admitted. It just sounded like more school to him.
   "Don't you know what this means?" Teresa asked incredulously. "If these tests run smoothly and we get positive results, we'll be able to find a cure." She grabbed his hand and squeezed. "We could save the world, Tom!"
   Now that Teresa was explaining, it did sound incredible. But Thomas still had his doubts.
   He squeezed Teresa's hand to let her know he agreed and was just as excited before turning to Dr. Paige. "How do we know this will be successful?"
   "We are not completely certain it will," Dr. Paige admitted. "But we believe it is worth an attempt."
   Thomas nodded. "When will the tests start?"
   Dr. Paige stood. "Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!" Minho exclaimed. He nearly fell from his bed where he was hanging upside down. "But it's summer vacation! I don't wanna do anymore school."
"It's not school," Thomas explained. "They're like puzzles and stuff."
"Same thing."
   Thomas sighed. "In addition, there will be physical activities. They are necessary in order to study the killzone and find a cure. You'll like that."
   Minho tilted his head. "Huh?"
   "There'll be sports or something," Thomas translated.
   "Why didn't you just say that in the first place?"
   "I did."
"Whatever." Minho jumped off his bed. "So what do you wanna do now? We could go to the park or something."
Thomas sighed, falling onto his bed. "I dunno."
"What's wrong with you?"
"Nothing."
"Could've fooled me."
   "I swear I'm—oomph!" Minho sat on Thomas' stomach, making it impossible to breathe.
"Minho!" Thomas gasped. "Get off!" He pushed as hard as he could but Minho wouldn't budge.
"Not until you answer my question."
"Okay, fine. Fine!" Thomas yelled. "I'll tell you. Just get off!" He started pushing again.
Minho stood up and sat at the foot of the bed as Thomas gasped.
"Was that really necessary?" Thomas asked, sitting up.
"Yes," Minho answered. "Now are you gonna answer my question or do I need to sit on you again?"
Thomas glared at him then sighed, lowering his gaze. "I'm just worried."
"'Bout what?"
"About the experiments," Thomas answered. "You remember what happened last time WICKED tried something like that."
Minho grunted in distaste, recalling everything that had happened to Ben.
"What if this doesn't work?" Thomas asked, letting the words spill out. "What if we don't get any results? What if WICKED decide to make it harder on us? What if the people who kidnapped Ben started kidnapping other Immunes? What if—"
"What if a meteor hit us right now?" Minho interrupted. "What if cranks broke in and ate our brains? What if you were abducted my aliens." He rolled his eyes. "Come on, Thomas. Just take it one problem at a time. Don't worry your butt over what might happen because you'll be worrying forever. Don't be so stupid."
Despite Minho's harsh words, they actually made Thomas feel better.
"Now come on," Minho said, standing up and pulling Thomas to his feet. "We're gonna do something fun. I'll grab Chuck and you text Newt and Teresa. Let's go get some food or something."
Minho started out the door before Thomas stopped him.
"Minho?"
   His friend turned around. "Yeah?"
   "Thank you," Thomas said sincerely.
Minho flashed his trademark grin. "Anytime."