Whatever It Takes | TDC fix-it fic |

Ben

Having to spend a night in the Maze wasn't the worst part for Ben. The worst part was having his friends force him to spend a night in the Maze.
   Ben didn't blame them. He hurt the Greenie, Thomas. He knew he saw Thomas working with the creators after he was stung, but Ben didn't mean to attack him. That was the sting making him do it.
He also knew he would kill the kid the next time he saw him. Ben wasn't going to recover from the sting. He knew Banishment was the only option. But to have Minho, his best friend, lead him to his death was what crushed Ben in the end.
That's why he was sitting against the Doors now, hugging his needs as he sobbed. He'd known Minho throughout his entire known life, they were as close as brothers. Maybe Ben was the one about to die but it felt as if he lost a friend. He wondered if Minho was as devastated as he felt.
Suddenly, Ben heard the sound of a Griever, the metal legs clanging against the ground. He could tell it was close and getting closer. He had to move fast.
Ben stood up right as the monster peaked its head around the corner. It screeched as it spotted its prey and started running towards him.
He turned and sprinted in the other direction as fast as he could, the Griever pursuing. Surviving might be impossible but Ben wasn't willing to give up just yet.
The former Runner ran as fast as he could, doing his best to avoid dead ends. He didn't know the Maze as well as Minho but he was still very familiar with it.
Ben was staring to have trouble keeping up his fast pace, he could barely get any air in and his legs were turning to jelly, but he kept going. Thankfully, the Griever wasn't gaining, though it seemed to be toying with him. It hissed as it crawled after him slowly, snapping along the way.
He let loose a frustrated yell, knowing he couldn't go for much longer. Knowing the end was near.
As if on cue, he rounded a corner and found himself at a dead end. There was no way out.
Ben collapsed to the ground. He looked up at the slowly approaching monster, tears streaming down his face.
"Please don't," he sobbed. "I don't want to die."
The Griever clicked as if it were laughing at him. Its tail waved taunting in the air, clamping the claw on the end.
"Please," Ben choked.
The Griever lunged and everything went black.

Ben drifted in and out of consciousness which was strange because he thought he was dead.
The first time he woke up, he was on a stretcher and doctors were rushing him into a room. They jabbed a needle into his upper arm and he fell asleep again.
The second time he woke, he was on a bed. Nearby voices were talking. Ben couldn't understand everything but he was able to pick out a few words like, "trials", "endurance", "simulations", and "cure". He didn't have time to think about them because he drifted unconscious again.
The third time he woke, he stayed awake. Ben sat up, finding himself in a room that looked like a strange science lab. He was on a small bed in the middle of the room. There was a clean counter on one end and a scary device on the other. The device was obviously supposed to be for a human but it had wires and a helmet on it. Ben shuddered to think what they were for. Right in front of the bed was a door that opened a few minutes after he woke up.
An old woman walked in, her hands clasped behind her back. Two heavily armed guards came in after her. The three stood against the door, facing the bed.
Ben sat up, curious about this woman. Was she a friend or enemy?Was she going to tell him where his friends were? How he survived the Griever attack? Why he was in the Glade in the first place? He felt like a Greenie again as the questions crowded his brain.
"Where am I?" Ben started. "How did I survive the Griever?"
"All will be explained in time," the woman answered. "Now, my name is Ava Paige, Chancellor of WCKD. My goal is to save humanity from a deadly virus called the Flare. It was released after the sun flares hit the earth. Immunes are—"
   "You work for WCKD?" Ben interrupted. "You mean like the letters on the boxes in the Glade? The ones the creators sent up. You put us in the Maze?" He felt anger boiling inside him.
   Chancellor Paige sighed. "The world is ruins. Only the Immunes, your Glader friends, can help us save humanity. It was necessary to put you through the Maze Trials."
"And my friends?" Ben asked. "What happened to them?"
"They're still in the Maze," Chancellor Paige answered. "They only have a few days before the Grievers kill them all. Unless they find a way out or show potential for future trials. Then we remove them, like we did you, and continue experimenting in different ways."
Ben felt blood rush in his ears. This lady was just treating him and his friends like lab rats. He didn't even realize he was standing up until the guards hoisted their guns, pointing them at his chest.
"Sit boy," one said. "We're continuing the trials whether you like it or not. All that matters now is your cooperation. That would make this much easier for you and everybody else."
   "No way," Ben said, shaking his head. "I'd never help you torture innocent kids just for a cure. It's wrong."
   Chancellor Paige sighed heavily. "I was afraid you'd feel that way. Thankfully, we don't need your cooperation. I was just giving you the opportunity." She nodded at her guards.
They advanced and pinned Ben to the bed faster than he could react. He screamed and struggled but the guards were too strong.
   Chancellor Paige walked over calmly and stuck a syringe full of liquid into his neck.
   "Don't worry," she said. "The simulations are much worse than the Maze but they aren't real. You'll feel pain but your body will be fine."
   Ben slumped to the ground.
   "Don't feel bad," she whispered. "You've shown great potential in the Maze. That's why you get a private room with your own simulation schedule. You're a promising candidate. It's a big honor really."
   "I don't—" Ben started before the drug took over. His eyes closed and he lost all consciousness.