To Forget The Unforgettable

Chapter 11

A/N: Here it is guys. The end of the Maze Trials, enjoy!

Whenever anyone was sent into the Maze, those first few days were tough. Confusion. Fear. They were overwhelming when a person couldn't remember themselves. The other Gladers were always empathetic towards the Greenies and when Chuck, tears pouring from his bloodshot eyes, emerged from the Box, everyone's hearts broke. The idea that someone so young and vulnerable could have been sent into a place like the Maze, was horrific.

Everyone made a lot of effort with Chuck, each feeling the urge to protect him. Fortunately, he seemed to have adjusted swiftly to his new life- at least, he had during the day when around the other Gladers. When night came however, Chuck would lie in his hammock, and his worries would be let loose in his head. He didn't sob anymore, he didn't want to seem pathetic in front of his new friends. Instead, silent tears would roll down his cheeks and he'd clamp his eyes shut.

Thomas wanted to know exactly what Chuck was thinking at times like those. He wanted to be able to tell Chuck that everything was going to be okay. That he had a plan.

It had been approved yesterday by Dr Paige- the elites would be sent into the Mazes. The details were yet to be discussed but they had a meeting scheduled later today. Thomas wasn't too fussed on the specifics as long as one thing was permitted: that each of the elites would keep their memories. It was the key to his plan- the key to breaking the Gladers out of the Maze.

Thomas and Teresa were still debating whether to tell Aris and Rachel. Ruth, however, Thomas was adamant that she should be told. He highly doubted that she would be allowed to go into the Maze. Ruth was viewed by WICKED as too much of a risk, but he wanted to give her some hope to cling onto, and that's what his plan was. Hope.

Opening the door to where Ruth was being kept, he saw videos of the Glade filling the walls. Currently they were focused on a group of Gladers sprawled across the grass. Newt and Minho were lying on their backs, staring up at the stars. Chuck was slouched against a tree, an empty bowl in his lap. Alby and Leo were sat on a log, drawing pictures in the dirt with sticks. The group was talking amongst themselves, making stupid jokes and snorting at each other. They all seemed so happy, as if they were ordinary boys without a care in the world.

It made Thomas angry that WICKED were doing this to Ruth. Most of what they showed her was Newt when he was upset- reminding Ruth of what she had supposedly done; or Gladers getting stung by Grievers- a warning that WICKED still had the power to do what they wanted unless Ruth cooperated. Occasionally, WICKED would show Ruth moments like these, where her friends were happy, but they didn't show her this to soothe or reassure her. No. The only purpose of this was to tempt her, to make her realise that the pain of the Gladers could go away if she told them what she knew.

Thomas knew it was a lie. The horrors that the Gladers experienced didn't happen because Ruth had integrity, they happened because WICKED needed variables. Ruth giving in wouldn't stop Gladers dying in the Maze, wouldn't make the Gladers suddenly be okay with being trapped, and Thomas was relieved that Ruth was as stubborn as she was. He could tell however, that she was struggling to resist, which is why he needed her to know that there was another option.

The screens went blank and she glanced up at him, a softness in her eyes after seeing her friends enjoying themselves. Thomas sat beside her and kept very still. He counted two minutes and hoped that Ruth would catch on to what he was doing. Luckily, she didn't say a word, nor did she turn to face him.

"I think we're okay now," Thomas said. Teresa had hacked into the camera feed and the past two minutes would be played on loop, allowing Thomas to disclose the plan to Ruth without WICKED finding out.