Lost - Scorch Trials (♡Newt) 《Slow Updates》

Chapter 3

Cally's pov

Felix was back. He was alive, and most importantly, he was real.
     I didn't believe it at first, thinking it was some sort of illusion, just my mind trying to find something familiar. But it was really him. I couldn't help the excitement that rose inside of me. Yes, our past relationship hadn't been great, if you could call dating in a simulation real. Normally, I would say a dating simulation doesn't count, even though I absolutely adored my Manda Panda when I played Dream Daddy- If I actually ever played it- I knew it was all a game. But this? What am I supposed to think about this? One thing I knew for sure, my life had become a hell of a lot more difficult. And not just because of my cliche, high school boy trouble. No. The real issue here was the story Felix and Aris were telling.
     They had been in the Maze, just like us. At least that's what they said, and to be honest, I believe them. The looks of horror and pure devastation on their faces when they talked about it was unmistakable.
     It was hard to get everyone to calm down. Especially Thomas. He wanted to find Teresa, which I understood. I wanted to find her as well, but I had to listen to reason. This was supposed to be her room, but she's gone. Switched for Felix and Aris. According to Minho, there are no more rooms in the facility. Unless there are more hidden rooms or doors WICKED seems to enjoy so much, but there was a small chance.
     Right now, I thought it would be better to listen to Aris and Felix. To figure out what had happened to them and maybe get more answers.
     Thomas, however, didn't want to listen to reason. Instead he went looking for her. I exchanged a worried look with Minho when he left. But led him anyway. He had to see for himself.
     While we waited for him to come back and join our little gathering, Newt had ordered the Gladers to take the top bunks off and spread them through the room to create enough sitting space for all of us.
It took a while, but together we managed to get the beds in one big circle.
     Aris and Felix went to sit on the one bed Aris had slept in the night before. When I walked past them, Felix took a hold on my wrist to get my attention. "Sit with us?" He asked, lightly tucking on my arm.
     After a short hesitation, I nodded my head. "Okay, sure." Felix smiled at me as I sat down beside him. Well, with enough room between us for a third person. I wasn't entirely sure what to do with myself or with Fe. Initially, all I felt was happiness that he stood in front of me, real and in one piece. But now, after the wave of excitement had died down, the confusion kicked in.
    We had been together, and we never broke up... does that mean he's technically still my boyfriend? Newt and I never really said... or... well, I kind of assumed... but... I- I cheated on Fe... that much is true... But whatever I think happened between Felix and I was all part of a simulation, so was it even real? Did we even have the same memories? Did we ever really...
     I shook my head, looking at Felix, sitting beside him... It felt weird. Less than a week ago, I was convinced he didn't exist, but now I sat beside him. His deep blue eyes looked at me how I remember them doing many times before. Not really knowing what to do, I smiled back. Taking in his features.
     It was so surreal, his dark hair, bright eyes, and pointy nose the same as I remember. What was different was a small scar on his left cheek, and he looked more physically fit than before. But that wasn't too weird, I could only guess what he had been through.
     "Someone's watching you." Felix whispered, glancing over my shoulder. I turned my head to see Newt looking at us with a deep frown, biting down on his lip. Once he noticed we had noticed him, he looked away. My chest tightened, realizing there was a big possibility things would change between us yet again, and he must've thought it too.
     Thomas reentered the room with a defeated posture. I shot him a sympathetic smile before Minho addressed him. "Told ya, dude. Have a seat and let's talk. We waited on you. But close the shuck door as much as you can first- smells worse than Gally's rotting feet out there."
     "Who's Gally?" Felix asked me in a whisper voice, not wanting anyone else to hear him.
     I leaned a little closer to him, "he was one of us, until WICKED took control of his body-"
     "All right," Newt's voice interrupted me. Thomas had closed the door as far as possible without actually closing it as requested by our friend and had taken his place beside him. Newt was sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning forward.   "Let's get started on the bloody storytellin' so we can get to the real problem- finding something to eat."
     Newt's words didn't help with the nausea I still felt after throwing up, but I also realized he had a point. We didn't have any food around, and now, with the soldiers gone and no way out of this place; if we didn't find anything, we were screwed. The only eatable thing I had seen in the past hour were- well, I really did not want to think of cannibalism already, so I shook my head to banish the thought.
     "Good that." Minho said before turning to Aris and Felix. "Talk, guys. Tell us everything." The two exchanged a look before Felix spoke up, crossing his arms over his chest.
     "No way. You guys go first." I rolled my eyes, remembering how annoyingly stubborn this guy could be.
     "Yeah?" Minho wasn't in for a discussion. "How about we all just take turns beating the living klunk out of your shuck faces? Then we'll ask you to talk again."
     "Minho," Newt said sternly before I myself could speak up. "There's no reason-"
     "Please, man." Minho defended himself, pointing at Felix. "For all we know these Shanks could be Creators. People from WICKED, here to spy on us. They could've killed the people out there- they're the only ones we don't know, and the doors and windows are locked! I'm sick of him acting all snooty when we've got twenty guys to his two. They're talking first."
     I crossed my arms, glaring at Minho, knowing he was too intelligent not to have realized I knew this guy, meaning he said that not just because he was worried they were 'Creators'. "I know Felix and I know he would never have killed those people."
     I bit down on my tongue. Minho, Newt, and Thomas may know about my past, but the others didn't, and defending him would be a weird thing to do. But on the other side, they had already seen us hug so playing it save was probably not really an option anymore.
     "No. You don't know him." Minho shot back. "Or did you forget 'bout the simul-"
     Thomas elbowed Minho in the side, making him stop and glare at Thomas. Who shook his head almost unnoticeable. I could see the realization Minho had as he dropped the subject.
     Newt let out a deep sigh and looked at Aris, making the educated guess that he would be the more reasonable of the two. "He's got a point. Just tell us what you meant about coming from the buggin' Maze. That's where we escaped from, and we obviously haven't met you."
     With one last long and difficult look between Aris and Felix, the two started to explain. About their Maze. Apparently, we weren't WICKED's only lab rats. There had been a second group. A second Maze. Complete with a Homestead, a forest and Grievers. The only difference from their Maze and our Maze was that ours existed of only guys and two girls, and theirs was all girls and two boys.
     When I thought about it, it did make sense for an experiment to be as thorough as possible and I guess using both sexes and let them go through mostly similar experiences was the best way of reaching that goal- depending on the goal a control group wouldn't also not be far fetched so maybe there was more... But that didn't justify anything. No matter what, living test subjects are fucking wrong.
     Felix had been the first boy in their Maze. Only we arrived quite differently. I had shown up in the middle of the night, crawled out of the box without anyone knowing, and ended up being found by Gally and some other Shank. Felix, on the other hand, had shown up the same way as the others had. Just a day later.
     It did make sense to me, recalling the memory I'd seen during the Changing of Teresa pulling me from my preperation chamber too early, injecting me with the serum to out me asleep and wipe my memories and sending me up in the box to the Maze. Later, it had been confirmed by Thomas that Teresa had done so at my request so I wouldn't be separated from my twin... It worked out, for a while, at least...
     Only unlike all the others in our Maze, their group had been aware about the memories. Not only his, but they had been keeping track of the memories of all the other girls that still had theirs- or fake memories... from the way Felix spoke about it, I got the impression they didn't seem to know that though... I realized I should be the one to break it to him, only right then and there did not seem like the right timing. It would've to wait until we had a bit more privacy.
     Aris showed up the day after a girl named Rachel. Just like Teresa, Aris had been in a coma holding a piece of paper that said he would be the last one. And of course, Aris and Rachel had been able to communicate telepathically, just like Thomas and Teresa. Only it seemed like Rachel hadn't befriended a loyal little girl that sacrificed herself for her, because Rachel was dead. Killed by a girl named Beth. The same way WICKED had forced Gally to try and kill Thomas. Turned out, Thomas and Aris were also able to read each others minds.
     The more I learned, the more I wished I wasn't there. The more I longed to my fake life. The one where I had a family and friends and a job in a calm and quiet bookshop, and the only things I had to worry about were my stupid hormons and what I wanted to study. Not this place where the world got destroyed, my twin brother got brutally murdered and me and my friends are locked in a gym surrounded by zombies- correction- Cranks. Whatever the difference may be.
     "Hey." I had been deep in thought, playing with Ezra's necklace when Guz's voice broke me out of it. Drawing not only my, but everyone's attention. "What's that on the side of your neck? Something black, right below your collar."
     Aris looked confused, bending his neck this way and that in order to try and see what Guz was talking about, but he couldn't bend that way. "What?"
     From my position in the corner of the bed, I could see it now, too. It was half hidden beneath his shirt, but as he moved, I could see the flashes of black on his skin. It started right in the hollow part of his collarbone and went around his neck.
     "Wait," I spoke up for the first time. "Let me take a look." Aris stopped squirming and turned so I could reach him easier. As I pulled his collar out of the way, I frowned. It were big, black block letters that read: