After the Death Cure ( The Maze Runner )

Chapter 16

Newt presses Ground Level.

Why are we going there? We step off of the elevator, and head to the front counter.

"Newt," he says to the lady at the desk. She hands him a name tag, "Thanks," he takes it, and puts it on around his neck as we head back to the elevator. "I guess I'm officially a part of WICKED," he smirks at me. I force a closed smile, but I'm too deep in thought. Is he going to torture her like Joshua does to me?

"I need to go get my coat, too."

"Coat?"

"Yeah, I get one of those white lab coats." He reaches over, and grabs a coat from a rack next to the elevator. He puts it on as I press the up button. The doors open, and we step inside. I just realize that I never eat breakfast. Oh well.

We sit with the rest of the Gladers for lunch, yet I still don't speak. Newt does, of course, he's very friendly. I used to be. I wish I could be that way again.

"Alright, Lily, are you ready for training?" Newt says as he stands up, and grabs both mine and his tray.

"Not really," she smiles, but I can see by the expression on her face that she's not looking forward to it.

She takes a seat at the table in the white room.

"Ready?" Newt says into the mic.

She nods, and Newt presses the purple button.

I wonder what all of the rest of the Gladers do during this time. "I'll be back."

"You ok?"

"Yeah," I turn around, and leave the room. I walk down the hallway, and into the computer room. Joshua is standing next to the blonde haired lady in the center of the room. Once I reach them, I ask, "Where are the others?" They turn and look at me. "Like Minho, and Sonya, and them. Where are they?"

"They're in their own training," she talks to me as if I were a child.

"Training for what?"

"Well, we have plans to tell the world of your theory. If they protest, and some of them will, they will try to destroy us."

"Why?"

She seems irritated, "Because that is how life works. You all destroyed WICKED, and gave them the mindset that we are...well...wicked. And, once they see that we are still alive, they will try to bring us back down. Especially the Cranks. They are beyond our assistance, and must be terminated."

"That still doesn't answer my question."

She takes in a deep breath, and looks at Joshua, who has a blank expression, "They are training to fight the Cranks. All of you will lead our soldiers into battle, against the infected who protest."

"That's not right-"

"Only if they protest. We won't just kill for no reason."

You've already done that. But just as I'm about to let the words escape my mouth, I see Joshua slightly shake his head. "Ok. Thanks."

I exit the room, and make my way back to Room 4, but as I am about to turn the knob, I remember that I can watch anyone train. I walk over to Room 3, and open the door. Gally. He's twitching on the floor. They must have already taken his table away.

"How's he doing?"

"He shows fewer signs of the Flare than any of the other subjects." It's Barbara. Poor Barbara, Gally probably drives her crazy. "He has very strong will power. Doesn't go without a fight," she smiles, and turns her attention back to the computer.

I watch for about thirty minutes, then he wakes. He stands up as soon as he's conscious, and spins around.

The room starts to fill with water.

"What? What are you doing?"

"Gally doesn't love anyone. His fear is death without a fight."

He starts to scream, and I can't help but feel bad for him. How is he supposed to keep hope in this? He looks around the room. He runs to the one sided window, and starts to beat at it. "Help! Somebody help!"

"How is he supposed to get out of this?"

"He'll figure it out," she says that as if it's not her problem. As if that's not a real human being's life on the line.

He walks over to the middle of the room, and sits down in the ankle deep water. He closes his eyes.

"No signs of the Flare. See, told you." She presses a button, and the water drains into who knows what. "Congratulations, Gally," she says into the mic, "What did you do this time?"

"I knew it was real," he stands up, "I knew you wouldn't drown me."

She turns around, and looks at me with raised eyebrows, and I nod. Then I leave.

I walk back to Room 4, and Newt looks at me when I walk in, "Took you long enough. I've been going nuts without you." He smirks, and turns back to his computer, "May I ask where you've been, or-"

"Watching Gally. He's good. He knew it was real."

"Really?"

"Yeah," I stand next to him.

"Hasn't woke up yet. Poor thing, she's been twitching like crazy."

She rolls over. Her face is contorted into pure sadness, I can only imagine the dreams she is having.

"What happened to Gally?"

"They started to fill his room with water, but he figured out it was just a test within a minute."

Newt nods, and I look at his computer. There's another image of Thomas, and he is typing things next to it.

About an hour later, she wakes up. She slowly stands, and Thomas appears behind her. He grabs her into a choke hold, and she screams, but it's muffled by the tight grip he has around her neck. She kicks his leg until he lets go. Then she turns around. He punches her in the face.

I can't take this. I leave the room, without looking back. I wish there were another way.