Famous Last Words

02

Minho glanced up when a man, holding a gun to his chest, called attention to the kids. "You and your friends have all been cleared to join the others. Soon you'll all be moving on the greener pastures."

"Wait. Others?" Newt asked, not receiving an answer.

He, and the rest of the Gladers, followed him to a dining hall.

There were at least 30 other kids with trays in front of them; most of them were boys.

Lacey looked up from her plate to see the Gladers enter.

A voice caught Lacey's attention and she heard Minho say, "Hey, Thomas!"

Thomas smiled. "Hey, Minho, what's going on?"

Minho said, "We weren't the only maze." He started explaining how he had talked to others in the maze.

As it turned out, each group had received a video message from Ava Paige telling them that they had completed the Maze Trials, and they were relocated to the very same building that Thomas and the Gladers now found themselves at.

Thomas frowned as Newt asked, "What about the rest? The other people left behind in the maze, what happened to them?"

From across the group, a dark-skinned boy said, "We don't know. I guess WICKED still has them."

Thomas asked, "How long have you been here?"

The boy met her eyes. "Not long. A day or two at most." He looked back at a skinny boy and girl sitting alone. A hoodie covered the boy's hair so it was hard to see what he looked like while the girl he'd talked to when he'd first arrived stared at the table. "Those kids over there have been here the longest. Almost a week. Their maze was nothing but girls."

One of the Gladers' eyes widened. "Really?"

The boy turned back. "Some guys have all the luck."

Janson stood up at the front and said, "Good evening, gentlemen. Ladies. You all know how this works. If you hear your name called...please rise in an orderly fashion, join my colleagues behind me...where they will escort you to the eastern wing."

Janson opened a file and fished through it a moment before saying, "Connor." A boy stood up, and was congratulated by those around him.

"Evelyn." A girl from the table next to them stood.

"Justin." A chubby boy smiled proudly as he stood.

"Peter." A brunette boy stood and was patted on the back.

"Allison." A girl with dark curls stood, seemingly less excited than the others, which Lacey found odd.

"Squiggy." A muscular guy stood up and made his way to the other kids. There were sniggers and Janson frowned. "All right, settle down."

"Franklin," Janson said, pausing a moment for the boy to join. "And Abigail." He closed the file and groans echoed in the room. "Now, now, don't get discouraged. If I could take more, I would. There's always tomorrow. Your time will come. Go on, eat up."

Janson and the group of kids he'd called left the room. Immediately, Minho asked, "Where are they going?"

"Far from here," the kid answered, turning to his friend. "Lucky bastards."

His friend nodded. "Some kind of farm. A safe place. They can only take in a couple of people at a time."

Lacey glanced at her brother, and the two shared a suspicious gaze.