The First Glader

WICKD

Thomas opened the door and uncovered a hall leading into a room. There were bodies on the floor and glass around them. The people were in lab coats. They must have been the people watching us. We walked through the dead bodies, unsure of what was to come. "What happened here?" Winston said, asking the question we all had on our minds.

"I don't like this," I whispered to Frypan and Newt. "Something not right."

"Just stay close, Love." We found more bodies as we walked through the second set of doors. Sparks were flying around the room and glass all over the floor. Images of brains and the Glade were on screens. This was how they monitored us. "So they were watching us. This whole time."

"Like I told you. Like Thomas told you." I said.

Thomas clicked something on one of the screens, and a video appeared on the main screen. "Hello. My name is Dr. Ava Paige." We all gathered around the screen and watched the woman as she spoke. "I'm the director of operations of the World Catastrophe Killzone Department. If you're watching this, that means you've successfully completed the Maze Trials. I wish I could be there in person to congratulate you, but circumstances seem to have prevented it. I'm sure by now you must all be very confused, angry, frightened. I can only assure you that everything that's happened to you, everything we've done to you, it was all done for a reason."

"You won't remember, but the sun has scorched our world. Billions of lives lost to fire, famine. Suffering on a global scale. The fallout was unimaginable. What came after was worse. We called it the Flare. A deadly virus that attacks the brain. It is violent, unpredictable, incurable. Or so we thought. In time, a new generation emerged that could survive the virus. Suddenly, there was a reason to hope for a cure. But finding it would not be easy. The young would have to be tested, even sacrificed inside harsh environments, where their brain activity could be studied, all in an effort to understand what makes them different, what makes you different. You may not realize it, but you're very important."

"Unfortunately, your trials have only just begun. As you'll no doubt soon discover, not everyone agrees with our methods. Progress is slow. People are scared. It may be too late for us, for me, but not for you." People came in with guns, shooting the workers behind her. That's how they all died. "The outside world awaits. Remember," Ava said, bringing a gun to her head. "WICKED is good." Then, she shot herself.

I put my head in Newts chest just after the gunshot. Too much death had occurred in the last day. It's too much to bear.

Thomas looked back and started walking to the spot Ava Paige killed herself. Her body was lying there, glass shattered around her. We all walked towards her. But just as we were got to the glass, a door opened beside us, the way out. "Is it over?" Chuck asked.

"She said we were important. Well, what are we supposed to do now?" I looked at Newt. He was right. What are we supposed to do now?

"I don't know," I said as I parted from him. "But let's get out of here." We took no more than a step towards the door when we got interrupted.

 "No," Gally said. We turned around and saw him.

"Gally?" I said. I couldn't believe it.

"Don't. He's been stung." Teresa stopped me, putting a hand on my shoulder. He dropped a sphere like the one Minho gave Chuck. Which was when I realized he had a gun in his hand.

"We can't leave."

"We did. Gally, we're out. We're free." Thomas said, slightly pushing everyone behind him. Newt tried pulling me behind him, but instead, I managed to get in front of him.

"Free? You think we're free out there?" He said, crying. "No. No, there's no escape from this place." My eyes widened as Gally held up the gun. Newt tried pushing me back again, but I stood my ground. I didn't move as Gally pointed the gun at me.

"Gally, listen to me. You're not thinking straight. I'm your friend. We can help you. Just put down the gun."

"I belong to the Maze."

"Just put down the gun."

"This is for your good. We all belong to the Maze."

"Gally!"

"No!" He shot the gun, and I fell. I looked down, but there was no bullet hole. Chuck was in front of me, and I was on top of Newt.

"Chuck?" I scrambled into a sitting position and checked to see if Chuck had been hit. He was, but it was just in the arm. "Oh, Chuck. Thank God." I looked at Gally, who had a spear in his chest. He fell to his knees, gasping for air. Then fell on his side and went limp. He was dead.

"Millie, I'm sorry. I tried to get in front of you, but I tripped. I'm sorry I knocked you over."

"Shit, Chuck. I don't care. You're alive. That trip may have just saved your life."

"My arm hurts."

"Yeah, so does mine. But the adrenaline is why I'm not hunched in a ball trying not to cry. At this point, it might be the only reason I'm not dead right now."

"I guess you're in a lot worse shape than the rest of us, huh?"

"Maybe, but I think Newt almost had a heart attack. Probably thought I was dead." I whispered. "We're out. We made it. Come on." I said, helping him up, but it almost caused us to fall over again. Newt grabbed my arm to support me as I stood up.

I heard a click then the light started shining through the doors. Men came in with masks and guns and hurried us out of the building. I grabbed Newt's hand and started running to keep up with everyone.

There were only about ten of us now. We all ran into the helicopter, not having a chance to look around. When the doors closed, the man took his face covering off and looked at us. "You guys alright?" We all looked at each other. Not knowing what to say—not even knowing what just happened. "Don't worry. You're safe now."

We lifted from the ground and started flying. Everyone looked out the window to see what we had been living in all these years. It was huge. It was a lot bigger than I ever thought it would be. It was a dome, at least the Glade was a dome. The sun hit it at a perfect angle so that I could see the inside. I could see the trees and the tower, but we were too far away to see much else.

I wrapped my arms around Newt and put my head on his chest. "Relax, kid. Everything's gonna change."