a6: the rebel - (thomas)

prologue

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VIENNA HAD NEVER KNOWN THOMAS to be so daring. In their years of friendship, he had been something of a Golden Boy for WICKED. Excelling in every assignment, passing every test, even becoming a junior trainee member of the Board. 

       It only made sense; he was a Definite, a subject projected to go into the maze from the minute they sent foot in the WICKED compound. Whether it was stronger genes, higher test results, Vienna didn't know what set Definite's and Undetermined's apart in WICKED's eyes, only that there was a clear pattern separating the two groups. 

       Definite's only go one of two ways. Over-perform in hopes of changing your fate, and not being sent to the maze, or find it all to be pointless and act out until they surely send you in earlier than planned. Thomas had always fallen into the first group. So for him now to be dragging his best friend through the corridors, insisting that the guards were busy dealing with the "situation" he cause in the cafeteria, was unusual behavior, to say the least. 

       Vienna thought maybe it was her own recent behavior rubbing off on him - this rebellious streak. She was not unfamiliar with the cycle of the Undetermined's like herself. The children ripped from their lives due to their immunity but held in a waiting period before WICKED decides whether they want to dump them in the maze or keep them in the labs for the rest of their sad, controlled lives. She knew the pattern all too well. They mind their business, play their part, bite their tongue, keep on their best behavior for the first several years of their time with WICKED. In the beginning, they are desperate to avoid the fate of the trials; many are convinced their status as an Undetermined has gifted them a second chance at a life worth living - a life outside of the maze.

       However, it happened to Vienna the same way it happened to every Undetermined before her. At some point, she came to realize that her life inside of these blank white walls would be no less miserable than her life trapped in those towering stone walls. At this point, the acting out begins. Little things at first - not completing assignments, skipping meetings. Eventually, the minor acts of negligence transition into full-blown protest. As the acceptance begins to set in that whichever way they go, they will never live a life of their own, recklessness and rebellion take form among the Undetermined's. 

       But the Definite's are different, they pick a mindset and they stick to it until the day they're thrown in the Box and shipped off to the maze. Except for Thomas, apparently. 

       "Thomas, what are we doing?" Vienna demanded, running by his side past clean white walls and not a person in sight. 

       "I'll explain when we get there, I swear, come on," he promised, boosting his speed even more. 

       "No!" Vienna declared fervently, stopping in her tracks. The boy stopped too, looking back at her. "Tell me right now what's going on."

       Thomas sighed as dropped his gaze to the floor. He took a step closer to her, bringing his hand to the back of his neck, something he often did when he was feeling stressed. 

       "They're sending me up into the maze. Tomorrow."

       Vienna felt her heart drop slowly. "How long have you known?" 

       "Since last month, when Chuck went up. Janson told me I was next."

       "Shit, Thomas," the girl said defeatedly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

       "I've been busy. With this." He led the girl to the end of the hallway and held the door open for her. Warily, she followed and stepped inside.