Subject A250: The Flame (COMPLETED)

Six: Ratplan

A/N: Sorry for the delay. Enjoy the plot twist ;)

"Phase Two?" someone muttered.

"Shush!" urged another.

Trace struggled to keep her emotions in check. What was to come would be horrible, and she wondered, not for the first time, if it would be better not to know at all. It all led back to that stupid 'would you rather?' question Teresa had asked her.

Ratman was watching- scrutinising- their expressions, waiting until his words were heard by everyone. Then he reached over to the desk and carefully retrieved a file from the stack he'd been looking at.

"Sixty of you," he began, "were sent to the maze. Sixty-one were sent to Maze A, but we won't worry about that for now."

"I'd like to worry about that, please," Trace muttered, receiving a sharp elbow to the ribs, courtesy of Charlene.

"You were sent there because of your particular...abilities to survive. You're different from the general population. Most of you were sourced from that population, hand-selected carefully to ensure the best results for this trial. Others were selected via other means," he added, with a quick glance towards Trace.

Her heart skipped a beat in response. She really hated this 'let's not tell anyone anything' game.

"However you were sourced, only a small proportion of you made it this far. You should congratulate yourselfs for that; you know yourselves that this was no easy feat."

Understatement of the century.

"But all that you were put through through- all you endured- took place to carefully construct a blueprint. Your actions and responses were analysed in great detail, and gave insight into the huge potential these trials have. You will be the ones to save mankind."

We could do that without you, you slimy rodent, Trace thought. In fact, we will.

"These obstacles -Variables, we call them- will continue to challenge you, and it is crucial that you cooperate to the best of your abilities. Your cooperation will greatly benefit these trials and move us one step closer to saving humanity."

He paused, cleared his throat, and continued.

"You're probably wondering what I'm talked about," he smiled wryly. "I work for an organisation known as WICKED. Don't be thrown by the name; it's simply an acronym. We are the World In Catastrophe Killzone Experiment Department."

"I still prefer my version," Trace muttered. We Imprison Children Knowing Everyone Disapproves is an excellent summary of what they do.

"We have the resources, the capabilities, the technology to save our race from extinction. You will have seen this already. The Griever Hole, the hanging bodies, the bricked-up windows— they were all manufactured to teach you a valuable lesson: that you cannot believe everything you see."

Trace wanted to punch the glass wall in front of him. She wanted to throw herself against the surface, break through, and punch this guy until he was unconscious.

Basically, she'd like to be Minho. That would be pretty darn cool.

She missed him.

"Likewise," Ratman continued, unfortunately. "What you do not see can be real. We've manipulated your brains, your nervous systems, so that we have the ability to take control of any given situation."

Trace thought of her stroll into the maze. They'd been controlling her then; she was sure of it. The way she'd been so conscious of her actions, but so helpless to stop them; it was precisely how she'd imagined it being. Exactly how the Almighty Dashner had described it in the books.