Burning; TST ➵ Thomas

S E V E N

After several moments of quietness, Amelia approached a wooden door with a round silver knob. Thomas was at her heels.

As they stepped into the room, it was pitch black. Thomas stood quietly, waiting for any instructions as he didn't know what to do. But he wanted to try and show that he still had some dignity. There was a loud flumping sound if heavy cloth being whipped in the air.

A hot, blinding light appeared. Thomas shielded his eyes with his forearms and was able to see okay upon realising that she had pulled a large sheet canvas from an unbroken window.

Thomas watched as she pulled out a chair and sat on it. She gestured him to do the same for the chair across from her. He obeyed. Amelia's face was blank as she observed him looking around the room. It had no other furniture besides the two small chairs and a wooden table between them.

Thomas faced her once again. She leaned forward and put her elbows on the table, hands clasped together.

"Talk."

He hesitated. "Look, I heard Jorge mention WICKED back there. We know all about those guys. It'd be really interesting to hear what you have to say about them."

Although Thomas knew that she knew as much about WICKED as they did, he spoke about them as if she didn't. If WICKED was the cause that she had forgotten him - not just him, but the rest of the Gladers - who knows? They could have removed all knowledge of them from her.

Amelia's stoic expression didn't change. She didn't budge.

"You do realise that I'm not the one for interrogation here, right? It's you." She narrowed her eyes at him.

Thomas nodded and pushed his chair a little closer to the table. He pushed it back to its original spot and put a foot on his knee.

"This is hard because, well, I don't know what you know. So I'll just pretend you're stupid to the whole thing." This was partially true. As said, it could be possible for WICKED to erase her mind again.

"I advise you to never use the word stupid with me again," she commented while looking at her dirty nails.

Thomas understood that he had already messed up before they even began the conversation. He forced himself to swallow his saliva, his throat tight with fear.

He wasn't even sure why he was afraid. He once, or twice based on their past before the Maze, knew the girl in front of him. Hell, they were dating - or dated for the matter. But, the girl before him wasn't the girl he fell for. Yes, she held similarities such as the leadership skills and sarcasm, but overall, she had changed.

Thomas took another deep breath and began to explain about everything - from the Maze to what Rat Man had told them. He often searched her face for any telltale signs of confusion or recognition. But nothing was found.

He had left out Teresa, along with their (his and Amelia's) relationship.

"So there must be something special about us. They can't be doing this just to be nasty. What'd be the point?" Thomas concluded.

"Speaking of points," Amelia responded for the first time in at least ten minutes, Thomas hadn't realised that the allotted time was already gone. "What's yours?"