Trials Together (Book Three): The Death Cure

Chapter 5

Minho started to say something to Harriet, sounding angry and glaring at Teresa in particular.

What were they supposed to tell them? Most of the Gladers didn't look at them but the few that did did so with veiled hatred. They had put them through the Swipe, the Box, the Maze, of course they would hate them.

It was Frypan who got up and came over to them first.

"I don't blame you." His voice wasn't as confident as it usually was. "I mean, did any of us ever have a choice, no matter what they made it seem like." The cook was definitely right, they had been manipulated since they came here and out of a hundred and twenty subjects over a hundred had been under WICKED's care by their sixth birthday. They had no understanding of real freedom so whenever a crack was left for them to slip through they would scramble to it. Straight into trap after trap.

"Thanks." Teresa said sincerely, turning to Thomas and the others. "What do we do?" That Thomas didn't know. Harriet had been an ally throughout the Trials, but she could well blame them for Alby's death. Minho was incensed and after being tortured by a Griever he had had serious anger issues he didn't want to be in the way of. Miyoko had the Flare now and was going to be unstable, and Minho would side with her.

Of their childhood friends Newt and Sonya could well be the best bet.

"We go talk to Sonya and Newt." The idea cemented itself in Thomas's mind when the words left his lips, fire Janson slipped a rung down on the priority list.

Thomas stood, Teresa following him, Aris and Rachel were conversing in whispers, glancing about the room.

"What do you want?" Sonya sounded angrier than Thomas had ever known her, he tried to take solace in the fact that Newt was the calmer one, even if he could still be a loose cannon.

"To see if you'll still talk to us." Teresa sat opposite Harriet, who looked on the verge of tears, many Gladers were crying, again mourning dead friends now they could really remember everything they had meant to them.

They could never be the children they had once been again, or the ignorant Gladers, now they were entirely new people, a conglomeration of identities. They were new now, and they could - would - be better than they had ever been.

"Yes, most of these shanks are pissed at WICKED. Quite rightly. To them you represent that." Of course Newt's words made sense, it had been decided that having people their own age prep the subjects would make them more compliant. "You just need to convince them you're not like Rat Man and all the rest." The older boy then turned to his sister, as Thomas now remembered Sonya was. She had been rolling her eyes the whole time and looked supremely unimpressed

"Lizzy. Try be nice, and if you can't do that go talk to Harriet."

"I'm fine, and I'm with Newt. WICKED's the enemy." Harriet sounded as strong as usual, "I've got Miyoko persuading Minho."

That sounded good to Thomas, he knew they didn't have long until Janson returned.

"Can you try convince the others." He gestured to the room at large, aware that several people were listening in. "That we're on your side."

"I think that'll work." Newt smiled, "we need to get out of here now. Before they think of something else to do to us."

If they stayed with WICKED they would never be free. So they had to get out. Jorge had a Berg, Thomas remembered, moving Interrogate Jorge and Brenda up the list that now read:

Interrogate Jorge and Brenda. Fire Janson, preferably get him all the way out of WICKED.Get some answers from Chancellor Paige.Find how close they actually are to a Cure.Have a long, long talk with Teresa. Rachel and Aris too but particularly Teresa. Last night didn't cover all of it.