When Everything Comes Crashing Down TW/TMR

X

"It's not working," Minho said suddenly. Thomas glanced over at his friend. They'd been running for a while, stopping at each numbered section regardless if it was open or not. Lydia had kept up with them without complaining, but the pink tint in her cheeks told Thomas that she was tired. "There's no beeping, number, or anything that would give us a clue of what to do!"

"Can I see it?" Lydia asked. The trio stopped. Minho gave Thomas an incredulous look. Thomas shrugged, so Minho handed Lydia the capsule. "This is a Maze. Why are mazes created?" Thomas didn't have the heart to tell her that he was the creator.

"To be solved," Minho replied.

"Last time, you pieced together an escape route based off of the clues WICKED gave you. Maybe this time, we have to use different clues in order to find a way out," she said.

"They planned for us to escape last time. Who says they want us to get out again?" Minho asked.

"We don't know. But we will escape," Lydia promised. Thomas realized a lot of people had made him promises lately.  Lydia, when she had said that everything was okay. Scott, when he promised that he'd help get Thomas's memories back. Lydia again, when she promised that they'd escape. And then, he remembered the unspoken vow between him, Newt, and Minho to bring down WICKED. Then, all Thomas could picture was himself killing Newt.

"Thomas?" Lydia asked. He couldn't remember when she switched from calling him Stiles to Thomas, but he was glad for it.

"Black ooze," he whispered to himself. An image popped in his head of himself attempting to cut off an arm filled wit black veins. The arm seemingly belonged to one of the men that he helped out of the Box. Then, the image changed to show the very same black ooze, or in this case, blood, leaking from Scott.

"Stiles?" Lydia had put her hand on his cheek. He blinked, setting his gaze on her green eyes.

"I need to talk to Scott," Thomas told her.

"You remembered something?" she asked, hope shining in her eyes.

"Not exactly," he said, pulling away. She lowered her arm, hurt briefly flashing across her face before she hid it. For a second, Thomas was angry with himself that he was the reason she was hurt, but then he reminded himself that he barely knew her. "Minho, I doubt that we'll find anything-" Thomas trailed off.

He was alone in a white space that seemed to stretch on forever in every direction. Lydia and Minho were nowhere to be seen. He could faintly hear them calling him name, but they got quieter and quieter each time until he was enveloped in complete silence.

"Hello Thomas," a woman called. Thomas blinked, and suddenly he saw a woman standing before him. She was incredibly thin, with chin length black hair, silver heels, and dark eyes.

"Where am I?" he asked. She smiled, but it didn't make Thomas any less uncomfortable.

"My name is Evelyn. I'm Director Ava Paige's replacement. You may have heard of her?" she said, stepping closer to him. "I can see why she adored you." She reached out her hand, but Thomas quickly stepped back, causing her to frown.

"Why are we back in the Maze? You claim to be good, but then you lie about the end of the world and treat us like some circus freaks," Thomas spat out.

"We know you're the cure Thomas," Evelyn said bluntly. Thomas stiffened. "Teresa was very, forthcoming, once we reached her breaking point."

"What did you do to her?" Thomas growled.

"Ah, young love," Evelyn smiled thinly. She stepped closer. "Although, I wonder what Miss Martin would have to say about that." Fuming, Thomas didn't respond.

"You're the cure, Thomas. You can save millions by willingly donating your blood to our cause."

"For what?"

"You may not remember, but Beacon Hills had a problem. You saw your file. How often do you think murders happen in a small town like that?" She paused. "Because the amount of time you spent solving crimes with your buddy Scott would account for much more murders than usual."

"You stole that from me. You took me from my friends, from my family, and from my girlfriend," he seethed.

"But it's coming back, isn't it?" Evelyn smiled. "WICKED is good. We simply wiped your mind to free you of your memories so you can make an unbiased opinion. Our goal is to save lives, not ruin them."

"But what about the Gladers, huh? Are they just pawns to you?"

"Before we knew which one of you was the cure, they were possible candidates. Now, they're...leverage. We want your help willingly."

"Leverage?" Thomas approached Evelyn, but she didn't flinch at hs sudden closeness.

"Devote yourself to our cause, and we'll let them go," she replied. "But as for your other friends, I'm afraid they're part of the problem. Just ask Scott."

"No," Thomas said firmly. He opened his mouth to talk, but she cut him off.

"I'll contact you soon. For now, consider your options."  Thomas blinked, and suddenly he was somewhere else. Not the white space or even the Maze, but rather the Infirmary back in the Glade.

Lydia was on her knees, resting her head upon the empty bed space beside his leg. Her cold hand was gripping his as if she was afraid to let go. He glanced around the room, but it seemed to be just the two of them.

Thomas sat up carefully, to not wake Lydia, but she stirred anyway. For a moment he was speechless, forgetting the reason why he was getting up in the first place.

"Stiles?" she asked groggily, blinking a few times to wake herself up. Then, "Thomas!" She stood, before hugging him tightly. "You-you just collapsed in the Maze. Minho and I carried you back here, but you wouldn't wake up-What happened?"

"I-I need to talk to Scott," Thomas said, standing. Lydia frowned.

"Thomas, you need to rest. You were out for a day. What happens if you collapse again, or worse?" she said firmly. He shook his head and took a step forward. "We can get Scott to come to you."

"No, I need to talk to him now," he said firmly. Lydia didn't budge, her green eyes boring into his. For a moment, Thomas wanted to lay back down and hold her hand, but Evelyn's words kept echoing in his head.

"Rest."

"No, Lydia," Thomas said. "Look, I know you seem to know me from years ago, but I'm not that same person. I have a different name, and I don't remember anything I may have gone through in order for your words to make me want to lay back down. But here, I don't know you, and right now I need to talk to Scott."

Lydia looked crestfallen, but Thomas pushed past her anyways and made a beeline for where he knew Newt, and hopefully Scott, to be.