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“Do you regret it? What you did to us?”
Teresa’s face showed sorrow, seeped it in every pore. “Sometimes. But I would do it again.”
“Good.” And he turned away from her, and a hand covered Teresa’s mouth and she fell asleep in the plaza.
She woke up in a cathedral. Thomas, Gally, Fry, and shockingly, Newt and Brenda. Gally walked forward and yet she looked at Newt, who was sitting right behind Thomas, she saw him guarding his arm. If Brenda was alive… Newt could be safe.
“Don’t look at him!” Gally sat a chair in front of her, startling her, “Thomas won’t help you.”
She tilted her head, “Thomas?” Gally went to say something. Did he not know? She spoke louder and before him, “Let me speak. Yeah. I hate WCKD, but I’m trying to make a cure.”
“But you’d let your friends di-“
The strong ruthless facade broke, She was done hurting those she loved, “GALLY. Am I the only one that has memories! I thought the Swipe was removed for AWOL subjects.” She yanked on the bonds holding her to the chair, “The reason Thomas didn’t disrupt everything before he did was because someone isn’t immune. That’s why I’m fighting so hard. So would you shut up, Gally!”
Newt got up and walked forward, “Teresa…”
Thomas looked between the two, betrayed again, she had her memories. None of them had theirs.
“I remember some things.” Well apparently Newt had memories god damn.
She remembered a boy, opening her door, greeting her and pulling her out of her room in the dead of night with a smile that could put shine the sun, she’d watched it fade. She gasped, “Newt. We tried so hard to protect you from the virus. I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry that I told Paige the plan.” Teresa started to cry, tears shed repressed for years. “Thomas saw you..” she choked, “he saw the fall. And he showed me, and he began to plan to get you out. You falling and Chuck entering the Maze broke Thomas. We had to get everyone out to Alaska, meet up with Gally’s cousin, but I told her.”
Brenda walked to Teresa, calming her with a warm presence, “I saw you when Mary made the serum for me. If I’ve been alive, and healing by the way. Lawrence never healed. Do you think you could replicate it?” She placed a hand on Teresa’s shoulder. Going down to her knees, she looked into the blue eyes, “You think you can do what you wanted to do as a kid, save him from the Flare?”
All the boys involved felt a shift in the air, and looked away. Thomas coughed, “Well, if were getting that cure, you’re going to need Newt and I. And you can get some of my blood to create a cure and do whatever you want with it, but we need Minho.”
“Of course. I think he was planning to leave anyway.” She laughed brokenly, “Stole my bobby pin, spoke to me. Now he has a weapon.”
Gally pulled away from the chair and walked over to Newt, “Alright, get these fucking trackers out and lets save a friend and ourselves.”
Teresa was escorted by Thomas, Newt and Gally, walking through the WCKD facility. They rounded a corner to the stairwell, Newt and Gally ripping off their helmets, “Alright, one second, let me hook this up…” the ragged breaths from Newt filled the silence, leaning against a guard rail heavily, and coughing wet, phlegmy coughs. “And green light! Let’s go.” Newt nodded weakly and the two put the helmets back on.
“Let’s hurry, he should be in his bunk.” She drew out a map and had Thomas and Gally take the lead, asking questions at certain places quietly. She pulled up the rear with Newt, “You okay?”
Newt laughed dryly, “Am I ever okay?” She gave him a warning look, “Alright, I know what you mean. It’s quickening up. It’s hard, you know.”
“Yeah. We will split up. Thomas and you come with me to the lab, and Gal to the bunks. And we have the walkies, incase shit goes down.” She patted his back softly, “What do you remember?”
Newt scrunched his eyebrows, mouth slightly open, she could just imagine the familiar sight from under the helmet, “Ah, being alone for a few years, then meeting the boys, then grabbing you and Tommy, and my sister. Going outside and all the yelling about making sure I wasn’t infected.” He paused, “Being bestfriends with you and Tommy. Minho punching Gally.” Teresa chuckled into her hand, as Gally sputtered in front of them ‘he fucked up my nose!’ “Planning to escape, my last night, feeling so goddamn heart broken when you two didn’t come with us.” He looked over to her, the black helmet looking her down, “How about you?”
She froze for a second. “I never forgot.”
Teresa saw all three boys tense up. And silence filled the air. They continued down the corridors.
“So Brenda will meet you downstairs, and Fry is in the air watching over us, walkie if you have trouble, and tell us when you get him and the others.”
“Gotcha. See you, Greenie.”
Thomas and Gally shared a smile, “See you, Captain.”
They reached Teresa’s lab and locked the door behind them, Thomas sitting on a chair, Newt standing behind.
Thomas spoke as Teresa gathered supplies, “So, while you work your magic, care explaining to me what my plan was, how you knew Newt was not immune, and what the hell you meant by you never forgot?”
She sighed, looking up at the two boys. Boys. That’s what they were, not even 20 and they had all gone through so much suffering, that they had caused. Thomas stripped off the armor and only wearing a T-shirt, while Newt had the lower layer of the uniform on. Both looking at her with anger, more in Newt’s face, and that was reasonable. She slid over to Thomas and stuck the needle in to him, drawing blood, “Squeeze the ball, makes it less painful. Redirects attention. We learned as kids that Newt isn’t immune. The top four, Aris, Rachel, myself, and you, Thomas, were the Creators of Maze. Well, we helped build it. We didn’t design it.” She pulled away, watching the bag fill with blood, and walking to the desk to ready the solution, a chemical copy of what Mary used, she stole a vial before the call. “You remember that from the griever sting.” She mixed the solution, “We sent up a kid once a month after the initial thirty, and it was what we worked on. Until the grievers started attacking. You monitored the maze every second you could, Chuck was your assistant in a way. Helped you keep notes right.” She looked up from the blue fluid, “Those in the swipe sometimes remember, unconsciously, things, like names or feelings attached to people, like the nickname Tommy, or how you allow me to use Tom, you both remember those nicknames, that’s why it feels natural. Chuck was supposed to be Charles,” she smiled softly at the memory, “Thomas,” she looked straight at Newt, “I kid you not, told him that was lame.” She was relieved when Newt cracked a grin, “So, he said to go by Chuck instead. He remembered that. The glader slang, originally was Minho teasing the guards with nonsense words to make them think they were curses. We had an outbreak. The higher ups got the flare somehow, only later I was told that Ava Paige infected them. They were going to stop after the maze, keep the subjects safe afterwards, they had a home set up for the subjects already. She didn’t like that. With the infected guys running around, Thomas was so frightened. The maze was just underneath the compound, what if it had reached you. All his other friends were safe, but you…” She sat down, waiting for the blood to collect, “We killed them. Came back to the monitors, and you were limping. I found Thomas sobbing in the watch room. He said he couldn’t take it anymore. I was brainwashed by Ava Paige worshiping the cause. So I told her his plan to convince her to let us in with our memories as a Variable, but he was going to set you free. And I went in after he did, with my memory intact.”
She ended her explanation, and heard Newt whisper, “She’s right about stuff before the Maze, I know that’s fact. But god, Tommy, you broke down because of me?” He nudged him with a hand on his shoulder, the two sharing a sad smile, and Teresa saw the veins inching across his skin to his fingers.
“Alright, that’s enough blood, let’s fix you up.” She quickly walked forward and disconnected the bag and tubing, “Newt, while I mix up the solution, take the needle out and please don’t stab him.” She passed him a bag of chips, not realizing that they don’t remember a world with bags of chips.
“I’m not Gone yet, Teresa.”
“Eh, still he’s stabable. Thomas eat, it will help with the blood loss.”
The two worked, Teresa catching glances at Newt and Thomas’ soft looks at each other, she was happy for them.
The walkie buzzed, “Teresa, check the records. I got the kids all out, but there’s no sign of Minho-“ then a crash banged through the hall, Thomas and Newt jumping and rushing to the door, and what looked similarly to the Hulk rushed past.
She smiled, and finished the mixture, the two boys screaming ‘Minho!’ And a rush of bodies, she saw through the window, a hug. She felt full, knowing she could maybe be redeemed.
She waited a bit hearing, ‘This is real.’ And feeling pain and guilt flood her body, then small quips of laughter, and she could see the physical effect of the flare quicken, and Minho noticing.
She couldn’t let these three ever be separated again.
“Newt. It’s ready.” She spoke out, watching the boys turn to her, and Newt walking back in. “I haven’t tried this formula, but. It worked on Brenda.”
“Damn right it did.” Thomas threw back, she looked up, giving him a questioning look and leading Newt to her chair, so he wouldn’t fall when the serum ultimately would relax his whole body.
She looked in to Newt’s eyes, needle at the base of infection, his right arm. “I made three doses. One for now, in your arm, one for anyone who needs it wherever you’re going, and one I can study.”
“Teresa, you can come with us. We’re going to an island. You’re risking your life for mine, I say, as bloody second in command, that you can come.” Newt looked back into her eyes, hissing as the injection went in. She mouthed a thank you and pulled away.
Then his body went a little limp, “Woah. Teresa, is this normal? I kinda can’t move, feels like… well I don’t know what it feels like.”
She nodded, smiling, “It’s working! That happened with Brenda! It relaxes the body, starting the healing process. Sam! You’re going to be okay!”
She watched the confusion flash on his face. “Fuck.”
“Teresa,” he spoke softly, “Is that my name? I only know Sonya’s name.” She nodded softly and felt a hand on her shoulder. She stood up, turning and facing Minho and Thomas.
The two tackled her in a hug, both whispering thank yous. She then realized just how deep these three were. Then the alarms started blaring.
The walkie buzzed, “Uh, you guys alive up there, we have a problem.”
“Is that Gally? I thought…”
“So did we.” Thomas pulled out the walkie, pressing the button, “We’re here. We have Min, Newt is safe. We have an extra cure as well. Only problem, Newt can’t really walk. The cure stops large conscience movement for a bit to start attacking the virus, so any ideas?”
Teresa lifted a finger, “We can get to the roof and if you have a Berg, which I expect with this level of rescue, we can just have Newt on a wheelchair.”
“Oh, I’m good with that, have you guys do all the work. That’s be nice.”
The walkie buzzed again, “Alright, I will get Brenda and co. to get it up here. Vince actually just showed up with a Berg not too long ago, so you’re in luck.” It buzzed out.
Teresa spun into action, “Alright, let’s go then. Unless you want to see Janson.” She smirked and felt the world brighten.
Minho was pushing Newt down the corridors while Thomas kept look out and Teresa lead the way. If you had asked anyone of them if they imagined this happening while they were in the maze, they probably would of laughed about Gally’s recipe.
Teresa stopped at large metal doors. “Well, shit. Stairs. Elevator is on lock down, Tom, can you carry Newt?”
“Of course I can.” Newt laughed and glanced at Minho to share a joke with in eyes, “Oh my god, I swear you both will be the end of me.”
Teresa enjoyed their little reunion, but they needed to move. “Cute, come on lover boys, let’s get up.”
Once they were all safely in the Berg, Janson burst through the roofs doors, and Thomas flipped him off as the flew away, causing laughter to fill the aircraft. They were free.
Paradise was actually wonderful. Teresa got to talk to Brenda more on the boat ride there and realized, holy shit, girls are pretty.
Newt and Sonya reunited and those who were AWOL could feel the Swipe slipping, fading away. Minho and Newt bugged Thomas by calling him Stevie, and Newt was called Sammy by the two leaders in an adoration that they surrounded themselves in. And Newt and Thomas yelling Daeddy was hilarious to witness as Minho ran screaming in the other direction.
Gally made his recipe and the land was prosperous. Full of love and happiness. They mourned for those long gone, but they also upheld their legacy.
Thomas made a huge speech about that fact, after Vince made one about the rock, a speech that spoke of words he heard once by his closest friends, that everyone was proud of where they landed, that even if they couldn’t get to Paradise, that they were watching and waiting for our old wrinkly asses in True Paradise.