Work Text:
6 years before Maze Runner
8 years before Hills of Sand
“Awi! Get back here!” an eight-year-old girl ran down the facility's halls. A seven-year-old girl was chasing her and giggling.
“Can’t catch me, Nat!” Awinita looked back at her pursuer, not noticing the person standing in her way. She ran into their legs and fell flat on her butt. Natalia came to a stop right behind her and looked up at the person with slight fear. Awinita also looked up and quickly jumped to her feet when the face registered in her mind. Assistant Director Janson (who all the children in the facility liked to call Rat Man behind his back) stood there, hands on his hips, glaring down at the young girls.
“Zeta Two, Zeta Four. What do you think you two are doing outside of your assigned area?” he demanded
“We, um…” Natalia tried to explain.
“You see…” Awinita also tried.
“I suggest you come up with a good reason before I do something I’ll regret.”
The girls froze for a moment trying to think, before their savior came around the corner. A ten-year-old Thomas came around the corner with two other boys the girls didn’t recognize. He was confused as to what the girls were doing here, but his eyes grew wide when he saw Janson towering over them. Rushing over to them, the other boys following, Thomas saved them. “Did Cara’s cramps get really bad again?”
“Um.. yeah!” Awintia played along. While Cara was suffering no intense pain, she had taken a bad hit on her thigh during training earlier that week and was still a little sore. No harm in playing up an injury that Janson cared so little about anyways. “She sent us to find you or Teressa. Whoever we found first.”
“Okay. Sorry, Janson! Got to go.” Thomas motioned for the girls to run back the way they came, and mentioned for the other two boys to follow them. Once out of Janson's sight, everyone came to a stop. Thomas got on his knees in front of the girls and took their hands. “Now, why are you here? You know you’ll get in trouble if you leave your area without approval or a chaperone.”
“We were playing tag, and must’ve gotten lost.” Natalia looked down.
“I hate Rat Man,” Awinita said confidently.
“Everyone does Awi.” Thomas laughed. “Okay, that’s a valid reason, but please pay more attention to where you are? Not only could you get in trouble, but it’ll also help you on missions.”
The girls nodded before one of the other two boys spoke up. “Bloody heck, Tommy. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re their father.”
"Oh shut it Newt." Thomas rolled his eyes. "Awinita, Natalia, these are my friends. Minho and Newt."
"Hi!" The two girls waved. The boys waved back.
"So these are half of that secret project Jason has you and Teresa on?" Minho asked.
"Yeah." Thomas shrugged. "Though you all still have to promise not to tell."
"Tommy, you're talking to two people with a penchant for secrets." Newt chuckled. "We won't tell."
After a minute of thought, Newt corrected himself. "Well, I won't. Don't know about Minho."
"Hey!" Minho exclaimed.
Thomas shook his head with a laugh. Awinta and Natalia joined in, their giggles prompting Newt and Minho to join in. Thomas stood up and took the girls' hands in his. "Let's get you back to where you're supposed to be. I've been wanting to introduce you guys, Jay, and Cara to Newt and Minho for a while now."
"Okay!" The two girls smiled. Thomas turned and led them down the hall, his two friends walking at his side, and the five children started their way to the rec area.
***
"There you two are!" Jay and Cara came running up to the group as they entered the section.
"Where have you been?" Cara hugged the two girls. Although there was only a one-year age gap between the four of them, Jay and Cara had taken on somewhat parental roles. Thomas and Teressa were very happy about it. Even though they were the ones in charge of the project, they had trouble trying to split time between these four and their other duties with WCKD.
"We were playing tag, but weren't paying attention to where we were," Awinita said. Natalia nodded.
"Thomas, Newt, and Minho saved us from the Rat Man." She smiled.
Jay and Cara looked up at the three boys. "Thank you. He's always had it out for us more than the other kids"
"Yeah," Natalia nodded again. "I hate him."
Cara hugged her two friends closer. "I'm not surprised."
"Why doesn't Janson like you?" Newt asked. "I thought he helped pick you?"
"Janson could suggest picks, but the choice was ultimately up to me and Teressa," Thomas explained. "In his mind, we picked the least qualified for the job."
"But, that just means their easier to train, because we can start from the basics instead of trying to build on already existing unknown knowledge." Teressa came around the corner with a smile. Minho, Newt, and Thomas all waved while Awintia and Natalia hugged the girl. "I'm guessing these two caused trouble?"
"Well..." Cara looked at Awinita and Natalia.
"We didn't cause it, but we did run into it," Awinita smirked.
Teressa sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I swear, one of these days I'm going to go gray from stress." She opened her eyes and looked at the three boys.
"You're our age." Minho sassed. Teressa rolled her eyes. She pulled a USB plug out of her pocket. Jay, Cara, Awinita, and Natalia recognized it and slumped.
"We had one three days ago!" Cara protested.
"Can't it wait?" Jay asked.
"Sorry guys," Thomas shrugged, recognizing it as well. "If you have a mission, you have to do it."
The four children groaned. They looked back at the other four. "Guess we'll see you guys tomorrow," Jay said, giving Thomas and Teressa a hug. Cara took the USB from Teressa.
"Come on guys let's go." All four children rushed down the hall leaving Teressa, Thomas, Newt, and Minho to watch them.
"I'm proud of what we've done with them." Thomas smiled.
"You should be. From what we've overheard from Rat Man, they've done a lot of good for WCKD." Minho said.
Newt chuckled. "Yeah, he doesn't like that they're better than he is."
Thomas shook his head. "They're too good for WCKD." He thought about the project for a second. "I'm going to miss them once Janson decides to put me in a Maze, but I'm sure they'll be fine."
"Come on, Tommy," Newt said with a smirk. "Let's go back. Before Janson gets mad about us being here too long."
"I promise I won't tell anybody." Minho held up his pinky finger. Everyone laughed as Thomas intertwined it with his own. With that, they left, leaving Jay, Cara, Awinita, and Natalia to fulfill their mission.