|We were just two kids thrown into the flames, we would never ever be the same

|Song: Art of war, We the kings

|||

Lisa's P.O.V.

Suddenly it was hard to breathe. While trying not to let the panic get the best of me I bit my lip, then turned around. We all stared in silence at Newt, waiting for his reaction. A weird grimace appeared on his face like he was trying to smile but couldn't. 'Slim yourselves,' he suddenly spoke. 'Slim myself? That old shank just said you're not immune to the Flare. How can you-' 'I'm not worried about the bloody Flare, man,' Newt interrupted Thomas. 'I never thought I'd still be alive at this buggin' point and living hasn't exactly been so great anyway.'

I couldn't tell if he was being serious, because the forced smile still hadn't left his face. It wasn't until Dawn gave him a hug that a pained frown appeared on his face.
'If you're cool with slowly going crazy and wanting to eat small children, then I guess we won't cry for you,' Thomas said once Dawn had released Newt.
'Good that,' the blond boy replied..
'Would you shanks stop trying to pretend this is funny,' I snapped.
They all turned to me, suddenly looking worried.
Taking a deep breath again I fought to find the right words. Opening my mouth, then closing it again I found myself unable to do anything.
Suddenly Newt walked forward and pulled me into a hug.
I froze by his sudden action but then slowly eased into his embrace. 'I'm sorry,' I whispered, my voice breaking and I hated myself for it.
'Don't be,' the Glader responded.

'I wanted to get that out of the way,' Ratman said.
Newt released me and we all turned to look at the man.
Dawn came standing next to me and gave me a weak smile. I took her hand, pinching her slightly to let her know I was here.
'Mainly so I could tell you myself and remind you that the whole point of this operation has been to build toward a cure. Most of you not immune are in the early stages of the Flare and I have confidence that you'll be taken care of before it goes too far. But the Trials required your participation,' Janson continued.

'And what if you don't figure things out?' Minho asked, voicing my thoughts.
Ratman ignored him and walked over to the closest bed. He reached out and took the metal mask. Then he started to explain how it all worked but my thoughts drifted away.
I wasn't going to do it anyway, not that I had a say in the matter. I took a shaky breathe. A part of me had never believed in a cure but now I couldn't help it but to hope that maybe something useful had come out of all those torturing, haunting moments. And I hated myself for even hoping it.

'...There are more rooms like these. I will call the names of those who will stay here,' Ratman said, breaking through my thoughts. He called a few names and no one said they didn't want it. So he nodded to them and gestured for the rest of us to follow him out of the room.

'Ah man,' Frypan's voice suddenly sounded from behind me as we crossed the halls. 'We can't let them put those things on our face, can we? I'd just be happy back in my kitchen in the Homestead, I swear I would.' 'You forget about the Grievers?' Newt asked.
Frypan paused a second, then said, 'They never messed with me in the kitchen, now, did they?'
I couldn't hold back a small smirk appearing on my face.
'Yeah, well, we'll just have to find you a new place to cook,' Newt said before grabbing Thomas, Minho, Dawn and me and pulling us away from the group.

We walked just a few feet behind them. 'I've heard enough bloody arguments. I'm not getting on one of those beds,' Newt whispered.
Minho reached over and squeezed his shoulder. 'Me neither, man.'
I nodded firmly, I might as well pretend I had a say in the matter. Maybe that way Ratman his true intentions would become clear. 'I'm with you guys.'
'So am I,' Dawn said, a strange tone in her voice that I couldn't place.
'Same here,' Thomas said, 'we'll stick around, play along and act nice, but as soon as we get a chance, we're going to fight our way out of this place.'

Dawn and I shared a glare, both of our worries and fears reflected in each others eyes.

The group stopped before another steel door. Ratman read a few names off his list, this time Newt and Frypan were included.
'I'm not doing it,' Newt said. 'You said we could choose and that's my bloody decision.'
'That's fine,' Janson simply replied. 'You'll change your mind soon enough. Stay with me until we've finished distributing everyone else.' 'What about Frypan?' Thomas asked.
I turned to look at the cook who suddenly stared sheepishly at us. 'I...think I'm going to let them do it,' he mumbled.
Shock filled me as I stared at the boy who I'd known since as long as I could remember. This was not something I'd expected him to say.
'Are you crazy?' Minho and I said at the same time.
Frypan shook his head and looked suddenly a little defensively. 'I want to remember. Make you choice, let me make mine.'
'Alright, let's move along,' Ratman called.
Frypan disappeared in the room alongside the others.
Sighing I followed the others, the sudden feeling of a hole in my heart appeared.

Ratman didn't call for Minho, Thomas or me until the very last room. So far Newt had been the only to say no to the whole thing.
'No thanks,' Minho said when Ratman gesturd for everyone to enter the room. 'But I appreciate the invitation. You guys have a good time in there.' He gave a mock wave to the Gladers and girls.
'You can cross me off your list as well, no way I'm putting that thing on my face,' I announced, keeping up the act while giving Ratman an icy glare. He stared back at me but didn't respond.
'I'm not doing it either,' Thomas said. Ratman stared at Thomas for a long time, too long for it to be about nothing. 'You okay there, Mr Ratman?' Minho asked.
'My name is Assistant Director Janson,' he replied, his voice low and strained, as if he was working hard to keep it so calm. 'Learn to show respect for your elders.'
'You quit treating people like animals and maybe I'll consider it,' Minho said.
Ratman stood straighter, as if making a sudden decision. 'But very well. We said you could choose for yourselves and we'll stand by that. Everyone come inside and we'll get things started with those willing to participate.'

We followed Ratman into the room. Even though my whole body was protesting. The room looked exactly the same as the first one we had entered. Except for the people in green doctors clothes standing next to the beds. I caught one of the gazes of the doctors and my breath stopped, it was Brenda.
She gave me a small nod and before I could even process what was happening she ran forwards and pulled Thomas into a tight hug. 'Brenda! What are you doing!' Ratman yelled at her. 'Get back to your post!'
I frowned at the couple when I saw Brenda's lips moving. She was whispering something to Thomas. Then she released him. 'Sorry,' she mumbled, 'I'm just glad to see he made it through Phase Three. I forgot myself.' She walked back to her post, her face completely blank.

Janson scolded at her. 'We hardly have time for such things.'
My mind was racing. How did she end up here? Wasn't she sick? Was this just another test?
I noticed Teresa whispering to Thomas and his annoyed expression. The ridiculious thought of Teresa being jealous almost made me laugh. Then she stepped away from him and walked towards Janson, awaiting the instructions.
Thomas looked over his shoulder at us, then glanced at the door.
I knew he wanted to escape, and to be honest I wanted nothing more than to go with him. But if I did, people would get hurt, badly. And I just couldn't risk that.

Ratman walked up towards us, taking me out of my thoughts. 'You five rebels are being watched. Don't even think about trying anything. Armed guards are on their way as we speak.' Then he turned to talk to the doctors.

'That's a bunch of klunk,' Minho whispered.
'What would they need armed guards for?' I asked, voicing the worries that became bigger inside my head with each passing second. The others looked with the same desperation at me.
'I think we should take our chances, see what happens,' Minho spoke but that idea was tossed away quickly when the sound of rushing footsteps came from the hallway.

Three men and two women burst into the room, all of them dressed in black. They were holding some sort of bulky weapon. The devices shimmering with blue light, it was almost like they were alive. Slightly vibrating, breathing with electricity.

I immediately knew we had lost our chance. We were hopelessly defenseless, escpecially against those weapons. The guards pointed them at us and I felt my hands getting sweaty.

'We waited too bloody long,' Newt snapped in a low, harsh whisper.

'They would've caught us out there anyway,' Thomas answered quietly, 'just be patient.'

Janson walked over to stand beside the guards. He pointed at one of the weapons. 'These are called Launchers. These guards will not hesitate to fire them if any of you cause trouble. The weapons won't kill you, but trust me when I say that they'll give you the most uncomfortable five minutes of your life.'

'What's going on?' Thomas spoke up, 'you told us we could make our own choice. So why the sudden army?' 'Because I don't trust you,' Janson simply said, 'we hoped you would do things voluntarily once your memories were back. It would just make things easier. But I never said we don't still need you.'
'What a surprise,' Minho said. 'You lied again.'
'I haven't lied about a thing. You made your decision, now live with the consequences,' Janson pointed at the door. 'Guards escort Thomas and the others to their rooms, where they can dwell on their mistakes until tomorrow morning's test. Use whatever force is necessary.'

Hatred burned like a hot flame inside of me as I narrowed at Janson.
He simply ignored me as he nodded ar the guards and then walked away.

The two female guards both pointed their guns at Dawn and me.
The men grabbed the boys by their arms and took them outside.
The women gestured for us to follow.
I had no idea what we could do to stop this, we were still doing exactly what Wicked wanted.
When the door of the room closed behind us, the struggle began.

Minho his guard had to half drag him across the floor and Newt was right behind him, struggling to no avail. Dawn was trying to push her way out of the arms of the female guard who had grabbed her.

I, on the other hand, did nothing. We weren't getting out of here, that much was clear to me by now.

Our little group stopped before a door and we were all pushed inside.
I frowned angry at the female guard who pushed me way harder than necessary.
'I suggest you all get some sleep, testing starts tomorrow. Food will be brought soon, be glad we don't starve you,' one of the guards snapped.

I turned around with a sigh and watched the room, five bunk beds a kitchenette with a table and chairs in the far corner. I raised my eyebrows in surprise, this was not what I had been expecting.
The three men pushed the Gladers inside and closed the door, a click of the lock echoed through the air.
A shiver went down my spine at the sound but I didn't move.

'I guess we missed our chance,' Minho said, sitting down on one of the beds, 'we'll be old men or dead before your magical moment comes rolling along, Thomas. It's not like they're gonna make an annoucement. We've gotta take some chances.' 

Thomas sighed and sat down on one of the beds as well.
Newt and Dawn sat down next to him and I joined Minho.
'Sorry, it just didn't feel right yet. And once they had all those weapons in our faces it seemed kind of pointless to waste the effort trying anything,' Thomas responded.
'Yeah, well,' Minho simply said.

'You and Brenda had a little reunion,' I mumbled.
Thomas took a deep breath. 'She said something.'
Minho sat straighter on the bed. 'What do you mean she said something?'
'She told me not to trust them, only to trust her and someone named Chancellor Paige.'

'Well, what's the buggin' deal anyway?' Newt asked. 'She works for Wicked? What, was she just a bloody actress down in the Scorch?'
'Yeah, sounds like she is no different than the rest of them,' Minho added. Thomas didn't respond.
I just bit my lip but Dawn shook her head. 'No, there is something different about her. Of course we know we can't trust Wicked but no one ever really warned us about them. She did, that must mean something.'
'Look, I used to work for them, too, but you trust me, right? It doesn't mean anything. Maybe she had no choice, maybe she's changed. I don't know,' Thomas added.
Minho squinted as if he was thinking but didn't respond.
Newt just folded his arms, pouting like a little kid.
We all fell silent and I felt like screaming. Questions were never being answered, the end never seemed to be near and I was getting so tired of it.

The silence was broken by the door opening and the female guard entered. She was carrying plates with pork chops and potatoes. She left without saying a word.
We attacked the food, the words of our conversation still echoeing through the room.
Minho was the first one to speak after we had eaten the food. 'Maybe we should just give in to those shuck-faces. Do what they want. One day we'll sit around, fat and happy.'
I couldn't believe my ears, he wasn't being serious was he? But by seeing the look on his face I knew he didn't mean a word of it.
'Yeah, maybe you can find a nice pretty girl who works here, settle down, get married and have kids. Just in time for the world to end in a sea of lunatics,' Thomas said.
And Minho kept at it. 'Wicked's going to figure out this blueprint business and we'll all live happily ever after.'

'That's not even funny,' Newt said grumpily. 'Even if they did find a cure, you saw it out there in the Scorch. It's gonna be a buggin' long time before the world can ever get back to normal. Even if it can, we'll never see it.'
'Well, that's depressing,' I mumbled.

'After everything they have done to us, I just don't believe any of it,' Thomas said, 'that Janson guy thinks he has it all figured out. He thinks it all comes down to some sort of greater good. Let the human race kick the bucket, or do awful things and save it. Even the few who are immune probably wouldn't last long in a world where nighty-nine-point-nine percent of people turn into psycho monsters.'

'What's your point?' Minho asked.

'My point is that before they swiped my memories, I think I used to buy all that klunk. But not anymore,' Thomas finished.
'Then let's not waste our next chance, Tommy,' Newt said.
'Tomorrow,' I added.
'Somehow, some way.' Thomas gave each of us a long look.
'Okay,' Newt yawned. 'Then we better quit yapping and get some buggin' sleep.'

Thomas and Minho took the two beds on top.
Newt and Dawn crawled into each other's arms into the bed on the right, meaning the bed on the left was for me.
Sleep didn't come to me for a long a time. Thoughts about tomorrow kept plaguing me and I knew that whatever would happen when I woke up, I wasn't going to like it.