Solo ◇Thomas◇

The gladers rushed into the room to avoid being forcefully shoved inside. "Get your asses in there!" the guard holding the door shouted at them. "All of you!" He shoved Spencer in after them.

She glared at him and reached for the dagger hidden in her boot, but Thomas grabbed her arm just as the guard slammed the door shut. Spencer shook him off with a glare and walked past them to her bed.

"What the hell was that about?" Minho asked, clearly angry.

"You didn't really think they'd let you through, did you?" Newt spoke, his voice laced with irritation.

"No, of course not," Thomas said, shaking his head. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the guard's keycard. "I'm going to find out what's on the other side of that door."

The boys exchanged glances, and Newt looked at Thomas in disbelief. "Right."

As Thomas and the others continued talking, Spencer pulled out her belt holster and shoved her machete, along with two other daggers, into it.

"Newt, they're hiding something. These people are not who they say they are," Thomas said, making his way toward his bed.

"No, Thomas, you don't know that!" Newt raised his voice. "The only thing we do know is that they helped rescue us from WICKED. They gave us new clothes, food, a proper bed."

The other boys stood behind or next to Newt. "Some of us haven't had that in a long time."

"Yes, but—" Thomas tried to cut in, but Newt continued.

"Some of us a lot longer than others." The two boys locked eyes, but their attention was soon diverted by the rattling sound coming from the vent as it slid across the room and fell off.

Aris popped out from under the bed. "Hey, Thomas, Spencer."

"What the..." Fry muttered, leaning down to see where he'd come from, while Spencer nodded in greeting.

"Who is this kid?" Minho asked, looking at Newt.

"You got it, didn't you?"

"Yeah, let's go." Thomas held up the keycard to show Aris before Spencer snatched it from his hand and shoved it into her pocket, following Aris as he made his way to the bed to crawl underneath.

"Look, maybe you guys are right. Maybe I'm just being paranoid," Thomas said. "But I have to find out for sure."

Thomas glanced around at the boys who had crouched down around him. "Just cover for me and Spencer. I'll be back as soon as I can."

He crawled under the bed and into the vents. Fry looked up at Minho, and Newt rubbed his chin. Both he and Winston looked toward the door, hoping the guards wouldn't return before they did.

Aris carefully opened the vent, letting it hang loosely on its hinges, as Spencer jumped down, and Thomas lowered himself before dropping to the floor. Aris followed behind, grabbing the vent and swinging it shut.

Thomas checked the hallways to ensure it was clear before meeting Aris and Spencer at the door. Spencer used the keycard to unlock it, and they entered a small room filled with lab coats hanging on hooks. Through a small window, they could see another room where creatures were being harvested.

"Grievers."
"Mutant scorpions."
Thomas and Spencer muttered the words simultaneously.

The three of them walked over to another set of doors that slid open to reveal a much larger room. Along either side of a walkway were unconscious teens connected to multiple wires.

They walked along, inspecting each kid they passed. Spencer recognized them as the teens Janson had called up during her stay. The kids were hung up, attached to wires, and a blue liquid filled small tubes connected to them.

Ahead, Thomas spotted a girl with dark hair covering her face. He rushed over. "Teresa?"

He looked her over, brushing the hair from her face. His lips turned into a small frown as he realized it wasn't Teresa but someone else.

"It's Rachel," Aris whispered, looking at the girl once he was beside Thomas. "They took her the first night... I told her it would be okay."

Thomas looked at Aris, feeling sorry for him. While he had hoped it wasn’t Teresa, all of these teens were someone's friend. He glanced over at Spencer, who was inspecting paperwork on a nearby table.

The doors slid open, and Thomas quickly pulled Spencer behind a pillar, pinning her to it with his hands on either side of her head, while Aris ran behind another pillar.

"Are you sure this can't wait?" Janson asked, sounding annoyed as he walked down the walkway with his assistant.

"She was very specific, sir," the assistant said, fiddling with an iPad. "She wanted to speak with you personally."

"As if I don't have enough to deal with," Janson muttered, rolling his eyes.

Spencer pushed Thomas back. "What do you thi—"

Thomas cut her off by placing his hand over her mouth and holding a finger to his lips to keep her quiet. She glared at him, pulling his hand away from her mouth, and turned to look at Janson and his assistant, staying hidden. Thomas smirked as he watched her from between his arms.

"Just bear with me. We're getting some interference from the storm," Janson said.

"Come on, it's good enough! Make the connection!" Janson said, getting more impatient.

A screen appeared, beeping before displaying a woman with blonde hair tied in a tight bun, dressed in crisp white clothes.

"Ava Paige," Spencer whispered, staring at the woman who was supposed to be dead.

"Good evening, Doctor Paige. Lovely to see you again. I must admit, I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon," Janson said, looking up at her.

"Change of plans, Janson. I'll be arriving a little sooner than expected. First thing tomorrow," Paige replied, standing up from her desk.

"Well, delighted to have you. I think you'll be pleased with the progress we've made," Janson said, gesturing to his assistant, who put scans of brains on the screen. "As you can see, early results have been promising. Whatever you've been doing to them in there, it's working."

"Not well enough. I just received board approval. I want the remaining subjects sedated and prepped for harvest by the time I arrive," Paige said, glancing at the scans.

"Doctor Paige, we're going as fast as we can. We’re still running tests—"

"Try something faster!" Paige interrupted, her voice firm. "Until I can guarantee their security, this is the best plan."

"Ma’am, security is my job. We're on a 24-hour lockdown here. I assure you, your assets are secure," Janson said.

"Have you found the Right Arm?" Paige asked.

Janson hesitated. "Not yet. We've tracked them as far as the mountains—"

"So they’re still out there?" Paige interrupted. "And they've already hit two of our installations."

"They want these kids as badly as we do. And I CAN NOT—" She paused, taking a moment to collect herself. "I can’t afford another loss, not when I’m so close to a cure. If you’re not up to the task, I’ll find someone who is."

"That won’t be necessary," Janson replied. "But I suggest we start with the most recent arrivals and their bunkmates."

Paige nodded. "Just get it done."

"Got it," Janson said, nodding as he turned to walk away.

"Janson!" Paige called.

He turned back to face her.

"I don’t want them to feel a thing," she said with a smirk.

The assistant dismissed the screen as the two walked out of the room, and the doors slid shut behind them.

Spencer shoved Thomas off her immediately. "Never do that again," she threatened, pointing her machete at him.

Thomas didn’t react. He was breathing heavily, realizing that Janson was talking about the gladers, and he knew he had to get to them before Janson did.