"Nini, you know Teresa and Thomas, right?"
The girl looks up from the microscope which contained the blood particles she was trying to study— the blood that they had gotten from the infected.
"We grew up together. Of course I would know her." she deadpanned, taking her eyes away from Ava Paige as she focused on how the cells were reacting to the chemicals she was adding to the blood.
"So you know they're the one's designing the maze for Group A right now, right? They got promoted a few weeks ago."
Nini pauses, her eyes trailed on the floor. Ava Paige had found out just weeks before that Thomas and Teresa helped her sneak around to meet some of the Group A subject's; the same kids that they've befriended. The girl only knew Newt, Minho, Jisung, and Alby.
Nini was strictly forbidden to do that. Minho, Jisung, Alby, Newt and the rest of the Group A subjects were at the bottom of the barrel; then there was Thomas, Teresa, Aris, and Rachel, the elites, and on top of the barrel was Nini— only her. Born with enhanced brainwave activity that WICKED seemed to like; she was trained to be one of them ever since she was five.
"Don't act like you don't know I know you." Nini says, removing her gloves as she stared at the doctor with annoyed eyes.
"We've punished your friends for your secret meetings... I think it's only fair we punish you too."
Nini sighs, knowing that nothing could hurt her anymore. Especially after what they did to her and Newt while their immune friends were forced into a Crank Pit. "What?"
"You'll be the person who's in charge of the operations on removing their memories." Ava Paige smiles sweetly, which only made Nini want to punch her. Nini really loved Ava and looked up to her as a mother until they punished her friends for meeting up with them. "They'll be on Anastasia the whole time, but they'll be awake. They'll be seeing you do it to them."
Nini shook her head. "I won't do it. I'm 13."
"Why not? This is not a request, Dr. Salazar. It is an order. You may be young but your capabilities are far beyond your age— you're the only living human who became a Doctor at the ripe age of thirteen." Ava Paige coaxed her. "Besides, you're the only person I truly trust with Group A."
Nini shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes but she wouldn't let the woman see it. "No. I'm not doing it. No."
"Is there something else that I should know?" Ava Paige raised her eyebrow, trying her best to not smile at the state she was in right now.
"I won't do it. I won't. I won't do it."
"But you will, Dr. Salazar." Ava smiled. "This is the end of our conversation. We will be starting tomorrow. Thomas and Teresa have already perfected the maze. Remember Dr. Salazar, one fatal mistake in the operation and you put the subject's lives at risk. The brain is—"
"The most vital part of the body. One tiny mistake and it might cause bleeding, brain swelling, infection, brain damage or death."
The girl knew the human body like it was the alphabet, and Ava Paige grinned as she pat her head. "Good job. Remember, Nini. WICKED is good."
As Ava Paige walked away, Nini Salazar let the tear that she kept in her eye drop.
—
"Nini..." Newt called, "What's going on? What's the matter with her? Why won't she wake up?"
"Closed eyes.." I mumble, opening the window, letting the light shine into the girl's eyes. She doesn't respond. "Depressed brainstem reflexes, such as pupils not responding to light.."
From the corner of my eyes, I see Jeff and Clint stay frozen as I examined the girl. "No responses of limbs, except for reflex movements.." I mumble, taking a hand to slap her face lightly. I could hear Thomas getting defensive over this but I quickly shush him when the girl remains unresponsive. "No response to painful stimuli.... irregular breathing..."
Standing up and facing Newt, Thomas, and Jisung, I give them an uneasy glance. "She's in a comatose."
I bit the inside of my cheek, slowly glancing over at Thomas who'd come to a stop beside me. "Do you recognize her?" I ask, raising a brow. Slowly, Thomas looked up at me, as if baffled by why I'd asked him the question before shaking his head. "No."
"Really?" Newt pressed. "Cause she seemed to recognized you."
Thomas only remained silent, and slowly, I let my gaze fall on Newt. He was staring at me with some sort of look I couldn't read, but his eyes broke from mine when Thomas had spoken again. "What about the note?"
"Yeah, we'll worry about the note later," Newt mumbled.
"I think you shoulder worry about it now."
Slowly glancing over at Thomas, Newt gave him a sharp glance. "We've got enough to deal with at the moment."
"He's right, Newt," Jeff spoke up. "If the box isn't coming back up, how long do you think we can last?"
I looked at the other Med-jack. The bastards who sent us here wouldn't do that, would they? The note was vague— "she's the last one ever" could mean anything from her being the only girl in the human race alive or her being the last human delivery. They would still send in some supplies.
"No one said that." Newt shook his head. "Let's not jump to any conclusions. We'll just... we'll just wait until she wakes up and see what she knows. Somebody's got to have some answers around here."
Thomas and Jisung leave the hut, and Newt stares at me like he did just minutes ago.
"By the way, me and Jeff had been talking about this..."
The two of us interrupted our stare-off to see Clint and Jeff nervously glancing at each other as if they were afraid of the two of us. Realizing that they wont say whatever they had to say if no one told them to do so, I nod. "Go on..."
"We agreed that Nini should be the Keeper of the Med-jacks." Clint finishes. "She knows more than the two of us combined.. it would probably be better for the glade to have a Med-jack that actually knows what she's doing. You're second in command, Newt. This is your call."
Although I wanted to be surprised at this revelation, I wasn't. We all knew that I had more knowledge than the two of them combined— this was probably a good idea.
"Alright." Newt mumbled, his eyes on me. "Starting from today, you're the Keeper of the Med-jacks. I trust you."
Even though it was a bad time and there were two unconscious people in front of us right now, I let out the biggest smile at this.
"Thank you, Newt." I say sincerely, ignoring the weird tension between the two of us that I kept on feeling whenever he would stare at me.
After what had felt like thirty minutes of checking on Alby and the girl constantly whilst being left alone in my own loud thoughts, I look at Clint and Jeff; who both seemed like they were about to fall asleep.
"Can you guys check on Alby and the girl for a bit? I need to go tell Newt something."
Newt, at the mention of his name, looks up at me with a confused glance— but I do not return to his eyes. Jeff and Clint instantly nodded, each of them taking a seat on the respective person.
Newt lingers on the edge of his chair. He seems unsure of what to do or say. After a moment, I feel a small smile tug on my lips as the boy stands up and follows me outside to the Deadheads.
"There's something I need to tell you..." I started. The boy who was taller than me looks back at me with a disbelieving expression. Realizing that he might have thought it was something bad, I shake my head and tell him that it's fine.
This causes him to visibly relax.
"Newt... when you're here.. do you get like.. flashes of your life? Your past life?"
"No..." Newt trails off, sounding as confused as I am.
"I don't know if I'm dreaming or if they're flashes..." I trail off. "One of the things I weirdly have knowledge of is that dreams are a window to the subconscious, but there are other theories that posit that dreams are a nonsense result of the activity that takes place while we sleep and restore our brains. I'm not sure of what I'm seeing in my dreams are real or not."
Newt blinks. "Uh-huh. What's your dream— or flash— about?"
"Labs. Scientists. Tests. Water tanks. Thomas. A doctor. I don't know..." I mumble, the more I tried to remember the hazier my mind gets. "Ben telling me that it was my fault. I think I'm patching two and two together."
Newt stops walking; and the longer I looked at his face was when I knew he was starting to realize it too.
"What if I'm with them, Newt? What if I was one of the people who put you here? Maybe that's why I'm so smart. What if I was a doctor? What if this is all a test and I was one of the people who—"
"It doesn't matter, Nini." Newt says sternly. I pause at this; expecting a worse reaction from him. If I was in his shoes, I'd get mad at the person I was talking to.
But Newt was different. Newt was kind. Newt was understanding.
"If we do find out that you are one of them, that doesn't matter, okay? You woke up here knowing nothing like the rest of us. You've adjusted through the Glade like we all did. I don't care about wether what you're assuming with your past is real or not— but one thing is for sure. You are one of us now."
I look at his comforting brown eyes. With my heart thudding against my chest, I abruptly frown and look down at the ground. "God, I hope I am."
"Hey," Newt starts, taking his calloused hands in mine. Those comforting brown eyes face me again, and I couldn't help but melt while he held my hands.
"You are a Glader. You're the best shucking Med-jack here. You are family."
After talking to him, the two of us go back to the hut only for Jeff and Clint to inform us that Gally had called for a Keeper meeting. Forgetting that I had become a Keeper, I look at Clint— only to realize seconds later that I had just been appointed as one.
Walking over to the Council Hall with Newt on my side, we open the door to see Gally who looked really stressed. Seeing this made me realize the smile on my face probably wasn't appropriate and that I needed to be serious.
"What's Nini doing here?" Gally asks Newt as we enter. Gently closing the wooden door, I face Gally with a serious expression although it took the strongest wills for me not to smile.
"I'm the new Keeper of the Med-jacks. Clint retired and passed it onto me."
For a moment, I thought that Gally would get mad at this. To my biggest surprise, the boy shrugged and looked at Newt. "Makes sense. You're smart. Now we need to talk about something."
For the next few minutes, the urge to smile drops immediately as I hear what Gally was trying to suggest.
"No. We can't do that."
"Honestly, I don't know why we have to talk about this." Gally says, placing his arms in his face in frustration. No matter how annoying he was at times, it looked like he just wanted the best for everyone. "If Alby was here, you know he'll agree with me."
"I can help Alby." I hiss, walking to him. It's as if no one here has faith in me. "I can throw him unconscious for a few more days. We still have time. If I don't manage to help him in a week, that's when you banish him."
"A week?" Gally repeated as if what I said was a joke. "A week? Nini, you're only a month old. You don't know how bad the changing is—"
"Gally, Ben attacked me the other day. I do know that it's bad, okay? But this is Alby. I'll try the best I can to find something that may help him, alright?" I try to reassure the boy, but it seemed like the more I talked the less he had trust on me.
Before he could say anything, the wooden door banged open. Minho came in with some Gladers including Jisung and Thomas. They looked annoyed but Minho looked absolutely pissed off.
"Oh it's nice for you to join us." Gally remarked, standing up beside Newt. "You boys enjoy the little field trip?"
"What the hell, Gally?" Minho hissed, making me take a few steps away from him in fear although I knew his anger wasn't directed to me. It was better to be safe than sorry. "You think you can call a Keeper meeting without us?"
"Last time I checked, the Greenie and Jisung weren't Keepers. You mind waiting them outside?"
For a second, I see Thomas and Jisung nervously glance at each other. As they were about to leave, Minho, who still looked completely pissed, cut them off. "They stay."
After a few beats of silence, Minho regains himself. "What's the point of all this?"
Newt glances at me. He looks a little worried and scared, so I softly shake my head no. We've already talked about this. I'll keep Alby unconscious for a few days and see what I can do.
"We've got two hours till sundown." It is Gally who speaks, not him. "We have got to figure out what to do with Alby."
Winston looks at the boy in shock. "You want to banish him?"
I let out a sigh of relief, happy that Winston thought the idea was bad too and that it wasn't just me. "That's what I'm saying. I tried to tell—"
"Look, no one wants to banish anyone, alright?"
I look at Gally with a stern look. "Actually, I wasn't finished speaking."
The boy sighs, throwing an arm out over dramatically.
"Like I said, I can keep him unconscious for a few days. Maybe the girl can help when she wakes up. Look, all I'm saying is that I need a little time on this."
"Nini is right." Thomas says, glancing at me. I start to feel that Gally is getting outnumbered— this was a good thing because meant that Alby would stay a few more days.
"And we found this. On our field trip." Thomas puts an emphasis on the term Gally had used.
Newt slowly twirled the thing around, narrowing his eyes when he caught sight of something. "These are the same letters we get on our supplies." He commented, and I looked at the thing, biting my lip as J glanced down at what he was referring to. In a tiny little yellow box, the letters "W.C.K.D." were there.
"Yeah," Thomas nodded. "Whoever put us here obviously made the Grievers. And this is the first real, clue, the first anything, you've found in over three years, right, Minho? Jisung?"
"Right."
W.C.K.D.... WICKED.... WICKED is good. I let out a soft curse. My suspicions from minutes ago were instantly answered. I had something to do with them.
"Newt," Jisung called, causing my eyes to fall on him despite the mental breakdown I was having. "We got to go back out there."
"Who knows were this might lead us?" Thomas added, nodding at me. Slowly, I glanced at Newt, waiting for his reply as he slowly glanced over at Gally.
"You see what he's trying to do, right?" Gally asked, an unimpressed expression plastered on his face. "First he breaks our rules, and then he tries to convince us to abandon them totally. What... The rules are the only thing that have ever held us together. Why now are we questioning that?"
"Gally, do you not want to get out of this place?" I yelled, causing everyone's attention to turn on me. If yelling was the only way that people would pay attention to me, maybe I should do it more. "Do you really want to live the rest of your life.. stuck in this maze?"
Gally paused, narrowing his eyes at me. I didn't hesitate though, and taking another step forward, I pressed a finger against the boys chest. "Come on, Gally. What exactly is the issue here? Thomas saved Alby. Helped Minho and Jisung. Now, he's found an actual way out of here, something you've been trying to do for years, and what? You don't like it? Just because your frail ego can't handle the fact that Thomas has the guts to lead us out of here, and you don't?"
Seeing Gally dumbstruck gave me more ego. "I'm right, aren't I?"
"Back off, Nini."
"We all know none of us like it here. We all want to escape. Why are you so pissed that it's because of Thomas? Do you expect to be the Glade's knight in shining armor?" I taunted. For some reason, I was starting to get really mad at him as the seconds passed by.
"Maybe that's why you wanted to banish Alby." I turn to look at the rest. Their eyebrows are simultaneously drawn together as they try to understand why these words were coming out of my mouth. "Maybe you want him gone so—"
"Okay, that's enough, Nini." Newt said, voice serious as he pulled me back. I let him, knowing I couldn't fight him.
Stumbling back, I took deep breaths, trying to calm my pissed off brain as Newt sent me a sharp look. I ignored it, crossing my arms over my chest as I looked away.
Gally, after a moment, turned back to Newt and said with a quiet voice; "If Alby was here, you know he'd agree with me." Then, with more confidence, he turned to Thomas. "This shank..." He pointed at him, "Needs to be punished."
Newt and Thomas made eye contact, and Newt pursed his lips, sighing in thought. Stepping forward, he handed Minho the device they had found before turning to Gally. "You're right," my lips parted, disbelief flooding me. There was no way he would punish him. "Thomas broke the rules. One night in the pit and no food."
I don't know wether to be relieved or not. To the Glade, I was still quite new and I didn't understand everything that much. Was that bad?
"Oh, come on, Newt! One night in the pit—you think that's gonna stop him from going into the maze?"
Oh, so it isn't bad.
"No." Newt said simply. "And we can't just have non-runners running into the maze whenever they feel like it. So let's just make this official. Starting from tomorrow, you're a runner."
I bit back your smile, the edges of my lips curling upwards as I glanced over at Thomas.
"Wow," Gally huffed, stepping back. I only rolled my eyes, watching as Fry reached out for him, but Gally only shoved his hand away. "Nah, Fry."
Fry followed after him, Winston and Zart slowly following too. Soon, it was just me, Newt, Jisung, Minho and Thomas.
"Thanks, Newt." Thomas whispered.
Newt glanced at him, before turning away. As my eyes followed his, that's when I've started to feel guilty for the words I said to Gally before— now that I've thought of it.
NOTES
btw i have the first movie
already written up lol
i'm starting on the scorch trials
rn