I shoot from the hole, crashing into someone who grunts and curses, but grabs me around the torso.

"Shuck, don't stab me (Y/N)!" Minho says, and push him off, muttering an apology.

"Newt? Newt?" I call into the dimness, waiting for my eyes to adjust.

"(Y/N)," he hurries towards me, quickly embracing me then letting go. "What took you so long? We were bloody worried!"

I point to my belt, too tired to say anything.

"Guys come on," Minho calls from up ahead, "there's a doorway."

I take Newt's hand, following as everyone files out through the door.

The room we find ourselves in is in ruins, lights flickering, smashed computer screens, bodies littering the floor, all of clad in white coats.

"What the..." I breathe, letting go of Newt's hand.

"Guys," Thomas presses a button, and a screen flickers to life, showing the face of a blonde woman, probably around sixty years old.

"Hello," she says, her tone measured and cool. "My name is Dr. Ava Paige, I'm the director of operations at the World In Crisis, Killzone Experiment Department, or, as you know us, WICKED. If you're watching this, that means you've successfully completed the Maze Trials. I wish I could be there in person to congratulate you, but circumstances seem to have prevented it." In the background, white coated figures run frantically around, carrying scientific-looking equipment. "I fear by now you must all be very confused. Angry, frightened. I can only assure you, everything that's happened to you, everything we've done to you, it was all done for a reason. You won't remember, but the sun has scorched our world. Billions of lives, lost to fire, famine." I gasp, taking a step back. Newt's hand squeezes mine, a small comfort. On the screen, images of buildings burning, bodies in the streets, burnt and blacked earth. "Devastation on a global scale." The woman continues. "What came next was even worse. We called it the Flare." I hide my face in Newt's shirt, I know about this. I've seen it in the changing. "A deadly virus that attacks the brain. It is violent, unpredictable, and it is incurable." I look up. On the screen, an image of a man writhing on a hospital bed is displayed, black veins netting his face, viscous black fluid spilling from his lips. "Or so we thought." Dr. Ava Paige keeps talking. "In time, a new generation emerged that could survive the virus. Suddenly, there was a reason to hope for a cure. But finding it would not be easy. The young would have to be tested, even sacrificed, in harsh environments where their brain activity could be studied, all in an effort to understand what makes them different. What makes you different. You may not realise it, but you're very important. Unfortunately, your trials have only just begun, and as you'll no doubt soon discover, not everyone agrees with our methods." She turns, in the background people are flooding into the room, shooting down the scientists. Ava Paige turns back to the camera. "Remember," she says, lifting a gun to her temple, "WICKED is good."

The screen goes dark, Teresa lifts her hands to her mouth. "Oh my god..." She whispers.

To our right, a door hisses, opening up to a dark corridor.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Newt asks.

"I... I dunno." Thomas looks at Chuck, the younger boy's face is filled with fear. "Let's get out of here." We start to move towards the door, but a voice behind us makes us stop.

"No." And there, bathed in the light from a broken screen, is Gally.

"Gally?" Thomas pushes forward, but Teresa stops him.

"Don't." she says softly.

Gally shakes his head, and I notice a gun in his hand. "We can't leave," he says, his arms shaking.

"We did it," Thomas steps backwards, "Gally we're out. We're free."

"Free? You think we're free out there? No," Gally steps towards us, "no there's no escape from this place." He raises the gun, points it directly at Thomas's chest. Thomas pushes Teresa behind him, and instinctively I step in front of Newt, covering his body with mine. He tries to push me behind himself, but I don't move.

"Gally listen to me," Thomas's voice is shaking. "You're not thinking straight."

Next to me, Minho's hand tightens on his weapon, moving just slightly to stand between me and Gally. I grab his wrist trying to pull him back, but he stands firm.

"Put down the gun." Thomas whispers, but Gally shakes his head.

"I belonged in the Maze," he says.

"Put down the gun."

"We all do."

A lot happens in the next few seconds. Gally fires the gun, and explosive bang ringing through the room at the same time as Thomas yells, rushing forwards. Chuck jumps in front of Thomas, but everyone stops when we see the spear sticking straight from Gally's chest.

Minho stands, empty handed, in front of me and Newt, who rushes forward a few steps then stops. Gally drops to his knees, gasping for air. With a cough, he keels over sideways, then doesn't move.

"Thomas..." Chuck's gone pale, too pale. With horror, I notice a spot of blood blooming on his shirt, right in the center of his chest.

Thomas catches the boy as he falls, sucking in air. "Chuck, Chuck," he whispers, pressing on the wound. Teresa backs away, speechless. Minho drops to the ground beside Thomas and Chuck, Newt following suite. I stand, frozen in shock.

Chuck pulls something from his pocket, a small figurine made of wood.

"No," Thomas says, wrapping his hand around the smaller boy's, "no you're gonna give that to her yourself, remember?"

"It's ok," Chuck breaths, "it's ok."

"No Chuck."

"Thankyou," he gasps, "thankyou."

"Don't you dare-" Thomas says, but it's too late. Chuck's eyes glaze over and he stops shaking.

"Chuck?" Thomas says, "Chuck hey," he shakes him, but Chuck doesn't move. "Hey, Chuck, come on! Oh my god..." he leans forward, his shoulders shaking with sobs. "No, we made it come on!" He sobs, but it's no use. Newt stands, covering his mouth with a fist, his breath shaky. In front of me, Minho does the same, his head bowed.

A door slams open, we whip around to see figures running towards us, backlit by a blinding white glare. 

"Tom..." Teresa says, taking his shoulder and pulling his to his feet, though he doesn't want to go.

"Chuck!" he screams, then the figures reach us, dragging us away and towards the doorway, heavy black helmets masking their faces. I allow myself to be taken, glancing back at Thomas, Teresa and Chuck, Thomas still trying to stay with his dead friend. Two masked people pull him away, dragging him kicking and screaming towards the light with the rest of us.

Outside, the air is hot and dry, sand rolling in dunes for as far as I can see.

"Get in the chopper!" one of the people yell, shoving us all into a black helicopter. I don't resist, I don't see the point. Thomas is proof that if they want us to go with them, then we're going with them.

Inside, it's not so hot. I sit down on the floor, Newt taking a place next to me with a view out. The deafening whir of the helicopter's blades drown out anything either of us might have said, but nobody feels like talking anyway. 

I lean on Newt, taking one of his hands in mine and squeezing. I can feel him shaking, and he's drenched in sweat even though his skin is cool to the touch. He 

He raises a hand, pointing out the window as we rise above the sand dunes. I lean over, peering out where he's pointing to. 

"Oh my God--" I whisper, my heart pounding. Below us, the Maze is laid out in perfect clarity, every corridor and wall shown just like on the maps. It looks tiny, and the square of green in the middle looks even more alone than ever. That was us. 

I slump back against the wall, letting my head drop onto Newt's shoulder. My hands are trembling in my lap, so I shove them under my legs and try to slow my breathing. 

"You kids alright?" someone asks, and I look up to see one of the people who dragged us out of the building removing their helmet to reveal a man of about forty. He's covered in dirt and sweat. 

I turn my face away, holding onto Newt as tightly as he's holding onto me. And finally, I start to cry.