I sat on the table, cold metal against my legs, as Janson walked in with a doctor.

"What tests need to be run this time?" My voice was flat, but my hands curled into fists.

"Just a couple of things. Nothing to worry about" the doctor smiled too easily, already preparing a syringe.

The needle slid into my arm.

Within seconds, pain ripped through me. I gasped, collapsing to the floor, clutching my head as flashes tore across my mind.

"Reyna!" Young Thomas shouted, his voice echoing.

"You're going to fit in perfect here" Ava Paige whispered

"Sisters forever!" A young Teresa laughed, her arms around me.

Then the images twisted-

A man begged-
"No, no, please don't kill me!" He said

Kai's younger voice cried.
"Reyna, stop! Please, it hurts!" He said as we fought in a lab ring.

"Pathetic child" a man sneered.

And then- my father's voice. Calm. Cold.
"We're sending you into the maze" he said.

He stepped into the light. His face clear.

"Ahh!" I screamed, jerking awake in my cell. My chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath.

Everything was back. My past. My life. Him.

I stumbled to the door, pounding on it.
"Hey! Bastards! Let me out!" I yelled

It opened. A guard with a gun. And behind him- Janson.

My body flooded with fury.

"Hello, daughter dearest. How are you feeling?" He smirked.

It hit me like a second injection- he wasn't just WICKED. He was the one who sent me into the maze. He was the one that trained me. He was that voice inside my head. We'd never escaped. It was still WICKED.

"You bitch!" I roared, lunging and smashing my fist into his jaw. Guards swarmed me, yanking my arms back before I could get another hit in. My legs buckled; the drug still burned through me.

"What a warm welcome. That's no way to treat your father" Janson said, rubbing his jaw with amusement.

"You're still WICKED. You're sick. They'll figure it out- you know they will. When I don't come back, they'll tear this place apart" I spat

He chuckled.
"I'm surprised you pieced it together. After everything you've been through, you'd think you'd be happy to be out of the maze. Safe. But you were never grateful" he said

"You think I'd trust anything after what you did? To your own daughter?" I spat

"Take her to test room 3" Janson ordered.

"No! No, no, no! You son of a bitch!" I thrashed, kicking, until a sharp sting at my neck stole ten fight from me.

My last words slipped out in a rasp.
"I...hate you" I said

Then darkness.

I woke to pain. Screaming- my own.

Chains bound my wrist and ankles. Guards stood over me. Outside the door, I heard Jansons voice.

"Teach her a lesson. Then get her to the harvest room" he said

The guards grinned as the door shut.

A rod cracked against my skull. I cried out, stumbling, only to take a kick to my stomach. Pain stacked on pain- blows raining down until I couldn't breathe.

"Don't you remember? Pain. Cold. Blood. Repeat." One sneered

"You've grown weak" the other muttered before another strike dropped me.

They left laughing. I lay in my own blood, broken, fading.

Darkness took me again.

The next time I woke, I was strapped upright to a table. Wires clung to my body, machines humming around me. My voice came out a rasp.

"What?...what are you doing?" I ask

The doctors ignored me, prepping thick tubes. My stomach twisted- they were going to drain me.

"No- no, please-" I thrashed weakly, but the restraints held.

Then the alarms blared.

The doctors froze, glanced at each other, then rushed out, leaving me alone with the machines

Minutes dragged. My strength bled away.

Then- footsteps. Voices. Familiar voices.

"T-Thomas" I whispered, barely audible. My body sagged, limp.

The group nearly passed by, but I forced the last of my strength into a scream.

"Thomas! Minho! Newt!" I yell

The door banged open.

"Reyna!" Thomas gasped, running to me. Minho and newt flanked him, tearing the restraints. My body collapsed forward, caught in Thomas's arms.

"What did they do to you?" He whispered, his voice breaking.

I couldn't answer.

"Come on, we gotta go!" Minho barked, urgency snapping us back. They dragged me upright, Thomas bracing me against his shoulder.

It was a blur of running, alarms, guards shouting. We reached a heavy door that wouldn't open.

"Thomas!" Janson's voice thundered behind us.

Minho and newt held me up as Thomas turned, gun raised.

"Open this door, Janson!" Thomas yelled

"You really don't want me to" Janson said calmly

"Open the damn door!" Thomas snapped

"Listen to me- I'm trying to save your life. The maze is one thing, but you kids wouldn't last one day out in the scorch. Is the elements don't kill you, the cranks will. Thomas you have to believe me. I only want what's best for you." Janson said

I forced out one word, my voice raw:
"No" I mutter

Thomas jaw tightened.
"Yeah? Let me guess- WICKED is good?" He said

Jansons smirk dropped.
"You're not getting through that door, Thomas. Not with my daughter" he said

My stomach dropped.

Before Thomas could respond, the door behind us groaned open. Winston and another boy appeared.

"Hey guys" the boy grinned

"Thomas, come on!" Minho yelled.

Thomas fired a few shots back at Janson before tossing the gun and sprinting under the door just as it almost closed.

We caught our breath as the new boy smashed the controls, locking Janson out. Thomas turned, rage still burning, and flipped him off through the glass.

"You little shit" Janson shouted

"Thomas- come on, let's go!" Minho yelled

We ran until the storm hit us. The outside world was chaos- sand, wind, lighting tearing across the sky.

"Go! Go!" Thomas urged, still dragging me along.

I winced with every step.
"Thomas-" I start

"I know it hurts. But you gotta push through." he said

"Then run faster. I'll deal with the pain later" I said

He hesitated, then nodded, picking up the pace.

We pushed through the storm, collapsed behind a hill, hearts pounding. WICKED soldiers searched the sand below, their lights sweeping close.

"Stay low" Thomas whispered, helping me run again.

When we finally stumbled into ruins, Teresa bolted ahead toward a broken window.

"Teresa, wait!" Thomas shouted

But then she disappeared inside.

"Come on, get inside!" She called back.

We followed, Minho flashlight cutting the dark. 

"Where the hell are we?" Minho muttered

"We gotta go" Thomas said, already moving.

"I can't" I whispered, knees buckling.

He refused to let go.
"We have to" he said

"No! Thomas- stop!" Teresa cut him off.

He stopped, turning back around.

"Tell me what's going on" she said

Thomas's voice cracked.
"It's WICKED. It's WICKED, they lied to us we never escaped. Me and Aris we found bodies. Too many to count" he said

"What do you mean? Dead bodies?" Newt asked

"No, but they were alive either. They had them strung up. With tubes coming out of them. They-" Thomas started

"They were being drained" I rasped, my stomach churning.

Thomas nodded grimly.
"There's something inside of us that WICKED wants. Something in our blood. So we have to get as far away from them as possible." He said

"Okay, so what's the plan? You do have a plan right?" Newt pressed

"Yeah..I don't know" Thomas admitted

Newt swore.
"Well, we followed you out here, Thomas. And now you're saying that you have no idea where we're going or what we're doing?" Newt snapped

"Wait. Janson said something about people hiding in the mountains. Some kind of resistance or army." Aris spoke up

"The right arm. The right arm, if they're really against WICKED, maybe they can help us." Thomas said, hopeful.

"People. In the mountains. Mountain people. That's your plan?" Newt asked

"It's the only chance we have" Thomas said

Before anyone could answer, Winston crouched, shining a light on the ground.

"Hey, guys. Check this out. Minho give me your light" Winston said

We all stepped closer. Footsteps. Fresh ones.

"Someone's been down here" Winston muttered.