Chapter 8

A/N. I know I don't usually do these at the beginning but ahhh look at the picture! It's from The Scorch Trials. There's more of them but this is my favorite. I shall explain later. Kay? Cool.

Another ten minutes of searching revealed absolutely nothing. The place appeared to be abandoned. Newt knew that it wasn't because of the other Bergs in the hangar. Something else was going on.

They wandered around the place, completely lost. The white walls and floors made everything look the same. Before long, Newt lost all sense of direction. By this time, all Newt was looking for was something colorful.

Finally, at the end of a long hallway, they came across a door. It was just a plain wooden door. There was nothing special about it, yet Newt felt a shiver go down his spine.

        "Okay, I'm officially creeped out," Alex said.

        "This isn't right. They have to know we're here. I know WICKED too well to think that this is just a coincidence," Newt said.

        "Not much we can do now. Let's just hope there's something useful on the other side of that door," Dylan said.

        "Or colorful," Alex muttered.

Dylan shot an anoyed glance at her but couldn't hide his smirk. "I'll go first," he announced. He grabbed the handle and flung the door open without hesitation.

-

The room was dark except for the light from the hallway. Dylan stepped in, followed closely by Newt and Alex. As soon as she was in the room, the door slammed shut behind her.

Alex yelped in surprise and tugged on the handle. As Newt suspected, it had magically locked.

        "Crap," she whispered. "I didn't touch it I swear. It just closed."

        "It's fine," came Dylan's voice from the now complete darkness. "Try to find a light switch or something."

Newt began to feel along the walls for it.

        "Got it!" came Alex's voice, and light flooded the room.

Newt blinked, willing his eyes to become adjusted to the sudden light.

There was nothing in the room except for a chair and it's ocupant. When Newt saw who it was, his jaw dropped. "You...." his voice trailed off.

        "Me indeed," said Rat Man, a sinister smile playing on his lips.

-

Newt was frozen in shock. His first thought was that is wasn't fair. After everything that had happened, this bloody shank was alive. Almost all of Newt's friends were dead, and this slinthead was alive.

Although it didn't look like Rat Man had been having a nice life since the last time Newt saw him. He was still dressed in all white, but his imaculate, perfectly pressed suit had been replaced with plain white, cotton shirt and pants. He was tied to a chair with thick brown belts from his neck to his feet. The metal chair he was sitting in was bolted to the floor. What was left of his hair was disheveled mess.

Newt's shock was replaced by rage. He stepped to Rat Man and carefully, precisely, punched him in the jaw.

He would have beat the living klunk out of him if Dylan hadn't stepped in between them.

       "Dude! What's wrong with you! We finally find something useful And your first impulse is to start punching?" he said.

        "He was there! He was behind it all!" Newt yelled.

        "Behind what?" Alex asked

        "The Maze! The Trials! All of it! He did that to us!"

Alex looked at Rat Man. His eyes had glazed over and he was staring absently at some point in the wall.

        "Looks like he's on the Bliss. In fact, he looks harmless," Alex said, giving Newt a puzzled look.

Rat Man suddenly cackled out a painful, gurgling laugh that made them all jump.

        "That I am my dear. I've made sure of it," his voice didn't match his appearance. It was clear and precise, like nothing had changed since their escape from WICKED. "I'm afraid I've cought the Flare, but I'm too valuable to WICKED to just discard."

        "Is there a new definition of valuable that I'm not aware of?" Newt muttered harshly.

Rat Man gurgled a laugh again. Newt throat hurt just listening to it. "I understand any indifference you may feel towards me, but please try understan that it was all-" Newt cut him off.

       "DON'T YOU BLOODY DARE SAY IT WAS ALL FOR A REASON! There's no reason for taking kids from their parents, wiping their memories, and treating them like no more than shucking lab rats!" Newt yelled. He lowered his voice to a harsh whisper. "Why did you shanks lie? Why did you tell me I wasn't immune? I made my best friend shoot me for shuck's sake! I..." his voice trailed off. Rat Man was smiling like Newt has just said the funniest thing ever.

        "All for the Variables, boy. We needed to see how the others would react if they thought their 'leader' was dying," he said, a smile still plastered on his face.

        "I wasn't the leader," Newt muttered.

        "Well not officially, no. But they would never do anything without your cooperation. They would never make any final decision without your input and approval," he said.

        "Okay can you guys just stop for one second and explain to me what the HECK is going on!" Alex interjected.

Rat Man looked at her as if noticing her for the first time. "Yes... I'm afraid he a bit bitter."

        "A bit bitter!" Newt said. Rat Man ignored him.

        "He will most likely always be, but you look familiar. Have me met?"

Alex looked repulsed, "I sincerely hope not," she said.

Rat Man didn't look fazed by her biting words. He just stared continued to state at her. She stated back, refusing to look intimidated. It made Newt want to punch him again.

A few seconds later, Rat Man broke the awkward silence. "Ahh yes, I know what it is. You're a spitting immage of your brother, my dear."

Alex narrowed her eyes. "How did you know I had a brother?"

It suddenly hit Newt like a bat. "Winston," he muttered.

Alex looked at him. "What?"

        "Yes indeed," Rat Man said. "You two were twins correct? We didn't need both of you. The chance of that memory slipping through our memory block was higher because you were directly related. Not to mention that you looked too similar. Better to just take one than risk the demise of our exparament.

        "You mean you took Jayden?" she yelled. "I thought he was dead! Where is he!"

        "Unfortunately he is dead." Rat Man said bluntly. There was absolutely no hint of remorse or sadness in his words. It only mad Alex angrier.

She lunged at Rat Man. Dylan must have been expecting it. He grabbed her and didn't let her go.

        "Dylan, let go on me NOW!" she yelled at him. She struggled to  escape his arms but he was too strong. She slumped against him, buried her face in his shirt and began to sob.

Newt stepped to Rat Man and grabbed his shirt. "You are insane," Newt said.

        "So they tell me," Rat Man replied, staring steadily it Newt with still no emotion in his voice. "But you are once again here so you will help us."

        "Why the bloody shuck would I ever agree to help you?" Newt said.

        "Who said you would Anything about 'agreeing'?" Rat Man said, an evil grin returning to his face.

Newt realised too late that he couldn't hear Alex and Dylan. He whirled around. Nothing with bland white walls.

        "Thank you for coming back and bringing two immunes with you. We intend to re-build the Maze and start over," Rat Man said.

Before Newt could respond, a needle jabbed him in the arm from behind. His knees turned to water and he colapsed on the cold white tiles.

Rat Man and the walls began to blur together as blackness crepped in from the edge of his eyes.

         "Take him with the girl, Gwen. They'll help us whether they want to or not.

Blackness engulfed his vision.

A/N

Hey guys. Hope you're all doing well. The picture at the beginning is one of a few pics from the upcoming movie The Scorch Trials. There's more though. Just look up scorch trials on Google and you should find them. They're amazing! Anyhoo... Vote and comment please! Thanks for reading.

Stay Magnificent! -StM