Chapter 15

Newt shook him awake, mumbling something about fruit. His hand was in his hair, gently stroking through it with his thumb. "When did the food get here?"

"I told you I'd wake you for it. It came a little while ago but you looked really peaceful. Now the food is kind of disappearing so I thought I'd wake you before they ate it all."

Thomas shuffled out of bread and grabbed the first bit of fruit that he saw and then came straight back, leaning into Newt's open arm. "No meat? Aren't you hungry?" Newt stroked his side up and down.

"Not that hungry.."

They ate quietly, small conversations passed through the room from time to time; wondering when the people would come back, what kind of answers they'd get, and what was happening next. Newt was just listening to Thomas talking, because he started murmuring about something really quietly and Newt was just letting him get it off his chest. "I just hope I find out what I did and why I wasn't the same as one of you guys. I want to know where our families are, or Chuck's at least. You want to know too, don't you? I didn't think we'd get this far even after I got some of my memories back but now I don't really know what to think. I thought up of every scenario I could think and what we're doing right now isn't one of them. I know I'm talking your ears off but nobody else wants to listen, they're too optimistic and I just don't trust that we're actually safe now."

Newt was going to reply to him, but the door opened and everyone immediately shut up. "Thomas, Newt, Minho, come with us. The rest of you will be picked up later on." It was the same man and woman who spoke to them earlier.

Everyone looked at him, watching them like hawks as they left the room. Minho lead first and Newt held Thomas' hand, following behind. They headed down the corridor, but stopped barely a few doors down. "Thomas, you're stopping here."

"Wait-" He started, but they pulled him hard enough that he let go of Newt's hand, stumbling into the IT room and then hearing the door lock behind him.

He tried to watch Newt disappear down the corridor, but suddenly the glass turned opaque and he couldn't see out, and Newt couldn't see in. "I assume you're wanting some answers." The woman he was placed with said, catching his attention. "About why you're here, why you willingly sent your friends and your dear boyfriend into the maze?"

Thomas' fist clenched. "I want to know why I was on your side and not theirs. Now that my memories are gone I realise what horrible people you all are! What makes me so different? Why do I get the oh so lovely job of helping you create deathtraps?"

"You used to understand, Thomas, understand it all. WICKED is good." Thomas frowned at her. "We're going to help you remember." That saying.. where did he know it from?

A door on the other side of the room opened up, and it exited into an operating theatre; but when Thomas looked back, the door was gone. Something was going on. A man dressed in green overalls approached him, and gestured to the seat next to him. "Please, take a seat. This won't hurt a bit and you'll get your memories back."

Thomas was sceptical, taking a step back but he hit someone's chest. "What's the catch? What if I don't want them back?"

"There is no catch. It's for your next trial, Thomas, you're going to need your memories if you want anyone in your designated group to live. You'd understand more if you just sit down." Something in his tone worried him, so he still didn't move. "Do you want your friends to die? Your boyfriend?" Still hesitating. "The only catch, if you really want one, is the regret you're going to have if you don't do this."

Thomas did want to remember, he did want to save his friends, but he didn't trust the people who wanted to poke around in his brain. "Why can't someone else get their memories back instead? Do I get them back permanently?"

"If you agree to this, you won't need to ask any questions. You're going to know all the answers yourself."

~*~

Down the hall in a different laboratory, Minho and Newt were asking about the current life on earth, but WICKED didn't seem to be wanting to share anything. "There is great darkness" is all they would say, or "most of you will overcome it". No details as to why most, or who, or even what the 'darkness' even was.

When they finally gave up, the man with them spoke. "We're in here because I thought you might want to see your parents."

Newt's head spun round, remembering Thomas mention them quite a lot. "Actually.. meet them?" Minho asked, looking hopeful.

"No, only pictures." Minho sagged. "Thomas will probably fill you in later on."

"Does he know something about them?"

"He will soon. Anyway, Newton," the man turned to the computer and typed in a few words, and faces began appearing onscreen. "These are your parents, and Minho yours are below." He stood back to let the boys get a look, transferring them to a larger screen in front of them.

They had no idea what to think, what to say, what to do. Newt looked a lot like his mother; they shared the same facial shape and eyes, but he had his father's hair colour, curling at the ends. Minho was the same, except for a masculine twist he looked identical to his mother. "Are they dead?" Newt asked, crossing his fingers.

"Minho's mother is alive." He said bluntly, but said nothing about his own.

"And mine?"

"Minho's mother is alive." He repeated, so Newt could only assume the worst for his own.

Despite not having a single memory of them, Newt felt sad. Maybe they died when he was born, maybe WICKED killed them, or maybe the darkness did something to them. Whatever it was, he hoped it had been fast. "YeeAAAAAAAAAGH!" Someone screamed, making both the boys jump and finally look away from the screen. "Aaaah! StooAAAAAAAH! Stop!"

"What the hell is that!?" Minho yelled over it, covering his ears.

"You mean you don't recognise it?"

"sTOP! JUST STOP! ST-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Minho was still confused, but beside him Newt suddenly lunged at the man and sent them both to the ground. "What are you doing to him!? Tell me right this minute or I won't be afraid to hurt you!" He threatened, raising his fist to punch him but Newt was quickly pulled away by two other scientists.

It would take an idiot to realise he of course meant Thomas, but he hadn't seen Newt get that angry before. "Get off me! Take me to him right now! I said now!" It sounded so close by, as if he were in the room.

After a few moments of kicking around and more threatening, the screaming died down so that they could no longer hear it. The man Newt attacked tapped one of the walls and it turned to glass. Newt ripped from the scientists' grip and ran to the glass, putting both his hands up against it. "Tommy..."

They could see him on the other side, practically tied down to a chair that was tilted back. His eyes were closed, so maybe he'd passed out, but somebody in green overalls was round the side of his head by his ear, but his back blocked their view of whatever he was doing. "Satisfied?" Newt glared at the man, not saying anything. "Come, your trip isn't finished yet. You will see him later."

~*~

Later, as promised, Newt and Minho returned to the bedroom where everyone seemed to be packing things into rucksacks. Minho went over to ask, but Newt was on a Thomas hunt; he wasn't in bed, nor was he packing with the others. Maybe he wasn't back yet?

Newt went into the bathroom and heard a shower running. "Tommy?" He called out, but he didn't get an answer.

Going up to the cubicle, he found Thomas had left the curtain open and he was stood shirtless under the water stream. "Tommy?" He asked again, reaching a hand out to touch his cheek but stopped when he noticed the small square of scalp behind his ear where his hair had been shaved off. "Are you feeling alright? What did they do to you? I heard you screaming-"

"I understand.. everything." He turned round slightly, looking down at his feet. "Everything." He whispered, reaching forward and turning off the water, wincing at the squeak of the dial.

"What do you mean? Did they tell you about what's outside? Family?"

"They did once, years ago. Newt, I have my memories back."

Newt's eyes widened and he took a step back. "I mean.. that's amazing! But you don't seem very pleased about it."

"I don't.. I don't really know how to feel about it. I'm still processing it all, I just think of one thing and then I ask questions to myself as to why it happened, and bam the answer is right there in my mind. It just hurts so much..." Thomas pressed his forehead against the cold tiles, closing his eyes. "I don't know what they did to my head but it hurt like shit."

Newt looked vaguely surprised by the change in language. "Minho and I heard you. I had that feeling again where I got really angry and basically threatened the guy we were with until he showed you in a chair- but Minho and I saw our parents and- well, uh.. We can talk about this later, was that water even hot?"

"You saw them? In person!?"

"No.. Just a picture. Do you remember yours then?"

"I.. I haven't really tried thinking about them yet. How do I remember someone when I don't know what they look like? But there is something-" He made a pained noise and quickly pressed his hand to his head to try and relieve the pressure. "Something I think you should know. About the past.. Newton isn't your real name."

Thomas was six, sat in his front garden, drawing into the ground with a stick, intricate designs that got him where he was in the first place.

Thomas was six, sat in his front garden and drawing into the ground with a stick. His designs were so intricate, so strange that they got him where he currently was, living together with his parents.

A large removal lorry came down the road and parked opposite his house. Another kids was arriving in their little lane, and Thomas had known that for a while, but he didn't know his name.

One of the doors at the front opened and a small boy jumped out, squealing when a tall man picked him up from behind and swung him up in the air, briefly letting go and catching him. Judging by height alone, and what they told him, the boy must have been around his age.

The man crouched down and said something to the boy and he nodded, running over to Thomas. "Hi!" He waved with a smile, stopping on the pavement and rocking back and forth on his feet.

Thomas tilted his head to the side; so this was the new boy. "Hi. Are you coming to school here too?"

"I don't know. I know my sister is!" Newt beamed, clearly proud of her. "My mum says I might get to go cus I'm really good at making friends."

Thomas didn't really see why WICKED would want that when they told him they wanted him because he was smart, not because he was friendly. "Cool. I make really com-pli-ca-ted patterns and my teachers really like them. What's your name? I'm Thomas and I'm six years old."

"Me too! My name is James." The boy gave him another cheery smile, lighting up his whole face.

"Imma show you around!" Thomas grabbed his hand. "Come on!"

~*~

Thomas was twelve now and things were starting to change around school. "Thomas, can you come up to the front please?" The man in white asked. "Read these instructions to the rest of the class."

"Sure.." He walked up to the front and took the paper, then raised an eyebrow, unsure what any of its contents was about. "The following people are to stay behind; Andrew(Alby), Benjamin, and Luke.

"The second group; myself, Wong(Minho), and Peter, got to room 10. Third group; David and Teresa, go to room 5. Finally group four; James(Newt), Sarah, Kate, George, and Jessica, go to room 3. You'll hear further information when you get there."

Everyone looked between one another, but they all got up and left to their assigned rooms. James grabbed Thomas' hand weakly, but let it fall away when Thomas turned into his room. The two were best friends now, spending all their time together, but Thomas had a feeling he knew what they were about to be told.

Down in room 10, the three sat together in a row at the front of the room, soon followed by a woman who sat down at the teacher's desk. "Well, I'll tell you what's to come and then I'm afraid I've got some bad news." Wait, what's to come?

"Is stage two starting?" Thomas asked, Peter looking at him like he had three heads.

"Yes. We're going to be in a new building soon which is where you will all stay for the next few years. No more going home now, and there's a very good reason for it." Thomas knew it. James was going to be heartbroken. "All of your fathers are dead. Don't worry, your mothers are fine, and none of them are dying." Yeah, yet.

The room fell so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Peter was the first to burst into tears, and Wong didn't know what to do with himself. Thomas already knew his dad died, a month ago, so he'd had his time to cry. He wasn't meant to die with him there, it was an accident, an accident he couldn't forget.

Wong just put his head on the desk. Thomas just leant back in his seat, letting out a deep sigh. He only knew about James' parents because he heard two employees discussing it, and he knew he could never tell him the truth.

His parents were both shot by WICKED, it was the only reason he was still here, because they pitied leaving him on his own in the world considering its current state. They couldn't leave a child alone like that; it was his sister they wanted.

Group one had both their parents alive and got to live quite happily knowing nothing was wrong; group three had only their mothers dead, and group four were both dead either by WICKED's hands, or by what they told them. That the darkness got to them.

From that day forth, their lives changed.

~*~

James became much closer to Thomas. Once they were released to mourn over their losses, James ran straight to Thomas and cried into his chest, telling him what he'd been told. Thomas had slightly hoped what he overheard wasn't true but hearing it from his best friend only made the blow a lot harder.

Just the next week, Thomas was screaming his head off to protect James. "James is his fucking name! You can't just change somebody's name like that! Mine isn't changing!" He yelled, his arms out wide to protect James who was behind him.

"Rules are rules, Thomas, you are to call him Newt from now on. Along with Alby and Minho since you seem to be very close to them too." The man in white said, hair slicked back with too much gel and glasses that looked too small for his beady eyes to look through.

"You're such a rat." He spat, "a filthy rat! All of you!"

"Calm down, Tommy. It's just my name." James put a hand on his shoulder, trying to calm him down.

James didn't really know why this was such a massive deal, he didn't know why Thomas and WICKED were joined at the hip, he knew so little. "James you don't understand! I can't just call you Newt! I can't!"

"Why not?"

"Because-" Thomas squealed as a hand was pressed over his mouth and a woman pulled him away from James.

"That's enough from you." She said, tightening her grip as he wriggled around. "Newt, return to quarters."

"Yes miss..." He turned, looking back at Thomas over his shoulder who was struggling even more. They were hiding something around here, and Thomas knew what it was. But what..?

~*~

They were fifteen now, and the two boys were fighting. They'd been dating since not long after the parent bomb got dropped, but they'd never fought like this before. "You're different Tommy! You're bloody brainwashed!" James yelled, leaning close to try and seem taller.

"I'm not different to the damn kid you met ten years ago when you got here! What makes you think I'm so fucking different now!?" Thomas yelled back, towering over him.

"Oh.. I don't know.. Thinking it's okay to send me into your homemade death trap!? I could die up there! I probably will die! You won't tell me a damn thing about what's up there which means it's going to be horrible!"

"For god's sake I was four when I made it! How did I know WICKED would do this with the blueprint!? You know it's for the greater good, Newt. We can save the world with these experiments!"

"With a fucking death trap!? I know you can see them! You could see Andrew's face when he went up! I bet he was terrified, wasn't he!? And you're going to send me into the same fate! You..!" James backed down. "You know I'm not that strong."

"You won't know that. You're not going to remember anything! Not me, not Alby, nobody! Nothing except that your name is Newt!"

"But it's James!"

"No it isn't!" James jumped back in shock, almost hitting a wall. "Not... Not anymore."

Tears brimmed in his eyes now; the Thomas he fell in love with was gone. They never even got to say it to each other, and it didn't seem like Thomas wanted to. "Two years ago you fought to keep my name, to keep calling me James..." He sniffed, wiping at his eyes. "What changed, Tommy? What changed?"

"I understood what's important in this world." A loud siren began to go off in the background. "It's time for you to go."

"I don't want to go." James was already stood in the box, they both were and Thomas started walking away and James tried to follow, but Thomas stopped him. "Tommy, please. Please! I don't want to go! Don't make me do this! Please don't make me go!" He sobbed, clutching to his jacket. "I don't want to die up there!"

Thomas looked around, then suddenly grabbed James by the shoulders and kissed him, hard. "Promise me you'll stay safe..."

"W-what?"

"Wait for me." He whispered, "you're going to be okay, I believe in you. I love you." He kissed him again, then ran off just before the caged wall closed him in.

"Tommy?" James ran to the wall, sticking his arm through to try and reach him. "Tommy! Tommy!" He cried, tears continuing to fall. "I love you too..."