Disclaimer: I do not own The Maze Runner or any of its characters. The plot, however, is mine.

Chapter 2

Thomas didn't know how long he'd been wandering around in his room after he'd woken up. A few minutes, half an hour? A couple hours, maybe? He had no idea. Maybe time wasn't passing at all and he was in some other strange universe. No one had come in to check up on him since they'd taken Teresa - at least, not while he was awake - and he was just starting to wonder if maybe everyone had just disappeared when he heard the faint noise of footsteps. Someone was hurriedly making his way through the hall. Figuring said person was heading toward his room, he laid back down on his cot, folding his arms neatly over his chest whilst allowing his eyes to close, trying to maintain a steady breathing.

The footsteps stopped before his door and everything went quiet again. The hinges made a squeaking sound as the door opened just a tad, a small beam of light shining into the room from the lit hallway and then it disappeared. Thomas released the breath he didn't realize he was holding. Before he'd gone to sleep his headache had been almost gone, but now it was back at full force, demanding all his attention. Maybe it had something to do with the dream he'd had? What if it wasn't a dream after all. What if it was. . .a memory?

Thomas held his stomach, joyful laughter rumbling from within the depths of his chest as he watched Teresa. Her mouth hung slightly open due to the indignant gasp that had just left her lips, ice cream dripping from her forehead all the way down to her chin, the sticky substance quickly beginning to form a puddle on the mahogany table.

''What the-'' she started saying, furiously trying to wipe her face clean which only caused Thomas to laugh harder, resulting in him losing his balance and falling off the chair. Teresa shifted and bent to peek underneath the table, opening her mouth to ask if he was alright but she once again stopped herself when she found him red-faced and rolling over the floor. ''Whatever,'' she grumbled beneath her breath and pushed her chair away from the table. She stood up, arms crossing in front of her chest in defense.

As she started to walk away, she got distracted by the full-length mirror on the wall, and she couldn't help but smile. She did look ridiculous. A string of hair clung to her face, caught in the trail of molten ice cream. Teresa shook her head at her reflection and tucked the strand of hair behind her ear. She'd take a shower later.

A strong pair of arms encircled her waist from behind and she sighed, instantly giving in to Thomas' warmth and leaning her back against his chest. She closed her eyes, enjoying the way her body naturally adjusted to his. ''You know I was just kidding, right?'' he muttered and nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck, causing her to shift against him.

''Yeah, yeah..'' she replied and grinned before burying her still with ice covered features in his hair. He groaned in disapproval, but she could see the amusement sparkle in his eyes when he pulled back. She reached up on her tiptoes and allowed her lips to brush over his jaw before murmuring, ''Go wash yourself.'' She lowered herself back on her feet. He was taller despite the fact that she was older. Not that their age differed that much. She was 18 and he was 17, so technically it was only a few months.

''Mm..'' Thomas hummed, pressing a brief kiss to her forehead. He moved towards the door, but before he had the chance to open it A.D. Janson waltzed in. He took a moment to observe the scenery before him, and after a short while he simply shook his head, deciding not to comment on the way they looked. Thomas glanced over at Teresa and she was nervously shifting from one foot on the other. The fact that the doctor had shown up was bad news. Thomas drew in a deep breath and straightened up, his jaw set as he muttered through clenched teeth. ''It's time, isn't it?''

Janson nodded, repeating the same words Thomas had just said. ''It's time.''

That's when Thomas had woken up. He still hadn't figured out what 'It's time.' had meant, and it was driving him absolutely crazy. The pounding in his head wasn't exactly what he would call helpful, and he'd eventually ended up pacing the room. Thomas was about to move off the bed when he heard someone whisper outside his room. ''Come on, hurry.'' Thomas' brows furrowed in confusion. Was the voice talking to him? Did they know he was awake? He was about to ask where to, but the voice spoke up again. ''The anesthetic can wear of any minute now.'' He pursed his lips into a thin line. Right. Of course they didn't mean him.

Without making any noise, he shuffled towards the door, leaning in close and hoping he would be able to pick up anything else.

...

''Alright, alright. I just want to make sure the entire process went well this time.'' A.D. Janson grumbled beneath his breath. The other doctor was being incredibly inpatient and it was starting to get on his nerves. He couldn't risk another mistake. It would mean the end for him and his job at WICKED. Subject A1 and A2 both not being able to participate in the experiment would mean it would be a complete disaster. Eleven years of research gone to waste. At least they had somewhat of a chance with one of them inside the Maze. ''Oh for God's sake, get on with it already.'' The doctor hissed, the tension clearly sounding through in his voice.

Janson decided not to reply and simply did a few more check ups before bobbing his head in a small, rather relieved nod. ''She's good to go.'' A.D. Jason removed his gloves and tossed them into the bin next to the operation table and watched as two muscled men lifted subject A1 off the operating table, moving her onto a transportable one before pushing her out of the room. This was it. The moment they'd all been waiting for. As soon as subject A1 arrived into the Maze, everything - the rules they'd made, the life they'd build up - everything they'd all been starting to see as normal was going to change.

There was this tiny voice in the back of Janson's head that told him this was a bad idea. Everyone knew the Gladers were going to turn themselves against subject A1. Not only because their lives would turn upside down as soon as she showed up, but also because she was a girl. And not just a girl. The only girl, to be more specific. The original plan had been to put subject A2 into the Maze, followed by A1. Being reunited so quickly after just having their memories swiped would leave both subjects without any real memories, but with the strong feeling of recognition. The urge to bond. Subject A2 would take subject A1's side, and together they would get the whole escape process going. The entire theory was now useless.

Janson sighed and followed the men to the control room with the metal box they used to send their subjects into the Maze. This was the last time it was going to go up, and it wasn't something he was going to miss. This was it. The moment they'd all been waiting for. The beginning of the end of the first experiment. Either it was going to work, or things were going to go terribly wrong.

They lifted subject A1 up and carefully lowered her body on the bottom of the box. One of the doctors reached into the pocket of his lab coat and retrieved a small note, placing it in subject A1's palm and folding her fingers around it. ''She's the last one. Ever.'' he murmured before taking a step back when the red light above the elevator shaft began to flash, indicating that the doors were going to close. Everyone gathered in a half-circle, watching as the doors closed when suddenly something hard connected with Janson's side, the impact of the collision sending him flying into the doctor beside him and causing both of them to fall to the floor. In a reflex, everyone else turned to them, reaching out to help them up.

He was standing just in time to see a brown-haired boy disappear into the metal box right before it went up.