Despite the pain, Alex ripped herself from Minho's arms and threw herself at the closed stone door. Banging her fists on the door. She let out a heart wrenching sob, slamming her fists on the stone. Causing the walls around them to shake.

"No no no no!" She sobbed.

Alex doubled over and slid down the wall, sobbing. Not only for her beloved faithful dog. But for Matt. And Jeff. And Alby. And Pedro. And Zart, and the countless others. Everything was black. Maybe her eyes weren't working. Maybe she was in hell. It sure felt like it.

How is this freedom when you feel this broken? How is this freedom when it costs so much?

She felt a gentle hand on her head, it slid down to her face. And a strong arm pulled her close to their chest. She sobbed onto their chest. Her body was so tired. And so sore. The strong arms slowly unwrapped and she looked up to see Newt's sad brown eyes, also filled with tears.

"I'm sorry Alex."

She wiped her eyes with a shaky hand.

"Ya well."

She shoved her emotions back down with a shaky breath.

"We knew we would have to fight, the creators weren't going to let us waltz out out of here, right?" She pulled away and tried to stand. But stumbled and had to hold onto the wall.

"Stop! You're hurt!" Minho's voice said beside her.

"Ya. And so are the rest of us!" She hissed, her back bleeding and stinging, her ribs aching and her heart breaking.

He wrapped an arm around her carefully. Together the three walked to the front to where Thomas and Teresa were standing. As she passed by, what remained of the Gladers whispered "did you see she totally destroyed that Griever?"

"She was literally shaking the walls!"

"She left fist prints in the shuckin wall!"

Newt, Alex and Minho came to a stop beside Thomas and Teresa.

"The door opened down there!" Teresa nodded down the hall, where a sliver of bright yellow light was coming from.

The Gladers clumped together. They cautiously walked down the dark cold hall towards the light. Thomas slowly pushed open the door and stepped into another hallway. Everyone else followed on his heels. The hall was dark, but once the door behind them clanged shut a light flicked on. One after another the fluorescent lights flicked on, racing down the hall. The hallway they were standing in was made of cement, with tubes and rusty pipes running along the walls. There were a few sparking cords hanging. It was cold and damp, making Alex shudder. The drying sweat and blood didn't help. Minho pulled her closer. The air was also damp and moldy. Alex looked both ways down the hall.

"I guess we try right first?" She asked no one in particular.

Thomas nodded and took the lead. Teresa right beside him, Minho, Alex and Newt right behind them. Alex reached back and took hold of Chuck's hand, giving it a squeeze.

"Remember, be brave." She whispered, and he nodded. The hall came to a dead end, there was a big rusty metal door at the end of the hall. Above the door was a neon green sign that was flashing "EXIT" mockingly at them.

"Seriously?" Said Frypan, drily.

"Oh the irony is awful, isn't it?" Alex agreed.

Everyone was glancing at each other nervously. This was it. This was freedom. Behind this door. Their nightmare could end.

Thomas reached out a shaking hand and twisted the handle. For a rusty door, it swung open with ease.

The loud blaring sound of an alarm hit her ears first. After the silence of the dark hall, the noise seemed even louder. She stepped through the door. Her feet crunched on broken glass. All around them was broken glass, sparking wires, and flashing lights. That's not what shocked Alex. What surprised her was the dead bodies.

Men and women in white lab coats laying in pools of blood. People in black uniforms and masks, shot in the chest and head. Minho slid a gun away from a dead man in black with his foot, "What happened here?" He asked quietly.

Alex shrugged her shoulders. "Looks like they were attacked. But who are the guys in black? Do they work for the Creators? Or are they the attacking group?"

He shook his head. They walked further into the room. Alex came to a stop in front of what used to be a big glass window. It was shattered, glass all over the floor. Inside the tiny medical room were two gurneys. A body on each, lying covered with a white sheet, covering the faces. A pair of dark skinned feet were sticking out from one of the sheets. A morbid thought crossed Alex's mind.

What if that was Alby?!?

There were bullet holes in the chests. She stood there staring, wanting to go see if it really was him, to confirm he really was dead...Minho gently pulled her away.

"Alby's dead, Alex. We both saw it." He said gently, like he could read her mind. Her sad eyes met his. He was holding unshed tears back as best he could. Sooner or later they would both have to break.

He pulled her into the main room, which was covered in broken and shattered computer screens and keyboards. Bullet holes in everything. Some of the screens were flashing pictures of brains and heart rates. There were a few screens showing different angles of the Glade, which was now smoking. No signs of life, no signs if Gally and those who stayed behind lived or not. One computer showed ID pictures of a few Gladers flickering on the screens.

"So they were watching us. This whole time!" Newt muttered to himself, as he watched the video feed flip through different angles.

One picture caught Alex's attention. She slowly made her way over, her back making movement painful. On the screen was a photo of her. The picture was clean, and fresh. No scratches or bruising, no sun kissed skin. Her hair was washed and brushed, pulled into a high pony. Under her picture was information, she leaned forward to read it.

Subject A0.

Given name: Alexandra,

(the name Alexandra is the female version of Alexande. Of Greek origin meaning "defending men".)

First human test subject for The Hercules trials.

Trial succession: to be determined.

Relationships: biological brother: Subject A5, biological sister: Subject B2.

Romantic: Subject A7

Emotional attachment: child A4 & A22

Minho had slid up beside her. "Romantic relationship? Am I subject A7?" He asked, looking at her from the side of his eye. She gave him a withering look.

"Well, I ain't kissing anyone else, so based on my educated guess, I'd say ya. Because these idiots can't use our names... we're rats with subject numbers. Just shuck bloody cattle to them! Not even our real names! A given name." Alex was angry, just looking at the screen.

"What's The Hercules trails?" He asked again, staring at the screen.

"No idea." Alex whispered back.

It was unnerving, more questions than answers. She shivered. She reached for Minho's hand, needing his comfort. She jumped when there was a loud female voice echoing around the room.

"Hello. My name is Doctor Ava Paige."

Alex spun around. There on a giant screen in the middle of the room, a video was playing. The scattered Gladers came towards the screen. The woman on the screen was middle aged, with white blond hair, pulled back into a tight perfect bun and bright red lips. She was sitting at a desk, talking into a camera.

"I'm Director of Operations of the World Catastrophe Killzone Department."

Alex was hit with a hard sense of Deja Vu.

"Minho....that's her! She was in my memories! She was one of the people who was at the table, agreeing to torture if we were caught...she was also in the memory of me drawing the Grievers!" She whispered urgently. His eyes were wide as saucers, his mouth open. They both turned to listen to the recording.

"If you're watching this, that means you have successfully completed the Maze Trials."

Alex snorted, and muttered, "successfully? She has a very different definition of success than me." Newt gave her a sharp look.

"I wish I could be there in person to congratulate you...but circumstances seem to have prevented it." The men and women in white coats were pulling files and stacking things in boxes and walking around urgently.

She went on. "I'm sure by now, you must all be very confused... angry, frightened."

"Understatement of the shucken year! She tops you Min!" Alex muttered again.

Newt glared at her again "shh!"

Alex stuck her tongue out. He rolled his eyes.

"I can only assure you, that everything that's happened to you...everything we've done to you...it was all done for a reason."

Minho was stiff and he was squeezing her hand.

"Minho..Min, you're hurting." She whimpered.

He released her hand, "shuck sorry Sunshine!" Then he growled "How can she sit there so calmly talking about 'everything they have done to us'".

"I don't know Love." Alex answered honestly, "we knew they were shucked up."

Dr. Ava Page kept talking, "You won't remember..."

"Wonder who's shuck fault that was?" Alex hissed through clenched teeth.

"...but the Sun has scorched our world. Billions of lives lost to fire...famine..."

The screen flicked to images of a burning world, burnt bodies in piles. Alex shuddered.

"...Suffering on a global scale. The fallout was unimaginable. What came after was worse. We called it the Flare. A deadly virus that attacks the brain."

A picture of a brain covered in black, microscopic organisms eating the tissue and flesh of the healthy part of the brain, flashed on the screen. A few of the Gladers were heard groaning or gaging.

"It is violent... unpredictable... incurable."

The pictures switched to a hospital operating room, with something that resembled a human, was strapped to a table, with green sickly skin, black ropy veins, black eyes, screaming and thrashing. While doctors stood around observing and taking notes.

Alex's breathing quickened, she backed up a step. Her eyes darted around while her chest felt too heavy to breath, despite her quickening gasps. She knew she was starting to panic. But she didn't know what to do about it. Minho spun towards her and grabbed her shoulders pulling her into his strong chest, into a tight hug, knowing she was starting to panic when she saw the screen.

"It's him!" She panted, "it's him!"

"It's not him Alex. Different person. Chris is dead. You're okay. I'm right here." He didn't let go, instead he held her tight as they watched the video with the rest of the silent Gaders The video switched back to the woman at a desk.

"...Or so we thought. 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... inside 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 realize it...but you're very important. Unfortunately, your trials have only just begun."

The people behind her were frantic now, a few of them were screaming. People in black with masks burst through the doors, shooting anything and everything that moved. People were dropping, blood splattering everywhere. The woman kept talking, ignoring the chaos behind her.

"As you will no doubt soon discover, not everyone agrees with our methods. Progress is slow, people are scared. It may be too late for us...for me...but not for you."

She had pulled a small pistol out.

"The outside world awaits." She held the pistol up to her temple.

"Remember... Wicked is good."

She pulled the trigger. Alex jumped and buried her face into Minho's chest for a moment. She took a second to get herself together and pulled away.

"Is it over?" Minho asked hopefully.

"She said we were important." Newt stuttered. Everyone was still trying to process what they just heard.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Chuck asked.

"I don't know." Thomas answered, he had walked over to a corner, seeing a woman's body laying on the floor, he was pretty pale.

"Let's get out of here." Alex suggested.

There was a beep that made everyone flinch and swing around ready to fight. But it was a door that slowly slid open. Revealing bright harsh sun. Everyone took a few steps to freedom.