"NO!"

Everyone spun around. Standing on the other side of the room was...

"Gally?" Alex gasped and stepped towards him.

"Don't. He's been stung." Teresa warned.

Gally dropped a Griever stinger, confirming Teresa's theory. Alex stopped and only then noticed the black veins creeping up his neck. His eyes were red and he was crying.

"We can't leave." He raised a gun and pointed it at Alex, straight at her heart.

"Where the bloody hell did he get a gun from?!" She muttered.

His hand was shaking and his face was twisted with pain and fear.

"We did. Gally, we're out. We're free." Alex tried to reason, holding her hand out, trying to calm him.

"FREE?" Gally's chest was heaving "You think we're free out there? No. No, there's no escape from this place!"

"Gally, listen to Alex. You're not thinking straight. You're not." Thomas added, also slowly stepping forward trying to reason with him. "Now, we can help you."

Why is it always Tommy and I doing this? It's always us and the crazies!

"Just put down the gun." Alex pleaded.

She was trying hard not to panic, but she could feel it starting to ride agy. Gally was turning into Ben.. and inty Chris. How do you reason with someone who was turning into a monster?

"I belong to the maze." Gally cried.

"Just put down the gun." Alex pleaded again. She felt movement behind her, but didn't dare to look away.

"We belong to the maze. We all do." Sobbed Gally.

She could see the tremors in his hand. The gun kept switching between Thomas and herself. He was crying harder.

Alex was shoved violently to the floor from behind as a spear whistled over her. At the same time Gally pulled the trigger. The loud bang echoing off the walls. Alex scrambled to sit up. Gally had a spear sticking out of his chest. He collapsed to his knees, gasping for air. His broken eyes found Alex's for a second. A tear fell down his cheek, and then he fell forward, his eyes empty now.

Minho crouched beside her. "I'm sorry, did I hurt you? I had to get you out of the way. You were in the line of Gally's fire."

Alex just nodded her head.

"Alex? Thomas?" Said a small voice. Alex looked around.

"Chuck?" She whispered, confused.

"Oh, shuck! Shuck!" Thomas yelled as Chuck collapsed. Thomas caught him, and helped him to the floor. Alex scrambled on her knees over to Chuck.

"Look at me, look at me! Chuck!" Alex called.

She saw the bullet had ripped through his chest. The blood was bubbling up and gushing. Alex pressed her hands over the wound, putting pressure.

"Oh, shuck! Chuck, look at me, all right?" Thomas called, his voice breaking.

"I got you, buddy. Just hang on. It's okay." Alex was saying.

It was an automatic response, she knew better. Her head knew this was a wound she couldn't deal with without a proper medical room and supplies and a trauma team. But her heart wouldn't listen.

"Thomas, Thomas... Alex..Alex.?"

"Ya, ya Chuckles. We're here! We're here buddy!" Alex's voice was raw.

It was hard to see, her eyes were watering. Chuck was coughing, blood trickled over his chin. His shaky hands pulled out a small carved piece of wood. Alex remembered it from the fire night. He held it out towards Alex.

"No, Chuck. You're gonna give it to them yourself. Remember? I told you that. We are going to find your mom! I crossed my heart! I pinky promised!" Alex sobbed.

She had stopped trying to apply pressure to his wound, his blood was all over her and the floor now. She was holding his chubby baby face in her blood soaked hands.

"Take...it" he wheezed. Coughing again, splattering Thomas and Alex with fresh blood.

"No. Chucky, I can't! I made you a promise!"

"Please..Alex..Please!"

Alex took the little carving in her hand and held it tight, bringing it up to her chest. She looked up at Thomas who was crying. Chuck rolled his head to look at Thomas.

"Thank you. For being my friend." His voice was quiet.

He gasped for air, and then started coughing, choking on his own blood. Alex choked on a sob. He looked back at Alex. A ghost of a smile on his chubby little child's face.

"Thank..you. I love...yo..."

"No! Chuck? CHUCK! I love you too! Chuckles? Chucky? No! I promised! I crossed my heart!" Alex was yelled, shaking him with one hand.

"CHUCK!" She screamed.

His eyes were vacant. All his happy bubbly life was gone. His childhood was violently ripped away.

"Chuck. Chuck? Hey. Hey, Chuck, come on! Come on, wake up! Damn it!" Thomas yelled, trying to shake him awake.

"We made it. COME ON CHUCK! WE MADE IT. WERE OUT! I CROSSED MY HEART!" Alex sobbed.

She lay her forehead on his chest. Holding the little wood figure to her chest. She let out a gut wrenching scream, deep from inside her broken heart.

"Alex!" An urgent voice said behind her.

There was commotion around the two kneeling kids on the floor trying to wake up the youngest Glader.

"Chuck! Get up, Chuck! Come on!" Thomas was sobbing.

"I promised you Chuck! We made it! I promised!" Alex sobbed.

"ALEX!"

"TOMMY!"

A hand grabbed her upper arm and pulled. She screamed and ripped it out of their grasp. The hand grabbed her again harder this time. She screamed louder, throwing them off, scrambling back to Chuck. Hoping his eyes would spring open and laugh at the hilarious prank he just pulled. He didn't.

"Chuck!" She pleaded.

Nothing. Her heart was broken. And there was no fixing it. No amount of glue was going to piece that together. Two hands grabbed her this time.

"We can't just leave him there!" she screamed.

She grabbed the arm who was trying to pull her away from her baby brother. She threw them. She threw the grown man across the room and he landed with a crash. She had thrown him through a window.

"CHUCK!"

This time a voice spoke right beside her.

"Alex. Hey, Alex. We need to go! They are trying to help us get out. Come on!"

Minho held her bloody face in his hands, forcing her to look at him. She didn't say anything, but let him drag her away from Chuck's lifeless body. She kept her eyes on him until she couldn't see him anymore. Another two dead bodies were left behind. Their young lives were ripped away.

The outside hit her like a brick wall. The sun was bright, hot and harsh. The sand everywhere was scratchy, coarse and stung the skin when it was blown around. Alex stumbled when her feet hit the sand. She would have fallen, but Minho and someone in black with a bandanna kept her on her feet. The guy in black was pushing them towards two huge helicopters. Alex's legs weren't working, her limbs were numb. She felt like she was in a daze.

Where did these guys come from? Why are they here? Did they shoot the Creators? Could they have saved Chuck? Or Gally?

Minho made it to the helicopter first, but waited for Alex. He picked her up and placed her inside. Newt grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the back. Teresa was already on the helicopter, along with Winston and Frypan. Minho climbed on and everyone scrambled to the back and clumped together. Thomas was the last one on. Another guy with a big black gun strapped to his chest climbed inside and slammed the door shut. He knocked on the pilot's window and made a twisting motion with his hand. The helicopter took off, rising into the air, following behind another big black helicopter.

The man pulled his helmet off and his bandanna down, looking at Alex and the other Gladers.

"You kids all right? Don't worry, you're safe now. Everything is going to change!" He hollered over the noise of the helicopter blades.

As they got higher into the air everyone peered out the window. What Alex saw made her jaw hit the floor. It was The Maze, from a bird's eye perspective. From up in the sky the Glade seemed so small. She could make out all the buildings. Everything was still smoking. And the maze itself was huge. So complicated, all the walls and twists and turns. From up in the sky, there really was no way out. Alex sat back down, wincing at the stinging pain in her back and throbbing pain in her side. Her body hurt. Her head was pounding. And her heart was broken.

We made it out...but at what cost? Was it worth it?

Another few tears leaked out of her clamped eyelids. Strong arms pulled her over, and she could feel someone readjusting their sitting position. Minho was now sitting behind her. He slowly unbuckled her holster and rolled her shirt up to see the wound on her back.

"You shuckin saved my life, Alex. You and that Superhuman strength. I owe you my life!" He whispered.

"Just don't die, Shuck Face. I couldn't live in this world long without you. I'd drift too far out and never find my way home." She replied quietly, she brought her knees up to her chest, wincing at the effort.

Alex hissed as Minho cleaned her back with the few basic supplies in the first aid kit the man in black gave him. Teresa crawled over and held her hand. Newt scootched closer. Same with Frypan. Winston had laid his head on the window, still looking at the birds eye view of everything. Thomas was staring wide eyed at nothing.

When Minho was done cleaning her back as best he could, he moved to her side. She was right. A few stitches had ripped. Minho pulled out the few threads he could. Alex's eyes watered and tried not to whimper. Her ribs were also turning different shades of blue and purple.

He gingerly wrapped a bandage around her and rolled her shirt back down. Then gently turned her and pulled her back so her good side was leaning into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and laid his forehead on top of her head.

"We're out...we're free. I owe you a sunset date, Sunshine." He whispered into her hair.

Despite her heartache and grief, she smiled.

_____________________

WICKED facility

She sat down at a long board meeting table, wiping the remnants of fake blood off her forehead.

"I think it's safe to say the Maze Trials were a complete success. I wasn't expecting so many survivors, but...the more the merrier. Thomas continues to surprise and impress. And for now, they seem to have taken the bait. It's too soon to say...but they could be the key to everything. So let's move forward. It's time now to begin Phase Two."

One young doctor raised his hand, "Ma'am, what about Subject A0?" He inquired

"Ah yes. Excellent question Dr. Prior. Subject A0, while being a mistake, sent to the wrong maze, has surprised us with remarkable kill zone patterns. Her Serum injection seems to have been a positive result to the other subjects in their kill zone patterns. However the antidote seems to be wearing off, so we will need to monitor that closely. Along with her defiance. That was an issue before the maze, we will monitor and keep a close watch on all disobedience. But all in all, everything is going remarkably well."

Dr. Prior pursed his lips and nodded, marking something on his clipboard.

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**Book One is DONE! That was intense! Buckle up...cuz it only gets worse! #EmotionalDamage!

**What did you guys think of Alex and her adventure in The Maze?

**Follow her continued story in Book 2, Defier (The Scorch Trials)