Disclaimer:

I don't own The Maze Runner, nor do I own a copy of it on DVD. I live a sad life.

-✼-

I woke up to blistering heat, unable to sleep through the waves of scorching air that were blasting over me. My skin was slick with sweat and my hair matted down from it. Judging by the light outside, I had only been sleeping for one or two hours, but I felt relatively rested. Whatever W.I.C.K.E.D had done gave me energy.

Since everyone else was still asleep, I settled on thinking about the voice in my head. It had said "Hello" as if it wanted me to respond. The stupid thing sounded mechanical, like a robot, not a human voice.

"You look troubled."

I jumped in fright and turned to see Aris sitting with his knees tucked to his chest, peeking out from above his bent legs. My breath came out in a slow sigh of relief to calm my racing heartbeat.

"You were asleep a minute ago," I whispered to him accusingly.

"You were in a trance for three minutes," he replied in a blank tone, watching me under a calculating gaze as if I was a wild animal about to run away. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing, Aris," I lied in a slightly snappy tone. When we lapsed into a tense silence because of it, I thought, What the hell, and opened my mouth to speak again. "When you talk to Thomas in your head...how do you do it? How do you just talk?"

Aris shifted his legs and shrugged, eyes trained on the ground. "It's kinda hard to explain. I dunno what he does, but I picture the words in my brain as I say them. Make the voice in my head speak."

I nodded and pursed my lips in thought. Closing my eyes, I forced the words to come clearly in my brain.

"Hi."

Nothing. I huffed before trying again, doing what Aris suggested and actually picturing the words popping up behind my eyelids. The letters slowly formed in the darkness, first an 'H', and then an 'I' right beside it.

"Hi."

"HELLO."

I gave a jolt when the robotic voice spoke. It wasn't really a noise, so much as something I was able to just sense. It was loud, a burst of energy in my brain that sent a stab of discomfort through it. I focused hard on the next few words to get them to send, increasing my headache from the amount of concentration it took.

"What are you?"

"ERROR: MESSAGE NOT COMPATIBLE."

I took that as a sign that my conversation with the object in my head was over. Suddenly, my eyelids felt heavier than before as if I was hit with the realization I needed more sleep. I found myself curling back into Newt's sleeping form and ignoring Aris' confused gaze completely. I couldn't give him an answer myself as I drifted back into a deep slumber within seconds.

"RETRYING. LET."

A buzz like bees fluttering around my head.

"ME SHOW. YOU."

Darkness. But I didn't feel alone or scared; it was like there was someone with me. They seemed to take my hand and guide me out of the colorless void until I was standing in an all-white room. It was empty of furniture and lacked windows, but the lights above made it bright. I seemed to be waiting for something. But what, I wasn't sure.

"LOOK CLOSER."

The voice surprised me once again, but I tried to do what it said and fixated my stare on what was around me. My focus tuned more deeply into what I was seeing. At first, there was just the mild prick in the back of my head, but I couldn't figure it out. And then I realized what it was.

I was looking at myself. I appeared different than I had in the mirror before- a bit younger, well-cared for, and clean to the point where it was almost unsettling. My hair ended just below shoulder length and the waves were slightly amiss as if I had run my fingers through the strands too much. How old was I? Fourteen?

"Tell me what's going on," I demanded the object in my head. I could sense its presence like it had a physical body and was standing right beside me. It was strange, knowing that something else was looking at my memories with me.

"TRY TO CHANGE IT," it responded after a pause. "CHANGE IT."

Change it? What did it—

I blinked, sucking in a short intake of breath when I realized I had moved. I felt myself beginning to lose a grip on what was going on. Information was slipping through my fingertips faster than I could grab it back. When I looked down at my hands, I noticed they were smoother and lacked the cuts and calluses from the Glade and Scorch. Somehow, I had merged back into my past body.

"THAT IS ALL. YOU HAVE SUCCEEDED."

What was that voice? My present and past brain battled for dominance inside the body, creating a splitting pain in my head that was so intense my knees started to buckle. Everything I knew about the events in the Glade was gone. My younger mind had won.

The door opened, revealing Thomas. He was a few years younger as well, raven hair cut short and flat against his forehead. He was dressed in a lab coat that he immediately discarded as soon as the door shut behind him. The coat fell to the floor in a white heap, revealing a white long-sleeve and matching dress pants.

"Tell me they're okay," I begged, twiddling my thumbs that I hadn't realized I had been playing with before. The burst of relief upon seeing my brother was immediate. I hadn't been sure if he was going to slip away or not. "You haven't told me anything in a month."

"They're — uh, they're fine," he replied shortly, scratching the back of his neck and avoiding my gaze. "We sent Garret up today, so that should be fun."

I shook my head at my brother. He was lying straight to my face as if I couldn't read him as well as I read a book. The realization sent a stab of hurt through me. He never used to lie to me, not since we were taken here by our mother years ago.

"Tell me the truth." Worry was building up inside of me until I felt like I would burst. "Come on. Please. I — I need to know he's okay."

Thomas returned his gaze to mine and stepped forward upon noticing the tears gathering in my eyes. He was cautious, which was strange. Caution was one thing we never used around one another. He could burst into tears at any second and I wouldn't hesitate before comforting him.

"I'm not supposed to say anything—"

"Since when have you ever played by the rules?" I demanded louder than I should have, causing him to flinch and step backward. Emotions were churning my gut; I felt like I was going to be sick. First Teresa, and now Thomas. I couldn't handle another person lying to me. "I'm your sister. Aren't I more important than whack-jobs in a lab?"

He didn't respond, and that felt like someone had shoved me off a cliff. I was falling, sick with concern and now my twin brother was turning into one of those stone-faced scientists. Soon he'd be pricking, poking at people and running tests to push them to their limits with no emotion on his part. He'd be doing that to me when the time came. He'd be the face staring at me through the tank as I drowned.

"I can't believe you." I shook my head as a tear spilled over. "You absolute idiot. The Maze Trials have started and suddenly you're too good for me? Is that what's happened?"

"Dylan, you're being selfish," he shot back with his eyes, identical to mine, burning with anger. His mouth was twisted into a scowl that I had never seen directed at me before. It felt like a slap to the face.

"I'm being selfish," I repeated incredulously, raising my eyebrows. "Is that really what you think?" When he simply stared at me and didn't reply, I shook my head and chuckled dryly. "They've always thought you were more special. I guess it was only a matter of time before you believed it, too."

I pushed past him roughly, purposely hitting his shoulder as I did so. The door handle felt both ice cold and burning hot when I twisted it. Before the door opened, Thomas spoke.

"They're going to do something to you," he informed me in a rush as if he was afraid I'd interrupt him before he could finish. "I don't know what or when, but they're planning it right now."

"Let them do all the tests they want," I sneered without looking back. "After all, they did them to the others and you did nothing. I'm not special like you. Why should you care?"

I yanked the door open, stepped into the hallway, slammed it shut behind me, and tried my hardest not to burst into tears.

"S-She's not waking up."

"Shake her harder or somethin'. We have to get a move on."

"Don't you think I've been doing that, you bloody idiot?"

"Aris, are you sure nothing happened? Nothing weird?"

"I-I don't know. We were talking and she just - she just fell back asleep really suddenly. That's all, I swear it!"

Newt swore beneath his breath. His voice turned soft, sugary sweet and sounding close. "Shuck it, Dylan. Wake up. Wake up for me, okay?"

I felt a pressure on my hand like someone was squeezing it. There were two more pressures on my cheeks, but I was simply aware of them as if I wasn't fully conscious of the touches. It was strange yet somehow comforting. I felt peaceful for the first time in a long, long while.

"Is that her pulse slowing? I think that's her pulse slowing."

"Shut your mouth, Thomas!"

"Well, I'm sorry that I'm scared for my sister!"

"I know CPR, if that helps."

"Her heart hasn't stopped."

"Yet."

"EVERYBODY SHUT THE HELL UP!"

"Thanks, Minho."

Aside from the constant screaming, my body was still and I was devoid of the emotions I had been feeling throughout the past few days. No fear, no concerns. Just empty space and peace. It would be so easy to stay this way forever, just floating in the inky blackness and not having to deal with the horrors reality brought.

"REBOOTING SYSTEMS. CONFIRMED: TOO MUCH. TOO MUCH. TOO MUCH. REBOOTING SYSTEMS. CHECK."

I slowly began to be more conscious of my surroundings. The stuffy yet relatively cool air of evening danced along my skin, where my blood ran cold beneath it. The surface supporting my head was thin. Whoever was holding my hand had callused skin that was rough against my own. The grip on my cheeks was more gentle, yet frantic.

Slowly, I was able to open my eyes. Blurry figures appeared, eventually sharpening to reveal people crowded around me. My brain couldn't comprehend so many faces at once.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, hermana," Jorge jested and immediately received an elbow to the ribs by Brenda. That was strange, considering we had never once talked or even associated with one another, but I was thankful for it. A slow thudding of my head was starting to begin from the previous shouting.

"Oh my God," Thomas sighed in relief and ducked his head down, closing his eyes. He was the one who held my hand, gripping it tightly as if he could somehow give me strength through it. Newfound liveliness seemed to course through me as he held it tighter. Maybe, somehow, he was helping me. Maybe it was like when I had felt his pain while he went through the Changing. Maybe...

"VISION: CHECK. NERVES: CHECK. HEARTBEAT: CHECK. PULSE: CHECK."

I opened my mouth but found any words I was going to say caught in my throat. Newt hushed me, stroking his thumbs against my cheeks gently. His eyes searched mine for any signs of pain or discomfort. He obviously detected something, because one of his hands went to my hair.

"You gave us a real scare," Minho commented from where he knelt on one knee at my side. His lip twitched up in a small smile. "Kinda thought you were dying on us."

Thomas and Newt simultaneously reached over and punched him in the chest.

"Okay, jeez," Minho mumbled in defense as he furrowed his eyebrows. "I was joking. Kind of."

Newt hooked his arms under mine and lifted me up until I was more or less standing. My legs felt like jelly — a sharp contrast to how I had felt when I woke up before — and I leaned against him heavily.

"Want me to carry you this time?" Thomas offered, holding out his arms toward me. His eyes stayed locked on my face as if he expected me to pass out at any second.

The memory I had seen when I was asleep came back to me, and I was reminded of our little feud. Part of me was glad he didn't remember it. If he did, would he still hold himself taller? Would he still think lesser of me?

That being said, I still didn't know exactly what happened after that. I wasn't sure if I'd forgiven him. Maybe he realized his mistakes and changed. I hoped so; the thought of Thomas and I in a drastic argument sent an ache through my chest. I never wanted to fight with him.

"I'm fine," I dismissed with a wave of my hand upon realizing I hadn't responded. Thomas did not look convinced at all- he rose an eyebrow at me as if to say, Yeah, right.

"No offense, but you look like you just got ran over by a truck," Jorge deadpanned. Brenda elbowed him again, causing him to rub the sore spot and glare at her. "I said no offense."

"Doesn't matter," Brenda grumbled and crossed her arms over her chest. She wasn't looking at me, but I was once again grateful that she was kind of sticking up for me.

"I am not a child that needs to be carried around," I insisted tiredly with slightly slurred words from my headache. "I'm fine."

"You can't lie to me," Thomas chided before promptly picking me up in his arms like a baby. He had a double chin when he attempted to look down at me. "You're so tiny."

"I'm going to punch you later," I warned him sluggishly. He rolled his eyes and hiked me up when I started to slip. He was definitely more clumsy about transporting me than Newt was, and my head throbbed at the thought of me bouncing around so much as he walked.

"Do you think you can do a piggyback instead?" he asked me. "This is too difficult."

"Uh, Thomas?" Minho piped up from several yards ahead. "Our destination? Remember?"

"Right, hold on." Thomas asked Aris to help him switch me around so I was hanging onto his back. This took several minutes seeing as neither of them were very coordinated. Finally, Newt had to come and help until I was successfully clinging onto my brother like a monkey. "Okay, all ready to go."

We set off embarking through the night. As the minutes passed, my headache diminished to a very faint ache that I hardly noticed. Strength returned in odd trickles. Part of me wanted Thomas to keep carrying me just so I could see him struggle, so I did.

The voice in my head didn't speak, but I could sense it working- keeping my blood flowing, my heart pumping. It was mostly the reason why I was alive.

"Thank you," I struggled to say to it. I wasn't sure if it even worked, but it replied after a short pause.

"COMMUNICATION RECEIVED. YOU ARE WELCOME."

"Hold up," Thomas whispered beneath his breath, stopping short so suddenly that I had to tighten my grip around his neck to keep from falling off. "Are you seeing this, too?"

I lifted my head from his shoulder to see a girl marching toward us. Her hair was strewn all around her face and shoulders messily, but it was unmistakable who it was.

Teresa.

gif is dylan in her memory

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dun dun dun.

questions:

-will the voice ultimately do more harm or more good?

-what do you think it's doing to her memories?

-who would you rather have carry you: thomas or newt?

-how do you feel about the death cure being pushed back to 2018?

these next few chapters are gonna be intenseeeeee and it looks like it may or may not end soon with the pace it's going!!!

-kristyn