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When Thomas finally opened the door, the room was filled with desks, screens, and equipment; weirdly enough, it didn't look abandoned to their eyes. And then they see it: bodies scattered across the floor, slumped over desks, leaning against walls, and lying in pools of blood. The dead bodies are dressed in lab coats, hinting that they were scientists or researchers.

"What happened here?" A colleague of theirs asked a question that Zelia couldn't identify who asked.

Zelia saw a gun on the floor, so she kicked it to the side. They just continued to walk and see what they could see. Something caught her attention, so she approached the screens where the entire Glade could be seen.

"So they were watching us. This whole time." Newt said that Zelia didn't notice that he was next to her, just looking at the screen.

Thomas and the others move cautiously through the room, their faces a mix of shock and confusion. The sight of the lifeless bodies, the smell of death hanging in the air, and the eeriness of the silent, cold room create a haunting, unsettling atmosphere.

While Zelia was still looking inside the room, they suddenly heard a female voice and saw a video in front of them, so they slowly approached Thomas's side—it looks like he was the one who pressed to activate the video—to find out what it has to say.

"Hello. My name is Doctor Ava Paige. I'm Director of Operations of the World Catastrophe Killzone Department. If you're watching this, that means you have successfully completed the Maze Trials." She started while showing no other emotions.

She talks about the Flare, the Solar Flares that devastated the planet, and the deadly virus that followed, wiping out much of humanity. She refers to the Maze trials, explaining that the Gladers were part of an experiment designed to find a cure. She also said that their trials are just beginning.

Little by little, they see the soldiers in the back wearing all black with masks and shooting the people behind Ava, but she still continues to speak. Zelia noticed that Ava had pulled out a gun.

"It may be too late for us...for me...but not for you. The outside world awaits. Remember...WICKED is good," It's the last thing that Ava said before shooting herself in the head so Zelia's eyes closed as she pulled the trigger.

"Is it over?" She heard Maggie's question and she slowly opened her eyes, tried her best not to look at the screen.

"She said we were important," said Newt. It is obvious on their faces that there is a mixture of fear, nervousness, and joy that their suffering is over because the person who sent them to the Maze is no longer in this world.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Frypan asked, and Thomas just shrugged.

"Let's get out of here so we can figure out what to do," he said, and they all faced a door that they thought was the right way out of this place. They were about to take a step when they heard a voice behind them.

"No." They looked at who it was and were surprised by what they saw.

"Gally?" Thomas spoke and was about to approach Gally when Newt held his arm to stop the man.

"Don't. He's been stung," he said, so they all looked at the cylinder he was holding with a needle in his left hand while his right hand was holding a gun, aimed at Thomas.

"We can't leave," Gally said, and it was only now that Zelia noticed that the man was crying.

"We did. Gally, we're out. We're free," Thomas said in a calm voice. Even though he was afraid of what Gally would do, he still tried to talk to him gently and calm.

"Free? You think we're free out there? No," Gally said, and sweat was forming on his forehead and neck. "There's no escape from this place."

"Gally, listen to me. You're not thinking straight." Zelia saw how he shook his head, so she tried to speak, hoping he would listen to her.

"Please, Gally, we can help you. We can talk about this if you put down the gun first." The man shook his head again as if he could only see and hear Thomas right now.

"I belong to the Maze. We all do." After he spoke, he pulled the trigger, and Zelia saw a spear stuck in Gally's left chest. She didn't know who threw it.

The girl immediately looked at Thomas to see if he was okay, but she couldn't see the wound, so she couldn't know if the bullet had hit her brother or not.

"Thomas..." They heard Chuck speak, that's why they all looked at him, and the blood on his clothes was slowly spreading.

"Chuck..." Thomas and Zelia said together. Before he completely hit the floor, they both went to Chuck's side to catch him.

"Oh, shit. Shit. Look at me, look at me!" Thomas said as his tears started to fall as he patted his cheek slowly.

"Chuck, it's okay...I can help you...We, the Med-jacks...will help you. We will get out of here," Zelia said while trying not to stammer because her tears were pouring continuously. She took off her jacket to press it on Chuck's wound, trying to stop the blood flow on him. She doesn't care if the blood starts spreading on her hands.

But who is she fooling? She knew where the bullet hit Chuck. Even if they put pressure on his chest, it will be too late for them.

"Thomas..." Chuck said and took something from his pocket to give to Thomas that he didn't want to take.

"No, Chuck. You're going to give it to them yourself. Remember, I told you that." He was still trying to give Thomas whatever he had in his hand.

"Take it," Chuck said softly, and Thomas shook his head, but even though he didn't want to accept it, he took it anyway and they saw how Chuck smiled.

Zelia saw how Chuck would look at her; that's why her tears flowed even more. "Thank you...for being there for me...from the first day." That was the last thing he said before finally taking his breath away.

Thomas tried to shake Chuck weakly to find out if he was really gone. When he didn't move, Thomas just continued to scream, while Zelia just knelt on the side while crying and holding Chuck's hand, muttering a sorry for him.

Zelia never expected such a scene as this. She just wants them all to be free. Chuck is too young to be lost in this world. A month is not enough for her to make Chuck feel what a family feels like.

Zelia just felt someone hold her arm, and she looked to see who it was. She saw Minho's eyes were sad, and only now did she notice that someone in black and masked uniforms came inside and was pulling them out.

Minho was helping Zelia to run out the open door. The girl didn't want to leave, but she had no choice. She looked again at Chuck, who was still lying down, and saw someone pulling Thomas.

"You can't just leave him there!" She heard Thomas say before looking back at the front.

After they came out, the dark sky and rain poured down on them. It was their first time to see rain—since it never rains inside the Glade—but they kept running to the waiting bus in front of them. They were also seen waiting for them in black uniforms and masked people to get inside the bus.

It only took a few minutes for them to enter the bus one by one while drenched in the rain. They all sat in the farthest seats, not knowing what to say. Thomas, who was the last to arrive on the bus, sat in Zelia's empty seat.

Gradually, those who helped them came in, and the bus started moving. Someone stood not far from their place and took off his mask to stare at the Gladers.

"You guys all right? Don't worry. You're safe now," the man said while smiling.

I hope so. I really hope we are safe in WICKED. No more trials. No more experiments. We just want to live in peace.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I know that the settings of the ending of the movie are different. This scene is from the book since they are 20 survivors so it's better that I use the ending of the book.

There are also 20 survivors in the book, so instead of a helicopter, the vehicle I used in my story is a bus.