Once they landed, they were immediately ushered out of the helicopter. Lizzie already went along with the others, but Minho stayed back because Thomas fell asleep so he woke him up. There were these things on the hills of sand near them and she hated how they sound. The men called them Cranks, but she had no idea what they were.

She glanced over her shoulder to make sure Thomas and Minho were following them. Once she knew they were, she continued running towards the building that was in front of them. When they were inside, the door immediately shut closed.

Lizzie pulls her hair up into a pony tail, but kept some hairs in the front down as she looked around at the room they were in. It somewhat looked like a storage room, there were a lot of boxes and even some armed men walking around. They were led to another room where they were kept for a while. Lizzie was pretty sure she even fell asleep. She sat up whenever she heard the metal squeak of the door opening. She got up along with the others as a man appeared at the door.

"You kids doing alright?" He asks, walking towards him. "Sorry about all of the fuss." He apologizes. "We had ourselves a bit of a swarm."

"Who are you?" Thomas asked him.

The man didn't seem familiar to Lizzie and she honestly wasn't for sure if they should trust him. The man smiles. "I'm the reason you're all are still alive. It's my intention to keep you that way."

"Now, come with me. We'll get you kids squared away." He gestured for them to follow and then started walking away.

Lizzie shares a concerned look with Minho before they all hesitantly followed the man. "You can call me Mr. Janson. I run this place." The man, Janson, introduced himself. 

"For us this place is a sanctuary, safe from the horrors of the outside world." Janson continued to say and Lizzie furrowed her eyebrows, wondering what he meant by horrors.

"You all should think of it as a way station. Kind of a home between homes. Watch yourselves." Janson pointed to some electrical wiring that was broken as they walked past it.

"That mean you're talking us home?" Thomas questioned. Lizzie glanced at Janson with a hopeful glint in her eyes. She doesn't even really remember what her home was. She just wanted to go to some place where she felt safe and comfortable. 

Janson looks back at Thomas and nods. "A home of sorts. Sadly, there wouldn't be much left of wherever you came from. But we do have a place for you. A refuge outside of the scorch where WICKED will never find you again." He looks back at them with a smile. "How does that sound?" He asked them before he turned back around and he continued walking.

"Why are you helping us?" Minho inquired, glancing at Janson suspiciously. 

"Let's just say the world out there is in a rather precarious situation." Janson replies. "We're all hanging on by a very thin thread. The fact that you kids can survive the Flare virus makes you the best chance of humanity's continued survival."

He then explains how it also made them a target, and Lizzie didn't like the sound of that. The group being a target didn't sound like a good thing. Then they all stopped in front of a door.

"Beyond this door lies the beginning of your new lives." Janson told them, swiping a card through a slot near the door. It lit green and the door went up revealing a hallway.

Janson turns to face the group with a smile. "First thing first, let's get rid of that smell."

The boys and girls, of course, were put in different sets of showers. Lizzie had to admit that the shower felt amazing. It felt so good to be clean. The new clothes she put on after felt even better. The Gladers were then led to a medical room where they checked on and given the vitals they needed. But Lizzie was confused at why they had Minho on a treadmill. Lizzie was in one section, sitting on a chair. There were all different kinds of supplies around her. Some on desks and there were even empty what looked like medicine on a shelf.

Lizzie watches with furrowed eyebrows as the women she was put with put something into a syringe. "What's that?" She questioned nervously.

The women chuckles softly. "It's just all the vitals you missed when you were in the maze to help keep you healthy. Nothing to worry about, dear." She sent Lizzie a reassuring smile while she brought the syringe towards Lizzie's right arm.

Lizzie couldn't help but jump away when the needle was close to her arm. "Sorry." She apologized with a sheepish look on her face as she looked at the women.

The women shakes her head. "It's alright."

She glances over at Minho and they lock eyes. He knew she wasn't the best around needles so he sends her a reassuring smile and a thumbs up.  He then mouths to her, 'You got this, Shank.'

Somehow that helped her calm her down and a small smile tugs on her lips. "Okay, Lizzie, all done." The women suddenly said. She didn't even realize that she put the needle in.

"W-wait, really?" Lizzie stuttered, looking over at the women with surprise. The women was putting things away as she nodded.

"I didn't even feel it." Lizzie admitted.

The women chuckles and smiles slightly. "Well, I think your friend over there helped you stay calm while I did it." She pointed at Minho and Lizzie glanced over at him.

"You're now free to go to the cafeteria where the others are at." The women told her. 

Lizzie looks over at her with furrowed eyebrows and she tilted her head to the side, feeling the nerves and confusion grow. "What do you mean by others? Wait, are there more than us here?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you much." The woman smiles apologetically at her. "But you're more than welcome to wait for your friends to be done and head over there with them."

Lizzie glances around at her friends, seeing that they probably wouldn't be done for a few minutes. She shakes her head. "It's okay." She smiles a bit. "I'll just go on. I'm sure they'll be done soon." She said, trying to reassure herself.

The women nods and pats her shoulder. "The cafeteria is just around the corner."

Lizzie sent her a thankful smile as she got up and walked around the corner to the cafeteria. She was surprised to see so many kids in the place. Her eyes scanned the room, not noticing anyone familiar. Her eyes stopped on a boy who was sitting by himself at the end of a table with his hood up.

Even though she was nervous, she felt as if she should go talk to him. "Hi." She greeted as she walked up to him.

She must've startled him because he drops the orange he was holding as he looks at her. "Oh, um, hi."

"Can I sit here?" She asked him, gesturing to the seat in front of him.

The boy shrugs. "Yeah, I guess."

"I'm Lizzie." She introduced herself. She waited for him to tell her his name, but silence fell between them as he stared at his plate.

She sighs, resting her elbow on the table and then rests her head on her hand. "Wow, you don't talk much."

"I'm Aris." The boy suddenly introduced himself.

She looks at him with a smile, seeing that he was looking at her with a small smile. "It's nice to meet you, Aris. Um, how long have you been here?" She grimaces. "You don't have to answer if that makes you uncomfortable-"

"I've been here for almost a week." Aris interrupted her.

Her eyes widen with surprise. "Okay, wow. Um, is the place here as good as it seems?" She asked him.

Aris was quiet while looking back at his plate. He then shrugs. "Not really."

Lizzie furrowed her eyebrows with confusion, wondering what he meant by that. She went to open her mouth to ask, but heard someone call her name.

"Hey, Lizzie!"

She looked over at a nearby table seeing Winston waving her over. She was busy talking with Aris and didn't even realize that her friends were in the cafeteria.

"Over here." He gestured for her to come over to them.

She nods in response and glances at Aris. "Um, I should probably go." Concern fills her eyes as she asks, "You gonna be okay over here?"

Aris nods. "Yeah. I'll be fine."

She felt bad for leaving him alone, but she nodded and got up. She walked over to the table her friends were sitting at and sat next to Winston. She didn't even realize there were other guys sitting with them until one of them asked her a question.

"Who were you talking to?"

"Aris." She replied as Minho then handed her a plate of food. She looked over at him with surprise since she didn't think he would get her a plate.

He shrugs. "I figured you didn't get one so I decided to get one for you."

Lizzie muttered out a word of thanks as she took a drink of the water. She didn't even realize she was so hungry until she looked at the food. She glanced over at the door after eating some food and notices Thomas walking in. She smiles. "Hey, there's Thomas."

"I'll bring him over." Minho smiled slightly and stood to go get Thomas.

Lizzie continued eating her food as the boys that sat with them explained what happened to them while Minho brought Thomas over. They even told them that there was more than one maze which she figured whenever she saw all of the kids in the cafeteria.

"And there was this big loud explosion, and these guys came out of nowhere. Started shooting up the place." The dark haired boy explained as Thomas sat down between Minho and Newt.

The brown haired boy next to him nods. "It was intense."

"They pulled us out of the maze and put us here." The dark haired boy said.

"Okay, well, what happened to everyone else?" Lizzie inquired.

Newt nods in agreement. "Yeah, what about the other people left behind in the maze, what happened to them?"

The dark haired boy shrugs. "I don't know. I guess WICKED still has them."

Lizzie takes a drink as silence filled the air. That was until Newt spoke up. "How long have you guys been here?"

"Not long." The dark haired boy answers. "Just a day or two."

"Aris has been here the longest." Lizzie commented, pointing over at Aris. 

The dark haired boy nods. "She's right."

"His maze was nothing but girls." The brown haired boy told them.

"Really?" Minho asked.

"Some guys have all the luck." The dark haired boy replied.

Lizzie turns around when Janson walked in with two men behind him. "Good evening, gentlemen, ladies."

"You all know how this works. You'll hear your name be called, please rise in orderly fashion, join my colleges behind me where they will escort you to the eastern wing." Janson explained.

He smiles. "Your new lives are about to begin."

Janson then started listing off names, and when they were called they walked up to the front and stood in line. Soon Janson was done and they all left the cafeteria.

"Where are they going?" Minho questioned.

"Far from here." The dark haired boy answered as Lizzie turned back around, and finished eating the rest of her food.

"Some kind of farm. A safe place." The brown haired boy said to them. "They can only take in a couple of people at a time."

Lizzie looked up from her plate when Thomas stood up. She tilted her head to the side as he walked towards the window that separated them from the hallway. She looked over, surprised to see Teresa walking with to somewhere with nurses with her.

"Hey, Teresa? Teresa!" Thomas tried getting her attention as he walked to the end of the window and then a guard stopped him. There were two guards blocking the door that was near the window.

"Hopefully he doesn't get himself in trouble." Lizzie mumbles. She sighs. "But knowing Thomas he definitely will get himself in trouble."

A/N And here's the first chapter of the scorch trials