She was sent to work with Maze C for the rest of the day, she wasn't even allowed to see them inserted in the Glade. Teresa had given her a smug look from behind Thomas. Jina stormed away blinking away her tears, as she watched Teresa guide Thomas away, her hand on his arm. 

During her lunch hour she marched her way, ready to fight anyone who told her no. She shoved the door to Maze B open, glaring at the few people who turned to look at her, daring them. She almost wished they would, she was ready for a fight. One lady just shrugged and looked back at the screens. Aris and Rachel weren't there, they must have been sent out somewhere. The door behind her opened and Jina stiffened. Janson froze mid step. He frowned for a second and then he had a small sad smile.

"Jina." Janson he said sadly, like he was trying to bring bad news to a sick friend. "Are you not supposed to be helping with Maze C?"

"It's my lunch hour. And I thought it would be okay to observe my first project." Jina said stiffly. Her muscles were coiled and ready for a fight, her voice was strained from not screaming, like she really wanted to.

"I suppose, it's your lunch time, your free time. If you would like to observe the other subjects..."

Jina's spirit rose and then sank. "The only reason you're agreeing is so that you can observe me observing them."

Janson sighed, "Do you want to stay or not?"

Jina swallowed her pride, "yeah."

Janson nodded and indicated to a chair and she sunk down, already glued to the screens. Janson went to the other side of room and had a whispered conversation with one of the men at the desk.

Jina watched the girls. They'd had one night in their new home, though none of them had seen the actual maze yet. WICKED had yet to open the doors that led to the Maze, saving that for another day.

Jina watched the girls wander about the large courtyard nestled within the giant walls of the maze itself. Their faces said it all. Their eyes said it all, often visible when a beetle blade- the mobile lizard like cameras that scurried around watching everything- could get close enough. They had no idea where they were. They looked disoriented, and the more Jina watched, the more something felt wrong. Everyone had peeled off, and really seemed to be on their own.

She zeroed in on two girls she only knew by name- who were just crossing each other's paths.

"Hey," one of them said in a shaky voice. "Do you know where we are? How we got here?"

The other girl shook her head, looking on the verge of tears. "I don't...I don't even know..." She didn't finish, but turned and walked briskly away.

Similar things were happening elsewhere. Most of the girls were avoiding each other, but when they did interact, it seemed as if they were acting like strangers. As if they didn't know who anyone else was. Or who they were themselves. A few names were thrown about, but even those were said with uncertainty.

Then it hit Jina. Those masks. She had seen them right there. She had experienced them. Twice. That was what those masks had been for. WICKED had done something terrible to their memories. Something to do with their implants, probably.

If that was the case, if this was something permanent, Jina couldn't imagine anything more horrible. It was all they had, their memories. It felt like a hard punch to her gut. She actually let out a painful small gasp. She saw Janson straighten up and look her way.

"Jina? Everything all right?"

"Yep." She squeaked. She nodded sharply and kept her eyes glued to the screen. 

As she watched the girls who she had know for ten years, wonder aimlessly with fear and tears in their eyes. She thought back to when Randell had taken away her name- it had felt like losing part of her soul. And then she was forced to forget her brother, and then she was manipulated into murder and she lost more of herself. And now, WICKED could take their full long term memories. This felt far far worse then anything she had been forced to do. Watching this in full view play out, it chilled Jina to the bone. How deep did this go? Could they reverse this? Why take everything away? 

She saw Sonya wondering close to the wall. She frowned at it. And then she turned and looked around. Harriet was sitting close by, leaning on a tree.

"Do you know where we are?" Sonya asked Harriet, who looked up sharply. 

"No. I don't know where we are." She snapped, as if Sonya asked her a million times.

"Well, bloody hell, neither do I!"

"I think we all get that!"

They stared at each other for a moment, and then she shrugged, "at least I know my name...Sonya. Yours?"

"Harriet." She said it like a guess.

"We should start to try figure things out as some point."

"At some point... tomorrow. Let's...let's give us a day to mope about and feel sorry for ourselves."

"That's so fetch."

Harriet looked at her confused. "What?"

"So fetch...like...I agree." Sonya shrugged, "I think. I dunno. I can't remember."

"Nah. It's cool. It's so fetch." Harriet nodded, the corner of her lip twitched in a small sign of a smile it disappeared and she looked away.

Sonya turned to the wall again frowning. She reached out and grabbed onto one of the vines that were growing on the walls. She gripped the vine, white knuckled fists, she tugged it, checking it out. She tried climbing the wall. Finding perilous footholds as she inched her way up. Hand over hand, shifting her feet carefully she climbed.

Ten feet. Fifteen feet. Twenty feet. Twenty five feet.

She stopped. She looked towards the sky, then craned her neck to look back down at the ground. A crowd of girls had gathered, cheering her on. She looked back up and then down. She looked at her hands, then the sky. The wall. Back down. Her hands. Then shook her head and without any explanation, despite the abundance of ivy above her, slowly climbed down.

She jumped the last few feet. Stood up and brushed her hands on her pants.

"Can't be buggen' done here." She said. "Let's try another spot."

With a heavy heart Jina got up. She felt like her insides turned to ice and the blood in her veins to cement. She dragged herself from the room. Her mind shut off. There was nothing left for her to feel, she felt exhaustion, and a deep heaviness that settled into her chest. She went about the rest of her day with cold hands, a numb heart and a mind on auto pilot.

< • >

Now she lay in bed staring at the black ceiling. She hadn't had supper. Or gone to see Aris or Thomas. She was too wrapped in her misery and sorrow. She glanced at the little digital clock.

4:36am.

Her alarm was going to go off in two hours. She rolled over and stared at the blank white wall. Everyone she cared about was sent up into the maze. (Except Aris and Thomas and Rachel.) She knew the truth- she didn't agree with anything they were doing, they stole memories, hurt her for others poor choices, lied and manipulated, forced her to kill, purposely put her up against others, manipulated her so people who claimed they were doctors could study her brain. So...how do you take down a full organization like that? They watched her every move, could see and study her brain patterns, there were guards and cameras everywhere, and now she was positive, Teresa would be watching her for any mistake.

She closed her eyes and felt her heart blacken and become cold.

< • >

The winter slowly passed. She was scheduled more and more with Maze B or the other mazes. And less and less time with Maze A. She had successfully helped Maze C start and got their group of candidates into the Maze. Maze C was a mix of boys and girls, all the same age. Maze D was different ages, again mixed genders but the Maze itself was different, a tougher terrain, and environment- easier maze. They were almost ready for an insertion day.

Jina didn't feel anything anymore. She had become callused, and blank. She was allowed to go outside now. Monitored by heavily armed guards and at designated time slots. The snow should have been pretty, but she saw nothing. She went about the motions, she watched the screens and did her job, went to class, followed Chancellor Paige around, transcribed her meeting notes. But she felt nothing.

Thomas grew more concerned the less she ate and the thinner she got, the more Aris and Thomas nagged her to eat and sleep. The more she closed in on herself, the more Teresa tried to get Thomas's attention. She had resorted to short skirts and low cut button up tops. Thomas, the poor sweet boy, was completely oblivious to this and Aris found it hilarious, considering it did nothing for him either. It made Jina feel worse about her self, because there was no way she could pull off those kind of outfits...she couldn't fill out a top like that. 

"Girl...You already have the boy. Stop wallowing. Head up and go see the boy tonight." Aris chided her as they walked down the hall. 

"No kidding." Rachel added, "I saw her trying- and failing miserably I might add- to get his attention in the break room. The boy was so busy with his coffee he didn't notice you could see right down her shirt when she leaned over. A few of the other Psyches noticed, though." 

"Eww." Aris shivered. 

"Please. Jin. Just go see him." Rachel encouraged. "He's worried about you."

So after she was showered and changed into sweatpants and a hoodie- she now sat on Thomas's bed wrapped like a burrito in his blanket. He took one of her hands, holding it tight, playing with her fingers.

"Jina. You're scaring me. And I don't know what to do. Aris says you hardly talk now in class and the observation room."

Jina just shrugged. "I...I don't know what to do anymore, Tommy. I've seen what they do. I've seen first hand what they're capable of. Who am I to think I can do anything?"

"Who are we? We're people Jina." He cupped her check gently, this thumb brushed her cheekbone. "We're humans. We're kids who were forced into this! I don't know your past-"

"Me either, thanks to Randell." Jina spat, looking away, the tears burning her eyes. Thomas's hand fell to his lap.

He sighed. "But...I know some kids were taken by force, some were paid for, some were stolen and some were dropped off. Me? They paid my mom for me. They took me and gave her money, saying it was for a good cause and I was saving the world. They said the money was for Bliss, she had the Flair... I know now, I was bought. I was 6."

"I'm sorry Tommy. That's terrible."

"My dad had got the Flair. I don't...I don't remember what happened to him. But mom started acting strange after that."

Jina looked back at Thomas, she saw his eyes glisten with tears. He blinked a few times and shook his head. "Not the point,"  He cleared his throat. "We all have sucky backstories." He waved his hand. "Do you remember that burg pilot I told you about?"

Jina had to think, it been a long six months. And then she slowly nodded, remembering Thomas's story.

"Well his niece, Brenda? The one who was a lab tech?"

Again, Jina nodded.

"Well...her brother...turns out- after I took a page from your book, and started to gather some information..."

He scrambled off the bed and underneath it. A second later he was back sitting on the bed with a small binder full of random pages; information in his own writing he'd picked up or pages photocopied. He flipped though the pages and came to one and shoved the binder into Jina's lap. She slowly focused on the information. Her mind became more alert and she paid more attention.

"Wait... Her brother is in Maze A? Why wasn't she put with a maze?"

"See, that's just it....okay, so there's a city somewhere out there, in a place called The Scorch... and some dude runs like a club- he lures kids and then kidnaps them and then sells them to WICKED."

"Ok...but how does that work if her brother is in Maze A right now and he's immune, she's a lab nurse, but not immune- though... she must be a Munie because she was handling all of our Flare infested clothes from the night of The Purge!"

"Exactly. So I did some more digging." Thomas said, he was suddenly excited, and eager.

Jina peeked up and leaned forwards, this was the most interested she had been in months.

"So. I heard whispers - guards talk a lot when their off duty. Hanging out in the gym...you get a lot of loose mouths."

Jina nodded, and now that she was alert and looking, she noticed more definition in his arms, shoulders and chest. Her face felt hot suddenly.

"Okay...and what have you learned..." She asked quickly.

"There's talk of some resistance group that has formed. They move around a lot. But their goal is to rescue as many kids as possible. Trying to prevent WICKED from killing off a whole generation of Munies."

"And..." Jina said slowly, getting up and wrapping the blanket around her shoulders, she began to pace in front of Thomas as she worked out the puzzle. "Somehow this Burg pilot is connected to it? And this pilot...his niece...he must have gotten her out but was unable to save the boy..."

"Exactly!" Thomas exclaimed. "They came to WICKED hoping to find him and get him out."

"Does this pilot have a name?" Jina asked eagerly.

"The guards call him Horhay." Thomas said. "Apparently he's one of the best pilots, and a lot of them will only go out if he's flying."

"Okay. So Horhay possibly works for this... resistance group and this group definitely does not agree with what WICKED is doing."

Thomas nodded.

"And...there is some kind of connection with Brenda and Doctor Mary...she might be in on this resistance group. They would need someone to fudge her immunity records on a regular basis, especially with people snooping through records- look at the Purge..." Jina said, still piecing the last of the information together.

She turned to look at him. He looked at her with such pride her heart fluttered. He was genuinely happy for her to have worked this out.

"You got it, Boss Lady!" Thomas grinned.

"Thomas!" Jina whispered in amazement, "This is the best thing ever! I can't believe it!"

"Don't sound so shocked. I can gather info and be all mission impossible too." He pouted. Jina knew he had done a lot of dangerous info digging. She stepped closer and Thomas wrapped his arms around her waist as he tipped his head up to look at Jina. She unwrapped the blanket and wrapped it around both of them.

"Okay Super Spy," she leaned down and kissed his forehead. He chuckled at her. "But first step...we need to confirm this lead and make sure they really are working with this group- that's gonna be tricky. I can get the schedule of lab techs tomorrow, that's easy enough, and I can see the next time Brenda and Mary are working together....I might just have to make an off the record visit."

"I can try find the pilot..." Thomas suggested.

"Sounds like a plan! Thank you Thomas. I...I was feeling..."

"I know, Ji. I know, I get it. Some days...when the alarm goes off I wish I had just died in my sleep."

Jina didn't say anything, she felt like that on a regular basis. Thomas sighed heavily and gently pulled her down so she was sitting on his lap. He held her close, and Jina held him tightly. They held each other and were content to be together, until a horrible thought stabbed her mind.

"Tommy?" She whispered hesitantly

"Ya?"

"Be careful, okay?" She whispered again and sat up straight and shifted on his lap to see him. "Please be careful when you go looking for the Pilot. I think Teresa has laid off me for now...but she's trying to win you back or over or whatever."

Thomas frowned. "What do you mean?"

"She's really touchy feely with you. I see the way she's always eyeing you up and manipulating every opportunity to be alone with you...and her outfits are ridiculous."

Thomas looked even more confused.

"Even Aris and Rachel asked about it. And she's not his type."

"What?"

Jina chuckled softly. "You're so cute and oblivious about girls. How did I ever catch your eye?"

"There's no competition, Ji. You're amazing; you're smart and kind, and creative and how you keep each maze separated and compartmentalized...and you're kinda sassy and have a stubborn streak and are feisty. I love you hair; its so thick and shiny it almost looks blue- like a Raven's wings... and when you smile your eyes disappear into half moons, and you have a really cute dimple. And your so short, when I hug you you fit right into my chest and I can wrap you up nice and safe. And -"

Jina placed a hand gently on his lips, making him stop. His whiskey brown eyes sparkled. With a wild flock of butterflies fluttering around her stomach, Jina leaned closer, her forehead on his, "your rambling again." She whispered, trying to hold a smile in.

He gently pulled her hand away. "I'll ramble about you all day, Boss Lady."

She let a smile slide onto her face. The first real genuine smile in a long time.

"Okay Super Spy, you can ramble about me."

He chuckled and squeezed her a little closer. And tipped his head up enough to kiss her softly. She smiled into their kiss.

< • >