Jina pounded on the control room door. She was shaking with anger. The things she had witnessed in her many years in the facility finally got too much. She was holding on by a thread. A very thin thread And it was about to snap. She couldn't stand being here anymore.

Jina might have been able to look the other way as everyone she loved was given new names and numbers- it was a science building, doing science things, after all. Maybe she could talk herself into placidness when it came to the Purge- they were dangerous and contagious; contain the problem. Maybe she could swallow down the horribleness of stripping memories- it was a cool trick of science and technology and medicine. Now though? After seeing what they did to an innocent child... 

She was done.

She pounded on the door again. "Open the damn door!" She yelled.

There was a series of clicks and the door cracked open. A short stocky man she'd never seen before stood in the crack. He didn't look please to see her. "What's the problem, Jina?" He asked in a surprisingly calm voice, considering what just went down inside the Glen. "Things are a little crazy in here right now."

"Oh I bet they are." Jina snarled. She shoved the door open, the man tried to stop her but Jina ducked under his arm and came into the room. "Janson!" She yelled.

The thin rat looking man turned towards her, not looking at all shocked to see her standing and fuming in the middle of the super secret Psyches control room.

"Sorry Sir..." The man started.

Janson waved a hand and the man scurried away. "You are saying my dear?" He asked.

"What the fuck did we just watch?! You keep saying we're important. We're part of all this..." She pointed at herself and Aris and Rachel behind her, "we helped program your maze. Ha! I helped with more than one maze! And helped send my friends and my brother into the maze. And now I just watched the most innocent girl die in the most gruesome deaths and you did nothing to stop it! Why? Why didn't you help? Someone needs to explain. Right now."

Jina was struggling to keep from screaming. Janson regarded her for a moment. For an instant she figured they would toss her out, close the door and then punish her. But to her shock he folded his hands behind his back and nodded sadly.

"Indeed. I'm glad to see how shaken you are, we take these...mishaps very seriously. We are quite concerned with the situation and are working, even now, to fix the problem.

"Mishap?" Aris scoffed.

"I didn't know we were in the business of killing kids." Jina spat.

"Hmmm. You deserve to know what happened." Janson sighed.

"Ya, I think we do." Rachel said, folding her arms.

"Come with me, let's find a quiet place." Janson led them through the cluttered room of desks, monitors and key pads; papers littered the desk tops, charts of each girl, diagrams pinned to the wall. She was seeing red too much to pay much attention. Janson led them to a small glassed- in room.

"I wish you would you trusted us- trust me- a little more then what you just showed. I think I've shown I'm not a monster like your last director."

"Benefit of the doubt?" Jina scoffed. She stopped in the doorway and glanced around the glass room. Three walls were glasses, the wall at the back was mirrored. Outrage filled her. This was all WICKEDs terms, WICKED would use this to their benefit.

"Your monitoring us. Watch our Killzone patterns as you try to make us believe the murder of an innocent child was an accident." Jina snarled, turning to Janson.

For the first time, Jina saw just how dangerous Janson could get. His eyes flashed and his face twisted into something unrecognizable. But it was gone in a flash. "Careful B3." His voice was so dangerously quiet, only Jina heard it. It cut through her worse then Randell's electrocution.

Aris and Rachel stood at her shoulder. "We didn't come for a nice sit down. We want answers!" Rachel demanded.

"You killed someone." Aris added, his voice was much more controlled then Jina's. "We didn't sign up for this. We didn't sign up for you killing our friends. Are we next?"

"Are you three done? Come sit down and I'll explain what I can." Janson said he was back to his old self.

"As much as you can?" Rachel asked, skeptically.

"Well, yes." Janson nodded. "You came looking for answers and all your doing is throwing out wild accusations. If you want me to explain then you need to stop and sit down and let's have a conversation."

Rachel and Aris glanced at each other and then at Jina. She narrowed her eyes and glared at the man. She ground her teeth. She wanted to rage and scream and have them just admit what they did. She hated how they could all manipulate her and the situation. They were at their core, masters of manipulation and gas lighting. She hated how they treated her like a child some times and other times- when it suited them, like in the Purge- she was almost an adult. She may be only 16, but she sure didn't feel like that.

"Fine. Then talk." Aris finally answered for the group.

"We are figuring out right now what went wrong. The honest truth, we didn't mean for Stella to die. Now here's the straight truth." He placed his folded hands on the desk and leaned forwards. Looking each of them in the eye. "We mutated a version of the Flare virus that can take hold in the immune in... interesting ways. Ways that will help us understand the main virus better. That altered version is what the Griever injected into Stella. It's also what the serum is for, to stop it's effects. Sadly... the serum hasn't been perfected, clearly, as you saw the unfortunate results."

Janson paused and watched Jina for her reaction. However Jina was too shocked by his blunt answer to react at all. It seemed Aris and Rachel felt the same.

Janson went on, "we're working on it. We didn't mean for Stella to die- that's the honest truth. We'll correct the serum." He shifted and leaned back in the hard metal chair. "But I can tell you this: we measured some very significant results in the after results of her being stung. Not just from Stella, but from anyone who was involved and whoever witnessed what happened." He paused, "that's all that matters."

Jina stood up suddenly and without a word strode to the door and yanked it open.

"Jina!" Janson called.

Jina didn't stop. She continued to walk away. Her jaw was clamped so tight her head was hurting. Her hands were balled into fists so tightly her nails dug into her skin. She was shaking so badly she was surprised she could walk in a straight line. But she walked back to her room, flung her door open and leaned back on the closed door. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

But the images of Stella twisting in agony on the ground flashed behind her eye lids. How Sonya had to end her life- it was probably the most humane thing to do- but no one deserves that kind of death. Janson had said they collected data from anyone who watched it. So that meant her too. She had known mentally she was always a subject to them, just a different name. A glorified subject. Maybe even, their favorite subject- but she was being observed every minute of every day. Jina pushed off the door and ran for her bathroom. She just made it before her last meal made an appearance.

Jina had just finished washing her face and brushing her teeth when there was a quiet knock, she opened it to see Thomas standing in the door looking very distressed. He didn't say a word but wrapped her up in a giant hug and held her tightly.

"Aris said something terrible happened in your maze. I'm so sorry. Jina, I'm sorry." He whispered into her hair. She couldn't say anything. She clung to him instead.

"Why didn't you buzz my head? Jina, Hun, if you need me, I'll come!"

All she could do was make a choking sob noise. Thomas just tightened his grip and gently walked her inside the room and closed her door. He guided her over to the bed and sat down. He scotched to the wall and leaned back and pulled her in between his legs and wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

"What happened? Aris and Rachel both looked horrified." He asked gently into her hair.

"It was awful, Tommy." She whispered. Her voice shook, with anger, sorrow, resentment...she didn't know. She could tell he wanted to ask questions, get to the bottom of the problem, find a solution. But somehow for her, he restrained himself enough to ask only one, "what happened?"

She told him exactly what happened, all the gory details.

"What the actual shuck is wrong with them?" Thomas gasped. "They've lost all their morals!"

"There never was any to begin with." Jina spat bitterly. "Don't you remember, they were the ones to release the disease."

"Yeah...you're right." Thomas nodded in agreement. "Umm...I don't want to add on.. but umm...there's something else. Teresa saw it and showed me."

Jina growled in frustration. "What did she show you, Thomas?"

He shifted them slightly and he pulled a small tablet out of his back pocked.

"She didn't seem overly upset by it or surprised. So...I don't know what's going on. I didn't send a mass email after the Purge, and I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say you didn't either."

"What? No." Jina shook her head confused.

"And I'm going to guess again, Ava Paige didn't ask permission to use your name, because I was never asked."

"What? No...Tommy, what are you talking about?"

He wrapped his arms back around her, pulling her back against his chest. He handed her the tablet and he rested his chin on her shoulder. Together they read the email.

WICKED MEMORANDUM:
To: The Replacements
From: Jina (Subject B3) and Thomas (Subject A2)
RE: The Purge

We take total responsibility for what we've had to do over the last few days.

What we have to keep in mind, though, is that WICKED is alive and stronger than ever. The Elite mazes are up and running, with more to follow, and studies are in full swing. We're on the path and we can't stray from it.

All we ask is that what we've done here remain within the organization and never be referred to again what's done is done and it is a mercy but now every waking thought has to be devoted to building the blueprint.

A D. Janson is the new Director. Ava Paige is the new Chancellor of WICKED.

"What?" Was all Jina could get out.

"Ya, and then there's this..." Thomas pushed the X in the corner and brought up the next memo. "This one is from the old Chancellor, the day before he typed up that crazy one we saw on his workstation about his fingers. There's no way he wrote this. Check it out."

WICKED MEMORANDUM:
To: Fellow Partners
From: Kevin Anderson, Chancellor
RE: My Farewell to you

I hope that each one of you will forgive me for doing this in such a cowardly manner, sending you a memo when it's something I should do in person. However, I have no choice. The effects of the flare are rampant in my actions, embarrassing and disheartening. And our decision not to allow the narcotic The Bliss within our compound means I can't fake it long enough to say goodbye properly.

Typing these words is difficult enough. But at least I have the ability and time to write and edit in small windows of sanity left to me.

I don't know why the virus affected me so quickly and so viciously. I detected far Quaker than almost all of the original group. But no matter. I've been decommissioned, And my replacement, Ava Paige, Is ready to take charge. The Elite are well into training to serve as the link between us and those who will continue to run WICKED. Ava herself admits that her purpose is almost more like that of a figurehead, with our Elite subjects true rulers.

We are and will continue to be in good hands. The noble cause we began over a decade ago. We will see itself to fruition. Our efforts, And for almost all of us, our lives, Will have been spent justly and for the greater good. The Cure will be built.

Honestly, This is more of a personal note. To thank you for your friendship, Your compassion, Your empathy in the face of implementing such difficult tasks.

One word of warning: It gets bad in the end. Don't fight the time of your decommission. I did, And now I regret it. Just leave and end the suffering.

It's become too much.

Thank you.

And goodbye.

Jina sat staring at the words, the tablet shaking in her hands. She felt a white hot burning start in the pit of her stomach, and it coursing through her body, like blood in her veins, but this was rage. Anger she had never experienced before. She felt sick with it.

"What....what is this?" She somehow managed to form the words and get them out. "That's not what happened at all. What she trying to do, rewrite his story so it looks more legit in the future?"

"Seems that way." Thomas answered.  "Honestly...I have no idea, but it would explain why the transition of power was so smooth."

"When was she planning on telling us we were used to endorse her take over?" Jina had to physically swallow, and keep her temper in control. She pushed off the bed and stood up.

"Are you gonna do what I think your gonna do?" Thomas asked, slightly amused.

"Depends. What do you think I'm doing?" Jina asked.

"We're going to have some words with Ava Paige."

"Then, Tommy, you would be correct."

< • >

Thomas knocked on Chancellor Page's door until she finally opened it. They were both so upset, but Jina was shaking with her efforts to keep her temper under control. Today had been too much. Thomas didn't look much better, he was having a hard time catching his breath, his jaw was so clenched, the muscle twitched. Jina's stomach flip flopped, despite the situation.

She opened her office door and looked surprised, "is there a problem?"

"Ya." Jina's answer was short, "why did you do it?"

"I thought Director Janson explained everything to you."

"Not that. But that was not okay either."

"We're talking about using our names on your take over email. Why?" Thomas looked like he was betrayed, Jina could see how much that hurt him. "Writing memos from other people's accounts is your thing now?"

Chancellor Paige regarded them both. She had changed a lot over the months. Her eyes were now always cold and calculating. Her face was drawn and gave nothing away.  Jina was expecting her to slam the door in their faces. But to her surprise, Ava rubbed her forehead and sighed.

"It helped the others deal with the current situation, Thomas."  Chancellor Page said. " It gave them a better sense of order. It also showed how involved you are in this organization and how mature you've all become." She smiled at the two of them like that would settle the matter. She looked proudly at the two of them. "You two are the best. The top of the Elites even, so to place your names on the email...it showed my confidence in you as well. We are all tied to this company. And. I think it's a simple but symbolic way to create a bridge in everybody's mind. A link. Between the old and the new."

Jina didn't know what to say, or how to respond. Why would she make them seem so important? And why would she send something from their messaging account without asking? Not to mention from Anderson's, their old leader at the time?

"This does all of that," She continued. "While having a focal point of one or two, such as yourselves. It's the best of both worlds."

They both stood shoulder to shoulder, not responding, staring at the Chancellor.

"You could've at least asked." Jina finally managed to spit out.

Chancellor page gave them a genuine enough look of regret. "You're right. I'm sorry. I got way ahead of myself."

"It's not okay." Thomas said. He spun on his heel, Jina right behind him and they stormed down the hall.

Jina's head buzzed as Thomas made the mental connection. She's full of lies.

Oh she's full of something alright.

She felt Thomas snicker in her head, despite his poker face as he stormed down the hall. I'm not buying anything she says for a minute.

I can't keep this up, Tommy. I can't continue with the lies and manipulation and watching my friends die.

Thomas stopped walking and pulled her into the corner and wrapped her up into a tight hug.

"I know, Hun. I know." He whispered burying his face into her hair. But we can't leave our friends in the mazes. Somehow we need to get them out. I think it's time to...step up our plan.

Thomas was right. It was time to take WICKED down.

Some how.

< • >