Jina was nothing. She had no body. No soul. Nothing but a conscious existing in nothing. Everything around her was dark, even though she couldn't actually see. She couldn't feel, yet the nothingness around her was neither warm nor cold. It was just there.

And then everything slammed into her at once. The sounds crescendo into a giant loud symphony of chaos making her flinch. The colours and lights blinded her after the cool darkness. She felt everything. The pain in her head from the concussion and the corrosive poison slowly flowing through her body, the crippling pain in every fiber of her being. She felt cold and then she was incredibly hot. The nothingness around her became bitter cold, bitting into her skin, and then she felt like her skin was on fire; she was boiling from the inside.

She felt the heart break, and hurt, the anger and resentment, the loneliness the betrayal. All the emotions she had ever experienced, she felt it all at once.

All her senses were assaulted with everything all at once. She was still floating through nothing, feeling everything all at once. Then her mind began feeling a pull. At first it was a gentle tug, but it became harsh and violent. And then she was yanked, her mind slammed back into her body and like her mind was on fast forward, with every speaker available on full blast and the colours were too vibrant, too distorted. She watched a jumbled mess of a slide show of her life. Nothing made sense. One second she was young holding a boy's hand and then the next moment she was 15 running down a hall then the next moment she was 10 in a classroom. She was never in the memory long enough to understand. Everything was still blurry like a water coloured painting someone was angry with and smudged it all.

And then the slide show cut off. And she was a body, feeling heavy and sore and miserable. She felt her body free falling through the nothingness. Jina let a small whimper out. Her body slammed into something solid.

Everything hurt. Her muscles and even her bones ached. She didn't want to move she wanted to lay there and do nothing. She felt something warm holding her hand. She shivered, her body was coated in sweat but she was shivering. Her mind hurt, it was tired from what it just went through. Her body felt heavy and it was exhausting to even shift her head. She let another small whimper out.

"Jina..?"

She heard a voice gently calling her. She tried to follow the voice. She tried opening her eyes, but she was too tired.

"Come on, Ji."

She used whatever energy she had left to force her eyes open. It was so bright she had to blink a few times. Jina groaned. Her eyes felt dry and like sandpaper. But her blurry eyes focused on the person beside her. Sandy blond hair, tall and lean, watery blue eyes. Jina blinked a few more times.

"Aris..." She croaked.

"Hey Stick." He grinned. And then it slid off into a frown. "That was the dumbest finchen' thing I've seen."

"You got no memories...the bar is pretty low." Jina groaned as she tried to roll over. She winced and gave up. It felt like her body had been through the wringer, the worst ever flu and then tripled. She was so cold but too tired and sore to do anything about it.

"Touche. But still. Why'd you do it?"

"I had to remember..."

Aris leaned forwards, his elbows on his knees. "And do you?"

"Give me a finchen' second. I feel like shit."

Aris smirked, "you look like shit-"

The door opened. "Brought you some supper." Flossie set the tray down and turned. "You're not dead!" Flossie stated, eyeing up Jina who had finally managed to curl onto her side shivering.

"Am I not?" Jina whimpered.

"I'll go tell Harriet and Jill. Sonya, Rachel and Taylor just got back."

"Okay...thanks Flossie." Aris nodded.

Flossie left and Jina closed her eyes. Trying to sort out her memories. There was too much and now that she had them she felt even worse. Not just physically. She felt the sting of hot tears. She rolled the other way, facing the wall and curled up tightly into a ball.

Aris tried to talk to her but she didn't reply. If the girls knew what she had done. If they actually knew her, and what she did to them they would reject her out into the maze. Josey was right. She was bad. She was worse than bad. She was terrible.

The door opened again. She heard footsteps and the chair scrap. And then hushed voices.

"...ya woke up about half an hour ago."

"How is she?"

"Won't talk. Won't answer."

"Well...you can't expect much, that was a whole buggen' lot she just went through. Less than twenty four hours she was out! Give the girl a break!"

"But she hasn't tried to kill anyone..."

"Yet."

"Wow Harriet. Who peed in your cheerios this morning?"

"I'm being realistic. We've had enough girls go through it. Only one actually made it out and is functioning. So ya, I have reason to be weary, Blondie."

"Okay, stop! There was a reason the Designers didn't want her to have memories...

"So. What is she hiding?"

"More like what are the Designers so worried about."

There was a pause in the hushed conversation, Jina assumed they were staring at her. She curled up tighter, trying to hide away. The shame and guilt consumed her and a sob rose from inside. She stuffed it back down for now.

"Well there's nothing for me to do, wait until something changes, her body needs to rest." Jill said quietly.

There were a few sighs and then footsteps and the door closed. The med hut was quiet.

"Ji?" Aris said gently.

She whimpered, trying to keep the sob inside.

"Come on Jina. It's just us now." Rachel added. The bed dipped as they both sat down behind her.

"We both know we've been through some klank together. You can lay it on us."

Jina slowly, on shaking arms pushed herself to sit up, her back still to them. She took a slow shuttering breath. As she let it out, the tears slid down her cheeks.

"We did this. We did this to them." She whispered.

"We did what to who?" Rachel asked.

"We worked for them. We worked for the designers. The three of us. We helped put the girls here!"

Jina's voice faltered and she let out the sob she had tried to keep hidden. She crumpled and placed her head in her hands and she sobbed. Arms wrapped around her. Her head was held gently and placed on someone's shoulder and she was held while she sobbed.

At some point her exhausted body pulled her into sleep again.

< • >

Jina sat up with a shriek. Before her mind was fully functioning she was scrambling out of bed. Her legs felt shaky and unstable. Her head and ankle throbbed and she had to hold her head as she turned around in a full circle, trying to figure out what woke her up. Her hearing and other senses finally kicked in. She heard another explosion, followed by screaming.

Jina ran to the door and ripped it open. An explosion? In the Maze? She ran out into the middle of the Glenn. She saw girls running all over the place. Screaming, crying, there was no organization. It was chaos.

She saw Flo running past and grabbed her by the arm. "Flo?! What's going on?" Jina cried.

"No idea!" She screamed as another wild explosion rocked the Glenn. Jina turned her sore head around and saw the smoke in the distance. She looked back to the girl. Grabbing her by both shoulders.

"Flo. You listen to me. Grab everyone you can, anyone around you, get them to the dinning area." Jina demanded. "Do you understand. We're gonna organize."

Flo stood staring at her, her wild blond curls falling out of her pony. Jina shook her. "FLO! DID YOU HEAR ME?"

The girl slowly nodded.

"Good. Now go get them to the dinning area."

Jina ran through the Glenn. Trying to usher the screaming girls to one area.

ARIS! RACH! WHERE ARE YOU? She screamed in her sore head.

With Harriet and Sonya, trying to grab weapons.

Good. Get them to the dinning area. It'll be the muster point.

So fetch! Rachel said.

Fetch.

Jina grabbed another girl, she turned. It was Hannah, the Lead Butcher.

"Hey! Round up your girls and hand out the knives from the Barn. We need weapons. Meet in the dinning area! Go! Hurry!" Jina demanded with such conviction she nodded and listened without argument.

Jina ran through the Glenn towards the dinning area where the girls were starting to cluster. Jina shoved through the crowd. She climbed up onto a table, wincing only once. Girls were crying and screaming. Jina scanned the girls. She saw most of the Leaders trying to control their group. She saw Harriet, Sonya, Aris and Rachel running towards them arms loaded with weapons. Jina brought her fingers to her mouth and let out a loud ear splitting whistle.

"LISTEN UP YA FINCHFACE BLONDIES!" she screamed.

The girls around slowly quieted and turned to look up at Jina. She narrowed her eyes and swept her eyes over the girls.

"Stop your whining and crying! Pull up your big girl panties and let's fight back. That's clearly not Grievers. And that ain't the Designers-"

"How do YOU know?" Someone yelled.

"Why would they blow up all their finchen' hard work? Pull some brain cells together and think, Emma. Seriously. You think the Designers would spend how much money building this and then blow it up?"

There were a few heads nodding along.

"But you're one of them!" Beth yelled from the back. "How do we know you ain't lying to us?"

"I've been here almost a year, if I truly worked for them don't you think I'd get my ass outta here?" She yelled back. Her face was a solid wall of cold furry. She had perfected her intimidation face a long time ago.

"I'm sick of you accusing me. Shut your finchen' mouth. I'm in this as much as you. Now pick up a weapon. Floss, you got spare kitchen knives. Yelena all your screwdrivers and hammers, saws, anything. Thea, you got pitch forks and shovels... We need everyone. Grab something to fight with. Whatever or whoever it is, let's FIGHT. And maybe we can get out of here, once and for all!"  Jina threw her fist into the air. "We FIGHT. WE'RE WARRIORS. NOT MICE. WE'RE DONE BEING MESSED WITH. WE BRING THE FIGHT TO THEM!"

The girls roared. Thrusting their fists into the air. Aris elbowed his way to the front and tossed up her machete. Jina jumped down off the table, and stumbled on her sore ankle. There was another explosion, it ripped through the air. This time it was followed by the screams of Grievers and the sound of gun shots.

"Well...let's hope we can get out. We don't stand a chance if we have to fight against guns!" Rachel gulped.

"Says who?" Harriet stormed up and held out a gun to Jina. "I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt."

"Thanks. Your vote of confidence means so much." Jina rolled her eyes. As she pressed the button to release the magazine, checked it was full and jammed it back in.

"How'd you know how to do that?" Sonya asked with a frown.

Jina shrugged and shoved the gun into her belt. Jina looked around. The Leaders were handing out weapons. The screams of Grievers were closer and the gun fire was louder, echoing off the Maze walls. Jina could feel the rising panic inside her. But she narrowed her eyes and clamped her jaw, raising her chin.

"Come on you Finchfaces!" She yelled. "WE ARE WARRIORS!"

"Let's go fight stuff!" Harriet yelled.

"Bloody inspirational!" Sonya grinned back, while Harriet rolled her eyes.

Together Jina and Harriet led their girls into battle. They broke from the dinning area and funneled through the space of the Med Hut and Cabin into the open Glenn just as the first Griever came screaming and storming into the Glenn.

As she ran, Jina got an idea. She veered off and double backed and grabbed the oil lamp hanging beside the Med Hut. Spinning back around, she sprinted straight for the Griever, even with a sore ankle she out ran the girls. She screamed and threw the lamp as hard as she could. The lamp shattered and it lit the Griever on fire. It shrieked and stumbled backwards, into the next Griever, causing both of them to spark and short circuit.

"ITS GONNA BLOW!"

Grievers exploded, sending burning blubber and machine parts everywhere. It was just chaos after that. Jina wasn't sure what was going on. Grievers were storming the Glenn from every entrance, there were explosions rocking the walls and ground. The barn was on fire now. The garden was ripped apart and destroyed. The Cabin had been crushed. Flossie's kitchen was destroyed and on fire.

Jina was beside Aris at one point, slashing at a Griever. And then she was tackling Liv from being snatched by a Griever claw. And then she was beside Thea, using a spear to jab at a Griever. Jina saw girls dropping, blood pooled on the grass. Jina didn't know what to do. She grabbed a spear from a girl who was long dead, her insides spilled out onto the ground. She swallowed the bile that rose up.

She ran towards another Griever when people stormed out of the Maze. They were dressed all in black, scarves and masks over the bottom half of their faces. Helmets on their heads. Some had newer looking guns and some had older rusty looking ones. Jina and a few girls beside her scrambled to a stop. Unsure about this new development. She didn't know if these people were here to help them or the Grievers. Ji a pulled the gun from be belt. Still unsure what to do.

"This the help?" Harriet cried over the Grievers and girls screaming.

Jina could just shrug. She honestly had no idea. The new people dressed in black raised their guns. Jina tensed, and raised the gun, mentally preparing to fight. They all aimed and started shooting. Jina pulled the trigger. She only hit someone's arm and it seemed to just graze them, didn't even flinch. Bullets ripped passed the girls, and through the Grievers.

"Come on! Come on kids! Let's go!" One of the men called.

More people were pouring into the maze. They were spreading out, shooting the monsters and trying to corral the girls. The girls ran, listening to the men and women in black who were ushering them out of the Glenn away from the devastation and death.

Jina spun around, trying to see that all the girls were listening. She figured they would take their chances with these people in black.

She grabbed Yelena and shoved her towards Sonya. "Sonya! Take her she's injured!" Yelena had a hand clamped over her waist, trying to stop the bleeding.

Sonya and Jill grabbed her and helped her over to one man who was ushering them through the north entrance. She caught sight of Harriet helping Thea. They made eye contact.

"Go!" Jina yelled, waving a hand. "Go!"

Jina spun around. Her eyes landed on a small body laying on the grass. Jina sprinted over and dropped to her knees.

"No no no!" She turned the girl over.

Jina was too late. The girl's eyes were blank. A gut wrenching scream ripped through her and she tipped her head forwards placing it on the little girl's bloody chest.

"NOOO!" She screamed.

Liv was dead. The young little innocent life was just gone. She was too young to be here. She was too sweet to have endured so much devastation. Jina held the girl's limp body. She didn't even have tears to cry. She just held the girl, praying somehow her life would just come back.

Someone dropped down beside her. Jina looked up. Rachel was there. Her eyes filled with sadness.

"I did this..." Jina whispered. "I'm the reason she's dead!"

"No. No you're not. They are. You hear me? Jina, they did this. Not you. You are a kid! You did not do any of this! They are the evil ones."

"But-"

"No. Jina. You listen. They are an evil corrupt organization - clearly. Look what they allowed. We are kids. Kids. You are not responsible. But right now we need to leave."

"HEY!"

A wild scream caught their attention. Jina looked up, Rachel spun on her knees. Men in black and masks were still shooting Grievers, fires ragged, girls were being ushered out into the different maze doors with groups of armed men and women. But here was Beth; standing, pointing a gun back and forth between Jina and Rachel. Her eyes were wild and crazed. Rachel and Jina slowly stood up.

"Hey, Beth..." Rachel started. "just lower the gun. We're trying to get out-"

"SHUT UP! YOU DID THIS!"

"Beth...please..."

"NO! SHUT UP! YOU TRAITOR."

"Come on...put the gun down...look, they're trying to get us out! We can be free..." Rachel tried pleading, her hands out trying to calm the wild girl. Rachel took a hesitant step forward.

"Don't." Jina cried, grabbing Rachel's arm. "She's been stung again."

"Free?" Beth cried. "You think we'll be free?" She let a wild manic laugh out. The gun shook, it moved back and forth between Jina and Rachel. Jina slowly inched her hand around to her back, and carefully slid the gun out of her belt again. She held it tight, behind her back, ready to use it if necessary.

"Even if it wasn't Them... they'd track you down. You're Their favorite." Beth lowered the gun slightly. Her eyes filled with tears. "You'll never be free. We'll never be free." She raised the gun again, but this time raised the gun to her own temple. Rachel gasped and took another step, Beth cocked the gun. "I remember you two. You're traitors. You were on our side...but not anymore....you're a traitor. Both of you. You did this."

Beth turned the gun away from herself to Rachel and Jina. Jina pulled the gun forwards and pulled the trigger of her own gun as Beth pulled the trigger. Beth dropped her gun. She dropped to her knees, a bullet had ripped through her chest.

"Ji..." A small whimper was heard.

Rachel collapsed to her knees and crumpled.

ARIS! HELP! Jina screamed.

Jina caught Rachel before she could hit the ground. Blood bubbled hot and sticky up from her ripped open wound and made a big puddle on the grass, soaking into Jina's pants. Rachel's body shook uncontrollably. Beth had shot her, making a bloody hole in her stomach.

"Rachel!" Jina cried. "No no no!"

Rachel coughed, spitting up bright red blood.

"Rachel!" Aris cried, he came sprinting out of the smoke and gloom. Jina lifted her tear soaked face. A sob stuck in her throat, she looked back to the face of a friend; of a friend she had gone through so much with. A friend she had known for years. She had remembered Rachel.

She saw Rachel's eyes roll up in their sockets, dull white orbs. Blood trickled out of her nose and mouth. 

"Rachel...?" Aris said, this time a whisper as he dropped to his knees.

There had to be something they could do. They could save her. Jina pressed down on Rachel's bloody stomach, trying to stop the flow of warm sticky blood just as her friend stopped convulsing, her body stilled.

"Rachel! Please no!" Jina sobbed, her chest heaved again, her world was spinning in a tailspin dive.

Rachel's eyes slid back into normal position, focusing on Jina, clinging to life.

"Jin-a." It was one word, barely there.

"Hang on, Rach," Aris cried, tears running down his face. "Please hold on." The three of them sat on the grass in the middle of the chaos all around them. Aris and Jina held their friend as she died.

"Don't die! Please don't! Fight it!" Jina sobbed.

"Someone get help!" Aris cried.

The only thing that happened was out of the gloom a girl appeared. She was banged up and covered in soot, but it was a familiar face, Flossie.

"What....no!" She gasped and slowly melted to her knees too.

"Rachel!" Jina pleaded. "Please..."

But Rachel was too far gone, Jina knew her heart was just about at its end, there was too much blood. The bullet must have ripped everything open inside. Blood kept bubbling up and out, around Jina's hands. With a sob Jina left her wound. Deep inside, she knew nothing could help now. It was over. Black spots swam before her eyes; the Glenn tilted and swayed. No. Not Rachel. Please...

"Jina..." Rachel whispered. 

"I'm here! I'm right here!" Jina grabbed her one bloody hand and held it to her chest, her other hand cupped Rachel's cold cheek. 

"Rachel! Please! Don't go!" Jina sobbed so hard her chest hurt, she couldn't breathe properly. "I...I remembered us. We were friends. Friends for so long. You're a sister. I love you. Please don't go...please. I need you!" 

Aris was crying. He had placed his forehead on Rachel's bloodied chest, 

"Ar..is...thank...you. For being my...friend."  she raised a shacking hand and placed it on the back of Aris's head.

"The three of us. We were together from the start. We were family." Jina whispered. "Always. Together..."

Rachel's pain filled eyes slid back to Jina, she could hardly see because the tears kept blurring her vision.

"Thank...you. You were the-" A racking cough burst from her lungs, throwing a spray of blood. She took a ragged breath.

"-you were the...best friend...I love-"

She didn't finish. One last breath wheezed from her mouth Her body went limp and her once sparkling curious eyes went vacant. She was gone. Her life long friend, her confidant and sister was gone. Something inside Jina snapped. It started deep down in her chest, a seed of rage. Of revenge. Of hate.

Something dark and terrible. And then it exploded, bursting through her lungs, through her neck, through her arms and legs. Through her mind. A scream she didn't know was possible, came from deep within, her heart just shattered, there was no putting it back together.

A hand grabbed her arm. Jina threw it off.

"Come on kids! We gotta go! WICKED is coming!"

The hand grabbed her again and wouldn't let go. Aris was being grabbed, same with Flossie. People in black and guns were checking the last of the girls who lay on the ground.

Jina had lost her anger, all the fight left her. She allowed herself to be dragged and pushed away from her friend's body, but she never took her eyes off her until she was dragged around a corner of the maze and into the smoke and rubble of the destroyed corridors.

< • >