The Berg landed with a soft thump. The men and women all gathered in the belly of the flying beast, their helmets back on, vests on and guns strapped to their bodies. It made Jina nervous, if this was a safe place what's with the armed escort? 

"We got Cranks around here." The woman from earlier said as Jina eyed up the gun. 

"I thought you said this was a safe place." Aris butted in. 

"Oh, it is. For kids like you. Once we'er inside, no Crank has ever gotten in." She reassured them. Aris narrowed his eyes. Flossie looked a little nervous, she was pale. Jina reached out and took hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze. 

"When that door opens we go straight for the door." David yelled over the noise of the door opening and the ramp lowering. 

Hot thick air hit Jina like a brick wall. It was dry and the wind ripped at her clothes. It was so hot it was hard to breathe. In the few hours they were in the Berg, they had gone from freezing cold snow to a hot dry dessert. Jina's head spun trying to figure out how fast they were flying or how messed the ecosystems were to go from one extreme to the other. With a wild gust of wind, it sent sand through the opening, and it was sharp and coarse on her skin. But now with the door wide open, they were ushered forwards. Jina saw the vast expense of the sky and it was full of big bright stars. They were huge and bright and Jina's jaw dropped, she had never seen something so pretty. She wanted to reach out and touch them. They looked like twinkly little diamonds. The sky stretched out so far it touched the dark shadows of the earth. She had seen them from the Berg window, but they were even prettier in real life now that they weren't moving. They took her breath away.

"Come on! Move kid!" She felt a shove in her back. 

Jina stumbled forwards. She ripped her eyes from the sky and looked around. They had landed on top of some kind of big building. There were guards stationed everywhere- there were some kinds of big towers with spot lights and more guards with huge big automatic swivel guns attached to the walls. There was a huge fence with spiked barbed wire wrapped around the top. There were guards everywhere. This was way more militaristic than some simple group fighting against WICKED.

The beauty of the sky was sucked away. The knot in Jina's stomach tightened. She held Flossie's hand tighter. David reached the door and swiped some ID card and it beeped green and then they were pushed and shoved inside. The hall was dark and dim. Cement walls, florescent lights, there was a big heavy silver metal sliding door ahead of them and they were being aggressively ushered towards. David swiped a card again and the door slid open. 

"It's an elevator." Someone explained before they could ask.

The three of them were squished in the middle of the tiny space, all the armed guards crowded around them. David punched a button on the side of the door, the door slid closed, and then the box started moving. Jina had a horrible flash back to the Cage. Aris and Flossie seemed to be thinking the same, because they both flinched as well. Jina was starting to feel sick, her chest was heavy, like someone was squeezing her lungs. Jina had to squeeze her eyes closed and deliberately breathe through her mouth. Her stomach jumped into her throat when the elevator came to a stop and the doors dinged, they slid open. 

Jina's jaw dropped. The hall was big and bright and everywhere she looked was white. The floor was white tiled, the walls were white washed cement. But there were people buzzing around all dressed in white. White lab coats, and masks. The lights were harsh and bright. Dotted amongst the white were people dressed in black- and these guys had some kind of futuristic looking gun, they were sleek and shinny. Their escorts ushed them into the wide open hall. The three of them stopped and looked around, trying to see everything at once. 

A tall skinny man, also dressed in white stepped from the crowd. He had greying hair, brushed to the side, trying to hide his bald spot. His eyes were small, dark and beady. His long thin nose ended in a hook. He was holding a plane unmarked manila folder and when he smiled, it didn't quite reach his eyes. 

"Good evening children!" 

His voice surprised Jina, it was higher than she expected and it was nasally. She turned her snicker into a cough. 

He looks kinda like a rat. Bet his nose twitches... 

She felt Aris snort, and he had to turn his laugh into a cough as well. 

Shut up Ji. 

He also has a fancy suit. 

I felt Aris snicker again, Ya...really fancy stuff. I should get me one. 

Oh Finch! Please don't! 

The tall twitchy man spoke again. And this time Jina watched to see if his nose did indeed twitch. And she wasn't disappointed. Jina had to really cough and throw a hand over her mouth. Aris elbowed her rather aggressively, which didn't help, she yelped and giggled. She was so tired, so traumatized, that she found this man absolutely hilarious. The man's eyes turned to her, and she saw something in them that sobered her up fast. 

He was dangerous. 

"You children have had quite the evening." 

"Umm...who are you?" Flossie asked, hesitantly. Her voice shook and she was shivering just slightly. 

"Me? Well, I'm the reason you're still alive. It's my intention to keep you that way. Now, come with me." 

He answered, in a tone that was supposed to be friendly, but there was something slightly off in the way he said it. His eyes lingered on the three of them, especially Jina and she raised her chin ever so slightly, and narrowed her eyes. He turned his back to them and walked right down the middle of the hall of busy people in white. 

"We'll get you kids squared away-"

"But who are you?" Aris asked. 

They had no choice but to follow, their armed escort was behind them and around them, and when they moved Jina, Aris and Flossie had to move.

"You can call me Mr. Janson. I run this place. For us, it is a sanctuary- safe from the horrors of the world outside. You can all think of it as a way station. Kind of a home between homes." 

Jina knew she had no home, her memories showed her that. She didn't remember how she got to the big scary building where she was dumped and where she grew up, but she had enough memories to know that she had no home to go back to. She was an orphan. No more parents, and if she had any relatives out there, no one came for her. She was alone. The woman on the Berg also said they were all mostly orphans. So... something wasn't adding up.

"That mean you're taking us home?" Flossie asked hopefully.

The man turned his head to look at the three of them over his shoulder for a moment. He had a look of, what Jina thought, was supposed to be sadness, "A home of sorts. Sadly, there wouldn't be much left of where you came from." 

Flossie shrunk, her shoulders slumped, and looked at the floor. Jina squeezed her hand.  And when Flossie glanced at her, Jina gave her a small smile. 

"But we do have a place for you." Mr Janson continued. "A refuge, just outside the Scorch, where WICKED will never find you again. How does that sound?" 

"What about the others? The other girls from our Maze?" Jina asked loudly.

"Our intention is to find them and bring them back. Don't you worry. We have every available man and woman out there looking. We want them back just as much as you do." Janson turned, looking over his shoulder. There was something sinister about how he said that. And the look in his dark beady eyes made Jina want to shiver. It was like he looked at them with greed and hunger and it made the knot of anxiety heavy in her chest.

That was...uncomfortable. Jina tried to suppress a shiver as she spoke to Aris. She felt him hum in agreement. 

"Why are you helping us?" Jina challenged now.

Mr. Janson turned and walked backwards so he could talk to them directly. The extra people had thinned out and the hall was empty except for the odd guard stationed at intervals at different doors. It made Jina wonder what was behind the big steel doors that were locked from the outside. 

"Let's just say, the world out there is in a precarious situation. 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 survival." 

Jina shivered at that statement. It was eerily similar to what the lady on the Berg said. They were raised for observation. And she now though, similar to what she heard in her memories, whispered to her constantly- "WICKED is good- your helping save humanity- be part of history, Jina..."   

"Unfortunately, it also makes you a target, as no doubt by now you've noticed." He smiled at them again, but it made Jina feel gross, she felt like he was trying too hard to be friendly, or relatable to them. She wished he would just talk to them like the adults they had to be in the Maze, and not the kids this new group seemed to view them as right now. Their group came to another big card lock door. 

"Now. Beyond this door lies the beginning of your new lives." He paused dramatically, and pulled out a key card. "First things first..." The door slid open, revealing a fully white tiled hall. This one had shiny metal, clear plastic and small cameras in the corners everywhere, windows lined walls that had more men and women in white coats and scrubs behind them in science labs. It even smelt sterile. Jina's apprehension grew. 

"...let's do something about that smell!"

It took Jina a full minute to process what he had said.

"Showers?" She finally blurred.

Mr Janson turned and looked at her, and he raised a thin greying eyebrow. "Unless you prefer to stay in the old blood stained clothes?"

Jina shivered. "Umm...showers sound good."

"Excellent. Now down this hall, are individual bathroom stalls. Includes showers, sinks, mirrors and whatever else...and each room is equipped with the basic necessities. And a clean pair of clothes. When you are done you will be escorted to the Waystation medical unit where a doctor will give you a quick check up, make sure you're doing all right. Sounds good? Great."

He didn't give them much of a choice. Jina was ushered to the middle stall.

I guess we shower.

Guess so. Keep your eyes open.

Duh. Always. What am I a Blondie?

Ha ha.

Jina closed and locked the door and leaned on the door. She let her eyes sweep the bathroom first, before she moved. Inside was just like their bathroom stalls in the Glenn, but newer and less...camp style. The room was fully tilled and clean. The lights were bright and almost reflected off the shiny tiles. Everything was state of the art and stainless steel. Jina swept the room again, looking for anything weird. But she saw no cameras so she slowly pushed off the door and over to the shower. Turning it on she let the bathroom fill with steam and she stripped off the gross clothes. Dropping them on the tile and stepping into the stream of hot water.

Jina stood under the water for a long time with her eyes closed. The warm water ran down her body, the heat soothed her sore head and aching muscles and body. She was still trying to recover physically from the Changing. And before that being smacked around by a Griever.

She was so sore physically she let herself sink to her knees. Her heart was heavy. And her head was sore and she just didn't want to anymore. Didn't want to be here. Didn't want to be fighting. Didn't want to be alone with her thoughts. Didn't want to keep questioning everything. Didn't want to fight for her life every day. There were so many things she didn't want.

She took a deep shaking inhale and laid her head on the tile. She slowly let it out, feeling her emotions bubble to the surface. She wasn't much of a cryer. Never was one in the Glenn. She kept a tight lid on them. But right now...? Right now, she just wanted to curl up sob for a moment and then sleep.

Jina wasn't only physically exhausted, she was emotionally exhausted. She had seen girls she lived with dead. Little sweet Liv was gone, stabbed through the middle by a Griever. Rachel...her longest friend. The girl who welcomed her way back when they worked for WICKED. They had been close. And now she was gone, shot and killed by Beth.

"No." She whispered. "Not by Beth. Beth had been stung...it was WICKED. They did that."

WICKED had thrown them into the maze. WICKED made Grievers. WICKED equipped the monsters with deadly appendages and poison. And WICKED did nothing but watch. Beth was just a tool they used. Jina sunk to the shower floor laying curled up on her side. She couldn't believe she worked for them. Jina's stomach heaved and she threw up, what little was in her stomach swirled down the drain. She was horrified with what she had seen. The tears burnt. She would never get the image of the Cabin burning, girls screaming, girls being chomped or sliced. She would never forget Liv's lifeless eyes, or how Rachel's body convulsed with pain and loss of blood.

The tears came hot and heavy. She was soon screaming with body shaking sobs. She had no idea where the other girls were. She had no idea how many girls they actually lost, left dead back in the Glenn. She didn't know if the other girls actually made it out safe or if they were still with WICKED.

There were so many unknowns and so much horror. Her tears mixed with the water from the shower. She sobbed until there wasn't much left. She lay on the shower floor, the water running over her. After a while, she slowly peeled her eyes open as best she could.

She had Rachel's blood still on her hands. Jina watched the water swirl pink and down the drain.

Suddenly it was too much. The dried blood was itchy on her skin, it made her feel dirty from the inside. She scrambled to her feet and grabbed the soap and the little scrubby. Jina scrubbed herself so harshly she was positive she ripped a layer of skin off. She hoped she did. She was disgusted with herself and with WICKED.

She would never ever be used by them again. Ever. She would not sit and listen to the mind games or be played with. She scrubbed her self over and over, washing her hair a few times until her skin was pink and raw. She turned the water off and dried herself off. Slowly getting dressed, she ignored the mirror, not wanting to see the deadness in her own eyes. The clothes were clean, soft and fit. She was grateful for the fresh still packaged underwear and socks. She brushed her teeth and ran a brush through her hair. She felt slightly better, having no more dried blood, sweat, soot and dirt covering her body.

She pulled her boots back on and stood in the middle of the bathroom not really knowing what to do. She was pulled from her thoughts when there was a knock on the door.

Jina hesitated and then pulled the door open. David, their guard from earlier stood there. He looked less grimy, and his clothes looked fresh.

"Ready? Good. I'm to escort you to the Med bay."

Jina shrugged and followed behind David. The halls all looked the same. One white tiled hall after the next. He stopped in front of a big metal door and used his ID card to swipe it open.

David ushered her into the big open room. It was all divided into smaller sections, like medical rooms, using curtains. It was quite empty except for Aris and Flossie and a few doctors attending them. There were treadmills in one corner, some chairs used for blood tests in another, more carts with medical equipment stood steril and ready to be used. Clearly they were ready for all kinds of groups to come through here. But it seemed like today it was just her three.

A doctor walked up and held her hand out.

"Good evening, I'm Doctor Crawford."

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