Teresa turned on her heel and stormed off after the guys.

Jina opened and closed her mouth a few times. Shocked at what Teresa just said. How was that possible? Teresa spared her life? Why would Teresa set her up, and then spare her life? Jina's memories didn't show her any of that. All she remembered was being held by guards, guns pointed at her. Ratman, Ava and Teresa standing in front of her, telling her she was a traitor and then Teresa saying she was the problem and everything would be fine once she was out of the way.

But...if it was true, and Teresa did spare her life, Jina owed her life to Teresa. But...what kind of life is the life of a test subject. She was just a rat in an experiment, living for the amusement of others. Death maybe, would have been better. Avoid the trauma and everything she now had to deal with.

Or...what if Teresa was lying? WICKED are all masters at lies. Was she put up to it and then got cold feet? Maybe she didn't actually set Jina up and Teresa actually did care... Thomas Aris and her all worked for WICKED and they all disagreed with what they were forced to do...was Teresa? Was she horrified, and disgusted now, being inside the maze? Did Teresa want to change her ways and want to leave WICKED as far behind as possible?

Jina looked up and frowned. Maybe not. Teresa had slithered back up to Thomas. And Jina's angry monster picked it's head up. Jina didn't know what to think now. Doctor Crawford said something about Teresa having a lot of things done to her before... But that didn't include trying to get Thomas. But...did they have a thing while she was in the maze for a year? Maybe he forgot about her. Maybe he turned to her...and it led to more then work partners and friends. While Jina was forced to forget him and he turned to Teresa? Even with the Changing memories, she didn't have solid memories with him. Not really.

But then...the moment in the store when he said he remembered kissing her, how worried he was during their chase and how sweet and caring he was last night. But now? The doubts were adding up.

Jina slowly followed after the group. Teresa stayed walking between Minho and Thomas. Jina kept her head down, and focused on one step in front of the other. She ignored Aris's mind link. She was too focused on her own misery and confusion. She was doing her best to ignore the throbbing pain in her ankle and the dizzy feeling in her head. She had sweat running down her temples and down her neck and back. It stung her fresh stitches. She didn't notice Thomas constantly turning to see where she was. Though she did notice Minho drop back to walk beside her. He had to catch her a few times as she stumbled on the sand.

They walked. Jina stumbling along. The sun was bright and harsh already and it wasn't even noon yet. The sand was hot and rough. And it was everywhere. They walked up the sand hills and back down. Finally at the top of one sand hill the group gathered and looked out, what Jina saw was not what she expected.

They were gazing out at a city. But the city was broken, abandoned and crumbling. Buildings falling over or already laying sideways half buried in sand. Broken rusted cars lay abandoned everywhere. And sand. Everywhere Jina looked there was sand.

"I see lots of sand..." Minho stated.

"Whoa. You're so observant. How did you become the Leader of your Runners?"

"I ran the fastest."

"Fastest isn't even a word, finchface." Jina tried to roll her eyes but winced.

"Sure it is, shuckfaces. Though finchface isn't."

"Would you two stop? You're driving me buggen' batty!" Newt whinned.

"He started it." Jina pouted.

"Did not!" Minho protested.

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Shut the bloody hell up!" Newt bellowed. "I don't care who started it. I'm bloody ending it!"

Jina snorted with laughter which got Minho going.

"You pissed off Mama Newt!" Jina said trying to keep a straight face.

"No you pissed him off!"

"He was already pissed off with me for saying fuck." Jina was having a hard time controlling her giggles.

"True. You're a bad fucking influence." Minho grinned.

"Fucken rights I am!" She grinned back. They heard Newt groan in exhaspiration and Minho and Jina burst out laughing.

Which didn't help her head. But it felt good to be annoying with her brother. They maybe too old for stuff like this, but she never was allowed to be a kid. The other guys standing around were also trying hard not to laugh. Thomas caught her eye and she saw a genuine smile on his face. His eyes lit up in ammusment.

Minho called for a water break, at the bottom of the sand hill under a little ledge. Or gave Jina an opportunity to hide around the corner and clean the rest of the blood off. Once they rested for a minute, they were back on their feet trudging closer towards the broken apocalyptic world in front of them.

< • >

It was eerie and unsettling, even in the sunlight. A gust of hot wind blew some sand through the empty deserted stretch between buildings, sending some garbage and a tumble weed towards them. With a deep breath she took yet another slow and aching step forward.

"What the hell happened to this place?" Frypan asked.

Jina looked up. They were walking through the middle of what used to be a street. Skyscraper buildings had windows smashed out, there were no more doors. Everything looked stripped of everything useful. Cement walls smashed, crumbled in rubble heaps.
Even the road was ripped apart, buildings on each side were broken and falling apart. Sand piled high, burying a good portion of the buildings. Graffiti was everywhere that wasn't covered in sand. The place was abandoned right now in the heat of the day. Not a crank to be seen. Or heard.

"I don't know." Minho shrugged, looking around.

"It doesn't look like anyone's been here in a long time." Newt noted, as they passed an abandoned smashed out car. There were no doors, or windows, the seats were ripped apart, and the staring wheel was gone.

"I hope the whole world's not like this." Frypan said sadly.

"No...there are places that are inhabited. This is just the scorch. The dessert. Since the flares hit the earth the climate has gone haywire. So the desert has expanded and gotten worse. There are towns and villages around the outskirts of the Scorch. There are also full cities...where they are? I dunno." Jina explained quietly.

"How do you buggen know all this?" Newt asked with a frown.

"David. He liked to talk, so I listened. He had a lot of good information about the outside world."

"Huh." Newt said with a nod looking around. "Do you know where we are in the world?"

"No. That I don't know. I know our two maze facility...was located in Alaska...it's way up north in the snow and cold. In North America, if that means anything to you. But now? I'm not sure exactly which part of the world we are in."

Newt nodded again. She saw his eyes soften slightly as his eyes traveled up to her still bloody and gross forehead.

"Hang on, stop." Thomas suddenly said. He stopped walking, and held up a hand. "Do you hear that?"

Jina frowned. Trying to hear anything but her own breathing and the pounding of her headache. She even squeezed her eyes shut. She heard the thumping of her headache. It was rhythmic and constant.

"Get down!" Thomas suddenly screamed. He grabbed Jina's hand.

Jina's eyes snapped open. The rhythmic thumping was getting louder and stronger. It was making her legs tremble. This wasn't just a pounding headache. Thomas had let go of her hand and was spinning in circles, his eyes wide. Minho and Newt had started ushering the others towards the side of the road, to a toppled building. It provided some half decent coverage. Thomas was still spinning, trying to look for something.

"Everybody, hide! Hide! Hide!" He spun another circle. "Shit! Where?"

Jina grabbed his hand and pulled him after the others. Thomas finally seemed to get himself together and started helping. Frypan and Clint had Winston. Jina looked for Aris and spotted him beside Teresa. Who conveniently found herself on the other side of Thomas. She had grabbed onto his arm. Thomas pulled his arm free to place it on the ground and leaned forwards to see.

The thumping and vibrating got louder. Making Jina's head worse. She involuntarily whimpered. Thomas glanced at her and wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer, into his chest. He held her close, he gently pulled her head to his chest, which was kinda sweaty, and a hand gently covering her ear. It helped block out the sound of the engine. A moment later a huge black Berg came thumping into view way up in the sky.

"Oh shit." Thomas whispered.

The Berg was followed by two smaller helicopters. They circled a few times and continued on. The group was silent and tense. No one moved. Thomas was the first one to move, he slowly let go of her head.

"Sorry." He whispered, his cheeks pink.

"It helped. Thanks." She smiled, her cheeks also going pink. Jina was very aware of the daggers Teresa was giving her. She chose to ignore it and not add to the fire of competition.

"They're never gonna stop looking for us, are they?" Minho said quietly, looking in the direction the Berg flew.

"No. No they won't. We need to keep going." Jina said. She reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze.

"Everyone good?" Thomas asked as they slowly all climbed out of their hiding places.

The rest of the day was the much the same. Walking. Up the sand hill and down the sand hill. The city provided some shade and shelter from the wind. But it trapped the heat. Jina's throbbing head was so bad now. Her vision was blurry, and she was stumbling as bad as Winston now. Aris had come to help steady her now. He was quiet as they walked. She just wanted to sleep.

Finally the sun started to sink. Minho and Thomas decided it was a good idea to find shelter and sleep for a bit. Especially if cranks were gonna be back out. They found a safe shelter between some broken walls. The place was easy to defend and away from the big buildings where Cranks were bound to be. They also decided it wasn't a good idea to start a fire. Not in the city anyways. They didn't want to attract unwanted attention. It even had a small running tap. The water was lukewarm and it was a slow trickle, but it was fresh and kept coming, providing the group with a way to drink and splash water on their grimy faces.

They were all sitting around, Jina had pulled her hair up into a bun on top of her head. Trying to keep the hair off her neck she had. Just finished washing as best she could in the trickle of water. She really just wanted to lay down. She was contemplating it, her head started to fall forward when she heard Minho's loud voice beside her.

"I didn't know you had a tattoo!"

Jina's head jerked up, blinking sleepy eyes. "Huh? What? Tattoo? You're talking to me?"

"Ya I'm talking to you. Since when did you have a tattoo?"

"Uhh. I dunno!" She twisted her head around trying to see. The others were all listening now. Minho squatted down and tugged the collar of her shirt back.

"No way! What the actual shuck?"

"What? What is it? Min? You're being weird!"

Thomas and Aris came scrambling over. They also took a peek at the back of her neck. And they gasped.

"What the finch is wrong?" She cried. Making herself wince.

"Ummm...Ji?"

"What Tommy? Tell me what this tattoo is!"

"Umm it says... Property of WICKED. Subject B3-"

"-the Eliet." Jina finished.

"Ya. How did you know? I thought you didn't know you had one!"

"Janson did an interrogation with me when we first got there. During it, he showed me a file...more like a paper that had some of my personal information on it. That was the subject ID that was stamped at the top. Property of WICKED is new though..."

"Do we each I've one?" Minho asked, trying to twist around to see his.

Jina wanted to face palm herself. Unless he was an owl this wasn't going to work. Newt got up and tugged his shirt collar back.

"Says, Property of WICKED. Subject A7: The Leader."

"Oh...okay...what about yours?" Minho asked. Newt shrugged and turned.

"Same beginning, property of WICKED. Subject A5: The Glue."

"The glue? What's that bloody mean?"

"Uhh, probably because you kinda...hold us all together." Thomas shrugged.

Newt frowned.

"Me next!" Frypan called.

Newt sighed and got up. He pulled Frypans collar, "Same as all of us. Property of WICKED. Subject A8: The Guardian " he went to Aris. "Property of WICKED... Subject B2: The Partner." He went to Clint and Joey and Winston who just had subject numbers, no weird title. Teresa had shrunk back into the corner, her head down avoiding everyone and the conversation.

"Okay. I'm last...what does mine say?" Thomas asked eagerly.

Newt sighed and crouched behind Thomas and tugged his jacket and shirt collar back. Everyone was watching. Newt had become very still. His face went pale. He gulped.

"Newt?" Thomas asked. "What does it say?"

"Umm..." He stammered.

"Newt..?"

"It umm it...says, Property of WICKED. Subject A2... Umm it says..."

"Ya? It says...?"

"It says To be Killed." Newt finished quietly.

"What?" Thomas gasped. Jina felt her stomach drop. Thomas was going to be killed by WICKED? Thomas looked around the group, everyone had gone silent and tense. Jina could see him struggling. Then he swallowed hard and looked up, forcing a smile.

"Well, good thing we ran when we did...ya?"

Jina could see the forced smile and laugh. She caught his eye, her hard face didn't change, the others laughed nervously. Jina didn't. Thomas's smile slid off and he showed his worry just for a split second before turning his attention onto Newt who had cleared his throat.

"So when did we get these?" Newt asked sitting down finally.

Jina shrugged. The guys also shrugged, but they were looking at her expectantly.

"I don't know. We were there for over a week. I had showers, they had mirrors... but I never noticed anything! Maybe the night you guys showed up...after we were all asleep?" Jina frowned. "You guys were finally there and Janson really wanted his trial two to get going...maybe this was going to be part of it? I don't know guys, honestly."

"I believe you." Minho said folding his arms and glaring at everyone, daring them to say something.

"How come Jina and Aris are B? Everyone else is A?" Clint asked.

"Seriously, they picked you for an elite maze? I thought were smart." Jina asked, raising an eyebrow. "Aris and I are from maze B. You are all maze A. Put some brain cells together ya Blondie and work with me."

"What's a Blondie?" Thomas asked.

"What we called the new girls when they came up the Cage and didn't know their names."

"But why Blondie?"

"The first girl who came up the box, was blond."

"Who was it?"

"Flo." Jina said with a smile. "She worked in the kitchen with Flossie. Flossie and Flo. They were both..." Jina stopped talking and looked away blinking tears that stung her eyes.

"We'll find them." Thomas reassured her.

"Ya..." She sniffed. "Well...I'm going to sleep.." She lay down and rolled over, facing the wall. The ground was hard, but she was out in minutes.

< • >

Jina slowly woke up. Her back hurt and and head was pounding. She lay still. Hoping to go back to sleep. She could hear the sounds of rhythmic breathing around her. And the sound of distant screams of cranks. But over that, she heard a whispered conversation right beside her.

"Hey, what's going on with you?" Thomas asked. His voice was soft and gentle.

Jina peeked her eyes open. It was dark in their hidey hole. The only light was the flashlight and the moon.

"They... did something to me." Teresa whispered.

Jina could see the shadow of her shift, closer, and then twist, moving the hair from her neck. Thomas used the flash light for see whatever it was on the back of her neck. He didn't touch her though. Jina fought the urge to smirk. He had touched her forehead and swept her hair and held her jaw...and brushed her tears... removed her shirt.

Thomas lowered the light and made a humming sound.

"At first, it just felt like I was waking up from a dream or something. Then they all started coming back." She explained, shifting around to face him. She moved closer.

"Your memories? Doctor Crawford said they might come back." He asked. "What do you remember?

"I remember the first time they brought you in. I was taller than you then. And faster."

Jina could hear the playful firtey teasing. She wanted to throw up. Is that what she sounds like? Oh finch, she hoped not.

"Oh. Okay." Thomas sounded unimpressed.

"And I remember why we were there. We thought we could fix all this." Teresa said quiet. "We all thought we could...help." she paused. Jina saw she was twisting a piece of hair around her finger.  "Tom? I...I think we should go back."

"What?" He asked loudly. A few guys stirred.

"Just listen to me." Teresa pleaded. She reached out and took hold of his arm.

"What are you talking about? Go back?" Thomas hissed. "After everything they've done to us? You didn't see those kids all strung up! They were being drained!"

"No, it's not that simple." Teresa tried to protest.

"Yeah, I think it is that simple." Thomas snapped, yanking his arm from her grasp.

"No. You don't understand." She tried again. Jina could hear the desperation in her voice.

"What don't I understand, Teresa? It's hard to argue what I saw with my own eyes."

"Everything was fine until you..." She trailed off with a sniff and looked away wrapping her arms around herself.

"What?" He demanded. He was still trying to whisper, but it was harsh. Jina saw Teresa wince.

"Nothing." She muttered.

"Teresa, what aren't you telling me?" He grabbed her shoulder and made her turn back.

"It was all fine until she came along. Then she ruined everything."

"Who's she?" Thomas asked. "Jina?" Teresa didn't say anything, but Jina felt cold eyes drilling into her skull. "How did Jina ruin everything?"

"She got to you." Teresa snapped. She took a slow breath and then continued. "Made you believe that what we were doing... wasn't right. Made you think there was no cure! Sure...I don't believe in everything they do. Or...or how they do it...but...at least they are trying, Tom!"

Jina saw her grab his hand, desperately hanging on, scooching closer to him.

"They are trying! And...and I can't just ignore that! The things I've seen...the things I've been through... I have to believe there is some kind of cure out there! And when they brought her in...she took everything away. She was poisonous to you and to the others and the company! She was their prize subject-"

"We're humans Tess. Not subjects. And that's the problem. You see us all as test subjects not kids. You know that includes you."

"Ya. But-"

"Enough. I don't know what kind of mind games you're playing Tess-"

"They aren't mind games, Tom! She got you into a lot of trouble. She got herself into a lot of trouble! I was the one to save her life! She's no good for you! I-"

"Enough." He hissed. "I told you when I woke up from the changing in the slammer, I remembered a girl. That girl-" Jina saw Thomas gesture in her pretend sleeping direction. "I told you I remembered a relationship with her. And it wasn't just some dumb crush. I asked you then to back off. And I'm telling you now. Stop."

"Tell me what you remember of her! Please. Why is she so special. Tell me, please Tom?"

"No."

He shifted and turned his back and laid down. Teresa sat for a long time. Jina felt her eyes on her, glaring a hole in the back of her head. Finally she got up and went to the far end of their hiding place and lay down. Jina heard Thomas breathing heavily. She slowly reached an arm out and her fingers found his hand. She heard him suck in a breath and he slowly intertwined their fingers together.

You heard? Thomas's voice floated through her sore head. He sounded very upset, but also a layer of embarrassment.

Ya...ya I heard... She whispered back. Sorry. Didn't mean to eavesdrop.

Don't be. I'm not. And what I said is true. I do remember. Some stuff. Some really strong emotions and feelings and a few moments.

Thomas shifted, so now he was laying in front of her. Now they were facing each other. Their fingers intertwined between them.

Same. Jina whispered she lifted her sore tired eyes to look at him. I remember some stuff, ya the emotions and feelings...I remembered your name when I couldn't remember mine. I...you spoke to me once in the maze.

So you said...but I don't think...you told me everything.

Jina was glad it was dark. Her cheeks went bright pink, but Thomas's intense gauze held her. His eyes reflected in the moon light that trickled in.

No... You said...you were sorry for something they made you do. You told me to hold on. Called...called me Hun. Gave me the clue to the maze and umm..that's it. Jina gulped, and looked back down at their intertwined fingers. Her heart was racing so fast it hurt. Her mouth has gone dry and it was hard to swallow. She wasn't sure why she kept him whispering I love you to herself. Maybe because she still didn't fully know where he stood. Or maybe it felt too soon. Whateber the reason was she kept it to herself for now.

Thomas was quiet and still for so long she thought he had gone to sleep. But then he shifted his head and his hand gently brushed the hair from her face, careful of her stitches.

I...I don't know what I feel now. WICKED took it all. But what I do know...is you...you make something happen to my heart and stomach. My hands get shaky and sweaty and my knees feel kinda weak around you. And I just want to hold you all the time. Making sure your safe just comes naturally. I automatically reach for you. And...even in this shucked situation when I look at you I wanna smile like a shuckface. Maybe that's the strong emotions and feelings. Like WICKED can take memories but not full feelings? I don't know. But...I don't have a lot of actual memories of us. But I know that bond, that trust...that deep emotional connection. I trust my heart and gut. It's never been wrong before.

So...we try again? Make new memories? Jina asked hesitantly. His full confession of everything made Jina want to melt into the floor. But she didn't want to push anything.

And hope we don't forget each other?

Ya. Jina agreed with a small smile.

Ya. Thomas agreed. They were quiet for a bit, but something was really bugging her.

Tommy?

She felt him humm.

What about Teresa?

What about her?

Umm... Well she clearly has a thing for you...before the maze and now...

I don't like her in that way. I remember some of us from the changing, we were working partners. Nothing more. At least that I can remember. And now? I... Jina I don't trust her. She's not the same since we got out.

Because it's me. I'm here and-

I'm glad you're here! Thomas cut her off. Please... believe me when I tell you there's nothing between Teresa and me. We were friends. Best friends. But now? Something is off and...I-I don't trust her. It's you and me. I trust us. I trust what we have even if our memories are gone.

Ya?

Yes. Let's re-met. Get to know each other again. Get outta the shuck scorch and maybe...I can um...take you on a date?

Jina bit her lip to keep the squeal inside.

Sounds perfect.

Jina could feel his releaf. And then she saw a smile spreading across his face.

Now Med Jack's orders- sleep.

Jina fell back asleep, holding Thomas's hand. And her heart feeling lighter. But also confused. There was a lot of things Teresa said about her that she had mixed feelings about.

< • >