| chapter 40: goodbye |

LISA

My eyes fluttered open but I couldn't see clearly. A groan escaped my lips as I closed my eyes again. My head, it felt like it was going to explode at any second. A pressure on my temples and a hammer hitting my brain. What happened?

Suddenly I heard footsteps and tried to lay perfectly still.

'Have you had the test results back yet?' A female asked.

'Yes, we did. The last Variable has been a great succes. With one Subject dead, great progress has been made,' A raspy male voice answered.

'But wasn't the other Subject suppose to die as well?' The female asked. And suddenly I froze. Hasty flashes of memories went passed me, all in a red blur. Me and Gally on the operation tables. The gun in my hand. Chuck's convulsing body, Dawn her wounded arm...

'There have been some unfortunate results, yes, but we are remaining positive. Our doctors have figured out a way to make their meddling in our Trials a very good-looking Variable, which we will believe will get great results. We just have to be patient.'

Their voices faded away as did their footsteps. Once I heard nothing anymore I carefully opened my eyes. The fluorescent lights were burning down on me but I forced myself to squint against it and take a look around. I was in the same room as before, only now I wasn't bound on the table. Carefully I sat up, stretching my legs and arms.

I turned to my right but the table Gally had been on was now empty. As I stared at it I felt my body beginning to tremble as more memories rushed back. All the Gladers standing close to each other, Chuck who seemed even smaller in death, Dawn crying and screaming. I took a deep breath and forced myself to stay calm but my body wouldn't cooperate. My hands were shaking and wouldn't stop. I looked down, sudden tears streaming down my face as I gasped for air.

It hadn't really happened, had it?

Slowly I sat back down on the table, my breath calming down. What had I done?

A sudden noise turned my attention to the right. My eyes widened as I saw Gally standing there. His eyes were red, as if he had just cried for hours, and his body seemed so much smaller than before.

'Gally?' I said, my voice more hoarse than I had expected it to be. He nodded but seemed worlds away. When I looked at him like this, with the memories of what had happened in my head, I couldn't even be mad at him for what he did.

'What have we done?'

He could only stare at the ground and seemed to have a lot of trouble looking up at me. When he finally did his eyes were filled with so much hatred that it scared me. It took me a second to understand who the hatred was pointed at. Himself.

'I never meant for Chuck to die...' He whispered, his voice low.

I nodded, clenching my hands to stop them from trembling. 'That doesn't change what happened,' I said, forcing the tears to stay back. 

Gally took a deep breath, maybe pushing back the emotions I knew he felt.

'There's something here you should see,' he finally said. He turned around and walked out of the door, into an adjoining room. 

I had no idea why I followed him, but I did. Sitting here and feeling sorry for myself wasn't going to do any good. And so I stood up and walked after him.

The room was pretty much the same as the one we were just in. White, unnaturally clean and with huge fluorescent lights on the ceiling, making everything appear shiny. There was one thing different, though. Instead of two operation tables there were a few big computer screens. They hung on the wall, and one of them showed some kind of white room filled with bunk beds.

I didn't pay much attention to it and turned to Gally. 'So, the door to this room just happened to be open?' 

A very small smile appeared on his face. 'When those doctors walked by I snatched the keycard out of her pocket.' 

I stared at him. 'Impressive.'

He gave me a nod and then gestured at the screens. 'Take a good look.' 

I frowned and looked at them again. Suddenly a jolt went through my stomach. There were people in those bunk beds, and not just people.

'The Gladers,' I whispered. 'But...how? I thought they were saved?'

I turned to look at Gally who shook his head with a sigh. 'Wicked only wanted them to think they had escaped, shuck Variables.'

A sudden anger, along with panic, flared up in me. 'We have to get to them, tell them they aren't safe!'

Gally turned to me, his arms folded over his chest. He gave me a frown. 'Why should we?'

I could only stare at him. 'Because they are our friends!' I spat at him, not believing his words. 

He took a sudden step forwards, pointing his finger at me. 'What have they ever done for me? Huh? What have they ever done for you? There's no reason to help them!'

I took a step forward as well. I had no idea why I was defending the Gladers, maybe because some part of me wanted to safe them ever since I heard Dawn tell me that was what we originally wanted to do, or maybe it was just because Minho and Dawn were there. It didn't matter. I didn't want anyone else be brainwashed like me.

'It doesn't matter what they have or haven't done for you, what does matter is what you would do for them. We're all still humans.'

Gally stared at me for a couple of seconds, a frown appearing on his face.

Back in the Glade I hadn't talked to the guy once, I had laughed about him and wished he had died in the Maze. But now...A lot had changed, and so had my feelings for Gally. I still didn't like him, his eagerness to kill Thomas was disturbing, but he was the only one who knew what I just went through. Being brainwashed and used to kill your best friends. Whether you wanted it or not, something like that created a bond.

I didn't want to lose the grumpy, bloodthirsty, builder boy.

He exhaled and then his defensive stand broke. 'Alright, so what's your plan?'

I gave him a smirk, folding my arms over my chest as I turned towards the screens. The screens that showed our best friends. The Gladers. The only family we had.

'We're going to break out of Wicked.'