Evelyn lay still, keeping her breathing even. Her eyes closed, she strained her ears trying to gain some kind of information.

"Are we sure this doesn't screw anything up?"

"I'm positive." This from a woman. "Well, as positive as I can be. If anything, it may stimulate a pattern in the killzone that we hadn't expected. A bonus, possibly? I can't imagine it leading A2 or any of the subjects in a direction that would prevent the other patterns we're looking for."

"I hope you're right."

"What about her?"

"I don't know. I don't know what Director Janson has planned for her in trial 3. It seems excessive to keep a crank alive."

"What about her powers?" There was some shuffling. Like the sound of paper.

"I don't know. Her healing powers seem...broken. The Flare seemed to have repressed or eaten all the healing and stimulated the new death power. I don't know how it works! I just do as Janson tells me to!"

"What about the other two? The girl and subject A-"

"Yeah! They already caught it. Her Killzone will be highly interesting to read when she finds out!"

"Well it will be interesting Killzone patterns. Especially when they don't see the one variable coming!"

"How many of the ones left do you think are still viable Candidates?" Evelyn lay quiet trying not to tense up or scrunch her face in confusion, she tried to remain still and listen.

"We're down to four or five," the first woman answered. "Thomas over there is by far our greatest hope. He responds really sharply to the Variables. Wait, I think I just saw her eyes move."

Evelyn froze, tried to stare straight ahead into the darkness of her eyelids. It was hard, but she forced herself to breathe evenly, as if asleep. She didn't know exactly what these people were talking about, but she desperately wanted to hear more. Knew she needed to hear more.

"Who cares if they're listening?" the man asked. "They couldn't possibly understand enough to affect his or her responses one way or the other. It'll do Thomas good to know we made a huge exception to get that infection out of him. That WICKED will do what it has to when necessary."

And about the crank? Janson's little pet project?" The man asked.

"I don't know. But who cares? She'll be past gone soon, and she'll forget everything soon."

"Hear that Thomas...and you, you Cranked Witch? Don't get excited, we're about to dump you right back where we found you."

Evelyn felt drugs push into her body through the IV in her arm. She felt her mind start to drift off, being taken away on The Bliss and something else. Through the drugged induced Fogg she heard something odd. Something that made her panic spiked before she fell into the haze of drugs.

"We'll see you very soon."

_______________________

The mysterious people were true to their word.

The next time Evelyn's mind woke up, she was hanging in the air, strung tightly to a canvas litter with handles, swaying back and forth. She wasn't fully awake, everything felt like a dream, and everything was slow. She felt like her mind was floating. Like everything around her was in slow motion. She vaguely registered another  canvas litter swaying beside her.... Thomas...her sluggish mind put together that much.

A large rope attached to a ring of blue metal held her as she was lowered from something huge, the whole time accompanied by the same explosion of hums and heavy thumps that she'd heard when they'd come to get her and Thomas. As she swung back and forth she blinked slowly, a lazy goofy smile spread across her face, her eyes glazed over. A slow Bliss induced giggle escaped her. The swinging made her mind feel like it was flying.

She felt a soft bump, and then faces appeared around her. Her glazed over eyes couldn't focus. A white cloud caught her attention and she just stared at it like she had never seen one. Her big green eyes wide and unmoving, not able to focus.

Half her mind registered Newt and The rest of the Gladers and Group B plus Jorge, Brenda and Jaz were hovering over her and Thomas. But her Bliss induced mind couldn't focus. Her eyes slowly lazily slid past them, not really seeing anything.

The rope holding her and Thomas detached and sprang up into the air. Then, almost instantaneously, the vessel from which he'd been lowered vaulted away, disappearing into the brilliance of the sun directly overhead. The sounds of its engines faded, and soon it was gone.

Then everyone spoke at once.

"What was that all about?"

"Are you okay?"

"Evelyn?"

"What's wrong with her?"

"What'd they do to you guys?"

"Who was that?"

"Have fun in the Berg?"

"How's your shoulder Evelyn?"

"Thomas? How's that leg?"

Evelyn only heard a few words of each question and it all jumbled together. It made her mind want to hide in on itself. But it also made her giggle. The Bliss made her mind feel like it was floating through clouds. She was content to lay all wrapped up, snuggled cozy in the ropes and canvas.

Thomas on the other hand, was struggling and fighting with the ropes.

"Guys? A little help?"

Minho and a couple of others worked on untying him, while everyone else bombarded him with questions. Newt and a few others worked at untying Evelyn. But she wasn't in a rush to get out. She may still staring up at the sky. Once she was untied Newt leaned over her her, his face blocking out the sky. Her dazed eyes slid to him trying to focus on him. A big grin slid onto her face.

"You're...pretty."

"Evelyn? What the bloody shuck?"

"Hey man, what's wrong with Evy?"

She turned her head, well it was more of a flop and she saw black hair and thick black glasses.

She giggled, "four....eyes..."

"Well Muchacho, it looks like she's in the middle of ridding the Bliss!"

"Why the bloody hell would they give her an addictive drug?"

"Your guess is as good as mine Hermano."

"Come on, we all need to get out of this sun before we bake!"

Evelyn felt her body being lifted again, her limbs and head flopped pathetically. Whoever had her brought her to a shabby hut. It was made out of dry wood that seemed like it might crumble to pure dust at any second, but it was big enough to provide shelter for everyone there.

The group trekked over to the shelter; Thomas told them a dozen times that he'd explain everything from beginning to end once they were settled, and Evelyn could explain her side when the Bliss wore off.

"Might as well, just sleep right now and when Eve wakes up just do the whole explanation once."

A few people groaned.

"Slim it ya shanks! She's right. It's hot a shuck outside. Let's all sleep while we can!"

Everyone grumbled, but did their best to laydown without kicking someone else. Evelyn was laid down in a corner. Minho, Nick, Sonny, Jeff, Teresa, Sonya, Harriet crowded around, Thomas and Brenda were there as well. All crowding around Newt Evelyn and Jorge. They all started asking questions, it was hard for her drugged brain to put the names to the voices, she did manage to pick out a few. 

"Jorge? What exactly is The bloody Bliss?"

"Well... it's an expensive drug that only the rich can afford...it slows down all brain function. WICKID claims it's a temporary treatment. But it's more...very temporary relief from the pain the Flare inflicts than a treatment. And it's highly addictive."

"It numbs pain?"

"Si."

"But...she never complained about buggen' pain. She never told me she was in pain."

"Did she ever bloody complain, Newt?"

"No." He said sadly, "she was always more buggen' worried about everyone else around her and never about her self."

"Remember what I told you on the helicopter, after the rescue?" 

Newt nodded, but Sonya, Harriet and Amy both shook their heads.

"The Flare works in stages. Most of the physical effects are caused by something else. First the delusions start, then animal instincts begin to overpower the human ones. Finally it consumes them, destroys their humanity. It's all in the brain. The Flare lives in the brain. It is an awful thing."

"When we first met, like a week ago I told her she was only a crank by name. Those veins on her forearm... were the beginning stages. But with the amount of trauma she has been through in The Maze and then in the Underneath and then with Saints & Sunset Crank Gang...and that extra bite on her shoulder ... it'll work a lot faster, picking apart her brain. The more trauma to the brain the faster it works. If it wasn't for that drug from Mary back in the compound... She'd be a lot worse..."

"So.. she's turning bloody faster than a normal person with the buggen' Flare?"

"Si, Mi Hijo." Jorge said sadly.

Her glazed eyes saw Newt's big brown ones they were wet with fresh tears. With a wild effort, she picked up her arm, it felt like it weighed a tone. She clumsily tried to hold the side of his face. He grabbed her hand and pressed it to his dirty and sweaty cheek. A tear slid down his cheek.

"Loooove you Nooooot." Her words were slurred and her eyes unfocused.

With a small cry stiffled he leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"I love you too Lee. Sleep now."

Her eyes slid shut as if on command and her mind floated away.

She finally woke up feeling no more effects of the pain medication or The Bliss. She slowly sat up. Everyone around her was asleep. It was dark out, and the overpowering heat had disappeared. She gingerly got to her feet and stepped over everyone and out of the shack and into the open air. She finally stretched her sore muscles. As she did so, she finally looked around, it was darker, but dusk wasn't too far away, the western sky was starting to fade into soft orange and pinks.

The miserable city of the Cranks lay a few miles distant, huddling in all its decay and madness to the south. No sign of the infected people anywhere. To the north, the mountains loomed now, only a day or so away. Craggy and lifeless, they sloped up higher and higher until they ended in jagged brown peaks. Harsh cuts in the rock made the whole range appear as though a giant had hacked at it with a massive axe for days and days, letting out all its giant frustration, Evelyn wished she could do that, take out some frustration.

She felt the anger, but it was more tired. She was tired. Tired of  hurting and the pain, tired of running, tired of fighting to survive. Emotionally and mentally she was exhausted. She just wanted piece. She walked a little ways away from the shack and just sunk to the ground. She sat for a while, just staring at the setting sun, wishing George, Jack, Clint, Winston, Gally and Alby were with her. Her heart was so heavy. She brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her knees. 

That's when she realized that she felt no pain other than the slightest of aches in her shoulder. She let her knees flop and looked down to see that she was wearing fresh clothes, and that there was the bulge of a bandage under the sleeve of her shirt. Evelyn couldn't believe how good she felt, just a dull ache in her shoulder. And she didn't think she had any trace of drugs in her anymore. Whatever doctors WICKED had unleashed on her had been brilliant at what they did. She also felt more in control of her mind. Not so...wild. Sure her arm still had the sharp cold pain of the Flare, but that was always going to be there. But the uncomfortable itchy crawling feeling didn't feel as intense, it was definite still there. It couldn't have been the Bliss, that just made her feel like she was floating on fluffy clouds. It wasn't a cure, she could still feel the Flare. The crank was just sitting quietly waiting in her mind and now prowling, coiled waiting to pounce. 

But her thoughts immediately went to something else.

The people from WICKED had shown up to save her and Thomas pretty quickly. From what they'd said, it was something they hadn't planned on, but they'd done it anyway. Which meant they were watching and could swoop in to save them whenever they wanted to. But they didn't. They had sat back and watched as Clint and how many other Gladers were killed in the Crank Mall? How many did they watch burn alive in the storm? What made Thomas so special? What made her, a crank so special? What did Janson want with them? What messed up mind games was he playing at? 

With a small groan of exhausted frustration she put her head in her hands, realizing her hair was also washed and cleaned. Her mind was exhausted and she couldn't think about Janson and what he possibly had planned. She ran a clean hand through her freshly washed hair. She hissed in pain, bringing her infected arm to her chest, cradling it. 

"Still hurts, huh?" 

Evelyn twisted her head and saw Sonny walking towards her. He sat down beside her. He pulled his long dark hair back up into the bun her always wore. He pulled his knees up, resting his arms over them. She just nodded. He just hummed, watching the sun set. 

"Sonny..." She started but trailed off, not sure how to start it. He didn't say anything, but waited patiently for her. He was always patent and kind and gentle. She took a deep breath held it for a few seconds and then let it out. 

"If...what I asked you back after the mall...if it's too much it's okay. I'll go back to Crank City. I'll have Noah do it. He did it for his sister. He'll be okay with it if I ask." 

He didn't say anything for a long time. She sat cross legged, her infected arm in her lap, she traced the icy white veins with a finger tip. 

"No. As a friend and fellow Keeper...I made you a promise." 

"Just...please...don't tell Newt. It would break him. I have a letter...explaining everything. I'll give it to Sonya, along with my journals, to give to him once I'm gone." 

Sonny looked at her with his dark sad eyes. 

"I'm sorry Sonny, I don't want to put this on you. But...I don't know who else to trust." 

He was quiet, he looked into the sunset. Evelyn watched as it turned the sky orange and pink, with some purple. It was beautiful. 

"WICKED knows your have the Flare, and yet they save you from a bullet wound and infection...why?" 

"Your guess is as good as mine." She shrugged. "It's just prolonging the inevitable. Making saying goodbye that much harder. I only have a few days left. The moment you get to the Right Arm...I'm gone. I'm not infecting anyone. I'm not going to be responsible for that." She felt the tears rise, and one or two slid down her cheeks. "I already have too much blood on my hands." Her voice cracked, and she swallowed around the lump in her throat.

Sonny just hummed deep in his chest and pulled her into a side hug. She lay her head on his shoulder. 

"Thank you for being my friend Evelyn." 

"The pleasure was all mine," She whispered.