Gally

The group had just finished talking with Laurence. Thomas, of course, didn't listen and made a deal with him, and made this a whole lot harder than it needed to be. But...they would be fine.

"Before we go inside the walls, you three need those chips out." Gally said.

He led them down a flight if stairs toward the the Med Wing. Zayn, Magnus and Jasmine went to get things ready for later.

"GALLY!"

Gally jumped at the frantic scream of his name. Sophie came taring up the stairs towards them.

"GALLY! MED WING! NOW!"

Sophie scrambled to a stop and spun back around Gally cursed and took off after her. Thomas and the group shrugged and followed. Gally ran down the stairs two at a time, he got to the bottom and already heard the wild screaming. He put on a burst of speed, flying down the hall. Thomas was hot on his heels, he looked sick and terrified.

"What's going on?"

"Charlie." He panted.

Gally slammed the door open, ignoring Thomas steady stream of questions, Gally hurried over to Charlie. She was cowering in the corner, sobbing. Her eyes were wide open, pupils dilated so wide in fear he could hardly see the blue. Her head was wiping back and forth. There was still a rubber band around her arm.

Her arms held her head, trying to protect it. Hans was doing his best, but everytime he came close she screamed in terror and tried to shrink away more.

"What happened?" Gally cried.

"She agreed to a blood sample, I know it's a trigger, and we did everything we normally do to safeguard her appointments. But today didn't work, Sophie couldn't help."

"Shuck."

Thomas had crouched in front of Charlie, and grabbed her arm. She screamed and flailed her arms, she scrambled away.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me! I'm sorry! I won't do it again!" She sobbed, still trying to scramble across the floor.

"Charlie! Stop!" Thomas cried, he looked ready to panic himself.

"Thomas stop!" Gally demanded, "that doesn't help."

"Clearly!"

Gally ignored him, the others had all crowded into the room.

"Great." He muttered, "a full show and audience."

Gally crouched down in front of her.

"Charlie, Sweetie, " he said gently.

"I made him mad again. They want to poison me. They want more fear! I don't want to!" She cried, her wild eyes on him, but not actually seeing him. She flinched, "I'm sorry! Don't hurt me! Please don't!" She tried to flail her arms and protect her head.

Thomas watched dumbstruck as Charlie sobbed and cried and struggled against something on the ground while Gally talked quietly and patiently to her. She lashed out, but it didn't seem to surprise him. Thomas jumped backwards into Newt. They watched with mouths open as Gally handed it with ease.

He had firmly wrapped her up as she cried and pleaded for someone not to hurt her and she kept appolagizing. She tried to fight Gally off, but he held her firmly against his chest. He sat on the floor holding her so she couldn't fight back, he held her head so she couldn't slam it around. She kept struggling and crying, screaming for them to stop hurting her.

Thomas sputtered indignity when Gally forcefully kissed her. He had let go of her, grabbed her face and kissed her. He took a step forward, but Newt grabbed him and shook his head.

"Look." He whispered.

She had stopped fighting, Charlie was now grabbing onto his shirt like a life line. Thomas stood stiff and watched as the rather aggressive kiss turned gentle. Gally's hand went from firmly holding her face to sliding gently into her hair. He gently pulled away, she was still crying and panting, but she seemed to back in the present.

"Hey, Sweetie, your okay. You're safe. You're away from him. I have you. You're safe here."

She tried to stifle a sob, "Gally! I'm sorry! I'm so-"

"No appolagizing. Remember?" He cut her off, and gently pulled her into a hug. She buried her face into the crook of his neck and he just rocked her, reasuring her quietly.

"Well Hermano, if that ain't love I don't know what is." Jorge said.

Newt and Frypan nodded. Sophie had come over to them.

"So, what actually happened?" Thomas asked her.

"Doctors...medical things, neddles are triggers. It sends her back...they abused her. Janson, the WICKED doctors... Random loud noises sometimes. Sometimes large crowds. It kind of depends. Gally doesn't go far. Sometimes me and Magnus can catch it before it tail spins. But once she's gone, only Gally can help. She's gotten a whole lot better."

"That's better?" Frypan asked, his face falling.

Sophie nodded.

Charlie had slowly pulled away, Gally gently wiped her tears off her face, still talking quietly to her. She nodded her head and took a deep breath.

"No. I want to...I need to. Just...stay please." She pleaded.

Gally sighed and reluctantly agreed.

"Hey Doc?" He called.

Hans stepped closer and crouched down. Thomas watched as he talked to Gally and Charlie on the floor. Charlie was nodding her head, a determined look on her face, but now that the Gladers knew, they could see the fear and trauma in her eyes.

_________________________

Charlie

Gally held me tight. I pressed my face into his chest so I wouldn't have to see anything, his one hand held my head firmly. His other wrapped around and had my arm pinned, and one leg held both of mine down; I was stuck. I couldn't move, Dr Hans had my other arm, held firmly in his grasp and was trying his best to get my blood drawn.

"Charlie we don't have to do this!" Gally pleaded with me.

"No. I have to. What if...Sophie gets the flair? Or Zee? I can help! I just...just..." I cried into his chest. I was trying so hard to keep the hyperventilating away, but I was failing miserably.

Someone walked over and talked quietly and quickly with Dr Hans, I tried to turn and see, but Gally held my head firmly in place. I felt my arm being readjusted and then a sharp prike in the crook of my elbow.

I tried to keep everything insieti really did. But it slipped out. The wild scream tore from my throat. I felt myself trying to curl into myself and Gally's arms tighten around me.

"Almost done...almost done Charlie." Gally whispered into my hair.

The sharp pinch disappeared and Hans released my arm, I pulled it into my chest and fully turned into Gally. My head was really hurting, my chest hurt and I felt sick to my stomach. A whimper escaped, as I shivered. Gally just held me.

"Hey...Thomas, Newt?" I heard Gally call, "we'll go through the tunnels tomorrow."

"Good that." Newt said quiet.

"I'll get Zayn to show you guys where to sleep. And Soph? Will you show uhh...Brenda?" He paused for a second, "Brenda. Sorry guys, Charlie needs my attention now."

Without saying anything else he stood up with my still curled up in his arms and he carried me out the door, I kept my eyes clamped shut until we were in the quiet of our own room. He sat me down on our bed, and helped me change into something more comfortable to sleep in. While I sat staring emotionless at the wall he changed and then  layed down and pulled me in beside him.

I turned into him with a small whimper and tried to get as close as I possibly could, both his arms wrapped around me as I tangled my legs into his. My body deflated. I felt everything drain out, all the energy just vanished. My eyes slid closed.

"You're safe." He whispered again into my hair.

"I know..."

We were quiet for a bit I was drifting in and out of sleep, my mind jumping all over the place.

"Hey...Gally?" I whispered, worried he had fallen asleep and I didn't want to wake him.

I heard him humm in response.

"Do..do you think Janson is treating Minho the same way as me?"

He was quiet for a long time, and that made me nervous. I could feel my stomach twist in anxious knots.

"I honestly don't know, Sweetie. I'm sorry. But now that Thomas is here, we have a way in...if he goes for it."

"...Yeah..." I whispered, not convinced.

"Is this a good idea? Using him as bait? Or using her? What...what if it sets me off?"

He shifted and moved away so he could look at me, his hand gently tucked some hair behind my ear, as he looked into my soul with those intense steel blue eyes of his.

"Then I'll be there beside you. Your more important than getting information, Magnus can do that."

I gave him a small nodded. My face must have showed my spinning mind.

"What else is going on up there?" He asked and gently tapped my temple.

"I'm just...I don't know...do you think he's abusing her too?"

"Probably. He's sick and twisted." Gally answered honestly.

"Than...maybe...what if...he's using her like he used me?"

Gally frownd slightly. I saw something flash in his eyes, anger maybe.

"Charlie...after everything you told me she said and did to you, in the maze and at WICKED. What she tried with me in the Maze, she's not innocent. By any means!"

"Are any of us?" I whispered, looking away from his frustrated expression.

"Charlie!" His voice made me flinch.

He exhaled heavily through his nose,

"Charlie," he said again but more gentle this time. "Look, she knew what she was doing, and seemed to be a willing participant in what she did to you, and-"

"But I knew what I was doing when he MADE me kill all those people!" I interupted, tears forming in my eyes.

"Are you defending the person who helped tourture you?"

"No." I replied firmly, but then I frowned, "Maybe...? What if she didn't have much of a choice? Like me. I'm just saying....maybe she has a reason..?" I whispered nervously.

He just hummed and pulled me back to his chest.

"I'll take Thomas and Newt into the city tomorrow."

____________________________

Minho, Gally and myself all sat tied to hard cold metal chairs. The cores thick rope dug into my wrists and ankles. My face throbbed. Janson had sat and watched as his new young Captain used the three of us as punching bags. My face was swollen and bloody, I knew there were bruises forming. Gally and Minho looked as bad as I felt. 

We had tried to run. We had tried to talk the others into coming with us. But after the first time we were caught outside, they sent us to the crank pit- that was the first time he had done that, after that it became a regular punishment for me. This time we tried to run. We wanted out, we were done being used by WICKED and Janson. So we had made a plan, we decided that enough was enough. But we were caught. They were all waiting for us in the woods, they set up an ambush and were waiting. The three if us were hulled into the room, and were roughed up by a new hot shot who wanted to prove himself .

Now, we were left alone in the room, tied to the chairs in the cold dark room. One beetle blade was sitting on the wall, it's red eyes staring at us. I'm sure that it was a live feed to the control room. Why he wanted this on camera, I'm not sure. I had stopped trying to figure out Janson. I heard a crackle from the speaker, and Janson's voice over the speaker. 

"Hurts to say this, Thomas, but it looks like your friends and sister didn't learn from their first attempt to go outside. I guess we went too easy on them, on everyone. Now we have no choice but to step things uo. Don't you agree?" 

"They could choose to let us go." I muttered, and spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor. I straightened up and and glared at the beetle blade. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Gally and Minho glaring too, jaws set unwavering and a look of resolve on their bloody bruised faces. I drew strength from their determination. 

"Silence is probably not your best option right now, Thomas. Sit down and we will talk." Janson's voice crackled again. "People like Minho, Gally and especially Charlie- people who think they are above the effort to help us here- have to be dealt with. Hopefully you can learn something by watching."

There was some scraping noise and a grunt. Then it was quiet for a moment. I glanced at the guys beside me and saw them nervously look around. What was Thomas supposed to be watching? What more were they going to do to us? 

"Thomas," Janson's voice came crackling through the speaker again. He sounded a little too eager now, and it made my stomach twist in fear. 

"Thomas, lets be honest here. You know we've been watching you and your friends sneak around the facility, meeting in the room, and watching your sister meet up with different boys ..you know this, correct?" 

My blood boiled at this last comment. He made it sound like I was hooking up with someone new every day!  The jerk! I was the one dumped! He broke up with me for another girl! But yeah, let's paint me in the bad light. I was also hurt that Thomas didn't say anything, he didn't stick up for me. 

"You might be young, but you're way too smart to think you were getting around us somehow." 

My stomach jumped into my throat, they knew everything. I hoped at least we were doing a half decent job. Janson kept going. 

"Thomas, my dear boy, we're not here to beat YOU up over THEIR mistake. If anything, we were able to see that most of you  tried to talk them out of it. But there are some valuable lessons to be learned from all this, and we're going to take advantage of this situation....So Thomas. You are going to sit there and watch as we teach them a very valuable lesson. We need witnesses. We need the word to get around, we can't let something like this ever happen again. Our subjects need to know that actions have consequences."

"What...what are you going to do to them?"

I heard Thomas's strained voice. 

"After this is done, we will bring in Teresa. And then Aris and Rachel. We wanted all of you to be alone when you watch this. This is a personal experience, and reaction, uninfluenced by others."

"But what are you going to do?" 

"This is a little practice, an exercise. This is something that you will be seeing a lot of when we send in the first group into the maze in a few months. However, your sister...she-"

I felt my heart pound faster, claws of fear gripped my lungs, making it hard to breathe. He always had an excuse for doing something worse, something more to me. He always found a way to abuse me worse than anyone. I felt the panic, and in that panic I had missed what Janson said through the crackling speaker. But I saw Gally and Minho's eyes widen and both their heads turned in my direction. Which didn't help my fear.

The door behind us opened, and the young captain walked in, a sick twisted smile on his face. He had a few lengths of rope in his hand. He locked his cold eyes on mine and he slowly stalked towards me. I felt my blood run cold and beads of sweat appeared on my forehead. He slammed his fist into my face, dazing me. Pain flared through my face. Black spots danced in my eyes. The next thing I knew I was being pulled from my chair, my wrists bound together, I registered that he was tying my hands above my head, my back to him. 

"What...?" I whispered. He ripped my shirt open, exposing my back. My chest started to rise and fall quicker then I could get proper oxygen into my lungs. I turned my head just enough to see him uncoil a long dark whip. 

"No! Please no!" I cried. 

The noise of Gally and Minho crying out in protest was drowned out by the sounds of the whip cracking, and my cries of pain as the end ripped into my back, shredding the skin and splattering blood everywhere. 

I woke thrashing, the blanket twisted around me. The screaming that ripped my throat could be heard down the hall. All Gally could do was hold me tight.