“Always wear this. It'll protect you when you're not with me.”

Amelia looked down at the necklace before looking up at her dad. She was sitting cross-legged in front of him. “Why are you giving me this? It's not my birthday.”

She noticed how sad his eyes got. “I known it's not but it's just something for you. I saw it and immediately thought of you.”

Amelia smiled at her dad. “I love it. I cannot wait to show it off to everyone.” She jumped up to give her dad a hug. He hugged her tight and she smiled. “I love you, dad.”

“I love you, too. I love you so much.” He kisses her head as a tear rolled down his cheek.

▷▷▷

“You are not playing fair!”

The blonde girl chuckled sticking out her tongue as she threw the card on the table. She grabbed the candy bar and opened it. “Life is not fair, Lia.”

“Can you at least give me a piece?” Amelia asked her. The girl frowned and shook her head. “Sonya!” She jumped up and chased the girl. Giggles erupted from Sonya as Amelia chased her around the room.

“Sonya, give me a piece!”

“No, you lost faie and square!” Sonya yelled out, laughing. “You cheated! That is supposed to be mine.”

Sonya laughed. Amelia jumped forward and tackled the girl to the ground. Sonya gasped and Amelia cheered when she grabbed the candy bar out of her hand. Sonya gave up deciding to not fight the girl.

The two girls laid down on the ground side by side. “I'm leaving tomorrow.”

Amelia had already known of this. “They're taking me to some other place. I don't know when I'll see you again,” Sonya said. Amelia turned to look at the girl and she sat up.

“Sonya, let's promise to stay friends and one day when we're older we can meet again,” Amelia said. The blonde girl sat up and she smiled. “You're my only friend so you know I'll be keeping this promise.”

“Pinky swear,” Amelia said as she held out her pinky. Sonya rolled her eyed but she did so as well. Amelia yelped and tackled the girl into a hug again.

▷▷▷

She stared at the design on the griever. Thomas walked over to her table and he scoffed. “Is that what you came up with?”

“Yes. Your sister is a genius, isn't she?”

Thomas rolled his eyes. “It looks disgusting,” the boy said. Amelia pushed him with her shoulder. “It's supposed to. It has metallic legs while still having an organism's body. I also thought of having it look scarier than having it look cute,” she explained to him. He huffed and she smiled.

“How can something like that ever be considered cute?” Thomas asked.

“That's why I said it needs to look scarier, my dear brother and anyway it's not done, yet. Dr Ava just gave me the green light to start with it.”

“So, she actually liked it?” Amelia hummed.

“Wow, cool design, Lia,” Teresa said as she passed them. “Thanks, Teresa,” Amelia sais and the blue eyed girl smiled. The brunette turned to the boy.

“See your girlfriend liked it.”

“She's not my—”

“Yeah, whatever,” Amelia interrupted him. “Anyway, go now. I have to finish this.”

“Okay, okay.”

▷▷▷

A

melia pulled Thomas into one of the closets and she closed the door behind him.
“Thomas. . .”

“Lia, what's wrong?” he asked in concern. She looked stressed. It has been a few months since they have finished making Amelia's design. She had just found out what they were going to use it for.
“I can't do this.”

“What can't you do?”

“I can't watch kids get killed by the creatures I created. When I made them I didn't realize they'd be used to kill them. If I hadn't overheard one of the board members speaking about it I wouldn't have known,” Amelia said. She created it because she wanted to help. She didn't realize it'd be used against those in the maze.

“What are you talking about?”

“Thomas. . .they're going to be used to kill kids.”

“What?”

“Yes. The Grievers are weapons.”

Thomas frowned wondering what had happened. “Lia, did you do something?” he asked and she looked at him. He walked closer to his older sister. “Lia, what did you do?” he asked her.

“When I heard about what they were planning to do with the creatures I decided to deactivate them but one of the engineers caught me. So, I'm getting send into the maze tomorrow night,” she told him. She did not inform him that she had send out information about all the kids WCKD had under their system. She was not able to send out everything but she hoped it had been enough.

She had feared this would happen but she couldn't let it happen.

“So, I need you to listen to me, okay. While I'm inside there you'll witness some stuff but don't do anything that'll get you punished okay?” Amelia said. Thomas was Ava's favorite so she knew he wouldn't get a punishment as severe as the one she's going to get.  “I don't know for how long I'll be in there for but please take care of yourself.”

She pulled him into a hug. She knew when she went into the maze she'd forget him. Thomas was the only family she had left and now she was being send into the maze.
“Lia. . .what about those things your created? You won't remember anything about them so you won't you able to stop them from hurting you.”

Amelia smiled and she said, “I already thought of that so don't worry.” She had programmed the grievers to shut down when they came in contact with her.

“What am I supposed to do without you now?”

“Do what you've always done, Tommy. Be amazing at what you do,” she said pulling hil into a hug again. “I love you, Tommy.”

“I love you, Lia.” 

▷▷▷

Amelia's eyes opened and Newt was the first person she saw. He had sat with her all through the night waiting for her to wake up. They had been lucky that there were two serums for her and Thomas.
Newt smiled down at the girl and she blinked to try and get her thoughts together.

“Hey, you're finally awake.”

The first thing that came to mind was everything she now remembered. From her parents to Thomas to WCKD. Every single thing that she was robben of, she had now gotten back. She looked around as she slowly sat up with the help of Newt.

“Where are we?” she questioned when she realized they're weren't in her tent.
“Minho lend his hut for you to stay in. You've been out the whole night. It's already morning.”

Amelia looked towards the girl. “Tommy. . .Thomas, where's Thomas?” she asked turning to Newt. “Where is he?”

“Gally threw him and Teresa in the pit. He thinks they're the reason for all this. He thinks they work for the people who put us here,” Newt informed the girl. Amelia shook her head. Gally was wrong. The reason their home was destroyed was because of her.

“It's my fault. All of this, it's my fault,” she whispered. “I made the grievers. Our gladers died last night because of the grievers. The creatures I created. I am to blame for this, Newt.”

“What?”

Amelia looked up to Newt and he asked, “You helped them? You were one of them?”

“Yes. Thomas, Teresa and I. We worked for them,” Amelia said. From what she had remembered. Everyone went through multiple tests to see if they were eligible. She watched all of the gladers drowning. She was there for Alby's test, for Fry, even for Gally and Newt's.

“Lia, that does not make sense. You were in the maze way before any of us. You and Alby were the first—”

“I may have been one of the first but it does not mean that I was not there. I watched all of you going into the water for your weekly test and watched you as you drowned,” Amelia told the boy. “I was there Newt.”

“Lia. . .”

“Alby. . .he sacrificed himself to save Chuck. He died saving us,” Amelia recalled. Her best friend, the person who she looked up to died last night and it was by the creature she created. How could she ever live with herself after learning all this?

“Alby was my best friend. He was always there for me. We had promised to always look out for each other when Nick died,” Amelia said. She had not said that name in over three years. She has not thought of him.

“Nick, who's Nick?”

Amelia looked down at her hands. “You know how everyone thought Alby was the person in the maze?” she asked and he frowned but nodded anyway.

“Well he wasn't. The first person who was send up into the maze was Nick. He was the person Alby respected and loved dearly,” Amelia said. She had made a promise to Alby to not speak of Nick but she could not keep that promise after all. “He was alone in the maze for three whole months before Alby arrived. He taught Alby everything he knew.”

Amelia sighed as she reminisced about the time before the other boys arrived. “Nick was the kind of person you'd judge for being selfish. He always put himself first. Making sure he survived instead of someone else. An asshole, I know,” Amelia said. Newt just listened as she talked. This was the first time she was talking about when she first arrived in the maze. She had never once told him or Gally about it.

“When I arrived a month after Alby, I caused a lot of trouble. I ran into the maze on my first night thinking it was the way out. Nick was the one who saved me,” Amelia told Newt. “But because of my recklessness one night Nick lost his life saving me. The person who was regarded as selfish saved me.”

That was the first death she caused. She killed both of her friends because of her recklessness.

“I am responsible for the death of Nick, Alby and everyone who died because of the grievers last night, Newt. How can I ever live with myself knowing that?”

Newt took the girl's face in his hands and he stared in her eyes. He wiped her tear stained cheek with his thumbs. “Hey, look at me. What happened was not your doing. It is the doing of those people.”

“But—”

“No buts. If you were regarded as one of them why were you send into the maze. The same with Thomas and Teresa. Why, huh?” he questioned. “What happened is not your fault. I know you won't ever be able to forgive yourself but I need you to.”

Amelia stared at the blonde boy.

“I need you to forgive yourself so you can love for Nick and Alby. So you can live for every fallen Glader, Lia. Don't give up and give those people the satisfaction of breaking you,” Newt told her as he wiped her tears away. “For me and for Thomas. Don't give up.”

After calming the girl down Newt waited until she fell asleep again before he left the tent. Minho was already waiting outside for him. They made their way to the pit where Thomas and Teresa were being held. Gally had taken control over the Glade so Newt did not have a say in anything anymore.

Chuck was already waiting for the two near the pit. The two sat down beside the boy. Thomas had not woken up yet. “He's still asleep?” Newt asked Teresa.

The girl looked down at the boy in her lap. His eyes started to flutter open and whe almost sighed out loudly. “Hey, are you okay?” Teresa asked Thomas. He stared at her just as Chuck spoke up, “What the hell were you thinking?”

Thomas then realizes he and Teresa was in the pit. “What happened?”

“Gally has taken control,” Newt informed him as he rested his arm on the wooden bars. “He said we had a choice. Either join him or get banished at sundown with you.”

“And the others agreed to that?” he asked. “What about Lia?” He had regained his memories. He finally remembered his sister. The person who has always protected him.

“Lia, she's resting. After you took the stiner, she did so as well. She wanted to regain her memories ans she did,” Newt told him. He looked up at the blonde boy. “Did she tell you?”

“That she created the grievers? Yeah, she did. She feels immense guilt because of it. She believes it was all her fault,” Newt told him. Thomas shook his head. “No, it's not. None of what has happened is her fault. She was not involved in anything.”

Everything related to the grievers was on WKCD. They were to blame for it, not Amelia.

“Yeah, well, she doesn't wanna hear it.”

Thomas sighed and he looked down. “Did she tell you anything else?” Thomas asked. He wondered if she remembered everything. “Uh, no? Was there more?”

She hadn't, so he'll keep it that way for now.

“Gally has everyone convinced that you're the reason all this has happened,” Teresa said after a moment of silence.

Thomas sighed, adjusting his position to be leaning against the wall of the pit. “Well, he's been right so far.”

“What are you talking about?” Minho asked, face contorting in confusion. 

“This place. It's not what we thought it was,” Thomas began to explain, all eyes on him as they listened. “It's not a prison, it's a test. It all started when we were kids. They would give us these challenges. They were experimenting on us. And then people started disappearing. Every month, one after the other, like clockwork.”

“They were sending them up into the maze,” Newt inferred, understanding.

“Yeah, but not all of us,” Thomas said and they turned to him in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Guys, I'm one of them,” Thomas told them. “The people who put you here, I worked with them. I watched you guys for years. The entire time you have been here...I was on the other side of it.”

“So were you,” Thomas told the dark haired girl. “So was Lia.”

“What?”

“Teresa, we did this to them.”

“No. That can't be true,” Teresa protested. “It is. I saw it.”

Teresa was confused not fully understanding what he was talking about. 
“Why would they send us up if we were with them?” Teresa asked. their eyes for answers. 

Thomas shook his head. “It doesn't matter.”

“He's right. It doesn't matter,” Newt spoke up. “Any of it. Because the people we were before the maze don't even exist anymore.”

They all looked at Newt. “These Creators took care of that. But what does matter is who we are now, and what we do...right now. You went into the maze and you found a way out,” Newt said looking at the boy inside the pit.

“Yeah, but if I hadn't, Alby would still be alive.”

“You're just like Amelia, always wanting to shoulder everything. Is that what you want to hear?” Newt asked the boy.
“Maybe he would be alive right now,” The blonde boy shrugged, keeping his eyes on Thomas. “But I know that if he were here, he would be telling you the exact same thing. Pick your ass up and finish what you started.”

Minho looked at his friend as a small smile played on his lips.

“Because if we do nothing...then that means Alby died for nothing, and I can't have that,” Newt said. They all looked at Thomas as he bit his lip in contemplation.

“Okay—” Thomas breathed, composing himself before he looked up at the four people. If they want to leave they'd have to get past their biggest obstacle.

“Okay, but we gotta get through Gally first.”