As Janson and his bodyguard turned and walked back up the room, Florence flattened herself against the pillar and became deadly still to avoid attracting attention to herself. And then when they were gone, they ran for the vents.

Racing through the vents, Florence was certain her knees were going to be bruised from the startling pace they were crawling at. Thomas led her and Aris back to his room, bursting straight through the vent door and leaping up into the room.

Florence followed, scrambling up onto her feet to see Thomas rushing around the room, panicking. She leant her hands on her knees, desperately catching her breath back as the others watched in confusion.

"We gotta go. We gotta go right now." Thomas began to explain, still rushing about and not taking a second to explain.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Newt questioned, the irritancy in his tone more clear than anything else. "What do you mean, 'we gotta go'?"

"They're coming. Come on. We gotta go. They're coming for us." Thomas repeated, looking around frantically for a way to possibly stall Janson so they could escape.

"What happened in there?"

The others looked terrified now, sharing uncertain glances as they watched Thomas rip back the bedsheets of the closest bunk, turning to the door to try and tie it shut. Florence raked a hand through her hair, watching the chaos unfold in front of her, not knowing what to say.

"Aris, what happened?" Frypan asked the other boy, who was frozen to the spot, looking as shocked by what they had seen and heard as Florence felt.

"Thomas, can you just calm down and talk to us?" Newt's voice raised as he addressed Thomas, the boy in turn not listening, and continuing to tie the bedsheets to the door.

Becoming frustrated with the way he was miserably failing, Florence passed the boys questioning him to help him out and speed up the process. Janson was on his way, getting closer to killing them at every passing second.

"Florence, what's going on?" She heard Minho's voice from behind her and she turned her head to call back,

"She's still alive."

"Who's she? Teresa?" Frypan questioned hopefully.

Is Teresa still alive?

"Ava." Thomas answered, looping part of the bedsheet under another and handing it to the girl to tie it together.

"Ava?" Newt asked in horror. His frustrated tone returned in the question, "Will you just turn around and talk to us?"

"It's WCKD." Thomas finally stopped, turning around to face them all. Florence did the same, her eyes finding Minho's which widened in asking for confirmation. She nodded slightly and his face dropped.

"It's still WCKD. It's always been WCKD."

Thomas immediately moved back to the bed, picking up the mattress and taking it over to the door, slamming it against it. Pausing, he leant his hands against the mattress, panting for breath. Newt approached him, his hand resting just beside Thomas's and his face close to the other's.

"Thomas. What did you see?"

"Newt." Thomas whirled around properly, causing his nose to brush against Newt's. "You need to trust me. We need to go."

The group took little time in heading straight back into the vents to scour for an escape. They reached a vent which led out into a corridor, Thomas opening it up and scrambling out.

At the back of the group, Florence was more than a little impatient in waiting to get out of the vents herself. She had spent more time than expected in the small metal corridors.

And then she remembered the girl in her room.

"I need to go back to my room." She stopped suddenly. The boys that had all crawled out crowded back around the entrance, exchanging confused expressions.

"No, they'll be going to yours next." Newt replied firmly, and Florence sighed in frustration and impatience.

"Exactly! Beth's in there. I need to tell her to get out."  Her tone with filled with urgency.

Newt's eyes softened then, and he exchanged a glance with Thomas. He gave a simple nod, and that's all it took for her to begin heading back down the vent towards her room. Minho followed as it would be stupid for her to go alone.

Reaching Alice's jumper for what she knew would be the last time, Florence picked it up and tied it firmly around her waist. Kicking the vent door in, she army crawled out into her room and immediately saw the girl still waiting on her bed.

"You took forever-" She began in an irritated tone, but Florence cut her off instantly.

"-You need to come with us."

"No way! I said this - I'm not getting involved." Her arms folded across her chest and she looked down on Florence as she was approached by the frantic girl.

"You don't understand. It's WCKD. Janson, this whole place, is WCKD."

"Then WCKD is good."

Hearing it from someone that went through the Maze Trials was even more bone chilling than hearing it said by Ava Paige. Beth had clearly gone insane.

They must have done something to her.

"They're coming to kill us Beth, we need to get out-"

"-No. I don't believe you." She replied firmly, and Florence's heart was thumping now, the girl fully panicking. She didn't want the girl to die, but she wasn't budging.

"Beth-"

She was cut off by an piercing scream from the other girl's lips. She ran to the door, hammering on it with her fists, and Florence realised she was trying to attract a guard's attention - to get them caught.

"We need to go."

Minho tugged her arm towards the vents, and this time she didn't hesitate in leaving. They turned straight back into the vents, and as former Runners, they remembered the way out perfectly.

As she moved along the vent corridors, Florence felt a pit of dread in her stomach, knowing that Janson would be heading to her room, and that Beth would most likely end up just like Samantha and Alice.

I tried to get her to come with us. Maybe I didn't try hard enough...

As they climbed out into the corridor, they found the others still grouped just beside the vent door, worried expressions now firmly on Aris. Florence glanced between them all, completely unaware.

"What's going on?" She asked, and Aris spoke after a brief pause.

"You guys go ahead. There's something I gotta do." He reassured them, placing his hand on the vent door as he readied to climb back inside.

"What are you talking about?"

"Trust me, it's important. You guys wanna get outta here, right? Just go."

We're not going to leave without him, are we?

It would be weird to, especially as it was because of him that they discovered something was off with the place. He was a big part of them escaping.

"I'll go with him." Winston decided, moving back towards the vent and Aris.

"Okay, Winston, go. Go. Come on." Thomas hurried the rest of them up the corridor, all of them taking nervous glances around to see if anyone was about.

"You sure we can trust this kid?" Minho asked Thomas apprehensively, and he let out a harsh chuckle.

"You don't want to know where we'd be without him."

"Hang on, where's the girl from your room?" Newt put a hand on Florence's arm and she glanced at her feet quickly before meeting his eye.

"She wouldn't come with us. Started screaming to try and get us caught. WCKD's got her brainwashed or something I swear."

He nodded sombrely, thinking of where she would now likely end up. The group jogged down the corridor and turned the corner, head on into a doctor - the same doctor that gave Florence her memories back.

"What are you kids doing out?" She asked suspiciously. For once, they were all lost for words. And then the doctor's eyes fell on her and she felt an unexpected surge of rage.

Why did she give me my memories back? And why does it make me angry?

Before any of them could try to give an excuse, a blaring alarm sounded out - presumably around the whole facility as a way of saying they were trying to escape - and the doctor's expression changed. She knew exactly what was going on.

In a swift moment, Thomas had taken her arm and she was overpowered. Letting her go would mean Janson would find out where they were even quicker. Continuing down the corridors, their pace increased even more, and when they turned another corner they were met with an unfriendly sight.

"Freeze!" A guard yelled from the other end of the corner, before immediately shooting at them with his gun. They dodged the bullets hitting the wall behind them, ducking back around the corridor they had just come from.

"Stay where you are!" They could hear from where the guard was located.

"Why are they shooting at us?" Frypan asked in a panicky voice, as they turned to make their way back in the direction they had been already.

Suddenly, Minho fell back from the group, standing still with his eyes on the wall of the corridor with the guard and an unfamiliar look in his eyes. This forced everyone else to stop too, in confusion, as they waited for him to catch up. But he didn't.

"Minho." Florence called to him, attempting to get him to re-join the group, but it seemed that he had other ideas.

"What the hell are you doing?" Newt yelled in horror, but before they could do anything to stop the boy, he had moved in a flash.

Running at the wall and yelling at the top of his lungs, he jumped and kicked his foot directly into the guard that had turned the corridor at the exact right time, slamming him into the wall and leading him to fall unconscious.

"Shit, Minho." Newt muttered in awe, as the boy panted to catch his breath. The group jogged over to the unconscious guard, looking down at his sprawled figure in admiration for Minho's actions.

"That was hot." Florence blurted out before she could stop herself. Breaking out into an amused grin, Minho winked back at the girl and Thomas let out a disgusted groan, tugging the girl's arm.

"Okay. Let's go. Come on."

He stopped to take the gun from the guard's grip before the group headed down the corridor that the guard had previously been blocking. The doctor that was now being threatened with a gun easily complied with their wishes of getting to the med wing where Teresa was presumably being kept.

A hand still on her arm, Thomas pushed the doctor to the door, letting her open it first to avoid suspicion.

"Dr Crawford, are you here to-"

A second after another doctor inside began to speak, Thomas had burst in after Dr Crawford and the rest of the group poured inside. Holding up the gun against them, Thomas immediately forced the doctors into a corner, yelling threateningly.

"Where is she? Where is she?"

Again, with Thomas's concern for Teresa, Florence couldn't help but let her eyes wander to Newt's reaction. She couldn't read his expression so she looked back to the cowering doctors. Seeing how they glanced to the medical curtain put up and dividing the room in half, Florence moved forwards to pull it back.

Upon seeing the girl, Thomas shoved the gun into Minho's hand, who seemed more than happy to threaten the doctors with it. He moved to Teresa, scanning her to see if she was alright.

"Get down!" Florence could hear Minho's orders behind her, knowing fully well how much he would be enjoying bossing them all around.

"Okay, hands, give me your hands." At the sound of Newt's command, she moved away from Teresa's bedside to help the boy in tying up the doctors so they couldn't escape.

"You're never gonna get away with this." Dr Crawford threatened, and as Florence tightened the cloth material around her wrists, she gave her a smug smile.

"Shut up, Dr Crawford."

"Guys? They're coming. Where do we go?" Frypan told them, moving away from where he was keeping watch at the door. Essentially, they were trapped.

"Frypan. Move." Newt's words caused Frypan to move away further, wondering why he had asked him. Newt flipped a metal table onto its side, moving it against the wall and the door, blocking the door momentarily.

Only a second after, the guards came hurtling at the door, attempting to open it but being stopped by the table. They continued to try, and as they did, Minho hurried the group backwards in the room, as far away from the door as possible.

"We gotta get outta here." Minho yelled anxiously, preparing his finger on the gun, and Florence wondered if he was prepared to kill someone. It was then that she remembered he had already killed Gally.

"Everyone stand back." Thomas's urgent tone jolted her from her trance, and her hand found Teresa's, pulling her away and squeezing it as a way of saying she was grateful they had her back.

I wonder why they had her for so long...

Thomas had picked up the stool at Teresa's bedside, whacking it into the glass - trying to break it. Failing, he adjusted his grip on it, preparing to try again.

"Newt, help."

In an instant, Newt had picked up the other stool and held it in his hands just like Thomas.

"Ready?"

With a simple nod, the boys repeated the way Thomas had hit the glass. This time, with the combined force of the two of them, the glass shattered, giving them an escape.

"Come on!" Thomas urged them towards the glass window, Florence untying the jumper from her waist and using it to brush the glass and avoid anyone getting cuts from the shards of shattered glass.

She lifted herself up on the ledge, jumping down onto the other side and turning around to help the others over. Thomas joined her side, lifting Teresa across, and Florence caught the flicker of jealousy passing through Newt's expression. It was brief, but it was there.

"Thomas!" Minho called to the boy, now the only one on the wrong side of the glass. Throwing him the gun, he now had free hands to leap over onto their side, Florence pulling him forwards with her own.

"Stay behind me." Thomas directed the group as he opened the door they were faced with, and they were met by yet another guard.

Without a second thought, Thomas released the trigger of his gun, hitting him. He was sent backwards by the force of the bullet, and it was at that second that Florence realised it was a taser gun.

At least he's not dead.

She stopped for a split second at his side, looking over his writhing figure on the ground, being electrocuted by the blue bolts shooting across his body from the bullet embedded in his shirt material.

Ouch.

Sprinting down the corridor, the group had finally caught sight of the exit. The final door between them and the Scorch.

Florence briefly thought of how they weren't prepared in anyway for what the outside world might be like, but she was right in the fact that it had to be an afterthought. There would be no way of thinking of the Scorch if they were dead by WCKD's hands.

Skidding to a stop in front of it, Thomas retrieved the card from his pocket, sliding it over the ID card scan.

Once, it failed. Twice, it failed. It wasn't working.

"No, no, no!" Thomas muttered panicky, his hand shaking from the stress.

"Let me try." Florence offered, taking the card from his hand and sliding it through the scanner again.

It failed again.

She continued to try, even when Janson's menacing voice called her brother's name from the end of the corridor. The others formed a shield around her as she attempted to open the door as Thomas walked back up the corridor to address Janson.

"Open this door, Janson."

He cackled in reply, throwing his head back in an evil laugh. "You really don't want me to."

Florence knew Thomas still held the gun, but there was no way he would feel threatened by the boy. He had dozens more people than they did, therefore, dozens more guns.

"Open the damn door!"

As Thomas shouted to him, Janson advanced towards them, his hands held up as if he was surrendering - but of course he wasn't.

"Listen to me. I'm trying to save your life. The Maze is one thing, but you kids wouldn't last one day out in the Scorch. If the elements don't kill you, the Cranks will. Thomas, you have to believe me. I only want what's best for you."

Lies.

"Yeah, let me guess. WCKD is good?" Thomas questioned, still with the gun pointed directly at Janson.

"We know what you're doing here Janson, don't try and lie to us." Florence yelled out, stealing Janson's attention and having his menacing smile now on her. She was more than glad she couldn't see it.

"You're not getting through that door." He said simply in reply.

As if on cue, without Florence touching the door again, the scanner had turned green and the door had opened. On the other side, was Aris and Winston.

Aris is a genius.

"Hey guys." He greeted them with a proud smile, panting a little in tiredness.

They immediately made their way through the door, assuming Aris knew the way to go - he always did somehow - and Florence's head whirled back to her brother.

"Thomas, come on. Let's go."

He began to fire shots, backing up down the corridor as Janson and his guards were caught off guard by the surprise attack.

And then he ran out of ammo.

Looking down at the gun mortified, he threw it at Janson rather pathetically, as if it would do something, and began to sprint towards the others waiting for him.

"Shut the main vault door."

Janson spoke into a watch like device on his wrist that presumably communicated with the controls person of the facility, as the door began to close on his command. 

The door was closing at an alarmingly fast rate, and it didn't look good for Thomas. The Gladers yelled words of encouragement to him, Florence's nails digging into Minho's arm anxiously as she felt sick watching it unfold.

Thomas dropped onto his back, throwing himself forwards and sliding under the impossibly small gap left in the door, making it with mere seconds to spare. Newt pulled him up from the floor, his hands latching onto his arms protectively.

Janson's face appeared at the glass now, red with fury, and Aris ran forwards to smash whatever device he held in his hand against the scanner on their side of the door, breaking it.

Just as I thought, a genius.

Janson's voice was muffled through the glass, his words to them not audible over the sound of the still blaring alarm being blasted around the facility. Thomas took a second to flip him off, as Minho grabbed a backpack from a mound of supplies close by.

"Come on, Thomas. Come on."

Florence found Minho's hand taking hers so they weren't separated as they began to run. The group hurtled across the warehouse, recognising it as the one they had originally set foot in after leaving the helicopter that had 'rescued' them from the Maze.

Reaching the front door that had welcomed them a few days prior, Thomas pulled a lever to open it up and introduce them properly to the Scorch. A gust of wind sent a sprinkle of sand into their faces and eyes, but they had no time to stop. They needed to get out.

Florence was first to take off into the darkness, headed straight for the dune of sand where she knew they could hide on the other side. Glancing back, her heart dropped at the sight of the soldiers marching out of the entrance with flashlights and sniffer dogs and dune buggies.

"Come on, go. We'll lose them in the storm." She encouraged them to continue up the dune, but internally she was panicking about the possibility of being found.

They had no chance of evading WCKD by hiding in the dune, she quickly realised. Their bodies pressed into the sand, gusts of it still sweeping into their eyes as they watched the WCKD guards scour the area for them.

As the guards drew closed, they scrambled up again and began to sprint away in hopes of not being spotted. Teresa raced ahead, seemingly intent on going somewhere specific.

"Teresa, hang on. Stay together!" Thomas called after her, his voice carrying in the wind. However the girl didn't listen, leaping down the dune and towards an old building more than half buried in the sand.

Finding a broken window, Teresa's eyes were clearly set on going inside, whereas everyone else was more than a little conflicted by it. But they were all too slow to stop the girl from jumping down inside the window, grasping at the air that she used to occupy.

Minho was next to go down inside, giving Florence the courage to follow. She stumbled down the dunes, reaching for Teresa's shoulder to gain stability again. She could feel sand under her fingernails, in her shoes, her socks.

If there's one thing I know, it's that I hate sand.

Minho set down the backpack, opening it up and rummaging through for a source of light so they could see where they had ended up. Finding a torch, he cast it over the area showing them the sand and the rubble that piled in places over the concrete ground.

The walls were peeling and cracking in places, and the building itself was lopsided. If it weren't for the sand dunes that were built up around it, the building would've collapsed onto the ground that was buried deep, deep below the sand.

And for once her half-pieced together memory served her well, because somehow Florence recognised the building as an old, abandoned shopping mall.