The Scorch Trials (The Maze Runner Book 2) (48)
CHAPTER
48
It
didn’t take long for them to gather everyone—Thomas figured the intrigue of
hearing what the dead-guy-walking had to say was just too good to pass up. The
girls stood in a tight group in front of him; he remained tied to the ugly,
lifeless tree.
“All
right,” Harriet said. “You talk first, then we will.”
Thomas
nodded and cleared his throat. He began talking even though he hadn’t totally
planned what to say yet.
“All
I know about your group is what I learned from Aris. And it seems like we all
went through pretty much the same thing inside the Maze. But since we escaped,
lots of things have been different. And I’m not sure what you know about
WICKED.”
Sonya
cut in. “Not much.”
This
encouraged Thomas, made him feel like he had an advantage. And it seemed a big
mistake for Sonya to have admitted what she did. “Well, I’ve learned a lot
about them. All of us are special in some way—we’re being tested or something
because they have plans for us.” He paused then, but no one showed much of a
reaction, so he went on.
“A
lot of the things they’re doing to us don’t make sense because they’re just
part of the trials—what WICKED calls the Variables. Seeing how we react in
certain situations. I don’t understand all of it, not even close, but I think
this whole thing about killing me is just another layer. Or another lie. So … I
think this is just another Variable to see what we’ll all do.”
“In
other words,” Harriet said, “you want us to risk our lives because of
this brilliant deduction.”
“Don’t
you see? Killing me has no point. Maybe it’s a test for you, I don’t
know. But I do know that I can help you if I’m alive, not if I’m dead.”
“Or,”
Harriet replied, “we’re being tested to see if we have the guts to kill our
competitors’ leader. Isn’t that the whole point? See which group
succeeds? Weed out the weak and leave the strong?”
“I
haven’t even been the leader—Minho has.” Thomas shook his head
adamantly. “No, think about this. How are you showing any strength by killing
me? I’m way outnumbered and you have all these weapons. How does that prove
who’s stronger?”
“Then
what does it have to do with?” a girl from the back called out.
Thomas
paused, choosing his words carefully. “I think it’s a test to see if you’ll
think for yourself, change plans, make rational decisions. And the more of us
there are, the better odds we have of making it to the safe haven. Killing me
makes no sense, does no one any good. You’ve proven any power you needed to by
capturing me. Show them you won’t blindly take it all the way.”
He
stopped, relaxed back against the tree. He couldn’t think of anything else. It
was up to them now. He’d given it his best shot.
“Interesting
stuff,” Sonya said. “Sounds a lot like something a person who’s desperate not
to die would say.”
Thomas
shrugged. “I really feel like it’s the truth. I think that if you kill me,
you’ll have failed the real test WICKED is throwing at you.”
“Yeah,
I bet you think that,” Harriet said. She stood up. “Look, to be honest,
we’ve been thinking the same types of things. But we wanted to see what you had
to say. Sun should be down soon, and I’m sure Teresa will be back any minute.
We’ll talk about it when she gets here.”
Thomas
spoke up quickly, worried that Teresa wouldn’t be swayed. “No! I mean, she’s
the one who seems the most gung ho about killing me.” He said this even though
deep down he hoped he didn’t mean it. As badly as she’d treated him, surely she
wasn’t serious about taking it all the way to murder. “I think you guys should
make the decision.”
“Calm
down,” Harriet said, a half-smile on her face. “If we decide not to kill you,
there’s nothing she can freaking do about it. But if we …” She stopped, a
strange look flashing across her face. Was she worried she’d said too much?
“We’ll figure it out.”
Thomas
tried not to show his relief. He might have appealed to their pride a little
bit, but he tried not to let his hopes get too high.
Thomas
watched as the girls gathered their belongings and packed them into backpacks—Where’d
they get those? he wondered—readying for the night’s journey, to wherever
that might be. Murmurs and whispers of conversation floated through the
air as people kept glancing his way, obviously discussing what he’d
said.
The
darkness grew deeper and deeper, and Teresa finally appeared from the direction
they’d come in earlier that day. She noticed right away that something was
different, probably by the way everyone kept looking between her and Thomas.
“What?”
she asked, the same hard look on her face she’d worn since the day before.
It
was Harriet who answered. “We need to talk.”
Teresa
looked confused, but went to the far side of the recess in the cliff with the
rest of the group. Furious whispers immediately filled the air, but Thomas
couldn’t make out a word anybody said. His stomach clenched in anticipation of
the verdict.
From
where he stood he could see that the conversation had started to get
passionate, and Teresa looked as riled up as anyone. He watched her expression
intensify as she tried to make some point. It seemed like it was her against
the rest of them, which made Thomas very nervous.
Finally,
just as nightfall was almost complete, Teresa turned, stomped from the group of
girls, and started walking away from the camp, heading north. She had her spear
slung over one shoulder, a backpack over the other. Thomas watched her go until
she disappeared between the narrow walls of the Pass.
He
glanced back at the group, many of whom looked relieved, and Harriet came
walking over. Without saying a word, she knelt down and untied the rope
securing him to the tree.
“Well?”
Thomas finally asked. “Did you guys decide anything?”
Harriet
didn’t answer until she’d completely freed him; then she sat back on her heels
and looked at him, her dark eyes reflecting the faint light of the stars and
moon. “It’s your lucky day. We decided not to kill your puny butt after all. It
can’t be a coincidence that we’ve all been thinking the same things deep down.”
Thomas
didn’t feel the expected rush of relief. In that moment he realized that he’d
known that was what they would decide all along.
“But
I tell you what,” Harriet said as she stood up, holding a hand out to help him
do the same. “Teresa does not like you. I’d watch my back around her if
I were you.”
Thomas
let Harriet pull him up, confusion and hurt warring for dominance inside him.
Teresa
really did want him dead.
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