“This is Ben,” Randall said. “He’s one of the new subjects we picked up the last few days, and he’s the perfect age for insertion. Dr. Paige wants you to prep him before you run through your daily checkups and tests.”
Randall turned away without waiting for a response, walking quickly down the hallway, as if late for an appointment. Poor Ben stood there, blinking nervously.
“Don’t worry about that guy,” Thomas said, opening his door wider. “He’s always been a weirdo. Come on in. Believe it or not, I can remember what it feels like to be brand-new here.”
“Thanks.” Ben entered the room timidly and sat down at the desk when Thomas motioned to the chair. “They found me in Denver.”
And then the kid transformed in an instant, bursting into tears. He put his hands over his face, and his shoulders lurched with each sob.
Denver? Thomas had studied plenty about the city—how it was a safe zone, a gathering place for those who didn’t have the Flare. They evidently had put extreme precautions in place to make sure no infected ever entered, and it was surrounded by heavily fortified walls. The fact that Ben came from there struck Thomas as…odd. Didn’t this mean that his parents had been healthy? And yet WICKED had taken him away?
Thomas realized the boy was still crying. “What happened?” he asked, not sure how to act. “I mean, take your time, but I’m here to listen.” He almost rolled his eyes at the lame choice of words.
“We’d finally found a place to live,” Ben said through his tears. “Somewhere nice. And neither one of my parents had the Flare—I know it! They wouldn’t have let us in if they did.” It was all coming out in a flood now, his tears evaporating into anger. “They asked if I would join their study and my dad said no and they grabbed me and took me anyway. They pushed my mom down and threatened to shoot my dad. Who are these people? Why am I here?”
Thomas sat on his bed, frozen. He had absolutely no idea what to say. He’d always wondered about everyone’s parents, and it seemed like his suspicions had been true. WICKED said they all came from families with two sick parents and no other care available. Was this some anomaly or one of many lies?
Ben started crying again, burying his head in his arms on the desk.
“I’m sorry, man,” Thomas said, feeling the boy’s sadness deep within himself. “They’re trying to find a cure for the Flare, and they’re desperate.” That was all he had. He didn’t have the heart or words to try anything else. “But hey, things aren’t so bad, I promise.”
Ben picked up his head, wiped his tears, then nodded.
“Come on, let me show you around.” Thomas stood up and walked to the door, opened it, and escorted Ben into the hallway. Calling himself a big fat liar the whole time.
—
After giving Ben a tour of the complex, Thomas sat with the new kid in the observation room, introducing him to the maze. He didn’t have the heart to come right out and say that he’d be sent in shortly, not after the tearful display earlier. But he was sure the kid wasn’t stupid.
He tried to keep it positive.
“Most of the guys love it. Sleeping in the outdoors with their friends.” It wasn’t lost on Thomas that here he was, telling lies as easily as WICKED seemed to. It bothered him, but he didn’t know what else to do. He wanted the boy to feel better.
His thoughts fizzled away as something developed on the right side of the main display. On one of the screens, a beetle blade was following Gally, who kept looking over his shoulder as if he were up to no good.
“Uh-oh,” he whispered, placing the view of Gally on the huge screen in the middle.
“What’s wrong?” Ben asked.
For a few seconds, Thomas had completely forgotten that Ben existed, much less that he was sitting right next to him.
“Um, nothing,” Thomas answered absently. “Just, uh, I want to see where my friend is going.” Worried something bad might happen to traumatize Ben on one of his first days, he quickly escorted him into the hallway. He made him stand several feet from the door. “Listen, wait here, okay? I’m going to call a friend over to finish up your tour. It was great to meet you.”
“Okay,” the boy said, obviously feeling stupid.
Thomas felt bad but rushed back into the room, leaving the door open a crack so he’d hear when Teresa arrived. He found his seat again.
Gally had made it all the way to the south door and was just now turning back toward the Glade, searching the area, obviously wondering if anyone was watching him. Evidently he didn’t care about the beetle blades, just the other boys. Looking confident that he hadn’t been noticed, he focused his attention on the left side of the enormous door itself, the row of protruding spikes towering above him.
“What are you up to?” Thomas whispered. “Come on, you stupid beetle blade, get me a better angle.”
As if the little mechanical creature had heard him, it scurried faster, crawling next to Gally along the wall. Then it turned around and scuttled backward so that any observers could clearly see the boy’s face.
He was crying, his cheeks so wet it’d obviously been going on for a while. Thomas didn’t understand that at all. What was he doing sneaking around forbidden territory? Not being a Runner, he wasn’t allowed in the maze itself, and he looked intent on entering it.
Thomas suddenly remembered Ben, waiting out in the hallway.
Hey, you there? Thomas immediately called out to Teresa. Then he turned down the volume so Ben couldn’t hear what was going on. Come get this new kid out of my hair. His name’s Ben, and he’s just outside the observation room. Gally is up to something weird.