A flicker of panic until he realized he must be dreaming. Strange, but a dream for sure. He could feel his body, feel his fingers against his skin. Feel himself breathing. Hear himself breathing. Yet he was surrounded by a complete and seamless world of bright nothing.
Tom.
A voice. Her voice. Could she talk to him while he was dreaming? Had she done it before? Yes.
Hey, he responded.
Are you… okay? She sounded troubled. No, felt troubled.
Huh? Yeah, I’m fine. Why?
Just thought you’d be a little surprised right now.
He felt a stab of confusion. What are you talking about?
You’re about to understand more. Very soon now.
For the first time, Thomas realized the voice wasn’t quite right. There was something off about it.
Tom?
He didn’t answer. Fear had crept into his gut. A horrible, sickening, toxic fear.
Tom?
Who… who are you? he finally asked, terrified of the answer.
A pause before she answered.
It’s me, Tom. It’s Brenda. Things are about to get bad for you.
Thomas screamed before he knew what he was doing. He screamed and screamed and screamed until it finally woke him up.
CHAPTER 65
He sat straight up, covered in sweat. Even before he could fully compute his surroundings, before all the information traveled through the nerve wires and cognitive functions of his brain, he knew that everything was wrong. That everything had been taken from him all over again.
He lay on the ground, alone, in a room. The walls, the ceiling, the floor-everything was white. The floor beneath him was spongy, hard and smooth but with enough give to be comfortable. He looked at the walls-they were padded, with large buttoned indentations across them, about four feet apart. Bright light shone down from a rectangle in the ceiling, too high for him to reach. The place had a clean smell to it, like ammonia and soap. Thomas looked down to see that even his clothes had no color: a T-shirt, cotton pants, socks.
A brown desk sat about a dozen feet in front of him. It was the only thing in the entire room that wasn’t white. Old and battered and scratched, it had a bare wooden chair pushed into the sitting well on the other side. Behind that was the door, padded like the walls.
Thomas felt a strange calm. Instinct told him he should be on his feet, screaming for help. He should be banging on the door. But he knew that door wouldn’t open. He knew no one would listen.
He was in the Box all over again, should’ve known better than to get his hopes up.
I’m not going to panic, he told himself. It had to be another phase of the Trials, and this time he’d fight to change things-to end it all. It was strange, but just knowing he had a plan, that he’d do whatever it took to find freedom, caused a surprising calm to pass over him.
Teresa? he called out. He knew that at this point she and Aris were his only hope for communication with the outside. Can you hear me? Aris? You there?
No one responded. Not Teresa. Not Aris. Not… Brenda.
But that had only been a dream. It had to have been. Brenda couldn’t be working with WICKED, couldn’t be speaking in his mind.
Teresa? he said again, throwing hard mental effort into it. Aris?
Nothing.
He stood and walked over to the desk, but two feet in front of it he ran into an invisible wall. A barrier, just like back in the dormitory.
Thomas didn’t let the panic rise. Didn’t let fear overcome him. He took a deep breath, walked back toward the corner of the room, then sat down and leaned into it. Closed his eyes and relaxed.
Waited. Fell asleep.
Tom? Tom!
He didn’t know how many times she said it before he finally responded. Teresa? He woke with a jolt, looked around and remembered the white room. Where are you?
They put us in another dormitory after the Berg landed. We’ve been here a few days, just sitting around doing nothing. Tom, what happened to you?
Teresa was worried-scared, even. That much he knew for sure. As for himself, he mostly felt confused. A few days? What They took you away as soon the Berg landed. They keep telling us it was too late-that the Flare is too rooted in you. They said you’ve gotten crazy and violent.
Thomas tried to hold it together, tried not to think about how WICKED could wipe memories. Teresa… it’s just another part of the Trials. They’ve got me locked up in this white room. But… you’ve been there for days? How many?
Tom, it’s been almost a week.
Thomas couldn’t respond. Almost wanted to pretend he hadn’t heard what Teresa had just said. The fear he’d been holding back began to slowly seep into his chest. Could he trust her? She’d lied to him so much already. And how did he even know this was really her? It was high time to cut off ties with Teresa.
Tom? Teresa called to him again. What’s going on here? I’m really confused.
Thomas felt a rush of emotion, a burning inside him that almost brought tears to his eyes. He had once considered Teresa his best friend. But it could never be like that again. Now all he felt when he thought of her was anger.
Tom! Why aren’t you Teresa, listen to me.
Hello? That’s what I’m trying to No, just… listen. Don’t say anything else, okay? Just listen to me.
She paused. Okay. A quiet, scared voice in his mind.
Thomas couldn’t control it anymore. Rage pulsed inside of him. Luckily, he only had to think the words, because he could never have spoken them aloud.
Teresa. Go away.
Tom No. Don’t say another word. Just… leave me alone. And you can tell WICKED that I’m done playing their games. Tell them I’m done!
She waited a few seconds before responding. Okay. Another pause. Okay. Then I just have one thing left to say to you.
Thomas sighed. I can’t wait.
She didn’t say it right away, and he would’ve thought she’d left him except that he still felt her presence. Finally, she spoke again.
Tom?
What?
WICKED is good.
And then she was gone.
EPILOGUE
WICKED Memorandum, Date 232.2.13, Time 21:13
TO: My Associates
FROM: Ava Paige, Chancellor
RE: SCORCH TRIALS, Groups A and B
This is not a time to let emotions interfere with the task at hand. Yes, some events have gone in a direction we didn’t foresee. Not all is ideal-things have gone wrong-but we’ve made tremendous progress and have collected many of the needed patterns. I feel a great amount of hope.
I expect all of us to maintain our professional demeanor and remember our purpose. The lives of so many people rest in the hands of so few. This is why it’s an especially important time for vigilance and focus.
The days to come are fundamental to this study, and I have every confidence that when we restore their memories, every one of our subjects will be ready for what we plan to ask of them. We still have the Candidates we need. The final pieces will be found and put into place.
The future of the human race outweighs all. Every death and every sacrifice are well worth the ultimate outcome. The end of this monumental effort is coming, and I believe that the process will work. That we’ll have our patterns. That we’ll have our blueprint. That we’ll have our cure.
The Psychs are deliberating even now. When they say the time is right, we’ll remove the Swipe and tell our remaining subjects if they are-or are not-immune to the Flare.
That’s all for now.
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