Wearing professional clothes was something Aris never got used to here with WICKED.

The scratchy fabric from the pants and shirt was irritating. He missed the clothes he wore back in the Maze and Scorch. Hell, the clothes at the other WICKED facility were comfortable.

There was a faint knock at the door and then the creaking noise followed it. Through the mirror, Aris could see Teresa stepping in. "We should head down to meet Dr. Paige."

"Okay, just give me a minute," he replied, attempting to smooth out his shirt.

Teresa rolled her eyes and shot him a small grin, walking his way and standing in front of him. "Are you nervous?"

"What do you think?" he asked, chuckling a bit, not trying to hide the shakiness in his voice.

"I'm nervous, too," she admitted, fixing his tie. She took another minute to finish up, then she handed him the coat for his suit. "Let's get going, shall we?"

Aris put on his coat and headed out of the room with Teresa. As they walked down to meet Dr. Paige, he tried to figure out what he could say to the other doctors. Aris and Teresa had gone over many times about this meeting, and neither of them felt confident in their ideas. So, they decided to just go in and see what happened.

"Do you think Piper would like this suit on you?" Teresa asked, though, he wish she hadn't.

Aris shrugged. "I don't know. Would Thomas and the others like your dress?"

Teresa looked down at her maroon dress, navy jacket, and black heels, her expression turning uneasy. "I don't know."

"Well, now you know how uncomfortable it is when you mention Piper," he retorted.

Neither of them had seen most of their friends in six months and they wondered how they were doing. When the news of the train being ambushed came around, Aris' mind immediately went to his friends, but most of the time, he thought about Piper. He wasn't sure what she still thought of him. He wanted to explain everything to her. She deserved that much. Really, all of his friends deserved an explanation from him.

Doctors and other officials of WICKED walked past them as Dr. Paige was in their sight. She was having a conversation with an older man and woman. Dr. Paige saw Aris and Teresa, then nodded their way, motioning for the other two to leave. She smiled at us as she began to walk beside Aris and Teresa.

"Are you two ready?" she asked. Aris and Teresa looked at each other with nervous looks. "It'll be fine."

His heart was beating faster and his hands were getting sweatier by the minute. The three reached their destination, a dark room with a giant window at the front. Every chair in there looked brand new, the color grey looking decent on the furniture and walls.

"Hello," Dr. Paige greeted the three people sitting in chairs, the ones who helped Dr. Paige with all of this. "Sorry to keep you waiting. This is Teresa Agnes and Aris Jones." The two nodded and gave them small smiles. "Now, let's get started." A screen came down over the window, blocking the sun from flooding the room. Aris and Teresa stood in the back, ready to get this over with.

"Yes, let's get started," the man with grey hair and glasses stated. "People are beginning to lose faith, Doctor. When you sealed off the walls, you assured us that it would only be a temporary precaution. Why have you now denied all entry?"

"Because things are changing, and not for the better. Infection rates were up 300%. Fortunately, we may be on the verge of a breakthrough." The screen changed to Minho's face and his information regarding the activity on his brain. "This is Subject A7. He spent over two years in the Maze Trials. The antibodies produced in response have been the strongest we've ever seen." The next one to pop on the screen was Lillie. "Subject B19. She spent two months in the Maze Trials and is at her peak, almost catching up with Subject A7. We're extracting a new serum as we speak, and with your support, we'd like to begin human trials."

The woman nearest to us was next to speak. "Thank you, Doctor. That is very impressive. But we have been down this road before. Frankly, we are all beginning to wonder if--"

"If our resources couldn't be better spent elsewhere," the other man cut her off.

"Meaning?" Dr. Paige inquired.

"Safe zones. Protected areas like the one we're in," the woman spoke up again. "We could save as many people as possible."

Teresa shook her head. "How many?" All of us looked at her. "A thousand? Two thousand?" She walked toward the front near Dr. Paige. "And that's assuming your protected areas stay protected, which we know they won't. The infected already outnumber the healthy three-to-one. All you'd be doing is delaying the inevitable." Teresa paused, taking a deep breath. "Have any of you ever lost someone to the virus?"

The woman shifted in her chair. "A niece. Anna."

Teresa gave her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry we weren't able to help her. But imagine if we were able to live with the virus. To survive it. Imagine being able to tell Anna that you could give her the chance to live a normal life. We've never been this close to a cure, and we've sacrificed a lot to get this far. Please don't let those sacrifices be for nothing."

Aris remained in his spot, not moving at all. For the rest of the meeting, the talk of human trials went on. It seemed like they were going to happen, which Dr. Paige was happy to hear.

When the others left, the screen came up and the view of the city was upon them again. It felt weird being inside another place with walls around Aris. It was like being back at the Glen, only now, he had more control of the situation.

"Nicely done," Dr. Paige praised Teresa. "They can be a tough crowd. You handled them perfectly." Dr. Paige looked at me. "You were quiet, Aris. Is something bothering you today?"

Aris shook his head. "No. Teresa basically told them all there was to say, really." He attempted to swallow the lump in his throat. "Excuse me." He hurriedly left the room and headed toward the elevators. Once an elevator was available, he got in and pressed the button that would take him to the third level. He got there quickly and used his thumbprint to get inside the lab. He didn't want to come in here to see her, but he felt like he had to.

Aris scanned through the files until he got to the one he was looking for, pulling it out and  heading to where she was located. Looking at her in the eye was difficult, just like it had been for the last six months. When he got to her room--or cell was more like it--she was sitting in the corner, her knees up to her chest. She looked tired and angry. He couldn't blame her. It took a moment for her to slowly turn his way. All she did was keep her glare, not saying or screaming anything. That didn't surprise Aris.

"Still no talking, Aris," a doctor came up from behind startling him. "Subject B19, right?"

Lillie is her name. "Yeah," he stated. "I don't think she'll talk for awhile. She hasn't said a word since we brought her here six months ago."

"Well, she's going to have to talk some time," he pointed out. "Then again, she's been through a lot, based on what I read from her file."

Aris nodded in agreement, remembering when and how her mutism began. "How are you supposed to cope with the fact you've been forced to kill your own parents as they turn into Cranks?"

"Fair point," the doctor said.

Of course, Lillie wasn't talking now for the simple reason that she hated WICKED and she was being treated like a prisoner again. Aris sighed as he looked at Lillie's hateful eyes, hoping that all of this would be worth it in the end.

~~~~~~~

A/N: So yeah, that's where Lillie's mutism began.

I may do more chapters in Aris' POV, not sure yet. I'll know when I get there lol.

Anyway, what did y'all think? Song above btw is Stronger Than Ever by Raleigh Ritchie (who is Greyworm from Game of Thrones like omg).

Comment, vote, the next chapter will be back in Piper's POV.

-A