There were other mazes.

The sounds of chattering voices could be heard all around in a cafeteria area of the building the group had been running into after leaving the helicopter they came on once escaping their maze. The adding sounds of glasses clinking together, utensils hitting plates while teenagers were placing their cups of liquid down onto the table could be heard as they all ate the food they had been given and picked out eagerly. Guards could be seen standing around the cafeteria, keeping an eye on the many teenagers around the room, weapons by their sides in case of anything.

Thomas found himself sitting in between Newt and Minho, elbows resting on the top of the table as he and the rest of his group listened to two boys from another maze tell them about the time they had escaped their own maze. None of the boys had seen Teresa or Y/n ever since both had been separated from them, clearly showing that the two girls had to get some more tests run on them. This only made Thomas fear for what they were doing to his girl, having seen her when the man had been leading her somewhere else and away from him.

"And there was this big, loud explosion, and these guys came out of nowhere. Started shooting up the place." One of the boys continue.

"It was intense." The other boy adds.

"They pulled us out of the maze and brought us here." The other finishes.

"What about the rest?" Newt questions, making them look at him. "The other people left behind in the maze, what happened to them?"

The boy shakes his head, shrugging. "I don't know. I guess WICKED still has them."

"How long you guys been here?" Newt asks after sharing a glance with Thomas.

"Not long. Just a day or two. That kid over there..." The boy begins as he looks over his shoulder, causing them to follow his gaze to see a boy sitting at a table all by himself. "...has been here the longest. Almost a week."

"His maze was nothing but girls." The other boy tells them.

Minho raises a brow. "Really?"

One of them shrugs. "Some guys have all the luck."

The sound of a familiar voice suddenly echoing throughout the cafeteria had caught everyone's attention as the many groups of teenagers all around quieted down, turning to face the said voice. Thomas narrowed his eyes at the sight of Janson, brows furrowing as he wondered what was happening.

"You all know how this works. If you hear your name called, please rise in an orderly fashion, join my colleagues behind me where they will escort you to the eastern wing. Your new lives are about to begin." Janson announces.

This has most of the teenagers in the cafeteria to clap as they look at each other excitedly before their eager eyes look back to the man. The new group watches and listens as he calls out some names, the people being picked high-fiving their friends with happy smiles before they headed to the front. When Janson closed the book he had, the people that weren't picked groaned, clearly showing that they wished they had been picked.

"Now, now, don't get discouraged. If I could take more, I would." Janson states. "There's always tomorrow. Your time will come. Go on, eat up."

And with that, as he started walking off, the group of teenagers that had been picked out walked in a single line as they left the cafeteria and past the guards that stood by the door with Janson following behind them. When he had finished speaking, their chatters started once again as they turned back to each other.

"Where are they going?" Minho questions.

"Far from here." One of them boys reply, turning back to them. "Lucky bastards."

The other boys turn back around. "Some kind of farm. A safe place. They can only take in a couple of people at a time."

This had the new group looking at one another before Thomas found his gaze casting towards the windows that showed the hallway. He sat up at the sight of Y/n slowly walking back, gaze looking downwards. Newt and Minho looked at him curiously when he suddenly stood up, speeding walking towards the windows as he began calling out to Y/n in a loud tone that had many people in the cafeteria looking over at him in confusion.

When she heard his voice echo from the cafeteria, Y/n looked up from where she had been looking at her feet before glancing over her shoulder. It was then that they made eye contact before she walked out of his side. However, that didn't stop Thomas from continuing on forward as he tried to get past the two guards and through the doors. Unfortunately, both the guards placed their large hands on his chest and pushed the boy back a bit.

"Where are they taking her?" Thomas asks.

"They just have to run a few more tests." One of the guards assure. "Don't worry, they'll be done with her soon."

Thomas steps forward, brows furrowed. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine." The guard replies after a moment.

He watched as Thomas took a step back, gaze moving to the window in hopes of catching a sight of Y/n but she was still nowhere to be seen. After a reluctant moment, he walked back to where the group was. After some time, each group of people were being led through the halls and back to their dorms. Thomas walked with his friends as they stepped into a room, Minho quickly hopping onto one of the top bunks of the bunkbeds when Frypan had called it before him.

Each of them boys, except for Thomas, were all getting settled into the beds they chose. Winston took no time as he laid himself down on one of the bottom bunks, a sigh of comfort escaping him while he looked around the room. To all of them, this was the most comfiest sleeping area they had ever been in. The sound of the door closing, followed by a click had them looking towards the door. They were locked in.

"What do you think those guys want with Y/n?" Thomas questions, looking towards Newt.

"Now, if there's one thing I know about that girl, she can take care of herself. Besides, she probably has Teresa with her." Newt reassures, patting his shoulder. "Don't worry about it."

And with that, he climbs up the ladder to the top-bunk beside them before settling down. Seeing as he had no other choice, considering they were locked in and he felt rather tired, Thomas reluctantly sat down on the bed underneath Newt, running a hand through his short and dark hair.

* * *

Thomas couldn't sleep.

He thought after all the running and the escaping he had done from the maze, fighting off the grievers, he would be tired and would fall asleep instantly. However, he hadn't. His mind was too worried about Y/n and the place they were in. He didn't trust anyone in this place, except for his friends. After splashing some water on his face from the sink in their dorm room, Thomas had tried to not think about anything that would worry him so he could sleep for the night, but nothing was working.

Now, he found himself laying in his bed as he stared at the bottom of the top-bunk above him when he heard some rustling echo through the room. When he heard a 'psst' sound, followed by a voice whispering, he realized it was coming from underneath his bed as he dangled over and looked down underneath. His eyes widened at the sight of the same boy that had been in the maze full of girls laying on his stomach, his body in an opened vent. The boy quickly shushed Thomas when he saw the brunette go to open his mouth.

"Come on. Follow me." The boy whispers.

Thomas felt his eyes squint, tilting his head as he watched the boy move back to crawl back through the vent. Wondering if he knew something about the place they were in, Thomas moved to crawl beneath his bed and into the vent, following behind the boy. While he followed behind the boy, he was questioning what he was doing, following behind a random boy while he listened to the younger male usher for him to follow, claiming they were gonna miss it, only making Thomas more curious than he already was.

When he peaked through another part of the vent, the boy ushered him over as he was now crouched above something. Thomas moved to his feet as he ventured over, crouching down above a vent door. The two boys watched as the same doctor Thomas had seen Y/n with was walking by, looking behind her before continuing onward. People were following behind the woman, table-like objects being rolled along the floor beside them. Thomas moved to get a better look, seeing a diagram of a body on the screen on top of the objects, bodies no doubt laying underneath.

He watched as the doctor used a keycard to open up a pair of doors, stepping to the side and letting the others push the tables into the room. When the last one was being pushed inside the mysterious room, the doctor followed with them as the pair of doors closed right behind them with a slight click, leaving the two teenage boys to stare at the doors from where they had been hiding in the vents. The boy looks up from where they had been watching, looking at Thomas and waiting to hear what he'd say.

"What the hell was that?" Thomas asks, glancing up at him.

"They bring in new ones every night like clockwork." The boy tells him.

Thomas frowns in confusion. "You know what they do with them?"

The boy shrugs, shaking his head. "I don't know. This is as far as I've ever gotten. The vents don't even go into that section. But once they go through that door, they don't come back out. I don't think anybody ever really leaves this place. Come on. We've gotta go before somebody notices we're gone."

"Why did you show me this?" Thomas blurts out before he could leave.

"Because maybe the others will listen to you. There's something weird going on here. And I know you think so, too." The boy admits, moving to leave.

"Hey, wait." Thomas calls out, causing him to stop. "What's your name?"

"Aris." The boy replies.

And with that, the boy, who was now known as Aris, quickly crawls off in the direction of his dorm, leaving Thomas to stare at the spot he had been in. As the boy looked down at the vent door, Thomas' mind immediately went to Y/n. He was gonna get her out of here, no matter what it took.