The darkness didn't last for long. The door behind them opened, letting light enter. Teresa pushed it open and stepped out, looking at the rest of the Gladers to tell them it was safe.

They were in a dimly lit hallway full of pipes. The door closed and the whole hallway lit up. The Gladers walked in silence, still on alert in case anything attacks them again. Minho was holding Y/n's arm tightly, almost as if she was about to disappear into thin air. Her breathing had finally calmed down, but not her heart.

Eventually, they came across a door. Looking over it, the Gladers read 'Exit' written on the green sign.

''Seriously?'' asked Frypan.

Thomas walked forward and put his hand on the handle. He pressed it and the door opened.

Inside was chaos.

An alarm was beeping. People wearing white were laying on the ground and there was blood and smoke everywhere. Y/n looked at Minho, only to find him already looking at her, and gulped.

The Gladers walked further into the room, looking around. There were two bodies on tables covered by white cloths with blood on the middle of each. Y/n couldn't seem to look away from the gruesome sight. Minho ended up putting his hand over her eyes and leading her ahead, not before grimacing himself..

''What happened here?'' asked Winston. Minho noticed a dead man on the ground, a gun right by his arm, and pushed the weapon away with his foot. None of them had an answer to Winston's question.

They made it to a control room - at least, it used to be one. Everything was broken, more bodies were laying around and the Gladers' confusion grew with each passing minute.

Y/n walked up to a couple of monitors, Minho trailing behind her. The two saw a bird point of view of the busted Glade. ''This is creepy as fuck,'' Y/n said before realizing something and quickly snapped her head to Minho. ''Do you think they—?''

''I hope not,'' Minho shook his head, immediately realizing what she was talking about and cleared his throat. ''That'd be even creepier.''

''Hello. My name is Dr. Ava Paige.'' Y/n and Minho's heads snapped towards the voice, as did the others. A blonde woman appeared on the screen. ''I'm director of the World Catastrophe Killzone Department.''

Y/n approached the screen. ''WICKED . . .''

''If you're watching this, that means you've successfully completed the Maze Trials.'' The woman explained about the Flare. Y/n had to look away as they showed the people affected. Then she explained about the possible cure.

People armed with weapons suddenly started to enter in the back, but the woman seemed unbothered. ''As you'll no doubt soon discover, not everyone agrees with our methods. Progress is slow. People are scared. It may be too late for us . . . for me. But not for you. The outside world awaits. Remember . . . WICKED is good.''

The woman shot herself and the video ended. Y/n flinched as a sudden pain appeared in the back of her head and she felt her knees giving out.

''WICKED is good, Y/n. Remember this, WICKED is good.''

''Holy shit, Y/n.'' Minho fell down on his knees next to her as well, holding her so she wouldn't hit herself. ''Are you okay?''

Y/n breathed heavily, the splitting pain subduing slowly. She gasped and nodded, looking straight into Minho's eyes. He didn't look convinced, but as the rest of the Gladers discovered Ava Page's body in the back, he helped her stand up so they can take a look as well.

Another door opened and everyone redirected their attention towards it. There was light at the end of the tunnel and, for once, as Y/n held onto Minho's arm for support, she felt hope.

''Is it over?'' asked Chuck.

''She said we were important,'' Newt repeated. ''Well, what are we supposed to do now?''

Everyone looked at Thomas for answers. He thought for a moment before breathing out. ''I don't know. But let's get out of here.''

And just as they took a step towards freedom, a voice called from the back. ''No.''

Everyone turned around to see Gally standing there, breathing heavily, sweat, blood and tears covering his face. He looked at the Gladers in sadness - or was it anger? Y/n couldn't tell.

''Gally?'' Thomas walked to the front, but Teresa put a hand on his chest.

''Don't. He's been stung.''

Gally dropped a device on the ground and in his other hand, Y/n noticed, he held a gun. Minho seemed to have noticed as well as he quickly pushed her behind his back.

''We can't leave,'' Gally sobbed.

''We did. Gally, we're out,'' Thomas tried to reassure him. ''We're free.''

''Free?'' Gally laughed. ''You think we're free out there? No. No, there's no escape from this place.''

Gally raised his gun and everyone backed up. Thomas put his hands up. ''Gally, listen to me. You're not thinking straight.''

Minho let go of Y/n's hand and she subtly moved her eyes to look at him, seeing him holding a spear he'd gotten from a Glader next to him. She gulped, her eyes flying back to Gally and the gun.

''You're not,'' Thomas repeated. ''Now, we can help you. Just put down the gun.''

''I belong to the Maze.''

''Just put down the gun.''

''We all do.''

''Gally!''

Everything happened too fast. Chuck pushed Thomas to the side. Y/n ducked as Minho threw the spear. Gally shot the gun. The spear landed right in Gally's chest - in his heart - and everyone watched with open mouths and wide eyes as Gally gasped for air and slowly fell on the ground.

''Woah. Thomas . . .''

Everyone redirected their attention to Chuck, who's breathing was ragged. Chuck suddenly collapsed and Thomas reached out to let him go down lighter.

''Chuck . . .'' Y/n spoke quietly, still in shock from Gally's death and her head still hurting. Regardless, she quickly punished past Minho and Newt and fell down on her knees next to Chuck. ''Chuck, Chuck, you're okay, okay? It's just a scratch, you're gonna be fine.''

''Shit. Shit.'' Thomas repeated as he stood on Chuck's other side.

Chuck continued gasping for air as Thomas and Y/n stood around him, reassuring him he'll be okay.

''Thomas, Thomas,'' Chuck whispered as he placed a hand on Thomas' shoulder, causing the boy to shut up. He looked to his left as well. ''Y/n.''

Opening his palm, Chuck revealed a small figure, now sporting red stains. Thomas seemed to realize what it was and quickly closed the boy's wrist. ''No, no, Chuck. You're gonna give it to them yourself. I told you that.''

''Take it,'' Chuck whispered.

''No.''

Chuck managed a small smile as he looked between his two closest friends. ''Thank you.'' He quickly shoved the small figure in Thomas' hand. ''Thank you.''

''Hey, hey, Chuck, hold on, please,'' Y/n said as she quickly unwrapped her zip up - the one she'd arrived to the maze with so long ago, and quickly put it over Chuck's wound, putting pressure on it.

''No, Chuck, you're gonna . . .''

And then Chuck stopped moving. He stopped talking. Stopped breathing.

Y/n's arms, that had been pressing hard on Chuck's chest, suddenly loosened, realizing there was no point anymore. She lowered her forehead on the side of Chuck's stomach, silent tears staining the boy's shirt as Thomas continued trying to wake him up, his sobs much louder than hers.

The door behind them opened and Y/n looked up, her eyes squinting as the light blinded her. Figures ran in towards them and Y/n looked back at Chuck, who's eyes were still wide open, never to blink again. She wanted to say something, her ears deaf to whatever the people coming in were trying to tell them.

''Y/n.'' She looked up, seeing Minho kneeling in front of her. ''Y/n, we gotta go.''

A fresh wave of tears filled her eyes. ''But Chuck . . .''

''I'm sorry, Y/n.'' Minho shook his head and pulled her up by her arm, leading her along with the other Gladers and soldiers that had come to rescue them. One was holding Minho roughly by the upper arm, pulling him along as he pulled Y/n as well, who was still looking back at Chuck and Gally's bodies they were leaving behind.

Once out of the tunnel, the scorching sun hit their skin and Y/n felt suffocated. Minho continued pulling her along, all the day to the helicopter, and helped her climb in right after Newt. She leaned her back against the helicopter wall, Minho coming in to sit right next to her. Once Thomas climbed in, the soldiers closed the door and the helicopter started taking off.

One of the soldiers, who was sitting in the back with them, took off his mask to reveal a middle-aged man. ''You guys alright?'' Everyone looked at each other. They weren't alright, not at all. ''Don't worry. You're safe now.''

Everyone turned to look towards the Maze as they flew above it. Y/n couldn't believe how much bigger it looked. She'd ran that Maze almost every day since she'd arrived at the Glade. Her gaze shifted to the small green square in the middle, seeing dust and smoke rising in the sky. There were still some people left behind - Y/n wondered what had happened to them. Have the Grievers eaten them already? Have they been rescued since they were valuable? Were they left there to starve to death?

It felt bittersweet, looking at the Maze like that. It was a prison, but it was their home as well. It was the only place they could call home. And now it was no more.

Minho leaned back on the wall and Y/n quickly followed, letting her head fall on his shoulder as they tried to take in what they'd just lived through.

''Relax, kid,'' the man spoke again. ''Everything's gonna change.''

Y/n knew that. All of them knew that. She looked up at Minho, the two of them making eye contact. Neither of them knew if the changes would be good or bad. The one thing Y/n knew, however, was that as long as she had Minho by her side, she could get through anything.

Y/n let her head fall on Minho's shoulder again, her eyes remaining wide as she imagined the future ahead of them.

And maybe, just maybe, they'll finally see the ocean together.