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He expected questions--an eruption of voices--but the room was dead silent

"Teresa and I are … different," he continued "We were part of the Maze Trials froainst our will, I swear it"

Minho was the one to speak up now "Tho about?"

"Teresa and I were used by the Creators If you had your full memories back, you’d probably want to kill us But I had to tell you this myself to show you we can be trusted now So you’ll believe et out of here"

Tho one last time if he should say it, if they would understand But he knew he had to He had to

Thomas took a deep breath, then said it "Teresa and I helped design the Maze We helped create the whole thing"

Everyone seemed too stunned to respond Blank faces stared back at hiured they either didn’t understand or didn’t believe him

"What’s that supposed to mean?" Newt finally asked "You’re a bloody sixteen-year-old How could you have created the Maze?"

Tho it a little himself--but he knehat he’d remembered As crazy as it was, he knew it for the truth "We were … sht be part of the Variables But ift that ned and built this place" He stopped, knowing it must all sound absurd

"Speak!" Newt yelled "Spit it out!"

"We’re telepathic! We can talk to each other in our freaking heads!" Saying it out loud almost made him feel ashamed, as if he’d just admitted he was a thief

Newt blinked in surprise; sohed

"But listen to me," Thomas continued, in a hurry to defend himself "They forced us to help I don’t knohy, but they did" He paused "Maybe it was to see if we could gain your trust despite having been a part of the to be the ones to reveal how to escape Whatever the reason, with your Maps we figured out the code and we need to use it now"

Tholy, no one seery Most of the Gladers continued to stare blankly at him or shook their heads in wonder or disbelief And for so

"It’s true, and I’m sorry," Thomas continued "But I can tell you this--I’m in the same boat with you now Teresa and I were sent here just like anyone else, and we can die just as easily But the Creators have seen enough--it’s ti to add the final pieces of the puzzle Anyway, I wanted you to know the truth, to know there’s a chance we can do this"

Newt shook his head back and forth, staring at the ground Then he looked up, took in the other Keepers "The Creators--those shanks did this to us, not Tommy and Teresa The Creators And they’ll be sorry"

"Whatever," Minho said, "who gives a klunk about all that--just get on with the escape already"

A lump formed in Thomas’s throat He was so relieved he almost couldn’t speak He’d been sure they’d put him under major heat for his confession, if not throw him off the Cliff The rest of what he had to say almost seemed easy now "There’s a computer station in a place we’ve never looked before The code will open a door for us to get out of the Maze It also shuts down the Grievers so they can’t follow us--if we can just survive long enough to get to that point"

"A place we’ve never looked before?" Alby asked "What do you think we’ve been doing for two years?"

"Trust me, you’ve never been to this spot"

Minho stood up "Well, where is it?"

"It’s al off the answer "The Grievers will come after us whenever we try to do it All of them The final test" He wanted to make sure they understood the stakes The odds of everyone surviving were sli forward in his chair

"Over the Cliff," Thoh the Griever Hole"

CHAPTER 51

Alby stood up so quickly his chair fell over backward His bloodshot eyes stood out against the white bandage on his forehead He took two steps forward before stopping, as if he’d been about to charge and attack Tho at Thomas "Or a traitor How can we trust a word you say if you helped design this place, put us here! We can’t handle one Griever on our own ground, ht a whole horde of them in their little hole What are you really up to?"

Tho! Why would I make all this up?"

Alby’s arms stiffened, fists clenched "For all we know you were sent here to get us all killed Why should we trust you?"

Thomas stared, incredulous "Alby, do you have a short-term memory problem? I risked my life to save you out in the Maze--you’d be dead if it wasn’t for ain our trust If you’re in league with the shucks who sent us here, you wouldn’t have had to worry about the Grievers hurting you--htly at that, turned into pity So was odd here--suspicious

"Alby," Minho finally interjected, relieving Thomas "That’s about the du torn apart three nights ago You think that’s part of the act?"

Alby nodded once, curtly "Maybe"