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Thoood response

The Rat Man"Just remember that at one time you believed it did, Thoo but didn’tis set and our data is alreat Once we have the blueprint, you can go boo-hoo with your friends all you want about how unfair we’ve been"

Thomas wanted to cut theus lead to this blueprint you’re talking about? What could sending a bunch of unwilling teenagers to terrible places, watching some of the a cure for so in the world to do with it" Rat Man sighed heavily "Boy, soon you’ll reret a lot In the ht even bring you back to your senses"

"And what’s that?" Thomas really had no idea what the man would say

His visitor stood up, smoothed the wrinkles out of his pants and adjusted his coat Then he clasped his hands behind his back "The Flare virus lives in every part of your body, yet it has no effect on you, nor will it ever You’re a roup of people You’re immune to the Flare"

Thomas sed, speechless

"On the outside, in the streets, they call people like you Munies," Rat Man continued "And they really, really hate you"

CHAPTER 3

Thomas couldn’t find any words Despite all the lies he’d been told, he knew that what he’d just heard was the truth When placed alongside his recent experiences, it just made too much sense He, and probably the other Gladers and everyone in Group B, was immune to the Flare Which hy they’d been chosen for the Trials Everything done to them--every cruel trick played, every deceit, every monster placed in their paths--it all had been part of an elaborate experi WICKED to a cure

It all fit together And more--this revelation pricked his memories It felt familiar

"I can see that you believesilence "Once we’d discovered there were people like you--with the virus rooted inside, yet showing no sy you This is how WICKED was born Of course, soroup are not i an experiroup, Thomas It keeps all the data in context"

That last part made Thomas’s heart sink "Who isn’t …" The question wouldn’t come out He was too scared to hear the answer

"Who isn’t immune?" Rat Man asked, eyebrows raised "Oh, I think they should find out before you, don’t you? But first things first You set you to the showers and find some fresh clothes" With that he picked up his file and turned to the door He was just about to step out when Thomas’s mind focused

"Wait!" he shouted

His visitor looked back at him "Yes?"

"Back in the Scorch--why did you lie that there’d be a cure at the safe haven?"

Rat Man shrugged "I don’t think it was a lie at all By co at the safe haven, you helped us collect more data And because of that there will be a cure Eventually For everyone"

"And why are you telling me all this? Why now? Why did you stick me in here for four weeks?" Tho and walls, at the pathetic toilet in the corner His sparse h to s that had been done to hi crazy and violent and keep me in here all this time? What could possibly be the point?"

"Variables," Rat Man answered "Everything we’ve done to you has been carefully calculated by our Psychs and doctors Done to stimulate responses in the killzone, where the Flare does its dae To study the patterns of different ehts See how they ithin the confines of the virus that’s inside you We’ve been trying to understand why in you, there’s no debilitating effect It’s all about the killzone patterns, Thoical responses to build a blueprint for the potential cure It’s about the cure"

"What is the killzone?" Tho a blank "Just tell o with you"

"Why, Tho by the Griever didn’t make you recall at least that much The killzone is your brain It’s where the virus settles and takes hold The more infected the killzone, the more paranoid and violent the behavior of the infected WICKED is using your brain and those of a few others to help us fix the probleht in its name: World in Catastrophe, Killzone Experiment Department" Rat Man looked pleased with hiet you cleaned up And just so you knoe’re being watched Try anything and there’ll be consequences"

Thoain, everything rang true, made sense Fit in with the memories that had come back to him in recent weeks And yet his distrust of Rat Man and WICKED still sprinkled it all with doubt

He finally stood, letting histhey’d sort themselves into nice little stacks for later analysis Without another word, he walked across the roo his white-walled cell behind

Nothing stood out about the building in which he found hie walls with frabird hovering beside a red flower, rain and hts buzzed overhead Rat Man led hih several turns and finally stopped at a door He opened it and gestured for Thoe bathroom lined with lockers and showers And one of the lockers was open to show fresh clothes and a pair of shoes Even a watch

"You have about thirty ht--I’ll come back for you Then you’ll be reunited with your friends"