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He was just about to respond when Rat Man ca his hands "Everybody take a seat We’ve got a few things to cover before we remove the Swipe"
He’d said it so casually, Thoistered--remove the Swipe--and he froze
The rooe at the front of the rooes and repeated the saht, ladies and gents You’re about to get all your memories back Every last one of the, he went to sit by Minho
After struggling for so long to remember his life, his family and childhood--even what he’d done the day before he woke up in the Maze--the idea of having it all back was almost too much to co had shifted Reut confir since the Rat Man had said it was all over--it just seemed too easy
Rat Man cleared his throat "As you were informed in your one-on-ones, the Trials as you’ve known them are over Once your memories are restored, I think you’ll believe me and we can move on You’ve all been briefed on the Flare and the reasons for the Trials We are extre our blueprint of the killzone The things we need--to further refine e have--will be better served by your full cooperation and unaltered ht to come up there and break your shuck nose," Minho said His voice was terrifyingly cal like everything is peachy--like more than half of our friends didn’t die"
"I’d love to see that rat nose ser in his voice startled Tho Newt had been through during Phase Three
Rat Man rolled his eyes and sighed "First of all, each of you has been warned of the consequences should you try to har watched Second, I’m sorry for those you’ve lost--but in the end it’ll have been worth it What concernsto wake you people up to the stakes here We’re talking about the survival of the huin a rant, but he stopped short, closed his mouth
Thomas knew that no matter how sincere Rat Man sounded, it had to be a trick Everything was a trick Yet nothing good could co hi they neededwas patience
"Let’s all just slim it," Thomas spoke evenly "Let’s hear him out"
Frypan spoke up just as Rat Man was about to continue "Why should we trust you people to … What was it called? The Swipe? After everything you’ve done to us, to our friends--you want to remove the Swipe? I don’t think so I’d rather stay stupid about ood," Teresa said out of the blue, as if talking to herself
"What?" Frypan asked Everyone turned to look at her
"WICKED is good," she repeated, azes "Of all the things I could’ve written on my arm when I first woke up fro about it, and there has to be a reason for that I say we just shut up and do what the man says We can only understand this with our ree!" Aris shouted, much louder than seeuments Mostly between the Gladers, who sided with Frypan, and the members of Group B, who sided with Teresa There couldn’t possibly be a worse time for a battle of wills
"Silence!" Rat Man roared, pounding his fist on the lectern He waited for everyone to quiet down before he continued "Look, no one’s going to blame you for the mistrust you feel You’ve been pushed to your physical limits, watched people die, experienced terror in its purest form But I promise you, when all is said and done, none of you will look back--"
"What if we don’t want to?" Frypan called out "What if we don’t want our memories back?"
Thomas turned to look at his friend, relieved It was exactly what he’d been thinking hihed "Is it because you really have no interest in re, or is it because you don’t trust us?"
"Oh, I can’t iine ouldn’t trust you," Frypan replied
"Don’t you realize by now that if anted to do so to harm you, we’d just do it?" The ain "If you don’t want to remove the Swipe, don’t do it You can stand by and watch the others"
A choice or a bluff? Thomas couldn’t tell by the ain the room was silent, and before anyone else could speak, Rat Man had stepped away off the stage and alking toward the door at the back of the rooain "You really want to spend the rest of your lives having no memory of your parents? Your family and friends? You really want to lose the chance to hold on to at least the few good an? Fine with ain"
Thoed to reht about it soto let hiht to the death before letting those people tinker with his brain again How could he believe anyelse bothering him--the flash he’d felt when the Rat Man had first announced that WICKED would re that he couldn’t just accept anything WICKED called hiswas true was in fact true, he didn’t want to face his past even if he could He didn’t understand the person they said he was before And more, he didn’t like him
He watched as the Rat Man opened the door and left the rooone, Thomas leaned in close to Minho and Newt so only his friends could hear him "There’s no e do this No way"
Minho squeezed Thomas’s shoulder "Amen Even if I did trust those shanks, ould I want to remember? Look what it did to Ben and Alby"
Newt nodded "We need toto knock a few heads to reed but knew they had to be careful "Not too soon, though," he said "We can’t screw this up--we need to look for our best chance" It had been so long since Thoan to trickle through him He was reunited with his friends and this was the end of the Trials--for good One way or another, they were done doing what WICKED wanted