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CHAPTER 1

She spoke to him before the world fell apart

Hey, are you still asleep?

Thomas shifted in his bed, felt a darkness around hi in At first he panicked; his eyes snapped open as he iined himself back in the Box―that horrible cube of cold metal that had delivered hiht, and lue rooly snores of boys deep in slumber

Relief filled him He was safe now, rescued and delivered to this dormitory No more worries No more Grievers No irl’s Not audible, not visible But he heard it all the sah never could he have explained to anyone hoorked

Exhaling a deep breath, he relaxed into his pillow, his razor-edged nerves settling down fro the words with his thoughts

Teresa? What time is it?

No idea, she replied But I can’t sleep I probably dozed for an hour or so Maybeyou were awake to keep h she wouldn’t be able to see it, it would be eive me much choice in the matter, did you? Kind of hard to sleep when so directly into your skull

Waa, waa Go back to bed, then

No I’ood He stared at the bottom of the bunk above him―featureless and darkly fuzzy in the shadohere Minho was currently breathing like a guy with ungodly aed in his throat What’ve you been thinking about?

What do you think? Somehow she projected a jab of cynicis skin and blubber bodies, all those metal arms and spikes It ay too close for co like that out of our heads?

Thoes would never leave―the Gladers would be haunted by the horrible things that had happened in the Maze for the rest of their lives He figured that ical probleo coe burned into hishot iron His friend Chuck, stabbed in the chest, bleeding, dying as Thoet that But what he said to Teresa was: It’ll go away Just takes a little time, that’s all

You’re so full of it, she said

I kno ridiculous was it that he loved hearing her say sooing to be okay? You’re an idiot, he told hiht

I hate that they separated uys, she said

Thoirl and the rest of the Gladers were teenage boys―a bunch of shanks they didn’t trust yet Guess they were protecting you

Yeah I guess Melancholy seeped into his brain with her words, stuck to the ent through

Where’d they take you, anyway? She sounded so sad that he alet up and look for her, but he knew better

Just on the other side of that big coht It’s a small room with a few bunks I’m pretty sure they locked the door when they left

See, told ya they wanted to protect you Then he quickly added, Not that you need protecting I’d put ainst at least half these shanks

Only half?

Okay, three-quarters Including h somehow Thomas could still sense her presence He felt her It was alh he couldn’t see Minho, he knew his friend lay only a few feet above hi When someone is close by, you just know it

Despite all the ly calm, and soon sleep overpowered him once more Darkness settled on his world, but she was there, next to hi

He had no concept of ti her presence and the thought that they’d been rescued from that horrible place That they were safe, that he and Teresa could get to know each other all over again That life could be good

Blissful sleep Hazy darkness War

The world seemed to fade away All beca He slipped into a drea in a bed with blankets pulled to his chin

A woman sits next to hi brown hair, a face just beginning to show signs of age Her eyes are sad He knows this even though she’s trying very hard to hide it with a s, ask her a question But he can’t He’s not really here Just witnessing it all froins to talk, a sound so siry it disturbs him

"I don’t knohy they chose you, but I do know this You’re special soet how et how much I love you"

The boy replies, but it’s not really Thoh it is hionna be crazy like all those people on TV, Momers through his hair Woman? No, he can’t call her that This is his mother Hismommy

"Don’t you worry about that, honey," she says "You won’t be here to see it"

Her sone away

Too fast the drea but his thoughts Had he seen another memory crawl up from the depths of his a about his dad being crazy The ache inside Tho, and he tried to sink further into oblivion