231.05.05 | 3:42 a.m.
Nineteen of the one hundred and thirty-one doctors, Psychs, scientists, technicians, nurses, and other staff inside the WICKED complex turned out to be sick. All high-ranking officials, mostly in Anderson’s circle. No wonder they’d conspired to keep it from everyone else.
Dr. Paige had whisked Thomas and Teresa back to her room and locked them inside, explaining that she now had to fully initiate the Purge protocol and make sure everything was in motion. That she’d return soon. Two hours later she came back, and she had Aris and Rachel with her. As they came in from the hallway, Dr. Paige dropped four loaded backpacks onto the floor.
“What are those for?” Teresa asked.
“I’ll explain everything,” the doctor answered. “I’m going to need the four of you desperately today.”
Thomas gave them a friendly nod, which was returned. Aris seemed to have grown older, lines crossing his face like little marks of worry. Rachel had cut her hair even shorter, and there was a sadness in her dark eyes. But she stood confidently, and something about these two encouraged Thomas.
Dr. Paige showed no signs of wearing down. She’d taken charge with gusto.
“This is what my people have figured out,” she said. “Anderson has all the infected hidden away in Sector D, and judging from their symptoms, a few of them appear to be pretty far along. It explains why we haven’t seen their faces around lately. I’ve locked down that entire wing of the complex.
“I’ve checked and rechecked the original medical tests from yesterday. Other than Anderson, who’s still in his office, and Randall, somewhere out in the forest, it seems that we have all the infected contained. Everyone outside of Sector D is clean.”
She paused for a couple of deep breaths. “But we can’t waste a single second. We need to clear those people out, and we need to do it fast. I have some brave guards who are willing to risk infection, but I just can’t bring myself to lose another life to this disease. Which is where you come in.”
She stopped speaking, letting her words hang in the air, and the realization of what she was saying suddenly hit Thomas like a lightning bolt.
“You mean…”
She nodded, her expression showing how hard it was to say what came next. “You’re all immune, and you’re the oldest and strongest of those not in the maze. We’re dealing with people who are very sick and weak—more important, though, is that most of them are asleep, which is why we have to act right now. These backpacks have syringes filled with a solution that’s been prepared for this task—all it takes is a quick plunge into their necks and the job is done. You should be able to do it with no problems.”
Thomas felt his knees go weak, and sat on the floor to hide it.
Aris finally said the words no one else could.
“So…we’re just going to kill them all?”
“They’ll die anyway,” Teresa said immediately, shocking Thomas out of his thoughts.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he said, standing back up. He looked at his friend, wondering if this was some attempt to relieve her of guilt or if she’d really grown such a hard shell around herself for protection. “We have to think this through.”
“No, Tom,” Teresa snapped. “It’s be tough now or everyone dies later.”
Thomas slumped back to the floor, so dazed his vision had gone a little blurry. He had no response. She’d also cut off their mind connection. All he could do was look at her.
“I’m sorry,” she said, the fierceness melting away. “I’m sorry, Tom. Really. I just…I know this whole thing is awful, but it’ll be less awful if we just accept it and get it done.”
“She’s right,” Dr. Paige said. “The four of you will be adults soon. You can handle this. We know exactly where the infected are—you just need to go from room to room and inject them.” She gestured toward the backpacks. “We’ve packed guns, and we have Launchers for you as well. Just in case. I need to stress that. Just in case. I think you’ll be able to do this to them as they sleep. And I’ll have guards posted, despite the risk of infection, if things go south.”
The room went silent for a long time. Dr. Paige was at least allowing them a moment to think through it.
“Count me in,” Teresa finally said.
“Me too,” Aris added.
“The ends justify the means,” Rachel said somewhat bitterly. “It should be WICKED’s official logo. They should have a giant banner draped across the front entrance. The ends justify the means. But I’m in.”
“Well, it’s true, isn’t it?” Aris asked. “If you could save a billion people by killing a million people, shouldn’t you do it? You know, hypothetically speaking? If you really had that choice and said no, then aren’t you actually killing a billion people? I’d rather kill a million than a billion.”
Now it was Aris’s turn to get a perplexed look from Thomas. It seemed like the world had started spinning in the opposite direction.
Dr. Paige nodded at the three who’d accepted her challenge. “Thomas?” she asked.
He didn’t respond. He stared at the floor.
“Tom?” Teresa said. “I need you with me on this. With us. Please.”
He didn’t feel well. He didn’t feel well at all. He stood up. His thoughts raced as he searched for the perfect words. He knew that they would do what Dr. Paige needed them to do. They’d come too far to turn back now. He had friends out in the Maze, Chuck to think about, a world to think about.
He’d do it. The Purge. It had to be done. And now he needed to say something smart, something profound, something that would bind them together and start the terrible journey.
“This sucks.”
