Chapter 48 Chapter Forty-Eighth: Success in defection

It didn't take long for them to gather everyone together—Thomas thought, the temptation to hear what this walking corpse had to say was too great for anyone to refuse.The girls stood before him in a tight circle; he was still tied to the ugly, lifeless tree. "Well," said Harriet, "you go first, and then we shall." Thomas nodded and cleared his throat.He started talking, even though he hadn't quite figured out what to say. "All I know about your group is from Ares, and it seems that most of the things we experienced in the maze are very similar. But since we escaped, a lot of things have changed, I'm not sure What do you guys know about WICKED?"

Sonia interjected: "Not much." This remark cheered Thomas up and made him feel like he had an advantage.And it looked like Sonia had made a huge mistake in admitting she didn't know about WICKED. "Well, I know more about them. All of us are special in a sense—we're being tested or something, because they have a plan for us." Then he paused After a while, no one showed much response, so he continued. "They don't understand a lot of what we do because it's just part of the experiment—what WICKED calls variables, to see how we react in certain situations. I don't quite get it either. thing, not even a basic understanding, but I guess the whole thing about killing me is just another level of experimentation, or another lie. So... I guess it's just another variable, To see what all of us do."

"In other words," said Harriet, "you want us to risk our lives on such a high-sounding inference." "Don't you understand? There's no point in killing me. Maybe it's just a test for you, I don't know. But I do know that if I'm alive I can help you, but if I'm dead I can't." "Or," replied Harriet, "we're being tested to see if we have the guts to kill the leader of our rivals. Isn't that all there is to it? To see which group wins? Weed out the weak , leave the strong?" "I'm not even a leader yet—Minho is." Thomas shook his head firmly, "No, think about it. How can you show your strength by killing me? I'm alone And you still have so many weapons, how can you prove who is the strongest?"

"So what the hell does this have to do with it?" a girl in the back of the crowd called out. Thomas paused, choosing his words carefully: "I guess the test is to see if you can think for yourself, change your plans, and make sane decisions. And the more people we have, the more people we can manage to get to safety." The chances of a sanctuary are also greater. Killing me is useless, and it does no one any good. You have already proved the strength you need to prove by capturing me. Show them that you will not blindly Follow orders blindly." He stopped and leaned against a tree to rest.He couldn't think of anything else to say.It was all up to them now, and he had done his best.

"Interesting statement," said Sonia, "sounds very much like a person desperate for survival would say." Thomas shrugged. "I really think that's the way it is, and I think if you kill me, you'll fail the real test that WICKED puts on you." "Yes, I bet you think so," said Harriet.She stood up, "Look, to be honest, we've been thinking the same thing, but we want to see what you have to say. The sun should be going down soon, and I'm sure Teresa will be back any minute now." Yes, we'll discuss it when she gets here."

Tomas spoke hastily, fearing Teresa would not be swayed. "No! I mean, she's the one who seems most interested in killing me." He said that, even though he wished he didn't mean it, even though she was mean to him and she did everything she could to Murdering him must not be serious, "I think you should make this decision." "Calm down," said Harriet, smiling slightly. "If we decide not to kill you, there's nothing she can do. But if we—" She stopped, a strange look crossed her face.Is she worried that she's talking too much? "We'll figure it out."

Thomas tried not to look relieved, he might have stoked their pride, but he tried not to get his hopes up too high. Thomas watched the girls pack their belongings and put them all in backpacks—where did they get those backpacks?He thought about it—preparing for the night's journey, going wherever.Whispers and whispered conversations floated in the air while people kept eyeing him, apparently discussing what he had said. As the night grew darker, Teresa finally emerged from the direction they had come that morning.She noticed right away that something was different, probably because everyone kept looking at her and Thomas.

"What's the matter?" she asked, with the same stern look on her face that she had been wearing since the day before yesterday. It was Harriet who answered her: "We need to talk." Teresa looked confused, but went with the rest of the group to the other side of the pit.The air was quickly filled with angry murmurs, but Thomas couldn't make out a word anyone said.His stomach twitched nervously, anticipating the verdict. From where he stood he could see that the conversation had started to heat up, Teresa looked as annoyed as everyone else.He watched her expression getting more and more angry, and at the same time tried his best to express some of her views.It seemed that she had the opposite opinion of the others, which made Thomas very nervous.

Finally, just as night was almost falling, Teresa turned away from the group of girls and started leaving the camp, heading north.She leaned her spear against one shoulder, and slung a knapsack over the other.Thomas watched her until she disappeared between the narrow walls of the pass. He looked back at the group, many of whom looked relieved, as Harriet came up and, without saying a word, knelt down and let go of the ropes that bound him to the tree. "Huh?" Thomas finally asked. "Have you guys made up your mind yet?" Harriet made no answer until she had untied him completely; then she knelt down and looked at him, with the faint light of the stars and moon reflected in her black eyes. "Today is your lucky day. We finally decided not to kill you. It can't be a coincidence that we all have been thinking the same thing."

Thomas didn't breathe a sigh of relief like he expected, and at that moment, he realized that he knew from the beginning that they would make this decision. "But I'll tell you something," said Harriet, standing up and putting out a hand to help him up too, "Theresa doesn't like you. If I were you I would Watch out for her." Thomas let Harriet pull him up, a mixture of doubt and hurt taking hold of him. Teresa really wanted to put him to death.