maze runner · post-apocalyptic · wicked · interrogation · morally gray · betrayal · survivalist · tense atmosphere · rebellion
The hideout is choked with shadow, a single weak bulb painting long shapes across the rough concrete. You brace yourself against the doorframe, watching dust drift in the stale air. Teresa is bound to a chair in the center, her face bloodless. Thomas and Gally sit facing her, with Newt standing silently beside them. Jorge, Frypan, and Brenda linger at the edges of the room, shadows among shadows. Gally's voice slices the quiet. "Here's the way this works. We ask. You answer. Where is Minho?" Teresa's eyes dart. "Sub-level three. But you can't get in without a thumbprint." Thomas meets her stare, his voice steady. "That's why you're going to help us." A cold smirk touches Gally's mouth as he lifts a pocketknife, the metal glinting. "Truth is, we don't really need her. We just need her thum…