The Maze Runner

Newt wakes Thomas up before dawn the next morning, telling him that he has been tasked with showing him something before the others wake up. The two boys walk quietly out of the sleeping accommodations, and then break into a jog as they approach one of the walls. Newt pushes a patch of ivy away, revealing a window. Thomas sees a glowing light coming from the window, and Newt tells him that what he is about to show him is the reason why the boys spend every waking moment trying to find a solution to the Maze, and why he should never enter the Maze after dark. Newt bids him to look into the window at the Maze. 

Thomas looks, but sees nothing at first; but then, a creature appears, which seems to be a mix of animal and machine with sharp metal appendages coming from its body. The odd creature charges at the window, and Thomas screams, though the glass does not break. Newt tells Thomas that the creature is a Griever, and that they move around the Maze at night. The doors shut at sunset so the Grievers cannot get into the Glade. Newt tells Thomas that he, like the rest of the boys, has been sent here for a reason, and that their task is to find a way out of the Maze. While Thomas is thinking about the Maze and the Grievers, about why the boys have been sent to such a horrible place and how they can possibly get out, Alby arrives to take him on a tour of the Glade. 

Alby starts the tour by telling Thomas that he cannot ask questions, and then takes him to the Box, which is how he first arrived in the Glade. Though its doors are closed, Alby says that a new boy arrives every month, and that supplies arrive in the same way every week. The boys do not know who sends either the new boys or the supplies. He also says that the Glade is designed in four sections. The “Gardens” section is for growing crops; the “Blood House” is for raising and slaughtering animals; the “Homestead” is for sleeping; and the “Deadheads” is the graveyard. Alby explains that for the next two weeks, Thomas will need to work in each of the sections under the supervision of a Keeper—the leader of the section—until they can figure out which job suits him best. The fact that the place needs a graveyard causes Thomas concern. He is also finds it strange that he remembers animals, but does not know what his relation to them is. 

Alby then brings Thomas to the South Door. Alby says that he has been living in the Glade for two years, and that everyone who lived in the Glade before him has died. For two years, the boys have been running through the Maze and making Maps, but they have not yet found a way out. Thomas steps closer to the South Door but Alby stops him, saying that no one except the Runners are allowed inside the Maze. It is the Glade’s number one rule. If anyone else goes inside the Maze and is not killed by the Grievers, they will be killed by the Gladers as punishment for breaking the rule. Though the Maze seems a terrible place, especially after seeing the Griever, Thomas still feels a gut instinct that tells him he must be a Runner.

Thomas sees another beetle blade. He asks Alby what it is and, though Thomas is not supposed to ask question until the end, Alby relents. He says that the beetle blades are how the Creators watch the boys in the Glade and the Maze. Before Alby can explain further, however, a loud boom is heard. Strangely, Alby himself seems confused by the sound and runs in the direction of the Box. Newt catches up with Thomas and explains that the alarm means that another boy is coming up through the Box. Thomas still does not understand and Newt says that the sound is so startling because two boys have never arrived in the Glade within the same month, let alone two days in a row.

The boys assemble nervously outside the Box, wondering about the new arrival. Chuck explains to Thomas that they have gotten accustomed to new arrivals coming on a monthly basis, so this change seems scary to the boys. Thomas thinks about escaping through the Box, but every time he thinks of a solution, Chuck dismisses it before he can even finish his thought. Chuck explains that they have tried throwing things down the hole after the Box leaves but they never hear them hit the ground. Also, before he arrived in the Glade, some boys made long ropes from the ivy on the walls, pried open the Box doors, and sent a boy down the hole. When he went down, something swooshed by and cut the boy in half. Thomas laughs, thinking Chuck is joking about the incident. To Thomas’s disbelief, Chuck says that they keep the bones of the boy in the graveyard so that future Gladers will know not to try to escape through the hole again.

As the boys wait for Newt and Alby to arrive from the Homestead, Thomas spies Gally giving him another dirty look; he feels uncomfortable with the boy around. He asks Chuck about the Changing again, remembering that Gally, too, has gone through it, but Chuck does not respond. Newt and Alby shush the boys, and then walk over to the Box, waiting for the elevator to arrive and stop. A boom finally signals that the Box has arrived, and Newt and Alby open the doors and peek inside. What they see startles them, and Alby again asks Thomas what he knows, as the arrival of two Greenbeans in two days seems like more than a coincidence. Thomas insists that he has no idea what is going on. Finally, Newt and Alby reveal that there is a girl inside the box, the very first girl, ever, in the history of the Glade. Not only that, but she appears to be dead.

The boys use vines to lower themselves into the Box and bring the girl’s body out. Thomas notices that she is around sixteen years old as well, and that she has dark hair and skin as pale as pearls. The girl is beautiful, but Thomas is uncomfortable thinking about a dead girl in this way. Newt calls him forward, and Thomas moves towards him and Alby, with the other Gladers staring at him. Thomas feels as if everyone’s eyes are accusing him of causing the sudden change in their daily lives. Alby and Newt ask him again if he is certain that he has not seen her before, as it seems too odd to be mere coincidence. Suddenly, the girl sits straight up, startling the boys, and in a haunting voice, says “Everything is going to change” (57). She then falls back, as if into a coma. In her hand is a note which says “She’s the last one. Ever” (57).