The Scorch Trials

The man talks to Thomas and Brenda in a nursery rhyme-like cadence, saying that his nose has been taken by Rose. Brenda throws a can of food at the man, and when he cries out, four more Cranks appear. The man then says that Brenda and Thomas have pretty noses, and that he wants a nose again. With this pronouncement, Thomas realizes it is time for the two to flee. Brenda throws another can at the group, before the pair run, with their pursuers screeching and yelling behind them. Brenda takes Thomas to an old room where, at some point in the past, she found a perfect hiding spot in a small notch in the wall. The two manage to squeeze into the tight spot and try to remain as quiet as possible. After a time, they hear the Cranks approach, and then hear a Crank enter the room, calling after them. The Cranks begin discussing something which Thomas is unable to hear, when suddenly a few of the Cranks become angry and storm out of the room. Finally, there is complete silence. Brenda and Thomas try to wait as long as possible to make sure that all of the Cranks are gone. When Brenda says that they are probably gone, she flicks on her flashlight. To their horror, the nose-less man is still in the room, and has been waiting for them to make a noise. He reaches a bloody hand into their hiding space and grabs Thomas by the shirt.

The man begins pulling on Thomas’s shirt, the force of which, combined with the small space, causes Thomas’s body and face to repeatedly slam against the wall. Brenda manages to retrieve her knife and stabs the man in the hand. As the man howls and retreats, Brenda tells Thomas that they cannot let the man escape. He might go to get his friends, for one. Thomas agrees, knowing that the Crank’s friends might have heard his scream and be on their way. The Crank kicks Brenda and knocks the knife out of her hand. As the Crank runs for the knife, Thomas dives and knocks the Crank over. Brenda then jumps on the Crank and begins assaulting him, then pins him to the ground so that he is lying on his stomach. She yells to Thomas that they have to kill the Crank. She tells Thomas to get the knife, and for a few brief moments, Thomas stands in a stupor, trying to comprehend what Brenda is asking of him. He has never killed a man before, and wonders if he can really do such a thing, even to a far-gone Crank. Finally, he retrieves the knife. Brenda tells him she is going to flip the Crank over so that his chest is exposed. She does so, and after pleading with Thomas a few times, Thomas finally gathers all of his strength and plunges the knife into the Crank’s chest.

The Crank dies, and Thomas thinks about the fact that he has just taken another man’s life. Brenda snaps him out of his reverie and says they need to leave immediately. Their fight with the Crank was noisy, and the others will probably return any minute. Thomas agrees, but says he cannot deal with the Underneath anymore. He wants to go back into the city and deal with the daylight. Brenda agrees, and leads the two up and out of the tunnels. Just before the sun disappears completely for the day, Brenda and Thomas make it to the edge of the city, and can see the mountains looming in the distance. Thomas wonders if they should go all the way, but Brenda says they need to find a place to hide as it is too dangerous to move around at night.

The two find shelter in an alley, which makes good cover as no one will enter an alley with no exit. They find an old, rusted truck where they can rest for the night. Thomas has the Crank’s blood on his fingers and struggles with the fact that he has just killed someone. Brenda tries to reassure him that he did the right thing, that he saved both of them by killing the Crank. As Brenda consoles Thomas, she reveals that WICKED killed her father, who was trying to stop them from taking her. She admits that she is frightened of going crazy. Thomas tells her not to worry, that they will make it to the safe haven and get the cure for both of them. Though Brenda says it is a false hope, she admits that it is “better than no hope at all” (201), and the two fall asleep.