The Scorch Trials

Thomas falls asleep, despite being tied to a tree and propped against a hard rock. In the dream, Thomas is fifteen. He and Teresa are standing around screens with images of the Maze and the Glade on them. Teresa says that she “can’t believe they’re all dead” (274). Thomas realizes that Teresa is not referring to the Gladers, as he can see them clearly on the screen. Thomas’s younger self then asks Teresa if they can really “pull this off” now that all of the original Creators are dead. Teresa says they have to, and they both agree that no matter how many people die or get hurt, the most important thing is “the patterns.”

When Thomas wakes up, he sees that both Harriet and Sonya are staring at him strangely. The two girls tell Thomas that they want to know everything he knows. When Thomas asks why he should even consider helping them, they say that they might be able to help him in turn, if he goes along with their request. They tell Thomas that Teresa is away scouting, and that this is his best chance to tell them what he knows, even though it does not mean that they have changed their minds about killing him. Thomas says that if the decision was his, he would choose not to kill the person in his shoes. He says that he thinks the whole thing is a test set up by WICKED, and that maybe they are really not supposed to kill him. Sonya and Harriet finally admit that they have had their doubts about the whole situation from the start, and that they should talk. They go to gather up the rest of the group, with Thomas urging them to hurry before Teresa returns.

When Group B has gathered together, Thomas tells them that both groups have gone through similar experiences, and that he thinks their order to kill him is just another Variable, with WICKED trying to see how they respond to this latest test. He says that he does not think they are really supposed to kill him because there is no point in killing him, though some of the girls scoff at this idea because they see Thomas as their competition’s leader. Thomas says that he thinks the test is to see if the girls are able to think independently, to change plans when they need to and to make rational decisions. Though the girls think that Thomas will say anything not to be killed, they admit that they have all thought about the exact same things. In the end, they tell Thomas they will need to discuss the matter with Teresa when she gets back. Thomas thinks it is a bad idea to wait for Teresa, especially as Teresa is the one so intent on killing him. Harriet tells Thomas that if the girls decide not to kill him, there is nothing Teresa can do to stop them.

When Teresa returns, Harriet and Sonya confront her, and after a heated argument, Teresa storms out of camp. Harriet unties Thomas, and to his relief, he learns that they have decided that it cannot be a coincidence that all of them have been thinking the same things, and so they are not going to kill him. However, Harriet tells Thomas that Teresa really hates him, and that he needs to be careful with her. Thomas can barely enjoy his freedom, realizing that Teresa really does want him dead.

Thomas heads out with Group B in the direction of the safe haven, but keeps his distance. Though they have allowed him to live, he still wonders if he should be trying to find Minho and the others. Harriet talks to Thomas and, after apologizing again, tells him about the instructions they were given by Rat Man. Group B actually traveled underneath the city, which is why the Gladers never ran into them until they were in the desert. Harriet reveals that the first thing Group B did was to arrange for Teresa to meet him in the building on the outskirts of the city, to give him a false sense of hope. She explains that everything, including the kiss, was engineered for this purpose. This revelation leaves Thomas searching for more answers, realizing that Teresa has officially turned against him, and wondering if she has ever really been on his side to begin with. Harriet also tells Thomas that ever since Teresa joined with Group B, she has made Thomas out to be a monster who did something horrible to her, but that she has never told them what it was. Harriet says the real reason the girls changed their minds is because Thomas just does not seem like the “monster” Teresa painted him to be. Though he is overwhelmed by these revelations, Thomas asks to hear more about the plan to kill him. Harriet then tells him about a place in the mountains where the group is supposed to take him and kill him.

When the group finally makes it through the mountain pass, they are stunned to see nothing but dead land, with no hint of a safe haven anywhere. The consensus is that perhaps they are simply unable to see it yet, and so they continue on. The group starts their descent into the valley when Thomas, who is still bringing up the rear, hears a voice and sees Teresa creep out of the underbrush. She tells Thomas that they need to talk and that the act is all over. Knowing he should not trust Teresa, Thomas follows her away from the group anyway.