Reading Response #3: The Maze Runner

To give you a quick inside from last time, a lot of strange things had been occurring in the Glade that had never happened before. A girl appears (who is the last person to be delivered to the Glade) and one of the runners (Ben) is kicked out of the Glade for attacking Thomas.

Now what’s happening is one of the other leaders (Alby) of the Glade is promoted as a tentative runner to check out the Maze with Milho who is the other runner. It gets later and later, and Newt (leader of the Glade) starts to get worried because they should’ve gotten back to the Glade by that time. The boys start to hold their breath because they all know what happens when it gets late…the doors of the maze close. It’s a rule that no one goes after another Glader if they get stuck in the maze, because you’d be good as dead since the Grievers (reminder: the Grievers are the big bug/spider machines that can “prick” you and you become very sick and insane) come out at night.

“Thomas knew he had no choice. He moved. Forward. He squeezed past the connecting rods at the last second and stepped into the maze.” –The Maze Runner page 112

       

My quote explains what happens next. Basically what happened was at the last two minutes before the doors shut for the night, Milho and Alby were on the other side of the doors. Alby got attacked by a Griever and was injured, and Milho couldn’t get both of them out of the maze in time. Thomas and all the other boys were just watching this happen. Although it was a rule not to go on the other side of the maze, Thomas had to. He always wanted to be a runner anyway. But in this case, he may never be a runner if he can’t survive the night.

The picture shows Milho's face when Thomas runs into the maze before the doors shut for the night.