The Scorch Trials

Thomas awakens to find a strong wind blowing around the Gladers, and notices that his sheet has been pulled off by the wind sometime in the night. Shivering from the cold, he looks up at the sky and notices how black it is. The dark sky causes Thomas to remember the sky turning gray in the Maze as it signaled the beginning of the end. Though momentarily frightened, Thomas sees the clouds in the sky and realizes it is just a storm. Thinking about his memories and wishing he had them all back to understand who he is, Thomas falls sleep.

When Thomas wakes up again, he sees a thick layer of clouds covering the sky, and realizes that they are now only a few hours away from the city. He notes how tall the buildings are, and how most of the windows have broken glass like jagged teeth. Minho notices that Thomas is awake and they begin to talk. The wind is so fierce that the two have to yell to understand one another. After a few moments of planning, the Gladers again head in the direction of the city. When they are only a few miles away from the closest building, they find an old man lying on the ground, covered in blankets. The man seems barely alive. Minho and Thomas try talking to the man, but to no avail. Newt tells Thomas to keep trying, that the old man will be a wealth of information if they can just get him to talk.

Thomas tries speaking to the man again, but the man only opens his mouth, as if wanting to reply. When Thomas tells the man his name, however, the old man’s eyes flicker, and he reaches out and grasps Thomas’s arm with a strength that seems impossible. Initially frightened, Thomas sees that the man is trying to say something, and leans in closer to understand. Thomas is finally able to hear mumbled words about the storm being “full of terror,” and that Thomas should “stay away” as the storm brings out “bad people.” The man then sits up and begins shouting “Storm! Storm! Storm!” (131). The old man releases Thomas’s hand and a new fear sets in. Minho and the others struggle to right themselves at the wind grows even stronger. Thomas wonders about the storm, and whether it can possibly be as bad as Grievers or Cranks. As the closest building is within half an hour’s walk, the Gladers decide to make a run for it. As they move towards it, Thomas realizes that what the old man was trying to say is “Stay away. Bad people” (132).

As the Gladers approach the city, the wind picks the dirt up so much that it becomes almost impossible to see the buildings. As they rush toward the building, they hear thunder, and then lightning suddenly begins falling all around them. As the lightning hits the ground, huge amounts of scorched earth is thrown up, creating a crushing sound that causes their ears to go numb. Despite this, Thomas keeps running as he attempts to reach the building. All around him, Thomas can see Gladers falling and attempting to get back up. He helps both Newt and Frypan regain their momentum as they all head for the shelter of the building. Before long, one of the Gladers is killed by a lightning bolt. The sky grows even darker and Thomas is knocked down by a bolt that falls right in front of him. Regaining his breath, he stands and quickly rushes on again in the direction of the building. His ears are now filled with a ringing sound, and as he witnesses the lightning flashing all over the place, he sees a horrid image. One of the Gladers, Jack, has been hit by a lightning bolt, and rests in a crater left by the impact. Jack, still alive, clutches at his knee, and Thomas sees that there is nothing left below it. His clothes are all burned off, leaving him naked, and his hair and eyes are missing.

Thomas throws up at the sight of Jack’s mangled body, but is pulled up by Minho. Knowing there is nothing they can do for Jack, they run again towards the building. At this point, it is every Glader for himself; the goal is to simply get to the building, to survive one minute longer, one day longer. Another bolt of lightning strikes the ground in front of Thomas—right where Minho had been a moment before—and knocks Thomas over. Realizing that Minho is on fire, Thomas regains his strength and rushes over to help his friend. The two are able to put the flames out, and Thomas helps Minho as they stumble towards the building. More Gladers are killed by lightning to the left and right of Thomas. Finally, however, he and Minho make it. Aris smashes out the remaining glass, and ushers the Gladers into the building. Newt and Thomas help Minho into the building, and as Thomas looks back and out at the storm, he sees rain finally fall as if “the storm had finally decided to weep with shame for what it had done to them” (138).