He learns the truth: The Maze is not a prison. It is a . And the Grievers are not monsters—they are tools.

The surviving Gladers—Thomas, Newt, Minho, Frypan, Winston, and a handful of others—escape through the hole. They collapse in the Scorch, a barren, sun-scorched landscape littered with dead bodies.

Thomas convinces Newt and Minho to make a desperate run: they will enter the Maze at night, lure a Griever to a specific section, and use the code to open a hidden door.