The Maze Runner, #1
The Maze Runner
by James Dashner
Contents
Chapter 27
Overview
Newt brings Thomas to the recovering Alby, who demands to speak with Thomas alone. Alby claims he remembers their past and the Flare, then convulses and appears to try to kill himself as if controlled. After Thomas and Newt restrain him, Alby warns to beware the girl and protect the Maps, raising new stakes.
Summary
After the Council names Thomas a Runner, Newt hurries him upstairs to see Alby, leaving Chuck behind. Thomas dreads a scene like Ben’s Changing, but finds Alby weak in bed. Alby demands to speak with Thomas alone and angrily orders Newt out, heightening Thomas’s fear and curiosity.
Alby tells Thomas, “I know who you are,” claiming he remembers where they came from, who Thomas and the girl are, and mentions the Flare. When Thomas presses for clarity about the Changing, Alby suddenly clutches his own throat and convulses, as if controlled by something else.
Thomas calls Newt back. Together they restrain Alby—Thomas pinning his legs while Newt pries Alby’s hands from his neck—until the seizure subsides. Alby, dazed, insists it wasn’t him controlling his body, baffling both boys.
As Newt settles Alby and leads Thomas to leave, Alby murmurs two warnings: be careful with the girl, and protect the Maps. The cryptic cautions reinforce the girl’s ominous importance and put the Gladers’ Map records under new threat, deepening the mystery around Thomas’s identity and the forces manipulating them.
Who Appears
- ThomasNewly elected Runner; summoned by Alby, witnesses his seizure, helps restrain him, hears warnings.
- AlbyLeader recovering from the Changing; claims memory of the past and the Flare; seemingly controlled, warns about the girl and Maps.
- NewtSecond-in-command; brings Thomas to Alby, is dismissed, returns to help restrain Alby, hears warnings.
- ChuckYoung Glader; anxiously reports Alby’s thrashing and is told to stay behind.