The Maze Runner, #1
The Maze Runner
by James Dashner
Contents
Chapter 21
Overview
Cornered by Grievers, Thomas chooses to fight, then teams with Minho to execute a risky evasion at the Maze’s Cliff. They bait four Grievers into charging off the edge, where the creatures mysteriously vanish instead of falling. The victory reveals the Cliff’s importance and leaves Thomas emotionally spent.
Summary
Facing four advancing Grievers, Thomas rejects surrender and charges the nearest one, diving aside at the last second to break the encirclement. He sprints away with the creatures gaining when Minho snatches him into a side corridor and orders him to follow without questions.
Minho, inspired by Thomas’s earlier dive, leads a rapid, deliberate run through the corridors to a place where the Maze ends in open sky—the Cliff. With the Grievers closing, Minho warns against excitement: the drop is deadly and deceptive, but it can be used.
They take position at the brink, heels inches from the void, and wait for the single-file Grievers to charge. At Minho’s mark, Thomas and Minho dive in opposite directions. The first three Grievers overshoot and go off the edge, their sounds abruptly cutting off as if they disappear rather than fall.
The fourth Griever clings to the lip, but Thomas and Minho coordinate a final kick that sends it over. When Thomas looks down, the monsters are gone without a trace. Overwhelmed by exhaustion and the surreal disappearance, Thomas curls up and finally weeps.
Who Appears
- ThomasDetermined and quick-thinking; dodges a Griever, follows Minho to the Cliff, and helps send four Grievers over.
- MinhoRunner; rescues Thomas, leads him to the Cliff, and coordinates the dive tactic to defeat the Grievers.
- GrieversMechanical-organic monsters; pursue the boys, then charge off the Cliff and mysteriously vanish.