This is the part of the game where I go “screw it, how fast can I get through this book?  If it’s not done by the end of the week, I’m stopping until after NaNo.”

Thomas and Newt go to get food while Thomas mopes about being special.  Newt mentions that no one has even attempted to talk about what they remember while sick (because reasons) and that they’re going to put Gally in jail for threatening to kill Thomas.

I’d just like to remind everyone that Gally said he would “stop” Thomas, up to and including murder if it were to become necessary.  He also swore that he would give his life if that’s what it takes to stop Thomas’s nefarious plan.  But that doesn’t make anyone stop and think “wow, what made him so sure about this?”  No, instead they’re going to continue ignoring him and put him in jail as an “example” so that others don’t speak out.

And Gally, Alby and Ben claim they saw you in their memories after the Changing—and from what I gather, you weren’t plantin’ flowers and helpin’ old ladies cross the street.

Well I’m glad you gathered that, because as far as I can tell from what anyone’s said, Thomas has done nothing in their memories besides…exist.

“I know you don’t remember anything, Thomas! Quit sayin’ that—don’t ever say it again. None of us remember anything, and we’re bloody sick of you reminding us.

Gally and Alby remember stuff.  In fact, why aren’t you over with them, trying to get information?  I know that whole choke-self thing was kind of scary, but you can experiment around with it, see if you can get hints or write stuff out or talk vaguely about it, or maybe just tie them up so they can’t chock themselves and see if that works?  Maybe it turns out you don’t have any options here, but WE CAN’T KNOW THAT UNTIL YOU TRY.

Instead, Newt focuses on Thomas, until Thomas admits to all his special snowflake wanna-be-a-runner feelings.  Newt also suggests getting Thomas stung on purpose so he’ll remember stuff, but then wouldn’t he be in the same no-talking situation as the other two?  And if that’s the case WHY NOT JUST FUCKING TALK TO THE OTHER TWO?

They decide to go see the girl, and the medic with her thinks she’s getting better.  Yeah, and he knows this according to which medical degree?

Thomas felt his hackles rise. For some reason, he’d never really considered the possibility that the girl might wake up and be okay. That she might talk to people. He had no idea why that suddenly made him so nervous.

Oh, fuck you, book.

Thomas doesn’t want her to wake up and talk, but he’s perfectly fine going on a bit about how pretty she is.  Heaven forbid she stop being a pretty thing and talk, oh no, that would be just so terrible!

The medic mentions that she mumbles a lot and often it’s about Thomas.  Thomas admits that she looks and seems familiar and then spontaneously the girl starts telepathically talking to him.  She’s super-vague about stuff changing and how they are the last two and did something and yeah it’s so fucking vague that why is it even in here?

Oh, and also her name is Theresa. 

And then Thomas runs away from her because GOD FORBID ANYONE ACTUALL SAY SENSIBLE SHIT IN THIS BOOK, RUN AWAY FROM IT THOMAS, RUN AWAY!

He runs out into the maze and then back again and wow, so interesting.  Chuck finds him the next morning.  Thomas decides not to tell anyone that he can talk to the girl and to deny it if Newt asks, because if the book can’t find a sensible way to keep up the mystery, then damnit, it’s just going to flinging shit everywhere and hope you get distracted.

He could just suck it up and talk to the girl, especially since she said she’d forget by the time she wakes up, but no.  Can’t have that.  It’s not in the plot.  And changing the plot so it makes more sense is for other people.  You know, the ones that edit and all that other creepy stuff.

Chuck acts like his cheerleader for a while then mentions that Gally ran into the maze and hasn’t been seen sense.  But Chuck figures he snuck back in (how?  There’s only four doors) and his friends are hiding him.

Thomas goes to jail and Chuck comes to talk to him for a whole chapter as they mope together.  Chuck makes a good point about how the changed people always remember only bad stuff and maybe they don’t actually have loving families out there on the outside waiting for them, but Thomas dismisses that thought because… … … Reasons.

Alby comes to let him out at the end of the day.

I feel like a piece of klunk twice crapped by a Griever.”

Except for the faux-cursing, I actually like that.  Very descriptive.

Alby says he saw Thomas helping “the creators” in his mind, but no word on what they were doing.  He also says he remembers bits of his before-maze life and it was so bad he doesn’t want to get back to it.  The idea is tossed out that maybe these aren’t real memories, but then it’s just as quickly dropped again.

Even though Thomas spent all day in jail, the cook gives him cookies, because our poor little wibble special snowflake spent a whole day…um, relaxing and talking with friendly company.

Next morning Minho wakes him up and spends several pages getting him outfitted with running gear.  Turns out they can actually request supplies through the box, but it’s not guaranteed they’ll get them.

Then he takes Thomas down to where they keep a bunch of weapons, including a bunch of archery gear.

Which they have because…reasons?

Minho mentions they only take a few knives maybe into the maze, but why bother?  You have to get up close and personal to stuff in order to stab it, and that’s not a good idea with poisonous enemies.  But archery?  You can stand on top of the fucking walls and shoot Grievers that way.  Or can’t you?  Have you ever tried?  If you haven’t, why do you have fucking bows?  You don’t need to hunt.  Nor do you need swords.  Really, what is all this doing here?  Why do you have it?  Why aren’t you using it?  Why are you weighing yourself down with knives that cannot be used against creatures that have giant spikes and poison stingers?

Why aren’t you sending out Griever-hunters into the maze to mow down the monsters so that your runners can stay out all night instead of having to come home each day?

Why do you hate me so much, book?

They go to the map room and I’m going to let Minho explain to you how the maze works.  First he draws a 3×3 grid on a piece of paper to serve as a map.

“These are the Doors,” Minho said. “You know about the ones from the Glade, but there are four more out in the Maze that lead to Sections One, Three, Five, and Seven. They stay in the same spot, but the route there changes with the wall movements every night.” He finished, then slid the paper over to rest in front of Thomas.

Thomas picked it up, completely fascinated that the Maze was so structured, and studied it as Minho kept talking.

“So we have the Glade, surrounded by eight Sections, each one a completely self-contained square and unsolvable in the two years since we began this freaking game. The only thing even approaching an exit is the Cliff, and that ain’t a very good one unless you like falling to a horrible death.”

If the basic section structure remains the same each day, what is the point of changing the insides? 

Minho also mentions that by comparing the maps, they also realize that the maze is repeating a monthly sequence, it doesn’t have an infinite number of layouts.

So.

Wait.

The maze is repeating itself and you’ve been there two years.

You have 24 maps made of each configuration for the maze.

And you just…keep making more?

You have this thing figured out.  You have the maps you need.  If anything, you just need to fill in the places you couldn’t reach last month, which would be possible because you already have enough of the map filled in to get to the blank spot.

You guys are actually reinventing the wheel every month, doing the same thing over and over again despite knowing that you are doing this.

You are so stupid that I actually feel kind of bad for hating you but not bad enough to stop.

Minho basically says that they’re out there just to try and see if an exit opens up, although that still doesn’t explain why they don’t take completed maps with them and just mark down anything that might be different that day.

Seriously, why do you need runners?  By this point you need map readers.  “Here, take this map and kind of wander around the edges keeping an eye out.  Make sure you get home before the doors close.  Shouldn’t be too hard, what with you having a map and all.”

Thomas asks if they’ve stayed out all night to see if an exit opens up at night, but Minho says that’s stupid because it’s a death wish.  Well, Minho, have you tried staying out all night with those fucking bows?