Summary

Prologue

Set thirteen years before the events of the novel, the prologue opens with the Swipe implanting Thomas, while his best friend, Teresa, looks on. She knows that he will no longer be the same, and telepathic communication will be impossible. Thomas already wears the uniform of the Glade, and Teresa longs for a time before children were stolen and sent to the Maze, before when human brains were known as kill zones. Supposedly, it is all in the name of science. WICKED is determined to find the cure for the plague that affects millions, and if children die because of that research, it is all in a day’s work. Others, including Alby, Newt, and Minho had already been implanted.

Teresa realizes she has no choice, that WICKED has no choice. Indeed, Thomas and Teresa had helped construct the Maze. After...