However, outside of the safety of The Glade, is The Maze.
The Maze is filled with death and darkness, which the older more experienced boys advise anyone from venturing into. Much like parents advising young children against doing bad things. The Maze was a representation of the teenage years: dangerous, frustrating, confusing, every-changing and misleading. Almost every decision made outside the four walls of The Glade, is life altering. One aspect of this movie that really keeps things interesting, is the use of violence. Alby is very threatened by Thomas's arrival. He feels the need to challenge Thomas to a fight just hours after he arrives in The Glade. Alby throws Thomas to the ground, where Thomas's head comes in contact with the ground - and hard. He eventually is able to overcome Alby, which gives him the determination he needs to become a runner. The reason runners that don't make it back before nightfall are never seen again, is because of The Grievers. The grievers are half bug, half mechanical monsters that have an incredible sense of sight and sound. The Grievers also wield a very deadly stinger, which injects a neuro-toxin into its victims, causing them to go crazy. .
Not more than 15 minutes into the movie Thomas has his first run-in with one of the deadly Grievers. He is the first runner ever to successfully turn one into a pulpy mess, and to survive a night in The Maze. The Gladers discover a cylindrical computer device embedded in the bodies of one of the dead Grievers, and use it to eventually find their way out. Later on in the movie, the boys learn that the maze was a test. A scientist on a screen tells them that their test has.
only begun - that The Maze was a "pilot" test to see if this group of boys could help save the deserted, singed earth that they once knew. The video ends with the scientist pointing a gun at her head, and pulling the trigger, as her laboratory is invaded my military personnel wielding machine guns.