The Scorch Trials

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2010

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Chapters 12-15Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 12 Summary

After Rat Man has gone, the Gladers erupt with questions and arguments, but Thomas feels the need to be alone, and heads to the dorm where Aris slept. He tries to understand everything Rat Man has just told them, about having the Flare and the fake rescue, but is not able to make sense of anything. Newt and Minho join him, and the three discuss what the Rat Man has just told them. Newt tells them that they need to ensure order and to get organized by the start of the Trial the next day. Most importantly, they need to establish who their leader is. Minho disagrees, and says that Newt is their leader, but Newt reminds them both of the tattoos. Minho thinks that WICKED is just playing with their heads, but Newt reminds him that his tattoo says Minho is the rightful leader. Though Minho argues against it, all Thomas can think of is his own tattoo, and how it says that he is meant to be killed.

Chapter 13 Summary

The Gladers prepare for their departure the next day, and Newt finally convinces Minho to act as leader. Thomas and the other Gladers then attempt to get some sleep; though the room is silent, Thomas knows that each of them is awake and thinking about the next day. Wanting to get revenge on WICKED, Thomas determines to survive, and with this newfound purpose, drifts off to sleep.

When the Gladers wake up the next morning, they prepare to leave and wait near the spot where Rat Man informed them a “Flat Trans” will appear. The boys have deduced that the Flat Trans must be some type of door or transport device, but are unsure about its function or appearance. While they wait, Thomas and Aris speak about feeling crazy because of their telepathic abilities. At the appointed time, the invisible partition turns foggy again, and then disappears. The wall opposite them now shimmers with a shadowy gray surface. Minho reminds them all that they only have five minutes to go through the Flat Trans, and tells Thomas to go last and ensure that everyone else has gone through. Minho walks up to the shimmering wall, steps through, and disappears.

Chapter 14 Summary

Thomas herds the rest of the Gladers through the Flat Trans, until only he, Aris and Newt are left. Aris tries to speak to him telepathically, but Thomas refuses to communicate with him, telling Aris to hurry through the Flat Trans out loud instead. Feeling hurt, Aris goes through the Flat Trans, followed by Newt. When Thomas steps through, a feeling of coldness envelops his body, as if “the wall of gray were a standing plane of icy water” (74). Everything is pitch black, and Thomas bumps into other Gladers as he tries to get his bearings. The Gladers organize themselves, and realize that they are in a hallway. Minho instructs them all to follow his voice and move down the corridor.

The darkness remains, and as the Gladers make their way down the hallway, a sudden burst of whispering is heard. The Gladers realize that the whispering appears to be coming from above, from a sick, old man. From what they can gather, the voice tells them to go back or they will be “sliced.” Minho tells them to ignore the whispers, though Frypan thinks that they should listen and go back. Thomas agrees with Minho that going back is a bad idea, and so they press forward, while the voice whispers that they will be “dead and sliced.”

As they make their way down the hot corridor, Thomas suddenly hears a boy scream. The scream sounds surprised at first, but then turns into sheer horror. On instinct, Thomas runs through the darkness and makes it to the boy, pinning his convulsing body down and asking him what happened. When Thomas reaches for the boy’s hair and head, to his horror he finds a “smooth ball of cold metal” where the boy’s head should be.

Chapter 15 Summary

When Minho and the others ask Thomas what has happened, he is unsure himself, but tells them that when he went to grab the boy, he felt a metal ball in place of his head. Newt finds the metal ball, which has rolled away from the boy’s body, and comments that the ball is bigger than a head. Minho tells them all to run to the end of the corridor, and to duck if they feel something near their head. As they run, a “death ball” (82) gets one more boy, and though it happens close to Thomas, he and the others do not stop, which Thomas thinks is “a terrible thing.”

The group finally reaches a stairwell, and when Minho ascends the stairs, he hits his head on what appears to be a ceiling. Minho finds an opening, but when he opens it, a blinding light of “pure flame” shines down on the boys, causing Thomas to cry out and cover his eyes. A wave of heat engulfs the boys on the stairwell. Minho closes the opening, and Newt suggests they open the hatch just a little to allow their eyes to adjust to the heat and light. They do so, but the heat and brightness are too intense for them to bear. Winston finally says they should face whatever is outside, rather than being attacked by the metal balls. Minho and Newt finally open the exit hatch all the way, and the stairwell is engulfed in heat, “like an oven.” The Gladers start complaining about the heat, but are suddenly cut off by Winston. Above him, a glob of liquid silver is coalescing. It then detaches from the ceiling, but instead of falling and hitting the floor, it flies horizontally and attaches to Winston’s face, causing him to scream and tumble down the stairs.

Chapters 12-15 Analysis

Thomas knows that, despite their reservations, the Gladers will obey and go through the Flat Trans; the odds are against them if they do not. Thomas also realizes that, though many questions still remain, and though WICKED cannot be trusted, their best bet is to go through with the Trials, in the hope of finding answers at the end. The need for a strong leader is evidenced, and Minho reluctantly steps up to the task. Minho does not believe in the validity of the tattoos, though he does believe in the need for order. In this sense, Minho shows himself a capable leader in that he steps up to the task at hand for the greater good. Thomas is still too hurt by Teresa’s disappearance and later rejection of him to even consider being a leader. Moreover, he cannot help but think of his own tattoo, which says he is to be killed by Group B. The tattoos show just how important belief is, and highlights what Rat Man said about not believing anything they see or hear. Thomas’s reaction to his own tattoo shows that it is much easier to tell someone not to believe, than to enact it in practice.

WICKED’s technological resources and reach is also highlighted in these chapters. Not only can they change the environment and place tattoos on the boys without them knowing, they are apparently capable of changing physical space. The “death balls” are also introduced in this section, yet another Variable that shows Thomas and his friends how quickly they can die and how determined WICKED is to get the data it needs. Ultimately, these chapters show the reluctance of Thomas and his friends to begin a new Trial, even though they understand that they have to, and that they will be killed one way or another. It is better, in the end, to go forward with hope.