Exposition
Thomas comes in the Box, the Gladers all crowd around him and tell him about where he is. Alby, the next morning, shows him where places are and what the rules are in the Glade. Thomas meets some of the Gladers. A day after Thomas comes, Teresa comes, unconscious.
Rising Action
Thomas enters the Maze trying to save Alby and Minho. When Minho tells him to leave Alby and run, Thomas doesn’t. Thomas hooks up Alby in the vines on the walls and goes up there too. The Grievers soon discover where he is and he takes off running for his life. After taking off running, he gets cornered by four Grievers. Sliding under one of the Griever’s bellies, he gets away. Thomas continues running and eventually runs into Minho. They lead the Grievers to the Cliff and get them all to slip off by jumping out of the way. When daylight comes, only then do they realize they are the first people to survive a night in the maze. They soon figure out that the Grievers went off the Cliff because there is a Griever Hole that they go through during the day.
Climax
The sky turns grey and the Doors don’t shut. That is the start for when Grievers only take one Glader every night, slowly killing off the Gladers. Thomas doesn’t want that to happen, so he wants to see the Maps of the Maze. They figure out that the Maps fit together and make letters, and soon, words. Thomas figures out that memories are the only thing that can save them. One of the nights, he charges a Griever so he will get stung and go through the Changing. He sees his memories while he is out and figures out there may only be one way out. The Gladers figure out that the Griever Hole might be there only chance to escape.
Falling Action
Three-fourths of the Gladers follow Thomas and Teresa through the Maze to get out of the there. The Grievers are there when the Gladers get to the Griever Hole. They are to protect Thomas, Teresa, and then Chuck so they can get through to the Hole and enter the words that the Maze repeatedly formed. When they get to the last word, the machine wouldn’t take it in. So Chuck suggested that they pushed the button that said “Kill the Maze” since the last word was PUSH. Thomas and Teresa push the button and the doors open.
Resolution
The Gladers finally get out of the Maze. They feel victorious until the Head Creator and Gally come walking into the room they were standing in. Gally is under the control of the Creators.The Head Creator says something about the last Variable. She orders Gally to stab Thomas. Chuck, however, jumps in front, taking the hit. People dressed in black suddenly come in with guns and shoots everyone, except the Gladers. They come claiming that they are there to save the Gladers. The Gladers are escorted somewhere they claim to be “safe”. Everyone is confused, happy, and sad.