Nick

"Stay close. We’ll figure this out,"

Around 19
when he was Leader

Nick was leader for almost 2 years.
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Nick was the first person to lead the gladers.

He was calm, steady, protective.

Other boys remember Nick as level-headed and reasonable,
the first one to try to organize the group.
--
|He led them until one fateful day Nick got stung by a Griever in broad daylight hours.

He was with a group, exploring the maze and by pure chance ( in the wrong place at the wrong moment ) he got stung. It was fast and chaotic attack by the griever.

The other boys manage to escape and bring Nick back to the Glade.

There was no Runners just yet.

Nick was no longer the reasonable guy they knew after the Sting with the Griever.
Nick begged for the pain to stop, the venom from the Sting was like fire racing through your veins.

His condition worsened, Nick’s mind completely fractured. Whether from pain, madness, etc

Alby was forced into an impossible position.
He shoves Nick, he falls backwards into the "Cliff " an abyss. It's a horrific finality.

There is just Silence that lingers
as he disappears into the darkness of the Cliff ( later known as the Griever Hole)

Alby mercy killed him