Take Back the Light

Chapter 45

The idea, Max knew, was to keep doctors from sneaking out of the cavern, or prospective patients from sneaking in (Blakk's idea of 'select' patients being allowed into the cavern included only his own men). And while she wasn't exactly doing either of those things, she knew that being caught would end poorly.

She had two jobs: figure out who the new workers were, and then get to Sam. Admittedly, she would have done the latter even if Alana hadn't reached out to her. But now she was on Shane Gang business, not... personal.

Now she was only one block away from the hospital, clad in a black cardigan over a black t-shirt dress, dark gray leggings, and black boots. A pair of guards walked around the hospital, blasters in hand. Max crept down the street, glad for the periodic white mushroom tree to give her cover. She could go behind the guards and get to the hospital, but she had one thing to do first.

She grabbed her phone from her pocket, making sure it was on silent before she opened the camera. Carefully leaning out from behind her mushroom tree cover, Max zoomed in on the workers. The light gray and white felt like it should be familiar, but it wasn't until she zoomed in and could finally make out the symbol they wore on their sleeves that she realized whose workers they were.

"Oh, no," she breathed, her shoulders dropped as she lowered her phone and slid back behind the tree. She quickly sent a text to Alana, letting her know before she slid the phone in her pocket and crept forward.

The workers were about to round a corner and head up to the front of the hospital. Max took a few deep breaths, controlling her fear before the workers turned away from her.

Here goes nothing, she thought before sprinting out into the street. Her short black hair flew behind her as she ran across a street and vaulted the lines of bushes that bordered the hospital's property.

Max ran to a portion of the hospital that was cut off from the rest of the main building, at the very back of the hospital. She may have been new to Bonnie Springs, but she knew her way around.

More bushes lined the building itself. Max hurriedly crept into them, leaning against the smooth, cool wall of the hospital and slowing down her breathing.

"This sucks," she whispered to herself as she unclipped her blaster from her belt. It felt unfamiliar and bulky in her hand, especially with the new modification on the end. A silencer, so she would be able to fire her borrowed slug without attracting any attention. The Arachnet was already loaded and nodded when Max looked up at the windows that lined the hospital wall.

Her neighbor was a slug specialist, and luckily hadn't questioned anything when Max told him that she needed a silencer and an Arachnet. He was Max's age, and if there was perhaps one thing the younger generations in Slugterra had learned, it was that a fair degree of nonchalance was good to have.

"Which one is it?" she muttered to herself, scanning the windows worriedly. She didn't have time to guess and check. The next patrol could show up any minute.

With her other hand, Max pulled out her phone and texted Sam.

I need you to open your window.

The reply came almost immediately, which didn't surprise Max. The streets may be quiet, but not a lot of people were ready to sleep after Blakk's message.

What?? Why??

Max glanced up at her surroundings again, scanning the area for any more guards before she replied.

I'm below it somewhere but I don't know which one is yours.

A few moments passed before Max heard a sliding sound behind her. She looked up, and sure enough, one of the windows on the third floor had slid up. Max could just barely make out Sam's face through the screen.