Beyond What's Known

Chapter 2

Alana kicked her legs back and forth from where she sat on a soft chair in the Bonnie Springs Hospital waiting room. She was luckily not there for anything remotely urgent, unlike the people on either side of her; one of which was a man whose legs were stuck together by Jellyish goo, and the other was a person who apparently had a reaction to Sand Angler sand and was sitting on their hands to refrain from itching.

Both individuals had given Alana a meek wave when they saw the Shane star adorned on her bandoleer, but understandably hadn't been in the mood to chat.

Luckily those two were taken into rooms before Alana. She was fine taking her time. The black and blue-clad slinger sat alone, listening to faint music playing from a speaker in the corner of the room. Ash and Mage sat on her right shoulder, curled up together and fast asleep. Alana leaned back, resting her head on the pale green wall of the waiting room, but felt no need to try to sleep.

Her desperate need for daily naps had luckily halted many months ago. The time following Blakk's defeat had been full of wrangling ghouls and curing hordes of them every day. That combined with hunting down Blakk's lackeys had meant a lot of work for the Shane Gang, and a lot of others around Slugterra, too.

A world without Blakk Industries took some getting used to. Businessmen and lawyers were still trying to manage issues such as Blakk's investors and the fate of assets like the Slugterran Express and Blakk's shares of Lumino crystals.

Fortunately, the Shane Gang wasn't involved in the legal dealings of the company, and in the months since curing the last of Blakk's ghouls, Alana couldn't have been happier. There were still plenty of villains out there trying to make a name for themselves with Blakk gone, but Alana was experiencing the 99 Caverns in a relatively natural state for the first time in over five years. For once, the energy of the caverns was in balance. She could make do.

"Okay, you ready, Alana?"

Alana perked up when her name was called, smiling when she looked up to see Rhydian Connors, one of Sam Gray's coworkers. The young man had dark brown skin and black hair, braids tied up in a bun. He wore a white lab coat and dark dress pants. He held a clipboard and wrote down a few things before gesturing to the door he'd entered from.

"Sorry for the wait this morning, I can take you back now."

"No worries," Alana said, getting up and stretching. "It's not a busy day. The rest of the gang is just going to Convertamall to hang out. I can keep waiting if you guys still have more people to get to," she offered.

"Nah, you're fine," Rhydian assured, leading Alana out into the hallway. "This is a pretty calm day for us too, all things considered. The Jellyish and Sand Angler folks are alright, don't worry. And thanks for coming in. I know you and the gang have been swamped, but doing a checkup a few months after head injuries is good practice, and it's already been much longer than that. Getting into the habit of getting some regular checkups wouldn't kill you, anyways."

He took that chance to give her a pointed look, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Alana laughed nervously, running a hand through her blue and caramel toned ponytail. "Between curing all the ghouls and tracking down Blakk's goons, I kind of forgot to come in."

"I think you have a good excuse, with saving Slugterra and all that," Rhydian laughed, opening a door for Alana to walk into. It was a clean white room with a pair of chairs, a computer, some cabinets, and a hospital bed. "Hop on up."

Alana did as requested, climbing up on the bed, minding her blaster. Weapons weren't typically allowed in the hospital, but after Blakk's invasion of Bonnie Springs, any slinger who'd helped protect the 99 Caverns was an exception. People were starting to realize that it was a good idea to keep members of the Shane Gang armed.