Slugterra: The New Shane

Chapter 18: Trouble

Alana's POV

"Sam Gray?" I said, gaping. The girl gave me a weak smile, brushing some hair from her face, which was turning slightly pink from the attention. "Hi, Alana."

My gape turned into a smile. I slid my blaster back into its holster after Ash jumped on my shoulder. Ash and Isis waved to Sam, remembering her from the formal. I stepped away from the door, ushering Sam inside.

Eli, Trixie, Kord and Pronto all looked thoroughly confused. I had never been able to introduce them properly to Sam, we'd had to leave the formal unexpectedly. Sam gave them a small wave. "Uh, hi?" She obviously wasn't sure what to say.

"I met her at the formal," I explained. "We were talking. Her parents are businesspeople from the Eastern Caverns, right?" Sam nodded.

"Samantha Gray," she said, with a slight accent. "Call me Sam. And yes, my parents work in the Eastern Caverns." Her eyes flashed with worry. "Unfortunately, that's why I'm here. Something bad is happening."

I frowned. "Come on in and sit down," I said curiously. "Tell us what's going on."

~~~~~~~~

Pronto volunteered to make us all breakfast, but we all insisted that wasn't necessary. So Trixie and I made a batch of chocolate-chip pancakes, which turned out pretty well. I gave everyone plates and glasses of water. We all sat on couches and chairs in the living area.

"Okay," I said as I sat down between Eli and Sam on the couch. "So what's up?"

Sam sighed. "My parents. They own a huge store in one of the Eastern Caverns. It mainly has slugs, but it also has assortments of advanced blasters and Mecha beasts. And my parents are going to give shipments to Dr. Blakk." I was startled; whatever I had been expecting, this certainly had not been it.

"He's paying them a lot," Sam continued nervously. "They're going to sell slugs for him to ghoul. A lot. And high-tech Mecha beasts for his workers."

Eli looked startled and maybe even a little angry. "Do you parents even realize what he'll do to the slugs? And what he'll use that technology for?" I shot Eli a warning glance- they may be doing something stupid, but they were still Sam's parents.

Surprisingly, Sam stayed calm. "No, they don't," she said patiently. "And they don't care. All they care about is the money Blakk is giving them. That's why I came here, for help."

Trixie frowned. "What exactly are you saying?" she asked Sam warily.

Sam glanced at me and Eli. "I'm saying that I need your help to sabotage the shipment."

We all exchanged a nervous and stunned glance. Sam wanted to sabotage her own parents? I bit my lip, looking at Eli. I knew what we all were thinking- the last time someone had come to us with valuable, game-changing information, we had been betrayed and almost killed. Twist had pretended to be our friend, and backstabbed us.

But we couldn't ignore this. It would be a risk, but if what Sam was saying was true, we had to do something. Blakk couldn't ghoul all those slugs, and use all that high tech.

Eli and I stood in unison. "We'll definitely be looking into it," Eli assured Sam. I nodded. "Do your parents know you're here? Or that you're against this?"

Sam and the rest of the gang stood up. "No," Sam said. "They think I'm out shopping. And when they told me, I pretended to support it. I thought it would be a good idea for them to think I'm okay with it, so they wouldn't suspect anything."

Eli nodded. "Good idea. Do you know when the shipment will be coming in?"

"Day after tomorrow," Sam said nervously. "Will that be enough time? I wish I could've come sooner, but I only found out late last night."