The Hospital Trap

Maya Chen's POV

Maya's hands shook as she ran through the hospital parking lot. Jake and Tommy were trapped somewhere in those dark tunnels, and she was their only chance.

She had to warn Jake's father about the danger coming for him. If the bad men had tried to kill Jake, they would definitely try to hurt his sick dad too.

Maya pushed through the hospital's front doors, trying to look normal. But her heart was beating so fast she thought everyone could hear it.

"Visiting hours end in thirty minutes," the nurse at the desk called out.

"Just checking on a friend," Maya said, walking quickly to the lift.

She hit the button for the fourth floor where Jake had said his father was staying. The lift seemed to take forever, and Maya kept looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was following her.

When the doors finally opened, Maya stepped into a quiet hallway. Most of the lights were lowered for nighttime, and she could hear machines beeping softly from behind closed doors.

Room 412. That's where Jake said his dad was.

Maya walked as quietly as she could, her sneakers squeaking on the shiny floor. She passed rooms with sleeping patients and tired families sitting in chairs.

At room 412, she stopped and listened. Someone was talking inside.

"...feeling much better today, Mr. Morrison. That's wonderful news."

Maya peeked through the small window in the door. An old man with gray hair was sitting up in bed, looking more awake than she'd expected. This had to be Jake's father, Thomas Morrison.

Standing next to his bed was a man in a white coat. A doctor, Maya thought. But something felt wrong.

She pushed the door open a tiny bit and listened.

"The medicine you gave me yesterday made me feel terrible," Thomas Morrison was saying. His voice was stronger than Maya expected. "But today I feel clear for the first time in weeks."

"Sometimes the medication has that effect," the fake doctor said. "Don't worry, we have something new that will help you sleep better."

Maya's blood turned cold. Jake had told her his father was getting sicker every day. But now the old man looked awake and healthy. What if someone had been poisoning him?

She had to do something, but she was just one person against a skilled killer.

Maya took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Thomas Morrison called out.

Maya walked in, trying to smile properly. "Hi, Mr. Morrison. I'm Maya Chen, Jake's friend. He asked me to check on you."

The man in the white coat turned around, and Maya's heart nearly stopped. She recognized his face from the shots she'd been studying. This was one of Judge Brennan's men, not a real doctor.

"I wasn't told Jake had visitors coming," the fake doctor said, his eyes cold and suspicious.

"Oh, it was last minute," Maya said, moving closer to Thomas Morrison's bed. "Jake wanted me to bring you something."

She pretended to reach into her bag, but instead grabbed the call button next to the bed and pressed it hard.

"What are you doing?" the fake doctor asked.

"Getting help," Maya said loudly. "Because you're not a real doctor!"

Thomas Morrison's eyes went wide. "What's going on?"

"This man has been poisoning you," Maya said quickly. "Jake figured it out. They've been making you sick so you couldn't help him with his cases."

The fake doctor reached into his coat, and Maya saw the handle of a gun.

But before he could pull it out, the door burst open. A real nurse came running in.

"What's the emergency?" the nurse asked, looking confused.

"This man isn't a doctor," Maya said, pointing at the fake doctor. "Check his ID badge!"

The fake doctor tried to back toward the window, but the nurse was already looking at his badge carefully.

"This is fake," the nurse said, her voice getting scared. "I'm calling security."

The fake doctor pulled out his gun. "Nobody's calling anybody."

Thomas Morrison might have been sick, but he was still tough. He grabbed his water pitcher and threw it at the fake doctor's head.

The man stumbled backward, and Maya grabbed the nurse's arm. "Run! Get security now!"

The nurse ran out of the room, screaming for help.

Maya looked around for something to use as a tool. The fake doctor was getting back up, and he looked really angry.

"You stupid kids," he growled. "You don't know what you're messing with."

"I know enough," Thomas Morrison said, surprising everyone with how strong his voice sounded. "I know my son is trying to save two innocent boys. And I know you guys killed that poor girl."

The fake doctor pointed his gun at Thomas. "You know too much, old man."

That's when Maya noticed something that made her heart race with hope and terror at the same time.

The fake doctor's shoes.

They were nice black dress shoes, not the white sneakers that real hospital workers wore. But that wasn't what scared her.

They were covered in mud and green stains.

Fresh mud and grass stains.

Maya realized with rising horror what that meant. This man hadn't come from the hospital. He'd come from somewhere outside. Somewhere with dirt and grass.

Somewhere like the old tunnels where Jake and Tommy were stuck.

"You were just at the jail," Maya whispered, her voice shaking. "You know where Jake and Tommy are."

The fake doctor smiled, and it was the scariest smile Maya had ever seen.

"Not just where they are," he said. "Where they were. Past tense."

Maya felt like she couldn't breathe. "What do you mean?"

"I mean your man and his little client had a terrible accident in those old tunnels. Cave-in, you might call it. Very terrible."

Thomas Morrison made a sound like someone had punched him in the stomach. "Jake..."

"Don't worry," the fake doctor said, checking his watch. "You'll be joining him soon. Both of you."

But before he could pull the gun, something unexpected happened.

The lights in the entire hospital went out.

Emergency sirens started screaming, just like they had at the jail.

In the darkness, Maya heard the fake doctor curse and stumble.

Then came a sound that made her heart leap with hope.

Jake's voice, echoing through the hospital's sound system.

"Maya! If you can hear this, get my dad and run! They're coming for everyone who knows the truth!"

Maya grabbed Thomas Morrison's arm in the darkness. "Can you walk?"

"I can try," the old man said.

But as they started moving toward where they thought the door was, Maya heard something that made her blood freeze.

Footsteps in the hallway.

Lots of sounds.

And sounds. Cold, mean sounds that she recognized from her nightmares.

"Find the girl and the old man. The boss wants this finished tonight."

Maya realized with increasing terror that the fake doctor wasn't alone.

The entire hospital was surrounded.

And somewhere in the darkness, more killers were looking for them.