Among the Reeds

It was utterly absurd to think that these simple reeds would be able to hide me. But, I didn't really have many choices. I ran over to the reeds and hopped into them, trying to lower myself as much as I could to the ground.

"Hey, Babs, this suit got anything that can help me hide?" I whispered as I heard the guards approach.

"Let me check," Babs said as I heard her typing on her keyboard. "So, the button for the suit that's right above your nipple level? If you press and hold that, it'll activate a sort of cloaking device. It's not perfect invisibility, but if you're hiding in the shadows or among something, it'll do the job."

"Great, thanks," I said as I reached down, finding the button. I held it down for a few seconds, hoping this would work before the guards came in. Slowly, I saw the whole suit begin to cover me in a green hue, matching that of the reeds. "Perfect." I ducked my head down and waited.

"I thought I heard someone come in here," I heard one of the guards say.

"Look around, James. They might be hiding. I'll take left, you take right, and you take center." The guards all began to move about the exhibit. I could hear them walking all around, as I prayed that none of them would find me.

I heard one of them stopping right in front of the part that I was hiding in, but I dared not look up. "Nothing over here," he reported as he walked away. I silently breathed a huge sigh of relief.

The guards finished walking around. "No sign of any intruders."

"Well, be on the lookout. If Ruby finds out that we let someone in, we're as dead as Frank."

"What happened to Frank?"

"The Sharks."

"Damn."

"Anyways, you three stand guard at the entrance. We'll go and check out further down in."

"Roger that."

With that, the guards split up into two groups, one heading further through the exhibit, and one group guarding the entrance that I had come in through.

Carefully, I peeked my head up and looked around. There were three guards standing at the entrance, all with their backs turned towards me. They wouldn't notice me, but there was no way that I was about to get past three armed guards. That left my only option to go further down into the museum. With the grace of a stalking lion, I snuck out of the reeds without a sound and headed out the exit.

"Alright Babs, I'm out of the Ancient Egypt exhibit, but the easy way to the lobby was blocked. I'm going to have to find another way through."

"Let me pull up the map," Babs said. "So, there's some kind of exhibit about life cycle and importance of frogs in the exhibit to your right. It should at least take you up to the second floor."

"An exhibit about frogs?" I said as I headed into the exhibit. Immediately, I was assaulted with a vibrant green aesthetic everywhere. "What kind of museum has an exhibit about Ancient Egyptians and one about frogs, plus a bunch of expensive paintings?"

"It's strange, I know," Babs said as she typed away at her computer. "Still, there are plenty of more strange exhibits in here. That's what happens when there's multiple museums dedicated to sex."

"These are sex museums?" I asked as I wandered around the exhibit, looking for the pathway up.

"Yeah, all three of these museums are sex related."

"Okay, now I really need to go here and protect everything in it," I said as I turned a corner. Then immediately backtracked as I saw what was there.

Standing at the entrance was an armed female guard, about 5' 9" with a sizable bust. She held a rifle and was keeping her head on a swivel for anything strange. I heard a frog croak, which caused the guard to immediately take a few shots in that direction. I froze behind the corner I was in. I did not need any more holes than I already had.

"Babs, I got an armed guard at the stairs. Female with a rifle. What should I do?"

"It's alright. I got you covered. In the red pouch of your PACK, there should be something in there that will help you get past her."

I took off my PACK and looked inside the red pouch. Inside were three things. The first looked like it was a smoke bomb that I could throw. The second was some kind of red pill with the symbol of Venus on it. And third was some kind of ray gun that said "2D-3D-alyzer."

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