When All Q Breaks Loose

Chapter Thirty Two: Working On A Strategy

Now well after noon, the kidnapper raced back to the warehouse, hoping he'd wrapped the kid up enough to at least keep some of the heat in. The heater he'd gotten was a bit bigger than the more modern ones, and a lot heavier, so he had a time of hauling it up the stairs and to the kid's room.

Wiping sweat from his brow, James set the ancient thing down so he could open the door. He didn't even know why he'd closed it. It wasn't like the tot was going to go anywhere, though it paid to be prepared, he supposed. Anything was possible.

With the door now open, James dragged the heater into the room, only to realize he didn't have an extension cord to plug the thing in with. Nor did he see any outlets in the immediate vicinity. Disgusted with his lack of foresight, James cussed. Heaving a sigh, he glanced over at his detainee.

"Well, kid, can't say I didn't try," he sighed. With almost more effort than he cared to admit, he moved back towards Hiro's side, bending at the knees so he could press his hand to the boy's forehead. "Still too cold," he observed. "Not good at all."

Hiro still breathed heavily, like he couldn't get quite enough air into his lungs. And his skin was decidedly a bit paler than it had been before. Cold sweat had broken out over his visible skin.

James debated. Maybe there was an extension cord somewhere else in the building. He knew if the boy was harmed, he probably wouldn't see a dime more than the ten grand he'd demanded as insurance. And while ten grand was a nice number, it still wasn't enough. That and he wasn't about to let a kid just die. But he couldn't take him to the hospital either. They'd know for sure he'd done something illegal, especially when they discovered he wasn't the legal guardian.

Hoping his line of thought was sound, James exited the room. He didn't bother closing the door again as he started a systematic search for some kind of extension cord he could use to plug in that old heater.

..........................................

Hiro felt as though he woke with a jolt. Except there was something wrong with this. Last he'd checked, he was in the form of a toddler. And, if his current consciousness could be trusted, he was back to his normal, almost sixteen-year-old, form. And he was freezing.

Teeth chattering, he looked around. But he didn't recognize where he was. It wasn't the warehouse he'd woken up in before that strange kidnapper had stormed in. Nor was it any place he could recall ever visiting. Instead, it looked like he was in some kind of system of caves, with ice growing up the walls.

He wrapped his arms around his body, shivering violently. "What is this place?" he wondered as he started walking forward. It looks like a recent seismic activity had shaken some of the ceiling loose from above. There were boulders of varying sizes all over the place, with dust thickly covering every surface perpendicular to the walls.

Stifling a sneeze, Hiro almost tripped over a boulder. "Ow," he said out of pure gut reaction. He'd somehow managed to stub his toe, despite wearing shoes. "Hello?" he called out, only to hear a muffled echo return to him from down the corridor of stone.

"Gotta get warm," he told himself as he jumped up and down, rubbing his arms up and down his chest. "I just hope this is a figment of my imagination. I think I liked the Portal better."

The sound of muffled voices came from a side tunnel and he turned to follow the sound. After moving past more boulders, sometimes having to squeeze by them, he finally made it into a more open area. His skin stung from rubbing up against the rough stone. And, in some areas, it was bleeding. But the voices were stronger now. "Hello?"

Hiro had just reached the end of his current tunnel when a bright flash of light filled the adjoining chamber. He had to cover his eyes due to the intensity. "What in the world was that?" he asked the air, hoping that whoever owned the voices would tell him, though they seemed to either be unable to hear him or were ignoring him.