Zero Hero ||MHA||

4. Hotdog Hostage

I woke up to complete darkness. I felt a piece of cloth, a blindfold, pressing against my eyelids. Rope bounded my wrists against the arms of a wooden chair, trapping me in place. I must've been sitting for a while because my butt was numb.

Where am I? How did I get here? All I remember is walking home from the bookstore and grabbing a bite to eat at a nearby hotdog stand...

I moved my head to the left and to the right, trying to listen if anyone was in the room. I'm pretty sure that I was alone in the room since all I heard was dripping water from the right and a fan running somewhere. It wasn't too far because a slight cool breeze blew in my face. Suddenly, I heard a door creak open from ahead.

"If you don't mind me asking, why am I here?" I simply asked.

Whoever was in front of me didn't answer. Instead, I heard footsteps walk in my direction. It sounded soft like there was something padded under their soles. They stopped, and there was heavy breathing above my head.

"Wait a minute..." I started. "Is this a Febreeze commercial?"

"...What?"

I sniffed the air. "Well, I smell a lot of grease and oil. There's also a hint of metal."

"Ya idiot. This ain't no a Febreeze commercial," whoever was in front of me dryly said. "You're a hostage."

I clicked my tongue in disappointment. "Again?"

The scent of grease grow significantly as his clothes shuffled. I felt the presence of his arms reach over to my shoulders. Then with a screech, he turned the chair in a 180 rotation. The wind from the fan blew at the back of my head and tickled my nose now. It made me want to sneeze.

"So, why am I a hostage?" I asked.

"Your brother of yours ripped me off, that's why."

"Hiro? Did he get you busted or something?"

He ignored my question and instead expressed his frustration with the camera he was fumbling with. "How do I turn this damn thing on...?"

I told him that there should be a button on the bottom. He's supposed to hold it until it flashes red and the camera will turn on. A few seconds passed and I heard a short, loud-pitched beep.

"Oh. It worked." There was a quick pause between us until he spoke again. "How did ya know that there was a camera 'ere? And how did ya know how to work it?!"

I told him there's always a camera involved with ransoms. He asked me if I've been held hostage before, and I sighed.

"Well, it certainly doesn't help that my dad and my brother work in law enforcement. With them arresting criminals and stuff, people usually hold grudges," I explained to him. "It gets tiring..."

There was a moment of silence between us. I could tell without even seeing his face that he was dumbfounded.

"The camera started recording, y'know."

I heard the sound of scrambling footsteps. "I don't see nothin'. You're not poppin' up in the video."

I asked him if he took the camera lens off. After some fumbling, he asked me, "Is it this?"

There was another moment of silence.

"Snaps. I forgot you're blindfolded," he mumbled. "Why did I even try to show it to ya?"

I heard another click from the camera signaling that he must've ended the video. He was probably gonna start a new one so he can send it to Hiro.

"How long is this gonna take?" I started when he cut me off.