Hiro's Hardship (A Welcome To The Madhouse Prequel)

Hiro's Hardship (A Welcome To The Madhouse Prequel) Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

As Hiro slouched, disgruntled, listening to his stomach grumble, not feeling nearly satisfied with his half of an energy bar, he thought about what they had to do next. He took some sips of water from his suit, but the water was not filling, at all. He tried to focus on something else. He looked at Jude and tried to imagine his friend with different hair, skin, and eyes.

"We have to disguise our appearance, Jude. I think we can use the nanobots to help us with that. What do you want to look like?" Hiro asked.

A pensive look came over Jude's face.

"I think dark brown hair, brown eyes, and brown skin would be a good idea, Hiro," Jude suggested. "No one would recognize me like that."

"Even me!" Hiro said. "I hope I don't lose you in a crowd because I forget what you look like! Let's see if I can reprogram your nanobots to increase the melanin in your skin cells, irises, and hair cells. The hair you have on your head won't likely change, but the hair growing in will hopefully grow in dark. Hiro leaned back against the wall and began typing commands into his wristpad, his thumbs typing furiously.

"As much as I don't want to, I think we need to dump or hide our body armour," Jude said. "These suits will call attention to us like bright beacons. How many little children here run around in body armour?"

"Are there any little children around here?" asked Hiro. "I have not seen any! What kind of place has no children at all? It's weird!"

"I have not seen any, either," Jude said. "Perhaps it is because we are in the entertainment district?"

"Maybe," Hiro said. "I guess we haven't really seen much except falling debris, fleeing adults and emergency vehicles. Maybe all the locals live with their families at a different level to this one. Maybe this level is just for the tourists!"

"That is certainly possible," Jude mused. "There is an awful lot of traffic up that great tree. I wonder if the families live up there?"

"Live up in the air like that? What if the children fell?" Hiro said.

"I am sure they would have built in safety features to prevent that," Jude suggested.

"My guess is that huge tree is part of the entertainment district. It is the largest structure in Valhalla, all lit up like a supernova. Every road leads to it. I doubt it is the residential district, if there is one in Valhalla. My guess is we have to look underground.

"Now, hold out your wrist and let me put my wristpad on you. Let's see if your nanobots can here the commands from the wristpad, without having to imbed the contact probes inside your skin."

"I hope so," Jude said, softly, as he held up his left wrist. Hiro wrapped the band around his friend's lower forearm and pressed a final button.

They waited.

"I don't feel anything," Jude said, after a few minutes.

"Wait," Hiro answered, watching his friend. Was Jude starting to get a little darker? It was hard to say. It was always so dark on Valhalla. Did they ever increase the illumination here, to mimic daytime?

Hiro was starting to worry about the need to recharge his wristpad. He was going to have to find some energy source to re-power it soon. He also wondered how many of the children on Valhalla would likely be seen with one of those. Jude and he came from rich families. What was the average income of a household with children on Valhalla? Jude was worried about their body armour, but would their wristpads give them away, as well?

Hiro figured they needed to find local clothing - to blend in. The clothing needed to have pockets so the boys could hide their weapons and wristpads. They had to find a safe place to hide their body armour. And they had to find the area in Valhalla where the children lived and played, so they could blend in.