The CO2 breathers

Chapter XI

Hideki sighed as he walked towards his father's lab. He was the son of Dr. Takahashi, a close friend and colleague of Dr. Katoki. They both had the same goal : To research the carbon dioxide breathing potion inside the patients, even if it killed them. Hideki didn't really want to help his father with the capturing, but his father believed Hideki would understand and help, something Hideki could use to his advantage while helping the others escape from the cruel place.

"Father?" Hideki peered into the room to see a black haired man in a lab coat messing around with some brightly coloured liquids. "It's dinner time." Dr. Takahashi turned to his son and nodded, answering, "I'll be there, start without me." Hideki bit his lip and closed the door. His father had no intention of eating dinner. Again.

Hideki walked back to the rooms to lead the group to the dining room but when he turned the cornor, there was no one there. "I didn't ask them to go off on their own..." Hideki muttered under his breath. He walked into the rooms to check if they were there. 'Strange... Where are they?' Hideki half walked half sprinted to the dining area.

He slammed open the door, startling a few dozen scientists, as he looked around for the teenagers. They were nowhere to be found. Hideki cursed under his breath and ran towards the testing area. 'It can't be, Dr. Katoki said it was tommorow!' Hideki stopped at the door to the main lab, panting heavily. You had to have a key to open the door. Hideki tried the door uncertainly. Locked. Of course. He put his ear at the door, being careful not to get spotted by any of the other scientists. He heard muffled voices, recognising Dr. Katoki, Dr. Junko, Katoki's partner, Dr. Bushiko and his father. He also heard a small girl's voice, the white haired girl? Sure enough he only heard another high school student's voice, a boy. The white haired girl and the boy I pointed a knife at just now? But where are the others?

Hideki bit his lip. He had to find out what had happened to them. He quietly ran from the room, heading towards his father's office. Left left right left, straight left right. Hideki stopped in front of the office door and smiled. He pushed open the door abd saw... "Fa-father?" Dr. Takahashi looked over at his son and smiled a lazy smile. "Hello there Hideki." "Weren't you just at the main lab?" Hideki took a step back. "Oh? How do you know?" Dr. Takahashi stood and went over to his son. "Were you spying on me? Or prehaps the little highschoolers we captured?"

Hideki forced a nervous smile, "O-of course not! I just happened to walk by when you were talking. " "Hmm? Why does it feel like you're lying?" "I- of course I'm not lying! Why would I do that?" Dr. Takahashi ruffled his son's hair and smiled slightly, "Just playing around, keep an eye on those teens for me." Hideki nodded and his father left the room.

Taking a deep breath, Hideki looked around for the keys to the main lab. He located them and pulled the key ring. He cursed as he stared at the 10 keys on the key ring. 'Think Hideki Think! The lock on the door of the main lab looks... Ugh! Wait! I saw one of the workers using a key with a square head!' Hideki pulled out 3 keys from the ring and slipped them into his pocket. 'Now... I have some research to do."