In a dark, smoke-filled room, he hid beneath a wooden table, wrapping his arms tightly around his knees as his breathing became increasingly uneven.
His heart pounded violently, each beat louder than the last until it drowned out every other sound around him. From his expression, it was evident that he couldn't understand what was happening.
He couldn't think. His vision blurred as fire alarms echoed through the building, followed by the crackle of flames spreading across the room, dark orange waves of fire devouring everything around him.
The intense heat, the grey smoke and the suffocating smell burned his lungs. Everything felt terrifyingly real, although it was staged for the scene they were shooting.
"Cut!" The shout barely reached Hiro's ears.
"…Cut, Hiro!" The director's voice echoed across the set, yet the beta remained exactly where he was, crouched beneath the prop table as though he genuinely believed the fire surrounding him was no longer part of a film.
