OUTBREAK

A Way Out #9

"We got ourselves a veteran," said Bryant. He and Hugo sat on the floor and dug into the spare MRE's. As Hugo chewed his food, his jaw slowed to a stop. He sat there with his head lowered. "You... you alright there?" said Bryant.

Hugo perked up, almost startled. "What? Yeah, I'm fine." He resumed chewing.

"Welp," said Bryant. He walked over to the door and left. It took a moment for Hugo to comprehend that Bryant just did.

"Wait!" said Hugo, jumping to his feet. He slammed his body against the door, yet it didn't open. "Dammit!" He slammed on the door.

"Quiet!" said Bryant from the other side.

"Why do you keep doing that?!" said Hugo.

"If you'd toughen up then you could stop me," said Bryant.

Hugo heard Bryant start to walk away. He pressed his eye against the crack between the door and the frame, but Bryant had already left the Minions Mayhem ride. "Dammit, dammit, dammit..." Hugo repeated. There was another door opposite to the one Bryant went through, but that was locked as well.

A single vent was near the ceiling above some flimsy shelves, and the security computers were completely dead. Hugo grumbled as he sat against the wall with his legs up to his chest. From there, the room felt a lot larger. He struggled to keep his eyes open, eventually succumbing to his drowsiness.

BAM

Hugo awoke at the noise. It was dark. No light was coming through the door frame. With his energy mostly replenished, Hugo stood up. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness, he wondered if the noise that woke him up was real. "Bryant?" he whispered through the door frame. Nothing.

Looking at the vent and the second door, Hugo creates a short escape plan. Digging through the box of supplies, he finds a rusty axe.

BANG goes the axe against the metal door. It made a scratch, but the door was unmoved. Looking at the vent on the upper wall, Hugo placed the axe in one of the belt loops on his pants. He steadily climbed the flimsy shelf and wedged the axe into it.

KREEE went the vent. SNAP! The lid flung open, causing Hugo to fall to the ground. He rolled aside as the shelf, the vent, and the axe came crashing down.

"Keep me inside... I'll show you," Hugo said with a slight groan. His back ached at the impact. Doing his best to feel around in the dark, Hugo stood the shelf upright and made another climb. He lifted himself into the vent, but his leg pushed the shelf away.

CRASH This time it was louder than before, and the shelf seemed to have broken apart across the floor.

Through the vents he tried to find a way out and found himself looking out a vent that led into the open. Faintly, he saw Super Silly Fun Land, the giant sign that held the name was illuminated with an orange flow. He faintly saw northern LA in the distance, also faintly illuminated.

Escaping the vent, he climbed down to see the origin of the glow. The hills all around Universal Studios were on fire.

BAM came from the area behind Super Silly Fun Land, in the lower lot of the park with the Transformers and Jurassic Park ride. The noise echoed across the valley. Without another option, Hugo ran to the noise.

Through Fun Land, down a flight of stairs, across a backstreet, through the forestry, and over a fence, Hugo entered the back lot. It was empty and dim. The glow of the fires let him see the tops of the buildings.

Hugo inspected the rides. First the Jurassic Park ride. He saw no open doors and no bodies. Entering the restrooms beside the ride, he found nothing; but in a small restaurant, the Lisa Simpson costume was left behind. It was torn and scattered across the dinning floor. Entangled in the cloth was a large pocketknife.

With a slight pull, Hugo took the knife. The blade was stained a light red.

"Oh no," he said, taking the knife with him. Hugo left the restaurant and entered the Transformers ride.

"Ugh!" came from further down the ride. The sound of two men fighting shocked Hugo. Scared for Bryant's life, Hugo ran down the tracks. As the sound of fighting got louder, it got darker. It seemed that he was right beside them.

"Who's there?!" said Bryant. His grunts echoed within the ride.

"It's me!" Hugo called.

"Get out!" said another man.

Hugo charged into the dark, grabbing a hold of someone and throwing them to the ground. Hugo got onto them and lifted his knife.

"Hugo! Stop!" said Bryant.

Click click BAM

The blast rang in Hugo's ears. He got up, stumbling around.

"Uhhh...Bryant?" he said.

It took Hugo a moment to comprehend the sound of a man running away, but he followed. Coming back to the light, Hugo saw the man at the door of the building and shut it behind him.

When Hugo got to the door, it was locked. "No! No! No!" he screamed, banging on the door.

Beside the front door, Hugo found the control room to the ride was left open. He searched the walls of the room for an open door but instead found a key still stuck in the control panel. It was attached to a ring of more keys as well.

Hugo tried pulling on the ring, but it wouldn't budge. He put his foot onto the desk and pulled harder. The force of Hugo's pull snapped the ring in half, and the collection of keys scattered to the floor.

"Ugh!" said a voice from the halls.

"What?" Hugo Whispered.

"Raaaah!" The voice was coming closer. Hugo kneeled down quietly, listening to the footsteps of the voice. He glided his hand across the floor, collecting as many keys as he could. After getting a good handful of keys, Hugo tried them on the door, but none of them worked. The clicking and rattling of the keys drew the voice closer.

"Ruuuhh..." it said.

Hugo twisted another key and the door unlocked. He kicked it open just as the voice pounced at him.

Bryant, now a wanderer, fell forward into a wall of fire.

"Bryant!" said Hugo. The wanderer turned around, revealing a hole in his neck and a cut in his side. Hugo shut the door and stepped away. The ride felt a lot hotter now.

"Dammit!" Hugo shouted from the top of his lungs. He coughed from the ferocity of his outburst and punched the door. Placing the keys in his pocket, he felt the walls for another way out.