Chapter 10: I Drive A Fancy Red Sports Car

(Hugo)

I couldn't remember. I couldn't remember anything. My head hurt when I tried to think about it.

I heard an indistinct mumble, or maybe it was a grunt. It sounded like a name. All I could make out was the sound of an H at the beginning and a 'ley' which must've been part of a last name.

I turned at the sound of the name. What else could I do after all? Just stand there until the end of time? I had to do something.

I didn't know what I expected to see. Maybe a friendly face that would tell me who I am, explain what the hell happened. But it was quite the opposite of that.

The thing standing in front of me was a monster. That's the best way I could describe it anyway. The thing had pale skin, so pale that it looked like a ghost, pure black eyes, and four arms. Besides those features it looked like a normal man. He was wearing a uniform and a badge. I could see a name tag but the glare from the sun made me unable to read it.

The Sun! It was sunny. That was the first time I was actually able to look around me and see. It was a nice, bright day, not a cloud in the sky. I was in what seemed to be a park. There were kids playing on a jungle gym and families having picnics.

I was about to shout out to them for help but then I made eye-contact with a little boy on a swing. He had the same black eyes as the man in the uniform.

I was running before I had even registered the man was chasing me.

I didn't know what to do except cry for help. It seemed like I was running at the speed of sound, but the four-armed man was running at the speed of light.

Then I took a risk. I ducked into what looked like an abandoned building.

I collapsed against the wall breathing heavily. I closed my eyes for one second and when I opened them a girl was standing in front of me.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

She. A girl. Not a black-eyed monster. I smiled a little relieved.

"No, not really," I admitted. "Have you seen the black-eyed monsters?"

"What… what are you talking about?" she asked. "Are you sick? Maybe you're having hallucinations…"

The girl checked my pulse, felt my forehead. "Help!" she called. "There's a boy here. I think he needs help."

An old man appeared in a doorway in the other side of the room. I had the strange feeling I recognized him. And the girl too, now that I thought about it. I tried to focus on the details of their face, or their clothes, anything, but every time I did my head felt like it was going to explode. The only thing I could make out was that they both had red hair.

I tried to focus on the abandoned building I was in but… my pain… I was almost positive it seemed like I was in some sort of sitting room. But that couldn't be possible…

"What… what is this?" I asked the girl weakly.

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

The old man approached me. "Don't speak," he said gently. "It will only take up your energy."

I nodded. My breathing slowed… I could feel the life being drained out of me.

"I'm losing him!"

"He'll be okay Lily," whispered the old man. She didn't respond to him and it made me wonder if she had even heard him.

Lily. My eyes shot open.

"I know you!" I exclaimed, sitting up. "Lily… I know you."

"I… I don't think so… please just sit back down."

But I was standing now. I felt better… like remembering this girl had somehow given me power.

"Lily, what's your grandfather's name?" I asked

"Why… who?" she asked confused.

"Your grandfather, you know the balding ginger…"

But as I spoke I noticed why she was so confused. Mr. Ginger was no longer with us. There was no proof to suggest he ever was. Even the doorway in which he had entered was gone.

"You must be sick…"

I shook my head. I didn't know why but I trusted Lily. I knew I had some strong connection with her… I just didn't know how.

"I need to tell you something and I need you to trust me."

"How am I supposed to trust a sick person that just walks through my door?" she demanded.

"You… you can't. But here me out, okay?"

"Fine." She crossed her arms and gave me a look that was so familiar it gave me strength.

"Well, I don't belong here," I began. "I don't know what kind of world this is, but it's not mine. I don't remember my name or who I am but I do remember you. Lily. I think we were friends… maybe even family. Point is when I remembered you… it gave me strength. When I couldn't remember anything… I was dying."

"So you're saying… you're from a different world that you can't remember. And if you don't remember then you die."

It sounded different when she put it that way. Simpler and also less insane. "Yeah, pretty much." I paused. "Do you believe me?"

She looked at me for a long time. "The fact that you had to ask that makes me a little nervous… but I guess I do."

"Great. Now I need you to tell me everything you can about this world."

She was about to respond when the entire building shook. As if someone… no a bunch of someones had charged at it.

"We're under attack," Lily said as if this happened quiet often.

"Well, what do we do?" I asked, a little panicky.

"We can't do anything," Lily replied, still eerily calm.

"Why not?"

She looked at me as if I were insane. "Because of Hugo."

I frowned. Hugo… that name also sounded really familiar. It gave me a burst of energy just like the memory of Lily had. "Who's Hugo?"

"You really don't know anything." She sighed as if I were annoying her. "Hugo is the leader. He… they control everything."

"What do you mean 'they'?"

"The Hugos. There's obviously more than one. There's Anger, Pain, Happiness, Sadness, Fear, Jealousy, Remorse… so many others."

"So different emotions of one person run this world."

"I suppose you could say that."

I tried to wrap my head around it but it just didn't make sense. I was sure my world wasn't like this… no way. I was about to voice this thought to Lily when the building rumbled again.

"Why aren't you scared? Why aren't we running?" I wondered glancing nervously at the door.

"If I were supposed to run Assistance or Fear would tell me."

I wanted to strangle Lily. This was not how the world worked. I was sure of it.

"Well, why is this happening?" I peeked out the window. The black eyed creatures were body checking the building repeatedly as if trying to knock it to the ground. "I mean don't you see them?"

"Why? I dunno. Anger's probably having temper tantrum. Or it could also be Fear trying to scare us but if he was he'd tell us." She paused for a second looked at me funny. "Why did you ask me if I can see them?"

It was my turn to look at her funny. "What do you mean? They're trying to knock this place to the ground!"

"You… you can see that?" Lily asked in disbelief. "No one should be able to see unless Hugo wants them to. Do you hear Hugo talking to you?"

I frowned trying to listen to a voice speaking to me but there was nothing except the crashing of the black-eyed monsters and the creaking of this old building. "No. Am I supposed to?"

"Yes!" she cried. "You are either the most powerful person in this world or Hugo needs you. I…"

She trailed off. She had a look of intense concentration on her face. After I noticed that I felt a little bit of my strength leave me. "Assistance has just spoken. He says I must help you. I must listen to you."

I silently thanked this Assistance, whoever, or whatever, he was. "Great, now does this building have a back exit or something?"

"I wouldn't know unless Hugo wanted me to know. You're the only one who can see."

My head swam as I tried to focus. "I-I can't."

"You have to try!"

And suddenly I want in the building anymore. I was… in the air. Soaring. "You have to try!" Lily was shouting.

"No way in hell, Al!" I shouted. But it wasn't really me. It was like… dream me.

Suddenly a red ball was soaring towards me. I caught it and a boy with messy brownish-red hair was cheering and whooping.

I was back in the building. Now a few of the black-eyed monster had made it in. I felt powerful, more than I had even after I remembered Lily. What I just experienced was a memory… an odd one but still a memory.

I could see properly now. I noticed that the black eyed-monsters were being commanded by someone. He was too far to see but I could make out black hair from here. He noticed me looking at him and disappeared.

Focusing on the black-haired boy had sapped some of my strength but not all of it. I grabbed a long piece of wood which had fallen from a window sill that had been smashed and used it to smack the nearest black eyed monster.

It disappeared. All of them did but somehow I knew it would only be momentary.

"Do you know what a car is?" I shouted at Lily.

"Yes," she replied. I could hear the utter terror in her voice.

"I'm going to get us out of here but I need you to help me. You have to tell me where I can find a car."

"I don't know!" she shouted back. "I've only ever been here! I don't know how to get out."

I grew angry. Who put me here? Why was I taken from my world? And why couldn't I find a damn car?

And then there it was. Just like that. A nice red sports car with the keys in the ignition.

It was only after I jumped into the driver's seat that I realized I didn't know how to drive. But I couldn't worry about that because they were coming back. Twice as many black-eyed monsters were surrounding the half-standing building.

"Get in!" I shouted at Lily. She jumped into the passenger's seat and I slammed my foot in the gas petal.

We practically flew backwards. I decided not to mention to Lily I had intended to go forward. She looked so in awe of me right now that it made me grin. Whoever Lily was I must've admired her.

I eased up on the gas petal a little and pushed the handle thingy to F which I hope stood for forward. I got lucky and we shot down the road- which had not been there before- and left the black-eyed monsters screaming behind us.

It only took a few minutes for the fuel gage to reach empty. Couldn't the magical God who sent us this car at least give it a full tank?

"How… How did you do that?" Lily sked breathlessly. "And can you teach me?"

"I dunno," I replied shrugging. And it was the truth. It was almost an accident. A miracle in desperate times you could say.

Lily was still looking at me as if I were some sort of hero which made me uncomfortable. I may not have known anything about who I was but I definitely wasn't a hero.

"Do you know where we are?" Lily asked.

I looked around. Everything was blurry again. It seemed I'd wasted too much energy identifying the black-haired boy. "I can't tell. Looks like some sort of forest."

I collapsed against what was either a small hill or a large rock. Lily came towards me. "C'mon don't die on me," she said slapping her hand against my face lightly. "Um, would it help if I told you more about our world? It might jog your memory."

I nodded weakly.

"Let's see. Uh, I'm a healer. Remorse and Assistance created me so that when Pain strikes there's someone to help the victims."

My eyes closed and I was suddenly in a room. I was sitting on a bed with gold and red sheets. Sitting across from me at the foot of the bed was Lily.

"I want to be healer," she said. "I just don't know if I'm good enough."

"Not good enough?" I snorted. "You're the best witch in our entire year! You can be anything you want Lils."

"So can you, Hugh. I know you don't believe it but you'll turn out to be something great."

My eyes flew open as Lily- the real Lily- hit me particularly hard. "Wake up!" she yelled, frustrated.

"Well, you don't need to slap me," I muttered rubbing my cheek.

"I thought you were dead."

I flashed her a smile. "Aw, you care."

She glared at me looking embarrassed. "Of course I care. You're the first person to communicate with me in… forever."

"You haven't talked to anyone?" I questioned. "Like ever?"

Lily shook her head. "We are placed into this world, exactly how we are. Never to change unless the Hugos want us to. I'm one of the lucky ones. I get to take care of people, heal them. But they don't talk to me. Most of the people here don't talk, don't even move. At least not that I've seen. But then again… I don't see much."

"So you don't know anyone?" I reiterated. Lily shook her head sadly.

"I… I think it used to be different. I feel like something is wrong. The world was more at peace before. Now it feels like someone is messing everything up."

"I bet it's the black-hair boy," I muttered to myself. Why did he look so familiar? And why did the thought of him send chills up my back.

"The black hair boy?" Lily repeated.

I ignored her question. "Do you know anyone named Al? Have you ever heard of anyone named Al?"

"No. I told you I don't know many people. And I definitely don't know their names."

"Do… do people even have names here?"

"Not really. Not unless it's needed."

"So… if someone were named Hugo…"

"That wouldn't happen. Why do you ask?"

"I… I think my name is Hugh."

Lily gasped and fell over in shock. "Impossible. Impossible. The Hugos wouldn't allow it. You… there must be something wrong with you." She backed away as if I were some scary monster. "Who are you?"

But before I could answer heard a loud… roar. And then Lily gone.

I turned looking in all directions until my eyes fell upon a boy. I didn't know what I looked like but just like in the dream I knew it was me. And suddenly I knew who I was. I… I was Hugo.

"Which one are you?" I demanded in the strongest voice I could muster.

Hugo cocked his head to the side and grinned. "I'm Ambition… I don't recognize you."

"I… I'm the Original ."

Ambition looked shocked. "That's not possible."

I was starting to get angry. "Why does everyone keep saying that? If I'm here obviously it's possible!"

"If it's really you then why are you here?"

"I don't know! I'm trying to figure that out myself."

But it didn't seem Ambition was listening. "If I get you, I could rule. With the Original on my side I could be king!"

Ambition sounded just slightly delusional. It was really freaking me out.

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

Ambition grinned again and snapped his fingers. Nothing happened. "Dammit," he mumbled. He grabbed the nearest rock. "I guess I'll do this the old fashioned way."

With no warning he pounced at me. I grabbed a small log that was next to me and whacked Ambition in mid-air. He… it… crashed against a nearby tree.

"You may have got me," he whispered, "but I'm one of the weaker ones. Wait until you meet Remorse. He'll get you. He'll get you."

And then Ambition just faded. It was gone and as it died I could feel my strength build-up.

I stood there. Lily was gone. I didn't even know if she was alive. I wasn't sure if I should feel anything… after all I didn't know her very well. But I did. She was a part of my old life. I had the right to be sad.

I sat for a moment not knowing where to go or what to do. And then another Hugo showed up.

This one looked… sad. That was the only way to put it. Its shoulders were hunched, its expression was one of pure misery.

"Let me guess," I said, "Sadness."

It nodded. "I'm supposed to kill you."

"Well, you don't seem to want to."

"I don't." Sadness sighed in a way that said 'I'm tired of life'.

"Well, why would you then?"

It shrugged. "I don't really know."

"Well, if you don't want to and you don't know why, then don't."

Sadness looked up at me with brown eyes brimming with tears. "Can I do that?"

"Of course," I replied. "Come, sit here with me and we'll talk about it."

And so sadness came to sit with me. I was a little wary, after all he had just admitted that he was supposed to kill me. But he seemed so unenthusiastic I wasn't too worried.

"So who told you that you should kill me?" I inquired. I tried not to sound too eager for answers. I had a feeling Sadness wouldn't like an eager, happy attitude.

"Well, that's the thing. I don't even know him. You see, I liked the old life. We were all in one place, separated from the memories. We were controlled. Now the boy let us free and Fear and Anger and Ambition all go crazy. Happiness goes around singing and humming. All I want to do is go back to my place!"

I wanted to give Sadness a hug but I wasn't sure that would sit well with it. And it would be pretty awkward to hug myself.

"Who… who's this boy you speak of?"

"I don't know. He comes in here quite often. He let all of us free from our section and he keeps messing things up. These people, these things, this forest they're part of memories. They're not supposed to be free ground for just anyone to walk on."

"Part of memories… Sadness are we in someone's mind?"

He frowned-well he was always frowning but it was more prominent now- and looked at me. "Well, of course, Hugo, I thought you knew that. We're in your head."

"Right," I responded my voice barely above a whisper. "Yes, of course I knew that. But, uh, if you'll excuse me I have to go now."

"You're just leaving me?" Sadness said in a voice so heart-breaking it made me forget about all my problems and focus on him.

"I- I'm sorry I have to. I…"

Suddenly I couldn't leave him. I forgot all about the awkwardness and gave Sadness a hug.

"Thank you," he sniffled, crying into my shoulder, "I really needed that."

"Yeah. So… I really have to go now."

"Wait… can you kill me first?"

"I… I don't want to do that."

"But if you kill me I go back to my place, the section where we belong."

For the first time in the conversation I could hear a little bit of hope in Sadness' voice.

"How do I kill you?"

Sadness handed me a gun. "I… I can't," I said, "Not like this." I wasn't quite sure why but the gun seemed wrong.

Should I feel alarmed? The gun, not the killing, felt wrong.

"You have too."

And so I readied the gun pulled the trigger and completely missed. Sadness showed me how to aim. I practiced on a tree a few times.

"Keep the gun. It's the best weapon especially against Fear."

I gulped and shot Sadness… myself… in the head.

That was definitely on my list of most uncomfortable experiences.

After Sadness was gone I felt a little lonely. Sure enough just as after I felt that feeling a very sad Hugo showed up.

"Loneliness." It wasn't a question.

His face lit up when he saw me. "Can we be friends?"

"Um, okay. Yeah."

Loneliness practically tackled me to the ground with a hug.

"Do you think you can help me out?"

"That's what friends do isn't it?" He paused. "I'm actually asking, I've never had a friend before."

"Yeah. That's what friends do."

"Why did you come to me?"

He shrugged. "You were lonely. I am Loneliness. I was drawn to you."

"So if I felt angry, Anger would be drawn to me?"

Loneliness nodded.

The news made me happy. I tried to… erase the emotion but it was too late. Happiness came towards me.

He was singing and skipping.

"God, I hope I'm nothing like that in real life," I muttered.

"Hugo!" he said joyfully. "I'm am so sorry but I'm going to have to kill you."

For someone who was sorry he sounded awfully delighted.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too." I shot the gun without even thinking about it.

Happiness just disappeared like Ambition and Sadness had.

I tried not to feel anything. I really did but I guess I was thinking about it too much because the more I tried not to feel anything, the more remorse I felt for shooting myself. The more fear I felt that Remorse would show up. And then more fear that Fear would show up.

I think it would have been harder to find us if we put up a flashing neon sign reading 'Hugo is here' if bolded capital letters.

Remorse looked well… remorseful. And fear… he just looked plain frightening. His face kept switching from looking scared to being scary. It was disturbing.

"Well, well," Remorse began. "Look who it is."

"Hugo Weasley," Fear continued. "How interesting."

I lifted the pistol and shot Fear. He just laughed. A laugh that sounded too cold, and very familiar.

"You can't kill me that easily, Hugo. I am the strongest."

I backed up against the tree.

"Use, your powers, friend," Loneliness said while cowering behind a tree. "You're stronger than both of them."

"Silence!" boomed Fear. He shot what seemed like I giant ball of electricity at Loneliness who disappeared on spot.

"How do you feel Hugo?" asked Remorse smiling. "Remorseful?" he laughed as though this was the funniest thing ever. And then his face grew sad again.

He flicked his hand almost lazily and I was suddenly pinned to the tree. I couldn't move my limbs, I could hardly even breath.

My mind raced trying to think of what I could do as Fear slowly approached me.

The sky grew dark, the forest itself grew more ominous and eerie.

Suddenly I had an idea. A stupid one but still an idea.

"If you're happy and you know it clap your hands!" I sang at the top of my lungs. "If you're happy and you know it and you really want to show it, if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands."

At first Fear was confused. But then he looked downright angry. "You shall not sing!" he barked. "You should be scared!"

"Well, I'm not," I choked out. Fear was tightening his grip on me as I spoke.

"Well, do you feel remorseful?" asked Remorse.

"Not really," I replied. "I'm glad, happy, that Loneliness died. He sure was a pain in the butt."

This seemed to make Fear and Remorse want to kill me more. But they couldn't. Not when I was taking their power from them.

And then the big part of my plan came. The big, loud, red part.

Anger had shown up.

"I see you're angry," he said to Fear and Remorse.

"We are not!" shouted Remorse. "Now go away."

Anger stuck out his tongue. "I don't think so." He put on a look of hard concentration and Remorse was flung backwards.

Fear got distracted which was what I had hoped for all along. I was suddenly freed.

I searched the ground for something I could use as a weapon. There wasn't anything there and I had a feeling even if there was, it wouldn't have worked. The gun didn't work. Whatever I tried to kill Fear and Remorse with had to come from a source more powerful. It had to come from me.

I grabbed the nearest stick of the ground. "I need a weapon," I whispered. "I need a weapon."

I could feel the power leave me and be transferred into the stick. It didn't look any different, but it felt different, it felt ten times stronger in my hands than the gun, and it felt right.

Somehow I knew what to do with it. I knew I wasn't supposed to stab them with it.

I raised the stick high over my head and waved it around. Fear, Anger, and Remorse disappeared.

The dark sky turned less depressing and the forest went back to normal.

I sat and breathed a sigh of relief. It was over.

Well, I should not have spoken so soon.

A/N: Hi, I'm so sorry guys. I could've sworn I updated this chapter... like I swear I did. I even got an e-mail saying I did. And I was wondering why I didn't get any reviews.

1: I have to admit I didn't create the whole concept of Hugo's mind and the way the mind works. I sort of kind of stole it from Supernatural. But then I modified it to make it my own. I'll explain more next chapter so I can say more without spoiling anything.

2: If you have any questions, like always, feel free to ask me either with a review or a PM.

3: I'll be updating later today or tomorrow to make up for my little mistake with updating this chapter :) hope that makes up for it. If I don't update by tomorrow you can assume it will be because I either died, or suffered a serious injury/loss and I'll post an AN explaining why. (This time I actually will I promise.)

4: I like to do quotes that actually relate to the chapter if possible and I spent the better part of an hour trying to find one and I couldn't. So today it'll just be a random one. Well, it sort of kind of relates I guess.

5: I haven't been getting as many reviews lately as I used to get. It makes me a little disappointed. Reviews always encourage me to write. Even if it's just a one line "I like your story" I really appreciate it.

What the heck is going on? Why is Hugo inside his own mind? Who put him there? Who are the black-eyed monsters he saw? Who's the balding ginger man?How did Hugo make the sports car appear? Who messed up Hugo's mind? Who let the emotions free? Will they be returned to where they belong? What did Hug do with that stick and how did he do it? Why did Hugo say "Well, I should not have spoken too soon"?

"Stay alive," Haymitch Abernathy, the Hunger Games.

-Monkeywoman14