Silent Hill: Decode

Chapter 1: Jump the Gun

Katrina threw a hand over her face, squinting at the blinding light in confusion. "Where…where am I?"She wondered aloud as she sat up on her elbows. She did not remember laying down when she fell asleep; she could've sworn she was sitting upright in the backseat of her brother's van. And the flat surface she was laying on was hard and cold. When her eyes adjusted to the lighting, she looked around the room. What the hell am I doing in a hospital?

Alarm replaced her confusion as she looked down at the gurney she was sitting on. She was in an operating room by the looks of it, but it didn't look like any she had seen before. The silver medical carts were turned over and rusting, various medical instruments were strewn not two feet away from them. An array of jagged cutting tools dangled ominously over her head, like a warped variation of a newborn's mobile. Katrina swallowed hard as she warily slid off the gurney, fearing the weapons would rain down on her at any moment. She stumbled a bit when her boots met the hard tile floor; she glimpsed some blood spatter to her right, curving into the shape of a crescent moon. Frightened and not wanting to stay, she gazed around the seemingly demonic room before pushing the swinging doors open with her back.

She entered a long hallway, each end of the crossroads obscured by what seemed to be a crippling fog. She walked slowly past more overturned carts and chairs with missing legs; everything had been seemingly devoid of life. What is this place…?

Suddenly, she heard footsteps, thick-soled shoes echoing on the smooth flooring. Whoever they were, they were heading right in her direction. She ran down the right end of the hall, another large set of double doors coming into focus.

"Hey!" she heard a man's voice shout behind her. She ignored him, kept running. "Hey, wait a minute!"

She heard the thick-soled shoes beating against the floor again, louder and faster than ever. A pair of hands gripped her shoulders and she let out a scream.

"Hey! Calm down, calm down!" the man said shaking her gently. He turned her around so they were face to face. Katrina had her eyes squeezed shut, when everything fell silent, she reluctantly opened her eyes. A tired looking man was staring back at her. His hair was spiky and brown, and mussed a bit at the top. There were heavy bags under his gray and brown eyes. He looked no older than her.

"W-who are you?" she asked. He let his hands fall to his sides and backed away a little. "I was gonna ask you the same thing…" he replied with what sounded like a breathy chuckle. "I-I don't know how I got here, you're the second person I've seen in this place."

"There are more people here?"

"I don't know. There was a doctor, but he's gone now. Something…killed him…"

"Something?" Katrina repeated.

The man shrugged. "I didn't see it, but there was a lot of blood…" he looked around him skeptically, then said, "I'm Alex, by the way. What's your name?"

She frowned at him skeptically, then replied. "Katrina."

Alex and Katrina didn't say much to one another as they went through the double doors leading to the second hallway. They were complete strangers, thrust into the same distorted nightmare. At least, that's what Katrina was hoping it was. She bit her lip. What am I thinking? Of course this is a nightmare; I'll wake up soon enough. She smirked reassuringly to herself and shook her head, and Alex, seeing this, raised an eyebrow. "What?"

Her eyes snapped toward him, startled. "What?"

"You just smiled and shook your head…"

Her lips parted slightly, but she couldn't bring herself to speak. Her cheeks flushed lightly, and then she said:

"It's…nothing. I just want to wake up from this…whatever the hell kind of dream I'm having…"

Katrina leaned against the metal wall, looking around her uneasily. The hospital had changed drastically; just a few moments before, the hospital was grey and foggy, now the halls burned a fiery orange and covered in rust. The two had also run into a third person: Alex's younger brother Joshua. Joshua was a little boy who looked no older than ten years old. He had short brown hair and brown eyes. They encountered him before the unexpected change of scenery minutes after the two had met, sitting on his hands and knees behind a metal gate, drawing. He didn't seem to care, much less comprehend the amount of potential danger they were all in.

While they were chasing him through the hospital restrooms, Alex and Katrina came across a knife embedded in a broken mirror. That's when everything…ichanged/i. The metallic paint began to peel off of the walls, the bathroom stalls transforming into grated metal cages. And then, emerging from one of the doors was a nurse. A bloodied rag was wrapped loosely around her bulging head, a filthy brown cap resting atop it. Her equally soiled uniform was skintight, causing her breasts to obtrude excessively. A corroded scalpel was clutched maliciously in her small, mangled right hand.

Alex killed her quickly, seeing no other option after she attempted to slash them both. They encountered more as they advanced, to their horror, before finding Joshua once again behind a metal gateway.

"I want my toy," he kept repeating in a bratty tone. Alex, confused, shook his head. "I haven't seen any toys around here…"

"Guess you're not my friend."

He glanced at Katrina uneasily before he left, she felt sorry for him.

"Joshua," she called softly. "Alex will be back soon with your toy. You said his name was Robbie, right?"

The young boy didn't answer her; his nose was stuck in a large piece of paper riddled with crayon scribbles. Alex had been gone a full five minutes. The sense of danger had gone away, for the moment, and now she was just bored and wanted someone to talk to.

"Joshua, aren't you…afraid at all?"

"I'm a brave soldier," he replied, almost proudly, without looking up from his picture, of course. She sighed and let herself fall back against the wall again. There's just no getting through to you, is there?

The sound of footsteps echoed from down the hall and a beat-up looking Alex came into view, a mangled rabbit doll clenched in his right hand. Katrina tilted her head at it. "Is that—"

"Don't ask," he interrupted bluntly as he turned to Joshua.

His expression softening, he extended the doll carefully through the bars. "Hey, look at me, pal…"

The boy unexpectedly lifted his head, looking around as if he didn't have a clue where he was. "I-I want Robbie."

Alex shook the doll, signaling that it was there. "Go on, take it. This is yours, you remember?"

Frowning at the worn-out toy, he took a step forward, then another. Katrina saw a smile creeping up on Alex's lips. Joshua reached out to grab Robbie, and then suddenly, retreated. He began to back away, the older brother's smile vanishing. "Where are you going?"

The boy's eyes narrowed at him before he turned on his heel and ran off once again.

"Josh, where are you going? Come back! JOSH!"

With a creak, the gate separating Alex and Katrina from the boy swung open. He scooped up the drawing and shoved it into his coat pocket, breaking into a run immediately after. "Alex, wait!" Katrina called after him. Her legs were sore from all the running around; she could not keep up with him any longer. "Alex!"

She tripped over a notch on the floor and fell to her knees, looking up tiredly to see that he was gone.

"Don't leave…" she whispered breathlessly, dipping her head low. "Please don't leave me alone…"