That it was foggy was an understatement. He had amazing vision but couldn't see beyond 10 feet. He looked over his shoulder and saw thinner more mist like fog and a sign saying 'Welcome to Silent Hill'.
He had been here 4 times before but never had he come alone. Always with his Sana.
The letter that had arrived outside his cave had been delivered by a raven.
Sana his beloved. Since the day he had been born, they had never left one another alone. He had seen her marry the man of her dreams. Had seen her kill without remorse and out of the need to survive. He had watched her die slowly. He was alone.
He shivered, the sound of all his scales, sounding like rustling leaves. His tail thudded on the ground as he remembered. He didn't like remembering. It hurt.
But it might not hurt much longer. The letter said to meet her here. Their 'playground'.
Once it had been a bustling town, then one day everyone just disappeared, later others vanished into the city. He and Sana had heard of the disappearances and come to investigate once 8 years ago. They found nothing. But later they returned playing among the rusted structures and rotted timbers.
He would find her.
Takashi walked forward trotting along the streets. He'd search the streets first then the buildings. Then anywhere he hadn't yet looked. A scape sounded close by and he froze and looked around the only thing out of the normal was a pool of blood and steps leading away. He sighed 'I better look just in case.' The steps lead up a dirt trail then stopped in a parking lot, as if they had gotten in a car. A part of the barrier was missing and any trees directly in front of it was gone. He followed the trail of missing trees to the lake and dove in. The car was deep down but within his limits, he stuck his head in the passenger window. A man was in the car his body untouched no decomp or anything. The woman's was heavily decomposed. He could taste it in the water.. There was nothing here for him.
He surfaced and headed back to town when he heard static coming from right below him. He jumped darting back, mouth agape showing his fangs, every spike on his tail raised to strike. It was a ordinary radio. Takashi picked it up and carefully tried to tune into any radio station he could, suddenly Sana's voice echoed from the speaker. "aka.. Takashi.. where are you? You didn't follow... why... why didn't you …. me?...find me …. I'm …. alone...taka...Si..."
He had never wished to speak like a human more than that moment 'Sana! I will find you.' he mentally vowed.
He clipped the radio to his harness if her voice played again he wanted to hear. He trotted down katz street when the radio emitted static again. He was listening so carefully for any words in the static, he nearly missed the shadows moving toward him, one small a few large. The large shadows gained definition. They were dogs unlike any he had seen, hairless mutated canines chasing a small shadow..
The small shadow was emitting squeaks and squeals of distress. As Takashi's paternal instincts were aroused he started growling deeply. His claw sinking into the cracked road.
The small child darted for a space between two buildings while a dog lunged for Takashi's throat. He swung his tail like a mace. The spikes penetrating the skin easily. The impaled dog never got to yelp. The other three circled around him snapping their jaws. Takashi reared balancing on his back legs as two darted forward. His claws pieced the skull of one as the other's claws scraped uselessly on his thick belly scales. Another sank his teeth into the less protected flesh of his ankle. Takashi yelped at the bite and twisted, falling, crushing the dog beneath him. The last kept trying to get to Takashi's throat, he backhanded the dog away and surged upward. The dog jumped forward jaws snapping slobber coating its jaws, Takashi brought his own jaws down on its neck biting hard enough to pulverized bone.
He shook the dead form from his tail and limped to the opening the child had disappeared into.
He sent warm thoughts towards to child to entice it out. He felt the fear of the child like ice. He hummed a lullaby at the child, and after a minute he saw a small shadow move within the shade, crawling out and his humming falter. It was a child for sure but its body was shadows. Takashi sighed 'a child of shadow and dog demons. god whats next priestesses? Chathulu?' he walked away from the shadow child, who scampered after him and when Takashi stopped walking, he clung to his leg peeping. Takashi sighed, picked up the child in one hand and set it on his back. He sent an image of it holding on to the strap in front of it and felt its hands grip the strap.
' at least I can communicate somewhat.'
Takashi headed into the apartments. A map on a cork-board, caught his eye, he looked it over a X was over room 301. 'destination 301. third floor.' he turned down the hallway his head held low, every now and again his side brushed along the wall.
'I'm glad I'm slender for my size. If I was full sized I'd never fit'. The shadow child kept chortling as he swayed with Takashi shifting weight. The stairs were a bit ….difficult. He had to crouch and sit at each landing in order to turn. Shadow squeaked happily at the jostling. The third floor door was locked so he slammed, shoulder first, against the door which gave way with a splintering crack. A few blows with his fist later, and the door was no more. Static emitted from the radio. A sudden hit on his nose made him his raise his head in surprise, hitting his head hard on the ceiling. He stared at the creature. It looked like a human but a pair of human legs where the arms should be and no head. The thing garbled at him, striking against his chest. Takashi took in a shallow breath and let loose a few flames at the 4 legger. It screeched batting at flames on its upper left leg. After the flame was extinguished, it ran off screaming right into a dead end. Trapped it hunched down shivering in fear. Takashi turn towards it; it was huddled in front of room 301. he ignored the creature, and opened the door.
Inside was a box, on the box was an inscription...in Latin.
Takashi looked at the flowing script for a moment, thinking.
"Yah. Screw this." he thought before systematicly dismantling the box and extracting a roll of paper inside, which read 'burn' also in Latin and room 301 31-09-22 in English.
'I'd like to find Sana and get out of here as quickly as possible.'
Outside the sky had cleared and a large red moon was coming up. "I need to sleep... and eat. As does the little one." A thin mattress was in the bedroom attached to the room he was in. As his full weight settled on the bed, the supports groaned and snapped in half. The bed sagged in the middle, Takashi kneaded at the mattress, and the shadow-child was running back and forth and around the rooms. Takashi craned his neck and looked over his injured ankle. It was swollen and red where scales had fallen off, pus oozed out of the punctures, he gave ti a few licks to clean it, and made a mental note to find a first aid kit. 'there is a hospital down the street. I'll stop by.'
His eyes drifted closed and the last thing he remembered was the little shadow climbing into bed with him.