Hey! Yeah, I know. "Luna! You're neglecting your other fics! Y u no update dem frst!?" Trust me, I plan on it. I've just been thinking about this for a looooong time.

You'll notice my OC has a familiar last name and it will all be explained very clearly later on in the story. And yes, you are correct, she is related to a certain prisoner. But who sweats the details these days? *whispers* Later...

Anyway! This will be an original story with all original characters (with some mention of canon characters along the way.)

DISCLAIMER: ALL does not own Silent Hill. All of her characters are her own.

Chapter One
A Name Once Familiar...

A dull, throbbing ache was the only reason Ash Pendleton woke the way she did. It pulsed at the base of her skull in time with her heartbeat. She squeezed her eyes tight. It was the beginning of Spring Break, couldn't she sleep in just for a little while longer? She reached behind her for her blanket - her fingers brushed against wood. Funny... Her headboard wasn't made of wood... Now that she had moved a little more, what she was lying on was definitely not her bed. It felt more like a park bench. But if she remembered correctly, the last thing she did was come back to her dorm room after visiting the prison to rest up for her trip home for the break. Had she sleepwalked to a nearby park?

"What...?" Ash's eyes flew open and she sat up quickly. Ow... Too quickly. She shut her eyes again in a feeble attempt to stop the world from spinning. After a brief moment she suddenly became painfully aware of the deafening silence around her. Was that normal? Slowly, she raised her head and blinked her eyes open. She was, in fact, sitting on a bench at a desolate bus stop. There were no buildings near her, at least none that she could see through the unruly grey fog that swirled thickly around her. The nearest bus stop was a block away from her dorm and this place didn't look like it belonged on the James Madison campus. In fact, nothing looked familiar. A chill traveled down her spine. Where was she, then? She glanced up at the bus schedule map. It told her she was on Nathan Avenue. She wasn't aware of any street in Harrisonburg with that name; then again, she never strayed farther than the movie theater in such a big college town. Her sense of direction was terrible.

Ash slowly rose to her feet, every movement amplified by the ungodly silence. She turned a full circle to take in her surroundings. There was nothing, no one, around; even the sound of vehicles was absent. The lack of noise was very unsettling. Ash opened her mouth. "H-hello...?" Her voice didn't carry very far, seeming to become lost in the fog and swallowed in the swirling clouds. Where was everyone?

Okay, Ash... Calm down. Just start walking and I'm sure you'll find civilization soon, she thought. Even the voice in her head seemed louder than normal. She struggled to lift one foot and place it in front of the other. Soon she began her slow trek in a random direction down the deserted street, away from the bus stop. Nathan Avenue, huh? I'll have to remember that if I can find someone to direct me back to campus... If. Ash walked for what seemed like hours. The fog was relentless and was so thick she could have sliced through it with a knife... And there seemed to be shapes moving about it - twisted, stumbling shapes that were just out of reach and strayed just clear of her vision. She suddenly had the terrible feeling she wasn't alone out here.

A sign broke free of the fog. She could read it clearly the closer she got. Welcome to Silent Hill, it read. Silent Hill? Ash didn't remember there being a town by that name around here. She made a note to ask her mother when she got home... She pushed forward without a second glance at the sign.

Finally, after miles of walking, panicking, jogging, sprinting, panting (repeat) Ash saw the dark outlines of town buildings emerging from the fog. Her heart gave a leap and she pushed her legs forward. The first store that came into view was a small flower shop on the corner. Ash approached the door. A sign read "Yes! We're open!" in inviting red font in the window. She looked around. Still no one in sight. What in the world was going on? The girl paused a moment outside the door, feeling a wave of uneasiness churn her stomach. Would anyone even be inside? And if there was, what would they be like? Flashes of an episode of her favorite television show raced through her mind: the episode started with a couple stopping to fix car trouble in a seemingly quiet little town only to be directed to an apple orchard as a sacrifice...

Ash startled herself back from her thoughts and shook her head furiously. What are you even thinking? It's just a TV show... Nothing like that actually exists. Just go inside and ask for help. Gathering what courage she had left, Ash stepped forward and pushed open the door. A bell rang somewhere in the store. She was suddenly hit with a faint mix of floral scents. Curiously enough, there were no flowers on the shelves or long tables, just a few overturned pots and mounds of potting soil. The shop was empty - at least at first glance.

"H-hello...?" her voice seemed to fill the whole store. It sounded alien to her ears. "Hello? Is anyone here?" No answer. Of course. Sighing, she turned to the door to head back outside.

CRASH!

Ash whirled around on her heels. The noise sounded as if it had come from the back room. So someone was here? Why were they breaking pots? Relieved, the girl sidled passed broken pieces of clay pots and loose soil towards the back counter. The cash register was left open and all the money that should have been inside was missing. She had the briefest of thoughts as to who might have taken it, but she pushed it aside upon approaching a second door with a sign that said "EMPLOYEES ONLY" in big block letters. Ignoring it, she pushed it open and stepped inside.

The back room was split into two areas divided by a small hallway. One was what she guessed to be the employee break room. A single refrigerator stood open containing a few unknown wrapped food items that seemed to be giving off a faint rotted meat odor. Ash politely closed it before she gagged. Nothing in this room seemed to be broken, save for the plastic chairs and the rusted faucet on the sink. That left the next room to her left. It seemed to be a storage area. The shelves were filled with sacks of soil, unboxed gardening tools, clay and ceramic pots, and packages of seeds. It was dark and the lights refused to flicker on when Ash flipped the switch. Was that shuffling? And the floral smell from before was growing stronger, making her head spin. She braced herself against the door frame for support. The shuffling stopped.

"Excuse me? I didn't think anyone was here, but then I heard someone back here," she said. Her stomach did funny flips. Something felt very wrong. Faint labored breathing came from the darkness. The sickly smell almost became overpowering. "I-I just wanted to know how I can get back t-to James Madison University in Harrisonburg from here... I- uh... Hello...?"

A dark shape had made itself known to her. It lumbered behind the shelves of soil, hunched over as if it were in pain. It wobbled to one side, disappearing behind a stack of pots. Ash, concerned that whoever this was might be hurt, rushed around the shelves towards them. She found them huddled in the far corner, crouched down with their head between their knees and their arms tucked into their chest. It was still to dark too see them and her conscious practically screamed at her to run. They were huddled just below the pale light coming in from the hallway. Their breathing slowly turned to ragged as she reached out a hand to them.

"H-hey! Are you okay?" Ash's hand gripped their shoulder and immediately drew it back. Their skin... It had pricked her! Like she had grabbed the stem of a rose. Frightened, she backed away. The figured staggered to their feet and she could see them - it - properly now. It stood about a head taller than she was with grey skin that stuck out at sharp points around the shoulders and chest like a large rose stem was trying to break through the skin from the inside. Its head was twisted at an odd angle, lolling from side to side as it jerked in its movements, and its mouth was gaped open by thin vines snaking down its throat. She watched as the muscles inside struggled to breathe around the invading plant and fought the urge to be violently sick. Her eyes trailed down to the torso where she saw where the intruding vines had begun. Thick greenish tendrils had burst through the flesh of the stomach, wrapping themselves around the creature's entire torso. Dried blood was caked down the legs and hips. A large poisonous-looking flower bloomed from the center of the gaping wound. It twitched and oozed a toxic colored slime. The creature staggered forward. What the hell was this thing?!

Ash stood, frozen in horror as she watched whatever this... thing was creep closer to her. Its movements were jerky and slow, and it bent in such odd ways that made her throat fill up with bile. The slime dripping from the flower was the source of the floral smell. Ash gagged. This thing was coming closer. She needed to get out of here! Ash's legs seemed to move of their own accord. She bolted around the shelves, listening to the ragged breathing of the creature she left behind until she burst through the front door of the shop and collapsed on its doorstep.

Ash heaved in breaths, attempting to slow her heart beat. What was that? What was it doing there? It's like something straight out of a horror movie! She stole a glance behind her through the window of the flower shop. She couldn't see anything through the gloom, but she didn't want to stick around to see if that thing could open doors. She picked herself off the ground and walked away from the shop as fast as she could. She needed to find people, and fast.

The next shop she came to was a book store. The sign in the window indicated that it was closed. Ash tried the door anyway. Locked. She peeked into the store, squinting through the dark. No movement, no one in sight. She turned away and went to the next door. She pulled. Locked. She shoved. Locked. The next door was also locked. Locked, locked, locked, locked. Soon, she found herself sprinting up and down the street, trying every door only to discover them locked up and deserted. Her head spun rapidly. This was crazy. A town this size couldn't possibly be deserted like this. Where was everyone? Ash slipped off the curb and stumbled into a heap in the street. Her head felt so heavy. She was so tired... All she wanted to do was sleep. She closed her eyes. Someone would find her... They would see her lying there and take her inside. This was just a bad dream.

Silent Hill... Somehow that sounds so familiar...

A siren wailed somewhere in the distance.

And that concludes chapter one! This is actually my first Silent Hill fic and I hope it can be enjoyed by many. If you haven't noticed, I've also added some OC monsters as well. But don't worry. There will be more familiar monsters as we go along.

Please, please, PLEASE leave reviews! They inspire me to write more! Thank you!