Silent Hill

Dedicated to my best friends.

Disclaimer: I do not own Silent Hill

Chapter One - Drive to Silent Hill

I was in the backseat of the car, sitting next to my best friend Randy and his younger sister Angie. Randy's twin brother and my other best friend James was sitting in the front passenger seat. Their Father, Mr. Patterson, was driving the car. We were driving along route 31 to a town we had been drawn to. Angie had been having reoccuring nightmares for the past month or so. I slept over at their house all the time, so I always knew when this happened. She would wake up, scared because of the terrible nightmares she had. She only remembered a certain name. It was the name of a town called Silent Hill, somewhere in Pennsylvania. It was the summer and we had a free day, so we all figured we'd take a drive out to this place and figure out what it was all about.

"We really don't have to do this," Angie said as we drove along the highway. "I probably just heard about this place and that's why it ends up in all my nightmares. Who knows, it might be scary there." Mr. Patterson put on a pair of sunglasses as he drove along the busy highway. Silent Hill was still a little further and we weren't sure what the place was like. Randy, James, and I had searched the town online a few days earlier and when we discovered that the town was only a couple hours from where we lived Mr. Patterson figured he might as well take us there to see why Angie's dreams had something to do with it.

"Honey, we have a nice free day and I don't want you to have these nightmares anymore. Every night, you say you see a sign that says the words silent hill on it and when we searched that on the computer the only results we got were this town that we're heading to now. I think it has something to do with those nightmares you're having."

"I know, but I'm worried about this place. In my nightmares, everything's all bloody and disgusting. What if this town's like that? If that's the case, I don't want to go there."

"It'll be fine," James assured her. "I mean, it said on the website that no one's been living there for about twenty years or so. There were mine fires or something a long time ago that forced everyone to leave."

Angie's eyes widened as she heard this. "You mean, nobody lives in Silent Hill?"

"Not that we know of," Randy explained.

"Yeah," I added. "I saw pictures, though. It looks safe there. People just don't want to move back in because of the place's history. There's rumors and stuff about the town being haunted but none of it's true. Everything's gonna be fine and it'll cure you of your dreams if we go there."

Angie sighed as she leaned against the window. The sun was setting behind us. Randy pointed out the rear window of the truck. "Look, Budd!" he said happily. I looked with him to see the beautiful sunset behind us. I liked it so much that I took out my cell phone and took a picture of it. That way I could remember that forever. Angie still seemed worried about what we were doing, but we continued to comfort her as we drove along.

"They always say that the best way to get rid of your fears is to face them," Mr. Patterson explained as we drove up the highway. "I'm thinking that maybe if we check out this town it'll get rid of your nightmares. If anything makes you feel uneasy, we'll head right back home." Angie seemed a little better now as Randy and I played a game on my Nintendo DS. The sun had set at this point and it was now night. We had no idea what we would find when we got to Silent Hill, but we knew that it was an abandoned, strange town. When we found the results, we found pictures of old mine fires that had broken out a couple of decades earlier. There weren't any known residents living there now, but they said it was still possible that there were a handfull of people still there in hiding because they refused to leave the place.

Randy and I continued to play the DS game as James watched from the front seat. Mr. Patterson continued driving along. We didn't have much further to go until we got there, but we still had to stop for gas at this gas station. It was a place right on the side of the highway. As the gas attendent filled the truck, Mr. Patterson asked, "Hey, I was wondering if you could tell us the fastest route to this town called Silent Hill."

The attendent chuckled. He shook his head. "I wouldn't want to go there if I were you. It's open, but there are warnings all over the place about the mine fires and stuff. The road doesn't go through anymore. Good luck trying to get through, but it's just a few more miles up the highway. You can't miss the intersection. There's a big sign there telling you where to go. Some of the roads are gone, though, so I'd be careful driving up there. I believe the entrance road doesn't go through, so you might have to get out and walk if you want to get in any further."

Mr. Patterson sighed as he paid the attendent. "Thank you. We'll probably just check it out if that's the case." He put his window up and drove out of the gas station. Angie was alseep and James was starting to doze as Randy and I talked softly to each other.

"When we get back home, I'm showering off," I told Randy. "It's been a long drive and I'm so tired."

Randy nodded. "Yeah, I'm gonna shower, too. I need one after working in the yard. Thanks for helping me."

"Hey, anytime Randy. We're best friends. We help each other out. I'm glad I'm here with you now. If your sister needs help curing these nightmares that she gets, I want to be able to be here to help her. I want to become a psychologist someday and I think every little bit helps when it comes to studying the mind. I plan to take as many courses on that kind of thing as I can through high school and college. It says we study dreams and things and this might help."

"Angie never used to have nightmares. I mean, everyone has them including me. I used to have them when I was real young once in a while. I don't know what this town is all about, though. I had never heard of Silent Hill before. If it's closed up, I don't know if I want to check it out. It creeps me out thinking of it being abandoned and stuff."

"Don't worry, Budd," I said to Randy as I pat him on the shoulder. "I'm right here with you."

"We're here," Mr. Patterson said as he stopped the car. We were at an intersection. A sign pointed to where Silent Hill was. It was open, allowing anyone to just drive in. All five of us looked out the window at the entrance to the town. We weren't scared anymore, but curious as to what we were going to find. Angie starred at the sign in front of the road leading up to the town. Unlike what the attendent had said, the road leading up there was fine, looking like it was in good condition.

"Well, let's see what this place is like," James said. "Step on it, Dad." Mr. Patterson stepped on the gas as we began to drive up into the town. The forest road took us through trees and different back roads. We still saw no town, but just trees. The radio was on, playing a song until it became nothing but static. Mr. Patterson continued driving along the road until we came to a parking lot. The figure of a little girl was standing in the middle of the road as Mr. Patterson swerved to avoid hitting her. We slid into the parking lot, all five of us going against one side of the car. We nearly hit a building next to the lot, but just missed it as the car came to a stop on the road.