Guitar chords ripped through the stale humid night air, it was just another muggy summer evening. The moon hung low amidst a velvet black sky dominated by distant stars and thick clouds. He instinctively reached for the knob on the old Jeep's radio and cranked it up, chasing away the looming loneliness and uncertainty. He'd grown so used to college life and the hustle and bustle of the city that coming back to his quaint little town was dreadful. The feeling of bored and triviality crept up on him as soon as he passed the state border and he started feeling depressed already.
You really should come home for the holiday weekend honey, your father and I miss you, the words of his mother ran through his mind.
Yeah, okay Mom. But I can only stay for three days. The guys have something planned and I don't want to miss it, he had responded.
Okay sweetie. See you soon. I love you. The warmth in her voice was overwhelming.
That had been the extent of the conversation with his mother, the conversation that was bringing him back to his hometown.
What's so big about Labor Day anyway? He thought to himself, just another drunken holiday to blow shit sky high. He brushed his black hair anyway from his green eyes and then glanced at his watch. 7:38 pm. He turned the Jeep left slightly following the curve of the road and past one the road signs. The cell phone in his pocket began to ring and he scrambled to answer it.
"Hello?" it was instinct as he pressed the flip phone to his ear.
"Ashley sweetheart, how's the drive going?" it was his mother.
"Fine Mom, just outside the city limits…" he sighed, "Are you okay Mom?"
"Just like my little doctor to ask. I'm fine sweetie, just waiting for you. I'm so happy you're coming home. Your dad is too."
"Ha, he's probably fixed on the baseball game." He heard his father shouting at the TV in the background, "Sounds like they're losing."
"God, do they ever win?" she chuckled.
"Well listen, I'm almost there. Okay?"
"Alright honey, see you soon."
"Bye." He snapped the phone closed and laid it in the console. The Jeep made its finally curve and the headlights danced across the old tourist sign.
Welcome to Silent Hill.