Silent Hill: Darkness Rising
Foreword:
Silent Hill and all Silent hill characters belong to Konami incorporated, however my characters: Alex, Mike, Couri and Oz belong to me. However they are based on real people so you can't use them. Blagh! :PChapter 1: Caught off track
" Visions, they come to me in my nightmares and my dreams."
-Alias X " Visions" ©2003
***
The old AMC Gremlin pressed on it's way down the road next to Toluca Lake, it's engine sputtering and protesting the drive. In its age it wasn't meant for cross-country rallies or road trips anymore, but to haul groceries or even yet a fate much more dignified; the scrap yard. The owner always tried to squeeze another year out of it, by overhauling it's engine, rotating the tires and changing the oil but to no avail it only delayed the inevitable. It's color was a faded dark blue, and even though on the outside it was in fairly good condition(except for maybe a bit of rust on the undercarriage.) But a new paintjob can't help a car that's past the point of no return. The owner simply gave it a new paint job so it wouldn't look like crap went it broke down in the middle of the street during morning rush hour.
The Gremlin's owner was named Oz, a punk from NorthEast Ohio. He had the usual suspicious green hair (very messily spiked.) which got him thrown out of a lot of places back home, because they figured he would cause trouble. In reality he was a good kid; never arrested or anything like that. He wore black baggy cargo pants, a black Nirvana hoodie, a Drop Kick Murphy's "Blackout" album T-shirt and a pair of Black and White Vans tennis shoes. On his right wrist he wore a thick-banded "Rocker" watch with the usual Black and Red independent Skate boarding star logo on it and on his other wrist, a 4 row pyramid studded armband. His left ear was pierced with a safety pin and a red and black Anarchy patch was sewn to the left arm of his hoodie.
To his right in the passenger's seat sat Couri, her forehead pressed to the glass and watching the dense forest surrounding Toluca Lake fly by. He hair was dyed jet-black, and cut to shoulder length, and she was pale as hell, which clashed with her black eyeliner. She wore a black Leather jacket, a black T-shirt and a black pair of baggy pants, along with knee high, lace up black heel boots. She was pretty thin, and wore two black arm bands on both her wrists which concealed the many slash marks she made there with a razor blade. Couri had problems, mentally and socially. That's normal coming from a broken home.
Then there were two in the back seat; Gohlke and Alex. Gohlke was pretty tall by at least 6 feet, and had some muscle forming on him. His hair was black, never combed, and he badly needed to shave of his facial hair. He wore black eyeliner smeared under his eyes, which made him look pale but not much. He wore a cheap black Wal-Mart brand trench coat, over a Black Powerman 5000 T-shirt, a pair of black baggy jeans( which was the kind with chains attached, like the kind one would buy at hot topic) and a pair of Black combat boots. Tattooed on the front of his right hand in black and red was the word "Skitzopath". No one knew much about Gohlke's past, no one ever really did. He was sort of into the Occult and black magick, Satanism sort of stuff.
And last but not least, the other backseat passenger; Alex. He was about 5'5 and pretty thin as well. His hair was medium brown, and cut to about a little higher than shoulder length. He had a light tan, which was the result of moving back and forth in between his Mom in Vegas (which she was a big time Crystal Meth tweaker.) and his dad back in Ohio. He wore a pair of Black Baggy jeans, Black and white converse's and a Black button shirt with a white long sleeve shirt under it. He also wore a Jean jacket with a cloth picture of Jimi Hendrix playing his Guitar , pinned to the back of the jacket. The other two guys (even sometimes Couri) would despise him sometimes because he got all the foxy ladies. Thank you fucking Nasa.
A twilight sunset was begging to set down across the lake, making a stunning display of firey Orange red and yellow mirror off it's surface. It was getting late, and the four of them weren't even in Niagra Falls yet, despite driving for about 8 hours straight. They had all graduated from high school last week, at the age of 18. And so they decided to take a quick trip up to Canada, for 3 days of drinkin' and gambling (god bless them Hoosiers) Oz had followed the directions to a T. And to no avail it looked like they were in New England of Main or Illinois. Oz past an aging sign on the side of the road, it read:
SILENT HILL 1 MILE
" Silent Hill?" Oz said to himself puzzeled. " I never heard of Silent Hill before. It wasn't even on the fucking map."
" You probably took a wrong exit or something." Couri replied still looking out the window. From the back seat, Alex stirred in his sleep, let out a yawn and curled into a new position. Gohlke continued in his state of mental unconciousness with his eyes closed, while he listened to his CD player.
" I don't know man." Oz said concentrating on the road. " I remember we were on route 62 and then we were on this road somehow."
" Maybe we should turn around?" Couri asked craning her neck and letting it pop.
" No it's getting late." Oz replied tapping the digital green numbers on the radio. " Were only a mile away from this "Silent Hill". There might be a motel there that we could hole up in overnight."
" And then what?" She asked rubbing the back of her neck.
" We ask directions back to 62 obviously." He replied.
" And how exactly do we pay for a motel room?" She asked.
" Don't worry, my Mum gave me a charge card for emergency's." He replied. " And we could always write a check."
The Gremlin was now approaching a billboard advertising a place called " Lakeside Amusement park". It sounded like one of those good old amusement parks, like Coney Island. Not ran by corporation but independantly owned. Followed soon by that billboard was another sign like the previous, it read:
WELCOME TO SILENT HILL
" A good place to relax."
Oz smirked at the sign and continued driving. He soon was on the outskirts of town. All that was around was a fast food joint, and some other buildings; a bar maybe, a general store. A sign on a post told him he was on Craig street, the bar was called Annie's grill .Inside people drank and played pool merrily, and outside people stood around and chatted, some sat on the ground or the hoods of their cars. Oz pulled the Gremlin up to the curb and called out to one of the bar patrons. He was pretty huge, like lumberjack huge. He wore a flannel shirt and blue jeans along with hiking boots. His hair was dark brown and he had a full grown in beard and moustache. In his right hand he clutched a bottle of Coors light, and talked and laughed heartily with a small group of people. Oz motioned over at him when he took notice.
" Hey buddy do you know where we can find a motel for the night?" Oz asked him as he walked up to the car.
" Ah reckon Norman's motel around the corner and down on Sanford street." He spoke in a drawl. " Just go left at Bachman, down Bachman road, and take a right on Sanford. It's the green building on your right, can't miss it."
" Thanks man." Oz nodded.
" No problem, say you kids aren't plannin' on stayin' here for a vacation?" He asked. " Cause' there are plenty better places for you to stay then Silent Hill."
" No we were heading up to Canada for the week end, and ended up here somehow." Oz replied toying with the throttle.
" Ah, so anyway what's yer name boy?" He asked.
" Oz." He replied. " And that's Couri, Gohlke and Alex." He mentioned pointing to each one in turn.
" The name's Henry Gibbons." He replied in turn offering his hand to shake. Oz accepted and shook it. " Say why don't you guys come in and get a drink?"
" Naw were too young." Oz replied shaking his head. " Besides were all pretty tired."
" Yah, Ah see that one in the back is pretty conked out." He said motioning to Alex with his beer bottle. " The drinkin' laws different here in Silent Hill though, so if you change your mind or still here by tommorow night you know where to find old Henry Gibbons."
" Well I think we might." Oz replied. They said their good byes and Oz drove off.
The sun had finally set when they had reached Norman's motel the sun had gone past the horizon and plunged the world into early night. The street lamps buzzed on attracting moths to their light, like a kid to a candy bar. Norman's Motel(or sometimes called the Haerby inn) Was a green building that wrapped around a small parking lot. The main office was on the corner, which also was connected to the owner's private home and garage. Oz pulled the Gremlin up to the curb and put her into park, but left the engine running. Alex was startled by the sudden stop and woke up groggily, Gohlke however was still in his state of mental meditation.
" Man where are we?" Alex asked rubbing his eyes. " Nova Scotia?"
" No where in a town called Silent Hill." Oz replied. " I think somewhere up northeast in the United States but I'm not sure."
" Why are we stopping here?' He asked.
" We're going to stay here for the night." Oz replied. " And then on the morning, ask for directions back to route 62 and get back on the road."
" Oh." Alex said, as Couri and Oz got out of the vehicle. Oz stretched his arms over his head, tired form the long haul. Couri did the same. He leaned his head in through the open driver's side window and told Alex to watch the car. Alex nodded back at him.
D-Ding!
The little brass bell over the office door rang as Couri and Oz walked in. The motel office was pretty plain, there was a coke machine in the corner, along with a wooden counter. Behind the counter was a board with hooks bearing room keys, a few of them missing. Norman Haerby the motel's owner and manager sat behind the counter. He was stout balding man with black rimmed glasses. Upon hearing the door bell's ding he looked up from his magazine, and saw Couri and Oz standing at the counter.
" Why hello." He spoke in a pleasant manner. " How may I help you?"
" We'd like to rent a room please." Oz said. " A double if possible."
" Ah indeed and how will you be paying for it?" He asked nodding.
" Do you accept American express?" Oz asked.
" Unfortunately no." He replied. " It's those damn computers. Anyway would you like to pay with a check?"
" Yeah sure." Oz replied taking a battered checkbook and pen from his pocket. " How much is that again?"
" 20 dollars a night." Norman replied. " For a double that is, say how long will you be staying?"
" Oh only one night." Oz replied writing down the amount. He finished his writing and ripped the check out handing it to Norman. " We got caught off track from route 62 somehow and ended up here. So we're gonna pack up and head out tommorow"
" Ah well it's a shame you can't stay with us." Norman said slipping the check into the cash register. He spun around on his stool and picked a key from the board. " Silent Hill is a very nice place, if you ever stay here again you should check out the Board walks."
" Well some guy named Henry Gibbons told us there's better places for us to stay in then Silent Hill." Oz said accepting the key from Norman.
" Ah Gibbons that crazy fool!" Said Norman chuckling merrily. " He's one of the town fools along with that one old hag, Dahlia Gillespie."
" Dahlia Gillespie?" Couri piped up.
" Yes Dahlia Gillespie, she's the town loony." He replied. " Ever since her kid died in that fire 7 years ago."
" Shit." Oz said in awe.
" Yep ever since she hasn't recovered from it." He replied. " Goes around town preaching the day of reckoning and when the "Mother of god" will return. Samael or something like that bullshit, I don't really know. The police have been watching her, they think she might be involved with the local drug racket. But in my opinion it's all just rumors."
" Wow she really lost it, didn't she?" Oz said.
" Yes well, enjoy your room." Norman said. " It's room 308, say what was your name again?"
" Anthony Garcia, but my friends call me Oz." Oz replied.
" Oz…wow such a uncommon name." Norman said. " Well have a nice night."
Oz nodded and turned to leave. Couri and him got into the Gremlin and pulled into the parking lot, in front of their room; 308. There weren't many cars in the parking, but luckily they were right next to the ice machine. Oz got out of the Gremlin and popped open the trunk. Couri took the room key and unlocked the door, turning on the overhead fixture inside. Inside the Gremlin Alex had try to get Gohlke out of his coma, which was a bad idea.
" WHAT THE HELL DID YOU WAKE ME UP FOR?!" Gohlke screamed in Alex's face.
" Dude we're staying here for the night." Alex replied. " I would've let you sleep but you would wake up and freak out that we weren't in the car."
" Oh…sorry." Gohlke said apologizing. Oz just smiled and lugged the heavy suitcase out of the trunk. He rolled it across the lot and put it inside the motel room, Gohlke and Alex went in ahead of him.
Before going into retire for the night, Oz rolled up the Gremlin's windows and closed the trunk. Across the parking lot however a door opened up and out stepped a man in a gray business suit. Oz couldn't tell his facial features but he could tell he was white and carrying a black briefcase. He looked at Oz briefly and strolled on pulling the keys to a black 1996 Honda Civic out of his jacket pocket. He got inside his car, started the engine and took off into the night. Oz just shook his head and went inside the room closing the door behind him.
The room was okay, it had a bathroom and shower, two neatly folded beds (the sheets smelled like moth balls though) and a color TV with cable. There was this odd smell to the room, not unpleasent but odd. It smelled like fake rubber plants and metal or copper. Oz just ignored the smell.
Later that night as Oz shared his bed with Couri and Alex with Gohlke (Couri didn't trust Gohlke) he thought to himself.
" Pretty nice place, this Silent Hill"
TO BE CONTINUED