Chapter 1
Stephen shut the car door behind him with hat in hand as he turned to face the building he'd worked at for nearly two years now. It'd been a pain in the ass to work at a fast food restaurant (especially in the spring and summer, since they were conveniently located across from a baseball park), but it brought the money in. Soon enough he'd be gone, though. College was, after all, just around the corner. It was an event that Stephen had marked on his calendar since the beginning of the year. Everything was going to change for him there.
"Let's see…," Stephen whispered to himself as his crystal blue eyes scanned over the row of cars in the back. "Michael… Stephanie… James… Don't know…" From left to right he looked, noting who was already inside. His eyes stopped on a white car parked right next to the dumpster area.
And there's the ring leader.
Stephen shook his head and slipped the khaki cap onto his head. Another problem for another day. Or month. Or year. Or lifetime. Whatever, it didn't matter. Stephen was here to work for money and be on his way; personal feelings aside, he was okay. It meant nothing before, it meant nothing now, and probably never would mean anything. If that was how things were going to be, then why dwell on it? It wasn't worth it…
Shut up. Quit stalling and get in there; to Hell with him.
Right. Stephen pocketed his keys and headed up the side of the building, all the while ignoring the customers sitting comfortably in their cars with maybe a passing glance. Stephen only wished those people knew how crappy they made things for everyone that worked inside. Maybe then they'd lay off. Or not. People were stubborn and ignorant; there was no telling them how things were.
Stephen sidestepped as one of the waitresses rushed out of the swinging glass door, and he stepped in as it shut behind him. The familiar (and unwelcome) smell of grease and fried food washed over him with a guarantee that it'd stick with him all night long and then some.
"Stephen, good to see you."
Stephen looked over the manager counter to see one of the older managers, Dan, wiping down his glasses. Usually, Stephen was glad to see that Dan was the one to manage, but somehow that knowledge didn't make things any better. Right now, being hit head-on by an eighteen-wheeler sounded better than having to put up with anymore of…
"Hey, Stephen."
Wolfe. Stephen felt a small knot build up in his stomach, and he could already tell that it was going to be a long, long night. Stephen forced a smile at Wolfe before walking past him and to the sink. No doubt that Wolfe wouldn't pay much more attention to him for the rest of the night, but so what? It wasn't surprising anymore. It was like he always had quote to fill of how much he talked to him, and he just filled it with two words. They had no real link with each other; Stephen knew shit about cars like Wolfe did, and spent most of his own time secluded in his house while Wolfe was almost always out and about with friends. Maybe that was where Wolfe got off at one point calling Stephen pessimistic all the time.
So what is it you see in him?
Stephen wished he could answer that for himself. The only thing he could ever tell himself was "I don't know," and it never helped. All he could do for now was wait impatiently for college. Then he'd have the time and distance from all of his problems here at home. He'd get away from all the filth of human life that he'd been around so long, away from the work place that'd taken up two and a half years of his life, and on to better things.
The night was rather slow, causing time to span out and go by even slower than usual. Everything was getting done on time, and Stephen managed to keep his focus on the tasks at hand all the way up to when Dan told him to go on break. So there he was sitting in his car in the back parking lot with only the sounds of a soft drizzle coming from the dark night sky. He, unlike usual, wasn't hungry for some reason. Actually, he felt pretty sick. Stephen released a shallow breath as he scanned his eyes over the darkened innards of his car. The glove compartment halted his vision. Stephen opened it up, and his digital camera slid smoothly down into view. Stephen grabbed it up and turned it on, the LCD screen illuminating his face. Stephen scrolled through the pictures, looking only momentarily over each one. There were some of him and his friends at a party, and then there were some of him and Eve in a nearby coffee shop…
The wedding…
Stephen stopped when the genre of pictures came up to his older sister's wedding. There she stood in immense beauty in a long white dress with her husband just minutes after they walked down the aisle. Stephen scrolled slowly on past, and stopped on a shot that his mother took of him as he stood with the rest of the ushers at the wedding. Stephen only stared at himself, feeling a sudden drop in his already-sullen mood. Stephen sighed inward and finally let the thoughts flow.
"Something I could never have…" Stephen felt his body shaking. "Even just like that, it's over. I'm a failure to my family…" Stephen released a small breath, "Mom, I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" Stephen watched as a tear spread over the little screen of his camera.
Doomed to failure in his own family. He heard his mother on more occasions than one saying "Your wedding" this and "Your children" that. All things considered, Stephen knew that he could never have the wedding his parents would ever want be a part of. It had been that way for a long time, but it was really hitting now, the older he got.
"I'm not accepting it."
"So, what, you'll just take it to your grave, then?"
"If I have to."
Stephen shut the camera off and tossed it aside, pulling his hand up to his face. Nothing seemed to be going right. The wedding thing bugged him, but not as much as the fact that he didn't even feel like loving anymore. He could be alone, and if it meant not feeling like this anymore, it was fine by him…
"Hey, Stephen."
Stephen jumped slightly as Wolfe's silhouette appeared outside of his window. Stephen quickly wiped at his eyes and rolled down the window. Stephen offhandedly noticed that Wolfe was in a red, unbuttoned polo shirt, black t-shirt, and slightly worn-out blue jeans. Was he off work already…?
"How much longer have you got on break?" Wolfe asked, arms resting crossed on the windowsill.
Stephen reached in his pocket and pulled out his flip phone to check the time, but the screen on the outside was acting up; static lines skewered horizontally through the tiny screen. Stephen gently hit the side of the thin phone, but the screen continued to break up. Stephen silently cursed the device and flipped it open. The larger screen on the inside was wavering unsteadily, stretching and distorting in all directions and morphing the wallpaper. Stephen pushed at the buttons, feeling his annoyance level rise little by little at this. Once his finger hit the call button, the phone's receiver burst out with static and caused Stephen to drop it. The impact with the floor shut the phone and instantly stopped the noise, dousing the area in silence once again.
"You okay?" Wolfe asked with a nonchalant glance at the phone.
"Y-Yeah…," Stephen glanced at the clock above his tape deck to avoid anymore questions about whatever just happened, "Thirteen minutes."
Wolfe smiled. Stephen felt his face burn lightly as he steadied his voice into asking, "Why?"
"There's something you need to see," Wolfe whispered, as if making sure no one else could hear, leaning in to the point that his face was just inches from Stephen's, "It shouldn't take took long. Just follow me down the road." Wolfe smirked coyly.
Stephen just sat and stared as Wolfe stepped back. This seemed odd, but there were times when Wolfe did acknowledge his existence. This just happened to involve something that apparently would interest Stephen.
"Well?" Wolfe asked. He was still leaned in slightly, and Stephen could actually smell the hint of mint on his breath.
"I…," Stephen looked back at the clock. Twelve minutes was all he had, so what harm could it do? Just a short drive and he'd be back. "Alright, lead the way."
Wolfe nodded and stepped back, "Good. Let's go." He then headed for his respective car. Wolfe usually just went on to do his own thing whenever they were off the clock around the same time, but he came over to Stephen's car and wanted to take him somewhere, suddenly?
And you're complaining about it. So, which is stranger, hm?
Point taken. Stephen figured that he had time to a short drive. Somehow, he felt a little lighter, the same feeling he'd always get when he and Wolfe always spoke more than usual, and were able to just laugh like friends. It was always a good feeling; short-lived, but good. Stephen started his car up, and pulled up behind Wolfe at the edge of the road. As he pulled out into the street with Wolfe, he noticed that a slight fog had settled down over the area that slightly dampered the vision. Stephen thanked whatever was out there that the roads were relatively clear.
Stephen rolled down the windows, letting the warm night air inside to clear up his senses. There were two kinds of drives he enjoyed making: late night, and rainy. If both happened together, it was always a plus. Ever since he had the freedom that was a car, Stephen found it to be the relief from life at home. It was a way for him to get with friends, to go out and do his own thing, and to just take a break.
Stephen felt the need to turn around after another twenty minutes. Late was one thing, but not showing back up? That would mean his job, and Stephen didn't quite want to go that far yet… Still, something was telling him to go on. Maybe it was the urge to at least have this time with Wolfe. Stephen didn't want to just abandon Wolfe, and he found himself becoming more and more curious about what Wolfe thought was so important to see.
Stephen rolled up the windows farther along the road. The fog was insanely thick, making it almost impossible to see Wolfe's car just dead ahead. Suddenly, his relaxation seemed to be a bit more of a nerve-racking tread on the high wire. Stephen couldn't really see what was on the sides of the road because of the fog, but there had to be somewhere they could stop and wait for the fog to clear up some or daybreak (whichever came first). Stephen reached down into the floorboard blindly and grabbed at his phone, flipping it open without even looking at it. There was no faint light to signify it's power. The screw up earlier must have done something to it.
"Great," Stephen whispered to himself as he reached over and flicked the high beams on and off a couple of times to try and get Wolfe to stop. The lights didn't seem to mean anything to the leader of this trip, though.
Damn it, for once listen to me.
Stephen tried again, but still nothing. Just as he was ready to try for a third time, something dark threw itself out in front of Stephen's car.
"Shit!"
Stephen jerked the wheel to the right, the foggy night air becoming nothing less of a blur with the sound of screeching tires. The car swerved and skidded sideways. Whatever jumped out got hit with one swift blow, the definite thud audible over the rest. Stephen lost control of the vehicle by now, and the only thing he managed to see was the back of Wolfe's car right in his path.
---
"Go on Wolfe, you go on break, too. We're not that busy, so far."
Wolfe dropped the rag he was holding. They didn't have to tell him twice, not tonight. He'd been waiting to hear those words, but he'd much rather have heard "Go on home." Tonight was his and Whitney's one year anniversary, and he was a dumbass for not having asked off for it. Wolfe walked through the break room and up to the front, figuring Whitney would at least like a call from him wishing the best for now until they could really celebrate. His phone had been going crazy all night long so far, and he hadn't been out of Dan's view long enough to check what was going on. Whitney was probably just wishing Wolfe would get off early or something. If only it were that easy. Wolfe stepped out onto the patio, giving a quick hello to one of the passing waitresses before pulling out his phone.
"Thirteen missed calls? Goddamn…"
Every one of the calls came from Whitney. Wolfe chuckled to himself, shaking his head at his girlfriend's attempts at reaching him on such a night. He couldn't blame her, though, because he was excited about it all, too. Wolfe dialed up his voicemail as he took his hat off and ran a hand through his black hair.
"You have… thirteen unheard messages," the cool, monotonous female voice told him. "To check unheard messages, press—"
Wolfe pressed one without letting the mechanical voice finish, and Whitney's voice filled his head. The only problem was that the message scrambled up, making it next to incoherent. "Wolfe! He--…scared. Help m--… Coming… Silent Hill!"
"End of message."
Wolfe felt his body shaking, felt his mouth go to cotton. He pressed seven to delete the message, and listened to the next on. "Wolfe! He--…scared. Help me--… Coming… Silent Hill!"
"End of message."
Wolfe deleted the message, only to hear the same thing again, and again, and again. It was the same exact message from Whitney thirteen times.
Silent Hill…
Wolfe dialed up Whitney's number from memory. He'd never even heard of such a place. He waited, but there came no ringing. Instead he heard instantly, "Hey guys, it's Whitney! Not here, so just leave a message!" followed by a beep.
Shit…
"How goes it?"
Wolfe flinched and turned around at the sound of his best friend's, Kyle, voice. "Damn it, man, you know not to do that to me… What are you doing up here? You're off tonight."
"You know me. I got nothin' better to do," Kyle replied as he took a drag of the cigarette in his lips. "On break?"
"Yeah, but I'm not hanging around." Wolfe was already walking towards the back of the building, giving a quick explanation of what just happened.
"That's fucked up, dude," Kyle replied once they reached Wolfe's car. Wolfe found it hard to believe that was all Kyle had to say about this.
"Silent Hill… Where is it?" Wolfe asked him.
"There's no way she's there, dude. You probably heard her wrong; you did say that the message was screwed up, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but I know I heard her say 'Silent Hill' out of all of it." Wolfe started up the engine, "So how do you get there?"
"I'm telling you, forget it. That's not a place you want to--."
"I'm going!" Wolfe grabbed Kyle by the collar and pulled slightly, glaring his own best friend dead in the eyes. "Tell me how to get there!"
Kyle was watching back with slightly wider eyes than usual. Wolfe hoped that he was getting a point across, even to someone that could be as stubborn as Kyle. Whitney was out there, and Kyle at least seemed to know something about Silent Hill. Wolfe let go of Kyle and unlocked the doors, "Get in. We're going."
"Silent Hill was deserted some time ago. No one really knows what happened," Kyle explained as he flicked his cigarette out the window. "Some say it's haunted."
Wolfe felt an uneasy knot of dread build up, but it wouldn't stop him now. Whitney was out there somewhere, somewhere in this place called Silent Hill. She'd sounded extremely panicky… What could have happened? She never mentioned anything about going out of town on their anniversary. Wolfe gripped slightly tighter on the wheel, his knuckles going white. The air outside was humid, bringing in the smell that usually accompanied summer nights. Time felt like it was crawling even slower, making it harder and harder to get to Silent Hill in time.
"…Thanks." Wolfe sighed out finally.
Kyle shrugged it off like he did most things before leaning his seat back a bit. "You know that you won't be able to get back to work till at least tomorrow, though, right? It's a long drive to Silent Hill."
"Well… It's something I have to do. Whitney might be in trouble, and I'm not about to let that go, even if you think it's nothing," Wolfe replied as he continued down the interstate. Work was nothing compared to Whitney.
"I'm just saying," Kyle continued, "the place has been closed off for some time now. My grandparents used to live there when I was a kid. After they got put into their retirement home, they'd always kept in touch with their friends in Silent Hill." Kyle glanced out the window at the trees that zoomed by, creating a blur along the side of the road. "There was some kind of accident some time after my grandparents left, they said."
Wolfe felt the knot of dread tighten in his chest, but he listened.
"They never did hear from their friends again, or anyone from Silent Hill, for that matter. You can call, but you'll only get a busy signal."
Wolfe interrupted here, feeling sweat break out on his skin, "What kind of accident? Hasn't anyone gone back?"
Kyle stayed quiet, either thinking about it too much or not wanting to say. Wolfe glanced over, and Kyle finally answered, "No one knows what happened in Silent Hill. Yeah, people have gone back, but there's nobody in Silent Hill anymore. It's just a deserted town, left to be forgotten."
"No one at all?" Wolfe asked.
Kyle shook his head, "People go there to investigate, but they find nothing but empty buildings and streets. Nobody lives there, and eventually they had the place barricaded off. That's why I'm saying that it's impossible that Whitney is there, man."
Wolfe already made it a point how serious he was about going, and he wasn't about to reiterate it. Considering the subject closed, he took the information Kyle gave him as motivation to keep going. If it was abandoned, then Whitney couldn't be in trouble. But those voicemails…
Wolfe turned on his high beams, as the blanket of fog that settled over time had become even thicker at this point. Kyle continued pointing him in the direction he needed to be, and every passing second made Wolfe feel like he was running out of time. He'd probably get fired for not going back to work for the night, but that seemed like such a small detail at this point. Whitney was his everything. If anything ever happened to her…
Something flashed brightly behind them. "What's that?"
Kyle shrugged with a quick glance in the mirror, "That car's been behind us for awhile…"
Wolfe winced as the car's high beams flashed again, "Jesus, I can't go on any faster in this fog, man, lay off the lights…"
The flash suddenly became a streak of light that smeared in the fog. The car was losing control, and it was swerving right at them.
Gonna die.
Screeching tires shrieked through the air as the vehicle was only one swing away. Wolfe closed his eyes, readying himself for the impact and wishing so many things that did no good now…
"Move!" Kyle dove over and grabbed the wheel as soon as Wolfe opened his eyes again.
Kyle jerked the wheel to the left, and sound of tires screeching cut through the quiet night air. Wolfe snapped out of his tranced state fast enough to regain control of the car. He and Kyle spun out just as the car behind them slammed by, taking the passenger-side mirror with it. The crunch of metal was instantly lost in the whoosh of the other car barreling by. Almost an instant later, there was the sound of the other car slamming into a ditch on the side of the road just as Wolfe and Kyle passed by.
Wolfe jerked, and suddenly felt his heart beating again. They'd just nearly avoided a wreck that surely would have killed them both, and suddenly they were once again heading down the road like nothing happened. "You okay?" he asked, though it wasn't really what he'd wanted to come out. 'Okay' didn't really seem to fit right now, for anything.
Kyle rubbed at his temple, his hand coming away slightly red and wet as he groaned slightly "Yeah… It's cool. You?"
Wolfe felt fine, minus the hyperventilating and suddenly urge to simply freak out. He felt a few pains here and there, but nothing unbearable. "Yeah… yeah, I'm good."
There were several long moments of silence. Wolfe felt like he was going to be sick with everything that was going on. He was hours away from home, nearly died in the middle of nowhere…
"Shit…," Wolfe hissed as a small yellow light blinked on from the consol.
"Check engine," Wolfe whispered, and his eyes fell reflexively on the temperature sensor for the engine. "Overheating…"
Wolfe pulled the car to the side of the road, wondering, yet not really wanting to find out, how this night could get any worse. He killed the engine and leaned back into his seat. Kyle wasn't saying anything. What was there to say? Added on to everything this night had to offer before, the engine was practically shot, and now they were stranded on the side of the road miles from known civilization. All-in-all, this sucked.
Wolfe pulled out his phone and dialed up Whitney's number again, tapping his fingers idly on the wheel of the car. There was no ringing, yet again. It just went straight to her voicemail. "Damn it…," he pocketed the phone. "Well, we can't just sit here," Wolfe finally said after opening the door. "Let's go a bit farther ahead. I'm not abandoning Whitney for anything."
"Dude, that doesn't seem like a good idea…"
"Then what the Hell do you want to do? You can go back and see if whoever almost wrecked us would like to help get you back home, but I'm not stopping until I find Whitney." Wolfe moved behind his car and opened the trunk. There was plenty of crap back there, but in a compartment on the side was what he was looking for. "Take this." Wolfe tossed one of two flashlights at Kyle, and kept the other for himself.
Kyle stared thoughtfully at the flashlight for a moment, obviously contemplating his options here. After a few more seconds, he flicked it on, "Alright. Let's go."
Wolfe was hoping he'd say that; honestly, he was scared. He was scared for himself, for Kyle, for Whitney… But he wouldn't abandon either. "Alright…" Wolfe turned on his flashlight, and the two began to walk down the road, leaving the shelter of the vehicle behind.
The two lights didn't do too much in the fog, as there was maybe a three foot radius that they could see, but it was at least something. Wolfe was grateful that Kyle at least had a couple of extra cigarettes on hand, as both already lit one up. It really did a lot for the nerves, even under these circumstances.
"Kinda creepy, huh?" Kyle whispered within the exhalation of smoke.
"I guess so…," Wolfe replied, taking a long drag on the cigarette before tossing it aside with a final puff as he tried to forget Kyle even said that. They'd been walking for a little while, following the single, lonely road that winded on and on and no sign of anything. "More reason to get the Hell out of…"
Wolfe trailed off and stopped once his flashlight fell upon a wooden post in the ground. A few meters to the right was another similar post. Wolfe moved the beam of light up the posts, then stopped. "Kyle…"
Kyle was up ahead, but stopped and brought his light to meet with Wolfe's. Together, the lights illuminated a large wooden sign. Two lights hung dead of life from the peeling, aging wood. The sign read "Welcome to Silent Hill – We've been expecting you."
