Simon shivered as he slammed his car door. It was cold, so very cold.
This was probably why he hated winter, and so he hastily turned on the heat
and started the engine. After a few futile revs ("Damn Pontiac!"), the
young man finally got the car started, and pulled out of the gas station
parking lot, a large Coke and some food in the back of his car.
It had grown dark since he started on his drive from Maryland up to visit his family in New Hampshire. He was in the heart of New England, now, somewhere above Albany, New York. It was only a few weeks before Christmas, and since Simon had off from college for the holidays, he had decided to drive up to visit his parents (Muriel and Peter) and his sister (Abbey).
Simon was coasting down the highway at a good ten miles above the speed limit when the flashing of red and blue appeared over the dark road, and in Simon's rear view mirror. "Damn," he cursed quietly as he watched the police officer's car pull closer. It was to his great surprise, though, that the car drove right on past him.
Raising an eyebrow at the odd behavior, Simon peered into the police car. He saw someone driving, so surely they had a laser gun to check people's speeds. It wasn't like Simon was complaining, though. Grinning silently to himself, he continued on his drive.
In the back of his mind, though, the police car gave him an eerie feeling.
A little further down the highway, Simon noticed the flashing police lights again. They were far in front of him, but he could tell that they weren't moving. He blinked and looked again. The cop car was against the side of the road. Driving closer, his eyes widened: the car had crashed. Simon gaped as he passed. The driver wasn't in the car, though, so he drove on, hoping that the officer had gotten help.
In the back of his mind, though, the car crash gave him an eerier feeling.
It was another quiet half-hour before anything happened. This time, though, it gave Simon a sudden shock. literally. Out of no where, Simon was rear-ended by a small car. Simon looked in the mirror, and saw the car, and growled. "Not like there was anyone in the other lanes."
Once again, the car back-ended him. This happened a couple of times, until Simon was finally forced off the road, his car now thoroughly wrecked. He got out and looked at the car driving away. There was no plate on the back, and he had no idea if there was one on the front.
Sighing, Simon got back in his car and tried to restart it, but it wouldn't start, no matter how hard he tried. Cursing under the breath, he looked around for someone coming. He couldn't see anyone on the desolate highway, and so Simon turned around and looked ahead. In front of him was a sign that said "Silent Hill, next exit."
Shrugging to himself, Simon grabbed the flashlight from his trunk and started to walk up to the exit ramp, and from there, into the town of Silent Hill.
In the back of his mind, the name Silent Hill rang a bell, but he couldn't tell how.
It was a dingy place, Silent Hill was. Simon looked at it with a very worried disgust. The sign that must have once said Welcome to Silent Hill was now faded so the writing was intelligible. From the entrance to the city, Simon could see that there were many buildings, but they all looked aged and decrepit. Sighing, and knowing he needed to find a phone, he entered the town.
Simon would later come to regret this.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
As Simon walked down the lonely streets, he got the strange feeling he was being watched. By what, he didn't know, but it felt like it. Shivering slightly, he pulled his coat tighter around himself and looked around for a hotel or a gas station.any place that had a phone, really.
After nearly ten minutes of fruitless searching, Simon came upon a gas station. Cautiously, he walked up to the door and pushed on it. It didn't budge. Sighing, he tried again-nothing. Grimacing, Simon turned around and was face-to-face with the most ugly thing he had ever seen
The-thing-was only a little taller than Simon was, with no face, no distinct hands, and no distinct feet. It had random stitches over it's body, and at some parts, chunks of its skin and muscle were missing. It was a light tan color.at least, where it wasn't covered with bloody patches. The monster let out a high-pitched shriek and lunged at Simon.
Simon got out of the way just in time to watch the creature smash into the door with such force that it knocked the door open. Simon pushed himself backward, until his back his something hard. Looking up, he was slightly relieved to see it was just a car. The problem was, it wasn't working. In fact, it wouldn't have worked, since it seemed not to have an engine. Standing up, he saw inside a long, thin metal pipe.
At that moment, the creature must have gotten back up, because the same blood-curdling shriek came from behind Simon. Jumping, Simon grabbed the pipe from the car, and turned around, wielding it like a sword. The monster lunged at him again, but Simon was ready (as ready as he ever could be, at least). He swung the pipe forcefully, and knocked the monster to the left, where it skidded. It laid there for a moment, before letting out a weakened squeak, and then died.if it hadn't been dead before.
Simon gulped and trudged over to the creature. Poking it a few times with the pipe, he decided it was as dead as it could be, and walked back over to the gas station office.
The inside was rank, dusty, and smelled of spirits. Simon coughed and looked around for a phone, anything. He found a phone, and picked it up quickly. There was no dial tone. His finger moved up and tapped on the receiver button repeatedly, but no dial tone came. Sighing, he hung the phone up angrily and then noticed a map sitting askew on the small desk in front of him.
Simon picked it up and looked at it. It was of Silent Hill. Thinking that he'd need this at some point, he picked it up and pocketed it. Underneath the map was a small brochure.
LAKESIDE APARTMENTS: "The Best View, For Cheap!"
It said more, but Simon noticed the picture on the cover more. Lakeside Apartments.they seemed so familiar.
Pocketing the brochure, he checked the town map, and using a small wax crayon he found in the booth, as well, marked the place of the apartments. Folding the map and pocketing it once again, he set out, pipe in hand, toward the apartments.
In the course of a ten-minute period, Simon reached Lakeside Apartments. As he neared the front door, the feeling of déjà vu shot through his body. His hand frozen at the doorknob, he wondered whether he should go in. Fearing the worst, but hoping for the best, Simon turned the knob and walked inside.
As soon as he did, he nearly asphyxiated himself. The floor was thick with dust, as was any flat, horizontal surface within the lobby of the apartments. Simon looked around, his flashlight illuminating the dark room. On the wall next to him was a bulletin board with a map and some odd pictures on it. Taking the map, he pocketed this as well, and took at the pictures on the corkboard. A few showed a happy group of people working, cleaning up a highway. Still others showed Simon pictures of what he guessed to be as residents of the now-derelict apartments. One stuck out, though.
"Is that. me?" Simon asked himself quietly.
One picture, in the top right corner of the pegboard, was of a man and a woman, on their wedding day. Simon stared at the man in the picture, who looked almost exactly like him. It was scary, and Simon felt he couldn't just leave it. Grabbing the picture, he ripped it off of the pegboard. Turning it over, there was a small note on the back. All it said was "Alice and Mike Lawson."
Simon couldn't help but gawk at the picture and the note a bit more. Quickly, though, he pocketed the picture, and quietly he turned and reached for the handle of the stairwell door. Exploration might find him a phone, since there seemed to be none at the front desk.
As he opened the door, little did Simon know that he had just opened his own personal portal to Hell, from which he might not return.
It had grown dark since he started on his drive from Maryland up to visit his family in New Hampshire. He was in the heart of New England, now, somewhere above Albany, New York. It was only a few weeks before Christmas, and since Simon had off from college for the holidays, he had decided to drive up to visit his parents (Muriel and Peter) and his sister (Abbey).
Simon was coasting down the highway at a good ten miles above the speed limit when the flashing of red and blue appeared over the dark road, and in Simon's rear view mirror. "Damn," he cursed quietly as he watched the police officer's car pull closer. It was to his great surprise, though, that the car drove right on past him.
Raising an eyebrow at the odd behavior, Simon peered into the police car. He saw someone driving, so surely they had a laser gun to check people's speeds. It wasn't like Simon was complaining, though. Grinning silently to himself, he continued on his drive.
In the back of his mind, though, the police car gave him an eerie feeling.
A little further down the highway, Simon noticed the flashing police lights again. They were far in front of him, but he could tell that they weren't moving. He blinked and looked again. The cop car was against the side of the road. Driving closer, his eyes widened: the car had crashed. Simon gaped as he passed. The driver wasn't in the car, though, so he drove on, hoping that the officer had gotten help.
In the back of his mind, though, the car crash gave him an eerier feeling.
It was another quiet half-hour before anything happened. This time, though, it gave Simon a sudden shock. literally. Out of no where, Simon was rear-ended by a small car. Simon looked in the mirror, and saw the car, and growled. "Not like there was anyone in the other lanes."
Once again, the car back-ended him. This happened a couple of times, until Simon was finally forced off the road, his car now thoroughly wrecked. He got out and looked at the car driving away. There was no plate on the back, and he had no idea if there was one on the front.
Sighing, Simon got back in his car and tried to restart it, but it wouldn't start, no matter how hard he tried. Cursing under the breath, he looked around for someone coming. He couldn't see anyone on the desolate highway, and so Simon turned around and looked ahead. In front of him was a sign that said "Silent Hill, next exit."
Shrugging to himself, Simon grabbed the flashlight from his trunk and started to walk up to the exit ramp, and from there, into the town of Silent Hill.
In the back of his mind, the name Silent Hill rang a bell, but he couldn't tell how.
It was a dingy place, Silent Hill was. Simon looked at it with a very worried disgust. The sign that must have once said Welcome to Silent Hill was now faded so the writing was intelligible. From the entrance to the city, Simon could see that there were many buildings, but they all looked aged and decrepit. Sighing, and knowing he needed to find a phone, he entered the town.
Simon would later come to regret this.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
As Simon walked down the lonely streets, he got the strange feeling he was being watched. By what, he didn't know, but it felt like it. Shivering slightly, he pulled his coat tighter around himself and looked around for a hotel or a gas station.any place that had a phone, really.
After nearly ten minutes of fruitless searching, Simon came upon a gas station. Cautiously, he walked up to the door and pushed on it. It didn't budge. Sighing, he tried again-nothing. Grimacing, Simon turned around and was face-to-face with the most ugly thing he had ever seen
The-thing-was only a little taller than Simon was, with no face, no distinct hands, and no distinct feet. It had random stitches over it's body, and at some parts, chunks of its skin and muscle were missing. It was a light tan color.at least, where it wasn't covered with bloody patches. The monster let out a high-pitched shriek and lunged at Simon.
Simon got out of the way just in time to watch the creature smash into the door with such force that it knocked the door open. Simon pushed himself backward, until his back his something hard. Looking up, he was slightly relieved to see it was just a car. The problem was, it wasn't working. In fact, it wouldn't have worked, since it seemed not to have an engine. Standing up, he saw inside a long, thin metal pipe.
At that moment, the creature must have gotten back up, because the same blood-curdling shriek came from behind Simon. Jumping, Simon grabbed the pipe from the car, and turned around, wielding it like a sword. The monster lunged at him again, but Simon was ready (as ready as he ever could be, at least). He swung the pipe forcefully, and knocked the monster to the left, where it skidded. It laid there for a moment, before letting out a weakened squeak, and then died.if it hadn't been dead before.
Simon gulped and trudged over to the creature. Poking it a few times with the pipe, he decided it was as dead as it could be, and walked back over to the gas station office.
The inside was rank, dusty, and smelled of spirits. Simon coughed and looked around for a phone, anything. He found a phone, and picked it up quickly. There was no dial tone. His finger moved up and tapped on the receiver button repeatedly, but no dial tone came. Sighing, he hung the phone up angrily and then noticed a map sitting askew on the small desk in front of him.
Simon picked it up and looked at it. It was of Silent Hill. Thinking that he'd need this at some point, he picked it up and pocketed it. Underneath the map was a small brochure.
LAKESIDE APARTMENTS: "The Best View, For Cheap!"
It said more, but Simon noticed the picture on the cover more. Lakeside Apartments.they seemed so familiar.
Pocketing the brochure, he checked the town map, and using a small wax crayon he found in the booth, as well, marked the place of the apartments. Folding the map and pocketing it once again, he set out, pipe in hand, toward the apartments.
In the course of a ten-minute period, Simon reached Lakeside Apartments. As he neared the front door, the feeling of déjà vu shot through his body. His hand frozen at the doorknob, he wondered whether he should go in. Fearing the worst, but hoping for the best, Simon turned the knob and walked inside.
As soon as he did, he nearly asphyxiated himself. The floor was thick with dust, as was any flat, horizontal surface within the lobby of the apartments. Simon looked around, his flashlight illuminating the dark room. On the wall next to him was a bulletin board with a map and some odd pictures on it. Taking the map, he pocketed this as well, and took at the pictures on the corkboard. A few showed a happy group of people working, cleaning up a highway. Still others showed Simon pictures of what he guessed to be as residents of the now-derelict apartments. One stuck out, though.
"Is that. me?" Simon asked himself quietly.
One picture, in the top right corner of the pegboard, was of a man and a woman, on their wedding day. Simon stared at the man in the picture, who looked almost exactly like him. It was scary, and Simon felt he couldn't just leave it. Grabbing the picture, he ripped it off of the pegboard. Turning it over, there was a small note on the back. All it said was "Alice and Mike Lawson."
Simon couldn't help but gawk at the picture and the note a bit more. Quickly, though, he pocketed the picture, and quietly he turned and reached for the handle of the stairwell door. Exploration might find him a phone, since there seemed to be none at the front desk.
As he opened the door, little did Simon know that he had just opened his own personal portal to Hell, from which he might not return.