Silent Hill: Repressor of Sin
"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player. That struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more."-Macbeth
Ah, but verily
In here lies a tragedy---
Art thou player or audience?
There is nothing, which cannot become
A puppet of fate or an onlooker,
Peering into a cage…
Chapter I: Carrier of the Seal
It was the thirteenth of May. Skies were clear. No traffic. The sun began to touch the horizon as a lone van trudged the highway. They were making their way to the turnpike for Toluca County. They have heard the stories. There's been many disappearances from that town. Something terrible happened there thirty years ago…"Reg! Would you cut the freaking dramatics?!" Margo screamed. As she reached around the seat, Rayne gripped the steering wheel. "Dude! Keep your eyes on the road! And Reg, quit scaring Margo! You almost got us killed!" Audrey was sprawled in the back seat of the van. As she stretched and rubbed her eyes, she mumbled, "Well, somebody had their Carnation Instant Bitch this morning." Rayne scoffed, "Shut up Audrey!" Margo decided to resolve the issue by offering a rest stop. They pulled in to a lone gas station for coffee and direction to Toluca. The other went to the bar to drown their fatigue in coffee as Margo walked to the cashier with map in hand. "Excuse me, do you know how much more farther it is to Silent Hill?" The cashier chuckled and said, "15 miles, what are you planning to find up there?" Margo retracted herself a little bit, "Uhh…family." The cashier chuckled again, "I hear only eleven people live there, they your family?" Margo nervously folded the map back, "Uhh, yeah, sure." Margo quickly turned away and gathered everyone back to the van. As they pulled out of the station, the cashier took one last drag from her cigarette, "She's waiting for you."
They continued onward to the dark roads of West Virginia. It was rare to see a passing car this night. Everyone was asleep, except Margo. Margo's eyes began to get heavy. She turned on music to help her stay awake. The lethargy began to shake off. She then pulled up to a bridge into Toluca. Her car light illuminated a metal fence and barbwire. She felt enraged and almost felt taunted by the fence. She swallowed hard, and shifted to 3rd gear. She broke through the fence. She felt victory on her part, and guilt. The sound of her actions woke up everyone in the van. "What the fuck just happened?" asked Reg. Margo drove on and changed the subject quickly, "We should be there soon." They shrugged off their excitement and began to rest once more.
An hour passed, the clock read 3:15. Margo became tired again. She turned up the music to keep herself awake. The others began to stir a little in the back. Margo started to wake up. She could see a road sign up ahead, "Silent Hill 4 miles." She increased the acceleration and her anticipation began to grow. The van climbed the hillside as the fog started to thicken. Then, without warning, the mellow music started to turn into screeching static. Everyone in the back woke up holding their ears from the horrible sound. Margo panicked and tried to turn off the radio, but pulled off the dial. As looked up to face the road, a little blonde girl walked out in front of the careening vehicle, and stopped in the middle of the road. Everyone in the van drowned the horrible sound pouring out of the speakers with their panic-ridden screams. The last thing they heard was glass breaking, and metal scraping against the pavement.
Margo woke up to static on the radio. The pain from her head made it all the more difficult to pull herself out of the van. As she stumbled out she called out her friends names, "Reg, Audrey, Rayne…anybody!" Nothing. She fell to the ground, holding her forehead. Dried blood was streaked down her face. Her fear and her need for any sign of life had begun to build. Then she turned around and saw the sign, "Welcome to Silent Hill." She gazed at the somber gray sky and could see that snow was beginning to fall. "Wait, it's too hot to snow, it's not even fifty degrees out here!" she thought to herself. A flake floated on to her cheek. As she rubbed it off, she noticed that it didn't melt, but smeared her skin in gray. It was ashes. She knew she had no choice now, she had to find them. As she began to walk down the line, she began to see silhouettes of buildings of days forgotten. She felt the atmosphere change from humid, to stifling, from stifling, to almost suffocating. Unidentified fumes became stronger the closer she got to the first strip of buildings she could see. Old, dusty mannequins peered out from some of the department stores. Some store windows were so filthy it a wonder that anyone could see in, or see out. She stopped in her tracks. She saw the same little girl that she almost hit with her van. The girl's back faced Margo. When the girl turned to face her, Margo gasp in terror, because she recognized who it was. The girl's fair skin brought out the blue sailor like dress she adorned. Her piercing eyes and champagne blond hair enhanced her innocent expression. Margo knelt down to her level. They were eye to eye. "Where…where are my friends?" she asked shakily.
The girl giggled and walked shyly closer to her. "Silly, don't you remember?"
Margo shook her head.
The girl giggled, "Two die to live, two live to die, and one will be your reason to feel pain and death, but the Holy One brings you back with grace."
Margo became frustrated and scared. "What do you mean?! Why is this happening?" The girl then lost her darling expression, in trade for disappointment and anger. She looked as if she was going to cry. She then screamed, "It was the hand of god!" In that instant, Margo's head began to pulse with blinding, excruciating pain. Ghastly sounds filled her ear. Her vision became distorted. She screamed in pain and looked for the girl, but saw only a white blur walk away from her. The girl was gone. Margo was alone.
Not so far form Margo's disposition; Rayne and Audrey had already advanced into the fog-covered abyss. "How the hell did we end up here?" asked Audrey. Rayne shook her and answered, "I'm not sure, but we need to the others. Let's go." As Rayne pursued the trail, Audrey stopped by a realization in mind. "What's wrong?" asked Rayne. Audrey let out a sigh and said, "Maybe we to find the van first. We brought weapons, ya know? We were packing until we let her take the wheel!"
"Hmm…you make a valid point. There's a slight problem, how do you expect to find it if we don't have a FREAKING MAP?! Besides, it's not Margo's fault. Now quit your bitching and let's get moving!" Audrey scoffed as she tried to keep up, "So how will we protect ourselves, you don't know what's out there!"
"We'll find a way! Until then, we just have to be careful, that's all."
They continued on the musty road through the forest. The stroll downward was all but assuring or comforting. Their fears began to overtake them. They walked closer together for the fear of losing each other. The old forest looked unsettling even in the middle of the day. The fog shrouded the canopy of the trees so thickly, that no sun could get through. Certain places they passed gave out a horrid growl. They began to pick up their pace as the noises got closer and louder. Panic took them and they sprinted to the bottom of the hill. They finally reached the end. The growling ceased, like if something of greater threats made them cower. Their loss of breath and strength caused them to collapse, if just for a moment of rest.
"You ok, Audrey?" Rayne asked breathlessly.
Audrey nodded, "Yeah, I…Hey! Look!"
She pointed to an open mine shaft. Just enough light crept in to reveal a steel pipe protruding from some crates inside. "Sweet! We're saved!" exclaimed Audrey as they staggered over to the entrance. Rayne began to detect an unfamiliar scent as she entered.
"Do you smell that?"
Audrey shrugged it off and continued on, "Who the hell cares? We can kick some ass with this!"
Rayne scaled the dark bends of the mine. "It smells like…like something is…burning." Then a crash was heard a few feet away from them. Their hearts began to pound with terror. Audrey quickly positioned herself to take out anything that comes for them. Rayne nervously looked for a flashlight in an open crate. Audrey kept her eyes on all corners of the mine. Then they heard radio static coming from a crate.
"What's that noise? What is it?!" Audrey screamed.
"Shhh! Keep your voice down!" Rayne hissed.
They listened for the cause of their alarm. The static continued, and then grew louder. Something began to make its way behind them. They turned to face the entrance only to see the outline of what could be a person. Audrey was prepared to go in swinging, but Rayne put her arm out to stop Audrey. "Wait!" Rayne whispered, "It could be Reg or Margo." Rayne slowly began to walk toward the figure. "Hello?" No answer. "Who are you? Can you help us?" The figure stood still then all at once began to convulse erratically. Two blades slowly slid out of each forearm. Rayne spotted a flashlight on the ground and quickly switched it on to face the blade-wielding man. The girls both dropped their jaws in horror in the sight of such a hideous creature. His head was bulging in size and parts of him bled. His violent convulsions made sounds as if someone was shaking a bag of meat and bones. His body resembled leather, if it was made of decaying skin. Then, he lunged for them, tearing through crates in his path. The girls' screams of terror echoed in the mine. Audrey dodged his advance. Then he struck again. Audrey then blocked with the pipe. Sparks flew from the harsh impact. Audrey saw an opportunity and swung hard for the monster's head. Audrey could hear the pipe smash into his face and bury itself deep within. Audrey ripped the pipe from his skull and waited for his next move. The creature stood still. Then, he fell to the ground as blood poured from Audrey's fatal blow. Audrey slowly approached the monster, and then kicked it in the side full force. It remained lifeless and limp. It was dead.
Rayne had fell backwards onto a crate in the mist of the action. Rayne sat back in relief. "Oh my God," she said under her breath. Rayne then stood up and walked over to her shaken friend. Audrey stood motionless, still scaling the monster. "This can't be happening," she thought to herself. She kept her tight grip on the blood-soaked pipe. Rayne feared she might have finally snapped. Rayne walked toward her cautiously, "Audrey, I think its dead. You can put the pipe down now." Audrey relaxed and let one hand go, and soon dropped it.
"This might be a stupid question, but is this a dream?" asked Audrey.
"I don't think so. This is even too scary to be a nightmare," said Rayne.
Audrey began to cry out of stress, "Why did Margo bring us here?!"
Margo walked toward a dark alley. The steps she found went on, as if they could reach Hell itself. She could hear voices at the bottom. She descended. As her foot touched the last step, she reached for a flashlight in her jacket. She switched it to reveal what appeared to be one of the museums in this town, Silent Hill Historical Society. Paintings of the landmarks in town, dusty vases, antique weapons, it began to bore her. "Wow, someplace normal for once," she thought to herself. She took her hand across a vase to show its collection of dust. Then, she peered at the doorway of the next room. A dim, red light shone from the half opened door. She entered the next room to an art gallery. Even in this nightmare, she couldn't resist looking at artwork. One caught her eye for it's menacing appearance. The background gray caused her to feel uneasy. Decomposed bodies hung in metal frames from the ceiling. The main attraction however, was the man in the front of the morbid scene. Taller than the rest, he wielded an enormous spear. He wore a butcher-like uniform, complete with bloodstains. A crimson, sore looking metal mask rested on his shoulders. "Misty Days, Remains of the Judgment," she said as she read the caption aloud. Then she heard a something fall over behind her. She ran out of the gallery to face the weapons display. One of the cases was empty. It carried no caption. It looked as if it was holding something enormous in size. The case was approximately six feet tall. A circular symbol was drawn on the case with blood. Just looking at the made her head begin to ache. Then the headache soon felt like a hangover. The pain grew slowly turned into torture. She staggered in pain as she saw the walls begin to corrode and decay. The whole room began to morph into what only nightmares are made of. Walls began to build and some were falling down to expose new areas that were not there before. Her pain worsened to the point of tears. She could hear familiar voices from the distance. She crawled on the floor in agony. Margo then collapsed onto the changing ground. The cold floor brought some relief to her flushed, sweat-covered face. "I must be dying," she thought to herself. The last she saw was two brooding figures running toward her, yelling out her name. Then, she lost consciousness.
Margo felt a state of exhaustion and a revolting euphoria. Numbness was spread around her body. "Can you not move?" asked a figure from across the room. Margo looked out of the top of her cheek. It was a gaunt, redhead staring back at her. Margo struggled to move, but even the very gravity was weighing down on her. "Good. It was a blessing from God to have found you!" Margo lifted her head unsteadily, "What the hell are you talking about?" The woman smiled, "I…am Charlotte. You will help God to bring judgment on the world, and send those unworthy of her grace to Hell. Margo reeled on the floor, trying to break her entropy-like condition. "Why can't I get up?!" she screamed. Charlotte answered, "The Seal controls you." Margo struggled harder to get up as Charlotte turned to walk out of the room. "Wait! Come back!" Charlotte stopped and looked over her shoulder to give her one last message, "I'll be waiting for you in the chapel." Margo then felt discomfort in her cheek and her head jerked brutally to the left.
"Wake up Margo!" Audrey screamed. She stood over Margo and struck her across the face again. Margo fluttered her eyes open. "Thank God, she's awake!" Rayne and Audrey propped her as she regained her strength. "Are you aright?" asked Rayne. Margo wiped her eyes and responded, "I'm…not sure. What happened here?" The building, and everything around it had become grotesque. Nauseating fumes covered the room. The walls were of rusted fences, or what looked like human tapestries sewn together. Metal bars barricaded the windows that made for the complete feeling of imprisonment. "What should we do?" asked Audrey. Margo thought for a moment, walked over to the weapons display. She lifted the case above her head and the glass case to the ground. She bent down to brush the glass away from mint condition katana.
"We'll fight off what ever comes after us."
Rayne and Audrey followed her move. Audrey searched for her own means of protection and found a quarterstaff. Rayne searched everywhere, but found that nothing was left. "Let's find a way out," Margo said with valor. The girls smiled and nodded in agreement. They began making their way to the stairwell. They reached the door to their getaway. Margo opened the, then gave a look of disbelief. "We won't be taking the stairs then," Margo said disappointed. Audrey shoved her from the doorway, "Why not?" She then stopped and shared the same feeling Margo was. Torn off the steel bars in pieces laying at the bottom or barely lingering on the tarnished railings made the stairway to their freedom.
"It's ok!" exclaimed Margo; "I saw an elevator down a few hallways."
They turned away from the stairwell, and began down the passages. The halls they wandered were filled with a force of ache and past terror equal to its decorum. Certain floors creaked, but not as much as they resembled stepping on fleshy tissue. The walls, rotten and aged, made the entries reek of the foulest things. Various halls even throbbed and bled. The appalling hallways made for an unmatched feeling of sickness. They then jumped in panic at the sudden beginning of a familiar sound. "I hear static again!" said Rayne. They all listened for the direction of the static. They followed it to what used to be the storage room. They entered in with caution. The room was turned literally upside down. Floor tiles lined the ceiling, and they walked on rusted air ducts. Housed in fencing, stood a metal-framed bed with musty sheets. Fresh blood came from below the bed. The static they traced flowed from under the pillow. "I'm not going in there!" hissed Audrey. Margo looked to Rayne for support. Rayne shook her head, "I don't have a weapon. If something happens, we'll be in there." Margo sighed in disappointment. She began to walk into the cage. Rayne and Audrey watched her through the rusted fence. She kept her tight grasp on her katana. She swiftly lifted the pillow to see a green, portable radio staring back at her. Something beneath was staring back at her as well. Her moment of ease was soon interrupted. Audrey's scream caused Margo to react but she was abruptly shoved down to the ground. The katana slid back on floor only feet away from her. She gazed down to see a monster wriggling on top of her. She threw it off of her and into the corner. It squirmed on its back and flipped back over to crawl toward her. She reached for her katana, but it was gone. Margo then looked to her friends, but Audrey was hesitating in a corner and Rayne was nowhere to be found. The monster clamped its infected jaws to her thigh. She forcefully tried to rip it from her, but its teeth tore into her the more she struggled. The monster brought her to the ground once more. Audrey was still hesitant in the corner gripping her quarterstaff, paralyzed with alarm. Margo screamed in pain as the beast dragged her to the bed. Audrey then acted on her cry, and swung at the monster. It caught the staff in its mouth and broke it in two. Audrey knelt to Margo and tried to drag her out of the room. The creature coiled up to attack again, but looked to Rayne, before she smashed its emaciated body with a maul.
"Wow! You tore a chunk out of that thing!" exclaimed Audrey. Rayne gave her a humble smile.
"Where did you find that?" Margo asked as she tried to stand up.
"Well, when me and Audrey first got here, I remember seeing it when we were following your screams."
Margo chuckled. Their relief was short lived the radio began to produce static once more. "We need to get out of here," Margo requested.
Then she said with blank stare, "There's an exit in the basement."
"How did you know that?" Rayne questioned.
Margo didn't answer as she limped toward the door. Secretly she said to under her breath, "I don't know."
They exited the storage room and back into the dimly lit hallway. "Look!" Audrey pointed out a piece of a map on the floor. Margo picked it up read it quickly, "The closest way to the elevator is through the 17th century dining room." They walked for a few minutes due north, until they happened upon the chilling double doors. Margo turned the handle to the other side to the room covered in darkness. Margo switched on her flashlight and shined it on the long table set with its antique wares. A key sat on one of the plates. Margo walked to the table to snatch the key. As she slid it down her pocket, a drop of blood plunged to the white china. Margo looked up only to see an endless void. "Hey! I found a light switch!" Audrey yelled from across the room. She flipped the switch and shrieked in terror. The once vacant ceiling now held a woman caged in a metal frame, freshly torn and eviscerated. Her carcass dripped blood onto Margo's face. More laid rest around them in all their bloody despair and fear. They were left there like someone's play things, someone's "art". Margo became overwhelmed by the massacre and retched uncontrollably. Rayne gripped tightly to her weapon and breathed shakily. "Who did this?" Rayne inquired. Margo smeared the fluids off her mouth and responded, "I'm not sure…there's got to be at least twenty people in here." The static began to sound once more. A fell growl was heard toward the hallway. Thunderous footsteps and cold steel dragging behind echoed from beyond the doors. The three tensed up with a cold sweat. Margo and Audrey panicked quietly for their lost arsenal. The steps grew louder and came closer as they kept even their quivering breaths as still as possible. Rayne was in a fighting stance for the unknown being. The steps stopped with one last effort from the screeching of metal on the concrete floor. Silence. They waited for the next move, staring strongly at the entrance. The doors then flinched and then cracked. Instantaneously the doors were ripped off the hinges of the posts. There the outline of a man stood motionless. He sluggishly walked in dragging a 6-foot knife stained with blood and bile. Margo instantly recognized him from the painting in the gallery. Standing as tall as the doorframe, he swung his knife to his side. He wore that same painful, pyramid shaped helmet. Margo could see that he carried with him death and fear. Together, they created Pyramid Head. Rayne heaved the heavy maul for his face, bringing him down for their chance of escape. As he struggled to rip the maul from the face of his mask, the three raced out of the room. Cutting corners and almost tripping, they desperately searched for the elevator. Margo stopped and turned back a previous hallway to see their getaway. It was the longest hallway of them all. The sound of Pyramid Head's knife scraping the ground was steadily catching up. As they ran closer, the doors slowly began to close, as Rayne was the first one in. "Hurry!" screamed Rayne. She pressed the button for the door, but they still remained unchanged. Rayne's eyes widen with dread as she saw Pyramid Head emerged from the end of the corridor. The doors spared room for Margo to enter the elevator. Audrey was close behind, but the doors were nearly closed. "Keep it open!" Audrey sobbed. Margo and grabbed both sides and pulled back with terror-driven force. Tears of panic streamed down Audrey's cheeks as she could feel him closing in behind her. She finally reached the end of the hall, but the opening was still too small even for her small frame. "Open the doors!" she screamed. They pulled harder at the doors, but to still no avail. Pyramid Head slowly lumbered toward her with a ravenous gait. Audrey could hear his enduring advances. "OPEN THE FUCKING DOORS!" she cried as she strived to fit through the small gap. "We're trying! We're trying!" Margo yelled. Their efforts made the doors budge even more. Audrey had a hand on each side; pushing with them what strength she had left. She exhaled heavily with relief. A blinding spray of crimson covered Margo's eyes. She quickly wiped her eyes to see Audrey, impaled with the tip of his knife extended beyond her chest. Audrey's weak breath became less fearful as she struggled to breath through the blood pouring from her mouth. Pyramid Head's drive with his blade kept her frail body from touching the ground, dangling like his victims. Her eyes flickered what life that still lingered. Then, her expressions slowly changed from agony to stillness. She was pulled out violently, still clinging onto his knife, and she was gone. Her black-rimmed glasses lay broken and worthless, yet it was the only thing the two had left of her now. They let the doors go, and stood motionless. Margo grudgingly pressed the button for the basement. The descent was silent, until Margo slid down in a corner and cried bitterly to herself. Rayne stood in shock, replaying the misfortune in her mind. Margo tears then stopped abruptly.
"We have to get out somehow," Margo commanded as she rubbed her eyes.
"Maybe…maybe we need a map and some sort of protection," Rayne said hesitantly.
"We need weapons first, I'm not sure I want encounter anything from this…this god-forsaken hellhole."
The tone sounded for the basement. They entered the cluttered room with caution, for their helplessness still remained. Rayne then tripped and jumped back in alarm. "What the hell is that?" Rayne yelled. Margo walked over and crouched down to the lump in the floor. It was bloody corpse dressed in a brown suit lying on the bitter concrete. His purple, broad fingers were clutched around a Colt .45. Margo picked up the pistol from his festering hand. "You won't be needing this anymore," she said to the body. Rayne knelt down and searched his pockets. "I found four clips for the gun," Rayne announced. Margo recovered an ankle holster just the right size to fit around her thigh. Rayne attempted to help her put it on.
"Ow!" Margo shouted.
"I'm sorry, I forgot about your gash there."
"It's ok, just take it off and put it on the other leg."
Rayne fastened the holster to hold to her leg tightly. Margo was handed the .45, pushed in a clip and secured it in the holster.
"Lets get out of here," Margo pleaded.
They turned to leave for the exit. The sign above laid the door in an eerie red. Rayne opened the to let the white sheet of light fill the dingy room. Margo looked toward the door, then turned and pulled out Audrey's glasses. Margo scaled them, watching them reflect the light, recalling memories she shared with her friend. She knelt down and laid them on the ground folded, facing the elevator. "Take it easy, Audrey," Margo said tearfully. They then walked out into the ash- covered streets. Then there were three.