The bus slammed into the oncoming propane truck with such force that the tank of the other vehicle tipped upward, standing on end. Fire erupted from the cab of the bus, slowly climbing up the cab of the propane truck, moving dangerously close to the overly full tank.
There was
absolutely nothing keeping the tank suspended in the air, and within
a few moments, it started is decent down, smashing through the bus as
they whole thing went ablaze.
Someone grabbed
her by the arm, and she felt the wind leave her lungs for a moment.
Pain gnawed at her back- it was burning! The arms that saved her held
her tightly as tears started to rain upon her coal black hair. Then,
the screams of someone being torn into bits.
The tanker had
come down, crushing the middle of the bus. The paramedics, later,
told them that Russel had been trapped beneath it, his back flattened
and unable to move as the fire consumed him. They did not need to
tell Murdoc and Noodle how 2D died- they had watched as their band
mate met his demise.
Murdoc grabbed
Noodle, whisking her out the shattered back window of the bus. He
ripped the shirt from her back and put out what fire remained, tears
stinging his eyes when he realized she would be scarred there, her
flesh turning black and crackled.
It was then that
screams ripped from the wreckage. They turned to look, shaking. This
was Hell. It had to be.
Gagging, Noodle rolled over. Thick, acidy tasting water spilled from her mouth, and she did not stop coughing until most of it was out of her lungs. She gasped for air, finally calming herself and her heart about a minute later.
Frightened, she looked around, trying to figure out what happened to her in the time between begin dragged under water and waking up. Nothing came to mind, though the smell of burnt flesh found its way into her mouth and nose. Slowly, she stood, and shivered. Weaponless. The Great Knife must have gone over the edge of the boat when she did. Her neck ached as did her ankles- she hated being a human rope in a game of tug of war.
Apparently, though, Murdoc had lost.
Shivering, she
huddled in her sopping wet clothing, looking around the room for
answers.
The room around her was small with two doors facing each
other. One was boarded up, the words "Stay out" written in what
appeared to be black Sharpie marker. The rest of the room was bare,
save for one little table in the opposite corner. Propped up against
this was a rusted steel pipe, the head bent slightly. Taking
it into her hands, she frowned. It was better than nothing.
She touched her neck, suddenly remembering the key. It was still there, and she breathed a slight sigh of relief. Something about it made her feel safe. As she tried the unblocked door, she repeated the rhyme from earlier in her head- "Witches burning in a row, six above and three below. One square holds the night, turn the key and pray for light." Something about it was musical, and, for the first time in two years, she thought only of music as she stepped into another room.
A speaker above her head crackled, and Noodle jumped a good foot off of the ground. Instantly, she was on guard, her makeshift weapon raised. It was only then, looking for enemies, that she saw what was actually in the room.
Behind police tape and fake fencing was a table and chair set, the floor covered in blood. One of the chairs was knocked over to the floor, covered in fake cobwebs. With a frown, Noodle straightened. This looked like nothing more than a spooky house ride in a theme park!
"Welcome to the Borley Haunted Mansion. I'm sorry that I did not greet you formally at the front door. The intercom in that room is broken, you see. Anyway, welcome. What you see before you," the intercom croaked out, the voice as oily and sickly, "are the remains of a gruesome suicide…" The lights flashed, and the sound of thunder overtook the man's voice. A shadow on the wall showed someone hanging.
Noodle put her hands on her hip, unimpressed. With a frown, she continued on, letting the man on the intercom go through his played out little speech. She reached the door leading out, and tugged on the handle, expecting it to open. When it did not, she sighed to herself, and kicked the damn thing down.
"Uh-uh-uh, little lady. You shouldn't have done that!"
Undaunted and a little upset, Noodle stepped through the door, her pipe at the ready. It was darker in this room, though she could faintly see another exhibit surrounded by the same fake fencing. There were two doors in this room- one hidden in a corner, and another just opposite of where she stood. She started for the more hidden one, ignoring the creaking noise coming from the exhibit. The sooner she could get out of this place and find Murdoc the better.
Just before she could get to the door, something behind her fell to the ground. She turned to look. There was a rope hanging from the ceiling just in front of the other door, but nothing on it. Blood splatter stained the ground just beneath it.
The creaking from the exhibit stopped, and something rose up from the mechanical rocking chair. It twitched, head shaking from side to side quickly, then turned toward the girl. From above, whatever had been attached to the rope fell again from the rafters. It took a moment, but straightened, blood dripping from every inch of the thing.
Noodle fought off
the urge to scream as she gripped the pipe tighter. Behind her, the
door clicked, and she turned just enough to keep one eye on the
handle and one eye on the two beasts before her.
Both demons in
front of her started forward with slow steps, the one from the chair
much, much taller and skinnier than the other, which was built low to
the ground, its hands serving for feet while its little, shriveled
legs dragged behind. Neither had mouths or eyes, just little holes
every now and again, all the way down their bodies. The taller one
had long, claw like fingers, two per hand, and its slender legs were
bent backward like an animal's.
Taking a deep breath, Noodle turned around with every intention of rushing through the door into the other room. The monsters leaped at the same moment, knocking her to the ground.
The amusement park's gates lay just before him. Murdoc held his pistol at the ready, taking deep breaths to calm himself. The sirens had just gone off, sending the area into that eerie darkness. He was down to just eight bullets- he had run into some trouble on the way over- and the pistol might as well have been melted to the former bassist's hand. Gritting his teeth and shining his flashlight into the area before him, he took the first steps into Lakeside Amusement Park.
Murdoc walked forward in almost silence. Only the soft click of his boots' heels against the pavement and metal ground gave his position away, something he was not thankful for. Eventually, he came to the front of what, at one point, may have been the carnival's shopping center. Gift shops, food and all of that. He stepped inside, flashing his electric torch in all corners to make sure no nasties were about to jump on top of him.
Row after row of shelves were covered with merchandise, from stuffed rabbits- apparently the park's mascot- to drinks and tee-shirts. He passed all of these, only stopping to pick up a little pamphlet of all of the rides and attractions the park boasted, as well as a map of the entire place on the back. He tucked this into his pocket and continued on.
The entire shop was set up in a circle and included a bar (with a locked door, much to Murdoc's displeasure- he would have killed for a cold beer), some sort of café (again, locked), a candy shop and toy factory (the door here was barred and broken, thus impossible to get into), and a little toy shop. This was opened, and the man stepped inside.
"Noodle?" he ventured, instinctively hitting the light switch. Much to his surprise, it flickered on, illuminating the little shop. There was a little, old fashion cash register on a thin wooden counter, and two shelves on the left wall. Straight ahead was a display of the same rabbits from outside, as well as a few frogs and odds and ends. It was all brightly colored and a bit painful to the eyes after the otherwise dark atmosphere of Silent Hill.
He was about to leave when a rabbit on the shelf twitched then fell to the ground. With an eyebrow raised beneath his fringe of dark hair, Murdoc stepped forward and picked the little stuffed toy up.
There was something sticking out of its back- a slip of paper, as though it had been stuffed with newspaper.
With a slight frown, Murdoc removed the slip of paper, reading the scrawl. "I left it in the staff room. It is the only thing for her now." Murdoc furrowed his brow. This was the first time Russel had 'spoken'- up until that point, it had been 2D's hand writing all of the little clues and things. The man remembered the Russel-like demon…Had he saved Noodle from the lake hands?
He shoved the note into his pocket, then headed out the door for the staff room. The little room was just south of the toy shop, and the door swung open easily, though it looked as though something had broken the lock. Scratches marred the door front and knob.
Readying his gun, Murdoc entered. The light in this room did not work, but it was small enough for his flashlight to provide all he needed to see with. Nothing living or demon-like was inside, just a table and a few chairs, a drink and snack vending machine, a microwave, and a metal shelf screwed onto the wall. Something shone bright red on this as the light hit it, drawing Murdoc's mismatched eyes.
Stalking over, he picked up the little glass bottle. There was some sort of crimson liquid within, stopped by a cork. A faded label was pasted on it, though whatever it said had been written over with "She's in the haunted house. You'll need this."
Murdoc gnawed on his lower lip and stuck this into his pocket, then turned to leave. Something else caught his eyes- a key on the table. He picked it up, looking at its tag- "B.H.M. back door." He remembered the spook house being labeled on the map as the Borley Haunted Mansion, and pocketed this as well before starting out the door. On his way out, he managed to find and pocket two magazines for his pistol.
The way to the haunted house was difficult- the man had to dodge holes in the ground and climb over a few things to actually get to the back door (after finding the front barred up beyond his ability to open). Just as he was about to enter, a horrible howling sound errupted from the area just beyond his flashlight's reach.
"You've got to be fooking kidding me," he muttered, readying his weapon as two of the same sort of demon-dog that had attacked him that morning jumped from the shadows. One he managed to hit in the gapping hole-mouth, though the other dodged and landed beside him.
Before he could redirect his aim, the thing had bitten down deep into his calf. Murdoc let out a cry, then emptied the remained of the clip into the thing's head. It twitched once, then let go, falling to the ground. He quickly reloaded, thankful for the strangely placed ammo, then twisted the key in its hole.
The door creaked open, and Murdoc stepped inside. It was cold in here, and shivers raced up and down his body. He started to cough, the force of them dropping the man to his knees. He started to choke up blood.
After finally quieting his hacks, he stood again. Slowly, he started forward into what appeared to be a long, winding hall. Somewhere above him an intercom crackled to life, and a sly, oily voice said, "You had better hurry, Mr. Niccals. The souls of the dead want to claim you as well. You should have died," the voice yawned, "two years ago."
Murdoc snarled, about ready to shoot the thing, when a dark red light flickered to life just behind him. Wails filled his ears, then screams, and it felt like the thing was reaching for him, tearing his back apart. He started to run forward, the thing chasing after him. The corridor stopped abruptly, then started again to his right. He ran into dead end after dead end, the light still following, before he managed to make it to a door. A similar corridor lay before him, though he could not see or feel the light.
Cautiously, the man continued forward, his gun at the ready. He was sick of this town, sick of all of this shit he had to go through. He only wanted to find Noodle and find some way out of this Hell hole, even if they had to build wings from wax.
"Yeah," he thought, "wings of wax, hiding from the sun until we are gone. Gone from everything." He shook his head. "You've gone crazy, Niccals. 'old it together just a bit longer. Find 'er and get the fook out, that's all you're aloud to think of."
He finally got to the straight away to the next door. Quickening his pace, he rushed for the door, his hand so close to touching the knob, when wailing filled his ears. Refusing to look back, he twisted the knob and swung the door open just as the red haze swallowed up his left leg. Blinding pain consumed him, and he fell forward into the next room, blood gushing from his knee down.
With a scream, he pulled himself in, and slammed shut the door. Tears of pain and rage flooded his face as he pulled his leg to him, unable to feel anything more than fire. He could not move it, no matter how hard he tried. That haze had zapped it of life, and now, it lay there, still attached, and dead.
He worked at it, trying to massage it back into life, to get the blood vessels flowing, but nothing worked. The most he got was a slight tingle. After a moment, he stood, shaking and putting some weight on the limb to test it. It held, at least, a little, though once he took a step it faltered and he fell flat on his face. It was a good thing he did, though, as a part of the ceiling with thick spikes drilled in it dropped, stopping a good foot into the space where his head had just been.
Murdoc crawled across the floor, making his way to the far wall, where he was safe from the falling death-trap ceiling. There was a long but thin piece of wood there, and he took it firm against his now dead leg. With a little grunt, he tore his over shirt up into strips. With these, he tied the plank to his leg, using it like a splint. With some difficulty, he stood up after he was done, and was now able to hobble to the door leading into the main portion of the haunted mansion.
Blood coated the
floor in the room he stepped into. "Noodle?" he tested, and
closed the door behind him. It clicked locked behind him, though he
did not notice. The blood led into the room, smearing against the
library-like walls, and stopped just before a sort of fenced off
exhibit. Two monsters were impaled on the spiked fencing, and just
beyond their bodies came the sound of even squeaking.
Something
was rocking back and forth in a chair, slumped to one side.
"Noodle?"
The figure stood, though she seemed off kilter, and faced Murdoc. The man smiled happily, throwing his arms out for her. "Its okay, Nods! Its me, its Murdoc! C'mon, let's get out of 'ere-"
The Japanese woman lifted her hand, her fingers splayed, and thick, dark blood dripped from them. She started forward, hair moving out of her face as her head twitched and her neck spasmed, just as monsters in town did. In her other hand she held a rusted melt pipe, bits of brain and flesh dripping off of the bent end.
"Wot…wot's wrong, Noodle?" Murdoc said softly as he looked into her glazed over eyes. It must have been a trick of the light, but they shown red without her pupils. "Noodle?"
The woman responded by stepping over the fence and raising her pipe. She slammed it down, a hair's breadth from his nose, and cracked the floorboards. Her arms jarred from the force of the blow, and should had snapped, but instead they worked the metal pipe out of the floor and swung again, each time driving the former bassist closer to a wall or corner.
"Noodle, wot the fook is wrong with you?! Stop this! Wot-" he ducked- "the fook are you doing!? NOODLE, STOP!" He lost control of his arm to anger and fear, slapping her hard across the face. He watched her head snap to the side, her entire body shaking with the blow. "Noodle, Christ, I didn't mean that-"
The young woman
said nothing, her head turning back without sound, and her eyes
digging into Murdoc's chest. It looked (and felt) as though those
eyes alone would be enough to rip his heart out.
Murdoc fell back
against the wall as she raised her pipe again, tears in his eyes. It
was not her. It could not be her! Not his sweet little Noodle… He
closed his eyes, memories of holding her and simply being near her
flashing through his head. She was his reason to continue on, his
reason to exist. "Noodle," he breathed, "I love you."
The blow never came.
The man opened his mismatched eyes, and almost fainted simply from the sight of seeing a dead man holding a struggling Noodle down.
"Murdoc!" 2D cried, his dark orbs staring back at the man. "Now! Ffat bottle Russ gave you! She needs to drink it!"
Nodding stupidly, Murdoc pulled the bottle from his pocket and hurried over as fast as he could hobble. He looked down at Noodle, struggling and screaming, for just a moment, then ripped the cork out with his teeth and thrust the bottle between hers. He held it there, watching the red started to fade back to emerald in her eyes.
Noodle gagged, coughing as soon as the liquid was down her throat. She tilted her head and felt someone let go of her. Her mouth opened, and blood spilled out, followed, slowly, by a slug like little monster. It squeaked and tried to escaped, but she slammed her hand down on it, killing the thing between her fingers.
Murdoc grabbed her, holding her tightly, tears streaming down his face. That thing must have been controlling her movements! "Shh," he cooed as she started to sob into his chest. "Shhh, its alright. I'm 'ere now, Noodle. I'm 'ere."
The former bassist
looked up, expecting 2D to be gone. He the singer was still there,
watching, with a soft smile on his blood caked face. Murdoc shivered,
realizing that this person standing in front of him was just as much
Stuart Pot as that demon that pulled Noodle from the lake was Russel
Hobbs. The thing looked like 2D- tall and lanky with soulless eyes
and a sloppy smile- but it looked like one of the monsters in the
town, too- bloody, with the skin around its cheeks rotted, exposing
teeth. Every so often, it would twitch, head shaking, before calming
down again.
"'ho the fook are you?"
The not-2D frowned, taking a seat beside the two. It picked at its fingers like 2D would while thinking, its head tilting to the side. "I'm…noffink. Somefing this town made for you. An' for Noodle." It sighed, head whipping to the side, then back in place without the thing missing a beat. "Ffat's wot fis town does, yeah? Takes your memories, your fears and your hopes, and turns 'em around on you."
Noodle coughed.
"I told you to
get 'er out of 'ere, yeah? But you got sucked in. And you were
early, of all fings. Aren't you normally late, Muds?" the not-2D
monster said with a crooked, gap-toothed grin.
"I don't
understand wot the fook you are getting at, face-ache. This town…made
you? From my dreams?"
"Yeah. Coz you feel so bad for watchin' 2D die. Same wif Russ, but his demon's gone wrong. Didn't form like I did, prollay coz I appeared to you too early. But we 'ave ffeir memories, yeah? 2D and Russel, I mean." The demon gnawed on its knuckle, twitching a little as it watched Noodle calm down a bit. "You gotta get 'er out of 'ere, Muds."
Murdoc looked up at the demon. "Tell me 'ow, then."
The 2D demon shrugged, and then dug into his pockets. "Its…'ard, Muds. Coz ffis town wants me to make you beliefe 2D didn't die two years 'go. It won't let you out 'till your heart…" It shivered, its head snapping to the side as its body twitched. It made a horrible noise, then relaxed again. From its pockets it fished out a necklace. "I gotta go." Without another word, it dropped the necklace in front of Murdoc, and started for the door on the other side of the exhibit. It brushed the hanging rope away, and disappeared into the darkness of the exit.
Unable to stop the demon from leaving, Murdoc reached down, still cradling Noodle, and picked up the little silver chain, a square pendant with a keyhole in the center of it dangling from the center. Biting his lips, he carefully put it into his pocket, then hoisted Noodle up. He carried her out of the building, his leg almost giving out again, just as the darkness started to lift and the fog returned.
Noodle slowly opened her eyes. Her back and cheek ached, and there was a blanket that smelt of moth balls around her. With a soft whimper, she sat up, rubbing her almond shaped eyes. "Mmmm…" The last thing she could remember was those monsters forcing something down her throat, then….Nothing. Just nothing.
She looked around, faintly wondering if she were dead, but instead she found herself in a hotel room. A large bed held her, and Murdoc snored softly beside her. The door was barricaded with a dresser and desk, and the window was locked and shut, the curtains drawn.
Allowing herself to relax a little, she leaned over and brushed the hair out of Murdoc's closed eyes. His skin was pale, and there were dark bags under his eyes. He was worse for the wear, parts of him bruising. It did not matter to her. She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Murdoc…"
The man stirred a little in his sleep. After grunting a little, he opened one eye, looking up at Noodle. He forced a smile, touching the side of her face with his hand. "Its okay," he said softly. "We are almost 'ome. And then we'll stitch up the pieces…Together." His eyes rolled in his head, and he collapsed again against the pillow.
Noodle said nothing but cuddled up to him, glad for just a few moments of normalcy. Her long, slender arms encased him as he slept, and her lips found his blood splattered cheek again. "Rest, Murdoc. I'll keep watch."
She sat on the foot of the bed for a good two hours before the man awoke. Smiling weakly at him, she helped him out of bed and to a nearby chair. He was stiff and achy, his body feeling as though it had been thrown off of a cliff.
"What do we do now?" Noodle asked softly, using her shirt to clean most of the blood from Murdoc's face.
"We get the fook out of this fooking town, that's wot we do," Murdoc growled, more angry at the world than at Noodle. He hugged her gently. "I thought…I thought I 'ad lost you, Nods. I thought I wouldn't see you again. I felt like I would break."
Noodle said nothing, her mind still hazy as to what had happened before she woke up here, in this hotel room. "We'll get out of this, Murdoc. I'm sure of it. You and I have been through so much already. This is just a nightmare, dividing us between Hell and happiness. We'll get there eventually."
Smiling weakly, Murdoc nodded, and held out his arms for her. He wrapped them about her, content to simply cradle her, knowing that she was more frightened than he.
She had her entire life ahead of her. He had no more than six months.
After an hour or so
of collecting themselves, the two cleared the furniture from the door
and stepped into the long hotel hallway. It was silent as they walked
down the corridor, passing room after room.
Finally, Noodle asked,
"Where are we going?"
Murdoc winced, his leg still bothering him. "I don't know. Just keep going for now. That's all we can really do, eh?"
Wordlessly, Noodle nodded. She looked at the doors as they passed them, working their way back to the front of the hotel and to the exit. The other rooms seemed to be locked, and they did not try to open them or explore more of the hotel. Finally, they came to the double doors leading out, and stepped into the cold air.
Down the steps, into the hotel's courtyard and out the front gate. It all seemed so mechanical, so rehearsed. It was as though the two of them could do nothing else but continue on into the fog. They came to the dock, and stared down at the boat. Wordlessly, they looked at one another, as though questioning whether or not they could take rowing back into town. After what those hands had done, and after almost losing Noodle…
Murdoc shook his head, and fished the map from his pocket. "There 'as to be another-" He stopped short, eyes wide. There, on the map, a little island in the center of the lake was circled in red pen. He did not remember putting that there.
"Another sign," Noodle said softly. "That's where we must go, then?"
"Looks like it," Murdoc said softly, though his voice hinted at anger. He looked at Noodle through sad eyes. "Stay away from the sides of the boat this time, eh? I don't want to go chasing about and almost getting myself killed again. Right?" He tried to laugh, but it came out bitter sounding than he had meant it to be.
Without anything else to say, the two entered the boat and started out for the little island. It was a quick voyage, without incident, as though the town had finally gotten bored with them and wanted them out as soon as they were able. Still, Noodle huddled up between Murdoc's legs as he rowed, his pistol in her hand and at the ready.
Once they were docked, they set eyes upon the tiny island. There was a little, sand-and-pebble beach stretching from the water to about a yard in, then it gave way to grass and scattered trees. In the center, however, was what Noodle and Murdoc assumed they were to investigate- a little cottage. Had it been taken care of, it would have been lovely. A vacation home for the wealthy.
Together, the man and the woman stepped into the open door, looking around. The walls were covered in cobwebs, and the floor needed a good sweeping, as though no one had been there for ages. There were no traces of monsters or any of the horrors they had seen while in the main part of the city or in the amusement park. Instead, there was a calm about the place.
In the center of the main room was a podium of sorts, heavy wood painted black and gold. On the thing's face were nine slots, each holding an image of a woman being burned alive at the stake. These could be moved on a track around the square shaped surface. In the center of this was a little square orifice. There was no dust upon the entire thing, and it looked newer than the rest of the building.
"The puzzle," Noodle said softly, taking the key chain from around her neck. She stepped up to the podium, looking back at Murdoc as he placed the square keyhole pedant the 2D-demon had given him into the hole. It clicked softly into place. Then, Noodle worked the pictures, one at a time, into place.
"Burning witches in a row, six above and three below." The entire thing clicked, and the pictures could not be moved again.
Taking a deep breath, Noodle continued. "One square holds the night. Turn the key and pray for light." She stuck the key into the hole provided by the square and turned it until this clicked as well. Nothing happened, and she frowned.
"This was a waste of time," Murdoc snarled. "This fooking town is playing with us aga-"
Suddenly, the podium shifted on its base. The two jumped back, eyes glued to the thing as it sank into the ground, disappearing from view. The floor opened at their feet in a circular fashion centered around the hole where the podium had once been. Finally, the mechanism ground to a halt, and the two were left with a gapping hole in the ground.
Murdoc cautiously shown his flashlight into the darkness, spotting the bottom just a body's length down. He looked at Noodle for a moment, then eased himself down. Making sure nothing was about to jump out at them, he opened his arms and caught Noodle as she slipped inside, too.
The pit they were in now seemed to be the start of some sort of underground walkway. It was wet- considering that the lake was directly above most of the path, this was no surprise- but smelt sweet and alluring. Like roses or some other flower one would give on Valentine's Day. The ground and ceiling were concrete, offering at least a little protection from the muddy lake bottom above.
Noodle started down the hall first, still clutching their only weapon, her pipe having been lost somewhere in the amusement park. Murdoc hobbled along just behind, shining the flashlight wherever it was needed. The path down into the darkness was long and mostly uneventful- about half way down they found another key- and tiring.
Finally, then two of them reached a wet, rusted door. This was unlocked, allowing them inside. It creaked, though, screeching on its hinges until Noodle let it rest.
The room the two had entered was large. There was a desk toward the front and a long row of boxes behind it, like one could find at a hotel. Opposite of this (and to the left of the door) was the start of another hallway. Across the room from the entrance was a display of some kind, with six nooses hanging from the ceiling.
Four of them were occupied.
Noodle shivered,
unable to take her eyes off of the four bodies hanging there. The
corpses could not have been there long, for none of them showed any
signs of rotting. Yes, they were soaked in blood, and their
respective skin colors had started to tint blue-white, but none of
them were decomposing.
One woman, perhaps no older than Noodle,
and three men hung from those ropes. The girl had dirty blond hair
from what the two living people could see, and was covered in
freckles. The man directly to her left had light brown, almost blond
hair and a green army jacket on. The man to the woman's right had
darker brown hair, and he seemed to be the oldest of the four.
Between him and the man in green was the final member of the little
group- a younger man with messy chestnut brown locks that hid his
face.
The four bodies were hanged in a circle, the two empty ropes dangling just to the left of the occupied ones. These seemed the newest, and perhaps the thickest of the nooses. Murdoc shivered now, realizing who those two ropes were for…
He took Noodle's hand and started for the other corridor. The door slammed shut behind them, but neither seemed to pay that much mind. They were too focused on the screams echoing through the hallway.
They could hear 2D's and Russel's death cries.
It was like the two of them were back on that lonely road, watching the bus and tanker explode in front of them as their friends and band mates burnt alive inside. The sounds from that night burst forth from the walls, smashing into the two as they hurried as best they could to rid themselves of that hell.
"Murdoc! Noodle!"
"Murdoc!
Noodle! It hurts!"
"'elp!
AHHHH!"
"AHHH!"
Noodle and Murdoc covered their ears. Enough! They had enough! Stop…just stop…
As the tanker exploded, screams ripped from the crushed bus. It was hard to tell who they belonged to- Stuart or Russel- but they were loud and pain filled. Murdoc held on tightly to Noodle, holding her back. "You can't go in there!" he tried to reason with her. It was a death trap, and she wanted to return to it to pull their friends from the flames. "There's nothing we can do!"
"Let me go!" she cried, too weak from her injuries to fight him too hard. "I have to get them! Murdoc! Let me go! They are going to die!"
Murdoc closed his eyes. "I know! I fooking know that! But wot the fook do you think we would accomplish by joining them in that fooking inferno?! Noodle, we can't go back in! We'll die too!"
"I'd rather die," Noodle screamed. "I hate you! I hate you Murdoc! I wish you were in there! Not 2D, not Russel! I fucking hate you!" She broke down and sobbed, and he held her, knowing full well that he deserved that hate.
He watched, hands over her eyes, as 2D died just a yard away from them, his body having been thrown from the bus during the explosion. Flames engulfed his lanky body as he screamed, holding out a pleading hand to Murdoc.
" 'elp me! Muds!"
Murdoc closed his eyes, wanting it to be over.
The voices grew in intensity, threatening to consume the two as they continued on down the hall way. Then, just as they grew loud enough to make the two living people's ears bleed, they stopped, and Noodle and Murdoc were thrust into silence.
Panting, the two shook as they came upon one last door. It was locked, and they quickly inserted the key they had found on the way down into the hole. It clicked open, and they entered. The room beyond the door was bright. It was warm. Hell, it was downright cheery. Surprised, the two entered, looking around. In the center of the room were two chairs. Sitting in each, respectively, were 2D and Russel.
They smiled at the other two as they came in.
"I was wonderin' when you were gonna show," Russel said.
"Its boring down 'ere. And so bright. I was finking 'bout drawing somefing on the walls," 2D said, sniffling a bit as though he had a cold. He looked up at Murdoc from his seat and grinned. "Sorry I 'ad to leave you alone in ffat spooky 'ouse. Just 'ad some finishing up to do, you know?"
Noodle fell to her knees, tears in her eyes. "2D? Russel? Is…is that really you?"
"No," Murdoc snarled. "Its not them, Noodle. Get up. I'm fooking sick of these games."
Russel frowned. "This is as close as you are gonna get, Murdoc, to having them back. Take it."
"I 'ave their memories up 'ere," the man snapped, pointing to his head. "And that's wot the two of you are, right? Isn't that wot you told me, face ache? Just memories. Born from a wish. Mine, and 'ers, because we didn't want them to die that night. Well. It 'appened. So enough with these fooking games. Let us go 'ome."
The Russel memory frowned, shaking his head. "We can't do that, Muds. Only this town can, and we are only a piece of that. There is somethin' it needs from you first, before it can let you go. And you both know what that is."
Noodle shook her head, finally standing. There was anger on her face. "Please," she said through clenched teeth, "just cut the shit. I don't care about this town and its head games! I just want to go home! I just want to forget about all of this! I don't care who or what you are! Just stop wearing the faces of my friends! I don't need to see them anymore! I just want to go home!"
The two memories stood, nodding. "If that's what you want, Noodle," the Russel one said. "Then we'll be what we were to begin with."
Without another word, they dropped the façades, becoming monsters that seemed very pleased with the idea of killing the two people they had just spoken with moments before.
Noodle raised her weapon, tears streaming down her face. She was angry at the town, at the monsters, at herself, and still at Murdoc for letting 2D and Russel die in the first place. She would always have that anger toward him, that slight hate.
And then it clicked. That's what the town was feeding off of. Her anger. And, she thought, Murdoc's guilt. Her eyes grew wide at that realization. "Murdoc," she said as the monsters stalked toward them.
"I forgive you."
He stood, dumbfounded, as his mouth somehow managed to form the words "I'm sorry" at the exact moment.
The sun shone brightly into the bedroom, illuminating the occupied bed. The figure under the covers stirred slightly. With a sigh, she sat up, realizing that the sun would not give up until she was awake and out of bed.
Noodle ran her
fingers through her hair, grunting as she rolled out of the bed. Her
feet slid into a pair of fuzzy slippers, and she grabbed her bathrobe
from a hook on the wall. Upon exiting the her bedroom, she headed for
the bathroom to relieve herself. The door was closed, and she
sighed.
"Murdoc," she called, pounding on the door. "Come
on. I have to pee."
The door opened a crack, and a red eye peered out. With a smile, Murdoc Niccals threw the door open and held the girl tightly for a moment. "'appy Birthday, Noodle." He let her go after a moment, a grin still plastered on his face. "When you are done, I'll be down stairs making tea. Right?" He hobbled off, using his cane for support.
Noodle sighed, entering the bathroom. She could never get use to seeing him with short hair, something he had done once they had gotten back to the UK.
It had been three months since the two of them had escaped Silent Hill, more or less intact. Neither of them could remember exactly how they had managed to find their way back out of the town, but when they came to, they were in Murdoc's car, in a ditch just south of the Hellish town.
It was not something that they spoke of much.
Upon returning
home, they discovered that they had been considered missing for the
last week, though they only remembered being lost in Silent Hill for
two days at the most. It did not matter. They were treated for their
injuries, the medical staff of the hospital thinking they had just
been in an extremely bad car accident- their wounds and broken bones
matched perfectly to previous hit-and-run patients.
Silently, they
both wondered if it had all been a dream.
Things had gone from horrible to much, much better. They were able to live together now without the pain of blame. Everything was easier to talk about. Noodle picked up her guitar for the first time in two years. Murdoc's cancer had started to recede.
And, for the first time, the two of them made a trip out to put flowers on 2D's and Russel's graves.
Together.
The pieces of their lives had been stitched back together.
The End
