Chapter 2- Lost in the Mist
There was blood, just a little, not a lot, trickling down her face and onto her hand. It took Love quite some time to awaken, and when she did, she barely stirred. Everything was a little fuzzy, edges no longer held the same definition they did before. The first thing she noticed was how pretty the moonlight reflected the spider-like cracks in her windshield. It was as if the moon itself had been thrown off a cliff and caught by a tree, and its shattered remains lay defeated here in front of Love's face. But then Love began to regain consciousness, and with that came a sense of panic. She had not fallen all the way down the cliff, oh no, she had been caught by some freak trees that had taken root on the side of the mountain, and they cradled her car like a baby in a mother's bosom. Her heart beat rapidly as she carefully gathered her things; A bag with a pair of jeans and a shirt, some travelers checks, a hunting knife, and some trail mix. She unfastened her seatbelt and was already on her way out of the car when she realized she forgot her most important possession; her handgun. After a 5-year stint in the National Guard as an MP, she knew she wasn't going to take any shit from some high-school burnout junkie hick in the backwoods of West Virginia. She retrieved the 9mm and placed it in her deep pockets, along with her permit to carry a concealed weapon. Just in case.
The climb down was harrowing, as it was pitch black and the light that came from the tired old car was filtered by so many leaves and branches that it hardly helped her at all. More than once she almost plummeted to the bottom when treacherous rocks and weeds would come out weakly from the eroded earth she clung to, but she had enough sense to keep a hold on everything she could at those times. The cliff was illuminated by the moon, full and clear and bright, and turned everything a sort of unhappy blue-grey. Love was not even sure what her plan was; she had no rock climbing experience, or equipment. She had no cell phone to call for help, and even if she did, she wouldn't be able to hang on all night. She took a long glance down, trying to judge the distance between her and the ground. She almost puked. God I am so fucked, she thought with a grimace, again losing her grip on a stone that fell into the black oblivion of the night, All I can do is… Climb up. With this thought in mind she powered herself slowly up the rock face, trying to keep her heart from battering its way right out of her chest. The stones were cold, and Love, armed with little more than an old hoodie, began to feel a chill up her spine. But she felt a different kind of chill as well. A paralyzing fear had risen in her, for no specific reason, that she was being watched, and that when she arrived at the top, some ax-murdering cannibal 2 feet taller than her and much quicker would be waiting to chop her pretty little head off. Still, she kept moving up, since she had no other option.
When her fingers finally touched a long, strong tuft of grass, Love thought she had fallen and hit a tree. But no sooner had her fingers reached the top that her arms, and body, and legs followed suit, and she lay there a moment, bathed in moonlight and sweat and panting from exhaustion. The feeling that she was being watched never left her, but she felt much safer now that she was on solid ground. After a few moments she sat up and looked over the cliff, and just in time. She heard a sickeningcrack, and her car, which had carried her from Tijuana all the way up into these beautiful yet vile mountains, fell like a stone. She could hear her carhorn from here. She stood, and making sure all of her possessions were in good order, began to walk slowly down a dirt path she had found in the thick bush. She thought of nothing, intentionally keeping her mind blank so she would not have to deal with her immense fear, her fatigue, and her aggravation. The path was long, but clear, like it was well-walked by humans and deer alike, and she had no worry of her long hair being caught in any of the gnarled, unnerving nettles that surrounded her. Maybe if I can reach Brahams on foot, they'll know how to get to the reservation from there. Long shot, maybe, but I've been wanting to stretch my legs, haven't I? She smirked. Not like this she didn't.
Not long after she began her journey on foot, her tidy dirt path coincided with a road, which was most unexpected. The road was relatively small, one lane to go forward, and another to go back. She jogged up to it to see if there were any road signs of any kind, but found none. She sighed again, much like she did in her crappy car, and kept walking, shoulders hunched. She didn't mind walking at all, but she didn't want to get lost in the woods without food and water. Then again, she reasoned with herself, I'm not lost, I've found a road. Surely Brahams must be somewhere nearby. I'll get there, and then I'll see if there's somewhere I can stay the night. But she had a feeling that she would not be blessed with such good luck.
At somewhere near 6 AM, the sun began to rise a little, turning the sky a melancholy grey. But quite some time later the sky stayed the same dark, menacing grey. That's odd; she thought as she stared at the sky, looking for the sun, it's still really dark. Why hasn't the sun come out all of the way? Finally, she'd had enough. With a huff she sat on the side of the road and took out her trail mix, picking out the chocolate and eating it before everything else. She looked at her old, battered watch: 8:34. 8:34?! She groaned and downed the rest of her food, wishing she hadn't. She had forgotten that she hadn't brought any water. DAMN. FUCK. No matter how mild-mannered she had been, she'd always had a nasty habit akin to that of a sailor. God damn fucking stupid ass hick sister fucking son of a bitch bite me you toothless fuck I'll kill—
Suddenly something came up out of the mist, something she hadn't seen before: A road sign. It read plainly and clearly, even if the paint peeled off of it slightly.
SILENT HILL
Love's heart jumped just a little bit. She made it. Given, she didn't make it to Brahams, or to the reservation, but she made it somewhere, and there would be food and a hotel and a rental car here. Still, she couldn't help but feel something was off… She hadn't seen a single care since she had been on the road, coming from either direction. She could hear no animals. And why the fuck is it so dark?!
