Chapter 1: The road to Silent Hill

The dusty pickup truck rambled down the freeway at a cruising speed of 60 miles per hour. The sky overhead was covered in thick grey clouds, diffusing the light and washing out all the color of the autumn evening. Along the sides of the freeway farmland stretched out as far as the eye could see. The truck was currently making its way through Indiana about to cross the border of Ohio. In the cab behind the wheel sat Clark Kent, extraterrestrial visitor and boyfriend to billionaire boy wonder Lex Luthor. In the passenger seat sat said boy wonder billionaire, staring out the window at the flat colors of the farmland. And, in the small back seat of the cab rode Chloe Sullivan, star reporter of Smallville, and the most worried member of the trio. The three of them had set out on a rescue mission 12 hours ago after a mutual friend, one Lana Lang by name. Lana had disappeared from Smallville five days ago much to the distress of Clark and Chloe. Lex, on the other hand was truthfully only coming along for the ride. Lex had never cared much for Lana, and wasn't even convinced that the rescue mission was necessary.

Chloe, however, was thoroughly convinced that they needed to find Lana and soon. Their only clue was a town that had been abandoned since the late seventies. Silent Hill, a town that time had swallowed seemed to be Lana's intended destination. And, with a five day head start, Chloe was almost certain she would have found it by now. The only reason the trio was attempting this bit of heroism was that Silent Hill had been abandoned for a reason. A fire that had destroyed over half the town and killed over half the population had also spread to the coal mines under the town. Since then a steady flow of toxic fumes had been spilling out on to the streets. According to the rumors that were circulating all over the web, the fires were still raging deep beneath the remains of the homes and streets of the forgotten town. Just 24 hours ago Chloe had convinced Clark and Lex to join her on the road to Silent Hill in order to locate Lana and either help her in any way they could, or bring her back home.

Chloe sipped from the to-go coffee mug she'd purchased from the last gas stationed they'd stopped at. As she drank her coffee she scanned the pages printed from the Silent Hill websites over and over again. She wasn't sure how many times she read the same things over and over, but she wasn't discovering anything new. They all said the same thing. The town was dangerous, the town was in ruins, and then there were some conspiracy theories that some kind of supernatural force had taken over the town. Chloe had seen weird things plenty of times before, but usually they could be explained by science. To her knowledge Chloe had never experienced anything truly supernatural. But, then again anything was possible. The two boys sitting in front of her were certainly proof of that. She decided to take a break from reading over the same information she'd been reading for the last few hours and put the pages back into her canvas bag. It was that moment that Clark decided to break the silence.

"We're crossing the border to Ohio now." He said. "How much longer should it take to reach Toluca County in West Virginia?" He glanced into the rear-view mirror to look at Chloe.

"Another 3 to 4 hours at least." Chloe said in response. "Toluca County is close to the border of Ohio and West Virginia so we should get there around 11pm or midnight." She stretched out a bit to relieve the stiffness in her back. "Maybe there's a motel in a neighboring town that we can stop at when we get close."

Clark nodded and looked back at the road. "Well we have to stop soon to fill up again, and I don't know about you too but I'm starving, we should eat." He said and then looked over at his lover. "What do you think Lex?"

Lex turned his gaze from the window and only nodded his acquiescence. Lex wasn't much in the mood for talking. If he'd had things his way, they wouldn't be driving cross country to retrieve Lana themselves. With his power and money he could have paid a team of insurrectionists to go into Silent Hill and drag Lana out. But Chloe and Clark had set their minds to going after Lana, and Lex was going along to make sure they both stayed out of trouble. Plus, he couldn't very well let the boy he loved run off to some potentially hazardous ghost town without him. Personally Lex was not very fond of Lana, but still he wouldn't want to see any harm come to her. As the setting sun finally dipped below the wall of grey clouds over head causing Lex to squint as it shone into his eyes. He flipped the passenger visor down to block out the orange glow and then returned his gaze to the dismal fields. Absentmindedly his left hand wandered over to rest on Clark's free right hand as it lay on the arm rest. Clark took Lex's hand in his own and gave it an affectionate squeeze. Clark was glad to have Lex coming along, even if it was against Lex's better judgment. Another 15 minutes passed and Clark spotted road signs that advertised a gas station and place to get food.

"Looks like we should make a pit stop." Clark said. "No telling how long before the next exit."

"Sounds like a plan." Chloe said from the back seat. Despite the warmth of the cab, Chloe was still feeling a chill in her bones. She pulled on a corduroy jacket she'd brought along with her and hugged herself tight. It was unexplainable, this uneasy feeling she had, but it was only getting stronger as they continued on their journey. Clark drove the pickup onto the exit ramp and turned in the direction of the gas station and diner. He stopped to fill up his tank first and then pulled into a parking spot at the diner. Once the trio had been seated and ordered 3 coffees Lex decided to speak up.

"I still don't see why we're doing this." He started. "Why can't we just call the police and let them know that Lana is missing? I mean the cops, the fire department, hell, even the National Guard would be more appropriate to handle this."

Chloe sighed and set her menu down. "Lex, we've been over this." She stated. "In Lana's current state, the police would be a very bad idea." She paused to add cream to her coffee. "And consider this, If Lana is in Silent Hill, she would be trespassing. That town has been shut down and quarantined. She could get into a lot of trouble is she's caught there."

"But you're perfectly okay with us breaking the law to go after her?" Lex returned. "And if the air there is toxic what's to stop us from getting sick?"

"It's a risk I'm willing to take." Chloe said tersely. "This way we can quietly slip in, see if she's there and convince her to come home. And, besides it's been a couple of decades since the fire, the toxins in the air might not be so potent now."

Lex put two fingers to the bridge of his nose and messaged it. He knew any further argument would give him a headache. Clark wrapped an arm around Lex's shoulder to comfort him.

"Lex." He said softly. "I know you don't think this is a good idea, and you're probably right, but, I think this is the best way to handle it."

The waitress stopped by the table to take their dinner orders. After she'd scribbled down each order on her pad and refilled coffees she walked off to hand the order to the cook. Once she was away Chloe lowered her voice and leaned in so as to keep her next statement in confidence.

"There's one other thing." She said. "If anything should go wrong we have Clark." She made a gesture at her best friend. "If he can deflect bullets and melt things with a gaze I'm sure there's nothing in Silent Hill he couldn't handle."

Lex had to admit that having a personal superhero around did ease his tension a little bit. Lex was well aware of Clark's abilities, but he still couldn't approve of their impromptu rescue operation. "Alright." He said. "Have it your way."

Chloe let a small smile come to her lips. She knew that she'd win Lex over. Then Clark looked to her and asked. "Chloe, are you sure about that road that leads to Silent Hill?"

Chloe nodded. "I double checked it against all the maps in the county archives I could pull before we left." She reached into her canvas bag and pulled out a current map of Toluca County without Silent Hill and the vintage map from the 1950's. She pointed out the road in question. "See." She tapped the page for emphasis. "This road goes up a mountain pass, across a bridge and straight into Silent Hill."

"Okay." Clark said and took a slug from his coffee mug. "So, just a few more hours then."

At that moment the waitress returned with their dinner orders. The, ate their dinners in silence. It seemed there was no more conversation to be had on the subject. After finishing they paid the bill and returned to the truck outside. Night had fallen during the time they'd spent in the dinner. Clark switched the headlights on, fired up the engine, and started back on the journey for Silent Hill. The next three hours in the cab the trio remained quiet. It wasn't until twenty minutes after crossing the border of West Virginia that Clark spotted the road that Chloe had pointed out on the map.

"This is the road we need right?" He asked over his shoulder.

Chloe used the light on her phone to check the map again. "Yeah that's the one."

Clark turned the truck onto the old country road. The farmland of Indiana and Ohio had given way to thick woods in West Virginia, and the incline in the road indicated that they were driving up into the mountainous region. There was something strange about this road though. It wasn't just the trees pressing in from both sides, or the total lack of street lights, there seemed to be a thick fog developing outside the truck. Chloe frowned as she realized that it came up seemingly out of nowhere. Clark noticed it too and flipped the switch for his fog lights. The further they drove on the thicker the fog seemed to grow. It was as if the fog was trying to surround the truck and snuff it out light the light of candle.

"If this keeps up I won't be able to see anything on the road." He said. He was already squinting trying in vain to see the road beyond the grey mist.

Lex was beginning to worry as well. The fog seemed impenetrable. If it didn't lift, Clark could run right off the road. Suddenly, the radio, which had been on low and tuned to one of the numerous local country stations, increased in volume. Then a shrill metallic ringing reverberated through the cab of the truck. The sound was blood curdling. It was like the high pitched whine that two microphones make when they are too close together. Chloe's hands shot to her ears in a vain attempt to drown the noise out. Lex had a similar reaction. If he had hair, all of them would have been standing on end. In spite of that, goose bumps sprang up all over his skin. He hissed and tried to cover his own ears to spare himself from the sound. Clark looked away from the road for a moment to try and switch the radio off. But it seemed like no matter what he did the noise only intensified. The instant he took his eyes off the road, a dark figured lumbered out of the shadows and fog, and crossed right into the path of the truck. Chloe's eyes widened in panic as she noticed the figure on the road through the windshield.

"Clark, look out!" she screamed.

Clark's eyes flew back to the road and he turned the wheel sharply to avoid hitting the shadowy figure on the road. The car swerved severely and Clark lost control of it. The truck careened over an embankment and began to slide down a hill at 50 miles per hour. It hid a dip in the hill and began to roll. It flipped over and over again banging against trees as it made its way down the hill. Finally the car flipped a final time rolling off the hill and on to another road at the bottom. It landed rights side up and came to a full stop. A multitude of dings, dents, and scratches covered it. One head light was busted out and there were several cracks in the windshield. As for the three passengers in the cab; Chloe was sprawled out across the back seat, Lex was slumped over against the dash, and Clark was leaning against the diver side window. All three travelers were unconscious.

*So that's chapter 1, let me know what you think Chapter 2 should be up soon.