Author's Note: Hey, guys. Took me some time to even start this. It was hard thinking of how I could execute a Silent Hill atmosphere. Frankly, I don't think there are a lot of people that can emulate Silent Hill, me included. But, being the fan I am, I tried to do it anyway. I think I like how it turned out, regardless. Well, hope you enjoy!
P.S.
I'm making this Silent Hill Elliot's Silent Hill. So there are changes I wanted to make, and will make, that are different from the Originsverse (hopefully, by only slight, though). It'll be different, in other words. Hope you like it.
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It'd been a rough ride to Silent Hill. Travis's body shook with anticipation. He remembered the fear that controlled his body that fateful time in his life, the fear that dominated his nights. That fear had been lying dormant in him. He thought he'd never let it out, that he'd always let it slide back into the recesses of his mind whenever the lonely nights couldn't be filled. Elliot was going to be the filler to one of those lonely nights, but something told Travis it was going to be different. And it was. He didn't exactly know why he agreed to take Elliot to Silent Hill. Some part of him hoped it wasn't some kind of sick revenge plan. Revenge for what, he didn't know. But he knew that when he parked the truck at the "Welcome to Silent Hill" sign, there was no going back. No "Let's turn around" or "We'll do it later." Travis regretted the decision immensely, but what could he do now? Nothing, he felt.
Travis looked to his right to see Elliot had disappeared.
What the hell? he thought. He stepped out and quickly moved the the front of the truck. He saw Elliot looking up at the sign. He briskly walked to Elliot and put his hand on his shoulder.
"Not again, kid." Travis said to Elliot.
"What? Again?" Elliot asked, confused.
"Never mind. Let's just go."
Travis and Elliot walked back to the car and drove further into town. The same unsettled queasiness came over Travis as the fog thickened into the town. But, this time, there was no good reason for being here. Not for Travis, at least. Travis parked his truck in one of the abandoned parking lots. Cars spotted the streets, looking as if they hadn't been moved in years, yet untouched by rust or age. Travis hadn't escaped the first time around just to unravel the town's secrets. He was here for Elliot, nothing more. He turned to Elliot, who had been looking at a map quizzically.
"So, do you know where your mother might be?"
Travis leaned over to look at the map with Elliot.
"I don't know how to read maps, so not really." Elliot stated, bluntly.
"'Not really'? Not even a little bit of an idea?"
"I'm sorry, but I don't know. My mom never told me anything. I just know she's here, though."
"Great. She might not even be here!"
"She is-"
"Listen, Elliot. I promised to come with you because Silent Hill is not a place you want to mess with. Believe me. And when we dig deeper into this mess your mother might be in, you'll see first-hand what I mean."
Elliot sighed and looked up at Travis.
"Okay. I know. It's dangerous. But I don't care. My mom's out there somewhere, and she needs me. You can't say anything that'll change my mind, Travis."
Travis looked at him for a few unsure seconds.
"Fine."
They started walking down the road. A strange quietness fell over the air.
"I guess we could start at the hospital, considering your mother is sick. She might've wanted to grab something for the pain." Travis said.
"No. My mom said that if she could ever come back here, she'd visit her childhood home again. I think that's where she is."
"Okay, if you say so. Where is it?"
"Um... I don't remember exactly, but she said it wasn't near a lot of buildings or stores, kind of like on the edge of town. Or something."
"Or something"? Just great. We're going to be here a while...
Travis groaned mentally at the thought of wasting any unnecessary time here. A few minutes passed as they navigated their way with the map.
"So... Why were you here last time? Were you looking for someone?" Elliot questioned, unknowing of the reluctance in Travis's voice.
"I found a girl burning in a building on the outskirts of this town. I don't know how, but I woke up here on a bench. I wanted to check on the condition of the girl. That's the only reason I even stayed."
"Did she make it?"
Travis looked over at Elliot, not sure if he should really be talking about this with him.
"You could say that."
"Well, I hope she did. Nobody should have to suffer like that."
Travis thought back to the burning house, the screams, and the smell of burning flesh as he held that little girl in his arms.
"Yeah."
Travis looked straight ahead, hardly anything to keep his attention, besides the fact they were in Silent Hill.
"So, what's your mother's name?" Travis asked, trying to change the subject. Elliot smiled as he pulled his wallet out, taking a photo out to show him.
"Her name's Jessica. Isn't she beautiful?"
Travis took the photo from his hands, examining it. A beautiful woman with long, blond hair sat beside a man whose face had been marked out with ink. The man clearly wore a brown suit and red tie, one of his arms wrapped around the woman's shoulder, and the other hand lying on the shoulder of the boy, Elliot, in the middle. The word "Armstead" read in rough, black letters, apparently written in a hurry. They looked very happy. But looks, Travis knew, could be deceiving. He handed the photograph back to Elliot.
"Yeah, she's stunning. Is the man in the picture your father?"
Elliot sighed.
"Unfortunately."
He shoved the photo back into the wallet, and the wallet into his pocket. They continued walking until they hit the end of the road, expectantly broken off.
"Damn it."
"What's wrong? We can use a different route, can't we?"
Elliot was obviously worried.
"Kid, we don't even know where we're going. But I know this lead deeper into the town. Now that it's broken off, we're just going to have to go through the-"
Travis's sentence was cut off mid-way when he heard a voice behind him, calling his name, almost a scream or plea. But it was distant. He whipped around quickly to see who it was, the voice sounding so familiar. No one was there.
Come on, Travis. Don't go crazy now, He thought to himself.
"What's wrong?" Elliot asked, obviously a little scared.
"N-nothing. We'll just go through the... Damn it, I lost my train of thought. I can't remember where the other route is..." Travis rubbed his forehead, a headache emerging quickly.
"Do you have a headache?" Elliot put his hands on Travis's forearm. Travis looked at him.
"Uh, yeah," Travis finally responded.
"Okay, let's just go through the hospital. Maybe there's a backdoor. We can get some painkillers on the way through."
"Yeah, sure."
Slowly, Elliot lead Travis through the streets to Alchemilla Hospital, Travis's headache increasing immensely. Travis gently pushed Elliot away from him to open the door, but it was locked.
Damn it, Travis cursed in his head.
"No good, Elliot," Travis informed him, dejectedly.
"Let me try."
Elliot pulled out a key and used it on the door. Travis looked at him, puzzled.
"How did you get a key to the hospital?"
Elliot hesitated for a moment.
"I... found it at the broken road. Come on."
They both walked into the hospital. Travis was tense. He looked around the waiting area.
Something's wrong, Travis thought.
He looked over at Elliot who was flipping through a directory that was lying on the reception counter. Travis breathed out slowly through his nostrils. Sweat bubbled from Travis's pores as he looked around again, slowly. Blood started running from the chairs and floors, rust and barbwire ran down the walls behind the reception counter. Travis shifted his weight, squishing, wet sounds emitting from the movement. He looked over at Elliot, who was still calmly looking through the directory. Suddenly, the voice from earlier ran through his head in a quick second.
Help, Travis! the voice screamed.
Travis slowly turned toward Elliot.
"Elliot... How did you know where this place was? I thought you couldn't read maps."
Elliot stopped flipping through the directory, which Travis now noticed was covered in blood.
"Does it matter, Travis? We're here, aren't we?" Elliot asked in a calm tone, still facing away from Travis. Travis started backing away from the blood crawling towards his feet.
"We have to get out of here, Elliot!" Travis said, urgently.
"No," Elliot responded.
"What?" Travis asked in confusion and disbelief.
"I said, no!"
Elliot turned around quickly, revealing a bruised and bloodied face. His neck was covered in handprints, and blood soaked his black hoodie. His hair, too, was covered in blood, and something brown.
"Elliot...?"
Elliot lunged at Travis. Travis grunted as they hit the ground together. Elliot came close to Travis's face, growling.
"Yooouuu! Whhhyyy?!" He raised his hand, which looked to have wire nails sticking out of it, in the air, prepared to strike, but Travis knocked him off of him before he could. Travis scrambled to his feet, and ran passed Elliot.
That is not Elliot! Travis yelled in his head.
Seeing the monster coming to its feet, Travis ran into a closet, cracking it a little to see where the monster was. Footsteps approached the door. He closed it a bit.
"Whhhyyy?! Let me out!"
A loud crack resounded in the hallway, making Travis jump. After a few minutes, Travis cautiously opens the closet door to look around. He looks around to see the hallway and waiting area in pristine condition. No blood, no rust, no barbwire - nothing. He looked at the bottom of his soles to see no blood there, either. His heartbeat had calmed a bit, previously being horribly fast. Clearing his head, Travis took a closer look at the reception area.
I don't remember this place at all... Travis thought, confused.
Everything seems different, but the same, he continued.
"I have to find Elliot." Travis said, scared. Travis knew it was happening all over again.