I noticed a small hole in the side of my shoe…acid? What sort of creature could produce acid? I considered the possibility that it was an alien, but there was no way of knowing. I had to leave, that was for sure. I decided to wait until I was completely sober then move as fast as possible out of the town. I had two options:

I could head back towards the car, avoid going through the main town, but it was a long road back to the town I had passed through on my way here…

Or I could take the risk of moving through the business area and head towards Brahms, the closest town just north of Silent Hill.

I chose the latter. I waited anxiously on the bed; I laid down and rested my feet but never fully let go of the wooden plank. I must have slept for a considerable time because when I opened my eyes, the room was in total darkness. I peered outside and saw nothing besides infinite black, night had come so early and the obscuring fog and powerless streetlamps left the streets in pitch dark. I cupped my hands round my eyes and pressed against the window, but I couldn't even see the outer window sill, as though the glass had been painted with tar.

I couldn't go out in that darkness, so I waited…and waited. I waited for hours but the light never came. I had no choice, I had to leave.

I grabbed my bag and took out a t-shirt, ripped it into long strips and wound it around the end of the plank, securing it by impaling each layer onto the protruding nail. I then changed into a pair of old Khaki trousers that were equipped with various pockets and zips. I memorized the road map and slotted it into a pocket by my knee, next went my wallet into a buttoned pocket on the back. I then took out my Zippo and some lighter fluid. I lightly squirted some fluid onto the old t-shirt and tucked it into another pocket. I smoked a cigarette, and swore I would quite when I got home.

I stamped out the butt and rubbed it into the carpet, when I'd unblocked the door and was ready to leave, I lit the torch. Slowly the flame spread across the fabric, illuminating the room with a warm ambience. I silently opened the door, and stepped out into the dark.

As I reached the road, I picked up pace, the dull circle of light following me like a negative shadow. Distant whines echoed from between the buildings as I moved up Crichton Street and past the general store. I reached the point where I had to turn and move through the business area and stopped for a second. 'I'll run.' Once I take Koontz Street, I need the second turning on the left, then straight up few a few hundred yards until it leads me out of here.

As I built up the energy to make a run for it, I was disturbed by a strange clicking noise on my left. Panting followed, getting closer and closer. I stood perfectly still and waited. It appeared at the edges of the torchlight; a dog. It's rancid body skinless and bloody. It bore its saliva-laced teeth with a pugnacious snarl and stepped closer. It didn't take long before it came charging for me, I took it down with a knock ti its shoulder, the nail buried itself into the bloody muscular pulp of the dog's body and held the flame against it. The animal whimpered and screamed to the crackling of its exposed tissue sizzling. Unable to pull the torch free, I stamped on the animal's head and felt the crunch of its skull as it collapsed into a slimy mess of bone, blood and sinew.

I pulled the nail out and raised the torch high again, only to see a whole pack of more fetid creatures closing in. They growled in sync as I slowly stepped backwards. Behind me was Koontz Street, if I could run, maybe I could lose them.

1…2…3…GO!

I sprinted insanely down the street, two other dogs tried jumping for me from behind old cars and joined the mad pack of relentless rabid canines. I stayed close to the left to count the turnings and became more confident as the dogs fell behind.

That's one…and…TWO

I dived into Simmons Street, the home straight but crashed into a bin on the corner. The torch evaded my hands and was flung through the air ahead of me. As I landed, I heard the wood bounce against the concrete and then black. The fire went out and I was left in total blindness. I could only hear the sound of the pursuing dogs charging towards me, as they came, I closed my eyes and braced myself…

They suddenly got quieter, they continued running past me, apparently unable to see me thanks to the darkness.

I waited until I could no longer hear them, then crawled on my knees, patting the ground to find the wood. I took out my lighter and used it to guide me to it, dowsed it in more lighter fluid and relit it.

I could still feel the adrenaline pumping through me, I was driven on by the hot sensation like an engine pulling me onwards. I was heading north, desperate to find safety.

At one point, I tripped over a dead body, the only human I had seen since I arrived here. The augural sight was hard to look at; I could see now why the streets were abandoned. I stopped, unable to look away from the distorted, maimed figure that lay twisted and broken. His face was half-eaten, chunks had been savagely torn from his head, leaving what remained of his face hanging loosely from strands of tissue and yellow bone. I've never seen and dead body before, though repulsed by his disfigurement, I felt some sort of humbleness that told me we were the same. He may have strayed solo into this God-forlorn place not knowing what fate awaited him; maybe this was to be my fate also.

I passed a mall, at which point I was fighting for breath. I ran and ran but suddenly crack appeared in the road. I followed them to find the surface upturned, and littered with lumps of tarmac. The concrete rose before me in a chaotic mound and then disappeared altogether. The road was completely gone, vanished as though an awesome earthquake had shaken loose a large section of the road and swallowed it. But not only the road was gone; the building at the edge of the hole was ripped in half like the whole land beyond this point had somehow plummeted into an abyss.

The sound of movement came from a doorway nearby, I prepared to fight and watched doorway of an antiques shop intently until a faint figure appeared.

'Michael?' a lonely voice uttered, 'Michael…is that you?'

The figure of a woman emerged from the doorway. It was Leanne.