A/N: Yes, it's an update! :D I was pleasantly surprised to see how many positive reviews I got for this fic! Thanks a lot, guys, you keep me going.

It seems you've all at least somewhat noticed how Maria's absence is significant...;D that will be addressed soon, I assure you. As for this chapter...at last, we delve into the dreaded hospital! The tension continues to build. I'm sure I've said this before, but I'm trying to incorporate the gradual descent into utter insanity. As they do in the game, the surroundings will continue to deteriorate and become worse and worse as time goes on; I'm going to try and increase the tension on an emotional level, too. We'll see how OC Brit and James' interactions change as their journey continues. :D

Anyway, tl;dr. Hospital, bad stuff happens. Let's get on with the chapter, shall we?

Disclaimer: I do not own James, Silent Hill, or the psychotic nurses.

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We exited out the other door to the club, heading down the staircase and moving through the short alleyway. It wasn't long before we were out on the street again. Since the road was blocked off to our left, we turned right. I could already see the outline of Brookhaven through the fog. Oh, God...why did it have to be so close?

Brookhaven Hospital. Even in the game, it had been my own personal hell. Silent Hill 2 had been the first I'd ever played of the series, so I hadn't anticipated having to go through the whole building twice. Now I had played through the place so many times that it was a breeze to me, but I had a feeling it wouldn't make any difference once I set foot in there.

My only advantage was that I had the layout of the hospital memorized...that was, if it didn't randomly change on me. Silent Hill seemed to like doing that every time you built up a sense of self-confidence.

Pushing my thoughts aside, I gripped the pipe tightly. Part of me wished James had forked over the gun, but I would probably have ended up shooting him in an attempt to kill a monster.

James started. "Did you see that? I think that was her!" He said, looking to me for a minute, and then back in the direction of the hospital.

Although I hadn't seen anything due to my inattention, I immediately nodded. "Yeah, she was definitely heading in there. Let's go."

We ran forward, the hospital looming closer and closer with our every step. The mere outline of it slowly grew more defined, until I could see windows that were boarded over from the inside. My stomach lurched sickeningly as I continued to notice how this was exactly the way I remembered it.

In a few seconds, we were standing in front of the pathway that led to the doors.

James frowned, reading the sign. "Brookhaven Hospital..."

The doors were right there. This was the moment of truth; I knew for sure that those damned nurses were in that hospital, waiting. I experienced one last, wild feeling of hope and desperation; maybe I wouldn't see them, maybe they wouldn't exist in my Silent Hill!

I hadn't done anything wrong. James had killed Mary, Angela had killed her father, and Eddie was a total nutcase. Laura was innocent, and she just saw a normal town, didn't she? Just like I did! I had to be like Laura. I wasn't like the others. There was no reason for me to be here!

James was walking toward the doors. He turned on his flashlight in anticipation of the coming darkness, and opened the door. I followed him very closely as we moved into the musty gloom of the hospital.

We weren't three steps into the building when the radio exploded into static, and my heart stopped.

A single figure met the flashlight's beam. It stood stock still in the brightness, its shadow exaggerated and about as disfigured as the creature itself. All I could hear was the static and the thing's wet, ragged breathing.

I couldn't move. A terror more thick and suffocating than the fog outside had settled over me, and even breathing took a conscious effort.

Bubble Head Nurse.

It stared at us; though I couldn't quite make out eyes through the folds of flesh on its face, I had the very distinct feeling that it knew we were there. The nurse held a pipe quite similar to my own, and I could see that it was caked with something I couldn't bring myself to describe. Its head was tilted as if in inquiry, but the unnatural angle at which it was tilted suggested a broken neck.

My dumbstruck examination was cut short as the nurse lurched forward, sending my train of thought to a screeching halt. It let out a low gurgling sound in reaction to our presence and its head bobbed with every clumsy step, the neck set at a sickening right angle to the body.

The monster was alarmingly close, and the next few seconds were a blur. James had pulled out the handgun without my realizing, and was now firing shots into the creature. I was choking on my own fear. All I could do was fall backwards against the doors, watching in complete shock as the top of the nurse's head was blown off. I watched the thing's bloodstained hat fall to the floor, felt the flecks of gore hit me and slide down my skin.

It let out a single, bloodcurdling shriek before falling to the ground and flailing wildly; James hurriedly strode up to it and delivered a final blow with his foot, smashing whatever was left that was keeping it alive. And then all was still once more.

My stomach seemed to curl in on itself. I pulled in a long, shaking breath of air, before slamming through the doors and plunging back outside into the fog. Tripping down the stairs, I quickly fell to my knees and vomited into the grass.

No matter how much I tried, I couldn't seem to stop. I heard the nurse's wet breathing in my mind, the sound of the gunshots firing, bullets tearing through rotting flesh. Tears streamed down my face. What the hell had I just seen?!

Hands on my shoulders. No, I didn't want him near me, he was a part of this madness. I was trapped in James' nightmare, and it was all his fault! Why, why...

"Get away," I choked, coughing up bile. He didn't budge; he just squeezed my shoulders lightly. An attempt to comfort me? Bullshit! This was his fault! He got me into this mess! If he hadn't killed his fucking wife...

"Don't touch me!" I snapped, shoving him away. He backed off, putting his hands up slowly to show that he wasn't about to approach again. Shivering, I retched a few more times, sobbing and barely able to breathe.

After a few minutes I finally fell quiet, disgusted with the taste in my mouth and with my utter vulnerability. But I couldn't comprehend what I had just seen. If I accepted it, that meant I really was stuck here with James. This wasn't a version of Silent Hill crafted for me, because I had no major sins to repent for. This was James' mind, James' purgatory, and my reason for being here made no difference. I was just as damned as he was.

That was a Bubble Head Nurse I had seen, and it had been identical to its counterparts in the game. There were more of them in that hospital, and they were going to do their best to kill the two of us.

I took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. The pipe was still clutched in my right hand. I had a weapon, and those things could be killed. Even if we didn't have Health Drinks to magically heal wounds, I still had a chance at living, and I was going to take it. I wasn't going to die here, not like this. What had I done to deserve this hell?!

"Brittany..." James murmured hesitantly.

"I'm sorry," I blurted out, gritting my teeth against the tears that threatened to come. "I'm sorry, I...I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. I'm just...oh God, I'm so scared..."

"I know," he said softly in reply, and held a hand out to help me up.

Grasping his hand and letting him pull me to my feet, I attempted to compose myself. I wanted to get away from the smell of my vomit; it was making me feel sick again. But to go back in there, see that thing again...

James reached into the small pack he carried—I noticed for the first time that this was a deviation from the game—and drew out, to my surprise, a bottle of Poland Spring. Unscrewing the cap, he offered it to me. I grabbed it and took a long drink, before remembering that clean water might be limited around here. Giving him a hesitant but grateful smile, I handed the bottle back to him.

"Feeling better?" He asked me after a few seconds. I wondered if he resented how I was holding him back, but I found myself unable to read his expression.

I laughed without humor, feeling utterly helpless. "No. But I don't think I have anything left to throw up, at least."

"I'm sorry." Apparently now it was his turn to apologize. He sighed, gazing out in the direction of the road. "I don't know why this town brought you here...but I don't mean to drag you into this."

"I...don't really have any other option, do I?" I said, gripping the pipe tightly. "I can't just wait outside...it's not safe out here, either." I remembered the corpse we'd seen.

"I won't let those things hurt you," James said, his blue eyes sincere.

I averted my gaze. He couldn't promise me anything, not in this place. As much as I wanted to believe him, as much as I wanted to place my faith in him...I couldn't. I'd never survive here if I relied on him to protect me.

"What was that...that..." I trailed off, desperate, but already knowing the answer. Maybe I was stalling. Even I couldn't tell at this point.

He shook his head, looking back at the hospital doors. "I don't know. But Laura's in there."

"Yeah," I nodded weakly, and bit my lip hard. I really, really didn't want to go back in there...

He didn't say anything in reply, simply watching me. It took me a minute or so of slow, heavy breathing to gather my resolve. Grasping the comforting metal of the pipe with both hands, I let out one final breath.

"All right," I said quietly. "I'm ready...as ready as I'm gonna get."

James nodded, and we headed back for the doors. This was it...one last breath before the inevitable plunge.

We opened the doors, and the hospital swallowed us up once more.

The smell of blood instantly hit me. Despite the fact that I had already emptied my stomach, I almost started retching again. The body of the nurse, thankfully, was unmoving. It was dead, without a doubt. I realized with quite a bit of discomfort that we would have to go around the corpse in order to continue onward.

"Listen," James murmured solemnly to me, looking over to make sure I was all right. "When they're close by, the radio acts up." He indicated the radio he carried, and I nodded in understanding.

The static...it was both a blessing and a curse. Instead of providing a sense of reassurance, it only caused my stomach to lurch at the prospect of impending danger. Every time I heard static...those things would be coming for us.

James began to move forward, towards the body of the nurse.

"Hold up," I said weakly, and he looked back at me. I reached up to the bulletin board on the wall to my left, tugging at the map that I knew was there.

He blinked, and then came over to pull off the map and examine it. After a moment, he folded it up, satisfied.

"Good," he said with a nod. "We're probably going to need that."

"Any idea where we should look?" I asked feebly, wanting to stall our progress.

James frowned. "Anywhere, I guess...I don't know what a little girl would want to do in a hospital."

Unable to come up with any other reasons to hang around in one spot, I pulled in yet another breath, letting it out slowly in an attempt to calm my nerves. The only way I could think of to get out of this hell was to follow James through it. If I ensured that he survived through this and learned what he was meant to learn, he might be able to leave the town peacefully and take me with him.

So in a way, stalling was only prolonging the nightmare. If I could just tough it out...

Gripping the pipe, I stepped forward and looked around. The bobbing of the light behind me indicated that James was following. We moved to step around the body of the nurse, which did not twitch or revive itself as I'd irrationally feared.

I headed to the first place I always headed to in the game—the reception office. As expected, the door was unlocked. I pulled it open, and it led to a very dusty but familiar room.

Moving to the side to let James in, I turned to examine everything in the room. As I remembered, there were a few bookcases lining the walls, as well as a desk near the center of the room. I sifted through some of the papers on the desk, but all I could find was a bunch of records and medical jargon.

"Patient records..." James muttered, examining some of the papers himself. His brow was furrowed slightly.

"Well, this is a hospital," I said in a matter-of-fact tone.

He shook his head. "Look."

Frowning, I moved to his side and leaned in to examine the paper he was holding.

[Joseph Barkin]

His illness seems to be rooted in the fact that he believes he is guilty for causing his daughter's death. His symptoms suggest a psychotic break and paranoid delusions. Normally calm, but has a tendency toward violence when excited.

Ah, good ol' Joseph. Who could forget that crazy box of his? James didn't seem to realize we would soon be very acquainted with this man and his insanity.

"Huh," I shrugged. "So what's your point?"

He shuffled through some other papers, showing me the files of Joshua Lewis and Jack Davis, as well as some other patients.

"Don't you notice a trend?" He asked, looking troubled.

"They're all batshit?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him. "Yeah, I got that." Then, after a second, I nodded. "Oh...I see what you're driving at."

"We're in a mental hospital," James said, confirming what I already knew.

"What a surprise," I said sarcastically. "But what would Laura want to do in a friggin' mental hospital?"

James sighed, turning to the next door. "Come on. I don't think there's anything else in here."

Nodding, I followed him into the next room, which was more cramped than the one before. I found myself coughing because of the sheer amount of dust in the air. It looked like this place had been abandoned for a while.

There wasn't much else in this room, either, besides the key we'd need later on. James took notice of this instantly, leaning over to examine the items on the desk next to the typewriter. Really, who used a typewriter nowadays anyway? If I hadn't already known that this town was practically on a separate plane of existence, I really would think that no one had been here for years.

"Look at this," James gestured to me, and I moved to lean over his shoulder.

This time it was the journal left by the doctor, a typed report on what he called "the other side." A place that lies on the borders where reality and unreality intersect...a place where the patient mentioned could be happy. But if the doctor was speaking of the place I was thinking of, how could anyone possibly be happy there? If everything that happened in this town really was the invention of our own minds...was it possible to create a place where we could be happy?

But to live your life in a delusion...even that would be hell, wouldn't it.

James seemed about as deep in thought as me. I wondered what he was thinking.

"The other side..." he murmured.

"It's being invaded by the Otherworld," I muttered. "A world of someone's nightmarish delusions come to life."

"What?" James glanced over at me, frowning deeply. "What does that mean?"

I immediately shook my head, startled; I hadn't even realized I'd said it aloud.

"Just something I read somewhere," I replied with a shrug.

When he continued to look troubled, I stepped beside him and searched for a way to divert the attention from myself. I found it quickly enough.

"'I got the key from Joseph,'" I read, placing a finger over where the writing was. "'It's probably the key to that box.' Hey, wasn't Joseph one of those patients we read about?"

"I think so," James said, reaching down to pick up the Purple Bull Key. "...We should probably hang on to this."

"Might as well," I agreed.

After a few more seconds of examination, we were able to discern that there wasn't anything else worth looking at in the room. Oh...that meant we'd have to go back out into the hall, where the monsters lurked. Shit.

To my relief, the radio didn't act up when we headed back out the door to the reception office. The body of the nurse was still there, and so was the lingering stench of blood. But it was dead, just a pile of flesh. It couldn't hurt us.

My morbid curiosity got the better of me. I had to step forward and examine the thing more closely.

I saw James hesitate from the corner of my eye, as if he wanted to stop me. Maybe it would be better if he did. Regardless, I looked down at the nurse, cautiously nudging its head with my foot.

Instead of screeching and grabbing at me as I'd been fearing, its head simply lolled to one side. Dead, most definitely dead. I had so much trouble accepting it. How could such a thing have been living in the first place?

"...What is it?" I whispered, staring at its destroyed face. "Is it human? Was it human?"

"I don't know," James said from behind me. "I hope not. I can't imagine having to exist like that."

Unable to stand looking at the gore anymore, I turned away. "Yeah...there's no reason to dwell on it. Let's just get this over with..."

The rest of the doors on the first floor were either locked or broken. There was nothing else to examine down here. It only took James a few minutes to determine this fact, and upon discovering that the elevator was unusable, we headed immediately for the stairwell.

The stairs were as dark as the rest of the hospital; without James' flashlight, we'd probably be walking in pitch darkness. We walked up the first flight, and I felt the familiar sensation of panic resurfacing when the sound of static grew with every step. There were monsters ahead.

We stopped at the first door we came to. It was marked with the label '2F'.

James hesitated with his hand on the knob, looking back at me. "...Ready?"

I was sure that the way I blanched said otherwise, but I nodded nonetheless. He turned his attention back to the door, his other hand pulling out the gun. I held my pipe as if it were a lifeline.

The door opened outwards, and for one horrifying second it partially obscured our view of the hallway ahead. But then that second was over, and we were out in the hall, and the sound of feminine moans and shrieks surrounded us. One on either side of us. Oh, Christ.

Flashes of light illuminated the nurse I faced as James shot at the one behind me. I watched with an almost sick fascination as the thing's body twitched and convulsed, as it took a shuddering step in my direction. Fresh terror bloomed in the pit of my stomach at the close proximity to this creature. I could see every detail of it, from the pale skin of its shapely legs to the dark shadow of the veins running down through its partially exposed breasts. It was a horrid mockery of a human woman.

I was broken out of my reverie as the nurse abruptly swung the pipe it held, and I barely managed to dodge. I felt adrenaline start to kick in as I heard the blunt weapon whistle just past my ear. All it would take was one blow to the head—one blow to the head, and it could very well kill me.

But that fact would apply to that thing, too, wouldn't it? Without a second thought, I retaliated and swung my own pipe like a baseball bat. The nurse let out a wild scream as my weapon connected with its head. I felt a sickening crunch, and knew I had smashed its skull. Blood sprayed in a frantic gush.

I paused, trembling, as the nurse stumbled back into the wall. Its spasms continued for a moment or two, but then I nearly let out a scream as it suddenly lunged for me again. How the hell was it still standing?!

Almost as a reflex, I immediately swung my pipe again, this time hitting the nurse on the shoulder. I swung again and again, feeling body parts break beneath my weapon, ignoring the nurse's almost human screams. My own grunts hardly even seemed human to me, and it felt as if I'd connected with some sort of primal instinct within me; even after the creature fell to the ground, I continued to swing.

Even after its flailing died down, I swung and swung, until I heard the wet smack of the pipe on destroyed and bloody flesh. Stepping forward, I kicked the corpse hard to ensure that it was indeed a corpse.

When I noticed how quiet it was, and realized that the horror was over, I heard myself let out a small whimper. I backed away from the body and nearly screamed when I ran into James.

"Shh," James murmured in an attempt to calm me down. "It's all right. It's over."

"I know," I said shakily, staring at the gore that covered my pipe. "I know."

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A/N: Oh God, those nurses scared the living shit out of me the first time I encountered them in the game. :P it's the way they convulse, I don't know...or maybe it's their stupid screams. Ughhh. And they killed me a lot, too, because I sucked at fighting when I first played. XD

Soooo...I have a feeling the hospital's going to take up a lot of chapters. Stupid otherworld...oh, speaking of which, I hope you appreciated my SH1 reference, lol.

Okay, I'm gonna shut up now. Review, and I'll love you forever and ever!

Next time: I'll be fine...it's just a hangover.