Disclaimer: I do not own the Silent Hill series or any of its characters, places, or other relative ideas. These ideas belong to Konami, not me. The only thing I own is my OC, Katy.
A/N: Time for the third chapter. Again, I want to give a shout out to UndeadCowboy for giving me such good feedback and helpful tips; those kind of comments really help to make me a better writer. Well, I hope everyone who is reading this enjoys it!
Chapter 4: Blood and Pain
The metal cage that somehow passed for an elevator crashed against the ground, causing me to lose my footing. Sprawled on the filthy floor, I watched as the doors slowly slid open with a piercing, creaking sound. It rang through my ears and echoed through the elevator shaft. For a long time, I stayed there on the floor, my legs tucked underneath my body, and hesitated leaving the Cage, as I had christened it. Who knew what could be out there, waiting for a chance to attack me and brutally rip me to shreds? A choice had to be made soon; my legs were quickly falling asleep, the sensation of pins and needles already coursing through them. Plus, I didn't think the Cage was going to be heading up anytime soon. Well, here goes nothing...
Getting to my feet, I shook off the pins and needles before poking my head outside. I was in some small alcove that was completely hidden in darkness. It was only about three feet wide and I could see there were no signs of monsters coming from the left end of the hallway. Unfortunately, I couldn't see the other end, which meant I had to leave the Cage.
Everything in the mall had changed since I took that elevator ride. The floors and walls were caked in grime, blood, and God only knew what else. The doors were now yellow with age, their paint peeling in long strips. Their bronze doorknobs were practically rusted shut, the keyholes oozing some sort of black slime. The lights above flickered endlessly, threatening to short out at any given moment. This place is so unsanitary and gross...only mental cases would put up with this!
Shaking, I moved myself into the hallway and in plain view. A deep, throaty howl—one that sounded like it came from a pure werewolf—came from my right. A Double Head had lifted its head from where it was slurping down what looked to be a fetus or larvae. The sight of its writhing, red body made my stomach twist. The Double Head eyed me suspiciously and then, with another long chilling howl, it hunched down on its hind legs, ready to pounce. Oh, no...
With all the strength I had in my body, I ran down the opposite end of the hallway. Its paws slapped the ground and it sounded close behind. A shadow swept across the light that was shining on one wall and I knew it had jumped. Its canine teeth sunk into the flesh of my leg and I let out a wailing scream as it tore its jaws back and forth. Blood trickled down and into my boot as pieces of my leg came apart. My hands clenched in pain along with my teeth. I could almost feel the dog's tongue pushing into my leg and lapping up my blood as it came pouring out.
Instinctively, I lifted my gun and pointed it at one of the dog's heads. It never noticed; it was too busy feeding off of my flesh and blood. With my eyes closed, I allowed my finger to pull the trigger. A blast erupted from the gun and the dog's high-pitched whines came along with it.
Opening my eyes, I saw the body lying a few feet away; it had been forced off my leg and backwards as the bullet entered its head. Grasping the wall for support, I moved close to it and used my good leg to kick any remaining life out of it. A sheen of sweat rolled down my face as I tried breathing through the pain that lingered in my wound. Oh, God, this hurts like hell!
Leaning against the decaying wall, I used one hand to rip a thick layer of cloth from the top of the orange shirt underneath the white vest. I really hated that orange turtleneck that Heather wore anyway. In fact, I always hated turtlenecks period. If it weren't for the risk of getting my throat torn open along with my leg, I would have ditched it then and there.
Carefully, I wrapped the soft layer of cloth around my wounded leg. The crimson blood easily stained through the cloth and I cursed; it wouldn't last long at this rate. Tearing another strip of orange cloth to tie around my leg, I figured I would soon be wearing less of a turtleneck and more of a belly shirt. Wonderful. Thank God Pyramid Head isn't in this game...
Consulting my map, I decided that the easiest way to go would be to follow the hallway to my left, limping all the way. Occasionally, my fingertips grazed the wall, in which case I instantly pulled away. The walls felt slimy and thick with disgusting fluid. Blood stained my fingers and I tried as best I could to wipe it off on my skirt. Scowling, I kept moving along, avoiding the walls whenever I could.
A yellow door, splattered with blood, was located directly at the end of the hallway and I entered it, my gun raised in my right hand just in case there were any other enemies who might want to chew my skin off.
The room was pretty big, but it looked just as much of a disaster as the rest of the mall. The dark green wallpaper was peeling and ripping. A gray cabinet that reached from the floor to the ceiling was positioned next to the door and it held a couple of health drinks. I drank one immediately—the taste of it was bland and bitter—and was glad to see that the swelling in my leg was starting to decrease. A white cot, similar to the kind you would see in a prison or institution, was across the room. Blood had spilt over the sheets and a white cloth on the bed showed that symbol again. A single wooden chair was beside the bed, as though someone had been visiting an ill friend.
On the other side of the room was a desk, the kind you see in offices. Paperwork was spread out, but none of it was remotely interesting. A paperweight was dripping with blood and the sight of it sent chills down my spine. I think I remembered seeing that same thing in a horror movie once. An ampoule was inside one of the open drawers of the desk and I wondered how I was going to carry all these items.
My eye caught the sight of a small leather bag on the floor beside the desk. It had no handle, but it would be perfect to carry my items. Creatively, I removed my orange turtleneck and stripped a long length of cloth in order to make a strap for the bag. When I was satisfied with it, I wrapped it around my waist and tied the cloth together behind my back. To my relief, it managed to hold my health items and my packs of bullets without breaking and it was a pretty snug fit. The things you could accomplish with a shirt...
I didn't see anything else I could use in the room, so I left, making sure to zip up the white vest ahead of time. The corridor was empty as I slipped down the hallway, holding my map in my hands. A large door led to another area of the mall and I hastily took it, praying I could find a flashlight soon. And a doctor and maybe a shower as well. Some hot food wouldn't be bad, either, I thought as my stomach released a deep growl.
On my way down the hallway, I had to dodge past two Closers, who were determined to strike me with their long, extended arms. They were incredibly slow, so it wasn't much of a challenge to bypass them in the darkness. The hallway began looking more and more familiar; pieces of the game came back to me as I racked my brain to recall where the flashlight was.
A simple doorway at the end of the hall drew my attention and a flashback of my experience with the game convinced me to open the door. A-ha! I found it! It was the room with the flashlight. Shelves lined one whole wall, a few items such as medical kits laying around. Boxes were piled in a heap in one corner. A red button on the wall was labeled with a sign that notified the employees to turn the lights off when the room was not in use. Alright, then.
As I pressed the red button, the lights went off simultaneously. A single flash of light glowed from between the boxes, casting my shadow on the wall. I reached my hand beyond the boxes and pulled out a small white flashlight that easily clipped onto the pocket of the white vest. Having the light to guide me made me feel a little better and safer, at least as much as I can in a place like Silent Hill.
Outside in the hallway, the Closers were nowhere to be seen even though I could still hear their grunting in the distance. A faded sign pointed to the restrooms and I ducked into the ladies' room, hoping there would be running water. It seemed like a massacre had occurred there, everything was covered in trash, grime, and contaminated water from the toilets. The window was rusted shut, but I wasn't looking to escape anyway; it was darkest night I had ever seen, close to the night James had traveled through Dark South Vale in Silent Hill 2.
Scrunching my nose at the sight of the discolored toilet water, I turned the taps in hopes that clear water would come rushing out. The taps creaked and groaned as I twisted them. Water finally did spill out, but the color of it wasn't what normal water should look like. It was blood; the red fluid was quickly filling the rusty sink. The smell of it was overwhelming and I had to cover my nose as I twisted the knob, putting a stop to the flow of blood. I felt like I was going to throw up again, but these toilets were already disgusting enough.
My eyes strayed to a stall that had its door closed. My mind flashed back to a moment when I was playing Silent Hill 3 and Heather had knocked on that door. The result had been scary and unimaginable. The same thing had also happened to me in Silent Hill 2, inside the prison. My curiosity was rising as I stared at the door. Don't do it. Don't knock on the door. You know what will happen already, my inner voice argued.
Curiosity got the best of me and I sauntered over to the stall. Slowly, I brought my fist up to the door and rapped on it. The only thing there was to hear was silence, thick and heavy. Taking a deep breath, I walked three steps away, waiting for the next step. An unmistakable opening of the door came from behind me and I debated whether I really wanted to look. The bathroom exit was right there...
Bracing myself for the result, I spun around and peeked into the stall. It was just as I had imagined, only it seemed worse now that it wasn't just a videogame. Dark—almost black—blood drenched the walls, the floor, and the toilet. Blood was pooling inside, almost reaching the rim. It was a massacre. Oh my god...oh my God...
Hot vomit rushed up into my throat and I gripped the edge of a sink, emptying whatever was left in my stomach, which was technically nothing at all. It felt like my soul was being ripped from my body as I leaned over the sink, the image of the bathroom stall burned forever into my mind.
…
Could you imagine what you would do if you saw something like that? Well, this is Silent Hill, after all. Sorry it's taking so long to get through the mall, but you got to admit that is a very long part of the game. And that's just the beginning! I hope the readers enjoyed the chapter and I'll start working on the next chapter as soon as I can. (=