A/N Sorry for the delay on this story as I have been really busy with life. Now without further adieu I present the next chapter of Shepherd's Glen. All the Silent Hill characters do not belong to me by the way, (though I wish they did).
Anthony William Johnson age 6
After leaving the park, I arrived at home just in time for dinner. The smell was very tantalizing and I could smell it from the porch. "Looks like mom cooked her lamb chops" I thought happily. Entering the house I was just about to head up the stairs to the bathroom when my mom called me.
"Anthony!"
"Yes mom"
"Where are you going?"She asked.
"To wash my hands" I answered.
"You can wash them in the sink down here" my mother said to me.
"Oh…o.k. What's the occasion for the lamb chops?"I asked her.
"I thought it would be a nice dinner" she responded.
"I see. So, where is dad?" I asked.
"He was invited out" she said.
"Oh…that's nice I guess" I answered with my teeth gritted keeping the frustration in check. "My parents are so fucking hypocritical! Unfortunately I don't know what those words mean, but they sounded mean and hurtful." Turning to my mom I decided to ask her if Alex and Elle could come over.
"Hey mom"
"What is it Anthony?"
"Can Alex and Elle come over tomorrow?" I asked sweetly.
"No, I am afraid not" my mother answered.
"That's so not fair! You let dad go out with friends, but you won't let me have any over!" I retorted.
"Tony, don't you dare take that tone of voice with me!" My mom yelled back.
"Fine whatever" I snarled as I left the table. I made it to the stairs before my mother yelled…
"Come back in here and have your diner!"
"I'm not hungry!" I yelled back.
"If you do not get into this room right now Anthony William Johnson, I will ground you" My mother said.
"Fine, I don't care!" I shouted back at her. With that, I stormed up the stairs and this caused a monstrous creak. When I got up the steps, I entered the bathroom to brush my teeth and get clean. After finishing my hygienic tasks, I walked into my room and grabbed my book, "The Legend of Silent Hill" and plopped it on my bed. I was just about to open the book, when I heard the usual drips of blood. Drip, drip, drip went the blood as it began to form a new message.
"How far are you willing to delve into this mystery?" The wall wrote.
"As far as I need to, to obtain the answers I want!" I shouted back as I heard the drips of blood, and knew the wall was writing a new message.
"Well the book will give you some answers, but not the ones you really need"
"Really…then how will I get to the bottom of this?" I asked frustrated.
"You will see" the wall wrote back in a very snide way. Since I was really tiered, and I was not obtaining any answers, I put the book on the shelf, got under my cozy comforter and closed my eyes. As I began to sleep soundly I awoke to find myself at the Shepherd's Glen cemetery.
"What the Hell am I doing here?" I wondered out loud as I walked away into the fog. As I walked away from the gate for what seemed like a few moments, I saw the entrance to the graveyard again. "How is this possible? I am sure I walked away from the entrance" I thought in a confused manner. As I thought about the strangeness of my situation, the gate opened of its own accord.
"What? That's not possible!" I shrieked running away from the opening gate. As I ran, I felt a mysterious force pushing me back towards the cemetery.
"No!" I shrieked fighting against it, but to no avail. The force kept getting stronger until I could not maintain any forward momentum. I could not resist anymore and the force lifted me from my feet and hurled me inside.
"Owey" I cried as I gingerly climbed to my feet and tried to get out of the cemetery once again. As I arrived at the gate, it slammed shut with a loud Clang. "Guess there is nowhere to go but forward" I thought trembling. I slowly began taking steps forward trying to get my unresponsive feet in motion. I began exploring my surroundings. I noticed the various grave markers and mausoleums and there locations. I peered around every nook and cranny determined not to be taken by surprise. Walking forward I heard something or someone approaching. Crunch, crunch, crunch went what sounded like feet moving over the sticks and leaves on the path.
"Wh…who's there?" I asked. My teeth chattering as I looked around for the culprit of the mysterious foot crunching. As I turned the corner, I found the source of the noise.
"Oh my God!" I shrieked as I saw the slashed and bloody image of my friend Chris.
"What are you doing here Anthony?" Chris asked.
"I...I"
"Leave now!" Chris commanded.
"Chris I am trying to leave but I can't"
"Can't or won't?" Chris asked me in an impatient voice.
"I know this seems unreal, but there is a strange force keeping me in here" I told him.
"Listen to me Anthony, the 'force' as you call it is actually your desire to get to the bottom of this mystery. Anthony, do you remember what I said to you in the last dream you had?"
"You said I killed my in…, but you died before you finished the word" I said recalling that horrible dream.
"I was going to say innocence. I represent the innocence you had before finding the book and that cursed wall. So now you have a choice, forget everything about this darkness allow me to grow stronger and then you can live in a more stable world, or you can continue to discover the truths that are left for you which will lead you to Hell. The choice is yours" Chris told me. I looked at him after he told me my options, as tears began to form in my eyes. I thought for a few seconds and then I realized the horrible truth, I needed closer to all this strangeness. I looked at Chris sadly and without speaking he could guess my answer. A few seconds of oppressive silence occurred before Chris spoke again…
"Very well, this will be the last time I see you. You have been warned. You will get your answers, and I honestly hope you will survive unscathed from this knowledge."
"What do you…" before I could finish questioning Chris his wounds erupted. Blood flew out of them and landed on the ground in a puddle with a gigantic plop. A second later Chris's body hit the ground with a sickening thud.
"Help!" I shrieked as loud as I could, but there was no one around, just the unforgiving silence after the gruesome death I just witnessed. "Don't panic, keep moving damn it keep moving" I thought desperately as I ran further into the graveyard. I ran past twists and turns until I reached the center of the graveyard. I stopped to catch my breath, and that was when I noticed the hole in the. I was just about to take a look when I felt a shove in my back.
"Ahhh!" I screamed as I fell into the whole. I landed hard on my chest and the force of the fall knocked all the wind from my lungs. I could taste some bile in my mouth and felt as though I was going to throw up. I slowly began picking myself up and as I looked up I saw Mayor Bartlett standing near the whole with a shovel. Relief flowed through me as I yelled up…
"Mayor Bartlett sir, down here. Please help me up"
Instead of offering to help me out of the hole, he began shoveling dirt into it and on me. Terror flowed through me and I shouted…
"Mayor Bartlett what are you doing?"
"I'm sorry son, I am doing what is required" He said to me in a voice which had a tambour of sorrow, regret and resignation.
"What are you…" I could not finish the question as the dirt began coming down, and I came to the horrible realization that I would be buried alive.
"No!" I screeched as the dirt enveloped me and I could no longer breathe. As I was lost consciousness I saw bright light come to me.
….
"Uh" I woke up in cold sweat as the light of the sun pierced through my window. "What a scary dream" With that I got out of bed and noticed that dirt fell on the floor. "That's not possible" my brain screamed as I went to the mirror and discovered that I was covered in dirt. "No way no way, there must be some logical explanation as to why I am covered in dirt. The only problem is I showered yesterday so that can't be it. Then how?" As my muddled brain tried to discover a logical explanation to why I was covered with dirt, I heard the usual drip, drip, and drip from the wall. I expected to get another message, but instead the wall formed an image of a humanoid worm looking thing that was hanging upside-down. "What is that supposed to be?" I wondered to myself. As I reflected on all the oddities of the morning and the nightmare I just had, there was a knock on my door.
"Yes"
"It's me" my mother said.
"What do you want?" I asked. As I just finished asking my mom opened the door, and had a disgusted look on her face.
"Anthony, what happened to your room? Why is the floor covered with dirt and why did you paint that strange creature on the wall?" my mom asked. Knowing she would not believe the truth I came up with the most logical answer I could think of.
"I was angry so I dumped dirt on the floor and painted this disturbing image on my wall. But that was not the real reason you came to talk to me was it?"
"No. The reason I came to chat was to inform you your father and I are going over to Mayor Bartlett's house. I just came to check on you and make sure you were not up to more mischief, but I guess I was wrong. Not only are you grounded for the week, but you will have this room spick and span when we get home. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal" I responded. With that my mom went to the bottom of the stairs where dad was waiting for her, and they left the house. I quickly began the laborious task of removing the dirt from the floor. To keep me focused I began humming, and it made me finish my task that much faster. After the dust was removed I went down the stairs to get some soapy water to clean off the blood from my wall. Creak, creak went the stairs as I walked down. I then entered the kitchen and pulled a bucket off the wall. Once I got the bucket, I took it over to the sink and filled it up with soap and water. Once I finished I dragged the soapy water up to my room. Once I arrived, I noticed the image was gone as though it never been there. I was so furious at this point that I shouted
"What was that for?" As if on cue the wall sent an answer to my question.
"You know I can remove my messages when I want to, but I thought it would be amusing to see what would happen if your parents saw it."
"Whatever" I mumbled as I left the room to go take a shower, while the wall made the message vanish. With that I took the soapy water to the kitchen and dumped it in the sink. With that task completed I went upstairs to go take a shower. The warm water felt really good as it caressed my body and enabled me to get all the dirt off. A few minutes later I went into to my room and got dressed. With all my tasks done I went downstairs to call my friends. Thanks to caller I.D. I found Alex's phone number and called.
"Hello, Shepherd house who is this?"
"Is this Alex?" I asked.
"Who else would it be Anthony?" Alex asked.
"It could have been your dad" I answered.
"Ah uh. My parents are at Mayor Bartlett's and won't be home until around five, but probably later as you know how adults are."
"That's where my parents are as well. What do you think is going on?" I asked.
"Grown up stuff" Alex responded with a laugh.
"You are probably right. Anyway, don't forget we were meeting today with Elle so I can show you guys the book" I reminded him.
"Oh right, I forgot, whoops" Alex said.
"No prob, which is why I reminded you" I told him.
"Great, I will go pick up Elle and we will be over soon" Alex told me.
"That works. Oh one quick thing. I am grounded so I need you guys to leave by three" I told him.
"Works for me" Alex said.
"Bye" Alex and I said in unison. After saying bye I hung up the phone and rushed up the stairs to my room. My haste up the stairs caused a gigantic creak. "Thank goodness the stairs did not collapse" I thought just as I got off them. After I arrived in my room, I got the book out and began leafing through the pages while I waited. Twenty minutes later I heard the annoying doorbell go bring bring.
"Just a moment!" I shouted moving as quickly as I could down the creaky steps. A moment later I opened the door and nearly fell on the floor in a fit of laughter. There was Alex dressed a bit like the stereotypical Sherlock Holms. He had the cap, a checkerboard patterned jacket brown pants and brown leather shoes. The only thing missing from the costume was a pipe. When Alex saw me laughing hysterically his face turned a little red, and in a voice which contained surprise asked…
"What is so funny Anthony?"
"The entire outfit" I responded. When I said that Elle jumped in as well.
"I told you the outfit was a little too much."
"Not you too Elle. Besides, you said this was going to be a mystery so I thought it would be fun to look the part" Alex responded.
"Makes sense" Elle said.
"I know, but it is still a really funny sight" I commented. "Anyway would you two like something to drink before we start?"
"Sure" Alex and Elle responded.
"What would you like? I have Juice, milk, water and soda" I told them.
"Water is fine" Alex and Elle told me.
"Coming up, wait does this mean I should dress as a waiter?" I asked jokingly.
"Oh come on" Alex whined.
"Geese I was just kidding" I told him. With that I went in the kitchen and poured three glasses of water. After I poured the water, I brought Alex and Elle's out and then I went in to get mine.
"All right let's head upstairs" I suggested. With that we climbed up the steps and entered my room. I pointed to the wall and announced,
"This is my temperamental wall."
"Looks normal to me" Elle said.
"That's because it is trying to hide and make me look stupid" I told them.
"I'm in agreement with Elle on this one. Sorry dude" Alex announced.
"O.k. I know you don't believe me about the wall, but we could at least…." Before I finished my sentence, the three of us heard the sound of a wet substance hitting the floor. Drip, drip, drip went the blood as the three of us looked out and saw the outline of a message.
"Welcome Alex and Elle. How may I be of service to you guys?"
"Ahhhhhhh!" Shirked Alex and Elle as they looked at the wall.
"Geese Anthony, how do you live with that thing?" Elle asked.
"You get used to it" I responded. After I answered Elle's question the wall sent us another message.
"If you want somewhere to begin looking I suggest page 666" The wall told us.
"Why?" Alex asked.
"Because that is where you will find answers to your questions, but it may raise some more"
"What do you mean?" The three of us asked the wall, but it ignored us completely.
"I agree with Elle on this one. How do you put up with it?" Alex asked.
"As I said earlier, you get used to it. Now, let's go check out the page" I urged.
"Right" my friends responded. With that we walked over to the bed and I picked up the book. After flipping to page 666, the three of us began to read.
"Many say Silent Hill itself is a culmination of the fears of whoever enters. This means that two people would see the town in different ways depending on how guilty they feel. The town was entered by various people, each describing it differently, but one thing was consistent from each of them the sense of dread and fear was always present.
"What does that mean?" Alex asked.
"I honestly don't know" I responded.
"The wall was right, reading this passage brought more questions than answers, but we will get to the bottom of this" Elle said.
"I hope so. I truly hope so" I replied.
A/N Well I finally finished this chapter and once again I am sorry for the long wait. I hope there is the right amount of description and action in the story. Thanks to those that have alerted and favorited it as well as those who are interested enough just to click on it. Please review and let me know what you think.