Chapter 5: The Damned

May 13, 1994

For almost two years, Ernest Baldwin's restless spirit wandered the halls of Baldwin Mansion. During that span of time, he watched. He watched as Mrs. Kramer discovered his body in the study, watched as it was taken away to be buried. He watched Mrs. Kramer leave the mansion for good four days later. He watched as the house fell into disuse. He watched, and wandered. Ernest soon discovered that he could not leave the building, the outside doors simply wouldn't let him pass. Something had to be done, but what? Ernest didn't know. But he did know one thing: He would still resurrect Amy, even if he was chained in the fires of hell, he would still bring his daughter back.

The ritual was the only way, but it was now impossible. David Finch had succeeded in locating the chrism, but how could he retrieve it from Finch's apartment if he couldn't leave his own house? The apartment was right next door. So close, yet so far. This simple fact frustrated him more than anything and brought him to despair. But then, one day in May, something happened that changed everything.

Ernest was wandering the house again. He came to the small lounge upstairs he used to frequent in life. While looking around the room, remembering all the days he had spent in their staring at the ceiling in the years following Amy's death, he began to think. He wondered for the thousandth time why Amy had been up in the attic that day. Then something hit him. The feeling was not unlike the headache he experienced when everything had changed around him three times previously, but something was different this time. He was struck with a vision, seeing bits and pieces that he didn't fully understand. He saw a young, blond haired man, and a brunette woman. Ernest somehow knew that they were named James and Mary and were also husband and wife. Then a series of disconnected images came to him: hospital beds, IVs, nurses, a vase of flowers shattering on the floor. Then one image came to him, more disturbing than the rest. He saw what like a pillow, a pillow with a face imprinted on it, an expression of agony branded onto it forever. He then saw James get out of his car and enter the bathroom at the observation deck just outside town. He saw James leave the bathroom, look out over the forest, then wander down the winding path into town.

The vision dissipated as quickly as it had materialized. Without even looking around, Ernest could feel that something wasn't right. He immediately went to look out the window. Everything was covered in fog, and he could she shadows moving around on the streets. He knew they were monsters, but he also knew they weren't his Amy monsters. They weren't after him. They belonged to this "James." His initial panic fled. After all, he had died two years ago. They couldn't harm him now. Ernest stayed in the room for close to an hour, wrapped in thought about this situation. Then the door creaked open.

Ernest hurried to the door and slammed it shut before it could open completely, catching a glimpse of the young woman who had tried to open it in the process. e turned the latch and waited.

"Is somebody there?"

She knocked.

"Open up."

She knocked again.

"Hello?"

Something about the voice unsettled Ernest, but he couldn't quite pin it down. He couldn't stay quiet, though.

"Go away. You're disturbing me."

The conversation went on for a while. She asked him every question he could have imagined, and then a few more. No, she couldn't come in. Yes, he knew about the monsters. No, he didn't care. Yes, he wanted to be alone, even in a place like this. Then she said something that made him pause.

"My name is... Maria. What's your name?"

Maria. Something felt off about this woman, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Maria knocked on the door. Ernest responded.

"Ernest."

"Hemingway."

Even in death, Ernest found that last bit amusing.

"Baldwin."

"Ernest... I'll be back."

After he was sure she was gone, Ernest unlatched the door, and then retreated to the study downstairs, and the small bedroom that adjoined it. He had always found that it was easier to think in those two rooms, and he had a puzzle to unravel. He turned everything over in his head, and one thing struck him as important. James's wife was named Mary, and this woman was named Maria. He didn't think they were the same person, but they were definitely connected.

Some time later, he heard footsteps coming down the nearby staircase. There was no latch on the outer door to the study, so Ernest locked himself into the bedroom instead. He heard the study door open, and then someone began knocking at the bedroom door. He instinctively knew it was Maria.

"Do you know a little girl named Amy?"

Ernest was shocked and taken aback by this, but stayed calm.

"Why do you ask me this?"

"This letter 'TO MY DEAREST DADDY'... It's from a girl named Amy Baldwin." She paused. "You're Daddy?"

Ernest had a hard time speaking.

"Yes. Where did you find that?"

"Up in the attic."

Ernest would have cried if it were still possible. After all these years, he finally knew why Amy was up there that day. She was preparing a birthday surprise for him when the accident had happened. The birthday she was looking forward to celebrating with him. The birthday he promised he would be home for.

"Maria, that letter..."

She slid it under the door. With the letter was a birthday card, addressed to him. He thought about Amy, then about Mara, standing outside the door. He knew what had to be done.

"Maria. In the apartment next door, there is a bottle containing a white liquid. I don't know exactly where it is, but I know it's in there somewhere. I must have it."

"You want me to get it for you?"

"Please..."

"That's alright. I don't mind fighting for an impossible cause."

She left, and Ernest tried to put the pieces together again. Maria. Mary. James. It all came back to James, didn't it? Then it him. James. Mary. A hospital. The pillow. James coming to Silent Hill alone. This Maria person showing up. He realized what James has done, realized that James was trying to deny it. Didn't the town produce an Amy for Ernest? It could produce another Mary for James. A Maria. The implications were too frightening to contemplate. But he realized something. He couldn't be like James. He had to move on. Ernest could feel it. He could leave the mansion now, leave life behind. But he had something to do first.

When Maria finally returned, he could sense that she had the chrism with her.

"Thank you, Maria. That's the only item I couldn't get myself. So long... Maria, the Gods are here. You know it too. You were born in this town."

"I'm not sure "God" is the right word."

"Do you believe in fate?"

"Not really."

Ernest sighed.

"That's fine then."

After a few moments of silence, Maria spoke again.

"So... What if I said I had believed in fate?"

Ernest knew hat he was doing. He knew she wasn't exactly real, but he wanted to help her. He wanted to give her a chance.

"That James, he's a bad man."

"Yes... I know."

She knew what she was now, at least partially. Ernest spoke again.

"He's looking for the you that isn't you."

"Because he's kind. Ernest, do you... know something?"

Ernest started to speak,

"Yes... Maria, you're..."

But he didn't need to say anymore. He could sense that Maria could now grasp her true nature. Ernest unlatched the door, then left. For the first time in two years, he left the mansion. He would soon leave the world of the living, but first he would try to help this James as well. Although he was horrified by what James had done, Ernest still recognized how much James was like him. They had both lost loved ones, and they both longed to find them again. He would guide James to the materials needed for the ritual. He would make it possible for James to find a second chance in life, which he himself had strove for but never found. And when James had all the items necessary, Ernest would cross over. Whether it would be to heaven or hell, Ernest didn't know. After all he had gone through, it seemed rather unimportant.

THE END