Disclaimer: I don't own Silent Hill. No suing for you or your lawyers. Yay for me on that part.
I now LOVE the number thirteen, but not because it's considered unlucky to many people, but rather that's how many reviews I got so far for this story, and only for a total of five chapters! Wheee! Now I'm all happy, and to make up for not updating for a while this chapter will be a bit longer.. or as long as I can make it without screwing anything up. Enjoy my faithful reviewers!
Note: At certain points in the chapter, I will use childhood vocabulary, so be on the lookout for a flashback.
(Maria)
Seriously, would it kill me to remember from now on that not only do I have to worry about drooling like some retard all over my desk, but now I have to worry about acting like some scardy cat?
My locker wasn't even five feet away from the classroom door, but it sure as hell felt a lot like a fucking mile to me, or maybe that's because of the enormous migraine I had thanks to that nightmare, and now I was in desperate need of medicine. While I kept urging my otherwise temporarily useless shell of flesh to keep proceeding to my locker, I didn't really understand what it was exactly, whether it was that disturbing nightmare I had 'Seen' earlier, or whether it the fact that my sinusitis headache now pulsated between my temporal lobes with ten times the pain, and ten times more annoying, but my vision was horribly distorted.
Ignore the numb fucking pain pounding into your goddamn skull, you little twit! Just get through the next few minutes, that's all that matters right now.
After reaching my locker and, not to my surprise, found that my locker had been written all over with insults and the like, everything from 'You're a pathetic crack addicted hooker', to 'Do us all a favor and drop dead', but I ignored them all – even the death threats written in blue felt tip marker.
What soon followed was five minutes of cursing due to me silently urging my otherwise useless brain to remember my com numbers.
Groaning in agony, I pounded on the god damned metal door several times after I finally did remember my locker com, but the god-forsaken locker door wouldn't open, and when that didn't do wonders for me I gave up, turning around and sliding down the cold lime green metal, hitting the floor with a soft thud! All I wanted was some fucking Extra Strength Tylenol, but noooo that was simply toooo much to ask, and my splitting migraine had grown into a full fledged headache, threatening to sever my head completely in half.
"This isn't one of my better days." I murmured half-heartedly to myself, removing my glasses and rubbing my light chocolate eyes before readjusting them on my button nose.
Creeaakk!
Lifting my groggy, obscured sight, straining my near-sighted vision to see more clearly, but when my eyes finally adjusted to the dimly lit floor, I noticed someone staggering drunkenly out of the girl's bathroom, her shallow breathing was horribly choked in her throat, as though she would collapse to the hard tiled ground any minute now. After a few moments of lingering in the shadowy corner, the female recurred with her soft footsteps as did her shallow breathing, but when she stepped into the sunlight filtering in through the windows, I saw that it was the girl who'd helped me against that prick earlier today; Sharon Marquette.
She said nothing when she approached me, but instead she staggered over towards a few lockers away from mine and, while she grabbed a hold of her com and cursed to herself, I failed to notice the other girl who had joined my company, and right then I wished to be anywhere but where I was currently. I tried to make myself less conspicuous as I bent my head down, but that wasn't so easy since it was only the three of us inside the locker room, my light chocolate brown hair drooped in a seemingly deceased manner over my light brown eyes, bathing the right side of my face in shadows; all I cared about was whether or not my irritating migraine would pass soon; preferably within the next three minutes.
The other girl who seemed a bit dressed for the worst, and for the unseasonable weather around these parts had been crying, or coming pretty well damn close to crying, but when she stopped just a few feet away from me; an unnerving silence loomed over the locker room like a black cloud of despair, then I felt someone was even closer to me than the girl standing as still as the Statue of Liberty some ten feet away from where I remained slumped on the floor.
"Why the fuck did you have to go and do that for! Jesus, I mean... I assumed the other bitches and pricks only did that shit to you because they thought it was pretty funny seeing that you never stand up for yourself, but, apparently, you really are a freak. What did you do this time? Pulled another one of your little witch tricks no doubt." The albino girl hissed softly, her crimson eyes flashing with fright and anger.
Seemingly oblivious to everything around us except for the girl's words, I felt my shoulders shaking absentmindedly while a devious smile tugged at the corner of my lips, and before I realized what was happening my fit of giggles escalated into high-pitched laughter; innocent yet so crazed, but the girl didn't seem to think anything was amusing at the moment.
"You think that shit is funny, do you?"
"Yes. Yes, little girl. I do think 'that shit' is funny. Now do me a favor and fuck off before you piss yourself or whatever." I whispered nonchalantly, raising my narrowed eyes upward at the mildly surprised girl. "Little witch tricks." I murmured to myself, returning to my hysterical laughter from before.
However, the young teenage albino didn't seem to think whatever it was that I was laughing at was funny, before I was aware anything had happened, she quickly bent down and I soon found myself silently struggling for my next breath due to her right hand clutched around my throat in a painful death grip, her crimson eyes – when she hauled me in closer towards her – looked a bit darker to me, but maybe that was just the sunlight playing tricks on me.
"Do you think it's funny now?" She smirked, tightening her bone-breaking hold around my neck. My olive complexion eventually started to turn to a dark pinkish red because of the lack of oxygen flowing – or rather not flowing, in my case – into my lungs, I narrowed my light chocolate brown eyes, silently daring her to hit me, and it seemed I had gotten my wish.
Well, almost anyway.
In no less than three seconds, Sharon seemed to have appeared out of nowhere by my side, but she remained silent as her right hand immediately flew to clutch the female albino's wrist in a grip that looked more painful than hers, despite her hand being latched across my throat as it was, and now she had the expression of a demon possessed.
"I really don't want you touching her right now." The girl hissed acidly, but her voice seemed.. I silently urged my brain to think of another word to describe her current state... Darker than normal, as if she had lost all of her humanity long before she came to my aid for the second time today.
"W-what? What do you mean by-"
I could only look on in shock, well half shock and half amusement to be honest, witnessing the stunned look the albino had on her pale features as she laid crumpled on the floor, clutching her bruised cheek in one hand and flexing her clearly sprained fingers on her free hand and, when my own hands immediately flew down to my neck to inspect for any signs of injury, surprise flickered for the briefest of moments in my eyes when I brought them in front of my face.
Nothing. No blood.
I couldn't feel any scratches on my neck and, for some fathomless reason well beyond my own level of comprehension, my neck didn't feel sore like I thought it would be so – believing that my mind was, like always, playing tricks on me – I cautiously edged my way over to the mirror hanging upside down on the locker besides mine.
No hand marks on my neck.
No scratches from when she dug her fingernails into my olive skin, no blood, no bruises. Nothing.
It's as if that crazy albino never even touched me. I felt her grab my throat, I felt myself drifting between unconscious and conscious. I felt the pain. Oh God. That was the worst; not being able to breathe. It was like I was dying from the inside.
Hmm.. what's going on now? As if being nearly choked until I passed out wasn't bad enough.. but this?
Sharon loomed above the albino holding her wounded cheek, wincing while a tiny trickle of blood seeped past her pale fingers, her lips pulled back to a fearsome snarl, baring uncanny abrupt canines, and when she slowly twisted her head at an impossible angle, my hands immediately flew to cover my gaping mouth as her reflection stared back at me from the left where the mirror hung.
The Sharon I was seeing looked confused, a thoughtful frown creased her blank expression as she averted her attention to the white-haired girl staring back at her in fear and shock on the floor, but the other.. Sharon acted.. pleased. Satisfied. Content that she had brought harm upon the young teen. Her face and hair looked dirty and blood ridden, crimson tears trickled down her blood stained cheeks making her resemble a dead spirit rather than a melancholic human.
Her clothes were torn and charred, multiple lacerations and burn marks discolored her deathly pale skin, her red crusted nails ending at abrupt ends, deadly to sever a person's head from their body with a single, precise swipe. But what startled.. no, terrified me most about her appearance was her eyes. Her pupils were small and in dilatation, adorned with a psychotic, demon-like fire beneath the false innocence she apparently hid within the darkest recesses of her soul, and the unearthly shades of color only caused my frantic heart to race as I began to panic when she grinned with all her teeth displayed to my terror-stricken eyes.
Her eyes, no longer were they intriguing mixtures of colors, but her iris was a cherry red in tone, with a deeper shade brewing with such malevolence that could only be rivaled by Diablo himself where the black was supposed to be, where her pupils were supposed to exist.. only black veins pulsated angrily. Deep within those piercing eyes, I saw many emotions.
Hatred.
Envy.
Blood lust.
Wrath.
Darkness seemed to be the most prominent color and feeling that radiated from her body. Sneering, Sharon edged herself closer, mocking me as she banged her red streaked hands on the mirror's crystalline surface, the sadistic gleam in her eyes practically glowed while the blood oozed from the wounds on her wrists, sliding whimsically over the mirror in countless rivers of red it seemed the mirror itself was bleeding. A soft, primitive noise, that sounded like someone trying to laugh and scream simultaneously burst from her bleeding, cracked lips while she continued her insane playful torture.
Surely I would go mad if she didn't cease with her mind games.
Stop it.
/Aw, little Maria doesn't want to play? Little Angel doesn't want to play with the Darkness? Aw, stop being so heartless, little one.
I told you to stop it. Stop. Please.
/Why? Surely you can tell me that much, pet. Why don't you embrace your Darkness? Your friend certainly has come a long way; but, like so many others before her, she fell victim to the very thing she gave life. Pathetic mortal girl. Couldn't even restrain me long enough to ensure that I wouldn't hurt the little one over there./
SHUT UP! SHUT THE FUCK UP! DON'T SPEAK TO THEM THAT WAY! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!
/Oh? Is that so? Really. I never expected a weak crybaby like you to respond with such resentment. I like, little Maria. Keep it up. It only brings out your inner Darkness. Look what my weak side did. Look what she's created, and it's all thanks that ignorant bitch of a woman; the person whom she called Mommy as a child./
... (Sniffle)
/Aw.. why do you cry, little Mia? Why do you shed your tears of sorrow? Pretty little Mia.
I'm only fifteen. You.. you can't treat me like this. You don't even know me.
/Ohhhh.. but I do. Silly little Mia. I KNOW everything about you. I know your likes, your dislikes. Your dreams for the future... your horrible nightmares. Everything. WE know all about you, sweet.
I hate you. I fucking HATE you! Do me and Sharon a favor, and fuck off! Leave us the hell alone!
/Little Mia, why do you cry? Why do you shed your tears of sorrow? Why do you insist on defying us? Why? Tell us a story, Maria. Tell us everything that we don't want to know about you. Tell us a story.
You're not real. Not real, not real, not real. You're just a figment of my imagination. Leave me alone!
/Little Mia. Sweet, innocent little Maria. Come back to us. Embrace your true being. Come back to us.
(Sharon)
What? What the fuck just happened? Why is that albino girl lying down on the floor, and why does my hand hurt so much?
Did I... did I do something that I didn't mean to again? Just like that time.. in elementary school, when I harmed that boy for calling my sister bad names, but I didn't mean to hurt him.
It wasn't my fault. Chelsea even said so, but I never really believed her words, and I'm not exactly sure how she felt when she witnessed the kid's blood dripping past the corners of his pale red lips, and oozing out of his ears.
Flashback
"You both know we don't want you freaks here! Do us all a favor and go home crying to your Mommy." A six grade boy with dark green eyes and blonde hair sneered when he pushed little Chelsea to the ground again, not caring seeing her multicolored eyes slowly began to glisten with tears as she attempted to stand up, only to be shoved back down to the schoolyard's dust ridden sidewalk again.
"We're only six. Y-you can't tweat us like dis. Stop picking on us, or I'll tell da teachers you guys are being mean." Chelsea whispered softly, actually succeeding in staggering to her feet this time, wiping her tiny hand over her split lip from when the boy who was currently picking on both her and her sister, mainly her, had punched her.
Sharon had remained ominously quiet while all this happened, sitting under the shadows of a large maple tree just a few feet from where her sister stood, her dark chocolate hair spilled down over the school uniform she always dreaded wearing and, with her head buried between her legs, she resembled a pathetic loner; someone who was just begging to be bullied for the rest of her days.
Her shoulders shook when she suddenly, but slowly, staggered to her feet, limping her way over to her sister and, not caring whether she got hurt as well, aided her to stand more properly, her shoulders were still quivering as she idly gazed at the boy who'd been picking on Chelsea ever since recess started, her blank, emotionless stare bored into his mind.
Though what really caught him off guard were the words she spoke.
"I hate you."
"What? That's all you can say after what I did to your little bitch of a sister? 'I hate you'? My mother could've come up with a better comeback." The boy snickered to him and his friends soon joined after, taunting them while fifty other kids soon gathered around the two sisters, joining in the game.
Taunting.
Laughing.
"NO! CHELSEA'S NOT A BITCH!"
Suddenly, all of his awareness regarding his surroundings was instantly cut off, his dark lime green eyes bulged out of his sockets while his clutched at his throat in what appeared to be a useless act of desperation, his white t-shirt and faded blue jeans were being torn away by invisible claws, and soon blood seeped through the places where most of his scarred clothing was torn; mainly his legs and stomach.
"SHE'S NOT! DON'T CALL HER THAT AGAIN! YOU HEAR ME, YOU BONEHEAD? SHE'S NOT, SHE'S NOT, SHE'S NOT!"
It seemed the louder Sharon's usually timid and soft-spoken voice got, the quicker the wounds on the boy's blood ridden body seemed to deepen, causing more deeper, more serious injuries to appear inches away from the ones he sustained minutes earlier, and Chelsea couldn't help but feel scared, if not terrified. seeing the considerable amount of damage her sister inflicted upon her former bully.
He would be her former bully if someone didn't act soon enough. Then not only would Sharon risk being suspended, or possibly even expelled, but also she would have to face the wrath of their mother when they returned home. Chelsea was stunned hearing the painful screams of agony flowing as quick as the crimson liquid trickling past his bleeding lips, three tiny rivers of blood seeped from his head, causing his blonde hair to mat to his face, and quickly became tainted in crimson as did the rest of his now frail appearance.
"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!"
Sharon's eyes were now all but a mere reflection of the gentle, timid light that had flickered softly in her multicolored eyes, now burning with murderous intent while the very flames of Hell scorched with unrivaled malice that would put Satan Himself to shame, but the child seemed unaware of the other kids who slowly backed away, their eyes grew wider for every scream that originated from the boy's cracked, swollen, bleeding lips, and for every repetitive, high-pitched banshee-like shriek that came from Sharon.
Chelsea knew that it wasn't wise to consider approaching her, especially since her sister clearly was experiencing a mental – or emotional – breakdown at the moment, but the girl couldn't help but pity the boy who had constantly teased, and taunted, her ever since the siblings started kindergarten six months prior to the incident fated to end unpleasantly; with or without whether the dying young preteen did end up being viciously killed like a pig sent to the slaughterhouse.
Chelsea couldn't believe that her sister was capable of such drastic measures.
"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!"
All the young school children could only watch on in shock and utter horror seeing the boy's frail, blood ridden body collapse to the fresh cut grass, fragile blades of emerald green were instantly stained with his blood, occasionally making that eerie drip-dripping noise whenever the boy's glistening specks of crimson tainted the hard earthen ground, but he was- for the most part- barely alive, and still breathing, though it was harsh and shallow.
One of the teachers had been alerted of the incident, but like the fifty or so kids watching on like captivated spectators, she too was utterly shocked at the blood-curdling sight of the schoolboy lying face down on the dusty ground, but she quickly gathered herself and rushed over towards the injured boy, checking and double checking his vital signs, and felt relieved to see that he was- for the moment- not hanging between life and death.
"What are you all waiting for? Get the principal and tell him to send an ambulance right away!"
Directing her attention back at the two siblings who remained silent for the whole three minutes it took for help to arrive, looking on at the child being ushered into the ambulance with the assistance of paramedics, she wasn't exactly quick on her feet, but she was quick to pin the blame on the oldest sister; she had been staring at her hands with the utmost concentration, as though she were in a state between reality and fantasy.
"You two, inside now! The principal will have a long talk with your sister after school, Chelsea. Quickly now, hurry off to class before you both receive detention for being late." She said, more harsher than she intended to.
Both sisters knew their mother wouldn't take the news well when she caught wind of what Sharon had done.
End flashback
"Uh.. hey, kid. Tell me something.. what the fuck happened just now? I think.. no, that doesn't sound right, does it? I meant I know I did something I didn't mean to." I paused to run both my sweaty hands through my hair, not caring that two lone beads of perspire trickled down the sides of my pale features in an uncanny, unsteady manner, but I was now feeling strangely nostalgic for some unfathomable reason; a reason that caused fear and uncertainty to scorch my mind.
That wasn't saying much coming from me. I usually don't like to stick my nose where it doesn't belong, not unless I can help it, or if I wish to annoy someone. Judging by the look Maria was giving me despite her migraine, I'm sure I must've looked intoxicated to her when I staggered out from the bathroom minutes earlier, with my hair tousled and knotted with loose tangles. Oh God.. I never felt so fucked in my entire life.
Sure, the nightmares were scary as Hell itself half the time, but that time alone in the bathroom had been the worst. Sometimes, if I thought about hurting somebody in a specific manner, like that prick who asked me to dance last month when I clearly told him no, and his legs ended up getting broken from a car accident, it would happen the same way I imagined it.
Being buried alive, strangled to death, drowning. All that and much more. Sometimes, I dreamed about falling off a cliff, and I would feel my legs being broken due to the impact of the fall, then the next day they'd be sore. Other times, I'd dream about being chased by someone with sadistic brown eyes, and then I'd trip and fall just like in those ridiculous horror movies, and the person would loom over me with a knife, and the next day the places where he bit, stabbed, and cut me would ache to no end. (1)
Oh God... the worst was being burned alive. Nothing born of my imagination could amount to the terror I would feel when I woke up, sweating profoundly, my skin felt as if it had actually been set aflame, my breathing always being slower than usual, but the incident in the bathroom was the worst so far; would there be more unsettling encounters, more uncanny nightmares?
"D-don't hurt me. I-I won't intimidate the Freak Queen.. I mean Maria again." She whimpered, slowly crawling away from me every time I took timid baby steps toward her.
"Maria? Oh.. you mean that kid whose ass I saved earlier. Heh, such good times." I sighed deeply in content, stretching and placing my hands at the back of my head, a smile tugged at the corners of my lips.
Her crimson eyes widened witnessing my whimsical persona, she chewed anxiously on her lower lip, twin canine teeth gridded mercilessly into the fragile flesh blood would surely gush to the surface if she didn't stop soon and, feeling slightly guilty (more so than I would really admit to myself) for hurting her unintentionally, ignored the fearful look in her eyes as I stepped closer towards her.
Gripping her by the shoulders, I eased her off the floor, narrowing my eyes when a familiar sensation came over me, like the aroma of an exotic, lingering perfume, but I once again feigned to take notice of her bewildered stare, patting the right side of her face reassuringly.
Awarding me with a faint sincere smile, the albino gazed at Maria behind me, how I knew she was behind me I had no clue, but I frowned seeing the teenager gripping her head as if she were experiencing a mental breakdown; I couldn't help but feel sorry for the olive-skinned teen, never mind that I didn't really know her that well. My hazel-blue eyes narrowed into cat-like slits as I approached her, the uneasy feeling I had sensed returned when I had touched the female albino whose crimson eyes pierced the back of my head (in concern maybe), but I simply ignored the glazed light radiating from the girl's light chocolate eyes, and frustration boiled inside me when she didn't respond when I lightly tapped her face.
SMACK!
Clearly startled, Maria's eyes flew open, the glazed tint slowly vanished and she looked more normal than I'd ever seen her act, her left cheek bore evidence of the result of my assault on her skin; bright red discolored the olive tone like blood staining the metallic surface of a butcher knife, and I couldn't help but feel shocked at what I hadn't meant to do for the second time today.
"Sorry." I mumbled, watching her as she tentatively rubbed the stinging portion of her face. "... You were hysterical." I added seeing the faint enraged flames brewing inside her seemingly innocent eyes, but she eventually calmed down, much to my relief.
Hmm.. what to do, what to do. Now that's over and done with, how should I apologize to these kids? I know! Grinning maniacally, I slung my arms over their shoulders, forcing back the laughter that rushed in my throat seeing the twin identical looks of confusion they shot me and, once again, I felt the smile tugging at the corners of my pale lips sensing their uneasiness.
"You two look like you could go for some ice cream. My treat. It's the least I can do for acting like a total bitch to you guys, eh? What do you say?"
Confusion was almost instantly wiped clear off their faces and replaced with childish content, then a few seconds later, I couldn't force the laughter back, throwing my head back I laughed similar to that of my favorite anime character; still chuckling, I gazed at the albino out of the corner of my eye, but I was laughing because she nearly resembled him.(2) Well, she would if she had his eyes, but she was attractive, in the approachable sense, the same went for the demonic angel who hummed a melody of sorts to herself, Spanish it sounded like.
With that, we left the school just as the bell signaling the end of the school day screeched throughout the building, I smiled for the first time in my high school life.
Author's Thoughts: So.. what did you guys think? Sorry for the time it took me to update, but I haven't been in the inspiring mood lately, so I apologize to you all from the bottom of my heart. Review please. Chelsea will be the main event for next chapter. I got a few surprises in store for her. (Grins evilly.)
1- Based purely on fact. One hundred percent true. I have no proof, but I wouldn't make up something like the three paragraphs describing my nightmares.
2- If you watch Yu-Gi-Oh, then I don't need to tell you guys who it is that's mentioned, do I?