Silent Hill Resurrected: Chapter 7

The Truth and Lies in Heaven

You know you marry someone and you never think that you'd end up in a situation like this. At least Mary never did. Running around some town that even God forgot exists looking for your husband all while in his body, especially the being in his body thing. Now that's the kind of thing no one expects no matter what the circumstances. Still this was all starting to seem normal to Mary for some reason. Was it the logical of this town getting to her or was she simply adapting to the situation at hand? Whatever, Mary just couldn't let these thoughts get to her or she'd never find what she was looking for, James that is.

Mary walked down the seedy looking back ally towards the stairs. The brick walls of the two houses that formed the alleyway were filled with surprisingly little graffiti. Most of it was fairly mundane. Things like hardcore and sluts-r-us ahead, things you'd expect to see in an alleyway leading to a strip club were what the graffiti mostly consisted of. Mary ignored it all, well mostly. There was the strange graffiti right before the black metal stairs. Some one had written 'Your truth is selfishness. Your lies are selfless. Pray for forgiveness.' It pointed to a poster that was weather and half torn up but still somewhat legible. It was of a women about the same age as Mary and presumable a stripper. This woman was oddly familiar. It took Mary a few moments to realize the fact that this women looked vary similar to her.

"Lady Maria, huh? Well Maria, I think someone didn't like you much did they. They thought you were awfully selfish. You know you could be my doppelganger." It struck Mary the irony of seeing her 'doppelganger' and having been given another chance to live. You see according to legends if you meet your doppelganger you die. Of course this place, Silent Hill, really didn't seem to follow logical rules so why would it follow preset mythical ones either.

Mary was sure the graffiti was meant for the women in the poster considering it pointed to the poster and all. Yet Mary couldn't escape the feeling that the message was somehow meant for her. Maybe it was the fact that the women in the poster looked like her a bit. Mary just stared at the poster and the graffiti. Surely it meant nothing, at least not specifically for Mary.

After a few seconds Mary turned around and began walking up the stairs. Each of the black metal steps clanged as she stepped on them. Her footsteps sounded so heavy and foreign. If she had to live like this forever could she ever get used to hearing James' footsteps as her own? When she reached the door on the top she placed her hand on the brass handle. "Why does it feel like I walked up the stairs for a longer period of time then stairs this length warrant?"

Mary opened the door and walked in closing the door behind her. The place was as sleazy looking on the inside as it was on the outside. The walls were gray colored from dirt and probably other thing Mary didn't really want to consider. On the right was a small bar with some cheap wooden stools lined up in front of it and cases of cheap booze behind it. Next to the bar was a hideous looking neon sign of a naked woman blowing a kiss that said Heaven's Night below it. On the left were some cheap booths mad of wood with seat covered in cheap blue vinyl. In the center of the room was a huge round table with no chairs around it at all. The round table stuck out like a sore thumb. On it was some kind of brochure. It was ugly like most 'my secretary made this' style vacation brochures. On it was a big picture of Toluca Lake and in huge stretched out letters the words 'Silent Hill a place God never left.' "Ha there's a good joke." Mary laughed. Mary grabbed the brochure and gently opened it.

Welcome to Silent Hill. This is a town filled with beauty and elegance. From the wistful lakeside parks to the museums filled with quaint memories of old times there is plenty of wonderful times to be had .Known by the natives who lived here as a place inhabited by holyspirits they can still be felt everywhere today. Enjoy your time hereand may the spirits of old grace you with many happy memories that will last you a life time.

The brochure was filled with many images of couples happily smiling, staring out at the lake and images of the amusement park nearby. Mary flipped the brochure over. On the other side was a map of Silent Hill labeled 'visitors map' on the top. Looking at it the map was a wreck. Someone had scribbled all over it in red ink. Whoever they were had some kind of fascination with the small bar, Quiet Cocktails. They had circled the place and drawn several arrows pointing at it with the words 'My replacement should be here' above it.

Mary couldn't make heads or tails of what that was supposed to mean but she figured she might as well check it out. At this point Mary would try checking out anyplace as long as it wasn't here at Heaven's Night. Anyway Mary new Quiet Cocktails it was that nice little Jazz bar James and she had visited that one time after window-shopping all day. Mary noticed it first and then pointed it out to James. James never really liked Jazz much but since he was as hungry as she was and he knew Mary loved Jazz he agreed to go in. All in all they both had a nice time chatting away there. Mary could almost see James talking to her and here the Jazz playing as if it were happing right there. That was probably one of her favorite memories with James.

"James, I miss you." Mary whispered wistfully closing her eyes and visualizing the moment. Mary refolded the brochure and shoved it in her pocket. Opening her eyes she turned to leave.

"Oh, James, I miss you… ha-ha-ha-ha. You are to funny Mary. Oh, James-y I do so miss you. You really crack me up." The voice was so mocking and harsh it cut through Mary like a knife. Mary squeezed her eyes shut and her hands made a fist; it was all she could do to keep from crying or screaming in anger.

Mary turned around to face the table and the stage behind it. She opened her eyes again. The whole place was warped. The tables, booths, and stools were all either knocked over or they looked like someone had set the ablaze. The cash register on the bar was open and all the money in it was spread all over the floor soggy and decaying. The floor itself looked dirty and there was a trail of blood on it leading all the way from the bar to the door on the right side of the stage. Mary stared at the stage it was grated with some kind of dark black metal. The red curtain behind it was moldy and half charcoaled. The only thing that looked like it did before she had closed her eyes was the stripper's pole, which frankly wasn't the nicest looking thing to begin with.

"What the hell?" Mary couldn't help but let the words slip from her mouth.

"Oh Mary. Why do you keep calling it that? After all this is all yours. So tell me Mary. Are you happy to be seeing him again? You know…" The women's voice was mocking and somewhat stereotypically seductive sounding as it spoke. It was also vary familiar. It was almost like listening to the thoughts in her head projected outside into the world. Well, they weren't her thoughts really.

"Mary I have a question for you. If you could take a moment away from yourself to listen I would be much obliged." The voice was always belittling Mary noticed. Always calling her selfish. Mary couldn't stand to hear someone calling her that. She had worked so hard to make others like her, to give to other people, how was that selfish.

"Why don't you show yourself? It's easy to insult from afar. Why don't you speak to me face to face already?" Mary shouted angrily. Did I say that? Repeated in Mary's head over and over. Frankly Mary wasn't sure she wanted to see whoever or whatever was doing all this.

"In due time Mary. Now, how about a deal? I'll indulge your little me-fest and show myself if you answer my questions for once? So how's about it?" The voice laughed a bit after this as if to mock her, as if the voice knew something she didn't.

"How are you in a position to make deals with me. I've never even seen you before and you want to make some kind of deal with me?" Mary was shocked at her bravery. Was she getting used to this world or was she slowly losing it?

"Oh Mary… tch tch. How's about you just answer a fucking question once in a while!" The anger the voice betrayed was shocking. It was so filled with pure distain, not just for Mary but maybe even the universe that it was frightening deep inside the listeners vary soul. As soon as its anger had flared up it went away and began talking it's usually sexy yet frightening and knowingly cool tone. "Mary what will you do if you never find James? Or better yet… what will you do if you do find him? Are you prepared for that?"

"What? What is that supposed to mean? If I find him, well if I find him I'll just…" Mary didn't know. Mary simply did not know what she would do. Would she just go home? What would James look like? After all she was in his body. Would her be in hers, dieing like she was? She couldn't even bare the thought of watching him die. How could someone deal with that? No wonder he suffocated her. How could she blame him and yet a part of her still did. A part of her blamed him for everything. Everything that happened even the illness.

"You don't know do you. Perhaps you'll just kill him yourself. After all this is all his fault isn't it? He's the one who drove you away, right? Drove you into…" The voice was trying so hard to dig itself into Mary's subconscious. At least, that's what it felt like.

"Shut up! Don't say that!" Mary screamed clenching her fists again and leaning forward as if the voice was coming directly from on that stage.

"Mary, the truth hurts doesn't it? Well, that's what you're going to find here Mary. That's all you'll find here. That's all anyone finds here anymore." The voice just laughed after this. Mary couldn't help but scowl and listen. She began to notice how the voice began to sound more directional. It sounded like it was laughing as it began to walk on stage.

The moldy and charred red curtain began to slowly rise on both sides revealing a slit in the middle. The slit grew larger and larger as Mary watched terrified. Within the slit in the curtains was a monster. It was a tall, emaciated woman, or something resembling a woman anyway. It wore a skirt made out of burlap or some similar cheap beige colored material that was tattered at the end. Its breast and stomach were exposed for the entire world to see and its rib cage was clearly visible. Its skin was diseased and dirty covered with the occasional spot of blood. On its head it wore a dirty blackened white hood that looked somewhat like a klu-klux-klan hood but more pointed outward in the front.

Mary watched terrified, frozen still, as the creature dragged itself toward the stripper's pole body twitching sickly back and forth. It grabbed the pole and in one sickening and twitchy motion swirled it's body around the pole so that its body was facing the opposite direction as Mary. It then shaking leaned its body backwards so that if its face were showing it would be looking directly at Mary. It pulled its leg up in the air so it's foot rested on it's other leg.

"Welcome to your own personal world Mary. How do you like it? Did you find the truth you were seeking yet?" The voice that previously was disembodied and coming from every possible direction was now issuing out of this monster. Mary began backing up to the door that lead to the alleyway. She could feel heart pounding in her throat as she struggled to take each labored and fearful breath. Mary felt herself slam into the cheap would door and she began sliding her hand over to the handle. She stared forward at the creature before her for only a second as it began to laugh loudly. She twisted the handle and ran out the door and down the metal stairs toward whatever street would get her farthest away from here the quickest. A thought kept repeating in her head as she ran. 'Your truth is selfishness. Your lies are selfless. Your truth is selfish, Your lies selfless. Pray for forgiveness. Pray.'