Ozuma drove his car back across the wooden bridge and away from Silent Hill. Tala sat next to him, chewing his thumb nail. Things were not adding up in Tala's mind. The two police officers on the other side of the wire gate, slowly opened it allowing Ozuma to pass through. Tala was the first out of the car, jamming his hands in his pockets. Ozuma followed him. "Don't be trying anything Tala. We've got men up here all night long. Don't worry okay." Ozuma reassured.
Tala's eyes were kept on his car. Tala stopped at the car, a hand on the door handle. "You're not telling me everything. What really happened here?" the red head inquried. Ozuma shook his head, rubbing his glove cladded hands together.
"Just let it rest in peace." he replied curtly. Tala growled and pulled the car door open harshly. Ozuma watched as the tall russian climbed into his car and drove away. Ozuma turned away, giving out orders to his team. Tala had barely pulled away before pulling his phone out of his pocket. He quickly dailed a number and waited for an aswer.
'Directory assistance.'
Tala licked his dry lips. "Toluca County archives please." he responded.
'One Moment.' the woman was replaced by a dailing tone before someone picked up. 'Archives.'
"Yeah, do you have the records from Silent Hill?" Tala inquried. He needed answer but Ozuma was not going to hand them over easily. The woman hummed in the back of her throat as rain hammered down on the windsheild.
'Which records sir?'
Tala took a deep breath in. "Police records." he answered. The woman was silent for some time before she replied. Tala flicked a switch and the windscreen wipers flew into action.
'I'm sorry sir but those records are confidential.' the woman stated. An argument eurpted between Tala and the woman ending in Tala switching his mobile off and slamming it onto the passenger seat in fury. The red head knew he needed the information and he was going to get it one way or another. He only hoped Kai would forgive him for using the trades he was taught in the Abbey.
Trades the pair swore never to use.
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Kai and Mariam made their way across empty streets before seeing a towering building. Mariam kept her gun trained in case anything else decided to jump out on them. She noted how Kai was not even out of breath. "You know people use to say this place was haunted." Mariam muttered off-handedly. Kai cracked a tiny smirk, his crimson eyes on the looming building in front of them.
"I think they were right." he mumbled. The building was called The Grand Hotel. Kai had a gut feeling that this was the place. He motioned for Mariam to follow him and both entered the building. It was dark and moldy, but it did little to put Kai off his search. Both Mariam's and Kai's hearing perked to hear shouts and things being thrown. They ran inside, in case someone was hurt.
"Get back!"
Kai stopped at a set of doors as Mariam ran past. "Hey! Mariam back here!" Kai ordered, pushing open the door. Mariam was close behind. The pair ran in on two figures. One was the young man that Kai had met earlier. The other was a red haired woman who continued to throw stones at the man.
"Faith is our destroyer." The man mumbled as the red head picked up another stone.
"Get Back!" she screamed, throwing the stone hard. It narrowly missed the man as he ducked from the attack. Mariam grabbed the woman's right wrist as Kai latched onto her left arm. The woman continued to struggle as the man stood up.
"Think you of Ye who cast the first stone. Lambs without a shepherd. Shepherd without a flock. It is your sins which keep your here." the man stated. He slipped into the shadows as the woman lunged forward. Mariam and Kai went along with her.
"Stop your lies!" The woman screamed but the man was gone. Mariam struggled to keep the woman in one place.
"Calm down we're not going to hurt you." Mariam smiled a little to ease the woman. Kai watched as the man slunk off before disappearing from view altogether. "What's your name?" Mariam questioned. The woman looked between Kai and Mariam before licking her cracked lips.
"Salima. My name is Salima." she replied in a sing-song sort of fashion. Mariam nodded her head before following Kai's gaze.
"What's going on here? Who was that?" Mariam asked. Kai stood up. he lent a little closer to Mariam as Salima tried to pick herself up.
"Brooklyn Kingston was cast out. Not even the darkness wants him." Salima hissed bitterly and began to gather items and place them in her bag. Kai stared at Salima's back for a second. Kingston? Could it be? Memories of the book in the school filled Kai's mind.
"Kingston? Is he related to a Koyla Kingston?" Mariam raised an eyebrow at Kai who found the ruged to explain himself. "I found a book in the school with that name on." Kai looked down at Salima who stiffened. "Salima? Do you know something?" Kai urged. Salima nodded her head.
"He's Brooklyn's son." she mumbled. Kai gasped a little but covered it up with a cough. Mariam had taken to scounting the area in case of danger. "Sinners deserve to lose their spawn." Salima added, dusting her knees a little. The conversation Kai had with Brooklyn before ran into his head. Kai knelt down next to Salima.
"What are you doing here anyway Salima?" the russian questioned. The red head held up some tins of food, an almost innocent look on her face.
"Mother needs more food." she smiled before replacing the tin back in her bag. Mariam turned back round, an eyebrow raised.
"There are other people here?" she asked in shock. Salima nodded her head. Mariam returned to her search as Salima watched her.
"Ming-Ming keeps us safe." she began. "We seek safety in the church." she added. Kai watched Mariam for a short time before moving to sit in front of Salima. He knew this young girl was a good person to ask about his son. He needed all the links he could find. Salima's eyes returned to her task of counting the tins. Kai gently took her arm.
"Salima, listen to me. I've lost my little boy. He's all alone in this place. Imagine how afraid he must feel. Tell me please, have you seen him?" The russian questioned. Salima shook her head. "Do you know where he is?" Kai pressed further. Once again Salima shook her head. Kai cursed a little but thanked Salima for her help. Something caught Mariam's eye and she stood between the pair. Salima went to grab a silver knife but Kai snatched it from her grasp. "I'm taking this." It was more of a statement that a request. Before Salima could argue, Kai stood up and looked round. Mariam pointed to a red sign on the floor.
"Have you seen his before?" the police officer asked. Kai nodded his head, looking between the sign, Mariam and Salima. Salima stood up, smiling at the sign.
"It's on all the buildings the elders of my elders built. It's a symbol of our unity. A symbol of our faith." Salima explained, hitched the bag strap onto her shoulder. Kai and Mariam looked at each other. Mariam shrugged a little and walked behind the call desk. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of key fobs on the floor. Picking one up, the police officer felt the weight in her hand before looking up at Kai.
"Hey Kai. You might want to look at this!" she called. The russian turned round, an eyebrow raised. As he joined the officer, his eyes widened when he caught sight of the key fobs. He pulled his own broken one out of his pocket. "Just like yours. They're all over the floor." Mariam informed, waving a hand over the litter. Kai bent down, placing the knife in the belt loops of his jeans. He picked another key fob up, feeling the weight while Salima tightened her grip on the bag strap. Mariam pulled open a door to find post slots for each room. She searched through the slots before a folded up piece of paper caught her attention. Mariam pulled it out and unfolded it to find a child' drawing of a girl being burnt. Mariam shivered before turning round to look at Kai. "Check this out."
Kai took the paper from Mariam and eyed the drawing. He too shivered. The style of the drawing screamed Nickolia but Kai was not going to jump to anything just yet. "What number did you take this from?" he questioned, his crimson eyes never once leaving the picture. Mariam glanced behind her to remember the number.
"111" she replied. Kai nodded his head and folded the papaer back up.
"We've got to go to 111." he stated and headed towards the nearest stairs. Mariam glanced at Salima who had yet to move or say anything. Mariam smiled a little before following Kai. Salima was left on her own.
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The rain continued to pour down as Tala stood in a shop door way. Across the street was the Archives. Tala checked his watch, before seeing the lights go out and a slightly overweight woman leave the building. Tala wasted no time and darted across the street. Pulling a lock pick from his pocket, the red head jiggled with the lock before there came a click. Tala pushed the door open and entered the building.
Tala stopped a one room and looked inside. He couldn't see anything and decided to test fate. He slowly opened the door and flicked the lights on. Row upon row of boxes and files were seen and Tala cursed. Looking for the files would looking for a needle...
Tala stopped and eyed a set of burnt and discoloured boxes. It couldn't be that easy, could it? he wondered, before pulling the boxes out and setting them on a table. He searched through file after file of the Silent Hill police records but found nothing useful. Tala entered the room again and pulled out another box. He prayed there was something inside. As he searched he came across a familiar name. "Ozuma." Tala whispered and pulled the file out. The red head searched through the files before finding a picture of a young boy.
Tala suddenly felt sick. He sat down, hoping the world would stop spinning. As his ice blue eyes were kept on the photography, Tala fumbled for his phone. He quickly dailed a number and waited. His eyes casted over the name on top of the Photography.
Kingston. K
'Directory Assistance.'
Tala jumped a little. "Yeah.Toluca County Orphanage please."He replied. The woman disappeared for a short time before appearing again.
'Yes, I have that information for you sir.'
"Could you give me the address please?" Tala replied, reading the information on the back of the photography.
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The upstairs of the hotel was a moody blue colour and cold. Mariam kept her flash-light on, looking for room 111. Kai also kept his eyes peeled. Neither of them heared the footsteps coming up behind them. "We are wandering far from refuge here." Salima stated suddenly. Mairam jumped while Kai merely glanced at Salima. She huffed loudly as Mariam flicked her flash-light off. Kai then looked back Mariam.
"Let's keep her with us. She's all we got." he suggested. Mariam shrugged and continued on with the search. The trio wondered down a second corridor and was greeted by a large painting. Kai and Salima eyed it as Mariam wondered away a little. She stared at confusion at Room 113 and sighed deeply.
"There's no Room 111." she informed grimly. Kai cocked his head to one side as Salima licked her lips.
"The first burning." she whispered. Kai glanced over to her. Salima looked back at him. "The first burning. Before the town had a name, the elders of my elders kept us pure." she explained. Mariam turned her flashlight back on and trained it on the painting. Kai stared back at the said item.
"The founders of this town were demon hunters." Kai mumbled, feeling sick. Torture such as burning were a common place in the Abbey. Kai tried to block out the images and the sound of screams, as Mariam walked closer to the other two. Salima decided to add more.
"Burning the demons kept back the darkness. It stopped the Apocalypse." Salima added. Kai's mind wondered back to the child drawing and it hit him hard. The picture, although crude and very child-like, was a copy of the painting in the front of them. The russian said nothing as he pulled the knife from the belt hoops and cut a long line into the painting. Kai huffed a little as he tore a hole into the painting and peered through.
"There's a room in here." Kai informed and made the hole bigger. Kai was right. Room 111 had been right in front of them all along. The russian quickly opened the door and glanced round. The room was black and ashened. Random items filled the place, making it harder for the trio to move. Mariam's eyes wondered to a large hole in the wall.
"Check this out." she called. Standing on the ledge, Mariam looked below. It was a pretty steep drop but the second hole on another building was not far away. The officer jumped over with ease, before holding out her hand. "Come on." she called. Kai leapt across, surprising Mariam when he landed with the grace of a cat. The knife however tore through his belt loops and began it's free fall to the floor below. Kai knew he couldn't do anything about and stepped further into the room. Salima followed, tripping over the ledge as she entered the room and almost hit the floor.
"What is this place?" Kai wondered. Everywhere he looked there was ash. The placed was filled with more random objects. Mariam shrugged, her flash-light cutting through any shadows that formed.
"I'm not sure. We're in the next building. Factory perhaps." She suggested. Kai hummed in the back of his throat and walked to his left. Salima and Mariam walked right. Kai looked up and suddenly caught sight of a young boy. The boy darted off.
"Hey." Kai called. He strained his ears and heard footsteps above. The russian quickly climbed a set of stairs, hoping he couldn't lose track of the boy. He wanted answers and he was going to get them damnit! He climbed up a set of metal steps and stopped on a wooden walkway. Mariam called his name but Kai ignored her. He was so close. Running along the walk-way, Kai came into a large room. The room was trashed to put it bluntly. As Kai walked down a set of steps, he scanned the room.
Suddenly he heard a boy crying. Kai walked round a large gaping hole in the floor to see a figure of a young boy sitting on the floor. His back was facing Kai. "Who are you?" Kai demanded, but all he got was more crying from the boy. Kai eyed the hole seeing jagged iron beams. They looked strong enough so Kai decided to take the chance. "It's okay. Don't be afraid. I promise I'm not going to hurt you." Kai reassured. He jumped onto the first beam which wobbled but stayed firm. Kai jumped to the second which wobbled far worst but the russian regained his balance. Licking his lips, Kai jumped the third beam but missed his footing and almost fell.
The russian hung on tightly before hoisting himself up. Kai steadied himself before eyeing the final beam. He jumped and jumped again onto more soild ground. Kai felt pleased with himself before turning to face the crying boy. "Hey. It's okay." Kai paused as he got closer to the boy. "It's okay. I promise I won't hurt you." he reassured. The boy slowly turned round to face Kai. The boy's face was pale but his eyes were red from crying. Kai gasped a little too loudly for his likening. "Oh my god. You could be his twin." he mumbled.
The boy smirked and turned round to fully face Kai. The boy slowly began to walk forward. "Are you Kolya? Where's Nickolia?" Kai asked. The boy smirked once again and held his arms open.
"Look at me." he ordered as his arms caught fire. "I'm burning." he chuckled before the fire lept up high in the air. Suddenly the boy was gone and Kai was left standing, alone and confused. Mariam and Salima appeared as Kai continued to stare at the spot where Kolya had been just a few moments ago. What the hell was going on?
Chapter done and dusted. Jemma: Yayness! (Starts to dance like an idiot) Kai: Dear god. MHR would like to thank SuicidalBeyblader, GabZ & Schoolboredom for reviewing.