Silent Hill : Foreigners
Chapter 7 : Blackmail
The fog still ran thick outside the school. A cold breeze glided through the air, making the shrubs and trees tremble in a disturbing manner. Ekaterina and Sam walked down the paved way, closely inspecting the hedgerows to make sure no one was ambushing them. On the inside, Ekaterina was a nervous wreck. On the outside, she tried to maintain a cool posture and a calm disposition. Sam faired much better, advancing confidently with a hint of arrogance in his eyes.
They arrived at Midwich Street. Crossing the sidewalk, they passed by a yellow schoolbus stationed by the road side. Its windows were all dirty, casting a veil on the interior. The vehicule's tires were deflated. A trail of blood was sprayed on its flank, decorating the metallic surface. To Ekaterina, it looked like the most uninviting place on earth.
Suddenly, she perceived a flash of through one of the dirty windows. Looking closely, she realized it was the reflection of sunlight.
- "There's something inside the bus!" she yelled to Sam.
- "What?" he said, turning his head. "Hey, you're right! There IS something in here! It's not one of the fuglies, I think…it looks more like some kind of object. Should we check it out?" There was a trifle of hesitation in the young man's voice as he uttered the last question.
Ekaterina didn't answer immediatly. She was in a dilemma. Her logic dictated that they were low on provisions and should grab anything that might be useful. Her guts dictated to screw it.
- "Y…yeah, good idea." she answered, letting her cerebral side win over. The need to survive had prevailed in spite of the fear. Or perhaps because of it?
They walked back to the bus sliding door, which was partially opened. Pushing it aside, they climbed up the entrance steps. The interior was obscure. The air was damp. It felt tight, almost claustrophobic inside. The ceiling was just a few centimeters above their heads. The driver seat was empty, they keys still in the contact. On each side of a small aisle stood twin rows of passenger seats. The fabric was dirty and bruised, as if someone had lacerated it on purpose. From their perspective, it was impossible to see what lied behind the seats. Each of them could be a potential hiding place for the creatures. Ekaterina gulped.
- "You go first." she hereby declared to Sam, more of an order than a proposition.
- "Huh? Why me?" he interjected.
- "You're the man with the gun. You should go first. What, would you prefer if I went head-to-head with those beasts and get myself killed?"
- "No, that's not…ah, alright, you win. Just stay behind and watch my back, okay?"
Sam started walking down the aisle. Careful steps, gun aiming wherever he looked, quickly inspecting each seat before he moved forward. On the last bench at the end of the bus, the shape of an object was beggining to appear. It was white and rectangular. Maybe some kind of wallet? Not letting his guards down, Sam kept walking ahead, his finger on the trigger. Ekaterina was following him close behind, looking over his shoulder. She tightly held the handle of her meat cleaver, ready to strike if she must. The further they went, the more they noticed a putrid smell floating around.
Suddenly, as they reached the second-to-last seats, a disfigured monster rose up like a jack-in-the-box. Its non-eyes were fixed on Sam. It was holding a switchblade, the sharp metal rearing its head. Sam was quick to react. He pulled the trigger…
Click! Click! Click! The pistol was empty. Out of ammo.
The creature swinged its arm, aiming for the throat. He was able to back off just in time, the blade almost grazing his skin. He stumbled back on Ekaterina. His back against her front, she put her hands around him to prevent his fall. She almost lost balance herself. Their heartbeats were going wild in unison.
Before them, the monster quickly tiptoed in their direction. It lifted its hand to strike again. In despair, Sammy literally threw himself at the creature, tackling it. Up close, the monster's rotten odor was unbearable. He and the beast fell back to the end of the bus. The thing's head went slamming through the back window in a loud explosion of glass.
The creature was now slumped over, hanging halfway outside the bus. Blood was rushing down from its neck. In a sick display of karma, the glass had slashed open the monster's throat. Disgusted, Sam distanced himself from the corpse. His clothes were stained with blood. He heard Ekaterina's voice behind his back.
- "Is it dead?" she asked.
- "Yeah…I think it is." he responded, trying to regain his breath. "Holy crap, that was close!"
Looking away, he gazed down at the last seat of the bus, at the object they had been looking for. It was a white plastic box with a red cross painted on it. A first aid kit. He turned to look at Ekaterina.
- "Dude, I can't believe I risked my life for a bunch of bandages and disinfectant!" he pouted.
- "Well, at least it will come in handy. We are in dire need of supplies."
- "…Says the girl who's been standing back the whole time." he replied. "And what's more, we're out of ammo! Dammit!"
He walked to the last seat to pick up the first aid kit. The monster's corpse stunk of blood and dead fish. Sam noticed that its switchblade had fell down on the floor. He crouched to pick it up. It looked like a perfectly normal switchblade, but it felt weird to hold a weapon which, until recently, had been the property of a nightmare creature. He could feel the uncleanness on his fingers.
- "Guess I'll have to fight with this." he stated, grimacing.
- "Not only do we lack supplies, but we're running low on weapons as well." she declared, still trying to act cold. "We'll need to be on the lookout on our way from here. Grab anything you can use."
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They hurried out of the schoolbus. It felt soothing to escape the tight confines, but the street appeared as menacing as ever. As they left the vehicule behind, it was quickly engulfed by the fog, devouring it from view.
They walked north on the dirty road. Soon, they reached the first carrefour, where Bloch Street began. They turned in that direction, hogging the pavement. The very first building on the corner was a store, slightly more modern in style than is usually the case in this town. Large glass windows covered most of its facade. The sign above read "Lightning Co." next to a lightbulb logo. The lights were off; looking through the windows, one could could only make out the vague shapes of lamps and boxes inside. There could be useful items among here. Then again, it would make a deluxe hiding place for creeps of all persuasions. To go or not to go…Ekaterina was persistently looking at the shop. She was scared, but she felt they didn't have the choice. It didn't take long for Sam to read her mind.
- "You want to go in there? Why for?" he asked, looking at her with uncertainty.
- "I already told you, we must look around for supplies. In other words : we'll search the shops."
- "Dude, is this really necessary? It will only slow us down! We'll never get there if we keep stopping at every friggin' corner. And you know what? I don't wanna risk getting a two-piece neck again just to grab some bundle of crap. C'mon, let's skip that place…"
- "We have no choice. We can't face up to those monsters if we're empty-handed. Follow me."
Ekaterina began to walk toward the entrance. Sammy was standing motionless, unsure of what to do. As she opened one of the large glass doors, she turned around and looked at him with pleading eyes.
- "Sammy, please don't abandon me like that! I need your help! You'd let a defenseless woman wander alone in such a dangerous place?"
- "No, that's not what I…okay, fine! You win! But you owe me one, you know that?" he sighed as he headed for the doors.
Their eyes adjusted to the darkness, so they observed the surroundings. The shop consisted of only one room. The walls were covered with shelves, which were themselves packed with all sorts of items. Boxes of lightbulbs. Electric cables. Flashlights. Night lights. Table lamps of all shapes and styles, ranging from traditional to exotic. Long neon tubes. Multicolored halogen gizmos. The rest of the room was crowded with rows of tall lamps, the kind you put in living rooms. They stood directly on the floor, close to each other, offering very little space for the customers to walk around. A garden of electric flowers.
As they made their way inside, Ekaterina slowed down the pace of her walking, letting Sam go up front and take the lead, just like in the bus. They moved through the lines of unplugged devices, their eyes not detecting any unknown presence. The place seemed empty.
Then, without warning, one of the tall lamps suddenly lit up at the back of the room, covering the whole store in an yellowish haze. They both jumped. Had someone turned on that lamp? Yet the light clearly revealed that they were alone. There was no sign of those creatures, or of anyone else…
Slowly, their hearts beating in anticipation, they closed in on the source of the glow. It was a fairly nondescript piece of furniture, with a straight metal stem and a cylindrical lampshade. It was unplugged like the rest, but the bulb was flaring bright. There was something on the floor, right beside its base. An envelope?
Arriving first, Sammy reached down, taking hold of the paper vessel. There was some bloodstains on the cover. Written in black ink, the inscription read : "To Mrs. Korovin". It was addressed to her name. Dumbfounded, Sammy handed it to her. She ripped it open. She found many documents inside. Three color photos and a letter. To her horror, she recognised herself on those pictures. Scenes from her memory.
The first photo showed a 12 years old Ekaterina. Back in her younger days. She was wearing a light blue peasant-style dress. She was smiling. Those big eyes of hers shone with glee. She looked so content. So carefree. The backdrop was a small village, with rural houses and people strolling around.
On the second picture, Ekaterina was 16. She was down to her underwear. Even though the picture was stale, you could almost feel her trembling, tensing in fear. She was looking directly at the camera. An empty stare. Cold, lifeless eyes. The eyes of someone who see no future. The eyes of someone who lost faith in life. Her left arm was wrapped around a long, stick-like object. A dancing pole. The backdrop was a badly-lit room wrapped in red curtains. A strip club.
The last picture revealed a 23 years old Ekaterina. Her contemporary adult self. She was wearing her current outfit, black vest and skirt with a white shirt underneat. She was crying, her head bowed down. She was sitting on a chair. Handcuffs on her hands. Berore her, a wide metal table. Behind her, a one-way mirror. A police interrogation room.
The first two photos were events from Ekaterina's past. She remembered them. The third one, however, she had no clue. She had never been caught by the cops. It was impossible for this photo to exist. Where did it come from?
A letter accompanied the photos. The message on it was not written – it was glued in newspaper cut-outs. Like in a bad crime flick.
"Dear Mrs. Korovin, I am in possession of those images and many more compromising pictures. They could easily fall into the wrong hands. If you know what's good for you, meet me at the police station. Come alone. My best regards."
- "What…the hell?" spoke Sam, in disbelief.
And she could do nothing but agree….
