chapter 9: alternate central silent hill

Harry opened his eyes, seeing nothing. It was completely black, and the ground was digging into his spine. He sat up, a fresh wave of pain pounding his temple. He pressed several fingers to the side of his head, trying to ease the throbbing. "Was I dreaming again…?" He looked around, the surroundings familiar yet completely different.

I hate to admit it, but I think I'm losing my mind. I'm probably lying unconscious in my jeep, an ambulance on the way and Cheryl is there by my side, waiting for daddy to wake up…

Harry shook his head. "I'm giving up…" He grumbled quietly, trying to pick himself up. Even though the events around him were toying with his sanity, if there was even the slightest chance his daughter was still lost in this nightmare, he had to find her.

"Cybil had said she had seen Cheryl walking toward the lake. But Bachman Road was broken off. How else…Maybe Lisa will know?"

The flashlight in his chest pocket had stopped working, much to his dismay. He pulled the pistol from his pocket and stood up, wiping the dried blood and rust from his pants. He tried making out surroundings, seeing he was actually still in the Green Lion. He must have been unconscious through the blaring of the siren, although he remembered hearing it from a distance while he was out. Seeing no immediate threat, he pocketed the handgun and picked up the iron battle-axe, making his way to the entrance.

The sky had gone dark again, with a steady rain falling down. He decided he should try to make his way back to Alchemillia and find Lisa, then get the hell out of here. He stepped out on to the street, the rain light but steady. The flashlight also came back on after he left the dank recess of the antique shop. He saw that disturbingly all of the roads leading back to the hospital were blocked aside from Silent Hill Town Hall, so he'd have to go through it to make it back to the hospital.

He made his way across the street, pulling on the large glass double doors. They opened with ease, almost like his path was pre-determined. There was a large array of television screens that suddenly lit up as he passed them. They were all filled with static, and he tried his best to ignore them as he scanned the large lobby of Town Hall.

"Daddy…Help me…"

He jerked his head over to the sound of his daughter's voice.

"Cheryl…?!"

He saw through the unclear images on the screens his daughter lying on her side, apparently struggling against something that kept her down and kept her from moving.

"Help me…Where are you…?"

Tears began to sting his eyes as the television screens faded back to black, drenching the large building in ominous quiet. He stood staring at them a few minutes, wishing to see the image of his daughter again. After realizing he was only wasting his time, he decided to check upstairs. The iron stairs creaked, and he was reminded that he was still trapped in this nightmarish alternate universe.

The iron axe was gripped tightly in his hand to the point it was painful, beads of perspiration dotting his face. He was in no shape for anything like this. The floor groaned again, this time louder and threatening to break. He felt the iron mesh floor sink in a bit, and before he could realize what was happening he was falling, only for a brief moment, before landing roughly on the dirty ground. Spots floated around in his vision, a new wave of pain pumping through his temples. The axe was lying a few feet away, the handgun right beside it. He tried sitting up, immediately resting his head in his hands.

The sound of something large scraping against the ground brought him back to the real world, his mind filled with a fog from the fall. Where had he heard that sound before? It was recently, he knew, but where? He heard it again and then instantly grabbed the handgun.

"Pyramid Head…" He said under his breath, keeping still as he heard something from the other side of the dark area he had fallen into. He crouched down, turning the flashlight off. He heard the sound again, this time followed by the sound of something forcing its way through the wall. It was him. It saw him walking slowly, the weapon in one hand and a bloody corpse in the other. Before he could react, Pyramid Head threw the body at Harry, then started swinging the great sword around, making him dive down to the ground. He open fired, the shot making metal ping sounds as it hit the helmet. Finally several shots hit the thing's chest, and he heard an odd, low groan come from the monster.

It suddenly reached forward, picking Harry easily up into the air. He finished the rounds in the handgun, aiming them point blank into the creature. It threw him across the area they were in, Harry crashing into the wire chain-linked wall. He hit the ground hard, the handgun and axe sliding from his grasp. He fumbled for some loose bullets in his pocket, coming up with enough to fill the clip up halfway.

With speed the demon had yet to show, he thrust the giant blade tip first at Harry, causing him to duck to the side. He was able to fire a few shots, all of them connecting, before Pyramid Head had the sword and was swinging at him again, this time causing him to fall to the ground and roll. His body was already aching, but he had to constantly keep on his toes and just keep moving. He pocketed the handgun and then brought up the axe, taking a one shot chance at throwing it at the monster's back.

The battle-axe did connect, slicing neatly into the shoulder. He-it-reached around and pulled it out, obliterating it in his hand. That's when it finally hit Harry. It was a terrible idea to even think about fighting this Executioner from Hell. He turned and started looking for the hole that he had come through at. He turned back on the flashlight, finally seeing it the jagged opening. He ran toward it, feeling a slight breeze coming through. He pushed himself through, ignoring the sting from all the scrapes from the broken chain links. He looked around, everything lost in shadows. He just started running, his shoes making dull thuds on the wire mesh ground. The rain was warm, along with the air, and it fell lightly.

Finally he came to a dead end near a rusty metal balcony overlooking a small section of Toluca Lake. He bent over to catch his breath, wishing that his little stalker would leave him the hell alone. What did he ever do to that freak? He stood back, Cheryl once again becoming first priority. No matter what happened to him, he couldn't stop, or die, before he knew his daughter would be safe again. That was his goal.

He saw that down the street that turned right here, he would be able to make it to a courtyard in the back of the hospital. He clambered over several backyard fences before finally stumbling through some shrubbery back at the hospital. He entered through a back door, already dreading being back. He never had like going to hospitals, even when he had to take Cheryl, but this was about a thousand times worse.

If he could choose, he'd rather go back to the time when he had to take Cheryl for her first shot, or even back to the hospital before Lauren had died. Anything was better than this horrible, nightmarish world. He shook his head, finding his way back to the examination room where he had found Lisa. She looked terrified as he came in, but her face quickly softened once she saw Harry.

"There you are! I was so scared being here all alone." She ran up to him, hugging him for the second time.

"It's alright, but I need to ask you a favor. How can I get to the lake?" He asked, keeping his hands on her shoulders. She thought for a moment, then smiled.

"That's easy, you take Bachman Road." Harry shook his head.

"It uh…it doesn't go through anymore." Lisa looked puzzled.

"Well that's the only way to get there." His hopes faltered. He sat down in one of the chairs and placed his head in his hands to think.

"I'm really sorry…" She whispered.

"Don't be, its not your fault." He replied, keeping his face buried in his hands. There was several moments of silence.

"Wait! I just remembered something!" She said, her voice going high. He was instantly to his feet.

"There's a water works over by the elementary school I used to work at. Now I never went there, but I heard that it runs all the way to the lake!" Harry shuddered.

"You mean Midwich right?" She nodded.

"Yeah, you been there already?" He nodded.

"Unfortunately, but I didn't know about the water works." He turned to leave, but felt her grab onto his sleeve.

"Wait, Harry…Please don't leave me here alone. I cant stand being in here all by myself, in this nightmarish place." He thought for a moment, weighing in his options.

"I may not be the best of help, but I can do the best I can to protect you if you want to…you know…go with me?" He asked, studying her face. She looked up at him.

"No…I don't think so. I don't know why but I feel like I'm not supposed to leave this place." She walked over and sat down on the bed, looking up at him helplessly.

"Hey, I know your daughter needs you," she patted the seat beside her, "but I'm keeping this seat warm for when you get back. And you better come back." Harry couldn't stand the though of leaving her in this hospital, but her mind was apparently made up.

"Okay, but I promise you as soon as I find Cheryl, I'm coming back to get you, you understand? So you just stay tight, lock the doors, and I'll be back soon." She nodded, looking down at her feet. He walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"We're going to get through this…whatever this may be, we're going to get through it." She looked up, wiping a tear from her eye.

"I know, I just need your help."

"And you got it. I'm going to find my daughter and we'll come back to get you." This time she smiled then nodded.

"Okay, I'll be here when you get back…" Fearing he may not be able to leave if he stayed any longer, he quickly exited the room and the hospital all together. It was still dark outside, the rain letting up a little, although immediately he noticed something wrong.

There was only one single path to go, and that was straight. The other roads and buildings were just gone, the pathway lined with a rusty barbed wire handrail. He continued forward, coming to a set of steps. He made his way up them, finding himself on the roof of another building.

Then he heard it, the sound of Pyramid Head walking. He turned and was stunned. The monster was right there, coming up the steps. He kept backing up until his heels tipped the edge of the roof. He looked back, swaying a little, then turned back forward-

-and had to fall back to avoid being impaled by the giant sword. Everything drifted away, until he finally hit solid ground below.