Silent Hill : Foreigners
Chapter 11 : Under Law
The police station stood out quite a bit amongst the other buildings of Silent Hill. It was a tall edifice, maybe two or three stories high; the fog made sure you couldn't clearly tell. Its entire facade was comprised solely of huge widows, each as large and tall as the station's front doors, reaching down to ground level. On the other side of the glass, equally huge window shades stood in various degrees of unfoldment : some were totally shut, covering the bays in an opaque white surface; others were open or partially open, letting the light flow through. A badge-like icon was displayed just above the entrance. Several police cars were parked by the road, surrounding both sides of the structure.
Ekaterina was standing before the entrance. She would meet her extorter there. Just as requested. Alone. Stepping forward, she pushed the gates open.
The room was luminous, thanks to the tall windows that framed the front doors. The floor was made of black and white tiles, showing a kind of chess board motive. The bottom half of the walls was panelled with intricate boiserie; the top half was decorated by green wallpaper. It gave the place a classy vibe. In front of her was a reception counter; behind, one could see a bigger adjacent room. On her right, there was a cushioned bench settled along the wall. Next to it stood a simple door. There was also a door on the left side of the room.
Ekaterina walked up to the counter. It was empty, except for a colorful pleated sheet . Unfolding the document, she realised it was a map of the police station.
She was currently in the Reception. The room to her left was the Records Bureau; the one to her right was a Waiting Room. Both led to the space behind the counter, called the Lobby. Above it was the Main Office, which itself was connected to many other areas : Dispatch Center, Detail Office, Locker Room, Lounge, Storage, Watchman Office, Staircase…the map also covered the second floor of the building, as well as the basement.
Ekaterina, in absence of concrete directions, decided to head for the left door. The Records Bureau was a smaller room, and a fairly crowded one at that. Most of the space was occupied by two desks : the first one, right in front of her, housed an old-school touch tone telephone, with the oversized receiver and all. There was a couple of written memos, and what seemed to be a list of phone numbers. Nothing useful. The second desk, standing near the windows, was piled up with books and manuals of all kinds, scattered around in an untidy way. But what caught Ekaterina's attention was the east side of the Bureau.
There was a wide chalkboard covering most of the wall. The black panel was clouded with blurry chalkmarks, as if someone had unceremoniously erased the previous message. A new inscription was written on top of the mess :
"I am waiting for you in the Interrogation Room. Don't squeal to the cops. Don't fool around. Do as you are told."
Another missive from the blackmailer. She had no idea who, or why, or how. It made no sense, just like the rest. Her mind was confused and conflicted. The temptation to screw it and concentrate on escaping the town was very strong. On the other hand, her logical self, which had yet to surrender, suggested not to take such matters lightly. Blackmail is serious business. Heck, she was well placed to know that! She couldn't ignore a threat, no matter how silly it appeared. She had to get to the bottom of this mystery. Checking on the map, she noted the Interrogation Room, located on the second floor of the station. She marked it with her pencil. Finally, she departed the Bureau by its northern door.
She now stood in the area behind the reception counter. The place was cut off by a large pair of folding screens, extending from one wall to the next. There was an opening between the two screens, forming a passage to the other side of the room. As Ekaterina walked forward, she stepped into something. Looking down, she saw water. There were puddles all over the floor. A wet trail traversed through the passage, reaching beyond the folding screens. Gun in hand, Ekaterina moved behind the panels.
The Lobby was a large, mostly vacant space. The walls were coated with the same half-boiserie, half-wallpaper ornament that seemed to decorate the entire building. The floor here was also wet, small pools spreading randomly over the polished tiles. A strange odor was hovering…a moist, humid scent. One of the decorative plants had been knocked over; the soil of its container was scattered around, turning into mud. Two doors faced each other on the left and right sides of the room, leading to the washrooms, one for each gender. Turning right, Ekaterina headed for the women's bathroom.
It was dimly lit inside, the only sunrays coming from a tiny bay in the back. All the stalls were closed, as if occupied. Strangely, this place seemed dryer than the rest ; no liquid was flowing from under the cabinets. The unpleasant moist smell was still hanging around, though. Ekaterina opened the sink. Bowing down her head, she splashed cold water against her face. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her skin was pale, almost white. She had bloodshot eyes. Her hair was in disarray. Her body was wrecked with nervous spasms. She was in a pityful state. Waiting no longer, she walked out of the bathroom. Back to the Lobby, she opened the twin doors that stood at the top of the room.
The Main Office was another large area. The west-side wall was fully occupied by those tall windows, the kind that surrounded the building's facade. Only a few of the window shades were open; as a result, the room was unequally lit. Some parts of the office were bright and visible, other corners were shrouded in darkness. The place was filled with rows of desks. The cops' desks. They weren't seperated by cubicles; they just stood next to each other. They weren't properly aligned either, facing all directions. In fact, the entire room was at sixes and sevens. It was a virtual maze of office furniture and paperwork. Computers, printers, telephones, desk lamps, chairs, boxes, books, ring binders, you name it. Standing on one of the desks was an oscillating fan. The device was turned on, producing a very loud noise. It was moving around in a semi-circular pattern, flinging air across the room.
With trembling and hesitant steps, Ekaterina began to move through the furniture. She aimed her weapon in every direction, constantly turning around in a paranoid manner. She had trouble keeping her mind focused; her attention kept swaying toward the electric fan. The device's grating sound and repetitive movement made the environment even more disturbing than it already was. Walking further, she stumbled upon a box of ammo lying on a desk. 9mm ammo. Reaching out with shaking fingers, she grabbed the box and stuffed it in her pocket.
Arriving at the back of the office, she tried to open the northern doors. No luck. It didn't move. However, it simply seemed to be locked, not stuck or broken like the previous ones had been. She turned around.
Huh? What was that? She heard a noise coming from the desks. At least, she thought she heard a noise; it was difficult to tell under the constant grinding of the fan. Nervous and eager to take her leave, Ekaterina quickly travelled to the right side of the Main Office, up to another door. Opening the handle, she was greeted by obscurity.
She had a bad feeling about this…