Silent Hill 3: The Fourth Wall, or Heather's Worst Day Ever

Chapter 11: Now Here

I dug around in my menu screen for the handwritten note I'd stashed away earlier, then passed it over to Harry.

"He somehow got the key off the wall in my old bedroom," I said. "And that's what he left with it... But his door's locked over in 3. Haven't found a key to it yet."

"I don't have the map of this—" began Harry and I in unison, and then we stopped and looked at each other. Henry cracked a smile, and Douglas seemed to be entertained. James went on ignoring everything that was happening around him.

"Anyway..." I shook my head a little to clear it. "I can draw a map of this place, but someone has to start it for me. In crayon if possible, with some cutesy children's drawings."

Henry strode back over in the direction of the lobby, and I took a moment to study the doors of the hall we were currently in. Merchandise, Angela Orosco, and Audio were to our left, and to the far right James Sunderland. Across the way, the Mary Shepherd-Sunderland and Maria doors were practically next to each other. Most presumably locked or broken locked. I had my doubts that any of the rooms in the level would prove useful (unless we were all purposefully seeking out our own personal hells), but I knew I had to give them all a try.

Harry coughed into his sleeve suddenly, and then I watched him discreetly wipe away a small spot of blood from the side of his mouth. Some of his hair had fallen down into his eyes, and he was slumped back heavily against the wall. The sight was alarming, given his normally immaculate appearance (even after battling with giant demon Moths, Lizards, and Gods), and he looked just terrible to put it bluntly. Like he'd been run over by a truck.

"You okay, Harry?" Douglas asked warily.

Harry shook his head. "Pretty sure I've got some internal bleeding," he said. "But I should be alright once I get back home." He coughed into the arm of his sleeve again, and pulled his jacket back together.

"Are you dying?" I asked. "Like... over time?"

"I think so, yeah. I just hit the red a minute ago... But it's fine. Let's stay focused on finding a way to get through this level."

Are you kidding me?

I felt like shaking him.

"Stop being so coolheaded about this!" I cried. "You can't go keeling over now! What'll I do if you die?"

"You'll have to go on without me," he said. "I was being played on Hard difficulty at the time I was called... by a very unskilled player. It was near the end of the game and they used up every health item I had. There's nothing I can do about it."

Henry came jogging back up to us, holding onto a blank sheet of paper he'd ripped out of the front desk's typewriter. I snatched it out of his hand and pressed it to the floor. "Draw a bunny please, Henry," I said. "You don't have to make it look too good... Oh, and a house with a triangle roof there on the right." I flipped the page over. "An apple tree should go here," I pointed. He uncapped his pen and got to work right away with a look of deep concentration.

"Does it hurt...?" I asked Harry, staring anxiously at the bloody streaks he'd left on the carpet and wall.

"I'd be lying if I said it didn't," he responded wearily, and that's when I began to notice just how shaky and pale in the face he'd gotten. I reached over and grabbed onto his right hand.

It was freezing.

Goddammit.

I got up and ran over to Douglas standing by the end of the hall. "Health drink? First aid kit?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Main characters only."

"But Maria in 'Born from a Wish'!"

James slowly raised his head and mumbled something, but I was fairly certain it was in Japanese.

"Yeah, but she only used 'em when it was her scenario," said Douglas.

I rolled my eyes. "I know you guys ran into some health items. Normal Brookhaven is packed full of them... and there was definitely an ampoule in room C2."

He glanced over at Harry, and then he leaned in close to me and whispered, "We talked about this already... but he wouldn't listen. He said they were 'strictly for Heather use only'."

"You old fool!" I yelled, spinning back around. "How could you get yourself hurt like that!?"

"I was trying to save your ending," he shot back. "...And I'm not old, I'm thirty-two."

"Maybe I don't need a good ending this time. Did you ever stop and think about that? I have a dark side too, after all... And my bad ending's way better than dying in a freakin' Jeep."

His jaw set firm as he narrowed his eyes at me, and now he actually did look pretty mad. "You remind me of my daughter sometimes," he said.

I smirked and put a hand on my hip. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah. She never listens to me either."

"Well, newsflash: I am her," I countered. "I'm the reincarnation of the restored soul splits. If you'd pull your head outta your own game for once, you'd know that."

I had the upper hand now, so I went in for the kill. "And I still remember drawing that awful picture of you on the sketchbook cover," I said dryly. "And I remember Mom, too... and I'm not talking about Dahlia."

I could tell I'd struck a nerve, so I bit my tongue after that. He looked unsettled, but he had nothing else to say. I crossed my arms and turned away, feeling irritated. Then I started to feel a bit guilty for picking a fight with someone propped against a wall, mortally wounded.

Henry's quiet-spoken voice came up from behind me. "I'm finished," he said. I turned back around and saw him holding up the paper. "It's not in crayon, but... one bunny rabbit, house and tree... and sorry if it sucks, but that's what you wanted... I drew some of the Church level too, to get you started..."

I stepped up and retrieved the map from him. "Awesome, thanks," I said. "Hey, uh... do you still have that nutrition drink on you by any chance?" I jerked my thumb over towards Harry and raised my voice loud enough for him to hear. "He's blinking red over there... and you might have to pin him down and feed it to him."

Henry looked over, and gave me an understanding nod while he stood back up.

I pressed the map flat to the wall and got on with sketching out the new area, glancing up now and then as the ensuing argument grew more heated as time went on.

You told me you were the strongest man in the world...

Or had he? Silent Hill 3 had really cut the character of Harry Mason down to size, but Harry of Silent Hill was made of tougher stuff. Yet there he was, bleeding out in a lonely hallway out of pure stubbornness. I shook my head slowly, and went back to drawing the layout of the level, but I couldn't shake away that guilty feeling from before.

I should apologize sometime.

The rubble and tape from Hallway 1 had cleared on its own, and I wandered up and down with my monster as I made note of each door. The Harry Mason door was first, the same as mine had been. Audio was to the right of it, followed by Lisa Garland, Corpse Storage, Dr. Michael Kaufmann, and Cybil Bennett. None would open, as I'd expected. I tried tapping on most of them, but they were either locked on both sides, or perhaps soundproofed while locked. Whatever the deal was, my senses were telling me that the rooms weren't empty, and it definitely made me feel uneasy.

On the opposite side, Dahlia Gillespie was mercifully locked, and the Equipment Room was broken locked as usual. Directly across from Harry's door was Cheryl Mason. I did hesitate for a minute before trying to open it. I guess I was a little worried about screwing up the space-time continuum any more than it had been. More likely, it was probably the intense amount of jealousy I felt. Jealous at myself? I brushed off the disturbing thought quickly, and chalked it up to my own sanity, hanging dangerously by a thread. Not to be left out, Alessa Gillespie was also present and accounted for. I lingered by both doors for a time, resting a hand and pressing my ear close against them. Were we really all trapped in there? Transfixed by those weird smartphones? Or perhaps locked in against our will? I stepped back from them questions unanswered, but a sense of confinement locked onto me and wouldn't let go—almost overwhelmingly.

Just like the old days.

I shivered a little as I moved back down the hall. Maybe in some way it was a kindness that both Alessa and Cheryl were locked. It would have been pretty uncomfortable for all three of us.

The James and Henry doors were also at the front of their appropriate hallways. After that it went seemingly random. There were rooms for the antagonists, and the supporting roles, and broken locked Equipment and Audio doors in each. Only Hallway 2 had merchandise for sale, which I suppose could have been taken as an insult, but after finding that dirty movie script earlier, I felt very much relieved.

"Use it, damn you!" bellowed James, and his irate voice echoed throughout the empty halls. He was finally back to his hot-tempered old self, and he sounded about ready to manhandle Harry if necessary. You tell him, I thought, as a smile crept over my lips.

"If you die here, it might be for good..." said Henry sensibly. "Just take it... we won't watch you drink it..."

At the very end of each hallway I found a heavy metal door, set into the back of the wall. Unlike the carefully labelled doors nearby, these were unmarked and there were no signs posted anywhere to suggest where they might lead to. They were built of solid, reinforced steel; heavy and impossible to budge. At the first door, I placed both hands on the metal bar, then shoved forward as hard as I could. The bar pushed inward as if it might open, but the door itself wouldn't budge. It didn't appear to be locked or broken, and if anything, seemed to be held closed with a mysterious force. Unsure of what to make of them, I left all four unscribbled on the map.

I had devoted at least half an hour to exploration, and drawing had taken up quite a bit of that time (not that I cared about my ranking anymore). I crouched down and showed the completed map off to my monster, who arfed an approval. I scratched it under one of its chins, and we made our way back to Hallway 2 to join the others.

Harry looked a little violated, but he was sitting up more alert, and some of the color had returned to his face. I refrained from asking, if only to spare him some dignity. "Okay, guys," I said. "I'm stuck again. The Father Vincent door is locked up good. No keys, no weird items to pick up, nothing."

I held up the map for all to see, quite proud of my red x's, scribbles, and lines. It was the first map I'd ever drawn on my own without automation, and I thought I'd done a pretty good job with it.

James, appearing much better now, pointed to the wide door at the end and asked, "Where do these doors go, and why aren't they marked?"

"They're not locked or broken, but they wouldn't open up," I replied. "I didn't know what to put down..."

"Every final level has to have an Exit," muttered Harry. "We just never noticed because it happens off screen. It's how the protagonist makes their getaway at the end of the game."

"So they'll open once the game's over?" asked Henry.

"I'm assuming, yes... They might just be our way back."

"But why would we get Exits?" I asked. "Didn't Vincent build this part of the level? Does he plan on losing the fight?"

"Maybe it's the work of the Old Gods," said James thoughtfully. "They tend to keep some things in check. We're still in Silent Hill after all, and I know they still hold power. I venerated them to channel into the game... and to bring Harry here."

"Hey... now that you mention it, how did Henr—" Suddenly, the floor felt like it was vibrating, then gave way to an actual quaking. I fell over backwards and held onto the Double Head for dear life. The shaking subsided after about five seconds, but it felt like a lot longer.

"What the hell?" the four of us stated in perfect synchronization. Only Douglas and the monster were quiet.

I ran, straight back out into the open lobby area, and scanned the room to see if anything had happened. The vending machines in the alcove to my left were now lit up, and a pair of restroom doors had been added on the opposite side. While I waited a minute for the others, I took a few seconds to mark the changes onto my map. The Double Head wandered back and forth nearby, sniffing curiously.

"Heather, you'd better take a look at this," said Douglas.

I glanced up. "What?" Then dropped my pen on the floor. "Aw, sh... hell."

A blank wall had been there before, separating Hallways 1 and 2 from 3 and 4. Now it had a new hall of its own. I walked up for a quick look, though this one was much shorter than the others. A red scrolling marquee sign had been mounted above the only door at the end.

Testing... Testing... Testing... it flashed, over and over again.