Chapter Eleven: Broken Silence
Uhhhh, Uhhhh. Damn, this pain, it's unbearable. It's on fire, my head is on fire. Uhhhh, what the hell happened, where am I? Slowly the blurriness in my eyes began to fade but I still couldn't make out where I was. The room was spinning extremely fast turning everything into a blurry haze causing everything to just merge together. Uhhhh, what the hell. How did I get here? I can't remember, what happened after I got out of the alleyway.
James, I think you're going crazy.
No, I can't be, this is real, it's all real.
No, its nothing but a dream, a nightmare nurtured by your paranoia.
What are you talking about? A dream this isn't a dream, it's real. It's reality.
Oh really? Can this really be reality? If it is explain to me everything that has been happening, the monsters, an abandoned resort town, and your pitiful and contemptible attempt to bring your dead wife back into the realm of the living.
Stop it please! Leave me alone. Why would you do this to me?
Do what? Save you from yourself. James, you're destroying yourself. You're digging yourself a grave so deep that escape will be entirely impossible. You have to leave this place before you're entirely cut off. You are walking down a path of darkness that leads nowhere but suffering and once you reach the end, you won't be able to get back, you'll be trapped. You're falling James, falling…
What can all this mean, what possible rational explanation comes with this implausible reality. Why am I here, must I really deserve this. But what have I done, yes what have you done. Nothing I'm innocent, you've got the wrong guy. I don't think so James! You're a sinner, you're a bad man. You've broken away from God and dared to trespass into the silence. You're too unfit for redemption, you won't be forgiven, unless you are willing to face the truth and forgive yourself for your transgressions.
Uhhhh. The spinning slowly began to cease and I was able to determine my exact location. Another run down building, rotting away into noting. From what I can tell it appears to be some sort of apartment building, the rusty old broken down mailboxes to the right of me being the main giveaway. I'm in the lobby, a few feet ahead of me is a rusty old stairwell leading up. The only source of light was from a window just above me. A faint, yet bright light. Outside the fog still revolved in madness. Slow, swirling.
"Huh?" A slow rhythmic noise began just to side of where I was sitting. It was blood I discovered, looking down. But where is blood coming from. Horrors came to mind as I remembered the monsters from earlier. Another one? I grabbed the radio out of my pocket and stupidly waved in the air, hoping to catch some white noise indicating the presence of the hellish abominations, but nothing came. Oh damn!
The blood was coming from my head. The pain returned almost abruptly and all to strongly causing a loud shriek of pain to burst from my mouth. The scream caused an even more frightening echo which broke the silence in the apartments. Shit! That wasn't a good idea, whatever is in here, and no doubt at all that there isn't, must've heard me.
Shaking, I put my hand up to the left side of my head. Just above my eye was a deep cut, no it's more like a burn, whatever it is it's deep and blood keeps pouring out of it nonstop. Nothing there's nothing to stop the bleeding with, I turned out all my pockets spilling the contents all over the floor. The photograph of Mary slowly descended into a pool of dark blood. Damn, I pulled it out quickly and wiped it on my leg trying to get the blood off before it stained the picture, momentarily forgetting about my own dire predicament that will have serious consequences unless something is done, and soon. I took my boot off and removed my sock and wrapped it against my throbbing head. Heh, lucky I put these socks on today, these are the ones I've always hated. You know, the long wooly ones that itch like hell every time you put them on. But damn me to hell they really saved my life this time.
But still no matter how hard I tried I couldn't remember how the hell I got to this bloody hellhole. All I remember is emerging from the alleyway back into town, monsters all around, and… That's it!
Soon after I walked out onto the foggy streets those things began to appear all over the place, coming from all direction. Strange, they weren't there before I ran into that monster on the path. Dozens of them began limping towards me wildly, the radio blaring sharply in my ears. The noise was too much, it was driving me crazy, I couldn't concentrate. But those things all the while came closer, unperturbed by the noise. In confusion I swung the plank in every direction like a madman. Yet again that ice cold feeling of helplessness ached throughout my body. I felt my plank hit some of their torsos, warm blood spraying onto my face, and that horrible shriek of pain. But the more I killed the more of the bastards there were. They began sort of, for lack of a better adjective, marching out of the mist like an army, yet in no distinct aura of pattern or training.
I ran, God knows where trying to escape. I turned my head and through the mist I could still see shadows following me. I remember praying to God as I was running, begging for Him to make all this stop, begging for Him to help me. But like always he didn't, He never does, Hell I didn't actually expect Him to anyway.
The farther I ran up the street the less white noise there seemed to be until it slowly faded away into silence. Desperate for breath I rested on the steps leading up to some house. My heart felt like it was going to explode and so did my head, they were throbbing madly. That's when it occurred to me. Maybe this town isn't abandoned after all, I mean I've never been in any of the buildings let alone a house. I turned around and looked up at the house behind me. It was a graying white, a blue door that was slowly wearing away, and two windows on opposite sides of the door. Behind one of them the gray curtains swayed to the side, as if someone was in there and was watching me through the window but turned away frightened of me seeing them as I turned my head. Oh god, I thought I was going crazy but I must not have been. That was a person, a person. Can you believe it. I struggled to get up and walked over to the door.
I knocked seven times in a row, softly though. Nobody answered me as I waited there. I knocked again sure that I had seen someone in there but yet again no one answered. I pushed my ear up against the door hoping to hear something to confirm my former suspicion. Inside I could hear a sort of rustling noise, the kind of noise leaves make in the fall after they've fallen from the trees on the concrete. It seemed to becoming from the back of the house. The curtain in the window next to me was ajar a small ways and I peeked in. It was very dark in the house and all that I could make out was the silhouettes of the furniture and the walls. Towards the back, straight in front of me, was what looked like a kitchen. A window dimly lit the kitchen with an eerie fluorescent light. A dark shadow slowly crossed in front of the window blocking out the light and nearly causing my heart to burst. A short but loud scream erupted from my mouth. The shadow stopped dead in it's tracked and I could see it moving its head or whatever towards me. I grabbed my mouth with both hands, desperate to suppress shrieks and cries of terror that longed to come out. I ducked under the window and stared out at the swirling fog in front of me and the shadows of the buildings across the street. Whatever it was it must not of seen me because nothing happened to indicate that it had. Slowly my courage climbed back up and my heavy breathing began to die away into a steady comforting sigh. I slowly lifted my head up, allowing just enough to let me see back into the house. I could see nothing out of the ordinary, I slid back down and sighed a smile beginning to appear on my face, almost turning into a laugh when I hear a loud scraping noise. Not like before, this time it seemed to be magnified like a thousand times. I covered my ears and screamed but the noise completely covered it up. Slowly the fog became grayer and swirled around madly, the air lost all temperature again and was in a sort of limbo. The door leading into the house began to bulge out as something began to hit it. Disfigured and twisted wood began to protrude out. The door seemed elastic like rubber, every time a blow was hit to it it just pushed out, whatever was in that house desperately wanted to get out but couldn't.
I fumbled backwards just as the last light seemed to vanish right out of the world, emerging everything in complete and utter darkness. Another blow struck the door and the wood extended out and hit me in the stomach knocking me down the stairs onto the hard concrete. I heard a loud crack and dizziness filled my head as I hit the ground extremely hard. It's true you really do see birds when you're hit on the head. Finally after one last blow the door gave away and large chunks and splinters of wood shot in every direction one slicing me just above my left eye leaving a strong sensation of pain. As the wood landed it seemed to wriggle and writhe on the ground. The strange creature emerged from the open doorway each step echoing loudly. I could see a faint outline of its shape, it had a large sword like object in its hand. That's what made the noise I had heard earlier. As it came closer and started to slowly descend the stairs, its features became more distinct, but I didn't hang around to see just what the hell it was.
I stood up and ran, ran as fast as I could, not knowing where I was going. It was too dark to see anything, I mean anything. I could see absolutely nothing. Behind my I could hear the heavy footsteps and the scraping. I just kept running my head pulsing and throbbing, I stumbled over something soft and fleshly, a body. I fell face first into the pavement, a light flashed in front of my eyes and everything went dark.
Slowly, what seemed like hours later I awoke lying in the middle of the fog smothered street. In my hand I felt something stringy and my disoriented mind pictured, trying to rationalize the anomaly showed me what appeared to be shredded cheese, the kind you make pizzas out of.
"What the hell?" Slowly my eyes focused on the thing in my hand. It was hair human hair! I sat up and slid and kicked away from it. There was a mutilated body lying next to me face down. One of the legs was twisted upwards in a horrible way and the other was completely gone, tore off. The head was smashed in and dried wrinkly brains were protruding out. In the torso was an huge hole, a fine cut made by some sort of monstrous knife. An image of the creature I saw before flashed in front of my eyes. He must've done this to this person. I stood up frantically my feet splashing in the pool of blood that surrounded the grotesque corpse. That's when the horrid smell got me. It worse than anything, and I mean anything. I ran choking for air away from the corpse. Not realizing until I stopped moments later that I still had a was of blood soaked hair in my hand. It was like seaweed, I had to wave my hand madly to get it off. As it landed on the ground it made a clanking noise instead of just a soft and mushy plop. Something was inside of the ball of hair that made that noise. I bent down and started to pull the hair apart. It was in knot so I just ripped it apart. Underneath all or it was a small golden key. It read 'Woodside Apartments'.
"Woodside Apartments?" I said looking down at it as I brushed it on the side of pants getting all the slimy blood off it. It took the map out of my pocket and unfolded it. I looked around and found the street that I was on. Woodside Apartments was a few blocks over and if I followed the map I should be able to reach it.
I finally reached the street it was on and walked down it. Right when I got to the apartments I noticed that there was a roadblock. A large plastic covering prevented me from going any farther as if it meant for me to go to the apartments. There was a gate surrounding a courtyard. As I opened the gate a loud screeching noise pierced the silence. Scared of something hearing me I slammed it shut and ran it. The courtyard looked as if it was freshly mown. The grass was moist and healthy looking, strange. I made my way to the large entrance door and ran my hand down it. It was a thick dark brown wooden door in excellent condition. I turned the handle but it was locked, obviously. I pulled the key out of my pocket and went in. Seconds after closing the door, I became faint. That's when I noticed the deep cut above my head, it was bleeding still. How could I not have noticed it? Everything began spinning and I collapsed on the floor in pain.
That's what happened. I stood up and tried to open the front door but it was locked. Damn it! I turned around and looked around the room. I have only two options, the stairs or the door at the opposite side of the room, I guess it'll be the stairs. I walked towards them when I saw a piece of paper folded on the floor next to the rotting wall. It's a map of the apartments. Well that's going to be useful. I folded it up and put it in my pocket and started up the stairs.