Chapter 12: Death's Sentence
''Can you confirm the body?''
''It's him...''
''We have conformation on the body; it's Brigadier Maes Hughes.''
The two unknown men surrounding his best friend returned the blanket on its head. They were examining the crime scene, searching for clues directing to the brigadier's killer, but to no avail. The killer was gone, vanished, disappeared in the air. All he left behind him was a lifeless corpse in a telephone box in the middle of an empty park.
The body, his late friend, had been shot two times. One pierced through his shoulder. Supposedly, he got wounded back in the Headquarters. A witness saw him running out the building and never came back. The last one, located in his chest, caused a slow and agonizing death. His glasses were shattered, veiling his still opened eyes. The first response had the decency to cover the body with a blanket. The size of it, however, wasn't big enough to cover the pool of blood under the victim.
''Colonel.''
It was his left-hand. She came when she heard the news, maybe hearing he was there too.
''Colonel, it would be better if we leave.''
Typical from her, but true. In a deadly silence, he began to make the first steps and stopped at the third one. He looked back and his eyes widened, his heart squeezed.
Everyone acted as if nothing happened, but something did happen. The two investigators were still roaming the crime scene, Riza kept walking, and the rest of the soldiers were still in their duties. Except him, the only one who stopped and watched, terrorized, the butchered body slowly dragging toward him.
Without the blanket, he could see the damage caused by the bullet in his chest. The navy blue of his uniform turned brown at the extremities of the splatter as the middle remained bright scarlet. He walked normally, as the deep injury in his chest was nothing but a scratch. The colonel couldn't move or breathe. His eyes locked on the coming red man who smiled at Roy's sight.
''YoU beTRayeD me. WHy dIDn't yOu dO aNYthInG? Roy... Roy...''
''Colonel?''
A hand reached his shoulder; he jumped out of fright. Riza stood for a moment, before she realized her eyes looked at a shaking Roy. The man stared at the woman, before turning back his attention to the walking body behind him. He was back in the cabin.
Did he just imagine it?
''Something the matter, sir?''
She remained calm as she'd always been. He should do the same. He rubbed his eyes and let out a troubled sigh.
''Nothing, Lieutenant. Let's just...''
When his eyes opened, the world behind his lieutenant turned black. In this sudden shadow, two round shining eyes floated at least five feet above the woman's head. He felt his body going numb by the horror he witnessed and when he tried to warn his left-hand of the menace, it was already too late.
The last thing he knew was the body of his left-hand on the soil, lifeless.
He awoke sharply at the nightmare's end. When air should fill up his lungs, water instead entered by his mouth and nostrils. Caught by surprise, his head lifted up and reached the fresh oxygen floating above him.
In the tenebrosity surrounding him, Roy lifted his body as he coughed out violently, vomiting the liquid out of his system. It was unpleasant, at best.
When his stomach was empty, he blindly put his hand against a nearby wall to support him.
The dream he dreamt made him dizzy and unnaturally weak. The ghost of his former friend and the death of his lieutenant by the red-eyed monster stressed him to the point of feeling nauseated when he recalled the nightmare. He tried to push away the images, but they came back stronger than last time.
When he managed to minimize his tremblings, he recalled the stranger's voice.
The same voice. The same tone. Everything was pointing at one very familiar individual.
''Impossible.'' He denied as he shook his head. ''He's dead. I saw his body. He can't be alive!''
His last sentence had a violent tone to it. As much he didn't accept this fact, a part of him wanted to believe he was alive. The good times they had, the mutual trust they shared, the promise they made in Ishval.
All gone in a single night.
By a simple bullet in the heart.
Speaking of heart, the colonel couldn't shake off the image of Riza's body. The red-eyed monster was, once again, back in his dream. This time however, the monster killed someone. He thought so far that the monster was some sort of protector, but in the end it wasn't. It was just like the others, a monster which he had to kill.
He checked in his coat's pockets. Everything was soaked. The map was ruined and his gloves would take a long time before he could use them again. His gun, bizarrely, was back on his belt and the lantern was full of oil to be used. He could use it as he wished, if it wasn't for the fact that he didn't have anything to light the object. He threw away his now useless map in the water and began to walk aimlessly in the darkness.
The water, at knee-height, demanded more energy from the colonel. Nothing could tell if he was going in the right direction or not. Disoriented, he could only rely on his Lady Luck, who assuredly let him down.
He wondered off with the last resort of his strength. Even if his throat wasn't dry or his stomach wasn't requesting food, he couldn't image how long he hadn't eaten or drunk properly. By as little time indication he had, he could have been in Silent Hill for days, even a week.
Nothing made sense anymore.
Nothing at all.
He heard the sound of a splash. He wasn't sure, but by the sound of the impact it was something relatively heavy. He lifted his head and saw a weak light.
Finally, some light at the tunnel's end!
He reached the light's zone and saw a set of rocky stairs going to a metallic platform out of the water. Without a second of hesitation, he stepped on the first steps, freeing his legs from the cold water. He climbed up the last steps when he looked at the light's source. His eyes looked away from the light.
It was a fleshy chandelier.
With his sight avoiding the macabre chandelier, he walked on the platform searching for a door, an exit, anything which would take him out of this tunnel. At the light's edge, a rusty metallic door dimly shined. As they seemed to be no other way out, he advanced toward the door and opened it in a desperate silence.
Outside , he saw the chandeliers hanging by the chain and frost covering everything around him.
He was back in the Frost World.
With the knowledge he had of this world's danger, he took out the revolver and observed around him.
As his eyes looked around, he saw something was out of place. The ice, the floor turned into fences and metallic patches were all there, but the rest remained him of the amusement park. If he recalled right, the last times he found himself in the Frost World he was in places which didn't have much resemblance to the place which he lost consciousness.
This time, it was some sort of the counterpart of Lakeside Amusement Park.
He walked in the frozen park as he stayed close to the weak light given by the chained fleshy chandeliers. He didn't have any idea where to go. This part of the Frozen World was unlike his previous visit in the cold realm. He wasn't as scared as his last visits and there was nothing chasing him or trying to kill him.
No monsters, no stranger and no danger.
It was too good to be true.
Under a chandelier's light, he stopped next of a carousel ride and looked around him to find something to give him information to get out of the Frozen World. Usually in parks, there were maps scattered around to give indications to the rides and attractions. But there were none.
''HELP!''
A voice rose from the darkness and his senses were already on alert. The voice was familiar and his heart was suddenly squeezed by worries.
''Samantha!''
He ran through the park's streets and followed the ongoing screams. They were piercing and strong. He followed the female's voice, until he was in front of a candy shop with two fleshy chandeliers floating above it. The screams were coming from there.
He busted in. In the blinding darkness, he couldn't see anything around him and had to bet on not colliding with a stand or a counter. Thankfully, he didn't.
When he arrived at the back of the store or what he assumed, he heard cries of struggles and screams. Whatever monster was fighting against Samantha, it was blending well with the shadows.
It was then the screams and struggles faded. He feared the worst, but he could hear faint breaths coming from the woman's mouth. The assailant stopped his attacks and he turned its head toward the colonel. The movement of two red, round, shining eyes gave away the monster's position.
His legs locked up. The determination to shoot the monster was replaced by terror. His worries were right, this red-eyed monster was real and it was no longer in his dream. The pair of crimson eyes shined floated higher, demonstrating the monster's possible height.
It was as tall as he remembered in his dreams and more menacing than he would remember. He knew this thing could kill him in one blow, just like it did to Riza.
He shakily pointed his weapon at the monster. Maybe this red-eyed creature could see in the dark, since its glowing eyes moved closer to the colonel. He didn't want to run away. If he did, Samantha would die and she was the only other human in this accursed place. Her death would mean his loneliness and the end of his sanity.
A loud bang echoed through the store.
Roy didn't press the trigger. It came closer than he expected.
The monster roared and its eyes disappeared. The screams of Samantha soon followed and began to fade away.
''Let me go! Let me go!''
It caught Samantha and kidnapped her. He followed the screams through the darkness. It was a miracle that he didn't run into a wall and he used this advantage to follow the running monster. In the shadows, he used his free hand to guide him. When his fingers didn't fell any solid material, he turned and continued this until it abruptly stopped.
His luck ran out as he hit a metal door. He fell on the ground and quickly got up. Samantha's screams were coming from behind the door, he had to open it and save her.
On the other side, the screams stopped.
The darkness was gone.
The cold vanished.
The red-eyed monster was missing.
He was shocked, not by horror or by anger, but by confusion.
He was in his bureau in Central.
''How did I...?''
He walked in the middle of the room, stepping in the escaped sunlight from one of his window. It was also silent, very quiet. He felt insecure?
Was he dreaming all of this?
A sharp ringing sound made him jump. A black phone sang its song as it waited patiently for someone to answer. He got closer and grabbed the handle, slowly putting the receiver against his ear.
''Hello?''
''Hi.''
Roy was caught off-guard. Without removing the phone's receiver from his head, he moved his eyes and looked at the voice's source.
''Who are you?'' he asked the unfamiliar whispering voice.
''Why should I tell you? Are you a human?''
''I am; I'm not a monster.''
The voice on the other side got silent. The soldier believed the whispering man had hung up, but a breathing noise, resembling a sigh, was coming out of the phone.
''Did you see Samantha?''
''I did.''
''Liar.''
The phone emitted a beeping sound. The line cut and he felt something cold behind him.
He let go of the phone and turned on his heels.
He had to be hallucinating. There was no way what he was looking at was real.
In front of him was a large room dimly lit by a few fleshy chandeliers. From what he could make out, the room was flooded. The water concealed a half-submerged catwalk; only the rails were standing out of the freezing water. When he looked behind him, the bureau was gone and his feet were buried by the liquid before he even realized it.
His mind was a mess. His senses hazed his thoughts, nothing could make any relevant explanations and logic would never tell how this sudden change of environment happened. He was close to losing it. His body was shaking and his ideas were scattered in his brain.
Where was he?
Who was doing all this?
What really were the monsters?
Who made the monsters?
Was Samantha really there when he saw the red-eyed monster?
How long was he in Silent Hill?
Why was he there again?
Was he dreaming?
Was it all real?
How did all of this happen?
Why was this happening to him?
Why were the dreams tormenting him?
If he died, would he awake?
Would he suffer more if he continues?
What was the real face of the red-eyed monster; did he really want to know?
As much he tried to keep a minimal of calm, his whole body kept shaking. The simple breaths he drew were challenges. His stomach was squeezed by the anxiety he suffered. His legs felt like rubber, but barely managed to hold him.
As his body and mind fell ill, something caught him.
His irises shrieked in fear and they looked down, at his side. A hand salvaged itself from the icy water and grasped the first thing it found. The hand barely had flesh on it; only the skin and the bones were making the limb.
At the sight of this decayed five-fingered limb holding his ankle, he screamed and kicked off the hand.
He ran forward without looking back at the creeping hand returning into the water.
After a mile, his feet couldn't carry him anymore. His body was sore and his sides hurt even more than when he woke up in the hospital. His brain was requesting rest and sleep; he was tired. He held on a handle and tried to reclaim some of his sanity and calm.
The horizon was obscured by the darkness, there was nothing telling him where the exit was or if there was even one. Instead, there was only blackness.
A noise broke through the darkness; the sound of water splashes and a weight hit the catwalk, right behind him. He wasn't quick enough; the fatigue made his body slow and his reflexes lacked and this thing lacerated the bottom part of the unwounded leg.
The pain was minor, nothing to worry about compared to what he had suffered thus far.
He turned at his quicker assailant and witnessed another twisted creature from the town's bowels.
It had the height of a big dog; its body was lying down and it used its arms to lift its upper body. This manner to advance freakishly reminded him of Hightides. Its legs were tangled in blue, dirt stained clothes and chains trapped the thing's legs forcing, it to drag on the floor. The thing's long, blond hair was drenched, covering the creature's face. However, it wasn't what made him paralysed by fear; it was the monster's body.
When the monster attacked him, he jerked back and had a clear view of the monster. The body of this thing was too close to that of a woman. Even with the hair covering most of her naked upper body, he could see breasts' edges and a beautiful mouth with lustful lips, moans creeping out from its mouth while weak arms were trying to claw the heavy body toward Roy.
''You got to be...'' his thoughts faded as he saw the monster crawling faster toward him.
He shot the female monster in the back. Instead of crying in pain, it moaned. A sensual and tempting moan. The one which a healthy and beautiful woman would let out during sex, while she's completely drunk by the touching sensation of her partner.
It was a sick joke. A disgusting, repulsing joke.
He wanted to kill it as fast as he could, to subsume the creature's moans.
He fired again, directly hitting the head. The monster moaned again, however her face submerged. She convulsed; bubbles floated near her face. Until her body shook for one last time and died out.
He felt as if he could breathe again. The death of this monster felt disturbingly good, refreshing. Even though he wasn't expressing his satisfaction physically, his mind felt somehow balanced, reorganized.
His chest hurt. Something came out of his mouth. His eyes grew larger. His head moved down. His energy left him. He didn't feel much after this pain. Without his help, he was dragged away into the darkness. His senses let him down and his sight only visualized darkness; his hearing provided a dull sound.
He didn't fight back.
How could he?
No one can fight back Death.
Special thanks to WargishBoromirFan for the beta-reading.