Silent Hill : Foreigners
Chapter 13 : Genetic
She unlocked the door north of the Main Office. With a slight creaking sound, it opened on an horizontal corridor. Both ends of the hallway were covered with windows, inducing sufficent brightness. Doors were lined on the wall. Here, the grind of the oscillating fan could still be heard, but it been reduced to a unnerving whisper.
Ekaterina was limping. She dragged her injured leg behind. The wound was still too fresh, burning with pain. She had to decrease her pace, because quick steps gave her the impression of stretching the cuts, of widening them further; a horrible sensation if there ever was one. The bandages were already crimson.
She hobbled toward the first door on her left. The knob turned easily, but on nothing in particular. The door was so stuck you could swear it was part of the wall. Walking with difficulty, she made her way to the next door. Broken too. Nothing to see. She kept going.
The third door, however, behaved like a normal door is expected to. It led to the Dispatch Center. A room of decent size, but almost all of the space was occupied by an enormous black desk. It was shaped like a crescent, the outer arc facing the rear side of the bureau. The console's surface hosted a large quantity of keyboards and old monitors. The units were turned off, some of them even shattered, as if someone had punched through the screens. There were also various telephones and a microphone. A practical jungle of power cords was crawling under the desk. Despite all the hardware and furniture, one single chair was paired with it.
Approaching the console, she sighted another object lying on top of it. It was a police baton. One of those long plastic cylinders loosely inspired by the tonfa, complete with a side-handle. It looked quite sturdy. Lifting the shaft, Ekaterina was surprised by its low weight. It seemed to be a very nimble weapon. Might come in handy. She slipped the baton under the waistband of her skirt, the handle preventing it from falling down.
There was little else of interest in the Dispatch Center, so she moved on to greener pastures. Clutching her wounded leg, which had yet to stop burning, she walked out to the corridor. After making sure the place was still empty, she turned left and continued on to the next door.
The Lounge was exactly as its name implied. A large brown sofa resting against the wall, the recliner spread out in a lazy fashion. Right next to it, a decorative bonsai tree, sheding a strange shadow on the rest of the room. A white plastic table in the center. Coffee cups, filled to the brim, still smoking. Not too far away, the coffeemaker, on a short stand. Apparently, the device had been overflowing, since a pool of brown liquid surrounded it. The dark trail traversed down the stand, finally staining the floor. There was also a microwave oven and some plates. The air seemed a little warmer around here.
As Ekaterina crossed the room, her eyes were fixed on the sofa. For some reason, she feared that there was a Siren hidden behind, waiting for her to pass by. That impression popped up in her head and would not leave. She instinctively felt its presence. She kept her distance from the couch as she walked.
The microwave door flew open behind her. She barely had time to turn around as something leapt out of the cooking chamber, in her direction. The thing flew right past her face, provide her with a quick close-up of its ugliness. It was one of the those small fish-like beasts. However, this one had been horribly burned, its skinned charred, its features scorched to oblivion. And yet, the monster still lived on, as evidenced by its frantic leap. As it landed on the sofa, the fish kept squirming around. A sickening vision.
Ekaterina reacted, whipping out the police baton. The monster began bouncing on its side, as if victim of a seizure. Then, all of a sudden, it leapt back at her at an astonishing speed. Acting on a reflex, the young lady swept the baton in front of her, to block the living projectile. The charred fish hit the shaft at full force. It went hurling to the other side of the Lounge, smearing the wall with blood. Falling to the ground, it stopped moving.
The woman gave herself time to cool off. As her nerves returned to normal, she became aware of the putrid, burnt smell that had taken over the room. She looked over to the corpse of the creature, and a corpse it really was. Inside her mind, Ekaterina made the silent promise never to trust her instincts again.
She hurried out of the Lounge. Back in the corridor, she headed directly for the last door on the east. The one leading to the staircase, according to her map.
Just as her hand was about to make contact with the knob, a loud beeping noise made her jump. A ringtone. Inside of her pocket, the weird cellphone was ringing again. She hesitantly put it to her ear. Once more, she heard Sammy's voice on the line.
- "Huh? Wa…wait…is this…addressed to me?…to me?…to me?…zzzttttt…CRAWLING THROUGH MY VEINS!!!….tttzzzzrrrr…it's genetic."
Ekaterina didn't even bother to reply. The sheer nonsense of those calls was reason enough to stop trying.
- "He's part of me…ccczzzrrr…I'm part of him…ttttzzzz… Man, what kind of sick puppy would do stuff like that?…zzzrrr…it's not like I can blame mom, though. Hell, I'm probably his spitting image! Everytime she sees me, she lives it out again…cccrrrrrzzz…MY GENES! CAN'T ESCAPE! CAN'T ESCAPE!…pppzzzz… It's hard growing up when you know you're bound to disappoint…zzztttt…wait, if he's inside me, does that mean…I'll become like him too?…tttrrrrzzz…Does that mean I'm born evil?…born evil?…born evil?…rrrrzzzzzz…NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOO!!!…Dude, is that you?".
The young woman didn't instantly react. It took her a few seconds to realize that the voice on the line was speaking to her this time.
- "Dude, is it really you? Can you hear me?" he asked once more.
- "Sam…?" the lady questioned, suddenly realizing something was off.
- "Holy crap! Dude, I can't believe it!" he exclaimed, joy running rampant in his voice.
Ekaterina couldn't believe her ears. This wasn't one of those strange, eclectic phone calls. She was truly communicating with him, prim and proper.
- "Sam! Where are you? What the hell happened?" she asked, in suspension of disbelief.
- "Listen, I need your help! They've taken me to…ZZZZRRRRTTTTTT".
The static noise became unbearably loud. She had to take the cellphone away from her ear on the spot. The call had been violently severed. And Ekaterina was more perplexed than ever.