Luan Loud wakes from a deep, dreamless sleep.
Although, it's hard to say what exactly is going on with reality at this point- let alone dreams.
There's a weird tingling in her skull, and the faint sound of sirens somewhere in the distance.
She finds herself curled up on the cold, damp ground of a very dark place.
As she rises up, she can hear a door creaking open, and looks to see that it is just before her.
The door is just barely cracked, and it appears that this is just a dark, empty room. It's function and purpose will likely remain a mystery to Luan forever, like many things in Silent Hill.
Or, wherever this is.
"I don't know anymore… This place, whatever that was- seeing my family, seeing Maggie… I just don't know… But… I have to find her. No matter what it takes…"
She goes through the door, and discovers a well-lit, seemingly ordinary hallway. There's a window at the very end, and she can see that it is dark and rainy outside.
She makes her way through, and the faint sound of sirens has disappeared. However, she can now hear a radio emitting static somewhere close by.
There's a bend at the end of the hall, and it takes her down another corridor.
There's a door to her right, but it's locked. She can also see there's a door at the very end of the corridor, and another bend on the left hand side.
She progresses, and the bend leads to what appears to be an entrance door.
Unsurprisingly, it is locked.
Luan remembers that she has super powers, or did, or- does? But she's too weak to even try and use them, assuming she still has that capability.
Parallel to the entrance is a little bureau with some framed photos of strangers, an ugly plant, and a little radio.
She picks it up, and maybe it's broken, or not, but there's no monsters anywhere, so she turns it off. The she holds it to her chest.
"Maggie…" she utters, missing her.
And she just stands there a for a moment to contemplate, then places the radio back on the bureau.
She turns to the left, and makes her way through the door at the end of the hall.
She just barely gets her hand on the knob, then hears a rapping from behind her.
It's the door that was on the right-hand side of the hallway, closest to the bend.
She cautiously approaches it, and it continues rapping like it may open. As she comes within arms reach, she can hear what sounds like a baby crying.
Her heart begins pounding, and she almost instinctively conjures up a ball of energy.
"Thank god!" she thinks, hoping this is an indicator she's where she needs to be to find and save Maggie.
But that doesn't change what's happening here and now.
So, she places her hand on the knob of the rapping door, and quickly flings it open.
But nothing appears to be inside, and the crying has disappeared.
She uses her energy to scan what appears to be an ordinary bathroom, and that's really all it is.
"These stupid B-movie horror tropes are getting old."
She lets the ball of energy dissipate, and leaves the bathroom.
When she reenters the corridor, the lights flicker, but they don't shut off.
And she just groans.
"Somebody's gonna pay for putting me through this bullshit."
She goes back to the door she didn't get to open, and fortunately, it lets her through.
There's a small set of stairs, and another door at the very end.
And she easily passes through this one, too.
It takes her into a hallway exactly like the first one.
"Oh, not this crap again!" she shouts.
And as soon as she does, the lights shut off.
She quickly creates another light, and looks around to make sure no monsters are here.
No lights, but no monsters. Fair enough.
With that, she continues down the dark, narrow hallway back to the bend.
When she comes to it, she sees that there are bugs on the walls and floors, and the radio is emitting static again.
The door to the bathroom is gently swaying open, and suddenly, the evil white figure from before slams it shut.
It startles Luan, but then she just gets angry. She tries to pull the thing open, but it won't budge.
She considers just blasting it down, but she knows that the woman won't be there when she does, and it's best not to waste the energy.
"If I'm gonna survive this, I need to keep a cool head. Or, hand, I guess."
So, she continues down the rest of the hall, minding the creepy crawlies, and goes through the first door, and the door that comes after it.
And again she finds herself in the same hallway.
But now, all the lights are red.
And while Luan would like to keep her focus on being angry and vengeful, she can't help but be afraid.
Even the light in her hand can't combat the ominous red lighting.
She keeps moving though, and comes to that predictable bend.
Now, things are getting interesting.
Unlike before, there's a new corridor, and like the one she just passed, there's a window at the very end. Through that window, she can see a beam of light is shining through, but it snuffs out just as she comes to it.
Like someone was using a flashlight.
There's another bend, and this time, there are picture frames with strange moving eyes in them. And it's terrifying.
Finally, she starts running. She keeps passing through new corridors with the same creepy eyes, bugs too, and the sound of a radio slowly picking up the signal to a song.
And of course, it would be Maggie May.
She finally reaches a bend in which there is a door to the right hand side.
She doesn't even hesitate, she just runs through it.
It turns out to be the same bathroom as before, and she takes a moment to catch her breath.
She checks herself out in the mirror, and there's all sorts of crud keeping her from fully seeing herself, but just enough actual mirror left to see part of her reflection.
More importantly, she sees what's behind her.
At first, she thinks it's the evil woman, or maybe a puppet, but it's something else. Something more disturbing.
It's a mannequin, but it's dressed to look like Maggie. Black hair and bangs, purple sweatshirt tied around the waist, the boots, all of it. There's even three little crudely drawn "freckles" on each of its cheeks.
She studies it for a moment, and it reminds her just why she's so angry in the first place.
Somewhere, that bitch has Maggie. And Luan is going to get her back.
She makes her way to the door, but notices a glimmer out of the corner of her eye.
It's coming from- the toilet.
She shines her orb of light on it, and inside the bowl, there's some disgusting gunk, and something shiny lodged in it.
It really is disgusting, but she's been trained to somewhat tolerate disgusting.
"Thanks Lana… Now I kind of miss those boogers…"
She disregards it, and makes her way back to the creepy hallway.
Fortunately, the red lighting is gone, Maggie May has stopped playing, and everything seems back to status quo.
And finally, she decides enough is enough.
She goes to the door that seems to be the entrance, and gives it a hardy blast.
And- nothing.
Disbelief.
She tries again, a little harder this time, but it still doesn't come down.
"Oh come on!" she shouts, feeling herself become a little lightheaded.
She takes a deep breath, and takes a closer look at the door.
It seems like a normal door alright, but the darn thing's made of stern stuff.
She sees that there's a peephole, and out of curiosity, looks through it.
On the other side, she sees herself laughing. Only, it's not herself. It can't possibly be.
But it is- just dressed little differently, and she's out there having a jolly old time at her own expense.
She wags her finger back and forth as if to say, "No, no, no," and then takes off running.
"Okay… I'm officially done with this place."
Luan tries just opening the thing again, but it's still locked.
She lets out a groan, and just stands there for a moment.
Then the proverbial lightbulb goes off over her head, but even she's doubtful of her own idea.
"It can't be, can it?" she questions out loud.
"But this is Silent Hill… So…"
And with that, she returns to the bathroom.
"I can't believe I'm about to do this," Luan thinks, covering her mouth with her shirt.
The worst part is, there's no running water- she checked, and there's no washing her hands after this.
But she decides not to put it off any longer, and sticks her hand right inside the disgusting gunk clogging up the toilet.
It's easily the worst feeling that's ever stimulated the nerves of her skin.
She finally grabs ahold of something solid, and pulls it out, being careful not to get any crap on her clothes.
And wouldn't you know it, there's a key.
"This- better- be- my- KEY- out of- here…" she mumbles through her shirt.
She desperately tries the sink again, but no water.
"And I thought this was SHITTY before. Well, WATER you waiting for Luan…"
She heads back over to the entrance door, and peeks out the peephole again.
No doppelganger.
Regardless, she tries to get the key in the keyhole, and…
"Oh my god!"
It fits.
She has a little trouble unlocking the thing- she always has trouble with keys, but she's finally able to get the door open.
And thank god it's raining.
She rushes out, and holds back the urge to shout "Freedom!" in the most cliché way imaginable.
But she can't afford to be stupid, she learned that lesson at the "Dumvph" as Bady called it.
So, she just smiles, and holds her hands out in a cup to collect as much rain as possible to rinse most the crap off her hand.
"I'd kill for some soap," she thinks.
But beggars can't be choosers.
Once she's gotten settled, she takes a look around.
There's something even stranger than usual about this street she's on.
There are no other houses, just a couple street lamps and a sidewalk, and it seems like there's nothing else in the distance.
It's like a street floating somewhere outside of the real world.
"It doesn't matter. I'm here, wherever this is, and I'm betting Maggie is too. It's no coincidence that I touched her, and then I'm whisked away."
With that, she decides to get a move on, going the only way there is to go.
Making her way through the pouring rain, Luan realizes just how bad things really are.
It was different with Maggie by her side. She was a bit of a drag there for a while, but even then it was better than being alone.
And when she finally got her to open up, she was wonderful. Awesome. Amazing. Lovable.
All sorts of those things.
But alone, it's ironically clear now that she's apparently sitting in a hospital somewhere- yet here somehow, being gunned by a crazy evil lady. And "here" is a place she can't just up and leave either.
Worse yet, this road is starting to seem an awful lot like a certain never ending hallway.
That is, until she sees the beam of a flashlight.
It's wielder does a sort of double take, then focuses on Luan. Could it be Maggie?!
She rushes over to find out, but the other person doesn't budge.
So, here she is all doe-eyed before them, and she shields her vision because the thing is really bright.
"Fine?!" she hears a familiar voice say, and they finally lower the light.
She looks up to see none other than Bady standing before her.
She pinches the bridge of her nose. "Or, dang it. Luan! Yeah, that's it!" she corrects herself.
"…Bady? What are you doing here?"
"I've been looking for you! I've got a lot to explain… But- can we get out of this rain first? I don't want to ruin my new uggs."
"I'm all for that… So what, those Gianvitos weren't good enough for you?" Luan snidely quips.
"Oh, no. They're great. Thanks!" she happily replies, failing to pick up on the sarcasm.
Regardless, they young ladies rush forward.
Finally, they see some new, shimmering lights up ahead in the distance.
"There it is!" Bady hollers.
"There's what?!" Luan asks.
Bady doesn't answer, she just hurriedly leads her to the front steps of the place, and pulls open the door.
Luan stops, and gets a better view.
"School?"
"…Are you coming?" Bady asks.
Luan perks back up, and heads on in.
Bady lets the door shut, then takes her vest off.
"Ugh! I hate being wet!" she whines.
Luan just looks at her as she shakes and pats her vest, trying to wring some of the rain out.
She feels kind of happy to see her, but also a little betrayed from earlier.
She finally gives up on the vest, and puts it back on.
"Bady…" Luan begins.
"You have no idea what I went through to get here," Bady says with a laugh. "There was this huge thing of windy stairs, and a Shiba Inu, and- Ooh! A flying shiny thingy in the sky!"
"Bady, what happened back there?" she gets out.
"Back where?"
"The shoe store…"
"Oh… That…" she somberly replies as she rubs her arm.
"I don't know really… I guess it was pretty silly. I'm sorry," she pouts.
And Luan really can't stay mad at her.
"Oh… It's okay. I'm SHOE you didn't mean anything by it," she jokes with a soft smile.
"…Was that a pun?" Bady asks.
"Yeah. It was a pun."
Bady giggles, then puts on a serious face.
"Alright, I have something important to tell you."
"Okay? Shoot, Bady."
"Well- This isn't easy- uhm… I'm sort of not a real person," she confesses.
And Luan just raises an eyebrow.
"See… Uhm… How do I put this? I guess I'm like, a 'man-i-fes-ta-tion' or whatever," she tries to explain.
"Uhm, okay?" Luan simply responds, taking a seat along the wall.
Bady joins her. "See, this place- it's called the Otherworld. And it's a bad place. It's kind of like- another dimension, where bad things happen to good people, because of some things bad people did a long time ago… Then's there's the Fog World. That's where Silent Hill is, kind of. The one you saw anyway…"
"Okay… But what does that have to do with you?" Luan asks.
"Well… the thing is… I guess I'm like, what's left of old Silent Hill. Like, what used to be good about it. Something good to make up for all the bad, you know?"
"…Yeah, I guess so," Luan tells her, actually feeling kind of sorry for her.
"Okay, good," she says with a smile.
"Now, you're here because of Maggie," she continues, standing back up.
"What?" Luan says, perking up.
"Yeah. See, you're not the only one with powers."
"Maggie has powers, too. They're just- different than yours."
"What do you mean she has powers?"
"Well, she has the power to come in and out of Otherworld and Fog World whenever she wants. I just don't think she has it figured out yet."
"That doesn't make any sense?! If she can do that, how did I get here?" Luan asks, and she stands up now, too.
"Well… I guess she like, has an emotional bond with you. And when she started thinking about you, that's how you got here," she speculates.
Luan takes a moment to form a rebuttal.
"Okay, I'm trying to understand. But how did I get here in the first place? We hardly knew each other before all this?"
Bady shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe she just liked you anyway?"
"Uhm… Let's see… What else…" Bady thinks aloud.
"Okay, time out-" Luan interrupts. "How do you know all this stuff?" she asks.
"Hmm… I guess I have- like, lost memories? They just sort of come back to me. I don't know, it's hard to explain…" she admits.
"You're telling me," Luan remarks.
"Anyway, do you know where Maggie is?" she finally asks.
"…Well, I know she was here… But I think Alessa may have gotten to her," Bady answers.
"Alessa?"
"Yeah. You know that creepy lady? Well, once she found out about Maggie, she started coming after her."
"But why?" Luan dejectedly asks.
"Well, Maggie's powers don't just let her come into otherworld, they also make other people's powers work better," Bady explains.
"…So, kind of like me?" Luan speculates.
"Uh huh!" she excitedly responds.
"Okay… I think I get it," Luan says, thinking back to all those times where her powers were too much for her handle, and Maggie was always there.
"Alrighty then. Now, let's-"
"Hold on a sec, Bady. One more thing. Where did my powers come from anyway?" Luan asks.
"Hmm… Probably has something to do with your mommy being preggers when she came here. I can't really say for sure. Same thing for Maggie and her mommy… Boy, you two were just like- meant to end up together, huh?" she says.
"Yeah, maybe…"
Bady can see that she's worried, and confused, and all around uncomfortable.
She places her hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry. I know you. You're really brave and a super awesome friend. We'll find her," she insists with a smile.
And Luan can't help but feel a little better. Bady's just too cool.
"Thanks. Now, let's go SCHOOL this Alessa chick!" she declares.
And Bady takes a minute to get the joke, but then she laughs.
It's one of Luan's pet peeves, but with everything going on, she lets it pass.
That, and something else is bothering her more.
"Uhm, before we do anything else though, I really gotta wash my hands."
"I won't ask," Bady comments.
"Please don't. Let's just say I went through some SHIT to get here, too."
They find the boy's restroom.
"Luan, you're not supposed to go in there!" Bady worriedly says.
"Relax. Nobody else is here. Besides, I'm kind of curious to see a urinal."
Bady looks confused. "I'm a what?"
"What? Oh- not 'you're a nil-' I mean- Oh, never mind."
They go inside, and Luan immediately heads for the sink and the gooey pink hand soap. "Oh thank god. At least there's something sacred left in this place," she says, and begins thoroughly washing her hands, then face.
Suddenly, the lights shut off, and Bady yelps.
Luan instantly conjures up a ball of light, and sees Bady cowering against the wall.
She turns around, and sees the evil woman. She's smiling.
Luan panics, but quickly recovers to deliver a blast of energy.
But the entity vanishes.
"She's so scary!" Bady remarks, getting behind Luan.
Then, the familiar ringing of sirens sounds off.
Luan drops to her knees, but Bady seems unphased. "Luan!" she cries, coming to her aid.
This time, she doesn't black out. She just waits for it to pass.
And when she rises up again, she sees that everything has changed to its true Otherworldly form.
The girls just share a look, then they hear the grumbling of monsters from outside.
"Oh no!" Bady cries.
But Luan isn't afraid anymore.
In fact, she's ticked off.
She just stretches her hands, and prepares to make her way back out into the treacherous halls of this nightmare version of Royal Woods Middle School.
"Alright Alessa, no more funny business."
She barges out the door, much to Bady's chagrin. "They're gonna find us!" she quietly cries.
But Luan doesn't care. Someone has to pay for everything she's been through- and these mindless grunts will do nicely.
Two of them pop out of a corner, and she blasts them down with ease.
And Bady's jaw drops.
Luan just keeps pressing forward, and Bady snaps herself out of it to follow her.
They pass a bend, and there are three more Puppets in the hall. They charge for the girls, and Luan blasts one, then another.
The third manages to dodge two of her blasts, and keeps charging.
"Luan, look out!" Bady says.
And she side steps just as Bady rushes forward.
…With a frying pan.
She bludgeons the creature right in the head, stunning it. It just screeches at her, and she runs away screaming.
Then Luan finishes it off with a clean blast.
As she leans on a locker to catch her breath, Bady comes back to her.
"Luan!"
"I know… I shouldn't have- been so reckless…"
"Actually. I was gonna say- THAT WAS AWESOME!"
Luan chuckles. "Glad you think so. Where'd you get that frying pan?" she asks.
"Oh! Remember that dog I ran into? He said I might need it!" she confidently answers.
"Of course…" Luan says. "I guess you could say it's just this DOG-gone place."
Bady laughs a hardy laugh. "You're too funny, Luan!"
And she fails to hide her gratitude. "Yeah, well, this isn't quite how I had it PANNED out."
And Bady laughs an even hardier laugh.
Now she feels cocky.
"Hahaha, well not to be a POTTY mouth, but you'd SHIT if I told you how I stuck my hand in a-"
Bady cuts her off with a palm to the mouth.
"Wait Luan, we have to go to 'The Room!" she exclaims.
"What room?" she asks when Bady removes her hand.
"The Room!' Come on!" she shouts, running to the west corridor.
Luan quickly runs behind her. "Wait!"
They get to the door of the principal's office, but it's changed. For some reason, it's labeled: 302.
Bady struggles to get the door open. "What the heck?! Open you- stupid door!"
Luan takes a deep breath. "Step back," she says, maneuvering her to the side.
She readies her hands, and delivers a powerful blast to the door.
And it blows into smithereens.
"Well, that's one way to do it," Bady comments with a smile.
"Come on," Luan instructs, leading the way inside.
And nothing in particular stands out, except for an oddly placed lighter on the floor.
As Luan kneels down to examine it, Bady opens the door to the storage room to her right.
Luan follows her in, and they see all the tools scattered on the floor.
"Okay, good. Maybe she got out," Bady thinks aloud.
"Wait, what?" Luan questions.
"Alessa brought Maggie here. I just know it," she answers.
"Well, let's find her," Luan responds, turning back for the main room.
They briefly scan the area, but no sign of Maggie.
They do notice the tiny odd hole burrowed into the wall though.
Luan peeks in.
Inside, she sees an ordinary bedroom, but more importantly, she just barely catches a glimpse of someone in a black skirt and tube socks running out of the room.
"Maggie!" she hollers, but no response.
"Come on, Luan. She couldn't have squeezed through that tiny hole," Bady assures her.
Luan doesn't say anything, she just continues her search.
They come to door of the bathroom, and it doesn't take them long to see the huge, gaping hole in the wall.
"Wowzer," Bady utters.
"Yeah- That's- a HOLE 'nother story," Luan adds.
"You think Maggie did this?" Bady asks.
"I don't know, but that has to be how she got out," Luan speculates.
She conjures up another light, and shines it inside.
But the dark tunnel just doesn't seem to end.
Luan sighs. "Well, I guess I'm going in," she nervously says.
"Well I'm coming too. I'm not gonna ditch you again," Bady insists.
"Alright, cool. I guess I'll head in first. Just keep an eye out for-"
"Oh, poop!" Bady interrupts, slapping her forehead.
"What?!"
"I forgot the- Oh, Asoph- uhm… Asa… Asopho-loph-ogis?"
"What?!" Luan repeats with more animation.
"The red stuff!" Bady reiterates.
"What red stuff?!"
"It's important! We need it to stop Alessa! It's the only way to fix her!" Bady tries to explain.
"Bady, I don't understand," Luan tells her.
"Oh, I'm sorry Luan. I have to find it! I know where it's at! I just- I won't be long! You go ahead without me!"
Although she's confused, and slightly skeptical, she's much more concerned with finding Maggie.
"Uhm, are you sure?" is all she can manage to get out.
"Yeah, yeah. You go find Maggie, Luan. I promise to help you guys! I know I let you down before but- I'll make it right! Just go!" she persists.
Before Luan can compose any more sufficient words, Bady takes off.
"Be careful, I guess."
With that, she turns her attention back to the enormous hole.
And she literally gulps.
"Well… here goes nothing…"
And as she climbs into the dark hole, she begins mentally praying.
"If anyone's listening- God- whoever… I'm sorry if I haven't been the best person. I know I've been selfish, and cruel sometimes, but I want you to know that I love my family. And I hope they all know that. Please look after them, and don't let them forget about me if anything happens. Please let me get back home to see them again…"
"And… Please don't let anything happen to Maggie. I know I haven't known her long, but- I feel like I've finally found a true friend. Maybe even… I don't know… But, I care about her a lot. And- I don't know if I can lose her. Just please let me find her. Please keep her safe, and let me see her face again…"
And after a very long time, she begins to see a bright light.
As she gets closer and closer to what seems to be the end of this tunnel, things beyond it begin coming into focus.
It seems that there are streetlights, and all sorts of other colorful neon lights, and some of them are moving around.
And finally, she climbs out of the damn thing.
She just sits on the ground for a moment and catches her breath.
Before she can even really make sense of anything she's looking at, she smells the combination of popcorn and funnel cake.
Then, she sees a big ugly cutout of a clown, and some big creepy pink rabbit props, and- Oh god, a Tunnel of Love.
She's been to Dairy Land enough to know an amusement park when she's in one. She doesn't even have to see the large, florescent "Lakeside Amusement Park" sign hanging directly above her.
And she comes to fully accept the reality of the situation.
"Ah, coconuts."
As always, thank all you lovely people, and this may be random, but if you or somebody you know has problems with depression or even suicidal thoughts, there are people out there who can help:) I probably should've said that a while ago but I'll say it now...
Carry on my wayward sons.