Disclaimer: Silent Hill is owned by Konami.
Re: Little Kunai - Actually, you've already seen the woman before. I won't say who her identity is, because I want it to be a surprise, but trust me you've definitely seen her before! It's not a trap. ;-D
AN: Warning: this chapter contains sexual abuse. If you can't handle that, and this acts as a trigger for you, leave now before it's too late. This scene was inspired by a scene I read on adultfanfictiondotnet. The story itself was too brutal for me in its second part, but I was really intrigued by this scene, and the possibilities of the mirror. I have since forgotten the name and author of the story, but I give credit where credit's due. So yeah, it's pretty brutal. If you can't stomach that, please leave it alone. I do not say this unkindly, because this chapter isn't *strictly* necessary for the continuation of the story. Some pretty horrible stuff happens to Alessa in this chapter. However, it is necessary for the character development of Alessa. I do not do this lightly or frivolously, and it is not meant to be exploitative of its protagonist. It may not seem like it, but it isn't. Trust me, this is heading somewhere. ;-D In case you think I'm a sexist a**hole who only tortures women in fics, that is far from the case. If I ever get around to updating 'Ascension of the Damned', you'll see the men get just as good in my stories. :-D I love torturing my characters, because it makes their eventual getting revenge all the more sweeter. However, while I may make a few flippant comments here in the author's note, the material presented here is deadly serious, and I expect you to treat it as such. I do not want to see any flames, or accusations. Any comments like that received will be deleted immediately. Got it? :) The full scene is on adultfanfictiondotnet, because fanfictiondotnet has pretty strict rules, and I don't want to break them. I hope this chapter doesn't scare you away from the story, because if it does, you can just go ahead and wait for the next chapter. :-) The next chapter does get better, I promise. Check it out, and let me know if I went too far with Alessa's torture, or whether it was just right for the mindset of this place.
AN: This chapter will probably be revised in the future. I am not entirely satisfied with it, and for that reason it will probably get revised in the future. This chapter is a result of the attempt to blend modern writing from my fics with 8 year old writing from when I first started the series, because I didn't want to waste that writing. So, it may be a little clunky in some places. So if anything appears off in some places, or a little odd, that's the reason why. :-) Well, with that in mind, let's get to the fanfic. As always, check it out, and let me know what you think! ;-D
Chapter 18: Nightmare Hospital
Alternate Brookhaven - Part 1
As soon as she saw her latest surroundings, Alessa had an overwhelming urge to scream in terror. The hospital had shifted into a nightmarish version of its former self. After going through the Otherworld versions of the shopping mall and Hilltop Center, she thought she had seen things as badly as they could get. Now she knew she hadn't even been close.
The wall in front of her had transformed into a grotesque substance akin to soft tissue from inside an animal. Odd lines traced across the reddish orange structure, as if small worms were crawling just beneath the surface. Combined with a disturbing throbbing similar to that of a pulsing heart, the barrier appeared to be nothing less than a gruesome living wall. Worse, as Alessa braved to take a few steps forward, she could see the hallway to her left was composed of the macabre substance. A harsh bout of trembling racked her body as she felt herself quickly losing whatever strength of mind she had left.
As if that wasn't awful enough, a putrid stench of congealed blood, rotten meat, and gods knew what else emanated from the ghastly walls. It was indescribably nauseating, causing Alessa to cover her mouth and nose as she felt bile rise up in her throat. It was of little use; the horrid odor still penetrated into her nostrils, unsettling her stomach further. She struggled to hold it while maintaining the grip on her magnum in a futile attempt to ease her discomfort.
There was nothing behind her but an abyss of endless darkness. Though there were no doors that she could see on the horrible walls, she knew her sanity depended on getting out of this hallway as fast as she could. Nevertheless, she felt frozen in place from panic. Then she heard it.
It was a grating drilling sound that was all too familiar – the noise made by those disconcerting needle-like creatures. But that wasn't the chilling part. This time the noise was amplified to a frightening degree. It pierced Alessa's ears, making the girl shriek frightfully. The part of her mind still thinking rationally realized that the sound could only be this high if there were many of the dreadful creatures put together, or a very large one, heading towards her from the pitch black space. Either way, she wasn't waiting around to find out.
Alessa ran in a panicked daze down the hallway, desperately trying to find some exit out of the ghastly nightmare she had walked into. But the hideous living substance covered every inch of the corridor's walls, nearly hiding the doors present in the area. Though it repulsed her beyond words, she felt the fleshy surface of the wall to her right with trembling hands, quickly trying to gain entry to any other room. Just when she felt like screaming again, the doorknob of a nearly invisible door yielded to her efforts. She rushed blindly into the room and none too soon. Before the door had even closed behind her, Alessa collapsed on her knees, vomiting onto rusted metal grating. She held her stomach as she retched violently on the chain-link floor, thankful that healthy drinks were the only thing she had consumed in the past several hours.
The spell soon passed and the young woman sat on the floor, putting her head between her knees in an attempt to drive away the remaining nausea. She curled up into a tight position in a part of the room, hiding her face from the outside world that was now literally crawling with horrors and monsters. Eventually, the spell passed and she settled back into a sitting position. She still couldn't bring herself to raise her eyes. She settled down eventually enough to raise her head, staring at the rusted metal of the room dully with a sense of ominous dread. That is to say, she was now more composed so that she was only subtly shaking in fear, instead of screaming in terror. How could anyone be expected to deal with this? It wasn't fair; it wasn't right.
She looked at the door to the room, the thin piece that was separating her from the horrors of the outside world. She was trembling all over, moving her muscles like a quaking bowl of jello in the freezer. I can't go back out there, she thought. If I do, I'll die, she said to herself, shaking her head. There was no doubt about it in her mind, that if she went back out there it would mean her death. Either by the loss of her sanity, or else by getting ambushed by some abomination she had no hope of defeating. The area outside was just too nightmarish, too hellish. The earlier drive she felt to pursue Leonard evaporated entirely, leaving her empty in the face of overwhelming horror. Leonard wasn't just trapped in a nightmare, he was in a literally living nightmare, blatant and all-consuming in its grimy decay. She was going to die if she went back out there, and if how terrible it was for her was any indication, Leonard would probably be dead soon anyway. She shouldn't bother risking her safety out there, when it was blatantly obvious the man she wanted was going to be dead soon, anyway.
No, I can't give up now! She protested to herself, picking herself up in her mind. There was no certainty, no assurances that the man that she was hunting would be dead. Maybe the monsters hadn't spotted him, or perhaps he had gone beyond them, in whatever he had become. She couldn't be the only armed person out here. She had a job to do, and she couldn't allow fear to stop her from doing so.
Alessa slowly raised herself up from the ground, gathering her bearings back to her prior status. As she looked to the left, she was startled with a gasp by a hand trying to claw its way into the room through the window, and its wire mesh. Jesus…! What the hell was that? She thought. Alessa nearly raised her gun to fire, until she realized it was just a hand, and wasn't trying to present a danger. Alessa breathed a sigh of relief, lowering her gun. Alessa examined the hand closer, stepping up to the window frame. Jesus, it looked like someone had tried to climb their way up the wall from the outside! But who would do such a thing? Alessa wondered. What kind of person would be crazy enough to climb up a building in the Otherworld? Furthermore, if this was only a hand, what had happened to the person attached to it? It had some strength to it, Alessa noted, seeing how it had torn through the grating in the window by ripping it with its fingers. Alessa didn't want to meet whoever was responsible for the hand, she thought with some measure of uneasiness. Alessa had a sudden image of the Otherworld transitioning the physical place to its current state, and chopping off the person from the hand as the person was now left in another dimension. Shudder. It was probably best not to think about it.
Gathering her gun, and resolving any nerves that were left lingering, Alessa stepped out into the exterior. It was time to get this moving.
Alessa stepped out carefully into the hallway, keeping her guard up. It wasn't as bad as before. The walls were still crimson with crawling tissue, and it was still dark beyond belief in the rusted hallway, but the initial shock had worn off. She could do this, she reassured herself. Taking a deep breath, Alessa started moving. Alessa reached for the first available door in the nearby area, finding herself grateful beyond words when she found it unlocked. She tried to avoid touching the tissue directly, not knowing what kind of effect it would have on her, finding herself grossed out beyond words, and just all around repulsed by the obscene display. It was just disgusting. There was a stretcher nearby in a cubby, with a blanket laid over it. Alessa didn't even want to know what was under it. There was a piece of meat on the ground under it, or what looked like meat. Alessa was disgusted, but she also knew what that meant. She got out of the hallway, before the slurper monsters that were infamous for it could track her. Alessa turned the doorknob and went into the room with its unknown quantities.
After entering the room, Alessa was startled as she realized the horrific sight in front of her. There was a murdered man hanging from the roof dripping blood down onto the floor, with a bucket laid out in front of him, bloody and grotesque. Jesus…what was this? Alessa thought, examining the body. The bucket was filled to the brim, and the body was cut with deep slashes. This wasn't a series of simple cuts, this was a full-on massacre of the body, letting its blood out onto the floor. Who could have done this? She thought, wondering who was twisted enough to do this to a human being. Oddly enough, she noted that the body was dressed like Harry. She wondered if that had any significance.
Alessa went out into the hallway, to explore it further despite the obvious dangers out there. She searched for the first open door that she came across, carefully feeling the doorknobs amidst the almost all-consuming darkness that shrouded the area. She was careful not to touch the tissue above it on the doors, being unable to stand the disgusting sight before her. Eventually, Alessa found a door that led her out of the area into another vicinity of the hospital. After shutting the door Alessa breathed a sigh of relief, thankfully out of the mad house back in the corridor. She didn't realize what a toll that was taking on her sanity until now that she was back in the peace and quiet. Alessa breathed a sigh of relief and took a moment to steady herself. She went around the room on a metal grating floor, trying to determine how big this place was.
The new room was dark and rusted. Alessa saw a giant dark shape in the center of the room. There was a sour smell wafting out of it, making Alessa grimace. Alessa wrinkled her nose; what exactly was this thing? The thing was square and large, hanging over a large pit in the center of the room. The floor in the room surrounded the object like a walkway on the upper structure of some factory. It looked like a trap that you set for moths, Alessa thought, staring hard at the object. Who had put it here? It looked to be made of mesh. She wondered if she could set it on fire. Alessa went through the door at the far edge of the room.
Once she saw what was waiting for her on the other side, Alessa breathed a sigh of relief. Now this was something she could deal with. The familiar chain-link floors and the rusted, peeled walls, were something that she had seen before. It was like the settings that she had conjured up six years ago, during that trying incident. It was almost like coming home, in a bizarre, twisted way. Yes, it was still nightmarish, it was still horrible, but it was a familiar type of nightmarish and horrible, not something that was unknown. It wasn't an unknown horror, something that she hadn't seen before. She felt comfortable here. She could deal with this.
The sound of enemies approaching reached her, groaning and crackling coming from the darkness towards her. Alessa readied herself. Wait a minute. She took out some beef jerky from her backpack and threw it down in front of her a few feet away. There, now she was ready to deal with whatever came her way. Sure enough, the monsters came out of the darkness, crawling along the ground like ants looking for a meal. The creatures stopped at the jerky, and began to eat the raw meat with reckless abandon. Alessa shot them both before they could respond. One of the creatures tried to reach her in a furious scurry, but Alessa shot it in its stride. Suddenly, two nurses appeared out of nowhere. Alessa realized she had stepped into a nightmare as she saw her adversaries. The hallway was a tight one, and it was difficult to maneuver in it. The nurses advanced on her, unpaused by the monsters lying dead below them. One of the nurses advanced with a pipe, intent on of smashing her to bits with it. Alessa shot it, kicking it back brutally. Another nurse appeared on the horizon. Alessa began to panic as she realized she was losing control of the situation. Suddenly, something grabbed her leg. One of the monsters she had shot at the beginning wasn't quite dead, and had stepped forward to grab her ankle with its twitching arms. Alessa frantically tried to shake off the creature's grasp, as she shakily lifted her arms and tried to aim at the more immediate threats. The sounds of the creature, the mumblings of the nurses, and the background ambience of the area were all combining into a horrible chanting too loud for Alessa to block out with her focus. And then it happened. Alessa saw the glint of metal in the darkness among a gloved hand, and before Alessa could react, the nurse lifted her pale mottled arm and fired her classic revolver. Alessa screamed as she felt the pressure that immediately struck her in the shoulder, sending her to the floor. It was lucky she still had her bulletproof vest that she had gotten at the mall, which she had positioned under her shirt; she didn't want anything ripping it off her with their claws. Alessa winced; if the nurse had aimed a few more inches up to the left, she would have been dead. Alessa cradled the near wound in her shoulder gingerly. The force of the blast was tremendous. She had known it would hurt to be shot, but she didn't know exactly how painful it would be. Even with the bulletproof vest on, it still hurt, as she felt tears prick at her eyes.
She tried to aim at the creature stopping near her head, while cradling her shoulder injury. In a shaky shot, she fired a shot at the head of the creature and connected, killing it instantly. At the same time, she saw the nurse with the gun approaching her, no doubt looking for another shot. Alessa wasn't going to give it one. She saw the nurse reloading with her hands and acted quickly. She lined up the handgun and fired, and caught the nurse straight in the chest. The nurse crumpled to the ground, like a puppet with its strings cut.
At the same time, the other nurse was still charging towards her with its pipe, slamming it through the air with a singularly minded force. Alessa had no choice. She scrambled to get up, among the throng of dead bodies and limbs. With the shadow of the nurse approaching, she took another path. Alessa blocked the blow of the nurse's pipe with her sword, and swinging it aside, she struck the nurse hard in the torso with her sword. She slashed at the nurse several times, and when the nurse was suitably staggered, Alessa took her gun and shot her point blank in the chest. The nurse staggered to the ground in a fall in a writhing mess, and after a suitably satisfying crunch, the nurse finally stopped moving. Alessa wiped her forehead with her forearm, and breathed a sigh of relief. God, that was too close. She hadn't counted on meeting such a large group of monsters straight out of the door. They sounded like they were only a couple of monsters at first, but in truth they were large in numbers and powerful. Alessa held the injury her shoulder had sustained, still wincing as she rubbed the shoulder that was still aching. She had no idea it would hurt this much. Movies and video games made it seem like it would be painless and effortless, but it was far from the case in truth. She definitely had more respect now for her dad for taking several of these during his time in the service. She was still shaking at the fact that she had nearly died. If that nurse had better aim… That probably wouldn't be the end of it; she doubted the town would let her leave that easily. Still…it wasn't something that she wished to contemplate. She dug the bullet out of the fibers of the bulletproof vest and tossed the bullet away, expressing disgust at the weapon that the nurses had somehow managed to procure.
Alessa crept around the corner, carefully searching for any presences nearby. Thankfully the coast was clear. Thankfully the coast was clear. There was still a malevolent aura that remained in the air, though. It felt like a cold sensation that spread deep into her body, leaving her chilled to the bone. Alessa saw the elevator, and she was tempted to take it down, but she went into another door instead. She wanted to explore this area further, before going down into a new section.
The room was vacant. Alessa leaned against the door, taking some time to let the adrenaline wear off. At least she had neutralized the threat to her well being in this level of the hospital. If there was one small thing to be grateful for in this surreal world, it was that her enemies didn't re-spawn like in some of the video games she played. The creatures stayed dead after she'd bashed their skulls in, shot them to death, or sliced them to ribbons with her katana.
Strange, she reflected, how easily she viewed the bestial horrors pursuing her not as flesh and blood beings whose lives she'd taken, but as mindless enemies to be squashed, no more significant than an ant or a roach.
Alessa didn't consider herself a cruel person. Yet she had killed dozens of these creatures on her journey, some of them rather viciously. Not all of them were in self-defense either. There were quite a few she had killed from a distance before they had a chance to attack her. She didn't regret those actions, but she was rather disturbed by how easily they came to her.
Was this Claudia's plan? She wondered. To make her into a murderer, no better than herself or the monster that killed her mother?
Alessa banished the thoughts. Now wasn't the time to start doubting herself. If she wanted to survive this madness and avenge her mother's death, she had to be single minded in her resolve. Only an unwavering belief in herself and her determination to see justice done would see her through to the end. She could cry over what she'd done after Claudia was dead and her "God" had been sent back to Hell.
Alessa surveyed the room. It was nearly identical to any other in this grotesque, decayed place. The walls were sheeted with the same reddish brown mixture of rust and congealed blood that crusted the rest of the Otherworld. There were only two things of interest present in the room. One was a sink sitting in the corner to her right. The other was a huge full-length mirror that stretched over the entirety of the wall opposite the door she entered through. Alessa looked at the mirror, examining its features closely. God, this thing was creepy. Why would someone put a full-length mirror in a room like this? She could see every single detail of herself and the room, laid out in crystal clarity on the mirror. It reminded her of a video game room. At least there were no zombies here, although that would be the least of her problems. Her fear of there being another world behind the mirror was rearing up again. Now that she knew it was true, it was even more pronounced. Alessa examined her features closely in the mirror. God, she looked terrible; it looked like a train had railroaded her somewhere along the way, leaving her bruised, bloodied and battered. Alessa wasn't a vain person, but even she had her standards, and at this moment she wondered how anyone could possibly find her attractive. How could she possibly compare to pure, perfect Lisa, who was roaming around somewhere in the hospital? There was a washbasin in the corner, of some kind. Alessa wondered what it was for. She wasn't going to pay it much further attention in any case; should she, if it wasn't doing anything?
Where was Lisa, she wondered? Was she still walking around in the other version of the hospital? Or had she abandoned her permanently to her torment here, after their argument about past circumstances? She hoped not. She really wanted to see Lisa again.
Alessa ignored the basin, and went back to the door to leave the room. What the…? She turned the knob and realized the door was locked. The doorknob wouldn't turn open, no matter how much she tried. What was she supposed to do now? Shit, what the hell was this? If the door wouldn't cooperate, Alessa wasn't going to let that stop her. She was going to have to find another way out of the room. She wondered if she would be able to shoot out the door, although if it was metal that was probably impossible. Perhaps she could break the mirror, although there was probably nothing but a wall behind it. If there was another world behind the mirror, perhaps shattering it was the key to escaping into another part of the Otherworld. Suddenly, she heard a gurgling sound, like some fluid was rushing out of a pipe from a drain. What the…?
Alessa searched the room, and realized it was coming from the basin. It sounded like there was something bubbling under there, just below the surface. It started slowly at first, but soon enough the effect began to become visible. Tiny rivulets of blood began to appear out of the basin, filling the white washbasin with thin red lines appearing like the squiggly threads in a spider web done in a child's drawing. Oh god, blood was flowing out of the basin. Alessa looked to the mirror and saw the blood hadn't spread to the rest of the room, but it was definitely visible in the surprisingly clean glass, showing that it wasn't just a hallucination in her mind. This was real. She tried to break the knob open, but it just wouldn't open no matter what. The blood was beginning to fill the room now, spreading all over the floor. It looked like the floor was impenetrably crawling in veins of red streaking all across the floor of the room, connecting in a web that stretched across the surface of the ground. Alessa looked at the mirror, and as she was turning around her reflection suddenly stopped moving. Oh God, she had to get out of here! She desperately wrestled the doorknob from side to side, desperately trying anything she could to get it to open. Her reflection was just standing there like a frozen captured image, forever frozen in place. It wasn't natural. What the hell was wrong with that mirror? She didn't want to know, and she was sure if she stayed here any longer she was soon going to find out. She felt weaker all of a sudden, and realized that this blood had to be doing something to drain her strength. Oh God, she had to get out of here, before she died. She hadn't noticed it before, but the blood was crawling up on her reflection, like some kind of living plague that was engulfing her slowly. It reminded her of when she was in that hospital bed, scarred and bloody. Oh god, it was repulsive, and she felt more uncomfortable staring at that thing than she had at any other part throughout this hell. She stared transfixed at the image, focused entirely on the image at hand. The blood continued to flow into the room, and yet she was unable to look away.
The air lingered heavy in the gradually filling chamber. Alessa was completely transfixed by now. Suddenly, the reflection put its hand up against the mirror. Alessa was in shock at what she was seeing. How in the world was it possible that the reflection was moving on its own? Alessa began to walk back from the mirror, resisting the urge to bash against the door in a panic. The reflection remained still with its hand pressed against the glass, gleaming in the mirror in all its grotesque appearance. The reflection remained focused for one more moment, and then it pushed its way through the mirror.
Alessa's heart stopped, as she saw her double stepping through the storage room mirror. Oh God, she had to get out of here! She rushed to the door desperately, frantically banging on it, trying the knob, and trying anything she could to try to get it to open. If only she had an ax, so she could try to chop it down. She banged furiously against the door, railing against the town, and she might have even called out for Lisa at one point, or for Stanley to open the door; for someone, anyone, who could help her and get her out of here. The double stalked ominously towards her, seemingly confident of its ability to subdue. Looking closely, Alessa saw that it wore a naughty little grin on its face, which was made disturbing against its hideous burned face riddled with scars. Left with no choice, Alessa drew her sword and charged at the double, intending to strike it squarely down the middle. It didn't last long. The double caught her arm in mid-air, and Alessa was stopped in her tracks. Alessa couldn't believe the unbelievable strength of the double. It was like an iron grip, and she was unable to break free. The double slowly forced her arm back, bending it at the elbow. She tried to fight it with her own strength, but she was no match for the creature. The double bent her arm back until it was behind her head. Alessa was afraid she was going to snap it, but that didn't happen. With a sharp movement, the double sheathed her sword, rendering her disarmed. The double gripped her other arm, and then it did something shocking. The double pulled her close to it, holding her close in place. Alessa yelped as the creature pulled her close. The debilitating effect of the floor was still in place, and Alessa felt herself getting weaker with every moment. She tried to fight it, but she was too weak to release herself from the creature's pull. The creature was too strong; too physically forceful. She felt her heartbeat rapidly beating in her chest.
Alessa wasn't expecting what came next. The double pulled her into a kiss, completely enclosing her mouth. Alessa cringed at the taste of rust and coppery blood in her mouth, and she was nearly repulsed enough to go into a nauseous state. The double pulled back, and began to kiss her thoroughly on the neck, working its way down her skin. Dark Alessa (she had begun to think of it as an entirely different entity, rather than just another creature – it was her, after all) covered every inch of her skin, leaving no inch of it untouched by her dry, horrid lips. Oh God, what was it doing? Was this punishment for what she had planned to do to Leonard? Or was it just random cruelty on the part of the town? Dark Alessa began to move her arms all over, moving them around her back and then to her breasts. She was trembling all over, as her doppelganger roamed and examined every inch of her body with enthusiasm. Please no. Anything but this. Anything but this, she thought desperately. She was helpless to stop the probing fingers and arms working their way across her body. The double smirked at her deviously with a feral grin, and then she slipped her hand down the front of Alessa's jeans. Alessa gasped as she felt her double's fingers against her skin, touching her in that most intimate of places. The double's fingers felt rough and flaky against her flesh, like sandpaper mixed with some moisture. Alessa shuddered to think what it actually looked like. She tried to break free from her double's grip, but the double's grasp was too strong, her strength like an iron grip. And suddenly the situation took a much worse turn. The double began to stroke her, making distinctly unwelcome motions against the entirety of Alessa's sex. Alessa gasped as she realized what her double was doing. She was whimpering in the monster's grasp, shaking her head in disbelief at the turn the situation had taken. Please no, not this, she prayed to every deity imaginable she could think of that would prevent this from happening to her. Dark Alessa's fingers were ruthless, as they continued the ministrations that were responsible for the disgust and fear being coaxed out of her.
Later on, Alessa would block out much of what happened in that room, forgetting it intentionally so that the memories wouldn't torment her. All she recalled was a hand touching her in places she really didn't want, and the acrid smell from her double, and being nearly driven to madness from a combination of pleasure and pain, physical and mental, until she felt like she was being engulfed in one big nightmare. She endured the torture for countless moments beyond comprehension, feeling her double driving her through her actions towards a horribly unwanted conclusion, until at last Alessa exploded in orgasm, climaxing with such intensity that it tore through her and arched her back in wracking spasms. She felt immense shame and self-loathing, sobbing through the whole thing, until she collapsed like a whimpering mess of a form, her legs quaking like jello, into her double's arms - grotesquely burned as they were.
Alessa looked down, feeling the wetness that had formed as a result of her double's hand down there. She was broken; the energy had been sucked out of her by this beast that dared to pose as her. Alessa slumped in her double's embrace, breathing hard as the waves of pleasure pain receded. Tears fell from her tired eyes, mourning the loss of dignity she had suffered at the hands of her own dark side made flesh, here in this monument to human suffering and hopelessness.
She expected, and prayed, that her alternate would cease this torment of her now that she had accomplished her depraved goal. Alessa had lost control, climaxing with such intensity that she wanted to sink to the floor and weep. She was humiliated beyond words from how easily this demon exploited her own body against her. All she wanted was to be left alone in her misery.
Her mirror self had other ideas.
Barely seconds after her orgasm passed, it started all over again. The Dark Alessa that was torturing her was ruthless, fingering her with such an intensity that it was surprising, as if she was truly getting off on this horrific torture. It was humiliating, it was stimulating, and it was utterly horrific. Alessa wondered just what the hell she had done to deserve this, not for the first time. This place fed on negative emotions, and it was becoming clear just how much it liked to feed on people's suffering.
"No! Not again, please," Alessa stammered out a broken, strangled plea. She still hadn't recovered from the first forced orgasm, and already she felt the stirrings of another taking shape in her ravaged core.
Just as before, it was no use. The Otherworld was unmerciful, unflinching, and utterly unforgiving in its torture. The double continued to violate her with no hesitation, ruthless in her movements, acting as if she was programmed to draw out whatever she wanted, every last reaction from Alessa that she desired. She was coy throughout the whole thing, acting as if it was a game to her. At some point Alessa zoned out through the whole thing. She was going insane, feeling as if she was engulfing herself in some endless ordeal from which she would never awaken. This was hell to her. She had been mistaken before, when she thought that places she had visited like the office building and the sewers were hell. This was hell, in all its unsplendored, dispiriting glory. She wanted to die. God help her, she wanted to die, if it meant that it would be the end of this horrific thing that she was enduring. For god sakes, wasn't there anyone who could help her?
How much longer of this would she be forced to endure? She couldn't even imagine what she had done to prompt a reaction like this. Perhaps there was no explanation. Perhaps this place was simply evil, and she had never seen it before. The torture continued like a long, endless wave of a nightmare. She lost awareness of her surroundings, becoming immersed in the torrent of sensations that was flowing through her body, and seemed endless in its intensity. She was beyond gone, beyond fighting back, beyond doing anything except standing there and taking it. The torture continued in its surrounding cacophony of horror and gruesome walls, like a haze taking over her vision and drowning out all other sounds in her ears, until at last it was over. Alessa cried out with her eyes shut tight, as her body arched back in a series of racking spasms. Her mouth was open in a soundless scream, and the double continued to give her the stimulation she so desperately craved and yet hated, never losing that grin of hers all throughout the process. Alessa poured into her panties once again, as her wetness spilled into her clothing. The double continued to stimulate her, roughly rubbing her sex until Alessa's body finally stopped moving in the little quakes that had taken control of her for the past few moments.
Alessa hung limply in her double's grasp. She was utterly exhausted, and would have fallen over if not for her double holding her in place with her burnt arms. It was only her double's strong hold on her body that kept her from collapsing to the floor. She was sobbing quietly to herself, overwhelmed by the enormity of what had happened to her. Never had she undergone such humiliation and pain before, and it left her struggling to gather the shattered pieces of her soul. She was defeated. The ordeal that she had just undergone had sucked the life out of her, and taken every last bit of her energy out of her distraught, fully devastated body. If her double had chosen to kill her right now, Alessa would not have been able to resist. She was that exhausted, and distraught. Alessa almost wished that something would show up and kill her right now, so that she wouldn't have to deal with the humiliation and despair she was facing right now, laying in her abusive double's arms. Dark Alessa smiled at her, like she wasn't quite finished with her yet.
Dark Alessa inserted her fingers into her. Alessa wondered what else she had planned for her. Dark Alessa hooked her fingers into her, like she was trying to pull on something, and then she felt a slight pressure that made her jump. Alessa looked down to see her flesh on her double's fingers, and the flesh bleeding profusely onto the floor. Alessa's mouth fell open in horror, and then she felt a searing pain. Alessa screamed as the pain spread throughout her, and she collapsed to the ground in a rush, holding her injured crotch. The fabric of her jeans was now bloody, and the flesh inside the garments had been ripped away, leaving a gaping hole that was gruesomely bleeding from the injury. Oh god…what had she done!? Dark Alessa smiled deviously at her, as if she didn't quite realize the dire seriousness of what she had done. It was just a game to her. Alessa cradled her gruesome injury tenderly, feeling the blood seeping profusely through her fingers. Her mind was numb from the shock, trying to process the fact that she had been mutilated permanently. Oh god, it hurt…more than anything else she had ever felt in her life. Alessa curled into a ball, trying to prevent further injury from her double. Alessa looked up, and saw a ghastly sight. Her double had shed her clothing by now. She was naked, though it would be hard for someone to tell – the burns covered 100% of her body, rendering her skin a gruesome covering of charcoal black flesh protecting her flesh. Alessa almost wanted to run away and throw up, but the pain was preventing her from moving. Alessa was crying on the ground, completely overwhelmed by the insanely hideous pain that was now coursing through her body, and the shame of everything that had happened to her in the past few minutes.
Her double now stood over her. Alessa looked up and saw her double now had a pipe. So this was how it ended. It wasn't exactly surprising; Alessa knew that she would bleed out in the next few minutes. So, she wasn't scared by death. Still, the fact that her double was now going to beat her to death was the latest unwelcome surprise in a series of unfortunate things that had happened to her since she set foot in this room, in the past few minutes. This was going to be painful. Alessa knew the monster would likely aim for her cranium to incapacitate her with maximum efficiency, and the thought of having her skull cracked open was not a pleasant one for Alessa; it scared Alessa, and she was rarely scared by anything. She felt a melancholy feeling in her gut, one that was completely separate from the ordeal she had just endured. She had failed. Mom, Dad…I'm sorry, she thought in despair. Alessa closed her eyes and waited for the end.
She wasn't alone, despite what Alessa thought. Someone else was watching, and looking in horror at what her fatal mistake may have caused. She was in shock, and was finding herself repulsed by what was happening, and frantically trying to help Alessa in any way possible. She was absolutely helpless to help her, however. All she could do was watch.
Alessa was unmoving on the ground. Her double had laid down the pipe for a moment, and decided to have some fun with her before killing her. Apparently her double still wanted to humiliate her and torture her even further, although Alessa didn't even know how that was possible. She had done things to her that were utterly humiliating, and Alessa now felt worse than she did before, if possible. But now she had picked up the pipe again and was readying for the end game. It was obvious she was going to kill her now, after all her 'fun'. She had been violated, humiliated, and injured all in the span of a few minutes, and now it looked like it was going to come to an end for her. So this was how it ended. She had fallen into the trap this room set for her, been administered all its tortures and humiliation, and now she was going to be killed by her own dark feelings made flesh. She didn't think it would end this way. The double was still grinning, with that horrible smile on her face. Damn her; damn her and that horrible expression on her face. Alessa closed her eyes and waited for the end.
The end never came.
Alessa opened one eye and looked up. A moment of waiting had passed. The blood was gone, and so were all the veins of the room. Her double was nowhere to be seen. Alessa looked around quickly, but the horrid double had simply disappeared, along with any other traces of the nightmare. There was no other self, no pain, and definitely no traces that she had ever been attacked. Alessa looked down, but her flesh was intact between her legs, and no blood whatsoever covering the material.
It took Alessa a moment to realize what had happened.
"Fucking hallucinations!" Alessa screamed, throwing aside her sword in a fit of fury. She couldn't believe she had fallen for that. The strange traits of the room, the mirror and the way it reacted to her, the way she couldn't get out; the signs were all there. She should have known it was just a hallucination. She felt a rampant fury and burning aggravation at the cruelty of this town, and how its manipulations ensnared her so thoroughly. God, why couldn't they just leave her alone!? She was a good person; she didn't torture anyone, she hadn't raped anyone, and she hadn't killed anybody without reasonable intent – she didn't even drink! She had done everything possible to try to live her life in the best way possible, and yet this town still kept coming back to torture her again and again, tormenting her repeatedly with its horrors and manipulations of the mind. Why?! What had she ever done to deserve this? She was a good person; she didn't deserve this. For fuck's sake, she just wanted to be left alone. She just wanted to be left alone.
Alessa sat back on the ground. She should just get out of here. She was exhausted, and she didn't know what had just happened. Where had that delusion come from? She didn't know. And she wasn't sure she wanted to know. But she looked at the mirror, and it was still there in all its gleaming glory.
Alessa made a decision. She grabbed her sword and rushed at the mirror, and brandishing her blade she sliced it straight at the center of the mirror. She struck hard at the mirror, embedding her sword in the reflective paneling. The mirror shattered into a thousand pieces, falling to the floor in a cascade. Alessa struck hard at the mirror, pouring all of her anger and fury at the situation, all of the frustration, and every last bit of emotion she had felt over the past day. She slashed repeatedly at the mirror, screaming and growling, pouring all of the fury bubbling in her body and all of the hatred she had accumulated in the past two days into the attack, and every last bit of emotion over everything that had happened to her into the effort of destroying this thing, until she could stand it no more, tearing down the shattered remains of the mirror. She kept at it until she had drained all of the energy from her body, purging herself of all the negative emotion, and the mirror lay in ruins at her feet.
Alessa wiped her brow and stepped back. There, now she felt better. The mirror was completely shattered, and she had torn down every single piece of it through sheer fury, the rest of them falling down from the vibrations. Alessa looked down at the remains. Wow, I did all that? She thought in mild shock. Still, as a smirk played upon her lips, she couldn't deny that it had felt good to pour her rage into the mirror like that. It was effective in purging her of all the negative emotion she had accumulated in the past two days.
Alessa left the room, leaving behind the nightmare in its infernal resting place.
Outside in the hall, Alessa backed down for a moment. She had left the nightmare behind in the room, but it was still bringing up some unpleasant memories. She needed a moment to recover. She collapsed down onto the floor, holding onto the metal grating with her grubby fingers. This place was getting to her. She needed to get out of here. She slowly came around, gathering her strength until she was able to stand again. She stretched her arms back, working out the kinks in her body as she righted herself. There, she was ready to proceed now.
Alessa looked down at the hallway. She had to figure out her next move. She shook her head. There were two other floors in the hospital, so she had to choose quickly. She was not looking forward to going down there. After all this, she wondered what else the Otherworld could throw at her. She ran to the elevator and pressed the button.
Inside the elevator, Alessa backed away. The gate came slamming down over the entry – it almost made Alessa jump, but she was used to it by now. Alessa looked at the buttons. Second or first floor – she guessed the second floor was the next destination. Alessa pressed the button and waited for the elevator to take her to her next nightmarish destination.
The elevator doors opened with a loud groan. Alessa carefully stepped out of the elevator, wielding her handgun ready for anything that came her way. She pulled out her map of the hospital and took a cursory glance at it, before stuffing it back into her backpack.
Alessa peeked carefully around the corner down the hall. There were no enemies around here, which was a good thing. There was no danger yet, though she would have to tread carefully.
She came upon a sight that baffled her. There was a large, smoky screen laid out in the corner of the hall. It was almost impossible to see through, and the fog cloudily obscured any activity behind it. Alessa stared in confusion at the obscure sight. What the hell was this? It sounded like there was a ruckus going on there, and all sorts of activity was taking place in there. Alessa didn't know what was going on, and somehow she didn't think she wanted to know. Still, she got a weird feeling when she passed by there. She decided it was probably better to move on.
There were two rooms that held something of interest at the end of the hall. Alessa went into the women's locker room first. There was a white doctor's robe hanging on a nearby wall, and no lockers on the left side of the room, oddly enough. Alessa wondered who's it was. The answer was one that she surmised very quickly – Kaufmann's. Even with her having killed him, a piece of him still remained in the Otherworld, taunting her with its presence. Figures. The Otherworld simply would not forget some of the things that had influenced it. As soon as she opened the door, a locker door in front of her began to open. The door slowly opened to reveal a creature that was stuffed into the locker, writhing wildly in a craze like some incarcerated animal. Alessa was nearly shocked enough to jump, until she realized the monster was behind a wire mesh of some kind and couldn't get out. Alessa gradually released a sigh of relief, though she still remained cautious just in case it tried to break out of there. Alessa took a close, examining look at the creature that was trapped in the locker behind the mesh. Wasn't this the monster that had been following her around all this time? What the hell was it doing here? Alessa had thought it was the Red god, but no god would allow itself to be trapped here like this without dignity. How had it gotten trapped here like this? It certainly didn't bode well for its intelligence, if it couldn't even escape from a simple trap like this. Actually, it seemed rather pitiful, now that Alessa looked at it. She just couldn't see this monster as threatening, no matter how much she tried. It was just too pathetic, even if it looked like it was going to jump out of the cage at any second. She rifled through the pockets of the robe, trying to ignore the unsettling monster. She wondered who had put it here? Even if it was Kaufmann's, someone had to have brought it up here. Or was it just manifested by the Otherworld because of her memories? Alessa didn't know, but she found a health drink in the pocket of the robe.
There was also a plastic bag in the nearby trash can. Alessa didn't know what it could be used for, but an item like this wasn't likely to be out of place. She took it anyway. Maybe she could use it to store some beef jerky.
The hallway outside was still clear. Alessa ducked into the men's locker room. This was more like a locker room like she expected. There was a sound coming from inside one in the row of lockers, muffled by the metal door. The sound echoed very deep and unnaturally, sounding painfully loud in the atmosphere of the room. It almost sounded like a phone ringing in the locker. What the hell? Was there a phone in here? Alessa didn't know what was going on, but she suddenly had a very concerning feeling about this. She was afraid to open the door to this particular container, but she had to find out what was going on. Alessa opened the locker door carefully, and saw a large older looking phone rusted all over laying at the foot of the locker. Was that a pay phone in there?!... Alessa furrowed her brow; this was getting more concerning by the minute, and she was really wanting to get out of here at the moment. Remembering what happened the last time she answered a phone, it wasn't a positive notion. Still, Alessa knew she had to find out what was behind this. Something told her it was important. It went against all common sense, but she just couldn't resist her curiosity. She picked up the phone and cautiously held the receiver up to her ear.
"Hello?" she answered uncertainly.
"Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you…" a lighter voice answered on the phone. "Happy birthday dear…" The voice trailed off, as if it was suddenly confused. "Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot your name," the voice answered. The voice sounded lightly sarcastic, and was a little weird in tone. Until the end, that was, when it suddenly lapsed into genuine confusion. Alessa didn't know what to make of it.
Alessa stared at the phone. What the hell? "I'm afraid you're mistaken. Today's not my birthday," Alessa replied, not knowing anything else to say.
"I'm not mistaken!" the voice protested, suddenly offended. The voice was weird sounding, and was definitely male. It was a little creepy. "Today is your 27th birthday. I know when your birthday is, young lady. Don't argue with me! Now tell me your name, so I can wish you a proper birthday. You're missing out on the fun, my dear," the voice replied snidely, sounding like it was nearing the limit of its patience.
With some annoyance, Alessa held the phone out from her ear. "Who the hell are you?!" Alessa demanded, feeling her own annoyance growing. What was up with this asshole, and why was he trying to play mind games with her? She knew it wasn't her birthday! Damn it!
The voice retaliated. "That's none of your concern! And you're missing the point! Today is your 13th birthday! I want to wish you a proper, happy birthday. Is that so wrong? Why are you resisting this so thoroughly? Don't you know your true self? It baffles me to know you don't want me to wish you a proper, happy birthday," the voice said, sounding sad. It was strange. The voice sounded like it was both mocking her, and genuinely trying to get her to go along with its harebrained idea.
Alessa ignored the part about her true self. That was just more psychological bullshit on the part of the town trying to manipulate her. She focused instead on the tone, and its peculiar voice. Alessa thought about all the people she knew who were on this journey with her. Was this Vincent?
"Is this someone I know?" Alessa demanded.
"I'm not anyone you know, you wretched hag," the voice answered. "I'm not Leonard. That's the murderer's name, not my name. I'm not your beloved Stanley either. He's underground now. His new name is "#7"," the voice replied snidely.
Alessa pursed her mouth in a line. She wasn't expecting that. Alessa bristled at being called a "hag" – she was young and attractive-looking! Damn it. Still, she ignored that. Alessa's heart did a little dip as she heard the phone caller's words about Stanley – she had hoped, despite all hints to the obvious, that it wasn't true. She had seen a body in Room S7, but that could have been anybody. But now she knew that it was true. Alessa felt a sinking feeling in her stomach. He had died because he loved her. And Leonard had killed him for it. He was still a stalker, and still creepy as hell, don't get her wrong, but Alessa definitely didn't like the idea that anyone had died out of loving her. And it also confirmed that Leonard was dangerous. Alessa wasn't too concerned; she was reasonably sure that she could easily take him with her weapons and skills. However, it would have been easier if he was a defenseless old man, and offered no resistance. That way, she could have tortured him all the more slowly, sweetly. Alessa focused on what the mysterious caller was saying. She could iron out the details later.
"But don't worry about that now. It's time to celebrate your birthday!" the voice went on. Alessa found herself wondering who the voice was. It sounded like they were calling from the depths of hell. Alessa also found herself annoyed at the cheerful tone in the caller's voice.
Why was this such a laughing matter?
"Why don't you come up here and talk to me? I'm sure I have a nice birthday present waiting for you," Alessa said, fingering her magnum as she replied snidely. She was serious, too. She would fully shoot this man if he came up here and confronted her in person. She had way too much to do to be bothered by some freak, who insisted on doing nothing but taunting her. Murder wasn't a thing she took lightly – but she would consider it for this man.
The voice responded. "I don't think so. I'm not stupid; I'm not giving you a chance to kill me on your birthday!" the voice said, smugly. Alessa growled under her breath, holding her handgun tightly in her hands. There went her plan, for all its intent; damn it, he was onto her. Alessa really wished she had a way to strike back at this irritant, but it looked like she was going to have to sit back and listen to this.
"Now, I have a present for you," the voice said ominously. Alessa leaned in closer to the phone, gripping her handgun in case some monster came barreling through the door as a response.
"Which do you prefer? To give pain or to receive it?" the voice said carefully, making sure Alessa understood every word. "You can have the one you hate the most. Though…" The voice stopped, talking nastily all of a sudden. "Perhaps you would prefer your mother, with a bow wrapped around her waist?" the voice taunted, suddenly sounding like it was amusing itself greatly at the thought of that. There was no hint or ounce of compassion or empathy in its tone.
"You motherfucker…" Alessa muttered darkly, thinking of her mother still in pieces back at her house. She was about to give the voice a lashing that would send it screaming for the hills in fear. How dare they mock her pain? She was going to have vengeance for this. But the voice cut her off before she had a chance to respond. It wasn't going to give her any chance to respond to its claims, it seemed.
"Happy birthday to you!" the voice stated, laughing mockingly. The voice hung up the phone. Before Alessa could respond, he was gone.
Alessa stared at the phone in her hand. Well, that was disturbing. She wondered about what had just happened. The voice almost sounded like a clown, but there was nothing jovial about him. Instead he was mean-spirited and nasty. In fact, the voice almost sounded like a threatening message. Just what the hell was the point of that? Was she supposed to be afraid of what was going to happen next? She wasn't sure what that was supposed to be about.
Alessa looked around the base of the phone, inside the bottom of the locker, and was in for a shock. The phone wasn't plugged in! Then how in the world had he called her?! She had assumed there was some sort of cord running under the lockers connected to the phone, to taunt her when she expectedly answered the set-up, but apparently there was nothing but the dead end of a broken cord. Well, it wasn't a surprise, given all that she had seen. She had pulled a similar trick once, long ago. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she wondered why she was even surprised in the first place. It fit with the rules and atmosphere of this place.
Well, she wasn't going to be intimidated if that was the case. She had better things to do than sit around being afraid of something happening.
Alessa threw down the phone onto the base at the bottom of the locker. Fucking pervert. Who did he think he was, mocking her painful ordeals? Alessa wished he had come up here, so she could have had a chance to shoot his ass with her handgun. Lousy parasite; probably working with the Order too, in some capacity or form. If she ever did meet this guy face to face, all bets were off.
Alessa stood up from the rusted metal floor. That was a waste of time. It was probably better not to think about it, or try to figure out its meaning. She would probably wrack her brain trying to ascertain the meaning behind these events. In any case, she had best leave it behind. It was time to go. She had wasted enough time standing around here.
Before she got to the door though, she stopped.
Alessa turned around, and staring at the phone with a grim frown on her face, she shot the phone with her handgun. The accursed phone exploded into electronically fried chunks, splattering little pieces of black all over the locker and the floor. Alessa smirked deviously at the display of destruction she had undertaken. Well, he wouldn't be calling again, would he? That felt good.
Alessa left the locker room, feeling a certain sense of satisfaction despite the disturbing call.
As she exited the locker room, Alessa's thoughts turned towards the chamber which had formerly been the women's locker room, her mind still on the creature trapped inside the locker within. At first, she had been somewhat afraid it would burst out of the locker and attack her. That feeling changed to pity at its predicament, and then shock as she gazed at it further. It was the same being she had witnessed strangling some kind of monster at the shopping mall elevator, and only minutes earlier, turning some sort of valve before she had entered this horrific version of the hospital.
What could it be? Alessa asked herself as she walked down the decayed hallway. Could this mysterious thing be the angel named Valtiel, who would watch over the Mother of God according to the scriptures she had read as a child? Was it responsible for the nightmarish shifts? Alessa had heard of Valtiel as a child. The Valtiel sect worshipped a creature named Valtiel, appropriately so. It was their patron protector, and was supposedly the right hand of God, according to their scriptures. Alessa hadn't ever really thought he existed, to be honest, but he was an important part of the Order's detailed lore, and she was expected to learn it like an obedient little servant. But now she wondered if she'd had the misfortune of walking into the creature personally, against all odds. It fit all the criteria that matched the description, and the description of its personality. That birthday phone call in the men's locker room wasn't very reassuring either. It had almost sounded like a threat, only she wondered at what worse thing could possibly happen to her at this point, short of getting killed.
Her mental debate was cut off when some familiar scampering sounds caught her attention, ones which made her heart sink at their meaning.
Out of all the creatures she had encountered thus far, the lizard-like beasts that crawled on the ground unsettled her the most. They moved very fast in groups of 2 or more and took considerable effort to kill. Worse, they seemed to take a perverse enjoyment in knocking her down and toying with her. Alessa sensed that wasn't the full extent of their aggression, and it worried her more than she would care to admit. She shuddered to think what a large group of these monsters would do to her.
Alessa moved to the back of the hall to give herself some space between them. By the sounds that were heading towards her, this was going to be a nightmare. Unfortunately, a large group of them was precisely what was heading for her. They moved even faster than usual, barely giving her time to consider between fighting with her magnum or running to the shelter of one of the former locker rooms. She fired several blasts at the approaching fiends, trying to take them out as fast as she could or to at least buy herself some time. Two of them halted their advance to twitch violently in pain, but two others savagely rushed over their injured counterparts, determined to reach their prey. Alessa shot them as well, putting a stop to their approach.
However, the previous two creatures had recovered by now, and reached their target. A vicious swipe at her legs by one of them harshly knocked Alessa to the ground. Losing her grip on her magnum, she panicked as ever increasing noises indicated there had to be at least four more of the damn things in the area.
The two creatures wasted little time climbing on her. Alessa frantically tried to shake them off, but their highly erratic motions and unexpected strength prevented her from doing so. One of them tried to immobilize her legs, pinning them with its arms while its covered mouth futilely tried to gnaw at her shins. The other took her upper body, trapping her arms with the webbed, hand-like structures on the end of its upper limbs. To her great disgust, it restrained her hands with one limb while it ran the other over her body. The deformed appendage groped her chest, stomach, and private lower region as much as its unusual shape would allow it, all the while emitting the hideous noise that sounded much like the creature's version of mocking laughter.
It was utterly humiliating, and Alessa had taken enough of it. The monster's sick treatment of her body had provided her with an opportunity to take action. Managing to briefly shake off the wild grip of its left appendage, Alessa reached quickly reached into her backpack and pulled out the switchblade she kept there for self-defense. Without hesitating, she stabbed it into the perverse monster's eye, grotesquely rupturing the organ and piercing its brain.
The thing wasn't dead yet, though, and the brutal wound seemed to drive it into a crazed frenzy. Thrashing about wildly enough to send its counterpart several feet away, the dying creature struck several hard blows on Alessa's torso. A particularly harsh hit between her legs made her want to cry out in pain, but instead she focused on pushing the monster off her. Recovering her magnum, she ran back to the room where she had received the bizarre birthday call before anything further happened. She could already hear the sounds of more monsters approaching, stirred up by the tantrum of the one her knife had fatally wounded.
Once inside the room, she leaned against one of the rusty lockers, collapsing softly to the metal grating that served as a floor. She hugged her knees to her bruised chest, feeling shocked and physically ill at what had just occurred. It was repulsive by any sane person's standards, and to Alessa, a tangible indication that her situation could indeed become worse. It hurt physically and mentally, making her want to curl into a fetal position and sob in despair.
It wasn't fair. What had she ever done to deserve this hell? All she had wanted was to feel accepted and loved by those around her. Instead, a world of suffering had been cruelly thrust onto her shoulders, all in the name of God. Now, it seemed it wasn't even enough for her personal demons to be made flesh. They had to degrade her as well, molesting her in an attempt to leave her bereft of dignity. Alessa felt horribly violated and used.
Once again, the birthday caller's words rang in her ears.
"Which do you prefer? To give pain, or to receive it? You can have the one you hate the most."
Pain. She had already received such an overwhelming amount of it in her short life. The small amount of solace she had found with her parents and her very few friends couldn't come close to outweighing it. And it seemed even more was headed her way. Perhaps this was the meaning of her life, Alessa reflected sadly. To suffer more than any person before her ever had.
Now she did cry, tears sliding down her cheeks as she lowered her head and wept at the misery of her existence.
Alessa didn't know how much time had passed while she remained in the decayed locker room. She had sobbed to her heart's content, until the tears had finally ceased and she could begin to collect herself. She picked up her magnum with trembling hands, not anticipating having to go out into the hallway again. Two very horrific incidents thus far and she had only covered two floors of the nightmarish hospital. Still, she knew she couldn't stay in that room forever.
Making sure the gun was fully loaded, Alessa took a deep breath and slowly opened the door. She was prepared to run for her life if necessary, but she wasn't expecting the situation that confronted her. The chilling noises emitted by those horrid beasts were gone. Walking ahead slowly, she noticed that the black smoke had cleared from the mysterious chamber. There was nothing behind its glass walls. Alessa wondered just what had been going on behind that smoke.
As she reached the end of the corridor, she saw precisely why the place was so quiet.
The slurping monsters were all dead. That wasn't all. The creatures' bodies lay in pieces on the floor, making it evident that they had been savagely killed. Something far stronger than them had bludgeoned them brutally, literally tearing them apart in the process. A great amount of blood was pooled on the floor, spread out across a sizeable area thanks to the numbers of fiends that had been present when she had fled in terror.
Alessa raised a hand to cover her mouth and nose, feeling nauseous from the hideous sight. The foul stench still penetrated her nostrils, making her want to heave in revulsion. By sheer will, she managed to restrain herself and make her way towards the elevator.
What manner of being could have done this? Alessa asked herself, as she stepped over the strewn limbs and organs. Whatever it was, she was sure she did not want to encounter it.
Suddenly, she remembered the strange creature which had been held prisoner in the men's locker room. Temporarily foregoing her disgust, she rushed back to the women's locker room, wanting to confirm what she suspected she would discover there. Opening the rusted door and aiming her magnum just in case, her notion was proven correct. The mesh covering on the single locker in the room had been violently ripped off the structure, the only sign of what had formerly been straining inside there. The being had obviously escaped into the outside hallway after her brief ordeal, slaughtering the demons lurking there. The monstrous massacre that she walked into was the remains of what the creature had unleashed on them, and the scattered limbs were evidence of its slaughter.
Alessa stared at the overwrought destruction with numb wonder. It seemed she had a protector here.
Whether that turned out to be horrible for her in the long run remained to be seen.
AN: Yes, I changed the birthday caller's dialogue. ;-D I wanted something different for Alessa. And no, Alessa hasn't purged all the emotional consequences of what she has just endured. It will come back to haunt her.