Disclaimer: I own nothing from Silent Hill. Anything used belonging to another individual or entity retains sole ownership of said item in question. This story is fictional, any similarity between the characters in this story and any person living or deceased Is purely coincidence.
Revelation
Ashley led Brooke back down the hallway until they came back to the double doors that separated the ward from the rest of the hospital. Ashley was about to go through them when she noticed Brooke had stopped and had turned to look back down the hall to where Zack lay.
"Do you think he'll be all right." She asked, concerned.
"You said it yourself, we can't try to carry him all over this pace. We'd kill him. We'll be back for him, I swear." Ashley answered her, putting her hand on Brooke's shoulder in comfort. Ashley ushered Brooke through the door and they once again in the hallway with the elevators.
Ashley raised the rifle to her shoulder and used it just as Zack had done, with the muzzle leading the way. They passed the little sitting area and came to the door of the stairwell. Ashley carefully put her hand against the door and pushed, hoping that there wasn't anything on the other side that she really didn't want to see.
The sight of the cold empty stairwell was both a blessing and a curse. Thankful that they had not descended into hell, yet the still knew they were in the hellish town of Silent Hill. As Brooke came into the area Ashley began her slow ascent up the stairwell. She was filled with apprehension, every step she took was one more step into the unknown.
Ashley had not been as close to Zack as Vanessa had been, but she knew she missed his reassuring attitude and his calm demeanor. She even decided that she missed his lame ass jokes. At the landing in between floors, Ashley stopped to make sure Brooke was doing o.k. Even though she didn't say, Ashley could tell that she too was missing Zack's presence. They were halfway there, now just one more flight to go.
Each step Ashley and Brooke took, was like a thunderous crash echoing in the abandoned stairwell. Each time her foot hit the floor, the resulting noise cut deep inside of them, afraid of what else might be hearing the same noise. Brooke held on to Ashley, staying very close. Ashley held the rifle, it was her only thing of comfort.
As Brooke and Ashley came to the fifth floor landing, each gave an inward sigh of relief. Their moment of peace was soon shattered when they discovered a message written in blood on the door.
"Into the darkness she swallowed his hate."
"Oh my god." Brooke whined, looking towards the heavens, silently asking, why them.
With a shaky hand, Ashley reached out and touched the warm red liquid that wrote the message. She quickly withdrew her hand and began to wipe on Brooke's shirt when she found that it was fresh. Brooke didn't even realize what Ashley was doing, as both her and Ashley had begun to cry tears of fear.
Ashley ran her hands through her blonde hair, trying to get a grip on her fear. Her face was twisted with forlorn thoughts of what might lay beyond the door. Brooke had wrapped her arms tightly around her and sunken into a corner of the stairwell landing. After a minute Ashley had calmed down and decided that they needed to go.
"Come on Brooke, We have to get this over with." Ashley prodded the frightened girl.
Brooke reluctantly agreed as she got to her feet. Ashley checked the rifle making sure that it was in good working order. And then stood staring at the door. Finally she reached out with a shaky hand and slowly turned the handle. Her efforts were rewarded with a soft click as the latch mechanism turned, releasing the door.
The long black barrel of the rifle was the first through the door followed by Ashley and then Brooke who was firmly holding Ashley close to her. As they were in the hallway the door closed behind them, the noise amplified by the desolate atmosphere. Ashley looked to her left and saw another small sitting area that was like the one downstairs, the elevator waiting area. Beyond that was another set of double doors leading off deeper into the hospital.
Ashley then looked to her right. The hallway led to a wall made of glass that with a set of glass doors leading into another ward. Wanting to get a better look, Ashley switched the light on. The beam of light reflected off the dirty glass temporarily blinding them. Ashley quickly searched the glass wall and found a sign hanging above the doors. "Children's Ward"
"This is it Brooke. I have a feeling that what we are looking for is in there." Ashley said pointing towards the glass doors.
"I just want to go home." Brooke whined, not able to find any other words.
Ashley nodded her agreement, as Brooke's comment left her unable to find the words of comfort that Zack would so easily have answered her with. Ashley nodded her head to Brooke as she made her way over to the glass door. Ashley had her hand close to the door when she heard the sound of Lexington's machine gun. The glass began to shatter around her and Brooke's screaming had begun to add to the cacophony of noise.
Ashley was not sure what had happened next. She only knew that she was around the corner down the hallway in the little elevator waiting area, hidden from Lexington. Brooke was at her side so she must have grabbed Brooke and ran but she didn't know for sure. Her heart raced and her breath heaved with adrenaline and fear. She didn't dare to peak her head around the corner.
"Come out come out wherever you are. Let's make this quick, I got shit to do." Lexington yelled from somewhere down the hall.
"Lexington please. We can help each other, we need to get out of here." Ashley tried to answer him, fear making her voice crack.
"Well, well, little Ashley is speaking up. Don't you know when to shut the fuck up bitch? Where's Zack." Lexington again yelled, the hatred evident.
"Zack, he's hurt Lexington. That's why we need your help, we have to help Zack." Ashley frantically tried to reason with Lexington.
"Good. If he was here I'd have to kill him too, the only bitch thing is now I'm gonna have to go find his ass. Now come out and die like an honorable woman, don't make me come over there and put you down like the bitch you are."
"Lex…Lexington can't we sit down and write our differences down and discuss or problems like rational human beings? I mean we can only gain by helping each other. Haven't you heard the expression, "the pen is mightier than the sword" How about it?" Brooke tried this time, thinking that her psychology major would help their situation.
"Whoever said "the pen is mightier than the sword" has obviously never encountered automatic weapons. Who the hell are you anyway?" Lexington answered, not falling for Brooke's psychology.
"I'm, I'm Brooke, we haven't met." She said timidly.
"Oh yeah, You're the "doll" I keep hearing about. Well come on out here and I'll put you out of your miserable existence." Lexington said seething with hatred and anger.
Brooke cringed at his hateful remarks. It was beyond her to understand why someone, whom she had never met, simply seemed to hate her with a such drive and passion that he was wanting to kill her. Ashley was dealing with more or less the same dilemma as she tried to calm Lexington down.
"Now look, I have had the chance to kill you cunts of couple of time now and each time something gets in the way! Now this time I'm gonna finish the goddamn job come hell or high water!" Lexington shouted.
Ashley could hear him walking towards them. She could only imagine the sadistic look on his face with the thought of ending her and Brooke's life. The heavy falls of his military boots grew louder with each step signaling their impending doom. Ashley had to think fast. Her head raced with thoughts and ideas.
Her first thought was the M-16 laying in her lap. No I can't use this, I'm not that good with it and the moment I stick my head out from behind this corner he is gonna blow it off. Ashley thought to herself.
She then began to look around at her surroundings. A small table, a couple of chairs, a painting on the wall, small debris from the ceiling and other litter. She began to get a plan together.
As quietly as she could she crawled over Brooke and grabbed one of the chairs sitting next to the table. Going back to the edge of the corner she waited for Lexington to get closer. Her chest heaved, her breath shallow and ragged. They could hear Lexington making his way through the remains of the glass door, pieces breaking under his feet.
"Come here Ashley, you have been a very naughty girl and you know what happens to bad little girls…They get punished." he said sadistically.
Ashley stood, chair in hand, at the edge of the sitting area, waiting for Lexington to get close enough. Her face was twisted with fear and hopelessness, afraid that her plan wouldn't work. Lexington was almost to them, the hallway thudded with his advance. Ashley then saw the barrel of his machine gun.
Time seemed to stop in her mind. As soon as she saw the barrel of the gun, she swung around the corner with all of her force, swinging the chair up over her head. For a second she was sure she could see Lexington's eyes, dark, sallow, and hateful. She brought the chair down over the side of his head shattering it to pieces. Lexington, not ready for the attack, feel to the ground.
" Run Brooke!" Ashley screamed, as she turned, grabbed Brooke's wrist and ran into the hospital ward opposite the children's ward.
Ashley and Brooke flew through the heavy double doors, trying to get as far from Lexington as possible. He was still stunned and trying go get back to his feet. Ashley and Brooke crashed their way through the ward, trying to find a place to hide.
"Come Back here you bitch! This isn't done yet!" Lexington could be heard shouting to them as he regained his composure and was making his way after them.
Ashley pulled Brooke into a cluttered patient room. As they made their way over the obstacles of the bed, chair and table, they made their way to the bath room. It was a small room, only having a toilet and a sink. Ashley shut the door behind them and knelt down on the floor with Brooke, trying to shield her. Lexington meanwhile had come to the abandoned nurses station.
"Are you girls behind there?" they could hear Lexington say.
TATATATATATATATATATATATATA Lexington had shot through the large reception desk, hoping to be awarded his kills. As the bullets hit the wood, they made a thick, sinking sound as they splintered the wood. Lexington was obviously unsuccessful in his endeavor and moved on to the next potential hiding place.
Lexington could be heard kicking down the doors to the patient rooms as he made his way down the hallway. With each crash the girls shuddered. Both girls were crying, fearful of their lives, yet not wanting to make too much noise. They muffled their sobs into each others shoulders. There was a loud crash in the patient room beyond the bathroom door they were hiding in, Lexington had found the room they were hiding in.
"I know your in there. Come out and I won't make it hurt." He said as he threw things that were blocking his path out of the way.
Brooke was now shaking frantic with fear. Ashley tried her best to calm her down, squeezing her tight. Both girls cried, thinking this was their last moments on earth. Lexington had stopped moving and there was an unnerving silence coming from beyond the bathroom door. Ashley heaved, trying to catch her breath, while Brooke tried to desperately stop crying, the fear of what would happen to her if she didn't, making her cry even more.
TATATATATATATATATATATATA. The bullets from the machine gun shot through the wooden door, bullet holes splintering the door and peppering the room behind it. The same thick sound of metal hitting wood tore through the girls, closer and more pronounced. Then there was nothing, silence. Thankfully, the door still stood.
"Fuck." Lexington said calmly outside the bathroom door. He could then be heard as he turned around and went out of the patients room.
It was not until then that Ashley had dared to take a breath. She sat clutching Brooke with her mouth open in shock and fear, gasping for breath. Brooke shook violently in her arms, tears streaming from her eyes, stinging her raw flesh under the mask, and seeping through the seam where her skin and the mask met. Ashley held Brooke and waited to make sure the area was safe. They could still hear Lexington breaking his way into other rooms, looking for them. Every now and then the unnerving sound of the machine gun would sound off.
After what seemed like an eternity, Through the broken bathroom door, the girls could hear Lexington violently push open the double doors to the ward, pissed off at not having caught his prey. Then strangely, they heard the ding of the elevator and then silence once again engulfed them. Ashley took this opportunity to leave the bathroom of room 5119.
Brooke held her close as Ashley crept as quietly as she could out into the patients room and then out into the wards hallway. Ashley then felt the weight of the rifle on her back. She thanked every higher power and god known to man, that she had remembered to sling the rifle around her in all of the confusion. Ashley and Brooke made their way back out towards the reception desk, they could see the bullet holes, a reminder of the violence that had just occurred.
The cold came back to Ashley as the sweat from the fear, began to freeze on her skin. The world was once again deathly still and silent. Ashley put the rifle to her shoulder and followed the hallway back out to the elevator sitting area. They could still see the broken chair laying in the middle of the hallway, its pieces thrown about. As they passed the elevators Ashley got an overwhelming sense of curiosity. She went over to the elevator call buttons and pressed them all. Not one of them lit up and not a noise could be heard. This revelation deeply disturbed her. Not wanting to waste anymore time, she lead Brooke the shattered remains of the glass children's ward doors. She was just as scared at what she might find in there, as she was of Lexington.
The glass crunched under their feet, sending even more chills up their spines. Ashley pointed the flashlight towards the nurses desk. If there was to be any information, that is where it was going to be. Ashley led brook around the large desk and the two began searching through the old, musky papers. They soon found what they were looking for, a memo to the nursing staff.
To whom it may concern:
Please make sure that the patient from the second floor is not
In Jenna Howe's room. He has been known to leave his floor
And come up here. Her father and mother have given us
Specific orders not to allow this boy in her room and frankly it is
Against hospital policy. To the charge nurse of the day, please
Do routine checks to see if he is in there or not, Thank you.
Head of Nursing staff.
Upon reading the memo, Ashley remembered the patient directory board on the second floor and thought that this floor was sure to have one too. Sure enough, she found it. The flashlight beam ran down the board checking each name carefully. Jones, Holloway, Howe, there it was, she was in room number 5138. Ashley knew that is where they were they needed to go, so without wasting anytime, she took off down the hallway, not knowing what she might find.
Brooke tried to keep up with Ashley's brisk pace. The faster she walked, the more her inner legs began to hurt. She was starting to fall farther and father behind Ashley when the other girl suddenly stopped, in front of a patient's room, 5138.
Ashley stood standing in front of the door before she entered. One reason was she wanted to wait for Brooke to catch up to her, the other, and the more probable, was that she was scared shitless. When Brooke caught up to her, she reached out with a shaky hand and grabbed the handle, slowly turning it. The door was open, and it pushed open with relative ease.
The room they had entered was one of Hell. A hospital bed sat against the wall on one side of the room, blood covering the mattress and staining the sheets. The windows were blacked out and were covered with the rusty grating used as flooring in other parts of the hellish world. The floor was a bright blue tile, smeared and covered with blood and gore. The ceiling was heavy metal sheeting as well as the walls. A lonely table sat on the other side of the bed, with a note.
Ashley made her way into the room. She had to watch her step as the blood made the floor slick. Brooke stood in the doorway, not wanting to enter. Ashley knew she had to see the note, so she got it and read it.
U.S. department of the Navy.
Commander Alexander Howe,
Sir, your unit is deploying to Iraq on the 8th of November. However, due to family matters at home with the illness of your daughter, You have been reassigned, and will not deploy with your unit. We believe that this is the best option for you and your family in this time of crisis.
Admiral, J. L. Hawking
As Ashley looked at the note, she saw that there was a C.D. sitting under it. It had no markings but she could tell something was written on it. Knowing that it was important, she took it and stuck it in her pocket, not knowing where else to place such an item.
Ashley turned back around and went back into the hallway where Brooke was waiting. Only the room was hellish and the hallway had remained cold and grey, the sight of which was shut off by Ashley shutting the door.
"What was in there?" Brooke asked, nervously.
"This letter and a C.D." Ashley replied trying to think of the significance of the two items.
Brooke read the letter that Ashley found and could not think of anything of relevance either. However, it was pout there for a reason, in a town that made no sense and had no reason, so they kept it. Ashley walked with Brooke back out to the nurses desk and the two took the opportunity to sit and rest, and to contemplate what they had found. They had not gotten comfortable in their seats when the phone on the desk lit up and began to ring.
Ashley and Brooke looked at it for a moment, the sound of it's coming to life startling them. Ashley had only encountered this once, yet Brooke remembered the strange man from the gift shop. Not wanting to let it ring, Brooke reached out and nervously answered the phone.
"Hel…Hello?"
"Who da hell is dis? Where da hell did da other guy go?" The strange man asked.
"He is…hurt, he can't come to the phone, what do you want?" Brooke asked, suddenly emboldened.
"I see you two made it to da fifth floor. Good, now I need you to come to the lobby and meet me in the security office, I don't have a lot of time, it took you so long to get to the fifth floor I had to leave, hurry, they are still looking for me." With that the man hung up the phone and the line went dead.
"He wants us to go to the first floor security office in the lobby." Brooke said replacing the phone on the receiver.
"O.K. lets not waste any time." Ashley said getting to her feet.
Brooke agreed and let Ashley take the lead once again, with her rifle raised and to the ready. They made their way out past the broken glass and into the area with the elevator sitting room and the doorway to the stairway. Ashley was about to enter the stairwell when the two girls heard the sound of a small explosion far off in the distance, followed by the throbbing hum of electrical current. They were frightened to see the elevator lights come to life and the doors open with an audible ding.
"You ever wonder how it seems that we are being led around?" Brooke said grabbing Ashley's shoulders in fear.
"You have no idea." Ashley weakly replied.
Not wanting to take the elevators, Ashley tried to open the door to the stairwell. She was disappointed when she found that it would not open. The two girls once again looked to the elevators and in silent concession, they made their way into the waiting elevator.
The two girls pushed the button for the first floor and watched in horror as the elevator doors shut before them, seemingly as though they just shut the doors on their last bit of hope. With a jerk the elevator began it's slow descent. Ashley was waiting for the moment when things would go bad, just as they had done when she went on her quest for medical supplies. Brooke, never having this experience, was terrified.
The elevator made a ding with every floor it passed on it's way down. It was as though it was taunting them, making them suffer in the apprehension. Finally, the elevator came to a stop, the doors opened and they found themselves back on the first floor, the Atrium was visible in front of them.
The two girls quickly made their way out of the elevator before it decided that it wanted to have more twisted fun with them. Turning back to it, it silently shut it's doors, and became dark and inoperable once again.
The security office was in front of them. Ashley began to pick up her pace as she made her way towards it. Brooke, even though her legs screamed in searing pain, with her quickened movement, also kept up with Ashley. The short distance from the elevator to the security office seemed like it was a football field, however, they made it with no consequence, shutting the door behind them.
Brooke lost her breath when she turned to see what was in the small office. They found the man that had been calling them. He was hanging from the ceiling with his arms outstretched, bound by barbed wire. He was severed in half and his torso was sitting on a DVD player. Someone had cut a hole in his chest and had set a television set in it. He wore the ragged cloths of a medical orderly, stained red with blood. Written on the wall were the word "To Late" in blood.
Ashley tried to hold herself together as Brooke frantically clawed at her, shaken and terrified. Upon seeing the DVD player, Ashley remembered the CD she had found in the room earlier. As she reached out to turn the electronics on, Brooke tried to hold her hand back, trying to protect her. She paid no mind to Brooke and pushed the power button on each one, the blood hot and sticky to the touch.
The T.V. came to life, putting the room in white flashes as the static danced before them on the screen. Ashley then carefully put the disk in the DVD player and pushed play. The image that came on the screen was of Jenna's room, normal, just like any other hospital in the country.
They then saw Lexington, sitting on a chair in the room, reading a piece of paper. He didn't really look happy. Jenna lay in bed peacefully sleeping. She even seemed to have a small smile on her face, dreaming the wondrous dreams of a child. This scene lasted quite awhile, making the girls think the CD had frozen, but they then saw Lexington get up out of the chair.
"I bet that paper he is reading is the letter we found in the room." Ashley said, Brooke, nodded her agreement.
He walked to the window and looked out of it, his body language like showing that he was deeply angry, both of the girls had seen it before. Turning around, the girls could then see the visible scowl on his face. He looked to Jenna as she slept and then walked to her bedside. She was connected to several machines that were obviously keeping her alive, from what Brooke could tell, Oxygen, a ventilator, and a machine to monitor her oxygen intake. Each of the machines kept up steady rhythms to her heart and breathing by tiny audible beeps.
Lexington stood over the bed of his daughter, looking down at her. He then looked to a watch he had on his wrist. Looking back to his daughter he then moved around to the back of the bed. Where the electrical outlets were. Ashley held her hand to her mouth in amazement Brooke could only watch as they saw Lexington unplug the machines from the wall.
The girl on the bed began to squirm and agitate as she tried desperately to get oxygen to her
Broken body. She didn't have the strength to take breath on her own and after five minutes, she moved her last, never to move again. Lexington picked up her tiny wrist and checked for a pulse. A few more minutes passed and he reached back down to plug the machines back into the wall. Not finding any signs of life, they began to scream as they went flat line. Lexington then pushed the call button for the nurses.
He changed from the cold calculated person they knew to a frantic father calling for help for his daughter. The last thing they saw, was a group of nurses come into the room and start to perform CPR before the screen once again returned to the static. Ashley and Brooke almost forgot to breath themselves, they were in utter terror of what they had just witnessed. They had to go back and get Zack.
To Be Continued…
A/N: keep the reviews coming. Also sorry for the delay in updating. I have started a new story over on it is obviously diferent from this and it is called "American War of Independence" about two daughters of an english officer and the war from the perspective of the british. if your a fan of my work, go ahead and check it out. now shameless plug out of the way, again thanks for reading and keep the reviews coming. Thanks again.