Disclaimer: I do not own Silent Hill 3. Katy is the only character I do own.

A/N: Wow, my inbox was full! (= Thank you so much for the reviews, everyone! As a result, this story has nearly reached 80 reviews. *hands everyone a plate of cookies*

Enjoy this chapter and I'm thinking I might have a surprise for you at the ending...I just have to figure out how I want to write it.

Chapter 29: Alessa's Sanctuary

Alessa's room was located at the very end of the hall on the second floor and it seemed to have been forgotten for a long time. It was as though time had become frozen in place. There were children's games on the floor, even an unfinished game of cards from years past. Had this been her sanctuary or her hell? Was this the one place she could escape to as a child?

A coat of dust had settled over everything. The desk, the bed, and the floor groaned in protest whenever I laid a hand on them at all. Pictures and drawings were scattered over the bed and it was one of the only bits of proof that a child had been there. Honestly, it felt more like a prison cell than a child's bedroom. Alessa, how miserable you must have been. The nightmare will end soon, I promise, I thought as I gazed at the small items on a shelf.

The sound of crying filled the room and I sensed Alessa's presence before I saw the fresh footprints on the floorboards, marked by blood. Slowly, they led to the second door in that room-locked without the tarot cards. There were nine indentations where the cards fit, but only five of them would be of use.

I took the four tarot cards from my pocket and frowned. Where was the fifth one? Was it somewhere here? As if in answer, the pages of a sketchbook on the bed began fluttering and slightly drifted open. And there it was: the final tarot card stuck in the crease between two pages. Thank you, Alessa, I thought as I grabbed it up.

I strode to the door, held the cards up in front of me, and...I froze. This was always the portion of the game that I had trouble remembering, especially because the tarot cards only worked in certain spots. I knew that four of the cards went in each corner and one in the middle, but which ones went where? Oh, for God's sake! Too bad there's no way to look up a walkthrough...

Shuffling through the cards, I tried to picture the cards as they would have been on the door. Unfortunately, I didn't have a photographic memory. Was it this one that went there or the other one? Which one went in the middle?

I sighed out of frustration and studied the cards closely. Was there a clue somewhere or was this just a punishment for using my knowledge to my advantage? Closing my eyes, I tried to picture them again. Last time I played the game, I attempted to create a strange meaning for the placement of the cards so that I would not forget. How did it go again?

The fool and high priestess are always opposite, always with different beliefs. The man is hanged under the moon and the eye sees everything, I thought as I stared at the cards again. That's it! I'm almost certain...

Feeling more confident, I placed the Eye of Night card in the center. In the highest corners, I placed the Moon and Fool cards with the Hanged Man and High Priestess in the lower corners. Now it was time to see if I was right. Carefully, I twisted the handle on the door and prayed with all my might. To my relief, the door moaned and then opened beneath my fingers. A feeling of disbelief and amazement passed through my stomach.

The happy emotions were shot out of me as a loud booming noise erupted behind me. Instantly, I turned and saw it was only the shelf I had examined earlier. One part of it had crashed, the items colliding to the floor. Alessa, are you trying to kill me before I face Claudia?

There were pictures, pencils, erasers, and cards everywhere. A tiny music box had fallen to the floor and had burst open. A little girl with black hair spun in circles and a melody-one that sounded like the haunting music box melody from Silent Hill 2-played softly.

Something else caught my eye inside the music box, something that sparkled. It seemed familiar and, when I picked it up, I understood the reason. It was a small white pendant with gold detailing around it. It was the kind of pendant that had a clasp and opened to reveal a hollow space. It hung loosely on a fine gold chain and swung in the air as I gazed at it. This...this is Heather's necklace. The one her father gave her to wear, always.

Just to prove it, I opened that pendant and feared what I would see inside. The clasp was hard to grip, but eventually it swung back and the pendant parted in two. Nestled on a strip of velvet lining was an oval red capsule. My stomach hurtled to the floor, but it also told me what I inevitably had to do. There's no escaping it, is there?

Reluctantly, I closed the pendant and put the necklace around my neck. It felt cool, but comfortable-as if it belonged there, settled on my skin and dropping to just below the hollow of my throat. My eyes traveled to the unlocked door that led to the deepest section of the church and I took a large breath. Well, this is it. No turning back now.

With that thought secured in my mind, I held the necklace between two fingers for comfort and stepped through the door. I was almost sure I could hear the quiet crying of a little girl as I departed from that forgotten bedroom.

...

It was a series of long hallways that waited for me. Somewhere in the Church, a bell chimed as though it were counting down to the moment of the showdown. There were no doorways, no other paths to follow. This was the only one I had and it felt like it could go on for miles.

As I raced around corners and ran down each stretch of hall, the ringing grew louder until it nearly burst my eardrums. At one point, it seemed liek the bells were actually chiming in my skull, around and around.

The walls grew dark and it became more difficult to see where the current hall ended. The kerosene in the lamp was lowering and the flame was gradually dying out. Occasionally, I would bump into a wall or hit my elbows the wrong way as I turned. Where was the door? When would this labyrinth of hallways end?

Suddenly, my fingers hit the wall in front of me and I turned. The only problem was that there was no other hallway there. I traced my fingers over what I figured was the door and felt something cool, shaped like a knocker. Here it is! The final door, where Claudia has escaped. She's here, waiting, I thought as I searched for a knob on the door. My hand curled around something that felt like a knob and I pushed hard on the door. It moved and I nearly fell; I was pressing so hard against it.

Inside the room-I'm not sure you could call it a "sanctuary"-was Claudia. Her face was serene and her gray dress trailed on the floor behind her. Candelabra lined the walls with white candles glowing brightly. Claudia's gray eyes met mine as I entered. Vincent, who was standing close to Claudia and arguing with her, spun to face me. His eyes widened and a triumphant smile formed on his lips.

"Well, the guest of honor has arrived. Let's get this party started."

...

Kind of a short chapter, but I'm already working on the next one as you read this, so no fear! That one certainly will be longer. But what will happen in the final showdown? Will Claudia and Vincent die? Or will something else happen entirely? We'll just see...until next time! But seriously, what do YOU think will happen?