Chapter 54: Getting Along, Passing By
I repeat all levels in all games must be explored! Plus the protagonist team is still incomplete, as well as the antagonist, and the neutral team of hosts. Just waiting on stragglers, and corpses to be reanimated. Enjoy
Lower level of Devil's Pit Visa
"I found a map" Murphy suddenly announced as he grabbed a random map from a kiosk to the right hand side.
"...There's more of them?" Elle said.
"Well why wouldn't there be? This is a tourist attraction, you gotta make copies for everyone" Murphy said as if it was obvious.
"...Yeah, I guess you're right" Elle said realizing the obvious.
"You know Murphy we talked a lot about each other, but we never heard you say anything about yourself" Maria said.
"You know my name, isn't that enough now? I'll buy you guys a beer after we get out" Murphy promised.
"Aw~ the whole mysterious handsome man thing is so overused though, don't be so boring" Maria teased.
"Let's play twenty questions, is what we're asking" Cynthia said.
"...Ten, and we get going" Murphy said impatiently.
"I agree, we already spent an hour here, and that's already too long to stay in one place here." Alex said.
"Why do you have my hairstyle?" Henry suddenly asked.
"I didn't know you owned a hairstyle...It was rainy, and I got soaked, not caring in the least bit about how I look right now" Murphy answered.
"You look like you haven't groom your hair in years" Cynthia teased.
"...It's this place, you don't look your best either as far as I can tell" Murphy retorted.
"Did this town call you here?" James asked.
"Called? This is a town, not a person. I was not called anywhere, I just happened to pick a bad road to drive on" Murphy lied.
"Seriously, someone should get to work on that damn road!" Harry complained.
"Maybe they would have if any of us actually reported it" Mason said.
"Oh, yeah we're the only survivors of the wrecked road" Harry said.
"Well then first thing I'm gonna do is report that then" Travis said.
"Good idea! Hopefully nothing will distract us from remembering to do so" George said.
"Back on topic, Murphy, did you see anything strange along the way?" Heather asked.
"Yeah a bunch of gears, upside down paintings, water...mostly water" Murphy explained.
"Seems pretty normal." Alex said.
"He forgot to mention the part about a glowing mini black hole chasing us through most of the trip, a slip, and slide designed by the devil himself, and a waterfalls were the water falls in the oddest of places" Eric added.
"Now why would you not mention all that in the first place?" Wheeler asked.
"Thought you might think I'm crazy, or something sure everyone I was with saw it too, but you're new to me. Nothing says bad first impression than someone speaking in gibberish" Murphy said.
"Okay you got a point, but for future reference, if you have anything else you wanna reveal to us now, go ahead, and say it. We're an equal opportunity sort of club" Henry said.
"...Not a thing" Murphy lied yet again.
"Well when we found him he was wearing convict's uniform he wore at a costume party" George tattled.
"(You don't say things like that in front of a cop!)" Murphy thought angrily to himself, while looking away from Wheeler's stare.
"Aha! A fellow cosplayer in the group!" Heather called out.
"Cosplayer-what? N-no it was...a party-yeah, nothing more!" Murphy quickly said.
"Where did your 'costume' go then?" Alex asked.
"I left it in a cabin. These guys can vouch for me" Murphy said.
"It's true, he found some clothes on a bed, and took them with him because he didn't want anyone to think he was actually one" Rose defended.
"Sounds like the normal thing to do, it beats having to explain yourself constantly" Christopher agreed.
"So this is your first time here in Silent Hill?" Elle asked.
"First time" Murphy answered.
"And you're sure you didn't do anything that may have caused your disturbing experience?" Lisa asked.
"Hey I didn't hurt anyone that didn't...well as far as I can tell I'm a pretty okay guy. No real anger issues, I'd like to think of myself as level headed mostly. Life's been good to me even when I was raised at an orphanage, the Nuns running it were very good to me, and I was more than grateful." Murphy said.
"I don't get it then...sounds like you're either really lucky you survived, and unharmed. Or really unlucky that you survived, and got stuck here in the process" Rose said.
"Well as a detective I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually, you just leave everything to me" Douglas assured.
"Please don't" Murphy said.
"Yeah I don't think he can afford you" Christopher said.
"Not to worries, this one is on the house" Douglas assured.
"I was raised in a orphanage too you know, but I don't think it's the same one...where was yours located Murphy?" Moon asked.
"It's...ah~ suddenly I can't remember the name, but nuns were the employees running the place so it's must start with a saint abbreviation. St. something" Murphy said.
"T-that's okay I think I understand, the important thing is that you're alive now after going through so much" Moon said.
"We're you adopted sooner, or later?" Tina asked.
"This is getting a little too personal, let's just say, that despite popular belief not every child in an orphanage get's adopted" Murphy said.
"Is it possible that you may have suppressed memories?" Lisa asked.
"If I had something like that I wouldn't remember it would I?" Murphy answered
"Got someone special waiting for you?" Maria asked.
"...It's complicated" Murphy muttered
"Well let's just cut this short then we have a lot to go through according to this map" Elle said.
"Well alright, besides I only promised to answer ten questions so let's get going. Can't say I'm excited about advancing forward with this, but what else can we do" Murphy said.
"Wait! What about your scar on your face?" George said.
"Sorry no more questions let's just go" Murphy said.
Walking along the open corridor James spotted something twinkling at the corner of his eye.
"Wait everyone, there's something over there" James pointed out.
"What is it a key?" Murphy asked.
"A gun?" Douglas asked.
"A piece to the puzzle?" Heather asked.
"No! My old weapon!" James declared as he pulled on a plank off a wooden bench.
"...A piece of wood was your weapon?" Tina asked.
"Unfortunately yes" Maria said.
"Sweet, it even has the nails on the end of it like my old one!" James realized.
"Whatever works for you I guess. Personally though, I'd give that thing less than five swings before it breaks" Murphy said.
"I give it ten, and only if he misses some of his swings" Henry said.
"You're on" Murphy accepted.
"Well I guess I won't be needing this anymore, time to chuck it into the pit" James said dragging his Great Knife he equipped recently.
"Where the hell was he hiding that!" Murphy exclaimed.
"That thing is just freaky get it the hell away from me!" George exclaimed.
"Okay, out into the pit you go!" James said.
"Wait! Better idea, maybe you should hold it, in case your plank breaks" Alex said.
"My wooden plank break? Silly, silly Alex" James said.
"Just keep the damn thing" Alex ordered.
"Okay, but I'm still going to use my plank" James said as they walked outside.
"This is gonna be either really hilarious, or really tragic" Henry dully said.
"Why not both?" Alessa said.
"How so?" Eileen asked.
"I'll probably be laughing for a good few minutes if he got suddenly mauled after his weapon fails while the rest of you mourn his loss" Alessa said.
"Alessa! What a horrible thing to say" Maria scolded.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean it" Alessa apologized.
"Not you Alessa, Alessa!" Maria said pointing at Alessa.
"Oh~ this is gonna give me migraines soon" Harry muttered to himself.
"If you're really me, then you feel the same way even if you-" Alessa was saying until a boarded up door to the left side suddenly broke open, revealing a Screamer, and to make matter's worse, a second Screamer appeared on the right side as it was hiding in the corner for some reason.
"Ambush-wait! What the hell?" Henry exclaimed.
"They don't look familiar..." Alex said.
"I thought you knew something, you don't know?" Heather said.
"Do any of us know what that thing is?" Harry asked.
"Whatever it is, I'm clubbing it with my weapon!" James exclaimed.
"Uh James, maybe you should think twice about this" Maria said.
"Nonsense, then first monster I killed with this thing died fairly quickly so this should be no problem" James assured.
James walked casually to his demise, raised his plank high above his head, and swung it down with all his strength, aiming for the top of the skull. To everyone's surprise the Screamer raised her spike embedded club hands above her head, blocking the attack, and breaking the plank in the process.
"These things can block!" James cried out.
The Screamer then lashed out with several wild swings hitting James' chest, arms, and even across his left cheek. James double back reeling in pain as Alex, Lisa, and Christopher moved forward with Alex leading the trio. He stabbed at the Screamer with his Combat Knife, but the Screamer blocked that attack as well, though it did leave a stab wound in it's clubbed hand, it also imbedded the knife in it making it difficult for Alex to pull off after having to jump back from an attempted swing attack. That's when Lisa came mid swing, crouched low to the ground, and stabbed at it's stomach impaling it as Christopher went for the top by swinging his gold club, and smacking the Screamer across the face, breaking it's neck in the process. Pulling the sharp blade out of it's stomach was far easier than a knife in a thick patch of blob on the end of an arm so she attempted a second stab, but narrowly missed as the injured Screamer hastily retreated as the second Screamer began to suddenly act odd.
"What's she doing? One of you tell us!" Alex demanded.
"I don't know, I haven't-" Murphy was saying.
They soon got their answer though because the next moment the second Screamer had sucked in enough air, and bellowed a glass shattering shriek that only echoed even more so from the Devil's Pit. The fight was put to a pause as everyone in the group grabbed at their ears in a futile attempt to keep them drown out the shriek. In their stunned moment, the first Screamer who was unaffected by the shout leaped at Christopher, clung to his back, stabbed at his chest, and in the process he accidental tossed his golf club out of reach. It was difficult to hear Christopher cries for help from all the ringing in their ears, but they heard nonetheless. Ryan, and Captain Lake were on it while Alex, Lisa, and now Rose wielding her husband's gold club went back to the offensive.
"Lisa finish the first one, you, and me let's shut that bitch up" Alex ordered as he switched to his Pulaski Axe.
"With pleasure" Rose said.
Lisa was ready to strike, but the Screamer had already started by swinging it's left arm across. Lisa ducked just in time, then retaliated with a swift slice just above the pelvis, then a second upward slice cutting at the center of it's chest. Lisa jumped back just as the Screamer was ready to club her head in.
"Don't any of you have a loaded gun?" Lisa called out to the witnessing party.
"I was wondering when you were gonna ask that" Douglas remarked as he pulled out his pistol, and fired several shots into the Screamer.
"W-watch it! You almost shot me" Lisa called out.
"Heh, good thing it wasn't Eric, or Tina shooting then" George said.
The Screamer had finally succumb to it's wounds, and collapsed back first on the floor twitching desperately in a vain attempt to fight for it's life. Lisa ended it's misery fairly quickly with a Katana to the heart, immediately halting all it's movements.
Rose swung at it first despite Alex's order to stand back, and wait for an opening. Just as he predicted the Screamer blocked her attack, to parry it with her own swing which it too was blocked by an oncoming Axe in the way. Rose pulled her club out of the way, and roughly jab at the Screamer's face hitting it's left eye socket. It lurched back more angry than in pain, but that was quickly changed after Alex had hacked a large portion of it's chest with his Axe. It quickly jumped back, the axe leaving it's body, but blood quickly gushed out from the opening because of this.
"Stand back, I'll end this myself" Alex assured.
"Wait" Rose quickly said.
Rose quickly swung her golf club, and smacked it across the face, the same way her husband did with the first Screamer.
"Okay go" Rose allowed.
Alex switched to his Chrome Hammer pistol, and fired several in it's chest, killing it before it fell.
"That was a lot harder than it should have, someone explain this to me" Alex said.
"They could block!" James cried out as his painful, painful wounds were being treated.
"They scream like nothing I've ever heard, it felt as if everything in my body froze up, it was hard enough just trying to move my arms, and hands to cover my ears." Rose said.
"They still die from bullets!" Wheeler assured.
"And now they are turning into hot ash, and vanishing without leaving a trace, nor a drop of blood" Douglas revealed.
"Great, it seems like when we're bunched up together like this, fights are still going to be difficult, and shooting at everything knowing we have to share our ammo would just deplete our resources faster." Alex said.
"Well it seems clear now, we can keep going, but let's keep our guard up. Elle said.
"Looks like someone is inexperienced, don't worry though I can give you pointers" George said.
"Pointers huh? Don't take it the wrong way, but you don't look like the one in the group who has any sort of advice" Christopher said.
"No, he has some merits, for example he can show you how to bring your voice to a higher pitch so that you sound more like a girl when you scream for help. He could also teach you a faster way of cleaning your pants after you pissed yourself in fear" Murphy said.
"That's enough you two we need to get along, or at least put up with eachother, and witty banters like that won't help much" Eric said.
"Yeah let's save for the after party we're going to have after we leave" Heather said.
"I made no such arrangements" Harry argued.
"...Then guess what you'll be planning for the next couple of hours we'll be stuck here" Heather hinted.
They continued walking, yet it was all, but awkward silence walking.
"Seeing you guys fight like that, didn't any of you learn to block?" Murphy asked.
"Hey we block...sometimes" James defended.
"Blocking is for sissies" Henry implored.
"I find that jumping, and side stepping to the side works just as well, but we have been implementing blocking in our fights recently" Alex said.
"Oh god! Dead body!" Rose realized.
Sure enough, along the boardwalk, but not entirely in their way they saw a body of a man clearly dead.
"...This is gonna sound strange, but this is definitely a fresh kill, it seems as is we were too late to help" Douglas realized.
"Just how recent? I want to know the accurate time before I should start feeling bad for not helping" Heather asked.
"Maybe two, five hours tops, he's been dead before we arrived here" Douglas said.
"Well that's a load of guilt of my mind" Heather said.
"Look at his clothing, he kind of looks like a convict?" Eileen realized.
"Hey yeah! That's not a normal jumpsuit. Actually it kind of resembles the jumpsuit you were wearing when we met you" Jessie said.
"That's the second person we saw with a matching jumpsuit, how many were you carpooling for?" Ryan asked.
"Well I...look it's not important" Murphy said.
"Human lives are not important?" George asked.
"Shut it, just listen to me. It's kind of hard to explain, especially with a cop here, no offense" Murphy said.
"Just keep going" Wheeler urged.
"Oh my god! Don't tell me" Tina said realizing something.
"L-look I'm not a bad person, you got to believe me! I want to get out of here as much as you guys do, just please help me out" Murphy practically pleaded.
"You were driving under the influence weren't you" Tina declared.
"W-what?" Murphy said
"Drinking while driving through these streets? I bet you were also suppose to be the designated driver too" George scolded.
"...I-I don't know what to say..." Murphy said in all honesty.
"Well this explains everything, but you could have told us sooner we wouldn't have cared" Ryan said.
"I suppose I can ignore that for just this one special occasion, but let that be a lesson to you. If you drink, and drive. You'll either die, wind up in Silent Hill...or physically handicapped for years to come, maybe even for life." Wheeler warned.
"I'll be more careful?" Murphy answered.
"You don't sound too sincere, but I guess that will have to do for now" Wheeler said.
"There's a large sign here" Hanna noticed.
They turned away from the body to look at Hanna's discovery, which wasn't at all hidden, just unimportant.
"It's one of those snippets of information about the area these tourist hot-spots are full of...This one seems to be about the birth of this minor landmark" Douglas said.
"Let's see... made from two hundred million year old rocks that got shot up by some geological event, and became a mountain...then the mountain itself was eroded away from millions of years of rain, wind, and frost, apparently this wasn't the first time that happened...eventually sunk like Atlantis from an inland, then it elevated again into a high plateau, and the sea floor became the surface while ancient rocks stuck to the floor." Murphy skimmed.
"...I'm a little lost, how did it all that make it into a giant hole again?" George asked.
"I'm not reading it again, so just try to make sense of it on your own time" Murphy said as they continued walking.
"Hey look another binocular, Murphy can you spare some change?" James said.
"You want to get scared a second time?" Murphy asked puzzled.
"No, but...Henry! Why don't you give it a shot" James invited.
"Sure why not" Henry dully said
Murphy handed over some change to Henry who placed it in the coin slot, and peered through the binoculars.
"Hm~ nothing happening..." Henry began, then he pointed the binoculars down. "Nothing happening...still nothing happening" Henry said.
"No way, let me see that" James argued.
Henry moved out of the way to let James look inside.
"Well then let's see what's-oh my god!" James suddenly shouted moving away from the binoculars as quickly as possible.
"W-what's wrong?" Maria asked.
"Henry lied to me! Everything was happening!" James cried out.
"Yeah~ hehe...there goes my prank for the day" Henry said.
"*Giggle* ah~ suffering of others" Alessa said.
"I hope James will be alright" Alessa said.
Walking only several feet they came upon another anomaly at the edge of the Vista.
"Look at all those flowers by the edge" Hanna pointed out.
"Why did they put so many pretty flowers there?" Emilie asked.
"Ah~ what to say to that" Murphy said.
"It's a...token of respect to someone who's not with us anymore. They put the flowers here because this was the last place they were seen in" Tina explained.
"Or it could simply mean that it was their favorite place, or people wanted others to remember those who have passed away here." Angela added.
"What could have possibly happen here for people to actually die here?" George wondered out loud.
"I've never seen something like that on this town...this place is the closest thing to normal around here. What with the sun actually making us feel warm, and full of life, the lack of fog shrouding our view, and how everything feels natural. Even if it's just a giant hole in the ground, it's a natural hole" Heather said.
"Kind of boring after a while isn't it?" Cynthia said.
"Yeah, no it's still pretty creepy. It lures you into a false sense of security, and then it gets you when your guard is down." Eileen said.
"Yeah it's like a raisin cookie, you think it's chocolate until you take that first bite...then your scared for life" James said.
"That's not how I would put it, but you're right." Murphy said.
After having their fill of them little memorial site, they descended down the stairs looking at what appears to be very solid, and safe rock ground. At least it would have been seen like that if a sudden rock-slide hadn't just happened as soon as the got close to it.
"Guys I'm starting to think that maybe the environment is out to get us" Ryan said.
"Come on it missed us by quite a lot. You'd think if that were true it would be a little more accurate" Alex insisted.
"...Nothing's happening, I think it's safe to keep going" Maria said.
"Why don't you lead the way to make sure" Angela insisted.
"N-no way!" Maria hesitated.
Murphy continued walking, the rest of the team following close behind eventually coming across a very old, rickety, wooden bridge bridge, and a fun fact board about the place next to it.
"Another fun fact...The waterfall over there is called Bat's Lament Falls, remember that" Cynthia started things off. "Named after rare bats called weepings bats that live in caves, as if that's special...named like that because people saw them cry weird liquid that was sure as hell not tears. Look at this! The dumb natives actually thought that they cried because they were sad because they were stuck in a cave. Oh this last part says that they are very aggressive, and will attack on sight, but they have never been seen attacking people, so I think we're good" Cynthia finished reading.
"That's great, now if it could somehow get us across this suicidal bridge, then that will be swell" George said.
"Come on, it doesn't look...well at least it's still holding" Eileen said.
"You're welcome to try first" George dared.
"You're welcome to get a hole in your head, and be our dead weight when we toss you at the bridge to see if it'll hold" Henry dully said.
"I'm gonna go! Just to show you cowards it's not bad!" Alessa said
"You're just saying that because you're really light" Rose said
Alessa ignored her, and casually walked along the wooden bridge, occasional hearing some snaps, but she crossed over just fine.
"See! It's not so bad chickens!" Alessa teased.
"I'll show you who's chicken!" Laura exclaimed as she went running across the bridge after Alessa.
She crossed the bridge, and tackled Alessa with relative ease. The two began to wrestle with each other again, and it wasn't very friendly either.
"Hey you two quit bickering!" Rose called out as she crossed the bridge after them.
"R-rose wait!" Christopher called out following closely behind her, and with Sharon with him holding his hand.
The three made it across without a hitch.
"...I guess it's just for looks?" Cynthia figured.
"Maybe..." Maria said.
Both Maria, and Cynthia carefully crossed the bridge toegether. Despite the constant shaking, the bridge withstood them, and they made it across.
"It's okay guys! Just a fake broken down bridge, not a real one" Maria assured.
Henry shrugged, and crossed the bridge as casually as walking down a street, while whistling a merry tune.
Following his example, George attempted to do the same thing, but halfway through an extra hard shake caused him to scream like a girl, and had to be helped the rest of the way across by Eric, and Alex.
"Only I can make that look good" Henry reminded.
Eileen, Heather, Cybil, Tina, Elle, and Lisa crossed together while grasping each other's hands. Sure they may have tempted fate by going at it all at once, but they were very confident in their bodies, and there was no way the bridge would give under such light pressures...which it didn't.
"I think we should cross this bridge sooner rather than later" Alex whispered.
"Agreed" Wheeler said.
Alex, and Wheeler were up next, and although George was taking bets with himself over how long it would take for the bridge to collapse under both their weight. It did not however, and the two men looked down at the pit from the other side.
Maria now regretted going with Cynthia because James, and Angela were next, and using fear as an excuse she clung very closely to James' back the entire time, at one point rubbing herself against him slightly when the bridge shook.
Jessie, Eric, and Emilie crossed next, Emilie lossing her will to go on after looking down despite multiple warnings by the rest of the group to not look down, had to be carried the rest of the way, but was praised for her bravery for not screaming in fright like George.
Douglas, Captain Lake, and Moon were up next, why they decided to raise the danger level by going at it all at once, or everyone before them was a mystery. Regardless they crossed the bridge feeling a huge burden off of them upon crossing. Though it seemed like one person noticed the lethality of it all.
"Guys this is just me talking, but what if, and just follow me on this one, but what if we don't combine our weights by going together all at once, and instead just one at a time?" Murphy suggested.
"Well that would be a good idea...if there weren't thirty of us" Alex said
"Thirty one when we add the cat" Maria added.
"Thirty one, that's too many to cross all at once" Alex said.
"But did you see this bridge!" Murphy said
Ryan, with Alessa, and Little Walter crossed next.
"Looks fine to me" Ryan said.
"This doesn't make any sense..." Murphy muttered
Harry, and Mason went next as if to prove a point.
"Looks are deceiving it seems" Harry said.
"Very..." Mason said looking at Harry.
"Indeed" Alessa said looking at Alessa.
Travis walked alone next, pausing half way to gaze at the waterfall, and then continued without stopping the rest of the way.
"It's all on you now" Travis called out.
"Hm~ I guess it is just a regular bridge..." Murphy said.
Not wanting to be called a coward, or even worse...a George, he began crossing the bridge. To anyone looking at it from a distance, it would seem like such a small trek, but to someone with the guts to actually cross the thing, it felt like a hundred miles. Murphy passed the point of on the bridged which crossed the waterfall, and he felt pretty good about it.
"(Maybe)" he thought, "(maybe it really is just for show, and not some-oh crap!)" The plank under his feet suddenly broke, and at the last minute he clung to the plank he was going to walk on, and to make matters worse, the bridge itself split into two, and he crashed onto the rocky wall where he felt several of his things fall off his pockets.
"Murphy! Hang on!" Alessa shouted over to him.
"Why do you care?" Heather asked.
"Uh! T-that wasn't me, that was her!" Alessa said pointing at Alessa.
"I didn't say anything, but she's right! Hang on Mr. Murphy!" Alessa called out.
"Cross the old wooden bridge they said, it's not gonna break when you cross it they said!" Murphy shouted in anger as he began to climb his way back up.
"We're sorry about that, but even we didn't see that coming" Douglas said,
"Why is that?" Henry said.
"Rigged?" Cynthia suggested.
"No way, you can't rig something that badly wrecked, and expect it to work like a charm" Douglas said.
"What's done is done, but I lost a lot of my stuff almost falling. All I got are some medkits, a lighter, and well...no those are the only things I have left. I didn't even get to use the gun I worked so hard on getting by solving a pointless puzzle" Murphy said.
They walked only several feet to discover that a wooden staircase/bridge was out.
"Well that's just swell, any ideas?" George asked.
"There's a crank there, I bet turning it does something" Murphy pointed.
"I've never seen one of those things here before, so this is where they've been hiding" Henry discovered.
"I don't think they have been hiding anywhere, maybe you just weren't looking hard enough" Murphy said.
Murphy turned the crank, and after a few rotations a metal door ahead of them swung open.
"There's our longer than the main route detour" Rose said.
They crowded the narrow door, entering one by one, coming upon a dank, dark cave with numerous stalactites, and stalagmites blocking their path, but as Murphy the last of the group to entered they saw a boarded up door shaped opening to their right.
"I swear these things are very poor attempts at keeping us out" Alex said grabbing his pulaski axe.
"Anyone gonna grab that pickaxe on the cart?...No? Well then don't mind if I do." Murphy said.
With the combined efforts of Mason, and Alex, they easily broke the wooden planks blocking the path, and continued forward.
"Oh boy this is pretty thin here, better get ready to suck in your stomachs" Murphy said as he was the first to sidle through the narrow opening.
Halfway through Travis muttered something to himself, and tossed his Tire Iron at the center of the slit, just narrowly missing Murphy's ankles. Travis worked his magic causing the walls, and floor to stretched at twice their previous width.
"There that should do it...Murphy can defend my claim when I say that the space has been doubled" Travis said.
"...Yeah it has...I-I kind of want to lie down now..." Murphy said still not use to the sudden change.
Murphy, and the rest of the team walked along the widened path with Travis having to hold the change stayed behind until he walked through it last. Upon removing the Tire Iron from the floor, the walls, and floor returned to their original position, and Travis was left having to sidle the rest of the way. They opened a wooden door, and found themselves in a wide opened space of the cave were several wooden gears, and spinning paddles were either being moved by a single waterfall, or standing motionless.
"Looks like they used the waterfall to bring power into this large mine...interesting" Murphy said
"Interesting indeed, maybe the sign over there could tell us more" Alex said seeing a third fun fact sign next to the elevator.
"Well let's see what it has to say then...When the Gillespie Coal, and Iron company-wait what! Gillespie Coal, and Iron Company!" Harry said.
"You guys own a company...and you didn't let us in on your profits after all we've done?" Maria said.
"I-I'm just as surprised as you are!" Alessa said.
"W-well I'm not! I'm actually quite rich, and I hold a lot of power in this town, you should respect me more now!" Alessa declared.
"Now ain't that cute, she thinks she's big people" Murphy mocked.
"S-shut up! I am!" Alessa quickly argued
"Moving on...established the Devil's Mine Pit in 1816...that's quite a long time" Harry said.
"I'm guessing the company tanked before you were born.
"The Gillespie family went through quite a lot to earn it's industry, so I'm sure it must have taken quite a lot to put it to an end" Alessa said.
"I remember that company now...went out of business after the current owner in my time got into such a drunk stupor that he wound up in the sheriff's office completely naked after urinating in public, chanting songs out loud at night, waking everyone in the process whilst naked, and even destroyed the majority of his own equipment after he found out his wife was cheating on him with just about everyone in town. Needless to say no one took him seriously after that, and just like him, the company went downhill from there. I believe he declared himself bankrupt, and took a last trip on my Steamboat...literally, that was the cruise we never made it back from" Captain Lake declared.
Alessa had no comment.
"Did you just say 'in my time', and that last sentence...I don't understand are you-" Elle began.
"Senile? Yes, yes he is, silly senile grandpa" George quickly said.
"I'm not your grandpa, I'm Eric's grandfather, and I am not senile either." Captain Lake said
"Anyways it seems like Murphy's hunch was right, and apparently this elevator is one of the first of it's kind...but it doesn't seem to be working now" Harry said.
"Well let's make it work then" Murphy said.
"I smell another puzzle" Heather said.
They climbed up the stairs seeing a long crate greeting them silently, and another fun fact sign, much shorter than the others.
"Not much on this one, just describes how the machine works, and we already have the idea." Mason said.
"Let's visualize the situation shall we? I see three wheels, a board with three light bulbs on it, and several wooden canals, one of which is leading the water to a large waterwheel" Eric said.
"Alright I'm gonna need each one of us to man a wheel, while the someone pays attention to that board to see if something changes." Alex said.
Angela took control of the first wheel, Moon handled the second wheel, and Jessie was given the third wheel while Alessa was the supervisor of the whole system.
"Turn that middle wheel first" Alessa commanded.
"You're just suppose to keep an eye out on the board" Moon said.
"...Turn. The middle wheel. First" Alessa repeated with a little more murderous intent.
Moon did so, but nothing happened.
"Other way...imbecile" Alessa said.
Moon changed her turning from clockwise to counter-clockwise, and the wooden canal in front of her began to drop, just below a second canal to the right.
"There we go!" Alessa said satisfied with progress.
"I suppose that would help if this canal was connected with the rest" Angela commented.
"I was getting to that! Start moving that canal over to these!" Alessa ordered
Angela did so, turning the wheel counter-clockwise so that the canal was motioned towards the waterfall. The water trailed through both canals, and fell on the other side hitting nothing.
"Good word Alessa, nothing happened" Angela said.
"Also a random wooden door with no knob just fell where we came from" Wheeler stated.
"You're the one who gave the subordinates!" Alessa said.
"Maybe we could do something to keep the door from closing?" Heather said.
"We need to open it first" James stated.
Angela move the canal back where it was, the water returning to move the waterwheel below it. The wooden barricade rising back allowing them access.
"So this thing can only power one thing at a time? And it takes a giant freaking waterwheel for it to work!" George said.
"It wasn't exactly the golden years of super science George. I'm impressed they even got the things to work" Eric said.
"So back to the door problem, how are we gonna keep it open?" Murphy asked.
"You see that wooden crate over there?" Alex said.
"Why does everything have to be made of wood here?" George complained.
"Okay I see where you're getting at, I'll just pull it towards where the wooden barricade falls, and it should keep it in place" Murphy said.
"Kind of a hassle, but yes" Alex said.
Murphy walked over to the crate admiring the woodwork for only a split second before grabbing it, and pulling it.
"Okay we need it to be at the middle of it, so move it a little to closer to my side" Alex instructed.
Murphy did so.
"No, no that's too far push it slightly forward" Alex said.
"How about here?" Murphy asked.
"A little to the left" George said.
"How will that help?" Murphy complained.
"Wait, wait stop, that's good" Alex said.
Murphy did so.
"Okay go ahead!" Alex said.
"Do it!" Alessa ordered.
"Why did I volunteer for this?" Angela said.
"You never volunteered" Maria reminded.
Angela did so, the water now traveling towards nothing wasting everything. The wooden came down soon after, but the crate stopped it from reaching the floor.
"Is it secure?" Tina asked.
"I'm sure everything will be fine" Eric said.
"But the water isn't doing anything helpful" Christopher said.
"That's because someone isn't doing anything" Alessa said.
"Oh that's my cue?" Jessie said.
She began turning the wheel, and the canal obeyed leading the water to a second waterwheel.
"look, look the light changed from power to pumps!" Alessa said performing her job perfectly.
"I saw another slit we can squeeze through on the way over here, maybe there's something on the other side? Who knows it might have something to do with the pumps" Murphy said.
"That's a good eye, you could check it out if you want, but take some of us with you for some added protection" Alex said.
"Well I don't see the point, it could lead to a dead end, but I suppose some of you can come with me.
"Me, and Christopher would love to go!" Rose volunteered.
"Um~ honey, can I have my golf club back?" Christopher asked
"Maybe later" Rose said.
"I'll take one more...one with a effective weapon please" Murphy said.
"Sure I'll volunteer" Heather said.
"...Well okay then I guess you three can come, wait for us downstairs, or something, and see if you can get the elevator to work." Murphy said.
"We're just about to do that actually. Jessie go move the canal further to the left" Alessa ordered.
Jessie wordlessly did so, and the water fell on a third waterwheel causing it to spin like all the others.
"The light changed from pumps to elevator!" Alessa called out.
"Okay, so you guys wait for us then" Murphy said as his non chosen crew members left for the crack in the wall with the rest of the team following until they squeeze through it.
Murphy, Heather, Christopher, and Rose found themselves in a small portion of the cave, looking on ahead they saw where the water had once flooded the area, but now just reaching above their ankles.
"H-hey look!" Rose said pointing at a body floating in the water.
"It looks like those things you've fought before" Heather said.
"It must have drowned, or something, but I don't want to get too close, and find out, let's just keep exploring, and go" Murphy said.
"Right with you" Christopher said.
A little further through the water they saw a dead end with some spoils on the floor.
"Huh, is that it? Some ammo, and a med-kit?" Heather said.
"Here I was expecting some sort of key, or a second gun, or something. Still better than nothing I suppose" Murphy said.
They grabbed the stuff, turned around, and headed back, but before passing even making a right turn, the body in the water suddenly rose up back to life with a angry hiss.
"C-crap! How did I not see that coming!" Heather said.
"Just whack before it screams!" Christopher exclaimed.
Rose took the lead clubbing it across the head with her gold club, and quickly moving away from it as Murphy planted a strike on it's chest stabbing it. Then came Heather who swung her Maul to the side almost hitting Murphy as he pulled his weapon out of it, but the slow swing gave it time to react to it, and the Screamer blocked it. Heather was unable to retaliate fast enough with such a slow weapon, but she didn't have to because Rose came to the rescue before the Screamer was about to lash out at her. She struck it hard on it's spine causing the club to bend slightly, and then Murphy came along, and did the same, bringing it kneeling on the water. Then Heather came along, and planted her heavy spiked ball, on top of it's skull, and after that the Screamer remained motionless once again. To confirm their victory, the Screamer began to disintegrate into burning hot ash, despite being in the water, but at least to make it real, hot steam, and boiling bubbles erupted from the corpse. With a satisfiying victory the four retreated back to the main party to discuss the bounty they had collected.
"I heard a lot of commotion, I assume it was worth it?" Alex asked.
"I got some ammo" Heather said.
"I got a med-kit" Murphy said.
"I got to club a bad guy again." Rose
"I got a rock...figured I could throw it at the next thing that interferes with us" Christopher said.
"Well fair enough we got the elevator working, and Travis had just did his little trick on it so it should fit all of us." Elle said.
"For some reason I don't feel a sense of accomplishment though" Travis dully said.
"...Anyways we're all ready, now let's get out of here" Cynthia said.
"Are we already done with this place?" Murphy said checking back on his map.
"No, no there's still more to go, but at least we covered the first half" Elle said.
"Alright let's leave." Murphy said.
Everyone entered the newly spaced elevator, in which Alessa pushed the button starting their descent.
"Hey quick question, have any of you ever been on an elevator like this?" Murphy asked.
"Not this wretched, but yeah" Heather said.
"Anything bad happened during your ride?" Murphy asked.
"I had to stand through an annoying game show host, but that's about it" James said.
"So I guess it's safe to say that this is gonna end perfectly fine" Murphy said.
"Well there's a first time for everything" George said.
Almost as if on cue, the lights flickered off, and the elevator abruptly stopped with a rough shake. Everyone had just enough time to stare angrily at George until the elevator started free falling down. Everyone screaming in a panic, holding loved ones, and even annoying ones as tightly as they could as if it would be their last. Then the elevator reached the floor with a loud crash, everyone in some sort of pain, and piled on top of another in their worst dog pile since their trip began. They groaned as the stinging pain had yet to subside while some of the weaker folk were unconscious, all in all, they were not ready to go on, and decided for themselves that waiting for the pain to stop would be best before moving on.
End of Chapter
I bet by now everyone loves George, and would vote him as their instant favorite character. Less importantly, I'm glad you've gone this far into reading this, I guess that means you'll go further, all the way to the several ends. I guess that means that I'll go further too, and provide. Thank you for your reviews, support, and patience!
