PROLOGUE
It's so fucking cold out here, I thought as I made my way down the winding road. The land before me was almost pitch-black, lit only by the headlights of my rental car. Frost began to cover the windshields, growing and growing until the glass was opaque. I pressed my foot on the brake until the car reached zero miles per hour. As I was about to put the gear stick on P, the windshield cleared. Something was now easily visible in front of me.
A tall chain link fence with a rusted sign hanging sideways. It swayed gently with the breeze. I craned my head to read what it said.
NO PUBLIC ACCESS BEYOND THIS POINT.
My GPS clearly showed that this was the way to go, but I wasn't about to ram the fence down with my car. I parked the vehicle, turned it off, and stepped out - taking the GPS with me. The fence no longer seemed as intimidating. A few seconds of climbing was all it took to get to the other side.
I walked, following the route set by my GPS. The road here was heavily forested on either side, likely abandoned by the government after the fire that ravaged the town. No point in fixing what's not going to be used.
The longer I followed the road, the denser the air seemed to get. A fog seemed to be blanketing the area ahead of me, but I kept moving. The wind picked up with a loud bellow. Trees on either side of me began to shake and tremble. My brown hair - which had been assembled neatly into a ducktail - was made a mess by the wind. I had now stepped into the fog. It brought with it a sudden change in atmosphere. In here something seemed to weigh down on my shoulders, while at the same time pulling me in.
A panic rushed over every nerve in my body. All instincts told me to flee. But I couldn't. I ventured into the unknown.
Large, dark shapes loomed in the horizon. The fog made them indiscernible to the naked eye. They seemed to disappear and then reappear. The more I observed them, the more I wondered if my paranoia was getting the better of me. My pace picked up. A shill ran down my neck, I made a rushed three-sixty degree turn only to see nothing. Yet I felt something followed me.
I kept walking forward, looking back every once in a while just in case.
There was a series of unsettling noises, several clicks, cracks, and gurgles. I stopped in my tracks Looking around, I noticed nothing. The sound could've come from anywhere.
My eyes struggled to see through the fog. I wanted to go back the way I came, to move as quickly as humanly possible and get the hell out of here, but I couldn't, no... I wouldn't. I'd gone too far already.
The sounds continued, getting closer as I walked. They came from every direction, bombarding my every sense. I walked, then jogged, then ran as the source of the sound felt like was shouting them directly into my ear. In an abrupt instant, they ceased. I clutched my head, it ached and throbbed. While taking a moment to breathe, my eyes were drawn upwards towards a dilapidated sign on the side of the road, almost of their own volition. What it read frightened me more than anything else so far.
WELCOME TO SILENT HILL
And scrawled crudely underneath that in a bright, red tincture:
HOME SWEET HOME
CHAPTER 1
The screen of my GPS turned to static and white noise immediately as I stepped next to the welcome sign. I slapped it a few times, to see if it would work again, but to no avail. This place was getting more bizarre by the second.
Out of curiosity, and some desperation, I plunged into the town - towards the black, boxy silhouettes before me. It soon became apparent that they were no more dangerous than a legless house cat, they were simply buildings. The nearest one, a diner, was my destination. Then it came, sweeping me backwards like a tidal wave. A horrendously loud emergency horn made its way throughout the area. The pain in my ears was unbearable.
Blood trickled down from either one.
My eyes closed, and I gave in to the sound. For a moment I felt nothing, until I woke. Everything had changed drastically. Any piece of metal was now turned to rust, there was no fog just impenetrable darkness, and strange roars came from afar. In fact, it seemed unlikely that I was in the same place as before. What the hell...? was the only thought that passed through my mind. My hand dove into my left pocket, taking out my phone. I turned on the flashlight and aimed it to my front, I could see little, but at least I could see.
Walking was no easy task, as for some reason I felt much more slow and sluggish. Using my phone to light up my surroundings, I realized that I definitely was not in the same place. This narrow corridor was unlike anything I'd ever seen. The walls were covered in what seemed to be... dried blood, what it had come from was anybody's guess. Massive holes in some sections of wall revealed nothing but pitch black, even with my phone to illuminate the interiors. I continued on, finally reaching the corridor's end. It was a simple, surprisingly clean door. Nothing strange about it, just a wooden door with a bronze knob. I opened it, and walked in.
But I didn't walk in. I fell in.
There was no room after the door, apparently, only a chasm. After a short fall I landed on something soft, and wet. My phone landed a few feet away from me, pointed up. I crawled to it. My hand would every so often touch something wrinkly, hairy, or otherwise unpleasant. With my only source of light now finally in my reach, I grabbed it like an alcoholic running back to the bottle after a dry spell. I shone it down, to see what I had been crawling on. It was hundreds of pale-white bodies piled on top of each other. Many were dismembered or disfigured by injuries, but some seemed completely untouched. Fear-laced tears welled in my eyes, and vomit built up in the back of my throat, and needless to say: I was able to hold in neither.
I tried my best to stand, slipping several times on the bloodied cadavers underneath me. Finally able to balance myself on the corpses, I searched around the pit with my light, trying to find a way out. There was a strange door on the farthest side of the pit. Completely swallowed by rust, its shape was barely discernible as it blended in with everything else, but it had the appearance of a submarine door due to the valve that protruded from its center. I made my way to the door, guided by the cone of light emanating from my phone.
My arrival at it came with a panic, as something growled behind me. I didn't dare to look, but there was suddenly the noise of moist footsteps. They came quickly as I tried twisting the valve on the door, but the rust made it supremely difficult. I gave it all I had, taking a chance to look back but realizing I had sheathed my phone to grab the valve with both hands. On what must have been the fifth twist with all my might, the door creaked, and the valve gave way. It twisted open furiously by itself, sending me down against the bodies. I spit out as a ball of wet hair entered my mouth upon falling. There was no time to feel disgust, though, as the footsteps stopped, followed by something sniffing; Then the footsteps started again, faster. I grabbed my phone and directed it at the source of the sound, revealing something truly monstrous.
A humanoid... thing shielded its eyes from my light, vapor escaping its body as it stepped back. The monster had no skin, instead its insides were fully on display, and two "wings" sprouted from its back. They had no feather, or skin, they were just useless bone hanging from the back of an eyeless creature. Its mouth was shaped like a beak, with many cracks and holes from rot. I kept shining my light at it, unsure of what to do next. The creature fell to its legs, which were completely human except for the lack of skin, and let out a hideous screech of pain. Other creatures, seemingly from above the pit, screeched in response.
It then seemed like the creature started to chuckle wildly, beginning to rip itself apart with its talon-like hands. The flesh on the monster bubbled and popped, sizzling before my own eyes. It exploded, releasing a burst of dark blood across the room. I was soaked by it. Hearing growls and screeches from above, I knew it was my time to go. Running for your life while on top of a mass of corpses is not the easiest thing to do.
After stepping out the door, my entire body went numb and crumpled to the floor. My vision darkened, until I could only see black. I was not unconscious, but not conscious either. It was a strange limbo. The creatures were coming closer, footsteps coming alive all around me in the darkness. Then:
A flash of blinding white light. My vision came back, and I regained control of my body. I was back to where I had been, to this town that so quickly broke my spirit...
CHAPTER 2
The diner was empty, bathed in litter, dust, and broken glass. All four walls were dotted with dried blood. I made my way to an empty booth at the corner of the diner, stepping over a face-down body laying on the floor in the process. Upon sitting down at the booth, it became clear that the cadaver was not dead... at least not entirely.
Turning over dramatically, she rose from the floor like a mummy being awakened after a centuries long slumber. Her frizzy hair was dark grey from the soot that covered it, or perhaps from old age for her face was a twisting maze of wrinkles.
"A youngin huh? We- we don't get a lot of youse around here. Yeah, yeah," She seemed very excited to see me. I was just happy to find someone who wasn't trying to end my life.
"Who are you?" That was my first question, my curiosity having been piqued by... everything.
"I'm, I'm..." She struggled to remember, "Crone, just call me the Crone. I'm old anyways."
Of course someone being unable to remember their own name was extremely strange to me, but considering what I had just seen in that rusted version of this world, she seemed fine- even normal.
"Listen, Crone, no idea how it happened, but after the siren I was transported to a different place. It was nightmarish. There was this creature- a half man, half bird monster- it tried to kill me. It didn't even have eyes."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. A Screecher," Somehow this crazy old hag exuded an aura of wisdom.
"A what?"
"A S-C-R-E-E-C-H-E-R," She said the word slowly, putting emphasis on every letter like she was teaching a child.
"You have any idea why the fuck it exists? Why it didn't have eyes? Why it burned when I shone light on it?
"Oh, no. You stupid, stupid boy. You hurt a Screecher?" Her expression changed from enthusiastic excitement to worry.
"I'm pretty sure I killed it."
"YOU FOOL!" Her shout echoed through the diner, "They'll chase ya now, whenever you're in the Otherworld. Now ya've done it boy, you're as good as dead. So much for a youngin."
"The Otherworld?" Now I was the one who was worried, did I eat some shrooms on the way here?
"Yes, you know not? My, my, my. I really must take you to Sister Christina. She'll have the answers you seek, oh yes you'll see."
"How is a nun going to help me?" My incredulous query caught her off guard.
"First off, she will fuck ya in the arse if ya ever talk to her like that. Second off, she's my daughta, born from the void of my womb. All my knowledges became hers, and she harvested her own from the tree of eternal wisdom! Yes, siree! She has suckled at the teat of the all-knowing!" She spoke like it was a sermon.
"If you say so, Mrs...?"
"Crone. You must call me the Crone. I lost my name as punishment for my sins. Oh blessed be the sister, for she took pity on me. She coulda whipped me like a slave-boy."
"Oookay," I was astounded by her words, it seemed like these people had formed their own culture while in this strange place, "Just take me to the nun so I can be out of here as fast as possible."
"I will take you to Sister Christina," She seemed pissed at my use of the word nun, "and please, don't ya embarrass me."
"Wouldn't dream on it," I couldn't help but chuckle.
She sped-walk out of the diner, assuming that I would immediately follow. I ran after her, walking down the street behind her. The Crone stopped in the middle of the road, turned her face sideways to look at me, and grinned maliciously.
"If the sirens come, you're on your own," She paused for a moment, "Boy."
CHAPTER 3
After a twenty minute trek across the foggy, and ironically loud, town of Silent Hill - we arrived at a church. It looked like a common parish you would find in any other small town. Except for one thing: several dozen crosses scrawled from blood on every wall of the building. Every entrance into the church had been boarded up, minus the front door that is. The Crone froze in front of said door and closed her eyes. She muttered a simple prayer in an almost robotic manner before entering, and calling me inside.
The pews on either side of the carpeted line that led to the Father's podium were mostly empty. Only three nuns on one side and an elderly man in the other.
"Sit with Joachim, I'll fetch Sister Christina. She'll instruct ya, oh yes," her eyes rolled into the back of head orgasmically, "she'll instruct ya most nicely."
My assumption was that she was referring to the senior citizen, as it could easily be doubted that any of the nuns would be named Joachim. The old man looked up at me in disgust when I sat down next to him.
"Who are you?" Joachim had asked waspishly.
"Your worst nightmare," I rolled my eyes when he seemed to take my words seriously. "You could say I'm a tourist. Just a tourist waiting for his tour guide. Christina, I think her name is."
"That's Sister Christina to you!" He bounced up with a furious anger, "You blasphemer!" Joachim was now stomping his feet on the wooden floor, murder in his beady eyes.
"Woah, man, Calm down"
"Don't tell me to calm down, pretty boy!"
"I don't swing that way."
"Why- I- I'll send you to hell with the rest of your ancestors!" The old man threw himself on me, sending me to the ground. He tried to grab my neck, but I kicked him off my body and against the back of a pew. He was about to lunge again when he looked up, eyes wide.
"Sister... Oh Sister, I'm so sorry, It's just that he... He insulted you! He insulted our holy daughter!"
I turned my head to see a shapely blonde in a nun's habit, though missing the headdress. Her face was very sharp, and in all honestly, intimidating. She stood over us like a stalwart hawk ready to attack.
"Please do not attack my mother's guest. What does it matter if I am insulted, as long as god is not?"
"But"-
"If you hold me in as high regard as you do god, though flattered I am, then you are the blasphemer," She smiled sweetly, and offered Joachim her hand. I was simply stuck watching the moment unfold.
Joachim took her hand, and stood.
"I am sorry, Sister," He became tranquil, passive. Sister Christina embraced him. I saw her hand move swiftly down to her pants, and then make contact with Joachim's abdomen. The old man staggered back, an ornate dagger stuck into his stomach. Blood spewed from the wound. Christina smiled again.
"We will take no forgiveness. We will take no sinners," She chanted.
"We will take no forgiveness. We will take no sinners," The other nuns repeated after her.
Joachim collapsed. Drool dropped from his mouth unto the formerly clean floor. His eyes were wide open with shock. The Sister then offered her hand to me.
"Hello, I hear you're new? We don't get many strangers around here. I hope you don't mind my help, or the mess Joachim made - he can be a handful," She chuckled, "Well, could is more accurate now."
What. The. Fuck.
I was unsure whether to take her hand or beg for mercy.
"I can see you're worried," She grabbed my hand, no longer petitioning for it. "You don't have any need to be scared of me. Any friend of my mother is a friend of mine."
Since when was I friends with her mother?
Christina pulled me up and led me down the carpeted line to the podium. From there she opened a side door with a black key, and showed me in. The shroud of darkness would soon be revealed.
TO BE CONTINUED...