******
(DISCLAIMER: All characters and locations depicted are property of Konami. I am not attempting to infringe in any way at all. This fic is seen from Officer Cybil Bennett's point of view, as she makes her way through the sewers of Silent Hill to get to the amusement park, just before she is attacked. By the way, I know you never actually see Cybil with a pocket torch in the game, but I am putting one in this fic. I mean, how could she find her way through the darkness without one? Exactly.)
******
As I make my way across the rusted metal grating that was a road at one point, several thoughts come into my mind. Why? Why is this happening? What is making this happen? I have pondered over Harry's and Dahlia's words time and again, and yet I can't make any sense of it. I long to understand what is going on, but then I am not the only one. Harry is just as clueless as I am, and, I hate to admit, as afraid as I am. Never before have I actually admitted that I'm afraid of what is going on. Then again, who wouldn't be? This whole town is crazy. It seems completely unreal. I think about what Harry told me earlier on in the boat.
"It's not me.... this whole town.... it's being invaded by the Otherworld. By a world of someone's nightmarish delusions come to life."
At first, I was unwilling to believe him. Hell, I thought he was totally losing it. I have never believed in the supernatural and bullshit like that. I always believed that there was a logical explanation for everything. But now, I'm not so sure. I'm beginning to believe Harry. Hell, I certainly don't have any fucking logical explanations for this!
Well, sure, I was unbelieving when Harry first mentioned this "Otherworld", back in that antique shop.
"Everything's dark there, and I hear sirens in the distance."
Then he went on to mention that it was almost like some type of hallucination. At first, I thought this to be possible. I haven't seen anything that he has described - at least, not until now. All this rusted metal, the dead trees, the rain, the burnt buildings.... I couldn't see any of this until about fifteen minutes ago. I seem to recall finishing off one of those vicious flying monsters when the 'change' occurred. It was like a wave, a wave of blood-encrusted metal sweeping the tarmac.
I can't be certain, but I am guessing that this is the "Otherworld". But.... why couldn't I see it before?
What if Harry was somehow the only one who experienced this "Otherworld"?
No, that's ridiculous. It couldn't possibly be anything like that.
....Could it?
Jesus, I'm starting to confuse myself.
Well, I suppose Harry has found more clues than me. After all, his daughter has gone missing. He has no doubt searched endlessly. He said that Cheryl was under whoever created this darkness. Someone, or something, is trying to take his daughter. But.... why?
And then there's Dahlia. Geez, she is one crazy bitch. What's all this about a demon swallowing up the land? The woman seemed just as afraid as the rest of us, and she seems to be trying to help Harry to locate Cheryl.... before she becomes a sacrifice....? What is she talking about?! It doesn't make any sense to me. First someone's nightmares becoming reality, then talk about a demon. But.... there's something about that woman that bothers me. I'm not sure what it is, but I certainly wouldn't trust her as far as I could throw her.
I shake my head as I realise that these thoughts are beginning to distract me. I wish to God that I knew what the fuck is going on, I really do, but I've got plenty of time for theories later. I have to find that amusement park. Cheryl could be there.... and if she is, I must rescue her and return to Harry. I promised him. I'm getting nearer to the park anyway....
I continue until I reach a dead end in the road. Puzzled, I wander to the edge of the deep pit and gaze down. All I see is blackness. However, a few feet down I notice that there are large white plastic carousel horses, all lined up in a row. Still puzzled, I take out the map of the town and glance at it. Sure enough, I am right in front of the entrance to the amusement park.
I growl to myself as I realise that yet another part of the fucking road has given way. Not again!! It's always when I really need to get somewhere and then my Goddamn route is blocked. Great. Just fucking great. How in the hell am I supposed to get to the amusement park now?! I angrily glare at the deep ravine, and my eyes fall on the dirty white horses. It's almost as if they've been put there to mock me.
Groaning in frustration, I again glance at the map, trying to find another possible way into the park. I scan my eyes over the map area near the park. Nothing. I growl again. I am just about to give up, when I spot a dark square on the map. It is a few metres behind me. Hmmm, what's this?
Putting away my map, I turn around and keep to my left, walking slowly until I reach a fenced off area. Looking through the fence, I can see a dark green manhole cover.... and a dog. Shit. Not one of those skinless freaks again. Fortunately, it is asleep. I see the monster twitch in its sleep, as if its having a nightmare.
Thing is, can a nightmare have a nightmare?
I shake away this thought and slowly reach for the metal gate and give the large, broken padlock a gentle tug. To my relief, it budges. Thank God. For a moment, I was worried that it might have rusted shut. Smiling, I pull the gate further. It makes a high pitched squeak that sets the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. The sound is so loud, in fact, that it awakens the dog. To my horror, the hideous hound slowly rises to all fours, snarling at me.
SHIT!!
I quickly back away from the gate and draw my gun. I aim at the snarling, drooling beast and fire. The bullet catches the mutt right in the chest. It falls back, whimpering pathetically. But it isn't down for long. Just as I expected, the dog rises again after a couple seconds. Little bastard. I narrow my eyes and aim the gun right at the dog's head. The dog stares right at me with its soulless eyes, a long string of spittle dribbling from its mouth. It bears its sharp teeth as it lunges at me. I calmly let off one shot. The bullet hits directly in between the mutt's eyes. The dog lets out a pain laced yelp and flies backwards, blood spraying from the bullet wound. I wait cautiously, just in case the animal decides to rise again. A few seconds pass. The dog makes no sound.
I cautiously go through the gate and approach the animal. I gingerly give the body a nudge with my foot. To my relief, it is dead. I glance at the creature's head, and to my disgust I see its brains leaking from its skull. To be honest, I feel a little disturbed by this. Yeah, sure, I've killed these creatures before, many of them in fact, but I've never actually blown their brains out before....
Shaking my head to clear the thought, I move away from the animal's corpse and approach the manhole cover. Without any further ado, I pull the cover away, revealing a deep hole in the ground, with a thin metal ladder leading down.
I realise that this must lead down into the sewers. Could I get to the amusement park through here?
I know it's risky, but there's only one way to find out. After loading my handgun, I take a deep breath and lower my legs down the hole, my feet finding the rungs of the rusty ladder. Thank God, the ladder isn't slippery. Lowering myself further, I grip onto the ladder and begin to descend into the darkness.
Darkness again. As if it could get any darker. The blackness is so choking out there, I can practically feel myself suffocating.
When I finally reach the bottom of the ladder, I realise to my dismay that it is a hell of a lot darker down here than it is outside. Fucking great. The blackness is so thick I feel as though I could touch it. All around me, I can hear the steady drip, drip, drip of water. I feel as though I'm in some kind of old horror movie.
Glancing down, I notice that, in the centre of the floor, there is some kind of weird symbol. Puzzled, I bend down to observe it more closely. I have seen this symbol before. What does it mean? I remember the demon that Dahlia was talking about. Could this be.... some type of demonic symbol? I know it's a creepy thought, perhaps even a little crazy, but with all that's been going on recently in this town, everything seems crazy.
Adjusting the light on my pocket torch, I glance around again. In front of me is a long, dark tunnel, seeming to beckon me into the blackness. I shudder as a cold chill creeps up my spine. I turn my head left and, to my delight, there is a map on the wall. Thank God! Now there isn't too much risk of getting lost in this hellhole. I walk up to the wall and take the map. I am about to put it in my trouser pocket when I pause.
What if Harry should come down here? I doubt that he will, but he's more than likely to get lost. Should I leave the map for him?
After a bit of soul searching, I decide to stick the map back on the wall again. I know I'll probably get lost, but then I have had more fighting experience than Harry. I am a cop, after all. If I get into a difficult situation, I can always get out of it. I have plenty of ammunition....
I take a deep breath and begin to walk through the long tunnel. As I walk, I feel the blackness enveloping me, almost trying to stop me going anywhere. I stop walking for a moment and glance around again. The darkness is beginning to disturb me. It's so black it's scary.
I shake my head again. Stop it now, Cybil. I've never been frightened of the dark, and I don't intend to start fearing it now. There are probably worse things down here, and I sure don't wanna stick around to find out what they are. Pulling my gun from its holster, I continue walking. The tunnel seems to stretch on for ages. After I have walked for a couple of minutes, I break into a jog. The sound of my boots hitting the floor echoes off of every wall, making that atmosphere eerier than usual.
A sudden sound makes me skid to a halt, startled. I glance around, trying to figure out where it came from. I hear the sound again, and I listen. It's kind of like a loud wailing sound, echoing through the sewers. I realise that I can't detect the sound, as it's everywhere. I don't know what in the hell it is, but I'm not staying around long enough to find out. Hell, it could even be the wind. The wind can make wailing sounds like that, and I am in the sewers, after all. Still, like I said before, I am not gonna stay here to find out. It could be anything.
I continue to jog. The same old boring, dirty green walls seem to fly by as I jog, making my eyes go a little blurry. Does this tunnel not end?! It's beginning to drive me nuts.
Stopping to lean against a wall, I catch my breath for a while before starting off again. After a couple more minutes, I look ahead to see the end of the tunnel. Even though it is extremely dark, I can clearly see the blackness expanding outwards, and a grubby archway leading out into a larger passageway. I slow down to a walk. That awful wailing sound echoes again. I wish it would stop, it's beginning to unnerve me.
When I reach the end of the tunnel, I poke my head around the left corner. I can't see anything, but I also can't hear any monsters approaching, which is a good sign. Glancing to the right, the blackness expands even further. I shiver as I realise that, not only is it darker down here, it's also a lot colder. A chill creeps through my entire body as a draft sweeps across the cold floor. Wrapping my arms around my body, I stand there for a moment, wondering which direction I ought to take. After a few seconds, I make a decision to go left. I step out into the huge passage and begin to walk left.
After a few minutes, I begin to jog again. I would run, but I don't want to waste my breath should I encounter any monsters. Which I hopefully won't.
I soon cease my jogging as I realise that I've hit a dead end. Fucking fantastic!! Now I've gotta go back and head in the other direction. I just hope to God that it hasn't been blocked off or any shit like that, or I'm pretty screwed. Sighing in annoyance, I turn around and start to walk back the way I came.
I freeze as I hear a noise. Stiffening, I listen hard. It seems to be coming from the darkness ahead.
Clickety-click. Clickety-click. Clickety-click.
I gulp as I realise that the sound is getting nearer. I raise my gun at the blackness in front of me, tensed up.
Something is headed my way.
A few seconds pass before I see a strange, abnormal shape approaching slowly. My torch shines off the surface of the shape, and I see that it is green in colour. As it gets closer, I can clearly see the green skin. The glaring, evil eyes. The claws. The teeth.
Oh, SHIT.
This.... thing continues to get closer, approaching on all fours. It opens its mouth, the beam of my torch reflecting off its hideously sharp teeth, and it lets out a terrible, high pitched shriek that hurts my ears and sends a shiver of panic down my spine. I point my trembling gun at its head and fire. The bullet strikes the monster in the chin and it stumbles back, startled. I let off another four shots, but to my horror the creature doesn't die. It just seems a little stunned, and enraged. Shrieking again, it begins to crawl faster towards me.
"No! Get the fuck away from me!" I yell at it, backing away. I fire again, one, two, three shots. The monster seems weakened, but it still keeps crawling. Its awful, razor sharp claws clack against the floor, the chilling sound echoing through the passage.
Refusing to give up, I fire two more shots. This causes the creature to fall back, screaming in pain, to my absolute relief. Collapsing on its back, the creature goes into a series of muscle spasms, writhing around in agony. Blood pours from its bullet wounds as it stops moving.
I slowly approach the creature and stamp on its head, just to make sure that its really dead. My foot crushes the little bastard's skull. I quickly yank my foot back in disgust as I watch the monster's brains dribble onto the cold floor. I'm becoming really aggressive killing these things recently. It's now I realise that it took ten bullets to kill this thing. Ten Goddamned bullets.
Well, one thing's for sure, I really hope I don't come across any more. I can't afford to waste that much ammo, and besides, I may not be able to get away next time....
A chill creeps down my spine at the thought. I shake my head yet again. For God's sakes, stop scaring yourself, Cybil!
Gripping my gun tightly, I begin to run all the way back I came. All the time, my mind keeps wandering back to what Harry has said to me, about this "Otherworld". I ponder his words so many times, and yet it still doesn't make sense to me.
I skid to a halt when I reach the tunnel, which is now to my right. I lean against the wall to catch my breath. I inhale deep gulps of the stale, damp air, before continuing on my way. This passage seems darker than the others, for some reason. After I've been walking for five minutes, I begin to run again, afraid that I might run into one of those awful creatures again.
After a while, I reach a tunnel leading off to my left. I am about to turn the corner and continue, when a strange feeling of dread creeps over me. I'm not sure what it is. It feels like....
Like I'm being watched.
Suddenly, there is a loud THUMP.
I immediately begin looking around in all directions, my torch creating crazy yellow patterns all over the damp, smelly walls. There is nothing here in this passage. I glance into the tunnel, my hands shaking. I hear the sound again, and I stiffen all over, sweat breaking out on my forehead.
The sound was coming from the tunnel.
I don't have a clue why I'm so darn scared. I've never felt this way before, ever. Sure, I've felt fear before, but this.... this is something else. It's a feeling of terror, like something awful is gonna happen....
I carefully put my gun into its holster and begin to creep down the tunnel. I can't hear any clicking or thumping sounds now, but I know there is something down here. And it's lurking, lying in wait....
I can practically hear my heart pounding as I continue down the murky corridor, shaking all over. I want to run, to get the fuck out of here, but my body just isn't doing what my mind's telling me to do. I keep walking.
As I near the end of the corridor, I hear the thump again. So its not in this tunnel.... its in the tunnel beyond. Swallowing hard, and I slowly sidestep left to hug the wall. I carefully and quietly shuffle along, clinging close to the wall, ready to grab my gun if anything happens. The thump sounds again. It's coming from my left.
All of a sudden, the bulb in my torch flickers and dies, leaving me in total darkness.
OhGodohGodohGod....
Trying not to panic, I hug the wall tighter. I am nearly there now. Just a couple of feet to go. The drip, drip, drip of the leaking pipes melds with the sound of my racing heart.
I poke my head around the corner.
Suddenly, I am struck from behind.
I cry out and fall to the ground. The floor comes up to meet me at an alarming rate. Pain shoots through my back, my limbs....
I moan in shock and pain as I drift into unconsciousness and the blackness engulfs me.
******
(DISCLAIMER: All characters and locations depicted are property of Konami. I am not attempting to infringe in any way at all. This fic is seen from Officer Cybil Bennett's point of view, as she makes her way through the sewers of Silent Hill to get to the amusement park, just before she is attacked. By the way, I know you never actually see Cybil with a pocket torch in the game, but I am putting one in this fic. I mean, how could she find her way through the darkness without one? Exactly.)
******
As I make my way across the rusted metal grating that was a road at one point, several thoughts come into my mind. Why? Why is this happening? What is making this happen? I have pondered over Harry's and Dahlia's words time and again, and yet I can't make any sense of it. I long to understand what is going on, but then I am not the only one. Harry is just as clueless as I am, and, I hate to admit, as afraid as I am. Never before have I actually admitted that I'm afraid of what is going on. Then again, who wouldn't be? This whole town is crazy. It seems completely unreal. I think about what Harry told me earlier on in the boat.
"It's not me.... this whole town.... it's being invaded by the Otherworld. By a world of someone's nightmarish delusions come to life."
At first, I was unwilling to believe him. Hell, I thought he was totally losing it. I have never believed in the supernatural and bullshit like that. I always believed that there was a logical explanation for everything. But now, I'm not so sure. I'm beginning to believe Harry. Hell, I certainly don't have any fucking logical explanations for this!
Well, sure, I was unbelieving when Harry first mentioned this "Otherworld", back in that antique shop.
"Everything's dark there, and I hear sirens in the distance."
Then he went on to mention that it was almost like some type of hallucination. At first, I thought this to be possible. I haven't seen anything that he has described - at least, not until now. All this rusted metal, the dead trees, the rain, the burnt buildings.... I couldn't see any of this until about fifteen minutes ago. I seem to recall finishing off one of those vicious flying monsters when the 'change' occurred. It was like a wave, a wave of blood-encrusted metal sweeping the tarmac.
I can't be certain, but I am guessing that this is the "Otherworld". But.... why couldn't I see it before?
What if Harry was somehow the only one who experienced this "Otherworld"?
No, that's ridiculous. It couldn't possibly be anything like that.
....Could it?
Jesus, I'm starting to confuse myself.
Well, I suppose Harry has found more clues than me. After all, his daughter has gone missing. He has no doubt searched endlessly. He said that Cheryl was under whoever created this darkness. Someone, or something, is trying to take his daughter. But.... why?
And then there's Dahlia. Geez, she is one crazy bitch. What's all this about a demon swallowing up the land? The woman seemed just as afraid as the rest of us, and she seems to be trying to help Harry to locate Cheryl.... before she becomes a sacrifice....? What is she talking about?! It doesn't make any sense to me. First someone's nightmares becoming reality, then talk about a demon. But.... there's something about that woman that bothers me. I'm not sure what it is, but I certainly wouldn't trust her as far as I could throw her.
I shake my head as I realise that these thoughts are beginning to distract me. I wish to God that I knew what the fuck is going on, I really do, but I've got plenty of time for theories later. I have to find that amusement park. Cheryl could be there.... and if she is, I must rescue her and return to Harry. I promised him. I'm getting nearer to the park anyway....
I continue until I reach a dead end in the road. Puzzled, I wander to the edge of the deep pit and gaze down. All I see is blackness. However, a few feet down I notice that there are large white plastic carousel horses, all lined up in a row. Still puzzled, I take out the map of the town and glance at it. Sure enough, I am right in front of the entrance to the amusement park.
I growl to myself as I realise that yet another part of the fucking road has given way. Not again!! It's always when I really need to get somewhere and then my Goddamn route is blocked. Great. Just fucking great. How in the hell am I supposed to get to the amusement park now?! I angrily glare at the deep ravine, and my eyes fall on the dirty white horses. It's almost as if they've been put there to mock me.
Groaning in frustration, I again glance at the map, trying to find another possible way into the park. I scan my eyes over the map area near the park. Nothing. I growl again. I am just about to give up, when I spot a dark square on the map. It is a few metres behind me. Hmmm, what's this?
Putting away my map, I turn around and keep to my left, walking slowly until I reach a fenced off area. Looking through the fence, I can see a dark green manhole cover.... and a dog. Shit. Not one of those skinless freaks again. Fortunately, it is asleep. I see the monster twitch in its sleep, as if its having a nightmare.
Thing is, can a nightmare have a nightmare?
I shake away this thought and slowly reach for the metal gate and give the large, broken padlock a gentle tug. To my relief, it budges. Thank God. For a moment, I was worried that it might have rusted shut. Smiling, I pull the gate further. It makes a high pitched squeak that sets the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end. The sound is so loud, in fact, that it awakens the dog. To my horror, the hideous hound slowly rises to all fours, snarling at me.
SHIT!!
I quickly back away from the gate and draw my gun. I aim at the snarling, drooling beast and fire. The bullet catches the mutt right in the chest. It falls back, whimpering pathetically. But it isn't down for long. Just as I expected, the dog rises again after a couple seconds. Little bastard. I narrow my eyes and aim the gun right at the dog's head. The dog stares right at me with its soulless eyes, a long string of spittle dribbling from its mouth. It bears its sharp teeth as it lunges at me. I calmly let off one shot. The bullet hits directly in between the mutt's eyes. The dog lets out a pain laced yelp and flies backwards, blood spraying from the bullet wound. I wait cautiously, just in case the animal decides to rise again. A few seconds pass. The dog makes no sound.
I cautiously go through the gate and approach the animal. I gingerly give the body a nudge with my foot. To my relief, it is dead. I glance at the creature's head, and to my disgust I see its brains leaking from its skull. To be honest, I feel a little disturbed by this. Yeah, sure, I've killed these creatures before, many of them in fact, but I've never actually blown their brains out before....
Shaking my head to clear the thought, I move away from the animal's corpse and approach the manhole cover. Without any further ado, I pull the cover away, revealing a deep hole in the ground, with a thin metal ladder leading down.
I realise that this must lead down into the sewers. Could I get to the amusement park through here?
I know it's risky, but there's only one way to find out. After loading my handgun, I take a deep breath and lower my legs down the hole, my feet finding the rungs of the rusty ladder. Thank God, the ladder isn't slippery. Lowering myself further, I grip onto the ladder and begin to descend into the darkness.
Darkness again. As if it could get any darker. The blackness is so choking out there, I can practically feel myself suffocating.
When I finally reach the bottom of the ladder, I realise to my dismay that it is a hell of a lot darker down here than it is outside. Fucking great. The blackness is so thick I feel as though I could touch it. All around me, I can hear the steady drip, drip, drip of water. I feel as though I'm in some kind of old horror movie.
Glancing down, I notice that, in the centre of the floor, there is some kind of weird symbol. Puzzled, I bend down to observe it more closely. I have seen this symbol before. What does it mean? I remember the demon that Dahlia was talking about. Could this be.... some type of demonic symbol? I know it's a creepy thought, perhaps even a little crazy, but with all that's been going on recently in this town, everything seems crazy.
Adjusting the light on my pocket torch, I glance around again. In front of me is a long, dark tunnel, seeming to beckon me into the blackness. I shudder as a cold chill creeps up my spine. I turn my head left and, to my delight, there is a map on the wall. Thank God! Now there isn't too much risk of getting lost in this hellhole. I walk up to the wall and take the map. I am about to put it in my trouser pocket when I pause.
What if Harry should come down here? I doubt that he will, but he's more than likely to get lost. Should I leave the map for him?
After a bit of soul searching, I decide to stick the map back on the wall again. I know I'll probably get lost, but then I have had more fighting experience than Harry. I am a cop, after all. If I get into a difficult situation, I can always get out of it. I have plenty of ammunition....
I take a deep breath and begin to walk through the long tunnel. As I walk, I feel the blackness enveloping me, almost trying to stop me going anywhere. I stop walking for a moment and glance around again. The darkness is beginning to disturb me. It's so black it's scary.
I shake my head again. Stop it now, Cybil. I've never been frightened of the dark, and I don't intend to start fearing it now. There are probably worse things down here, and I sure don't wanna stick around to find out what they are. Pulling my gun from its holster, I continue walking. The tunnel seems to stretch on for ages. After I have walked for a couple of minutes, I break into a jog. The sound of my boots hitting the floor echoes off of every wall, making that atmosphere eerier than usual.
A sudden sound makes me skid to a halt, startled. I glance around, trying to figure out where it came from. I hear the sound again, and I listen. It's kind of like a loud wailing sound, echoing through the sewers. I realise that I can't detect the sound, as it's everywhere. I don't know what in the hell it is, but I'm not staying around long enough to find out. Hell, it could even be the wind. The wind can make wailing sounds like that, and I am in the sewers, after all. Still, like I said before, I am not gonna stay here to find out. It could be anything.
I continue to jog. The same old boring, dirty green walls seem to fly by as I jog, making my eyes go a little blurry. Does this tunnel not end?! It's beginning to drive me nuts.
Stopping to lean against a wall, I catch my breath for a while before starting off again. After a couple more minutes, I look ahead to see the end of the tunnel. Even though it is extremely dark, I can clearly see the blackness expanding outwards, and a grubby archway leading out into a larger passageway. I slow down to a walk. That awful wailing sound echoes again. I wish it would stop, it's beginning to unnerve me.
When I reach the end of the tunnel, I poke my head around the left corner. I can't see anything, but I also can't hear any monsters approaching, which is a good sign. Glancing to the right, the blackness expands even further. I shiver as I realise that, not only is it darker down here, it's also a lot colder. A chill creeps through my entire body as a draft sweeps across the cold floor. Wrapping my arms around my body, I stand there for a moment, wondering which direction I ought to take. After a few seconds, I make a decision to go left. I step out into the huge passage and begin to walk left.
After a few minutes, I begin to jog again. I would run, but I don't want to waste my breath should I encounter any monsters. Which I hopefully won't.
I soon cease my jogging as I realise that I've hit a dead end. Fucking fantastic!! Now I've gotta go back and head in the other direction. I just hope to God that it hasn't been blocked off or any shit like that, or I'm pretty screwed. Sighing in annoyance, I turn around and start to walk back the way I came.
I freeze as I hear a noise. Stiffening, I listen hard. It seems to be coming from the darkness ahead.
Clickety-click. Clickety-click. Clickety-click.
I gulp as I realise that the sound is getting nearer. I raise my gun at the blackness in front of me, tensed up.
Something is headed my way.
A few seconds pass before I see a strange, abnormal shape approaching slowly. My torch shines off the surface of the shape, and I see that it is green in colour. As it gets closer, I can clearly see the green skin. The glaring, evil eyes. The claws. The teeth.
Oh, SHIT.
This.... thing continues to get closer, approaching on all fours. It opens its mouth, the beam of my torch reflecting off its hideously sharp teeth, and it lets out a terrible, high pitched shriek that hurts my ears and sends a shiver of panic down my spine. I point my trembling gun at its head and fire. The bullet strikes the monster in the chin and it stumbles back, startled. I let off another four shots, but to my horror the creature doesn't die. It just seems a little stunned, and enraged. Shrieking again, it begins to crawl faster towards me.
"No! Get the fuck away from me!" I yell at it, backing away. I fire again, one, two, three shots. The monster seems weakened, but it still keeps crawling. Its awful, razor sharp claws clack against the floor, the chilling sound echoing through the passage.
Refusing to give up, I fire two more shots. This causes the creature to fall back, screaming in pain, to my absolute relief. Collapsing on its back, the creature goes into a series of muscle spasms, writhing around in agony. Blood pours from its bullet wounds as it stops moving.
I slowly approach the creature and stamp on its head, just to make sure that its really dead. My foot crushes the little bastard's skull. I quickly yank my foot back in disgust as I watch the monster's brains dribble onto the cold floor. I'm becoming really aggressive killing these things recently. It's now I realise that it took ten bullets to kill this thing. Ten Goddamned bullets.
Well, one thing's for sure, I really hope I don't come across any more. I can't afford to waste that much ammo, and besides, I may not be able to get away next time....
A chill creeps down my spine at the thought. I shake my head yet again. For God's sakes, stop scaring yourself, Cybil!
Gripping my gun tightly, I begin to run all the way back I came. All the time, my mind keeps wandering back to what Harry has said to me, about this "Otherworld". I ponder his words so many times, and yet it still doesn't make sense to me.
I skid to a halt when I reach the tunnel, which is now to my right. I lean against the wall to catch my breath. I inhale deep gulps of the stale, damp air, before continuing on my way. This passage seems darker than the others, for some reason. After I've been walking for five minutes, I begin to run again, afraid that I might run into one of those awful creatures again.
After a while, I reach a tunnel leading off to my left. I am about to turn the corner and continue, when a strange feeling of dread creeps over me. I'm not sure what it is. It feels like....
Like I'm being watched.
Suddenly, there is a loud THUMP.
I immediately begin looking around in all directions, my torch creating crazy yellow patterns all over the damp, smelly walls. There is nothing here in this passage. I glance into the tunnel, my hands shaking. I hear the sound again, and I stiffen all over, sweat breaking out on my forehead.
The sound was coming from the tunnel.
I don't have a clue why I'm so darn scared. I've never felt this way before, ever. Sure, I've felt fear before, but this.... this is something else. It's a feeling of terror, like something awful is gonna happen....
I carefully put my gun into its holster and begin to creep down the tunnel. I can't hear any clicking or thumping sounds now, but I know there is something down here. And it's lurking, lying in wait....
I can practically hear my heart pounding as I continue down the murky corridor, shaking all over. I want to run, to get the fuck out of here, but my body just isn't doing what my mind's telling me to do. I keep walking.
As I near the end of the corridor, I hear the thump again. So its not in this tunnel.... its in the tunnel beyond. Swallowing hard, and I slowly sidestep left to hug the wall. I carefully and quietly shuffle along, clinging close to the wall, ready to grab my gun if anything happens. The thump sounds again. It's coming from my left.
All of a sudden, the bulb in my torch flickers and dies, leaving me in total darkness.
OhGodohGodohGod....
Trying not to panic, I hug the wall tighter. I am nearly there now. Just a couple of feet to go. The drip, drip, drip of the leaking pipes melds with the sound of my racing heart.
I poke my head around the corner.
Suddenly, I am struck from behind.
I cry out and fall to the ground. The floor comes up to meet me at an alarming rate. Pain shoots through my back, my limbs....
I moan in shock and pain as I drift into unconsciousness and the blackness engulfs me.
******