Chapter 9: Valley of Visions
By X-treme X-taggano (backfire@subdimension.com)

I looked around the room. It wasn't pitch black, so I figured that this was the normal hospital. No more nightmarish delusions . . . for now. I sat up on the hospital bed and held my head, shaking it. I then looked up and asked myself aloud . . .

Was I dreaming?

I suddenly heard one of the doors slam shut. My vision darted in the direction of the sound.

There, by the door, was the old lady I had seen at the church.

"You were too late," she said in her raspy voice. I stared at her.

"I-it's you . . ." I said, stuttering.

She smiled. "Yes . . . Dahlia Galespie," she said, identifying herself.

I stood up and walked over to her. I had remembered how she mentioned my daughter at the church. Now I wanted to get some answers from this crazy old lady. "Tell me everything you know!" I demanded. "What the hell's going on?!"

She stared at the roof, then back at me. "Darkness . . ." she said. "The town is being devoured by it! Strength must overcome petty desires . . . childish sleep talk. I knew this day would come!" She gestured with her hands, letting me know that she somehow knew exactly what was going on.

I was still confused immensely. "What are you talking about?" I asked.

She stared out the window, reaching into a back pocket of hers. "Believe the evidence of your eyes!" she explained. She then produced a key. She held it tightly in her fist. "The other church in this town . . . that is your destination! This is beyond my power now." She gave me a glance that almost frightened me. "Only you can stop it now! Have you not seen the crest of evil all over town?"

I suddenly remembered the traingle-shaped crest in the middle of the school yard. "So that's what I saw at the school," I said in calm realization. "What does it mean?"

"It is the mark of Samael!" she explained. "Don't let it be completed!"

Samael . . . the blind Hebrew archangel . . . in my studies of theology, I had learned about the Hebrew religion. So that's where I had seen the symbol before. Was Samael creating this dark world? I was almost convinced that the dark world was some sort of hallucination . . . or conjured world, perhaps. I was pretty sure that this misty town was indeed the real town. I was more sure of my senses when I was in the misty world . . . considering my thoughts, I figured it was a safe bet to assume that Samael kept pulling me into this conjured world . . . but why? Was Cheryl in any way related to this matter?

Then I heard the door slam. I looked back and realized Dahlia had disappeared.

Perfect. Now I was once again left alone with my thoughts. I looked at the desk where she had been standing by. I saw a green, metallic object on it and walked up to it. I soon realized it was a key of some sort. I picked it up and examined it for a moment.

I noticed a tag on it and read it. Antique Shop.

I then remembered a vision I had seen . . . the one of that . . . girl, who I was guessing was Alessa, walking into the antique shop. I was pretty sure that the girl who appeared to be Cheryl, only perhaps 7 years older, was Alessa. The picture I had found in the hospital looked exactly like her and was labeled Alessa, so I thought it was safe to assume that the girl I had seen was indeed her.

I realized that there was nothing left in the hospital. My destination was the antique shop. I turned to my right and opened the door. I stepped back into the hallway . . . I was sick and tired of this journey. If only the dream . . . or conjuration of the hospital were true. That nurse, Lisa . . . somehow, I felt protective of her. She seemed scared and confused and needed my help. In fact, at the time, I was convinced that perhaps I should stay with her. I knew, however, that by Dahlia's tone of voice, was that, dream or no, I needed to find my daughter.

I walked down the hallway and past the receptionist's desk. I then walked to the entrance, but hesitated.

Would there be any more dogs out there?

I had remembered those damn hell hounds, as I referred to them as. They lurked the area where the ambulance was parked and had almost attacked me the first time. I pulled my gun out and quickly yanked out the current clip. I realized there were only a few bullets left, so I loaded the magazine back up with bullets. My pocket was full of them, but after reloading my weapon, the weight of my coat had reduced considerably. I then removed the safety and clutched the gun to my heart, ready to fight whatever was still out there. I took a deep breath as I quickly flung the door opened and stepped outside.

Nothing . . .

That was odd . . . where were the hounds? I scanned the area and realized there were none. I looked around briefly and realized that they were indeed gone. I gave off a sigh of relief and walked to the gate. I then opened the gate up and stared down the road.

I looked to my right down the long road. After examining my map for a few moments, I realized that the street I had go down was the second street up to my left. I put away my map, ready to head to the antique shop. I started running down the street in the pea soup fog. My obscured vision was not fully focused. All the buildings around me were just the same shade of gray in my view. I had tried to block out all that was obsolete. My thoughts had to be simple, or I'd never figure out what was becoming of this town. The occasional red flashed into my view due to the tiles used for the roof, and that was the only color that found it's way into my vision.

I then found the left turn and started running down the street. My mind once again began blocking out all the houses around me. I tried to keep my vision directly in front of me, making sure that my mind stayed on Cheryl. I had remembered how that nurse . . . Lisa . . . had almost made me think about quitting my journey . . . but nothing could stop me! Nothing! Cheryl meant the world to me and I'd find her no matter what! I still wasn't sure about Dahlia, but I was guessing she knew what was happening to Cheryl . . . true, she may have seemed a bit crazy, but also had a strange amount of sincerity in her voice. I figured that, considering how confused I was, she would know better than me.

I noticed a large building to my right . . . there were large metal barriers covering the entrance, preventing me from getting into the . . . mall, or whatever this thing was. The large gray walls were humongous, but the entrance itself was fairly small. The only reason I had noticed it was because of it's size. I turned my head from it, pressing forwards.

Then I noticed a large, rusty old sign that read "Antique Shop" over a small brown building.

So this was the antique shop! I noticed that in front of the building was an open door that lead down . . . down stairs made of stone. I walked towards the entrance and walked down those stairs. It smelled musky inside, and the dirt covering the walls was almost repulsive. To think anyone would think of entering a shop like this! The only reason I myself was entering was because of this . . . other church, or whatever it was.

The door at the bottom of the small staircase was made of wood chipped with age. The handle in front of me was quite dirty, but I forced my hand on it anyway. I turned the handle and the door opened in front of me. I then stepped into an extremely dark room. Fearing something might be following me, however, I closed the door behind me.

I flipped on my flashlight and the whole antique shop was revealed to me. There was a large grandfather clock in front of me with gold lining. It was about as tall as I was. I turned left and noticed a counter made of wood. In the areas deeper in the small, square shaped room were several objects . . . antiques, of course, arranged about. I saw various objects, such as couches and lamps and such. All the objects in the room were covered with a thin layer of dust.

I started to walk to the back of the room, wondering if the "other church" was in here anywhere. I walked across the dirty wood floor. I couldn't see the back of the room yet, due to my limit field of view. All I could see was the antiques and the stone walls the surrounded me.

I then noticed something in the back . . . some sort of cupboard. I walked up to it, noticing it was propped up against the wall. It was beautiful carved and designed . . . but, as I had noticed, there was evidence that it had been moved . . . a part of the floor had been scratched up, causing me to believe that it was moved here to . . . hide something.

I walked to the side of the cupboard. I knew something was probably hidden behind it . . . just like at the hospital. I placed my hands against the flat surface and then pushed as hard as I could. Sure enough, the cupboard started moving. Eventually, it was out of the way, revealing . . .

A hole . . .

I stared at the hole in the wall for a moment. How on earth was this here? I looked into it, realizing a dark passage went deeper into it. The same gray stones made up the walls, but the floor was now made of dusty, old tile. What was this? And where did it lead? I figured my questions would be answered soon as I ducked down, ready to enter the hole.

Suddenly, I heard the door slam behind me.

I was nervous . . . maybe I hadn't shut the door all the way and one of those monsters found it's way into the antique shop! I grabbed a hold of my gun and twirled around pointing it directly in front of me. My flashlight soon revealed what it was. I then gasped.

"Cybil!"

"Harry?" she cried. Sure enough, it was her! I put my gun down and she ran up to me, literally scared out of her mind. She then fell into my arms. I wrapped a warm embrace around her, hoping that I could somehow comfort her. I always felt responsible for others . . . I had very few friends, but the ones I knew I cared for deeply. Soon, we broke our embrace and she looked back at me.

"Thank God you're alive!" she managed. "Harry, things are a lot worse then I ever could have imagined!"

I sighed. "I'm glad to see you're okay too . . ." I started. "But didn't you say you were coming with backup?"

She stared at me, quivering uncontrollably. "Harry, don't you get it?! There's no way out of town! All the roads are blocked!" She looked away from me. "We're trapped in here!"

I looked at the floor. "Yeah, I know," I said. "Did you see Cheryl anywhere?!"

She suddenly looked back at me. "Cheryl? I did see a girl!" she said.

My heart started to race with enthusiasm. "You did?! Where?" I asked. Was my search finally over?

"I saw her walk down Bachman Road," she said. "I only caught a glimpse of her, but . . ."

"And you just let her go?!" I groaned, interrupting her. "Where did she go?!"

"Calm down . . ." Cybil said, raising a hand. "She went out past the lake. Now don't get exciting . . . she didn't walk off exactly." She looked at the ceiling, trying to make sense of what she had seen. "There was nowhere for her to run. The road had been obliterated!"

My eyes widened. "What?! So then Cheryl . . ."

"It was like she was walking on thin air!" she explained. A sense of awe filled her voice. I gasped, surprised. Cheryl was walking over the lake? How could she do such a thing? She was, after all, only my daughter.

"What about you?" she asked. "Anything?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah," I said. I started to walk to my left, sitting myself down on the couch. Cybil soon followed and sat down next to me, realizing I was tired. I laid my head back staring at the ceiling. It felt so good to sit down for a moment . . . to finally get some rest. I then looked at Cybil again. I had forgotten how beautiful her blue eyes were . . . I feared I might have gotten lost in them and started my story. "I met this crazy lady named Dahlia Galespie . . . you know who she is?" I asked.

"Dahlia Galespie?" she asked. "No . . . what about her, though?"

"Well . . ." I stopped to think. "She says the town is being devoured by 'the darkness' . . . some gibberish like that." I looked back into her blue eyes. "Do you have any idea what she means?"

She thought a moment . . . "The town being devoured by darkness?" she wondered aloud. "Probably on drugs . . . someone sells them to the locals. The force hasn't figured who's behind it . . . the investigation is probably stalled by now, though. No doubt about it . . ."

"Drugs?" I asked. "What do you mean?"

Cybil looked back at me. "I was originally sent here to check out a drug trafficking problem . . ." she started. "I probably told you I wasn't here to investigate this whole mess . . . I was sent here to try and find out who was behind the White Claudia dealing."

White Claudia? I had heard so much about that drug! "What is this 'White Claudia', anyway?" I asked.

Cybil looked at me. "It's a halucinogenic drug made from a flower called White Claudia . . ." she explained. "It looks like powder . . . and it's inhaled through the nose, in case you've might have seen it."

I thought a moment. Wasn't the White Claudia I had seen contained in a liquid? I guess my theory of hiding it in that liquid was probably correct. "Hmmm . . . but what could drug trafficking have to do with all this?"

Cybil sighed, her chest rising a considerable amount. She then looked at me. "Beats me . . . maybe that was the darkness she was talking about."

I smiled. "Maybe . . ." I said.

I then sat up from the couch I was sitting on. I walked towards the hole. Cybil soon got up and followed me. We both stared into it.

"So what's this?" Cybil asked me.

"I don't know . . . I just discovered it," I explained.

Cybil looked in the hole. "Hmmm . . ." she sighed. She then pulled out her gun. "I'd better go first and secure the area."

I looked at her. "Wait a second!" I said, almost yelling. "Cybil, I'd better go first . . . I don't want you getting hurt."

She looked at me. "Harry, I'm a cop . . . it's my duty to serve and protect. I'll go first," she explained.

"Listen, I need to go first! I don't want anyone else here getting hurt!" I explained. "I'm sorry, but I really can't stand any more bloodshed today!"

Cybil raised an eyebrow. "Bloodshed? What are you talking about?" she asked me.

I looked into the air. All those nightmarish delusions that had been haunting me didn't make sense to me . . . I decided maybe I should try and explain. "Well . . . have you been experiencing . . ." I paused. "I don't know . . . like some other world sense you got here?"

Cybil stared at me. "What are talking about?" she asked.

I sighed. "I'm not sure myself. I've been seeing . . . some sort of alternate world," I explained. "It's like a bad dream . . . it's really dark and I can hear sirens in the distance. It's . . . it's all a blur . . . like some sort of hallucination, you know?" I hoped Cybil might know what I was talking about. I had experienced more than one of these nightmarish delusions and I was wondering if she might have too.

She stared at me blankly. "Harry . . . are you another White Claudia addict?" she asked me.

I shook my head. "No . . . no . . ."

Cybil looked back at the wall. "I have no idea what you're talking about . . ." she said.

I sighed. "Oh, well. That's okay . . . I was just hoping someone might know what it was that I was experiencing . . . never mind."

She smiled. "Harry, you're tired. I think you need some sleep," she explained.

I smiled back. "Yeah, maybe . . ." I replied. I then looked into the hole. "I'll be back as soon as I'm done checking this out." I then ducked and entered the dark hole.

It was very similar to the antique shop as far as dust went, but otherwise, there was no difference, other then the floor made of stone. I ran towards the other side, hoping that this 'other church' Dahlia had mentioned was somewhere in this place. I noticed a few bugs squirm across the floor, but nothing was there that would interfere with my exploration.

I soon noticed a second hole on the other end of the narrow passage. I ran up to it and stepped through it. This hole, just like the last one, looked as if it were broken through intentionally. As soon as I was inside the new room, I pointed my flashlight in various directions around the dark room, which appeared to be made of the same stone as the tunnel.

Then something suddenly made it's way into my vision . . .

An alter!

I ran up to the golden stand. A red tapestry was laid out onto the floor beneath it and two tall, golden candles stood on each side of the alter. On it was some sort of square, brown colored object. Behind the alter was a giant painting of . . .

The corpse from the school!

My stomach tied into a loop as I saw the hideous, crucified body hanging. What was this, anyway? Why would anyone hang a picture of a mutilated body near an alter? Or any palce at all, for that matter? Questions filled my head, but I knew that this alter was definitely something I should tell Cybil about.

I turned from the alter, facing the hole in the wall. I needed to tell Cybil about this alter. I walked up the hole and ducked down, ready to exit it.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of flames rising.

My head shot immediately in the direction of the alter. What the hell . . . ?! The alter was burning! I stared at what the figure was in the middle. It started to slowly disintegrate, turning into nothing but ash.

My vision disintegrated with it . . .

All I could see was fire surrounding me . . . like I was burring in the deepest depths of hell. I looked in every direction, but all I could see was this inferno I seemed to be stuck in. I then screamed, losing consciousness. I slowly fell to the floor, my body feeling as if it were on fire. I fell to the floor and my body went numb.

All I could see was a shade of white. I wasn't sure if I was still conscious or not, or where I had even gone to . . . I didn't think I had left, but maybe . . .

Maybe I had suddenly died . . .

I suddenly heard a voice. "Harry?" it asked. It was Cybil's voice! I heard her footsteps walk around a bit. "Harry, where the hell are you?!"

I tried to speak, but words wouldn't come out of my mouth. How could she not see me?! I was lying on the floor . . . probably near her too! I tried to move, and continued to listen to her words, but my world was falling apart around me. Her voice seemed to get further and further away.

And then the brightness that dominated my vision seemed to leave. Instead, I saw a pitch black cascade before my eyes. I started to blink a few times as I tried to move. Soon, I found my senses and put my arms behind me and sat myself up. I . . . was lying on a bed! How did I end up here? I looked to my left, realizing there was light. I then gasped.

Lisa!

"Lisa!" I gasped, surprised to see her. She sat in a chair in front of me. The room around me seemed so blurry, though . . . maybe my eyes hadn't focused, but everything seemed to be a blur. "So I'm in the hospital?"

"Harry . . . you were having a bad dream," she explained. Her face looked rather pale, and her body seemed to quiver . . . maybe she was sick or something.

"Was I?" I asked, surprised. What I had seen seemed too real . . . "Hey, you don't look too good . . . are you okay?"

She looked at the floor from her seat, still holding her own hands together. "I'm fine . . . nothing you should worry about," she explained meekly.

"Well, if you're sure . . ." I said hopelessly. "Lisa . . . do you know anyone named Dahlia Galespie?" I asked.

Lisa looked back at me. "Oh, yeah. That crazy Galespie lady . . ." she said. "She's pretty well known around here. I don't know much about her because she's kind of quite, but . . . I heard a rumor that her kid died in a fire that wiped out almost half the town and she's been crazy ever sense." She paused. "Why, did you meet her somewhere around here?"

I wasn't sure if I had, but . . . decided to force myself to believe that I had. "Yeah . . . she said the town's being devoured by darkness," I explained. "Do you have any idea what she means?"

Lisa looked at the ceiling for a moment, then back at me. "I can't say for sure, but I can make a guess . . ." she said with all honesty. "Before this town was a resort, see, the locals were all on the quiet side. They all followed some strange religion . . . some sort of cult, I think." she stared at the floor. She barely blinked at all. "They believed in black magic . . . that kind of thing."

I raised an eyebrow. "A cult?"

"Yes . . ." she continued. "Then a whole bunch of new people came to the town and that cult seemed to disappear." She looked at me. "The last time I had heard about it was . . . gosh, years ago. They probably broke up or something . . . maybe decided that the new people might find out about their rituals or something. A lot of people died, as well . . . a whole series of mysterious deaths took place a while later . . ." She suddenly stopped. "I'm sorry . . . I'm rambling. I'll shut up."

Suddenly, Lisa disappeared right in front of me. I felt as if I had just woken up from some dream. I asked myself aloud if what I had experienced was another dream . . . I soon realized as I got up out of the darkness that I was no longer in the hospital. I flipped on my flashlight and looked around. I gasped.

I was in some twisted nightmare . . . in the antique shop.

I looked at the ground and saw that triangular symbol I had seen in the school courtyard drawn in blood . . . this "mark of Samael". I noticed that there was nothing below the chain links that I stood upon. I looked around. The room was empty . . . all the walls were burnt and dirty, and two humongous statues stood.

The same ones I had seen at the school.

I didn't want to think so, but . . . what if none of this were real? I could still be in my car . . . in a hospital bed . . .

Or maybe I was killed in the car accident.

The thought scared me and I tried to convince myself that I was still alive . . . but then I heard a voice in my head. I couldn't tell if it was my own, but whenever I tried to convince myself I was indeed still alive, the voice would ask me "then what are you doing here?" I didn't know . . . was this . . .

Was this hell?

I didn't like the thought of this being a twisted afterlife, but nothing else seemed to make sense. I told myself once more that I was alive. I then drooped my head.

Then what are you doing here if you're still alive, Harry?

I shook my head. Alive or no, I figured I had absolutely nothing to lose. No matter what, I would find my daughter. I didn't know if I still had possession of my own life . . .

But maybe I could save hers.

I walked around the corner of the room and stared at the door. The burnt steel it was made of made me quiver, but I knew that my journey was for Cheryl, even if there was no light for me.

I'll save you Cheryl . . . I promise.

I then turned the knob to the door and stepped outside. I knew that getting to the resort area was impossible, due to the distruction of Bachman Road. How to get there was beyond my knowledge. There was only one person who I could ask by now.

Lisa . . .