Disclaimer: You know the deal. I don't own Silent Hill or any of its characters.





Trekking Hand in Hand with Insanity





"In my restless dreams I see that town…Silent Hill. You promised you'd take me there again someday…I'm waiting for you there now, in our special place…"

I stared into the mirror at my reflection, those very words running through my head over and over again, repeating like a broken record. They were the words that had brought me here; back to a place of wonderful memories I'd rather forget--memories that, as joyful as they are, can bring a sharp, lonely pain to my heart. These words came from a letter from my wife...a letter that shouldn't even exist, as it is impossible for the dead to send letters. I sighed, looked away from the mirror, and left the small bathroom that stood on the outskirts of Silent Hill.

"Mary…Could you really be in this town?" I asked myself aloud as I opened the gate that led into town.

The hairs on the back of my neck rose as I looked about my surroundings.

This was not the town I remembered…I saw no one and an ominous fog covered everything like a veil. The buildings which the fog caused to look twisted and unearthly were actually almost untouched except for the odd graffiti messages such as "There used to be a hole here...now it's gone." Though the sun was out a cold darkness enveloped every corner, consuming any bit of light that could be had like a starved creature. And the air...it had a scent of sickness about it, a bitter smell that reminded me of hospitals and doctor's offices, and I could feel its touch down to the very depths of my soul. The coldness of it caused a feeling of dread to surround me like a black ice, and I felt as if it would continue growing till my heart was surrounded by these black shards that would pierce it, and stop its beating. I continued looking, searching for any sign of life, something that would tell me of what had happened…something that would prove I was still sane. Suddenly, the ground squelched beneath my feet. I looked down, bile rose up in my throat as I saw what it was…blood.

"Hello?!" I cried out, but my voice sounded muffled, the fog surrounding it and dousing its piercing sound.

Then I heard something…it sounded like a heavy bag being dragged across the ground. I looked up and narrowed my eyes, and saw a figure slowly shuffle from my view. I hurried after the being, having to make a large detour to actually follow it for many streets were cut down the middle by a seemingly bottomless crevice. Soon, I came to a dirt path that led to a fenced-in area beneath a small bridge. I followed it, and a noise soon greeting my ears. It sounded like static. The static reminded me of something I had seen on one of those many cheesy 'reality' ghost television shows. The show had said that static was made by the supernatural who were trying to contact the living. I didn't believe in those types of things, but Mary always had. One reason, she had said, that Silent Hill had grabbed her attention was that it had been built on holy ground. Pushing back my thoughts of Mary, I stepped closer, and saw the being was slumped against the wall, his or her back turned to me. I climbed over the fence and stood there, not knowing if I should move closer or not. Something about this town had my stomach in knots and my heart in my throat. I looked beside me and saw the cause of the static noise; a radio was sitting on an old oil drum beside me.

"Are…are you alright?" I asked, my voice quaking.

Then the figure turned and stumbled towards me. The sounds of static grew louder and louder as it drew near. I was horrified, it looked human but its skin was a burnt, sickly brown and I couldn't see its features. Its whole body was covered in a membranous tissue, causing its arms to be pinned to its chest as if it wore a straight jacket. I gasped and moved to jump over the fence, my eyes still locked on the creature and my hands groping blindly behind me for the wood of the fence. I felt a loose board, and pulled at it madly, trying to get it loose, knowing it would make a better weapon then my fists would. The wood cut into my fingers and split my nails, as I frantically clawed at it, my heart beating faster and faster, knowing that my death stood before me. The creature was soon upon me, it leaned backwards and from a gaping hole in its chest it spewed a disgusting liquid at me and then shrieked. The board came loose and I brought it down upon the disgusting beast, the wood making a noise that sounded like ripe fruit smushing when it connected with the beasts flesh. I grimaced and beat at the thing until it lay unmoving and picked up the radio whose static sounds had stopped upon the death of the creature. I attached it to my belt buckle and hopped over the fence, hoping the radio worked in the way I had never before believed it could. My eyes slowly wandered over to the lifeless form of the beast, and I stared at it, its brown flesh blending in with the pool of blood it lay in. This…thing shouldn't even exist! It looked like something from a child's nightmare, a creature that would be said to hide under beds and in closets. But maybe if nightmares can exist than so can miracles and Mary could be alive.

"James…Where are you James? I'm here, waiting for you…come find me," a voice came quivering over the radio, sounding near and far at the same time.

"Mary!" I cried out in surprise.

"It's so lonely here, James…I don't want to be alone. Please, come get me."

"But where are you?"

Nothing…her voice was gone. I reached into my pocket and took out the map of the town, looking over it and trying to find a way to one of their special places. Lakeview hotel, Rosewater Park, Lakeside Amusement Park…she could be in any of those places. But which one? Each one held so many great memories, causing them each to be a special and important place and she had said I would find her in our special place. There was only one way to go…I had to cut through Woodside Apartments and Blue Creek Apartments to get to the nearest 'special' place, Rosewater Park. I folded the map and headed up Nathan Street towards the Apartment buildings.

(~(~(~((~(~(~(

I was on the second floor of Woodside Apartments, and by now I had run into over fifteen of those creatures. Luckily I had found a handgun in one of the small rooms and their bodies now littered the halls. One of my hands twitched nervously, adrenaline now causing my fingers and hands to tremble once in awhile. I opened the door to room 307, and stopped suddenly in my tracks, unable to move. As soon as I had entered the room, the radio's static voice spoke up, voicing itself in the form of a high-pitched screech. A beast much more terrifying than the others was killing and eating another creature that looked like two pair of mannequin legs attached to each other at the waist. I stumbled into the nearby closet, still staring at the beast. It looked frail; its whitish colored body covered in dried blood specks and atop its head rested a brown pyramid shaped mask. The Pyramid Head looked up, his sightless gaze resting on my hiding place. He walked towards the closet I was in, in his hand he held a rusted-looking sword that he had to drag behind him because of its size. The sword screeched like fingernails on a chalkboard with every step the Pyramid Head took, creating deep wounds on the already imperfect floor. I shot at it, my depthless terror forcing me to keep my eyes open. I fired again and again, each bullet clanged harmlessly against his mask. He stopped right in front of the closet door, so close I could see the small, sinister slits that he looked through. He reached out for me with his free hand, his white fingers curled into a claw. The gun began clicking; it had run out of bullets. I had a sudden vision of myself in the place of the Mannequin creature and a cry of revulsion caught in my throat. I could now see every speck of dirt, every line and cut on the creature's hand. And then…darkness.

(~(~(~((~(~(~(

"Alright, Mom, it's off," I cried, rolling my eyes in annoyance.

"That is some really weird shit," muttered Emily, staring at the now blank television screen

"Yeah it is! It's a pretty cool video game so far," I said, nodding in agreement, "Want to come over and play the game tomorrow? I want to see want happens when the idiot finds his wife."

"Sure, if we're lucky she'll eat him or something," chuckled Emily.

"Not if Pyramid Head does first," I laughed.

We both walked out of the room, the Playstation controller resting, forgotten on the floor.