Shannon awoke and saw the room had gone black. "Shit, not again," he said to himself.
He listened in hopes to hear Dan's breathing, but could hear nothing. "Dan," he said, "are you here?"
He turned on his flashlight and saw that Dan was nowhere to be found. "Oh man, I hope nothing happened to him," he said.
He hooked the flashlight to his pocket and headed towards the door. As he turned, the light illuminated one of the walls. Shannon gasped as he saw the words "HELP ME" written in large letters in blood. "DAN!!!" he cried.
He then heard a whisper in his head; the same feminine whisper he heard in the school. "Help me, Shannon. Please..."
He opened the door and exited to the hallway. He scanned the hall with his flashlight, happening upon a scrap on the floor. He bent down to pick it up, and realized it was a torn piece of canvas. On the scrap had the same symbol Shannon saw in the schoolyard inscribed in burnt umber. "Fuckin' bizarre, man," he said.
He pocketed it and went in the direction of the basement, remembering what Dan had told him. He walked down the stairs and entered the basement hall. He saw the shadow of a hunched figure skulking in the darkness. "Dan? Is that you?"
It turned and began ambling towards him. Judging by its attire, it appeared to be a nurse. However, she was grotesquely bent with a wiggling protrusion on her back. The flashlight caught the small glint of a rusted scalpel in her hand. Shannon backed away, but not quick enough, for the nurse grabbed him by the neck. "Fuckin' bitch," he cursed as he broke out of her embrace, aimed the pistol at her head, and pulled the trigger. It collapsed on the floor, the protrusion wiggling more fervently. Enraged, Shannon stomped on it until it splattered against his boots.
He paused and looked on the map for the storeroom, remembering what Dan had said about the secret passage. He entered the room and saw various metal shelves with bottles of a white powder. "Hmm," he said to himself, "this must be the drug Dan was telling me about."
He picked up a bottle and gave a small sniff, careful not to inhale any of it. The smell, although not unpleasant, seemed `wrong' to him. He quickly put the bottle down and began investigating the rest of the room. He looked at the wall and saw a shelf that had apparently been moved, revealing a hole in the wall big enough for a man to squeeze through. "Dan?" he called inside the hole, receiving no response.
He squeezed through the hole and saw a small room with an open trap door with a stairwell leading down into it. He walked down the stairs and found himself in a long hallway. "This is very strange," he whispered to himself. He later added, "Heh, isn't THAT stating the obvious!"
He continued down the corridor and saw another pair of nurses. Taking careful aim, he shot them both before they could see him. At the end of the corridor, there were three doors, only one of them seemed able to open. "Hmm," he said quietly, "I guess I'll take what's behind Door #1, Monty."
The door opened, revealing another hallway. The hall was devoid of any nurses, to which Shannon was quite thankful. He noticed a newspaper on the ground, the date going back to January 20, 1993:
Young Girl In Critical Condition After Fire Destroyed Home
SILENT HILL (Ap): The cause of the fire on January 13th which destroyed a local home has been ruled by Silent Hill Police Department's Arson division as an electrical fire. Of the residents, 7 year-old Alessa Gillespie remains in critical condition. Her mother, 38 year-old Dahlia Gillespie, was unharmed, but was visibly shaken. She was recently released from the psychiatric division of Silent Hill Hospital after being ruled in stable condition. Alessa had been transferred to Alchemilla Hospital and is currently under observation. Her supervising physician, Dr. Michael Kaufmann, was unavailable for comment...
Shannon pocketed the clipping and opened the nearest door. He found himself in the room Dan had described to him. Except there was a figure clad entirely in bandages lying on the bed with tubes attached to its body. The tubes were being fed by bags of a whitish fluid. As Shannon approached the bed, the figure and feeding apparatus faded away. He approached the machine and saw a framed picture resting on it, with a picture of Alessa on it. Shannon sighed and said "Poor thing..."
Suddenly, Shannon heard a crash outside the room. He ran back into the hall and found no one or nothing. He started back down the way he came when he felt something being launched by the toe of his boot. Investigating, he saw it was a flowery book with the words "My Journal" embossed on its cover. He opened it and saw the words "Property of Alessa" scrawled on the inside. He began reading it to himself:
Dear Diery,
Mommy is acting really weerd today. She's always being weerd. Talking about how she wants my power to grow. She's always going with those people late at night. I ask her if I can go, but she always tells me in time I can go. What does she do? When I ask her, she tells me its all in her plans for me....
Shannon read on, genuinely disturbed by what he was reading. What was Dahlia putting her through, he asked himself in his mind. Towards the end of the journal, he read a bit that made him smile, and shiver a bit:
January 12, 1993
Dear Diary,
I was in class with that new boy again. He's so cute. He acts different from the other boys in school. He's very quiet, but whenever he looks at me he smiles. He hardly ever smiles. Only when he's with that weird kid Danny (I suppose he's his best friend) or whenever he looks at me. I think he likes me. But I guess he's too shy. Or maybe he's scared of Mommy. Danny tells him scary stories about my Mommy. Everybody does. They call me Scary Gillespie. Except for Shannon. He's always nice to me, even though he doesn't talk to me. At least he says hi to me. I'm scared if I talk to him he'll laugh at me.
Mommy says I have a big day tomorrow. I don't care. Mommy is even scaring me, wanting me to give her power...
Shannon stood in silence, taken aback by what he read. He looked up and saw the girl in the blue sundress again, leaning against the wall. She was looking forlornly at the floor. "Alessa?" Shannon said.
She looked up at him, still looking sad, her eyes looking at him questioningly. "Alessa, I wouldn't have laughed at you," Shannon said. "I promise."
She responded by smiling faintly. Shannon approached her, but she ran away, slipping through the wall like mist. He sighed and walked the rest of the way to the storeroom. Entering the hallway, he heard machinery running. He looked to the elevator and saw the buttons lit up, with the number 3 illuminated. He pressed the button, and when the doors opened, he entered the elevator and went to the third floor. When the doors opened, he heard a very masculine shout of rage down the hall.
He listened in hopes to hear Dan's breathing, but could hear nothing. "Dan," he said, "are you here?"
He turned on his flashlight and saw that Dan was nowhere to be found. "Oh man, I hope nothing happened to him," he said.
He hooked the flashlight to his pocket and headed towards the door. As he turned, the light illuminated one of the walls. Shannon gasped as he saw the words "HELP ME" written in large letters in blood. "DAN!!!" he cried.
He then heard a whisper in his head; the same feminine whisper he heard in the school. "Help me, Shannon. Please..."
He opened the door and exited to the hallway. He scanned the hall with his flashlight, happening upon a scrap on the floor. He bent down to pick it up, and realized it was a torn piece of canvas. On the scrap had the same symbol Shannon saw in the schoolyard inscribed in burnt umber. "Fuckin' bizarre, man," he said.
He pocketed it and went in the direction of the basement, remembering what Dan had told him. He walked down the stairs and entered the basement hall. He saw the shadow of a hunched figure skulking in the darkness. "Dan? Is that you?"
It turned and began ambling towards him. Judging by its attire, it appeared to be a nurse. However, she was grotesquely bent with a wiggling protrusion on her back. The flashlight caught the small glint of a rusted scalpel in her hand. Shannon backed away, but not quick enough, for the nurse grabbed him by the neck. "Fuckin' bitch," he cursed as he broke out of her embrace, aimed the pistol at her head, and pulled the trigger. It collapsed on the floor, the protrusion wiggling more fervently. Enraged, Shannon stomped on it until it splattered against his boots.
He paused and looked on the map for the storeroom, remembering what Dan had said about the secret passage. He entered the room and saw various metal shelves with bottles of a white powder. "Hmm," he said to himself, "this must be the drug Dan was telling me about."
He picked up a bottle and gave a small sniff, careful not to inhale any of it. The smell, although not unpleasant, seemed `wrong' to him. He quickly put the bottle down and began investigating the rest of the room. He looked at the wall and saw a shelf that had apparently been moved, revealing a hole in the wall big enough for a man to squeeze through. "Dan?" he called inside the hole, receiving no response.
He squeezed through the hole and saw a small room with an open trap door with a stairwell leading down into it. He walked down the stairs and found himself in a long hallway. "This is very strange," he whispered to himself. He later added, "Heh, isn't THAT stating the obvious!"
He continued down the corridor and saw another pair of nurses. Taking careful aim, he shot them both before they could see him. At the end of the corridor, there were three doors, only one of them seemed able to open. "Hmm," he said quietly, "I guess I'll take what's behind Door #1, Monty."
The door opened, revealing another hallway. The hall was devoid of any nurses, to which Shannon was quite thankful. He noticed a newspaper on the ground, the date going back to January 20, 1993:
Young Girl In Critical Condition After Fire Destroyed Home
SILENT HILL (Ap): The cause of the fire on January 13th which destroyed a local home has been ruled by Silent Hill Police Department's Arson division as an electrical fire. Of the residents, 7 year-old Alessa Gillespie remains in critical condition. Her mother, 38 year-old Dahlia Gillespie, was unharmed, but was visibly shaken. She was recently released from the psychiatric division of Silent Hill Hospital after being ruled in stable condition. Alessa had been transferred to Alchemilla Hospital and is currently under observation. Her supervising physician, Dr. Michael Kaufmann, was unavailable for comment...
Shannon pocketed the clipping and opened the nearest door. He found himself in the room Dan had described to him. Except there was a figure clad entirely in bandages lying on the bed with tubes attached to its body. The tubes were being fed by bags of a whitish fluid. As Shannon approached the bed, the figure and feeding apparatus faded away. He approached the machine and saw a framed picture resting on it, with a picture of Alessa on it. Shannon sighed and said "Poor thing..."
Suddenly, Shannon heard a crash outside the room. He ran back into the hall and found no one or nothing. He started back down the way he came when he felt something being launched by the toe of his boot. Investigating, he saw it was a flowery book with the words "My Journal" embossed on its cover. He opened it and saw the words "Property of Alessa" scrawled on the inside. He began reading it to himself:
Dear Diery,
Mommy is acting really weerd today. She's always being weerd. Talking about how she wants my power to grow. She's always going with those people late at night. I ask her if I can go, but she always tells me in time I can go. What does she do? When I ask her, she tells me its all in her plans for me....
Shannon read on, genuinely disturbed by what he was reading. What was Dahlia putting her through, he asked himself in his mind. Towards the end of the journal, he read a bit that made him smile, and shiver a bit:
January 12, 1993
Dear Diary,
I was in class with that new boy again. He's so cute. He acts different from the other boys in school. He's very quiet, but whenever he looks at me he smiles. He hardly ever smiles. Only when he's with that weird kid Danny (I suppose he's his best friend) or whenever he looks at me. I think he likes me. But I guess he's too shy. Or maybe he's scared of Mommy. Danny tells him scary stories about my Mommy. Everybody does. They call me Scary Gillespie. Except for Shannon. He's always nice to me, even though he doesn't talk to me. At least he says hi to me. I'm scared if I talk to him he'll laugh at me.
Mommy says I have a big day tomorrow. I don't care. Mommy is even scaring me, wanting me to give her power...
Shannon stood in silence, taken aback by what he read. He looked up and saw the girl in the blue sundress again, leaning against the wall. She was looking forlornly at the floor. "Alessa?" Shannon said.
She looked up at him, still looking sad, her eyes looking at him questioningly. "Alessa, I wouldn't have laughed at you," Shannon said. "I promise."
She responded by smiling faintly. Shannon approached her, but she ran away, slipping through the wall like mist. He sighed and walked the rest of the way to the storeroom. Entering the hallway, he heard machinery running. He looked to the elevator and saw the buttons lit up, with the number 3 illuminated. He pressed the button, and when the doors opened, he entered the elevator and went to the third floor. When the doors opened, he heard a very masculine shout of rage down the hall.