Alice held herself a little tighter as the cold seemed to get worse. Logan didn't seem to be affected, merely walking normally, almost as if this was a casual stroll together. He was a strange one, though she admitted to herself that she had known quite a few stranger in her time.
She noticed how different the town was since the last time she was here. It seemed like so long ago. Where had her life gone in all that time? Chasing strangers like him had screwed up her life too much, and yet here she was with a guy she had already nailed in the back of the head with a lead pipe. Perfect.
The street sign caught her attention as she passed it: Towne Street. Wasn't Towne the last name of an author she really liked? Smoke in the distance distracted her, and she pointed it out to Logan. He nodded and starting running towards it, almost leaving her behind in his rush. Once they passed the buildings and made it down the street, they were shocked by their findings.
Littered along Lucas Road were at least three tanks, several police vehicles, and an ungodly number of army and police uniforms and weapons. There was no one left, though, just empty vehicles and clothes…
Logan laughed softly, bitterly to himself. "So Kaufman was right: the military did pass through town. Guess they didn't get very far."
Alice looked back at him, confused. "What do you mean?"
She watched him wander about the fallen vehicles as he spoke. "The military passes through Silent Hill every once in a while. Well, not like this with tanks and everything. They must have noticed what was happening, realized the extent of the danger, and thus sent these troops. Unfortunately, everyone must be dead, or we have crazy nudists on our hands."
The girl took in his words, then decided not to think about death again. She hopped on top of one of the tanks and said, "Hey, it'd be pretty cool if these things still worked. We could run over any monsters we want then, or at least travel in style."
She cast Logan a smile, then opened the top hatch to the one she was on top of. Wretched, bleeding arms reached out of the opening and latched onto hers, screaming and pulling at her while the radio started blaring white noise again. Alice cried out in fear and pain, drawing Logan over to the rescue. He pulled her hard away, then aimed his left hand towards the opening and fired some sort of energy blast into the thing as he yelled out loud. What the hell? The blast was so extreme that the tank seemed to shake beneath them, threatening to fall apart; at least the monster was certainly dead, as the white noise faded to nothing.
Alice quickly stood up straight and demanded, "What the hell was that?"
Logan almost seemed to try and answer, but before he could, he feel to his knees, clutching his chest and struggling to breathe. Oh God, what happened to him?
She rushed over to him instantly and put her arms around him, trying to help someway, knowing very well that she couldn't. His face was contorted in pain, his eyes squeezed tight as he breathed harder and harder. Alice said in worried breaths, "What's wrong, Logan? Talk to me. Tell me what's wrong! Logan, what do I do!? I don't know how to help you!"
After several heartrending moments, Logan finally started to breathe more naturally, the pain in his face less evident. Maybe he was okay…
The two of them finally rose to their feet, no less upset. Logan turned to Alice and grabbed her arms, shouting, "All of the monsters in this town are created off of the demons you carry inside of you! For the sake of our protection, what have you done in your life!?"
Alice quickly pulled herself away from him, an arrogant look on her face, and asserted angrily, "I doubt you're the perfect saint, yourself! I already told you the kinda monsters I've seen, anyway!" She paused, but lost no anger. "I'll tell you if you tell me! What shit have you pulled in your life!? What makes you so dandy and no less a danger to me!?"
Logan was a bit put off by her demand. After a moment, his expression smeared with anger, he shouted with elaborate arm gestures, "I don't know anything from my life! My memories were stolen from me! All I know is this power inside of me is the same as what's killing Silent Hill, and that the only demon truly belonging to me is a fucking sword demon! That's all I know!" He breathed heavily for a moment, seeming to try and calm himself, then finally said in a soft tone, "I promise I will protect you from whatever lies in the darkness, but you have to tell me what you've done to create such apparitions. Please."
A silent moment passed between them, Logan compassionate, Alice doubting. Still, she knew this stranger was her only chance to survive this nightmare. She sighed inwardly, then muttered, "Fine. Let's go."
She gestured ahead to signal him they would talk as they walked. Logan moved at a slow pace, but she could forgive him for that. As they moved, Alice began to think about all the things she had done in life, all the despicable acts she had been condemned to this hell for. She buried her face in her hand for a moment first, rubbing her hair and forehead, before taking a deep breath and starting.
"I was a drug addict. I think that's plain enough to understand. It basically led to everything else. Fuckers got me started, and it was up to me to stop once I got away." Her voice dropped lower. "I did some screwed-up things while I was an addict. I was the kid in high school your parents told you to stay away from. Made me drop out of high school, nearly killed me with diseases, just general screwed-up stuff. I already figured out on my own those shadows with knives are my fears of the druggies coming back after me, and the huge monsters, the gorilla-like ones, are my abusive dad, since he used to beat me all the time, especially when I was younger and he was drunk."
Alice said no more after that, not really wanting to continue, nor did she know what else to say. She looked over at Logan and became surprised to see him holding his head, as if in pain. Did that power of his give him headaches, too? She changed her thinking the moment she felt a harsh, cold wind blast through her body, the snow almost freezing upon her. The next instant, some sort of force took control of her body, manipulating it into a cross while freezing her in place, unable to resist. She then felt herself flung backwards all the way hard into the wall of a building, stuck there while something latched onto her head, squeezing hard. The pain was excruciating as she tried to scream against it.
Her vision darkening slightly, she heard a woman's cruel voice above her say, "I will destroy all those who stand in the way of my ascension of power. I will rule unchallenged! You will bow before me: Victoria!"
Logan screamed at the woman, "Let her go! Leave us the hell alone!"
Alice's vision darkened more, to the point where she thought unconsciousness was approaching. She was able, though, to see the creatures approaching on both sides: monsters in robes that had strange, pyramid-shaped heads. Were they here to kill her? Was she being punished for what she had done since leaving Silent Hill?
The stranger again shouted to the woman, "Let Alice go, Victoria! Silent Hill and Samael have clouded your judgment! That power inside of you is only a ruse to draw you deeper into evil and sin! It will kill you! It's already malformed your body! You're mutating!"
What Alice realized to be a huge claw squeezing her head now tightened its grasp, the needle-tip fingers feeling like they were piercing her skull and letting the blood flow. Her voice died in her throat, and one last image met her eyes: Logan screamed to the sky, power and wind just seeming to flow into him, and in the next moment, he blazed with white energy as he wielded a sword and swiftly attacked the Pyramid Heads.
Then all faded to black.
…
No.
If…
Alice's eyes snapped open. She looked everywhere too quickly to comprehend everything at first, but it didn't matter. She realized soon enough that she was in the back alley of some place called "Heaven's Night," and she was alone with someone: Nykis. The concrete beneath her body was ice-cold as she lay flat upon it. Nykis stood over her, just watching, not doing anything at first.
But why did this seem so familiar, this setting, this disorientation? Was Silent Hill repeating more inner demons and pain? Was that why the radio started blaring white noise again?
The answers came in the forms of four putty-like tentacles that shot from Nykis's sides and collided with Alice's wrists and ankles, effectively holding her down entirely. Her entire body was pinned as the putty of the appendages seemed to smear and spread until she could barely struggle. Her worst fears were confirmed the moment she noticed his real hands: one was holding an open switchblade, the other was opening his pants. No--just like--Jason--hurt her--no--stop--le--lp--do--ur--
