Dark
The streets of Silent Hill rang ominously as the heavy raindrops sifted through the metal grating of the roadway. Everything seemed to be made out of dilapidating rusting iron. Beams lay at disjointed angles and the grating of the streets sometimes ended abruptly into gaping jagged-edged holes over an endless void. The continuous rainfall was slightly warm and filled the air with a pervasive humidity that caused Joel's clothes to stick uncomfortably to his body. The mugginess hit Joel like a wall and immediately made him want to turn around and head back into the house where it was strangely cool and dry. Nevertheless, he knew he must move on. It wasn't wise to stay in the same place for very long; sleeping for a few scant hours like he just had was especially dangerous.
The flashlight in his front pocket began to flicker, making shadows in the pitch-blackness around him dance as if they were alive. Joel tapped the side of the flashlight with his finger and the light became steady, if still weak. He would need to find new batteries for it. Soon. But where could he find something like batteries in this God-forsaken place? He needed to get out of here. But he knew that he was stuck here, at least until he solved The Puzzle.
That's right, Joel thought. Rooting around in his front pants pockets, he pulled out some peculiar items. A small red rubber ball; the kind found in quarter machines in the mall, a music CD broken in half, and a playing card; the King of Hearts. After studying the trinkets for a moment, he put them away and pulled out a scrap of paper from his back pocket. Carefully unfolding it, he read it aloud softly to himself.
"From blackest night to cloudy dayThe Lion sleeps awaiting prey
The sun below, the moon above
Rich mistress waits for her loveBut alas the bells will ring
In the East for her tragic king
From cloudy day to blackest night
Remember life to enter Light"
The riddle was scrawled in red ink by a crude hand. It was jammed into the corner of a page from a book. The page number was thirteen, though Joel suspected this was coincidence. The Puzzle itself was simple enough this time. The 'sun below' and 'moon above' were the rubber ball and the broken disc. The 'tragic king' was obviously the King of Hearts whose sword jutted out of one side of his head. Blood had been scribbled in around the sword in the same red ink of the riddle. Joel was relatively sure that the 'rich mistress' would be the Queen of Diamonds; he just had no idea where he would find her. No, The Puzzle was not the difficulty here. The hard part was discovering where he needed to go to solve it.
Joel folded the parchment and exchanged it for a different piece of paper. This one was a sheet of flower printed stationary covered with delicate feminine handwriting. It read:
My Dearest Brother,
How are you doing? How are your studiesgoing? I hope you are learning much, as I know
I have during our brief time apart. Do you not
find it all fascinating? I remember how you were
always captivated by the hidden things. Oh
well, nothing can last forever. I will wait for you
and the vehicle of our departure. The layers of
this mystery shall be uncovered.
Always with love,
Joy
Numbly, Joel flipped the letter over. The reverse side was filled with the same lovely handwriting, but the paper was smeared with blood and the message was entirely different. Tears welled up in Joel's eyes, obscuring his vision before he finished rereading the first line. It didn't matter; every word was burned into his heart.
Brother,
Where are you? What happened to you?
I'm so terribly frightened! Why are we trapped
in this horrible nightmare? I need you now
more than ever. You have always been there for
me, why not now? Oh God, come to me! I'm
waiting for you at the keeping of an escape.
Depths of this riddle must be discovered.
Save me. Save yourself.
Joy
Violently scrubbing tears away from his eyes, Joel stuffed the letter back into his pocket. This was not the first such letter he had received from his sister. Nor, he assumed, would it be the last. Every time it was the same thing: two sides, the first friendly and curious, the second fearful and foreboding. And every time there was a clue to where he must go. He just had to decipher it.
The only concrete hints seemed to be in the last two lines of the body of the letter. Both sides fell into a similar pattern at that point. She spoke of 'the keeping of an escape' and 'the vehicle of our departure'. Vehicle. . . a car? The keeping of a car. Did she mean a garage? Most of the houses in Silent Hill had garages. He needed something more specific. What about the last line? 'Depths of this riddle' and 'layers of this mystery'. . .
A memory ignited in Joel's mind and he quickly pulled out his map of Central Silent Hill. Scanning it with his eyes, he fit everything together inside his head. A place where vehicles are kept with depths of layers. . . She was talking about the underground parking garage next to the Town Center!
Smiling to himself, Joel began refolding the map when something else registered in his brain. The radio in his back pocket was emitting a constant string of static. It was very loud. Eyes widening, Joel threw himself sideways to the ground. He felt the air move against his cheek as a large brown leathery wing sliced through the space where his head had just been. Rolling around, Joel raised his shotgun and fired at the huge creature bearing down on him. The shot connected, blowing a hole in the thing's abdomen. It dropped out of the sky with a loud clanging noise, blood gushing from the wound.
Joel slowly stood up and approached the monster. Just as he was about to turn away, the abomination lurched up and attempted to push itself erect with its hideous wings. Joel fired another shot into the back of its head. The monster fell to the grating and didn't rise again.
Heart racing with adrenaline, Joel stooped to retrieve his map from where he had dropped it and mentally rebuked himself for being so careless. There was no excuse for being caught off guard; the radio crackled with white noise whenever monsters approached. You could have been killed! He yelled at himself. But another part of him answered, So what? Then it would all be over.
Shaking his head, he slid two more shells into the shotgun before setting out on the long trek across town to the parking garage.
* * *
When Joel finally arrived at the garage, he was exhausted and thoroughly soaked. Pits in the road had caused him to take the long way around, going south past the Alchemilla Hospital before turning back north on Simmons Street to the Town Center. Panting, he now stepped out of the rain and leaned up against a rust-pitted wall to rest.
Joel pushed himself away from the wall and headed down the entrance ramp cautiously. Approaching the large gateway, he peered around the corner. The uppermost level of the garage was just like any regular parking lot. It was large and spacious with rows of painted guiding lines; the ground was concrete instead of the metal of the streets. However, in this twisted reality the rows weren't filled with cars. They were filled with hospital beds. Most of them contained body-shaped lumps covered with bloody sheets.
Picking his way among the beds, he treaded his way towards the elevator. Pressing his back against the far wall, Joel reached out and pushed the down arrow for the elevator and waited. Letting his gaze drift over the rows of beds, he realized that something else was making him damp. He had broken out in a cold sweat. Wiping his brow, he tried not to think about the bodies scattered all over the room. His flashlight barely illuminated the second row and it was difficult to keep his imagination from wondering what was going on beyond the radius of his meager light. Did that sheet just move?! No. Its just your imagination! He told himself.
Not able to stand it any more, Joel spun around and franticly jammed the elevator button several more times. Nothing happened. Of course, he thought cynically. But then again, you never expected it to be any different this time, did you? That was the way of this place. Come to think of it, he had never come across an operational elevator.
Walking over to the stairs, he stopped short. The stairs were broken after the first three steps, leading into a dark shaft. Great. Taking a deep breath and trying to control his fright, Joel all but ran through the field of ominous beds toward the ramp down to the next level. Reaching the lower level, he stumbled and caught himself on a metal railing. And found himself staring at another note nailed to the wall.
That's it! Down!
Go down!
Down!
.
Down!
.
.
Down.
Find your fear. Find your answer.
down
.
.
.
there
Another riddle? If so, it was pretty obvious. All it meant was to go all the way to the bottom. The riddle contained six repetitions of the word 'down'. The parking garage contained seven levels, the last being represented by the word 'there' indicating where he would find his answer. Joel smiled slightly to himself. These were getting easier every time. Maybe this time he would finally find what he was looking for. Joy. . . I'm coming. Wait just a little longer my dear sister!
Joel ran headlong down the ramps. Level upon level he passed by, barely noticing that each was more decrepit than the last. By the time he reached the bottom floor, his surroundings had degraded into a dismal state. The walls were covered with rust and blood. In some places the rusting was so bad it had completely eaten through the metal, and dirt mounded on the floor where it had fallen through the holes. Also, the concrete floor had transformed back into metal grating. Slowing to a halt, Joel surveyed the final level of the parking garage.
This was by far the worst place he had ever witnessed, even in this world of nightmares. Tall fences sectioned off the entire area, forming a twisting hallway through the blackness. As Joel walked through the labyrinth, he passed grotesque hanging bodies at irregular intervals with blood slowly dripping from their toes. Just as he came abreast of one, the body twitched violently and Joel jumped quickly to the side, slamming into the opposite wall. Rubbing his left arm, he swallowed hard and resolutely continued on.
After what seemed like hours, he finally reached the end of the hallway. He stood before a large blood-red door. In the door were four indentations; one on the bottom shaped in a sphere, the one on top resembling a half-moon, and two vertical slots in the middle about the size of average playing cards. Around the entire thing were white markings. A large triangle inside two concentric circles. The mark of Samael. Why is that here? Samael was destroyed by that man. They should have all disappeared! But despite his convictions, Joel had been seeing the mark more and more lately.
It was then that he noticed something else. Another hospital bed set off to the side near the door. This time, though, the sheet was pulled back to the waist. Joel's heart leaped into his throat at what he saw. A young woman with shoulder-length brown hair was laid out on the bed. No! It can't be her! he thought as he dashed over to the bed. A moment later, he realized that this wasn't his sister. The nose was too large and her chin too pronounced. Heaving a sigh of relief, Joel saw the playing card clutched to the woman's breast face down. Joel reached out and carefully removed the card from the blackened fingers. He knew what he would see before he turned it over. Sure enough, the Queen of Diamonds stared up at him with a blank gaze.
Pulling the other items of The Puzzle out of his pockets, he approached the door. Triumphantly, he placed the rubber ball in the bottom hole and the broken CD into the half-moon. Calmly, he slid the King of Hearts into the slot on the right, but his hand froze as he was about to insert the Queen. He remembered. He remembered what always came next. Joel checked his weapons carefully and then, satisfied that they were all in good working order, drove the Queen of Diamonds home into her slot on the left. The lock gave way with an audible click and the door screeched on its rusted hinged as Joel shoved it open.
Warily, he stepped into the large square room on the other side. It was empty save for a rectangular pit in the center and several piles of junk in the corners.
"BROTHER!" came an agonized shriek from above him.
Joel rushed to the edge of the pit, tears welling up in his eyes. Suspended from the ceiling with a long chain was his sister.
"Joy!" he wailed. "Oh God, Joy! I'll get you down, don't worry!" Joel couldn't tear his gaze away from her. He had searched everywhere for her and here she was! He began frantically searching for a way to release her without her falling into the black chasm below.
"Joel," she said urgently. To distracted, he didn't even notice. "Joel! Joel, look out! BEHIND YOU!"
Head snapping up, Joel whirled around toward the sound of her voice. Rising out of the pit was a huge demon monster. Its long sleek body was a mottled brown color and large chunks of flesh sloughed off the ribcage as it stalked towards him. Sharp talons protruded from its sinewy paws and long sharp teeth gleamed in its massive head. The head of a lion only without fur. The Sleeping Lion. In his shock at seeing his sister, Joel had forgotten what always awaited him after solving The Puzzle. Every time, he was confronted by a demon more fearsome than the ones prowling the streets; it was as if they were the last line of defense to keep him from his objective.
With a bellowing roar, the Lion slashed out with his front paw. Leaping back, Joel barely dodged the first swipe and took off around the pit, firing a quick shot at the beast. Blood spurted from its left shoulder where Joel's wild shot connected beyond all luck. Pulling out his handgun, Joel began shooting at the Lion's head while keeping the pit between them.
Before long, black blood oozed from a dozen holes in the monster's face and chest. The grating became slick as the Lion leaked juices everywhere. Joel really had to concentrate to keep his footing but he knew he would eventually wear the hulking behemoth down. He just had to make sure not to come within reach.
Screaming in rage, the Lion made a last attempt Joel didn't expect. Crouching down, the monster leaped strait over the gorge at him. Caught by surprise, Joel didn't react in time as he tried to flee the oncoming blow. Razor-sharp claws raked his right side, ripping through his shirt and tearing long gashes in his flesh. Howling in agony, Joel threw his pistol away from him and gripped the shotgun with both hands. The Lion reared up, preparing to deal a deathblow, but at the same time, Joel brought the shotgun vertical under the monster's chin. In one smooth action, Joel pumped the shotgun and then pulled the trigger.
The sound of the blast was deafening and Joel was slammed hard against the back wall as gore and fragments of bone fountained from the top of the Lion's head. Joel was sprayed with warm blood, which mingled with his own blood running freely down his side.
Staggering backward on its hind legs, the Lion's agonized roar came out as a pathetic squealing sound as it began to topple over the edge of the pit, arms flailing for any purchase.
Everything seemed to lurch into slow motion as Joel watched the Lion grab desperately on to the chain that held Joy aloft. The chain snapped just above that paw with a great groan of straining metal, sending both the hideous creature and the girl plummeting down.
Joel screamed in wordless despair as he watched his beloved sister fall out of view into the abyss below. Desperately, he scrabbled his way to the edge of the chasm, ignoring the intense pain in his side, but it was too late. She had already fallen out of sight and her terrified shrieks were fading quickly.
Sobbing uncontrollably, Joel pushed himself back away from the precipice. She was right there! Why? It's not fair! After all I've gone through, to lose her like that! Joel's head throbbed and he was finding it difficult to think. Dimly, he tried to press his jacket over his wound to slow the loss of blood.
The world winked out as his flashlight guttered and died. The last thing he remembered was the sound of air raid sirens somewhere in the distance.
*------------------------
Author's notes: There it is, Chapter 1. I hope everyone enjoyed it! Was it too long? Just right? . . . Too short?! Let me know what you think. I'll continue to work hard on it if you think it's a worthy story and I'll try to update on a regular basis, you just never know when you might be struck by that dastardly minion *gasp* WRITER'S BLOCK! Any way. . . as always,
Reviews=more chapters! ^_^