Chapter Two – Darkness
The door of the
store lay on the floor, kicked of its hinges. Zanatos was quite able to pick
locks…but he liked to kick door down. Inside three people we're looking
through the store, searching for anything of use.
Zanatos picked up a CD. "Hey, look at this. Linkin Park. Cool. Anyone seen a
CD player?"
Mercurius sighed. "We're in a town gone to hell and he wants to listen to
bloody Linkin Park."
Shrugging, Zanatos put it back, and picked up some long-life batteries.
"OK…Sara, you got those torches yet?"
The woman held up a pair of big, high power torches with long handles. "I
think these ought to do, since both you boys have lights on your guns."
Zanatos nodded. "Good. I have a burning desire to leave right about now. Come
on folks, the way out of town should be a matter of feet down the road." He
looked out of the window. "Ah damnit, it's started snowing…what the hell
is it doing snowing in June?"
Looking out the window, Sara shrugged. "This town really isn't normal. None
of the cars will start. I tried to break in to a few, but none would start. I
looked under the hood…but there was nothing wrong. It was like they didn't
want to start."
Against his will, Mercurius shuddered. "Come on, lets go."
The three left. Zanatos looked over at Sara, who was standing there in a blouse.
"You need a coat."
Looking over the 6ft 7 monster, she shook her head. "As long as it isn't
yours. It's down to your knees. It would eat me."
"That's true, but I had other ideas." Zanatos walked off to the left, put
his fist through a window, and pulled out a beautiful coat from the display. No
alarms sounded. He threw it over to her. "The only good thing about this town
is the price."
Further along they saw a sign: 'You are now leaving Silent Hill'. Mercurius
let out a sigh. "Thank God for that."
Up ahead a small figure was in the fog. A small girl with dark hair and a blue
dress. Zanatos looked up. "Hey, little girl, over here!" The child ignored
him, and ran into the thick fog. "Ah crap, get back here!" Zanatos began to
follow, but Sara grabbed his arm. He dragged her for a second before noticing.
"What is it?"
Sara pointed after the girl. "I followed her before, and it was a trap. The
things took me to their world. Please, don't follow her! She's one of
them!"
Before Zanatos could answer, or even decide what to do, the choice was made for
him. The road ahead began to crumple, then simply fell away. The buildings to
either side fell with it. The big man leaped back, pulling both his friends with
him. "Fucking hell fire! What the fuck is going on!"
Sara let go and walked forward, right to the edge of the huge gash that had just
been formed. Across from her, the little girl looked back. Their eyes met, and
then the girl slowly disappeared.
Zanatos had his gun to his shoulder, searching the road. "Bugger it, this
place is fucking with my head!"
Mercurius grabbed his friends arm. "Zan, it's fucking with mine too. Keep
calm, or we are dead. This place is not a good place to die. Get a grip man, or
WE ARE DEAD!"
With a shudder, Zanatos lowered the gun. Not all the way, but far enough to
re-assure his friend. "Let's get to this goddamned school so we can find out
how to get the fuck out of here." He set off in the direction of the bridge
that would take them to old Silent Hill. Mercurius began to follow, then noticed
that Sara was still looking over the gap. "Come on lady, now is about time to
leave."
Sara shook her head, then turned. "Yeah, OK."
They followed after Zanatos.
Several minutes
later the little group arrived by the local police station. Looking up, and
still holding his gun ready, Zanatos said, "Well, well, it looks like this
place has some cops. If I we're a smart person I'd try in to barricade
myself somewhere with lots of food and ammo if I couldn't get out of Silent
Hill, which, lets face it, is a possibility here." He gestured vaguely at the
tall building in front of him. "A police station is just that kinda place, if
it has a cafeteria."
With a nod, Mercurius walked over to the door. "Your right, Zan. That's the
most logical option in a worst case scenario." Pushing the door gently,
Mercurius watched as the door moved on well greased hinges. "Sorry my friend,
you don't get to kick this door in."
With a small smile, Sara looked at the larger ex-marine. "What is it with you
and breaking things? I noticed the door on that house was fire wood."
With a grin and a shrug, Zanatos walked towards the door and entered, the gun up
and ready. He span the gun to the left and the right, quickly scanning the whole
room. "It looks…abandoned. There's even some mist in here…damn, I never
did like police stations."
Advancing, Zanatos in front and Mercurius in the rear with Sara sandwiched
between them. Zanatos quickly checked the door to he left: locked. Then he
checked the door to the right, this time opening it. He kicked the door fully
open, maybe annoyed that he hadn't been able to attack the front door. It was
a small office, with another door at the end. A quick check revealed it to be
locked as well. He turned to his companions. On the board was some crap about a
drugs investigation. "OK people, we can remove a door or we can leave, heading
for the school again. I'm inclined to check the place a bit more. After all,
locked doors are meant to keep things out. I'm betting that didn't include
us."
Sara looked around. "I don't like it here…but I don't like it anywhere
in this hell hole. I'll stay with you two."
With a sigh, Mercurius gestured at the door on the other side of the entrance.
"Looks like you get to enjoy your wood smashing fetish Zan. Kick away. But one
thing: we do not split up. It might be quicker to search, and God knows I want
out of here, but it's an invitation to Death to come knocking."
"Agreed." In three steps Zanatos was passed the others, and aimed a powerful
kick at the door. The stout wood shuddered, but held. He aimed a second, this
time at the lock. Again it shuddered, and held.
Zanatos took a step back, looked at the door and said, "Sod this. Resistance
is futile." He snapped up the dual barrels of the shotgun, clicking off the
safety with his thumb, and pulled the trigger.
The monster weapon roared it's message of death, and the area around the lock
was reduced to so many splinters. The door swung back from the force, a huge
hole missing where the door had been blasted apart. "No damned hardwood door
is gonna stop Zanatos Kell you bastards! HAH!"
With a pump of the handle, Zanatos was ready for anything he might face, be it
monster from hell or well enforced door.
Mercurius looked up. He'd covered the lady from ricochet as soon as he'd
realised what his partner was up to. "Well…that really wasn't necessary,
now was it?"
"Oh I don't know…made me feel better."
Sara looked at the pair. "Come one you two. We need to look through here and
get out as quick as we can." She marched passed the pair, and through the door
Zanatos had obliterated. Her male escorts quickly followed, especially when they
heard her scream. Then they ran.
The pair of ex-marines ran round a corner, to find Sara looking in terror at a
small, grey…thing. It's soulless black eyes where looking at her, as it
moved forwards towards the blonde lady. Zanatos moved her slightly to one side,
and steeped forwards himself, as if in recognition of some kind of challenge.
Raising the terrible shotgun, he aimed…
…And snarled in pain as a second of the creatures stabbed him in the leg, just
below the knee. It had come from a side corridor. "Son of a bitch!" He swung
the huge gun round, aiming it at the top of the things head, and pulled the
trigger. The twin barrels roared, sending the thing flying against a wall. A
sharp crack announced the end of the first, as Mercurius snapped off a shot.
Turning round, Zanatos tested the damage done to his leg. "Goddamn that hurts!
The bloody thing got right to the bone…damn it! I should have seen that second
one."
Sara kneeled down next to him. She had recovered from the shock of seeing the
things that had...done what to her? "I don't think that you've been badly
hurt…it cut through some muscle, but you should be able to walk. The main
problem will be infection. I don't know how to stop it in these conditions."
"I do." Mercurius knelt next to his partner, pulling out a small metal
flask. He uncapped it and poured the amber liquid over the big man's wound.
Zanatos made a muffled noise, grabbed the flask and took a large swig.
"Ow!" He gasped as he finished, "That hurt you bastard!"
Smiling slightly, Mercurius took back his flask. "Well it's for your own
good. Make sure you don't walk into an ambush next time." He turned to Sara.
"That opinion sounded very professional. Are you a doctor?"
With a shake of her head, Sara answered, "No, I was a medical student. I got
to the third year before I got kicked out for stealing drugs."
Zanatos raised an eye brow as he heard that. He was tying a piece of his jacket
around his leg. "That's bloody honest. Me and Merc here were Marines…but
we left when it got dull. They give us pensions and everything."
Mercurius pointed with his rifle. "Since we've done story time now, lets
continue. No more rushing off anyone. Stay with the tour at all times."
They set off, this time Mercurius and Sara in the front, Zanatos limping behind
them. A door to the right opened up, revealing a well organised set of desks.
Most we're covered in papers. A small office stood at the far wall. A quick
look through the window showed it was as empty of civilisation as the rest of
Silent Hill. Zanatos was looking over one of the cops desk, and came up with a
file marked, 'Weird shit'. "Interesting name…lets take a look at
this." He opened, and his eyes went slightly wider. "Hey boys and girls,
this looks like fun. Some chunks are gone…but might still be useful. Listen
here."
Officer: McKenzie
Date: unkown
Details: A house fire started over at that Gillespie woman's place. Heard that
she got out but her little girl got fried. I was upset, I know, but I only saw
the kid when she came with her school for a look round. If I didn't know
better I'd say everyone's wife had died. The whole damned precinct's in
mourning…I heard the girl is still alive, but probably won't make it.
Shame…looked like a good kid.
Officer: McKenzie
Date:
Details: I put all these things in here…I ain't really sure who in the
station I can trust. Hopefully they won't find them here…I think Silent Hill
has some kind of cult ………………………………… god's child.
That's why ……………………… hurt. Apparently she should be
dead…keeps on ……… and shit…but just won't go. I think
……………….. something illegal to keep her going, but I can't be sure.
I'm gonna check it out…but quietly.
Officer: McKenzie
Date:
Details: This town has got some really weird shit going on. I know they have
some weird drugs from a local plant that they use for their weird cult things.
But I think there really is something about that cult…something
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….!
Officer:
Date:
Details: Oh my god…it's too late now, way too late for me.
…………………………………………………………… that's
changed the town and everyone in it into…this. I know ………….. in the
hospital, but …………….. this. The town and everyone in it has become
hell! The floor and walls have these weird markings everywhere, and they're
all covered in dry blood. All the non-cultists are either dead and hanging from
the walls, or they're all barricaded up. I'm not waiting here to die, oh
hell no! The thing on the roof…I'm gonna take it out, get to the chopper,
and get the hell out of here. Me and my gun are not gonna be another victim.
Zanatos flicked the
file closed. And dropped it as he noticed the back was covered in dried blood.
"Ah shit!" He hoped back. "Holy shit, that's horrible!"
Sara looked at the folder. "All the people here…there dead, aren't
they?"
With a shake of his head, Mercurius answered, "No, not all. The cop said some
were barricaded away…in the hell that Silent Hill had become."
With a shrugs, Zanatos gestured at the folder. "Same difference. I don't
think anything can survive long in this world, let alone this alternative
version."
Mercurius looked at his friend. "We're alive after a few hours."
"We're different…ex-marines are better equipped than any bloody town
cop."
Sara looked at the pair. "We have to try and save them…but they aren't
here. Let's finish up quickly and leave."
They left. Zanatos was again in the rear, his limp becoming more noticeable.
They walked further along the corridor towards the door at the end. Mercurius,
in the lead, opened it. It was a long row of jail cells on either side. The mist
from outside was drifting through the windows, flowing around the floor. Walking
forwards the end, Mercurius looked in each cell in turn. All had the same hard
looking bench and not much else.
Side by side, Zanatos and Sara walked in as well. "Well…maybe the rest of
the place is on the other side of the building," muttered the big man.
The door slammed shut. Zanatos span, wincing as his injured leg protested.
Mercurius' rifle pointed over Sara's shoulder. But no one was there.
Mercurius didn't lower the gun though. "The wind maybe?"
And then the sirens started. It sounded like old Air Raid sirens. Both Mercurius
and Zanatos looked around. Sara, however was on the floor, hands over her ears.
"No…no…no…there coming for me again!"
Zanatos looked at her. "Coming for you? Who is coming for you?"
"Uhhh, Zan?"
At his partners prompting Zanatos looked up. Everything was different now. The
floor had become a grate, a huge symbol of some kind on it. The walls too had
changed. Something the colour of rust ran down them. Chains hung from the
ceiling. And the cells we're now full. Each one had a body in it. Each one was
horribly mutilated. And all we're faceless. But each one was hung up in a
slightly different way, and all had died in differently. One was staked in the
heart, another his throat cut then sealed again with some thing hot. And the
only reason they could see was the powerful lights they had. Everything had
become as black as a cave at midnight.
As he walked along them, Zanatos began to feel true dread. The melted remains of
a gun had been burnt into one person, destroying their heart. Guns alone might
not be enough to save them.
Mercurius knelt down next to the hysterical women. "My God…this is what you
saw, isn't it. No wonder…" He reached down, and pulled her to her feet.
She screamed as she saw the horrible things that had one been human in the
cells. Mercurius grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her gently. "Come on
Sara. Snap out of it!" She looked at him, seeming not to see him. She looked
at Zan and screamed again. Mercurius did the only thing he could think of. He
slapped her across the face.
Sara looked back at Mercurius, surprise in her eyes. Then she took a deep
breath, even though the air tasted of death and blood. "I'm…I'm sorry.
But…they…got me in this world last time."
Mercurius frowned. How had she survived if they had got her? It didn't make
much sense. "Zan, what's that door like?"
The bigger man shrugged. "I assume it's open. Can't get shredded or nuthin
if it ain't." He walked over, twisted the handle. The door opened to reveal
the corridor they had just come along. Only now it was like the cells: its floor
was rusted grates, it's walls stained. The windows we're covered in steel
grids…and outside was black.
Mercurius shuddered. "This place is freaked. Time to leave, boys and girls."
He set of down the corridor in the lead.
As they advanced through the hell that had, minutes earlier, been a small town
police station, Zanatos stopped outside the door to the office they had been in
moments before. "Merc, should we take a look in here? Some things might have
changed since our last visit." It also gave the big man an excuse not to walk
for a few minutes. The bandage on his leg was soaked in blood, and the flesh
around it, if it could have been seen, had been come red and angry.
Mercurius re-traced his steps back to the door, Sara following closely. With a
nod, and his gun ready, Mercurius gave the signal for the door to be thrown
open. The big man nodded, turned the handle and gently moved the door open. It
would be pointless if the door swung back and closed in Merc's face. With a
quick movement Merc was in.
As Zanatos had guessed the room was different now than it had been. It was a
nightmare like the outside, all the desks, bar one, smashed and lay scattered
around the room, heaped in corners, and other places they hadn't been. But
even like this, it was obvious a lot of the stuff that had been here wasn't
anymore. And something new was. The desk with the folder was still up and
ready…only now something else was above it, on the ceiling. A burning corpse,
arms out stretched like it was trying to touch something, was there, and gave
the room a freaky kind of light.
The folder lay below it, open. Zanatos could see this was an un-edited version,
that the explanation to what was going on in Silent Hill was in that folder. He
reached out, his huge hand reaching for his answers. The burning mass above gave
out an odd noise. With a start, Zanatos jumped back, pain crossing his face.
Mercurius had his gun raised, and aimed at the burning thing.
And it moved. The flaming head turned down to look at them. The blackened mouth
opened, and the thing hissed, "Hell is here." The chain that was holding it
too the ceiling snapped, sending the cage and its tortured inhabitant crashing
into the desk below. The whole thing exploded in a shower of sparks.
Both men and Sara backed away, as the heat from the burning mass grew hotter.
Forced into the corridor, Mercurius said, "Did he say, 'Hell is here'?"
Over his shoulder, his gun raised, Zanatos responded, "Yes, he did."
Sara looked at the pair. "Who cares what he said! The damned thing spoke! It
was dead, it was burning and it spoke!"
With a shrug, Mercurius set off again. "I know…right now, I'm trying not
to know very hard. We can talk about this when we are safe. Lets go."
With little choice but to follow him, the others set off after him.
Back at the first
door they had entered, the one Zanatos had reduced to fire wood, and they ran
into their first major problem. The door was back, this time in the rusted steel
of this new Hell World. It wasn't even locked this time: it was welded to the
wall.
With a snarl Zanatos smashed one huge fist into it. Flakes of rust fell off.
"What the fuck do we do with this thing now? We can't move it with anything
smaller than goddamned C-4!"
Sara looked from one man to the other. "What? Do you mean we're trapped in
this place? Oh you have got to be joking! This is just great!"
Mercurius took a deep breath. "Calm down you two. There's still one way we
haven't tried yet, that corridor further back. You know the one Zan, where one
of you're little buddies got you from."
With a sigh and a nod, Zanatos began to limp back the way they had came. With a
slight look of concern, Sara moved after him. "Is that leg alright?"
Zanatos shrugged. "It hurts, but unless we stop of at a hospital, there
ain't a lot we can do about it." He sighed. "Trust me lady I've had to
live with a lot worse in my time."
Before he could stop her, Sara hung one of his arms over her shoulder. "I may
be small and weak, but I can take some of the weight off that leg of yours."
Zanatos looked behind him at his partner, as if to say, 'Your gonna let her do
this to me?' Mercurius just shrugged. 'Not my problem.'
Frowning, Zanatos looked down at the small blonde woman. "Fine…just make
sure you move quickly if you quickly if a fight breaks out. Ain't a chance in
hell I can fight right with you hanging on to one side." Despite his frown
though, Zanatos looked both relived and…a little embarrassed...?
No way, though his white haired companion, I've seen him stripped naked after
a bad night out and he just went through the streets jogging, waving at people.
What the hell can make someone like that embarrassed?
Moving slowly as they did, they moved along the second corridor. There we're
several doors just like the now defunct entrance one. Welded closed. There were
also things hanging in the ceiling…things that everyone very carefully
didn't look at.
The last door in the long corridor, however, wasn't locked or jammed shut. It
opened onto a small hall with a double stair. The small party moved to the
second floor of the nightmare that the Silent Hill Police Station had become…
Zanatos leaned
against the wall. He'd very carefully made sure that the wall didn't have
anything unpleasant on it. Along one corridor he could see the light on top of
Mercurius' gun, along the other corridor Sara's high powered flashlight.
They'd been forced to split up, to try the second floor doors quicker. The
main reason was Zanatos' leg. After a few hundred yards, Sara had become tired
and had checked his leg. What they had seen had shocked them all. The wound was
red around the actual cut, raised up slightly. The wound itself was bleeding
heavily, as well as leaking a weird black liquid at one side. But the oddest
thing was that odd markings we're beginning to appear on his leg…markings
that looked a lot like the ones on the walls and floor.
With a slight shudder, Zanatos called out to his companions, "Are you guys
finished yet? I'm getting all bored standing over here by myself." With
whatever the hell is going with my leg, he added to himself.
Sara waved to him, then remembered he couldn't actually see her. Zanatos had
his own light pointing down the corridor they had came up, to make sure nothing
followed after them. The big man was disturbed by the marks that the infection
on his leg had caused. Sara was worried that the combination of mental stress
and the infection was making him begin to loose grip on things… "Zanatos,
Merc, I've got an open door over here!"
Merc called back, "I have a locked door this end…not welded shut though. We
might be able to pick the lock…" There was a note of doubt in his voice
though. He'd tried several times to pick the lock. The thing was, although he
knew the lock type well enough, it wouldn't work…the lock seemed to resent
any attempt made to pick it.
Zanatos shrugged. "The little lady gets to go through door number one. Give us
a second Sara, and we can all try it together. After the last door you went
through first, I'm guessing you aren't eager to try it again." Moving
fairly quickly, despite his leg, Zanatos got to the door at about the same time
as Mercurius. With a quick gesture, he showed his partner he could do the
honours.
Mercurius opened the door slightly, then pushed it so it opened slowly. He had
to push quite hard, and the door seemed rusty and creaked heavily. With a sort
of hopping jump, Zanatos was inside, and waving that shotgun around the room.
It was, it had to be said, well lit. A burning person in a cage in each corner
of the room made a lot of light. A four sided thing stood in the middle of the
room, and there was something written on the side closest to the door. In blood.
Maybe they were begging to adapt to what was going on, but they could almost
ignore the way the place was lit up. Almost. Moving closer, Mercurius read it
out loud.
"The Ancient
Greek's believed in the four elements, Fire, Earth, Wind and Water.
Remember that the fire is in the blood…"
Zanatos pointed over
to the far wall. "Look, there are some coloured panels over there…four, if
I'm seeing right."
Sara moved over to them, gently moving one away from the wall in case it was
some kind of trap. It came away without a noise. She held it up. It was a
simple, yellow metal plate. "What the hell is this?"
With a look at the odd message, then the four plates, Mercurius replied, "It
looks like a simple puzzle…we have four plates, one green, one red, one yellow
and one blue. We have a four sided thing, telling us about the four
elements…God help us, in a message of blood. I think we have to solve it
before the other door will open up…leading somewhere."
Sara brought the yellow plate and the red plate over. "So where do we put
these? Do you know?"
Frowning slightly, Mercurius took the red plate. "Fire is in the blood…I
guess the fire goes on the side with blood on it, then they go clockwise, earth,
wind then water." He put the red panel down with a clank. Sara put the yellow
one on the plate next to it after a nod from Mercurius. Quickly she went and got
the last two plates. Repeating the process for the last two, they stood back.
Somewhere well away there was an audible click.
With a look around, Zanatos checked nothing had changed. "Everything's the
same as it was…what was all that about then?"
Mercurius looked at the door. "Maybe it opened that other door up…it would
make sense. This place seems to be driving us somewhere, but with the odd test
to see how we do. I don't like it…but I think we have to follow."
They quickly moved to the other door. As Mercurius predicted the door opened
first time, but with a horrible rusted groan like it was a living thing.
Beyond was another pitch black corridor, the same as all the others. Zanatos
moved up the centre, gun barrel flashing to the left, then the right, searching
for anything that could be a threat. The light searched, but all it found was
shadows. Nothing seemed to be moving. All that there seemed to be was a very
long corridor. Nothing else.
Mercurius moved forward, adding his powerful light to his buddies.
"Nothing…its just a long, very black, extremely creepy corridor."
His partner sighed. "I wish you hadn't said that…"
"What, very black?"
"No, creepy…you had to point out just how creepy it is."
Moving cautiously ahead, with Mercurius in point, they began to walk. The
corridor stretched out ahead, far longer than should have been possible. Sara
stopped after a while, and Zanatos leaned against a wall, taking advantage of
even this brief break. The woman asked, "How long is this corridor? The
building is no where near this big…we should be near the next block over by
now!"
Mercurius looked around. "We'll try a few more hundred more feet, then-"
Zanatos raised a hand, stopping him dead, and raised a hand to his ear.
Mercurius also listened. Somewhere up ahead was a sound like a cleaver hitting
meat, and…a kind of squeaking noise. Both men silently moved forwards, guns
raised. With a gesture Zanatos asked if they should cut the lights. Mercurius
shook his head. Whoever it was must have seen them by now, and without them,
they would be blind. They had to assume there enemy could see in the dark.
Sara, meanwhile moved behind and between the two men. The ancient handgun rested
in her hand, its weight and feel reassuring to her. She noticed that, as mush as
it hurt him, Zanatos was moving normally. He couldn't keep the pain of his
face though, and already his forehead was shiny with sweat in the dim half-light
across his face.
As they approached the noise, gradually they could see what was making the
noise. Two of the small grey creatures they had fought earlier were hacking
chunks out of a man. He had been crucified, and blood soaked through his
clothes, but a police badge could still be seen gleaming on his chest, attached
to the tattered remnants of his blue shirt. His head hung on his chest, a mop of
dark hair in disarray.
A look of pain, then anger crossed Zanatos' face. He put the shotgun to his
shoulder, pulled the trigger, and watched as both the small, grey creatures
shuddered under the blast. They turned, and began to walk towards them.
Mercurius' eyes widened as, blood dripping from the wounds in there backs, the
creatures advanced. Their black eyes seemed to swallow the light from the
torches. He heard distantly, Sara screaming at him, telling him to shoot, to
stop them as they advanced. He heard his friend and partner snarling at him,
telling him to shot, his gun was jammed, shoot damn you…
A small, single crack rang out. Not the high powered snap of the rifle, but the
smaller blast of a hand gun. Behind Mercurius Sara fired the hand gun a second
time, staggering the grey creature to the left. Zanatos grunted, wrestling with
the huge cannon like shotgun, trying to un-jam it before it was too late.
Suddenly Mercurius shook his head. "Damn you little bastards, stop looking at
me!" He shouldered the rifle, fired. The crack echoed down the long corridor.
A hole appeared in the forehead of the creature to the right. A third shot fired
from the SAA put the one on the left down, slumping next to its partner.
A clanking noise announced Zanatos had un-jammed his shotgun. He pumped it
twice, retrieved the unfired shells and reloaded the gun before saying, "What
the fuck was all that about Merc? The little shits were nearly on us by the time
you did a bloody thing about it!"
Mercurius shuddered, starring at the bodies of the small monsters.
"I…couldn't. They looked at me, they looked into me…it was like they
were starring into my soul, judging me, seeing if my soul was pure."
Sara put a hand on his shoulder. "And they found you…good? Pure? Whatever it
was, they let you go?"
The shorter Marine shook his head. "No, they damned me…"
Zanatos shuddered. "My gun…it was almost like it didn't want to fire. It
just locked up."
Behind them something roared. Zanatos raised the hopefully functioning shotgun,
swearing. "Now there is something I don't like the sound of," he muttered
under his breath. In the silence it was loud enough.
Sara looked round, for a doorway. The welded rusty plates around them seemed
solid. Desperately, as the roaring grew closer, she looked to the dead cop.
Something had been…forced through where his left kidney would have been. It
was round, and shiny with fresh blood. But…it was shiny where there was no
blood as well. "That man, there's a door behind him!"
Mercurius looked as well. "Damn…you're right. Those little bastards
crucified him right on to the door." He quickly looked the poor man over.
Maybe it was all they had seen, or maybe it was Silent Hill itself, but he no
longer felt ill when he saw the mutilated corpses. "Zan, unless you want our
dead friend coming down on you, I'd move buddy." The larger man moved off to
one side. With a nod, Mercurius turned round, and used the barrel of his rifle
to wrench the corpse off.
The former cop resisted, his body moving but his arms and legs firmly rooted
attached too the door. The hole where the door handle had been forced through
his body squelched each time he tried. Another roar bellowed behind them. It
sounded like some kind of gigantic, wounded animal. This time it was answered by
the roar of Zanatos' shotgun. "Just checking it lived," he said to
Sara's look of question.
The door creaked again as Mercurius heaved. Then it shuddered again. But this
time, Mercurius hadn't been putting any pressure on the door. He pulled the
barrel loose, just in time. The whole door groaned again, then flew down the
corridor like a huge explosion had blown it off. It sailed past the startled
Zanatos slammed into the floor and cart wheeled off into the darkness. Somewhere
a howl [Pain, rage, robbed of its prey] erupted from the blackness.
Zanatos shook his head slightly. "Time to get the fuck out of here, me thinks.
Move damnit!"
His roar of fury had two effects: to be answered by the beast, and to make
Mercurius and Sara snap out of staring where the door had flown. Quickly, with
Zanatos presenting a limping rearguard, they mounted the stairs. At the top was
another rusted door. It opened onto the roof of the police station.
And a nightmare.
