Chapter 8 – Truth or Dare?

Groaning, Mercurius' eyes opened. Nothing. There was nothing but darkness. He panicked. Whatever Knight had pumped him with; it must have made him blind. Maybe it had been planned, maybe it hadn't…but the bastard had taken his sight. The ultimate punishment. Leave a man blind in this environment, and he wouldn't last very long. And he knew it.
And suddenly there was light.
He groaned and turned his head away from the light. It was too bright. It hurt his eyes. And then he realised: he could see! He wasn't blind…
Slowly, Mercurius noticed other things. He was on a bench…yes, the same bench Zan had been lying on. His rifle was next to him, close to hand and ready for action.
He laid his hand on it, and slowly sat up. His head swam, and he blinked, trying to clear it.
A deep voice next to him spoke. "Easy there…that son of a whore pumped you full of some sedative. I think he was hoping you would die from too much of whatever it was. Lie back. Let your head clear."
The ex-Marine went back down gratefully. His eyes have adjusted to the light. He looks up and sees a woman. A nurse. Her blond hair frames her face. She wears a read cardigan over her uniform. But her eyes…her eyes are terrified. But if you look closer…there's nothing there. No spark. No life. The eyes of a dead person.
He blinks, and the woman is gone. Instead Zanatos stands over him, looking at him in concern. But now Mercurius looks…Zan's green eyes. They look the same. They have the same lifelessness as the woman's. "Zan? What…what happened?"
His partner looked concerned. "Don't you remember? That S.O.B Knight…he pumped you full of crap while I was barely awake, and led the others away at gunpoint. I couldn't move, Merc…I couldn't stop him."
Mercurius slid his legs off the bed. "I knew we couldn't trust him. He wanted to leave, but I knew he was coward. I must admit…leaving was tempting."
He held his head in his hands. "Zan…all that stuff. You said things when you were ill. Hey, how is your leg?"
The big man shrugged. "Painful, but better…whatever I got shot into my arm must of done the job nicely."
The smaller man shook his head. Hadn't it only been morphine? A powerful painkiller…but it couldn't do that? Could it?
Zanatos interrupted him though. "As soon as you feel up to it…we gotta go. Knight has the women. And even if that piece of shit isn't doing anything to them, the town will."

Knight laughed delightedly. He had forced the woman back to the police station. Oh, he'd had to blow away a few of the monsters. A flying demon here, a weird ape-thing there…no biggy! After all, he was the Sheriff of Silent Hill. He could what he wanted. And now…he had his chair back. Well, the old Sheriff's chair. Oh, it was a little worse for wear, sure. But it was still usable.
He sat there now. Surveying his captives, his prizes of war. The two girls, they were his…Alessa always had been, and soon so would the new girl, Cheryl. But the woman. Well…he could see the defiance burning in her eyes. Maybe she would have to go. But he would have some fun with her first. The whole town was his. It always had been, if people had only had time to notice.
He laughed again. "What do you ladies think of my kingdom? Oh, it needs a bit of cleaning, but hey…the servants been slack recently."
No reply. Of course…he needed to take off the gags. He stood up and pulled off…yes, he decided. Sara. The wench would have something to say. "So…little woman. What you got to say to your king?"
Sara looked at him and looked away. "Let the girls go. I'll stay, I'll do what you want. Just…let them go."
Knight sat back in his chair and laughed. "Trying to bargain away? With me?" He span around once, the chair screaming on its rusted bearings. "Why would I want to bargain? You're going to do what I want anyway. Everyone does, in the end."
"You…bastard!"
He shrugged. "Ain't it the truth? Oh, sure…they said I'd never be anything. Even the Sheriff, one before me of course, said I was a looser. Well…it was a shame that he got killed. What with the SHPD having so much trouble, I was forced to take up the position." He smiled and caressed the powerful handgun. "The old Sheriff Knight had such a funny look on his face when his belly exploded from a slug from his own gun. Oh, he screamed some. But at the end he just kinda stared into my eyes. It was really quite beautiful, you know?"
Sara shuddered. This man was a psychopath. A sociopath. Something. But he was evil. Insane. "What…what were you before you killed the old sheriff?"
He waved dismissively. "Doesn't matter now. But if you have to know, I was the station janitor. But I knew I was destined for greatness…soon as I saw that this uniform fit me."
He suddenly sat forward in the chair. "I'm a lot smarter than everyone thinks, you know? I know what's going on here. I overheard my predecessor and the head of the nearest hospital talking one night."
Knowing this was the best chance she had to find out what was going on, and of course every minute the mad man was talking he wasn't doing something…worse, Sara asked, "That's very clever of you. What did you hear?"
He grinned. "They were trying to raise a God. The great Samael. Reckoned they had some stuff that meant they could control him. I reckoned they managed it."
Sara nodded slightly. "They were part of the cult, right?"
"Clever girl!" He nodded approvingly. "But I reckon something went wrong. Because for a bit, back before you guys came here, everything…flickered. It was like the world went wrong. I saw it all seeping away. But then those mark things, you know, the circle triangle ones? They glowed. And it all came back. So I think those are the only thing keeping everything like this now. If we break those, we could go."
Sara's heart thumped. Could this lunatic have stumbled on a way out? "Have you tried that? Breaking these…Marks of Samael?" The name bothered her, she had heard it before. But she couldn't remember where. "Have you tried to escape?"
The man who claimed to be Sheriff Knight looked blank and laughed. "Why would I want to leave my kingdom? With Zanatos dead from that thing on his leg by now, and Mercurius conquered in my war on him, I rule this world. The buildings are mine, the streets are mine…and your mine. I would be crazy to leave all this!"
And Sara knew with a sinking heart that this mad man would keep them there…until they died. Or he killed them.

Mercurius stood up swayed slightly. Zanatos held his elbow in an attempt to keep him stable. "Sure you're up to this?"
"Do I have any choice?"
"Not really."
The blonde man shrugged. "Then lets go." In his own mind, Mercurius blamed himself for letting Knight get them. He must have grabbed and loaded a syringe right under his nose, while they were in the basement. He had been too busy filling the body bag with drugs to help Zan to notice the bastard do it.
The pair stepped outside. It was dark, and even with their lights, it was difficult to see. They moved towards the hospital entrance, guns ready, when they heard…her.
She was behind the desk, almost like she was waiting for them. Or maybe for a visitor to walk through those doors and ask to be treated. It was impossible to tell. A nurse, her uniform immaculate, and her blonde hair loose, stood they're looking at them…no, through them. As though she could not see them. Which was obviously the case…she was partially see through, unreal.
A man walked up behind them. They turned and watched him walk between them, carrying a brief case in one hand. His suit was perfect, but his eyes were heavy, like he had been crying. He lay the brief case on the desk. "Why did you do it Lisa? We were looking after you, weren't we? It was an easy job. Why did you betray us Lisa? Tell me!"
The young nurse, Lisa, snarled at him. "You burnt her alive, just to keep her in check! You put that beast inside of her, and when she wouldn't do what you and your filthy cult wanted Kaufman, you and that bitch set her on fire. Oh, sure…you made it look like an accident. Burnt down a few other parts of the town. But it was you who did it!"
The man shrugged. "We did what had to be done. Its not like Alessa is a person or anything."
"Not a person!? Of course she's a person! She's a young girl, for Gods sake!"
"God has no business in this affair."
Lisa turns and runs. There is a spectral door opening and slamming shut. Kaufman moves to intercept her. She walks out the door Zanatos and Mercurius themselves just exited through. The corridor around them becomes bright again, but the two marines have no doubt where they are. Lisa pushes past Kaufman and heads for the door. He grabs her arm, and she turns and screams at him. "You think just because you got me hooked on that stuff, you could stop me seeing her suffering? Everyday, I see her…she can't heal, because the damage is too extensive. And she can't die either! You bastards robbed her even of her right to die!"
Kaufman pulled out a long barrelled revolver. "Where is the other half of the soul? I know she told you. Hell…I think you even helped her send it away."
The nurse looks at the gun and laughs in an insane, but almost relieved fashion, bending as she does so before straightening up again. "Why should I care about being shot Kaufman? That stuff you feed me has already done a better job than that bullet. Half the nurses are walking dead, if only you let them realise it. No Michael, I'll tell you this because it gives me a great deal of pleasure to do it. Alessa sent it far, far away from here. And it took everything she had to do it. She was only awake a few minutes. Long enough, though, to tell me what I hadn't already figured out about you and your precious cult. And to send it all the way to the other side of the country."
With a grunt Kaufman threw the briefcase, and put the revolver away. "Take it. For…services rendered, lets say. Enough of the drug to keep you happy for a month or so."
The nurse opened the case eagerly, pulled out the white powder. Hands shaking she tore open the bag and inhaled deeply. A look of bliss passed over her face. And the she started to convulse. She turned to Kaufman, and began to stagger unsteadily towards him. A single droplet of blood appeared on her forehead, and ran down her face. She slumped to her knee, and it dropped off. She managed, by a almost super human effort, to once again stand. More blood had appeared. She was suffering a massive hemorrhage. Blood seeped through her uniform. Her face was a red mask. Lisa sobbed, begging Kaufman to help her. She dived forwards in a desperate attempt to reach him, but he simply stepped back and let her fall.
Then he kneeled down in front of her. "Didn't I mention that? Its one hundred percent pure. I'm sure I mentioned it. And before you die, and I have to call the cops to tell them one of my own nurses was found ODed in the main entrance, I just want you to know. Dahlia wove her own spell. Within a few years the other half of the soul will return. And then we will have ultimate power."
Kaufman turned and walked away, as the Lisa convulsed one last time…and then died. The bright hospital faded away, leaving the hollow nurse…and then she too faded away.
Mercurius looked at Zanatos and shuddered. "That…scum-sucking fuck! How could he do that to her?"
The big man shrugged, and walked towards the door. "In this town…I expect she got her revenge in the end."
Mercurius watched him as he walked. "Zan…your limp. Its gone."
Zanatos shrugged again. "Like I said, whatever Sara gave me was good stuff. I can't feel the pain in my leg. Mind…I can't feel my face either."
Relaxing slightly, Mercurius followed his partner to the door. "The…Alessa they mentioned. It can't be the same one you met, can it?"
His partner tried the door. "Can't see how. Alessa, our Alessa, is weird. But she hasn't got a mark on her. No way she could have been burnt alive." He shook it several times. Nothing. "Merc, take a go at that lock, will you?"
The smaller man shook his head. "In this town…I don't think we can rule out anything." He kneeled down and pulled out his gear. "If we ever get out of here, I'm going to buy a new set of these…these picks are getting worn out from all the work I'm doing here."
"If we make it out of here I'm buying a house in the mountain, and gonna have a pair of psychotic attack dogs called Molotov and Askit."
"Askit?"
"Yeah. 'What's the dogs name?' the guest says. My response, 'Askit.' See?"
"I can see you're feeling better…" He sighed. "This door is not going to open. Not to me, not today." He stood up with a click. "Looks like were searching for another way out."
They walked back into the building. After a few moments they reached the place where Mercurius, Knight and Cheryl had previously entered the basement levels and battled the nurses. The door, now a rusted iron monstrosity, refused to open. But the Elevator gave off a faint flicker of light…
The blonde man pressed the button, and was surprised to see the doors open. Inside a dim light showed the floors they could choose…B1, 1, 2 or 3. "What do you reckon Zan? Shall we go all the way to the top and head for three?"
"Uhhh...Merc?"
"Hmmm?"
"Where did that fourth floor button come from?"
Mercurius turned whip-lash fast, starring at the panel. There was, indeed, a fourth floor button. "But…that wasn't there before."
Zanatos shrugged and pressed it. "This building ain't got 4 floors…lets see where it goes." The doors slid shut on them and the Elevator slowly whirled its way up the shaft.
Mercurius raised the stock of his rifle to his shoulder, and after a moments pause Zanatos did he same.
Above them…something screamed.
The elevator stopped with a jerk. The panel said they were on the third floor. The doors slid open to reveal…nurses.
But these nurses made the ones faced earlier look decent and normal, and not the twisted, obscene monster they were. These ones carried pipes. The uniforms were soaked through with dry blood. But it was there face that was so strange…it was gone. All that was left was…a blank space. As though God himself had started them and left them unfinished.
Zanatos' shotgun roared. One nurse flew back, making a low moan even as its malformed body slammed into the metal grate floor and skidded to a halt with a sickening crunch against the wall. But the groan was barely one of pain. It was closer to an almost sexual pleasure…
The second nurse lurched towards Mercurius, the pipe swinging in an overhead blur designed to crack the blonde man's skull like an egg. He blocked the blow with his rifle, and then slammed the stock into the creatures jaw with a crack. It barely flinched before swinging the pipe, this time in a shot to the ribs. A harsh cracking noise signified that one or more of the fragile bones had snapped. Mercurius doubled up, and watched in horror as the monster swung the half foot long steel pipe in a third blow that would cave in his skull…

"What's that noise?" Knight, or whatever his real name was, looked around, the magnum in one hand and Sara's SAA in the other. A crash erupted again, deep in the bowels of the police station. Knight looked around to face where the threat came from. A solid wall, bearing the Mark. "There's nothing in the part of the station except the cells…what's going on?"
Sara thought about the thing they had fought on the stations roof. Could it possibly still be alive? Or…could it be the Pyramid thing? That made a little more sense…and yet, Sara hoped it was the Spider-Thing. At least that had been trapped on the roof…

A silver flash swept over Mercurius. The sword of the Pyramid Head, now used by Zanatos, sliced deep into the flesh of the nurse…and then through her neck. The malformed, faceless head bounced away, blood dripping onto the floor as the body swayed for a few moments and then dropped.
The second nurse was slowly getting to its feet as the huge blade literally nailed her to the wall. She began to twitch violently, far more rapidly than a human could. It must be tearing muscles apart doing it, at least on anything still alive.
Zanatos, however, was already kneeling by his friend. "Are you alright?"
Mercurius had finally gone down when he saw Zanatos had nailed their targets. "I think the bitch broke my ribs."
Gently Zanatos lifted his shirt up to look. A large, vicious looking purple bruise had already started to form. "I'd say so, yeah. It's on the wrong side for the recoil from your rifle to hit, but its still going to hurt like a bitch. I don't even have anything to tape them up. Can you move?"
Mercurius slowly got to his feet. "Yeah, I can keep going. Zan…those nurses. We thought some before but these are…different. There barely recognisable as ever being human."
Zan shrugged. "Maybe they never were. Maybe this is all part of a dream, a nightmare. Hell…I'm starting to wonder about if I'm real or part of a dream too."
His partner looked at Zanatos oddly. "You're starting to get weird Zanatos."
The bigger man smiled. "This place is gonna make us all a little odd by the time we escape, Merc. Let's concentrate on getting out of here so we can pay some head shrinker to sort our brains out. Come on, we'll try the lift…"
After grabbing his sword from the dead…thing nailed to the wall, Zanatos helped his friend into the lift and looked around. The doors slid shut as he did and the lift began to rumble upwards to the mysterious 4th floor…

Something screamed [Agony]. It was a high pitched wailing that made the very walls seem to vibrate and shimmer…or maybe that was just what it was doing to Sara's head. It was hard to tell. The scream erupted again [Torments unimagined] and this time Knight collapsed, his hands covering his head. "What in God's Good Name is it!?"
And then another screaming emerged. This one, however, they could place. It was the noise of metal being torn apart as a huge blade just like the one Zanatos had taken from the Pyramid Head sliced through one wall. Knight raised his gun, ready to fire as the wall was slowly cut in half…

The fourth floor of the hospital was dead. Zanatos and Mercurius had to be half way around the place now, but they still hadn't found a door unlocked or anything even remotely interesting.
"This is beginning to bug me now…what the blue hell is going on here?" Zanatos flicked his shotgun and its light from side to side, looking for something…anything.
Mercurius grunted. "There's something up here. I can smell it. Hello…what's that?"
"What's what?"
"That door has a mark on it. Looks like some kind of…star."
Zanatos walked up to the door. He looked around; checking for anything…then slowly opened the door. Jumping back, he waited.
Nothing.
With the tip of that long barrelled shotgun, he nudged the door open even further. It swung in and let out a stench of death even more overpowering than that which existed in the rest of the building.
Apparently not bothered, Zanatos walked in and swept the room with that light on top of his gun. "Its clean. Kinda."
Mercurius followed his friend into the room and looked around as well. It was bear, all rusty grates and stained walls…except for the far wall. Leaning against that lay a woman, a nurse. She looked oddly…familiar. Mercurius knew where he'd seen her before. "Lisa."
Zanatos nodded. "She left us something, too." He walked over and picked up the book next to her. "There's a lot missing, and some of its been partially messed up…looks like some one got a lot of blood on this thing." He stood for a few moments, flicking through it. "Its going out about how she realises now that she was just like all the others all this time…I don't get it man."
"What else does it say?"
"Lets see…it's starting to clear up. I can read it now."

Its happened…I'm just like them now. It's his fault. Kaufman's fault. Kill…Kaufman…that'll take away this hole inside. Why did Harry leave me?

Kaufman's dead, I killed him. It felt good. He screamed when I pulled him back. The God is still here though. I saw him…underneath. In the Dark Places where the living Should Not Go. The Older Gods own Silent Hill now. The Mark is in Effect. The first Sinners have been called. But…something defies the God. Something with HIS power. Alessa lives.

My mind is slipping away…the monster in me is taking over. I can't stop this bleeding anymore. Why can't I stop the bleeding? Where's all this blood coming from? Is it my blood? Harry left me. Or is it Kaufman's? He's next to me, you see. His body anyway. His soul has long gone…to the torments he deserves, yes yes yes. I can hear it screaming when I try really hard. But he's not alone, no no. The town is with him. We're all with him…all those who maintained the silence for him.

I'm not Lisa. I was never Lisa. I was a puppet with Lisa's memories, and now I'm falling apart. I don't like this. Was I just Lisa, or was I just her memories? The memories of a dead woman? Do memories equal soul? Do I have a soul for the town to torment? Even now the God grows stronger. He's changing the town too, and not just like before. It's not just twisting into an evil world. Its…growing. New things appear. I know there were never there before, but they are now. And I remember them. Have I just gone mad? I was never Lisa. Is this a puppet or a Harry left me person talking? I'm scarred…

I can see them all, now. They're walking. They're changing too. There's the head nurse. She changed first, you see, because she was the most important one to the Cult. She doesn't even look human too. Their lumps are going away, and then they become something else. A lot of the nurses from the other hospital are like that, almost all of them. But they change. No one loves me. New thinks keep appearing and going away again. There all in people's minds, you see? Its all what you see in your head that makes you see with your eyes. Why aren't I changing? I'm like them.

I know how to leave the hospital now…but I don't want to. I'm home. Why did I want to leave? To find Harry? He left me. But to escape you just have to get to the other end of this hallway. But the doors locked. It's easy to open though. All you have to do is walk as far into this room I am now as you can into a forest, and then race the hospital staff. If they catch you, you join them, do you see?

It's hard to write now…blood's everywhere. I know what I am now. I'm free. Harry will come back. Harry will care for me. I'm free.

Shaking his head, Mercurius took the book from his friend and put it next to…whatever it was. "Sleep well. You're free now."
Zanatos looked around. "We have another riddle. Care to answer it?"
The other marine smiled. "I already know. How far can you walk into a forest, Zanatos?"

Even as the monsters head burst through the metal wall, Knight fired. A noticeable dint appeared in the things steel, triangle helmet. Knight's gun wasn't the most accurate in the world, but the slugs it fired packed one hell of a punch.
But Pyramid Head didn't even slow down. More and more of the wall was torn asunder as it forced its way into the Chief's room, Knight screaming at it to stop. Ordering it to stop. Another slug bounced of the helmet, causing another dent. This time it paused and looked at Knight with those hidden eyes. What could be hidden underneath something like that?
With a crunch it was through. The sword cut down, sliced into the ground. The steel grate it stood on remained firm, but deep below Sara could see…something. Fire. Something burned.
Knight lowered his aim and fired a round into its leg. Bright blood splashed across the floor in a stream of crimson, and yet it kept on walking anyway. Sara could see it more clearly than before. It wore some kind of apron, and it was almost camouflaged with the surroundings…it was covered in what she knew must be dry blood. "Knight, let us loose! We can help!"
The fake cop didn't even answer, just tried to shoot the advancing behemoth in the heart. It almost staggered, but then kept on coming. Knight was slowly pressed up against the wall…and couldn't dodge when the slash came. The cut was aimed at his stomach, a long, heavy arc. Pulling in his stomach saved Knight life…instead of spewing his guts across the floor, it just sliced him lightly. But the man screamed all the same, and staggered away. The Pyramid Head's helmet followed, and it sent the next over head blow to where he would soon be…

Zanatos looked at his friend like he was starting to loose it. "How big a forest?"
The smaller Marine was already walking, though. "Doesn't matter…because the exact distance you can walk into any forest is…" he stopped dead centre of the room. "Half way. Then you're walking out again."
Something clicked. And from the direction of the lift something shrieked [Fresh souls to hunt!], or maybe it was several something's.
Zanatos grabbed Merc, who winced and clutched his ribs, and dragged him out the room. "Run! I think we got a race on our hands!"
The two men, both injured, ran around the corner. Even as they turned it, Mercurius looked back and saw something terrible, screaming and howling and laughing and giggling as it came. Both men nearly ran into the door at a dead run. Zanatos immediately dropped down a little and began to mess with the door, his hands shaking. Quickly Mercurius stood back and kicked out. The rusted monster screamed in protest, but opened anyway. "It's getting closer!"
They charged down the black corridor, lights swinging wildly from side to side. Doors flashed past, barely seen, barely noticed as the two Marine's ran like the demons of hell were after them…something that may well be the case.
Suddenly Zanatos stumbled and fell, his shotgun clattering to the floor. Mercurius stopped and looked around. He could see it clearly now. It was a jumbled mass of darkness, far darker than the area around it, which was just black with lack of light. Sometimes a shape, human maybe, would come to the front and screamed in that unholy agony. He looked at the door. So close…maybe ten feet. "Zan! We're close!"
"Its closer." Zanatos hadn't even tried to get up. Instead he reached for the shotgun. And he began to fire. If anything happened, Mercurius couldn't see it. "Help me Merc! We can stop this thing!"
Mercurius looked at the thing. Zan fired again. Did it flinch? Did it slow down? He couldn't tell. He tried to raise his gun, but he couldn't. Instead he turned and ran. "Merc?" he heard his friend call as he ran. "Where are you, buddy? I need help here" The door opened under Mercurius' shaking hands. "Merc? Help me! Help me!"
The lift was there, alight, waiting. Mercurius turned and saw Zanatos staring at him, his eyes dead. "Merc! Save me! Mercurius!"
He wanted to help his friend. His oldest friend. His true friend. But he ran. He hit the button to the ground floor. And he heard the screams as the thing reached Zanatos. He screamed for help. He screamed for Mercurius. He screamed his friends name over and over…until it was gone. And the screaming stopped.
Then Mercurius sank to the floor of the elevator and he cried. "I'm sorry Zan…I'm so very, very sorry…forgive me."