Disclaimer: This'll be the last one of these stupid disclaimers I write, because anyone knows I don't own the original Silent Hill stuff. 'Nuff said.
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Chapter 3: Arrival
It'd been quite a while since I'd gone adventuring in the woods, and although I was enjoying the walk, I had to admit that I was out of shape. We'd been walking for quite a while since the cemetery, and there was still nothing around except trees, fog, and the dirt trail we'd been following.
My companions hadn't spoken much since we'd left the graveyard, though that was to be expected. Todd never talked much anyway, and Stephanie was too overcome with guilt. I decided to lighten the mood a bit.
"So, Steph, I hear the lake in this place is really nice. You ever water ski before?"
"Um.. yeah, a little back in high school," she said, obviously surprised I was speaking to her. "I wonder if the fair is gonna be in town."
"Fair?"
"Yeah, the pamphlet you showed us said that aside from a carnival, there's a fairgrounds that has an annual festival with rides and shows and animals."
"Well," said Todd, "if we ever get there, we'll have to check it out." From the tone of his voice, I'd say he was getting annoyed at the long walk. Steph and I grumbled our agreement and walked on.
Soon, the surroundings started to change. The trees diminished in number, and the dirt path gave way to concrete. A chain link fence on our right blocked off some sort of construction. There were orange cones here and there, so apparently the place was in the process of revamping their roadway into town.
"Well well, signs of civilization?" I said, chuckling.
We came to a large wall of stone and realized the mountain had cut us off again. This time, though, there was a large metal door. Opening the door, we walked through a long hallway. It reminded me of a subway tunnel, with bits of trash everywhere and posters on the walls. It certainly wasn't well kept, but at least we were out of the foggy woods.
Out through another door, we ended up on a street, surrounded on both sides by tall, brick buildings- an alley. The fog was back, and thicker than before. Visibility was minimal, to say the least.
We walked down the alleyway and stopped when it reached a main road. At this point, Todd spoke up.
"You know, I'm just curious. Where the heck is everyone? We haven't met one single person yet."
"I was thinking the same thing," I said, looking worriedly at Stephanie. "I thought this place was supposed to be really busy, but..."
Everything around us suggested quite the opposite, though. Sure, there were buildings and what appeared to be shops lining the street, but they were all in a state of disrepair. Cars were parallel parked on the sides, but most looked rusted and unused, much like the one we'd seen in the parking lot.
"Umm..," said Stephanie nervously, "lets just try and find the hotel. Maybe we'll meet someone on the way that can clue us in."
We nodded and started walking. According to the tourist map I'd received in the mail, the hotel was supposed to be somewhere near Toluca Lake, but it looked a long distance from where we stood. Perhaps there'd be a shortcut or something.
As we made our way through the fog-shrouded streets, that little voice in my mind practically screamed to turn back. For a second, I really wanted to, but we'd already walked a long way. Besides, there had to be something here worth staying for, or the hotel room wouldn't have been so expensive. And also, the brochure had shown pictures of water skiing and all sorts of fun things. They couldn't have just made that up, could they?
Unfortunately for us, we'd arrived in the residential area of Silent Hill. The fun area was supposed to be past the lake, but it would be a while until we reached it.
After a bit of walking, a noise started to become audible, but just barely. It sounded like an alarm or something. Perhaps a siren. A few minutes went by, and it gradually got louder.
"You do hear that, right?" I asked.
"How could we not hear it?" said Todd with a grin. "It's coming from just up ahead."
"Lets go have a look," said Stephanie, picking up the pace. "There may be someone who can tell us what's going on."
Up ahead, we turned from Neely St. onto a large road called Nathan Ave. The noise was considerably louder, and it was most definitely a siren. On our right was a large church, and beside it, the source of the noise- South Silent Hill Fire Station.
We walked over to the station, whose garage doors were wide open. Inside was a dusty red fire truck with its lights flashing and the siren creating quite a racket.
Covering our ears from the deafening noise, we entered the garage and looked around. There was a row of lockers against the wall, all rusted and some hanging half open. A tall pole extended from a hole in the ceiling, but it was too dark to make anything out through it. Other than that and a few closed doors, there was nothing to see.
Uncovering his ears, Todd opened the door to the fire truck and started madly pressing buttons. After switching lights on and off, turning on the windshield wipers, and changing the siren to different noises, he finally got it right. All was silent.
"Whew," he said, stepping back out of the truck, "that's better!"
Stephanie finally took her hands off her ears and shook her head.
"Thanks! I don't know how much more of that I could--"
Suddenly something fell from the hole in the ceiling and hit the floor with a sickening crack. Stephanie let out a small scream and grabbed Todd's arm. Todd had only just turned around from the truck when he heard the impact and now stood there, staring and swallowing.
As for me, there was nothing I could do but stare in horror. On the floor on front of us was a body lying facedown, it's limbs bent into peculiar angles. It was presumably a man, judging from the dirty blue jean overalls and the balding spot on the back of his head. He was a rather chunky man, from what we could tell.
"S-sir?" asked Todd, cautiously walking toward the man. "You ok?"
There was no response.
Todd pried Stephanie's grip off his arm and turned back to the body.
"What are you doing!?" she squealed.
"Shut up!" I snapped, and we both turned our attention to Todd and the fallen.
Todd bent down and pushed the man onto his side.
"Oh God..." he said, and backed away toward us.
This time, I joined Stephanie in screaming.
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Chapter 3: Arrival
It'd been quite a while since I'd gone adventuring in the woods, and although I was enjoying the walk, I had to admit that I was out of shape. We'd been walking for quite a while since the cemetery, and there was still nothing around except trees, fog, and the dirt trail we'd been following.
My companions hadn't spoken much since we'd left the graveyard, though that was to be expected. Todd never talked much anyway, and Stephanie was too overcome with guilt. I decided to lighten the mood a bit.
"So, Steph, I hear the lake in this place is really nice. You ever water ski before?"
"Um.. yeah, a little back in high school," she said, obviously surprised I was speaking to her. "I wonder if the fair is gonna be in town."
"Fair?"
"Yeah, the pamphlet you showed us said that aside from a carnival, there's a fairgrounds that has an annual festival with rides and shows and animals."
"Well," said Todd, "if we ever get there, we'll have to check it out." From the tone of his voice, I'd say he was getting annoyed at the long walk. Steph and I grumbled our agreement and walked on.
Soon, the surroundings started to change. The trees diminished in number, and the dirt path gave way to concrete. A chain link fence on our right blocked off some sort of construction. There were orange cones here and there, so apparently the place was in the process of revamping their roadway into town.
"Well well, signs of civilization?" I said, chuckling.
We came to a large wall of stone and realized the mountain had cut us off again. This time, though, there was a large metal door. Opening the door, we walked through a long hallway. It reminded me of a subway tunnel, with bits of trash everywhere and posters on the walls. It certainly wasn't well kept, but at least we were out of the foggy woods.
Out through another door, we ended up on a street, surrounded on both sides by tall, brick buildings- an alley. The fog was back, and thicker than before. Visibility was minimal, to say the least.
We walked down the alleyway and stopped when it reached a main road. At this point, Todd spoke up.
"You know, I'm just curious. Where the heck is everyone? We haven't met one single person yet."
"I was thinking the same thing," I said, looking worriedly at Stephanie. "I thought this place was supposed to be really busy, but..."
Everything around us suggested quite the opposite, though. Sure, there were buildings and what appeared to be shops lining the street, but they were all in a state of disrepair. Cars were parallel parked on the sides, but most looked rusted and unused, much like the one we'd seen in the parking lot.
"Umm..," said Stephanie nervously, "lets just try and find the hotel. Maybe we'll meet someone on the way that can clue us in."
We nodded and started walking. According to the tourist map I'd received in the mail, the hotel was supposed to be somewhere near Toluca Lake, but it looked a long distance from where we stood. Perhaps there'd be a shortcut or something.
As we made our way through the fog-shrouded streets, that little voice in my mind practically screamed to turn back. For a second, I really wanted to, but we'd already walked a long way. Besides, there had to be something here worth staying for, or the hotel room wouldn't have been so expensive. And also, the brochure had shown pictures of water skiing and all sorts of fun things. They couldn't have just made that up, could they?
Unfortunately for us, we'd arrived in the residential area of Silent Hill. The fun area was supposed to be past the lake, but it would be a while until we reached it.
After a bit of walking, a noise started to become audible, but just barely. It sounded like an alarm or something. Perhaps a siren. A few minutes went by, and it gradually got louder.
"You do hear that, right?" I asked.
"How could we not hear it?" said Todd with a grin. "It's coming from just up ahead."
"Lets go have a look," said Stephanie, picking up the pace. "There may be someone who can tell us what's going on."
Up ahead, we turned from Neely St. onto a large road called Nathan Ave. The noise was considerably louder, and it was most definitely a siren. On our right was a large church, and beside it, the source of the noise- South Silent Hill Fire Station.
We walked over to the station, whose garage doors were wide open. Inside was a dusty red fire truck with its lights flashing and the siren creating quite a racket.
Covering our ears from the deafening noise, we entered the garage and looked around. There was a row of lockers against the wall, all rusted and some hanging half open. A tall pole extended from a hole in the ceiling, but it was too dark to make anything out through it. Other than that and a few closed doors, there was nothing to see.
Uncovering his ears, Todd opened the door to the fire truck and started madly pressing buttons. After switching lights on and off, turning on the windshield wipers, and changing the siren to different noises, he finally got it right. All was silent.
"Whew," he said, stepping back out of the truck, "that's better!"
Stephanie finally took her hands off her ears and shook her head.
"Thanks! I don't know how much more of that I could--"
Suddenly something fell from the hole in the ceiling and hit the floor with a sickening crack. Stephanie let out a small scream and grabbed Todd's arm. Todd had only just turned around from the truck when he heard the impact and now stood there, staring and swallowing.
As for me, there was nothing I could do but stare in horror. On the floor on front of us was a body lying facedown, it's limbs bent into peculiar angles. It was presumably a man, judging from the dirty blue jean overalls and the balding spot on the back of his head. He was a rather chunky man, from what we could tell.
"S-sir?" asked Todd, cautiously walking toward the man. "You ok?"
There was no response.
Todd pried Stephanie's grip off his arm and turned back to the body.
"What are you doing!?" she squealed.
"Shut up!" I snapped, and we both turned our attention to Todd and the fallen.
Todd bent down and pushed the man onto his side.
"Oh God..." he said, and backed away toward us.
This time, I joined Stephanie in screaming.