Quick update, huh? I think I deserve a gold star or something. Anyway, our intrepid heroine delves deeper into mystery. [cue spooky music]
Have fun, and don't forget to floss!
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Chapter 15: Wretched Hive
I walked for what seemed like hours along the deserted highway. The entire time, I'd not seen one car, person, or anything else. Perhaps this was normal for this town... but I didn't think so. It seemed far too familiar.
Munching on the candy bars and junk food I'd "borrowed" from the hospital, I took an exit off the highway towards what looked like civilization. It was completely dark by now, with the crickets chirping and the moon shining brightly. All in all, it wasn't a bad night. Much better than where I'd previously been, that was for sure.
I did, in fact, arrive in civilization. It was still a section of Brahms, but there were at least some cars parked here and there on the streets. At the corner, there was a bar called Bernie's. Lights were on inside, and I could just make out some old country tune being played. Finally, I said to myself.
I walked in and was bombarded with cigarette smoke and the pungent smell of liquor. Several shabby tables sat under low lighting, surrounded by the grubbiest, low-life men I'd ever seen. Any one of them could probably slit my throat and have their fun with me before I could even manage a scream. Suddenly, Silent Hill sounded a lot friendlier.
I walked up to the main bar in the middle of the room, trying to avoid the rude glances and whistles I was receiving along the way. Somewhere, a hand pinched me, and if I weren't in such desperate need of answers, I'd have turned around and slugged the assailant. The bartender, a man equally as filthy as anyone else in the room, eyed me suspiciously as I approached. His apron was stained beyond anything a laundromat could remedy, and his head was completely devoid of hair, save his thick, bushy red eyebrows. He'd been washing a glass when I came in, but he set it down once I got up to the bar.
"What're you sellin'?" he growled.
"Selling?"
"Yeah, sellin'. And lemme tell you somethin', girlie. I don't take kindly to lil' girls struttin' in here cryin' harlot, got it?" His brows furrowed into a scowl. "Ain't good for 'em, and ain't good for business."
"Look," I said, now thoroughly annoyed, "I'm not 'sellin' anything. I just wanna know what's going on around here."
His expression didn't change.
"What's goin' on?" he said. "What's it look like? This is a bar. Don't people drink and carry on in bars where you're from?"
This was going nowhere. I was just about to walk out when a thought hit me.
"You ever heard of a police officer named Jody Mimms?"
Suddenly the bar got real quiet. Every conversation stopped, every eye turned to me. Even the jukebox seemed to have died down.
"What business you got with Mimms?" growled the bartender, though a little less menacing.
"Please," I implored, "she helped me out a while back, and I wanted to go see her."
"I'm afraid that ain't possible, lil' girl," he said, looking down at his glass.
I looked around and noticed that the eyes watching me had gone from lusty to frightened. Interesting.
"Why not? Where is she?"
"Well, she was at the station. Least, that's where she used to be, before she cracked..."
"Cracked?"
"Look!" he snarled, slamming the glass down on the counter. "I've had jus' about enough of yer questions, so haul outta here! Move!"
He didn't have to tell me twice. I ran straight out of the bar and didn't stop until I was far down the street. Nice people in Brahms, I thought. Part of me wanted to go back in and bash every one of them with my lead bar, but that didn't seem plausible at the moment.
Everyone here knew Jody, that much was evident. He said she'd 'cracked', so they all thought she was crazy. Maybe she'd related the story of Silent Hill and got locked up? Not if I had anything to say about it. But I had a ton of questions to ask her, the most important one being where the hell she'd gone after we went to visit the Sunderlands.
He mentioned the station, so I could only assume he meant the police station. Looking around, I didn't see it offhand. Too bad I didn't have one of those handy maps like in Silent Hill.
I walked along the sidewalk for a while, the streetlamps shining down from above. Somewhere inside my mind, a little voice begged to just catch a cab and go home. However, I hadn't listened to that voice in quite some time, and I wasn't about to start now. Not when so many questions still remained unanswered.
I didn't see anyone else about as I walked. All the shops were closed up and locked, and except for the occasional passing car, there were no signs of activity.
I got to a building marked "Brahms Center for Tourism", and walked up to it. True, the building was locked up, but a small plaque outside displayed a map. Excellent. The town itself wasn't very big. One could probably drive it in less than ten minutes.
The police station stood nearly a quarter mile from the tourist center, so it took me a little while to walk there. Luckily the lights were still on inside, so I walked in through the double glass doors.
A small semicircular counter stood in the foyer, behind which sat a squat, balding officer reading the newspaper. He set it down upon my entry.
"Can I help you, miss?" he said politely.
"Yeah, can I talk with officer Mimms, please?"
His expression changed immediately, from politeness, to shock, to severity.
"Look, kid, I'll tell you like I told all the reporters. She ain't here, alright? She's gone. I'da thought after all this time you people'd leave her in peace."
"Sir," I said with strained politeness, "I'm not doing anything dishonest here, honestly. I just want to find her and see how she's doing. That's all, nothing more."
He stared at me for a few moments, trying to decide what to tell me. I could almost hear the gears grinding inside his head. Finally he sighed and shook his head.
"Well, be that as it may, she's still not here. If you really wanna see her, she's over at the institute, but I doubt they'll let you in."
"Institute? I'm not from around here..."
"Brahms Psychiatric Institute. It's over on East Tower Road. Can't miss it."
I gave him my thanks and set out.
Have fun, and don't forget to floss!
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Chapter 15: Wretched Hive
I walked for what seemed like hours along the deserted highway. The entire time, I'd not seen one car, person, or anything else. Perhaps this was normal for this town... but I didn't think so. It seemed far too familiar.
Munching on the candy bars and junk food I'd "borrowed" from the hospital, I took an exit off the highway towards what looked like civilization. It was completely dark by now, with the crickets chirping and the moon shining brightly. All in all, it wasn't a bad night. Much better than where I'd previously been, that was for sure.
I did, in fact, arrive in civilization. It was still a section of Brahms, but there were at least some cars parked here and there on the streets. At the corner, there was a bar called Bernie's. Lights were on inside, and I could just make out some old country tune being played. Finally, I said to myself.
I walked in and was bombarded with cigarette smoke and the pungent smell of liquor. Several shabby tables sat under low lighting, surrounded by the grubbiest, low-life men I'd ever seen. Any one of them could probably slit my throat and have their fun with me before I could even manage a scream. Suddenly, Silent Hill sounded a lot friendlier.
I walked up to the main bar in the middle of the room, trying to avoid the rude glances and whistles I was receiving along the way. Somewhere, a hand pinched me, and if I weren't in such desperate need of answers, I'd have turned around and slugged the assailant. The bartender, a man equally as filthy as anyone else in the room, eyed me suspiciously as I approached. His apron was stained beyond anything a laundromat could remedy, and his head was completely devoid of hair, save his thick, bushy red eyebrows. He'd been washing a glass when I came in, but he set it down once I got up to the bar.
"What're you sellin'?" he growled.
"Selling?"
"Yeah, sellin'. And lemme tell you somethin', girlie. I don't take kindly to lil' girls struttin' in here cryin' harlot, got it?" His brows furrowed into a scowl. "Ain't good for 'em, and ain't good for business."
"Look," I said, now thoroughly annoyed, "I'm not 'sellin' anything. I just wanna know what's going on around here."
His expression didn't change.
"What's goin' on?" he said. "What's it look like? This is a bar. Don't people drink and carry on in bars where you're from?"
This was going nowhere. I was just about to walk out when a thought hit me.
"You ever heard of a police officer named Jody Mimms?"
Suddenly the bar got real quiet. Every conversation stopped, every eye turned to me. Even the jukebox seemed to have died down.
"What business you got with Mimms?" growled the bartender, though a little less menacing.
"Please," I implored, "she helped me out a while back, and I wanted to go see her."
"I'm afraid that ain't possible, lil' girl," he said, looking down at his glass.
I looked around and noticed that the eyes watching me had gone from lusty to frightened. Interesting.
"Why not? Where is she?"
"Well, she was at the station. Least, that's where she used to be, before she cracked..."
"Cracked?"
"Look!" he snarled, slamming the glass down on the counter. "I've had jus' about enough of yer questions, so haul outta here! Move!"
He didn't have to tell me twice. I ran straight out of the bar and didn't stop until I was far down the street. Nice people in Brahms, I thought. Part of me wanted to go back in and bash every one of them with my lead bar, but that didn't seem plausible at the moment.
Everyone here knew Jody, that much was evident. He said she'd 'cracked', so they all thought she was crazy. Maybe she'd related the story of Silent Hill and got locked up? Not if I had anything to say about it. But I had a ton of questions to ask her, the most important one being where the hell she'd gone after we went to visit the Sunderlands.
He mentioned the station, so I could only assume he meant the police station. Looking around, I didn't see it offhand. Too bad I didn't have one of those handy maps like in Silent Hill.
I walked along the sidewalk for a while, the streetlamps shining down from above. Somewhere inside my mind, a little voice begged to just catch a cab and go home. However, I hadn't listened to that voice in quite some time, and I wasn't about to start now. Not when so many questions still remained unanswered.
I didn't see anyone else about as I walked. All the shops were closed up and locked, and except for the occasional passing car, there were no signs of activity.
I got to a building marked "Brahms Center for Tourism", and walked up to it. True, the building was locked up, but a small plaque outside displayed a map. Excellent. The town itself wasn't very big. One could probably drive it in less than ten minutes.
The police station stood nearly a quarter mile from the tourist center, so it took me a little while to walk there. Luckily the lights were still on inside, so I walked in through the double glass doors.
A small semicircular counter stood in the foyer, behind which sat a squat, balding officer reading the newspaper. He set it down upon my entry.
"Can I help you, miss?" he said politely.
"Yeah, can I talk with officer Mimms, please?"
His expression changed immediately, from politeness, to shock, to severity.
"Look, kid, I'll tell you like I told all the reporters. She ain't here, alright? She's gone. I'da thought after all this time you people'd leave her in peace."
"Sir," I said with strained politeness, "I'm not doing anything dishonest here, honestly. I just want to find her and see how she's doing. That's all, nothing more."
He stared at me for a few moments, trying to decide what to tell me. I could almost hear the gears grinding inside his head. Finally he sighed and shook his head.
"Well, be that as it may, she's still not here. If you really wanna see her, she's over at the institute, but I doubt they'll let you in."
"Institute? I'm not from around here..."
"Brahms Psychiatric Institute. It's over on East Tower Road. Can't miss it."
I gave him my thanks and set out.