chapter one

His eyes shifted violently from one side of the room to the other. "Mom . . ." He felt tears in his eyes. He was twenty-nine now, but had been ten back then. He had the same nightmare every night from that day on. When he woke up, sometimes he would see the gun, and wake up again. Sometimes it would happen four or five times. He always felt like he was dreaming when he woke up, even if he was awake. Then he heard a loud, incessant siren near him. He was still dreaming. He turned quickly, and his hand hit something. He heard a bang that reminded him of a gunshot, as the siren stopped. The alarm clock was on the floor. It had gone off. He put it back on the nightstand, a plain, square oak one. Everything in this apartment was plain. Working at a convenience store didn't exactly being in enough money to buy a house. But any convenience store was better than that one.

He got off the bed, in his black, ripped boxers, rubbed his eyes, and walked to the bathroom, and took a shower in the old, broken-down bathroom in his old, broken-down apartment. The water was cold, ice-cold, because he couldn't afford it warm. He threw on his brown leather jacket, than realized he forgot to comb his hair. He took out a comb and started to notice his hair disagreeing with him. He combed it as best he could, which wasn't even average, and walked out the door. He locked it, than heard an electrical noise.

"Shit."

He unlocked the door, than walked back into his apartment. He had left the TV on. He walked over to it.

". . . A body was found near a convenience store in Silent Hill earlier today. . ."

Blaine watched the screen.

"Apparently, a young woman was walking back home with her mother. . .

It shoots once, but I hear nothing. Blaine cringed.

". . . when a figure appeared in front of them, firing a total of six times."

It's him, Blaine; the one who shot you.

". . . The mother was pronounced dead at around 1pm today. The daughter is in a coma at St. James Hospital. . ."

Blaine turned off the TV and backed away. "You don't know that. You don't even know if it was a man or a woman." He took out a cigarette, lit it, and put it in his mouth.

C'mon, man! How could it not be?! 'Walking from the store'?

"Shut up."

'Six shots total'

Blaine got in his old wreck of a car. "I don't want to think about it." He started the car.

You always wanted to get him

Blaine violently pushed the stick into gear. "Go away!"

The answer is right in front of you, Blaine. Why do you refuse to see it?

Blaine started considering it. "What if it isn't him, or her, for all I know?"

What if it is? Can you take that risk?

Blaine slammed the car into reverse, pulled back into the parking lot, and walked back into his apartment, to his nightstand. He opened it, and pulled out a handgun and 20 bullets. Then he stopped. What the Hell am I doing?

What the Hell are you doing, Blaine? Take the gun and let's go.

Blaine hesitated. Then, making sure not to think about what he was doing, he snatched the gun and ran back out to his car. He started it, slammed it into gear, and hit the road.

Faster, Blaine. You gotta get there soon!

"I'm going! For God's sake, lay off, man!"

Blaine didn't talk to himself anymore during that long drive to Silent Hill, until he heard his cell phone ringing, when he was more than half-way there.

"Shit!" He said as he fumbled for his cell. He picked it out of his pocket. "Who the fuck could this be?" He flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Blaine!" It was Amanda. His sister was always there for him, mostly when he didn't want her. This was one of those times. She sounded very worried. "I tried to call you at work, but you weren't there."

A long silence. "So?"

"So, was it because of what happened in Silent Hill? I saw the report, too. I thought you might want to talk."

He was annoyed. "Amanda, when have I ever wanted to talk?!"

"I just thought—"

Blaine began rolling down the window. "Not hard enough!" He yelled as he flung it out the window. He would regret that later. He would regret having nobody there with him.

Wow, she just won't leave you alone, huh?

"You're telling me."

It's starting to rain.

Blaine looked out his open window. There was a light rain falling. Blaine closed the window.

Then Blaine saw something on the horizon. It looked like a wall; a grayish white wall. As he drove steadily closer, he realized it was fog. Right before the fog began, there was a sign.

Now Entering Silent Hill

It would be a long time before Blaine would see deep meaning in those words.