SILENT HILL- Brookhaven
The soft crunching of snow under his feet was Noah's sole link to reality, the only thing reminding him that he wasn't dreaming.
He'd stopping running after he'd passed the bowling alley, so out of breath that it had been tempting to go inside and rest.
But he had to keep going, he couldn't stop. The last place he'd gone into had only been a gas station, God only knew
what would happen to him in a bowling alley. The map said that there was a bar of some kind coming up on the right,
a place called Heaven's Night. After that, the hospital was the next building on that street. Noah walked as fast as he could,
breathing in slow puffs as he finally began to calm down. No one was following him, and as he passed by the bar he felt
slightly relieved. It was right around the corner now, and once he got to the hospital even if it was deserted there had to be
drinks and probably food too. He was getting damn hungry, and had nothing but a package of dried beef jerky on him.
All the things he'd thought to bring were in his suitcase, which the maniacal cab driver had convieniently taken off with.
The contents of his pockets were sparse. A cheap lighter less than half full, the questionable map, his wallet
and a small marker he'd taken from the gas station and used to mark on his map where it had been.
Noah withdrew the map from his pocket, squinting at it as the sun was almost completely set now. It should have been
there, right there where he was standing. But there was no hospital, no nothing actually. Only a strange grey tarp stretched
over a blank wall. At least Noah was assuming it was just a blank wall, and if it wasn't he didn't want to go investigating
since he didn't even have a weapon. "What the hell is going on?!" Noah shouted suddenly, fighting an urge to tear the map to shreds.
A loud groaning followed on the heels of his own voice, and footsteps close behind that. Noah whirled around, backing quickly away
as the sound of footsteps grew louder. "What..What is it..." Noah mumbled, the momentary relief already long gone.
HIs heel caught something cold and hard, causing him to fall and land hard on his ass. Noah looked around for
what had tripped him, and found a long steel pipe sticking half out of the ground. The rest of it was buried, but it was
old and extremely rusty. Noah only had to kick it once to break off the exposed section. It wasn't exactly Excaliber,
but just enough to defend himself. The fog in front of him parted, as the groaning echoed ever closer.
Slowly walking towards him, bent backwards so that it's torso was parallel to the ground was some kind of creature.
It had the rough shape of a human, but it's head was enormous. At least as big around as Noah's chest.
As it got slowly closer Noah readied the pipe and stood tense, prepared to attack at a moment's notice.
Noah could now see that the large bulbous mass he'd thought was a head was more like a tail, as two large eyes
glared at him from what ought to have been the monster's hips. The whole torso like section seemed to be the actual head,
and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth gleamed from atop that head. If it had been human, Noah thought,
the mouth would be in the exact spot the heart occupies. It was frightening, so terribly frightening to look at that Noah began
to feel weak. Adrenaline took over his body as the monstrosity lunged for him while still a good eight feet away,
it's arms reaching out as it came. Noah jumped aside, spinning clockwise with the pipe and bashing it into the monster's head as it
turned to face him once more. Now it was only inches from him, and Noah could see it was dripping blood from it's mouth.
Could this thing have killed James? As soon as the thought crossed his mind rage came with it, and this time Noah moved first.
He swung like a major league batter chasing a wide pitch, bringing the pipe alongside the creature's legs with a sickening crunch.
It howled painfully, sinking as it's arms lashed out wildly. Noah saw his chance and bashed it's head with the pipe. One, two, three
times, each blow covering both him and the monster with it's thick crimson blood. The creature collapsed, it's agonizing scream fading
into a gurgle as it choked on it's own fluid. Noah stood hunched over it, breathing hard as he brought his heel down on it. Blood squirted
along the leg of his jeans, quickly soaking through to his leg. He stumbled away from the mess, looking around for more of them
as the mad grin slowly left his face. And there, where he was positive there had been nothing stood Brookhaven hospital.
Exhausted, Noah lumbered towards the building. No lights, no signs of life. Another abandoned death trap, he suspected.
But the way things changed in this town, for all he knew it could have been the safest place for him. Upon reaching the steps,
he had a thought and withdrew the map and marker. If he kept marking places he found, navigating would become increasingly
easier. As he pulled the cap from the marker and circled the hospital, he was amazingly not at all shocked to see that the map
no longer listed it as Brookhaven hospital. Instead, the simple outline of the building had 'mental clinic' scrawled across it in what
looked like a child's writing. Noah chuckled loudly, feeling as if the town itself were plucking strands of sanity from him one by one
like hairs from a balding man's head. As Noah tucked the map away and prepared to enter the building, he caught the sound
of faint static somewhere close by. He opened the large oak door as he turned behind him, glancing around. Something heavy and sharp
clocked him directly in the head, apparentely thrown at him from inside the hospital. Noah staggered back, shouting aloud his hatred
for the god forsaken town. He rubbed the back of his head, wincing as his hand came back stained with blood. It wasn't bad, just a scrape.
He noticed the culprit laying on the stairs, a small metallic red radio. Still emitting the same type of eerie static that had poured from
the taxi cab when all of this madness started. He picked it up, intent on throwing it right back. As soon as it has in his hand the static
grew exponentially louder, with whispers and groans audible in the background. Almost before the realization took, Noah spun on his heel
to see the ghastly thing standing once more. It looked hurt and quite angry. Noah swiftly pocketed the radio, reclaiming the pipe as
the creature ran straight at him. It's head, now severely dented and broken was upside down now. It was running towards him on it's hands.
What used to be the back of it's head was now lined with teeth running all the way to it's ass. It looked almost as if it had simply turned itself
over and been miraculously revived. "Get the hell out of here you fiend!" Noah uttered his battle cry, rushing to meet the monster and shoving the pipe
clean through the bastard's mouth. He'd been just fast enough, as the creature fell and died on the spot. It's closing maw stopping less than an inch
from Noah's arms. He promptly kicked it in the head, tugging simultaneously on the pipe to wedge it free from the monster's body. He brought the pipe
across the creature's head several times, batting it around the street until it was in pieces. When he was satisfied, he tucked the pipe curtly under his arm
and returned to the hospital doors. He took the radio from his pocket, turning the volume to maximum. Somehow, whatever was in this town emmited
a certain frequency. It would seem that an unknown entity had given him a slight advantage. Putting the radio back into his pocket as he entered the building,
Noah held the pipe ready once more. Now he knew for sure there were things here, inhuman, unbeliveable things. Things that needed killing.
The next thing that moves, dies. Inside the hospital, it was relatively clean. What was more, nothing looked disturbed or broken into.
Perhaps the hospital really was safe. There were a lot of locked doors, Noah noticed as he journeyed the hallway. Jiggling doors as he went,
and keeping a look out for anything suspicious.
The room which housed the reception desk turned out to be the only accesible place, as Noah opened the door cautiously.
There on the desk, as if placed there as first prize was a handgun. A shiny silver beretta 9mm to be exact, fully loaded. Under it was the same
hauntingly bright red marking he'd seen in the taxi. Noah felt drawn to it, and slowly picked up the gun. As soon as he did his ears rung with
the most awful sound. Sirens, like the old ones used for air raid warnings. Their noise filled Noah's head, pressing his brain against his skull as he
fought to stay conscious. He staggered back out the door, hissing a deep inward breath as the doorknob began bleeding all over his hand.
Lines of blood remeniscent of veins snaked along the walls and across the floor, suffocating the room until it was a dark mass of sinew.
Noah practically threw himself out the doorway, trying to escape it all. The sirens faded away, but the veiny lines of red liquid continued to dominate
his surroundings. They reached the ceiling, extending down the hallway. It was so nightmarish Noah could only make soft barking sounds as he tried
to scream. In the distance, much further down the hallway which now seemed to lead into hell itself there were figures. More of those horrible monsters
Noah was sure. He dragged himself across the floor to lean up against a wall, feeling slight stings of pain as the entire building now seemed intent
on devouring him. The pipe had been lost inside the receptionist room, thousands of horrid tendrils now held it in a death grip. He only had the gun,
and 15 bullets. The figures closing in on him seemed to be doctors, one of them could have been a nurse. Noah was having trouble even seeing
straight anymore. He raised the gun, squinting down the sight of the barrel. It was too risky, he'd only waste bullets at this distance.
The radio in his pocket screamed bloody murder at him as two more figures came from the other side of the hallway, much closer than the others.
Noah shook his head, gritting his teeth as he slapped himself across the face. Hard. He would not die here, not while James Sunderland was
still missing. Glancing around desperately for anything that could possibly aid him, Noah spied an elevator. It was far, at the extreme east
end of the hall. Tucked in a corner behind the hobbling doctors closing in on him. It was his only chance. Noah took a deep breath, held it in his lungs
and pushed it slowly out of his nostrils. The he ran, faster than he ever had in his life. They all saw him move and quick as a whip they gave pursuit.
They weren't terribly fast, but gained on him quicker than he'd hoped they would. The elevator was right there in front of him, he could almost reach out and touch
it. Almost there. A gunshot rang out, as Noah felt an incredible pain in his arm. One of the doctor creatures held a smoking revolver, as they all came
towards him moaning like tortured souls. They'd shot him, they'd actually shot him. Noah was equal parts mad and scared, as he made himself stand the pain and
slammed his hand into the elevator button. The ghoulish people were coming, brandishing pipes and metal rods, parts from bedframes. All meant for him.
For his demise. The elevator's light moved down to the third floor, he was on the first. It was taking too long. He wouldn't make it.
He was going to be torn apart before the elevator ever got here. Defeated, Noah leveled the gun and began shooting.
The soft crunching of snow under his feet was Noah's sole link to reality, the only thing reminding him that he wasn't dreaming.
He'd stopping running after he'd passed the bowling alley, so out of breath that it had been tempting to go inside and rest.
But he had to keep going, he couldn't stop. The last place he'd gone into had only been a gas station, God only knew
what would happen to him in a bowling alley. The map said that there was a bar of some kind coming up on the right,
a place called Heaven's Night. After that, the hospital was the next building on that street. Noah walked as fast as he could,
breathing in slow puffs as he finally began to calm down. No one was following him, and as he passed by the bar he felt
slightly relieved. It was right around the corner now, and once he got to the hospital even if it was deserted there had to be
drinks and probably food too. He was getting damn hungry, and had nothing but a package of dried beef jerky on him.
All the things he'd thought to bring were in his suitcase, which the maniacal cab driver had convieniently taken off with.
The contents of his pockets were sparse. A cheap lighter less than half full, the questionable map, his wallet
and a small marker he'd taken from the gas station and used to mark on his map where it had been.
Noah withdrew the map from his pocket, squinting at it as the sun was almost completely set now. It should have been
there, right there where he was standing. But there was no hospital, no nothing actually. Only a strange grey tarp stretched
over a blank wall. At least Noah was assuming it was just a blank wall, and if it wasn't he didn't want to go investigating
since he didn't even have a weapon. "What the hell is going on?!" Noah shouted suddenly, fighting an urge to tear the map to shreds.
A loud groaning followed on the heels of his own voice, and footsteps close behind that. Noah whirled around, backing quickly away
as the sound of footsteps grew louder. "What..What is it..." Noah mumbled, the momentary relief already long gone.
HIs heel caught something cold and hard, causing him to fall and land hard on his ass. Noah looked around for
what had tripped him, and found a long steel pipe sticking half out of the ground. The rest of it was buried, but it was
old and extremely rusty. Noah only had to kick it once to break off the exposed section. It wasn't exactly Excaliber,
but just enough to defend himself. The fog in front of him parted, as the groaning echoed ever closer.
Slowly walking towards him, bent backwards so that it's torso was parallel to the ground was some kind of creature.
It had the rough shape of a human, but it's head was enormous. At least as big around as Noah's chest.
As it got slowly closer Noah readied the pipe and stood tense, prepared to attack at a moment's notice.
Noah could now see that the large bulbous mass he'd thought was a head was more like a tail, as two large eyes
glared at him from what ought to have been the monster's hips. The whole torso like section seemed to be the actual head,
and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth gleamed from atop that head. If it had been human, Noah thought,
the mouth would be in the exact spot the heart occupies. It was frightening, so terribly frightening to look at that Noah began
to feel weak. Adrenaline took over his body as the monstrosity lunged for him while still a good eight feet away,
it's arms reaching out as it came. Noah jumped aside, spinning clockwise with the pipe and bashing it into the monster's head as it
turned to face him once more. Now it was only inches from him, and Noah could see it was dripping blood from it's mouth.
Could this thing have killed James? As soon as the thought crossed his mind rage came with it, and this time Noah moved first.
He swung like a major league batter chasing a wide pitch, bringing the pipe alongside the creature's legs with a sickening crunch.
It howled painfully, sinking as it's arms lashed out wildly. Noah saw his chance and bashed it's head with the pipe. One, two, three
times, each blow covering both him and the monster with it's thick crimson blood. The creature collapsed, it's agonizing scream fading
into a gurgle as it choked on it's own fluid. Noah stood hunched over it, breathing hard as he brought his heel down on it. Blood squirted
along the leg of his jeans, quickly soaking through to his leg. He stumbled away from the mess, looking around for more of them
as the mad grin slowly left his face. And there, where he was positive there had been nothing stood Brookhaven hospital.
Exhausted, Noah lumbered towards the building. No lights, no signs of life. Another abandoned death trap, he suspected.
But the way things changed in this town, for all he knew it could have been the safest place for him. Upon reaching the steps,
he had a thought and withdrew the map and marker. If he kept marking places he found, navigating would become increasingly
easier. As he pulled the cap from the marker and circled the hospital, he was amazingly not at all shocked to see that the map
no longer listed it as Brookhaven hospital. Instead, the simple outline of the building had 'mental clinic' scrawled across it in what
looked like a child's writing. Noah chuckled loudly, feeling as if the town itself were plucking strands of sanity from him one by one
like hairs from a balding man's head. As Noah tucked the map away and prepared to enter the building, he caught the sound
of faint static somewhere close by. He opened the large oak door as he turned behind him, glancing around. Something heavy and sharp
clocked him directly in the head, apparentely thrown at him from inside the hospital. Noah staggered back, shouting aloud his hatred
for the god forsaken town. He rubbed the back of his head, wincing as his hand came back stained with blood. It wasn't bad, just a scrape.
He noticed the culprit laying on the stairs, a small metallic red radio. Still emitting the same type of eerie static that had poured from
the taxi cab when all of this madness started. He picked it up, intent on throwing it right back. As soon as it has in his hand the static
grew exponentially louder, with whispers and groans audible in the background. Almost before the realization took, Noah spun on his heel
to see the ghastly thing standing once more. It looked hurt and quite angry. Noah swiftly pocketed the radio, reclaiming the pipe as
the creature ran straight at him. It's head, now severely dented and broken was upside down now. It was running towards him on it's hands.
What used to be the back of it's head was now lined with teeth running all the way to it's ass. It looked almost as if it had simply turned itself
over and been miraculously revived. "Get the hell out of here you fiend!" Noah uttered his battle cry, rushing to meet the monster and shoving the pipe
clean through the bastard's mouth. He'd been just fast enough, as the creature fell and died on the spot. It's closing maw stopping less than an inch
from Noah's arms. He promptly kicked it in the head, tugging simultaneously on the pipe to wedge it free from the monster's body. He brought the pipe
across the creature's head several times, batting it around the street until it was in pieces. When he was satisfied, he tucked the pipe curtly under his arm
and returned to the hospital doors. He took the radio from his pocket, turning the volume to maximum. Somehow, whatever was in this town emmited
a certain frequency. It would seem that an unknown entity had given him a slight advantage. Putting the radio back into his pocket as he entered the building,
Noah held the pipe ready once more. Now he knew for sure there were things here, inhuman, unbeliveable things. Things that needed killing.
The next thing that moves, dies. Inside the hospital, it was relatively clean. What was more, nothing looked disturbed or broken into.
Perhaps the hospital really was safe. There were a lot of locked doors, Noah noticed as he journeyed the hallway. Jiggling doors as he went,
and keeping a look out for anything suspicious.
The room which housed the reception desk turned out to be the only accesible place, as Noah opened the door cautiously.
There on the desk, as if placed there as first prize was a handgun. A shiny silver beretta 9mm to be exact, fully loaded. Under it was the same
hauntingly bright red marking he'd seen in the taxi. Noah felt drawn to it, and slowly picked up the gun. As soon as he did his ears rung with
the most awful sound. Sirens, like the old ones used for air raid warnings. Their noise filled Noah's head, pressing his brain against his skull as he
fought to stay conscious. He staggered back out the door, hissing a deep inward breath as the doorknob began bleeding all over his hand.
Lines of blood remeniscent of veins snaked along the walls and across the floor, suffocating the room until it was a dark mass of sinew.
Noah practically threw himself out the doorway, trying to escape it all. The sirens faded away, but the veiny lines of red liquid continued to dominate
his surroundings. They reached the ceiling, extending down the hallway. It was so nightmarish Noah could only make soft barking sounds as he tried
to scream. In the distance, much further down the hallway which now seemed to lead into hell itself there were figures. More of those horrible monsters
Noah was sure. He dragged himself across the floor to lean up against a wall, feeling slight stings of pain as the entire building now seemed intent
on devouring him. The pipe had been lost inside the receptionist room, thousands of horrid tendrils now held it in a death grip. He only had the gun,
and 15 bullets. The figures closing in on him seemed to be doctors, one of them could have been a nurse. Noah was having trouble even seeing
straight anymore. He raised the gun, squinting down the sight of the barrel. It was too risky, he'd only waste bullets at this distance.
The radio in his pocket screamed bloody murder at him as two more figures came from the other side of the hallway, much closer than the others.
Noah shook his head, gritting his teeth as he slapped himself across the face. Hard. He would not die here, not while James Sunderland was
still missing. Glancing around desperately for anything that could possibly aid him, Noah spied an elevator. It was far, at the extreme east
end of the hall. Tucked in a corner behind the hobbling doctors closing in on him. It was his only chance. Noah took a deep breath, held it in his lungs
and pushed it slowly out of his nostrils. The he ran, faster than he ever had in his life. They all saw him move and quick as a whip they gave pursuit.
They weren't terribly fast, but gained on him quicker than he'd hoped they would. The elevator was right there in front of him, he could almost reach out and touch
it. Almost there. A gunshot rang out, as Noah felt an incredible pain in his arm. One of the doctor creatures held a smoking revolver, as they all came
towards him moaning like tortured souls. They'd shot him, they'd actually shot him. Noah was equal parts mad and scared, as he made himself stand the pain and
slammed his hand into the elevator button. The ghoulish people were coming, brandishing pipes and metal rods, parts from bedframes. All meant for him.
For his demise. The elevator's light moved down to the third floor, he was on the first. It was taking too long. He wouldn't make it.
He was going to be torn apart before the elevator ever got here. Defeated, Noah leveled the gun and began shooting.