SILENT HILL-Grieveing Child
Noah woke suddenly, snapping his neck upwards as his nerves sparked to life.
He almost wished he hadn't, the calm empty blackness of sleep was an easy alternative
to the blackness of Silent Hill that was full of horror and tragic irony that cut deep into him.
As Noah stood, he could see a faint light to the east shining brightly at first, then fading and returning once more.
The distant shadow of a tower lurked beneath it, as Noah realized it was a lighthouse.
He bent down over the motionless Robbie kun, inspecting him and prodding the foamy body
with his toe. Noah looked upwards, searching the sky. There was no sign of the platforms and
the strange animate ladder. Whole structures had a habit of vanishing quickly like that around here,
Noah had noticed. The street they had landed on was as desolate as all the others he'd seen,
and the rabbit had a large imprint on it's chest that Noah could plainly see a rough outline of his body in.
"Thanks Doc." Noah said sarcastically, kicking Robbie's foam head. It seemed that the homicidal bunny had
broken his fall, and was now severely dead. As if in a delayed reaction to Noah's kick, Robbie's head twitched.
The radio in Noah's pocket came forth with static yet again, as Noah suddenly bolted down the street.
He didn't even need to look, he knew that rabbit was about to get up. He had known that somewhere in the
back of his head ever since he'd woken up and seen it laying there. Things in Silent Hill were only dead
when they disappeared or when the entire world shifted to something completely different Noah knew at least
that much by now. As he ran he passed by a small dock, a single boat tied up to it with the cabin lights still on.
Noah stopped on his heel, checking back down the street cautiously to see if Robbie was catching up.
The rabbit was nowhere to be seen, so it was probably as safe as it would ever be to explore the boat.
The vessel tipped gently as Noah stepped aboard, rocking the loose junk strewn about the deck back and forth.
He examined some of it, holding the flashlight close as he crouched down. There was a first aid kit, oddly undamaged.
Also two more health drinks and a compact little web camera that was used for video chatting over the internet.
He pocketed all the items, taking another look out at the street for Robbie kun before venturing inside the cabin.
Noah found that the lights really were all off, the illumination that had caught his eye came from a multitude of candles
lit in a strange kind of pattern that ressembled the mark he'd been seeing more and more of around town.
A triangular shape with a circle around it. The candles lined the floor and walls, dripping wax everywhere.
The only other noteable thing in the ship's cabin was a small cabinet in the center of the mass of candles.
Noah stepped towards it carefully, working his feet slowly around the melting wax. It was one of those old
fashioned types with the single rolling sheet of wood as a door that rolled up into the cabinet when pushed,
and could be pulled back over the cabinet using the handle at the bottom of the door. This one however,
was stuck. A closer examination revealed that someone had sealed the sliding door shut with a roll of duct tape
that now lay beside it. The whole roll had been used, from the looks of it. The roll was nothing but cardboard now,
laying bare as all it's skin now furnished the front of the cabinet. Whoever had done this had been excruciatingly
thorough, as Noah inspected the strips of tape going around the side to the back of the cabinet, all the way around
to the front again before being criscrossed with tape laid across the front of the cabinet door. As much as Noah
tugged and pulled, even biting did nothing to loosen the binds. Noah thought of his knife, forgetting for a moment
that it had been broken off inside the strange desk he'd found. And the pickax was history, falling from his hands
as he and Robbie had tumbled to certain doom. Although nothing was for certain in this town, albeit that Noah would
need a new weapon of some sort before too long. As he took a deep breath, trying to think of a way to get the cabinet
open his nostrils caught a whiff of something peculiar. He sniffed the air some more, moving about as his nose
homed in on the scent. It led him to a small crack in the right side of the cabinet, where a strip of duct tape was
peeled slightly away. It almost looked like it had been done from the inside, and as Noah leaned closer he saw
that it indeed had. Someone, or rather someone's hand was right at the small opening inside the cabient.
Noah swallowed hard, ignoring how gross that actually was as he slipped his thumb and forefinger into the crack.
He caught hold of the fingers, cringing as his eye went wide. The hand had caught hold of his fingers as well, and was
trying to use his hand to wedge itself out. Noah let it, tugging gently as he commanded his eyeballs to stay in their sockets.
He began sweating cold, his heart rate escalating as the hand managed to climb along his fingers until it's own were
sticking out of the small crack in the cabinet. Noah let go at once, holding back a scream as he quickly wiped
his hand against his jeans. It was stained with blood, as the now exposed hand was seen to be bleeding from
underneath it's fingernails. The fingernails were slowly rising and lowering, as if some sickening parasite were
trying to break free into the world. Noah caught wind of the same smell, stronger this time as he tried to identify it.
Sulfer, maybe? No, was it...Noah had an idea, grimacing as he bent down to examine the hand protruding from the
cabinet. "Nitrate.." Noah grumbled, wondering for a moment who the hell went around setting all this crazy shit up.
Gunpowder's steroid-laden brother, and the hand as well as the cabinet was full of it. And with all the candles
the room wasn't far removed from being one giant firecracker. And that, it dawned on Noah was the point of course.
Noah shone the flashlight into the cabinet's small breach, suddenly glad he hadn't acted on his impulse to grab
one of the burning candles. A small series of writing was visible. It was all the way on the inside of the opposite end
though, impossible to get to or make out from where he was. Noah stood up, reaching into his back pocket and removing
the bottle of ether he'd picked up on the aerial platforms. "I'm starting to see, Estelle." Noah said with a faint smile,
popping the top off the bottle and soaking the hand as well as the interior of the cabinet as far in as he could reach.
Backing away, he leaked the rest of the ether out in a trail as he retraced his steps to the door being very mindful
of the candle flames. When the bottle was empty, Noah took one of the candles from it's holder and held it above
the trail of liquid. The exact instant he let it drop, his legs pistoned for the door like gangbusters. It was locked.
"What the fucking hell!" Noah shouted, his heart seizing up as the flames shot down the ether trail faster than greased
lightning. Noah had no time left, hurling his body through the ship's small window. He screamed as fire touched
his pant leg, searing against his skin as the glass shredded through his arms held out in front of his face.
The boat exploded marvelously, much like a giant firecracker just as Noah had said. He rolled painfully
along the street, bits of debris becoming airborne splinters of death as they zipped by. Noah batted at his left leg,
smothering the fire as it burned through his jeans and left a fairly small hole just above the calf. Noah moaned
in pain, staggering to his feet as a flaming piece of wood landed soundly at his feet. He chuckled slightly,
grinning as he saw it was the exact part of the cabinet with the writing he couldn't make out before.
Now, in the glamourous light of the burning ship he could read it clearly. 'GOTCHA' was all it said,
making Noah laugh ever harder. All that for nothing, Noah thought. Just perfect. Immediately followling
after that thought, a second object clanked to the docks with a much bigger noise. Noah went over to
investigate, finding the match to the hand he'd seen inside the cabinet. This one tightly clutched a strong looking
hunting bow, and though the hand was severed below the elbow it seemed to grip it's weapon even now
with a ghostly kind of strength. Noah yanked it free, having quite a bit more trouble with it than he'd thought.
Fastened to the hunting bow, of course with duct tape was a small metal quiver teeming with arrows.
"Well damn yeah.." Noah said under his breath, taken off guard by the sudden and generous gift.
It made him very fucking suspicious, and as he hefted the weighty bow he finally spied Robbie kun.
The hellish rabbit was still skipping even after all that, the crackwhore grin etched on his face for all time.
"Come and get it Robbie." Noah grunted, lifting up the quiver of arrows and slinging it over his shoulder.
He took one, drawing it up as Robbie came closer. Suddenly the bunny vanished, Noah's first arrow soaring
into the dark night fog unti lit was lost. "Fuck you." Noah growled, turning about as he drew a second arrow.
He held the bow half drawn, his eyes and mind working together to find their prey. Noah saw him for a second,
behind an old lamppost waving foolishly at him. Noah held off, knowing the enemy was only taunting him
and trying to make him waste more arrows. Something felt like it was washing over the back regions of his brain,
fighting to surface. There was a strange familiarity here, there had been ever since Robbie had sent the both of them
plummeting from the heavens. He had to remember, he was sure it was something he needed to know.
Robbie winked out of sight again, appearing right behind Noah and raising his weapon. Perhaps a reason for
the fluffy demon taking so long to track him down, his pipe had been upgraded to a double barrel Remington.
Noah's jaw tried to touch the ground, as he ducked low and ran straight into his opponent shoulder first.
The shotgun whipcracked thunder, firing close enough to make Noah's ears ring as his weight shoved
Robbie aside. The rabbit countered by bringing the gun's stock against Noah's left wrist as he rasied the bow,
crunching his bones together as Noah screamed out. The agony was almost unbearable, as his left hand no longer
listened to him. Out of blind rage he grabbed Robbie's oversized head, bringing it into hard contact with his
knee and hiking clear over the rabbit's doubled over form. Noah flipped rather gracefully into the air, landing
behind Robbie with the bow now fully drawn and Robbie's neck caught against the solid metal bow.
Noah had used his weight to draw as he landed, keeping the string taut with his usable hand as he plucked
an arrow free of the quiver with his teeth. He dropped it quckly into his waiting hand, as Robbie began to
make those awful occultish ramblings again. The bunny's whole body twitched and shook, changing as Noah
shafted the arrow and let it go. Robbie's entire body inexplicably shifted to face him. The shotgun was
so close it touched Noah's forehead, as the second arrow found it's mark straight and true. Without
the slightest hesitation Noah reloaded the bow in the same way, shooting arrow after arrow long after the
rabbit had toppled over and stopped moving. "That's a dead aim.." Robbie gasped in a truly demonic howl.
The moans and chants died down, as Noah's vision clouded over.
Realization hit him like a ton of bricks, as he remembered at last why this all seemed so familiar.
Noah stood there, shocked into silence as he stared at Robbie kun. That day, so many painful years ago
at the fair. His father had entered into the archery contest with him, and they had claimed victory by
only 3 points. The bullseye Noah had made on his last shot was the deciding one, and when Noah had
let it fly before it even hit the stuffed straw target Noah's father had tousled his hair and whispered
into his son's ear. "That's a dead aim you got, Noah." He felt sick, utterly sick as he collapsed on top of the
huge rabbit. His throat gasping in dry heaves, as his memories threatened to implode his skull.
The prize, Noah remembered had been the tallest, cutest and most huggable white rabbit he'd ever seen.
The same white rabbit that had graced countless billboards and marquees at that fair. Robbie kun,
the mascot of Lakeside Amusement Park where Noah's father and he had gone to attend that fair.
Not a full ten minutes from where they'd lived, a little blue house on Levin street which was on the
other side of town yet still close. "I...I'm home.." Noah practically sobbed, as he let his face rest
against Robbie kun's enormous chin. Almost on a whim, Noah looked down at him. There was a
zipper, just below the neck. Noah brought his wrecked form to a standing position, dragging the
rabbit up as he tugged at the zipper. It gave easily, as did the one Noah found on it's back.
Noah opened the rabbit suit up, gasping as the wearer slowly slid out. Slumping against the ground,
Noah beheld the lifeless eyes of his father once more.
"Ohh..Ahhhh...Christ no.." Noah mummbled, his head refusing to stay still.
"You bastards! You didn't have to...What are you trying to prove! " Noah screamed
hatefully at the bright moon hung low in the twilight sky. "You didn't have to...Go dad.." Noah said,
his voice trailing off. "I didn't want the sodden cake...Just you..."
Without knowing reason, or what it would accomplish Noah took his father's place
inside the Robbie suit. There was just enough room in the legs to tuck away the bow and shotgun,
as Noah zipped himself up and headed instinctively west. The memory of his hometown returning,
Noah knew he would need to veer north after a few mintues, jogging slowly and lucidly as
his mind fed him the directions. Directions to Lakeside Amusement Park, where Noah hoped
more answers awaited him.
Noah woke suddenly, snapping his neck upwards as his nerves sparked to life.
He almost wished he hadn't, the calm empty blackness of sleep was an easy alternative
to the blackness of Silent Hill that was full of horror and tragic irony that cut deep into him.
As Noah stood, he could see a faint light to the east shining brightly at first, then fading and returning once more.
The distant shadow of a tower lurked beneath it, as Noah realized it was a lighthouse.
He bent down over the motionless Robbie kun, inspecting him and prodding the foamy body
with his toe. Noah looked upwards, searching the sky. There was no sign of the platforms and
the strange animate ladder. Whole structures had a habit of vanishing quickly like that around here,
Noah had noticed. The street they had landed on was as desolate as all the others he'd seen,
and the rabbit had a large imprint on it's chest that Noah could plainly see a rough outline of his body in.
"Thanks Doc." Noah said sarcastically, kicking Robbie's foam head. It seemed that the homicidal bunny had
broken his fall, and was now severely dead. As if in a delayed reaction to Noah's kick, Robbie's head twitched.
The radio in Noah's pocket came forth with static yet again, as Noah suddenly bolted down the street.
He didn't even need to look, he knew that rabbit was about to get up. He had known that somewhere in the
back of his head ever since he'd woken up and seen it laying there. Things in Silent Hill were only dead
when they disappeared or when the entire world shifted to something completely different Noah knew at least
that much by now. As he ran he passed by a small dock, a single boat tied up to it with the cabin lights still on.
Noah stopped on his heel, checking back down the street cautiously to see if Robbie was catching up.
The rabbit was nowhere to be seen, so it was probably as safe as it would ever be to explore the boat.
The vessel tipped gently as Noah stepped aboard, rocking the loose junk strewn about the deck back and forth.
He examined some of it, holding the flashlight close as he crouched down. There was a first aid kit, oddly undamaged.
Also two more health drinks and a compact little web camera that was used for video chatting over the internet.
He pocketed all the items, taking another look out at the street for Robbie kun before venturing inside the cabin.
Noah found that the lights really were all off, the illumination that had caught his eye came from a multitude of candles
lit in a strange kind of pattern that ressembled the mark he'd been seeing more and more of around town.
A triangular shape with a circle around it. The candles lined the floor and walls, dripping wax everywhere.
The only other noteable thing in the ship's cabin was a small cabinet in the center of the mass of candles.
Noah stepped towards it carefully, working his feet slowly around the melting wax. It was one of those old
fashioned types with the single rolling sheet of wood as a door that rolled up into the cabinet when pushed,
and could be pulled back over the cabinet using the handle at the bottom of the door. This one however,
was stuck. A closer examination revealed that someone had sealed the sliding door shut with a roll of duct tape
that now lay beside it. The whole roll had been used, from the looks of it. The roll was nothing but cardboard now,
laying bare as all it's skin now furnished the front of the cabinet. Whoever had done this had been excruciatingly
thorough, as Noah inspected the strips of tape going around the side to the back of the cabinet, all the way around
to the front again before being criscrossed with tape laid across the front of the cabinet door. As much as Noah
tugged and pulled, even biting did nothing to loosen the binds. Noah thought of his knife, forgetting for a moment
that it had been broken off inside the strange desk he'd found. And the pickax was history, falling from his hands
as he and Robbie had tumbled to certain doom. Although nothing was for certain in this town, albeit that Noah would
need a new weapon of some sort before too long. As he took a deep breath, trying to think of a way to get the cabinet
open his nostrils caught a whiff of something peculiar. He sniffed the air some more, moving about as his nose
homed in on the scent. It led him to a small crack in the right side of the cabinet, where a strip of duct tape was
peeled slightly away. It almost looked like it had been done from the inside, and as Noah leaned closer he saw
that it indeed had. Someone, or rather someone's hand was right at the small opening inside the cabient.
Noah swallowed hard, ignoring how gross that actually was as he slipped his thumb and forefinger into the crack.
He caught hold of the fingers, cringing as his eye went wide. The hand had caught hold of his fingers as well, and was
trying to use his hand to wedge itself out. Noah let it, tugging gently as he commanded his eyeballs to stay in their sockets.
He began sweating cold, his heart rate escalating as the hand managed to climb along his fingers until it's own were
sticking out of the small crack in the cabinet. Noah let go at once, holding back a scream as he quickly wiped
his hand against his jeans. It was stained with blood, as the now exposed hand was seen to be bleeding from
underneath it's fingernails. The fingernails were slowly rising and lowering, as if some sickening parasite were
trying to break free into the world. Noah caught wind of the same smell, stronger this time as he tried to identify it.
Sulfer, maybe? No, was it...Noah had an idea, grimacing as he bent down to examine the hand protruding from the
cabinet. "Nitrate.." Noah grumbled, wondering for a moment who the hell went around setting all this crazy shit up.
Gunpowder's steroid-laden brother, and the hand as well as the cabinet was full of it. And with all the candles
the room wasn't far removed from being one giant firecracker. And that, it dawned on Noah was the point of course.
Noah shone the flashlight into the cabinet's small breach, suddenly glad he hadn't acted on his impulse to grab
one of the burning candles. A small series of writing was visible. It was all the way on the inside of the opposite end
though, impossible to get to or make out from where he was. Noah stood up, reaching into his back pocket and removing
the bottle of ether he'd picked up on the aerial platforms. "I'm starting to see, Estelle." Noah said with a faint smile,
popping the top off the bottle and soaking the hand as well as the interior of the cabinet as far in as he could reach.
Backing away, he leaked the rest of the ether out in a trail as he retraced his steps to the door being very mindful
of the candle flames. When the bottle was empty, Noah took one of the candles from it's holder and held it above
the trail of liquid. The exact instant he let it drop, his legs pistoned for the door like gangbusters. It was locked.
"What the fucking hell!" Noah shouted, his heart seizing up as the flames shot down the ether trail faster than greased
lightning. Noah had no time left, hurling his body through the ship's small window. He screamed as fire touched
his pant leg, searing against his skin as the glass shredded through his arms held out in front of his face.
The boat exploded marvelously, much like a giant firecracker just as Noah had said. He rolled painfully
along the street, bits of debris becoming airborne splinters of death as they zipped by. Noah batted at his left leg,
smothering the fire as it burned through his jeans and left a fairly small hole just above the calf. Noah moaned
in pain, staggering to his feet as a flaming piece of wood landed soundly at his feet. He chuckled slightly,
grinning as he saw it was the exact part of the cabinet with the writing he couldn't make out before.
Now, in the glamourous light of the burning ship he could read it clearly. 'GOTCHA' was all it said,
making Noah laugh ever harder. All that for nothing, Noah thought. Just perfect. Immediately followling
after that thought, a second object clanked to the docks with a much bigger noise. Noah went over to
investigate, finding the match to the hand he'd seen inside the cabinet. This one tightly clutched a strong looking
hunting bow, and though the hand was severed below the elbow it seemed to grip it's weapon even now
with a ghostly kind of strength. Noah yanked it free, having quite a bit more trouble with it than he'd thought.
Fastened to the hunting bow, of course with duct tape was a small metal quiver teeming with arrows.
"Well damn yeah.." Noah said under his breath, taken off guard by the sudden and generous gift.
It made him very fucking suspicious, and as he hefted the weighty bow he finally spied Robbie kun.
The hellish rabbit was still skipping even after all that, the crackwhore grin etched on his face for all time.
"Come and get it Robbie." Noah grunted, lifting up the quiver of arrows and slinging it over his shoulder.
He took one, drawing it up as Robbie came closer. Suddenly the bunny vanished, Noah's first arrow soaring
into the dark night fog unti lit was lost. "Fuck you." Noah growled, turning about as he drew a second arrow.
He held the bow half drawn, his eyes and mind working together to find their prey. Noah saw him for a second,
behind an old lamppost waving foolishly at him. Noah held off, knowing the enemy was only taunting him
and trying to make him waste more arrows. Something felt like it was washing over the back regions of his brain,
fighting to surface. There was a strange familiarity here, there had been ever since Robbie had sent the both of them
plummeting from the heavens. He had to remember, he was sure it was something he needed to know.
Robbie winked out of sight again, appearing right behind Noah and raising his weapon. Perhaps a reason for
the fluffy demon taking so long to track him down, his pipe had been upgraded to a double barrel Remington.
Noah's jaw tried to touch the ground, as he ducked low and ran straight into his opponent shoulder first.
The shotgun whipcracked thunder, firing close enough to make Noah's ears ring as his weight shoved
Robbie aside. The rabbit countered by bringing the gun's stock against Noah's left wrist as he rasied the bow,
crunching his bones together as Noah screamed out. The agony was almost unbearable, as his left hand no longer
listened to him. Out of blind rage he grabbed Robbie's oversized head, bringing it into hard contact with his
knee and hiking clear over the rabbit's doubled over form. Noah flipped rather gracefully into the air, landing
behind Robbie with the bow now fully drawn and Robbie's neck caught against the solid metal bow.
Noah had used his weight to draw as he landed, keeping the string taut with his usable hand as he plucked
an arrow free of the quiver with his teeth. He dropped it quckly into his waiting hand, as Robbie began to
make those awful occultish ramblings again. The bunny's whole body twitched and shook, changing as Noah
shafted the arrow and let it go. Robbie's entire body inexplicably shifted to face him. The shotgun was
so close it touched Noah's forehead, as the second arrow found it's mark straight and true. Without
the slightest hesitation Noah reloaded the bow in the same way, shooting arrow after arrow long after the
rabbit had toppled over and stopped moving. "That's a dead aim.." Robbie gasped in a truly demonic howl.
The moans and chants died down, as Noah's vision clouded over.
Realization hit him like a ton of bricks, as he remembered at last why this all seemed so familiar.
Noah stood there, shocked into silence as he stared at Robbie kun. That day, so many painful years ago
at the fair. His father had entered into the archery contest with him, and they had claimed victory by
only 3 points. The bullseye Noah had made on his last shot was the deciding one, and when Noah had
let it fly before it even hit the stuffed straw target Noah's father had tousled his hair and whispered
into his son's ear. "That's a dead aim you got, Noah." He felt sick, utterly sick as he collapsed on top of the
huge rabbit. His throat gasping in dry heaves, as his memories threatened to implode his skull.
The prize, Noah remembered had been the tallest, cutest and most huggable white rabbit he'd ever seen.
The same white rabbit that had graced countless billboards and marquees at that fair. Robbie kun,
the mascot of Lakeside Amusement Park where Noah's father and he had gone to attend that fair.
Not a full ten minutes from where they'd lived, a little blue house on Levin street which was on the
other side of town yet still close. "I...I'm home.." Noah practically sobbed, as he let his face rest
against Robbie kun's enormous chin. Almost on a whim, Noah looked down at him. There was a
zipper, just below the neck. Noah brought his wrecked form to a standing position, dragging the
rabbit up as he tugged at the zipper. It gave easily, as did the one Noah found on it's back.
Noah opened the rabbit suit up, gasping as the wearer slowly slid out. Slumping against the ground,
Noah beheld the lifeless eyes of his father once more.
"Ohh..Ahhhh...Christ no.." Noah mummbled, his head refusing to stay still.
"You bastards! You didn't have to...What are you trying to prove! " Noah screamed
hatefully at the bright moon hung low in the twilight sky. "You didn't have to...Go dad.." Noah said,
his voice trailing off. "I didn't want the sodden cake...Just you..."
Without knowing reason, or what it would accomplish Noah took his father's place
inside the Robbie suit. There was just enough room in the legs to tuck away the bow and shotgun,
as Noah zipped himself up and headed instinctively west. The memory of his hometown returning,
Noah knew he would need to veer north after a few mintues, jogging slowly and lucidly as
his mind fed him the directions. Directions to Lakeside Amusement Park, where Noah hoped
more answers awaited him.