SILENT HILL- Into The Basement
The air raid sirens rang out piercingly, as Noah's head began to ache. The bed was now soaking wet with blood,
as free roaming clots of it moved around him. Reginald stood calmly, acting as nonchalant as a man out in the
spring taking in the fresh air. Something under the bed or perhaps inside it began moving, as Noah was
thrown off and to the floor. The matress jumped, as the impression of someone's face pressed into it for a moment.
Noah's jaw hung open in shock, it really looked like someone was trapped in the matress and trying to get out.
"Do you want it to stop, Noah?" Reginald asked deviously, smiling down at him. Noah couldn't take his eyes from the matress,
as the walls and floor began changing into a hard metal like all the other times the alternate world had taken over.
"Noah, do you want it to stop?" Reginald asked louder, as the matress flung itself from the bed and landed on top of Noah.
Whatever was inside stretched the fabric as much as it could, the details of it's face showing through as it struggled.
It's hand were pushing to get free now also, as basic physics again gave way to this strange place. The hands and face seemed
to meld with the very structure of the matress, protruding out as it's hands clawed at Noah. He screamed in terror, unable to
take his eyes from the creature as Reginald loomed over the both of them. "Do you want it to stop Noah?!" Reginald shouted,
a strange kind of madman's grin on his face as Noah tried desperately to fight the bed monster off. "Yes!!" Noah screamed,
as the monster raked it's fingers along his chest. Reginald nodded, closing his eyes and smiling darkly as he whispered something
Noah couldn't understand before waving his hand. Suddenly, the matress was normal again, still on top of him but normal.
The sirens returned momentarily, as the blood soaked metallic scenery faded back into the normal peeling wallpaper of the
eerie hotel room. Noah lay there on the floor, heaving the matress away as he stared up at Reginald in disbelief. The elder
man gazed down at him, smiling and nodding as if to say 'I told you so'. "Do I even want to know how the hell you did that?"
Noah pondered aloud in a suspicious voice. Once again he found himself completely clueless about Silent HIll.
The things he'd come to understand about it were all built on the basis that the alternate world was full of his own
figments and demons, taking things from his own subconscious and warping them. Yet Reginald had seemingly brought
the alternate world in and taken it back out at will, just to show off. That shouldn't have been possible. Reginald sat down regally
in his chair, crossing his legs and relighting his pipe. "Regardless of whether you want to know,
I believe I've told you enough for now." Reginald refused, as Noah slowly stood up.
"So what happens next?"
Noah asked cautiously, his guard more tensed and ready than ever. Reginald gave a complimentary smirk to Noah,
nodding in satisfaction. 'Always straight to buisiness Noah, I like that about you. It shows character." He stated,
as Noah detected a strange scent building in the room. Whatever Reginald had in his pipe, it didn't smell like any
tobacco Noah had ever heard of. Even so, watching Reginald take leisurely hits from the pipe was amplifying
Noah's growing need for a cigarette. It had been two days now since his last one while waiting for the taxi
that had taken him to Silent Hill. "Could I...Do you have any cigarettes?" Noah asked sheepishly, feeling moronic
asking for anything so mainstream in such a bizzare situation. Reginald chuckled in that high pitched voice again,
summing up every classic villianous stereotype all at once as he grinned at Noah. "Why yes my boy, it just so happens that I do."
Reginald answered, reaching into the desk again. He produced a pack of unmarked cigarettes and tossed them lightly
into Noah's greedily waiting hand. The outside package was plain white, with no markings or designs of any kind.
Noah brought his gaze back up from his hand to face Reginald, and caught only a glimpse of the shady old frenchman
as the world around Noah became hazy and surreal. When Noah's eyes focused again, he was in a bathroom.
There was chain link everywhere, red drops of blood and sticky pieces of flesh fell from the ceiling as he looked around.
There was only one door in the cramped room, and it looked most uninviting. The rusted metal was crawling with
animate pools of blood, and Noah had to close his eyes as he took hold of the handle. To his surprise, the door swung up.
Noah's weight tipped him forward and he fell through the horizontal doorframe, rolling safely to the floor on the other side.
There was a sharp scream, sounding strangely familiar to him as he rose to his feet. The hallway was as he'd thought,
rusted chain link as far as the eye could see. About three feet to his left the hallway was closed off, a large unmovable
fence blocking any passage. Tied to the fence with barbed wire was a cadaver, skinned and seemingly bled out.
It's bound limbs quivered unspeakably, turning Noah's stomach as he moved away from the fence. He explored the other
end of the hallway, wondering for a moment how he now had all of his equipment with him again. As he shined the flashlight
in front of him, the hallway ended and to the left was a staircase. He heard another scream, this time recognizing it as
Estelle's voice. It was coming from beyond the stairs, and as Noah started down them he noticed a strange ambient
hum that grew louder as he descended. A metal tile screwed into the wall beside him advertised that he was on the 2nd
floor moving down to the 1st. Once down the staircase, Noah saw a bloody trail leading down the hallway. He felt a lump
grow in his throat as he worried for Estelle. Could Reginald have somehow changed the alternate world in such a way that
the monsters would attack her too? Noah began to run, following the trail and keeping the flashlight shining as far ahead
of him as the worn down batteries would allow. This hallway like the last, was also blocked at the halfway point by a fence
littered with ragged parts of something that used to be human. Noah marked the obstruction down on the map, and
studied it until he found a room that would reach around the fence and take him to the other side. He also noticed
that he was holding a map for the school, meaning Reginald had dropped him right back where he'd been.
Noah opened the door to his right, handgun ready as he panned the flashlight around the long classroom.
The blool trail had ended at the fence out in the hallway, which meant either the scattered remains he'd found were
Estelle's, or that the blood had never been hers at all. Noah hoped desperately for the latter, whirling around as
he could have sworn he heard something. The classroom appeared empty, and Noah continued walking, picking
his way through the desks lined up uniformly to face the big chalkboard at the head of the room. As he approached,
Noah could see something written on it. "Another fucking riddle, are you shitting me?" Noah griped out loud, turning around
swiftly as he was sure he'd heard something behind him this time. Noah moved the flashlight around, spotting a small
rag doll about five feet away from him. It was toddling slowly towards him, every so often letting loose with a piercing shriek.
It sounded exactly like the ones he'd thought were from Estelle, and felt sure it had been a trap. A trap he'd most stupidly walked into.
The little doll looked pretty helpless, almost pitiful, one button eye torn out and hanging loose as it stumbled along on shredded
legs that held no toes, likewise it's rounded arms had no hands. The small stitch line that served as a mouth twitched slightly,
as if the poor little thing was trying to cry. As it neared him, the doll became redder, bleeding from unseen wounds until it left red stump
prints in it's wake. Noah ignored it for a moment, turning back to the chalkboard. In large, childlike scribbles,
it read 'My dOLly iSn't niCe 2 Me ANymORe hE WoN'T STop BLEEDiNG He musT WanT to kiLL Me IF hE GeTs 2 CLOSE i aM GoInG 2 DIE
i CAn'T GeT AWAY FroM HIm I LOst The kEy I'm sO StUpId i LeFT iT iN mY DeSk cAn U FiNd iT FoR mE NoAh oR R U StOoPiD 2?'
Noah sighed heavily, turning back to the doll. It was a lot closer now, and Noah gauged by the writings that letting it get any closer would
be very bad. He sidestepped away from it, watching as it followed him. "Shit.." Noah hissed, moving away from the doll as it chased him.
As he kept moving, Noah took glances at the rows of desk, giving each one a quick look as he moved in and out of rows.
The doll kept trying to cut him off bewteen rows, it was damned smart for having a head stuffed full of cotton.
Noah spied one desk, fourth one down from the front in the second row that had a strange mark on the side.
As he looked closer, keeping an eye on his pursuer he saw that the mark was actually a wrench tightened around the side of the desk.
Noah loosened it until it came free, taking it in his hand in place of his gun as he continued moving. Acting once more on the
strange instincts he had somehow developed through all these crazy riddles and traps, he moved along rows of desks quickly pulling
on the top of each one. He went as fast as he could, keeping the doll in his sight as it continued to follow him. He finally came upon
a desk whose top wouldn't budge, and quickly knelt to inspect the hinges. Someone had fastened a nut and bolt onto the desk
so that it couldn't be opened. Noah went to work quickly with the wrench, removing the nut and sliding the bolt free, yanking the desk
open as the doll neared. Inside the desk was a brass key, and also a box of bullets for his shotgun. He pocketed both items,
jumping back as the doll got nearer than he'd realized, almost running into his foot as he screamed and leapt atop the desk like
a scared housewife fleeing from a kitchen mouse. Noah fired two shots with the handgun, staring in disbelief as the shots
bounced harmlessly off the doll. It shoved the desk over with a fearful power, and ran towards Noah as something
inside it smoked. Noah yelped, understanding now why getting close to the doll meant death. He scrambled away on all fours,
barely staying ahead of the doll. He picked himself up from the hard metal ground and sprinted to the door at the far side of the room.
The doll screamed loudly as he reached the door and jammed the brass key into the keyhole, grunting with pain as the doll exploded.
It had been at the very back of the room when it blew up, yet the explosion had propelled him into the air, knocking the door from it's
hinges as Noah rode it through the air like a snowsled down the staircase that sat at the other end of the hallway the fence had
been guarding. The ride ended abruptly as the sturdy wooden door crashed against the stairwell, spilling Noah onto the
chain link floor. He got up slowly, rubbing his sore butt as he eyed the door in front of him. It was locked, and the brass key didn't
work when he tried it. "Oh man, I always fucking hated this school.." Noah muttered, as he sized up a varitable army
of dolls all wobbling towards him. Noah proceeded to empty his pockets looking for anything he might have picked up and forgotten
about. The pack of cigarettes Reginald had given him made a soft rattle when he shook it, and as Noah opened it he saw that
the dolls were moving much faster than the last one. He almost dropped the cigarettes with a gasp, backing up against the door
as blood red worms slithered from the pack. In their midst was a small metal key. Noah took a deep breath, his eyes
rolling up into his head with disgust as he moved his hand around to grab the key. The worms swarmed around his hand, sliding between
his fingers and leaving a disgusting trail of slime on his skin. Noah shivered, feeling goosebumps all over his body as he pulled his hand
out with the key firmly in his grasp. He unlocked the door as the dolls charged, running at him as he got through the door and
took the following stairs two at a time, leaping down the whole last flight as he found himself in the basement.
He found a door marked 'storage' and inside the small room was an extension cord and two health drinks. Noah glugged
the liquid down hastily, coiling the cord around his shoulder before leaving the room. The only other door was solid metal,
and seemed quite forebodding. Noah saw he didn't really have a choice, as a metal grate slid soundly down in front of the
stairs, crashing to the floor heavily. Noah nodded, not too shocked and took the shotgun in his hand as he opened the door
to the boiler room. The door made a loud screech as it gave way, and beyond it as if he were guarding the gigantic
boiler furnace that took up most of the room, was James. "You're really starting to piss me off, old buddy.." Noah said sadly.
The air raid sirens rang out piercingly, as Noah's head began to ache. The bed was now soaking wet with blood,
as free roaming clots of it moved around him. Reginald stood calmly, acting as nonchalant as a man out in the
spring taking in the fresh air. Something under the bed or perhaps inside it began moving, as Noah was
thrown off and to the floor. The matress jumped, as the impression of someone's face pressed into it for a moment.
Noah's jaw hung open in shock, it really looked like someone was trapped in the matress and trying to get out.
"Do you want it to stop, Noah?" Reginald asked deviously, smiling down at him. Noah couldn't take his eyes from the matress,
as the walls and floor began changing into a hard metal like all the other times the alternate world had taken over.
"Noah, do you want it to stop?" Reginald asked louder, as the matress flung itself from the bed and landed on top of Noah.
Whatever was inside stretched the fabric as much as it could, the details of it's face showing through as it struggled.
It's hand were pushing to get free now also, as basic physics again gave way to this strange place. The hands and face seemed
to meld with the very structure of the matress, protruding out as it's hands clawed at Noah. He screamed in terror, unable to
take his eyes from the creature as Reginald loomed over the both of them. "Do you want it to stop Noah?!" Reginald shouted,
a strange kind of madman's grin on his face as Noah tried desperately to fight the bed monster off. "Yes!!" Noah screamed,
as the monster raked it's fingers along his chest. Reginald nodded, closing his eyes and smiling darkly as he whispered something
Noah couldn't understand before waving his hand. Suddenly, the matress was normal again, still on top of him but normal.
The sirens returned momentarily, as the blood soaked metallic scenery faded back into the normal peeling wallpaper of the
eerie hotel room. Noah lay there on the floor, heaving the matress away as he stared up at Reginald in disbelief. The elder
man gazed down at him, smiling and nodding as if to say 'I told you so'. "Do I even want to know how the hell you did that?"
Noah pondered aloud in a suspicious voice. Once again he found himself completely clueless about Silent HIll.
The things he'd come to understand about it were all built on the basis that the alternate world was full of his own
figments and demons, taking things from his own subconscious and warping them. Yet Reginald had seemingly brought
the alternate world in and taken it back out at will, just to show off. That shouldn't have been possible. Reginald sat down regally
in his chair, crossing his legs and relighting his pipe. "Regardless of whether you want to know,
I believe I've told you enough for now." Reginald refused, as Noah slowly stood up.
"So what happens next?"
Noah asked cautiously, his guard more tensed and ready than ever. Reginald gave a complimentary smirk to Noah,
nodding in satisfaction. 'Always straight to buisiness Noah, I like that about you. It shows character." He stated,
as Noah detected a strange scent building in the room. Whatever Reginald had in his pipe, it didn't smell like any
tobacco Noah had ever heard of. Even so, watching Reginald take leisurely hits from the pipe was amplifying
Noah's growing need for a cigarette. It had been two days now since his last one while waiting for the taxi
that had taken him to Silent Hill. "Could I...Do you have any cigarettes?" Noah asked sheepishly, feeling moronic
asking for anything so mainstream in such a bizzare situation. Reginald chuckled in that high pitched voice again,
summing up every classic villianous stereotype all at once as he grinned at Noah. "Why yes my boy, it just so happens that I do."
Reginald answered, reaching into the desk again. He produced a pack of unmarked cigarettes and tossed them lightly
into Noah's greedily waiting hand. The outside package was plain white, with no markings or designs of any kind.
Noah brought his gaze back up from his hand to face Reginald, and caught only a glimpse of the shady old frenchman
as the world around Noah became hazy and surreal. When Noah's eyes focused again, he was in a bathroom.
There was chain link everywhere, red drops of blood and sticky pieces of flesh fell from the ceiling as he looked around.
There was only one door in the cramped room, and it looked most uninviting. The rusted metal was crawling with
animate pools of blood, and Noah had to close his eyes as he took hold of the handle. To his surprise, the door swung up.
Noah's weight tipped him forward and he fell through the horizontal doorframe, rolling safely to the floor on the other side.
There was a sharp scream, sounding strangely familiar to him as he rose to his feet. The hallway was as he'd thought,
rusted chain link as far as the eye could see. About three feet to his left the hallway was closed off, a large unmovable
fence blocking any passage. Tied to the fence with barbed wire was a cadaver, skinned and seemingly bled out.
It's bound limbs quivered unspeakably, turning Noah's stomach as he moved away from the fence. He explored the other
end of the hallway, wondering for a moment how he now had all of his equipment with him again. As he shined the flashlight
in front of him, the hallway ended and to the left was a staircase. He heard another scream, this time recognizing it as
Estelle's voice. It was coming from beyond the stairs, and as Noah started down them he noticed a strange ambient
hum that grew louder as he descended. A metal tile screwed into the wall beside him advertised that he was on the 2nd
floor moving down to the 1st. Once down the staircase, Noah saw a bloody trail leading down the hallway. He felt a lump
grow in his throat as he worried for Estelle. Could Reginald have somehow changed the alternate world in such a way that
the monsters would attack her too? Noah began to run, following the trail and keeping the flashlight shining as far ahead
of him as the worn down batteries would allow. This hallway like the last, was also blocked at the halfway point by a fence
littered with ragged parts of something that used to be human. Noah marked the obstruction down on the map, and
studied it until he found a room that would reach around the fence and take him to the other side. He also noticed
that he was holding a map for the school, meaning Reginald had dropped him right back where he'd been.
Noah opened the door to his right, handgun ready as he panned the flashlight around the long classroom.
The blool trail had ended at the fence out in the hallway, which meant either the scattered remains he'd found were
Estelle's, or that the blood had never been hers at all. Noah hoped desperately for the latter, whirling around as
he could have sworn he heard something. The classroom appeared empty, and Noah continued walking, picking
his way through the desks lined up uniformly to face the big chalkboard at the head of the room. As he approached,
Noah could see something written on it. "Another fucking riddle, are you shitting me?" Noah griped out loud, turning around
swiftly as he was sure he'd heard something behind him this time. Noah moved the flashlight around, spotting a small
rag doll about five feet away from him. It was toddling slowly towards him, every so often letting loose with a piercing shriek.
It sounded exactly like the ones he'd thought were from Estelle, and felt sure it had been a trap. A trap he'd most stupidly walked into.
The little doll looked pretty helpless, almost pitiful, one button eye torn out and hanging loose as it stumbled along on shredded
legs that held no toes, likewise it's rounded arms had no hands. The small stitch line that served as a mouth twitched slightly,
as if the poor little thing was trying to cry. As it neared him, the doll became redder, bleeding from unseen wounds until it left red stump
prints in it's wake. Noah ignored it for a moment, turning back to the chalkboard. In large, childlike scribbles,
it read 'My dOLly iSn't niCe 2 Me ANymORe hE WoN'T STop BLEEDiNG He musT WanT to kiLL Me IF hE GeTs 2 CLOSE i aM GoInG 2 DIE
i CAn'T GeT AWAY FroM HIm I LOst The kEy I'm sO StUpId i LeFT iT iN mY DeSk cAn U FiNd iT FoR mE NoAh oR R U StOoPiD 2?'
Noah sighed heavily, turning back to the doll. It was a lot closer now, and Noah gauged by the writings that letting it get any closer would
be very bad. He sidestepped away from it, watching as it followed him. "Shit.." Noah hissed, moving away from the doll as it chased him.
As he kept moving, Noah took glances at the rows of desk, giving each one a quick look as he moved in and out of rows.
The doll kept trying to cut him off bewteen rows, it was damned smart for having a head stuffed full of cotton.
Noah spied one desk, fourth one down from the front in the second row that had a strange mark on the side.
As he looked closer, keeping an eye on his pursuer he saw that the mark was actually a wrench tightened around the side of the desk.
Noah loosened it until it came free, taking it in his hand in place of his gun as he continued moving. Acting once more on the
strange instincts he had somehow developed through all these crazy riddles and traps, he moved along rows of desks quickly pulling
on the top of each one. He went as fast as he could, keeping the doll in his sight as it continued to follow him. He finally came upon
a desk whose top wouldn't budge, and quickly knelt to inspect the hinges. Someone had fastened a nut and bolt onto the desk
so that it couldn't be opened. Noah went to work quickly with the wrench, removing the nut and sliding the bolt free, yanking the desk
open as the doll neared. Inside the desk was a brass key, and also a box of bullets for his shotgun. He pocketed both items,
jumping back as the doll got nearer than he'd realized, almost running into his foot as he screamed and leapt atop the desk like
a scared housewife fleeing from a kitchen mouse. Noah fired two shots with the handgun, staring in disbelief as the shots
bounced harmlessly off the doll. It shoved the desk over with a fearful power, and ran towards Noah as something
inside it smoked. Noah yelped, understanding now why getting close to the doll meant death. He scrambled away on all fours,
barely staying ahead of the doll. He picked himself up from the hard metal ground and sprinted to the door at the far side of the room.
The doll screamed loudly as he reached the door and jammed the brass key into the keyhole, grunting with pain as the doll exploded.
It had been at the very back of the room when it blew up, yet the explosion had propelled him into the air, knocking the door from it's
hinges as Noah rode it through the air like a snowsled down the staircase that sat at the other end of the hallway the fence had
been guarding. The ride ended abruptly as the sturdy wooden door crashed against the stairwell, spilling Noah onto the
chain link floor. He got up slowly, rubbing his sore butt as he eyed the door in front of him. It was locked, and the brass key didn't
work when he tried it. "Oh man, I always fucking hated this school.." Noah muttered, as he sized up a varitable army
of dolls all wobbling towards him. Noah proceeded to empty his pockets looking for anything he might have picked up and forgotten
about. The pack of cigarettes Reginald had given him made a soft rattle when he shook it, and as Noah opened it he saw that
the dolls were moving much faster than the last one. He almost dropped the cigarettes with a gasp, backing up against the door
as blood red worms slithered from the pack. In their midst was a small metal key. Noah took a deep breath, his eyes
rolling up into his head with disgust as he moved his hand around to grab the key. The worms swarmed around his hand, sliding between
his fingers and leaving a disgusting trail of slime on his skin. Noah shivered, feeling goosebumps all over his body as he pulled his hand
out with the key firmly in his grasp. He unlocked the door as the dolls charged, running at him as he got through the door and
took the following stairs two at a time, leaping down the whole last flight as he found himself in the basement.
He found a door marked 'storage' and inside the small room was an extension cord and two health drinks. Noah glugged
the liquid down hastily, coiling the cord around his shoulder before leaving the room. The only other door was solid metal,
and seemed quite forebodding. Noah saw he didn't really have a choice, as a metal grate slid soundly down in front of the
stairs, crashing to the floor heavily. Noah nodded, not too shocked and took the shotgun in his hand as he opened the door
to the boiler room. The door made a loud screech as it gave way, and beyond it as if he were guarding the gigantic
boiler furnace that took up most of the room, was James. "You're really starting to piss me off, old buddy.." Noah said sadly.