(Disclaimer-No, I don't own Silent Hill or any of the characters used below. They are the property of Konami.)
Author's Note: First, I want to thank all of the people who left comments on my first chapter. I love you guys! Second, This chapter might have minor spoilers...although, I don't know if what I put could be considered a spoiler...ah, well. Better safe than sorry, I guess.
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Chapter 2
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As it turned out, a lot could happen in one night. It was only seven o' clock, and already Henry was starting to get a headache. After going over the guest list, Eileen had put Henry in charge of decorations. Well, she said he was in charge, but whenever he put up an ornament or some garland up, she'd go, "No, no! That's all wrong, Henry! Just let me do it." Then she went to it. After the first twenty minutes of this, he finally gave up and went to setting up the Christmas tree. Apparently, it was the only thing he was good for.
Putting on his coat, Henry went out into the hallway and made his way downstairs to the lobby. It was always so cold in this apartment building during the winter. At least, outside his room it was. From what he had heard, the superintendent didn't like heating unnecessary parts of the building. Go figure.
"Henry! Hey, Henry!"
Henry looked up and saw the superintendent was walking toward him. Cradled in his left arm was a small red box. Ever so gently he started stroking it with his right hand as he started talking to Henry. It made Henry feel somewhat uncomfortable, and he took an uneasy step back.
"So Henry, have any of the other guests arrived yet?" The superintendent asked eagerly.
"The...guests?" Henry asked, his attention still focused on the box. "Oh! For the Christmas party...right. No, none of them have arrived yet." He looked down at the floor.
"Oh, well I was just on my way up." He said, smiling broadly at Henry.
"Erm...yeah...Eileen's up there, so you can go on up. I'm just going down to get the Christmas tree. I'll be up in a few minuets." Then he brushed past the Superintendent, trying not to stare at the box and eager to get away. Now he remembered what had been in that box. Walter Sullivan's umbilical cord was in that box. He didn't even want to imagine what was in there now. What a creepy guy!
Walking down the last few steps into the lobby, he spotted a large, crumpled heap in the far-left corner of the room. He couldn't quite make it out, but it was vaguely human shaped. Along the floor leading up to the distorted lump was a trail of some sort of dark red substance. Having had experience with this kind of situation, he quickly grabbed the envelope opener off of the small table to his right, and slowly walked towards the object. He could feel cold sweat dripping down his brow and every muscle in his body was tensed, ready for a surprise attack. Closer and closer he got, becoming ever more nervous. Soon he was almost on top of the heap. The same red liquid that had been on the floor was drenching the object. Looking closer, Henry could se that there was a small splash of yellow, amidst the red. Crouching down, but still tensed, he reached out for the yellow splotch. It appeared to be..........a sticky note.
Rolling his eyes, Henry pulled the stick note off and stood up, throwing the envelope opener back on the table. He looked down at the sticky note which read:
Dear Sir or Madame,
We regret to inform you that one of our employees, while trying to deliver your package, was under the influence of alcohol. Red wine, to be exact. The outer covering of your package has been damaged, but we have determined that the item inclosed was not harmed. We sincerely apologize for any inconveniences this may have caused you.
Sincerely,
Stuart L. Barry (FED-EX director of Package Loss prevention)
"Dammit...Eileen's gonna be furious..." He dragged the tree from out of the corner and started down at it. What could he do...? Then an idea hit him. "I'll just take off the paper wrapping." He smiled to himself and went to stripping the tree of it's alcohol laden covering. Then hefting it up on his shoulder, he made his way back up to the apartment.