All original creative content related to Silent Hill are (c) to Konami
The character Appolka is the creative property of Eric Luck. I'd be flattered if someone were to write about/draw her in another context, but I would greatly appreciate notification/requests of permission beforehand, thank you.
This fanfic is for entertainment purposes only, and is only to be distributed under my (the author)'s authorization.
This story is rated R for general Horror content, this involves blood, gore, murderous violence, language, etc. Not to mention psychological horror.
A big thanks goes to the great minds at Konami for brewing up the masterpiece upon which this is based.
And remember - One of the greatest fears for a person is to realize they no longer have control.
Note: Currently, this chapter is in the works. Seeing as this is my first ever work of horror, much less a Silent Hill fic, I'm submitting this early to gain some feedback on how it's developing so far.
Silent Hill 2 - Reminiscence
Chapter 1 - Unseen Tales
"No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear." - Edmund Burke (1729-1797)
The sound of the engine, accompanyed by the driving rain surrounded one with a seeming aura of comfort in being. Although the backseat of the car afforded a limited view of the road ahead, the side windows permitted enough of a view of the road and the passing foliage beside. The air inside was still, the driver affording no conversation.
This was actually the first time that Appolka had ridden in a cab, and although she had initially been nervous about facing a driver, she reminded herself that she had gone and dealt with far more suspicious, which to some limited extent, put her mind at ease. She sat in the right side of the backseat, a simple suitcase in hand settled over her lap. Her jeans were somewhat faded from extended wear, but were otherwise pristine. Her denim jacket did only a meager job of keeping the cold away, but she had long grown accustomed to it's sting. Tired, she leaned her head against the edge of the base of the window, watching the lines of trees and sheets of rainfall pass by in a seemingly endless parade.
"So, uh...where're ya from?" came the sound of the driver's distinct new england accented voice. For a moment, Appolka was surprised to hear him strike up casual conversation.
"Vell... I grew up in town of Port Jervis..." she hesitantly replied, unsure of how to properly respond in this situation. Also, she noticed his eyes gazing at her through the rear view mirror. But nothing threatening seemed to come from his eyes.
"Ah, you a russkie?" he asked innocently.
Appolka face faulted at his question, never having heard the term before.
"A...vhat?"
"I mean...are you russian?" the driver clarified.
"Oh! No, my family is from the Ukraine." she corrected him, starting to sit back up straight.
"I see...you live here in the states long?"
"As long as I can remember...we moved here vhen I was young." She replied, recalling how she had been told that, and seeing as she had no memories to prove otherwise, she accepted it.
"Interesting...so, where're ya headed?"
"Not sure...just...away. Out of New York, probably Scranton..."
"All the way there, eh? That's quite a trip. say that." she simply replied, turning away, and leaning her head down.
"Sorry, don't mean to pry." came the immediate response.
"It's alright..."
For a tense moment, Appolka simply remained as she was, waiting for the time to pass.
I have been doing that a lot, lately...
With that, Appolka resumed leaning against the window, watching the seemingly monotonous passage of unremarkable scenery with a tired eye. Although, it seemed they were coming into a fog front, which seemed odd to her. She dismissed it as them coming toward a lake or other body of water. The combination of a long, tired day, coupled with the relaxing patter of the rain more than lulled her into a comfortable aura of ease she hadn't felt for so long...
This also was beginning to make her feel drowsy.
Oh well...the better to pass the time...
With that, she let her eyelids come to a gradual close, drawing a few more content breaths before slipping into the realm of dreams...
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The room was dank, and cold. Of course, most makeshift abodes in slums were that way. To call the place 'low income' would be fairly accurate. Looking about herself, Appolka found herself surrounded by an unnervingly familiar setting.
Oh, no...How did I wake up...back here?! Did...they catch me? How? Did the driver rat me out?!
In her panic, she failed to notice herself...sitting up without willing herself to do so.
A..dream?
The room she was in was rather small, the floor consisted of tile missing in a number of places, and what remained had been largely stained from an unknown array of substances. The whitewashed wall was in less than perfect condition, having missing pieces from some unknown cause. The floor was strewn with an array of old newspapers, with an old worn couch off to the side, and a rusted steel table on wheels sitting in the middle of the room. This definately was a less than hospitable setting. The blanket strewn over her body was an old woolen patchwork of greens and reds, which obscured whatever mattress or futon she was sitting upon. Everything was in place, except...
And just as she was about to recall, the sound of footsteps tromping up the stairs interrupted her thoughts.
Not him...
She could also feel a seperate feeling of dread wash over her...her memory of that feeling, she guessed.
Then, a figure emerged from the stairwell a few feet ahead of her, a hand running up the railing as it's owner emerged.
He was a tall man, a bit moreso than her, and while he had an intimidating frame, often it was his face that struck fear into her heart the most. Also quite unlike her, was his fairly darker skin tone. Not black, but not caucasian, either. He wore a black jacket with gold colored trim, a New York Yankees cap that was worn backwards in ridiculous fashion, a gold chain draped around his neck, and long grey sweatpants, with the left leg pulled up to his knee. And, not surprisingly, his entry to the room brought with him the unmistakable rank of whiskey.
"Tha hell you doin?! Sleepin on tha job!" he yelled, obviously displeased with something. He threw up his hands in a fairly threatening manner. Appolka felt herself retreat back towards the wall, feeling terror course through her like an offending jolt of electricity.
"Wha...I..." was all she heard herself manage.
"Get up, I say..." he growled, approaching her and grabbing a hold of her shoulder. In response, she wrestled herself away, feeling her face contort spitefully. That was a mistake.
"Don' you be gettin uppity on me, bitch!" he yelled, spraying her with an even more concentrated puff of his alchohol-tainted breath. With that, she felt the back of his hand strike her hard across the face. The force of the blow alone knocked her to the side, her right hand keeping her from falling entirely on her side. The pain of the strike forced her to nurse her bruised cheek, unable to stare her offender in the face. For a moment, his rage seemed to dispell, but she knew all too well that this really meant little.
"If'n you ain't of use to somebody, I can find a use for ya..." he mused, a sneer slowly growing on his face that sent a spike of dread up her spine. She knew what that look meant.
"N...no..!" she protested, attempting to yell, but she knew this was futile.
Forcibly, he yanked the blanket from her and tossed it aside. Thus revealing her undergarments, and immediately in an attempt to reserve herself from the offender, she pulled her arms and legs to herself, attempting futilly to conceal herself. This only egged him on even further.
"C'mon, lesse that pretty dish..." he sneered, leering his face far too close to hers for comfort. Panic raged as she found herself helpless under his gropings, only able to whimper uselessly...
-----------------
With a yelp and a startled jump, Appolka found herself back in the taxi cab. The back of her shirt was soaked with a cold, clammy sweat.
Ugh...a nightmare...just a nightmare...
A bad memory, was more like it.
It was just then, that she noticed something...out of the ordinary. The cab had not only come to a complete stop, but...it had done so in a deep ditch, and she shortly was aware of having slide to the left side, the car having stopped on a fairly steep slope. Not only that, as she sat up and looked ahead, there was no sign of the driver.
Her mind raced with all sorts of questions.
Where did he go? What happened? Why did we crash?
The door was shut, and the keys were gone from the ignition. Wherever she was, she was stuck.
Now Appolka felt just a slight twinge of fear set in.
I'm stranded...in the middle of nowhere! he just walk off like that, and leave me behind?!
After a panic enduced moment, she took a deep breath, and attempted to get her head around the situation, think logically.
Maybe...he ran out of gas and went to get some more? Or maybe he swerved to avoid hitting something, crashed into the ditch and left to get a tow truck?
For the moment, the latter seemed the most logical to her, and after telling herself that repeatedly, Appolka managed to calm herself down, and relaxed for a moment.
So I'll just...wait here for him to get back. I wonder how long I've been asleep...
Until then, however, Appolka decided to at least get a look of where she'd wound up stuck at. Letting her bag sit on the floor of the cab, she pushed open the right side door, which was a bit of a challenge given how she had to push it up, with the tilted angle. After clambering out of the car, and onto the shoulder of the road, Appolka took in her surroundings.
The area was bathed in a thick fog, so much so that she couldn't see what lay beyond the trees on the other side of the road. Now that she looked at the road, and noticed the surroundings, something seemed very...odd to her.
Wait...we were on a freeway when I fell asleep...
Indeed, this was no Interstate they were on, anymore. The road was a simple, two-lane affair, and absolutely no sign of traffic. Not even background noise. Looking on the side of the road they crashed on, it was a small hill that inclined up and concealed the rest of that side of her vision.
This is like a...town road, that you'd drive through to some suburban town...why on earth did he drive here..? Refill on gas? Surely there are places closer to the Freeway than this...?
In addition to the odd circumstances, the whole setting, while initially seeming innocent, slowly felt just slightly...unnerving was the only word she could think of at the moment. Something that made the hairs on her neck stand on end. What she assumed was the wind made low rushing noises, and high, yet distant howls. The air was also possessed a moist coldness that made Appolka shiver slightly.
I sure wish he would hurry up...
Wrapping her arms around herself, she walked around the car, and sat upon the hood. Musing her plans to herself, Appolka waited.
And waited.
After some time, she began to wonder...
Did something happen to him? Did he...get lost? You know...it seems strange that he wouldn't wake me up...I wonder if he left a note, or anything...
With that, she hopped off the cold metal hood and made to open the driver door. Finding it unlocked, she pulled the door open a bit before it lodged into the ground.
Looking around inside, she found...nothing.
Odd...so he just...up and vanished?
Just then, Appolka did notice something unusual...On the car door, gouged into the upholstery as though with a knife, were the words:
"It's coming...it's coming..."
Appolka couldn't help but step back in shock/just a little bit of horror.
It's coming...? What...?
She felt her heart start to flutter, and quickly looked all about her for any sign of what 'it' might be. It took a moment for her to realize she was still alone. Or, at least, she hoped so...
Why would he...write something like that? Tear into his own car to write it? Damn it, none of this makes any sense...
At that moment, Appolka seriously considered leaving the car behind and continuing on foot. For a nervous moment, she considered her options, taking everything that had happened into account.
The more she thought about what the message could mean, the more a dire sense of urgency seemed to well within her. Something was definately wrong.
Not even thinking a second thought, Appolka hastily yanked open the back door, scrambled to grab her pack, yanked it out, and pushed her way away from the vehicle, and started off down the road the way they were going.
No sooner had she taken several paces down the road, when she stopped herself.
Why am I running like this? Why am I...so afraid?
Pausing for a moment, she looked around herself. On the left side, the side the car had crashed into, a wooden fence had begun, which seemed to indicate someone lived nearby.
That's a relief...
It was at this point that the road began to curve to the right, but she couldn't see where it lead to through the thick fog. Beside the fence was a green sign, that read in white lettering:
Silent Hill City Limit
Well...that's a good concidence, to wind up just outside a town...but still...
While the sign of life was a mild comfort, the cryptic message still sat in the back of her mind, gnawing away at her like a parasite.
Almost unconsciously, Appolka looked behind herself to the car. Seeing nothing, at first she thought the fog was simply obscuring it, and walked further...until she came to where she could have sworn the car had wrecked.
But there was nothing there.
Wh...wha...what's...going on... here..?
Not even the grass, which would have remained disturbed, looked completely normal. Save two words that looked like they had been scorched into the grass.
Its Here.