Augusta realized, as a large sign beside Interstate 64 welcomed her to
Illinois, that she had yet to see a billboard trumpeting the delights of
Silent Hill, which seemed odd. The formidable and well-funded Toluca
County Department of Travel and Tourism usually went out of its way to
ensure that travelers everywhere in Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri were
well-informed of what fun there was to be had in Silent Hill and its
neighboring towns, as well as throughout the rest of the Capital Region.
One overzealous year, she remembered, their billboards had even been
erected along various Interstates in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Kentucky.
She had seen billboards glowing brightly in the night by the highway advertising the Vacchs Mansion Museum in Brahms, the Koontz Opera House in South Ashfield, the County Museum of Art in Ashfield, and even one detailing the various reasons why one should make the trip to Public Beach on the shore of Toluca Lake in the village of Pleasant River. But there had been no mention of Silent Hill on any sign. She wondered why, when there had always been so much to see there – Toluca Lake and Paleville National Park with its Paleville Ruins, of course, plus the Silent Hill Wetlands Gardens, the Victorian mansions of East Silent Hill, shops and art galleries in Central Silent Hill, Lakeside Amusement Park, the artists colony of Wrightwood, the museums... There was so much, but not a single mention of any of it. She couldn't understand why. One billboard did advertise Paleville National Park, but stated the park entrance could be accessed from Brahms. It was as if Silent Hill no longer existed.
Hours later, as she drove along Interstate 55, heading north from Lincoln, in Logan County, the mystery deepened. Toluca County could be accessed by three exits from I-55, one serving Ashfield and South Ashfield, another in Brahms, and the last in Silent Hill. Traveling north after passing by the first two exits, Augusta should have been able to exit from I-55 onto US Highway 26, which was called Nathan Avenue within the boundaries of Silent Hill Township. From the exit, she should have been able to drive southeast along Nathan, through a chaotic sprawl of strip malls, fast food restaurants, and chain motels on the north bank of the Green River, through a gap between two high hills and into South Vale, a neighborhood in South Silent Hill, where the road reached a T-junction at the Toluca lakefront. At that intersection, turning right, Highway 26 merged with Highway 73, but was still called Nathan Avenue, and bridged the Green River and then Rosebush Creek, then ran east along the lakeshore through South Vale and on to Pleasant River. Turning left, Highway 73 disentangled itself from Highway 26 and became Sandford Street, and ran north through the Paleville neighborhood, past the Lake View Hotel and Lakeside Amusement Park, then into the South Park section of Silent Hill.
But there was no exit. There were on-ramps and off-ramps, one of each on either side of I-55, but all were blocked by the same metal guardrail, studded with evenly spaced reflectors, that formed a barricade by the roadside everywhere else along the highway. Behind the guardrails were concrete crash barriers, like those erected during highway construction to block off a lane. And beyond that, Augusta saw no lights pricking the night. No illuminated signs for motels or restaurants or strip malls. No streetlights. No lights in any parking lot. And the familiar green signs with their white lettering that should have announced the Silent Hill/Pleasant River exit were gone as well. She was so shocked she nearly ran into the back of a van ahead of her.
At the next exit, in McLean County, Toluca's northern neighbor, she pulled off the Interstate, doubled back, and drove south. And driving south, the Silent Hill exit looked the same as it had when she drove north. No lights. No signs. No life. No exit, just a guardrail and concrete barriers blocking the on-ramps and off-ramps. So she continued on to the next exit at Brahms, where the green sign with its white lettering, with its identical twin on the opposite side of I-55 there to inform northbound drivers, read, along with the exit number:
BRAHMS
PALEVILLE NAT'L PARK
PLEASANT RIVER
Augusta stared, and slowed without realizing it, earning her an angry horn blast from the driver behind her. She didn't care.
"What the hell is going on here?" she muttered, and took the exit.
Where was Silent Hill?
She had seen billboards glowing brightly in the night by the highway advertising the Vacchs Mansion Museum in Brahms, the Koontz Opera House in South Ashfield, the County Museum of Art in Ashfield, and even one detailing the various reasons why one should make the trip to Public Beach on the shore of Toluca Lake in the village of Pleasant River. But there had been no mention of Silent Hill on any sign. She wondered why, when there had always been so much to see there – Toluca Lake and Paleville National Park with its Paleville Ruins, of course, plus the Silent Hill Wetlands Gardens, the Victorian mansions of East Silent Hill, shops and art galleries in Central Silent Hill, Lakeside Amusement Park, the artists colony of Wrightwood, the museums... There was so much, but not a single mention of any of it. She couldn't understand why. One billboard did advertise Paleville National Park, but stated the park entrance could be accessed from Brahms. It was as if Silent Hill no longer existed.
Hours later, as she drove along Interstate 55, heading north from Lincoln, in Logan County, the mystery deepened. Toluca County could be accessed by three exits from I-55, one serving Ashfield and South Ashfield, another in Brahms, and the last in Silent Hill. Traveling north after passing by the first two exits, Augusta should have been able to exit from I-55 onto US Highway 26, which was called Nathan Avenue within the boundaries of Silent Hill Township. From the exit, she should have been able to drive southeast along Nathan, through a chaotic sprawl of strip malls, fast food restaurants, and chain motels on the north bank of the Green River, through a gap between two high hills and into South Vale, a neighborhood in South Silent Hill, where the road reached a T-junction at the Toluca lakefront. At that intersection, turning right, Highway 26 merged with Highway 73, but was still called Nathan Avenue, and bridged the Green River and then Rosebush Creek, then ran east along the lakeshore through South Vale and on to Pleasant River. Turning left, Highway 73 disentangled itself from Highway 26 and became Sandford Street, and ran north through the Paleville neighborhood, past the Lake View Hotel and Lakeside Amusement Park, then into the South Park section of Silent Hill.
But there was no exit. There were on-ramps and off-ramps, one of each on either side of I-55, but all were blocked by the same metal guardrail, studded with evenly spaced reflectors, that formed a barricade by the roadside everywhere else along the highway. Behind the guardrails were concrete crash barriers, like those erected during highway construction to block off a lane. And beyond that, Augusta saw no lights pricking the night. No illuminated signs for motels or restaurants or strip malls. No streetlights. No lights in any parking lot. And the familiar green signs with their white lettering that should have announced the Silent Hill/Pleasant River exit were gone as well. She was so shocked she nearly ran into the back of a van ahead of her.
At the next exit, in McLean County, Toluca's northern neighbor, she pulled off the Interstate, doubled back, and drove south. And driving south, the Silent Hill exit looked the same as it had when she drove north. No lights. No signs. No life. No exit, just a guardrail and concrete barriers blocking the on-ramps and off-ramps. So she continued on to the next exit at Brahms, where the green sign with its white lettering, with its identical twin on the opposite side of I-55 there to inform northbound drivers, read, along with the exit number:
BRAHMS
PALEVILLE NAT'L PARK
PLEASANT RIVER
Augusta stared, and slowed without realizing it, earning her an angry horn blast from the driver behind her. She didn't care.
"What the hell is going on here?" she muttered, and took the exit.
Where was Silent Hill?