Chapter 10
Lupus
Let reason be your Guide
Across the void and endless tide
For man walks the earth
With the devil at his side
- Windwalker
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He stood in the corner watching man and beast as both stared at the screen before them. It smiled from its black hole of a mouth in amusement. Neither was aware of it staring at their back. Within reach to close its cold, lifeless hands around their throats if it so wished. So far though it was choosing to simply watch.
It was also alone this time, the voices that had followed in its wake had departed to haunt elsewhere. Without their familiar yet annoying vocals it was now free to close in further to its prey, without those nuisance sounds cutting through the silence it crept through.
The stranger glided in closer with stealthy silence. Its body merging in with changing tone of darkness. It stood directly behind the man, within the corner of the birds eye, yet still its presence remained unaware of. Neither creature was able to perceive the third member of the room. It chuckled quietly at their ignorance, delighting in its invisible status.
The unknown leaned down to better see the screen, brushing lightly the mans shoulder which elicited only an irritated dusting of the afore-mentioned limb. The bird however appeared agitated, the avian 's head glancing about with tension and suspicion. The unknown felt the bird's eye roving over and away from it and the creature could not help but feel perturbed when the bird shuddered at the brief but unaware connection.
Out of the television screen a pitiable voice came out and diverted the entire room to the video. The picture fizzled from heavy interference. Even squinting it was hard to tell who was speaking but the dulcet tones of a female voice confirmed at least the gender.
Still……..unus……fever
Don't………….get….puls……
Just…..bare
Skin……..is
Even when I…………chi…
……….zing……….thro…….
Won't tell………….
Pleas…………
The tape finished on a pleading note. It brought forth in Sirius rare feelings of pity and despair within him. What little he could gather from the tape sounded terrible, parts of a confessional of sorts it seemed. Fever, Pulse, Skin these words spoke of illness and Sirius felt uncomfortable with what they implied.
The tape was important, otherwise it would not have been where it had. Conveniently available in the worst part of the hospital. Sirius did not consider this a chance encounter. Which begged the question of the exact significance of the information it provided. An illness? A child? Sirius creased his feathers. Something was wrong. The air around him felt oppressive even now. His hackles were raised.
Sirius turned toward Harry. His avian eyes shining brightly. The shadows enveloping Harry looked deep, dark, impenetrable, almost alive. While Harry himself was being introspective, mulling over what he had just seen. The mention of a child causing his concern for his own to grow.
The third mysterious occupant also stared at Harry. Such a frail creature, it mused. It smirked at the worry on the living mans face. It then looked at Sirius and its smirk drifted into a frown. This bird was an ill omen to itself. Something about the creature disturbed it. The Raven had an awareness beyond the ken of normal animals and was looking right at the third entity. It was not worried for the bird showed no recognition that anything but darkness was there, but that did not stop the thoughtful look the animal held.
For the time being the entity was content. For the moment. It began to drift away from the room, there was nothing to see for the time and it could hear faintly those voices drifting back The element of surprise would be gone for those voices were perceptible to the mortal ear in Silent Hill.
Harry sharply left the room passing through the black 'it' with a slight shiver. Sirius following felt nothing. The dark being had gone in a hurry just as the bird was going to pass through it too. Touch of that sort was dangerous. Sirius attuned with instinct of a more supernatural nature would have immediately known that something else lurked. It was not time for that yet.
Harry's own instinct led back down to the ground floor, and right outside the locked room that held the nurse. He put the key he found into the lock and with a click it was open. Harry opened the door.
He shone his light source about to examine the room until it fell upon the nurse, hiding in fear until the table. As soon as Harry settled the light on her features the nurse scrambled out of her hiding spot and straight into his arms, smiling in relief. Sirius seeing this felt guilty about any doubts he felt about the woman.
'Finally someone else whose O.K.' The woman gasped. Sirius secreting himself into a corner watched on.
'Who are you?'
Sirius could hardly be surprised by Harry's lack of tact. He could only assume that Harry under pressure blurted the first thing that came to his mind.
'…..Lisa Garland. What's yours?'
The pair were acting like they met on an everyday street. Sirius could never understand fully how the human mind worked.
'Harry Mason'
'Harry tell me what's happening here. Where is everybody? I must have gotten knocked out…' Sirius saw no marks on her head, ' When I came to everyone was gone. It's awful.'
Harry kindly put his hands around the nurse when it looked like she was about to cry.
'So you don't know anything either. Great… I just don't get it. It's like this is all some kind of bad dream.'
Harry stepped away to pace. It was worse then any bad dream, Sirius thought.
'Can I ask you…. Have you seen a little girl around here? Short, black hair, seven years old.'
Harry's voice frayed as he mentioned his child. The Raven felt bad for the man, even though the child spooked him. The nurse too seemed sympathetic but could not offer the man mu8ch in way of information.
'A seven year old girl? Can't say that I have. I was unconscious all this time. I'm… sorry.'
Sirius's little empathy was draining but he perked up again when Harry brought up the basement.
'No. Why? Is there something down there?'
The question was innocuous enough but the tone told the Raven something different.
'You don't know? Don't you work here?'
Sirius only heard her mention about orders when from the silence beyond the klaxon raised up. He jolted from his spot, so did the humans. A bloody red surged through the air like a death blanket, Sirius felt his senses dim.
Vaguely he could hear Harry cry out in pain and the concerned tones of the nurse but his eskewed sight and hearing prevented him from understanding. He was not in pain but something was obviously trying to cut him off from what was happening, keeping him in the dark. He was starting to dislike the dark.
When Sirius finally got his bearings the scene had changed. Nurse Lisa Garland was missing and the misty light of day filtered in through the windows. Harry was still there but looking just as confused as the bird. A festering anger burned harsh within Sirius he was being denied knowledge and didn't like it one bit. Something had to be done about this place and to stop whatever nightmare was controlling it.
The old woman from the church spoke from behind him. Sirius lost in his own anger didn't flinch but her voice grated him.
'You were too late.'
'Its you.' Harry came straight to the point.
'Yes. Dahlia Gillespie.' Sirius paid attention. This woman, Dahlia, knew more then she let on. He had to listen well. Harry's questioning in agreement.
'Darkness. The town is being devoured by darkness. Strength must overcome petty desires. Childish sleep talk. I knew this day would come.'
From what she said Dahlia was talking apparent gobbledegook but Sirius knew better. This woman had a dark heart within her and it would be wise to listen carefully.
'Believe the evidence of your eyes. The other church in this town--that is your destination.' She pulled something from her pocket, 'This is beyond my abilities. Only you can stop it now. Have you not seen the crest mark on the ground all over town?'
'So that's what I saw in the schoolyard. What does it mean?'
'It is the Mark of Samael. Don't let 'it be completed.'
Samael! Sirius started at that name. It was so, so familiar that it was practically screaming at him but it refused to be willing. Distracted he failed to see the woman leave and by the time his brain was no longer pestering on the name Samael, Harry had picked up the items Dahlia Gillespie had left behind. It was a key.
Harry rushed out the door to catch up to the old woman, Sirius behind him. Too late though, for the Gillespie woman had departed as swiftly as she had appeared. Like a ghost she had come and went.
There was nothing left in the hospital now. Lisa the nurse had vanished just as Dhalia and the other Silent Hill. It was time to move on, to this other church. Sirius didn't like the sound of that. The last church had held the blind dead sitting in the pews as an audience. What choice was there though, at least the dead only watched or warned compared to the other things roaming about.
Sirius needed to go because Harry had already left the hospital, he attempted his newly discovered phasing ability and found it easier then before. It was snowing again. Sirius flew off in the direction he suspected the human had went.
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Deep in the bowels of the hospital voices cried out in pain. Unknown smiled. Those cries were music to its ears when it had no need to hide. Sitting away from the shadow were too small figures, unlike the voices, silent. Unknown gave them its most creepy grin. The two shared not a return smile, in fact they did not react at all. It knew they could see despite the gaping holes where their eyes should have been. The children refused to be baited. Unknown hated them. They were interfering but it could do nothing about them. They were immune to its taunts and threats. It galled It. That meddlesome pair would not be cow-towed.
'We see.' The left boy spoke.
'Can you?' The right boy asked.
Unknown snarled back at them. The children were playing with It and Unknown did not like being the one played with.
'I see. I wait. I act.' The two boys spoke in unison. Unknown rose up and drifted to them but the two boys faded away to nothing before It reached them. The voices wailing faded into whispering. The boys had returned to the fold of the dead.
Unknown sat back down and listened to the dead speak.
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A/N: Yes you have read a new chapter! From now on I will try to deliver a new chapter every month or if not sooner. A month though is the leeway.