The Extremely Crappy Days at Ashfield High
Chappy Nineteen: The Grand BOOM! Of Electricity in Ashfield for a Day; Part THREE
"Police our still baffled by the identity of the one responsible for the blackout two days ago, but they have connected him to the explosions which occurred in North Ashfield earlier this month. From what witnesses have explained and described, he goes by the name of 'Zeik', and seems to be a loose cannon…"
The voice of the female news anchor instantly diminished as James turned the small knob on the control panel to the right. He blinked a few times before leaning back in the driver's seat and looking back towards the road. Not that there was much to see.
He slid a hand through his dirty blonde hair before slouching slightly. It had been a month after his niece's tenth birthday that he moved out of Ashfield and into Pleasant River. His first option was Brahms, because it was slightly closer, but he decided to just go with Pleasant River, as it just felt nicer to him.
But even though it had been about eighteen years since Mary's death, he couldn't focus correctly… He couldn't even stop thinking about it.
It was always there, stuck in the back of his mind. That town… with its fog-ridden streets… its cold feeling of dread…
James had tried his best to forget about the town… but it had showed him what he really was… a murderer… It had used them… Angela, Eddie, Laura… and even Maria, who was not even real to begin with… The town had toyed with them, playing on their fears, needs… It had pushed them all to the edge, but only James hadn't gone over. He had survived that horrid place, but in the process he discovered what he had denied and forgot…
Things became better though; his sister-in-law gave birth to a baby boy a few months after Mary's death, and he suddenly found himself an uncle. He was named Michael, and for awhile James felt somewhat envious towards his brother. He didn't know exactly why. Perhaps it was because Mary had always wanted a child...
Yet, James soon found himself caring deeply for the boy, and his small amount of jealousy dissipated quickly. And, only three years later, his brother was once again a father; Nicole was her name, a beautiful baby girl.
James cleared his throat as he pressed down slightly on the pedal. The vehicle accelerated.
Even after he had moved away, James still visited. But as time passed by, his visits became less and less frequent, and he found it harder and harder to face his relatives.
He glanced at his rear-view mirror quickly and then back to the road. Thing just weren't the same when he returned with Laura from Silent Hill… but he coped with it… and he intended to keep on living…
James reached for the volume knob and turned it to the left, increasing the sound… but nothing other than static could be heard… No, there was another sound under it…
He narrowed his eyes, leaning slightly forwards, forgetting the road. He raised the volume.
There was definitely something being masked by the static. James concentrated, straining his ears. "Ja… mes…"
He gasped. "Jame…s…"
It was his name, but he couldn't believe the voice that was speaking it. "No…" he muttered quietly.
"James…?"
He hadn't heard that voice in quite awhile… "Mary…?"
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Cheryl stood straight, quivering slightly. 'Damn…'
She walked out into the open, slowly approaching Sydney and Noah. "Ah, Ms. Mason… I hope you have taken into consideration our little discussion…"
"As a matter of fact," she began while stopping, "I've been thinking a lot about it…"
Noah nodded. "Good… I'd hoped to speak to you a little more, but things have been… busy…"
Sydney cleared his throat. "So… you've had business with him as well, Cheryl?"
She turned to Sydney, flinching. "…Yes... but how are you involved with their cult…?"
"I'm not actually involved; I've just had some previous association with them… but it seems the one behind their motives would like a word with me; is that right?" Sydney confirmed as Noah folded his arms.
"Hewould, but I have no intention of taking you to him."
Sydney seemed to have not expected this from his expression changed. "Why did you find me, then, if you have no desire to fulfill your duty?"
Noah closed his eyes and let his arms drop. "At first, it was mainly curiosity; I mean, why would a school teacher, from what it seems, attempt to kill members of a somewhat secret occult? But then I started thinking… perhaps we could assist each other?"
Cheryl listened intently, but she was at a loss for what was happening. She stepped forward. "What do you mean? What-,"
"The others have no idea I ever met with you, Cheryl. They have acknowledged you, but have done nothing." Noah thought for a second. "You see, I am not blinded like they are… They're too seeped into that rubbish about demons and rituals that they do not see the truth… But Jeremy knows… he raised all of us with the intention of turning us four into mindless drones to be sacrificed for The Order's purposes, and this was a short while after you had escaped Silent Hill with the detective, Douglas Cartland."
Cheryl glanced down at the floor. "You're saying…"
"I saw through it, that web of lies and deception," Noah answered while placing his left hand in his coat pocket. "They actually believe they're god will come and save them… I do not doubt its existence… but the idea of it all is ridiculous."
"How would I help you?" Sydney inquired all of a sudden, stroking his chin thoughtfully. Noah shrugged, chuckling. "I'm not entirely sure right now… but our goals seem to be shared, somewhat…"
He began to twiddle the small silver bullet in his left coat pocket. "There is a boy… of, approximately, fifteen years, in this city…"
"A boy?"
"Yes… Jeremy wishes to find him… but I wish to locate him beforehand…" Noah looked up at them, smiling. "I believe I should tell you both who Jeremy Blackheart is…"
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Joshua merely snorted as he stared at Zeik. The crowd was chatting, and he heard some lines concerning him.
"What did I do?" he asked in a very innocent manner while swinging his backpack around, opening it, and fishing around inside of it.
"You may not have noticed, but you've gotten in my way too many times… you and that stuttering kid with those big glasses…" Zeik trailed off. "But anyway, I'm still going to finish you very, very quickly…"
"Yeah, whatever…" Joshua murmured as he took out a separate granola bar and shook it slightly.
There was a small silence before Zeik made a peculiar gurgling noise. "G-G-G-ranol-l-l-la…?"
The crowd suddenly silenced as Zeik's left eye began to twitch. "Granola… Granola… Granola…!" Foam started forming at the tip of his lips as his hands began moving erratically.
"What the hell's wrong with him?" spoke a random man as the people began to panic.
Joshua unwrapped the bar's wrapper and attempted to begin eating it before Zeik slammed his fists onto the small counter. "GraNOla!
He pressed a few buttons, and after a few moments, the robotic dog ran into view, heading for Joshua. "Oh, crap!" he exclaimed as it jumped onto him, knocking him to the floor. It grasped the bar in its mouth and started shaking it wildly.
Zeik cackled crazily while grinning in a maniacal fashion. "Birdies, birdies, BIRDIES!" he shouted while slamming his forehead into the counter several times. "How FUNNY!" He began pressing different buttons, turning different knobs, clicking on the computer mouse…
Lights suddenly flickered on and off in the electronics store, computers started shutting down, the music in the room died down…
The robotic dog quickly fell, deactivated. The granola bar dropped out of its mouth as people screamed and ran around, panicked.
Christian watched intently as Zeik fell off of the chair and the image disappeared, leaving only the blank, black screen to reflect the image of the room it was in.
Joshua cursed and dropped to his knees, reaching out for the bar as the lights went off simultaneously…
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Christian looked up at the large building as numerous people and police conversed, inspected, and went around doing their own things.
"That was freaky, don't you think?" Joshua asked while taking a bite out of the granola bar. Christian glanced at him, but then back at the building.
"Who was that guy? You knew him, right?"
"Oh, him?" Joshua giggled. "He's just some guy… Don't worry about it…"
The blonde teenager shook his head. "He said something… about a cult…"
Joshua ignored him, smiling happily at his granola bar. "I called my mom… She said the electricity went out in our neighborhood too…"
"Are you even paying attention?"
"Uh… Hmm? What?"
Christian sighed. "I think that person is connected to that cult I was telling you about…"
"Oh, the one from Silent Hill?"
"Yeah… How'd you remember?"
"I didn't… You're always talking about it…"
"Well, anyway…" Christian flinched, "if he is involved with them, that means they might be here, in Ashfield."
"Didn't you say you weren't even sure the cult existed?" Joshua said. Christian disregarded the question and continued.
"But what if they are real…? What if they're here? This is important… Joshua!"
The brown- haired teenager was barely listening, but what he did hear caused him to laugh slightly.
"What's so funny about it?"
"Oh, it just sounds like something that would be present in a video game… Actually, it sounds a lot like the opposite of that T.V. show… 'Loud Plains'…" He looked at the building. "Just listen to yourself, Chris… There isn't a cult trying to resurrect the devil in Ashfield… Come on, what are the chances?"
Christian rubbed his eyes, sighing. "Yeah… I guess I am taking it a little too far… but… wait…" He folded his arms. "I read about this novelist… Harry Mason… he wrote a book, and the contents were extremely similar to the things I've been finding out about Silent Hill… But anyway, he died years ago, leaving behind a daughter…"
Joshua took another bite into the bar as his friend glanced at him. "I never thought about it before… but… Miss Mason…"
"You mean our English teacher?" Joshua asked as he suppressed a laugh.
"What?"
"That's… just too funny!" As Joshua broke out into laughter Christian only shook his head. "It's not even funny…"