(Wow… I'm surprised no one who read and reviewed found the small Easter egg type thing I put in the last chapter…)
MichelLover67: In a way, the only thing that was really driving Walter was to be with his mother, and of course the Valtiel sect. of the cult manipulated and used him. I would think he'd still be dangerous, though… The stench is just a stench… It's just… "there", not really coming from anything particular… Besides, the umbilical cord is used up by the end of the game.
SageoWind218: I suppose Henry lost the POD in Walter's worlds… Okay, then it is one of the hugs; heh…
The Extremely Crappy Days at Ashfield High
Chappy Twenty-One: Prelude
Noah walked speedily up the staircase, his coat swaying behind him. Had it not been for the streetlights and lights outside the apartment building, he would have lost his footing, for not a single star rested in the night sky…
The door to the apartment Noah was heading too suddenly swung open as Zeik stormed out. He gave Noah a small wave before running off.
Noah shrugged and continued towards the door, catching the door knob and strolling in… only to have a jar of peanut butter launched at his face. He quickly grabbed it with his right hand while closing the door gently with his other.
"Hey, Noah, make me a sandwich!" commanded Catherine with her hands on her hips. The nineteen year- old merely grunted and headed over into the kitchen area, setting the jar down and grabbing the loaf of bread from the corner. "Why was he here?" he asked plainly.
"He wanted… to speak with Jeremy…" Alexis answered without raising his head from his book. "What did you tell him?" asked Noah again as he grabbed a lone napkin across the counter, set it before him, and placed two slices of bread upon it.
"I informed him… that only Melissa, Catherine, and I were present here…"
"But Melissa isn't here, is she?"
"No, she's with Jeremy… in Silent Hill."
Noah stopped spreading the peanut butter of the bread and turned to Alexis. "Silent Hill? Why would he go there?"
Alexis closed the book, looking up at Noah. "Jeremy says… that he has located the boy."
Noah seemed a tad disturbed by this. "Already? Isn't that… a bit abrupt?"
"He says the boy attends Ashfield High School… He did not give a name… but he did give us details…"
"Oh? What might those details be?"
"Curious… or is it more than that…?"
"What?"
Alexis rose, his usual eerie smile absent from his face. "You've been acting… very strange recently, very…" Noah turned back to the two slices of bread, continuing to spread the butter with the knife.
"Very what?"
"I am… not sure… but do you have anything you'd like to tell us?"
"What would you like to hear?" Noah finished with the peanut butter and dropped the knife into the sink nearby. Alexis shrugged. "Don't play games with me, Noah… We've known each other since we were children… I know you too well, as do you me…"
Noah jammed one of the slices onto the other. "I'm not playing games..."
"Then what have you been up to?"
Noah chuckled. "It's none of your concern, Alexis, don't worry about it." He grasped the sandwich and handed it to Catherine, who frowned. "Where's the grape jelly?" she pouted. Noah ignored her, staring at the redhead.
"I can't help but worry, Noah… I would be forlorn if anything were to happen to you; you're like a brother to me, in many respects."
"I'll be perfectly fine; if I were you, I'd worry more about myself." He then walked over to the door, but the sandwich hit the back of his head. "Jelly, Noah!"
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Joshua flipped to the next page of the crimson journal, eyes locked intently on the content. He didn't even notice Christian as he took a seat across from him, placing his lunch tray down.
"Never thought I'd see you reading…"
Joshua looked up, grinning. "Yeah, I didn't think so either… So, were you that sick?"
"Sick enough to be absent from school for two or three days…"
Joshua put the journal down. "You know, you've been wearing that same brown vest and shirt for awhile now… whatever happened to the cargo pants and the buttoned shirts?"
Christian shrugged.
"Yes, well, I'll find out soon enough…"
"Hmm… So what are you reading, anyway?" The blonde pointed at the journal, which was wide open. Joshua glanced down at it. "It's just some old journal I found at my house… Funny thing is, I have no idea who wrote it; his name is Joseph Schreiber, or something like that…"
Christian folded his arms. "Schreiber…? I swear I read an article by someone by that name… Something about an orphanage in the woods near Silent Hill… That is strange… Why would it be in your possession?"
"I dunno… It was in this chest with all this weird stuff… I didn't have time to ask my dad about it this morning, though…"
Christian took the plastic spork and plopped some of the imitation rice into his mouth. "Can I take a look at it?" Joshua nodded and slid it over to his friend, who quickly scooped it up and began skimming through the first few pages.
"This guy… Joseph… he was investigating a murder…"
"A serial murder… Some guy was trying to kill twenty- one people… Don't know why."
"Hmm… it says his name was… Walter… Sullivan…"
"What might you have there, boys?"
Both teenagers looked up to see Mr. Wells standing over the table, staring at the journal. "Oh, it's just some old diary I found at my house… No big deal," stated Joshua as Mr. Wells motioned for Christian to hand it to him, which he did.
The teacher took the book, opening it and beginning to read the first page. After a few seconds, he turned to the next page. He then looked up from the journal, closing it. He cleared his throat and looked towards Joshua.
"If you… don't mind, Joshua, I'd like to have a better look at this… You can pick it up after school…"
The brunette- haired teenager shrugged. "Uh, sure… Doesn't matter that much to me…"
Mr. Wells nodded and sped off, tucking the journal in his coat. Joshua and Christian watched as he left the cafeteria.
"That was a little weird, don't you think?" asked Christian as he looked back at Joshua. "Meh, it's nothing to worry about… Hey, you haven't met Nicole's uncle, have you?"
"Oh, no, I haven't… Why?"
"He came to pick up Nicole yesterday… Maybe he will today…"
"Even if he does, I don't have the time; right after school I have to go take the subway to see my aunt at the hospital."
"Whoa, what happened?"
"I'm not sure, actually…"
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The light from the lantern and candles gave off a mellow glow as Jeremy etched down his final notes on the sheet of paper.
He sighed as the door slowly creaked open. There was a gentle knock.
"Please, come in," he said, eyes continuing to study the paper. Melissa smiled as she made her way into the room; she carried a small cup.
"I made you some tea, Grandfather… I thought it would help…"
"Ah, thank you…" Jeremy motioned for Melissa to sit. "I have something I would like to discuss with you, Melissa..."
The young woman took a seat, putting the small cup down. "Yes?"
Jeremy leaned back in the wooden chair, causing it to creak. "Noah… He's very different from you three… You have noticed it, have you not?"
"What do you mean by 'different'?"
"Noah… he thinks differently… He's clever, and he views things… I… cannot predict what goes on in that mind of his… So, that is why I ask you, do you know of anything… peculiar, that he might be involved in?"
Melissa froze, swallowing hard. She hadn't been expecting that. "…No…" she lied, her head bowing slightly. Jeremy sighed. "…I see… I asked you because… you are, most likely, the closest to Noah out of all of us…"
Melissa nodded somewhat, her eyes avoiding that of her grandfather's. "I may not show it at times, Melissa, but I hope that you and Noah carry on our beliefs… even if you do not aspire for what I may…"
"W-What do you mean…?"
"All I pray for… is that you do not let our sacrifices go to waste…" Jeremy grasped his granddaughter's hands tightly. "I continue our brotherhood's work, Melissa… because I feel that some people deserve Paradise… and you and the others are included in that small percentage…"