Chapter Nine: Binding Promises

The air was stale and reeked of rust and earth, small puddles of water dotting the hallways and trickling streams running down walls into gutters. Their twin lights showed a rotting old place that surprisingly still stood, especially since first door across from the cafeteria had caved in. There was another door on the right, Nobody checked the handle but it seemed to be locked or maybe broken.

"Drat." he whispered.

"What?" Julia asked worriedly.

"So much for an easy path to the courtyard. If the north side cell row is blocked, I don't know how we're going to get there." he said in a low voice. "But what I've been trying not to think about is how we're getting back out."

"It'll be okay." she reassured. "Let's just get to that big room."

He nodded and moved forward, the shadows her light cast on the walls making her stomach flutter when they changed too quickly. His shield was squarely in front of him, sword lowered but ready. There were bar gates of rusted metal every ten feet or so, apparently the designers of the prison didn't want anyone going too far without a set of keys. Most of the doors that were still standing were open however, she wondered if someone had come through here recently. It made sense considering the hole in the wall of the well but who in their right mind would come to the prison?

Something a few walls away groaned and Julia's heart almost stopped, her grip on the pistol tightening up. Whatever was down here she didn't want to even see, much less fight against, but at least she had Nobody with her. They crept up to a solid looking door on the right, Nobody cautiously reached out and put his hand on the ancient handle, twisting the mechanism ever so slowly.

"Open." he reported quietly. "If we can get across here we'll be halfway there."

She nodded and took a deep breath. Nobody pulled the door open and a rush of trapped air whooshed out to meet them, he slipped inside and she quickly followed. The rows of cells were on the left, decaying remains of beds and other things trapped behind dirty bars. She recognized the stains on the floor, one got used to the way blood looks when it is left somewhere to dry. This was an evil place, she never wanted to see it again.

They were almost halfway across the cell block when Nobody whirled around and made a surprised grunt, something behind her made a gurgling sound. She turned and aimed, but the creature before her made the usually automatic reflexes freeze up. It was enormous, at least eight feet tall with a bloated, pallid stomach that had some kind of oozing wound in the center. A black, repugnant fluid was leaking out of the creature's mouth and torso, it would have been somewhat human if not for the arms sticking out of it. They were going in every direction with no pattern, all holding some kind of club. The tattered remains of some kind of uniform was still visible around its legs, the midsection completely torn out by its girth.

How something so foul and large managed to sneak up on them she couldn't fathom, but it moved forward with frightening alacrity, its revolting gut and the multiple clubs suddenly within striking range. She got a shot off before one them slammed into her hand, ripping the gun and her light out of her grip. The next blow she didn't even see, it just struck her on the torso and sent her falling backwards.

Struggling for air, she sat up to see Nobody hard pressed, the monster was beating down on his shield with three arms, the sound of them banging against it almost one continuous sound. His sword was darting in and out, but there were more arms to intercept his attacks. Julia could see the beam of light on her gun pointing towards the wall, she scrambled across the dingy floor as fast as she could, hoping that there wouldn't be any more hits with her back to the horror behind her.

Her fingers closed on the butt of the gun, she twisted back and aimed at the monster, her light directly on its face. She pulled the trigger but it was suddenly not there, her two shots hitting the metal cells in an echo.

"Wh-what the fuck was that?" she stammered. "Where did it go?"

"I don't know." Nobody muttered. "It's still around, don't let your guard down."

Getting to her feet, her legs and now ribs aching but the adrenaline was pumping, dulling her pain. Taking up a position behind Nobody, all she could hear was their heavy breathing, hers quick and shallow, his long and deep.

"I'm scared." she said, without thinking.

"Everything is going to be okay Julia." he whispered. "Stay sharp, it's not going to let us go. The only way to move forward is through him."

His words and calm voice helped get her jitters under control, she stepped behind her until her back was touching his. The metal was cold and impassive to her touch, but she felt slightly better. Just when she was about to say something the creature gurgled to the right, she jumped left and threw her gun arm out. It bubbled and churned in pain as Nobody took off one of its arms, the sound something akin to what a drowning man shouting for help would sound like.

The largest target was its stomach, she nailed it repeatedly from only a few feet away while Nobody hacked off another arm, a blackish fluid spurting from the wounds. She had almost emptied the clip when the hole on the monster's stomach began to gush, splattering something disgusting onto the prison floor. At the same time, the enormous belly began to expand, a viscous sound sloshing around in the fleshy balloon that was taking shape. Nobody backed off, joining her as the stomach grew.

"Crap. Run." he said, and they took off, fleeing down the hall. He quickly slowed her down and pulled her into a crouch, pressing her against his body and putting his arm over her shoulder, head down. A millisecond later the jailer exploded, the gust of wind and ensuing eruption of some sticky black substance hitting them with force even after the short run they made. He untangled himself from her and stood up, shakily she did the same and pointed her light behind them.

The creature had simply melted, a pool of lumpy, mud like goo where it was been, what was left of the ragged and soaked uniform joining the numerous clubs scattered around the blast zone as the only solid evidence the creature existed at all.

"Well that was gross." Julia reflected.

"That smell…" he said, putting a gloved hand to his face.

"Can we go now?'

"Yes, quickly if you don't mind."

They came to the end of the cell block, another solid door in front of them. Julia was half expecting it to be locked, but it thankfully creaked open when Nobody tried the handle. He peeked out into the hallway and stepped out, helmet light scanning every inch of the next area they were coming into. Motioning for her to follow with his sword, they quietly stole down the hall where a set of double doors waited for them on the left. He clanked inside the doors where the sound of his metal feet disappeared, Julia was as close behind as she could, not wanting to be attacked with him in another room.

This room was different then the others, cooler and more damp. Instead of the hard floors they had been walking on, this was soft ground. The smell was something comforting and earthy but tinged with another, darker scent, something old and rotting. The sound of dripping was everywhere, echoing in the large cavern they were in.

It was kind of reassuring, she realized, to be in semi-claustrophobic halls then to be out in a large open room, where something could come at any direction. She trailed behind Nobody skittishly, almost running into him when he suddenly stopped.

"Julia," he whispered urgently, "look."

They were in front of some wooden platform, she realized it was the gallows she had been looking for the entire time. She looked at him for some kind of reassurance, but his eyes were hard and unforgiving. Stepping forward, she shined her light on the it, gruesomely the noose hanging from the top rafter was still there, she faltered at the sight of it.

Going around it, not getting too close, she looked at it up and down, hoping for some kind of clue. So intent on looking at it, she almost didn't notice the line of light coming from the distance. It was a thin bar on the floor, coming from the opposite end of the room. She hurried back to Nobody, who had turned back to the door they had come in.

"Hey, there's something over here…Nobody?"

"I'm sorry Julia. This is where you go alone." he said, without turning.

"What?"

"He found us. He's coming."

"Who- oh no. Is it…"

He turned back to face her, his eyes just as intense as she had ever seen them. "You have to hurry Julia. I will stall him as long as I can."

"Nobody-"

"There's no time to argue. If what you're looking for is behind that door, go and find the truth while I'm still standing."

He turned back to the door, there was no use arguing with him. She reached out and touched his armored shoulder, just for a moment, and took off running for the light. Already she could hear the scraping metal sound off somewhere in the distance, she felt so horrible just leaving him there but how could she stop now? The end of the cavern was a wooden door, she burst through into the light that made her eyes hurt.

Nobody waited patiently for the demon to come, positioned in front of the gallows. It felt like an execution, if a slower and more exhausting one. It was okay though, he wasn't sad at all. Finally the scraping came to the door, the creature banged it open, ducking its head down to get into the room.

"I'm sorry Mom. I couldn't save you. All these years I've wished I could go back, try to undo the past. I couldn't get you out, but it wasn't my fault."

Pyramid Head dragged its giant butcher knife across the soft earth, tearing a fault line in the ground as it went. Still, Nobody was unfazed, standing right where he was. "I miss you Mom. Wish things had been different, but I'm not going to feel guilty for living anymore. Someone else needs my help now, this time I can do something about it. All I have to do is face fear in its purest form."

He pointed his sword at the oncoming monster, which was oblivious to his words. "You're terrifying Pyramid Head. But its going to take more then that to stop me."

It got close enough to strike, lifting the weapon in the air as if it weighed nothing at all, Nobody leapt forward to meet it.

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The room that wasn't on the map was oblong, wide and had another door at the back of it, across from her. A long wooden table with a row of chairs facing her took up most of the space in the room, in front of it was a solitary chair going the opposite direction. A single ceiling light hung from the ceiling, lighting the room with shadows at every corner, oddly enough it was electric. Nothing in the room quite captivated her as the man sitting in the chair, his back to her.

"Jon?" she trembled, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Jewel." he said a in an odd tone. She hadn't been called that in so long, there was only one person that it could be. "The biggest regret of my life." He sounded sad almost, voice rolling and stretching out his words.

Tears were running down her face as she moved forward, "Is that really you?"

He rose from the chair and came around to face her. He was wearing a pair of beige slacks and a navy blue button up shirt, his collar open. He was slightly overweight, stomach bulging out against the shirt, face rotund. On his chin he had a bit of black stubble, recently shaved but not recent enough to be clean cut. His cheeks sagged slightly, hairline receding and skin slightly yellowed. His eyes were just the same blue-gray tint as she remembered, but they were so lifeless, so cold. He turned the chair her way and sat back down, his eyes on her intently.

"Jon…" she said, stepping forward, but he held up his hand.

"No. No further. Don't come any closer."

"Jon?"

"No. That's not my name."

"Is it Alex then?"

"No. These are names given to me by people. Now I have many names, some of them given to me by people, some not."

"What are you talking about?"

"Julia Stormson. Biggest regret of my life. Funny, the choices we make seem like choices when we make them, but when you look back you realize that it was just fate fucking with you."

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing. I'm perfect. I'm an angel. I'm a saint. You're the sinner here."

"I just…I just wanted to know about Mom and Dad…I just want to know what happened. They were killed weren't they?" she said, body shaking.

"That so?'

"I just want to know what you saw."

"You seek truth? Ignorance is a shield, Jewel. You'd best get yours up."

"Stop talking like that! Tell me what you saw!" she demanded.

"What I saw, what did I see? I was there of course."

"You saw the killer didn't you?"

His eyes narrowed on her and he spoke very slowly now. "I saw him."

"What did he look like?"

"Look like?" Jon echoed. "I don't know. Scary probably."

"Do you know who it was?"

"Yes."

"Who?" she exclaimed.

"Me of course. I would have thought you figured that out by now."

Julia blubbered and tried to speak but nothing came out. "Why Jewel," he rolled on, voice returning to normal. "You look like you'd seen a ghost."

"Why…why…why…" was all she could stammer.

"Why not is the question. I was a troubled child from the start, the visions of a hanging death danced in my head from the beginning. I used to love the way squirrels squeaked when I hammered nails into them. I was having so much fun in my hunting trips after school, it was only natural for us to grow apart, their only son. I remember the day so clearly when they told me you were coming, you ruined everything. Oh how they cooed and made stupid noises and drooled over this baby. I wanted to end you right then and there, but I thought perhaps you would be like me, and I would have someone to hunt with.

"You were just the miracle weren't you? They stopped trying to hide their revulsion for me, it was getting bad. All they did is yell at me, and then once he hit me. I was so angry, I ran while she yelled at him. I knew what I had to do, when his head came into my room I laid my bat across the back of it. The first hit didn't drop him but the second one did. He was still moving though, so I got my hunting Bowie and made sure he'd never hit me again.

"I had almost forgotten about her though, when she turned the corner she almost got a scream out. I was quick though, you gotta be quick when you hunt animals. Afterward I knew no one would believe me, I had to get away. Taking you was only logical, you might have said something and it had to look like a kidnapping. Oh, I'm sure someone suspected the truth, but for the most part they bought it.

"It was hard, the first few months, but it got easier. You were so useful, who would turn away such a darling little girl? I tried to start calling you Mary but that Julia name had gotten stuck in your head. When I thought it was time I left you, it was so hard to look into your face and see them all over again.

"I wandered for a long time after that. I started getting such bad nightmares like when I was a kid, they wouldn't leave me alone. Finally, this one time I was in the mountains with this other guy, a drifter like me. I woke up again in the middle of the night, sweat all over me. The fire hadn't quite gone out yet, I got out a good trusty knife and made him scream. I went back to bed a few feet from what was left, I didn't even wash my hands. Best damn sleep of my life I tell ya."

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The creature was slow on its feet but it whipped around that massive blade like a toy. Nobody's shield had been torn apart by a glancing blow, he tossed it aside as each swing whispered by him. He'd opened dozens of wounds on Pyramid Head but it didn't seem to even slow him down. There was no way it was getting tired and he wouldn't last forever, not that he had to. Julia would have time to get away, he would make up for the life he had failed to protect all those years ago.

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"That's how it was for a while, I'd move from place to place until the nightmares came again. I would find someone suitable and they would go away for a little while. Wasn't so bad if you ask me, but I always had you in the back of my mind. After, gee, I don't even remember how many years, I went back to the orphanage I dropped you off at. They wouldn't tell me anything, not even when I talked to them in private. I was so mad, your file had been lost or trashed or something. I found a little girl that reminded me of you, that did it for the moment.

"But I had gotten careless. Someone had been tracking me, studying me. I was careful, but someone smart was watching me. If the cops had been ten minutes earlier, they woulda gotten me. It was scary, but it was kind of nice to know that I had fans. I needed to get away and fast, I didn't have anywhere to go. That's when he first talked to me.

"He called himself John Foust. He was forcibly drafted into the army you see, he just wanted to get away. He deserted as any man in his position would have, fleeing to the North. But word travels, people remember faces and it wasn't long before he ended up here, a war criminal for crimes he didn't commit. September 12, 1863 they murdered him, many years later on the same day there was a calamity that freed his rage and made him real. He told me about the one place that would welcome me with open arms…

"Right away I knew something had changed in the long years I had been away from home. You don't forget a place like Silent Hill easy, nosiree. Funny how people see things different, most of you look and find a place that's hostile, scary. I see its beauty, its power. I don't know what happened, but this placed turned into some kind of Eden, I wished I had come back sooner.

"That's why they sought me out. They knew I was one of them. They whispered in my ear about how I would get everything I ever wanted, and you know what? They were right. Julia, the biggest regret of my life. I never killed you. But now they've given me everything, they brought you right to me."

Julia had been entranced, hypnotized by his voice and words. When they stopped, she came to herself as if she had been somewhere else the whole time. She was still crying, nervous, sick to her stomach, disgusted and angry all at the same time. Of all the horrors she had seen so far, this was the worst. The two paths of finding her brother and finding her parent's murderer have converged on one single ugly road, this one man. Her mind's wheels and gears ground to a halt a stopped, there was no way to make sense of this in the time she was given.

"Why…" was all she could stammer out.

"The why, the why…" he said, rising out of the chair, Julia backed up involuntarily. "The why is not the question. You must have seen the file, You must know the history of this prison. John Foust wanted nothing more to live in peace, they made his life hell until finally they marched him of out his cell into this room, this chair, and laid their bullshit judgment on him. It takes 1260 foot pounds of force to snap the neck when you fall, the guards here made sure they were well under this so that the executions would feature a struggling man in his death throes.

"They did the same to me, only they were worse because I trusted them. They turned their backs on me and day by day it killed me. They got what was coming to 'em, mark my words." He smiled, the folds of his face tightening to accommodate an unnatural and sinister grin, the kind of crazy smile that a mental patient would make. "Come now Jewel, give your big brother a kiss."

Opening his mouth wide, he looked as if he was going to yell, but his bottom jaw kept going down, bone, sinew and flesh popping and stretching grotesquely as it extended well past a human mouth. His teeth grew longer and needle like, tongue bloating out into a blackened form of itself. The dull eyes rolled back into his skull, the whites showing and staying there as his body expanded out of the shirt. His right arm grew faster then the rest, forming a solid cylinder of hard flesh. His skin grew hard, hair and pinkish tone giving way to layer of sandy brown scales. The huge mouth let out a terrible, high pitched call that grated on her eardrums, Julia screamed in terror and pain and started pulling the trigger.

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Nobody heard her cry out and the gunshots that followed, if she was shooting it couldn't have been good but at least it meant she was still alive. He was only dimly aware of this, Pyramid Head wasn't getting any slower and he was, the sweat dripping off his face and trickling down his joints. He was beginning to give up the slim hope that he would get out of here alive, but it didn't change anything. Julia hurry…

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Its right arm was at least five feet of mass, a battering ram of skin that it was trying to bash her to pieces with. Her shots thudded into its wide torso but nothing came bleeding out, the rough scales might have rendered it bulletproof. She was more or less running around the room like a headless chicken, firing over her should and staying as far from possible from that arm. She jumped onto the table, hoping to slow it down to where she could take an aimed shot. It simply dropped its arm on the table, splintering it in half as it climbed across the wreckage to get to her. She was already almost again the wall, there was nowhere else to run.

The critical moment in took to destroy the table, Julia had her chance and shot it in in the eye, the bullet tearing a path across it. It screeched so loud and sharp she cried out, covering her ears. The club arm came swinging, she moved but not fast enough, it clipped her in the shoulder and sent her spinning to the ground. She sat up against the and saw her death coming at her, the battering ram back to finish the job. She slid out of the way just barely in time, feeling the air streak by her as the impact of that deadly blow cracked the stone wall inches from her head.

By the time she lifted up the gun the rest of it had caught up. The one normal arm, if grossly elongated and sickly yellow, gripped her by the throat and lifted her clear off the ground. The gun slipped out of her hand as she tried to wrestle its vice like grapple off her, her panicked lungs burning for air. It leveled its face with hers, she looked deep into its mouth, rows of teeth glistening with dripping saliva. The teeth darted forward at her, she kicked out with her back leg to jerk to the left and out of its path. Her cheek slid across its face as it crunched into the wall, hot breath curling around to her face.

They had gone back across the lake to the police station the day before, to pick up ammo and another clip to replace the one she had lost. There was something that had been nagging her ever since she first came to the station and read the file on her parents, an evidence number attached to the report. After Nobody helped her search through the labeled boxes and dusty folders, she found it, a large, curving knife that still had dried blood on it. Not just any blood, her parents', the one the killer had used. She stuck it into her pocket in case she ever found the one that did it, she remembered it now.

The lights in the room were beginning to dim, but she fumbled frantically at her pants and gripped the handle, putting all of her strength and rage into one last motion, stabbing it in the neck. It screamed again but it wasn't so loud this time, fading. The felt as light as a feather and the world closed in around her. Darkness came and Julia knew nothing else.

Eternity passed, she opened her eyes. The room was a mess, the tables and chairs demolished and blood spattered on the floor. She felt something warm touching her hand, she sat up gradually, seeing the pool of blood that had extended out from her brother. He was human again, shirt torn off, a hole where his right eye should be, knife still sticking out of his throat. Julia stumbled drunkenly to her feet, dazedly looking for her gun and stooping over to retrieve it. It hurt just to breath, but she was alive and very soon he wouldn't be, her parents avenged.

"Goodbye Jon." she croaked. She should have been glad, but she just felt empty inside.

"Jewel…" he gurgled, more blood gushing out with every word. "There's a way out of here…you have to hurry, your friend will not last."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because…" he stopped talking and coughed violently, blood leaking out of his mouth. "Whatever part of me that was still human you kept alive…plus I'm sorry…let me help you…please…"

"Jon…"

"Listen…"

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He wasn't bothering to attack anymore, simply trying to dodge that terrible weapon. His legs cried out in pain as he moved but it would be over soon. At least -

Shots interrupted his thoughts, echoing in the vast cavern. Bullets bounced off Pyramid Head's metal grating, it seemed to be as confused as he was, staggering back.

"Nobody, run!" she shouted and he needed no more impetus. She was alive, he hadn't failed. He could have almost smiled and he tucked tail and ran, Julia covering his retreat. He was about to collapse but forced his legs forward, making for the light he saw at the other end of the cavern. She was running along side him, urging him on as they passed through the door into some room. He noted the body and cracked table as they ran through, bursting past another door into some kind of lightless metal labyrinth that reminded him of sewers in the other Silent Hill.

He could hear Pyramid Head not far behind, its shuffling steps clomping across the floor. Julia seemed to know where she was going, pulling him down a hall and shifting abruptly, pushing him onto a metal ladder. He looked up, it stretched impossibly high into the air, he hesitated for moment, both from the sheer height of the ladder and the fact that it would probably come down with on swing of that creature's arm.

"Go go go!" she shouted and he groggily pulled himself up as fast as he could go. She climbed on a few moments later, the thin ladder creaking from the unaccustomed weight. Above him was some kind of metal plate in the metal ceiling, the ladder connected to it. Below Julia slid another clip in the began shooting off the ladder, the flashes showing him a circular room and a handle of some kind in the plate when he got to it. Whatever it was it was stuck, he yanked on it frantically and it budged slightly. Roaring in anger he pulled with all of his strength, whatever it was coming loose and swinging down on a hinge. Dirt hit him like a waterfall, if not for the brim of his helmet if would have gone directly into his eyes.

Light streamed in from above, the ladder apparently had been continued past the metal plate. He crawled the rest of the way out and onto some very welcome grass, he slumped gratefully onto the ground. A few seconds later he heard Julia climb out, the sound of clicking metal reaching his ears. There was a great clatter from the room underneath, probably the ladder falling as he heard her shut the plate, sealing the evil below once more.

"We're alive…Nobody we're alive!" she said as if it were a surprise. He looked about, they were in a graveyard of some kind, the usual mist reducing visibility to the rows of graves around them. No wonder there had been so much dirt, it must have been feet of earth that buried the hole. He heard her stomping, sliding dirt likely filling the hole again.

"Nobody c'mon, we have to keep moving." she said worriedly.

"Go on…I'll be fine." he breathed. His body refused to move, his armor weighed a million pounds.

"Bullshit! I'm not leaving you here!" she shouted, starting to drag him by the arm. Unconsciousness threatened to overtake him, he would have gladly let go until he sensed the tingle of enemies nearby. Not the dead, these souls had been properly honored and would not be angry. There was a number of them, drawn by his weakness and leaking blood. Julia would get herself killed trying to fend them off, that wouldn't do. Pulling on her heavily, he struggled to get his legs underneath him, every muscle in his body on fire. They stumbled along through the headstones, the hungry creatures just beyond his vision swarming closer.

"That shed…go there." he told her, pointing at the small building that was in the middle of the graveyard. They moved along, time running out, the forms of the creatures coming in through the mist. He was in no condition to fight them off, and she only had so many bullets. Getting to the building, he pushed off her and folded onto the wall. He went to put down his sword when he realized he didn't have it anymore, this irked him as he reached down clumsily to pull a blade of grass out of the ground.

"Nobody there's…what are you doing?"

He ignored her and pulled from his side pocket a square of some very special paper. He dipped the blade of grass into the stream of his blood leaking from his arm joint, using it to write on the paper. As he wrote them he spoke them, the letters lighting up as if they were made of fire, blackening onto the paper just like ink would. She watched in awe, when he was done he handed her the paper and opened the door to the shed.

"Put that on the door." he instructed, and promptly passed out, unable to even remember hitting the ground.