Chapter Ten: Fading Echoes

He was aware of his own breathing first, slow and rhythmic all by itself as if it had a will of its own. It took Nobody a few moments to realize that he wasn't dead, he opened his eyes slowly. There was light coming in from the one window in the small shack, it hurt his pupils and he had to squint to let them adjust. The first instinct was to sit up, he tried but moving his skull nearly caused him to black out again. Doggedly he clung to consciousness, waiting for the spots in his vision to clear. There was a pillow under his head, a blanket over his unarmored body. When the pain subsided he looked around and saw Julia sitting against the wall, watching his every move.

"How do you feel?" she said, her voice a bit off.

"Like I got hit by a truck and he threw it in reverse to run me over again."

"Sense of humor still works. Take these." she said, putting some pills into his hand. He heard water being poured as he put the small pills into his mouth, tilting his head up to accept the cup that was pressed to his lips. It was cold, it felt good going down. He didn't know what exactly he had just ingested, but his trust in her was complete.

"Your throat okay?" he said, lying back. "You sound a bit hoarse."

"Its just a little bruised. Your arm was much worse off."

He had forgotten about it, reaching over with his other hand to gingerly touch the edges of his bandages. Just from the feel of them he could tell they were well done and recently changed, he settled comfortably back into the spot he had worn in. "Looks like you knew what you were doing there."

"There was a complete first aid book at the pharmacy. I don't know what I would have done without it." she croaked. "Just a good thing you weren't awake for my first couple attempts, it was probably painful. Are you hungry?"

"No…funny…I'm just tired. Its…something I haven't been used to, I haven't slept in years. Feels weird I suppose but its not altogether unpleasant."

"Its your body trying to heal itself. Don't fight it."

"Wasn't planning to." he said, already drowsy again.

"That thing you put on the door…was that some kind of magic?"

"Something like that." he yawned. "Did you…find what you were looking for down there?" he asked, nodding off.

"Kind of…thank you for everything Nobody, I could never repay you."

He smiled thinly, before the words could escape he was asleep again.

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It was kind of scary leaving him the first time, but she trusted the small paper on the door to keep him safe and he always was. This wasn't a trip to the drugstore though, she was going the way he had told her, the way to a secluded part of the cemetery. The graves here were spaced further apart then the rest of the plots, some of the headstones ornate and quite pretty, but she wasn't here for admiring artwork. The two she was looking for were plain and sitting close by each other under a large oak, swaying in the light breeze and mist. The only thing on the tombs were the names and years, as if that's all they had been.

"Hi Mom and Dad." she said with a little wave. "You probably don't recognize me but its Julia, your little girl. Not so little anymore am I?" She started to cry but wiped the growing tears away quickly. "I wish I could have known you, but I think I turned out okay. I wonder if you'd be proud of me and how I've lived my life. I…don't know why Alex turned out the way he did, but I do know you tried to help him as best you could. I can't understand him but he did care for me a little while, when he was still himself somewhat. We were a family once, like in that picture, just the four of us. I spent my whole life trying to find you so that maybe I could find out who I am. Now that I have I realize where I'm from isn't who I am, how I act and what I do is. Right now I'm just a normal person that's come visit their parents' graves and miss them."

Bringing her hand up, she showed the graves the bloody hunting knife, the stains on it both old and new dried once more. "I know you probably don't want to see this, but I think of it as the symbol of your children. The one that put you here, and the one that put him here."

Using the blade, she dug into the grass where she stood, carving out a shallow, wide patch. Dropping the knife into the hole, she covered it back up with her hands, packing the soft earth tight. When she stood up again she was crying uncontrollably but didn't try to stop this time.

"I'm not ready to join you just yet," she choked, "but I promise one day I'll be back to rest with you here, in this place, where I was born and where you loved me." Going back the way she came a little ways, she picked some dandelions that were growing, strange to see such flowers in a murky place like this but it didn't matter. Returning to the graves, she laid a few in front of both. Wiping the tears from her face, she streaked the moisture on the top of the headstones.

"I have to go now. There's someone that needs my help. I'd appreciate it if you could watch over him." With a heavy sigh she turned around and headed for shed where Nobody lay. Her task in Silent Hill was done, her goals complete. She would have to go back to Julia Kaye again, her petty problems, her petty life. Sooner or later though, she would be back. After all, this was where her family was.

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When he woke again, it was night, the room was dark and he could feel the lack of the sun beating down on him. His head was awkwardly positioned, he realized after a moment it was in Julia's lap. She was lying against the wall, dozing peacefully, the weight on his chest under the neck likely her hand. It was nice to be close to someone again after so long, but this wasn't meant to be. He sighed to himself and waited for sleep to come again, he didn't have to wait long.

The next time he opened his eyes it was day, Julia was gone. Sitting up slowly, Nobody then got his feet under him and squatted close to the ground. Long resting muscles and joints popped and clenched with recent activity, he stayed down until he felt together enough to stand. Carefully he did his routine stretches before any work out, taking care not to go too far with his tendons. His left arm was healing nicely, it was still sore to move but the bleeding had stopped and the healing under the skin had begun.

There was nothing else of use in the small shed, he squinted as he went outside. His armor was piled up nearby, some of it still caked with his dried blood. He didn't see his sword or shield, had he lost both of them trying to escape Pyramid Head? Those would be hard to replace but not impossible. The difficulty wasn't in the technique but finding suitable base metals and material hot enough to soften the metal. He was about to start looking around to see where exactly he was when Julia's familiar presence came into the range of his supernatural senses. He sat down with his back to a headstone and waited for her to come into sight.

The sword was looped around her belt, her gun holstered as she carried a plastic bag with something in it. She didn't notice him, walking into the shed until he said "Good morning."

In the blink of an eye her hand was on the butt of the gun, body tensed for action in the time it took to look over at him. She relaxed when she saw who it was and smiled, coming to sit in front of him. "Still feel like you were hit by a truck?" The harshness in her voice had almost completely disappeared by now.

"No, feeling much better. You did a great job on the arm and the rest of me, thank you."

"It was the least I could do Nobody, you almost got your ticket punched on my behalf."

"Could have been worse. How long have I been out?"

"A week to the day. I have some sandwiches here if you want one."

"I'm fine thanks. Do you know how to get back to my room? I'd like to rest in my bed if I can."

They spent another week in his apartment, Nobody recovering and Julia going through his library. There was an astounding mish mash of subjects and categories, all without any system of categorizing although Nobody knew right where everything was. It wasn't long before he could take the bandage off and let the scab heal over, nearing the end of the week he could start to work out with it again.

When Julia had woken up on the seventh day, he was sitting in his favorite chair. He heard her getting something to eat, and he closed his book. It was time to escort her out of Silent Hill, he could take care of the rest of his recovery. Truthfully he could have been okay the day he woke up for good, but it was nice having her around just a little longer.

Belting on his sword, he watched her chewing the last of her food. "It's time Julia Stormson."

"Time for what?"

"For you to go home."

"Oh…" she almost sounded surprised.

"Are you talking anything with you?"

"Ah…no, whatever I brought I can leave here."

He opened the door and waited patiently for her to go through, they walked without speaking back through Silent Hill, the swirling mist and empty streets somehow less threatening and more nostalgic as they made their way through town and up the sloping highway that brought her here in the first place. They came up to her car, still in one piece and still with its tire flat.

"This yours?" he guessed, and she nodded.

"Tire blew out. I don't have a spare or a jack to change the wheel, I don't care what happens to it."

He shrugged and they moved on, hiking back up the tall hill. At a certain point it leveled out, Julia said, "The cliff is gone. This all used to be an endless hole."

"It's gone now." Nobody said, and they continued on. He wanted to speak and tell her how he felt, but it wasn't right. It had been so long since he'd been this close to someone, let alone a woman. Time was passing too quickly and before he knew it, the bridge to Silent Hill appeared around the corner. He stopped short, unsure what to say exactly . "I guess this is goodbye."

"Yeah…" she said sadly, "Hey you ever…think about maybe leaving for a bit? Going back to the real world for a little while?"

"Sometimes. But like I said, there's nothing for me back there."

"What about now?"

"What about now what?"

She smiled to herself, "Nothing. I don't suppose you'd come out to visit me sometime?"

"Funny, I was going to ask you the same thing, but this is no place to ask someone to come back to."

"It's not so bad anymore I guess. Is that a no?"

"I just…think maybe I'm too scared to leave now. Like maybe I'm really a ghost that died in that fire, and if I step outside I'll just disappear."

"You really think that?"

"A little. I wouldn't be surprised if it happened. I'd like to Julia but this is my home, in all its evil, but I don't want it to spread any more then it already has."

"I see…well this really is goodbye then."

He extended out his hand but she pushed it aside and hugged him. He felt foolish for trying to shake, it was such a warm feeling having her arms around him.

"Thank you." she murmured. "Thank you for saving my life, thank you for helping me find what I needed to find and protecting me."

"It was nothing." he whispered back, suddenly not wanting her to leave. But there could be no compromise, no middle ground. He was bound to this place and she wasn't, it wouldn't be right to have her come back. She let him go and Nobody smiled sadly.

"One last thing…what's your real name?"

"Does it matter?"

"Does to me."

"It's not who I am anymore, but who I am now that matters."

"If you say so…see ya Nobody."

"Farewell, Julia Stormson."

"You can call me Jewel."

"Farewell then, Jewel."

She turned and walked away, leaving Silent Hill for good. This was the way it should be, but he couldn't help but wish she would change her mind and stay. He savored that last image of her smiling face until she was across the bridge and out of sight. He went back home, the place he was born, with a heavy heart.

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It was raining, the soft pitter patter of the drops against the buildings and streets a pleasant sound to hear. The night sky was in a foul mood as always, falling from above in a light song of reluctant renewal. He watched for hours until he was soaked to the bone, when the rain grew light he went back inside, down to his glyph protected room.

Inside the door, Nobody immediately sensed that something was wrong. On its own volition his hand quietly eased the blade on his hip out of the scabbard and he crept into the room. There was a presence here, but it was elusive, shifting, hard to get a track on. He didn't know exactly where it was, only that it was here somewhere. As silent as a hunting predator, he slinked into one room and to the next, searching for the intruder.

He ducked into the library and there it was, wearing a long coat and hood that covered its face in darkness. At its side were two large, overstuffed duffle bags, bulging at the sides. "If you can talk, I hope you have a damn good reason for breaking into my home. You'd better say something that convinces me that I shouldn't gut you where you stand."

"Something." Julia said, taking the hood off. She looked leaner, stronger, more purposeful and there was something off about the way he sensed her.

Nobody's jaw dropped but he quickly recovered. "How do I know it's the real you?"

"'Cause you can call me Jewel." she said. He relaxed, and she took off the heavy overcoat and hood, showing a kind of gray bodysuit underneath that he wasn't sure was made out of.

"Its been a while. You ah…seem different."

"I should hope so. I've just been making sure I wouldn't be such a damsel in distress when I saw you again."

"You were never-"

"I brought you some books." she interrupted. "I hope you like them, they weighed a ton."

"Really?" he gaped, unable to hide his surprise.

"Yeah. Thought it might make up for that saving my life a few times."

"I-I don't know what to say…how long will you be staying?"

"I don't know, a week or two. Then you're coming with me back to the outside."

He scoffed in shock. "What makes you think I'm going to do that?"

"Because I said so. Now let's get to talking." Everything about her was different, what had she been doing in the months that she was away?

"About what?"

"About you. And this place. And everything. I want to know how you like your coffee, what your favorite color is, what bowling ball you use when you play. I'll return the favor of course."

"But…why?"

"Why? That's a silly question. I think you know why."

A smile crept slowly across his face and he almost blushed. "Guess this would be a good time to say that I missed you." he admitted.

"Well duh." she grinned, "Why do you think I came back?"

"Oh yeah, do you remember Chuck Taylor?"

"Chuck? Yeah, why?"

"He wanted to tell you he was sorry for pointing a gun at you."

"Is that right? It's okay, sometimes it gets confusing here. But how did you know him?"

"Ah well, I got a message from him not too long ago, he just wanted to say that."

"Oh. Well I hope he's doing okay and he found his friend."

"I'll let him know if I can."

"Thanks. So…enough about other people…let's talk about you."

"Not my best subject…"

"That's okay Nobody. No one's perfect." she said, smiling prettily.

"Well," he said, returning the grin, "to start off with, if you really want to know everything, my real name is…"

The End

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Thanks: Konami, for the games, their excellent sound tracks and inspiring the movie, the contributors at GameFAQs for the Silent Hill 1, 2 and 3 pages, specifically Orca782, CVXFREAK, Conquerer, Starfighter76 for his excellent maps, thank you guys, your ideas and work influenced this fanfic and saved me from having to replay the games again. Lastly the reviewers here at Fanfiction and the people I know that let me write in peace, lol.

Next SH fanfic is mostly complete on paper, I'll get it typed up eventually. Later!