I.

Harry Mason sailed out of the window and for a moment, he felt as if he was flying. The air slowly whistled past him and the night air suddenly rushed into his lungs. Though damp and cold, it was strangely refreshing—a relief from the humid, stuffiness of the house.

He was free—even if it was momentary. The hellhounds seemed miles away as he twisted slowly through the air, his body fully accepting the idea of being weightless.

Harry then made a sudden and sharp move, thrusting his hand back toward the window and barely grabbed hold of the ledge. His body was no longer weightless, but a heavy sack of rocks that slammed into the side of the house. He dangled for a moment before his body reacted to a sharp pain in his shoulder.

Almost falling, Harry lifted his left hand and grabbed hold of the window ledge, hoping to take some of the pressure off his now hurt right shoulder. Harry watched above as the foolish hellhounds did just what Harry hoped—they sailed out of the window after him, pummeling to the ground below. Three sickening crunches and diminishing moans rose from the darkness below.

A breath of relief escaped Harry's lips then he managed to pull himself back through the window and crumple to the floor. He had made it—survived a near-miss with whatever those things were. But he still didn't know where Tina was or what else lurked in the shadows of this house.

Harry took only a moment to catch his breath, before struggling to his feet. His shoulder throbbed, but the pain slowly subsided. He patted himself down, making sure the cell phone and gun were still on him—and they were.

Harry began to backtrack, but stopped abruptly. He was sure he heard a voice. But not just any voice—something was familiar about it. It wasn't until then that Harry noticed a narrow door to his left. It looked older than all the other doors—dark, splintered wood with a rusted knob.

The knob was cold to the touch and stuck, but after a good jiggle, it turned. Harry now stood at the base of a set of stairs with a door at the top. Harry started up the stairs, straining to make out the voices—one of which he hoped would be Heather and the other, Tina.

II.

Tina swore the temperature had dropped a few degrees. She rubbed her arms but kept her eyes on the strange girl that had somehow appeared in the room she and Henry were holed up in. "Excuse me?" Tina reflexively responded to the girl's out-of-place comment.

Dark, empty eyes stared back at both Tina and Henry, but the girl did not respond.

Tina was tempted to repeat herself, but the ominous feeling that hung thickly in the air prevented her from even moving. She silently rejoiced when Henry took control of the situation.

"Are you okay? Did someone hurt you?" Henry asked, as if he had not heard the girl's last statement. He took a step towards the girl, but Tina firmly grabbed his arm.

"Wait," she whispered.

"Tina, she's just a girl—"

Doubt remained on Tina's face as she shook her head slightly. "There's something strange about her."

Henry gave the girl another once over. The girl did appear to be dirty and quite pale, her clothes and hair greasy and disheveled. And the strange teddy bear in her hand did nothing but add to the sinister appearance the girl suddenly had. He hesitated, not sure whether he was simply being overly cautious or whether his instincts were keen enough to sense danger. Either way, he wasn't going to make another move toward the girl.

The girl's deep eyes stared through them focused on something beyond what Henry and Tina could see with their eyes.

Henry spoke softly, "Where are your parents, maybe we could—"

"I know where Mommy and Daddy are," the girl hollowly replied. She rocked back and forth slightly, her limp limbs simply swaying in rhythm with her body.

The mysterious ring in the girl's voice sent a chill down Tina's back. "Maybe we could help you find them," she replied, taking Henry's lead. Though she managed to keep her uneasiness out of her voice, she felt like they were in terrible danger.

"I'm going to meet them," she said as her eyes rolled until only the milky whites stared back at Harry and Tina. Tina reflexively screamed and Henry took a step back.

A tear streamed from the girl's right eye, but as Henry looked closer, it was dark red—blood. Another tear fell from her left eye then it started to heavily flow from both eyes.

Tina felt her breath catch in her throat as she backed into the door. She couldn't pull her eyes away from the girl, afraid that if she even blinked, the girl would be upon them with a large butcher knife, viciously stabbing them until their screams finally died away. Tina fumbled for a moment, but her hand finally gripped the doorknob. She turned both ways, but it wouldn't open.

"Henry," she hurriedly whispered.

He too kept his eyes fixed on the girl. As much as Henry wanted to turn away, he feared that if he looked away, something terrible would happen to both him and Tina. The sudden flickering of the lights snapped him out of the morbid trance he was in. It finally registered that Tina had called his name.

"The door won't open!" she sounded panicked.

Despite Tina's warning, Henry didn't move. He watched the blood begin to pool at the girl's feet. Then, like a live animal, the blood began to move outwards, like cracks in a sidewalk. The blood began to snake over the girl's face and clothes too—each crack would break off into at least ten other cracks and continue to snake around, driven by some evil desire to swallow anything in its path.

Henry saw the blood begin to creep up the wall behind the girl. As soon as it touched something, it was like that object was assimilated—turned into a veined, crimson object. He then looked down and saw the blood creeping toward them. If the blood converted everything else it touched, what would happened to he and Tina when it touched them?

Though he kept his eyes glued to the girl, he reached behind Tina and grabbed the knob. It turned slightly, but did not make the complete turn to allow them to open the door. Henry put both hands on the door, watching the girl over his shoulder, and twisted the knob. It made no difference.

"Help!" Tina banged on the door, holding on to the slight hope that Harry would find them.

"You don't want to go with me to meet Mommy and Daddy?" the girl hauntingly asked. "It will only hurt for a minute."

"No!" Tina screamed as her pounding became more frantic. Henry joined her and banged on the door with one hand while turning the knob with the other.

The lights flickered again. Henry knew that if the lights went off, it would be the end for them. They had to get out, but how? It was then that Henry regretted not having a plan—he had saved Tina, only to lead them to their deaths.

Before Henry could chastise himself some more, voices sounded from the other side of the door.

"Hey, we can't open the door! Help!" Tina called. "There's something in here!"

It was a male's voice that replied, "Okay. We can't open it from this side either. Stand back, maybe we can shoot the doorknob!"

"We can't—there's something dangerous in here!" Henry replied. He knew that they sounded frantic, but if they didn't get out in the next few seconds, they would die along with the young girl.

"Okay!" he called back. His voice then went low, as if he were consulting someone else.

"Please, hurry!" Tina yelled.

The lights flickered again—this time, it seemed like a strain for them to come back on. Henry knew that the next time, they would not come back on.

III.

There were few things in life that surprised Cybil Bennett. As a cop in Brahms, a few miles outside of Silent Hill, she had seen many things—disturbing people and strange situations that normal cops only read about. Still, Cybil had kept her cool and approached everything with an unfaltering dedication. Even when she found herself immersed in the bizarre world of Silent Hill, Cybil kept her cool. She did her best to be a stable, reliable figure for Harry Mason as he searched for his daughter. But now, as she stared at Harry, she was truly surprised.

"Harry?" Cybil said as she put away her gun. "I'll be damned—looks like you didn't get far enough away from this place either."

Cybil took a moment to study Harry. Though several years had passed, Harry looked exactly the same as when she last saw him. Well, he did have a few more gray strands of hair on the side—but other than that, he looked healthy and fit, given the circumstances.

Harry shook his head in reply as he smiled. "I guess not—I thought everything was over. I should've known that this wouldn't stay buried forever."

Cybil shook her head, "We couldn't have known, Harry. We thought it was done—Alessa, Cheryl, Dahlia—all of it."

Harry's expression was unreadable, but his voice was hollow, almost a whisper. "No, we knew—my daughter, Cheryl—Heather—I should have been more careful." Harry stepped closer to Cybil, "Did you see the stories from a few years ago—the stories about James Sunderland?"

Cybil paused, "I'm not sure. I remember that it was a big deal, but I really didn't pay it any attention. Some guy killed his wife. They said he did it to relieve her of her pain—they said she was deathly ill."

"Well, later, when they talked to him, he talked about Silent Hill—the creatures, letters, and the fog. Everyone thought he was crazy—but I knew. But I didn't want to believe it. I threw away the newspaper and pushed it out of my head. The media forgot about it the next day and nothing more was ever said about him or Silent Hill."

Cybil touched Harry's shoulder and felt him wince in pain, "You're hurt."

"I'll be okay—it's just a little sore now."

Harry gazed back at Cybil, suddenly aware he was studying her. She didn't look any older than she had been when they first met. Her blonde hair was much longer now, pulled back into a smart ponytail. Her body seemed shapelier in normal clothes than a police uniform—her stylish black slacks, jacket, and purple blouse didn't seem appropriate in a place like this, but she looked good in them anyways.

The thoughts were interrupted by Douglas stepping forward and clearing his throat.

"Sorry about that," Cybil said. "Douglas, this is Harry Mason."

Douglas stared at Harry with a mixture of disbelief and suspicion. "This is Harry Mason? Cybil, are you sure about that?"

Cybil looked shocked. "Of course I am. This is Harry Mason—who else would he be?"

"Mr. Mason, we've met before. But the last time I saw you, you were dead."

Harry suddenly felt disoriented, as if the whole world began to spin. Dead? No, of course not. That didn't make any sense. He was standing here, reunited with Cybil Bennett. He rescued Tina earlier. He was looking for his daughter. He wasn't dead. No, Douglas was wrong—wasn't he?

Harry stepped forward. "Look, I think you may be mistaken, I—" a sharp pain tore through his skull almost crippling him. Harry fell to one knee and grasped his head.

"Harry?" Cybil ran to his side, but Douglas kept his distance. Cybil looked desperately at Douglas. "Can you give me a hand?"

Douglas shook his head, but put away his gun and helped Harry to his feet. Harry moaned weakly and still clutched at his head. Cybil directed them to an old, stained couch against the wall. They carefully sat him down.

"Harry, can you hear me?" Cybil kneeled down beside him.

Harry couldn't answer, as he found himself reliving the last few minutes of what Douglas described as his death. Claudia, her attack, Henry Townsend, the hospital, Dr. Killian, Tina, the house, and now, Cybil and Douglas—all of it whizzed through his mind in fast forward, repeating at a dizzying rate.

"I—" Harry stammered, "I was almost dead. You—you were there with Heather. You found me after Claudia—you put the sheet over me. But there was someone else—Henry Townsend—he found me and took me to the hospital—Brookhaven. Then that doctor—he did something to me—I was alive again."

"Just calm down, Harry. Take it slow," Cybil calmly advised. "Are you okay?"

"You," anger filled Harry's eyes, "Where's Heather? Where's my daughter?"

Douglas tried to back away, but Harry lurched forward and grabbed Douglas's collar. Douglas pulled back, but Harry brought him close.

"Where the hell is she?"

Cybil was shocked at the speed that everything happened, but moved swiftly to break up Harry and Douglas. She gripped Harry's arms tightly and looked into his eyes. "Harry, you've got to let him go. He helped me—he hasn't done anything to Heather."

Harry's slightly of focus eyes turned to Cybil. Upon seeing her, he seemed to regain his senses. Alarmed, he pulled back and let Douglas go.

"I—"

Cybil gently guided him back to the stained couch. He half-sat, half fell on the worn, yet soft couch. "Just relax, okay?" she smoothly coaxed. She kept one hand on his and the other rubbed the upper part of his arm.

Douglas straightened his trench coat and cleared his throat again. "I lost her," his head hung low and he shook it back and forth slowly, as if in deep regret. "I let her go—she was after Claudia. I was hurt—I couldn't help her."

"Where—" Harry weakly replied, "where is she?"

"I don't know."

Harry took a deep breath as the throbbing pain became a dull discomfort. Heather was lost in this damned place—again. Harry wrestled with that while he tried to decide how he was going to find her. Plus, the lingering feeling that something big was going to happen kept pushing to the front.

"Silent Hill—what happened here?" Harry asked. "I thought everything was finished—Dahlia, Dr. Kaufmann, Lisa, Alessa, Cheryl—everything was supposed to be normal. That Claudia—this is her doing."

Douglas then told his story about how he met Claudia, the job she paid him to do, and what happened after he actually found Heather. Harry and Cybil listened intently, only asking a few questions to clarify details. When he was finished, Cybil and Harry understood what was happening, but they still had some unanswered questions.

"I don't understand—what is Silent Hill? Why this place?" Douglas asked.

Harry responded, "It could be a lot of things. Silent Hill has somewhat of a colorful history, not to mention some strange crimes recently that add to the dark aspect of this place. I did some research after we left and I couldn't believe how much has happened here. I don't think there's a single cause for the evil here, but its here and growing nonetheless."

"So what now?" Cybil asked.

"I was with a woman—Tina. I don't know where she is, but I'm sure that she's in trouble. I've got to find her. And we've got to find Heather before something happens to her. I don't know what's really going on, but I won't let anyone take her away—not again."

Cybil nodded somewhat understanding how Harry felt about Heather. Though she was not his biological daughter, he loved her just the same. When Cheryl disappeared, Harry was a wreck. As their time in Silent Hill went on, he became more and more withdrawn and depressed, but that was mixed with a desperate feeling of loss that Harry had to deal with. Now, she could see hints of that same Harry Mason creeping back into his demeanor.

"I have to find my son and his girlfriend. They planned on coming here to Silent Hill. I'm not sure, but I believe something happened—something terrible."

Douglas nodded. "I'll help however I can. Mr. Mason, you have a good daughter—you're a lucky man."

Harry felt the genuine compassion that Douglas had developed for Heather. Something in Douglas's tone told Harry that he had suffered some loss of his own. And Heather somehow filled that loss. Because of that, Harry knew that he could indeed trust Douglas Cartland.

"Thank you," Harry finally looked at the older man. "We'll find her and stop whatever this is once and for all."

Cybil stood. "Maybe we can start by checking out this room. I'm not sure where we are, but maybe we can find something useful." With that, the three of them began to search.

The dark room turned out to be an attic to the house that Harry had investigated only a short time ago. Boxes, covered furniture, paintings, clothes, and other discarded miscellaneous items created a maze of sorts in the oversized single room. The only light came from Harry's flashlight, and another source of light that they couldn't see. But it illuminated the far walls and the angled ceiling. Shadows created a sinister atmosphere, making the attic seem much larger and dangerous than the other rooms of the house.

Harry took the lead, followed by Cybil with Douglas taking up the rear. It was easy to retrace his steps back to the door. However, before they rounded the corner, the door shut.

Instead of immediately calling out to whoever closed the door, Harry, Cybil, and Douglas pressed themselves against several stacks of boxes and used the shadows to conceal themselves. Harry felt his cell phone begin to vibrate, which immediately told him that they were dealing with an enemy—some horrible creation of this hellish world that didn't have good intentions for them.

He leaned out carefully and quietly and saw that his assessment was right. A hulking figure dragging a large blade behind him lumbered toward them. Somehow, Harry and the others realized whether they fought or stood still, The Butcher would have his prey.

Notes:

Shortey: Glad you like the overlap between the two stories. It was something I kind of thought of after I began writing the two separate stories. And now, you'll see some major crossover between the two.

Crazyb1tch85: Yeah, the house is quite bigger than even the folks in the story though. In the other story, Michael McNeal finds a map and makes a comment about the size of the house (it will be in the next chapter posted for Silent Hill: Lost Souls). For the most part, they are just missing each other due to circumstance though. But soon, everyone's paths will be crossing like in this chapter! The little girl will have a gruesome past, but it looks like Tina and Henry may have a gruesome future if that girl has anything to do with it. Let me know what you think of this chapter!

Rodarian: You are a smart man—that actually was my original intention—to have Tina be the writhing woman on the bed, but that seemed too gruesome of an end for her so early in the story, so that's how Maria came into play. For Henry, this takes place before the adventure in the game. He was trapped in his apartment a few days before Silent Hill 4, and that is when this takes place.