I.

"I'm not going in there!" Stacy's expression was as defiant as the tone in her voice. She crossed her arms and shifted her weight, a clear sign that she had made her decision and was sticking to it.

Michael sighed, wondering why after everything that had happened, she was acting this way. Michael first saved Stacy from some kind of creature, which Michael presumed was still lurking around somewhere. Since then, they had looked to each other for support through what had turned into a gruesome nightmare for the two of them.

Now, they were standing in front of a men's restroom on the second floor. Michael had assumed that they were going to stay together no matter where they went, but obviously, Stacy didn't feel the same way.

"Stacy, there's nobody in there," Michael exasperatedly stated. "Hopefully," Michael added, suddenly weary of going into the bathroom by himself. He had come to find solace in having another person with him. And now, the thought of having to venture into the unknown alone kept nipping at the forefront of his mind.

Stacy's expression was unchanging as she spoke. "I'm not going into a guy's bathroom. They're smelly and gross. Ugh!"

Michael had to laugh. "I can't believe that with everything we've been through up to this point, you won't go in there."

"I have my limits."

Michael thought about just opting not to go into the bathroom and continue on. However, he felt his phone vibrate when they passed by. It was a sign that there was a monster in there, or maybe some other clue to what was happening.

"Look, stay right here," Michael said, looking directly in her eyes to get his point across. "If you see anything, you'll have to get over yourself and go in there. It shouldn't take me but two seconds in there, I promise. I have to see if there's something that can help us."

Stacy nodded, suddenly seeming more reasonable. "If anything happens, I'll scream."

"You're going to have to do more than that," Michael said to her as he pushed open the door of the bathroom. He disappeared behind the closing door, leaving Stacy in the hallway. She gave the door a disgusted look then leaned against the wall, hoping Michael would come out in the two seconds he promised.

II.

The priest kneeled by his bedside deep in prayer, his knees raw from the hardwood floor and his legs asleep. His eyes were clenched closed and he was feverishly repeating a prayer that was taught to him when he was but a child.

He hoped his prayers would be answered, he wished that the god he served would finally make his appearance.

When the creature hissed from the corner of the room, he turned slowly to face the being. His face contorted, not into fear, but into an expression of bliss. He staggered to his feet, grabbing the gun from under his pillow.

"Yes, dear lord, I will serve you!"

He shot the creature repeatedly until it fell. He didn't care about the dark blood that seeped onto the floor, the meaty chunks that had flown off the creature when the bullets ripped through it, nor the squealing noises the creature on the ground was making.

All he was concerned with was that his god had finally spoken to him and sent him a sacrificial lamb. The priest crossed the room and stomped its head, stopping it from moving again.

His prayers had finally been answered. Everything he believed in, everything he worshipped suddenly became real with the appearance of the creature. He had been chosen, chosen to be a servant for his deity.

Thomas Halpern almost became lost in the sudden rapture he felt, but recollected himself. He had to prepare—a sacrifice and the throne room for his lord to have. Yes, he could create it right here in his church. Even though it was slightly outside of the city, surely his lord would be satisfied if it was set up properly.

Tom smiled, immediately making plans to make a sacrifice.

III.

Trey was moving down the street surreptitiously, staying in as many shadows as he could. It helped that the clear day had turned overcast and an unnaturally thick fog had settled over the town. Growl and other strange noises floated from all sides, but the fog hid whatever was making the sounds, much to Trey's relief. He wasn't the type that had to investigate everything or know what was going on. He simply wanted to at least get back to the school.

Passing by a gas station, Trey became aware that something was following him. He spun around to see something that resembled a dog but had horribly wrong features. The first thing that struck Trey was the vertically opening and closing mouth. Large drops of saliva seeped out of its mouth, making a trail as the creature walked slowly around Trey. Its body was perversely sleek and athletic looking. Exposed muscle and torn flesh glistened in the hazy light of the darkening day.

Trey felt sweat trickle down his back. His hands tensed around the wood plank and he tried to take a slight step back. The creature sensed this and took two steps toward Trey.

It was then that Trey knew he was not going to get out of this battle unscathed.

He shifted his weight, just as the creature leaped directly at his chest. Trey moved to the left, swinging the plank at the same time. He caught the creature in the side, disrupting its athletic leap in the air. The creature stumbled on all fours, turning quickly to attack Trey again. The recoil of the strike threw Trey off for a moment, but he was unexpectedly ready for the next pass by the creature. Trey wiped the sweat off his brow hurriedly. He repositioned his hands on the wood plank he had picked up from Neely's Bar.

The creature leaped once again for Trey. This time, he caught it right on the side of its head. It crumpled to the ground, unmoving.

Trey stood his ground, breathing heavily, part from fatigue and part from fear. He stood there for what seemed like an hour, waiting for the slightest move from the unconscious creature, but it never occurred. He gathered his wits and quickly strode away from the scene. Trey continued to glance over his shoulder and side to side, hoping he had no more surprises waiting for him in the fog.

IV.

The bathrooms were the same on all six floors of the dormitory. There was a larger bathroom and a smaller bathroom, which alternated at every intersection of the dormitory. Michael was in one of the larger bathrooms; eight stalls lined the left side of the wall, two sinks, a garbage can with a paper towel dispenser above it, and four urinals lined the right wall in that order. The bathroom was in the shape of a U, so around the corner, there were two sinks on the right and a bench with towel hooks above it. A large mirror was above the sinks and another one was on the wall opposite the shower. There were six shower stalls, three on each side.

Michael didn't particularly like some of the bathrooms. Even though they all had the same general setup, some had been remodeled, while others still had the same look as they did when the school was first built in the late 1950's. This was one of the older bathrooms. The light above didn't work well, flickering every so often, adding to the dilapidated look of the bathroom.

The stall doors were only partially open. Michael swore they were concealing some kind of monster, waiting to jump out at him. There was nothing in any of the stalls, much to Michael's relief.

He rounded the corner carefully, as to not run into a new danger. The light glinted off something in the back of the showers. It looked like a note and a key. Michael looked back and forth before stepping into the shower, weary of a trap. He scolded himself for being silly. A trap? In a bathroom? He shook his head in spite of himself as he bent down to pick up the note. Before he could even open it, the lights went out.

A piercing scream echoed through the bathroom. He knew that scream, it was Stacy. His heart was pounding out of his chest, as he fumbled with the flashlight. Michael waited for a claw, some teeth, or other sharp instrument of pain to surge through his body before he could even get the damn flashlight on.

With a quick twist, the flashlight was one, casting a dim light over the bathroom, possibly creating more apprehension than when he was in the dark. He pulled out the gun, ready to fire at the slightest inclination of danger.

He took a slow step out of the shower stalls. The first thing he noticed was the obvious change in the bathroom. Everything looked rusted, decayed, bloody, and unsightly. It was like everything had changed somehow.

His head pounded and Michael thought that for a moment, his heart would just stop. He forced his leg to step forward toward the mirror. Streaks of blood ran down the mirror and across. As Michael focused more, he saw something was written, but it wasn't legible. He suddenly realized why it wasn't...it was written backwards. But the handwriting was chaotic, like it was written in a rush by someone who was hurt...or worse.

He looked to the left at the other mirror to get a glimpse of the writing in the reflection of the opposite mirror. His blood ran cold as he read aloud, "Death comes to thee."

It was simple, but maybe that's what made it so powerful. Somehow he knew something terrible had happened to Stacy. He should have made her stay with him, but he had a lapse in judgment. Now who knows what happened to her.

He rounded the corner, and glanced toward the door. It seemed so much farther away now. He also noticed the closest stall to him was now closed. He tried to push it open but it was locked from the inside.

He hesitantly knocked on the stall door. There was an uneasy silence in the bathroom.

Michael knocked again, but this time, there was a knock back.

He jumped back, his heart about to explode. Was someone in there?

Michael had seen enough horror movies to know not to call out to the person or ask any other stupid question. However, he couldn't resist knocking again just to make sure he wasn't imagining it.

He lightly rapped on the door and listened closely. A pounding came from the other side of the door, making Michael jump back and point his gun at the door.

"Who's there?"

Dammit. He cursed himself for doing the same stupid thing people always do in these situations.

He heard the door unlatch. Michael steadied himself, suddenly realizing he had backed up towards the showers. It was a dead end. If something sinister wishing to do him harm came out of that stall, he wouldn't be able to escape. Still, he poised himself ready to make the monster's victory a costly one.

The door creaked open slightly, leaving the toilet still out of sight.

He waited a few moments before taking a step towards the stall. There was always that moment of silence before something horrific happened, and the silence was deafening.

Another step closer to the stall. Maybe it was another clue, or another note. It seemed that someone had the habit of leaving things lying around in strange places.

He took another step and reached for the door. He pushed it open, and stood in horrified shock.

Her head—bloody—eyes gouged out—hair tangled and bloody, matted to her forehead—mouth open in an eternal scream—sitting in the toilet bowl—staring back at him—gashes on her face—so much blood—splattered all over the stall—running out of the toilet.

Michael ran out of the bathroom, stricken with horror, disgust, and anguish. He had left her alone and now, she was dead. Michael fell on the floor outside of the bathroom, stomach wrenching.

Michael didn't notice the figure, approaching silently from the left. He didn't notice the large bladed weapon in its hand. He couldn't have seen the crazed look on the deformed face of the figure as it approached its next victim.

Notes:

Silent Hill belongs to Konami. All other characters are fictional.

Crimson Alessa: I appreciate you staying with the story, despite my long absence. And yes, I am definitely a fan of the suspenseful!

Invader-Zam4: As for the protagonist, I tend to have multiple people play that role. I think it adds a little bit of variety and a change up from a single person going through a situation. It's how I've done most of my stories. I hope it isn't too confusing or distracting. I agree with your comment about the monsters. When I read back, they did seem more RE than Silent Hill. It's very difficult though to create that image of a twisted, warped being of another world with writing. I'll do my best though to keep in the spirit of SH and create more twisted, evil things! Hopefully, this new foe will fall into that category. Oh, I suffer quite often from writer's block. I know that you'll find direction too, just don't give up.

Rich: You are a great friend! Thanks for reading this story as well as the Gen X ones. I hope I can keep up the suspense!

E.P.O.: I'm flattered by the compliment. Thank you so much. As I told Invader-Zam4., I like to write with multiple characters to keep the reader involved and to keep things fresh. I'm glad it's working!

Wrath: You've kept up with me from the beginning of this story...thanks for staying with it! Yes, Claudia is still alive...hopefully, more will be explained later on!

Rodarian: I tried to kind of make an explanation for the monster's existence. I did a lot of reading before I started this and found that there are several different interpretations for the monsters in the town. Most say that they are in the person's mind that is in Silent Hill. I wanted to go for an explanation that had all of the characters experiencing the same thing, though not there for the same reason. The townspeople changing hopefully shows the connection between the normal Silent Hill and the warped Silent Hill. More on that connection will be explored later in the story as well.