I.

"The church—" Michael read once again. He had read it several times. He put his head on the steering wheel of the Camry he was in. The key was a car key, which worked on the only car in the parking lot. He felt reluctant to leave, because if this note was directing him to go into the town, it was possible that the horror had somehow extended into Silent Hill.

He turned the key, thankful that the car started, and headed out of the parking lot, off the campus, and onto the stretch of highway toward Silent Hill.

Soon, Michael figured that he would get some answers, but somehow he knew they weren't going to be the answers he wanted to hear.

A thick fog covered the landscape, shrouding everything in a blanket of grey moisture. Michael could barely see five feet in front of him as he drove. He felt uneasy, something that had overtaken him since this whole fiasco had begun. Never in his life had he felt more alone and vulnerable as he drove down the desolate highway. Michael was sure that something hideous was lurking in the shadows, waiting for his car to break down so it could snack on his bones.

Michael tried to shake off his thoughts. He turned on the radio, hoping to get lost in the music, at least for a moment. However, static populated the radio. Annoyed, Michael flipped through the channels, checking his favorite station first, then all the others.

Sighing, Michael turned off the radio and focused back on the street. The dense fog and trees turned into buildings as Michael entered Silent Hill. After only a few moments, the car suddenly began to slow down. Michael's eyes frantically darted across the dash for any warning lights. He stepped on the accelerator harder, but there was no response. The car was stopped.

Michael sat in the car for a moment. He couldn't believe that the car had suddenly stopped as soon as he got into the town. The thought crossed his mind that he had somehow walked right into a trap.

Michael leaned over and tried the glove compartment. It would open only a few centimeters but seemed stuck. It was too narrow for Michael to fit his slender fingers into. Then he remembered the tool in his bag.

Retrieving the screwdriver, he inserted it into the crack and popped the glove compartment open. The first thing he saw tumble out was a map. He opened it and saw that it was a map of Silent Hill. The other item that fell out was another package of bullets.

These will definitely come in handy.

Putting the bullets in his bag, Michael got out of the car and looked around. The fog seemed much thicker than before, shrouding everything in some kind of ominous curtain. Michael looked toward the path he had driven in on and his mouth opened in shock. A large chasm now cut through the street, making it impossible to go back across.

He made a marking on the map then pulled out the paper that had the address of the church on it.

It said it was located on Nathan Street, which was the street he was on. He figured he was pretty close as he set off into the town.

Only a few minutes later, Michael found himself in front of a church. It was a small building, but looked elaborately built. Columns lined the front of the pale white structure and stained glass covered the windows. A sense of relief passed through Michael as he ran up the steps and to the front doors. The heavy oak doors creaked open as Michael took a deep breath before entering.

II.

"So where is the amusement park?" Christine asked.

Heather continued to walk, purposefully ignoring the question.

Christine sighed loudly, hoping that she would get some kind of reaction from Heather. She figured that it was somewhere on Nathan Street since they had been walking on it for the past ten minutes.

Christine ran right into Heather. "Hey, let me know when you're going to stop like that."

Heather pulled out a map and seemed to be searching for something.

"What's wrong?"

Heather folded the map up and put it into her pocket. She readied her gun. "This church...it wasn't here before."

"Maybe you just—"

Heather walked carefully toward the church. Christine quickly caught up to her, not wanting to be left alone.

III.

Thomas Halpern couldn't have been more proud of his work. He revered the altar with glee and awe. The day had come, the day of reckoning that he had been waiting for so long. The day when the god he worshipped would finally live, creating the paradise he had so feverishly imagined.

He was remotely aware of the doors opening, but attributed it to the wind. He continued to gaze at his offering.

The priest stood still at the front of the church, staring at something, which immediately struck Michael as odd. Still, the priest was another living person, who was seemingly caught up in this mess too. If anything, maybe they could figure something out together.

"Excuse me," Michael suddenly realized he didn't know what kind of a priest he was.

The priest responded to Michael almost with surprise and regarded him suspiciously for a moment. Then a big smiled crossed his face was he left the task he was putting together to greet Michael.

"Ahhh, it's good to see you!" the priest shook his hand jubilantly.

The priest himself looked about thirty, with dark brown hair and a worn face. Even though his expression was friendly and warm, his dark eyes said something completely different. His shake was hearty, his grip firm.

Michael was relieved from the priest's overall reaction. "I thought everyone was gone. I'm glad to see another living person."

"Yes, yes. Please, come this way," he placed his hand in the small of Michael's back, urging him to the front to take a seat.

"I'm Father Tom."

Michael almost chuckled. He totally expected some kind of biblical name like Jeremiah or Obadiah, something fear-striking. Yet, he was just Tom.

"I'm Mike, Michael McNeal. I'm a student at the college."

"Oh, I see. Much of my service is made up of students from your school," he regarded Michael with an almost unhealthy interest.

Michael felt uneasy. "Ummm—so have you been attacked or anything by the weird creatures running around?"

"Creatures?" Tom said in the most puzzled tone Michael had ever heard.

He sighed. Obviously, the priest must have locked himself in the chapel. Or such creatures didn't dare step onto holy ground, which was a relief for Michael. That meant he was relatively safe for a while.

"You must not know what's going on. It was like all the sudden, the other people disappeared and these—things—started happening. Creatures were everywhere, blood, and just plain weird stuff."

Tom chuckled, as if Michael was retelling some funny, old joke he had heard once before.

"Look, I'm serious," Michael said, his voice rising in pitch and annoyance.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to laugh, but you have it all wrong. Those things out there aren't creatures. They're the children of our lord." He chuckled again, making Michael feel uneasy, "You are still adjusting to the shock of being one of the chosen."

"What are you talking about?" Michael started to inch slowly out of Tom's reach.

"One of the witnesses to the coming of our god."

Of all the people Michael could have run into, he runs into a psychotic priest. He obviously had something wrong with him...maybe he had hit his head and was confused. Maybe he was an escaped patient from some mental asylum and was hoping that he had found his next victim in Michael. Regardless of the reason, Michael suddenly felt like he had made a bad choice by confiding in the priest.

"Look, maybe you're in shock, I could—"

Tom roughly grabbed his arm, moving faster than Michael would have thought the older man could, and threw him into the aisle. "On your knees before the lord, and repent for your faltering belief."

"Wait a minute—" Michael managed to stammer out before the priest struck him in the face. Michael toppled over onto his stomach, and felt a hard boot digging into the back of his neck.

"Are you crazy?" Michael managed to choke out.

Tom pressed harder on Michael's neck. "Shut your sacrilegious mouth! Repent or be cast to the winds!"

Michael struggled to keep his neck from being crushed, but he was losing the battle. His arms flailed behind him, trying to get a hold of the crazy priest's ankle or leg.

His hands just missed grabbing a pant leg. Michael felt his breath becoming shorter and shorter until he couldn't breathe. His eyes clenched shut as he strained to lift the priest off of him.

They heard a gun click at the same time.

"Step back now."

Michael felt the pressure leave his neck. He gasped for air. Sucking it in too fast, he began to cough.

The priest turned around to see a young girl with a gun pointed directly at him.

"Oh, it's you. The mother of our god—"

"Shut up! I don't want to hear anymore of that garbage!"

Father Tom smiled sickly at Heather. "Yes, mother of god. Mine eyes are not fit to gaze upon you, but yet, I can't turn away. You—" he took a step towards her. "Your face. So beautiful—"

"Stay back. I'm warning you—" Heather said, suddenly unsure if she could shoot another person.

He got closer and closer until his eyes suddenly widened and he fell forward. Another boy stood behind him with a wooden plank, satisfied that he had accomplished something helpful.

"It's not like you were going to shoot a priest. You would have definitely went to hell for that," Trey mused.

"Where do you think we are now?" Heather retorted.

Michael stood, grateful that three other people had arrived in the church. "Who are you?"

"Maybe I should be asking you that," Heather suspiciously said.

"Wait a minute. I'm not like him," he motioned to the unconscious priest. "I don't know what the hell is going on."

"I'm Christine," she said, stepping from behind Heather.

"I'm Trey. I ran in here and saw you struggling with the priest. I hid in the pews until he passed me."

"Thanks," Michael smiled. "My name's Mike."

"Her name is Heather, but she has an attitude," Christine said, feeling comfortable.

"These introductions are cute and all, but what are you doing here?" Heather asked.

"I don't know. Everything started going crazy at school. Everyone disappeared and the only person I found was murdered by some thing." Michael shuddered as he remembered coming across Stacy's dismembered body in the bathroom stall. "I barely escaped. I found a car key and a paper that led me to this church. I was hoping to find some clue to what's going on."

Trey nodded and when Michael was finished, added his part of the story. "I was in the town and suddenly, everyone started acting strange. I couldn't find any of my friends and these monsters started appearing everywhere. I don't know what's going on anymore."

Heather eyed the two of them suspiciously.

"You're looking at us like we did something," Trey shot.

"Listen, every person I run into in this place is a mental case. They're all a part of this plan to resurrect some god. How do I know any of you are any different?" Heather shifted her glance to include Christine.

"Resurrect a god? Are you kidding me? I feel like I stepped into a horrifying video game," Michael shot. "We're all in this together, whatever it is. We don't have time to be mistrustful and arguing."

"Well, this isn't a game, and considering everything that's happened, I have the right to be mistrustful. This whole place—" Heather trailed off. She turned and began to walk toward the church door.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Christine said.

Heather stopped walking.

"Where are you going?"

"I told you already, I'm going to find Douglas."

"Listen, Heather," Trey interjected. "Those things out there...you can't go at this alone."

"I'm not going to argue with you. This is what I have to do."

With that, she strode out of the church, leaving Michael, Trey, and Christine alone.

Notes:

Wrath: Thanks for the compliments once again. Yes, our clever protagonists still make the age-old horror movie (or in this case game) mistakes. Luckily, it turned out good for Michael.

Rodarian: I am a fan of both Resident Evil and Silent Hill...my two favorite games. I'm glad you could appreciate the reference.

Crimson Alessa: It wasn't Pyramid Head, but a similar antagonist for the teens. I'm glad that I was able to stay true to Heather's character. Keep reading and let me know what you think.

E.P.O.: Of all the horror resources we have in this day and age, Trey still traipses into the church unmindful of personal danger sigh . Glad you liked the fight between Michael and his mysterious stalker. You will see more of that guy in future chapters.

Rich: Glad you liked the chapter. I hope this one is just as good as the last...

Kaworu85: LOL...hopefully, Christine will stop being so annoying and start helping out where she can. Is your name Japanese then?

Elvenmagyk1978: I'm glad you like the story.

.Cat: Here's the next part...let me know what you think!