I.
The fog lingered thickly in the air, its sole purpose to obscure and hide the town. It served its purpose well, ebbing and flowing though the streets and alleyways. Nothing was spared as the fog continued to hang.
Michael peered down the street, disturbed that it disappeared into a sea of nothingness. There was no telling what exactly lay behind the curtain of fog, but he knew it wasn't good.
Doubt and fear settled in, despite Michael's best efforts to drive them away. His roommate and Stacy Aspen had both been attacked and killed by something unseen, yet dangerous. The butcher—the only name Michael could come up with—was still pursuing them relentlessly. On top of that, they were stuck in Silent Hill, with someone or something leading them toward a potentially miserable destiny.
Still, Michael couldn't give into despair. He knew that he couldn't just give up. There was a reason that the four of them had been put together in this town and that at least gave him the strength to go on.
"So what now?" Trey asked. He sat at the edge of a sidewalk near the car. He kept his wooden plank within arm's distance in case something unexpected happened, which he expected.
Michael looked at Heather. "Isn't your friend still at the Amusement Park?"
She shook her head. "I don't know...but we shouldn't hang around here."
"Well, let's try to—" Michael began, but then stopped. He felt something shaking, vibrating. It was the ground—no, something closer—his phone. Michael fished in his pocket and pulled out the phone. It vibrated softly at first, then the vibrating was much more aggressive.
"What's wrong?" Christine asked, the alarm in her voice plainly evident.
Michael pulled out the 9mm Beretta and scanned the immediate area around them. The fog seemed thicker than before, concealing whatever horror making its way toward them. Heather quickly followed suit. Trey stood and closed the distance between himself and the others.
Heather first heard flapping, then felt something past too fast over her head. She ducked instinctively, then scanned the sky for whatever was there. The fog grew thicker, as if serving as a cover for the flying monstrosity. Heather pointed her gun toward the flapping noise, but couldn't find her target.
"What the hell was that?" Heather shouted.
"I didn't get a good look!" Michael replied, his heart suddenly racing. Whatever the monster was, it was something they hadn't seen before and if it was flying, that made it ten times more dangerous than the small creatures they had seen so far.
A piercing scream broke the silence that had befallen the teens. Christine threw up her arms as the flying creature erupted from the fog, diving right toward her. Trey reacted quickly and knocked her to the side, throwing his own body to the ground as the monstrous bird arched upward again into the sky.
Michael lost sight of it again, but backed against the car to make sure it didn't sneak up on him. He had only caught a glimpse of the fast-moving creature, but the features that he could make out told him that it was obviously dangerous. Long neck, sharp features, jagged teeth. All these things told him that the creature wasn't there to be man's best friend. Michael barely breathed, racked with shock and disbelief.
The creature's leathery wings flapped noisily above them, yet the sound was so distorted that they couldn't tell where it was.
Heather kept her gun aimed at various places in the sky, but she knew that the next dive could be from anywhere. "Where is it?" she asked simply out of necessity than truly expecting an answer.
The creature appeared again only missing Michael's head by a few inches. He didn't have time to shoot, only to fall to the ground to keep himself from becoming this monster's victim.
"I can't hit it," Michael yelled. "We have to get inside!" From a crouched position on the ground, Michael scanned the street and saw a movie theater only about thirty feet away. "The movie theater. Head there!"
"Where?" Trey yelled.
"To the left," with that, Michael got to his feet and ran. He knew the creature could see him, he knew it was waiting for the right time to swoop down on him, making him an example to the others. Still, he couldn't stop. His arms and legs now moved synchronously for self-preservation. He could hear the footsteps of the others as they trailed behind, but he could also feel the hard vibration of his phone. Then, he heard the flapping again. They weren't going to make it.
II.
Though Cybil found herself paired with Douglas Cartland, who she had found in the Amusement Park, she didn't feel anymore safe now than when she was alone before. In fact, she felt more vulnerable because she didn't know if she could really trust Douglas or not.
Cybil remembered that people trapped in Silent Hill were there for a reason, and most of the time, that reason wasn't good. Most people were either murders, psychopaths, or needed serious psychological help. Douglas didn't seem to fit into any of those categories, but at the same time, she couldn't be too careful.
"How did you get drawn into all this?" Douglas's raspy voice cut the thick silence.
Cybil kept her eyes staring forward, trying to separate the features of the different attractions from the ever-present fog. Her story was too complex to tell, besides, she didn't have much confidence in Douglas's story.
After a few moments, she simply said, "Like I said, I'm looking for my son and his girlfriend."
"Son and girlfriend, huh? I can't say I've seen anyone else here, except this weird Vincent guy. And Claudia."
"Claudia and Vincent?"
"Yeah. Two crazies if you ask me. Claudia hired me to find Heather, and I thought this Vincent guy wanted to help, but my gut instinct tells me there's something wrong with him too. He led me right into a trap with Claudia."
"Well, people here—" she began, but suddenly slowed her pace. She reached for Douglas's arm drawing his attention. They both stopped walking, and listened.
The distorted horns and piano of a ride floated toward them. On any normal day, it would have been an inviting sound, drawing in gleeful children and smiling adults. However, today, it was a song of evil, a melody of death calling to Cybil and Douglas.
"It's coming from over there," Douglas pointed toward the funhouse.
A lone girl stood in front of the funhouse door, appearing as though she were trying to decide whether to go in or not.
"Hey, little girl!" Douglas called. She didn't respond.
Cybil walked cautiously toward the girl, keeping her gun harnessed as to not alarm her. "Excuse me," Cybil softened her voice to get the girl's attention. Douglas followed behind, but kept his gun ready.
Cybil was close enough to reach out and touch the unresponsive girl's shoulder, but she hesitated. There was something completely wrong about this whole setup. Why was a young girl standing in the middle of the Amusement park, seemingly unharmed, staring aimlessly at the funhouse?
"Little girl?" she softly repeated.
"I lost my teddy bear in the funhouse," she replied. She turned toward Cybil now, her dark brown hair limp and tangled. At one time, it appeared as though her overalls were a light blue, but now they were dirty and stained along with her light pink t-shirt. Her light blue shoes gave away that she had run through a lot of mud or something else.
"Hey, is she alright?" Douglas asked.
Cybil put her gun away and kneeled down beside the girl. "Where are your parents? Did something happen to you?"
"My teddy bear," she repeated. She raised her hand slowly and pointed toward the entrance of the funhouse.
"Douglas, I think she's in shock. Something's wrong."
"Teddy," she sounded farther away and slightly confused.
"Do you have a name? How old are you? Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Though Cybil bombarded the girl with questions, the girl's dark eyes continued to stare through the darkness of the funhouse, as if she could see the wanted toy through all obstructions.
"I don't think she's going to answer back," Douglas put away his gun, but stood a few feet away.
Cybil studied the young girl. She could have been about eight years old, but her sunken eyes, flaccid dark hair, and pale skin made her look haggardly and old. She moved her body only slightly, but even that small movement was stiff and unnatural.
"Maybe we could find the girl's bear," Douglas offered.
Cybil nodded and stood. "Even though it sounds strange, I agree. There are a lot of unsolved mysteries and unexplainable puzzles everywhere. This may help us figure out what's going on." She looked at the girl again, "Maybe we should take her with us."
Douglas shook his head. "There's no telling what's inside of that funhouse. She at least has a chance to run if she's out here."
"Should we just leave her alone?"
"I don't think she's going anywhere."
Cybil didn't immediately agree, but she understood his logic. If the girl was indeed a creation of Silent Hill, then they would be better off leaving her out here. And if she wasn't, she wouldn't be trapped inside of the funhouse with them and whatever demon may lie within.
"Listen," Cybil kneeled beside the unresponsive girl again, "stay right here. We're going to find your bear, then get you out of here, okay?"
The girl continued to gaze into the darkness of the funhouse.
"Okay?" Cybil said, lightly touching her shoulder.
There was still no response, but Cybil felt like the girl heard her, and at this point, that was enough to set Cybil at ease.
She pulled her gun out of its holster and checked the bullets. Satisfied, she turned to Douglas who had done the same.
"Are you ready?"
Douglas nodded.
Cybil led the way into the darkness of the funhouse.
III.
The movie theater retreated into the fog from the fleeing teens. Michael could envision the creature jumping on his back and pecking at the back of his head until it accesses his soft, fleshy brain, then plunging its narrow head into the hole, enjoying its feast. Michael pushed the macabre thought from his mind and concentrated on running.
Michael realized that the theater wasn't retreating, it was simply his own imagination threatening to defeat him. Before he knew it, he was at the door. He pulled it open, not having the time to be surprised that it was actually open. He held it open, then spun with his gun in hand.
"Get inside!" he yelled. By this time, there were five or six of the creatures flying above the teens. Michael aimed carefully and fired, but the creature dodged the bullet gracefully and stayed on its path.
Christine, Trey, then Heather dashed through the door. Michael decided to give up on shooting the creatures and spun inside the door, closing it behind him. He suddenly realized that the doors were glass, unsuitable for holding out any kind of monstrous creatures that happened to have chased hapless teens into the theater.
The tinted glass bent inward from the impact of the creatures, but much to Michael's surprise, it didn't break. The creatures attached themselves to the door and large paneled windows, claws scraping and searching for the slightest weakness that would allow them to get into the teens' sanctuary.
Michael took steady steps back from the glass his gun pointed at the creatures.
"Are they going to get in?" Christine asked.
"Let's hope not," Trey replied, his eyes fixed on the doors and windows. He scanned the area for any spot that would provide an entry point for the creatures, but aside from the doors and large paneled windows, there was no other way in through the front.
"We have to find another way out," Heather said.
They kept their eyes on the creatures beyond the tinted glass for a few minutes, ensuring that the monstrosities weren't faking them out, waiting until they turned their backs before smashing through the glass and making short work of them.
"This is a movie theater?" Heather said as she gazed around.
The movie theater was much more modern than the church. To the left was a game room with large arcade games and an air hockey table in the middle of the small room. To the right was a small restaurant area, Tom's Diner. It resembled an old 1950's diner complete with swivel chairs around the counter and a checkered floor. Booths lined the walls and darkly tented windows. There were a few tables lined neatly in the open area between the counter and the booths. Straight ahead was the concession counter with three different places for patrons to line up and grab some unhealthy, yet satisfying food.
Michael glanced around slowly, not able to admire the posters lined up on the walls, the bigger than life images of popular actors and actresses, the still lingering smell of popcorn and butter. He only saw everything as a new threat. The ominous darkness that the hallways leading to the theaters created, the unopened doors that led from the counters, and the multiple hiding places for some kind of slinking, stealthy creature to creep from.
"There should be some kind of emergency exit," Heather added. "Let's head down this way," she began, but stopped when they heard one of the doors behind the concession stand swinging back and forth as if someone had just entered.
"What was that?" Christine asked. It was another reactive question, more than a question that required an immediate and satisfying answer.
Michael had his gun drawn and pointed toward the door, Heather was the same, but she held her ground. Michael, with a thousand thoughts racing through his mind, slowly approached the door. Was it the butcher? Could it be one of the creatures that somehow snuck into the theater? Was it some crazy citizen, enticing them into a trap? Was it his roommate, ready to take revenge for his death? Or maybe it was Stacy, brought back through some demonic means, waiting to suckle on their bones.
He fought against his imagination sent into overdrive with everything that had happened so far and focused on what he could actually see, which at this point was simply a swinging door.
Trey followed in behind Michael, his wood plank ready to strike. Michael moved carefully across the floor, then over the countertop, then stood only a few feet from the still swinging door.
A pierce scream sounded, catching Michael and Trey off guard. Then, it was followed by a spatter of blood on the inside of the door, seen only through the cloudy, circular window set high in the door.
Michael felt a spike of fear pierce his body. If he would have been faint-of-heart, he surely would have passed right out at that point. He glanced back at Trey, who was wide-eyed and pale.
They both had stopped moving and breathing, waiting for something else to happen. For some half-eaten person to stagger out of the door. Or some deadly, hulking beast to appear, munching on a body torn to pieces.
The theater was silent and still. Too silent and too still.
Michael glanced back at Christine and Heather, who both stood ready for whatever may come. He then looked at Trey, who gave a reassuring nod that told Michael he was ready for whatever may come. Michael turned back toward the door and took a deep breath.
Then, he pushed open the door.
Crimson Alessa: Glad you liked the focus on Claudia. I hope that it gave some more insight to her characters and showed that she was more of a misguided soul than a bad person.
Duelist-17: I appreciate the compliments and hope that you get the chance to read future chapters of the story. If you have any suggestions at all, just let me know
Azarath111: The characters will meet up eventually, but not before they have a few trials on their own
Cat: Your question should be answered in the next chapter. Whatever she gave birth to will surely spell disaster for everyone
Kaworu85: Yeah, one of those kinds of chapters is always needed. The protagonists will be faced with some challenges before finding out just what came out of Claudia. And yes, Cybil and Douglas will bond as friends, if and when she starts to trust him. I have a feeling that the trust level will be upped in the next chapter. Claudia is out of the picture for the time being. At this point, I'm not sure whether more secondary characters will show up, even though in Silent Hill: Harry Mason, Christy (named Tina in my story) shows up. She is another character in Silent Hill 3 that is briefly mentioned in one of the notes Heather finds. She may be showing up in this story as well. And, I took your suggestion seriously...as you see, Cybil and Douglas have found a mysterious child. In addition to Tina, Harry may be showing up in this story as well. Let me know what you think of the new chapter.
SlapDash: Glad you like what you've read so far. The Butcher and the fanatic aren't in league with each other, but they do both have the same mission: to harass and possibly kill our heroes.
Rodarian: I agree with Heather Locklear as well. And I agree with your assessment of Claudia's character. She was just misunderstood and misguided. It really is a tragedy.
Shortey: Finals went great; I'm graduated now; and on my last official summer break. This new god will have everyone on his hit list, so no one will be safe. Keep reading to find out more.