Disclaimer: I do not own Silent Hill, Konami does.

A/N: sorry for the x's Im trying to find a way to separte the story from my notes, so bare with me ok!

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Feeling shaken with the thought of becoming like his father, he decided to give up searching his fathers desk and study for the night. He gathered up the brown leather book, which now contained three full chapters, and placed them into his father's desk.

In the lowest drawer of Gunther's desk, where he planned to stow away the brown leather book, Devon found a stack of papers that seemed different from the rest of the strange notes. The papers looked as if someone had cut them out of an old journal, and there was a letter attached as well. Devon recognized his father's handwriting at the top of the first journal page.

These entries are from the journal of Mr. Mike Matthews, a well-respected botanist from New England. After his death, this journal was found on the desk of his hotel room.

"A botanist?" Devon muttered to himself. "What does this have to do with Silent Hill?" He took another sip of his tea and started reading.

April 9

During my fifteen years as a professional botanist, I have never encountered any plants quite as fascinating as those of the Acacia genus. Most ancient cultures have also venerated it as a symbol for rebirth, eternal life and the power of the gods. I can definitely see why. A kind of otherworldly beauty surrounds its white and yellow flowers.

The genus is around 1200 species. They range from trees to shrubs to small flowers like bluebells and foxgloves.

I have decided to travel across the Pacific Ocean to examine the Australian Acacias in their natural environment. My plane to Australia will be leaving tomorrow. Jessica and the kids have agreed to keep me company on the journey.

April 10

The plane landed in Sydney Airport a few hours ago, and I'm now sitting on the balcony of our hotel room. The view here is magnificent! I can see the Opera House jutting out in the horizon.

April 11

Today was quite eventful. Jessica stayed with the kids in Sydney, while I took my bus to the southern outback. I should have remembered to bring my sun lotion. My arms and the back of my neck were utterly scorched.

Anyway, I slowly made my way across the harsh and rugged landscape. Most of the plants I found were dull, familiar species like Acacia melanoxylon, dealbata and pycnantha. However, near a small Aboriginal town camp, I found a few strange-looking Acacias. Their flowers were all white and grew in large clusters. Its phyllodes resembled leaves, but they were really flattened leaf stalks, adapted to look like and function as leaves.

Suddenly, I noticed an old Aboriginal woman standing behind me. She asked me, in slightly broken English, why I was interested in these flowers. Her tone of voice sounded a bit reproachful.

I said that I'm a botanist, and that my work involves finding new plant species.

She replied that "this plant is not new. It was created in the great beginning, before Alchera (?), when you could be awake and asleep at the same time. It lends us the same power that our ancestors once had."

I asked what she meant by 'power'.

"Very dangerous. White men must not know," she said. "They use it for a wrong purpose. The plant deceives them."

I asked her what the aborigines use this plant for.

"Food," she said. "Medicine. When the leaves burn, the smoke will cure you. The bark from the trees can heal your wounds, and you can eat the gum. But white men took the plant with them. The seeds came to the land across the sea." She pointed out over the Pacific Ocean.

"You mean America?" I asked.

The woman nodded. "The place of the silent spirits. The flower grew there and was corrupted. You must stay away from that place. You cannot trust the white people there." Then, she ran back to her town camp.

I returned to the hotel in Sydney half an hour ago. I brought a specimen of the strange Acacia plant with me.

April 13

Jessica, the kids and I have just gotten back from our trip to Australia. Luckily, our New England house has been safe from burglars while we were gone, although I still think we should get a new alarm.

I gave the specimen to my colleage Dr. Harris, and he actually recognized it. He was astonished, because he thought this plant was native to an American town called Silent Hill ("place of the silent spirits"?). "It is, however, a highly adaptable and easily grown species," he told me, "so I wouldn't be surprised if it has somehow been "imported" from another country."

I have also studied the aborigines through books and internet articles. They traditionally used the seeds and roots of several Acacia species as a food source, but a number of organizations have recently started undertaking research to determine the plants' nutritional potential as well as any potential toxic effects, such as hallucinations.

April 14

I think I'll visit Silent Hill next week. It seems like a nice town for a vacation, and maybe I'll find some American specimens of that intriguing species from Australia. Jessica and the kids will probably love the amusement park.

April 22

We arrived at Lakeview Hotel today. This really is a quaint old town. Toluca Lake looks beautiful in the afternoon sunlight.

Anyway, while Jessica took the kids to Lakeside, I visited a cozy little antique shop. The owner - I think her name was Dalliah - was very friendly, and we talked about the town over a cup of tea. She seemed very interested in my investigation of the strange Acacia species. She told me that she had seen odd white flowers growing at the nearby lakeshore. I'm going out there right now.

Whew! I just got back to the hotel room again. Something's wrong with that lake. Those white flowers I saw in the Australian outback were growing there as well. However, before I could get a chance to examine them, something happened to the lake. I'm not sure how to describe it, but I'll try.

It started with this horrible noise, like a hundred human voices screaming at the same time. Then, all kinds of hideous, decayed arms came out of the water, reaching out for me! It was as if Satan himself lived on the bottom of that lake, and he had sent his devils up to drag me down.

But they couldn't catch me. I ran back to this room and I'll be safe in here.

When I look out the window, the lake, it's - oh God it's so horrible, the water's turned into blood! What is happening to this place! I wonder if Jessica and the kids are okay. They must still be in the amusement park. But I daren't go out to save them. I have to stay here, it's safe here.

The creatures, animals - no, demons, they're trying to get in. They're pounding on the door and scratching at the windows, they want my soul

it's like a nightmare but I can't wake up

THEY'RE COMING IN

OH GOD GET THEM AWAY

zanthar xuchilbara lobsel vith

3 demons, they've found me

I have to get out of here get out get out out out out

The journal ended there. Devon put it down on the table with a disturbed frown on his face. What the hell had happened to that poor guy?

A cut-out newspaper article was attached to the last page of the journal. It was from 'Silent Hill News, April 23'. The headline piqued Devon's interest.

TOURIST COMMITS SUICIDE AT LAKEVIEW HOTEL

Yesterday, a family of tourists were stricken by an inexplicable tragedy, as the father Mr. Mike Matthews, a botanist from New England, killed himself by jumping out of a window in the family's hotel room on the third floor. This happened before the eyes of his wife, Mrs. Jessica Matthews, and their two children, who had just returned to the hotel from a trip to Lakeside Amusement Park.

"I don't understand it at all," says the mournful widow. "We lived such a happy life together. One moment he was just sitting there, writing in his journal, and then he …" Mrs. Matthews was unable to continue the interview.

"It must have been a horrible experience," says the manager of Lakeview Hotel. "The family will be leaving town tomorrow, and I shall charge no bills for their stay."

Mrs. Matthews and her children are currently planning to start group therapy to cope with their loss.

A letter rested in the bottom of the stack of confusing papers. The handwriting looked distinguished and old-fashioned, just like the fine yellow paper it covered. Devon had a bad feeling about this last source of information - as if it would reveal something he didn't want to know, something about what really happened to Mike Matthews. Nevertheless, he read the letter.

To Gunther,

Although I am grateful that you have seen the true path and decided to join our Order, I am also still waiting for the results you promised me several months ago. You agreed to search for the other half of Alessa, and I must demand that you send me a report immediately.

As for business here in Silent Hill, I have no particularly important news to tell. A man came to my antique shop, asking about the White Claudia plant. I suppose he was investigating the PTV case. To make sure he wouldn't interfere with the great plans of 4S, I slipped a Claudia overdose into his tea. Even if he noticed it, he must have thought it was merely sugar. Apart from him, I have noticed no other obstacles to be cleared on the path of 4S.

I look forward to your report, Gunther.

-Dahlia Gillespie

Frowning, Devon replaced the letter and the other papers in the desk drawer. His face turned pale as his mind was filled with shock and anger. Gunther had apparently had much darker secrets than his son could ever have imagined.

He got up from the chair and walked over to the phone, took the receiver and let his hand hover over the numbers for a moment. He wanted to tell Jack about all this. He needed to tell someone about it. But at the same time, he felt an urge to examine the rest of the desk's contents, to find out as much as he could about Silent Hill's secrets, while staying isolated from the rest of the world.

It was this last-mentioned urge that eventually won. Devon replaced the receiver and walked back to his father's desk.

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Hey all thought this would be a nice break from Fallen, not that Wolf's story isn't captivating, but a break often helps the reader not to become bored. The do say absence makes the heart grow fonder!

Deacon87: Wolf and I thank you for your reviews, but I believe most of the talented writing comes from Wolf, and no so much me, please keep R&R..thanks to everyone else who reviewed too!