"Mister! Mister!" a garbled voice crawled its way into my ears, "Wake up!" my eyes slowly opened, the pain in my stomach subsiding as my eyelids opened more and more. "Mr. Trent" he said in a sigh when I finally opened my eyes, he visibly let his tensed shoulders drop.
"Sure gave us a spook" an older man's voice spoke elsewhere and I was too weak to turn my head to see who it was.
"Can you sit up?" Townshend tried to help me up, but I let him know I preferred my current state just fine by feigning help. My head hurt as if I had just been hit with a steel bat and my body felt like it was refilling its empty veins. Such numbness.
"How do you know my name?" I closed my eyes tightly, trying to fight away the unbearable pain all the while trying to keep calm and sound sane.
"I checked your wallet" Townshend answered quickly; I then heard a leathery squeak come from the seat beside me. Short footsteps veered above my head followed by faint whispers, I didn't much care what they were saying anyway.
After I heard someone apparently walk out of the apartment, I opened my eyes to gather myself. The bright light that hit my eyes didn't help matters any, neither did the knife stabbing pain it brought with it. I let my hands go limp in an attempt to relax but my mind always went back there, Silent Hill; my fucking mind. It took me there, just like it had taken me to all those murders, all those places, even hers…
Again, I heard leather squeak beside me, I risked a worsening headache to turn my head to see what it was: Henry Townshend sat in his chair, looking at me grimly. I let myself sigh slightly before turning my head back to look at the ceiling and the light; it didn't hurt my eyes anymore. Not after thinking about Silent Hill, not after she clouded my thoughts.
"I think you should explain yourse—" he started, trying to sound tougher than he actually was.
"Silent Hill" I answered back before he could finish; my tone of voice was worse than the look he had given me. "I need to talk to you about it" again, I turned to face him, but he looked elsewhere. He looked all over his apartment living room, every object, every wall, every door.
"You're in Silent Hill, Mr. Trent" he said, sadly. I'm in Silent Hill? Impossible, last time I checked I was in an apartment complex in South Ashfield, but then again, I had just gone to Silent Hill. "These walls are Silent Hill" he looked around as if in a daze, then he closed his eyes and breathed in the air around him with a pleased smile on his face, I found the whole act unnerving.
It was the best chance to sit up, I felt this was going downwards and laying down wasn't the best position to be in. Henry Townshend seemed shy at first sight, now he was looking more like a delusional maniac; things were going downwards. Then, a flash hit me hard, a blinding light with faces and eyes piercing through. It came fast; I had to close my eyes and mouth as to not vomit everywhere. 01121, 14121, 13121, 06121. They pulsated in my head like drumbeats, no, like a million heartbeats inside my mind. 02121, 11121, 19121, 08121. Different screams came from different numbers, different people, different…Victims.
"20, 20, 20, cannot kill the shell I am imprisoned in, mother" Henry Townshend's voice had departed any sense of sanity; it had departed Henry Townshend himself. For, when I opened my eyes, the man sitting in front of me was not Henry Townshend, owner of apartment 302. It was Walter Sullivan, the serial killer.
This is Silent Hill; my wild goose chase led me right to my destination, all around me.
"Walter Sullivan" I said quietly as the man stood up from the chair and ran against a wall, crashing into it with arms spread in an attempt of a hug. From the flesh in his hand, a knife grew and his palm griped it tightly before turning back to face me. His eyes were a hue of red that pushed my spirits down, the damned numbers in my head flashed quicker as he stepped closer to me.
This was not my mind, this was not my power. If this fucking madman stabs me I'm done for. He was grinning, he was barely two feet away from me when he jumped at me, knife first. In the few seconds I had to react, I grabbed his forearm and pulled it away to my side. He was clumsy, he nearly fell over the couch when I pulled him. Quickly, I stood up and grabbed the lamp from the counter and gave him a nice surprise the second time he charged at me. Now, his blonde locks sported a nice dash of red from the gash on his forehead. I charged at him and tackled him to the floor when he shut his eyes to shield them from the blood.
His head felt like a rock when mine clashed against him, but his arms felt like rubber when mine reached for the knife. I butted him with my head once in the teeth to loosen his grip even more, I'm sure I felt the pain more than he did, though. Fucker, let go! Let go of the fucking knife! I hit him again, this time I felt his teeth shatter and he let go of the knife.
Yes, I have it. Power in steel and a dangerous point; power in a sharp object. I pulled away from him and looked at the beaten man; the fucker had just tried to kill me. He had tried to kill me for some stupid deranged purpose, the cunt! I'll show him, I'll show him.
"Silent Hill, Daniel" she whispered into my ear from places unknown.
"Yes, Vanessa, Silent Hill" I grinned before I stabbed Walter Sullivan three times in the chest to the screams of Henry Townshend. It was self defense.
When the knife fell on his bony chest for the last time, I closed my eyes and breathed out, almost scared to look at him. What have I done? I could've ran out, could've yelled for the cops, but I killed him.
"Oh, no, Daniel, not again" I felt my lips move to say this, but I heard her voice instead. Then I opened my eyes and saw Silent Hill, I saw the corpse of a bloodied and dead Henry Townshend. But-But-But how! I didn't kill Townshend, it was Walter Sullivan! I saw the numbers in my mind, I saw them and saw him; I know what he fucking did! "Yet, he died a long time ago, Daniel" I feel some of my sanity replenish when I don't feel my lips move, but my stress grew worse when a rapid banging on the door came to my ears; the superintendent.
I can't stay here; it doesn't matter that I can't make sense of this, not now. That comes later; right now I need to leave. My exit comes in the way of a window, fuck the three story drop. I ignore the fact that I drop a large chunk of evidence with the knife and run towards the window. Before I know it, my body noisily breaks through a glass window and thuds on the ground below in a pile of leaves; lucky fuckin' junkie. No, don't stop now, go for your car. Go for your car. You saw the maps before you came here, Silent Hill's only a half day's drive from here. Silent Hill, if there are any answers for anything, it's there. I hurried quickly, stuffing whatever's going on in apartment 302 in the back of my mind. When I finally reached my car and broke various driving laws by pushing the accelerator and driving as fast as I could towards Silent Hill.
It was night when I reached it, my heart had nearly stopped when a cop pulled me over for speeding in Brahns and gave me a ticket. But, I was here, the sign said it "Welcome to Silent Hill" in nice homey letters. A fog that seemed eerily familiar blocked everything beyond the sign. I breathed in deeply before I turned off the ignition and opened my glove compartment; a needle clicked in my hands and I looked down at my demons. I needed it. I needed it more than anything now.
To Be Continued…..
