Mona explores the apartments.
After Sable's disappearance, Mona was left on her own to explore the ruined apartments. Hardly something to look forward to, but she'd long since accepted that it was the only way she'd have a hope of getting out of here. For now, she just had to survive, her main priority being to try and find any useful supplies or weaponry.
Every square inch of the place looked as if it could collapse at any second, the constant sounds of shifting wood and shuffling feet both below and somehow above giving the distinct impression she wasn't alone here. She forced herself to pretend that whatever else was living here hadn't noticed her for the time being, figuring it was at least slightly preferable to the idea that she was already being stalked through the narrow, rotting hallways. While there was little peace of mind to be found in Silent Hill, this was as close a substitute as she had.
Her search through the top floor was slow, cautiously trying each door she came across to find it locked, broken, or jammed. It was almost comical just how many of those she'd encountered since entering the town. She suspected that this wasn't just a coincidence, that maybe it was the nightmare guiding her to where it wanted her to go, especially when considered alongside the fact that parts of the building had completely collapsed to limit her path even further.
The only door she could find that would open was located at the end of a moldy corridor next to a broken window. With gun at the ready, she moved into the room slowly, almost jumping back upon seeing the charred corpse hunched over in a splintered kitchen chair directly across from her.
While nothing in the room could be said to be in pristine condition, none of it appeared burned. Did that mean someone had moved this body to this position after the fact? Why would they do that? Then again, there wasn't a clear purpose to much of anything in Silent Hill, so it was at least as plausible as any other explanation.
In the figure's hands was a gun not too dissimilar from her own, clutched between them as if at the ready. Though she doubted it was loaded, the thought of taking it did tempt her despite the obvious apprehension she felt at taking things off a corpse. Especially one that looked so human.
Her approach was slow, Mona nearly tiptoeing towards the body as if she was afraid it might wake up from any noise she made. The closer she got, the more the smell of charred flesh hit her. Holding back a gag, she made it within reach of the weapon, hesitant to grab it.
Slowly but surely, she was forced to overcome these feelings. Almost as if to punish her for it, the corpse actually did jerk to life, raising the weapon towards her with the intent to fire. She'd begun to expect things like this, though, using her last bullet to reflexively shoot through the side of the thing's head and send it falling to the ground.
Mona dropped her gun and backed a few steps away in horror. Though it was certainly startling for the thing to attack her like that, she was more surprised at her own quick reaction. When did she become so comfortable with killing, especially when it was something that looked so human?
The thing convulsed on the ground, burnt flesh crackling as it rolled around and clawed at the air. Just to be safe, Mona grabbed the chair it had been sitting on and smashed it over its head, only needing one strike to put it to rest. It was probably for the better, she thought.
Inspecting the gun after taking it from the ground, she found that it was loaded with a full magazine of nine bullets. Keeping it in her hand, she shoved her previous weapon into her pocket. If she found more ammunition, being able to switch between the two in the midst of an attack would likely save her life at some point.
Beyond this, though, there didn't seem to be much else of interest in the room. Similar to Sable's hangout, the place was in extreme disrepair with dirt and damage covering every surface imaginable. That being said, the lack of a giant hole in the side probably did make this the nicer place to live if one ignored the corpse laying on the ground.
Before she left, Mona decided to grab one of the chair legs that broke off when she bashed the corpse across the head. Given how helpful the last one had been, taking this with her seemed like a good way to conserve her ammunition going forward.
As she made her way into the stairwell to go down a floor, the smell of burning began to fill her nose. Never a good sign. Reaching the door leading to the second floor, she could see small wisps of black smoke coming from underneath it.
Considering whatever other ways down were blocked off and she wasn't too keen on taking a leap of faith, Mona had no choice but to go through. Thankfully, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, this floor just as dingy and rundown as the other with the addition of several trash fires burning around the area. This wasn't good, of course, but given what fire usually signified in this place, she'd take it.
She began the process of searching once more, finding the majority of doors to be, shockingly, locked. One of them did open, nothing of value to be found in the cabinets or under the bed (not that there was an under after the springs and such had collapsed) save for a strange red key like you'd see used in a cheap movie to unlock a jail cell. The huge amount of nothing happening after nearly being shot just minutes ago was starting to get unnerving, whatever that meant.
As she left the room, Mona could swear she heard something over the sound of crackling flames and the creak of floorboards. Almost like someone crying. Someone young. Despite the building not being particularly large, it was hard to get a read on where it might be coming from, sounding equally near and far depending on where she stood.
It seemed like a trap. She'd only encountered one other person in this entire town so far so the chances that a real child was stuck somewhere didn't seem that high. Still, she couldn't just ignore it. She felt like a fool for even thinking it but she just didn't have it in her to abandon someone in need.
Mona couldn't decide whether it would be better if the voice did turn out to belong to a monster. On the one hand, she'd be fighting for her life, but on the other, it meant that she was the only one who had to suffer in this place. No one deserved to go through this, especially not a child.
Given that none of the other doors on this floor opened, not even the one that she strongly suspected was occupied by someone or something muttering to itself, her only choice was to go down another floor. As she began her descent, the crying did sound like it was getting louder, causing her to feel cold for the first time since she got to Silent Hill. Not simply a chill or nervousness, but genuine cold.
Stopping right in front of the worn wooden door, she tried to keep her breathing measured, realizing only now that she'd begun to hyperventilate like she was in a panic. She told herself that this would be just like the other floors. Maybe there would be something to fight here, but it wouldn't be any different. She'd make it through soon enough.
Hand closing around the doorknob, that was when she noticed the words etched into the door at eye level. "Welcome Home" it spelled out, the sense of dread permeating the air growing as thick as the fog outside.
She really didn't want to go through it, but she had no choice. She knew this already. She knew it before she even made it down this far. And yet her hand refused to turn, her legs refused to walk. She was frozen in place, heart racing as she read the words over and over again.
Her mind returned to the other set of words she'd seen throughout her journey, the message reminding her that it was her fault. Her fault that it had happened. Her fault she was here now. Her fault, her fault, her fault.
Whether it was a moment of clarity or mania, Mona finally found the strength to push through the door and arrive at the first floor. It was completely unlike the others, namely for the fact that it was a simple, dark box of a place with no rooms, no windows, and nothing but the hexagonal carpet and wallpaper in matching shades of red, orange, and brown to see. Nothing, that is, save for the man standing in the center underneath a single flickering light bulb.
It was him. It was unmistakably him. It couldn't be him, but here he was. Why was this happening? How was this happening? Why couldn't she just be allowed to forget in peace? She'd done so well in forgetting up until now, the memories refusing to surface no matter what the town threw at her. Now, though, it looked like it was done playing games.
Mona backed away, body shaking and hands tightening around the chair leg. She shook her head, refusing to believe what she saw right before her eyes. As much as she wanted to run from here, to run from the truth, that plan was rendered impossible the moment her back met smooth wall. It seemed as if the door had disappeared entirely, though she didn't turn to confirm it.
He stood unmoving, watching with what seemed like glee at her reactions. Lips twisted into a smile, broad salt and pepper mustache obscuring his top row of teeth as it always did. "Welcome home," he said sweetly.
What Mona felt now, however, was about as far from welcomed as possible.
Collecting weapons is a good strategy for getting through this place. I wonder if that key will mean anything later.
Thanks for reading. Share if you're enjoying. Always remember that things eventually catch up to you.