Lost in the Fog 4
The fog hung heavy over the town, its wispy transparent fingers reached further and further through the worn street. The few buildings they passed had been turned into shady silhouettes that hung over the worn tarmac and concrete pavement. There was no sound other than the wind and heavy tread of his footfalls and the occasional bust of crackling static from the radio.
The town was very similar to a grave, the dampened mood, the severtive , mysterious nature of the fog and an anesthetizing side effect of the town's melancholy tranquility.
Like a beacon the Texxon Gas Station sign glimmered in the thick haze, flickering occasionally. Its small parking lot was covered in leaves, dead weeds sprouted from the large cracks in the weathered pavement.
The facade of the building was decayed in spots, glass thickly caked in dust and worn advertisements. A small car was parked next to a pump, the driver side door hanging open. Curious he peered into the interior of the car. Leaves and other debris lined the floor wells. And there were no keys. Sighing, he pulled back. The car likely didn't run any way.
Only then did he notice a weathered wooden sign on the ground, the lettering faded. 'No Gas.'
The original owner of the car must have stumbled into the gas station in desperation only to discover the pumps were empty and wandered off into the mist.
Affton made his way to the gas station, ever cautious of the roaming things in the shadows. The door creaked softly when he pushed on it, revealing a dark musty interior with rusting shelves and cartons of things scattered on the floor. Not interested in the scattered candy and chips he made his way towards the front of the store, figuring that's where the maps were.
The glass counter was shattered in places while cracks spiderwebbed through what little glass remained. Odds and ends of key chains, cheap souvenirs, and cartons of cigarettes lay scattered around it.
He eyed the cigarettes longingly for a moment then picked up a pack and tucked it into his chest cavity. Even if he lacked lungs it didn't hurt to have them for nostalgia sakes.
Those are bad for you.
What is smoking going to do? Kill me again?
The AI fell silent with a huff.
Just to further irritate the AI he stuffed a lighter into his chest as well, smirking at the agitation coming off the AI though he couldn't recall it ever having any sort of temper. Maybe it was still upset over the man's death.
There was nothing we could have done. He made his choice.
Still the odd sensation of guilt lingered like a physical weight around his shoulders. He had tried to stop JP. His hands flexed slightly at the memory of closing on thin air. He shook his head and pushed the memory away. Maps. He needed to find maps.
Still, he didn't need to kill himself.
Some people can't live with the things they have done.
Wait, don't you already have a map? The AI inquired.
I have one of South Vale. JP said that there was a Central Silent Hill, I do not relish getting lost.
Affton pushed a stack of postcards aside, letting the moldering cards fall to the floor while he searched for the maps. After a bit of searching he found the maps in a rusting revolving rack that had a few maps stuffed into it.
A sharp static burst came from the radio, warning of an intruder and shattering the thick silence. Mangle jerked towards the windows, bristling, a low warning growl leaving its damaged vocalizer.
He ducked and pulled the fox down with him, eyes wide and studying the filthy windows.
Something, a large shadow passed by, its movements slow and jerky. The thing paused, limbs twisted and twitching. Almost as if it knew where he was. It was far larger than the dog things, and bipedal.
He glanced around for anything that could be used as a weapon but there was nothing trash and other useless items. Slowly he inched around the counter, all too aware of the crunch of glass under foot that was far too loud in his ears. With the pathetic shield of the counter between him and the thing outside, he searched for a weapon among the junk of newspapers, wadded up money and unused condoms he found a metal baseball bat.
His fingers closed on it, feeling its weight. It was better than nothing.
The thing outside remained still other than the constant twitching.
Staying down he slowly made his way to the door with Mangle trailing behind, the radio blaring static. He pushed the door open, panic and fear clawed widely at him. Maybe if they moved slowly the twisted monster would not even notice them.
Shoulders tense he raised the weapon and remained in a crouch, joints protesting painfully as he moved slowly towards the rusted hulk of a car, eyes glued to the thing.
It was sheathed in the fog making it hard to see though he was certain he didn't want to see what it looked like. He flinched when the animatronic fox resumed its usual perch on his back, still tense, still bristling.
"It doesn't see us. We'll be fine." more to himself then anything. They wouldn't get their limbs torn off and rearranged by the lumbering thing. The suits AI whimpered loudly in fear.
The foul creature jerked towards the door, large misshapen hands clawing at the narrow handles. Unable to get it open the creature slammed a fist into the glass, shattering it.
Taking the opportunity Affton scuttled away as fast as he could now the thing was distracted. Once he put some distance between him and the gas station he straightened up, and broke into a run. His joints ached and complained but he refused to stop, not with that thing nearby.
Hi hands tightened around the bat in a dead man's grip while the infernal sound of the radio faded away. Once he was sure the creature had been left behind he slowed to a rough walk, limping.
the road seemed to go on for miles, rusting hulks of forgotten cars and leaning faded signs occasionally materialized from the thick fog. The ruins of what may have been homes or small businesses dotted a small section of the large double lane highway, surrounded by rusted sagging fences and 'Coming Soon' signs.
It was largely boring and uneventful and left him with his thoughts. Including ones he didn't want. Old memories lingered, faded and worn, in the back of his mind where he had hidden them. Not just from himself but the AI. He could recall some of the things he had done, though not all of them. It was almost as if he didn't want to remember and chose to bury the memories as deep as possible.
He shook his head and pushed the unwanted memories away. He needed to focus on getting them safely to Central Silent Hill and to whatever waited for them there.
The fog parted to allow him passage down the winding road.
