"So, where did you come from, outsider?" The woman asked.
Shizuo had no clue what she said. The blond was sitting down in the pew while the woman in blue, the leader of this strange group of people, stood before him with her hands tucked into her sleeves in front of herself. The two men were still standing behind her and the man who Shizuo had helped get away from the pyramid head was also there, but everyone else had moved off to do whatever they were doing. Once the praying was done, she said something and they all dispersed, leaving Shizuo alone with her, her two goons, and the one man.
"Who was that man that was with the demon?" She asked.
Shizuo looked up at her sheepishly before reaching into his pocket. He pulled out his phone and went to the translator app. They looked extremely confused as to what was in Shizuo's hand. They even glared at him as if thinking it was a weapon.
'Have they never seen a flip phone?'
Shizuo typed his message in which it was translated to English. He then played the audio button.
"My name is Heiwajima Shizuo." the device said. "I'm from Ikebukuro, Japan."
The woman's eyes widened as she stared at the device. "Why would a Japanese man come to Silent Hill?"
"How did a Japanese man get here?" One of the men said, "No one can get into Silent Hill without Alessa's permission."
"Does he have half of the Seal of Metatron?"
"Of course not! The Seal is in Silent Hill somewhere!"
"Maybe Alessa stole it and gave it to him?"
"If he has it, then it'll show it in due time." The woman said.
'What are they saying?' Shizuo wondered.
The woman made eye contact with Shizuo. She pulled her hand out of her sleeve and touched her chest.
"Christabella." She said.
Shizuo tilted her head.
She gestured to Shizuo. "Heiwajima." She then pointed to herself. "Christabella."
Shizuo understood. "O-oh! Okay!" He nodded. "Okay. I get it."
She nodded as well.
Shizuo erased the message on the translator and typed another one.
"My friend has been haunted by Alessa. She brought us here."
He erased it again and typed again.
"Do you know where Alessa took him? Does she have a lair? I have to get him out of here."
Christabella looked at him. She then looked at the man Shizuo had saved.
"Are you certain of what you saw?" She asked. "Did he truly attack the pyramid monster?"
The man nodded. "He did. He kicked it then punched it down the stairs."
"Christabella, you saw him hold the doors open." The man with long black hair said. "He was strong enough to defy our faith. This man is special."
"Special enough to become the vessel for The God?" The other man asked.
Christabella was quiet before she nodded. "I would think so. Where we failed with Alessa, we may succeed with this stranger."
"But will The God be able to incubate in a male body? Doesn't it need a womb?"
"The God simply needs a strong body that can survive any trial." Christabella said while looking straight at Shizuo. "He'll work just fine."
"We'll have to move fast then. If Alessa brought him here, then she may want to use him to destroy us."
"He was able to get into our sanctuary, after all. He's not the same as those monsters."
'They're talking about me when they know I can't understand them.' Shizuo glowered. 'That is so rude.'
"Go prepare a remedy." Christabella said to the black-haired man. "If he's as strong as you say, we won't be able to get him to the pyre if he's awake."
"Right."
The man turned and walked off. Shizuo watched him go with confusion. He looked up at the woman again. He typed another message and played it for her.
"Where is he going?"
She smiled softly. "Everything is alright."
Shizuo's brows furrowed with slight annoyance. He typed again. "I cannot understand you. What is going on?"
She just smiled. Shizuo cocked a brow in question.
The man returned in a few minutes with a cup and a small loaf of bread. Shizuo's eyes widened at the sight. After all the mayhem and stress he'd been through, he honestly didn't notice how hungry he was until he saw the food. The man walked over to him and held them out to him.
"Than—er, um, sank you." Shizuo said.
He knew near to no words in English, but 'thank you' and 'hello' were words that were said all the time in anime so he knew those at least.
He took the items and began to eat. Whatever was in the cup wasn't water. It was orange and a sniff showed it was orange juice. He took a gracious gulp. It was far more delicious than it should have been, but Shizuo knew that was because he hadn't eaten or drank anything in a good while.
He finished his simple meal in less than five minutes. He knew he shouldn't ask for more since they were probably rationing as is, but it wasn't enough to satisfy him at all.
'When I find Izaya and get out of here, we're going to go to a fancy restaurant and eat...wait.'
Shizuo reached into the pocket of Izaya's coat pocket and felt around. There was indeed a wallet in the pocket.
'Dinner's on him when we get out of here.'
Shizuo just chuckled to himself at the strangely optimistic thought process. He then let out a heavy sigh. That was truly wishful thinking and a long way off.
'If Alessa hadn't killed Izaya by now...'
Depression hit him hard as he looked down at the ground. He closed his eyes tight shut and shook his head harshly.
'No, stop. We're going to get out of here. I'm going to get Izaya out of here.'
He opened his eyes and looked up at the Caucasian's.
"Sank you." Shizuo said, smiling up at them.
He put the cup next to him on the pew. He then pulled out his phone and typed a message in English. Once done, he played the audio button.
"Who are you people? I didn't think there were people in Silent Hill."
"We're the ones who are holding back the darkness. We're keeping this demon from reaching the rest of the world until we can save this Earth from their own sins."
Shizuo glowered. He didn't understand any of that. He then let out a sigh of defeat.
'Let's just worry about what's more important right now.'
"So, about Alessa." The device said. "I have to stop her. Do you know where she is?"
"If the demon has your friend, there is no saving him." Christabella said. "He has already been lost to the darkness."
Shizuo didn't know what she said. He held the phone out to her to take and made a typing notion with his index finger. She didn't seem enthused to try, but to humor him, she took the device and began typing very slowly. Once done, she showed it to Shizuo. The blond clicked the translate button and read the Japanese.
He immediately glowered and shook his head. "No, he's still alive. Alessa wants him."
She was confused. Shizuo was certainly getting frustrated with this language barrier, but there was nothing he could do about it. He typed up what he said and clicked the audio button.
"If Alessa wants him, then he's a witch. The only way to save him is to burn him."
Shizuo held the phone up to her, glowering in annoyance for once again speaking instead of typing.
Then, all too suddenly, Shizuo's arm felt weak. So weak he couldn't hold the phone up. The device dropped from his hand, clattering against the stone floor.
'Eh?'
"Ah...sorry."
Shizuo knelt down and picked it up. Christabella backed away, as did the men. Shizuo picked his phone up. The battery hadn't popped out, but the screen cracked. His hand drooped to the floor. He couldn't lift his arm.
'What is this? What's...'
He looked up at them. They were staring at him coldly. Immediately, Shizuo felt a chill down his spine. One that told him to run.
"Did you...drug me?" Shizuo voiced.
They just stared. The gravity of Shizuo's situation hit him hard.
'I knew I shouldn't have come here! I knew there was something wrong here!'
Shizuo glared at them all and turned to the pew. He should have known better than to trust anything in this terrible town, whether they looked human or not. With that decision in mind, he had to react now! He had to get away now!
So, he grabbed the pew, forcing his limbs to work. He lifted the wooden bench and swung it around. He couldn't hesitate. He couldn't stop to think about what damage he was going to commit. Like every monster he'd come across so far, he couldn't feel empathy for them. He had to just move with all he had and hold back nothing.
Such a thing made their eyes stretch wide. The man with black hair grabbed Christabella and tackled her to the floor. However, the man who Shizuo had saved and the other goon were hit hard with the giant wooden bench. He sent them flying across the room and into the air. The one Shizuo had saved went towards the second floor balcony that overlooked the nave. His spine slammed against the railing and at that speed, Shizuo wasn't surprised to hear a sickening crack. The other man slammed into the wall on the first floor. The wood creaked as it caved in. The next second, he fell to the floor.
Shizuo dropped the pew, throwing it between him and Christabella so they couldn't pursue, and ran. He jumped on top of a pew and pushed off, jumping over five other pews. He pushed off again, but his legs buckled. He stumbled, but managed to catch himself within a pew.
He decided to just run down the center aisle, making a break for the open door. Unfortunately, he didn't make it very far. His limbs went completely limp. He lied flat against the floor. His whole body started shaking. He clenched his teeth hard as he tried to force his limbs to move. All he could do was twitch them. His head became so heavy as it became hard to keep his eyes open.
'What did they...give me? Why is it...working so fast...?'
Shizuo tried to push himself up again. He got himself to his hands and knees before his head drooped. His eyes closed and he fell back to the floor.
"...We did it, right?"
Shizuo heard someone's voice but it was so far away.
"Yes, we did it. He's down."
"He killed Arthur!"
"Anthony's not breathing either!"
"That was one swing. He picked up a pew like it was nothing."
"He's perfect for the vessel. He'll surely survive the trial by fire. We can bring Paradise to Earth at last."
Shizuo's head was drifting farther and farther into a tense sleep.
"Prepare the pyre."
The darkness gave away. All around Izaya, the peeled walls of buildings and broken concrete returned to their original places. Red Pyramid, who had been trailing behind them, vanished into pillars of ashes. Alessa guided Izaya a moment longer before she also disappeared. The informant turned off his flashlight and let it dangle around his wrist. He held the gun firmly at his side with the safety on so it didn't fire randomly.
He went through the streets of Silent Hill with a confidence he probably shouldn't have. He had a purpose in his step as he walked around buildings. He made a beeline for the hospital. All the way across town, he walked. Nothing messed with him. He didn't see any monsters at all.
Soon enough, he arrived to his destination. He stopped in front of the doors and looked at his gun. He unloaded the magazine from his gun to check how many bullets he had left. There were only two in the clip.
'Have to make them count.'
Izaya reloaded the clip into the gun and cocked it. He then walked into the hospital. Once inside, he brushed his hand through his hair to remove any ash that had gathered—which was quite a bit. He shook his head out then went to the front desk. There, he found a map on the wall and an elevator, in which he went straight to the map. He stared at it until he found B151. He found the stairs on the map and made a path. He memorized the way, repeating it back to him over and over and over again until he knew the way.
Izaya let out a heavy exhale to release all the anxiety that was trying to force its way up.
'Alright, Alessa. I'm coming.'
Without a moment's pause, Izaya turned towards the stairs.
However, he was quickly crushed to see the stairs were blocked off. Rubble of concrete and steel beams had piled up inside the entrance way. There was no way he could make it through without Shizuo, and even if he had the blond, there was no guarantee the stairs would actually be there.
"...Oh, I don't like these options..."
Izaya looked back the way he came.
'Are the elevators even on?'
Izaya walked back to the elevator. He pushed the button. Nothing happened, not even the light on said button turned on.
'So, they're not on. Maybe I can climb down the elevator shaft.'
Izaya looked around until he found a broken pipe. He walked over and shoved the pointed end of the pipe in between the doors and pried it open like a crowbar. He didn't get very far at all but it was enough for Izaya to get his hands in and pull it open. He was able to put the pipe in horizontally to keep the door propped apart, making just enough of a gap for himself to slip through.
However, he wasn't going to do that. Izaya turned on his flashlight and flashed it around. The elevator was still in place.
"Oh, I don't like this."
Izaya stepped into the elevator and stomped hard. He quickly backed away. Nothing happened. He then looked for the button pad. It was just out of reach from the door so he stepped in all the way—his right foot extremely close to the door- and pushed a button. Nothing happened.
'Well, how am I going to get down to the basement?'
The elevator creaked as it shifted. Izaya's knees buckled to the sensation as his eyes widened.
'Out, out, out!'
Izaya rushed to the door. However, his stomping feet rattled the elevator further. The pipe that had been holding the door open popped out from the jostle. The raven was cast into darkness as he slammed his hands against the now closed door.
"No! Wait!"
The elevator shifted again. Izaya stumbled back until he slammed against the back wall of the elevator, holding onto the support bars. In the next moment, the elevator began moving downward. It started at a fast speed without remorse. Izaya couldn't help but scream.
Faster and faster the elevator went. Izaya's stomach was in his throat from the inertia. His hands were clenched and body braced against the wall.
"ALESSA!"
'You can't let me die like this!'
As if on command, the elevator gradually slowed until it stopped completely. His eyes widened as he looked up. He was panting heavily. The elevator dinged before the doors opened on their own.
He was met with a pitch black hallway.
"...Thank you, Alessa."
He had no proof the demon saved him. But he had none to support otherwise either. So, it was best to count his blessings and go from there.
He grabbed his flashlight and pointed it at out. There was no one waiting for him, which was a very good sign.
'...Okay. Right, right, right...'
Izaya stepped out cautiously. He looked left and right. Nothing there but abandoned hospital beds and wheelchairs. He swallowed his nervousness and persevered forward. He turned right from the elevator. He went down the hall to the next junction, in which he turned right again.
'Right, left, right...'
He turned right, as it was the only way he could turn. Left was also the only way he could turn next and so he did so. The next turn had the options of left and right, in which he turned right.
'Straight, straight, left and it should be at the end of the hall.'
Izaya walked down the hall, halting at every intersection to check left and right and make sure nothing was there. Everything was on his side thus far. There were no nurses in sight. Straight, straight, he went. There was no right turn so he went left as planned.
His flashlight shined over multiple female figures. Izaya jolted and immediately tilted his flashlight down, pressing it against his stomach then turning it off. There was a horde of nurses in front of him. There was a soft light source coming from the double doors behind them, so Izaya could still see them just enough to see them move. They all began to twitch and jitter, letting out small moans before falling still again.
'Shit. How do I get through? Can I draw their attention away?'
Izaya looked over his shoulder.
'I could draw them over to the intersection in the halls.'
Izaya was nervous to do that. He knew how the nurses functioned thanks to his dreams. They reacted to stimulus to their existing senses. Their faces were mutated, filled with folds of flesh that were unique to them and no two matched, so they didn't have any orifices. Despite that, they were able to hear and respond to change in lighting—thus, in this dark corridor, the flashlight was very alluring. He also couldn't touch them, since they would immediately start swinging whatever weapon was in their hand. In that small corridor, even if they missed Izaya, it would become a bloodbath of one hitting the other and making a domino affect of attacks—in which one might just hit him by accident. And he certainly didn't want to draw any attention of other nurses in the area, so loud noises were out.
Izaya's best bet was to use the flashlight. Either that or insight that domino effect and get them to kill each other. However, there was no way he could go up and touch them. Even if they were injured, he doubted they would die, so it's not like he could count on them actually killing each other to clear the path. He needed to play a game of red light, green light with his light source.
Izaya inhaled deeply and exhaled to calm himself. 'Alright. I can do this.'
The raven turned on the light, which was still pointed at his stomach, and pointed it at the nurses. They all began to jitter, twitch, and jive. Then they simultaneously turned towards Izaya. Their heels slammed against the ground in unison, causing Izaya to flinch.
Slowly, the scantily-dressed women began to shuffle forward. Their walk was questionably seductive as they swished their hips and rolled their shoulders with every step—if only they weren't hunched forward, twitching all over, and thrashing their heads. Everyone of them had an item in their hand, ranging from knives, to scalpels, to crowbars. One even had a machete and another a bone cleaver.
They shuffled closer and closer. Izaya stepped back, never taking his eyes off them, until his back was pressed to the wall. He looked the way he came and planned his route. There was a hospital bed he could use as a block, so even if they got too close, he'd have something between them.
The nurses were closer now. Not close enough to be within swinging distance, but enough to made Izaya nervous. He side-shuffled towards the hallway, slowly taking one step at a time and never turning his back on them.
Slowly, slowly, slowly, Izaya guided the monsters like a pack of blind animals. They followed without question. He made his way behind the bed and quickened his pace to be standing at the intersection. He looked left and right.
'Okay, what do I do here? Do I throw the flashlight down the hall? But there's no guarantee it'll still shine on them and they won't get drawn away. Um...'
Izaya was running out of time to decide. They were shuffling ever closer with each second.
'Maybe...I can act fast. Set it up down a hall until they get in deeper and run past?'
It was the only thing he could do right now. Without a care for quiet, Izaya ran down the hall to his right and grabbed a wheelchair. He rolled it further down and in the center. He placed the flashlight on the seat, pointing towards the way he came. He then quickly dashed back to the intersection.
A nurse swung at him from around the corner. His eyes widened as natural instinct kicked in. He jolted back, the knife barely missing his face. He stumbled back out of her reach. His hands came over his own mouth as he fell still. The nurse was literal inches from him. One more step and she'd be able to swipe at him again. They were all just out of range of the flashlight so once Izaya fell quiet, they stopped moving in whatever pose they had been in—so some stopped mid-stride, others had their arms pointed outwards or jutted back behind them.
Izaya held his breath as he slowly moved one foot back. He made sure his shoe didn't clack against the steel floor. Once his weight was on it, he moved his other foot back just as slow and just as tedious. Another step back. Another step back. Izaya was far enough back that he could walk without worry of an attack. He still stepped slowly, slowly, slowly until he was out of the intersection and in the hallway he had originally arrived from.
Izaya pulled his hands away and breathed in deeply. The nurses twitched. He panted softly until his breathing was level again. The nurses jittered and took one shambling step forward. Still not within range of the light.
Izaya stomped his feet. The nurses shambled closer still. The closest nurse stepped into the flashlight flare, so Izaya stopped moving and fell quiet. She paused before turning her torso towards the light. Her legs followed in a grotesque manner until she was facing the light completely. She shambled towards it—away from Izaya. The other nurses, attracted by her falling footsteps, started shambling forward as well and turned to follow her. Izaya waited patiently.
It felt like hours before the last nurse rounded the corner and headed for the light. The hallway was cleared. Izaya was free to go. He knew he could outrun them without question—and so he did just that. With thundering footsteps, he ran down the hall and turned the corner.
He could see the room. B151. It was right in front of him and there was no one in sight. There was a white light shining through the crack of the door. He didn't hesitate to run. Halfway down the hall, he looked over his shoulder to see if anyone had followed him. He saw no one.
He faced front. It was right in front of him, within inches. He reached his hands out. He touched the swinging doors and pushed them open. He was blinded by white light but stepped through nonetheless.
"You did it, Izaya."
