Chapter 16: Lakeside Amusement Park
(Meanwhile, out on the streets of Silent Hill...)
M-M
She's gone.
Ever since the transition into the Otherworld, we searched all across the hospital for the kid. But she was nowhere to be seen.
I immediately assumed that she died, but everyone disagreed, not wanting to accept it.
"What if Megan's not dead?! What if she's still alive?!" Both Peaches and Louis pointed out, feeling painfully guilty.
"Buddy, the poor kid's probably lost and frightened, looking for us..." Diego murmured, trying to comfort Shira who also didn't want to believe that the kid had died.
"Manny, if we see Megan, we're going to apologise for what we did. We shouldn't leave a friend behind, ever." Ellie said, giving me a look of regret and sadness.
Despite wanting so badly to agree with my family, we had to press on. Even if it meant...not seeing the kid again.
So far, our trip was not particularly exciting; we remained in an uncomfortable silence, none of us saying a word. I understood why and even though I may not reveal it, deep down, I hated myself for what we did.
And I know at some point, I'm going to have to come out of my cold shell...
We continued walking down Nathan Avenue, fighting off the occasional monsters that decided to show up. Since this was our first visit to the town, we had no idea what kinds of locations there were.
Luckily, the billboards that stood on the side of the streets provided us with some information; Lake View Hotel and Lakeside Amusement Park. Old Silent Hill was also on that list with Midwich Elementary School and Balkan Church.
It was a bit of a trek, but we had to visit just one.
"Let's go to the amusement park." I suggested to everyone else. "We might find something useful there."
"What about the hotel?" Buck put in, gesturing in a wild manner in an effort to prove his point. "That place is massive, we could pretty much find everything in there!"
"I know what you mean Buck, it's just that..." I trailed off, trying to think of the right words. As much as I wanted to get out of this nightmare with my family, I couldn't help but feel like something (or someone) was going to keep us here.
For eternity.
After a moment of silence, I sighed heavily. "Let's keep moving."
"Alright then, whatever..." Peaches muttered quietly so that I couldn't hear, but loud enough.
With that, we continued on.
Suddenly, a group of lying figures came trudging slowly towards us in a threatening manner. Even though I couldn't see very well (due to the darkness), I was able to count at least six or seven of them. Ellie, Crash, Eddie and Flynn immediately stepped back to avoid getting in the way of our attacks whilst the rest of us prepared ourselves.
One lying figure made the first move by leaning back slightly, letting a harmful gas spray out and hit me. I clutched my head in pain and groaned whilst Diego quickly pounced on it with a mighty roar and finished it off. Recovering a few seconds later, I lunged at two other lying figures and whacked them hard with my trunk, damaging them severely. Peaches did the same thing with another one, assisted by Louis and Shira who both went to great lengths to defend her.
Buck let out his cowboy cry and repeatedly stabbed it's friend, killing it instantly. Sid and Granny were brutally hitting the following ones with their weapons, struggling with effort as they did so. Just as we were about to finish off the last one, a gunshot rang out and our target fell with a distorted squeal, eventually slowing down it's movement as it's life faded away.
I gasped for breath as did the rest of us. My wife quickly came out of her hiding spot, followed by the possums and Flynn with worried expressions clearly written on their faces. Ellie immediately ran up to me and nuzzled me tightly, entwining her trunk with mine. "Manny, are you okay...?"
I smiled and nuzzled her back, also wrapping my trunk around hers. "I'm alright Ellie, don't worry..."
She also smiled with relief and after a few moments, we both pulled away. Just as we were about to continue on to the amusement park, a commanding feminine voice rang out, making us stop in our tracks:
"Freeze!"
M-P
"Don't move."
I looked around in all directions to see who the female voice belonged to but thanks to the darkness, I couldn't. Louis buried his face into the warmth of my fur in fright, trying to calm his breathing. I reached up with my trunk and gently stroked his fur, whispering words of comfort as I did so. "It's gonna be alright Louis, I promise..."
"Show yourself!" Dad shouted, standing protectively in front of us like he did back at home when Megan first showed up. "Who are you?!"
Eventually, the owner of the voice revealed herself. She had bright blond hair similar to Maria's, but without the pink tips at the edges. Her outfit consisted of a short-sleeved turquoise top with several badges including a gold one, tight black leather pants and a pair of shiny black boots. To add the final touch, she wore short gloves in the same colour and in her hands, was a pistol.
Aimed directly at us.
Who is this lady?!
"My name is Cybil Bennett." The woman replied, keeping her tight grip on her gun. "You animals shouldn't be existing in our time."
"Well, what year are we in?" Dad demanded, obviously worried that she would pull the trigger and shoot us. "And we're trying to get out of this town anyway, so we don't want any trouble..."
Hearing this, the woman lowered her pistol and stared at us for a second, taking the information in. "You're in the year 2015."
SERIOUSLY?!
There was a small moment of silence, before she spoke up. "I don't suppose you've seen a sixteen year old girl around here, have you? Her name is Megan Ellis and I've been asked by her father to find her and her mother."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa... You've been what?" I asked, with confusion lacing my tone.
As soon as those words left my mouth, Cybil sighed. "It's ... rather a long story." There was a slight pause as she slipped her gun back into her jean pocket. "You see, I've been to this town before and seen what it can do. Mr Ellis is here too, at the Wish House Orphanage, searching for them."
This is getting weird...
"We're friends with his daughter." Mum suddenly said, stepping forward. "Although, we've been unfortunatley separated during a major problem we had, involving ... what this town does."
Hearing this, Cybil gave us a sympathetic look. "I'm really sorry to hear that. On the other hand, I wouldn't particulary worry much if she can handle herself against those monsters."
"You've run into them?!" Uncle Sid gasped, with complete shock lacing his tone.
"Sid," Shira warned, turning her head in a flash to glare at him. "Let's not harass this woman, she must be busy right now with the search."
At least we're not the only ones who fought the monsters...
"The last time I saw Megan was at Brookhaven Hospital. I don't know where she is now, but that was where we last saw her." I eventually added.
As much as I wanted to head back there to find Megan myself, I hoped that the information I gave would help Cybil in her search.
She smiled appreciatively and nodded. "Thank you. Where are you guys planning to go now?"
"Lakeside Amusement Park." I answered, smiling back at her.
Well at least we're on her good side now...
"You guys do best to stay nearby. After I'm done at Brookhaven Hospital, I'll come back with help as quick as I can." Our new friend said, after a moment of silence.
Soon after Cybil left to continue her search for Megan, Dad instantly turned round to face us with a determined expression written on his face. "Okay... You all ready to continue on?"
"Yep, we are..." Was our response.
Truth be told, we all wanted to follow Cybil back to Brookhaven Hospital, but we knew that we had to press on and get out of this crazy place. Either way, I knew that Megan would come back, probably severely injured or perfectly alright. That particular thought was on my mind for the rest of the journey, even when the bright lights of the front sign came into view, indicating that we were close to our destination.
Megan, I hope you'll be able to make it... We're all sorry for leaving you behind...