Chapter 24: Ever Downward

(Room 302 of Silver Lake Apartments...)

S-M

The good thing was that we finally found Sonic, but the unfortunate thing was that I had to go back to my apartment for a while. I wasn't planning to leave my friends behind in the nightmare, even if meant getting out alive. There's no way I would do such a thing.

Besides, I told them that I wouldn't take too long...

Once I came to, I immediately pulled myself up to my feet and went over to pick up my hunting rifle and some extra bullets, just for when I ran out of ammo whilst attacking enemies. Afterwards, I took in my surroundings and began to realise that the entire place was slowly beginning to transform; the walls strangely changed from a pure white to a faint dark red as did the sofa, chairs and kitchen. The air also felt very heavy and the sounds of a ticking clock greeted my ears. Looking up at the latter, I noticed that it was ticking incredibly fast, nearly the same speed as Sonic's runs! As soon as I walked over to it, I instantly jumped back when my head started to pound painfully, almost like a crippling headache. Argh! What the heck am I supposed to do to get rid of this ... supernatural thing going on?! Setting my sights on several sheets of bloodied paper and a simple key, I bent down to their level and scanned the writing; wanting to find out the solution to my current situation and the meaning of the freaky worlds Sonic told us about.

But what I read sent more questions running around, just begging to be answered:

"You've seen that world as well...
That horrible nightmare.
But if you get sucked into it, it's not just a nightmare. Don't get lost in
there. If you get pulled in, you'll be killed.
But there's still hope.
Maybe this "small key" will guide you.
If you've seen the door with the placard set in it, look on the other side of
the door.
Then keep going down. To the deepest part of him.
And look for the ultimate Truth.

July 20 -Joseph"

Folding the first piece up, I placed both items inside my backpack and focused on the next one. "I have seen those worlds, mate. But I don't see how a small key can guide us. Mind giving me a few more details?"

"I've found two mysterious and powerful artifacts that seem to be very effective
for evading the ghost-victims:
the Holy Candle and the Saint Medallion.
Not only are they effective against the ghost-victims in the Otherworld, they
also seem to prevent them from invading my room. Just light the candle near
where they're coming in and its holy power is activated.
The Saint Medallion seems to repel unholy energy when it's worn (equipped).
I'm starting to gain some hope.

July 25"

I frowned in thought as I placed the sheet in my backpack with the other items, and began reading the final one. Maybe ... Maybe this Joseph guy is right? A Holy Candle or a Saint Medallion could possibly be the solution to these supernatural events. Well, at least I know what to do now. "Okay..."

"No. 1...Ten heart...
No. 2...Ten...
No. 3...Ten hearts...
No. 4...Ten hearts - Steve Garl...
No. 5...Ten...
No. 6...Ten heart...
No. 7...Ten hearts - Billy Locane
No. 8...Ten hearts - Miriam Locane
No. 9...Ten hearts...
No. 10...Ten...
No. 11...Assumption - Walter Sullivan
No. 12...Void...
No. 13...Darkness...
No. 14...Gloom...
No. 15...Despair - Joseph Schreiber
No. 16...Temptation - Cynthia Velasquez
No. 17...Source - Jasper Gein
No. 18...Watchfulness - Andrew DeSalvo
No. 19...Chaos - Richard Braintree
No. 20...Mother - Eileen Galvin
No. 21...Wisdom - Henry Townshend

August 7"

This time, I didn't say a word. My jaw dropped to the ground again. Both Eileen and Henry were part of some strange death club?! And why did the name 'Walter Sullivan' send chills crawling down my spine?

I sighed. "I can't believe this..."

Pulling myself up to my feet, I walked over to the small hole and bent down, intent on seeing if anything was happening in Sonic's room. I wasn't in for the sight that was about to greet me, that's for sure. Sitting on Sonic's bed, was a regular sized plush of Silent Hill's Amusement Park mascot, Robbie the Rabbit. Truth be told, I had no idea that it was there, maybe my idol has been to the town and bought it, I don't know. Just as I was about to turn away, the most frightening thing ever happened.

What?!

As if it had come to life, the toy slowly began to lift it's head up almost like how a snail moves on the ground, and turned to stare in my direction. It then drew its' arm up, pointing a bloodied pink finger directly at me, smiling as it had achieved something positive. It only took one second for the realisation to hit me.

I wanted to scream, yell, shout and even cry. But nothing came. My body began shaking in fright as I stared at it in complete silence, letting the news sink in.

The next victim ... Was ... Me.

"No..." I eventually managed to whisper, not realising that I was now breathing heavily with panic taking me over.

Elise, Maria and Cybil's murderer was coming for me now. I suspected that he still was going for Sonic, considering what happened back in Room 303, but ...

What if ... My mother's next after me...? Or is she ... Already—?

Shaking my thoughts away, I immediately pulled myself up, grabbed my backpack and weapons, threw open my bedroom door and crawled into the hole.

(Back in the Otherworld version of St. Jerome's Hospital...)

M-E

"So, how do you and kiddo know each other?" Sonic asked, grinning at me and the Herd.

"Well, it's kind of a long story." I began, returning the gesture. "I basically met Megan, took a walk with her and strangely ended up in a burning city with lots of enemies around. My friend gave me my knife and we both explored for a while, telling each other about our lives. But unfortunately, I decided to look for more supplies by myself and ... The man found me."

My smile faded as I finished my sentence. I still felt guilty about leaving my young friend behind and losing my life, so much that I wanted to do everything I possibly could to get a chance to redeem myself.

Even though, I was certain that Megan would forgive me anyway if I apologised.

I'm hoping she will, because she's such a kind girl... And she's willing to assist anyone in a threatening situation...

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Elise." Sonic murmured after a moment of silence. "But hey, look on the bright side, you're still here and you can hang out with her!"

Hearing this, I couldn't help but giggle. "I suppose you're right about that."

"Hey kids, Megan's back!" Manny suddenly shouted, interrupting our conversation. "Come on!"

Sonic looked at me in shock, which I responded by shrugging. We weren't children, we were adults now. My blue friend is 24 and I'm two years older than him. But still...

There were two children in our group; one whom I wanted to look after...

A few seconds later, Shira and Diego came out of the room with a panicked and frightened Megan. Both Sonic and I instantly ran up to them, letting our concern take us over.

"Are you okay?" The female smilodon asked.

My young friend was trying so hard to calm her breathing. "No ... I just found out who the next victim is...!"

Oh no...

I grabbed Megan's shoulders and looked her right in the eyes, desperately wanting to find out what caused her to feel down. Of course, she was quite shy when we first met, but she was so cheery and happy whilst we began developing our bond. Something was wrong, and I was going to fix it. "Who is it?"

The answer I got shocked us all completely. "You're looking at her. And ... I ... I-I think my mother's a target too!"

NO!

I turned to look at Sonic. He didn't particularly understand what was occurring, but he knew what we had to do. A teenager and her mother were in grave danger and it was up to us to prevent the worst; we had to protect Megan until she was reunited with her.

"Okay, don't worry ... Just stick together with us and we'll make sure the man won't get you." I reassured her. "If it's one on one, you know what to do, right?"

"Yes," The young girl responded, putting on a brave face. "Fight him off until I'm safe, I know what to do."

That's fine, then.

I gave her shoulders an affectionate squeeze and Sonic punched Megan gently on the shoulder, brightening the mood and making her giggle.

"Hey kid, try not to worry so much about him. Like your friend said, you'll be safer if you stick with us." Manny said, with concern lacing his tone. "Shall we get going?"

"Alright..."

And just like that, we all got into our group and began making our way out of the hospital. The exit unfortunately happened to be locked but with Megan's small key, we managed to escape. After confronting three patient monsters who unintentionally made our way out hilarious, we found ourselves descending a spiral staircase in a grey foggy atmosphere with a door at the very end.

I didn't know where we were going next, but I hoped that we would enter a place which was safe and would keep my friends from harm.

Okay, let's see what's down here...