Hey, just so you all know, I edited and updated chapters 1, 2, 3, and 4...can you all be wonderful dears and read those or skim through them again? I think I got everything planned out in the story now...I hope. LOL! Keeping up with this story's timeline is a hassle. XP
Dipper, Pacifica, and Wendy
9:50 AM
"W-...Wendy?" Dipper said again in wide-eyed shock.
"Whoa...it's...it's you..." Wendy said in amazement as she looked Dipper over. "Wow...Dipper, you've...you've grown...I mean, like...dude..."
"Uh...y-yeah, I...I'm...I'm taller than you...now...heh..."
"Uh-heh, yeah...y-yeah..."
...An awkward silence fell on both of them...
...Until Pacifica cleared her throat, "Um...yeah, hey, um...Wendy, is it?"
Wendy snapped out of her stupor, "Oh, uh, yeah...hey, you're…" she squinted her eyes to see if she can remember her, "...Yeah, you're Pacifica. The rich girl."
Pacifica slightly frowned at that, "...In a way," she muttered.
Wendy blinked, "In a way?"
"...I...well, I earn the money I make by selling condos...instead of, you know...inheriting it," Pacifica mumbled the last part somewhat in distaste.
"...Oh. Uh, okay..." Wendy rubbed the back of her head in discomfort.
...More awkward silence...
...Dipper then spoke up, "Um, so, uh...Wendy. Hey, uh...hi. It's...It's been really long."
Wendy looked back at Dipper, "Oh, uh...yeah...it...it has been."
...Even more awkward silence…
"...I, uh..." Wendy began, "I haven't heard from you since...well...since you were in your college years..." Wendy rubbed the back of her head, feeling a little embarrassed.
Dipper winced. "Um...yeah..."
...Still more awkward silence...
...Pacifica groaned, "Look, we're all awkward, okay? We haven't seen each other for like, what, eight, seven, six, how many years? There's bound to be some unwanted tension. What matters here now, is that we're here, and..." she paused, "...Wait, what are you here for, Wendy?"
"Oh, uh..." Wendy rubbed her arm uneasily, "I'm...I'm meeting up with Tambry," she glanced at Dipper, "You remember Tambry, right?"
For some reason, Dipper felt that was somewhat of an unintentional jab. Either way, Dipper cringed, "Uh, yeah, I-I remember Tambry..."
"Yeah, well...we're kind of...well, actually, we're trying to make amends," Wendy told him.
"Huh?" Dipper uttered in surprise, "Really? What happened?"
"...Long story short, we...had a disagreement...it's a little personal," Wendy winced as she shifted her gaze to her left, continuing to rub her arm, "I mean, we just...you know, just had a fight, and...that's all. Something stupid, really. It's...It's nothing."
Dipper frowned at the news, "Well...okay then. I, uh...I'm sorry to hear that you and Tambry aren't doing well."
"Heh...thanks..." Wendy turned her gaze back at Dipper, "I mean, you know how Tambry is, right? She's always getting into everybody's business without asking?"
"Uh-heh...well, actually, she's always on that phone of hers, so I wouldn't really know," Dipper said sheepishly, "B-But I know she likes to gossip!"
"...Heh. Yeah..." Wendy had a slight smirk on her face...it didn't look like it was a genuine 'Wendy smirk' though...
"Um, okay, so you're like, here to meet your friend, Tambry," Pacifica kept the conversation going, "So, I guess what I, and probably Dipper here, am asking, is why here in Maine? Your car said it came from Pennsylvania!"
"Oh yeah! Wh-What are you doing over there?" Dipper asked Wendy, "A-And what do you do now?"
"Well...to answer that last question, I'm a union rep for a logging company in Pennsylvania," Wendy explained, "And as for Pacifica's question, well...like I said, I'm meeting up with Tambry. She told me to meet her here in Silent Hill."
"Um...in this bar?" Pacifica cringed as she looked around the drinking establishment.
Wendy raised an eyebrow strangely, "Uh...no, dude. She said to meet her somewhere in a park here. Rosewater Park."
"Rosewater Park?" Dipper asked curiously. He then dug his map out of his trenchcoat pocket to find out where that is.
"Oh, you have a map too? Are you and Pacifica sightseeing, or...?" Wendy blinked as she realized something, "Wait...are you two like...together or something?"
Dipper and Pacifica froze, the former holding the map, eyes widened as he blushed a tint of red, while the latter just stood there in shock...and blushing a shade of red.
"Wha-u-uh, n-n-no!" Dipper stuttered, stumbling over his words, "I-I mean, I'm just-well, Pacifica and I-"
"What!? Whoa, wait a minute, I-n-no, no! Dipper is just with me because-" Pacifica tried to explain.
"We-We, well, I, uh-I just got a ride from her and-I mean, it's not what you-I mean, wait-Pacifica was just-"
"I mean, it's my fault he's here! I mean-no, wait, I-uh, I did some-uh, some things and-wait I-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Okay, easy there! So you're not together. Yikes. Alright then, sorry about that," Wendy smiled a little sheepishly, "Sheesh, didn't mean to offend."
"Oh, uh-" Dipper began to say.
"Oh, I wasn't..." As well as Pacifica.
...Both Dipper and Pacifica froze yet again...and blushed...
"...Nevermind," Pacifica murmured.
"...Yeah," Dipper muttered.
...Wendy blinked...
...Dipper then went back to saying, "So, uh, I'm just looking at the map, and...Rosewater Park is up ahead from here."
"Oh, yeah, I know. Floyd here got me a map," Wendy said as she pointed a thumb behind her.
Dipper looked up from his map and glanced at where Wendy was pointing her thumb...
"...Um...Floyd?" Dipper asked Wendy, sounding a little puzzled.
Wendy raised a brow, "Uh, yeah. The guy behind me. The bar-" she turned around to see Floyd standing there behind the counter...
...But he wasn't there.
...They were the only ones in the bar.
"...-tender?" Confusion dotted Wendy's eyes as she fully turned around to face the bar counter, "Uh...Floyd?" Wendy called out as she began to walk along the counter.
Dipper raised an eyebrow. He glanced at the bar counter and saw a glass of whisky resting on it, near the seat where Wendy was once sitting.
Pacifica looked at Wendy oddly, "Floyd? You mean there was someone in here?"
"What?" Wendy turned her head to Pacifica and Dipper, "Uh, yeah, dude, I was talking to Floyd when you all came in."
Dipper and Pacifica looked at her a little strangely.
"Um...Wendy?" Dipper said, "No one but you was here when we came into this bar."
...Wendy just stared at them in confusion.
"...What? N-...No, that's...but, I mean..." Wendy glanced back at the glass of alcohol that was on the counter. "..." she walked over to it and picked up the glass, bringing the rim of it up to her face, looking inside it to see if there was any of the whisky liquid at all. "...He...He served me this drink here."
"Um...o-...okay..." Dipper said as he looked at the drink in her hand and the drinks at the back of the bar with a contemplative look on his face.
Meanwhile, Pacifica is just blinking quizzically at what was happening.
Upon seeing their looks, Wendy frowned, "I mean it! There was a bartender here! His name was Floyd! I-I didn't pour a drink into this glass by myself! Floyd gave it to me!"
Dipper turned his attention to Wendy, "Whoa, hey, it-it's okay. Don't worry Wendy, I believe you," he said as he puts out his free hand in front of him to calm her down, while the other was holding the map.
Wendy stared at him for a moment and turned to the drinks at the bar, wondering if they were all even...real...
"..." The redhead placed the glass of whisky down on the counter and began to call out, "Floyd!? Floyd, where are you!?"
"Uh, Wendy?" Dipper winced, letting himself go to where she is.
"Floyd!?" Wendy called out in the bar.
I'm sure of it...he served me a drink, I talked to him, and I was gonna talk about my stupid teenage days... Wendy thought in complete bafflement.
"Wendy?" When Dipper came up to her, she turned quickly at him.
"Look, I am not crazy. You see the drinks at the back, right? I wouldn't go and just...pick up a bottle and pour some into a glass. I...I'm not like who I was, okay? A-And I-I'm not a drunk either, okay!?" Wendy said as she started to get defensive.
"Whoa, Wendy, it's okay, I'm not thinking anything like that," Dipper reassured her, "Look, let's just get out of this bar. For some reason, something doesn't feel right here."
Wendy stared at Dipper, feeling like she was judging him...but upon seeing his eyes, he sees that there was a glint of understanding...
"...Y-Yeah, you know what? I'm-...I'm not thirsty anymore," Wendy said as she put a delicate hand on her head to ease the feeling of stress, "Let's just...let's just leave."
"Sure," Dipper nodded with a soft smile.
They went over to Pacifica, who was just dumbstruck about the whole thing.
"Come on, Pacifica. I think we need to leave this bar now," Dipper told her.
"Um...okay..." Pacifica then looked around the bar with a cringe, "Honestly, I don't blame either one of you."
As soon as they exited the bar, Dipper, Pacifica, and now Wendy were out in the foggy streets of Silent Hill again.
After a couple of seconds of silence, Wendy started to say first, "Okay, so..." she got out her map again and looked into it, "I'm going over to Rosewater Park..."
Dipper just stood there, contemplating something. "...Wait a minute."
"Huh?" Wendy glanced up at him from her map.
Pacifica looked at Dipper, wondering what he was going to say.
"...This...This really isn't a coincidence," Dipper stated.
The blonde looked at him quizzically, "Um...care to explain?"
Dipper turned his head to Pacifica, "I mean, think about it. My map said to go to some bar, and then we met up and find someone we haven't seen in a long while."
Pacifica blinked at that. "Well..." stumped about that, she said, "Okay, that is a pretty good point."
"Wait, say what?" Wendy asked, looking confused.
"The map I grabbed at the visitors' center told me to go to this bar...and we found you here in it," Dipper explained to Wendy.
"Really?" Wendy raised a brow at that.
"Yeah. Hold on, let me get my map," Dipper reached for his trench coat to get out the map and opened it up, showing the spot where it was marked down, "See?"
Wendy gazed at where the map marked Neely's Bar. "Whoa...wait, you said you found that at the visitors' center, right?"
"Uh, yeah?" Dipper said with a slightly raised eyebrow.
"Well...there had to be more brochures in the place, and yet you picked up...that one?" Wendy asked him, her expression looking a little skeptical.
"Oh..." realizing the train of thought that she was going getting at, Dipper explained, "Well, actually, I found this one lying on the reception desk...I don't even think there were any brochures in the visitors' center to begin with, besides the other one that Pacifica has."
"Really?" Wendy looked down at her map in query, "Wow...I...must be lucky then. I got mine from..." she turned her head back at the bar's exterior. Turning back at the two, she mumbled, "Um...yeah, you get the idea."
Dipper and Pacifica both went quiet, as well as Wendy...
...They stood there awkwardly in the foggy street...
...Until Pacifica said, "Well, since we're here in this town anyway, let's just find what we're all looking for."
Wendy glanced at Dipper, "Oh yeah, what are both of you here for, anyway?"
Dipper paused for a moment to prepare himself to tell Wendy about Mabel, when Pacifica decided to give him time and jumped in, telling her, "Um, well, for me, I'm...I'm meeting someone."
Raising an eyebrow at that, Wendy looks at her a little oddly, "Uh...okay...sooo then..."
Now Pacifica raised her eyebrow in confusion, "What?"
"I mean...are you, like...I don't know, meeting up with an old boyfriend of yours or something?"
Dipper took the moment to look at Pacifica to hear her answer.
Pacifica blinked once again and gave Wendy a guarded and annoyed look, "I-It's none of your business, it's just someone, okay!?"
"Wha-whoa, okay..." Wendy raised her hands in defense and shifted her eyes to the left and right a little awkwardly.
"Hey, Wendy just wanted to know, Pacifica," Dipper told her with a frown.
"Yeah, well..." Pacifica sighed, "It's just personal, okay?"
"Personal? How...uh, how personal?" Dipper asked her cautiously.
Pacifica turned her head to Dipper with a glowering look, "Just what it means! It's personal! Now enough about me, alright!? You have to search for Mabel!"
Now Wendy blinked at that information, "Whoa, wait, what?"
"Pacifi-!" Dipper groaned slightly, putting his fingers up to the bridge of his nose.
"Wait a minute, what about Mabel now?" Wendy asked Dipper.
Dipper took a deep breath, let go of his nose's bridge, and turned to look at Wendy, but not before casting a glare at Pacifica, "...She's...I'm looking for-" Dipper began to say, until-
DING!
Jumping at the sound, Dipper dug his phone out of his coat quickly. Upon looking at the screen, he sees the text.
[...So...you found one of your old friends.]
Dipper's face scrunched up in annoyance. He began typing back to the text.
"Dipper?" Wendy said, a little concerned and flabbergasted at what is happening.
Pacifica also looked on at the detective with worry.
Dipper just kept on typing...
Dipper [What does Wendy have to do with any of this?]
...
...
"Dipper? What's going on?" Wendy asked him, now feeling worried as well.
"...Mab-"
DING!
"Argh, okay then...hold on," Dipper said to her as he read the text.
[Nothing. Absolutely nothing.]
Dipper frowned. He proceed to keep typing, but another text came before he could even do it.
DING!
[Don't worry. She came here on her own. I just thought it was nice for you to catch up with WENDY after all those years. Much like PACIFICA. Am I right, DIPPER? Or should I call you MASON?]
...Now glaring at the screen, he clenched his teeth in fury and typed furiously on his phone, making the two women glance at each other anxiously, wondering what is getting Dipper so riled up.
Dipper: [How do you know our names? Where is Mabel!? Who are you!?]
...
...
...
DING!
[You better keep moving. I meant what I said about the fog. It'll get thicker...don't want to be lost in it, do you?]
DING!
[Also, get a bottle of water. To take the pain pills. You can't trust the tap water, you know?]
Scowling at the text, Dipper growled in exasperation.
"Dipper!? What is going on!?" Wendy exclaimed in concern.
"...It's Mabel...she's been missing for six years."
Wendy gasped, her breath caught in her throat as her eyes widened at that bombshell.
"I'm trying to find her...and I'm trying to bring her home..." Dipper said with serious determination as he looked up at the foggy street ahead of him.
"Wha...Mabel's...missing? F-For six years?" Wendy asked with a quiet murmur.
"...Yeah..." Dipper put his phone away in his trench coat
Wendy...didn't know what to say to that…
...Actually, she knows one thing to say.
"Dude...why haven't you told me?"
...Dipper winced, "I...Stan, Ford, and I didn't want to worry you all."
"You all? You mean...everyone else doesn't know?" Wendy asked him in shock.
...Silence and a pained look of guilt on Dipper's face was all Wendy needed for an answer.
"...So...only your Grunkles know?" Wendy asked, starting to feel...betrayed, "Wh-...dude, we could've helped you and your Grunkles out!" she exclaimed, her anger rising. She glanced at Pacifica and turned her attention back at Dipper, "What, does she know about it, too!?"
Pacifica was now feeling uncomfortable about this coming confrontation, so she explained, "I-I didn't know until now, either!"
"Oh, okay! So basically, you didn't tell all of us that isn't Stan and Ford!" Wendy raised her voice at Dipper, "Did you least tell your parents!?"
"...Wendy, yes, but-"
"Oh! Okay! So you only told your family! Not your friends, who would do anything for you and your sister, which Mabel is like a sister to me, just so you know, and would also die for you and her!"
"Wendy-"
"What the hell, man!? I would've dropped everything to help you find her, job be damned! We went through a fucking apocalypse together, and you didn't even think to tell me, Soos, Pacifica here, hell, even Gideon, about it!?"
"Wendy, I'm sorry!"
"Sorry!? Sorry!? Now you're sorry!?" Wendy shouted, now completely livid. "Then why the fuckin-"
Stopping her rant, Wendy regained her bearings by putting a hand to her forehead, shivering in grief as she lets out a deep and shaky breath...
Dipper stood there, facing Wendy as his demeanor began to fall, the feeling of guilt weighing on him. Looking at the ground to not see her disappointed face, he closed his eyes shut, the shame shrouding his features.
Pacifica stood there awkwardly, feeling like she was witnessing something that she really shouldn't be seeing...
It was then, Wendy turned away from Dipper and gave out another deep sigh. Letting her hand drop away from her forehead, she put her other hand on her other hip to process everything...
"...Six years?" Wendy asked Dipper to double-check.
"...Yeah..." Dipper quietly said, his head hanging low.
"..." Wendy stood there in silence...
They all stood there in the strange, deathly, but calm quiet...
...
...
...Then, they heard something.
...Uuuugh...
All three of their heads shot up and turned to the street ahead of them.
Pacifica gazed at the misty road, her expression twisted into confusion and worry...
"Um...h-hello?" she called out.
Dipper and Wendy stared out into the covered distance, wondering if anyone else was actually here in this town.
...Uuuuugh...
"..." Dipper walked ahead of the girls as he investigates the noise.
"Dipper?" Wendy quietly said to him, concerned.
Pacifica also turned her head to look at the detective as he walked further into the fog, an equally troubled expression on her face.
He then stopped to tell them, "Both of you stay close to me."
"What?" Wendy uttered.
"Uh, simply put, he's a private investigator now. He also has a gun, which...I hope he doesn't have to use as much..." Pacifica explained carefully as she glanced back at Dipper.
"Oh...okay..." Wendy looked back at Dipper in slight awe, "Wow..."
Damn, who would've thought Dip carries a gun now? ...Although it has been a while...
Uuuuugggh...
Dipper lets his hand reach inside his coat, reaching for his gun, just in case.
"Hello?" he called out.
...
...
...Then, he heard the pitter-patter of feet walking slowly on the pavement.
Pacifica and Wendy got close to Dipper and stood behind him.
...
...
...The sound of footsteps came even closer...
...Then...some form of...silhouette was emerging from the fog.
Blinking at the shape in the fog, Dipper called out to whomever again, "Hello?"
The shape stopped...
...Uuuuugggggh!
Then the slow steps turned into hurried ones, albeit it they sound and look like it was dragging something as it walks...something heavy...
Wondering what was going to come out of the fog, Dipper's hand went to his gun, gripping the handle, ready to pull it out in case he has to.
Pacifica looked on in anxious anticipation, while Wendy looked on in concerned intrigue.
The figure in the fog got closer to them, their form materializing for them to see who or what this person is...
...Dipper's, Pacifica's, and Wendy's eyes all widened in shock...
...As the figure got closer to them, it made itself known.
Uuuuuggggh!
The person in question...didn't look like a person.
It was some...malformed-looking thing that looked to be around Dipper's height, was walking on its two legs, and had two arms, making the body look like an actual person! However, the most disturbing thing about this said person was that for one; it looked like a nude body, but it doesn't have any body parts to make it look human. Its arms and hands were up to its chest as it struggled to walk toward the three.
As for what was really disturbing...
Something was hanging off of it...something that was attached to its head.
It looked like...a large ball...a heavy, hard-looking, large ball that was wrapped with skin...it was hanging from its side as it looked like it was attached to the cranium, the only thing holding it up being a flap-rope of skin. The thing was actually pulling the large skin ball up with just its neck!
And if that wasn't enough, this...creature had a mouth as well! No eyes or nose, not even ears! It was a faceless, malformed monster!
UUUUGGGGH!
And it was coming at them!
Alarmed, Dipper put his hand in front of him, warning the thing, "Get back!"
The creature moaned back as it was coming closer to Dipper.
"Stay back!" yelled Dipper at it.
Meanwhile, with Pacifica and Wendy, they looked at the monstrosity in horror, no words escaping from their mouths as they gazed at the thing in dreadful awe.
Then, the monster reared its head back, letting the skin ball hang from behind it...and lurched its neck…and its whole body back...almost like it was doing some form of limbo!
Dipper decided that he shouldn't waste any time. He got his gun out of his hand and aimed at the monster.
"Freeze right now!" Dipper hollered at it.
And then, the thing lurched forward, letting its ball arch and flung forward at Dipper. The ball hit struck his gun and slammed it onto the ground, the gun going off and shooting the monster in its leg.
"ACK!" Dipper exclaimed, backing away.
"AAH!" Pacifica screamed.
"SHIT!" Wendy exclaimed as she backed away as well.
The gunshot wound on the monster was squirting out blood, the wound causing it to yell out in pain. However, it kept going as it lifted its shot leg and kept walking, the ball for a brain swinging like a pendulum.
"Oh shit!" Dipper cursed.
"Dipper, what is that thing!?" Pacifica exclaimed.
"I don't know, but I guess I now have to resort to hand-to-hand combat!" Dipper shouted as his hand went into his trench coat and got out a hunting knife.
"Whoa! Dip! Really, what happened to you!? A hunting knife!?" Wendy asked him in shock.
"Tell ya later!" Dipper said as he went forward with the knife in his hand. He swung it at the flap-rope, which it cut through and bled onto the ground.
UUUUGGGGAAAAHHH!
Dipper kept swinging his knife at the monster, cutting through its flesh as it screamed out in more pain.
The creature didn't even have time to strike back, the swinging knife surely weakening it, as it became more sluggish and more bloodied.
With one final swipe though, the knife cut off the skin-rope that was attached to its cranium. The flesh ball landed on the ground with a plop!
UUUUUGGHHUGUUHHGUUUGGGHHHH!
And then the monster, which blood was seeping out of the slashed wound of the skin-rope appendage screamed out loud as it convulsed and twitched wildly...until it went on its knees and collapsed on the ground, face-first in a pool of its own blood.
And then...silence...
...It wasn't moving...likely dead...
Dipper took deep breaths as he calmed himself down from that ordeal. Wendy looked down at the dead monster with wide eyes as she processed what happened. Pacifica stood there in shock, almost feeling sick...
...Once Dipper's breath got to an even level, it all went quiet again...
...Pacifica was the first to say, "What...What was that?"
Wendy also spoke out, the feeling of unease in her voice, "Holy crap...Dipper, I…I think you...you killed it."
Dipper looked down at the dead monster's body...his eyes wide and his mouth tightly shut as he shivered a bit. Then he slammed a hand on his mouth and knelt down on the ground.
Noticing this, Pacifica and Wendy looked at Dipper with worry.
"Dipper?" they both said.
And then, Dipper retched, letting go of his mouth and vomiting on the ground.
"Dipper!?" Both girls went over to him.
Pacifica went to his right, while Wendy went to his left.
"Dude, are you okay!?" Wendy asked him in a panic.
"Dipper! A-Are you alright!? D-Do you need to sit down, or-...?"
When Dipper wiped the bile off of his lips, he heaved a breath, calming his insides.
"I...I-I'm okay..." he gasped a breath, "It's just..." he took another breath, "I can...I can never...I can never get over...I can never get over the fact that I...that I would..." his eyes looked far off as he was now registering it again, "...Oh gosh..."
"Hey, don't think about it," Pacifica reassured him as she rubbed his back.
"Yeah. Yeah, dude, don't think about it, okay?" Wendy also reassured him, patting his back to somehow ease him.
"I...I..." Dipper took a deep breath and swallowed air to ease his stomach, "...Y-Yeah...r-right...th-thanks..."
They helped Dipper stand up, the detective shakily standing as he got his whole bearings in order.
"I-...I'm fine..." Dipper let out a sigh of relief, and they let go of him to let him stand. "R-Really...thanks...both of you."
"Hey, no prob," Wendy said with a comforting smile as she put a hand on his shoulder.
"Yeah. I mean, we don't even know what this...this thing is, honestly," Pacifica looked down at the dead body of the creature with a grimace.
Dipper looked down at the deceased monster and said, "...Yeah...I haven't seen anything like this befor-"
Uuuugggh...
Dipper whipped his head back up at the foggy street. "What!?"
The girls both looked back in the direction where the monster came from, surprised looks on their faces.
Uuuuggghhh!
Not liking that one bit, Dipper looked around frantically on the ground in the fog to find his gun. Thankfully, he sees the gun, as it wasn't too far away from him.
"Stay here," Dipper then rushed over and dove after his gun, grabbing it as he rolled his body and got on his knees to aim wherever the next monster is in the thick fog.
Uuuuggggghhh!
...He sees another silhouette in the mist.
Dipper narrowed his eyes, gun in his hands shaking, as he mentally prepared himself for what he was about to do...again.
But then, another moan.
Uuuuuggggghhh!
Looking over to his left he sees another figure in the fog.
Then yet another moan!
Uuuuuggggghh!
"What the...!?" Dipper looked to his right and saw another figure in the thick mist.
There were three of them!
UUUUUGGGGGGHHH!
And they were coming towards him and the girls!
As they came into view, they were the same monsters as before...how there are more, and what they are, Dipper doesn't know.
They came up to them as they swung their necks around in a circle as they were flinging their Brain Balls around like a ball and chain!
"Uh, Dipper!?" Pacifica called out to him.
Dipper looked behind him and saw that the girls were behind him...but also behind them, there were three more Brain Balls coming toward them!
Looking around at these things in dread, Dipper could only think of one thing...
...Shit.
Soos
10:25 PM
"Melanie!? Melanie!? Melanie!?" Soos called out for his daughter as loud as he can.
Rushing through the thick fog, Soos traversed down the street as he tried to find Melanie, holding onto the hope that he can find her soon. But with the fog being so dense, he was having a difficult time seeing where he was as is. The only thing that was guiding him was the road.
And Soos will keep running down that road, in hopes of finding anything that could give him a clue as to where Melanie's whereabouts could be.
Oh man, I hope I'm going the right way...I would think Melanie would go forward instead of going back to where we came...or...or she could be in an alleyway somewhere...t-talking to a complete stranger and...oh gosh, don't go down that train of thought! I got to find her!
"Melanie!?" Soos shouted out through the fog.
...This strange, thick, and dense fog...
...Man, what is up with all of this fog, actually? I don't remember it being this foggy back when Melody and I were here...
...He thought about Melody and the chance of her actually being here...
Shaking his head as he power-walked, Soos assured himself, "Come on, dude, don't be crazy. I mean, she wouldn't...sh-she really wouldn't have..."
...He paused in his steps and frowned.
"...But then...that letter..."
...It was still in one of his shirt's breast pockets...
"..." Soos reached into his right breast pocket and got a piece of paper out. Opening the piece of paper, he read what was on it…
Soos...
Remember Silent Hill?
You said you would take me back there again someday...
But ever since little Melanie was born...we didn't get the chance to...
I remember our night together at the hotel...
...Please bring Melanie to Silent Hill...
Love...
Melody
"...This letter...i-it could mean anything...I..." Soos almost gripped the note too hard in his hands, and ease the tension in them so he wouldn't accidentally rip it in half. "...I need to find Melanie..." he said in determination, narrowing his eyes in resolve.
Putting the note back in his breast pocket - he didn't know why he would even put it there, it just felt comforting in a way - he continued his way forward.
...He ran through the fog...
...
...There was no one around...
...
...It was...odd...
Dude, where is everybody? It's almost like...this whole town is abandoned...but Silent Hill was bustling when Melody and I first came here on our honeymoon...
...
...That was a good time...a very...very good time...
...
...Well, I guess that's comforting at least. There's no one to snatch Melanie away...
...
...But why does everything feel so...empty?
...
...Why is it so empty-feeling...around here?
...
...After running for what seemed to be around seven minutes, Soos was beginning to get tired. Slowing down in his run, he soon stopped and tried to catch his breath.
"Ugh, huff, huff, huff," Soos put his hands on his knees as he tried to gain some momentum again. "Huff...okay...this isn't getting me anywhere," standing back up, he looked around the area he was in...
From where he's standing, he could make out some details in the fog. He was on some street where there were shops and restaurants...
"Ugh!" Soos groaned, "I don't know, maybe if I go in one of these stores..."
It's worth a shot.
So Soos went to his right to try to go to one of the stores, a flower shop. As he walked up to the shop, he reached for the handle and try to pull the door...
It didn't budge.
"...Oh come on," Soos looked in through the glass window to see if anyone was in the shop.
...Nobody was there...
"..." Soos sighed irritably, "Okay, okay, just...find another store."
Backing away from the flower shop, he kept walking forward down the street...
...Until he notices something as he was walking down a block...
Soos stopped.
...In the fog, there stood an outline of a church...
Feeling there was some hope of getting help, he went over to it.
As he got closer to the church, he read the name of it on a sign.
St. Mary's Catholic Church
Soos then went up the stairs of the church and approached the doors to the entrance.
Please be open... Soos thought hopefully.
He reached for the door...and pulled it...
It was opened.
"Oh thank goodness," Soos breathed out. He went inside...
When he did, he noticed the lights were dim around him. In the church lobby and...in the congregation room...
He called out to anyone, "Uh, hello? Dudes?"
...There was no answer...
...Soos trekked forward, going through the lobby and into the congregation room...
This church felt...empty...
Dude, this church doesn't have a lively feel to it...Abuelita used to say a church is supposed to be a place of solace, joy, and heart...this place looks like it had a bad sermon one time...
As he walked through the aisles of seats in the congregation room, he went up to the pulpit, where the choir was behind it and where a depiction of Jesus at the cross crucified was hanging in the center above it.
Soos looked up at the religious depiction of where his name came from...
"..." Soos sighed, looking down, "...I really should bring Melanie to church more often...but I've been so busy at the Shack, that...I mean, I close on Sundays, but..." he went silent...
...
...He looked up at the crucified depiction of Jesus and said, "Sorry, O Lord...I guess...I guess I failed in that too..." he looked back down, "...if Abuelita was here right now, she would scold me...heh...what a great woman...and a great grandma..."
...
"...Lord, I...I know I...I know I haven't been faith-"
"Um, excuse me, sir?"
"Huh!?" Soos turned around quickly to see who it was that spoke out to him.
It was...a priest...
The priest was wearing his garb, but he looked rather youthful, like Soos's age. He has dark raven hair and is wearing glasses on his face.
"Oh! I-uh, I-I'm sorry! I-I, uh, d-didn't know anybody was here!" Soos tried to explain.
The priest smiled, "Oh no, don't worry yourself. This church welcomes anybody in."
"Oh, yeah! I mean, um...thanks!" Soos said with an awkward smile and a thumbs up.
The priest nodded, "So, what brings you here, my brother?"
"Oh, just...I..." rubbing the back of his head, Soos began to say, "...I might...need some guidance."
"Oh? What could I do for you?"
"...I...well, it's not spiritual guidance, just to let you know. I mean, sorry about that, it's just...it's more...well...I-I lost my daughter."
"...Oh..." the priest's smile went down a bit.
"Yeah...um, my daughter and I were visiting here in Silent Hill for her birthday, and...well, actually, can I ask you what is up with this fog?"
"...Fog?" the priest then looked...disturbed.
"Yeah! I mean, is it that time of year for it to be foggy in this town? I mean...it's pretty dense..."
"...I...I'm afraid I can't help you with that."
Soos blinked, "Help me with...what?"
"...What is your name?" the priest asked him.
"Uh...Soos. Um, short for Jesús. Uh, I'm Hispanic by the way. Anyway, my whole name is Soos Alzamirano Ramirez."
"...Okay...um..."
"...Uh, Father...? Um, wh-what's your name?"
"...Um, my name is Vincent. Vincent Smith."
"Ah, okay. Um, Father Smith? What, uh...What is it that you can't help me with?"
Vincent looked at Soos with...worry...
"...Can I ask you something, uh...Soos?" Vincent asked.
"Uh...sure, I-I guess so?" Soos said, a little bit puzzled.
"...Why...are you here?"
Hm...now what could Vincent mean? D: And how will Dipper, Pacifica, and Wendy get out of this? :O Tune in next time! ;D
And that's the chapter! Leave a review, follow, and a fave, folks! In the meantime, I will keep on writing! :)
Thank you all for reading and keep on rocking, everybody! :D
-TSP