Chapter 4 - Ghost Town
I recached the end of the wooded path and after my encounter with the monster at the campsite the walk had been uneventful. I stepped onto the pavement of the highway that intersected with Midwich St. and took a look around. Fog still covered the entire area and I could barely see a few feet in front of me. Had my car not broken down (and the giant gaping chasm not been in the road) I would have made it to my old house and already been on the way back to my apartment. Hopefully I could find someone in town to give me a lift. I still needed to find a mechanic and just getting back to my apartment, out of the cold damp weather, was what I really wanted. For the moment the drawing in my pocket was pushed from my mind a I walked the road headed towers Old Silent Hill.
In the distance I could see lights piercing through the heavy fog like a knife through paper. It was a welcome sight after all that had happened tonight and I quickened my pace. As I neared the source of the lights I saw that they came from a car with the driver side door open. I dropped the branch I held in my left hand for fear of scaring those who may possibly help me. I walked up to the shabby looking car and to my dismay found it abandoned.
I leaned into the vehicle and looked around. The interior was coated in a thick layer of dust and grime giving me a feeling the car had been sitting here a long time. On the passenger seat I could see a spotless white sheet of paper, somehow completely unaffected by all that was around it, and a small bottle filled with liquid. I picked up the note and although it was rather short I was deeply concerned by what I read.
"I think I'm going nuts . . . I'm starting to see them when I'm awake too. What have I done to deserve this?" Had the owner of this car actually been crazy? Or had he seen something that should only exist in a dream . . . a nightmare. Had it been the same thing that I saw in the woods? Was I crazy too?
I picked up the bottle in the passenger seat, turned it over, and read the label. It contained a kind of health drink and since the seal wasn't broken I decided I'd take it with me. In the back seat I saw a discarded backpack and a steel pipe. I questioned why someone would have one in there car. The pipe was a little rusted and had what I could only assume was dried blood at one end. While honestly it was a little gross I concluded it was a better weapon then the branch I had been carrying around with me up until that point.
I stuck my radio in the side pocket of the backpack and slipped the note and health drink inside before slinging it onto my shoulder. From the amount of buildup in the car I assumed it has been abandoned for good, but on my way back home I'd stop by to check and and would return the items I had taken with my sincerest apologies if faced with an angry owner. It was only a short walk before I made it to Midwich St. and I breathed a sigh of relief that I had finally made it into town. I walked up to the intersection of Midwich and Finney and was face to face with another huge gap in the road. I had only been gone for a year and yet this town seemed to have faced worse trouble then I had. I walked past shop after shop that had boarded windows and faded signs. What could possibly have happened here? By now I should have seen a few people walking the streets. Tourist season was over and it was quickly becoming night, but the residents of Silent Hill should still be going about their daily lives and yet it seemed like I had entered a ghost town.
Luckily Matheson St wasn't mysteriously inaccessible, so I turned nearing my destination. I quickened my pace wishing desperately that Julio's Auto Parts would be open and not boarded over as most of the other businesses were. After a short jog I was relieved to see a light on inside the small auto store. A small bell chimed as I pushed open the door and made my way inside. Just like the car it seemed like nobody had set foot in here for a very long time. Layers of filth covered the shelves and merchandise. Random car parts and trash littered the floor in front of me. I inched my way over to the counter, trying to avoid the debris, and rang the small silver bell.
After a few moments with nobody coming I decided to make my way behind the counter to check out the room behind. As soon as I stepped behind the counter I became aware of a bright red trail that stood out harshly against my dust covered surroundings and made it's way under the door I had planned to go through. I picked my foot up in disgust. I had unknowingly stepped in what was undeniably someone's blood.
"Great," I mumbled to myself " Now when someone comes to investigate this I'll probably be a suspect." My shoe left bloody footprints on the floor as I went to grab the door handle. Steel pipe in hand, I turned the handle silently praying that whoever caused this had already left.
Unfortunately it wasn't. Before me was another monstrosity like the other, except this one had four legs. It stood over what I assumed to be Julio or at least another of the employes who worked here. The static from my radio caused the creature to divert its attention from its meal to me. Its body had very little fur left and what little it did have seemed blackened and singed. I could tell it was supposed to look like a dog, except with what this dog had lived through it shouldn't be alive. Its skin was burned, covered in blisters, and completely gone in places revealing its musculature and even the smallest bit of bone. The ears, eye, and tail were missing altogether I assumed burned away by whatever fire the dog had gone through.
My hand grasped at the door handle trying to escape the room and the beast, but I found that the door hand locked behind me. For a moment I panicked. The dog, finding me easy prey, took advantage of my moment of weakness and lunged for me taking my leg into its mouth. Its teeth pierced my flesh and it began to shake its head trying to wrench my leg from my body. I screamed in pain and smacked the dog over the head with my pipe. It took a couple of hits, but with a yelp the dog finally released my leg. It leaped back before I could strike it again and paced in front of the victim it had already claimed.
After a moment of recovering it charged at me again. I managed a quick sidestep just in time causing my foe to run head first into the door behind me. While it was thrown off gaurs I came up behind it and swung at it repeatedly until it started thrashing on the floor in the throes of death. I stomped on it's decaying back with my already bloodied shoe killing it causing the dog and my radio to fall silent.
My breathing came heavy and labored as I backed away from the monster in front of me. Although this was now the second one I had killed it still came as a shock to me. My hands were used as tools of death and the blood coating them was proof of that. In the corner of the room I saw a sink and I quickly made my way over to it. I let the cool water flow over my hands. It was refreshing to my body and mind as I washed my guilt down the drain. I rinsed off the wound on my leg, which thankfully, in spite of my initial concern, wasn't all that bad. I grabbed a paper towel from beside the sink and tried as best I could to clean my dirty sneaker, but despite my efforts it remained stained.
Glancing over my shoulder I once again noticed the corpse laying in the middle of the room. Its torso had been mostly devoured by the dog and it had been so disfigured it was hard to recognize any features. Just as I was about to turn away the light caught a metallic object in the man's hand and shimmered momentarily. I knelt down beside the body and immediately covered my mouth with my hand/. The smell had caught me off guard and I had to resist the urge to vomit the bile that was suddenly rising in my throat. Using my steel pipe I pried open the dead hand and was rewarded by the sight of a key. With shaky hands I took it and examined it. A small tag hung from the key and though defiled b blood and dirt i could make out the letters "M.E.S".
I decided I would take it with me. I didn't know what it would open, but it was obvious the man on the floor wouldn't be finding any use for it and if doors mysteriously became locked like the one behind me then I might find it useful. I noticed a door on the back wall and to my relief it was unlocked. I opened it to find the alley behind Julio's and made my way out into the damp air.
Random note~My iPod tries to make all "its" to "it's". -.-