Chapter 2: Quality Living at Affordable Prices

Her breath came raggedly now, her lungs burned and her legs ached, but she was nearly there.

"Mama", she wheezed, the effort stripping the last lingering drops of moisture from her throat, "I'm coming mama… please don't run away again….I'm…sorry".

Icy fingers slid through her hair, tightening, trying to stop her, to drag her away when she was so close. Ducking her head she ran faster and before she knew it, almost before she had time to stop and avoid slamming into the wall at the end of the corridor, she was there. Angela let out a short laugh, a laugh that was dangerously underpinned by madness. She had made it, he had tried to stop her but she had made it. Her trembling hand gripped the doorknob to make sure it was real and it greeted her with a reassuring coolness.

"I'm here", she said softly, tears flowing down her cheeks.

Flinging the door open she burst inside, "Mama! I'm here Mama… Mama?".

The room was empty.

"Mama", she whimpered softly, her voice small and child-like.

A loud scratching came from the door. Something brutal and terrible trying desperately, clawing feverishly, trying to get inside.

"No", she sobbed, "No!".

Angela ran to the apartments only other door and pushed it open, slamming it behind her. Backing slowly away trying to stifle her sobs she didn't notice the thing at her feet until she tripped over it.

Pain jolted through her as she hit the floor. Pulling herself back into a sitting position Angela looked for what had tripped her.

There, in the centre of the floor was a stuffed bear, its remaining eye hanging like a small black tear down the side of its face and a large, bloody kitchen knife protruding from its chest.

Shaking hands reached to grasp the handle and pull the knife free. Angela cradled the cool weight of the blade in her hands, long suppressed memories flooding back, bringing with them new tears.

"I'm sorry", she said between sobs, "I didn't… I shouldn't have…I'm sorry".

Curling up into a ball Angela rolled over and found her self face to face with her own tear stained reflection.

"Mama… I'm sorry, I….", Angela watched the hypnotic light playing along the knifes razor edge, her reflection watching her keenly as if paralleling her thoughts and urging her on. A slow creaking came from behind her. Angela curled up tighter, stifling her whimpers, her eyes never leaving the blade.

It wouldn't matter if she cried or not…

"Angela?"


With a deep intake of breath she sat up on the cot, panic clouding her mind as she tried to remember where she was.

The room was small, barely big enough to hold the writing desk, pot plant and coffee table that were its only furnishings apart from the fold up cot on which she sat and still retain room to move around. Business like notes and files covered the desk in haphazard piles, not speaking well of the organisational skill of who ever owned this…office, yes that description seemed to best suit the room.

Standing on unsteady legs she half walked, half stumbled to the room's sole window. Try as she might she couldn't pierce the fog that seemed to encircle everything outside.

Where the hell was she, what was this place? Turning away from the window she banged her shin on the coffee table. Biting out a silent curse she hobbled back to the cot and sat down.

What was going on? How had she got here…Who was she?

The world seemed to lurch abruptly, the light level dimming then returning to normal.

What had she being thinking… Oh yes, who was she. What a stupid question, her name was Maria of course, she had come here looking for someone, someone it was important she find… but who…

Flicker.

She was looking for James, but had had no luck as yet.

Oh well, she thought with a sigh and a cat like stretch, Best get back to it.

Standing she gave herself a quick look over in the office's full-length mirror. A short bob of thick blond hair fell loosely about her head, the two forelocks dyed a striking red, framing a pretty face and a naturally mischievous smile.

Her hairstyle alone would have drawn attention in most places but this was far outdone by her outfit.

Knee high boots topped by a pink leopard skin leather mini skirt sat bellow a thickish red cardigan buttoned casually to reveal her navel and a generous amount of cleavage, finally a choker imprinted with the same design as her skirt completed the outfit nestling loosely around her neck.

In the almost piratical town of Silent Hill, Maria knew how to get noticed.

Checking her make-up was immaculate as always, she strolled out of the room only stopping to cast a hopeful glance up and down the hall outside before pushing the door directly ahead open and walking through.

The door led out at the side of a small stage centred around a single runway, a thick metal pole connecting the far point of the runway to the ceiling. The only light in the room came from a pink and purple neon sign that spelt out the words 'Heavens Night' above the image of a scantily clad woman reclining casually.

Maria wove her way through the sea of randomly arranged tables and chairs and poured herself a drink from the rooms modestly stocked bar, tossing it down in one go before pouring herself another and taking a seat on the edge of the stage.

'Heavens Night' was one of Silent Hill's less reputable establishments, understandably kept out of the tourist brochures. Most women would feel uncomfortable in strip club but not Maria.

An extrovert by nature she felt quite at home here and had decided to use it as her 'base of operations' so to speak. Truth be told this was the only place she felt safe in this town, it wasn't natural for everyone in a town this big to just disappear.

Maria stared into her glass, swirling the dark brown liquid around as she thought. She had been alone ever since first waking up here. The details of how she had ended up in 'Heavens Night' were still vague but her purpose for being here was clear, James was finally back in town and she had to find him, she didn't want to be alone anymore.

Idly, she wondered what he'd think when she finally found him. Would he be shocked, happy… embarrassed?

Maria laughed quietly to herself. James was not a man she could ever picture being embarrassed by a woman…

Her hand gripped the glass a little tighter for a moment as she stared into nothing, her foot tapping impatiently.

Setting the glass down on the stage Maria made her way over to the bar's front entrance and stepped out into the biting air and ever-present mist.

'Heavens Night' was situated on the second floor of a privately owned complex so to enter or exit it, it was necessary to climb or descend a long metal staircase. Each step echoing deafeningly loud in the town's eerie silence, Maria made her way down the stairs and out onto the street.

So far she'd searched mostly the south side of the town, so that meant that it was probably time to try the north. Mentally she went over the places James might have gone in the north of town.

Lets see, there's the apartments I guess, but James has never been there before, why would he go now? Hmmm…Of course, the park, that old romantic.

A grin settling on her face, Maria turned left and started walking. It would be just like James to so something so unintentionally sweet.

A small shadow flickered through the fog ahead of her, James, she thought, no the outline was to small for James, more suited to a child, but what would a child be doing here?

"Hey you there!", she shouted but the child didn't slow, "Hey!".

Sighing with vexation, Maria increased her speed, jogging to catch up. The silhouette turned off the street, vanishing into a largish house leaving the front door slightly ajar. Maria ran through the door closing it behind her.

The lobby she found herself in was ornately decorated in gold's and creams, the owner obviously a fan of Victorian architecture. Boots squeaking on marble flooring, Maria cast a glance down the side corridor connected to the lobby and up the stairs connecting it to the upstairs balcony.

No sign of the child anywhere, Damn this kid's fast, she thought, mildly impressed.

The dust on the floor of the side corridor didn't seem to be disturbed but the stairs however…foot prints in the dust led upward and onto the second floor. Jogging quickly upstairs, Maria found three doors available to her though a quick check showed that only the one furthest right would open.

"I never did like hide and seek", she muttered, already growing bored, feeling the itch to leave this strange child to its own devices, but reluctantly admitting there was no way she could do that.

For all her bluster, Maria had a startling strong maternal side, that was probably why she hadn't even paused before taking off after a shadow in the fog that may or may not have been a child at all.

Opening it took considerable effort and produced a horrible grinding sound, but finally she got it move.

How did the kid get this thing open? she wondered.

The sound of a slamming door up ahead drew her attention.

"Found you", she called out loud in a singsong voice, a little bit of her enthusiasm returning as her short attention span was banished.

Moving down the narrow hallway she quickly located footprints leading to a door just around the corner of the hall.

Her new found humour seemed to drain away, sucked into an invisible vortex beyond that door…

"Hello", she said, pushing the door open slowly, "Is anybody in there?".

All she saw was a deathly pale arm before the door was slammed in her face.

"Hello", she said again, more tentively, knocking the door gently, "Is anybody in there, are you ok?".

"Go away", came a gruff male voice.

"Oh thank god", Maria said, relief flooding her at the sound of another human voice, "I thought I was the only one left. What's your name, what are you doing in there?".

There was a pause, and Maria feared for a moment the other townsman had already slipped away without even waiting to hear her name.

"….Ernest, my name is Ernest, now go away"

"Don't you think it would be better if we went together, there's a lot of strange things going on in this town", she called, testing the handle and finding it held firm, probably by the man on the other side of the door.

"No I don't, just go away", he snapped in reply.

"Well have you seen a little girl?", she asked, desperation entering her tone as she gave up on trying to force the door open, he was far stronger than her it seemed, though she was sure the arm she had seen had been scrawny at best.

"…A little girl?", Ernest asked in an odd tone of voice, "What did she look like?".

"I don't know, I didn't get a clear look at her, why?"

Only silence answered. "Ernest?" she said quietly, "Are you there?".

"I'm here", he responded, "What's your name?".

"Maria", she answered, relieved that he was suddenly more talkative.

"Maria", he repeated softly, "Ok Maria, I'll help. There's a door to the left of you, I can unlock it from where I am, I found it unlocked a while ago so its possible if she's in here she came through".

A soft click sounded from the door next to her and it swung open a crack. Maria edged carefully toward it feeling strangely apprehensive.

"Maria", came Ernest's voice, "I'm going to look around, if you should find a vile of white liquid on your way, I'd appreciate you bringing it to me".

"Ok I guess", she replied, confused, "But what is it?".

Ernest didn't answer, "Ernest? Are you there?"

Maria pushed the door open and stepped into a completely empty room.

Where did he go? Maria thought, she hadn't heard any other doors opening or closing.

This room was ornate as the rest of the house, dark wooden panelling lined the bottom of the walls giving a pleasing contrast to the red velvet couch and pine coffee table that were the rooms main features. A bookshelf lined one wall but all of the books seemed to be on the occult, particularly, she noted with a little unease, theories on resurrection.

Ernest is into some very strange things she thought picking up one books and scanning the title, "The dark god Samuel and the Mother of God"

What a load of nonsense.

Dropping the book roughly on the table she pushed a strand of stray hair out of her face and looked around. There only seemed to be one way out as she quickly found Ernest's room to be locked.

Not exactly a social guy are you?, Maria thought wirily as she left the room.

The corridor she was now in had two sets of stairs, one leading back down onto the ground floor and one leading up into what looked like the attic.

Lets take a wild guess which one I'm not using, Maria thought with a barely suppressed shiver.

The dark… stifling, no air, can't breath… Help, someone, James!

A dark shape moved by the top of the attic stairs, darting deeper into the shadows.

"Hello", she said, moving closer, trying to locate the source of the movement while staying in the light, "It's ok I'm not going to hurt you, come down".

When no one answered Maria took a deep breath and started up the stairs, pausing ever few steps to glance back reassuringly at the light.

When she reached the top she was greeted by the soft glow of candlelight.

"What the hell?". On top of an upturned box was a half burned out candle and also, of all things, a birthday card. Picking it up to get a better look, Maria flicked it open.

To daddy,

Happy birthday to the best daddy in the whole wide World

Love Amy

The front of the card was a child's picture of a little girl and a grown man walking hand in hand past a large house.

Ernest has a daughter?.

Deciding to hold on to the card for now, Maria made her way out of the dusty attic and back onto the landing. A child's laugh came from somewhere below her. Maria lent over the edge of the banister just in time to see a sandal clad foot vanish around the corner at the bottom of the stairs.

Cursing under her breath Maria jogged down the stairs and round the corner. The laugh came again, this time from a room just ahead. Maria ran down the hall and flung the door open.

"Ha", she said out loud, forgetting the seriousness of the situation for a second, but the room was empty, "How did she…".

Maria looked around the room she found herself in, it seemed to be a library of some sort, though it had a pretty limited selection, it seemed Ernest's tastes didn't vary much from what she'd seen inside. A large oak table and work lamp sat at the centre of the room, the table was piled high with books and scrapes paper covered in incoherent scribbling. On top of the nearest pile was a small vile of white liquid.

"Is this what Ernest was after", she said to herself, picking up the vile and uncorking it, "It doesn't look like much".

Waving it slowly under her noise, she took a carefully breath, the scent of the liquid sending her into a coughing fit.

That smells vile, she thought, replacing the stopper and waving a delicate hand in front of herself to disperse and lingering odour.

"Maria?", came a questioning voice from behind the door on the other side of the room.

"Ernest?", she said, "What are you doing back there?".

"The door's locked on your side", he answered impatiently, ironically it appeared he didn't much appreciate being locked out by others either, "Did you find anything?".

Maria opened her mouth to tell him about the vile but remembered the card in her hand.

"Yeah, I found a birthday card".

"…Give it to me", he said abruptly, "Slide it under the door".

Frowning, Maria ducked down and pushed the card under the door. Ernest's mutters came back as he read its contents.

"Amy…she must have been carrying this when…", sobbing came from behind the door.

Maria shifted uncomfortably, "Erm, I found this as well…The white stuff you asked about".

His sobs cut off suddenly, "Really! Quickly, open the door and give it to me".

"Ok, hold on", Maria said, her unease at his sudden emotional reversal showing in her voice. With unusual hesitation Maria undid the lock and opened the door. A pale white arm and white, haggard face shot out of the darkness of the room beyond, grabbing the container from her outstretched hand and slamming the door closed again.

"Ernest", she said breathless, "You're-".

"Yes", he answered in a tired voice, "I've been this way for a long time now. Didn't even notice at first, I thought people were just giving me my space after…after Amy…then when everyone vanished I tried to look around but could never seem to go very far before I felt myself drawn back here, by the time I finally realised what was wrong I couldn't leave the house, and now…". Ernest's tired sigh echoed from behind the door, "But you can see me…that means-".

"It doesn't mean anything", she found herself snapping at him, an anger she couldn't place surging to the fore to cut off his words "Anyway, it doesn't matter, all I care about is finding James… Ernest, are you planning to do what I think your going to do with that stuff?".

"…Yes", he replied eventually, his voice both apologetic and world weary "I know its wrong but I can't live without her Maria, I just can't… Thank you, for helping me…. Maria?".

"Yeah", she answered, walking toward the door.

"That James… he's a bad, bad man", his voice full of the solemn assurance of one who has seen something they wished they never had.

A wistful, resigned smile crossed over the blonde's features, but she made no objection despite a swell of indignation at Ernest's words.

"…I know", she answered sadly.

It was sometime latter she found herself outside the entrance to Rosewater Park, staring out across the fog covered Toluca Lake, resting lightly on the cold steel guard rail that separated the path from the bank.

So peaceful here… so pretty, I wish… I wish it could always be that way… don't you?

"When did I say that I wonder…", Maria mused, watching the faint ripples in the water's otherwise still surface.

There was the sound of footsteps but she didn't look back, she knew exactly who was there, how could she not?

She was always waiting for him here, in this place. Just like Ernest and his daughter.

As the footsteps wound down and finally stopped, a startled exclamation came from behind her, "Mary!".


James stood on the third floor of the apartment building, staring at the door labelled 301. When he had finally worked up the courage to come up here after discovering the first floor fire exit locked he had seen something duck into this room and now couldn't decide.

Should he go in and investigate or carry on?

Since setting foot in this town he had had the sensation of being lead from one place to another like a rat in a maze, however, going back would be worse than pointless, and there really was no other option if he wished to progress…

Steeling himself, James pushed open the door and walked inside. The sight that greeted him froze him and sickened him. The pyramid headed creature he'd seen on the second floor was here, along with two others, creatures that seemed to be two sets of female legs sown crudely together swollen and cancerous, matted in blood.

However the true horror, the sight that his senses and sanity rejected with everything they could muster, was the act taking place before him.

Like some twisted parody or fever dream from the mind of Dante himself, the two smaller creatures writhed and screamed in torment beneath the unyielding weight of the Pyramid Head as it wrestled it's way between their rotten legs, blood spraying in every direction with every thrust.

The cries of the lesser things were so utterly, wrenchingly human, that James felt his throat go dry and his stomach and bowls heave with disgust and sympathetic agony.

Monsters though they may have been, James recognised on some level what was occurring.

The Pyramid Head was raping them and even these inhuman beasts were powerless to stop it.

Staggering back on numb legs James' back soon hit the wall of an open closet and he ducked down, trying desperately to stop himself vomiting even as the bizarre urge to laugh in the face of the insanity before him bubbled up his throat along with the bile.

Siding the ventilated doors closed he vomited over the interior.

Holy shit, he thought, wiping his mouth and trying to hold back another wave.

"This isn't happening", he babbled, clamping his hands over his ears when it sounded like one of the female creatures was actually calling for help, his eyes screwing firmly shut, "This isn't real, this… it can't…."

Eventually the protests died out, much the same way as sobbing will when a victim realises their entreaties mean nothing to their assailant, and all was still.

After so much unmarked time had passed, James dared to open his eyes, and release his ears, tentively taking in the silence. The grinding of steel on steel drew his attention, before all was silence once more, his heart leaping into his throat and drowning in the bile it found there.

Peering pensively though the closet doors slats he found himself face to face with the pyramid creature. James back-pedalled rapidly, his back colliding painfully with the rear wall. His hands scrabbled along the shelves in search of anything he could use to defend himself. His hands closed around something thin, cool and heavy.

James held it up to his face, one eye still on the monster that stood silently outside the door, the limp and lifeless leg of one of the other monsters hanging from one malformed hand.

Had it a face, James felt it would have been smiling at him.

Forcing his attention away from the way the repugnant monstrosity displayed it's handiwork as if waiting for his response, James focused once more on the object at hand.

A handgun magazine.

James couldn't believe his luck, pulling out the handgun he had found he slammed the magazine home and levelled it at the pyramid headed abomination.

The recoil as he pulled the trigger through off his aim instantly, but at this close range it hardly mattered. The bullet shattered one of the door slats before tearing into the creature's shoulder.

Blood sprayed from the wound as it let out a inhuman roar of pain and anger. Not waiting for it to recover, James fired again and again, wincing as blood and wooden splinters rained down around him.

At some point he'd begun screaming along with the monster but he barely noticed.

Click, click, James pulled the trigger frantically but nothing happened, he'd run out of bullets! He closed his eyes and shielded his face, waiting for the monster to strip away his flimsy wooden shield and… Nothing.

Not daring to believe what was happening, James opened his eyes. The creature was gone. Sliding the door aside he stepped out and looked around. The two creatures James had seen violated lay unmoving on the floor, blood caking their inner thighs and the floor around them.

He made to turn away when he spotted it. In the blood was a glint of silver.

He hesitated over the corpse for a moment, not wanting to get any closer to the scene of such horrific violence, but drawn never the less.

Dry wrenching, James stooped to retrieve the object. It was a key, the attached tag identifying it as the key to the building's fire escape. James pocketed it and made to leave, his foot sending something skittering across the floor as he did so.

James shone his torch down at the object, surprise spreading across his face when it caught the light.

It was another magazine.

James picked it up and inserted it into his gun. Re-armed and feeling much safer when a tentive examination revealed no sign of the monster he had just fought he set about searching the building for a fire door.

After several heart pounding minutes wandering the suddenly much darker and narrower seeming halls, trying not to recall any of what he had just experienced, he found it on the second floor.

He paused as he inserted the key, glancing around slowly once more, waiting for something to lunge from the shadows, but nothing did.

Even the key turned without protest, as if he had been granted a small reprieve after what he had just been shown.

Right, he thought, his mind beginning to settle somewhat, Maybe now I can get out of here.

He swung open the door and found himself staring at an open window.

"What the..". James looked down noticing a small gap between the lip of the door and the window.

The fire escape must have been knocked down when they built the other apartment block, he thought.

The gap was only small; getting a firm grip on the doorframe James was able to lift himself up and through the window. Hopping down carefully, he landed with a crunch on broken glass.

He half expected things to come rushing at the sound of his intrusion, but nothing accosted him further.

He did however become aware that he was not alone in this place any longer.

A new noise, alien amongst the silence that pervaded the town, caught his attention. It was a distinctly familiar sound, one he had heard recently, but what was it?

Wrenching, there's someone here throwing up. James looked around the small blue bedroom he found himself in and, with the aid of his torch, found the door.

The source of the noise became apparent as soon as he opened the door, directly outside it was an open door leading to a small bathroom, and in that bathroom sat a man.

Significantly over weight, a mop of greasy blond hair protruding from beneath a backward blue cap, his faded blue eyes darted around the room trying to see past the temporary blindness caused by James' torch.

The other man regarded James cagily, his hands pulling vainly at his blue striped, short sleeve, Rugby shirt in an attempt to disguise the vomit stains, or perhaps hoping that by some miracle it had grown large enough to cover his girth.

"Erm, hi there", James said uncertainly, eventually falling back on social convention to fill in the blanks his mind suddenly couldn't provide, "I'm James…are you ok?".

"Eddie", he replied, whipping his mouth and hitching up his brown shorts, "Yeah I'm ok I guess, but I didn't kill no one…he was like that when I got here honest…I didn't-".

Another wave of vomiting cut off whatever he had been about to say.

Kill anyone? James thought confused, nevertheless edging a little further away from Eddie and gripping his handgun more securely, What's he talking about.

Then he noticed the arm sticking out from behind the bath's shower curtain, an arm coloured an unnatural grey and covered in blood.

"…What happened here?", he asked, a sinking, suspicious, feeling settling in the pit of his stomach, "Your not friends with that pyramid thing are you?".

"Pyramid thing?", Eddie asked, looking up, his face scrunching with confusion, "I don't know what your talkin' about…I didn't do nothin' I swear".

James ran a hand through his hair and scratched his head, taking in the rest of the apartment, including it's missing front door as he did so.

What's going on with this guy? he thought, shining his torch around the room again.

As he was about to return to trying to get something more out of this new survivor than incoherent protests of innocence, he spotted a flash of beige in the edge of the torchlight.

Angela wondered past the apartment's open door, swaying strangely as if in a daze.

"Hey Angela wait!", he shouted but she didn't stop, instead she sped up. "Hold on here a sec Eddie, I'll be right back".

Eddie muttered something noncommittal, another protest following James as he left.

Charging out the door, he skidded to a halt just in time to see her vanish down the apartment's stairwell. James ran as fast as his legs would carry him, taking the stairs two at a time when he noticed the way up was blocked and soon found himself reversing direction and ending up on the first floor.

Angela's footsteps rang down the corridor as she ran down the hallway to his right and was soon swallowed by shadows.

James took a deep breath and charged after her. As he closed he became aware that she was saying something but he wasn't close enough to make it out. Putting his head down James ran harder, somehow narrowing the gap between himself and the younger, fitter woman down to almost nothing.

Reaching out a hand he tried to grab her shoulder to stop her, his fingers brushing her hair. Letting out a small yelp, Angela bowed her head and increased her speed, soon vanishing completely into the darkness.

Up ahead there was the sound of a door slamming and her footsteps disappeared.

She'd gone into one of the apartments.

James slowed to a walked, struggling not to hyperventilate and began playing his light around, looking for a door. Only one was unbarred, the one right at the end of the corridor. James lent against the wall for a few minutes, retrieving his breath.

Walking down to the end of the corridor he got a grip on the handle and pushed. The door wouldn't budge. James jiggled the handle, hitting the door with his hip in an attempt to open it but nothing happened.

Anger bubbling up inside him, he lashed out at the door with his foot. The resulting explosion of pain sent him hopping around the corridor, clutching his throbbing toe.

Another brilliant plan James, he silently berated himself, adding a broken toe to the catalogue of injuries he had sustained since coming to this town.

With a low creak the door swung ponderously open the sound of sobbing coming from within. James stopped rubbing his foot and stepped cautiously inside. Those sobs sounded all to familiar and considering what he had just seen it was obvious whom they were coming from.

Pushing back the door to a small, well lit bedroom he found Angela. Curled up in front of a large mirror that covered the entire of one wall, much like those used in professional dance studios.

She was weeping softly to herself and in her hand was clutched a very large, bloodstained, butcher knife.

"Angela", he called gently. He saw her tense, her eyes searching the mirror for whoever was talking to her. When she saw him she didn't relax, her gaze just returned to the knife she was holding.

"Oh…it's you", she said, her eyes never leaving the blade, tilting it so that it's smaller surface included both of their reflections.

"Look Angela" he said reassuringly, "I don't know what your planning, but there's always a better way".

"No, not for me, but then again you know that. You're just like me James, you run. There's nothing else for us…it's what we deserve", she sounded so very tired, and not from all the running she had just done. This was something deeper and it left James feeling strangely on edge.

"No, I'm not like you". Angela didn't respond. "So, did you find your mother".

"No", she answered reluctantly, "I looked everywhere, but she's not anywhere".

"But she's in this town right?"

"How do you know that?", she asked suspiciously, rolling over and propping herself up on one elbow.

"You said she was here when we talked before, remember". Angela held his gaze a few moments longer before looking away and pushing herself up to a sitting position.

"I'm sorry", she said crossing her legs and starring at her lap like a scolded little girl, "Did you find the person you were looking for?".

"My wife, Mary", James said crouching down to try and look her in the eyes. "Have you seen her?".

He pulled a picture out of his inner jacket pocket and handed it to Angela. The picture was one of Mary before she died of the damned disease, she was wearing her favourite clothes, her auburn hair tied back loosely in a bun.

Framed by the simple beauty of Toluca lake she was even more lovely than he remembered.

Angela took the photo, studying it with unusual intensity, glancing from him to the picture before handing it back, "I haven't seen her, I'm sorry".

"That's ok", he assured her, hoping his voice didn't betray his disappointment to the unstable brunette.

"I should go", she said abruptly, standing and heading for the door.

"Angela wait", he called after her, causing her to pause reluctantly, "Where are you going, it's dangerous out there, shouldn't I go with you?".

"No, that's ok", she said turning back to face him, "I'd just slow you down, I can get out through the second floor fire exit".

James noticed that the knife she held was now pointed vaguely in his direction.

"And that?", he asked carefully, making sure not to move.

Angela looked at the knife as if seeing it for the first, "I don't know…would you hold it for me?".

"Sure", he said moving closer to take it from her, "Just hand it over".

"No!", she screamed suddenly, thrusting the knife at him as if warding off a dangerous monster. Panting erratically, she look at the knife then at his shocked expression and then back again as if scared herself by what she was doing.

"I'm, I'm sorry", she stammered dropping the knife, "I've been bad, please don't, forgive me!".

Turning she fled from the apartment and was gone.

James stood, staring at the knife she had dropped, the light reflecting off it like a malevolent glare. He considered picking it up but somehow, just the thought of carrying it made him shudder from head to toe.

Stepping cautiously over it he made his way back into the hallway. Angela was gone, not even a distant footfall was left as testimony to her presence. What had she said; the second floor fire escape was the way out… then that's were he was heading.

James reached the second floor entrance after checking in on Eddie. He had disappeared to. Was he the only one who saw how dangerous this place was? Everyone he'd met so far gave no sign they'd seen anything. At least anything dangerous, Eddie had certainly seen that corpse…

Perhaps he had gone mad, perhaps there was nothing to see. That might explain a lot, especially… that…

Getting a good grip on the fire escape he shoved it roughly open and stepped through…and found himself staring at the pyramid creature he had seen before engaged in another unspeakable act of debauchery.

This time it held one of the monsters he had seen when first coming into this town doubled over in with it's face pressed grossly against it's crotch.

Blood was everywhere

Looking up it saw him and thrust the poor creature aside, slamming it against the nearest wall casually with bone shattering force.

For a moment it held James' gaze as if waiting for something from him once again.

Whatever it wanted it apparently didn't find.

Reaching down, James at first thought it was ripping up part of the floor, but was rapidly corrected.

As if picking up an everyday work tool, it drew what could only be described as the largest Knife James believed any person had ever seen. Its blackened length covered in rust and dry blood that did nothing to hide the razor sharpness of its edge, or shear impossible weight of the weapon the Pyramid Head dragged along by it's handle with a deafening scrap, and started forward.

James spun to run but the door slammed shut and there was a click announcing it was now locked.

James pressed himself into as his mind frantically played through a number of options. The room was only about three or four meters square, with a steel staircase leading impossibly down into a pool of murky water that had somehow swamped the lower floor.

No escape, he thought grimly, glaring defiantly at the advancing monstrosity, and probably looking a threatening as a newborn kitten for it.

The creature heaved its weapon over one shoulder, preparing to strike. At that moment James saw his chance. As it began the swing it probably thought would end his life, James threw himself down and past it, landing awkwardly in a combat roll and coming up bare centimetres from the wall.

A loud crash and grinding noise before he'd even completed his roll told him just how close he'd come to dying.

Turning back to face it he found it had already pivoted to regard him, its stance warier, wider to prevent him trying the same trick again, there was no way out this time. Slowly it began to hoist its weapon back up to strike…

It's serious, whatever the reason it let me go before, it's going to kill me

With this thought echoing through his mind, James didn't realise he'd pulled his gun until it had been levelled at the Pyramid Head's oversized helmet.

"No… I can't die here", the monster regarded him for a moment before starting forward, it's weapon drawing his end closer with every screech of steel on concrete.

"I can't!", James yelled, his legs threatening to buckle as it got closer still, the handgun he held suddenly seeming very small and useless.

His wife's image, as she had looked on her deathbed swam before his vision.

"I have to see Mary!"

He pulled the trigger.

Suddenly the air exploded with a piercing shriek. James clapped his hands over his ears to block out the terrible wailing that tried to carve his skull in two, noting vaguely that the pyramid head had done the same.

It writhed as if in agony, staggering around, coming closer to the stairwell each time. With one final roar of pain it plunged itself into the water's murky depths and was gone.

James felt his teeth jarred and his vision blur as his knees abruptly meet concrete, his legs had finally given way.

"Make… god, make it stop!", he screamed, his eardrums feeling as if they would rupture at any moment.

Gradually the sirens faded and James was able to uncover his ears.

He crawled sluggishly over to the stairs and gasped in shock.

The water was gone; the stairs weren't even wet.

How… is this possible? James thought, eventually finding the strength to stand once more and stepping lightly down the stairs, each footfall echoing hollowly on the cold steel.

James placed his hands on the rusted metal bar that opened the first floor exit, using it to brace himself as his inner ear tried to tell him that several different directions were up at once for a moment, and shoved it open, stepping out once more into the biting air and blinding fog.

James took a deep breath, relieved by the sting of the cold air on his cheeks and the steam of his breath. Real, physical sensations, feelings everyone experienced.

James looked around as he felt his head finally beginning to clear. He was in a small side street, wall to wall buildings to his right, vanishing around a tight corner, and a gaping hole to his left, ending just before the concrete access ramp on which he now stood.

It was a brutal reminder that nowhere was safe in this place.

Settling in a light jog despite the loud complaints of sore and over used muscles, James made his way down the street and round the corner.

If nothing else, he thought with a tight grin, this trip has given me a lot of exercise.

A faint humming drew him to a halt, it seemed to be coming from somewhere above him. Looking up he found the little girl he had seen in the Woodside apartment building sitting on a wall just out of his reach, humming a tune to herself while reading some sort of letter closely.

Glancing down she noticed him standing there and quickly tucked the letter away in the big pocket sown into the front of her dress.

"Oh", she said with a level of contempt abnormal for one so young, "It's you".

"Yeah, you're the one who kicked me back there aren't you?", he said trying to figure out how he could get up there as well.

"So what if I did?", she answered snottily.

James stared indignantly up at her, shaking his head in frustration, "Right, cute. Are you coming down or what? Its dangerous around here you know".

"What are you talking about, are you blind or somethin'. There's no one here. I wouldn't go with you anyway, you never loved Mary", she said pivoting and hoping down behind the wall out of view before he could say a word.

"Wait!" he said rushing forward, trying vainly to find a handhold to get up the wall, "How do you know Mary! Answer me!".

Nothing but silence answered, she was gone.

There has to be another way round, he thought desperately, running down the street searching for a way into the area behind that wall.

Gradually the road gave way to a mosaic pattern of interlocking red tiles, the enclosing grey giving way to the more open, luscious green expanses of "The Outdoors", and there in front of him, engraved in granite were the words; 'Rosewater Park'.

I'm here, he thought, a smile growing across his face as the full input of what that meant slammed home, I'm here!.


---Author's Notes---

That's Chapter Two revised, chapter three will be done tomorrow, chapter four Wednesday, and five possibly Thursday or maybe on the weekend, and then I'll be back up to where I should be with the writing proper.

Chapter 3: The Cure for What Ails; "You could be her twin" "What's the matter, do I look like your girlfriend or something?", James meets up with the mysterious Maria, but who is this woman that looks so much like his dead wife, perhaps the answers lie in a place James never wanted to visit again. The most dangerous wounds come from within, not from without.

Till next time, Betweenheavenandhell