A/N: I've actually started working on my stuff again, so sorry for the wait.
I haven't had anyone look this over, so if you notice anything, please let me know : )
"Can you tell us more about the town?" Chris asked.
"Well," Heather started, "I did just tell you guys quite a bit, so is there anything in particular you wanted to know more about? Cuz otherwise it'd just be more general info that might not be too useful."
As Heather began to answer questions, Douglas motioned Lisa to come stand by him.
"Lisa, that doctor, would he possibly know where and what the red stuff Heather used last time is?"
Lisa nodded. "I believe so. Dr. Kauffman was one of the unofficial leaders of The Order, so he would probably know about something like that."
"Okay," Douglas said. "Where would he have stormed off to? I want to have another talk with him."
"Well, he's probably got himself holed up in the Director's Office. It's one of the few places in the hospital with a label still on the door, so you shouldn't have a hard time finding it. It's on this floor, just past a pair of double doors."
As Douglas left the room, the line of questioning turned from Heather to Lisa.
"Lisa, how much can you tell us about this place? You obviously work here, and you seem to be knowledgeable about things concerning the town." Chris turned to Lisa.
She fidgeted before replying. "W-well, the hospital is old. Everyone's moved to the other one, Brookhaven, but there are still some staff stationed here. I don't know too much though. I mean, I haven't really worked here for years."
"…What do you mean?" Rebecca asked. "You quit then?"
"Ah, well, I…." Lisa looked uncomfortable. "Yes. I quit. I couldn't work here, with Kauffman."
Claire could see that Lisa was uncomfortable, so decided to shift the questioning back to Heather. "So, what were those girls' names, in your story, Cheryl?"
"Alessa, Dahlia's daughter, Cheryl, half of Alessa's soul, and Heather, Alessa and Cheryl's half-souls made into one. Me."
"Your name's Heather? Then why are you using Cheryl?" Claire asked.
"Well, because if there are any Order members they would know Heather more than Cheryl. And I wanted to start over." Heather fidgeted. "Are there any more questions?"
"What was that thing? The one that stabbed you and the thing that swam past us. And when will you be able to continue? We should start moving again." Chris seemed to have a one track mind about this mission of his, and Heather sighed.
"I…think it was the Executioner. They say he was a human, once, and became twisted. I don't know much more about him though. And that swimming thing…I don't know. I've never seen something like that before. And Lisa is the only one who can tell if I'm ok to go."
Lisa looked Heather over, checked her pulse and bandages, and nodded. "You should be able to move but only if you feel up to it. But-"She turned to Chris, "-There is still some stuff I need to get. I did leave some of my stuff here though, and I would appreciate it if someone could go get it from the locker room for me."
Chris nodded, and Barry and Cybil both stood.
"I'll go get your things," the two said at the same time.
"Actually…. Both of you may have to go. We have all seen the Otherworld now, but because Cybil has been here before, I know for sure that she'll be able to merge back into this world better. Here, I'll write my locker combo down for you." Lisa grabs a piece of scrap and scribbled down some numbers before passing it to Barry.
"Why can't you go get it? I mean, I know you're supposed to be looking after Cheryl, but she's fine." Claire looked confused.
"I…Well…" Lisa's shoulders slumped. "I can't."
Heather entered the conversation, to cover Lisa who was beginning to look distressed. "The…in the story, I mentioned a nurse in red. That was Lisa."
"But how can that be? You should look much older, if you were helping this Alessa girl." Everyone stared at Lisa, only to look away in confusion when something started dripping on the floor, trying to find the source.
"It's because I'm dead." Lisa looked up, and the group could see blood beginning to stream down her face. "I…Kauffman, he, he made me kill myself, you could say. I couldn't take the addiction, the White Claudia, watching over Alessa, so I ended it. So, in a way, I guess I did quit. I was here when Harry was here, but I didn't know I was gone until the end. I stopped Kauffman from leaving from running from what he did, and now he's stuck here too…forever. Until this town goes to dust and the cult with it."
Chris reached for his gun and everyone else backed up as the blood began to move at a faster pace. Lisa's face was almost completely red, and her uniform was beginning to stain, when Heather spoke up again.
"I…I'm sorry. For this. For dad running away from you. For everything." She looked down, until Lisa moved in and hugged her. Heather hugged back, and the only thought that went through her mind was 'why aren't I getting blood on me?'
Lisa straightened, and adjusted her outfit. "No, it's…its okay. I don't blame him. If I was in his shoes I'd have run too." She smiled wanly. "Don't worry. I'm not going to harm you."
Chris kept his hand on his gun, not relaxing. "So, you knew her dad? What is going on?"
Lisa nodded. "Harry came here, years ago, and we met here. I didn't know what was going on, what I was, but Harry, he tried to help me."
Heather nodded. "Yeah, Dad told me about Lisa, years ago. He always said he regretted not standing and helping you, in that room." Heather turned to Lisa, who smiled, and clutched her hands together.
"Like I said, there was nothing he could have done. I was doomed from the start, really. Cybil, Mr. Burton, I'll show you how to get back to the real world. If you'd follow me?"
Barry clutched the paper with Lisa's combo, and followed after her and Cybil.
While they were out of the room, Jill asked the question all the S.T.A.R.S were thinking. "Will Lisa become a threat to us, Cheryl?"
"No, she won't. We won't let her, me and Alessa." Heather said, sliding off of the bed. She stood, wobbling, but began to walk around the room. "Lisa is good."
"…You and Alessa?" Jill asked, and Heather just smiled.
-Meanwhile—
Douglas left the room, and headed right for the Director's Office. Finding it, he didn't bother to knock, instead just pushing the door open.
"Excuse me, what do you think you're doing? Just because you're with that girl does not give you the right to just barge in anywhere-"Douglas cut Kauffman off, getting the impression that the man was the type to rant and rave without an end.
"Tell me about something. Heather used some kind of red crystal when she was here, to expel this… god thing. What is it, where can we find some, can we make it. I need to know now, and I am not feeling too patient." He crossed his arms, and Kauffman sneered at him.
"I was speaking, you know, but I think you're talking about Aglaophotis…. Lords, I haven't heard that name in a while. First off, you can't make it but you can distill it from its solid form into a liquid. I have no idea what it is, nor do I know where it comes from, but I know where to find it. I'll tell you, but on one condition."
"What." Douglas had no intention of fulfilling Kauffman's request, and his voice and posture expressed this.
"Get her to release me. I've had enough of being a monster, I just want to die." Douglas raised an eyebrow before replying.
"Well, I'll see what I can do, but I guarantee nothing. If we do agree on that, nothing will happen until we get to where that Aglaophotis stuff is. We need it, and we need a lot. And you'd better not betray us. I don't know who'd you'd talk to, but I don't like being double crossed."
Kauffman snorted. "She's the only one who could release me, that nurse, so you need not worry about that…drivel."
Douglas nodded, and left the room.
He needed to talk to the rest of the group.
-mean-meanwhile-while—
"Ok, so I'm taking you outside, so when you appear you don't startle the staff." Lisa brought Cybil and Barry outside, and touched her hand to the side of the building, creating a symbol. "Touch this and you'll be sent to the 'real world'. After you're done, touch it again to come back. I'll be back in with the others, is that okay?"
"I'm ready." Barry said, and Cybil nodded.
"Okay, just touch here then. And remember, its locker 13, and the combo is 47, 2, 17. We'll be waiting in the room. Good luck." Lisa nodded at them, and Cybil grabbed Barry's arm as he touched the symbol.
They both felt a touch of nausea, but it was fleeting. They opened their eyes to see the courtyard was slightly more cluttered, but still deserted.
"Did it work?" Cybil asked, letting go of Barry and looking around.
"Let's hope so." He replied, and they entered the hospital again.
"Oh! Hello, welcome to Alchemilla Hospital, how can we assist you today?" A receptionist looked up at them, obviously surprised to see someone come inside.
"Hello," Cybil pushed in front of Barry, and flashed her badge. "My name is Cybil Bennet and I'm here on the behalf of Brahms Police Department. We are looking into an old disappearance with some new evidence, and we would like to be able to look at your second floor nurses locker room."
The receptionist called down the director, and he looked at Cybil's badge, looked at the piece of paper with the locker combo, and granted them access to the room. He called down a nurse to show them where to go, and the ensuring elevator ride was very awkward.
"So, you're here to look at a locker? Which one, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Locker 13." Barry answered the nurse, who was obviously interested in what they were doing.
"Locker 13? Good luck with that," the door opened, and the three stepped out of the elevator. "No one's been able to get that one open. It's become a legend, that one." She led them to the locker room, and let them in before returning to her duties.
"Can I help you?" An older nurse was in the room, writing something up, but waved them in after realizing that they were the police. "The locker's over there. Belonged to some nurse who disappeared ages ago. But if you can get it open then that's something I guess. We need the locker for the newer girl."
Barry took that as a chance to talk to the older woman about Lisa, and Cybil moved to the locker. She pulled out the combo, and, with ease, unlocked the lock. She swung the locker door open, and looked inside.
It was fairly empty, containing a change of clothing, a large bag, and a set of keys. Cybil worked quickly, shoving everything inside of the bag, muffling the clinking of the keys with Lisa's shirt.
"So, what's in there anyways?" Cybil turned to the nurse who was looking over her shoulder.
"It looks like the victims purse. We will need to take it though," The nurse looked ready to protest, and Cybil continued, "We've already spoken with your supervisor about this, and if you have an issue with this please speak with him." Cybil also took the lock, and her and Barry breezed out of the room.
They made their way to the first floor, thanked the receptionist, and went into the courtyard.
"Are you ready?" Barry asked, and at Cybil's nod, touched the symbol again. "Come on; let's get back to the others. I don't like being out here without more back-up."
They hurried back to the operating room, hopeful that they were rejoining the group and not some monsters.
-mean-mean-meanwhile-while-while—
Lisa returned to the room not long after Douglas, and sat on one of the chairs.
"Oh, good, Lisa you're back. Ok everyone, I went to talk to Kauffman."
"By yourself?!" Chris looked very annoyed, but didn't stomp over and yell at Douglas. Heather counted that as Chris starting to believe her story.
"Yes, by myself. Anyways, he told me we could find some of that Aglaophotis, but he will only show us if he goes free."
"What do you mean?" Claire asked, and Douglas clarified.
"Lisa trapped him here, by pulling him down into the town, and he wants to be let go, he wants to die."
They all sat in semi silence before Lisa started to laugh. It was a piercing, hysterical laugh, and that was what Barry and Cybil returned to.
"Uh… what's going on?" Cybil asked, walking in to the room and passing Lisa her bag.
Lisa took the bag and wiped normal, clear tears from her eyes. "Kauffman really said that?"
"…uh, yes? Why, what's so funny about that?" Everyone in the room, including Heather, was uneasy after Lisa's laughing outburst.
"Because I'm not the one keeping him here, he is. I couldn't keep him here if I tried, we're both dead! I may have said that he'd be here until the town turned to dust, but that doesn't mean I'm what's keeping him around." Lisa chuckled to herself, glad that she had one over on Kauffman.
"Ah, so, like a guilty conscious or something? That's what's keeping him here?" Jill asked.
"Hmph, I doubt Kauffman even knows what guilt is, the bastard." Lisa looked annoyed, and started digging through the bag. "Douglas, go tell him I'll 'let him go' if he shows us the Aglaophotis. We'll go there first, then…." Lisa pulled out the keys Cybil had put in the bag. "Hmm? What are these for?"
Douglas left the room to tell Kauffman the 'good news' and Cybil took the keys from Lisa.
"I don't know, they were in your locker though. Maybe someone else had been using it before you died?" Cybil flipped through the keys, reading their tags.
"Perhaps…." Lisa stood, bag in hand. "I'm going to go change. I'll be back in a moment." She also left the room.
"What are they keys for, Cybil?" Heather walked over to look at them too.
"I'm not too sure. I can't really ready the tags…this key though, look at the design on the handle of this one." Cybil held it up, a simple key with an eight-sided symbol on top.
Chris moved in, and stared at the key. "That's the Umbrella symbol. Can I see…?"
Cybil handed over the keys, and Lisa returned.
"So, what's up with the keys? Do you know what it opens?" She sat down, in pants, running shoes, and a light jacket instead of her usual red outfit. She'd also wiped herself off, no longer stained red with blood.
"We're not sure, but it has something to do with Umbrella. After we find this Aglaophotis stuff we're heading to the facility. We need to know what's happened there…As soon as Douglas gets back, we're going to head out. We can't afford to lose any more time here." Chris pocketed the keys and everyone got ready to leave.
Heather knelt by her bag, packing the files back inside, and strapped her sword back onto her belt. Douglas walked in, Kauffman in tow, and joined in on packing everything up. Lisa had emptied her bag out, and filled it with hospital supplies and what she had wanted to save from her bag, and Kauffman did nothing.
Finally they were ready, and began following Kauffman.
"Now, I have no idea if the case of Aglaophotis is still there, it's been…god, years, so it could have been destroyed or used up." He strolled down the street, everyone else behind him tense.
"Stop stalling, Doctor, and get going." Lisa scowled at him, and he picked up the pace, muttering things about her under his breath.
They walked for was about half an hour before Kauffman stopped.
"It should still be over here. I'll go check it out." He pushed open the gate, and slipped into a yard. Lisa narrowed her eyes, handed Heather her bag, and followed after.
"I trust him as far as I can fling him."
The rest of the group stood around, awkwardly, and Barry turned to Cybil, asking where they were.
"Well, I can't say for sure, the fog has grown so much thinker, but I think we're over here, near the centennial building." She stabbed a finger down on the map, a side street, then sighed. "I have no clue where we are."
While half the group moved to argue with the map, Heather kept an ear on her broken radio. She extended the antenna, turned it on, and turned it up before placing it back into her pocket. Her vest had been ruined, and she had to put her flashlight and radio in her pack.
"What sort of things did you see, last time you were here?" Rebecca moved over to Heather, curious and worried about what they might have to battle.
"Well, there were things , about yea high-," Motioning to her waist as a height indicator, "-and absolutely useless if they are alone. They look kinda like featherless chickens, and make weird moaning noises. If you get stuck with four or five of them though, yikes. They are pretty easy to take out though. Then there are these weird tall things. They have two arms, long as they are tall, with little knife like things inside their 'fists'. Tall, slow, and stupid, but deal a lot of damage if they catch you. There are also these huge, fatty things. Kinda look like lumps of flesh and puss, and terrible smelling. Harmless when they are asleep, but when they're awake they are pretty bad, and you'll need to…" Heather's talk of monsters drew the rest of the group over to her, and when Lisa returned, Kauffman in tow, they two groups had merged to one big map reading, monster killing, learning group.
"The stuffs in there…What's going on?" She released Kauffman's arm, and everyone turned to her.
"We don't know where we are." Cybil said, taking the map back from Claire.
"I'm telling them about monsters." Heather said, ending her description of the Mercenaries.
"O…kay then. Well, we're near the sanitarium and junk yard, and the Aglaophotis is in there. Do we want to…?" Lisa motioned to the back door of the house, and Heather and Chris moved ahead at the same time.
"Kauffman, you'll show me and Chris, and then Lisa will set you free, okay?" Heather pulled out her handgun, no longer as care free as she was in the records office.
Kauffman grumbled, and lead them through the house, down to the basement where it was covered with red crystals.
"There, see? I didn't trick you; I didn't betray you, yadda yadda. Now, can I go?" He was tapping his foot, impatient.
"Wait until…" Heather walked forwards, and pulled at a hunk, hanging from the ceiling. She ripped it down, letting it hit the floor so it would shatter into smaller pieces.
"Until…?" Kauffman asked, looking annoyed now.
"Just shut up, I need to make sure this is really the stuff." Heather contemplated eating a piece, but decided against that idea.
"But it sounds like this guy is the only one who knows what it looks like." Chris said, looking distrustfully at the crystals.
"No, I'll know if this is it. I just need to test something…" Turning away from them both, she picked up a large piece and licked it. She was immediately overcome with nausea, and her tongue burned. She started coughing, but was able to wave Chris off, who looked concerned. "This is the stuff. Gimmie a few, and I'll grab a bunch of this stuff and we can go."
She glanced at Kauffman. "And, yes, you too."
Heather pulled open her pack, rearranged her things, and filled a pocket with shards. Finally, she stood, her pack budging, and they left.
"So?" Douglas looked at Heather, who gave him a thumbs up.
"It's the stuff. Lisa, you wanna let Kauffman go now?"
Everyone backed away from where Kauffman and Lisa were standing, glaring at each other.
"Well, what are you waiting for?! Let me go! Let me die!" Kauffman's temper finally broke, but Lisa just smirked.
"Oh, but Doctor, you don't understand! I don't even have control over you! The only person keeping you here is you! Or the town, I'm not too sure. Either or, but it isn't me holding you back." She smiled sweetly at him, before turning on her heel and walking towards the others. "There, I've 'released' Kauffman. Let's go."
The group hurried off as Kauffman gaped at nothing, jogging down a side street to get as far away from him as they could before he broke.
They were barely able to hear his scream when they stopped, and Lisa chuckled.
"I hated working for him…he was a tyrant."
"Hopefully not a literal one." Claire muttered to Rebecca, who giggled nervously.
"Ok, so we have the Aglaophotis stuff, where to next? The Umbrella facility?" Cybil asked.
"Yes. We need to get there as soon as possible. And I don't want to run into that…thing again." Jill said, straightening.
The group went silent, now worried and listening for a scraping noise.
"Yeah…Let's get going." They all started moving again at a good pace, not running, but not walking. The scare they had with Heather was enough to convince them that Silent Hill was dangerous, and that getting to the facility might even be safer than staying outside.
They dodged through the streets, swearing every time they had to back track, and mentally celebrating whenever they were able to pass through a store or back yard without being attacked.
They found themselves walking along the edge of the amusement park (Heather had venomously objected taking a short-cut through the park when they first came upon it), when they ran into a problem.
"It's blocked up." Heather said, staring at the large blockade and piles of rubble that blocked their path forward.
"And we can't even go back." Douglas said, staring at the crater that had opened up behind them.
Everyone spread out, trying doors, windows, and yards on the street opposite, but even after Barry tried to break a window they were not able to find a way.
What they did find was several holes in the chain-link fence surrounding the amusement park.
"I know you don't want to go in there." Lisa said, placing a hand on Heathers shoulder.
"It's okay. Something is leading us to the park, and trying to avoid it would be rude." She turned around, a tight smile on her face. "Come on, guys, we're not going to find a way over there. We're going to have to go through the park."
Heather ignored anything else anyone said to her, and pulled up a section of the chain-link. She squeezed through, and stood on the other side as everyone else moved through.
"Are you going to be okay?" Douglas asked, looking at the ferris wheel.
"No, probably not. But then again, I'm back in Silent Hill, I've been stabbed, and there are other people who kinda know my past." She laughed. "I don't think I'll be okay until we get out of this place."
Everyone stood, looked around at the park, and started walking.
"Jeeze, it feels like we're being funneled somewhere." Claire said, as the path seemed to narrow.
"I don't like this…" Barry replied, pulling out his gun.
The group slowed, and pulled out their weapons. After leaving Kauffman behind, their trek had been safe, but the entire trip through the park felt like a trap.
"Where are we being funneled to?" Jill asked Heather, moving up to the front of the line.
"I'm not too sure, but…It might be the marry-go-round. I hope not, though, I have had a bad experience on that ride. Actually, I've had a bad experience with this entire park."
As they moved closer, Heather could hear fair-ground music, and almost sobbed. The marry-go-round was working, and Heather was not looking forwards to finding out who was running it.
The group of nine eventually reached the end of the funnel, spreading out over the large, empty area in front of the ride. "Who's running this thing?" Chris walked into the control booth, and tried to shut it off. "It's not working?!"
He exited the booth and rejoined the others, just in time to hear something, or someone, Heather didn't want to see ever again.
"Hello, Heather. Have you returned with hate in your heart? Are you here to bring about our god, to create our paradise?"
A woman staggered out onto the deck of the marry-go-round, and Heather growled out a name.
"Claudia…"
A/N: Well, I hope you guys enjoyed that! (It's actually got me motivated to write a bunch of the next chapter right away, so maybe I'll have another update soon!)