Geoffrey awoke in the early hours of the morning, and was pleased to see that both he and the girl were still alive. They had not been attacked in the night, and the world seemed to have healed itself whilst they slumbered. The walls of the small empty room had been encrusted with the flaky, brown growths prevalent throughout the entirety of Foresbrook, the town hall, and the strange labyrinth he'd found himself in after traversing the tunnel, but now, it had all gone. A huge grin of relief grew on his face, and standing up, he stroked the now clean walls lovingly.
Katie awoke and was quite disturbed by the spectacle she was witnessing.
'Errm… Good morning Geoffrey,' she said to him. He stopped his antics, but remained ecstatic.
'Look! It's back to normal. It was all fucked up, but now it's OK…' he said, his voice drooping as the sentence progressed. 'Tell me I didn't imagine it all…' he said to her.
She shifted her weight and smiled wearily. 'Nah, it all happened. At least I think it did. I dunno. I suppose if we both saw the same thing, it must've happened right?'
Geoffrey nodded and smiled. 'Right.'
There was a period of silence, eventually broken by Katie.
'I wonder where we are. It was really, dark last night… We could even still be underground. Jeez, that was so scary…' The events of the previous night played through her mind like a video tape. That huge underground lair; that horrible monster that crawled out of the car; the man with the pyramid shaped helmet that wanted her. It wanted her!
'I don't know,' Geoffrey said curiously. Pulling the gun out of his pocket for reassurance, he made for the door.
'Don't leave me!' Katie yelled suddenly, clutching at her bruised ribs and giving him a helpless look.
He lowered the gun. 'Don't worry, I won't be long.'
He exited the room, making sure he shut it tightly behind him, and found himself in quite a long corridor. Each door had a number on it, the highest being '11'. He turned to his own door, finding no number, but a small plaque labelled 'Private'. Putting two and two together, he made the educated guess that they were in a small guesthouse.
In the foyer (an area which he vaguely remembered), the smell of death had gone, and was replaced by the gentle scent of roses. A fresh pitcher of water sat on the reception desk, and it was within this that the flowers were found. Geoffrey's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Where had they come from? He was certain that no plant could have remained so perfect and pristine throughout such corruption as the night before.
He explored the flowers, and found a card within:
Hiya Geoff. I just wanted to let you know that I'm so glad you picked me and my family to look after such a very special dog. I'm sorry that your parents did not like you having a pet, but rest assured, Kip is safe with us.
Peter Spaulding from next door
Geoffrey was confused. Kip wasn't real… He turned away from the flowers, rolling the card in his hands thoughtfully. Clearly the madness of the night before had only been visually subsided. The crazy notes and letters hadn't stopped, but at least this time they weren't from that Roger character.
He paced the reception; brow furrowed, mind focused. He was unwilling to believe that what he had so far experienced was reality. Had he been drugged at some point? Perhaps he was hallucinating through some kind of mental illness. If so, it must have affected him quickly, because he remembered being perfectly fine a mere 12 hours ago.
There was a scratching noise coming from outside. He turned and saw the open doorframe from which he'd violently removed the door. He could see outside into a foggy open street. The scratching continued, and was soon accompanied by a gruff snuffling. Curious, Geoffrey stepped over to the door and peered outside. As he did so he heard the scampering of tiny paws, and whatever was making the noises vanished.
He was pleased to find himself outside, and not in some kind of gigantic underground cavern. The dense, solid, impenetrable blackness of the previous night had deceived him into thinking otherwise, so taking a deep breath, he relished the freedom.
He felt eyes upon him suddenly, although where from he didn't know. He span round in a 360 degree turn, his vision penetrating every last nook, crevice, alleyway and broken window… But there was nothing. However, as a reward for his curiosity, a short, sharp bark issued from around the corner. He immediately ran in that direction; past one of the many old fashioned streetlamps, and into the neighbouring street. It was empty.
Turning back to the building he and Katie had spent the night in, he finally noticed the large sign above the window. It said Jack's Inn; solving the mystery of where they had stayed.
He turned back to the street he had been led to, and there sat a small dog in the middle of the road; it's ears perked up.
'Hello doggy!' he said, walking over to it slowly. It wagged its tail as he neared, and woofed gently in greeting.
Geoffrey chuckled and walked closer, but before he could reach it, it turned and ran away to the next corner, turning back round and barking for him to follow.
'I can't!' he shouted after it. 'I have to help the girl!'
He turned around and made his way back to Jack's Inn. Katie was stood in the doorway; clearly pained by her damaged ribs.
'Who were you talking to?' she asked him suspiciously.
He put an arm around her and helped her into the street.
'This little dog. It was sat in the middle of the road for some reason. Wanted me to follow it,' he replied.
'Really? That's weird. Did you see any people?'
Geoffrey shook his head. 'Just the dog. I found out that we stayed at an inn though,' he laughed, pointing at the sign behind them.
Katie half smiled. 'Where are we Geoff?' she asked. 'I really don't recognise this place. The buildings are of a totally different architecture to the hospital I was at.'
'Hmmm… Let's look for a shop or something. I'm sure there must be a map or at least a sign telling us where we are somewhere around here.'
They continued to walk at quite a slow pace for some time, until a streetlamp with signs attached around its shaft could be seen at the end of a nearby street.
'Look!' exclaimed Katie, pointing at it frantically. 'That should point us in the right direction.'
'Yeah! It may even tell us which town we're in,' was the reply.
They made their way to the lamppost, and read all 4 of the signs. One read 'South Vale: Jack's Inn, Woodside Apartments and Brookhaven Hospital' and pointed back the direction that they had come from.
'Look! Brookhaven Hospital! That's where me, Chris and Philip went after he rescued us from the bus. Then the world got all fucked up and I woke up in a subway somewhere…' Katie said.
'Wait a sec,' Geoffrey interrupted. 'What bus is this?'
'My school bus. We were going to visit Toluca Lake on a geography trip, but the bastard crashed!' she passionately explained. 'We were trapped in it somehow. The door kind of melted shut, and all the windows were totally frozen solid, but Philip came and busted us out. Chris was the only other person who could still walk, so we both went with Philip to get help. We figured the best place to go would be the nearest hospital; which was Brookhaven.'
Geoffrey began to laugh, shaking his head slowly.
'What's so funny?' she added.
'That's the same bus I came here to find. There was a… report that the bus had gone missing, so I came here to find out what was going on. I'm a cop, you see. I dunno if I've already mentioned that.'
Hey little fishy, I will snag you on my hook!
Fishy, fishy in your throat, the tiny blade is stuck!
Reel you in, reel you in, my baby's getting thinner,
Little fishy reel you in; you'll make a tasty dinner!!!
The poem seemed to blossom into her head from nowhere, and she didn't see the relevance. Then a question asked by Geoffrey mere seconds later answered it for her.
'Katie? What's your full name?'
'Kathryn Elizabeth Marlin… Oh my god…' she suddenly realised. She looked down the street ahead with fear in her eyes.
'What is it?' he asked.
'Look…' she whispered, pointing down the same line her eyes were following.
You'll make good food for dinner!!!
There at the end of the street stood the bane of her life. It was the stalker of her nightmares and the stalker of her reality; the Pyramid Head.
'What am I looking at?' he asked quizzically. He couldn't see anything in the thick, soupy fog.
'You can't see him?' she frantically squealed.
'No. I can't see 'him'. Are you feeling OK?'
She ignored his question and proceeded to back away. Then she turned and ran; despite the crippling pain in her ribs.
'Katie!' Geoffrey called after her, giving chase. 'Come back, you'll get lost!' he called. Entering the street she ran into, he could see her nowhere. She could barely walk, so how the hell could she have given him the slip already?
Something was down there though, and although it was smaller than Katie, it was something that he'd secretly been looking for since they began their journey from Jack's Inn; the small dog that wanted him to follow.
Wagging its tail when Geoffrey met its gaze, the dog woofed happily and began to playfully chase its tail.
'Not now!' he called to it. 'I need to find the girl.'
The dog snarled suddenly, and suddenly in its place was a huge dog of the same breed, only as big as a horse. Its patchy, rotting fur was underlined with thick, tense muscles, and the once dainty paws were now gigantic slabs; from which protruded cruel, curved claws.
'Lighten up Geoffrey! Forget the girl for one moment. Let's go on an adventure!' a dark and foreboding voice flourished into his head.
He took a step back and pulled the gun out of his pocket. The extra weight assured him that it was loaded, so taking another step back; he raised the barrel and pointed towards the rotting beast.
Sensing Geoffrey's hostility, the dog hunched its back legs menacingly, and a deep throaty growl issued from the back of its throat.
'Whoa, easy there boy. Good doggy!' he eased, lowering the gun and hoping that the dog would calm down. He looked quickly at the signpost. Which way should he run? The other signs were labelled 'Central Silent Hill' and 'Toluca Lake'. Central Silent Hill he saw had a Police Station and a small mall. He decided that that area would have better cover, assuming he made it that far; so he slowly inched his way towards the nearest alley and hoped it was too narrow for the dog to follow.
'Where the fuck do you think you're going?' the throaty voice came again, and the dog sprang; racing towards him at an alarming speed. Raising the gun he fired a bullet into beasts shoulder, causing it to stumble. Whilst it was temporarily grounded, he turned and ran into the alley. He successfully cleared a collection of trashcans and hid behind a smashed brick wall.
Regulating his breathing to sound quieter, he edged his way across the alley and ducked into a small walled yard. He heard a crash as the beast smashed through the bins, and felt the ground tremble as it padded in his direction. Sidling up to the back door of the house, he slipped out of the yard and quickly ran down the narrow passage connecting it to the front yard. Vaulting the fence he crossed the street towards the town centre; ducking and weaving as fast as he dared between the shadows, and the sparse cover provided by the few cars and bins that were dotted along the road.
He heard a mournful howl cut the silence like a knife, and a cold icy finger ran down his spine. Gripping the gun so had that it shook; he increased his pace and entered the next street.
- - - - -
Katie stumbled blindly through the streets, unaware of whether or not Geoffrey was behind her, but unable to forget that the Pyramid Head would not let her go. As she twisted and turned through the blinding alleyways, passages, arches, gardens and narrow streets, she was all too aware of the thump, scrape, thump, scrape that although sounded distant, did not fade as she ran. She had no idea which direction it was coming from, and therefore panicked at the thought that she could be unwittingly running directly into its clutches.
Turning into a main road, she was horrified to see the monster exit into the same street from the opposite side some 100 yards away. She screamed in shock and ran down the sidewalk towards a large neon sign displaying the words Heaven's Night. The sounds of laughter came from within, over the clinking of glasses and the sound of a funky blues guitar solo.
She moaned in relief. There were people in this town after all! She chanced a glance behind her, and there it was, speeding towards her; pointed metal helmet lowered in a charge. The knife it had previously been dragging was now held in both hands, and she knew that if she didn't run faster she'd be cut down where she stood.
Nursing her tender ribs she put whatever energy she had left in her into her legs, and they propelled her forwards with one last burst of effort. Jumping the stone steps two at a time she grabbed the door handle, twisted it and threw it open. The squeal of rusty metal issued from the Pyramid Head as a sign of defeat, and she slammed the door behind her with the knife a mere hairs breadth from the back of her head. She closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.
Sliding down the door she turned and peered through the keyhole, expecting to see the creature leaving, or perhaps even readying itself to break down the door. Strangely enough though, there was absolutely no sign of it. Feeling brave she stood up and opened the door, stepping outside and looking around.
Nothing.
She went back inside and closed the door. The sounds of laughter that she'd heard were no more, and the seedy, neon-lit gentleman's club was empty of human life. There were however, signs that somebody had been there very recently. A spilled glass of beer; the pool still dripping of the dark wooded table and onto the badly carpeted floor; a still smoking cigarette butt, glowing in an ash tray; the rounded ass indentation in the dark brown leather of a nearby stall. She laughed at this feebly, taking a seat on the still warm seat.
She felt safe in there. The dark, smoky atmosphere was comforting, and she felt her thoughts drift away from the terrible position she was in, and down the wooded garden path of memory lane…
…I came home from school one day through the old leafy alley that ran behind my house. I didn't like it during the winter, because all the leaves disappeared, and all that was left was the harsh, pointed twigs that pointed at me cruelly. It was usually wet during that time of year too, so they'd be a cold, damp draught blowing up it, and the long green grass would soak you with one touch of your shoe.
During the summer though, it was lovely to walk down. I suppose I'd always been quite agoraphobic about winter, so the closely knitted blanket of leaves that enveloped the path was really comforting to me.
One time on a really warm summer's day, I was walking along it with my little sister Mary on our way home from school, and I remember seeing Daddy in the back garden through a crack in our fence. I told Mary to stand back and I had a look to see what he was doing.
'God dammit!' he shouted angrily, hammering at a piece of wood. Who knows what he was trying to make. Daddy was always loud and aggressive, but never hurt anybody. Until that day.
Mom came out of the house with a tall glass of water; or maybe lemonade.
'Hey honey. How's the building going?' she asked him gently, as all wives do.
'I'm doing OK,' he grumbled back at her.
She put down the drink, rolled her eyes, and then turned to go back into the house. Dad continued to hammer, but then he missed the nail and instead walloped his hand with a meaty crack.
He screamed out in pain and Mom came running out.
'What happened? Are you OK?' she exclaimed over Daddies wails, but he just looked at her horribly.
She ran back into the house and emerged a few minutes later with a small first aid kit.
'Jesus woman! Put that stuff away,' he shouted, batting the bandage she'd carefully held out to him away.
Still she persisted, until something in him snapped and he grabbed her around the throat, shoving her to the ground in front of him.
'Not now, please! The kids will be back any minute. Please, don't let them see us like this,' begged Mom.
Daddy gave her the evilest look I have ever seen, and after he'd dealt her a hard slap to her face he disappeared into the house, leaving her sobbing and dejected on the back lawn…
…It's strange… The things you remember…
…She woke from hr daydream a few minutes later, and found that she was crying. Big salty tears ran down her face and gathered on her chin, where they bobbed for a few seconds, and then fell onto her lap. It was this tickling sensation that had roused her, and that was just as well.
The rear door to the bar had been ripped open whilst she dreamed of other places, and one of the tall tube headed things was crawling over the bar; its curling lips gibbering and sucking at the air hungrily. She realised after a few seconds of terror that the beast had not yet seen her, so as quietly as a mouse; she slid down the leather and into the dark, cool recess under the table. She felt safe in the closed surroundings, and could watch the creature without it seeing her. She relaxed slightly, and shifted her weight to get more comfortable.
As it scuttled across the surface, it clumsily clipped an empty wine bottle and sent it crashing to the ground. Startled, the creature jumped up and squealed a strange warbling note that hurt her ears. Jumping onto ground level, it continued its patrol; sniffing this way and sniffing that way. She was certain that it would find her any time soon, but the silhouette of a tall man appeared in the doorway. The monster jumped to its feet and raised its claws, gibbering and garbling at the figure.
The man remained unmoving, except for the right arm that quickly and quietly removed a small pistol from the inside of his jacket and took aim at the monsters head.
A deafening boom rang out through the club, and the creature fell to the ground in a splatter of its own blood and faecal matter. Katie expected the monster to get back to its feet, since from her own experience they took more than a single shot to kill. However, apart from a violent twitch, it remained unmoved.
The heavy clomp of large boots sounded as her saviour marched into the room and stopped at the foot of the bar. His face could not yet be seen, but a short brown cigarette could be see clenched between his teeth; its orange end glowing in the shadow cast by the brim of his hat.
'It's OK. You can come out now,' came the surprisingly softly spoken voice.
She crawled out from under the table, thankful to have been rescued, but still uneasy in the stranger's presence.
'Umm, hello,' she started, looking at her feet.
The stranger remained unmoving, but spoke to her in the same calm tone.
'What are you doing here?' was his eventual response.
She shifted her weight uncomfortably.
'I was trying to escape one of those, things…' she replied.
He turned to her and pulled out a length of rope, and a rough Hessian sack.
'We do not appreciate your meddling here young girl. We have enough problems trying to control the new conjuror, without you casting the demons under your own spell!' he growled, advancing on her.
She backed away, suddenly scared. 'I don't know what you're talking about,' she pleaded. It was true. She really did have no clue.
'I don't know, or care how you got here, but you're coming with me!'
He grabbed her viciously, and threw the sack over her head, wrapping a length of rope around the base and tightening it sharply. She gasped for breath as her wrists were bound behind her back, and cried out in pain as he slung her over his shoulder right onto her broken ribs. It was in this instant that she blacked out; unable to shout for help or try and wriggle free.
The Stranger sighed, drew a lungful of smoke from his short, pungent cigarette, and marched off into the darkness…