She had just gotten onto the road that would lead into town when the fog started to roll in.
"Perfect" Julia said to herself over the roar of the jeep.
The drive over the past two days had been easy going at best. A little bit of rain while she had passed through Pennsylvania. That and her cell phone constantly ringing till the battery died. No doubt her mother trying to get a hold of her in order to persuade her to stay home. But otherwise it had been a calm trip with very little in the way of distractions or detours. She let loose a large exhale as the jeep's radio belted out some old Celtic music that she had grown so fond of. Julia's mind wasn't really focused on the road. It was focused on what little memories of her Aunt Lisa she held on to.
From what she could remember, Aunt Lisa had always been a happy woman. She was never seen without a wide smile on her face. It was a look that was able to brighten up any gloomy room that she walked into. Julia could also remember how her aunt used to dress. A very reserved, sensible look. She had always worn a cream colored blouse and skirt with a scarlet red sweater. It was an ensemble that Julia had always come to associate with modesty and being proper. Julia could still remember her aunt taking her for walks along the border of Toluca Lake, getting ice cream and visiting the amusement park. All the while they walked hand in hand. The memories made her heart jump and a twinge of sadness crept into the back of her head.
Would her Aunt even remember her after all these years? It had been so long since they had last seen each other and Julia wondered if the length of time had strained both their memories as well as their relationship. A lump caught in her throat as she choked back some tears. The years really had taken a toll on her and even though the memories had faded like that of a pressed flower, Julia was determined not to let the love she felt for her Aunt just slip away.
"She'll remember. She has to" she thought to herself.
Aside from the way she dressed and wore her hair, Julia was the spitting image of her Aunt. Same height, build and facial features from what she could gather from her memories and photographs. How could anyone forget a face like that?
Julia continued to drive through the dark murkiness of the fog as she passed a large sign that read: Welcome to Silent Hill: A friendly get away. Instantly the sign brought back memories of her young life.
"I remember this sign" she said to herself excitedly, smiling in rememberance..
Soon a flood of memories would come pouring back into her. Julia's smile soon faded in frustration as she tried to get a better handle on the road ahead of her. The fog was really coming in thick and visibility was almost non existent. Luckily she was already at the edge of town. She wouldn't have to worry about finding her way around, not with perfectly good land marks to guide her. Turning onto Bachman Rd, she scanned the street for somewhere to stop and take a break. Suddenly, her engine shut off.
"What the…?" she exclaimed.
She hadn't hit the brakes, shifted gears of even touched the keys. The jeep had just shut off. The vehicle was practically new; there was no reason for it to be acting up like this. Hitting the brakes, Julia halted the costing jeep with a sudden screeching of the tires. Checking the keys, she tried to start the engine again. All she got for her troubles was a loud grinding of protest. She attempted to start the jeep several more times, even going as far as to pump the gas a little. It did no good. All that happened was the same grinding noise of metal from somewhere under the hood. Something must have been wrong with the electrics because the headlights were off as well.
"Damn it!" she said, hitting the steering wheel with her fist.
Julia instinctively grabbed her phone to call for her mother before she remembered that the battery was dead. That, plus she wasn't a kid anymore. Twenty three year olds didn't go around calling their parents every time they had a problem. They solved them by themselves. Like adults. Putting the phone into her pocket, she reached into her glove compartment for her wallet, a flashlight and her small can of pepper spray. Even though she was just going for some help, she didn't particularly feel like getting raped tonight. Taking the keys out of the ignition, she opened the door and slammed it shut.
"Shit" she breathed, pulling her hood up. "Why does this have to happen now? Now, when I'm not even a quarter of a mile away."
Debating the causes wasn't going to help her now. She was no mechanic so walking into town and getting a tow truck was her best bet. Julia just wished she didn't have to it in the dark. She took a breath, turned on the flashlight and started to jog through the dark, deeper into Silent Hill.
III
Ryan was dreaming. It was so clear that it almost seemed to be happening in real time. From a first person perspective, he was walking through a hospital. It wasn't just any hospital. It was his place of employment. The soft patter of his nurse slippers echoed through the empty halls. The lights were down low in this wing of the building. Everyone must have been sleeping. A standard proto call to make sure everyone had a pleasant nights rest. And they couldn't very well have that with 40 watt fluorescent lighting buzzing around them. Even though it was a place he was familiar with, it was unquestionably quiet. This made him nervous.
Hospitals in themselves could be spooky. But they were even more so when it was late at night, quiet, low lit and devoid of people.
"Man, where the hell are all the staff?"
There should be at least a secretary reading a book or a janitor power washing the linoleum. From somewhere to his right, Ryan thought he could hear a low, pitiful sound. As he walked closer it was clearly the sound of someone very young, crying and sniffling. He turned a corner and saw a young boy in a hospital gown standing in the middle of the hall with his hands in his eyes. The boy's back was to Ryan and all he could make out was the boy's dark brown hair.
"Hey little man. What's wrong? What are you doing out of bed at this hour?"
He got down on one knee and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. The child turned around, hands still covering his tear stained face.
"Hey, Come on. There's nothing to be sad about."
The young boy dropped his hands from his head, letting them fall to his sides. He snapped his head up and looked at Ryan. The boy's eyes were solid black obsidian. Just empty, soulless pits where eyes should be. Instantly the boy's skin started to bubble, ooze and melt away. Thick tracks of stinking flesh fell to the floor. The boy lumbered toward him with a low shamble. His skin hung off his body, leaving a dark concoction of red, pussy muscle and some bone. He opened his mouth and let out a terrible, gurgling wail.
"YOU LET ME DIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEE! YOU KILLED MEEEEEE!!!"
Ryan snapped awake, gasping. His heart hammered in his chest.
"Just a nightmare" he said to himself.
Something felt wrong and he could see that he was still buckled into his seat, upside down. His head felt like a two by four had been smashed into it. The pounding in his temples was excruciating. Reaching up to nurse the wound, Ryan was rewarded with a sharp stab of pain in his head. His hand came away bloody.
"Great. That's just great." He said as he let his bloody palm drop.
Ryan looked around for a way to get out of the seat. He glanced to his right and saw a glint of metal lying on the ceiling of the Buick. Straining in the seat, he could see that the glove compartment had popped open. And lying a few feet away was his grandfather's old switchblade. Ryan reached and strained towards the blade, the weapon just inches from his grasp. With one huge lunge, he scooped it into his hand.
"Gotcha!" he said and immediately started to saw at the material of the seat belt.
Within minutes he was free and fell to the roof with a thud. Being careful not to cut himself on the shards of glass that were around the area, Ryan army crawled out of the wreck. Standing was difficult as a wave of inertia hit him. His equilibrium was off and the crash had made him feel disoriented. He shook off the effects the best he could and looked around. Whatever he had seen walking towards the car was gone.
"Huh, must have been hallucinating?" he said to himself. There was no way what he saw was real.
Ryan turned around, looked at his car and then at the giant sign that he had crashed into.
"'Enjoy your stay'. Yeah right. Great way to start a vacation. Driving through the fog in the middle of the bloody night. Kids running out in front of people's cars. And to top it all off, my insurance agency is going to put my balls in a vice for this." He thought, throwing up his arms in frustration.
He kicked his car.
"Shit! Man, this is so freaking lame"
At least nothing was broken. No bones or large tears in the skin. That was the lucky part. There was really nothing else that could be done. Unless he wanted to camp out under the stars, he would have to walk into town and get some help. And some pain medication. But that would have to come later. Ryan ducked down and fished out some essential supplies from inside the car. Namely a bandana to wrap around his head in order to stop the bleeding and a flashlight. Plus his MP3 player. Even though the thing had nearly cost him his life, there was no reason that he should be without his own internal soundtrack. Ryan deposited the player in his pocket along with his keys, made sure he had his cell on him, wrapped the bandana around his head and walked down Ellroy street into town. In a series of short steps, he disappeared into the dark fog of night. The flashlight guiding his way.
A few feet away, an inhuman thing trotted in the fog. It lurched away into the darkness, all the while making the same gurgling noises it had before.
III
Julia had been walking for a few hundred yards down Backman Rd. Either everyone was already asleep for the night or Silent Hill had really gone to hell since she'd last been here. Even though she'd only just crossed the intersection of Backman and Finney street she could tell that something just wasn't right. There wasn't much electricity running through the shops or corner stores. She had tried checking out the convenience store just as she entered town, only to find it hauntingly deserted and locked.
"HELLO! IS ANYONE HERE!?" she called out into the darkness. "MY CAR BROKE DOWN JUST OUTSIDE OF TOWN AND I NEED SOME HELP!"
No answer. Not even a light turning on in a house. Her voice was lost on the cold dark air of the town. Julia was starting to like her current situation less and less. The fog and night had blended together, making it incredibly difficult to see anything that wasn't three feet in front of her. It was impossible to tell if what she was seeing was fog or the pitch black of night. A primal fear, a fear that only comes from the unseen and the unknown, ran down her spine. Julia didn't want to admit it, but she really didn't want to be here. At least not right now when her sight was good for nothing. She should have come up here when the Sun was out. Walking around in the dark was not her cup of tea.
"Oh well. Nothing I can do about it now" she thought. "I'm here so I might as well get done what I have to get done"
She was just about to reach the corner of Buckman and Matheson Street when she heard a noise. It sounded like heavy foot steps, the noise making her heart jump at the sudden manifestation of sound.
"Just someone out for a walk. Probably a drunk. Nothing to be scared of. Plus I have pepper spray" she thought as she turned her attention to the small aerosol can she had with her. "Pepper spray and a poor disposition. Awesome, at this rate I might as well rob Fort Knox after I finish up here."
She was getting closer to the source of the footsteps and she could tell there was something a bit wrong with them. Even though they were heavy steps, it sounded as if whoever was walking had stepped in mud. Deep smacking sounds resonated from the pavement a few feet ahead of her. She had just passed the Queen Burger when something really out of the ordinary happened.
"Bzzzzzzz. Bzzzzzz. Bzzzzzzz."
"What the hell?" she said, looking down at her front pocket.
Her cell phone was going off again. But that didn't make any sense. The battery had died hours ago. Was it possible that it had saved some of its own charge? Julia heard the foot steps stop, and an eerie slurping sound came from a few feet away. It was a familiar sound. A sound she couldn't quite place. It sounded almost like something eating. Julia turned to her left and shinned her flashlight down the side walk. She froze when she saw what was on the ground.
"Blood?"
Dread filled her heart as she saw a long trail of blood travel down the side walk. The deep scarlet color was nearly black in the low light of the night fog. The trail seemed to move as if something had been dragged from the spot it had initially been at. Julia's mind raced as to why such an out of place thing was now spread across the sidewalk in front of her. Something was seriously messed up about this town. She let her light travel the length of the blood trail till it stopped. What she saw made her eyes widen in terror and the color drain from her face.
"No way. No way" she whispered, unable to wrap her mind around what she was seeing.
On the side walk lay the body of a man or woman. She could make out that it was wearing jeans but that was about it. On top of the body was a gigantic, towering thing. Words couldn't describe what Julia was seeing. The thing was like a giant tripod. Two long appendages made up what she could only assume were arms. Its narrow body supported itself as it indulged in the fresh kill at its own feet. The thing's neck was impossibly long and ended at the body on the ground. It made weird twitching movements, tearing off pieces of flesh and blood from the head and torso of the body. Little bits of red gore sprayed here and there.
Julia's breathing became rapid and intense with fear as she trained her light on the thing in front of her. It stopped eating and turned its head toward the light. She could see that there really wasn't a head per se. All it was was just a flat face at the end of the neck. Its eyes were like slits and its mouth was a mattered parting of flesh. It stood up, blood dripping down its front, and started to walk towards her. Its head twitched as it did so and Julia saw that the whole creature resembled nothing more than a giant bag of walking, rotting meat.
Without further hesitation, Julia turned and ran. The flashlight in her hand sliced through the darkness as she pumped her arms in fear. Aunt Lisa or no Aunt Lisa, she was getting out of this hell hole immediately.
"Askkkeeeurrrghhhh"
The creature let out a low rumbling moan as it trotted after her, hungry for her blood.
III
Heading north on Ellroy street, Ryan Simota was already unnerved at how quiet it was. Granted it was getting late at night, but at least people had the good sense to leave a light on or something when it was this dark and foggy out. He didn't really mind the dark. Living where he did, he had to walk home some nights. So he was used to it. But it was the quiet stillness which rested over the town that made him nervous. There were no identifiable sounds in the area. The only noises were his own footsteps and pulse pounding away in his forehead.
"Silent is right. This vacation's off to a less than pleasant start" he said under his breath.
Things would have been better if he could see clearly. The night was making his trip into town difficult. Or it was possible that he hadn't really shaken off the effects of the crash just yet. But what was really getting to him were the after thoughts of his nightmare.
"Man what an effed up dream" he thought.
He didn't know what he could have done to deserve that. Normally his dreams were filled with visions of Lucy Liu or some other hot woman he would have loved to take to bed with him. And occasionally there were the weird hangover dreams that looked like they had come out of a Tool music video. But nothing like he had experienced when he woke up awhile ago. The hospital had been his place of employment. That much he could gather
"But that kid. There was something strangely familiar about him." he thought to himself again.
Oh well, the whole thing had just been a bad dream, no matter how far out of left field it had come. Ryan continued to make his way up Ellroy street, shining his light to the left and right. He hoped to find some place familiar that could pass for some form of assistance. A restaurant, hotel or even a…
"Gas station, jackpot" he said out loud.
Shining the light across the road, he came across a gas station, the house lights were off. Jogging up to the building he headed for an old looking wooden door that led into what Ryan could only assume was an office or cash register area. He stopped abruptly when he saw that the door was slightly ajar.
"Okay, so do people not lock their doors at night here? Or what?" he wondered
Pausing slightly, he walked into the office. Shining the flashlight around, he could tell there was something definitely wrong with the picture before him. Bottles of oil were strewn all over the floor along with some beverages and snack cakes. Newspapers and receipts littered the area as well. Maybe someone got robbed. The sound of the items crunching, rolling and shifting under his feet didn't make him feel much better.
"Hello" Ryan called out. "Anyone here? I was in an accident outside of town and I need some help. A tow truck? Even a band aid would be nice."
Nada. It was too quiet. Ryan needed some noise or else he was going to lose it. He looked at the MP3 player and tried to turn it on but it just sat in his hands, lifeless. Somewhere in the dark, a sound of a wrench or some other tool rang out as it fell to the floor. With his heart trying to burst from his chest, Ryan instinctively turned around and trained his flashlight towards a door. It read "Garage". He only hopped that it was a mechanic having a late night booze run with his buddies and it had gotten out of hand. Ryan advanced towards the door slowly, his heart racing. He pushed the door open and stepped into the garage. There was a surprising lack of motor vehicles in the area. A deep smell of gas and oil hit him as he swept the light through the area. Suddenly, the MP3 player sprang to life. Sticking one of the buds in his ear, Ryan listened for the sound and was astounded to find that it was just white noise. The thing wasn't fixed at all. Somewhere in the darkness, over the sound of white noise, Ryan heard something wet move, like heavy breathing and eating at the same time.
He shinned the light and caught a work bench. Near the ground were a man's legs sticking out from behind the left side of it.
"Uh, Hello?" he called out. Ryan was starting to dread where this was going.
He looked to the side and attempted to understand the horror of what he was seeing. The headless corpse sat propped up against the wall. A thick splatter of blood and brain matter painted the wall it leaned against. The torso was completely torn open. That in itself should have been scary enough, if it wasn't for the other thing standing right by the corpse.
"Fuckin hell!" he breathed.
Whatever it was, it had once been a dog. Now, it only resembled the animal in form alone. The thing standing before him was an ugly shit green color, hairless and smelled worse than a skunk and a carton of rotten milk combined. It stopped eating the corpse and turned its head. The thing had no eyes but Ryan knew it was looking right at him. Its long proboscis like tongue drooped out of its mouth before retracting in to its jaws. The dog thing put its head low to the ground and growled at him.
"Shit" he said with wide eyes.
If he ran, he was a dead man. The thing would be on him in seconds. Even though it didn't have eyes, he didn't doubt that it would get him.
"Nice doggy, good boy" he said, reaching slowly into his pocket for the switchblade. He had to be careful. Any sudden move could be his last.
Keeping the light on the dog, he withdrew the knife, pressed the button, and the blade popped out with a "click". As soon as he did that the dog thing charged at him. Ryan sidestepped and lashed out with the switch blade. He was rewarded with a large yelp and the dog creature fell back. Things were starting to go his way. There was one problem though. The blade was no longer in his hand. Using the flashlight, Ryan could see that it was lodged in the creature's side. Thick, oozing matter poured out of its abdomen and it growled at him.
"Fuck me sideways" he said backing up against the wall.
Ryan bumped into something and it clanged against the stone wall. Without taking his eyes off the dog, he closed his free hand around it and lifted the object up. It was a steel pipe. The thing had to weigh a good seven and a half pounds. Now he had something better than the switch blade.
The dog charged at him and he swung the pipe in a long arch. The metal piece connected with the creature's head, knocking it to the floor of the garage in a heap. It let out an even louder yelp as it fell to the ground. Without any hesitation, Ryan ran over to the thing and started beating it with the pipe. Each time he struck it, the thing cried out in pain. Ryan didn't care, he wasn't about to let this thing back up for another round. He just kept hitting it and hitting it, grunting each time in terrified fury. He heard a deep crack of bones breaking and stopped bludgeoning the figure. Stepping back, Ryan tried to catch his breath as raw adrenaline pumped through his system.
The creature started to twitch and Ryan jumped, surprised. The thing must have been pretty resilient. He had to have hit it at least ten times. Without another thought, he ran up to it, raised the pipe above his head and brought it down as hard as he could into the dog thing's skull. There was a sickening crack and crunch as the bone fractured, deflating its head. Ryan stopped, knowing that it wasn't going to get back up.
"Play dead" he said, breathing heavily.
Instinctively, Ryan grabbed the pipe and ran from the gas station. He didn't know where to run to. The only thing he knew was that he wanted to get as far away from this place as possible. From somewhere in the darkness he heard the sound of howling and knew that there were more of the dog things around.
"Crap. I gotta get out of this crazy ass town" he said, scanning the street.
He'd hoof it if he had to. So long as he was away from this place. The only problem would be finding his way through this fog. Then from somewhere in the dark he heard a woman scream. From what he was able to discern, it was coming from the north. At least two hundred yards or so. Ryan didn't like this one bit, and the temptation to beat it the hell out of town tugged at his consciousness.
"Okay, think Simota. Save a stranger or run like a bitch. Save a stranger or get your throat torn out by 101 jacked up Dalmatians. Live or die"
He would feel like a gigantic tool for just leaving someone to die. And with that thought pushing him against his survival instinct, he set off running into the town of endless fog.