Ubiquitous Nightmare.
Note: I do not own anything to do with Azumanga Daioh or Silent Hill. I only own this fan fiction story.
Welcome one and all; I'm back this time with the turn out of the cliff-hanger from last chapter. It's here on a Tuesday 'cause we had an inset day today. Please review after you've read.
I would like to take this quick opportunity to bring light to the new forum I created on this site. Obviously it's under Azumanga Daioh, but I just wanted to tell others about it. It's called the 'Ubiquitous Nightmare and Azumanga Daioh forum'. A bit of a long winded name, I know, but it has numerous topics, so please, come along some time and chat. There are lots of topics for things other then this story too.
Sorry about the re-upload of chapter four as well, the story is completely the same as before, I just noticed various errors. Anyway, on with the story!
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Chapter Five: A Legion of Darkness.
"No, Tomo!" shouted Yomi, witnessing the lecherous mutant closing in on her best friend.
"W-what can we do!? We have to help her," added Kagura, starting to sweat at the circumstances. Without seeing any other way, Sakaki stepped forward, with Osaka still close behind her.
She raised her arms, holding the gun in both hands. She steadily aimed it at the beast, not caring where to shoot it. 'I hope this works'.
With a squeeze of the trigger, a boisterous echo channelled shock through each of the girls in turn, as the creature showed a sign of stopping, if only for a minute. Tomo looked up at the circumstances, and saw her opportunity.
She began to run after regaining her composure towards her saviour. She reached Sakaki, as well as giving her an enduring hug, whispering the word 'thanks' over ten times. Sakaki blushed slightly, before hearing the creature turn on its spot.
It stood, mouth now shut. It scanned the room, as the girls had now started to congregate on one spot to see if Tomo was alright. She was, if only for now. The creature began its pursuit of any one of them, causing them to scatter again.
"This is gonna be tough," shouted Tomo to the rest. They started sprinting around the room at equal intervals, both trying to flee and confuse the behemoth. It seemed to be working, for it stopped in its tracks, near the centre.
"This is our chance. Come on, we have to think about this. There's no way out, so it looks like taking this thing down is the only way to go. Everyone agree?" ordered Yomi, getting a few bewildered looks in return.
"But how do we kill it? Can it be killed?" questioned Osaka. Yomi shrugged, before turning around to see the creature still immobile. She took a deep breath, before facing her group again.
"Tomo, are you able to use that shotgun?" she asked, noticing the powerful weapon still grasped in her friend's hands. Tomo nodded in agreement, although she had no real idea about it. She was still a little shaken from earlier.
"Uh, guys..." said Osaka, not nearly as loudly as she hoped.
"Don't worry, Tomo. We're counting on you for this," returned Yomi, before Osaka's face turned to a look of sheer horror.
"Guys! Look!" she shouted, as her friends all turned around, one by one. They saw the same visage as Osaka, each altering their expression to match. The beast was very close to them, with its gaping maw once again open. Tomo winced at the sight of it.
"Get outta the way!" Osaka boomed, pushing the others aside. The beast noticed, causing it to change the direction from Osaka to the room in general. It shut its mouth once again. Everyone looked back to her and breathed a 'thanks', before returning to the matter at hand.
Tomo, after looking at the disgusting sight of the maw for the second time, had an epiphany. She readied her shotgun, and ran in the direction of the beast, much to Yomi's shock. Tomo was now a few paces in front of it, with it showing signs of going after her now.
"Hey, open up!" she shouted, even though the creature had every intention of doing so. It slowly separated the sides of its head, and stood, waiting for the precise moment. Tomo lifted the gun up to her waist region, aiming it directly in the centre of the creature's mouth. The rest of the group watched in horror and amazement at the scene to follow.
Tomo pulled the trigger. The resulting blast of fragmentation caused half of one side of the beast's jaws to separate itself from the head, spurting blood out around three foot away. The creature fell limp, before falling and landing with a loud thud, twitching for a further five seconds. Sakaki felt faint, and forced herself to sit down. Kagura and Osaka raced to her to comfort her, while Yomi watched as Tomo returned, although not in the fashion she would have liked.
Tomo seemed to run backwards, as the recoil was definitely stronger then she could have imagined. She raced up to Yomi, heading dangerously on the edge of the 'arena'. Yomi reached her hand out, catching her friend just in time before her demise.
"T-thanks, Yomi. It's stronger then I thought," she breathed, before rubbing her stomach. She lifted her, now blood-drenched, P.E shirt over her abdomen, noticing a large bruise forming. It hurt, but not enough to make her unable to focus. She tossed the shotgun to the floor, not caring for any blasts, as she thought to herself. 'Guns aren't that cool'.
She suddenly felt ill at ease, although why she did not know. Her balance lingered, before disappearing completely. She fell to the floor, raising herself to a sitting position, as Yomi rushed over.
"What's the matter? Tomo?" she shouted, trying to identify her friend's pain, but could not.
"It hurts...A lot," muttered Tomo, grimacing at the pain now present in her stomach. She lifted her shirt again, seeing it change to a purple shade, before Yomi sighed in relief.
"It's only a bruise, don't worry about it,' she reassured her, before producing the bottle they found from earlier. "Here, drink this. It'll do you good, if it's any true."
Although hesitant about drinking it, she felt safe in the knowledge that Yomi was the one giving it to her. She took it, and began to drink it. She gulped a bit, before panting heavily.
"It tastes horrible...But it does have a nice after taste," she said, raising a smile. Yomi reacted in the same fashion, happy in the knowledge that her friend was now safe.
Sakaki finally rose to her feet, with the aid of Kagura and Osaka. Although they wondered why Sakaki seemed to be so put off by blood, they did not have time to ask. The brazier in the centre slowly started dimming.
The room began to flicker out of existence, all traces of the welcoming light dissipating. The girls watched in horror, as they could hardly see each other anymore. After a few seconds, a loud thud caused their hearts to race, as they planted themselves motionless. A loud growl forced them into submission, before the area fell silent.
Nothing could be seen in this space, this area. No noise polluted the air, causing each girl to feel at sanctity, and completely safe. They were seemingly spiralling downwards, before they came to an abrupt stop.
"...Where are we?" murmured Kagura, lifting herself up off the floor, in a room slightly familiar. Light filled the room, from a dim light bulb that seemed to be working now. She looked around, noticing everyone else lying still. She looked against the wall, noticing the pipe from which she broke hers off of earlier. They were in the generator room.
After slowly drifting back into consciousness, the girls all huddled to attention. They checked for injuries, but apart from Tomo, they found none. Dumbstruck at this event, they checked for their weapons. They were still with them, shotgun included.
"...Just what the heck was that!?" shouted Tomo, feeling better that she had recuperated a bit. "It was definitely real," she said, looking at her abdomen area.
"I'm beginning to think this is much deeper then just finding Chiyo now...Hey, talking of her, where is she?" returned Yomi, as everyone shrugged. "We have to find her, but where could she be?"
Osaka started looking around the room. The appearance seemed ostensibly the same as when they first arrived, as she sighed with relief.
"Have ya noticed that this school's back to normal now?" she said, after a brief moment of respite. Yomi and Tomo looked around, also noticing the difference. It was a welcome change, granted it was a normal school now.
"Let's go, if we stay here, we won't go very far," said Kagura, as Sakaki and the rest followed her timidly out of the small safe haven of a room. Tomo gingerly picked up the shotgun, and carried it with her.
They wound up multiple corridors, happy in the fact that light was now coming through the windows. Bathed in this sensation of slight warmth, they felt ready for anything. They eventually reached the front door.
"Okay, let's go," said Kagura, as the door slid open. The cold fog buffeted them, after spending so long inside a building. "Now, where can she be?"
No creatures seemed present, a fact that everyone in the group seemed happy with. The radio also was silent. They proceeded to go back to the bus, but found that it was not there anymore. Wondering if there was anyone else here, they were quickly quietened.
The radio started to fizz slightly, which caused them to be cautious. They walked forward, one step at a time, until the fizzing became very ominous. They froze on the spot, looking around for any creatures present. A low growl spread through the now dense fog, as a figure of a dog was now in view. Figuring that this was a known enemy, they released their tension slightly, although there seemed to be more then one of them.
They slowly turned around, to see a further two dogs behind them, all three now circling them. Feeling slightly nervous, Tomo took a step back towards her friends.
"What are we gonna do?" she breathed, aware that it was a rhetorical question. They readied themselves somewhat hesitantly, before a whistling sound became audible. All of them, including the dogs, looked in the direction, and saw a figure of a man.
He whistled again, as the dogs followed the sound towards him. The figure then raised his arm, which had a shape resembling a gun. He shot the dogs evenly, causing them to fall limp within a few seconds of each other. The girls watched, half amazed and half scared, at this stranger, as he began to walk off into the concealing fog. In the process, he had his hand raised, seemingly waving at them.
"...Who was that?" asked Sakaki, still bearing the image of him waving on her mind. "He seems familiar..." she thought, even though she had very few male relatives or friends.
"Well, whoever it was, we're safe now, I think. Come on, let's g-" interrupted, Yomi and the others pivoted to face behind them, as the sound of a footstep echoed. Chiyo was there. She was standing, facing the group, yet something about her was different. Her irises were now red, causing her eyes to have some fairly unsettling properties. Her left arm seemed to be scratched, as there were various lines sprawled across it, all red as well. Staring directly at the group, she then turned, without making so much as a sound, walking off down the road behind her.
"...Now that is scary," Tomo mused, before seeing everyone around her feel uncomfortable. They rallied themselves, before following the girl.
"She's changing," Osaka mentioned, to which no one else replied. They were too focused on following Chiyo. After a few street turns, and the radio loudening and quietening, they witnessed her walking into a derelict church, to which the windows were planked and the door half missing.
"Come on, let's follow her," said Kagura, still brandishing the pipe she has had for quite the time now. They entered, to see it completely empty. Not a soul present, apart from theirs.
"Where'd she go?" said Tomo, getting no response. The altar seemed brand new, whereas everything else seemed quite dilapidated. They proceeded towards the altar, noticing a few objects of interest lying on it.
A piece of paper, a small key with a tag, a folded piece of thicker paper, another health bottle and some more handgun bullets rested on top, as Sakaki took the paper. She read it aloud.
'To the ones stranded in this alternate realm, if you wish to escape,
You will need to use this key to get to Central Silent Hill. From there,
Go to a place on your map entitled 'Alchemilla Hospital'. I do not have the time to say why.
I've been stranded a while, but I can tell you want to leave more then me.
Do not be afraid of this phenomenon. Fear can be in many forms, many far from foul.
I leave you with these directions; follow if you have any inclination of escaping.
Also, your friend will be fine, yes, Chiyo, if you reach her in time. I wish you luck, signed anonymous.
Slightly happy to hear from someone else, and also the reassuring words that the person had written, they searched through the other items. The folded paper was a city map for central and west Silent Hill, and the key's tag had the word 'Drawbridge' imprinted upon it. The last part of the letter showed the directions, pointing to the far eastern road on the west Silent Hill map, which leads to the central district.
"Wow, he even left us bullets! I wonder who he is? Do you think he was the one who helped us earlier?" barraged Tomo, excited to hear from other people, be it only one. The others smiled at each other, got themselves ready, and distributed the items. The order of inventory was fairly similar. Sakaki could not help but feel slightly confused, and worried, at the latter part about Chiyo written on the paper.
Sakaki held the handgun, as Yomi had the maps and the bullets. Osaka carried the health drink bottle, with Tomo holding the shotgun still. Kagura had the pipe and the drawbridge key. Under Yomi's guidance, they proceeded out of the church, and made their way to the road indicated by the instructions. They soon found it, proceeding along its length, until the radio began to crackle.
A large figure, albeit not much larger then the dog apparitions from earlier, rolled into view. This one seemed much more dangerous, save for its ability to become air born. It had large wings, easily breaking two metres in span.
"Watch out!" Kagura called, as it flew by, claws slightly extended, over the head of Sakaki. Panting, she raised the gun to aim at it, although it vanished into the fog. The radio still crackled, indicating it to still be in the vicinity. It slowly flew back into range, as Sakaki pulled the trigger.
She hit it directly, with a pot shot far exceeding any standards. It flew downwards towards the floor, landing head first onto the concrete. Its neck seemed to snap upon impact, leaving a rather disturbing image imprinted on each of their minds.
Regaining their composure, they proceeded towards the end of the road. After being reached, a small building was on the right side of the road, as the radio died out. In front on the building was the drawbridge, currently up so no one could go across. Now realising why the key was left for them, they walked into the office and turned on the bridge control. They lowered it, watching it hover downwards creating a, now usable, bridge to the centre of Silent Hill.
As it lowered, they watched, deep in thought. The bridge soon lowered completely, creating a small rumble as it flattened, now showing a road to central Silent Hill. They walked out of the office, albeit hesitantly, and walked up to the large road now open to them.
The familiar figure of Chiyo was now visible, somehow across the drawbridge. She paid no heed to the group, as they followed her across it, into the depths.
"How'd she get over there?" questioned Osaka, before getting no answer from the group. They continued walking, deeper into the fog.
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And there you have it. Chapter 5 is now complete. I hope it met some of your standards, yet I'm sorry if it did not. Please review, as I'd like to hear from you. Until next time, probably Saturday, this is Love Hina Addict signing off.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Azumanga Daioh or Silent Hill. I only own this fan fiction story.