Ubiquitous Nightmare.
Note: I do not own anything to do with Azumanga Daioh or Silent Hill. I only own this fan fiction story.
Hello again everybody, only a few notes this time:
1.The forum is still up, so if you want to chat, feel free to come along. This forum is not just about the story D.
2.Thanks to the readers so far, I hope you continue to like and review this.
3.Finally, a lot is happening at this time, and as such, updates will be sporadic, even though one a week is bad enough. Sorry for any inconvenience.
With that out of the way, on with the story!
(-o-)
Chapter Seven: All alone.
As the group pursued Chiyo, they noticed her taking a right turn along the large, grey road barely visible through the dense fog. They came to a sudden stop.
"Why're we stopping? Shouldn't we go after her?" noted Tomo, before she noticed the others looking at the map in Yomi's hands. Chiyo had turned in the direction of the hospital, as it was clearly marked on the map.
"She's going there too," Yomi stated, as everyone else agreed. Tomo, on the other hand, was scanning her surroundings for anything else, and noticed a building which seemed helpful, to say the least.
"Hey guys, look," Tomo pointed at a derelict-looking building, as the others merely became confused. "It's a police station!"
At the hearing of the word 'police', they felt a little safer, as they wasted no time in running over to the large double doors at the entrance. They arrived, pushing them aside and entering the large expanse of a hall.
The size and state of the station was enough to calm the girl's hearts, as it was clean and free of any foul infestation, if only for now.
"Hello? Is anybody there? We need help," shouted Kagura, surprised at the echoing response. She shrugged, and looked back at her friends, who were all busy looking through any openings and doors to see if anyone remained. They were soon shocked to believe that no one else was there. It was only the girls.
"I thought for sure there would've been someone here," Tomo said, as Sakaki and Yomi returned from a door with a worried expression. They agreed to Tomo's statement, before the group huddled to discuss what to do next.
"Let's piece together what we know. Chiyo is being controlled by someone, or something," Yomi explained, as Osaka gave a crude look at the mind-control part. "And they need her for their plans. Then there is that guy who is helping us, we have to find out who he is. We've been to the school, and found barely anything. Next is the Hospital, which is only down the road."
"So what you're saying is we need to go there and we'll find Chiyo, right?" Tomo said, slightly confused. Yomi shrugged, before continuing.
"Apart from that note in the school which is nearly unreadable, there aren't many clues to this. All we can do for now is carry on. Is this all clear so far?" Yomi stared as only Sakaki understood, if only barely.
"Basically, we go to the hospital, and see what awaits us there," she finished, as the Bonkuras now understood. They all readied themselves, before Sakaki took the aforementioned piece of paper out and tried to translate it again. She nearly completely understood this time, as she noticed something odd. She alerted the others just before they were going to leave.
"Hey, look at this...before only certain letters were here, but now," she said, before staring at the paper. It now read,
Things need...d for metamorp...sis:
One: Being with great pow...,
...wo: Being wit... great inte...ct,
Thr...e: Ch...ld of God.
Perfor... Ritu...l when al... thi...gs are in order.
Nowhere.
Infirmary.
"That's odd, but what could it mean?" Kagura said, as the others had likewise thoughts. They paid no heed if only for now, as they approached the door. The radio began to hum.
Hesitantly, Tomo walked forward to open the door. The radio rose, but there were no abnormal creatures in sight. They all stepped out in a group, feeling safe in numbers. They pivoted at a low pitch grunt sound, seeing a hideously misshaped type of 'gorilla' standing on all fours, staring at the girls.
Yomi could not help but scream at the sheer sight of the mass of flesh, before it began to hop after the source of the sound. She began to run as fast as she could, with the other girls staring and readying their arms. Yomi started to run in semi circles, but was also getting tired. The creature however showed no signs of fatigue.
Tomo noted that the use of the shotgun may cause it to stop in one go, but she had painful thoughts of what it did to her last time she tried it. She instead stood and watched.
Sakaki lifted the handgun in her hands, and shakily aimed it at the rampaging brute, before pulling the trigger. She did not brace herself for the recoil, and as such took a step back. The bullet pierced the abdominal cavity, as Yomi stopped to catch her breath. She turned to face the creature, which was starting to seep blood from the wound.
The gorilla still showed no signs of stopping, as it pounced forward onto Yomi, forcing her to the ground. She immediately started yelling for help, using her arms to push the fiend's own backwards. Tomo now realised that she was in real danger, and lifted her weapon.
She held her breath, closed one eye and steadily pressed the trigger. The blast forced the brute nearly two metres away, with Tomo nearly doing the same distance. She looked at the shotgun, before noticing the creature was now immobile, and twitching behind her best friend. Yomi was gasping, regaining her breath before getting up and flinging herself onto Tomo, hugging her and saying 'thank you' a few times. Tomo blushed at the thought.
They stood still, waiting for the familiar sound of the radio to quieten, which it finally did. They gathered around Yomi and Tomo, seeing if they were alright. They were, as they all began to walk towards the Hospital.
They continued walking down the barren, cold road, paying no heed to their surroundings. When they reached the front gate to the hospital, Kagura stepped forward to open it, with the courtyard now in front of them all. Gulping, they walked inside and shut the gate behind them.
An evil cackle now permeated the air, as the girls looked into the distance. There was Chiyo, standing and grinning at them, with an even more unsettling appearance.
Her red eyes and pained arm were still there, but now her mouth was coated in a red substance. The girls winced at the sight of her, as Chiyo stood with, what seemed like, blood covering her lips.
She stood, grinning, for another few seconds, before running into the door beside her. The girls all stopped, immobile with fear and worry, over their friend.
"W-what's happening to her?" Sakaki asked, fully aware that the others did not know either.
"Was she hungry?" Osaka joked, before seeing none of the others react in the least bit amused. She quietened herself, before the group all proceeded towards the door used a second ago.
Inside there was a common sight, at least for a Hospital anyway. The reception sprawled out before them, with the billboards noting various pieces of paper. The only thing missing was the other people.
The room was large, wide enough for the girls to only be able to see the room from in front of them, as the rest stretched around a corner. The room was in the shape of an L. They walked forward, before hearing the familiar buzz of the radio start again, accompanied by a growl.
Upon walking around the corner, they could see two of the mutant dogs preying on a humanoid creature, and quite enjoying it too. They paid no heed to the group behind them, even though their whimpers were clearly audible in the near-silent atmosphere.
Kagura stepped forward, creeping ever closer to one of the dogs, pole in hand. She raised it, before smashing it across the head of one of them, causing it to skid across the shiny floor in its own fluids. The other dog was so engrossed in the feast; it did not notice its companion was now against the wall.
The others watched in awe as Kagura dealt with the other dog in the same fashion, before returning and giving a grin to the group. As she approached her friends, she noticed a billboard to her left, with some maps pinned on them. She tore one off, before expectedly giving it to Yomi. She accepted, as she looked through the blueprint of the building. It seemed more complex, and vast, then the school.
"What...or who, were they eatin'?" Osaka said, as the others looked at her weirdly at the 'who' bit. They walked over to the carcass, before gasping in fright and despair.
The humanoid that lay in front of them was Chiyo.
Her figure was the same as it had always been; short due to her age and with the pigtails now soaked in her own blood. Her clothes were ripped from the ravaging animals earlier, yet she had an angelic smile plastered on her face, as if in a trance. One thing they did notice however was the grievous teeth marks in her left leg. The girls fell to their knees, with Sakaki cradling her head back and forth, repeating her name. No response.
"Those...those bastards! I'll get my revenge," Kagura announced, before lifting herself up and repeatedly beating the two dogs. She fell down in a sad phase soon after.
"Just what is all this about!?" Sakaki shouted, now laying Chiyo down. She wiped the tears from her eyes, as she stood. The others followed suit. They surrounded the dead figure of Chiyo, all remembering the best times they had spent in the past. The trip to magical land, the summer home, it would never be the same again. Not without Chiyo.
A few seconds later, a rumbling shake tore through the ground, jolting them all to the floor. They stared in fear as it began to wither into a slight vibration, accompanied by a very loud siren type sound, repeating itself for a further ten seconds. Sakaki turned to notice that Chiyo was now gone. Instead, there was a pool of blood dripping through the floor, which was now the grating that had plagued the girls in the school.
The walls all slowly turned an eerie red hue, as the floor also turned rustic. Suddenly, a door opened in the distance, around the corner. They all steadily pushed themselves around the corner, to see Chiyo once again, but this time in plain sight. There was no fog blocking her identity.
She was now alive. She was standing, with a facial expression that was so blank, even Osaka would have trouble competing. Her body was the same as earlier in the courtyard, but now her leg was badly mauled, closely resembling her dead form earlier. She rushed through the door behind her, regardless of her injured leg, as the girls all stared with a mix of horror, anger and yet also relief.
"So she is alive then?" asked Kagura, now completely confused, with the others not far behind. Seeing as how there were a lot of questions, they thought it best to go after her, as they had no other choice in the matter. They walked forward, weapons at the ready where applicable, and proceeded through the door.
Chiyo was standing in the centre of the room, staring at some writing on the wall in front of her. The message was nearly illegible, yet she stood as if in another trance, absorbing the information. She turned slowly towards the, scared, girls.
She was quiet, and her expression stayed as it were earlier, before her blood-stained mouth opened. She muttered a few words.
"Manager's...Room...Help."
"C-Chiyo? Is that you?" asked Sakaki, getting no response. Chiyo ran through the other door in the room, further into the depths of the Hospital.
"Manager's room, help? What does she mean?" Yomi said, before joining the others in following the young girl.
(-o-)
Well there you have it. It's a little short this time, but I think it went pretty well. Please review and thank you all who have read this and the story so far from the start. You are the factors that keep this story going. I cannot guarantee the next time I'll update, but it should be next Sunday. Thanks again all, 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.