Disclaimer: Of course, I do not own anything related to Silent Hill. That would be ridiculous (and amazing). All I own is my OC, Katy. That's it.
A/N: First off, sorry for the wait (life got in the way) and a shout out to UndeadCowboy; that review was…epic (for me, anyway). It gave me so much inspiration and motivation! Now, on to the chapter and this will include the end of the mall level (let's see how I do!).
Chapter 5: Darkest Before The Dawn
My stomach stopped clenching tightly after only five minutes, but it felt like an eternity since I had opened that stall door. All that blood and gore…it still burned a hole in the back of my brain. My hands gripped the sink until they were white and started to hurt. My head hung over the sink, my eyes closed tightly as if that would help erase the image that lingered there. A string of clear spit ran down my chin and I wiped it away with the back of my hand. This isn't happening. It's all just a dream. I'm going to open my eyes and wake up from this nightmare!
Too bad that kind of wishing didn't work. Lifting an eyelid, I still saw the dirty sink below me, now filled with the remaining contents of my stomach. It wasn't a dream and for all I knew there was no waking up. Breathing deeply, I forced myself to calm down and think clearly.
This was Silent Hill, probably the scariest fictional town there was in a videogame. I just happened to be stuck in it. For whatever reason, the town had chosen me as its victim. If I didn't stop acting weak whenever I encountered something scary, I would never get out of here alive. All I needed to do was face it and get through it as soon as possible.
The self-advice seemed to work a little. My body began to relax and I was able to stand up straight without the sensation that my head would fall off my shoulders. The palms of my hands were red from holding on to the edges of the sink. There was still some intense pain from that dog bite and dried blood caked the side of my leg all the way down to my boot. Smirking down at it, I figured that if another Double Head came along, it would get the lucky chance to rip off my leg completely.
Ignoring the gruesome stall as best I could, I slipped through the bathroom door and into the dim hallway. The stench of fresh blood from that stall was still inside my nose and I gulped down mouthfuls of somewhat fresh air.
Okay, think, I concentrated on focusing my attention on the task at hand. The sooner I got out of here, the better. All I have to do is find the moonstone, which just happens to be inside a walnut of all things. Then I just have to fight that creepy worm-like monster…My breath caught in my throat and anxiety overtook me at the thought of fighting that thing.
An inhuman growl rose from the deep darkness to my right and my anxiety increased. It drowned out the screeching static of my radio, it was so obnoxious. Moving my eyes towards the shadows beside me, I could just make out the outline of a Double Head, its two heads twisting in impossible positions. Oh, God…not again!
Without giving me a chance to react, the Double Head lunged from the darkness, its tongue almost a foot long and wagging around in the air. Its teeth were bared and looked deadly sharp, with blood crusting the edges. Releasing a scream, I held an arm up to protect my face. The dog's smelly breath filled my nostrils and I gagged slightly, anticipating the impact of its jaws in my skin.
The impact never came. A few inches away, the Double Head whined and squealed in pain, the kind of sound that sent a chill up my nerves whenever that sound came from a dog. Cautiously lowering my arm, I realized what had happened. One of those tall creatures had swept the dog away with its arm before it managed to land on me. Its head spun wildly and a sense of recognition came.
Valtiel? He saved me? I knew Valtiel could easily resurrect Heather after dying in the game, but this was unexpected. He plunged his sharp claws into the Double Head's body, silencing it forever. Digging the claws out—and taking a few chunks of the dog's flesh with it—he glanced at me apprehensively.
For a second, it almost felt as though he could see me, even though there were no distinguishable eyes on its gray face. He just stood there, staring at me and not harming me. With a tip of the head, Valtiel turned and dragged its body along the corridor and out of sight.
"Thank you," I whispered into the thick darkness, knowing that if it weren't for his sudden appearance, I'd most likely be a goner by now. It was nice to know I had received some unlikely help from something in this nightmare. The moonstone, I reminded myself. Time is of the essence…
Up ahead was an ivory, delicately carved door that seemed familiar. My flashlight reflected off a shiny sign on the window that showed the name of the shop. The sign was yellow and faded, but I could tell it had once been vibrant just like everything else in this mall. A red awning hung over my head and small droplets of blood poured down as if it were raining. What the hell? I don't even want to know where that blood is coming from. Covering my head with my hands—and yelping when some of the warm drops landed on my hands—I made my way into the small shop.
It was empty, like an apartment or space that is ready to be rented out. A few small cases were set along the side of the room, their glass coverings shattered into pieces. Dust and residue was layered on the fine wood floor and the abandoned objects. A checkout desk was next to the door, with a poster on the side boasting about a special sale with everything in the store 30% off. I don't think they're going to be having that special sale anytime soon, I thought as I eyed the poster.
In one of the broken cases was a tiny pink pillow, the kind with trimming along the edges and golden tassels on each corner. Sitting in the very center of the pillow was the walnut I needed. Eureka! It was one of the only items left in the store, though why a walnut would be in a glass case on a fancy pillow was beyond me. The things that pass for important in Silent Hill…
An idea popped into my head as I was stuffing the walnut into one of the pockets of my white vest. I really didn't want to prolong this "experience", which included going out of my way to search for a nutcracker. Placing the walnut on the dirty wooden floor, I raised my foot and smashed the heel of my boot against the shell. It did little damage; the only thing that came out of it was a thin crack along the shell. Oh, come on. Crack already! Or are you going to make my life more difficult than it already is?
Lifting my foot again, I used the same technique and heard a distinctive cracking sound as my heel connected with the walnut. The shell had practically broken in two; it just needed a little prying of my fingernails to reveal the milky white moonstone. Holding the delicate stone up like a trophy, I grinned and silently gloated. Take that, Heather! Certainly saves time, doesn't it?
Pocketing the jewel, I left the store with a satisfied smile on my face. In my victory of retrieving the moonstone in such short notice, I temporarily forgot about the "rain" outside. My smile transformed into an expression of disgust as a trickle of filthy blood fell into my hair, staining the blond color to a crimson shade. My hands clenched in frustration as I tried to pretend that didn't happen. Is it entirely impossible for me to catch a break at all? Now I'll have to take a shower just to remove the blood from my hair!
Cursing, I stomped down the hallway, not caring what creature heard me then. They would be quite unlucky if they ran into me at that point. I was fuming so much and was so preoccupied with wiping the blood from the crown of my head that I nearly missed the restaurant in front of me. My nose was inches away from the door before I realized I had almost walked into it. What was even stranger was that the door was ajar.
The anger leaving me, I went on my guard and carefully edged the door open. The door gave a shrill moan as it opened wider, allowing me to see inside. It was like any other restaurant in the world; there were multiple wooden tables scattered around the room, some with menus still laying on their surfaces. A tilted chalkboard on the wall demanded customers to "please seat themselves", written in grayish white chalk. A larger chalkboard was hanging behind a bar and I had to admit that most of the dishes sounded good. My stomach grumbled in agreement.
Above my head was a silver ladder. It was too high for my five-foot-four figure to reach, no matter how much I jumped like an idiot. What I was supposed to use was that cruddy hanger from a rundown clothes shop, but I wasn't going to venture out there to get it. Come on, Katy. Be clever. Oh, look. There are thousands of wooden tables around…
Studying the wooden tables, I wondered if any of them were sturdy enough to hold my weight. Shrugging, I figured it was best to at least try it. Shoving my entire weight against one particularly large table, I managed to move it directly under the ladder. Climbing on top, I felt the table shift and shake a little. The silver ladder was still out of my reach despite my elevated stance. Jumping, my fingers grazed the cold ladder. Come on, come on…a little higher! This is what I get for skipping gym class!
Bending at my knees, I launched myself into the open air and my fingers wrapped around the ladder. For a second, my body stayed there, my feet swaying in the air as I attempted to pull the ladder down. My fingers began slipping off the slick surface of the first rung.
Stupidly, I tried pulling my body up closer to the ladder so that I could pull it downwards. An aching sensation filled my left side as I dropped back down a few inches. The ladder slid down with me at a quick pace and I collapsed onto the hard table below. Okay, maybe finding the hanger wouldn't have been such a bad idea after all, I realized as I rubbed my bruised arms and legs. They were already turning black and blue. Sighing, I grabbed onto the ladder and ascended to the third floor.
…..
The first thing I heard was static, but it wasn't coming from my radio, much to my relief. The static was coming from a little black television up ahead, gray and white snow covering the screen.
Filling the hallway of the third floor were hospital beds, the white sheets stained with dried blood and lifted by the bodies underneath. I wasn't even sure if those people were dead, but I wasn't going to check. What the hell are hospital beds doing in a mall? A soft moan seemed to come from the bed closest to me and I darted down the hallway, not wanting to stick around any longer.
The small television set was inside a window of a store. The static grew louder as I approached it. Briefly, I wondered if this television could be reacting to the supernatural forces of Silent Hill, like the mysterious hospital beds for instance. Within the static, a faint gray picture went in and out. It was hard to make out, but it looked like the image of a young girl, crying out for her father. Cheryl? Or Alessa?
Turning my back on it, I raced for the escalator to my left, the static becoming more distant as I went, but never fully diminishing. The escalator was still, forcing me to climb it like I would with stairs. At the very top was a black door with a large red moon in its center. A few lines of writing were inscribed into the door, but I paid no attention to it. Pulling the moonstone out, I looked around the door, wondering where to put it. This is so much easier in the game; the only it says is that you use an item and click! It works…here, you have to do everything yourself!
A miniscule indent below the doorknob was shaped like the moonstone. It was so tiny that I easily missed it the first time I studied the door. Fitting the stone into the indicated space, the door unlocked with a sharp click. Thank God! I'm almost out!
The door opened onto an empty platform that was similar to the main sections of the mall. There were no other doors or even a railing to prevent someone from falling into the depths of darkness below. The sound of my boots tapping on the grimy tiles echoed around me, as if the place were mocking my presence. A narrow ledge led to an endless ladder, descending into the unimaginable horrors below. Well, here goes nothing, I thought while leaning over the edge to peer into the immense darkness. Carefully, I lowered my body onto the ladder and the darkness swallowed me whole. It's always darkest before the dawn…right?
…..
It was freezing as I stepped down onto the soft dirt ground. The openings of several tunnels lined the sides of the room and I swore I could hear the heavy breathing of that worm creature in one of them. Shivering both from fear and the temperature, I took a few steps into the room, my eyes scanning around for any sign of movement.
The grinding sound of metal came from behind me. As I spun on my heels, I remembered what had happened to the ladder in the game. Now, it was torn from the wall and hanging at an odd angle. Pieces of the last few steps were scattered on the ground.
The heavy breathing grew as the worm boss erupted from one of the tunnels to my left. Its flabby flesh split into two, revealing a row of sharp jaws. Even though it had no visible eye sockets, the thing charged right for me. Shaking, I emptied a round of bullets into its face before it knocked me to the ground. Pain soared up my legs as I lay there, filling my lungs with air and the musty scent of the dirt. Get up! It's coming back!
Somehow, I managed to ignore the pain and got to my feet, swaying just a bit. Holding my handgun close to my chest, I listened for the worm. It crashed through another tunnel—to my right this time. A piercing screech hit my ears. Gritting my teeth, I aimed for the worm's mouth and shot off the last of my bullets.
The worm lifted its body in the air and collided against the ground with a thud. Just to be careful, I swung my boot into its gray head. Dropping to my knees, I wanted nothing else than to leave this place.
The haunting siren rang out through the tunnels. My flashlight dimmed and then the walls of the tunnels ceased to exist. The body of the worm was wrapped in tendrils of darkness. The tendrils snaked along the ground and spiraled up my legs. The siren grew increasingly loud as I was finally carried away on a dark river.
…..
It's finally the end of the mall level! I'm hoping to update soon. Thank you to those of you who are reading my story!