Disclaimer: I do not own Silent Hill or anything related to it. Konami does. I only own the character of Katy.

A/N: At least this update was faster, right? Well, I hope you guys continue reading my story and giving me such helpful reviews.

Chapter 16: Silent Hill

It only took me about fifteen minutes to wash up and apply a clean strip of gauze over my wound, but it should have been long enough for Vincent to have come and gone. As I emerged from the apartment building, I stopped in my tracks on the top step.

"What are you still doing here?" Vincent was standing near Douglas, a suspicious smile on his face. He turned to me abruptly as if he just realized it was me who had spoken up. Behind his glasses, I could just catch a glint of amusement before it vanished.

"Still?" That one word made my insides fall. Another slip-up and this time in front of Vincent. Why do I keep doing that? "Don't tell me you don't enjoy my company, Katherine," Vincent continued while I was standing there, probably with my emotions engraved on my face. Douglas seemed confused, glancing back and forth between us.

"Are you two friends or something?" Douglas' eyes went from Vincent to me. Vincent's mouth opened to answer but I quickly overrode him.

"Acquaintances, if even that," I said, glaring at Vincent. A mocking, innocent look passed over his face as though he sincerely did not know what I meant. No matter how many times I played through Silent Hill 3, I still didn't think I could trust him completely.

"Why, Katherine, that's just rude. Besides, I want to help. Is that so bad?" Every word that came from Vincent rang false, but Douglas didn't seem to think anything was wrong. When he saw that I wasn't going to approach him, Vincent stepped forward and revealed a map, almost out of thin air.

"Thanks," I reluctantly said, reaching for the map. For a second, Vincent maintained his grip on it and I nearly had to pull it away from him. Another game of his, I was sure.

"We should be going soon," Douglas hinted, glancing towards Vincent. Pushing his glasses onto the bridge of his nose, Vincent grinned widely at me.

"Also, you might want to locate someone once you're in Silent Hill…Leonard Wolf," Vincent stated, ignoring anything that Douglas and I said. For a long minute, Vincent stared at me and I wondered if he was waiting for a response. Slowly, his eyes studied my face and then moved down until they came to my leg. "I see you've finally fixed that."

"I am capable of taking care of myself, you know," I snapped back angrily. Vincent stifled a small laugh, as if he thought that was ridiculous. Heat flushed my face as he began to walk away.

"By the way, nice sword," he called back, gesturing to the katana by my side. As if to show that I meant business, I gripped the handle tightly. Then, a new realization occurred to me.

"Wait, aren't you going to Silent Hill, too?" Vincent stopped and gazed at me intently. Douglas was watching the exchange, obviously fascinated by someone as strange as Vincent. Immediately, Vincent showed me one of his Cheshire cat grins.

"Just a little business to take care of first. Nothing you'd be interested in, I'm sure," he nonchalantly stated. Crossing my arms over my chest, I gave him my most serious look. Even I didn't think it worked too well.

"Try me," I challenged him, to no avail. Vincent didn't bother to hide his creepy laughter this time as he melted into the shadows and darkness. In a mere instant, he was no longer visible.

"See you in Silent Hill, Katherine," his voice drifted to me from the darkness. It felt a little like a threat and it sent chills down my arms. Rubbing them, I stepped down from the stairs and moved towards Douglas, who appeared very confused.

"That Vincent…he's definitely a different character. I'd watch out if I were you," he warned me, almost like a father would warn a child. I nodded weakly, still thinking about the things Vincent said. "Are you ready to leave yet?"

"Let's get this over with," I told Douglas and he didn't argue; he held my door open for me and then slipped into the driver's seat. It was going to be a long ride to Silent Hill, one that I was not entirely anticipating.

…..

Rain began pouring as soon as we hit the road, coming down in buckets over the car's windshield. The swishing of the wipers was the only existing sound. Douglas kept glancing over at me, obviously concerned. I rested my head against the cool glass of the window, my head filled with so many thoughts.

"Oh, yeah…I meant to give this to you. It belonged to Harry," he suddenly spoke up, taking a notepad from some space next to him. I already knew what it was and I didn't think I could handle the headache that would inevitably come.

"You can read it if you want. But the less you know, the better," I told him without looking at him. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him stiffen and replace the notebook, a frown on his face. Slowly, I closed my eyes and somehow I managed to fall asleep with the pounding of the rain becoming my lullaby.

….

I was playing Silent Hill 3 and I was inside Brookhaven Hospital. There was only one light on in my room and chills occasionally skittered along my spine as I progressed through the game.

On the screen, Heather was standing inside the third floor storage room, except it was different now because it was the nightmare version of the hospital. There was a sheet of glass covering the wall and lines of blood trailed along the floor in the reflection. A moment later, they had disappeared…and started coming towards Heather as reality set in.

Blood spilled from the walls and dribbled across the tiles. In the reflection, Heather's appearance rapidly grew gory and suddenly it wasn't Heather looking back anymore. It was Alessa.

Heather backed away from the blood that covered the floor, but it was no good. It was everywhere; on the walls, the floors, splattered across the clean glass of the mirror. Alessa's image copied her, but then stopped without warning. It was impossible, but true.

Heather moved towards the door and repeatedly tried it, but the door wouldn't open. It was locked and wouldn't budge. Across the screen, white letters explained it again and again. Soon it would be game over and Heather would die, but the door wouldn't open…wouldn't open…wouldn't open…

…..

"It won't open…it won't open," I was mumbling in my sleep. Occasionally, my head banged against the window, but it didn't stir me at all. Strong hands shoved me, until I realized they were trying to wake me up.

"Katherine, Katherine…wake up!" The hands continued shaking me and slowly I regained consciousness. My head spun wildly as I tried to sit up straight in my seat. Black spots danced before my eyes, but they gradually went away.

As soon as I could focus, I noticed that Douglas was scrutinizing me closely with one hand in the air, as though he had wanted to shake me again. We were sitting in the car and the rain had long ago stopped.

"Are you feeling alright?" Douglas questioned me hesitantly. I lifted one hand to brush away the hair that had fallen into my face as I slept. Lowering the car's visor, I studied myself in the mirror and saw that my hair was a complete mess. Oh, well…it could be worse, I figured.

"I'll survive…I think," I said, trying to make light of the situation at hand. Douglas gave me a serious look. "I'm fine," I reassured him, dropping the joking manner. It was then that I took a good look at my surroundings. We were in the parking lot of Jack's Motel, in front of a hotel room with a crooked mat under the door.

"I thought we could get some rest before venturing out there," he explained, pointing behind us to the street of Silent Hill. I nodded and instantly opened my door. Douglas followed suit, producing a key from his pocket.

"How'd you get the key to the room? This place is deserted," I wondered. It took me a moment to understand that I had answered my own question. Douglas inserted the key and gave me a sideways glance.

"Exactly. The office was deserted as well. I just picked a key at random," he said, pushing the motel door open. I eyed the dimness of the room and gazed back at him.

"If we have a crappy room, you're going back to get us another key," I joked and—shockingly—he laughed. I don't think I ever heard Douglas do that yet and it made me smile a little. "So you do have a sense of humor," I praised him.

"Even in the worst of times, it's good to have something to laugh about," he replied. Douglas entered the room and motioned for me to come inside. The room wasn't actually that bad. The bed looked comfortable, so much that I chose to sit in a very hard chair in order to avoid falling asleep again.

"Now what?" It was a stupid question for me to ask, but I wanted to know what Douglas was thinking. Out of habit, he fingered the empty box of cigarettes in his coat pocket. The poor guy was probably desperate for one.

"We should split up. We'll cover more ground that way. I'll check out Leonard's house while you head for the hospital," Douglas said, apparently not expecting an argument. Recalling the dream, I leaned back in my chair and defiantly pouted.

"No way. I'm not going to the hospital yet. I'll go with you to Leonard's house and we'll go from there," I retorted. Douglas' mouth dropped open in surprise.

"Katherine, we could—"

"Besides, I'm the one with the katana, right? It's too dangerous for us to be out there alone," I played that card well. Even Douglas couldn't argue against that point. It took him a minute, but finally he dipped his head in agreement.

"Fine. Are you ready or do you want to rest first?" As if Douglas had to ask that question. Once again, he reached for the pack of cigarettes before remembering there wasn't any.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," I replied, getting to my feet. Glancing longingly at the bed, I followed Douglas outside. To Leonard's house we go…

…..

Hmmm…Leonard's house. That should be interesting. What will Katy find there? Until next time, readers! (=