Disclaimer: I do not own Silent Hill 3 or anything in relation to it. I only own Katy.

A/N: So, I know it's been a couple weeks since my last update, but I've been trying to settle back into the routine of school. Hopefully, the updates won't be too far apart. Also, thank you for the wonderful reviews and I hope you guys enjoy the next chapter!

Chapter 20: Jump

After a while, the only sound that could be heard was that of our labored breathing. Douglas leaned over Thomas' limp body and rested a hand just above his eyelids. Then, with a swift gesture, Douglas closed Thomas' eyes permanently and stood, stumbling the slightest bit. I remained in the background, watching Thomas Sullivan's body and thinking that nobody deserved that kind of pain or end. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, I realized as I pictured Claudia, striding through those gates with purpose.

"Poor kid," Douglas murmured, his mind on the same wavelength as mine. His eyes were nearly vacant as if he were recalling a long lost memory. All I could do was nod in agreement and wring my hands together. Douglas turned to me with a thin smile, absent of any cheer. "You know, for a minute he reminded me of my son. Stupid kid—"

"Got himself shot while robbing a bank, right?" I couldn't help finishing for him, if only to prove once more that I knew more than I should have. Douglas spun towards me, all the breath leaving his body as his face became shocked. His eyes went wide for a minute and then his face softened.

"Yeah, exactly. But of course you would know that, wouldn't you?" Douglas offered me a wise smile and I nodded again. Maybe now he finally believed I was telling the truth. How else would I have known about the son he barely mentioned?

"I'm sorry about your son. We better get moving if we're going to catch up to Claudia," I hinted, wanting to leave this area all of a sudden. The glassy eyes of the Rabbits seemed to follow me and I avoided glancing at Thomas' body at all costs. Douglas sighed and—with one last long look at Thomas—told me to "lead the way."

….

I knew the game like the back of my hand—I had played it more than once. So, acting like the expert, I immediately led Douglas to a brown door across the area, away from the bleeding costumes of Robbie the Rabbit. Occasionally, I would warn him to watch his step, especially since there were gigantic holes in the ground that seemed to never end. The last thing I needed was for him to pull a Heather stunt and fall over the edge.

With Douglas' gun pointed straight ahead and my katana at my side, I shoved open the brown door. The other side involved a circular pathway of gift shops, customer service tables, and other attractions. Deep growls started up the minute we stepped through, but I ignored them.

"I hope you have extra bullets," I softly confided in Douglas, who checked his pockets and nodded. His face was grim as we moved along the pathway; I could tell he didn't like this situation any better than I did. Every time we passed by a shop or building, Douglas would look to me in question, but I kept moving on. The air was heavy with fog so much that I could hardly see the path itself. The high walls pulsated with droplets of blood and—unless it was my imagination—were throbbing as though alive and breathing. Douglas eyed the walls with disgust and I didn't blame him.

"Here," I said to him as we reached a certain gift shop. The door was narrow and resembled the entrance. The way the fog hung in the air, we almost missed it. Douglas briefly lowered his gun as he followed me inside and then proceeded to examine the entire room. Instantly, I closed in on one corner of the room where a set of cookie tins were piled on top of each other. "There's a key here somewhere, in one of these tins. Help me find it," I demanded him as I began pulling down the tins and pulling them open.

"A key to what?" Douglas always did ask the most mundane questions. Frantically, I pulled open another cookie tin—empty save for some chocolate chip cookies with icing—and glared at him.

"Does it matter? It's a key so find it," I snapped. Douglas stared at me like I was crazy, but then holstered his gun and grabbed a couple cookie tins. He laid them on the counter behind him and started searching. My fingers crawled over the tins, opening them and then dropping them hastily on the ground. Too bad…these cookies actually look good. Maybe I'll try one…

"Found it," Douglas exclaimed as he held up a brass key, waving it with a proud expression on his face. Forgetting the temptation of the cookies, I snatched it from his hand and pocketed it. Douglas whipped out his gun again, as though a monster was going to come crashing through the doors any minute. At least he's being cautious, I thought brightly.

"Alright, let's get out of here before something topples over and gives me a heart attack," I said, heading for the doors. Douglas gave me an odd look and shook his head.

"Something tells me you're being serious," Douglas replied, eyeing the teetering stack of cookie tins on the shelf. Regardless, he followed suit and marched through the doors and back out into the eternal darkness. Behind us, I could have sworn I heard the thundering crash of the cookie tins meeting the floor.

…..

Together, Douglas and I made our way to the entrance to the roller coaster. Below that area, I knew, was a way to reach the merry-go-round, where I'd have to face Alessa. Douglas slowed me by checking each and every door we passed, shooting down the obstacles in our way. As he walked beside me, his eyes were deeply troubled; he was still upset about learning that this whole situation might just be a simple videogame.

The further we progressed, the more the fog seemed to choke us. It hung in the air before us and left chills on my arms. Occasionally, we had to stop to examine a particular sign—the fog made everything difficult to read. By the time we actually reached the roller coaster, Douglas had wasted half his bullets and my muscles were screaming for relief.

"It's through here," I pointed to a blue door that housed the controls for the roller coaster. The gate for the ride was slightly ajar, its sign hanging by a single string and reading "You must be 49" tall to ride." "Do you have the key?" Douglas searched his pockets and for a startling moment, I thought he dropped it somewhere. If he did, I was going to make him turn around and look for it. His eyes lit up as he revealed the small key from inside his coat.

"Why do we need to use the controls? I'm pretty sure a roller coaster can't turn itself on," Douglas argued, clearly impatient. I shot him a knowing look, about to unleash some of my mysterious knowledge.

"Shows how much you know about Silent Hill," I retorted as I jiggled the key in the lock. The door refused to budge at first, but then I shoved my weight against it and I fell into the control room. Immediately, I saw one of the buttons flashing, a label next to it reading "On/Off." Douglas watched over my shoulder as I inserted the key into a small slit and turned the dial to "Off." Just to be sure the button wouldn't "accidentally" move, I found a broom inside the room and leaned it against the button.

"Let me guess….better to be safe than sorry?" Douglas appeared skeptical as he stared at the oddly placed broom.

"Exactly. Let's go," I ushered him through the door, unaware that the handle of the broom was slowly slipping from the button.

….

It was quiet between us as we slipped through the gate and began trekking along the steel tracks of the roller coaster. My boots clomped against the hard surface, the only sound around us. Douglas held his gun firmly in one hand, his eyes guarded even though my radio had been silent for some time now.

"So how are we going to climb down to the lower area?" Douglas voiced the question I had been juggling in my mind. Unfortunately, I hadn't thought that far ahead in the future to give him a definite answer.

"Well, there has to be some kind of ladder or stairs right? We'll find a way down," I assured him, though I wasn't feeling too confident. As we walked, my mind trickled through other disturbing thoughts. Where was Claudia? Was she already at the Church? Where was Vincent, now that I had avoided what had looked to be an inevitable meeting?

Suddenly, the tracks shook beneath our feet and I paused. Douglas had done the same, lifting his gun and glancing around for the source of the movement. A chill went down my back as I had a sense of déjà vu. Carefully, I raised my katana and searched for an exit off this track.

"What the heck was that?" Douglas gazed over at me with concern, waiting for my all-knowing answers. My heart pounded as I understood very well that I had underestimated Silent Hill. What was worse, Douglas was with me and he was now in danger just by being around me.

"If I'm right, then we'll have to get off these tracks quickly," I warned him, my voice shaking. For once, I thought I'd outsmarted whatever forces were at work here. Understanding the message, Douglas frantically looked for a way out. A low rumbling reached my ears and I realized we were running out of time. There's only way off…and that's jumping off!

"Douglas," I started, preparing to break the news to him of our escape plan. He was busy packing more bullets in his gun and racking his brains for an answer to listen. His mouth was set in a thin, straight line as he became more and more unsettled.

"There has to be a way," Douglas murmured, more to himself than to me. What were we supposed to do? There was no way I wanted to risk Douglas' life, even if he was just a videogame character. To me, it'd be the same as taking an ordinary person's life away. The rumbling grew louder, practically roaring, and the tracks once again began to shake.

"Douglas—" My voice grew frantic and I struggled to be heard over the approaching coaster. Through the fog, I could just make out the outline of the heavy ride, just turning the bend. It would crush us and then it would be game over.

"There's always something. We just have to think—"

"Douglas!" My voice screeched across to him and he whirled, shocked by my sudden desperation. Dropping the katana through the cracks of the track, I grabbed ahold of his coat and pushed him towards the edge. The coaster was racing towards us, with only a few seconds until it hit. "Jump," I ordered him and there was no time for debate.

I think I heard Douglas ask if I was crazy, but I was already plunging over the side. Douglas fell with me, just as the coaster raced by, right where we had been only a second before. The pressure of falling wrapped around me like a strong pair of wings, until I could no longer breathe or feel my heart against my chest. After that, I barely felt the impact of the ground as the pressure subsided and I slipped away into darkness.

….