Disclaimer: I do not own Silent Hill 3. Katy is the only character I own in this story.
A/N: Guess what? Thanks to you guys, this story has reached 100 reviews! I think everyone deserves a lifetime supply of brownies! (=
So, I believe this will be the last chapter of this story. *sad face* It ahd to come sometime. Of course, there's always the sequel idea...
Enjoy, everyone!
Chapter 33: Awakened
Claudia was swallowed by the black shadows of the hole and then she was gone. For another minute, I watched the hole-maybe I was waiting to hear some sign that the God had been born-but there was only silence. Was Claudia dead yet?
Turning around, I noticed that Vincent was looking a lot stronger than he did moments ago. Carefully, he got to his feet as I crossed the room. Leonard's lifeless body was right where I had left it and I kneeled down to pull the knife from his chest. The blade was slick with blackened blood and I scrunched up my nose as a few drops fell onto my skin.
"What do you think you're doing? It's not possible to kill the God," Vincent warned me, staring at the knife in my hand. My body was still aching, but I forced myself to deal with it. Slowly, I turned to face him, nothing but seriousness in my expression.
"Watch me. If you don't mind, I'll need a way back up after. Maybe a rope or something," I hinted. Vincent gazed at me with a half-smile, as if he thought I was joking. My patience and sense of humor had worn out.
"I'll see what I can do," Vincent said before walking out of the room. I wondered if he would ever come back. Limping over to the hole, I tucked the knife into a deep pocket of my jacket. Closing my eyes, I took in a deep breath and jumped over the edge.
...
It had been a long fall; it was akin to Alice falling down the rabbit hole. My body landed on the cold bottom and I winced as a new wave of pain swept over my body. Nearby, Claudia's dress was spread out on the ground, torn into strips. Her actual body was long gone.
The room was circular and candles were placed on each side. The glow from the candles caused the shadows to dance along the walls, as if they too had been resurrected with the God. My eyes focused on the form in front of me, which was taller than even Leonard had been. I would have guessed nearly ten feet. The God, I thought as I studied it.
Every inch of its body was burnt and blackened. Its face looked similar to Alessa, with a bob of dark hair. It had wiry arms and legs, but I was certain it could knock me down far worse than Leonard had. Pulling my knife out, I prepared to fight it to the death. Suddenly, my knife felt more like a pathetic stick. It's the best I have now. nd now the fight begins, I thought as the God made its first move.
Lowering its head to my level, the God eyed me with large, bleak eyes that never seemed to end. Gripping my knife, I hacked at the God's face again and again. My knife began to cut some of the God's skin away and it seemed to wince slightly. Then, it pulled its head away and tried to stomp on me with its feet. Compared to the God in size, I must have appeared to be a mouse running around.
The God attempted to kick me a few more times and I wildly swung my knife at its feet. The God lowered its head again, but this time it breathed a wall of flames that snaked across the floor after me. Hastily, I backed away from the flames. The heat seared my skin and it made me sweat a little.
The flames licked at my boots and then died down. Like before, I used every second I could to chop away at the God's face without doing any real damage. Too soon, the God lifted its head out of my reach. This isn't working! I need to do something...
An idea hit me, but I didn't know if it would work. It was better than nothing, especially this knife. The God swept at me with its feet, nearly smacking me into a wall. All I had to do was wait until the God came back down, just wait for the right moment.
And that's exactly what the God did. It seemed to have a pattern in attacking, just like a child does not counter in complex ways. Before i could get close, the God thrust its head forward and bared a row of sharp teeth. Then, my moment came.
As the God reeled its head back in, I charged at it. Ignoring the protests of my limbs, I leaped over the God's head and landed on its neck. Its head swiveled as though searching for me, then raised its head with me riding on it like a dragon.
"Whoa, too high," I mumbled as the ground became a miniscule plane below me. My body threatened to slide back and off the God, but I held tight. I could only imagine what would happen if I fell from this height. Okay, maybe not my brightest idea tonight, I realized as I kept my hands clenched around the God's bony neck.
A few times, the God tossed its head as if it sensed me hanging onto it. After a few minutes, the God lowered its head once more, probably to scan the ground for me. For a God, it really wasn't that intelligent.
Loosening my hold on the God's neck, I aimed the knife and plunged it into one of the God's black eyes. It released a deep growl from its throat and a river of blood trailed down its cheek.
The God threw its head back again and I pulled its black hair to hang on. It was a wonder my knife didn't slip out of my hands with the shaking that the God was doing. Flames encircled the room and climbed the walls. As the God bent its head in anger, I hurriedly gouged out the other eye. This time, both me and my knife fell.
The only good thing was that the ground wasn't so far off. My shoulder took the most of the impact and I heard a distinctive snap when it connected with the floor. Tears stung my eyes, but I pushed them back.
Blood was dripping from the God's eyes now. It was crying out in pain, but it wasn't weak enough to die. My knife was on the floor, but I felt it no longer had any use. What was I supposed to do? How could I defeat a hellish God? Hmm...I wonder...
My eyes strayed to Claudia's shredded clothing, the fringes singed by the fire. Glancing down at my knife, another idea hit me and I hoped it would be better than my last one.
Quickly, I grabbed up the torn dress and ripped it into clean strips. Grabbing up my knife, I wrapped the cloth all around the blade and tied the end in a small knot. As the fire swirled, I dipped the cloth into the flames until it caught fire. It was burning very fast, which meant I had little time.
The God was still raging as I neared its body. It must have been pretty blind now, but one of its feet nudged me lightly. Instantly, the God's head snapped downwards and it tried to bite at me. Bringing the knife up, I sliced into the God's feeble neck. Its skin sizzled as the flame licked at the God's neck. I managed to guide the knife and cut a lengthy line across its neck.
The God's bloody eyes bulged as its neck burst out a fountain of blood. My knife remained stuck inside the neck, but it didn't matter anymore. The God raised its head, but that only made the wound worse. Its neck actually bent backwards and hung loosely like Nearly Headless Nick of Harry Potter. The God clawed with its fingers at its neck, only succeeding in ripping out more of its throat. Finally, with one last crunch, the God's head leaned to the side and detached completely from its body.
The head soared through the air before crashing against the grimy floor, rolling off into the shadows. Then, the rest of the God's body tumbled forward to the ground. The floor shook violently from the impact, causing me to land on the floor as well.
My breath came in quick gasps as I stared at the corpse, making sure it wasn't moving. It was dead. All the pain, fear, and sense caught up with me and I buried my head in my knees. It was finally done and over. Maybe now I could be allowed to wake in my own world. Or was I stuck here forever?
"Katherine? Are you alive?" It took me a moment to remember Vincent. I didn't think he'd actually come back for me. Out of the darkness came a long rope made of bed sheets, probably gathered from the lonely bedrooms of the Church. It barely reached the ground, but it was close enough that I could jump onto it.
"Yeah..." My voice came out thin and raspy, so I licked my lips before speaking again. "Yeah, I'm alive. I'm coming up," I announced as I hoisted my body onto the sheets. I half-expected them to rip. Like I had been taught in gym, I climbed that rope without much strain, excpet for my shoulder. Maybe it wasn't broken, but I had definitely pulled some kind of muscle.
Vincent was holding down the rope as I climbed over the edge of the hole. His eyes studied me with interest and then he glanced at the hole.
"I'm assuming its dead. And Claudia?"
"She's dead, too," I told him, shrugging slightly. "It's over." My mind wandered to thoughts of home, of my friends and family. Was I really gone from that place? Weakly, I passed by Vincent and made my way to the door. For some reason, he gaped at me as I did so.
"Wait. Where are you going?" His voice sounded alarmed, as if he was a child who did not want to be left alone. Only once did I look back over my shoulder.
"I'm going home," I said and felt the truth and relief in those three words. First, though, I needed to check on a friend and make sure he was safe. I couldn't bear to leave without doing that. "Goodbye, Vincent." Then, using the most of my strength left, I walked away from Vincent for the last time.
...
The trek back from the Church to the amusement park was a long one, but it gave me time to think. Was Douglas safe or did something happen to him? I didn't think I could stand it if something had happened, even if he was a video game character.
Douglas was sitting on a bench close to where I had left him. At first, I was curious as to how he had walked over to the bench with a broken leg, but then I noticed something even more incredible. The leg that was supposedly broken was swinging back and forth easily.
"Last time I checked, your leg was broken," I said as I approached him. I was unable to keep the amazement out of my voice. Douglas glanced up at me and smiled. His smile drooped a bit when he observed my poor condition. I could have said I had seen worse days, but that would be a lie.
"Last time I checked, you had given me a health drink. Guess those things continue healing wounds over time," he replied. I had forgotten that I had given him my last health drink, just as I had given Vincent my last ampoule. Perhaps if the ampoules could bring someone back from the edge of death, then the health drnks could slowly mend bones. Too bad I don't have any more...
"It's over. The God-and Claudia-are dead," I told him with a weak smile of my own. Douglas motioned to the bench and I sat down beside him. Oh, how good it felt just to let my body relax for even a second.
"So, now what? How will you get home?" Douglas' eyes were filled with concern as he gazed at me. My eyes closed as I absorbed the peace and stillness around me. My fingers were resting on the smooth surface of the bench, but now I could hardly feel it there. Strange.
"I don't know. Don't worry about me, okay? Everything will be alright now," I mumbled dreamily. It became very quiet, but I was sure Douglas was smiling softly now, reassured by my words. Knowing that he was safe and the nightmare was over, I was able to drift into a deep sleep.
In my dreams, I saw a young girl with dark hair. Alessa, I realized as she smiled at me through the darkness. Her mouth opened and only two words were whispered. Thank you.
...
Sunlight streamed through the blinds of my window, but I clenched my eyes shut. Just now, I had found the most comfortable spot and my head was nestling deep in my warm pillow. A bolt of realization struck me and my eyes shot open. My...pillow? My...window?
Sitting straight up in bed, I scanned the room and a wide smile crossed my face. I was no longer in Silent Hill; I was in my bedroom. There was my television and the Playstation 2 with Silent Hill 3 inside. There was my bookshelf stacked with novels and another filled with horror movies. My posters on the walls, my bed with the heavy comforter, my pieces of jewelry scattered on the dresser. I'm back...I'm actually home!
Relief poured through me and I laid back on my bed, enjoying the comfort of my own bed. No more monsters, no more nightmare, no more hellish Otherworld! Only my normal world where everything was as it should be.
Reluctantly, I slid out of bed and pushed my feet into my soft, fluffy slippers. Then a new realization came. There was no pain, no aching, no blood! My shoulder felt amazing, so much that I could do cartwheels down the street. Instead of Heather's attire, I was wearing my pink pajamas. Had it been just a vivid dream? Or had part of it been real?
Opening the disk tray of the PS2, I took out Silent Hill 3 and studied Heather's image on the disk. Then, I opened the box, placed the game inside, and stored it on the shelf with my other games. That's the last time I'm playing Silent Hill before bed, I thought as I smelled the delicious aroma of chocolate chip pancakes in the kitchen. My stomach growled and I was ready to race for those pancakes...when my eyes spotted a thin piece of paper on my desk that hadn't been there when I went to sleep.
Curious, I picked up the folded piece of paper and read it over. Chilld crawled down my spine as I did and I started to think that maybe it hadn't been just a dream. The words were written in a light script with red ink. The fear of blood tends to create fear for the flesh...
The words echoed through my mind. Was it a dream? There was no way to tell who wrote the note; there was not a name or anything descriptive. Taking a breath, I dropped the note on the dresser and chose to forget about it until later. Vincent's words skipped through my mind, just as eerie and foreboding. Curiosity is a sin...
...
The End.
How did you guys like it? I hope everyone enjoyed reading and remember to leave a review to let me know your thoughts.
So, I am certain that I will do the sequel for this story. I might not start it right now, but I will soon. Thank you for reading, guys!