Author's Note: This is a work of fanfiction, I do not own Higurashi or Silent Hill. Higurashi is property of 07th Expansion, Silent Hill is property of Konami.
The light above the elevator door labeled "12" turned on and the door slowly opened. Satoko Houjou walked out of the elevator, into the deserted town museum, flashlight in one hand and her combination nightstick-knife weapon in the other, the weight of the Colt M1911 pistol and the extra magazine in her pocket.
Satoko walked through the entranceway to the Silent Hill Historical Museum, into the dark exhibit halls. The light from Satoko's flashlight reflected off several glass display cases of Native American artifacts, including pottery and stone arrowheads.
On the wall of the room was a painting of what the shores of Toluca Lake might have looked like in the era prior to the arrival of Europeans. Satoko shined her flashlight on a paragraph of text on the wall:
"Prior to the arrival of Europeans to present-day Silent Hill, the area was significant to local Native Americans, who knew it as "The Place of Silent Spirits". Evidence has been found that they performed various religious rites and rituals in the area, particularly in the cave system that would later become known as "Devil's Pit", a cave system under the Saratoga Mountains on the shore of Toluca Lake."
Satoko found information was somewhat interesting, apparently Silent Hill had a local mythology surrounding it just like Hinamizawa, but it shed no light on what she was experiencing in the town.
Satoko continued into the next room. It was devoted the early European settlement of Silent Hill. Rows of display cases showed various household items and personal effects dating back the 1600s and 1700s. Apparently, there were two attempts to settle on the shores of Toluca Lake, one in the late 1600s, and once in the 1730s however, both of them were foiled by sudden outbreaks of influenza causing massive death tolls among the colonists. The town of Silent Hill proper was not founded until about 1810, when a prison was built on Toluca Lake, followed by a hospital to deal with the sick in the prison. Brookhaven Hospital in the South Vale neighborhood was apparently located on the site of the old prison hospital.
Satoko moved on, finding nothing of interest, before crossing a room with displays of multiple artifacts related to mining in the area in the 19th century, including an ore cart from the Devil's Pit Mine. Just as Satoko wondered if she had wasted her time coming here, she found a sign next to the entranceway to the next exhibition hall.
The sign read: "The ahead exhibits, "The Mysteries of Silent Hill" and "Prisons of Silent Hill" contain content which some views might find disturbing."
Satoko walked into the next exhibit hall, undeterred by the sign. The exhibit, "The Mysteries of Silent Hill", featured exhibits on various disappearances in the town, including the disappearance of tourist boat called The Little Baroness on Toluca Lake during the early 20th century.
However, the exhibit that immediately drew Satoko's attention was an exhibit that was centered around an odd circle with three smaller circles and other symbols in the center and runic writing Satoko could not understand around the edge. Next to the symbol was a painting of a woman in red, as well as a number of old books and a black, obsidian goblet.
The exhibit was labeled, "The Order", Silent Hill's Mysterious Cult".
The exhibit stated that:
"Since at least the 19th century, there has existed a cult in Silent Hill known as "The Order". While little-known outside of the town, The Order are rumored have significant power behind the scenes in Silent Hill. The Order's belief system, based on the beliefs of the local Native Americans, along with Judeo-Christian influences, centers around their primary deity, a goddess typically depicted in red, as seen in the painting above. The exhibit stated that the Order believe the goddess came into existence when two humans prayed to be saved from them from their prior existence of pain, suffering, and chaos. The goddess created the world as we know it today, both physically, as well as concepts such as time, life, and death. However, she was unable to truly create a paradise on earth. The Order believes their goddess will return, bringing about the apocalypse and ushering the faithful into paradise."
Satoko read the informative text with interest. It seemed like Silent Hill, like Hinamizawa, had rumors of cults of local deities. The next segment told the history of the Order:
"The Order gained major negative press in 1903, when it was revealed that they were in control of the town's law enforcement and courts, and were known to carry out death sentence for non-capital crimes, and carried out torture and executions using particularly cruel methods including decapitation and impalement in the nearby Toluca Prison. Several high-ranking members of the Order were convicted of multiple murders and were executed by hanging, with several others receiving lengthy prison sentences. Artifacts from this dark period in the history of Silent Hill can be seen in the "Prisons of Silent Hill" exhibit. After the atrocities committed in the town of Silent Hill, many wanted The Order to be forcibly disbanded, however, a federal district court ruled that, under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, the government did not have the authority to prohibit practice of the beliefs of the Order themselves, only the offenses committed in their name. To this day, the Order is still present, though they deny any accusations of illegal activities. Nonetheless, rumors of Order involvement in murder, kidnapping, and drug trafficking remain.
"Looks like Hinamizawa isn't the only place with rumors of ancient, murderous cults.", Satoko thought. As Satoko turned the next section, she audibly gasped at what she read:
The Power of Silent Hill
Since the first arrival of Europeans in the area, there have been records of mysterious events in the town of Silent Hill – people disappearing only to turn up later telling tales about being trapped in a nightmarish parallel world. This world has been described by those who claim to have experienced it as existing in a variety of forms, the most common being a deserted, abandoned version of the town of Silent Hill covered in an unnatural fog and inhabited by nightmarish creatures. Others have described an even more horrifying "nightmare world", in which the town undergoes major transformations, sometimes taking on a structure completely different from the town itself. The descriptions of this "Otherworld" vary somewhat between various reports, though common features included rusted metal cages, blood stains, corpses, implements of torture and execution, horrific creatures, and even phenomena that seem to defy the laws of physics and nature itself. Most dismiss reports of the "parallel worlds" as the delusions of the mentally ill, however, the presences of a nightmarish "Otherworld" is a common theme in the mythology of the Order.
"The monsters… the fog", Satoko thought, "does this mean that I am in a parallel world? But what about the oni masks on those "zombies" and the documents in Japanese… Could it be I am somehow shaping the nightmare world I see? Or wait… could it be that someone… or something in this town is trying to drive me insane? Or am I already insane!"
Uncomfortable thoughts whirled around in Satoko's head, her heart going faster than she could ever remember. It took several deep breaths before she finally calmed down.
"Get a hold of yourself, Satoko", she said to herself, "This is exactly what whoever is behind this wants." Filled with sudden resolve, Satoko shouted, "You're not going to beat me that easily! You hear me!"
As if in response to Satoko's declaration, Satoko heard footsteps in the next room. Satoko raised her flashlight and her improvised "nightstick-dagger" and walked into the next room. She scanned everywhere, trying the find the source of the footsteps, but there was no one there.
The next room was the "Prisons of Silent Hill" exhibit. There were artifacts from the pre-Civil War-era prison and an early to mid-20th century prison on an island in Toluca Lake called Overlook Penitentiary. But the display that caught Satoko's attention was the display surrounding Toluca Prison.
According to the display, the prison was built in tunnels along shores of Toluca Lake in 1863, originally for holding Confederate POWs during the Civil War. After the end of the Civil War in 1865 and the release of the last POWs in 1866, Toluca Prison was used to hold common criminals. As the display in the previous room stated, the cult known as The Order quickly gained control over the prison, as well as the local police and courts, and used the prison for their own corrupt purposes, committing atrocities such as torture, and executions using particularly horrific methods, including beheadings, impalement, and even drawing and quartering. This went on until 1903, when information about the atrocities going on behind prison walls leaked out and the prison was shut down and the ringleaders were themselves executed or imprisoned.
But the thing the most shocked Satoko was not the textual display, but the actual artifacts in the display case. The centerpiece of the display was a large, two-handed sword at least as long as Satoko was tall, with a blade shaped a bit like an oversized kitchen knife. The plaque next to the sword read:
Toluca Prison Executioner's Sword
19th Century
The large, two-handed sword in this exhibit was used by executioners belonging to The Order in Toluca Prison during the latter half of the 19th century. The weapon was used for beheadings, as well as one of the most brutal forms of execution carried out in Toluca Prison, drawing and quartering. The weapon is modeled after the weapon of figure in Order mythology known as the "Divine Executioner", who is said to seek out and kill criminals whose crimes went unpunished.
Next to the sword, was another artifact, a large pyramid-shaped piece of metal with a single small hole near the top and front. The label stated that it was:
Toluca Prison Executioner's Helmet
19th Century
This pyramid-shaped steel helmet was the standard head covering for executioners in Toluca Prison during its time under Order control. The helmet is modeled after a similar helmet of the "Divine Executioner" of Order mythology. The sword, displayed to the right, and the spear, to the left, are modeled after the weapons of the aforementioned figure.
The other objects in the display case consisted of shackles, ball and chains, a spear used for execution by impalement, and several guns used by prison guards. As Satoko finished looking at the artifacts, the sounds of footsteps behind her sent a chill down Satoko's spine. But these were not the footsteps she heard earlier, these were much louder, practically shaking the floor. Satoko turned around slowly, clutching the improvised weapon she had made from the nightstick and the knife, apprehensive at what she might see.
What Satoko sent made Satoko's heart pound so rapidly it felt like it was about to explode. A vaguely humanoid creature about ten feet tall stood in the entrance to the exhibit hall. The monster's body was a covered in a rough, yellowish-brown skin, with large, muscular arms and legs, and an exaggeratedly large fists covered in bone plates.
Satoko realized her "nightstick-knife" would be little help against this creature and drew her Colt M-1911, taking aim at the creature as it charge forward with thunderous footfalls. Satoko fired the handgun, the round blowing a hole in its torso and causing the creature to recoil slightly, but the monster recovered in less than a second, and continued charging forward. The next two rounds Satoko fired into the monster seemed only to further infuriate it.
Satoko felt the wind get knocked out of her as the monster slammed into her stomach, knocking her back into the display case, shattering the glass in front of it.
As the monster raised its massive fist, Satoko flashed back to the time when she was ten, still living the town of Hinamizawa. Her abusive uncle Teppei shouted at her, and raised his fist at her and struck her in the mouth, knocking her to the floor.
"Nii Nii", the past Satoko said, a nickname she used for her older brother, Satoshi, based off the Japanese onii-chan- older brother.
Satoshi ran into the room and stood between Teppei and Satoko. Teppei, however, simply knock Satoshi aside with a powerful swing of his fist and advanced on the still downed Satoko as the flashback ended.
Satoko was now a teenager again, lying slumped against as display case, with an inhuman horror about the crush under its gargantuan fist. The flashback was over, but still, in her mind, Satoko saw the creature as Teppei.
As the creature prepared to strike, Satoko yelled "No! Not this time!".
Fueled by adrenaline and rage, Satoko seized the "Executioner's Sword" in the display case with both hands and thrust it forward, straight through the chest of her foe.
Satoko took several deep breaths as "Teppei" disappeared, turning back into the giant monster, which fell dead to the floor, shaking the whole room.
After taking a few seconds to catch her breath, Satoko felt a sharp pain in her side. She had not realized in the fight that she now had a gash across her side, no doubt cut by the shattering glass. Satoko lifted her shirt up and shone her flashlight on the wound, revealing the gash at about stomach-level.
There wasn't a large amount of blood coming out of the wound, and it didn't seem to be very deep. Nonetheless, Satoko opened up the first aid kit she had found when she exited the crashed bus back in the woods and got out a bottle of antiseptic.
Satoko applied the antiseptic to a cotton ball and cleaned the wound, wincing at the burning sensation of the antiseptic on the wound. Satoko then wrapped a bandage around her torso, covering the cut, before she lowered her shirt back over her stomach.
Satoko put away the partially used first aid kit and retrieved her pistol from the floor. It seemed undamaged, though she now only had four rounds in the current magazine and one reserve mag. The same could not be said of the improvised "nightstick dagger", which was crushed under the feet of the monster.
Satoko tried to grab the "Executioner's Sword", but it was took heavy, and was lodged firmly into the monster's body. After pulling as hard as she could, she gave up and looked around for another melee weapon.
Satoko quickly found this in the form of the tip of the spear from the display case, the shaft having been broken by the charging creature, leaving only the head and about two feet of shaft. Still, it was better than nothing.
In addition the new weapon, Satoko also found another first aid kit in a glassed-in cabinet next to a fire extinguisher. As she collected the first aid kit, Satoko heard as another series of footsteps coming from behind her, towards the entrance previous gallery and the only entrance and exit.
Satoko clutched her spear firmly as she shone the flashlight into the next room and saw… nothing, there was no one there. Satoko moved into the next gallery cautiously, checking the corners for any hidden foes.
She found none, but when she reached the entrance to the next gallery, she thought she heard faster footsteps- someone… or something running. Satoko pointed her flashlight in the directions. This time, she saw something… A dark figure ran across her field of view, to quickly for her to get a good look at it.
Satoko thought about calling out to the figure, but after what she had found in this town, she though better of it. Instead, she clutched the broken spear handle and moved forward, into the room, checking the corners with her flashlight, ready to either to thrust the spear forward or drop it and draw her pistol if she met anything that warranted expending her meager supply of ammunition.
But there was nothing there- the museum was deserted.
"I could have sworn I saw something", Satoko thought as she pressed the button for the elevator. The elevator doors opened immediately, and Satoko pressed the button for the first floor lobby, trying the clear her mind of the mysterious figure.
After a few minutes, the elevator door opened. The light said this was the first floor, but wherever she was, Satoko was sure of one thing: This was not the first floor lobby of the Centennial Building.
New Items:
Executioner's Sword (discarded in body of enemy): A large, heavy, two-handed sword that looks a bit like a giant kitchen knife. According to the museum display, the sword was use for brutal, illegal, Order-mandated executions during a period in the late 19th century when entire local criminal justice system in Silent Hill was under the control of The Order.
Broken Spear: A spear with the shaft broken to only about two feet in length. It may not have the length it once hand, but its still a deadly thrusting weapon. The Order also apparently used this weapon for executions.
M-1911 Ammunition: 4/7 (one partial magazine, one full magazine)