Silent Gulch Chapter 7
Church fell to the floor, back against the altar. He breathed deeply as he tried to calm himself. He was exhausted and terrified, staring off at nothing. The monster lay dead before him among the debris it had created when it attacked. The first two lines of pews had been destroyed and were now nothing more than piles of splintered wood. A pool of blood surrounded the corpse, matching the crimson liquid that was splattered across Church. He had hit a major blood vein when he fought back, and it had shot blood like a fountain. Blood soaked Church's shirt from his waist all the way up to his head. The blood that had sprayed onto his face was already dried. His right hand still clutched the bloody knife in a death grip, afraid that something else would jump out and attack him.
Church snapped out of his daze, shaking his head. He moved to stand up. stopping as a sharp pain stabbed his back. Church reached up to grip his right shoulder, trying to ease the pain. He had been thrown from the creature as it died, causing him to slam into the ground. His back and shoulder still ached from the impact, but he was pretty sure that there was nothing broken, though he would have a large bruise later. The soldier stood up slowly, trying to avoid causing himself any more pain. Church looked down at the knife in his hand. After deciding that it didn't matter he wiped the blade clean on his shirt before putting hit back in his belt. He paused and then reached back a bit further, and his fingers ran over the cover of the book that he had picked up earlier. He had tucked it away when the creature attacked but hadn't expected it to still be there. He still had no answer as to what was going on and was a little pissed. The woman had sent the monster to attack him just because he didn't believe.
He turned to look in the direction that she had gone and found an odd sight. Where there had once been stone, there was what looked like a doorway that was covered by a tarp of flesh. In the middle of the flesh was what appeared to be a set of fangs that ran from almost the top of the opening to the bottom. Leonard walked around the altar, staring at the sight. He reached out and felt the flesh drawing his hand back quickly when he did. It was warm, almost alive. For all Church knew it was alive. He wasn't about to give up though. He wanted to find that woman and make her pay. What he was going to do exactly when he did, he didn't know, but he would decide when he found her.
Church took out the knife once more and slammed it into the gap between the flesh and the start of the teeth. He put both hands on the knife and pulled down along the teeth. They separated, opening enough for Church to be able to squeeze through. Leonard hesitated, wondering if it was a good idea. Church turned so he was perpendicular to the opening before slipping through. The fans moved a bit, as though the wall was breathing. Church could almost feel the warm breath wash over him as he slipped through.
The other side wasn't much better than inside the church. The only thing on the other side was a hallway that split off in three directions. There was no source of light except for the faint bit that filtered through the opening. Church couldn't decide which way to go so he decided to pick at random. He pointed to the passage to the right.
"Eeny meeny, miny, moe, your mother is a ho, it's a fact that we all know, eeny, meeny, miny, moe." He ended with his finger pointing to the hall in the middle. Church moved off down the center hallway. He wished he had some sort of light so he could see where he was going, but he had nothing. Church kept his knife in his right hand and put his left hand on the wall. He paused for a moment. There was some kind of fluid on the wall. It was warm and slick, making Church need a moment to collect himself before he could continue. Church was glad that he couldn't see the wall. He had a bad feeling that the substance was blood.
~Tucker~
Tucker was frantically pressing the down button on the elevator, trying to get it to follow his command. He stopped the useless action and started to move around the elevator nervously. It started to slow and Tucker fidgeted nervously. He griped his pipe, in fear of what he might find.
The elevator finally stopped and the doors slid open. Tucker poked his head out, looking up and down the hallway. It was clear of anything hostile, that he could see. He walked out into the hall carefully as though a quick movement would cause monsters to appear out of the shadows. The wooden floors creaked with each step that Tucker took, only adding to the creepy factor of the whole place. From the numbers of the rooms he guessed he was on the 4th floor of the hotel. He walked across the hall to the first door that had the number 415 on it. He tried the knob and found the door unlocked. He pushed and the door swung inward.
It opened into a simple hotel room. An old dresser stood against the far wall with an cabinet in the left corner. A queen-size bed sat with the head against the right wall. There was a second door on the left that lead to the room's bathroom. Tucker didn't dare enter it though. The walls were filthy and sludge-like liquid sat stagnantly in the bathtub and toilet. He took a step away from it and looked around the room. Again, everything was covered in dust and dirt, but the bed was made, as though house cleaning had just been there.
Tucker frowned in his confusion. He couldn't figure out if the hotel just had a bad cleaning crew or if it had somehow managed escape the touch of time. He exited the room, wondering what was going on. He remembered the map in his pocket and took it out. Tucker opened it and studied it for a moment. Once he had figured out where he was, he located the stairwell nearby. He turned to the right and after four steps realized he was walking the wrong way. He turned and walked the other way.
When he reached the end of the hallway he opened the door to the stairs. He didn't find what he expected. On the other side of the door there stood an armless figure. The thing looked as though most of its flesh had been burned away. Behind its charred ribs hung lungs that glowed. It arched back, spreading its ribs and expanding its lungs. It spit forth a liquid that hit Tucker, blinding him. The teal soldier moved back away from the thing. His eyes burned as he wiped the liquid away. Once he had removed enough for him to see he turned and ran. He got about half way down the hallway when the floor gave out. He fell down among the broken wood.
~Caboose~
"There he is!" Caboose shouted, pointing down the hallway. At the end of the hall stood Pyramid Head. The monstrous figure stood still, watching the two blue soldiers. "I knew we would catch up to him!"
"Wow, Caboose, you weren't kidding when you said he had a big sword," Sister said happily.
"Um, he's not carrying his sword," Caboose replied, tilting his head to one side as he looked at the figure. He had nothing in his hand and was just staring at the soldiers.
Pyramid Head stood in the center of the hallway with fists clenched. He could only be described as pissed. Pyramid Head did not like being followed, to say the least.
"I think he is happy to see us," Caboose said, blissfully unaware of the anger in the air.
Pyramid Head threw his head back and let out a loud roar that echoed through the hall. The walls shook causing dust to rain down on the soldiers.
"Maybe he isn't so happy." Caboose now sounded a bit fearful.
The doors to three of the rooms between the soldiers and Pyramid Head opened. Out of each door staggered a nurse. Their skin was tinted pink, with red veins in places. Their uniforms were the same as their flesh and they lacked faces. Instead of facial features they had flesh that looked as though it was all pulled toward one location on the head.
"Wow, these bitches are messed up," Sister said as the nurses continued to stagger toward them.
Caboose looked at the nurse that was closest to them and froze. It was waving around a hypodermic needle as it neared them. He screamed before turning and running.
"Caboose, don't leave me!" Sister turned to run after the other soldier.