Hey there. The fic I promised you on the Silent Hill Heaven forums is here, albeit in chapter form, as it turned out to be longer than I expected.
Rated teen for graphic horror scenes and brief mild language.
All official characters are property of Konami. My OC, Julian, is the property of me, (as are all original characters and organizations in here), Cyber 14. Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
The official theme song of this fic is Enigma's "In The Shadow, In The Light". It just fits the story so well. Great song, too.
Riiing!
I look up suddenly.
No, it isn't anything terrifying. It isn't a shambling, moaning specter from the darkest pits of hell. It's my microwave. (Although it does occasionally sound like a shambling, moaning specter from the darkest pits of hell, especially when I've overworked it.) Our popcorn's done.
I walk over to the microwave, take out the bag, and pour it into a bowl.
It's been several months since the "Incident", and life is pretty much back to normal.
I'm at home, and babysitting for a kid named Julian Kansler. No, sorry, not "babysitting" (Julian detests the term) "Staying with" is what we call it.
Julian's a nice kid. I often watch him while his parents, business executives and often busy now, as the company is expanding, go to meetings. He really enjoys coming here. We've been fast friends for a while now. I'm beginning to think he's got a bit of a crush on me. Cute.
Anyway, I leave the kitchen and walk over to the living room. I set the popcorn down on the coffee table and turn on the TV. Julian bounds over and throws himself at my brand new couch. He misses and crashes to the floor, his brown hair flailing everywhere. He jumps up, seemingly unfazed, and plops down on it.
"Yay, popcorn's done!" he says excitedly, "Ooh, kettle corn. Let's get started."
"I don't think you need any more sugar, kiddo. You're hyper enough as it is." I say warily.
'Aw, come on. I'm fine," he says.
Laughing, I reply, "Yeah, tell that to my couch. Alright, you sit down. I'll get us some drinks. What do you want? We've got Coke, Sprite, A&W…that's it."
He chooses a root beer and I walk back into the main area. Julian is now fiddling with my Ipod, which is connected to a boom box sitting on the shelf. We always listen to music while we game. It's just a habit, started by Julian back when we first met. How can I forget the beating I took in Tekken 4 to the song "Down with the Sickness" by Disturbed? Or the famous battle that came to be known as "NKULTRA vs. Rosenkrieg", at a gaming party I was invited to, when Julian's cousins Nick, (or NKULTRA), and Nick's sister Rose (Rosenkrieg), engaged in a quite spectacular pistol duel on Halo Blood Gulch, to the song "Golden Brown" by The Stranglers.
"Ohh come on, where is it? …Breaking Benjamin…Disturbed…Dirty Vegas…Stranglers…nope, went too far…Here we go, Enigma." Soon enough, the drums and guitars of "Shadows in Silence" fill the room. I think I got him hooked on Enigma now, ever since I introduced them to him a few months back.
We finally sit down to face each other in Timesplitters. It…well, we're really not here to talk about that now are we? We're here to talk about what happened afterwards.
Anyway, during a pause in the war, I get up and go to the kitchen for a glass of water, the drums and Sanskrit lyrics of "The Child In Us" following me. All that popcorn's really made me thirsty. I go to the sink and turn on the faucet. That was when things, to coin a cheesy movie line, got real. Blood starts pouring from the tap. I jump backwards and drop the glass I was holding, which shatters on the floor.
'What's up?" Julian calls from the other room.
"Nothing," I manage to choke out, "Just elbowed a glass off the counter."
But I know that I didn't just elbow a glass off the counter. "But no," I think," it couldn't have been. I'd killed that thing months ago. It couldn't be here now. There's no way,"
I barely have time to finish my thought. That familiar eerie moan echoes around me and the room swims before my eyes and begins to change. Paint peels from the walls; the carpet becomes old and stained. The familiar, tidy surroundings of my apartment change, now appearing as though they haven't been lived in for some time. And there's also that strange feeling of being somewhere completely…else, the slight change in air pressure, in temperature. It's very jarring if you're not ready for it, which I wasn't.
"Heather, what's going on?" I hear Julian call apprehensively from the next room. He still calls me Heather. After I'd reverted to my old name, (I told everyone that the man we were hiding from had been killed in a car crash) I told everyone that they could call me by either name, Cheryl or Heather. Julian still calls me Heather.
"Umm…Julian, come here," I say.
He comes in to the small kitchen looking worried. "What was that?" he asks.
"We have to get out of here. Now," I say, "This way."
I lead him across the now derelict living room and into my bedroom. I pull out a key from behind a loose baseboard and pull out a case from under my bed. I insert the key and turn it, opening the lock with a soft click. Inside is the Beretta 9mm pistol that I'd found during the incident. I pull it out, retract the slide and, seeing the glint of brass, let it slam foreword again. I check the magazine and slip two extra clips into the urban camouflage pants I'm wearing. (Pretty fitting pattern for the situation, now I think back about it.) I then get up, cross the room to my dresser and pull out a belt holster rig I'd bought after the incident (sticking the gun in my pocket again probably wouldn't be a good idea) and my favorite white vest from a drawer. It's served me well, and its about to do so again. I slip on the belt rig and vest. I also grab my infamous flashlight and radio, slipping them into their usual pockets. Julian watches from the door.
I walk past him into the living room once more. I consider for a minute of bringing dad's old Desert Eagle hunting pistol, but think better of it. Even without the scope usually mounted on it, it still weighs over four pounds and is clunky as sin, not to mention deafeningly loud (even more so than other guns).
"What's going on?" Julian asks again, as we head for the apartment door.
"I don't know yet. We need to get to the Hilltop Center. There's a guy I've got to see," I seem to be unable to speak in anything other than curt sentences today.
We walk out into the hallway. It looks, as it did last time, dilapidated and unused. The floor tiles are stained and the walls are caked in dirt and grime. We head for the front door to the street. I tried the lock.
It wouldn't budge.
Anger and fear bubbled inside me. No. No way. No way I'm putting Julian through this. No way on earth, no way in hell.
Oh wait, we're already there.
After a few seconds, my rage gets the better of me. I punch the still-not-opening door in anger, "Damn it!" I yell at the top of my voice. Then I suddenly remember who's standing right behind me.
"Sorry, Julian. Shouldn't swear," I say over my shoulder. I've really had to reign in my unfortunate habit lately, what with watching Julian and all.
"Alright, Julian, stand back," I say, and level a kick at the door latch. It's never worked before on these otherworld doors, but it's my last option. To my overwhelming relief, the lock gives and the door flies open, banging against its frame. To see that door swing open was like seeing someone walking up to give you a million bucks for doing nothing. I couldn't believe it. "Maybe we're not the targets," I think.
Anyway, I proceed, weapon drawn, down the front steps and out onto the gray concrete of the sidewalk, Julian following close behind. We continue down the street. Now I'm really worried. Crossing open ground when things are like this isn't good. Monsters could come from anywhere, from under cars, from on rooftops, from the air. The list goes on. At least when you're in a building, you know which direction they'll most likely come from.
"What's going on, Heather?" Julian pipes up again. This seems to be the only thing he seems able to say. His eyes are wide and he's sticking close to me.
"Shh," I whisper, "You hear that?" A rustling, clinking sound is coming from up ahead, like someone shuffling along, dragging chains behind it. No, smaller: like nails or something.
Then we see it. A hunched over humanoid shambling towards us, with what look like spikes sticking out of every surface of its body, it's back, it's arms, it's legs. It's toes, which is causing the clinking sound as it walks. Looking closer, I see that they are needles. Hypodermic syringes sprouting like hair from its body.
It lunges at us. My gun is instantly up and firing at the creature. It's fast, but three well-placed shots drop it like a sack of potatoes to the ground. I walk over to it. It's clearly dead. Its impact has broken off several of the needle tips from its back. They lay like broken twigs on the ground around it, soaking in the blood it's seeping out onto the cold concrete. I look it over. It's no creature that I've ever seen. It's no split head dog, or "cancer", or "slurper". It must have been created by Julian's emotions, his fears.
"You afraid of needles, kiddo?" I ask.
"Umm, kinda," he mumbles, staring down at the creature. God I wish he didn't have to see this. "Umm…don't…don't look at it Julian," I say.
I stand up. Julian turns to me, "Alright what is this? What's going on?" he says, fear and worry lacing every syllable.
'I'll tell you, but we have to find a safe place first. Off the street."
I opt for a café to our left. The door opens (with a little help from Mr. Boot) and we enter. I make sure it's clear and then sit down, motioning for Julian to do the same.
"All right," I say, once he's sitting across from me. I pause and collect my thoughts for a second. "All right. First thing is that I can't tell you what's going on because I don't exactly know yet. Second thing is, I know who's causing it."
I then go on to explain all about me, and about my father's fight against the cult that stole his daughter; me, technically speaking, seventeen years ago. I talk about my own fight, and about my involvement with the Silent Hill Militia.
Oh, wait, did I tell you that one? No, No I didn't. I just told you about the original incident. But, for the sake of continuing the story uninterrupted by my narrating, I'm gonna cut to the part where I explain about the Militia to Julian.
"…And then we left. But as we were driving out of the town, these soldiers met us. They stopped us at the edge of town and questioned us. They said they were part of a blackest of the black SpecOps unit that the government had send in after an incident about ten years ago, when a squad of National Guardsmen had been sucked into Silent Hill. They were training in the hills around the town when they were taken. They escaped and, of coarse, informed the government. At first, they weren't believed. The suits thought they were crazy. But they sent an investigative team in anyway. After all, why would ten honorable United States soldiers, with no history of mental illness, suddenly, out of the blue, make up a crazy story like the one they were telling? Nevertheless, it was more of a joke then a serious mission or investigation, just done to calm the soldiers down. They sent in some undercover guys; investigators and a few bodyguards. Well, they were dragged in too. The cult was very active back then. Sucking in people left and right and messing with them, I don't know. Supposedly, that's where that James Sunderland disappeared to. You ever hear about him?"
"No," Julian replies.
It was in the Ashfield newspapers a while back. He supposedly disappeared around Silent Hill. I can vouch for that. I found his body, or at least I think I did. It was in Brookhaven Hospital... But anyway, after the investigative team came back, scared to death and telling the same story, the government organized the Silent Hill Militia, a super secret taskforce kept completely off the books and off the record, They didn't exist, period. I mean come on, demons and ghost towns, sounds like something out of a Stephen King novel rather then real life." I chuckle, attempting to lighten the mood. It doesn't work.
I continue, "Anyway, they were created to secure this supposed "other town" that was out there. It's different levels of reality, as I've said. We, right now, are in what the Militia calls "Normalside", or "Abandonedside" Then there's the "Otherside" or "Reverse side", which, if my theory is correct, we shouldn't have to go through. Anyway, I joined up with them and they secured us safe passage out of the town when the opportunity arose, which ended up being about two weeks later. In that time, I accompanied the Militia on cleanup operations. After I killed the thing, most of the town went back to its so-called default of 'Normalside", and I helped in eliminating the last pockets of monsters still running around. The cult, leaderless and facing the death of their "god" for the second time in seventeen years, was ready to sign a truce to end the "war" that cult partisans been waging against the Militia, and mankind in general, for the past twenty-something years or so. They did, or so I thought, up until tonight's little escapade. That's why I need to see a sergeant Massfield, Jonathon Massfield, at the Hilltop center. He's my contact for the Militia,"
As I finish, Julian looks like he's been punched in the face. It's heavy stuff, and I suppose it must all sound crazy. Me, the cult, the war, the Militia; heck, I don't even know if I can believe it half the time, and I lived it. And now it's happening all over again, for me, for Julian. He's only eleven years old; way too young to be having to face this. Any age is way too young.
We get up and head down the street towards the back door of the Hilltop center. Thinking back on it, why didn't we just go into Hilltop in the first place instead of sitting in the café? I don't know. It's one of those things that you think of only after you've already done them.
I've never come in this way before. Last time I was here was to meet sergeant Massfield, and I used the front door. He works out of the old "Monica's Dance Studio" offices, which have now moved their dance hall to a newly constructed premises, using the hall in the building for storage. John works for them, ostensibly doing accounting and clerical work for them. In reality, he's my contact for the militia. Being as I had had more knowledge of the workings of the town and its mechanics then anyone else in the taskforce, thanks to the cult's manipulations while I was "in" Alchemilla hospital, I had risen to being a key leader in the cleanup and was formally ranked "Leutenant Mason" John Massfield was my contact if they ever needed to contact me, or vice versa, after I returned to my normal civilian life.
We head up to the back door and, finding it unlocked, enter the Hilltop Center.
What do you think of the first chapter of the first story in the Silent Hill Militia series? Leave a review of you please.
I personally believe that James never came back from Silent Hill after Silent Hill 2. All subsequent games seem to point to this fact as well, although nothing official has ever been said. You can find what many believe to be his body in the alternate Brookhaven hospital in Silent Hill 3, in the blood bucket room (It's at least James' model, you can recognize the jacket if you look closely)
I can vouch for the Desert Eagle's heaviness and clunkyness. While I've never gotten the opportunity, at the time of this writing, to actually fire one, I've held and examined several and they are very large and heavy, weighing around twice as much as normal sized automatics. The magnum rounds they fire also make them very loud due to the increased amount of powder in each casing relative to other handgun rounds. Many indoor ranges won't even allow you to shoot Desert Eagles at their facilities because of this.
The next chapter will focus on Heather and Julian's friendship during this ordeal, which is what the whole story is supposed to be about, although I had to devote a good portion of this chapter to background information on the series, which took up more space then I had predicted.
"Credits" for this chapter (Which actors the characters ought to be played by, you'll find I do this a lot in my stories. (Not many characters this time))
Music: Modern Crusaders - Enigma
Heather (Cheryl) Mason – Herself (from the games)
Julian Kansler - Giovani Antonio Cimmino
Writer – Cyber 14
As there hasn't, to my knowledge, been any canonical timeline put out by Konami for the series, save for the fact that Silent Hill 3 happened 17 years after Silent Hill 1, and number 2 happened somewhere in between, I'm assuming that Silent Hill 3 is set in the "present" year.
I may edit this at a later time for structure or content. Your suggestions are much appreciated.
Peace out and God bless.