Sorry, short chapter! I promise I'll start making them longer, like the other ones. I hope you enjoy this!
chapter 10: water works
Harry kept his eyes closed, seemingly falling for longer than need be. Finally he hit solid ground, but not with force, rather like he landed softly. Light hit his eyes, followed by a slight change in the air. He opened one eye, seeing nothing but the fog. He noticed in front of him was the building he had been on, and he was back down on the ground below it.
The streets, building, and atmosphere had all returned back to normal…well as normal as Silent Hill had been so far. He stood up, several parts of his body aching slightly, and he picked back up the handgun. He heard the sound of a door slamming somewhere, and he pulled the map out. There was a police station ahead, and tucked behind it was a tiny bar with a garage on the side.
The sign above the door read The Indian Runner. He stepped inside, several overhead lamps and neon lights shedding some dull glow to the gloomy bar.
A crash brought his attention behind the bar. The doctor from Alchemilla, Michael Kaufmann, stood up, wrestling with one of the charred children. Harry ran over and pulled it off him, kicking it into the wall. It exploded in a pile of ash. He took in several shuddery breaths, staring at the soot mark, before looking up at Harry.
"Thanks. It came at me as soon as I entered in here." He said, his voice returning to normal.
"Yeah, your lucky I heard the door close." Kaufmann looked uneasy.
"Have you found any way out of here yet?" He asked. Harry shook his head.
"No, and the roads are all out to."
"Yeah, I noticed…What about you? Anything new." Kaufmann asked, walking over to stand beside Harry, pulling out a bottle from the bar.
"Nothing so far. I checked the hospital and Town Hall, but nothing."
"You drink?" He asked, handing him the bottle. Harry refused. He took another swig.
"Hey, do you know anything about a girl named Alessa?" Kaufmann jerked his head up quickly.
"What…?" He asked, setting the bottle down.
"Um, Alessa. I found some info on her at the school. I was just wondering if you knew anything about her?"
He shook his head. "No…" He picked up his briefcase, then turned back to face him.
"No, I have no idea who Alessa is." He headed toward the door.
"But I hope you find your daughter." He said, true sympathy in his voice. Harry nodded.
"Good luck out there." They exchanged nods, then again Harry was left alone. He stood in thought for a moment, then let his eyes search the bar. There was nothing of real use, just a pool table and some booths. There was a metal door with an exit sign above it.
"Garage…"
He walked over and pulled the door open, seeing an old motorcycle with a tote bag around it. He walked over and opened it, seeing that it was mostly empty. Some burnt remains of paper were in there, almost covering a small vial of red liquid.
He pulled it out, accidentally knocking the motorcycle over. He stepped away, examining the strange liquid. It looked exactly like the kind he had found in the broken vial at Alchemilla. He heard the door to the bar open, and he pressed against the wall, pulling up the handgun. He let out his breath when he saw Kaufmann walk in.
"Everything alright?" He asked. Kaufmann looked over quickly.
"What are you doing?" He asked accusingly.
"I knocked the bike over getting this out of that bag." He raised the vial. Harry was surprised when Kaufmann jerked it from his hands, stuffing it into his jacket pocket.
"Instead of nosing around and wasting time, you should mind your own business if you want to stay alive…" He furrowed his eyebrows, giving Harry one last dirty look before storming out of the Indian Runner. He stood transfixed for a moment, suddenly remembering what Cybil had said in the Green Lion about drug trafficking.
"Kaufmann must have been involved with smuggling the drugs out of Alchemilla when that problem was disrupting the town…"
He shook his head.
"That isn't as important now, you can think about all this later after you find Cheryl."
He left the bar through the garage, then stopped and looked around. He was already on the street out of Central Silent Hill, so he started making his way back across the bridge to Old Silent Hill. His radio began acting up, but he was more concerned with the flapping noise he heard in the distance. It was moving around, no doubt, but slowly getting louder.
Finally, through the fog, he saw something incredibly large flying through the air. It let out a terrible prehistoric screech, and Harry could make out the large deformed features of a Vampire Bat. He shook his head several times, then kicked his body into gear. He started sprinting down the nearest street, starting to see familiar yards and houses. Finally he came up to the house that let him make his way toward Midwich.
"God…I promised myself the first time I came here it would be the last…"
He thought angrily, dreading every step toward this elementary school. Finally it came into view, a chain-linked fenced off area over to the right, something he had completely bypassed the first time. The gate was locked, the padlocked worn and almost completely rusted through. A sign was hung on the door that read
Silent Hill Water Works and Sewer
He looked back down at the lock, and tried pulling on it a little. It crumbled. He raised the butt of the handgun up and hit the lock several times, causing it to break and fall to the ground. He pushed the door open, a ladder going down catching his eye. There was an unpleasant smell rising from it, making him hesitant.
"Are you insane? CHERYL remember?"
His brain screamed at him. He shook his head, starting his descent down the ladder.