Murrr… Time for chapter four. So lemme know if there are any specific ideas you would like to see in play, because I have a pretty good one for this chapter that ties in with the next one. It may be quite a shocker to you (but then again, I may have unintentionally revealed the main point to this sucker in the earlier chapters). If I have, please act surprised. SO, here it is:

Eddy slowly led the group up the stairs, feeling his insides twist in anxiety. Thump. Thump. Thump. Was that the mysterious noise they were trying to discover or his heart? Eddy couldn't really tell anymore.

Beside him, Edd was close to shaking out of his shoes. He nearly screamed when Ed placed a hand on his shoulder, "Double D, are you okay?"

Edd gave a nervous smile, "Yes, Ed. I'm fine."

Ed nodded and continued on. Edd sighed, wondering if Ed would ever be the same again. Ever since Sarah disappeared, that child-like innocence went as well.

Alena stopped in her tracks, "Guys, wait…" she said quietly and made an expression as if she was straining to hear something. "It's gone."

Eddy listened carefully, although they had strayed a short distance from the source of the noises while on the stairs, they should have at least heard a slight thump. Now that they were on the third floor, they should hear it loud and clear. But no, they heard nothing. Only the sound of dripping water from the pipes, their breath, and the sloshing of water beneath their feet was with them.

"What the hell?" he asked.

"Guys…" Edd looked behind him, "I think something's wrong."

"Damn right something is wrong. Something really weird is going on." Eddy retorted.

Alena sighed and looked forward. The door leading to 308 was the same as every other door on the floor, but something made her stomach twist. It appeared solemn but menacing at the same time, creating an aura of confusion and anxiety. Dried blood, like the rest of the building itself, surrounded the baseboards and was splattered against the wood of the door.

Alena felt herself become dizzy. An alarm sounded, causing all young adults to cover their ears. She quickly suffered from a splitting headache, and collapsed into Ed's arms.

It looked as if everything fell away, like they were looking through a red camera lens. Everything became more menacing –if it were possible- than it was before, making Edd tremor in terror. Eddy lifted the flashlight to see everything look even more deteriorated than before, rust and blood covered the walls and cheap tile. "What the hell…?"

Alena awoke in Ed's arms, wondering what happened. She clutched to Ed's jacket when she saw her surroundings, "No…" she mumbled.

"What?" Edd looked at her, concern in his eyes.

"I've seen this place. I've seen it before." She turned her head and examined more thoroughly. She recognized this place too well. "Ed, put me down…" she said quietly. He did so, and watched as she took the flashlight and studied the surroundings. "This is called the Otherworld, to some."

"How do you know?" Eddy asked with his arms crossed.

Alena sighed, "I know how crazy it sounds but-"

They heard a thud yet again, but this time, it didn't come from 308. Alena snapped her head to the left, down the darkened hallway. Whatever it was, it was coming closer. She felt the hair stand up on her arms as she heard the scraping of metal against tile. Something in her made her hold the flashlight to the source of the sound, but she quickly regretted it. She was shocked, fear running through her veins, unable to move until Ed literally picked her up.

"What the fuck is that?" Eddy shouted.

"We'll find out later, let's just go!" Edd panicked and nearly jumped down the staircase.

Alena was still in shock, because she had seen him before. She had seen the knife he was dragging, the Pyramid type helmet he wore, and the blood of his victims covering his butcher's apron. She had felt the fear turn her blood cold in the middle of the night. In the middle of those nights when she would wake up screaming and break down into sobs.

Behind them, Pyramid Head followed, and too close for their comfort. Alena finally found the ability to move on her own, but Ed didn't notice. He kept her in his arms until they reached the staircase leading back to the first level.

Pyramid Head was still hot on their trail, but slightly held back by his giant knife. Alena nearly leapt down the staircase and pulled the key out of her vest pocket, "I think the manager key, is like a master key." She told Edd who came close behind her.

"Try it." He encouraged.

Alena ran to the end of the hallway and tried it, but no dice. She cursed and ran back to the manager's suite, narrowly missing a view of Pyramid Head as he dragged his knife down the stairs. She jammed the key into the doorknob and smiled triumphantly as it unlocked. But there would be no time for her to get the other keys.

"Oh fuck going that way!" Eddy shouted and pushed his friends into the now opened manager's suite.

"Eddy! Where will we go?" Edd panicked as Pyramid Head smacked against the door.

Eddy groaned, "Oh god, we are so undeniably fucked if he gets in."

"Windows!" Alena jumped to the first one on her right, "Shit! It's boarded. Ed, let me see the crowbar." She held her hand out.

Instead, the larger man used it himself, easily removing the planks of wood covering their only way of escape.

Edd whimpered when he heard the breaking of wood. Pyramid Head was almost in. "Guys, we need to hurry!"

Alena cried out in joy when the window easily flew open. She was the first to go out, followed by Eddy. "Come on!" she called for the other two men.

Edd scrambled to the window when Pyramid Head was finally inside. Ed quickly helped his friend out the window and looked as the giant man lifted his knife. Fuck that! Ed jumped out of the window after his friend, narrowly missing death by inches.

Alena soon led them through the alleys of the relative area, weaving their way around buildings until they were soon able to stop for a breath. By now, Alena could see the sky, but wish she hadn't. It was red. "How the hell is this even possible?" she sighed and almost collapsed; her legs tired from running and her lungs burning.

"If Double D doesn't know, we are screwed." Eddy stretched his arms also tired from the extensive amount of running.

Edd shook his head, "I don't know, Eddy. As much as I hate to admit it, logic may not prove useful in this town. The car wouldn't start, even though your car is always in perfect condition. Those bodies without arms… The mannequins… That… thing that was just chasing us… What good will logic and reasoning do if even the basic of sciences cannot explain what those things are?" he spoke mostly to himself, and realized that he was thinking aloud.

"Don't forget the red sky." Alena pointed upward, towards the skies above.

"Oh no…" Ed said quietly when he looked to his right. A gang of lying bodies was headed their way.

"Oh, can't we get a fucking break?" Alena muttered under her breath and stood.

"Follow me; I think I know where we can hide!" Edd piped up. In his hand, he had the map of Silent Hill. He had quickly found out that the church wasn't even a full mile away from their location and was confident that he could lead his friends to safety.

They began running, Edd being just a little ahead of them, still being chased by the lying bodies. "Where are we going?" Eddy asked.

"Church of the Holy Way; it has big heavy doors and will provide good protection for now." Edd nearly lost his footing and connected with the pavement.

Ed and Eddy both lifted him up, "Double D! Point to where we need to go!"

"Guys! I see it!" Alena stopped several yards away from the marble stairs when she heard a far too familiar sound. The very sound that made her insides twist, as metal scraped against the ground. She cursed, "We need to hurry!"

Ed and Eddy carried Edd up the stairs. Ed let Eddy take care of his other friend, and went to help Alena open the doors.

"Are they jammed?" Ed asked.

"No, they're locked…" Alena felt herself near panic, when the door opened just a crack. "Please! We need to get inside, one of our friends is injured." She begged.

"Are you of the Order?" the man had a frightening appearance. He had dirt on his face and looked as if he'd not seen sun for quite a while.

"Order- what? Please, let us in. That… thing is getting closer!" Eddy shouted.

"Jeremiah, you idiot…" they heard a voice behind him. The door opened a little more, "Come, my children." A taller woman said, showing concern for Edd, who was bleeding profusely from his nose.

They hurried inside, thankful for their kindness.

Alena sighed, sitting next to Ed. Edd had broken his nose, but thankfully his medical experience came in handy. He managed to stop the bleeding and was able to disinfect the scrape wounds on the side of his face.

"Is he okay?" he asked her.

She looked up to him and nodded, "He's fine," she said quietly. She looked at his jacket and saw a rip, blood staining the seams. "Ed, did you get hurt?"

He looked at his jacket and shook his head, "I'm fine…" he mumbled.

Alena looked at him with concern in her eyes, "You're bleeding." She said quietly to him and tugged at his jacket.

He sighed and took the jacket off, seeing that Alena was more stubborn than she seemed. She rolled the sleeve up and began taking care of the wound. She unzipped the medical pouch on her side and wiped away the blood. He was amazed at how gentle she was, ever so carefully applying disinfectant and wrapping it.

She threw away wrappers and placed everything neatly back in her pouch. She then looked up to him, "Is that better?"

As if he were in a daze, he shook his head slightly to snap out of it. "Yeah. Much better… Thank you, Alena."

She smiled, "No problem, Ed."

They were silent after that. Eddy was arguing with Edd about proper disposal of something, Alena didn't listen to really know. She was too busy, admiring the architecture of the church. It was large, almost Victorian Goth Era.

They found out where everyone was. Apparently, after a horrible accident, they took refuge in the church. The woman who let them in, Christabella Gillespie was a priestess of the Order. Alena wasn't biased, but she had taken psychology courses and religious studies as something to entertain herself with, and she knew a cult when she saw one. But, she couldn't judge. It may have been because they saved their lives, but she felt utterly safe here.

"Excuse me…" They heard a voice behind them say quietly. Alena turned to see an older woman, a little younger than her adoptive mother, but resembling so much to herself. Alena was almost shocked, the eyes, the hair, the very bone structure was so similar that she wondered if she were staring at a mirror that showed the future.

"Yes, ma'am?" Alena spoke just as quietly.

"My dearest… Dearest Emily…" she sounded as if she were about to weep. "All these years… You used to look like your father, but now you look so much like me."

Alena was frozen in shock, feeling her breathing to become slightly heavier. This isn't possible…

Mother?

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Okay, so I stopped at a cliff hanger. I'm sure some of you were expecting that, but what the hell, I live to entertain you guys, not confuse you. Well, it took me long enough to get this going, even though I should be working on two essays and a script at the moment. Seriously, I have a research paper that was due… -30 hours ago. SO, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know if anything is confusing, because I changed so much shit around that my head hurts.

This is PhilosophicalZombie, signing off!