Hooray, chapter eight is now here. On a side note if anyone is confused, Alena is not a form of Alessa. I think I may have accidently insinuated that she was, because of the appearance of her. The 'random' appearance of Alessa truly has a purpose. If you don't really understand or just can't wait for two or three more chapters, let me know and I'll PM the meaning of her appearance.
With that said, I certainly hope that this could reach up to maybe twelve chapters... I don't know... Whatever works out.
Alena looked at the hospital, wondering if it had always looked that disturbing. The otherworld certainly made her tremble in sheer terror, but somehow, she had managed to cover it up for the most part.
Beside her, Ed checked how many bullets were left. They had been very careful, and tried to avoid the monsters. If they couldn't, they would use their surroundings to their advantage. Usually, they could grab something like a lid of a garbage can. Fortunately, Ed found a crowbar similar to the one he had dropped when escaping Pyramid Head.
There were five bullets in the gun itself, and six extra. Even an extra five would be a godsend, but how could they find random bullets inside a hospital?
Alena gently placed a hand on his shoulder, "I think we should get inside before we run into Pyramid Head again." she suggested. She had a sinking feeling in her stomach as a worried expression crossed her face.
"Alena?" Ed looked at her, noticing the anxiety in her eyes.
"It's just a hospital. We can do this." she replied, more to reassure herself that they could survive.
They slowly entered the hospital and examined their surroundings. Ed barely remembered the entrance since he had only been there for a moment before running off to find Alena.
To her left, was an empty frame with edges of glass. Something told her that was where the hospital map was supposed to be.
She sighed and lowered her arm to her side, "It's really quiet..." Too quiet for her comfort.
How did I get myself in this situation?
The black-haired nurse sighed as she walked; not once since she'd been in this hellish dimension had she pondered the reason of the town's existence. She bit her lip in thought; a habit she had developed over the years. How did they get here?
She messed with the hem of her sweater, and suddenly came upon a quite disturbing epiphany.
What if I'm dead?
Edd noticed the slightly concerned expression on her face, "Are you alright, Mellie?"
She was snapped out of her trance-like state and turned to Edd, "Of course; what made you think otherwise?"
He frowned slightly, seeing through her act, "I know that face. Something's on your mind."
She sighed and stopped in her tracks. "Edd, have you wondered at least once while you were in Silent Hill, how you got here?" She met his eyes and he saw another look he was familiar with. It meant 'There is a way that I can figure this out, but I may need a little assisstance' and Edd saw it many times in Med school.
Although it would be an obvious thought, not once had it crossed his mind in the past few hours. He'd been more concerned with not losing his life, or the lives of his friends. "Actually, Mellie... I haven't."
Mellie shook her head, "Perhaps we should wait and contemplate this when Sarah is better."
Edd nodded, "Yes. Ah, I don't think the elevator is in working condition, so we may have to use the stairs. Mellie, what floor is Sarah on?"
"The second floor, she's in Examining Room 3. We can't take those stairs." she said to him when he opened the door. He turned to look at her with a puzzled expression. "The top of the staircase was barricaded when Sarah and I arrived. We couldn't break it, so we went up a different set. I think it's this way."
She motioned for him to follow, and he did.
"So... how long have you been here?" Eddy asked, as if he was asking her how long she was waiting for her coffee on a busy day at a cafe.
Sarah shrugged, "Two, maybe three days now. I've not really been keeping track of time."
He nodded, "You know, Ed's really missed you. He and his mom couldn't sleep for shit over these past few days."
"Ed's here? Where?" She was suddenly anxious to see him. But the look on Eddy's face made that anxiety turn to fear. "He's okay... right?"
He nodded, "Yes, but he's in Rosewater Park looking for a friend of ours."
"Is Double D here too?"
"Yeah, we set up a search party for you and his girlfriend." he said bluntly.
Sarah couldn't help but giggle, "Seriously?"
Eddy nodded and then motioned for her to be quiet, seeing the silhouette of a woman through the translucent glass of the door.
Sarah felt her insides twist as he slowly approached the door, but noticed something odd. There was yet another silhouette, but of a taller man, and seemed to be holding something -or someone- up. "Eddy, is it them?" she asked.
"Uh, Eddy... Please open the door..." Alena's voice came from the other side.
Eddy quickly opened the door to see Ed carrying Edd, who was bleeding profusely from... somewhere. There were few burn marks on his face and arms, and it was obvious that he was in pain. Alena was bleeding from her leg, due to a medium-sized shard of glass lodged in her upper-leg area. The next person was one he barely recognized to be Mellie. She was panting for air as if she had been running as fast as she possibly could.
They rushed into the Examining Room, setting Edd on the counter (with Ed helping him stay upright). Alena limped to the edge of another, and examined her own wound.
Mellie had rushed to Sarah and explained how to take the anti-biotics; clearly, so that nothing was a grey area. After doing that, she went to Edd, whose grip on conciousness was slipping.
"The fuck happened to you guys?" Eddy stared at them, dumbstruck at the damage.
"I'll explain later...," Alena muttered.
She whimpered as she successfully pulled the glass out of her leg, watching as a line of red trailed down her pale leg. She tossed it on the counter and quickly grabbed for her first-aide pouch to hastily wrap up the wound.
"Edd, can you hear me?" Mellie asked.
He slowly nodded, breathing deeply. His head hurt, and the deep cut burned. "Yeah, I can. I think it's a minor concussion."
"It's a possibility -Oh, Ed," she caught his attention. He looked up to meet her eyes, and followed the trail she left as she looked to a corner with a small red-headed girl.
"Sarah?"
She looked up after taking the anti-biotic, "Ed!" she got up as fast she she could and hugged her brother.
As the family reunion occurred behind her, Mellie bandaged up Edd's arm. "You've had most recent Tetanus booster shot, correct?" she received a nod. "I can't believe how fast they came at us... I don't even know how those armless creatures made it in the hospital.
"They must have followed Eddy and I when we first came here."
"And what about the other monsters?" she finished the bandaging of his arm and went to check his head.
"I haven't the slightest clue." he answered honestly.
Eddy looked up after helping Alena, "So what happened?"
She stood herself upright, leaning against the counter, "We were ambushed by the nurses, and those armless things...
Mellie jumped when she heard a voice behind her.
"Double D, you found Mellie!" Ed said a little cheerfully. She recognized him, but not the blonde young woman standing beside him.
"Ed! It's good to see that you and Alena are well. Mellie and I were about to go up to the second floor." Edd greeted them. He had been worrying for them since both had split from the group to check out Rosewater Park. "Alena did you find anything of interest in the park?"
"I'll explain once we're all together again."
"Y-You're soaking wet, are you alright?" Mellie asked.
Alena nodded, "Yes; I fell in the lake..."
"Does the gun still work?"
Alena nodded, "But we only have six bullets; the other seven had fallen out of the pocket when I fell in."
Mellie opened the door to the stairwell, seeing if it was still blocked. Shit... It was heavily barricaded like when she and Sarah ahd first tried that set. She groaned, It's better to have multiple escape paths... "I think we may be able to break through."
"Um, Mellie... I think that set of stairs was blocked for a reason..." Edd suggested.
"But it was blocked from the other side, meaning that it was something out here that frightened whoever did it."
"How can you tell?" Alena asked, tilting her head slightly as she gazed at the blockade.
"Look at how the furniture was placed from the other side, do you think that they would've had the time to try and create a blockade of that design on this side?" she explained.
Edd sighed, "You have a point, but it worries me..."
Mellie climbed up the stairs and pressed her ear to the barricade. She heard nothing. She motioned for them to come up the stairs as she checked again. Still, nothing.
"Do we have anyone strong enough to break it? Sarah and I have tried earlier, but couldn't get it to budge."
Ed looked up, "Sarah is here?"
Edd nodded, "But we need to get to the examining room quickly."
"That's where she is?" After receiving a nod, he gripped the railing, and kicked the jumbled-together-furniture. He could breath easier now that he knew Sarah was alive and near him. The fact that she was alive was motivation enough.
"It's loosening. Ed, try again." Alena encouraged him.
He kicked even harder, creating a deafening sound throughout the silent hospital. A stream of light shone on the cheap tile, indicating the weakening of it. Several more times, and there was a large portion of the barricade, lying on the hard floor.
They cheered slightly, finally achieving success in this hell dimension. "Yes!" Alena said cheerfully and kissed Ed on the cheek, "Brilliant.." she grinned.
Mellie was the first to enter the hallway, but gasped at a horrifying sight. "Shit." was all she could muster out.
Edd walked out, "Wha-" he stopped.
Standing still, there were at least ten nurses roaming the halls, that were now stumbling towards the group, all carrying diverse weapons. Sliding around the floor, were around five or six lying bodies slithering across the disgusting blue tile.
"Go!" Mellie dodged the wild swinging of a nurse.
Edd was knocked to the floor by a lying body, but somehow managed to crawl back to the stairwell.
Ed pushed Alena away from a nurse with a rusted piece of metal. He punched her and kicked her back into the group of monsters.
Mellie dodged another attack but was caught off gaurd by a nurse, holding a long shard of glass. Edd saw this and pushed the nurse down the stairs. He was terrified when he saw that she had a hard grip on his shirt, dragging him down with her.
"Double D!" Ed called while he wrestled between a lying body and a nurse.
Edd fell backwards down the stairs, his arm scraping against a rusty break on the railing. After tumbling down the flight, his head thudded loudly against the cheap drywall, leaving a small dent. The nurse was barely affected by this fall and reached for the long piece of glass that had fallen from her grip during the fall.
Alena dashed down the staircase and pushed the nurse away from Edd. the nurse's back in the wall loudly, but she quickly regained her balance and strength, going full force at Alena.
Alena grabbed her thrashing arms, carefully avoiding the glass. Her hand slipped and the hand with the glass, forcefully stabbed at Alena's left leg. As if the nurse knew what it was doing, she broke off the outer glass, leaving a medium sized chunk under skin, while only a sliver of it was seen outside.
She cried in pain, catching the attention of Ed, who successfully fought off a majority of the problem. "Alena!" he pulled the gun out from his pocket. Though they wanted to conserve bullets, this was one of those situations where it would be okay. He turned the safety on, in case it went off if it hit the ground and tossed it.
It did fall to the floor. Alena dodged a slash by the nurse and grabbed the gun, turned the safety off; aimed, and fired.
The nurse fell to the floor, dead... again.
Alena turned the safety on again, and motioned for Ed and Mellie to come down the stairs, "Mellie, please tell me there is another set of stairs we can go up." she looked up as she attempted to pull Edd to his feet.
"... And we successfully travelled to the other set, out-running the monsters." Alena finished the explaination and wiped her blood off her leg.
"So what did you find at the park?" Eddy asked, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall.
At this point, the Otherworld had been long gone and the Fog world reigned over Silent Hill. Oddly enough, it had become a form of normality. Alena preferred this dimension, even if the fog impaired her vision. Pyramid Head wasn't running around trying to kill them... maybe. But at least the number of monsters had lowered.
"I figured out how I got out of Silent Hill. When I was a baby, my mother set me in a basket and I floated down a river. I don't know how, but there must have been a transition between dimensions, and I ended up in the normal world."
"So how can we get out?" Mellie spoke as she finished checking Edd's head.
"I don't know, but maybe we can find out soon. One thing is for sure, I need to find my mother. I need to ask her something." Alena stood.
"Are you crazy? Rowena is back at the church, God knows what those cultists will do to you." Eddy piped in.
"Rowena will know how we can get out. It's that or we stay here. Forever."
They knew what that meant. Ed didn't want to think about it at all. He cared about Alena as much as he cared for Sarah. Although he'd never admit it, Eddy had also grown attached to her. Edd considered her a friend after what they had all gone through together.
Alena didn't know what would happen at the church, but she knew that she needed to speak with Rowena. She would know who Alessa is (or was), and would know what would have to be done in order for them to go home.
"Okay, I have a plan." Edd hopped off the counter.
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Holy shit, that took me forever to write (except the last one thousand words). I don't know what the hell was wrong with me, but I couldn't write anything without it being shitty. So firgive me if this isn't the greatest chapter ever. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I certainly hope that you've enjoyed this story so far.
This is PhilosophicalZombie, signing off!