Author's Note: An alternate title for this chapter would be "The Beginning of The End". Anyways, enjoy the chapter.
Time – Unknown
After falling down the hole for awhile, I eventually stopped falling and landed on an unknown, soft surface. I tried turning on my flashlight, but no matter how many times I pressed the "on" button, it wouldn't come on. Are the batteries dead? Or is the flashlight itself broken? What am I going to do for light?
Then, an idea occurred to me. I felt around my inner jacket pocket and found what I was looking for. The lighter that I had found back in the library. Then, I ignited the small flame. It was better then nothing I guess.
I checked my watch and saw that the hands on face had stopped moving. Why did it stop moving? It was as if time had stopped. My pockets also felt lighter. I looked in them and saw that I had somehow lost half of my buckshots for my shotgun. What else could go wrong?
Anyways, with the small illumination of the flame, I surveyed my surroundings. I saw that I was in a very narrow hallway. The walls of this hallway still had that otherworld look to them. So, I take out my eagle (and held it in my free hand) and started walking through the hallway. As I was walking, It felt like as if I was being followed; I even heard footsteps behind me, but each time I turned around, I was greeted by nothing but the darkness.
After walking for about five minutes, I noticed that there was a blood trail and that I heard labored breathing somewhere off in the distance. Then, in the distance, I saw a tiny light. I got my eagle ready as I approached the light. As I got closer to the tiny light, the labored breathing got louder. Eventually, I made it to the light and found who I was looking for; It was Lenny.
The cause of the tiny light was a lantern that he probably laid down. He looked like he was in bad shape. He was propped up on a wall smoking a cigarette. His arm had a large cut on it and he was bleeding from the wound. He looked up at me and sees me.
He said, "Oh ho, look who decided to show up!"
"Lenny."
"Nicholas, I'm in bad shape, I'm out of ammo, and I'm weak. Go ahead and finish me off." He gestured towards the gun in my hand. I noticed that his revolver was just laying there by his lantern, there was a bunch of (empty) bullet casings next to it.
"Lenny, You've killed my girlfriend, my best friend, and a new friend that I had made...god knows how long ago. But before I pull the trigger, I want to hear it. Your side of the story. I have never heard it before..."
Lenny looked puzzled at my request. Then, he said, "Ok fine, but before I tell you about the crimes I "committed", answer me this. Have you heard what's been going on underground?"
Now it was my turn to look puzzled. Why was he asking me this? Also, I didn't like the way he said "committed".
I said to me, "No, but what does that have to do with your crimes?"
He replied, "Because I'm a greedy bastard...A few weeks ago, before the crime was committed, I fell into debt with all my spendings. So, I went to an underground loan shark, by the name of "Green Trees", I asked for a loan. I paid off the debts. But I had a new problem now. I had to-"
I cut him off and said, "You had to pay off the loan shark..."
He continued and said, "Yes, the deadline to pay them was approaching quickly and I was getting desperate. A friend of mine (that knows about the loan shark) told me about a guy that had so much money that he could swim in money if he wanted to. That guy was your friend, Wario Alexander. My friend managed to get him away from his apartment so that I could go in and grab the money that I needed but-"
I interrupted him again and said, "He came back a lot quicker then you thought."
He continued and said, "Hey, I'm telling the story here! Anyways, you are correct. So, I hid in his apartment and after awhile, He found me hiding. He was demanding me to get out. I panicked and accidentally, started a fire by bumping into a lamp on my way out. On my way out of the fire, a girl saw me running out of the apartments. That girl was Viola Kennedy. I found out where she worked (don't ask me how). Then...Well, you know the rest."
I took a moment to take in all of his story. I actually felt sorry for this guy. Lenny Skye...I felt sorry for the man who killed the girl I loved and two of my friends.
Then, Skye says, "Well, I told you my side of the story. Now...put me out of my misery and pull the damn trigger already."
I raised my eagle and was about to pull the trigger, but I felt myself hesitating. I lowered my gun and said, "...I can't do it. Lenny, you've done lots of horrible deeds. But...after that story, I can't bring myself to kill you. I wouldn't be any better then you when you killed Herman, Wario, and Viola.
He replied, "So, you ain't gonna do it, huh? Alright fine. You can just-". He stopped his sentence short because in the distance, we both heard something coming our way. The sound of screeching metal can be heard.
"He's coming. Get him away from me!", Skye said. A dark figure walks into the illumination of Lenny's lantern. Lenny sees the figure and starts freaking out. He fanatically starts crawling away.
The figure had the look of a strongly built man. This monster also wore a large helmet that covered his whole head, it was shaped like a pyramid. In his hand, he held a very long knife that was covered in blood that we dragged on the floor (hence, the screeching metal sound). The monster also wore a not-so-white robe that was covered in dried blood.
Lenny yells, "No no, Get away! Get Away!". I raised my eagle and fired my whole magazine at the monster. But, it didn't seem like the bullets were having an affect on him. The monster catches up with Lenny and picks him up with one hand. The monster lifts up his giant knife and stabs Lenny in the chest with it. Lenny screams out in unbearable pain.
The monster drops Lenny and turns around. I didn't know what to do. The monster slowly faded back into the darkness. I hear my name being muttered by Lenny. I hurried to him.
I said, "Lenny..."
He replied, "Nick...I'm...sorry for...everything. Take my...lantern". Then, he was dead.
I decided to honor his dying wish. I put my lighter away, took his lantern*, and some of the oil cans that were next to it*. I hooked it up with my belt and reloaded my eagle. The thing about Lenny's death is it felt bittersweet. The sweet part about his death is that Wario, Herman, and Viola were averaged (in a way).
The bitter part is that it felt like he didn't deserve his death...
Author's Note: Well, that was Chapter 18. Hope you enjoyed it.
And yes, the monster that killed Lenny is Pyramid Head. I couldn't resist putting him in the story.
Lenny's lantern is hooked up to Nick's belt like the way Link (from Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess) attached his lantern to his belt. I always thought that that was pretty cool.
Anyways, Here's Nick's inventory up to this point (There's some sufficient updates to it).
Weapons
Butterfly Knife: A rare knife that isn't sold in retail stores. I had to order it online. Can't stress enough about how sharp it is. I had previously lent it to Lana Pendanski until I found it on the corpse of a monster and got it back.
.50 AE Desert Eagle (Pistol) - 7 / 7: Exchanged for the Beretta; Found in the police department. Better then the Beretta in terms of stopping power. But it has three less bullets and a slower firing rate. But it is still worth taking.
Steel Pipe: Found in the tunnel. A pipe like this is usually used in plumbing. But it makes for a nice melee weapon. About three and a half feet long.
Sawed-Off Shotgun - 2 / 10 (Bucks), 04 (Slugs): Given to me by Herman as he died; Exchanged for the pump-action shotgun. It has five less bullets then the Pump shotgun. But with this shotgun, I can shoot and reload faster. It is also stronger then the pump. Totally-worth taking.
Health Supplies
Health Drink x04: A drink with limited healing properties. Comes in grape or strawberry flavors. Yum.
First-Aid Kit x01: A medical kit that comes with many healing supplies inside. Takes time to use it, but it is worth it...usually.
Important Items
Lantern: Given to me by Lenny Skye. A replacement for my flashlight since it stopped working. Hooked up to my belt. Runs on oil.
Flashlight: Always handy whenever I have a blackout in my house (which happens often). It had stopped working since I dropped down "that hole". I still have it in my chest pocket though.
Radio: Found in Goods N' Sales. Emits static whenever there is a monster nearby. Can be turned on/off (though it's not very helpful when it's off). Unlike my flashlight, this thing still works.
Silent Hill Map: Found in the Town. Pretty self-explanatory.
Lighter: Found in the Library. Just an ordinary lighter. Can melt small pieces of ice and provide small illumination. I decided to keep it with me, might come in handy in the near future.
Herman's Diary: Given to me by Herman as he died. These are his last words. Totally-worth a listen to.
Unlabeled Audio Diary: Found in the "Intensive Care Unit". It's a recording of Lenny doing something. I should hold on to it.
Discarded Items
White Rose: Found at the entrance to the library. Beautifully crafted. Belongs to Lana Pendanski. Given back to her in "Fred's Cafe".
Savior's Note: Found in my pocket. A note from the one that saved me from the tunnel. It's the same note about the valves from the same tunnel. Turns out that Lana Pendanski was the one that saved me.
Petal Fragments: Found on the streets of the town. The fragments had originally come from Lana's white rose. I had left them with Lana back at the mini-mart.
City Hall Map: Found in the guest room. Discarded because I won't be needing it anymore.
Alchemilla Hospital Map: Found in the waiting room. Discarded because it's pretty useless now that I'm not in the hospital anymore.
Urban Apartments Map: Found at the entrance to the apartments. Discarded because I won't be needing it anymore.
Silent Hill Library Map: Found on a library chair. Like the town map, it's self-explanatory. Discarded because I won't be needing it anymore.
See ya next week for the next chapter.