Chapter 19: A Little R&R
Find themselves in semi-familiar territory at last Julia recognized some of the street names she had tried to commit to memory. It was a huge mistake not taking Victor's advice and memorizing the town's layout while they were away in the real world. It seemed more and more though that it was her home on the outside that was the dream and this place was where she felt alive. All of the things that seemed to matter, being late to work, fixing a dent in her car, missing a show on TV, these things never truly meant a thing. Here though everything mattered, everything was truly important. Survival had a way of making clear how little all else other than taking your next breath was.
As they were walking something caught Chuck's eye and he stopped mid-stride. Instantly alert Julia brought the shotgun up to her shoulder almost involuntarily. "What?"
"There's a comic book store over there." he said reverently.
Sighing she straightened herself out and slapped the Canadian on the back of the head. "Hey!" he protested.
"Freak me out like that again and I'm going to shoot you on general principle." she warned.
"Whatever. Can we stop in there for a sec?"
"What!? No! I haven't eaten since yesterday, I'm tired, I'm hurt, you look like you were beaten with a bat for an hour and I still have to pee."
"I told you to go in the bushes." he said while turning his palms up at her.
"I'm not an animal! And what if some gross Silent Hill thing is waiting in the grass for me to drop my pants so it can jump into my genitals?"
"Oh God, that's disgusting." he made a face.
"Yeah, exactly. Think about that the next time you take a leak on the side of a building. We're close anyway, I know it."
They spotted the building with their gear coming out of the mist some four blocks away and Julia nearly cheered when she saw it. Committing the address to memory she wanted to rush in but Chuck made them take a more cautious pace. She was anxious to know if Victor was there safe and sound but he was right. They tip toed their way in and headed to the rear staircase which as far as she knew was the only way to get to the top of the building now. Taking the lead Chuck kept the shield up and blocking most of the hall way with its size.
Stopping at apartment 45 Chuck motioned her to look onward. The strange, alien symbols of the Order had been carved into the door jam from top to bottom. The only time Julia had seen these before was on Victor's old apartment but she couldn't be sure that it was his handiwork.
"What do we do?" Chuck whispered.
"We have to check it out." she said softly. "We need to know if they're here."
With grim determination Chuck nodded and braced himself with the shield. Wiping a few beads of sweat from above her eyebrow Julia tensed up for the considerable kick of the buckshot and nodded. Taking in a breath Chuck twisted the knob and kicked the door open. Bounding shield first into the living room the killer was ready for a fight. She followed right behind him and was prepared to shoot whatever moved.
Reclining on the couch was Victor, whole, injured, alive. He looked rather unconcerned that they had just burst in on him and had been reading a book. Chuck breathed a large sigh of relief and Julia dropped the shotgun to the side. Her man had just gotten to his feet when she pounced on him and attempted to hug him to death.
"Oh my God, you're okay." she said and didn't realize for a few moments that she was crying. Shushing her soothingly and stroking the back of her head Victor calmed her surge of emotions. Letting him go for a moment she kissed him savagely without concern to her wet face and hugged him again. Behind her Chuck closed the door and dumped himself into a chair.
"Are you all right?" Victor asked when she had decided it was getting weird with someone else in the room and let him go.
"I've been better. You look..." she trailed off. He was sporting numerous bruises on his face and arms as well as a number of minor scabs and cuts but he'd never looked better. "...great." she finished.
"Heh. And you. You're going to have a few more scars." he commented. Sliding off of him Julia sat very close by and held his hand tightly in hers as she leaned back on the oh-so-soft couch.
"Chuck. Are you well?" Victor asked the other man.
"Worm. Thing. Chest. Hurt." Chuck said and had his eyes closed. "Your shield saved my life though. Thanks for the loaner."
"You're welcome...and I feel I owe you an apology." he said and Julia raised an eyebrow. Chuck opened his eyes as Victor continued. "I assumed you were merely a tool of Nothing waiting to betray us the moment he asked. But I see now that you are your own person. While your crimes are great I believe that you're truly trying to repent for them. I'm sorry for the way I treated you."
"Huh." Chuck said and Julia could hardly believe her ears. Victor rarely apologized so thoroughly to anyone about anything.
"Wow. You'd better take that and put it in your pocket, Chuck. You aren't going to get another apology like that in this lifetime."
"Very funny." Victor said disdainfully.
"Speaking of funny, you looked awfully calm when we busted in on you." Julia noted.
"Ah...yes..."
"Wait, I know that tone. You were expecting us weren't you?" she queried.
He smiled slightly and she knew she had him. "How?"
"There's been some...developments." he said almost reluctantly. "Why don't the two of you get something to eat and rest? I think we're all going to need a few days off before going anywhere."
Much needed food was followed by much needed rest. Victor offered to stay awake to keep watch but it was largely unnecessary now that he had protected the room against Silent Hill's monsters. Julia demanded he cuddle her to sleep and when she woke up in the early evening she could hear Chuck's snoring from two rooms away. It had been a long last few days and she was glad to be alive in more ways than one. Despite the protests and objections to do anything with someone just a few walls away she managed to make Victor give her what she wanted. Even though it was not the best place he made love to her as quietly as possible as she bit onto the blanket to keep her moans muffled. Much later and thoroughly satisfied she fell asleep again and did not wake until almost morning the next day.
It was past dawn when the snoring coming from the second bedroom stopped and a very bleary eyed Canadian dragged himself to the bathroom. An hour and two MREs later they were gathered in the living room where Victor was busy tracing runes on the coffee table.
"Where did you get those? I thought they took all of them." Julia said about the stack of white paper he was using.
"I procured a few more." he answered. "From a friend."
"Friend?"
Sighing Victor put down his metal tipped, medieval looking pen. "While you were gone I had a visitor. Well, actually I was the visitor."
"The Dark Man?" Chuck asked.
"Yes." Victor nodded. "But that's not all. There's a bigger problem that just him."
Leaning back on the couch the knight told them the tale of his journey to Nowhere and all the wondrous sights he'd seen in his brief time there. Julia could not even begin to imagine such a place or how their absent ally had constructed it. Victor spoke like a man possessed and neither her nor Chuck interrupted his story until he concluded it with how he'd spent the time since leaving Nowhere tracing tracker runes that told him his companions were already on their way back.
No one spoke for a minute or so after he was done and simply digested what they had been told. The most interesting part to Julia was the power the Dark Man wielded in his own realm, if that's what it was. She wasn't convinced he was telling Victor the full truth but she supposed that it didn't much matter at the moment.
"So let me get this straight." Chuck said. "The Dark Man has a whole...world basically to himself?"
"I don't know about 'to himself' but it seemed to me like he was much stronger there than here. That in itself is a disturbing thought because as far as I know he's unstoppable in Silent Hill." Victor answered.
"Why does he even bother coming here then?" Julia asked.
"I'm not sure to be honest." Victor shrugged. "One would think that he would be happy to rule over Nowhere with a bloody fist. But I think that his hatred for the Order keeps him coming back here."
"But how...how does that even work? From what it sounds like you were there while we were getting attacked in the other Silent Hill."
"Again, I can't answer. He kept telling me that Nowhere was beyond my understanding...I think he may for once have been right. For all my time here I can't comprehend how he was able to do what he did or how he continues to."
"So this other guy is the one that's screwing everything up? Why we're all back here?" Chuck asked.
"Well, yes and no. Our true enemy is Marcus Stone, the head of the Order. He's the ones who trained me years ago."
"Trained you to do those weird symbols?"
"Yes. I thought I was free of him but it would seem he hasn't forgotten me. Worse he's set someone else along a path that might lead to something even worse than Nowhere."
"What do you mean?" Julia asked.
"This 'other resonance' he spoke of. I'm not sure exactly how it would affect him but if this other person completes the Descent then we're all in trouble. I don't mean the three of us but planet Earth in general."
"What is it, exactly?"
"Everyone trained by the Order knows about the Descent. It's supposed to be a fairy tale, a myth. I never thought it would be anything real." Victor shook his head. Closing his eyes he recited, "The First Sign, and God sayeth, at the time of fullness, cleanse the world with my rage. Gather forth the White Oil, the Black Cup and the Blood of Ten Sinners. Prepare for the Ritual of the Holy Assumption.
"The Second Sign, And God sayeth, offer the Blood of the Ten Sinners and the White Oil. Be then released from the bonds of flesh and gain the Power of Heaven."
"And...what the hell does all of that mean?" Julia said irritably.
Opening his eyes Victor explained, "The White Oil is White Claudia, the drug made from the flowers that the Order uses to get rich. It was used for thousands of years before that for holy rituals by the natives from around here. The Black Cup is a chalice made of pure obsidian. Together with the flower and a book written in human blood you have everything you need for the 21 Sacraments...well, almost."
"What else do you need?" Chuck asked with rapt attention.
"Weren't you two listening? The 'blood of ten sinners'." Victor answered. "Literally, I think."
"And the last part, 'released from the bonds of flesh'," Julia said, "is that literal too?"
"Well, look at Nothing." Victor said. "He's been dead for who knows how long but that hasn't slowed him down. If anything it has made him stronger."
"So he killed ten people and turned himself into...whatever he is now? And built this fantasy land along the way?" Julia asked incredulously.
"In so many words, yes. Though I think he's killed a lot more than ten before and since."
"And now someone else is trying to do the same thing?"
"Yes, and they're very close to finishing it."
"Why now?" Chuck interrupted. "If this crazy cult of yours is so hellbent on their rituals then why haven't then done this before?"
"You don't understand, Chuck." Victor said sadly. " The Book, the Cup, the ritual itself, they were supposed to be myths, stories for the Order to scare children with. No one, not even Stone would have dreamed that they really existed somewhere in Silent Hill. Maybe they didn't until recently. Maybe they always have, I don't know. But I do know that if we don't stop them that they will complete the Sacraments for sure."
Julia had to think to take all of this in. Even for Silent Hill this was amazing. The thought that someone could make an entire reality through the bizarre rituals of her home town...if someone had told her a few years ago she'd be here listening to this and believing every word of it she would have just laughed before calling the men in white coats.
"What do we do then?" Chuck asked. "What can we do?"
"We have to find Marcus Stone and kill him." Victor said solemnly. "I don't like it any more than you but that man is a menace. He'll use his pawn to complete the Descent the way the Order has always wanted."
"And now they're finally close to it." Julia said.
"Yes. Nothing showed them that the Sacraments were real. They're spent the last twenty years searching for items they need and he's spent the last twenty years killing them the moment he found them. In a way he's been a necessary evil."
"I don't know if I can just go kill some guy." Chuck shuddered. "It's...not me."
"Me either." Julia agreed.
"We can capture him alive then, and turn him over to Nothing." Victor suggested. "But we have to take him out of the equation one way or the other. Once we find him, we can find his sacrament-maker and stop this madness. Then we can all go home."
"Yeah..." Chuck said unenthusiastically.
"We have to act. There's no one else who will and certainly no one that even knows the danger we're all in."
"Oh, speaking of which." Julia was reminded. "Did you show him the gun?"
"Ah, right." Chuck said and got up to retrieve the strange pistol they had taken from the unstable blond girl. The Canadian handed it to Victor who peered at it curiously. "Got this off a insane chick who pointed it at us a couple of times."
"Big gun. So what?" the knight wondered.
"Check out the ammo."
"Uh...how?"
"Dang it." she shook her head and rolled out the barrel for him. Shaking the bullets into his outstretched hands Victor peered closely at them.
"These are...silver bullets." he noted.
"That would explain the shine." Chuck said.
"And this." Victor held the glass one up to the light. "This is...no, it can't be."
"What?"
"It looks like...Aglaophotis." he said in disbelief.
"Which is...?"
"A very, very rare substance made from desert flowers. It's supposed to 'dispel evil' though I've only ever read about it. You see the tiny flecks of black? That's sediment from below the sand." he explained.
"What do you think it's doing in a bullet?" Julia wondered.
"The girl said the gun was for killing ghosts." Chuck chimed in.
"Ah...I see." Victor said as he came to some unknown conclusion. "The bullets, like the silver sword we found, are made to harm or at least temporarily put down a ghost."
"Like the Dark Man?" Chuck asked.
"Exactly. And if they'll work on him, they'll work on whoever has been trying to complete the Sacraments, too." he concluded.
"So this was a good find?" Julia said tentatively.
"This is the most precious weapon we have." Victor nodded. "Whoever you took this weapon from knew what they were doing when it came to Silent Hill. And the Aglaophotis...I don't know if it will really kill a ghost but this would be the first thing I'd try with."
"Hmm...so if your pal decides to turn on us..." Julia reasoned.
"He won't." Chuck asserted.
"If he does, we can put him down, for good." Victor said as he handed the gun back to Julia. "He doesn't need to know about it, agreed?"
Chuck threw his hands up. "You won't need to use it on him. Be more worried about the other guy."
"I am." Victor conceded. "But we can't rule out the possibility that we might need this against Nothing."
The sat for a little while as each of them reflected on the new developments so far. It reminded Julia of one of the few unanswered questions so far. "Vic, do you still have that ash?"
"Yes, of course, why?"
"Did you find out what it was? How it works?"
"Ah, no. I didn't get the chance to get a straight answer from Nothing. To say he talks in circles in an understatement. And I was a little distracted by Nowhere in general."
"Dang."
"We're going to need it though." he said. "The original plan to investigate the Order's holdings across the water remains. If that ash breaks down runes then we're going to have to use it just to get in the front door."
"Can't you test it on the ones you make?"
"Oh. Right. Didn't even think of that." he said thoughtfully. "We at any rate it's going to take me a couple of days to make the proper runes. Get comfortable because there's no rushing these."
"Why is it going to take so long?" Chuck asked.
"Well, normally I'd just have to make one rune to make myself invisible to people and one to make myself invisible to the monsters of Silent Hill. Now I have to do the same thing but make sure that I'm visible to both you and Julia at the same time. Then your runes need to match mine and...it's complicated." he said with the rambling speech of someone who was both knowledgeable and passionate about a specific activity.
"So we go in, kick this Stone guy's ass, shoot his stooge in the face with the ghost bullet and then we go home?" Julia summed up.
"Going with Plan A again, I like it." Chuck said.
"I've a feeling it's going to be more complicated than that but yes." Victor nodded.
"Well let's get to it then. The world isn't going to save itself." she ordered.