Chapter 33: Das Boot
The morning had come entirely too soon but it was time to get moving. They ate without conversation and double, triple checked their gear before leaving. The knight didn't have much to bring other than the wavy sword on his hip. There were some sheets left but he had no way to transport the delicate sheets and doubted they would be much use anyway. The Fater's ashen blood would carry them through whatever traps they Order could lay. Their strategy for fighting together had worked wonders against the mercenaries before. Sitting back to let the shade take all the attention the knight had rushed in from the flank or rear unnoticed and decimated his enemies before retreating back to the shadows. While wearing kevlar that paled in comparison to his green armor he would have to employ similar tactics again to avoid being shot.
Their unspoken agreement of silence continued as the three morose travelers left the apartment that had been their only safe haven since coming to Silent Hill. It felt like a farewell funeral march but Victor went hand in hand with Julia the whole way. She was somber but alert, resigned but ready for battle at the same time. Forgoing both guns and shoes the she was armed with only her gloves that always seemed to be chilly whenever they locked their fingers together. It seemed to him that she had changed since coming back but he couldn't quite place what exactly it was. The pilgrim seemed stronger, harder...more merciless than before. They would need to be all of those things if they were going to pull this off.
Instead of leading them through Rosewater Park he veered off to the east and where Jacob Stahl had been 'buried'. Partly out of curiosity and a desire to procrastinate just a little longer they gathered at the long dead scholar's tombstone.
"Wonder if all of his stuff is still down there." Julia remarked.
"Probably." the knight nodded.
"Thinking about taking a peek?" Chuck asked.
"Maybe when this is all over." he agreed. "Carroll's diary would also be a good read."
"Crazy, isn't it?" Julia mused.
"Hmm?"
"All of this." she put her hand out at the stone. "It had to happen exactly the way it did. Otherwise this would just be a little resort town with a bunch of crazies and a PVT problem."
"I don't think so." Chuck differed. "Those cult people would have stirred up something eventually."
"Good point."
"Shall we go then?" Victor looked at them.
"Probably should." Julia said. "Just not in a particular hurry."
"Nervous?"
"As I'll ever be. It's never dull in this place at least. Feels like I'm in varying degrees of shock at all times."
"Really?" Chuck wrinkled his nose. "The two of you always look so calm."
"Once you have accepted the inevitability of your own death there is little else to fear, Chuck." Victor observed much to Julia's amusement.
"That's the melodramatic spirit I've been missing." she laughed and the knight swore she did it just to irk him.
"Let's go then." Chuck suggested. "The sooner this is over the better."
Taking the lead again Victor steered them back towards the park the the small pier where boats tended to appear and disappear. It was not certain but there at the water's edge would be their best chance for a way to the island other than swimming. He did not even want to think about how dangerous actually getting into Lake Toluca would be.
With Chuck trailing behind them out of auditory range Julia spoke to the knight quietly. "Hey Vic?"
"Yes?"
"I love you, you know that right?"
"Of course. Do I have to tell you too or is assumed?"
"It's never assumed, you idiot."
"Ah, okay. I love you too, Julia Stormson. I always have."
She smiled triumphantly and squeezed his hand a little tighter. "Not quite the time and place I imagined but I guess it's better than never."
"How did you imagine it?"
"I don't know, maybe on a romantic beach along with some flowers, perhaps a pony. Some kind of sky writing would have been cool, too." she said wistfully.
"Doesn't sound like something I would do." he said seriously and she only giggled.
"No, no it doesn't. I should have known it would be more like this." she looked around at the mist. "Not that I'd have it any other way."
"I know I've been hard to deal with sometimes." he sighed. "Sorry about that. But I want you to know that no matter what happens today, in the end, I'll follow you where ever you go to my last breath...I promise." She looked up at him and they locked eyes a few seconds before the pilgrim latched herself onto his entire arm. As long as Stone lay dead as his feet and the woman on his arm remained alive the knight could live with whatever end that was in store for them.
They slipped through the old, familiar fog to the old dock area built out of stone at the end of Rosewater Park. A small rowboat bobbed at the end of it with encrusted oars floating in the mirror-like water. Piling into the craft they rocked gently in the water as Victor took up the oars himself. Adjusting their position for his taller frame he silently speculated on the possibility that the Fater had brought the boat here himself. Pushing them away from the pier he started to pull back on the wooden poles and move them out onto the glossy water with mist hovering just above the waterline.
"Do you know where you're going?" Chuck asked from the prow of the small boat. With a rifle strapped to his back and sling of grenades on his chest he was pointing a shotgun out in front of them ready for a land war in Asia.
"In a general sense." Victor replied and the other man did not look relieved.
"And what's that supposed to mean?"
"The island is somewhere in the middle of the lake, that much I know. There's no way to even see it from the shore unless you're out on one of the bridges but I'm bringing us in the direction that's giving me a spot of pressure in my head."
"Pressure? You're getting your ESP back?" Julia asked.
"Incrementally." the knight answered. "We'll see if it's any use shortly."
He rowed for about ten minutes as the dull lump in his frontal lobe guided him to what was no doubt a rude welcoming committee. The monsters of Silent Hill radiated a baleful energy when clustered together and he had often used this fact to avoid running into lethal numbers of them.
"Fuck me!" Chuck said and jumped back from the front of the boat.
"What!?"
"There was...something...in the water!" the killer stumbled.
"What exactly?" Julia pressed.
"Uh...well it damn sure wasn't a fish." he blurted. "If I shoot the water, does that- oh there it is!"
Up ahead of them one could just barely see the wispy outline of a rather large island coming into view and a shadowy pier quite unlike the one they departed from. Barely more than a few blurry lines in the sea of gray Victor was going to comment on keeping the guns quiet until reaching the pier but then something pierced the calm facade around them. In the distance a high pitched, screeching wail that stabbed the knight's ears rose up and seemed to be changing direction as it went.
"Wuh oh." Chuck uttered.
"You know what that was?"
"That...sounds like an old friend of mine and Julia's." the killer gasped. "I thought you shot it in the face!" he accused the woman.
"I did! You're welcome by the way!"
"Quiet, both of you!" Victor hissed. "There's no way it can find us if..." he trailed off.
"If what?" Julia whispered back but it was already too late. He could feel the subtle change in the air that coincided with the Dark One opening the gate. If he hadn't been away so long he could have sensed it earlier but it was upon them already.
"Um...crap." the knight said.
"Oh, this won't be good." Chuck squirmed.
"Things are about to get a lot rustier around here." the knight announced just as the warning siren began to blare from the main land. No matter where he was in the town the horn never seemed to be coming from nearby as it rolled out over the lake.
"Feck! I knew this was going to happen! I kept it to myself and it happened anyway!" Chuck raged.
"Be still, Chuck. This is no accident but deliberate assault." the knight calmed him as the grinding set in and the light around them started to fade. Abandoning the oars the knight instead gripped onto the side of the boat and clamped down.
"What should we do!?" Julia asked in a panic.
"Do?" the knight snorted. "I'd hold on if I were you."
As complete darkness fell things were muted for a few seconds except for the gentle rocking of the boat. Victor actually wondered if maybe the darkness didn't affect the water and nearly reached for the oars to attempt to move forward when thunder crashed overhead without preceding lightning. Droplets started to hit them and had a gritty consistency which Victor found strange until he was able to smell them. The sludge-like quality of the rain was due to the fact that ashes had been mixed with it and they were soon pelted with an onslaught of the thick globules.
"Well this isn't so bad." Chuck remarked a few feet away in the darkness and just at that moment the storm hit them. Manifesting suddenly and violently their tiny craft was assailed with hurricane wind blowing so hard the sound almost drowned out the crashing waves that slammed into them. The boat was tossed around as if Lake Toluca had a grudge against it staying afloat and it was all Victor could do to keep his grip.
Chuck clicked his light on from the prow and revealed a small portion of the chaos around them. The gray ashen rain, looking white in his tiny beam, pelted them in sheets and was quickly turning the boat gray as malicious black waves pushed them roughly around. Victor was never much of a mariner and he was glad that he was not encased in his armor at the moment. Somehow, over the pandemonium around them, another cry from the worm beast still managed to be heard from nearby and closer than before.
"Wh...I...fth...sth!" Julia yelled at him but he could barely read her lips, let alone hear what she was saying.
"What!?"
Throwing an arm around his head while they were roughly jostled she shouted directly into his ear, "We have to swim for it!"
"I don't think that's a good idea!" he shouted back as a little of the water and ashes slipped into his mouth. She shook her head to indicate that she didn't hear him and turned to smack Chuck on the shoulder. When he turned his face was half grayed out from the rain as the pilgrim made an overhead swimming motion. The killer's eyes went wide and he shook his head vigorously at the idea. Water hit them from seemingly every direction and Victor took one hand off the side of the boat to attempt to clear the mud burning his eyes.
The choice was made for them when a savage swell lifted the small boat up and smashed them sideways into the roiling water. Thrust suddenly into a raging tempest Victor could not see and gulped water as he tried to right himself. Flailing for the boat he was just on he felt nothing around him as he broke to the surface of the lake. Gasping for breath he tasted more ash in his mouth and an oily putridness that would have made him gag if he wasn't so busy trying to get air. Kicking and treading water as best he could as invisible waves rolled into him the knight had no idea where to even go. He could not even see his hands in front of his face, let alone his destination or his companions.
Lightning flashed an eternity later and showed him just how desperate his situation was. The black crests were rising well over his head and obscured everything else. He needed to move even if he didn't know where to go and had to hope that the feral storm did not make him a permanent resident of the lake. Thrashing spiritedly he began to swim as best he could in a random direction with tubs of water being routinely dumped on his head.
Time seemed to not exist as he did everything in his power to keep from drowning but he knew that eventually he would not have the energy to keep this up. The onslaught of the maelstrom would claim his life if it didn't lose steam before he did but to the knight's surprise he saw a glint of light on one of the waves just out of the corner of his eye. Struggling to reorient himself he saw it again and made a frenzied effort to head towards it. A wave lifted him up as he swam and he saw a sweeping light in the distance just before he was thrown under the relentless waves again.
There was no telling what it was but Victor at least had a target. Coming back to the surface he thrashed towards it and from the motion it appeared to be a lighthouse some distance away. Taking what amounted to a deep breath he surged towards what had to be at least a small patch of land and relative safety. His body was beginning to tire already and the sword on his hip was dragging him down but he refused to arrive to a battle empty handed. Swimming mostly underwater with his eyes closed until his lungs burned Victor came up for air to find that he had veered slightly off course. Righting himself he resolved to at least make it to land before he died.
He was still some distance away from the light when he ran into a sandbar. Crashing unexpectedly into solid ground he was confused at first but then realized his fortune. The knight dragged himself from the cruel waters as the first animal to breathe air did millions of years ago and fought just to breathe. Disoriented from the haphazard trip he focused on wriggling forward when a light blinded him. Something strong latched onto his arm and hauled him fully out of the water and onto somewhat more solid ground. He was dragged a little farther before being let go and Victor reached for his sword when he saw Chuck standing over him.
Helping him to his feet the killer immediately started sweeping his flashlight out at the waves again. Victor realized belatedly that there was no lighthouse at all and that his life was saved by the quick thinking of his friend. That Chuck was still doing it meant Julia had not turned up yet either. Taking a few minutes to catch his breath Victor became increasingly more worried that she was still out there in the waves and there was nothing he could do to help. From deeper onto land behind them that shrill, piercing roar cut through the storm and still Chuck continued to sweep his light despite the possibility that whatever was making that noise might be able to find them by it.
So intent was the knight on watching the waves for any signs of Julia he actually jumped when she tapped him on the shoulder. "Yaaaaaah!" he cried to the winds but she was grinning like a mad woman.
"What took you two so long?" she yelled with her dark hair clinging to her ash streaked face. She had never looked better.
"Nice to see you, too!" the killer yelled back and tucked his light into his pocket. "Everyone okay!?"
"Good! Genius idea with the light!" she approved. "Would have never found you without it!"
"Might have saved my life!" Victor added.
"You're welcome! Now what!?"
"Head for the center!" Victor pointed at the direction the howl had come from. "Look for a structure!"
"Stay within arm's reach! Tap if you need to!" Julia advised. Victor took the lead and marched with soggy boots deeper into the island. Increasingly thick bramble led to a copse of black trees and he knew that somewhere in this muck their target would be waiting. The thick rain continued to strike them unabated until they reached the limited protection of the trees. With the foliage foiling forward movement and their visibility reduced to a dozen feet or so they made slow progress searching for Stone's hidey hole.
Victor had forgotten about the ache in his head until now and it was telling him that with every step they took they came closer and closer to a concentration of maliciousness he could only partially perceive. It was useful as he not see much but even if he were blind the pressure would have led him to this spot like a moth to flame. Focusing on keeping his footing on the slippery ground the building practically jumped out at him when he came to it. Coming up against a drab wall messy with rain muck he turned to his companions and held up a finger to his lips for silence. It would likely not matter much in the middle of the storm but it never hurt to strike first. They pointed their lights at the ground instead of facing forward and circled around to discover that the building had but one, doorless entrance.
Daring to go inside they found nothing but a simple concrete building with stained, mossy floors and walls. It at least provided a welcome reprieve from the sludgy rain that show no signs of stopping. Wiping the gray film from his brow the knight turned to his companions to offer his confusion.
"Empty building in the middle of the woods?" he put up his hands. "At least it's dry in here."
"Yeah. That was all pretty freaky." Julia smirked almost like she was having fun.
"Freaky? That's what you call that?" Chuck said in disgust. "We almost died."
"Well when you put it like that it sounds so...mean."
"We have to keep looking." Victor said. "He's got to be around here somewhere."
"Doesn't seem like there's anything around but sticks and mud." the pilgrim replied.
"No...he's near, I can feel it. I just don't know how near near is." the knight tried to explain.
"Right. That makes sense." Chuck said with unhelpful sarcasm.
"Don't get tetchy. Let's go back out and check."
Heading into the muddy rain they moved single file away from the building but found nothing except more trees. Making a detour just to be sure Victor followed his senses but wound his way back to the empty structure anyway. Going inside again the knight simply could not understand it.
"There has to be something here." he thought out loud. "It's just too strong."
"Maybe we can't see it?" the killer offered.
"It's all around us at this spot but not out there. Almost like we're-"
Victor interrupted himself as a possibility dawned on him. "-standing on it."
Searching the floor for any kind of imperfection or crack he came up empty handed but sincerely doubted it was a fault in his perception. There was one way to be sure but they didn't have any more of Jennifer Carroll's ashes to check. They did, on the other hand, have the next best thing.
"Lord Nothing, seek out this ruse." he looked up at the ceiling.
"Lovely weather we're having." the shade said directly behind them and they turned in unison to see the gray speckled Fater in high spirits. From their lights the spike harness he wore cast a menacing shadow on the blank wall behind him not unlike an angel figure with bone wings. "I may have to do this sometime in my realm."
"The hell have you been!?" Julia snarled. "We were getting mauled out there!"
"A cycloptic serpent sang to me." he said cheerfully. "It was quite wrathful for the taking of its eye."
Victor and Chuck turned to look at the pilgrim who cleared her throat. "Ahem. Well, do what you're here to do."
Breaking past them the shade studied the room like he had never seen one before. Craning his head all around he fretted over invisible details. "Clever Order Master." Nothing mumbled to himself. "Each wall reflecting the presence of the other. No way to find such a place without physically encountering it."
"Is it going to be a problem?" Victor asked but the ghost waved him off.
"Can you not see?" he gestured grandly. "Such limited creatures you are." Heading to one of the corners of the room he knelt down and dropped a fist into the ground. The "concrete" splintered from the blow and the rune failed as the entrance materialized into view. A wooden door had been built into the floor but with the rune in place there was no way to tell.
Rising the Fater motioned dramatically at the darkened path. "Let the games begin. Venimus ergo ad clausulam."
"I hate this guy." Julia muttered under her breath but from outside the creature cried out again. It seemed much closer than before and the three of them shared a look before hurrying to the relative safety underground.