Me: Well, here's Chapter 3.
Zero: Sometimes I wonder what goes on in that twisted little mind of yours.
Rendan: Maybe it's best we don't question it, I mean if what happens there didn't happen we wouldn't exist.
Zero:... Er... yeah.
Me: Well, if you two are done acting like fools, let's get this one started.
Rendan: Right. Azard doesn't own Silent Hill or Hey Arnold. They belong to Konami and Craig Bartlett respectively.
Me: Thanks. Now, let the mindfuck begin!
Zero: He's lost it.
Me: Can't lose what you never had.
Chapter 3: An Angel in Hell?
Arnold, Helga and Lila ducked behind the teacher's desk and hid, taking only slight glances out of the spot to see what creature they would be dealing with this time. A pitch black, ghostly creature slowly walked through the open door. It had no defining features, save for its stubby legs and arms. It didn't even appear to have hands.
The creature glanced around before walking to the closet Arnold found his bat in before the shift and stared at it before letting out a pitiful, yet somehow adorable, squeak. The trio were about to walk out of their spots until they heard footsteps rapidly approaching and another figure appearing at the door. Only, this was another person.
It was a boy who appeared to be their age if not a year older and of caucasian descent. He wore a crudely altered military style vest that had a flashlight in one pocket and what looked like a knife handle sticking out of another. Under the vest he wore a nearly black shirt with dark jeans and black shoes. He had dark brown hair that reached his shoulders and hazel eyes that resembled a supernova with the way the green and brown meshed together. He followed the dark creature to the closet where it gave another squeak before vanishing into thin air. The radio's static decreased exponentially.
"Ugh," the boy groaned. "That's the last time I follow one of those things." He tried turning the doorknob only to receive a locked click in response. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small key before placing it into the lock and turning it. Without hesitation he opened the door and was tackled by a fleshless creature. Lila let out an ear piercing scream that startled everyone in the room. The tackled boy quickly pushed the creature off of him and leapt to his feet before... he sighed with relief. "Just another dead body." He shifted his gaze to see the three students all looking at him in some form of disbelief.
'How can he be so calm when a dead body just fell on him?' Was the collective thought of the three P.S. 118 students. Choosing to ignore their startled beyond belief expressions, the boy walked into the closet and started rummaging through its contents.
"Health drink, health drink, first aid kit," he listed as he moved and shifted things around, "book about The Order, handgun bullets, necklace, key, school junk, useless junk..." As he continued his tirade, Arnold walked out from behind the desk and examined the dead body. The body itself seemed to have been crudely skinned with several gashes in its form as well as having several bones sticking out at random points. In its hand, however, was something of interest. Tightly clenched in its dead hand was a crumpled piece of paper. Arnold carefully removed it and read the contents.
September 13th
With the Guardian on the loose it seems our mistake is still hurting us. We've given him too much power as per our orders by Dahlia. Now nothing but the purification liquid can stop what we've created and the monsters themselves are too terrified to attack him. Either that or he is now somehow able to control them. Unfortunately, the liquid has become lost and Dr. Kaufmann says that he doesn't have the materials to make another batch. We may very well have created an unstoppable creature that will forever haunt Silent Hill, killing anyone as he sees fit. A few of our brothers have been found dead with their works only partially completed. One can only assume that the guardian has done this. We must always be careful, for one of his strongest abilities proves to be deeply troubling. It is what makes him a true guardian and protector. I fear we may never be able to destroy what we've created, the ultimate monster. For any of our brothers who may be reading this, be wary or the Guardian will find you. If he does, pray your death will be quick.
"Hey!" Helga called. "You with the vest!" Helga's call snapped everyone out of what they were doing. Well, almost everyone. The boy, apparently, didn't hear her and kept rummaging through the closet. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" Again, she was ignored.
She was interrupted from her upcoming rant when the radio suddenly increased its static volume. A grey abomination like the one that first chased them entered the room, spurring Helga into acting. She pulled out a marble and loaded it before letting the projectile fly, smacking the monster in the middle of its deformed head. The creature staggered back slightly, giving Arnold the opportunity to run up and smash the creature in the head.
Arnold charged and cracked the creature across what would be its forehead and the abomination of nature hit the floor, hard. Arnold let out a quick sigh of relief, thinking the danger over. However, the volume of the static didn't falter and the creature rose to its feet. The boy quickly drew the knife from his vest and charged forward, slashing the creature across the throat before slamming the knife where the temple would be located. This time the static's volume fell to a dull roar, the creature fell and didn't get back up.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" The boy shouted as he turned to them. "What were you thinking?"
"We thought we beat it!" Helga yelled back.
"Are you that damned stupid? If you're not going to go for the kill, you'd be better off running!" The boy wiped the blade of his knife with a bloody rag before he placed it back into his vest pocket. He quickly turned and kicked the dead creature for good measure.
"Are you saying we have to kill these things?" Arnold shakily asked. The boy nodded gravely.
"It's the only way to make sure they can't get you. After a while, you won't be able to run anymore and when that happens, it's kill or be killed. It's a harsh lesson some people never learn."
"How long did it take you to learn?" Lila asked, more unsure and scared than the other two.
"All of one fight," he replied. "I beat the creature that attacked me to the ground but it kept getting back up until I hit it so many times it stopped moving entirely."
"What are we going to do now?"
"You're going to have to go through this place and fight your way out. Good luck. Some people never get out."
"How long have you been here, kid?" Arnold inquired. The boy raised his eyebrow at Arnold.
"First of all, my name's not 'Kid', it's AJ," the newly identified AJ said. The three students nodded. "As for your question, I have no idea. I've been here longer than I'd care to remember."
"Where'd you get the vest?" Helga questioned. AJ pointed to the dead body that fell on him before.
"Off of someone like him," was the serious reply. At the astonished look he received, AJ added, "Anything to survive in this place." There was a slight moment of silence between the four kids. "Well, time to get going." AJ turned and started to leave.
"Wait a sec," Arnold interrupted. "What are we going to do?"
"You mean you aren't coming with me?" AJ asked as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Why would we do that?" Helga asked. AJ rolled his eyes and called her over.
"Look outside of the classroom," he simply said. Helga scowled at him but upon seeing he wouldn't back down she obliged. "Now do you see anything out there?"
"Yeah," Helga stated.
"What?"
"Darkness."
"Exactly. If you don't have one of these," AJ motioned to his flashlight, "you're pretty much walking around blind in a deathtrap. Since I'm the only one who has a flashlight and since you don't have one, your best bet is staying with me, at least until you get your own." Helga was about to say something but Arnold stopped her.
"I hate to say it, Helga, but I think he's right," Arnold said. "He knows this place better than we do and he could help us out."
"At least one of you has some common sense," AJ chuckled. "But don't let that go to your head. You can't trust everyone you meet in Silent Hill." AJ reached into his pocket and pulled out three health drinks before tossing one to each of the students. "Keep those in reserve. If anything happens, that'll help heal you." The three nodded as they followed AJ out of the room. They walked for a while in silence before Helga decided to break it.
"Why can't I have the flashlight?" Helga questioned. AJ chuckled.
"Well, the one who has the flashlight has to stay in front of the group, right?"
"Right."
"Some of the monsters here are attracted to light, so the person who has the light will always be the first person targeted." Helga, the normally tough no-nonsense girl, audibly gulped. "Do you still want the flashlight?"
"No," Helga admitted. The four walked into a close by classroom to search for more clues. This classroom was just as hellish and disgusting as the one before. The main difference was that this room looked more like a science lab. Upon entering the room, the radio picked up on static again. Three grey creatures noticed the light and hobbled towards it.
AJ quickly pulled out his knife and charged the three, taking one of them out with a quick, precise stab to the temple. The other two attempted to latch onto him but were dodged when AJ leapt onto the lab table and kept the light on the two monsters. Arnold used their distraction to bash both of them in the back of the head, knocking the two to the floor. AJ jumped to the floor and quickly slit the throats of the two creatures, once more dropping the static on the radio to a dull roar.
"Damn Grey Children," AJ sighed.
"Grey Children?" Arnold inquired.
"That's what The Order calls them. I don't know if that's what they're actually called but it's better than nothing." There was enough light in the room for each of the four to conduct their own investigation of the area. Helga checked the teacher's desk, Lila and Arnold checked the lab tables and AJ checked the closet in the rear of the room. "So what brought you kids to Silent Hill?"
"If we ain't allowed to call you 'Kid' than you can't call us that!" Helga shouted indignantly. "You're the same age as us!" AJ chuckled.
"Fair enough. What am I supposed to call you three?"
"Our names!" Helga yelled. AJ shook his head, the smile never leaving his face.
"And those would be...?" Arnold put his head into his left palm, remembering that AJ was technically the only one who introduced himself.
"I'm Helga," Helga began before pointing to the other two respectively, "that's Arnold and she's Lila." The unique emphasis Helga put on Lila's name was not under anyone's radar. They all heard it.
"Okay, then, what brings you three here?"
"We fell off a cliff after our bus broke down," Lila said. "We kept walking, looking for a way back to them but we got lost in the fog. Then we saw a figure walking in some direction and followed it. That's what led us here."
"I hate to tell you this but you were trapped the second you walked into the fog. The Fog World is where everyone gets trapped and some stay for the rest of their lives."
"Why?"
"The fog is the first sign that Silent Hill now has its hold on you. Anyway, it's best not to think about that. Right now, finding a way out is the top priority."
"What exactly would we be looking for?" Arnold questioned. AJ shrugged.
"I don't really know. What I do know is we're not going to get anywhere by staying in one spot. We're going to have to check out the entire town eventually." Arnold checked inside the desks not to much avail. Nothing in there seemed usable, let alone helpful. While searching the opposite side of the room Lila came across a file inside a glass cabinet. She cautiously reached into the cabinet and removed the file. Curious, she checked its contents.
April 23rd
One of the students disappeared today. They say it was a kidnapping. According to his parents he arrived home yesterday and disappeared at some point during the night. No one saw this coming. Poor boy only moved here a few days ago and now he's gone. I swear, things keep getting worse and worse around here. Come to think of it, the cult has been more active as of late and that only happened when he moved to town. The Order has to be behind this, too bad they always go unpunished. Sometimes it's like every official here is a member of that damned cult. Maybe they are. Strange that all of this should happen just over a year after Alessa Gillespie died. Maybe there's something bigger going on... I just wish I knew what.
Lila pocketed the note and continued looking, finding a first aid kit just underneath the hanging cabinet. Helga and Arnold found very little, a health drink at best, though Helga found some more marbles just underneath the teacher's desk. Seeing nothing more to do there, they left the room and walked back into the grated hallway. Several dead bodies laid spread out on the wall and in the middle of the hallway.
The four decided it was best to head out and look in a different place for the time being, however reluctantly they agreed to it. If the Otherworld was like this inside a building, what was it like outside? Luckily, they weren't about to find out as a siren blared loudly.
Me: And that'll do it for this time.
AJ: So, this is the role I'm playing this time around.
Rendan: Well, this is the Blackadder Chronicles after all.
Me: Indeed, though your role is more of support this time around.
AJ: I can live with that. Besides, none of them could survive in Silent Hill on their own without a little 'guidance'.
Zero: They're only 9 for fuck's sake!
AJ: So? When the world crumbles around you and hell breaks loose, your true character will be tested. Time to see if they pass.
Me: This is only the beginning. There is some growing that needs to be done. Well, like it or not, it's here and this is the way it's going.
Rendan: Well, I think that's going to do it for this week.
Me: Indeed. Be good and be safe everyone, I'm outta here!