Chapter 6 – Alchemilla Hospital


Harry Mason felt the flog cling to him as he and Cybil made their way towards Alchemilla Hospital. Dahlia Gillespie's words still echo in his mind: "All will be explained at the hospital. The answers you seek lay there."

But there was just something about her, something gave a crawling feeling under his skin. But he couldn't afford to question her, not yet. He needed to find Cheryl, and if Dahlia had the answers, Harry was willing to chase it—anything to get his daughter back.

Right beside him, Cybil, his footsteps betraying her unease. She hadn't spoken much since leaving Balkan Church, but her silence carried a weight of its own. The chill in the air seemed to dig into their skin.

"I don't like this," Cybil finally said, breaking her silence. She kept her voice low but controlled. Harry could still feel the tension in the words. She was not someone easily rattled, especially by not some older woman.

"What do you mean?" Harry looked back, noticing her hand hovering by the gun on her side. He didn't blame her for being so on edge.

"I meant that woman. Dahlia." Cybil said, tightening her tone. "I felt that everything about her screamed bad news. Every instinct I have as a cop is telling me to go back, cuff her, and bring her in for questioning. She's hiding something. And I feel she's dangerous."

Harry thought about this for a moment. That Dahlia woman had felt off, there was no question about that. In her eyes, he felt there was an intensity, something that just didn't sit right with him. But for now, they had to trust her, she had given them their only lead. Harry just couldn't push away any help, no matter how questionable. Cheryl was still out there.

"Maybe." He finally conceded. "But we don't have any other options. I'm not saying we should trust her, but if she knows something, anything, then we have to take the chance."

Cybil was quiet for a moment, eyes narrowing ahead of her. "I get that you're desperate." She said softly. "But desperation makes people vulnerable. You can't trust everyone that offers you hope. That's how people get hurt."

"I know," Harry sighed. "But I have to find Cheryl. I don't care what it takes."

Cybil softened her expression. She had her reasons to be here. Even if she didn't agree to trust Dahlia, she understood why Harry had. Harry needed Cheryl to hold onto in this madness.

"Alright, fine," Cybil said, though her tone was far from convinced. "We'll follow this lead. But don't expect me to let my guard down. If Dahlia so much as breathes the wrong way, I'm going to deal with her myself."

Harry nodded in agreement, grateful for Cybil's caution, but he didn't quite share her level of suspicion. Dahlia didn't seem to be as dangerous as anything he encountered so far in Silent Hill. Those threats required his immediate attention.

As they neared closer to the hospital, they could see its dark outline looming over them. The building was once pristine, with a white covering gleaming in the sunlight. Now it was nothing more than a crumbling relic like the rest of the buildings in town. The two of them could scarcely read "Alchemilla Hospital" on the sign above the entrance.

"This place gives me the creeps," Harry muttered as his flashlight illuminated the entrance. The doors were ajar, swaying gently by the breeze.

Cybil didn't respond, her eyes were scanning the area. She had a feeling about the hospital, that everything here was more dangerous than it seemed. She moved forward, pushing the doors open with her shoulder. She kept her gun holstered but near at hand. Harry followed her, lighting the way with the flashlight.

The air, like everywhere else was thick with decay. The lights flickered weakly casting long shadows. The lobby was empty, save for a few chairs, tables, and a lone reception desk. Everything was coated in a layer of dust.

"I've seen hospitals this bad before," Cybil muttered as she swept the area. 'But this is something else."

"Dahlia said we'd find answers here," Harry said as he looked around at the cracked tiles and paint.

Cybil snored at this. "If we don't get killed first."

They moved further into the hospital. Their footsteps echoed throughout the hall, it was long and dimly lit. As they rounded a corner, something shifted in the shadows. Before either Harry or Cybil could react, a gunshot rang out. Harry felt the bullet whiz past his head, embedding itself in the wall behind them. Harry dropped to the floor, bringing Cybil down with him, just as another shot rang out.

"Shit!" Cybil hissed, as drew her gun. She readied herself for action and trained her eyes on the source of the gunfire. "Stay down!" she whispered to Harry.

From the shadows, a figure emerged, his gun raised. He looked disheveled, white coat stained with blood. His eyes were a mixture of fear and shock as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Thank God." The man said lowering his handgun. His voice was hoarse, cracked with relief. "Thank God, you're human!"

Cybil kept her gun trained on their attacker. "Put the weapon down!" she ordered. "Now!"

The man hesitated, glancing back and forth between Cybil and Harry. He slowly complied, lowering the gun onto the floor and raising his hands. "I'm not going to hurt you. I swear I... I thought you were something else."

"Who are you?" Cybil demanded, keeping her gun trained on him. "And why the hell are you shooting at us?"

The man swallowed. "I'm Dr. Michael Kaufmann." He said. "I worked here before… before it all went to hell. I thought I was the only one left."

"What happened here?" Harry said as he stood up, keeping his distance. "What's going on?"

Kaufmann's gaze flickered, he seemed to hesitate, as if weighing how much to tell them. "The town, it's changed. I don't know how or why. The people, they're gone or worse. And these… these monsters have taken over. I've been hiding, trying to survive."

Cybil's eyes narrowed, keeping her finger resting on the trigger. "That doesn't explain to me why you shot at us."

"Can you blame me?" Kaufmann replied as he ran a hand through his hair. "There are things out there, things you wouldn't believe. The people here became corrupted by whatever's happened to the town. I thought you were one of them."

Cybil kept her expression hard. She didn't fully lower her weapon. There was something off about this man. It was as though he was being evasive, not telling the whole story. "You've seen these things up close, haven't you?"

Kaufmann's face paled and he looked away. "Yeah," he muttered. "I've seen them and barely escaped."

"You're hiding something," Harry said. He could see the fear in Kaufmann's eyes, but there was something deeper there. "You know more than you're telling us."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kaufmann said, keeping his voice tight. "I'm just trying to stay alive."

Cybil took a step closer, her gun still aimed at him. "I don't buy it." She said coldly. "You're lying. What's going on here? What happened here?"

For a moment, it looked as though Kaufmann might cracked under the pressure. But then he hardened his expression and straightened his posture. "I've told you everything I know." He said, keeping his tone with them steady. "Now, if you two want to survive, I suggest you stop wasting time interrogating me and start leaving this place."

Cybil looked at Harry in frustration, but Harry placed a hand on her arm. "Let him go, we don't have time for this."

Cybil was clearly reluctant, but she lowered her gun. Kaufmann nodded once and she turned around and disappeared into the shadows,

"Something's off about that guy," Cybil muttered as they watched him go. "We should've stopped him."

"We will," Harry said. "But first, we need to find Cheryl. We can deal with Kaufmann later."

Cybil didn't argue. The hospital was still very dark and foreboding. They knew that whatever horrors waited for them, they would have to face it together.


They continued to move deeper into Alchemilla, the air grew colder and the walls seemed to press in all around them. Harry couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. That something dark and ancient was watching them.

Cybil led the way, gun drawn and at the ready. She kept her sense sharp, but Harry could see the tension in her shoulders, she was ready to spring. As much as he wanted to focus on Cheryl, Harry couldn't help but think about Dr. Kaufmann. The man's sudden appearance, the evasiveness in his answers, the fear in his eyes stirred up suspicion in Harry's gut.

"He knows more than he's letting on," Harry muttered over to Cybil as they passed down a set of double doors that led them deeper into the hospital.

"I wouldn't trust a word out of that man's mouth," Cybil said. "Kaufmann's hiding something. The way he's acting, it's as though he's covering his tracks." She glanced over her shoulder as if she was still scanning for threats.

"Do you think he's a part of all this?"

"I don't know yet," Cybil admitted. "But I am sure of one thing, you won't survive this without getting your hands dirty."

Soon they reached the end of the corridor, where there was a large sign labeled "Nurse's Station" pointed to the left. A map of the hospital was on the wall, it too was faded and peeling, with details barely visible. Cybil squinted at it, running her finger over it.

"If Dahlia is right," Harry said as he peered down the hallway. "This place is supposed to have answers. Do you think anyone else is left here?"

Cybil didn't answer him immediately. She had seen enough to know that whatever remained here wasn't likely to be friendly, or even human. "We'll find out soon enough. Stay sharp."

The hospital's walls twisted and turned, appearing more ominous than the last. The smell of antiseptic mixed with rust and blood.

Then, they heard it, a low, guttural moan from within the hospital.

Cybil's hand shot up, signaling Harry to stop. "Did you hear that?" she asked, her voice a whisper.

Harry nodded and withdrew his firearm. His heart pounded in his chest. It was the same noise he'd heard when those creatures had first attacked him in the alley. This time though, it sounded different. Like they were closer and hungrier.

Cybil moved forward, cautiously, her gun raised. The moaning grew louder, more desperate until it was joined by the scarping sound of something dragging itself along the floor.

A door to their right was slightly ajar, the sounds seemed to be coming from inside.

Harry stepped back, gripping the flashlight tightly, while Cybil nudged open the door with her foot. The room was dark inside, except for the dim light of their flashlights cutting through, the first thing Harry noticed was the smell. A thick, nauseating odor of rot and decay assaulted his senses. He gagged from the smell and covered his nose with his sleeve.

As Cybil's flashlight swept across the room, they finally saw it. A figure crouched in the corner, its body twisted unnaturally. It had been human once, judging by the shreds of clothing that still clung to it, but its skin was too stretched, and its face obscured by a mask of rotting flesh. It let out a low, gurgling wail as it crawled towards them. Fingers dragging along the floor.

Cybil didn't hesitate. She fired two shots, the deafening sound of gunfire shot through the room. The creature jerked violently as it was assaulted by the bullets. Then it collapsed into a heap on the floor.

"What the hell was that?" he whispered.

"I don't know," Cybil said. "But there's probably more where that came from."

"We need to find out what happened here." Harry nodded back to her. "If Dahlia's right, maybe there's a way to stop this."

Cybil didn't respond, but he could see the skepticism in her eyes. She didn't believe for a second that Dahlia had any real answers. But she wasn't about to argue with Harry over it, not now when survival was on the line.

The two of them pushed on deeper into the hospital. The moaning and scraping sounds seemed to follow them as they pressed on.

They reached the elevator at the end of the hall, its doors rusty and ajar. Cybil pried them open with some effort. "This should take us to the basement. If there's any answers, they might be there."

Harry hesitated for a moment. It felt as though going to the basement was wrong. But they didn't have any other choice. "Let's go."

They stepped inside, the elevator creaking as it descended into the depths of the hospital. When the doors finally opened they were greeted by a corridor even more decayed than the floor above.

They cautiously stepped out.

"This place is a tomb," Cybil said.

Harry scanned the area, revealing more signs of decay. The basement was in worse shape than any of the other parts of the hospital they had seen so far. The feeling of being watched was stronger here. It felt as though something was lurking just out of sight.

As they moved forward, they passed a door marked "Morgue." The door was slightly open and the smell of decay wafted out, thick and putrid.

"Do you think we should check inside?" Harry asked

"Cybil paused, tightening her grip on her gun. "We might as well. If there's something important here, it's probably hidden in the worst place."

Harry pushed the door open, and the two stepped inside.


The morgue was a living nightmare. Rusted tables, old cabinets marked with faded labels, and the air felt wrong. Like the very atmosphere they breathed was poisoned.

As they scanned around the room, something caught Cybil's attention. In the far back corner, tucked behind a series of rusty lockers, was a hidden panel on the wall. Cautiously, she approached it.

"Look at this," Cybil said, gesturing to come closer. She illuminated the panel's edges with her flashlight. "It's a secret door."

Harry's pulse quickened as he stepped forward. He could feel it, whatever was behind this door held answers.

Cybil pushed the panel, and with a loud creak, it swung open. It revealed a dark passageway that led deeper into the hospital.

"You ready for this?" Cybil asked with anticipation.

Harry nodded and took a deep breath. "Let's find out what's going on in town."

With that, they stepped into the darkness, leaving behind the last remnants of the world that they had once known.