It was snowing. It was still summer vacation, just, but small white flakes were settling on the slide. All the kids had stopped playing and were looking up at the sky. The van stopped and Andy stepped out on to the woodchip floor and took a good look around. He had already noticed the playground at the front. The building was painted white and looked like it had an upstairs and a downstairs. The other children in the yard all seemed pretty happy and had started playing again in the snow, even though it was cold.
It had been a weird morning, even before the snow. Ed had come to see him with the doctor and Miss Gordon. He told Andy it was against the rules for him to stay with Miss Gordon. Then he explained the rules a bit, which Andy didn't really understand, he just nodded. Miss Gordon started to cry and the doctor put his arm around her but she didn't like it.
Then Ed said that until his Mom got here, he would be staying at Wish House and how Wish House was a special place where the people who work there are trained to look after children. He said that Andy would be able to play with the other kids there. He said that Andy would be happy there. He said he'd spoken to Andy's mom last night. He said she'd been really worried and the police had been looking for him. He said she was on her way, so he should only have to stay there for a couple of nights and that his Mom said that she loved him.
Andy had to try hard not to cry. He didn't think he would be happy at Wish House. He remembered the conversation from last night. He knew why Miss Gordon was crying. He didn't want Miss Gordon to get in trouble over Doctor Kaufmann's plan so he didn't cry and he didn't say he didn't want to go. He collected his things and she took him outside the hospital. He started crying then. Miss Gordon hugged him and said that she would see him before his mom came. She said that he should behave at Wish House because the Smile Society was quite strict. A white van pulled up in front of the hospital. It had lots of seats inside and Silent Hill Smile Society and 4S were painted in big red letters on the side. It was being driven by a fat man he didn't know. He stopped crying and got in. Miss Gordon waved goodbye as they left.
He looked out the window as they drove because the fat man didn't talk. He was going bald as well. And he was driving too fast.
He liked going over the river. He'd been asleep when they crossed it last night. He'd seen bits of Silent Hill before, so the town wasn't really interesting. Then they went down this long road where the houses stopped and there were loads of trees. That was exciting because there weren't as many trees where he lived, just lots of houses. They turned on to this dirt road which twisted uphill through the woods. It looked like it would be fun to play in there, but a little bit creepy too. He couldn't see the sun through the trees much so it was dark.
He could see the top of a tall round thing, like a castle tower, above the trees. It must have been huge.
"Everybody in!" yelled the fat guy as he got out the van, waking Andy from his daydream.
"But it's snowing!" said a boy excitedly.
"You answer me back again I'll...I'll get Mr. Wolf. Now get inside, all of you!"
Everybody walked to the big house looking a bit sad because they couldn't play in the snow. Andy stood still because he didn't know if he should go in or not. The boy hadn't moved either.
The fat guy grabbed the boy by the shoulder.
"Inside now!" roared the fat guy.
"But I want to play in the snow!" cried the boy angrily, pulling back.
Andy could see kids at the window staring at the argument. He didn't move. A man came running out from the big house. Andy recognized his white hair and scraggly beard. It was Mr. Wolf.
"I told you not to answer me back." said the fat guy as he shook the boy.
Mr. Wolf touched the fat guy's arm. He stopped shaking the boy.
"Is there a problem Mr. DeSalvo?" said Mr. Wolf.
"Yeah, this one won't go inside."
"Is that true Robert?"
The boy didn't say anything.
"You can't play out here; you aren't dressed warmly enough for this strange weather."
"Please Mr. Wolf...just for a few minutes."
"All the other children are inside and you are standing here misbehaving in front of our new arrival. Perhaps you want to go to one of the naughty rooms."
The boy looked shocked and started to cry.
"I'm sorry Mr. Wolf. I'll be good. I'll go inside."
"I think it's a bit late for that Robert. This definitely constitutes bad behavior."
"No Mr. Wolf please! I'll be good! Don't make me go there!" screamed Robert.
"You should have thought about this earlier Robert, when you were disobeying and talking back to a member of staff. Take him to the tower Mr. DeSalvo."
Mr. DeSalvo grinned.
"Come on Bobby."
He gripped Robert's arm tightly and dragged him towards the forest. Robert didn't shout or try to get out of Mr. DeSalvo's grip but he looked really scared. Mr. Wolf turned to Andy:
"I'm sorry you had to see that. It's not always like that here. If you are well behaved we should get on just fine. You must be hungry Andrew."
Andy thought it was probably better to not say that his name was Andy Morgan and NOT Andrew.
"The other children are having breakfast. Let's see if we can get you something."
He walked over the woodchips and sludgy snow and Andy hurried behind. His hands were freezing and his sweater wasn't very warm. His breath was coming out in little clouds. He was quite glad to get inside, it was warm. Everybody turned to look at him.
"Everyone, please give Andy a Wish House welcome."
"Welcome Andy, may you always be a friend to Wish House and may Wish House always be a friend to you." said everybody at the same time, which was a bit scary, but he did feel welcome. They all went back to eating.
"Sit here Andy and I'll get you something from the kitchen." said Mr. Wolf.
Andy sat at one of the dark wooden tables. They were quite big. It was all white in the room, like the outside, but the paint was peeling a bit in here. It looked like it had been a long time since they painted. The floors were wooden and they creaked when people moved across them. They looked old too.
A girl came out of the kitchen with a tray. Andy could see cereal and a muffin and some juice and some raisins. She placed it in front of him and sat down. It was Claudia and she was wearing an eye patch. It was all purple around the patch and she had stitches in her eyebrow.
"Your eye!" said Andy, "Is it okay?"
"No."
The other kids stopped eating again and stared at them. Andy thought he should keep quiet but he wanted to know.
"Do you have to wear the patch forever?"
A girl opposite them on the table giggled. Claudia gave her a nasty look and the girl went back to eating.
"No. The doctor said I have a corneal abrasion. I have to wear this patch so I won't open my eye. When it's healed I can take it off. It's only for a while."
"I'm glad you're okay." said Andy.
"Eat your breakfast."
Andy looked down at his breakfast and didn't know where to start. It all looked really nice. He decided to eat the muffin first. He realized everyone was still staring at him. He felt a little embarrassed. Mr. Wolf poked his head round the door.
"It seems very quiet in here Claudia. Is there a problem?"
"Andy was just asking about my eye father."
"And what was he asking?"
"He just wanted to know if it was okay. Everyone seemed interested as well."
"Thank you for your concern Andy. Claudia's eye will be just fine."
Andy just stared at his muffin.
"It was my own stupid fault anyway." said Claudia.
"We don't use the word stupid here Claudia." said Mr. Wolf.
"It was my own fault." corrected Claudia.
"Can everybody get back to breakfast please?"
Mr. Wolf disappeared behind the kitchen door. Andy was bright red and he felt really hot. The children had started eating again. He wasn't sure if he wanted the muffin now.
Claudia nudged him gently with her elbow.
"I'm glad you're okay too." she said without looking at him or smiling.
Andy looked at his muffin again. He picked it up and bit into it. It was sweet and tasted like bananas. Maybe it wasn't going to be so bad here after all.