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Prologue

Nightmare. Everything surrounding you is a pure nightmare.

What is this place even? Looks like a small rural town like many others around. But there’s something wrong with this one. This town is covered in eternal fog, and the sunlight never gets here. You try to understand what could be the reason to this, but you can never truly understand. All you know that something has gone terribly, terribly wrong.

Silent Hill. The name perfectly fits to a place like this. The town is dead, swallowed by eternal silence. You could only guess why it is deserted. But is it really so dead as it looks?

The seemingly abandoned town hides a horrifying secret. Suddenly a loud, ear-piercing siren blares, and everything around you is consumed by darkness. That’s where the nightmare truly begins. It gives you a chance to meet the town’s inhabitants.

Those creatures look like if they have crawled out of some psychopath’s sickest fantasies. Monsters – this is the most exact word to describe them. But one thing you know for sure – some time ago they were human. Those unfortunate souls trapped in this nightmarish world of darkness that turned them into hideous beasts. The true inhabitants of Hell that now have only one wish – to kill.

You run, you try to avoid them at all costs, even try to fight them… Luckily, they aren’t as strong as you could guess. It’s possible for a mortal human to fight and kill them, and maybe so you could free them of this torment… Maybe…

What? What is that sound?

Something distracts your thoughts. It sounds like… metal screeching? It’s such a feeling that something heavy is being dragged. And it is accompanied by… a scream? No, more like a pitiful moan…

“Please, don’t! I’ll do anything! Don’t kill me!”

So there is still anyone alive? You run to that direction to save this poor soul while you still can, but in the result you face something you’ve never seen, even in a nightmare. The creature resembled a pale, muscular man, dressed in a blood-covered robe, wearing bloody gloves and black boots. But what shocked you the most was a large, red metal pyramid on his head. Who was he? For a moment a thought of him being human flashed in your head, but then you remembered that nothing is human in this place. And the growling sound that he made only confirmed him being a monster. In one hand he carried a giant knife that made this unpleasant screeching sound while being dragged. It sure was heavy, so this creature had to be very strong. And in the other hand he was holding a young man, which somehow seemed familiar to you. Only God knows what this beast had done to him, but it was more than clear that he won’t last long.

The monster noticed you but strangely, didn’t show any interest. Instead, he was occupied with his victim. In a split second he threw the poor lad on the floor, lifted his giant knife and, paying no attention to the victim’s pitiful pleads, pierced his body in the spot right underneath the stomach. But it wasn’t all. The creature wasn’t planning to stop there. He held the guy’s feet with his boot, so the body doesn’t slide together with the blade, and with a single move cut the body into two parts. Every normal person wouldn’t even watch it and run away, some would vomit from such horrible sight. But you… Surprisingly, you didn’t feel disgust from what you saw. What’s more, you somehow didn’t feel sorry for the victim the monster just killed. You had such a feeling that you wanted this man to die, the feeling of hate filled you. And right then, when his body was split in half, you felt… relief.

Finishing with his victim, the monster dropped the knife and turned his attention to you. Now it was time for you to get frightened. Was he going to do the same to you? Well, probably. And what else could you expect? He was a monster after all.

The pyramid headed beast approached you with slow, heavy steps. Looks like he wasn’t hurrying at all. You froze in fear, and at the moment all you could do is pray that your death would be quick. The monster came closer and closer, reaching his bloody hand to you…

Chapter 1

“No!”

A young woman jumped in her bed. Sweat was running down her forehead as she sat and tried to calm down.

“Oh dear… What kind of a hellish nightmare was that?” she whispered to herself. “Several times I had such kind of dreams, and in each of them I found myself in that place. And this creature with a pyramid-shaped thing on its head…”

Linda got up from her bed and went to the bathroom to wash her face. Cold water touched the heated skin of her face, creating a pleasant feeling of refreshment. After that she looked at the clock. It was 05:00 a.m. Too early to wake up and too late to go to bed. She sighed. Anyway, after such dreams it was impossible to sleep, so the lady decided to prepare for work slowly. She worked in a translation office, and work began at 08:00 a.m. Turning off the alarm clock, Linda opened her wardrobe and took the necessary clothes for today. She chose to put on her dark blue jeans, a white shirt and a black jacket. After dressing up she went to the kitchen to have breakfast.

Although she still had time, Linda decided to make something quick. This time she made herself bacon and eggs for breakfast. And, of course, her favourite part – tea. In her native city of London she loved tea time with her family. It was a bit pity for her to leave England, but she could do nothing about that when moving to the States as a child. The Higgins family moved to the state of Maine and found home in the city of Portland. Her parents found a place to live and work soon enough, so Linda was now used to life in a foreign country and how people talk, because at first the American accent seemed strange to her. Despite that she was used to it, Linda was faithful to her British ancestry, which included the language.

Linda drank her tea slowly, trying to spend the time. She usually left home at 06:30 a.m., and it was no use to come to work too early. She switched the TV on to watch the latest news while having breakfast. There wasn’t anything very new on TV, mostly they talked about politics that Linda found totally boring.

“Oh dear Lord, is there really nothing else to talk about than politics? Uff…” she huffed, taking another sip. But anyway, in the morning there wasn’t much to watch, so… not much choice. The time passed slowly, but if you watch TV and have tea without hurry, it doesn’t seem so long. Soon enough it was nearly 06:30 a.m., and Linda prepared to leave home. Putting a warmer jacket on and a pair of boots, she finally left for work.

Usually Linda took a bus to get to her workplace. The bus stop was near her block of flats, practically in front of the main entrance. She lived in this flat for several years already, starting from twenty second year of life. This year Linda turned twenty five and she has worked in a translation office for two years.

After ten minutes the bus arrived and Linda boarded it. It took twenty minutes to reach the right stop, from where she had to walk a few metres to her work. It was ten minutes to eight when she entered the main hall. The headmistress was already there, preparing all the necessary things before opening the office.

“Good morning, Mrs. Parker,” Linda greeted her with a smile.

“Good morning, Linda,” Mrs. Parker replied kindly. “Is everything all right? You look tired somehow” her voice sounded concerned.

“I’m fine, thank you,” the young woman said “I just slept very badly today, so I might look a bit sleepy or tired. Nothing serious. It’s not an obstacle for working.”

“I see. Glad to hear you’re all right. I hope tomorrow you’ll have a better sleep,” said the headmistress with a friendly smile. She really liked Linda as one of the most hard-working employees who treated her duties very responsibly. Also, as a person she seemed interesting to her and sometimes they talked things over.

“I hope so, too. Thank you very much. By the way, is Alice here already?”

“Not yet, but she’ll be here in a minute. She is never late for work,” Mrs. Parker replied.

Linda then took the turn on the left and walked down the hallway until she reached her cabinet, the first on the right. She shared the rather large room with her colleague and a good friend - Alice Bridger, that was also an immigrant, like Linda. She migrated from Australia, the city of Melbourne. But unlike her British friend, she left her native country when she was twenty, so her living in the States wasn’t as long as Linda’s. When Linda began working as a translator, Alice was already there for a year. They became friends at once and very often visited each other, as they lived not far away, and went shopping together, that they both loved. In one word, they were best friends and had much in common. They were even nearly of the same age, Alice being a year older. She specialized in French while Linda was a professional German translator.

A few minutes passed after Linda entered the cabinet and started preparing for work when she heard footsteps in the hallway. The door opened and Alice entered the room. Both women greeted each other with a warm, friendly hug.

“Hey, Lin, are you ok? You don’t look so well. How do you feel?” Alice was worried about her friend.

“It’s ok, I just slept very poorly today.”

“Having nightmares again?”

“Yeah, you guessed it right. Today I even jumped in my bed, face was all in sweat.”

Alice sighed. She felt sorry for her friend and wanted to help her somehow.

“Oh well… If I could help you, but I have no idea what can be done about this. By the way, how long do you actually have them?”

“Hmm… for a few months, I’d say,” Linda said “and mostly they are repetitive. With slight variations, but for most part repetitive.”

“But you actually never told me the details of those dreams of yours. What were they about? And what do you mean with repetitive?” Alice was growing curious. Linda immersed in thoughts for a moment.

“What I want to say is that I always see the same place in my dreams. It’s some kind of a foggy ghost town, totally abandoned. But there’s something more. It suddenly gets dark there and the town becomes inhabited by horrible creatures that can only exist in sickest fantasies. They are different, but one of them was always there.” Speaking of the monster that haunted her dreams, Linda’s body shivered. “From what I can remember, that monster looked like a tall, muscular man with pale skin. He wore some kind of robe, all covered in dried blood, gloves on his hands, also bloody, and black boots. But what scared me the most, was the large red metal pyramid on his head. Logically, it was absolutely impossible to see the face. Believe me, Alice, it’s such a creature that no one would like to face ever, let it be dreams or reality.”

“Wow…” Alice was more than surprised. “And what did that monster do? Did he hurt you?”

Linda frowned, trying to remember more details concerning the pyramid headed beast.

“Well, not really. Each time he came closer, I woke up. I can’t remember all of the dreams, but the last one is still in my mind, and rather clear. The beast dragged a guy in his hand, approximately of my age, barely alive. Somehow he seemed familiar to me, I had such a feeling that I knew that man. But it wasn’t all. I also felt that I hated that guy and wanted him to die. And then, right before my eyes the monster killed him, splitting his body in two parts with a gigantic knife that he carried with him. It made such an unpleasant sound when he dragged it, you know, like metal screeching. And then he turned to me and began coming closer. And right in the moment when his bloody hand stretched to me, I woke up, more precise – jumped in bed, all sweaty. So yes, that’s what I dreamt today. I know, it sounds unbelievable, but it’s a fact.”

When Linda finished speaking, her friend’s eyes widened in shock. She stared at Linda, mouth agape.

“Oh dear… I don’t know what to say. Really, I don’t envy you for having such nightmares. God, poor you. I can only wonder how you’re able to keep your mind clear after that. I personally would have gone insane if I saw such things in my dreams.” Alice put a palm on her forehead. Indeed, she felt sorry for her friend. Linda was literally going through hell in her dreams.

“Nah, don’t worry, Alice. Anyway, those are just dreams, nothing more. And that is good. Luckily I don’t see them every night, just occasionally. So there’s nothing to worry about.” Linda’s face became brighter. “All I need now is a cup of hot tea to calm down completely.”

“Glad to hear it. At least you don’t go through this torture each night. I hope tonight you’ll have a peaceful sleep,” Alice smiled. “Should I bring you tea? I was going to buy me a hot drink, so I can bring you one, too.”

“Thank you so much, that’s very kind of you,” Linda smiled gently. “I’d be grateful if you bring me a cup of tea.”

“Anytime, dear,” Alice stood from her chair and went out. After a short time she returned with two plastic glasses with hot drinks – cappuccino for herself and fruit tea for Linda.

“There you go, Lin, it will make you feel better,” she said, putting a glass of tea on Linda’s desk.

“Thanks, dear, you’re a true friend,” Linda said, smiling friendly at Alice. “Now we should concentrate on work. We can talk about it later.”

“Yes, right. Let’s forget about it. At least for now.”

Chapter 2

All the day was relatively peaceful. While there was nothing to translate, Linda chatted cheerfully with Alice, sharing various things with each other, including jokes. They both knew it was nice and healthy to laugh sometimes, especially for Linda, who suffered from nightmares that no one would like to experience.

Suddenly both women heard a knock on the door, followed by a middle-aged lady that entered their room.

“Hello. May I speak to Ms. Higgins?”

“That would be me,” Linda replied.

“Oh. Ms. Higgins, I would like to ask for your translation services. I have here one document that has to be translated to German,” she handled the paper to Linda. “I would be very grateful if it could be translated as soon as possible.”

Linda took the paper from her hands and took a quick look at it.

“No problem. The document will be ready tomorrow and you can collect it in the morning at 10:00 a.m. Would that be fine for you?”

“Yes, of course. Thank you very much. I’ll be here tomorrow at ten then. What about the payment? Should I pay before or after?” the lady asked.

“Usually customers pay right after they get the translated documents. One such page costs 15$,” Linda explained.

“Yes, I checked it on your webpage. That absolutely fine. So… I’ll be here tomorrow morning then. Have a nice day!”

“Sure. Same to you,” Linda said with a smile, and the lady left the room.

Linda took the paper and started examining it with more attention. It was nothing difficult. She has worked with similar documents many times. Formal stuff, so to say.

“Well, looks like now I have work to do,” she smiled.

“Indeed. At least your mind will be busy with better things,” Alice agreed. “What is this paper about?”

“Ah, usual formalities,” Linda stood up and handled her the paper. “Looks like her daughter is going to marry a German citizen, so they ask for a confirmation that there are no obstacles for the marriage. I’ve worked with things of that type, so tomorrow it will be ready for sure.”

“Nice. Then good luck,” Alice smiled and gave the document back to Linda. She took it and returned to her desk, starting to do her work.

The rest of the day passed rather quickly, and Linda didn’t even notice at once that the evening time was approaching. Looking at her watch, she saw that it was nearly 06:00 p.m. And that meant that soon it was time to finish as their office closed right at six.

“Oh well, looks like it’s closing time,” she sighed.

“Right, just a few more minutes and we leave. Did you finish the document?” Alice asked.

“Yes, the text itself is ready, I just have to check it and make corrections where necessary, and then it’s complete. Tomorrow I’ll put a stamp on it, so everything is official,” Linda explained.

“All right then. Would you like to come and have tea with me on your way home?”

“Hm, you know, maybe today not. I’ll finish the work with this document and try to have a rest,” Linda said. “How about tomorrow? We could do it then after work. Besides, it’s Friday tomorrow.”

“Yes, sure. It’s even better like this,” Alice smiled friendly. “So tomorrow after work we go to my place.”

“Ok then”.

After a couple of minutes it was six already. Both women checked their things and went into the hallway, locking the cabinet after them. In the main hall the headmistress was also preparing to leave.

“Goodbye, Mrs. Parker,” Linda and Alice said almost simultaneously. “Have a nice evening.”

“Thank you very much and same to you,” she answered.

Both ladies left the building and slowly began heading home. Walking together for some time, they gave each other a hug and parted at the bus stop when Alice boarded her bus. Although they lived not far from each other, they had to take different buses to reach home.

Entering her flat, the first thing what Linda did, was preparing something to eat. Of course, she and Alice had a snack between working hours, but it was just a quick snack, so they don’t stay hungry all day. Linda prepared herself mashed potatoes and steak, so she could have a full homemade meal. After that she went to finish the document, making all the necessary corrections, so now all that remained to do was to put a stamp on it. The hours went by and soon enough it was time to go to bed. Before sleeping Linda usually watched the evening news on TV and had a cup of hot tea. Now the only thing she hoped for was a peaceful sleep.

“Please, God, let me sleep peacefully tonight…” she whispered to herself. “I can’t bear those nightmares… Why?... Oh dear Lord, why?”

Although Linda wasn’t too much into religion, she believed in God and in supernatural forces. She was sure that humans are not the only beings that exist and the dimension that people live in is not the only one on Earth. And she was somehow sure that those frightening dreams weren’t occurring without any particular reason. It had to mean something. Was it really because she was so fanatic about ghost towns? She was indeed keen on researching and collecting information about abandoned towns, but did that really have such a strong influence? Or there was something else?

I guess Alice was right, wondering how I’m able to think clearly with all these things happening to me. But I’m still sober, and that’s a fact, - Linda thought. Taking a shower before bed, Linda switched the light off and fell asleep.

***

She woke up in a familiar place, but something wasn’t right. She knew it perfectly, but the dead silence made her heart skip a beat.

“Wait a minute… This is my high school. But what am I doing here?” Linda said quietly. She was absolutely used to talk to herself when being alone. “What’s more – how did I even get here? And where is everybody?”

The school looked as usual, all classrooms were in a perfect condition. But the building was totally empty, not even one living soul. Linda was starting to get scared. When she peeked into a window, she noticed that the city of Portland, where she lived, was covered in thick fog, so thick that it was practically impossible to see anything.

“What the hell..?” Linda whispered. “This fog… just like in… No, it cannot be…”

It was more than clear to her that it reminded her of the strange foggy ghost town she had dreamt of. But this time, her own town had turned into a ghost town. The streets were as empty as the school, the cars were parked at the pavement, even the traffic lights were working. But what for? There was no one in the street, totally no one.

Linda slowly walked out of classroom and strayed down the hallway. What could happen to her town? Why was it suddenly empty and covered in fog? So many questions raced through her mind, but she couldn’t find a single answer to any of them.

Suddenly the silence was pierced by a loud unpleasant sound that startled the young woman. It was too familiar to have any doubt about its source. There was only one being that could make this metallic screech. It was him.

“Oh no…” Linda whispered, her body trembled. “Where the hell did he come from? It’s impossible…”

The sound grew louder with every minute, and Linda tried to find a hiding place. She ran the opposite direction until found a large closet in one of the classrooms. She hid in it, closing the doors and hoping that this beast wouldn’t find her.

Unfortunately, it was too naïve of her to think that. The screeching sound was loud enough to realize that he was right at the door to the room she was hiding in. It suddenly stopped right there, and Linda hoped that he would go away. But her hopes broke like glass against the stone when a loud banging noise filled the room. The monster had broken the door, tearing it off its hinges. Cold sweat covered the young woman’s face when she thought of the inhuman strength the monster owned. Heavy footsteps were heard in the classroom, and they were undoubtedly approaching the closet she was inside. All Linda could do at this moment was to pray that he kills her fast.

Before anything happened, a loud bang reached her ears which sounded right at the closet doors. It seemed that something heavy fell on the floor. Linda could only guess what it was when suddenly both doors opened, revealing a pyramid headed monster. He grabbed her arm painfully and pulled her out of the closet, which was as rough as grabbing the arm. Holding her so, the monster lifted her up to the level of his helmet, so easily as if the woman weighted nothing. The beast held Linda so in the air for several minutes, like studying her. What is he doing? – Linda thought to herself, - Is he even able to see anything?

It was a mystery to her how this beast could find her. There are no holes or anything in his helmet that he could see through. Then how is he able to study her like he’s doing it now? Whatever senses he had, it was clear that there was no problem to find a victim, even with this heavy helmet on his head that actually doesn’t allow him to see.

Looking down, Linda noticed the large knife lying on the floor at the monster’s feet. So that’s what this metallic bang was. He dropped the knife before opening the closet. Well, smart enough, - she thought. At this moment the monster finally began moving. After several minutes of thinking he put the woman on his left shoulder like if she was a sack of potatoes, lifted his large knife and moved to the exit. Linda knew it was no use to fight and could only wonder where he was taking her and what awaits her.

“Please, merciful God…” her faint voice whispered “let me die fast…”

Chapter 3

“God damn it!” Linda jumped in her bed again “When is it going to end?”

The young woman looked at her clock. It was ten minutes to six which meant that after those ten minutes the alarm will go off. Linda switched it off got up from bed.

“This time it wasn’t so bad, comparing to last time,” she said to herself “at least no killings before my eyes which is already good. But my old school… and that creature… He was always there, in each such dream of mine. But why? What does it all mean?”

Too many questions but not even a single answer. Linda sighed heavily and began preparing for work. She made herself a quick cup of black tea and ate a few sandwiches. Washing her teeth and putting a bit of makeup she dressed up and left home.

The day at work passed rather peacefully. She put a stamp on the document that had to be translated and signed it. As it was arranged, at ten the lady came for it and paid the price. After she left, both women had to talk things over.

“Today you look better, Lin,” Alice said with a smile “I guess you slept better?”

“Well, yes, kind of,” Linda replied “at least it wasn’t as bad as it was last time.”

“What do you mean? Again those strange dreams?”

“Yes, but this time it was more peaceful comparing with the last one. At least no bloody scenes, which makes me happy. Again this thick fog, of course, but guess where I found myself? In my old high school,” Linda closed her eyes for a moment, trying to remember details. “It was deserted, just like that unfamiliar town that I saw before. And… that creature… the one with triangular helmet on its head. I faced it again.”

“And what did it do?” Alice asked curiously.

“Hmm… it just came and stood before me for a moment, like pondering about something, and then picked me up and threw me on his shoulder like a bag full of potatoes, and left. That’s all I remember.”

Alice fell into thoughts for a moment.

“Interesting. Have you got any ideas about the meaning of these dreams of yours? Especially the appearance of this beast?”

“No idea, really. I’ve thought about it hundreds of times. And still can’t understand why such dreams occur from time to time. I wish I knew it,” Linda sighed. “What’s more, I don’t recognize the town that I appear in. Of course, there are many ghost towns around the world, including the States, I’ve seen many pictures of them. But this one… Completely unfamiliar.”

“I see. You know what? When we come to my place, we can search online together for ghost towns, at least in our state and the closest ones to it. Maybe you missed some of them after all.”

“All right, good idea,” Linda agreed. She liked this offer after all. “You might be right, I could have missed some city that is not maybe known so well.”

“Sure, you can’t know about all the towns in the world, can you? There’s too many of them and may be not enough information about each one.”

“I agree. I feel that today we’ll find out something new,” Linda smiled.

“Could be,” Alice replied. “By the way, yesterday evening I prepared pizza. It’s left only to bake it.”

“Oh wow, really? That’s cool. You’re professional in making pizza” Linda grinned slyly.

“Oh thank you, it means a lot to me,” Alice blushed slightly “it’s one of my favourite foods that allows you to fantasize as much as you wish. I made seafood pizza this time.”

“I adore seafood!” Linda exclaimed happily.

“I know, dear” Alice said with a warm smile “that’s why I made it like this. At least your mood with rise a little bit.”

“Alice, you’re a true piece of gold, indeed,” Linda looked at her friend with gratitude in her eyes.

“Nah, no problem,” Alice replied a bit shyly “that’s what friends are for.”

Time went fast and soon the work was over. Both women waved goodbye to the headmistress and left the building. Chatting merrily, they boarded the bus and after thirty minutes were at Alice’s home. Taking the coat and boots off, Alice rushed to the kitchen to put the pizza into the baking oven while Linda slowly took the street clothes off and went to the bathroom to wash hands. After approximately an hour a pleasant aroma of freshly baked pizza filled the flat. Both women enjoyed their dinner in a peaceful, domestic atmosphere, laughing and making jokes from time to time. They ate half of pizza, feeling rather full already.

“Would you like to have tea now?” Alice asked.

“You know, later a bit, ok? I really feel so full,” Linda panted heavily.

“Me too. Anyway, we have nowhere to hurry. Tomorrow is Saturday, so we can sleep how long we want. We have enough time” Alice smiled happily. “So, what do you say about using this break and surf the Internet? Ghost towns, remember?” she winked, mentioning them.

“Sure, I haven’t forgotten,” Linda grinned “I just wonder whether we can find anything that might be at least a bit similar to what I see in my dreams.”

“We shall see” Alice said, turning on her laptop “who knows? Luck might await when you least expect it.”

She opened the browser and they began searching information about deserted towns in America, paying most attention to the state where they lived and the neighbouring states as well.

“Hey, Lin, look here. Here is one abandoned town in the state of Pennsylvania.”

“Oh yes, it’s Centralia. I’ve heard about this one. Abandoned because of huge coal fire underneath the town,” Linda said. “And it still is burning. It says that there’s so much coal that it will burn at least two more centuries.”

“Uh-huh, I see,” Alice answered. “And it says it’s dangerous to walk around that place. The ground is totally unstable and there’s risk to fall through and get burned alive.”

“True,” Linda agreed “you know, if it wasn’t for that, I’d have visited this town. Photos are good, but it’s always much more interesting to see everything with your own eyes.”

“No doubt,” Alice smiled. “I expected you to say this. I only wonder how you’re not scared to go to abandoned places? I remember when we both went to an abandoned school building, each of my limbs was trembling like an aspen leaf.”

“Now, now, it wasn’t that horrible, was it?” Linda huffed “If curiosity gets the best of you, it’s nothing you can do but give up and go. Well, there was a feeling of fear for an hour or two, but after that was relief. We didn’t find anything though. But it was a fine experience.”

“Hell, yeah, especially for you, risky one,” Alice burst into laughing and Linda joined her in a few seconds. While laughing, she caught a glimpse of a name of a town she had never heard about – Silent Hill.

“Hey, Alice, look there. What’s this?”

“Where?”

“On the left, it’s mentioned about a town called Silent Hill. Strange name for a town, don’t you think?”

“Let’s check it then,” Alice said and clicked on that name. In that moment photos of town and a brief story of it popped up on the screen. “Well, well. Looks like it’s another ghost town. And it’s located in the state of Maine, not far from Portland, where we live! How come you haven’t heard of it?”

“I’m also surprised, believe me,” Linda replied thoughtfully “especially because it’s in our state. The name “Silent Hill” indeed tells me nothing. Let’s have a look at its story.”

“Ok, let’s do it,” Alice scrolled the text down to see how long it was. “It’s really a short description here. I guess you should go to the library or to some archive to know more details. But generally… Hmm, the things written here don’t sound very inviting. Look at this:

“Silent Hill is a rural town, located in the state of Maine, at the lake Toluca, the history of which goes back to England’s early colonization of America. The local Native American tribes considered the Toluca lake area to be “The Place of Silenced Spirits”, and was long considered to have a kind of spiritual significance and an air of mysterious power. It was considered to be a holy place, where many rituals were conducted in accordance with the indigenous beliefs. A particular tribe who worshiped a deity known as Kwekwaxawe referred to the area as Kwekwaxawe Kanesda, meaning "Nest of the Raven" in their native language.

Although it is known as a scenic resort area, it is a cursed place where the town's former inhabitants were once driven away, brutal executions were once carried out, and a mysterious plague was once prevalent. Today the town stays deserted, truly deserving to be called a ghost town. Even still people avoid coming close to this place which, as some of the witnesses claim, is covered in a thick fog and hides horrifying secrets. Those who were so unlucky to visit the town, wanted to deliver the following warning to people:

If you value your life and sanity, stay away from the town of Silent Hill.

The details are unknown, but there has to be a reason why they are warning us to keep away from that place. Silent Hill might be indeed dangerous, but it still has to be investigated to know the truth.”

“Well, what do you say?” Alice asked.

“Wow, this sounds undeniably frightening,” Linda said, studying the text with her eyes. “But I also won’t deny that it fires up my curiosity and I really want to find out what this is all about. Why is this place dangerous? Where does the danger lie? There are so many mysteries that beg to be uncovered, and I’d like be the one who will do it.”

“So what do you propose? To go straight to the town itself? I would go to the library or archive first, if I were you,” Alice replied “first we should find more information and know at least a bit of the town’s history before doing anything else.”

“You’re right. We have to choose a suitable day to visit the local library here at first and try to find some archive if there is one. It would be a good starting point,” Linda continued staring at the screen. “Um… could you please zoom in the pictures? I’d like to see closer.”

“Yes, sure,” Alice clicked on one of the photos and it opened in a new tab. It was a photo of one of streets in Silent Hill. Next photo portrayed Toluca lake, on the third one there was a view of hospital called Alchemilla. Linda’s eyes widened. Somehow it all seemed too familiar to her, like if she had already been to that town, although she knew it wasn’t possible. If she had never even heard of it, then where did the feeling come from that she had been there? It was right then when she realized something. Dreams. So that’s it. Silent Hill is the place that she had been seeing in her nightmares. A deserted town covered in thick fog. The few witnesses claimed it to be covered in fog, so there was no doubt – it was this town she found herself in after falling asleep. With this thought Linda began to pant heavily. Alice noticed it and began to worry.

“What’s wrong, Lin? Are you alright?”

“It... this is it…” Linda murmured, not paying too much attention to her friend’s question. It looked like if she was under hypnosis.

“What? What is it?” Alice shook her a bit, and Linda’s mind returned to reality. “Can you please explain me what’s going on? Linda, you’re scaring me!”

“I’m ok, Alice, don’t worry. It’s just…” Linda tried to concentrate “when I took a closer look to the pictures of this Silent Hill town, it seemed too familiar. And then I realized that it’s the place I see in my dreams. I got scared, and that’s why I had such heavy breath.”

“Wow, what are you saying?” Alice widened her eyes. “But how is that possible if you didn’t even know about this town’s existence?”

“Well, that’s the question. And I want to find an answer to it. I want to find out what does this all have to do with me.”

“Well, what can I say… In this situation it’s absolutely necessary to find it out,” Alice agreed “maybe then your nightmares will end. But to be honest… it scares me a lot.”

“Me too,” Linda sighed “but I must find out the truth. Maybe, as you said, it will put an end to my nightmares and I can find peace of mind.”

“I hope so. And I’ll help you as much as I can,” Alice said, hugging her friend and trying to calm her down. Linda really looked nervous. “Would you like a cup of tea? It will help you relax.”

“Yes, please. I wouldn’t mind to have one now.”

Both women went to the kitchen, and while Alice was preparing tea, Linda switched on the TV, trying to push away the thoughts about what she’d just found out. It was 08:00 p.m., time for evening news. Alice made black tea and they ate a few more pieces of pizza while drinking tea, talking and watching news. The time went by and Linda seemed distracted from the thoughts about new information. She was smiling happily while chatting to her friend. After one hour, when it was nine, she decided it was already time to go home and rest.

“Well, I guess it’s time for me to go home,” Linda sighed “I need to rest and think everything over. It’s indeed unexpected what we’ve found out today.”

“Yeah, it definitely is. Are you sure you’ll be fine? If you want, I can expand the sofa in the living room and make a place for you to sleep here,” Alice offered.

“Oh no, dear, thank you, but no need. It’s not that bad after all.”

“Ok, for any case, I offered. I’m a bit worried about you, you know,” Alice smiled to her.

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry,” Linda smiled back. “Thank you so much for everything. Your pizza was really great, I enjoyed it so much. Next week I invite you to my place, ok? I already have an idea of a treat” she winked.

“All right then,” Alice grinned “sounds intriguing already. Hey, how about going out tomorrow? Maybe to the cinema or something?”

“Sure, I’d love to,” Linda agreed “we’ll contact by phone tomorrow and make a final decision. Good night.”

“Good night.” Both friends hugged each other and Linda left.

It was almost ten when she arrived home. As she had a meal by Alice, there was no feeling of hunger, so Linda decided to take a warm, relaxing shower. No matter what thoughts raced through her mind, it helped her to relax. Right after that she went to bed, hoping for a peaceful sleep. She had things to ponder about, and tomorrow she will have time for that.

Chapter 4

This time Linda slept more or less peacefully. The town of Silent Hill was still present in her dream but no one attempted to attack her and no one was killed before her eyes, and she was grateful for that. But this time she saw something different, something she had never seen before – another strange creature, but not the one with a pyramid helmet on its head. In every case she was determined to share it with Alice first and to know the opinion of her best friend.

Both women contacted each other by phone around noon and arranged a meeting at the local cinema. When Linda arrived there after thirty minutes, Alice was already waiting for her.

“Hey, Alice, you’re here already? Were you waiting long?” Linda asked, hugging her friend.

“No, no at all,” Alice smiled “I arrived just a minute or two ago, not more.”

“Oh, I thought I made you wait too long,” Linda sighed with relief. “So, what are we going to watch?”

Alice was lost in thoughts and scratched her chin.

“Hm… I was thinking about some comedy. Would be nice to watch something funny, especially for you,” she said. “How about “Scary Movie 4”? It’s a pure comedy but on horror film theme. As you can see from the poster, there is a parody of one of your favourite Japanese horror film – “The Grudge”. So, what do you say?”

“Ok then, let’s see it,” Linda agreed. “You’re right, I really need a good, healthy laugh. I’ve seen the third part of this franchise, so yes, I’m sure the fourth won’t be worse. It would be a rest from my nightmarish dreams.”

“Speaking about dreams… have you had any today?” Alice asked curiously.

“Yeah, I had. Still this strange town called Silent Hill, but not that bad this time. There was something new, though. But we’ll speak about it later, after the film, ok? I invite you to a cafeteria for tea after the film is finished. Then I’ll tell you everything.”

“Alright then,” Alice agreed. “Now let’s go.”

The film lasted one and a half hour, and both friends laughed from time to time at the funny parodies of several famous films like “The Grudge”, “Saw”, “The Village” and others. They had a good time, it was indeed fun to see how scary films were made non-scary in this strange but funny project. After leaving the cinema, they went to a nearby cafeteria. Linda insisted to buy everything herself as Alice bought tickets for them both.

“So,” Alice began, “you said you’d tell me about the dream you had today? You mentioned there was something new in it.”

“Yes, sure,” Linda replied. “As I said, I found myself in this ghost town of Silent Hill again. Comparing to the last one, when all the world was foggy, this time I was surrounded by darkness, like in some nightmare world. The dream was short, I don’t remember much, just one moment, I’d say. I can’t even describe the place I was in, but it was a building for sure. And it was horribly dark, in addition. Only a faint red light illuminated everything, although it was enough light for me to notice a ladder behind my back, so I started climbing up. The higher I went, the brighter the light became, but still not bright enough to blind the eyes. And there, behind the ladder… there was a creature…”

Linda stopped talking, trying to collect her memories. Alice watched her with a slightly worried look.

“What creature?” she asked. “You said it was not the one with pyramid-like helmet. Who was it then?”

“Yes, it was a different monster,” Linda continued. “But somehow it was similar to the previous beast I saw before. I noticed that it looked male, like the pyramid helmeted creature, and even had the same clothing on – filthy robe and black boots, even gloves were the same. The only difference was the absence of helmet. This monster’s head was completely bald and… he was faceless.”

“Interesting… do you think it was the same being?” Alice suggested. “Maybe that’s how he looks without the helmet?”

“No idea. Everything is possible,” Linda sighed. “You can never know anything about that town and its nightmarish inhabitants.”

“No doubt,” Alice agreed. “Um… and what did this creature do while you climbed up the ladder? Do you remember?”

“Yes, I remember that. While he was behind the ladder he was turning a red valve with his left hand. He didn’t pay any attention to me, being too busy with his work. But when I turned my head right or left, he was there, slowly climbing the wall. I could only wonder how he could do that. Literally, he could move on the walls like a spider. Although his face lacked any features, I could feel he was watching me. I had no other choice than just continue my way up. And from that moment I don’t remember anything.” Linda stopped again and sighed deeply. “In any case, I have to admit that he looked frightening, despite being rather passive.”

After Linda finished her story, Alice frowned, looking thoughtful.

“Well, judging by the things that occurred in your dreams…” she raised an eyebrow “this might indeed be the same creature, only this time it appeared without the helmet. That would be my best guess. But it’s just a guess, you know, I might be wrong. But I’m somehow sure about one thing – the dreams about Silent Hill don’t appear just so, without any particular reason. I noticed that they are repetitive for most part. It means that some of your ancestors might have had connection with this town. Only so it could be explained logically.”

“You know, such thoughts flashed in my mind, too. And it gives me more reasons to go Silent Hill and find out the answers to all my questions.”

Linda looked very determined now. If there was time to find out the truth, it has come. Alice smiled softly and nodded.

“Right, the faster you get through it all, the sooner you will have peace of mind. You know I’ve always supported you and I’ll support you in this dangerous adventure.”

Linda was happy to know that Alice understood her and she could trust her.

“Thanks dear. You’re a true friend. Despite we aren’t relatives, but you’re like a sister to me, you know it?” Linda asked playfully. Alice nodded again.

“Of course. That’s why I always support you and do everything to help you if needed. Oh, by the way, will you tell anything to your parents? Maybe they know something?”

“Umm… I’m not sure about that,” Linda muttered. “If they do know something, I’m afraid they might not let me go there. So I’d better go by myself, without telling anyone.”

“I’ll go with you then,” Alice said. “Do you remember what it said online about Silent Hill? It’s a dangerous place, so I don’t want anything happen to you.”

“Are you sure you want it?” Linda asked timidly. “It’s just… um… all this Silent Hill thing concerns only me, because I see the dreams. I don’t want you to become part of this nightmare. I’m afraid you might also suffer from it.”

“I understand your point,” Alice replied “but think for a moment – if there are any of those creatures roaming the town, it’s safer when someone else is near you, and it’s better possibility for us to protect ourselves and get out of town alive. Don’t you agree?”

“Well… I guess you’re right,” Linda agreed.

“But anyway, before going there, you should get more information about the town’s history. What we read online was very brief and it’s not enough.”

“Yes. I was planning to go to the library today after we finish. Will you come with me?”

“Of course, I will. We must know about the place we are going to visit,” Alice replied.

“Alright then,” Linda said, taking a sip. “As soon as we finish with tea, we go instantly.”

Chapter 5

Linda and Alice reached the library in fifteen minutes, walking rather fast. The librarian greeted them with a friendly smile, as she knew Linda, who visited this place quite often, taking a book or two to read.

“Hello, Mrs. Brady,” Linda greeted her. “Today I came here with my friend, Alice. We’d like to read something.”

“Nice to meet you, Alice,” Mrs. Brady said. “Can I help you?”

“Actually, yes. Could you please give us some encyclopedia about the towns of Maine? Or maybe… about abandoned towns?” Linda asked.

The librarian thought about something for several seconds and then replied:

“I think there is an encyclopedia about towns in the whole country and one about the towns of Maine. But abandoned towns… Are you interested in any such town or a specific one?”

“Um… I’d say – a specific one. We’d like to know more about the town of Silent Hill,” Linda explained.

“Well, there are no books about it,” Mrs. Brady said after a pause. “In encyclopedias you can find only brief information about it. But I’ll check the archive, there might be some old newspapers or records. Please come to the reading room, I’ll get the encyclopedias for you first and then check the archives.”

“Thank you very much,” Linda smiled to her, and both women went to the reading room and sat at the desk while the librarian went for the books. After a few minutes she returned with two rather thick books which were the town encyclopedias, and then left for the archive while Alice and Linda studied the books.

“Huh, not much in this one,” Alice said, reading the general encyclopedia. “It says here that Silent Hill has been a popular tourist town, loved by people. But it has a bloody history. These lands belonged to Native American tribes that called it “Place of Silenced Spirits”. During the British colony in 17^th century the Native Americans were forced to leave their lands that were sacred for them, some of them were massacred by European settlers in genocide. Bastards…” she huffed angrily.

“I agree, those European settlers were indeed a bunch of sick psychopaths,” Linda added. “They didn’t care about human lives. All they cared about was their stupid belief. But they forgot that God never approved violence, no matter if people worshipped other deities. It’s all a pure invention of insane fanatics.”

“Exactly. If they thought they’d purify the lands like that, then they were pretty wrong. No one would believe in something if it’s forced.”

“Right,” Linda said, reading the second book. “Here is in fact the same information, only told in slightly different words, but for most part is the same. It says also that in 1692, around the time of the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts, a woman named Jennifer Carroll was accused of witchcraft and burned alive by Christians. Then, in 18^th century, nearly a century after British colonization of America began, at the start of the 1700s, an epidemic swept through the area surrounding Toluca Lake, including the burgeoning settlement. With a large portion of the populace dead, the settlement was abandoned. The town became known as “Silent Hill” only in 19^th century.”

“Yes, I can see it here, too,” Alice said without lifting her head. “And the last lines say that later the town became populated again, but strange events occurred, like mysterious disappearances of people. And the local cult, named “The Order”, had much power in town.”

“I wonder if this Order could be behind those disappearances,” Linda speculated.

“Could be. Everything is possible,” Alice agreed. “Oh, here comes the librarian. Looks like she has found something.”

Mrs. Brady returned with an old newspaper in her hands. Judging by its appearance, it was printed either in the very end of 19^th century or in the beginning of 20^th century.

“This is what I managed to find,” she said, opening the newspaper and putting it on the desk in front of both women. “It’s a newspaper from the year 1918, “The Chronicles of Maine”. There’s an article about a tragedy that occurred in Silent Hill. A small ship sank in the middle of the lake for unknown reasons. Unfortunately, this is all I could find in the archive.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Brady, it’s very important,” Linda exclaimed. “Every piece of information is important.”

“I wish I could help you more than that,” she sighed “but here is nothing more about this town. All information is gone. Officially this town doesn’t exist, but as far as I know, it’s still there. Maybe there are some old magazines or newspapers somewhere, but I doubt that. The town has been abandoned for years, and I don’t think that something could still be left, except for buildings.”

“Well, the only way to find the answers is to go to Silent Hill and find out the truth,” Linda said confidently.

“That would be logical, but…” Mrs. Brady hesitated.

“But what?” Alice asked.

“I heard frightening stories about that town. In the street I heard someone saying that people still disappear there. Some went there and never returned. I had no time to stop and listen because I was in a hurry, but obviously there’s still something bad going on in Silent Hill. I wouldn’t risk to go there if I were you.”

“Yes, we’ve read the warnings online,” Linda said “but I’m afraid I must go there. I suffer from nightmares about Silent Hill, and if I don’t find the roots of it, I might never get rid of them.”

“Oh, I understand,” Mrs. Brady replied sympathetically. “Of course, if you feel you need to, then it’s your decision. All I can advise is to be careful.”

“Thank you,” Linda said, and the librarian went back to her duties. Alice and Linda began studying the newspaper.

“So, let’s see what we have here… Yes, it has a description of the incident on Toluca Lake,” Linda began to read loudly:

“A small steamboat named “Little Baroness” sank in November 1918 in Silent Hill's Toluca Lake for unknown reasons. Fourteen people on-board died as a result of the sinking. The reason is yet to be discovered, but there are suggestions that it might have been engine problems. Yet this theory is under a question due to the statement that the engine was repeatedly checked before letting the boat into operation, and there were no signs of malfunction.”

“There’s something strange going on in this town, and we have to find out what it’s all about,” Linda was determined like never before. “You know, I have a feeling that all the events are somehow connected with mystics and supernatural. Although I wouldn’t call myself a true believer, but somehow everything points out at that.”

“I don’t know… I also don’t really believe in supernatural, but you could be right - there’s really something like that in this town. Too many mysteries in it, but no answers,” Alice said. “I hope we wrap this mystery up soon.”

“Yeah, I hope too,” Linda sighed. “I was thinking that we could go next Saturday, early morning. Is it alright with you?”

“Sure, no problem,” Alice smiled. “Then we have to start preparing for the trip.”

“Right, we have to think what we need to take with us,” Linda agreed. “We still have time till Saturday, so we’ll get those things done.”

“Ok then. So, should we go now?”

“Yes, I guess we’re done here,” Linda said, closing the newspaper and books. “I’d like to have a walk in the park, just to breathe some fresh air. It helps me relax a bit.”

“Good idea. Let’s go then,” Alice said and took one of the books.

Both women gave the books and newspaper back to Mrs. Brady, thanking her for help. She wished them good luck and they left the library.

Chapter 6

Although the evening was close, the weather was still sunny. Linda and Alice slowly walked around the city park, breathing fresh air and just chatting. Finally they decided to have a sit on a bench and relax. A few metres away from them there was a lady, selling ice cream. Linda offered her friend to buy some ice cream for them both.

“Ok, I don’t mind,” Alice smiled.

“Which taste would you like?”

“Vanilla, it’s my favourite.”

“Alright then, wait here, I’ll be right back,” Linda said and went for ice cream.

There were a few people standing in a queue and Linda was the last one for now. Opening her handbag, she pulled out her purse but accidentally it fell on the ground. She wanted to lift it up but someone was faster than her. A man lifted it up and gave it to her.

“Oh, thank you very much,” Linda said with a smile. “I actually didn’t hear you coming behind my back.”

“You’re welcome, lady,” he said. “And I’m sorry if I scared you.”

“Not at all, sir, it was just unexpected,” Linda smiled, looking at the man with curiosity. He looked rather young, not older than thirty. He had short fair hair and dressed in dark jeans, black shirt and brown jacket. He was rather good looking but his eyes were very sad.

“Um… are you alright, sir?” Linda asked. “It seems to me you’re full of sorrow.”

“Nah, it’s nothing, don’t take in mind,” he replied but seeing Linda’s look, he confessed: “It’s just… um… I lost my wife two years ago.”

“Oh dear, my condolences,” Linda said with sympathy. “It’s terrible when you lose someone you love.”

“Yes, indeed,” he sighed. “So… um… if we started to talk, do you mind introducing ourselves? I’m James.”

“And I’m Linda. Nice to meet you,” she said, shaking hands with him. “So, you’re also here for an ice cream?” Linda asked, not knowing what to say.

“Yes, I wanted to have one. Today is such a nice sunny day and would be great to have something refreshing. Would you allow me to buy one for you?”

Linda was a little bit embarrassed.

“Erm… actually, I was going to buy one for my friend, too. She’s sitting on a bench right there,” she pointed to Alice.

“So, any problem if I buy for both of you?” James smiled.

“Ok then,” Linda blushed a bit.

“Which taste would you like?” he asked.

“I’d like chocolate one and my friend would like vanilla one.”

“Ok, no problem,” he said.

James bought three cones of ice cream and went with Linda to the bench where Alice was sitting. She was rather surprised to see her friend with a man.

“Alice, this is James, I accidentally met him while buying ice cream. I dropped my purse and he kindly lifted it for me,” Linda explained. “James, this is my friend, Alice.”

“Nice to meet you, Alice,” he said with a kind smile. To Linda it seemed that Alice sparked interest in him. And looks like she also became interested in him.

“Nice to meet you, too,” she replied kindly. “Have a sit.”

“Thank you,” James replied. “So, are you from this city, ladies?”

“Well, actually I migrated here from Australia and Linda from United Kingdom,” Alice explained. “We met at the translation office where we both work and became like sisters to each other.”

“Oh, I see. It’s nice to have someone you can always trust” he said.

“And where are you from, James?” Linda asked.

“Originally I’m from Ashfield but I finally moved here to work as a clerk for a small company,” he explained “and as I’ve told Linda, I lost my wife Mary two years ago. She had a disease that couldn’t be cured and was about to die. I couldn’t watch her suffering, she was like… a living mummy in her last days of life. I… I can’t… These memories make me suffer again and again. Mary was the most beautiful thing I’ve had in all my life. But… as time goes by, the pain slowly fades. You have to let the dead go.”

Alice and Linda exchanged glances. Linda nodded sadly, like telling that it was true. Alice looked at James with sympathy.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry that you had to go through this all. Losing the ones you’ve chosen for the rest of your life hurts very much.”

“It sure does,” he agreed. “And your friend noticed the sadness in my eyes and understood at once that I’m still tormented by sorrow. It’s like… she could see it through me.”

“Eyes say much more than words,” Linda explained. “It was obvious that there’s something that doesn’t give you peace.”

“Yeah, right…” he sighed. “At least we managed to spend wonderful time together in Silent Hill…”

Hearing this, Linda practically jumped in her place and Alice widened her eyes.

“Wait a minute, what did you say?” she interrupted him. “Did you say – Silent Hill? Have I heard that right?”

“Well, yes, you heard it right,” James replied. “And what is it? Have you been there?”

“Um… no, never. I’ve found out about this town just a couple of days ago.”

“Then why are you so surprised about it?”

“You see, I’m having dreams about this town…” Linda told him. “I must admit being a fan of ghost towns, but Silent Hill was the one I’ve never heard of. And a few days ago we accidentally stumbled on information about it online. There was nothing much, but when I saw the pictures, I recognized the place at once. So we began looking for information about it, we’ve just been to the library but also didn’t find out very much. But there’s one thing that intrigued me – both online and in the library we heard that this town is dangerous. And I’m determined to go there and find out the truth. I’m suffering from nightmares and from lack of sleep in the result. I can’t find peace until I know what this is all about.”

“And I’m going with her,” Alice added. “As this place is considered to be dangerous, it’s better to have someone beside you.”

“Hm, I see,” James said thoughtfully. “Well, I wouldn’t recommend you going there as this place indeed is dangerous. But if you feel that something is like… calling for you, like it happened to me, you can’t escape it and will finally go. I understand how it is.”

“Could you please tell us more about Silent Hill, if it’s not hard for you? I mean, what this town is really like and what this danger actually is,” Alice asked. “We would be very grateful.”

“Well, as you maybe already know, Silent Hill is a small resort town at Toluca lake, loved by tourists. I have been there twice. The first time I went there with my wife. All this town was our special place, we got the best memories about how we spent good time there. The second time I went there was a year ago, after Mary’s death. Then all the hell started. But some things are too personal that I wouldn’t like to talk about.”

James remembered, of course, how he suffocated Mary with a pillow, but he thought there was no need to share such personal information with people he has just met.

“Of course, we understand it,” Linda said. “You don’t have to do it. Just tell us why you think this place is dangerous and what could await us there.”

“Yes, sure,” he continued “but you might not believe in what I have to say.”

“Are you talking about monsters?” Linda asked. “I’d say I would believe it.”

“How do you know about monsters?” James looked rather surprised.

“You see, in those nightmares of mine I see monsters in Silent Hill,” she explained. “So it wouldn’t actually surprise me if we stumble on some of them.”

“Ah so… I see,” he said. “Well, beside that the entire town is covered in very thick fog, the monsters are the danger of Silent Hill. And I’ve seen them.”

“Really? What are they like?” Alice asked curiously.

“Such creatures could be born from a pure nightmare,” James explained. “On the one side, they have human-like features, but, on the other side, it’s obvious that they all are the product of a nightmare. I’m not sure if you might encounter the same creatures that I did. But don’t worry, most of them are vulnerable and can be killed. So things aren’t as bad as they might seem.”

“That’s good to know,” both women agreed. “But… are there also such beings that can’t be killed?”

“There is one I met,” he replied. “Really terrible monster. It differs from other with a large pyramid thing on his head and carries either a heavy knife or a spear.”

Linda felt her blood turn cold. He was speaking about the same being she was seeing in her dreams.

“Is everything ok?” James asked. He looked concerned.

“Um… hello to Linda?” Alice waved a hand in front of her friend’s face.

“What?.. oh… sorry…” she mumbled “it’s just… you mentioned the same creature I encountered in my dreams several times.”

“Really? Are you sure?” James asked again.

“Yes, I’m absolutely sure,” Linda said confidently. “A monster with a red metal helmet on his head, a triangular helmet. Dressed in a filthy robe, black boots and dirty gloves. Am I right?”

“Yes, you are, indeed,” James looked surprised and a bit embarrassed. “It’s just hard for me to understand why you’re seeing this being.”

“Why’s that?” Linda wanted to know.

“When Mary and I went to Silent Hill for the first time, we visited the local Historical Society one day. And there I saw a painting called “Misty Day, Remains of the Judgment”. This creature was portrayed there with his victims locked up in metal carcasses. This image impressed me very much and stayed in my memory. And the second time I went to Silent Hill, I met this creature face to face. This monster actually is an executioner of some kind. So that’s why I can only wonder why you see him. You’ve never known about this town, never saw this image in your life, and yet this being appears in your dreams. This is strange.”

“Yes, it is strange,” Linda agreed. “That’s why I want to go to Silent Hill and find out the answers to my questions.”

“I understand. May I ask you something? Did this monster attack you in your nightmares?”

“Well, not really,” Linda tried to remember all the details. “I’ve seen him twice for now. First time he killed a guy that seemed very familiar to me. But I wasn’t sad, I was happy. Such a feeling that I hated him and wanted him to die. Then the monster dropped his large knife and went to me, stretching out his hand. That’s all I remember. Second time I found myself in my old high school, but all abandoned. It was thick fog outside, and then the monster appeared again. He dropped the knife again, then lifted me up on his shoulder, like a bag of potatoes, then took his knife and left with me. Here the dream ended. And one more thing – last time I saw a being similar to him, but I’m not sure if it’s the same monster. This one wore the same clothing, but had no helmet on his head. Instead, his head was bald and faceless. He was turning a valve, and each time I turned my head, I saw him before my eyes. He was crawling on the walls, twitching his head, but never attacked. He was just there, watching me. I could feel it despite the lack of his face.”

James was lost in thoughts for a moment and then spoke:

“Pretty interesting. Now I’m really curious what this monster has to do with you. Speaking about the last case, I haven’t seen the being you described. It may be the same monster, maybe not, this I can’t say. I just have never seen this one.”

“Aha, I see,” Linda said. “Now, all that remains is to go there and find out.”

James smiled to her and then an idea suddenly appeared in his mind.

“And when are you planning to go?” he asked.

“We have plans about the next Saturday, early morning,” Alice answered. “Why?”

“Actually, if you don’t mind, I could offer to drive you to Silent Hill and accompany you there. I remember streets and buildings. Besides, I still have a map of the town at home.”

“That’s very kind of you, James,” Linda smiled to him and looked at Alice, like waiting for her approval. Alice’s smile widened, like if she was a Cheshire cat, and nodded. It seemed like she was happy about this option.

“I support this idea,” she said. “Only if it’s convenient for you”

“It is, no worries,” James smiled back. “So, next Saturday, you say? At what time approximately would you like to go?”

“Well, we planned to wake up at five in the morning, and approximately at six we could go,” Linda replied. “The faster we finish with all this thing, the better. Would that be fine for you?”

“Sure, no problem,” James answered. “Where shall we meet then next Saturday? I could maybe drive to your house and collect you. Or any other options?”

“No, no, that would be nice,” Alice said at once. “Linda could come to my place and we’ll wait for you there. Would you mind to come to my home, Linda?”

“No, it’s fine for me,” Linda agreed. “Then we should exchange phone numbers.”

James gave his phone number to Linda and Alice and they gave him their numbers. Alice also told him her address and James wrote it down in his notebook. After that they stood up from the bench to say goodbye to each other.

“Well, it’s time for me to go now. It was really nice to meet you, ladies. So, till next Saturday?” James asked, keeping his eyes on Alice and smiling. Linda watched them and smirked.

“Yes, it was nice to meet you, too,” she said, and Linda nodded. “We see us then next Saturday. Have a nice evening.”

“Thank you very much. Same to you,” he said and left. Linda and Alice slowly began to walk home.

“A nice young man,” Alice said.

“Yes, I think so, too,” Linda agreed. “And you liked him.”

Alice looked at her friend with surprise.

“Oh, come on, dear. You think I’m blind and see nothing? And I can say for sure – he’s interested in you as well.”

“You think so?” Alice asked and blushed.

“I’m sure,” Linda smiled gently. “And I hope that you both become friends and your friendship develops into something more.”

“I hope so, too,” Alice giggled. “I really liked James. There’s something about him that made my heart beat faster but don’t know yet what exactly.”

“I’m sure you’ll find out soon,” Linda winked.

It was beginning to get dark so both women decided to walk faster. Linda walked with Alice to her home and then went to her block of flats. Entering her flat, she washed her hands and prepared supper. Turning the TV set in the kitchen, Linda began eating and drinking tea while watching evening news. Now she was looking forward to next Saturday, just as her friend was, no matter that they had different reasons for that. Linda couldn’t wait to go to Silent Hill and hoped to return home alive and with answers that she was looking for.

Chapter 7

The next week began more or less peacefully, although Linda was rather nervous about Saturday when they were going to travel to Silent Hill. Today was Wednesday, and she arrived to work as usual, and this time Alice arrived there a bit earlier and was preparing for work.

“Hey, Lin! How are you?” she greeted her friend with a hug.

“I’m ok, nothing to complain about,” Linda replied. “And I slept peacefully, can’t believe it myself.”

“Finally, at least for one night you got peace. By the way… you know what? Yesterday I got a call from our new acquaintance.”

“You mean James?” Linda asked curiously.

“You guessed it right,” Alice winked.

“And? What did he want?”

“Um… he was wondering if I’m interested in meeting him somewhere after work. Well, I’m not going to miss my chance, so I said yes to him, and he invited me to a café today at eight,” Alice said with a little blush on her face.

“Wow, is that so? I’m glad to hear it” Linda smiled. “Looks like he’s truly interested in you. And I’m somehow sure he’s a good person.”

“I hope you’re right,” Alice replied. “My ex wasn’t a bad one, but… the fate decided that we had to separate.”

“You definitely had a better luck with guys than me,” Linda was a bit frustrated. “At least your ex treated you well, which I can’t say about mine. Mitch was a selfish person, always caring only about himself. At first he didn’t show it, but when some time has passed, he revealed his true self. Finally my cup was full and I decided that we shouldn’t be together anymore. I can’t stand being always a second one whose interests and wishes don’t actually matter.”

“Understandable. I also wouldn’t bear such treatment. He probably wanted you to be submissive or something.”

“I guess so. And you know, he was pissed that I decided to leave him. What’s worse, I found out he was cheating on me. I confronted him, but he said he wanted open relationship. He also said he loved me very much, but I don’t believe that. If he did, he would have treated me differently. Sure, his male pride suffered. The worst thing is that he began threatening me when I said I was leaving him. He just said – you will remember me, I guarantee you that. You will regret your decision, just wait.”

“Oh god, what a bastard,” Alice huffed. “Only a low and shallow-minded man can threat a woman, and it wasn’t your fault.”

“Exactly, he thinks it’s all my fault, that he hasn’t done anything wrong. And it’s no use to make him think otherwise.”

“Well, that’s his problem. You mustn’t be responsible for the things you’re not guilty for.”

“I know, but… when we argued about this “open relationship” idea of his, he hit me. That was the last drop. I said I’m leaving him once and for all, no matter what he says or does. And at that moment he started threatening me. To be honest, I’m afraid. Believe me, Alice, he’s a total psycho. I don’t know what he’s capable of.”

“Jesus…” Alice widened her eyes in shock. “Does he still get on your nerves?”

“I changed my phone number and e-mail address, and lucky for me, he doesn’t know my new street address. He only knows where my family lives because when we dated, I lived with my family.”

“That’s good. But he still lives in Portland, doesn’t he?”

“I don’t know,” Linda replied “and to be honest, I don’t even want to know. At least I haven’t stumbled upon him till now, but it doesn’t mean at once that he’s not here.”

“I hope you never see that moron again,” Alice said sympathetically. “He doesn’t deserve such a woman like you and doesn’t deserve that you suffer because of him.”

“And I don’t suffer,” Linda replied confidently. “I’m happy I left that rascal. I also hope I never see him again. And I hope you have a good time with James today” she winked playfully.

Alice blushed again.

“We shall see,” she replied shyly. “And I really hope that you find your happiness soon. You deserve it.”

“Thanks, dear,” Linda smiled warmly. “I’m so happy I have you, seriously. Such a shame that we aren’t sisters of one blood.”

“Does it matter that we’re not of the same blood?” Alice chuckled happily. “We are like sisters, and it’s all that matters.”

“Right!” Linda approved and both women burst into happy laughing. “Oh, by the way, would you tell me tomorrow how was your date with James?”

“Of course, what’s the question about?” Alice laughed. “You always are the first to know the details, and so be it.”

“Ok then. If you’re in good mood tomorrow, then all is clear,” Linda chuckled.

The workday slowly drew to the end, and exactly at six both young women finished their things and left the office. Alice was in a hurry this time, she had to manage to get home to change clothes and put some make-up. So she waved goodbye to Linda and hopped into the bus.

Linda slowly continued her way home, all that time being lost in thoughts. She was happy that her best friend most likely would find a man, but deep inside she felt sad. Somehow she wasn’t so lucky with men in her life. Either no man saw her more than just friend, or she crossed her way with such scoundrel like Mitch. Linda was even beginning to think that her fate might be staying alone all her life, but she hoped for the best anyway.

The young woman was lost in thoughts so deeply that she didn’t notice a man approaching her. She didn’t manage to move out of the city centre where her office was, when a hand grabbed her arm roughly and a male voice spoke behind her back:

“Well, well, isn’t that a pleasant surprise, Miss Higgins?”

Linda turned around and faced the man behind her. It was no other than Mitch.

Damn it, just great… When you think of shit, it always happens, - Linda thought but stayed calm.

“What do you want?” she asked in an unsatisfied tone.

“Nothing actually. I was right here at the moment and noticed you passing by,” he replied with a mock in his voice.

Linda was grateful that she stumbled on him in the city centre, where there are many people around, and not in some dark alley. Who knows how this meeting might have ended in that case…

“If you think you’ll succeed in persuading me to return to you, you’re just wasting your time,” Linda said, freeing herself from his grip.

“You broke my heart, Linda, and I can’t forgive you that,” he practically hissed. “You know I loved you, but you decided to abandon me. How else do you think I should react?”

“Listen, darling, if you really did love me, as you say, you wouldn’t have slept with other women!” Linda snapped out. “Or did you really think I would deal with it and behave so like it’s nothing?”

Mitch clenched his fists in anger. He barely held himself from punching her into face.

“I’ve told you hundred times – she means nothing to me! And even if I slept with her a few times, so what? Which guy doesn’t do that after all? I wanted you and still nothing has changed!”

Linda just grinned snidely.

“Oh really? I must say you have a strange concept of love. Know this – I don’t believe a single word of yours. If you thought I would submit to you, then you’re pretty wrong. And I see, you barely keep yourself from beating me up. You’re fallen too low, Mitch. Only a rascal is able to beat a woman. Knowing your true nature, I don’t want to be with you ever. And now, be so kind and leave me alone. I don’t have time for this bullshit and there are a lot of things for me to do.”

Hearing this, Mitch finally snapped. Something like clicked in his head, and he slapped Linda. He didn’t even pay attention to the fact that they were in the middle of the city. Overwhelmed by rage, he grabbed her hair painfully.

“If you thought you can talk to me like that, you’re very wrong!” he practically yelled. “And if you think you know what hell is, I’ll show you the real hell, bitch!”

“Hey, what do you think you’re doing, man?” one of the passers intervened while people slowly began to surround them.

“You better mind your own business and don’t interfere, you jerk!” Mitch screamed at him. “It’s between me and her only!”

“And I say, you better let the woman go, or I’ll call the police right now!” the guy hissed back, taking out his cell phone. Seeing that he meant it, Mitch let Linda go. He was back in reality, realizing that he had no chances with the crowd around, so he had no other choice but leave for good.

“I leave for now, but remember – it’s only the beginning. I’ll get to you, be sure of that, and next time there will be no lucky escape!” he threatened. But Linda still was calm like a statue. She was already pondering about a plan on how to teach him a lesson.

“You know what? If you want to get to me, then look for me in Silent Hill. That’s where I’ll be waiting for you,” she replied without any emotions and left, not forgetting to thank the man that wanted to call the police. Mitch was confused about her last words. He wondered what she meant when she said she would be waiting for him in a place he never heard about, but anyway he would remember that name. He was determined to give it hot and strong to this arrogant bitch, so if she was going to this strange place called Silent Hill, so be it. He would catch her there. With that thought he turned around and left for home.

Linda arrived home after thirty minutes because of a small traffic jam and flopped on the sofa. She was so irritated like she has never been before. What a snobby jerk! She felt frustrated because of the fact that Mitch was in her way again. But on the other side, it was actually good. Linda knew that if he was determined to do something, nothing would stop him. He would do his best to get to her. And if she goes to Silent Hill, he would go there, too. Remembering that Silent Hill was a dangerous place, Linda grinned evilly. He wanted to show her hell, but in the result he would be the one to go to hell.

Chapter 8

Thursday morning started off as usual. But Linda couldn’t be truly peaceful deep inside after her encounter with Mitch yesterday. That man really couldn’t leave her alone once and for all. What is his problem? I still can’t really comprehend, – she thought to herself. It seemed that he had so much hate in his heart that Linda was unable to understand how he could even live with it. Such people usually lost their minds in the result. And that’s what exactly was happening to Mitch.

“He will get what he deserved,” Linda whispered to herself, drinking tea while having breakfast, and an evil grin appeared on her face. “If James told the truth about those abominations that roam around in Silent Hill, Mitch sure will have his “fun”. I somehow have a feeling he will not get out of that town alive.”

The young female finished breakfast soon enough and left her flat. Luckily the bus stop was practically right in front of the main entrance into the building, and after a couple of minutes the bus arrived. It took twenty minutes to get to her workplace and Linda could only think of Saturday – they day they were going to the mysterious ghost town, known as Silent Hill. Different thoughts raced through her mind while she tried to imagine what awaits them there, and that scared her the most. She knew that only the unknown can instill true fear.

The time passed quickly as Linda finally arrived to her workplace. She didn’t even manage to open the door when suddenly a female voice called from her back:

“Hey Lin! Wait for me!”

It was no other that Alice, and Linda was more than happy to see her friend, although they see each other every day.

“Hi Alice! How are you doing? You look especially happy today. Seems to me you had a good time yesterday evening,” Linda said with a wink.

Alice blushed a little when she understood what Linda was talking about.

“Oh, I sure did,” she replied. “But come, let’s go to our office and talk there. It’s a bit cold outside early morning, isn’t it?”

“Sure, let’s go then.”

Both women entered the building and went up to the third floor where the translation agency was. Greeting Mrs. Parker, they went to their office to prepare for work. Linda was rather curious to know if Alice had any luck with James yesterday.

“So… how was it yesterday? Judging by your face, it went great.”

“You’re right, we had a good time. As I said, he invited me to a café at eight o’clock. We talked a lot, he told me things about himself and I told about myself. He is originally from Ashfield and works as a clerk in an office for years. As you know, he has been married and lost his wife two years ago. As I remember, her name was Mary. Mary Shepherd-Sunderland. Unfortunately she fell ill and her disease couldn’t be healed, so in the end she died. This is sad, indeed. It’s such a mental torment – watching the one you love literally fading right before your eyes.”

“Oh yes, it sure is,” Linda agreed. “I already expressed my sympathy to him when we met first time.”

“I know. What’s worse – he said that Mary didn’t want to die. When she found out that she was about to die, she became terribly depressed and it affected her mood. Once she could be aggressive with James, and the next minute already begging to forgive her. It was torture to them both. He said she looked like a living dead in her last days and death was actually a salvation.”

“So it is. In situations like that the only thing you can wish for, is death. Sometimes it can save you from all your torture.”

“That’s right,” Alice agreed. “He loved her very much and still misses her. But, on the other side, he understands that it’s better to let it go and continue with your life. Some people can’t get over it and commit suicide. It’s good he found the strength within him to go on.”

“Agree. Even if you lose someone dear to you, it’s not yet a reason to end your life immediately. We’re not living in a fairytale like Romeo and Juliet. Life goes on and each of us can find happiness again.”

“Exactly. I told him approximately the same. Oh… and while we spoke about it, he… he took my hand in his,” Alice continued, blushing heavily. “And when I met his eyes, it was visible that he has new feelings within him. He was looking at me with hope in his eyes. So… we really might start dating. Most likely, I’d say.”

Linda smiled at her with all her kindness.

“Well, then. I only hope that your relationship develops into something more. Seems to me, everything goes in that direction. Oh, by the way… Did he say anything else about Silent Hill?”

“He did,” Alice said. “He warned that it’s dangerous to go there unarmed and that we need weapons.”

“Wow… is it really that bad?” Linda asked, slightly frightened.

“It seems so. He told me that while he spent time there with his wife, everything was great, no sign of fog or any monstrosities. But the second time, when he arrived there, things changed drastically. All town was engulfed in fog, so thick that you can’t see a thing in front of you in a distance of a few metres. And, of course, the creatures of hell, aggressive ones. So yeah, there are low chances to survive without weapons.”

“But where are we going to get them then?” Linda asked. “All we can take with us are kitchen knives.”

“Yes, I told James that neither you, nor me do not own any weapons,” Alice explained. “He said it’s not a problem, because he has a few weapons that he will bring with him when we go to Silent Hill. And those aren’t melee weapons.”

“Oh, all right then,” Linda exhaled in relief. “Good to know we will have the possibility to protect ourselves if needed. But I’m nervous anyway. The thoughts about going to that ghost town give me no peace.”

“I understand you. I’m not completely peaceful, either,” Alice replied. “I just hope we won’t stumble on any of those abominations, if they’re really there. Oh, and we made a deal that at six in the morning he comes to my house and we go at once. Is it fine for you?”

“Yes, of course. By that time I’ll be there, by you,” Linda agreed. “Hey, now I have news for you. Guess whom I met yesterday on my way home?”

Alice fell into thoughts for a moment and suddenly widened her eyes.

“No, it cannot be…”

“Yes, you’re thinking right,” Linda huffed with dissatisfaction. “When you think of shit, it always happens.”

“And? What did he do?”

“Well, just as expected – such phrases like “you broke my heart”, “how could you leave me?”, etc., etc. We argued and I said directly that I don’t want to have anything to do with him, knowing his true nature. I guess it made him snap, and… he slapped me on face.”

“What?! Are you serious?!” Alice was shocked. “He did that right in the street?!”

“Yes, right then and there, and not to mention the threatening,” Linda replied.

“Damn that retarded bastard!” Alice barely kept herself from starting to swear. “No, seriously, he needs a psychiatrist. Or better a place in a mental asylum.”

“Couldn’t agree more. Mental hospital is a place meant for him,” Linda said.

“So, how did it all finish?”

“Well, he grabbed my hair, but one of the passers interfered. Mitch was rude even to him, and that kind man pulled out his cell phone and warned that he would call the police if that moron didn’t let me go. So he had nothing else to do but to let me go, but, of course, he threatened that next time we meet, there will be no lucky escape. I showed no emotions and said that if he wanted to find me, I’ll be waiting for him in Silent Hill, and then I just left. Believe me, he won’t give up, and if he has to go there, he will do it. He wants to show me what hell is, and in the result he will be the one to go to hell. And I have a strong feeling that he will not return from Silent Hill alive.”

“I hope he won’t,” Alice clenched her teeth in anger. “Death is the least he deserves. He deserves torture for everything he has done to you.”

“Right. That’s what I was thinking about in the morning. If what James said about monsters is true, it will be fun to watch that douchebag squealing like a pig while being attacked.”

“Haha, I’d love to see that,” Alice laughed. “That would be one nice sight.”

“True. Now all we can do is look forward for the travel,” Linda agreed. “That would be one hell of an adventure.”

While both ladies worked, the day was approaching its end. Saying goodbye to each other at the bus stop, they parted. Alice boarded the bus and went home, and so did Linda. After arriving home she slowly began packing things for the travel. As she felt tired, the young woman made tea and a few sandwiches for supper and took a shower to relax. Surprisingly for her, this night was absolutely peaceful, without a single nightmare, so in the morning she felt quite good. Friday passed peacefully, without any unpleasant incidents. Linda came home after work and finished preparing herself for the travel tomorrow. She remembered that James promised to bring weapons with him, but took the large kitchen knife with her anyway. It won’t occupy much place and may come in handy, - she thought to herself. As it was ten o’clock already, she took a quick shower and went to bed, but she couldn’t fall asleep for a while. All Linda could do is thinking about what awaits them when they arrive to the infamous ghost town.

“Silent Hill… Tomorrow…” she whispered, “tomorrow…”

Chapter 9

What’s happening? Am I still sleeping?

Linda felt herself being in such a state when she wasn’t in a deep sleep yet, but not awake either, like something in the middle. It was nothing but darkness surrounding her, but she could hear distant voices whispering something unclear and her body felt every touch. She felt like someone was holding her in his arms, but all body ached, like after a serious fight a few moments ago. A large hand caressed her face and head gently, and Linda could feel that it had a glove on. The touch was so soft, so gentle that Linda felt herself falling into a deep, blissful oblivion. Before slumber enveloped her, she heard a faint voice practically at her ear:

“Linda… wake up…”

“Huh… what…” Linda could barely murmur a few incoherent words.

“Open your eyes…”

There it was again. The voice sounded female. No, it’s more like a voice of a child. Linda slowly turned her head on the right, because that’s where the voice came from. She opened her eyes finally. Although her vision was rather blurry, she saw a rather good-looking girl standing before her. It was hard to tell her age, but Linda presumed she could be around thirteen or fourteen years old. The girl had short dark hair and wore a knee-length blue dress with a white collar, white socks and black shoes. But before Linda could say something, her vision got clear and she realized that she was in a totally dark, in fact, infernal world. Everything looked rusty, filthy and covered in blood. There were even a few mutilated corpses here and there. But even that wasn’t the worst. Turning her head back, the young woman saw a faceless head tilting above her. She realized that she was lying in the arms of a monster. He had no eyes, no nose and no ears, and only something like a thin line was barely visible where his mouth should be.  As much as she could see, the monster really wore gloves on his hands and something resembling a ceremonial robe. His arms were muscular and everything was stained in dried blood. Linda wanted to scream, seeing such a creature looming above her, but the monster covered her mouth with his palm in one quick motion, muffling her scream.

Damn, this is just great…

First this strange girl, then being in some hell of a world, and now this creature holding her… What’s next?

Then Linda realized something – she has already seen this being once. She remembered climbing up the ladder and this creature was behind it, rotating the valve. And the surroundings looked pretty similar to this world. He was doing his things and seemed ignorant to her presence. But as soon as she turned her head, he was there, on the wall. No matter where she looked, she saw him. Although he had no eyes, Linda could feel him watching her every minute. What’s more – he never tried to harm her. And he wasn’t intending to do it now, too. Yes, it’s him, and Linda was more than sure about that. But what’s even stranger – this girl somehow seemed familiar to her.

Seeing Linda’s fear, the girl kneeled down and gently caressed her hair.

“Shhh… don’t be scared. He won’t hurt you.”

“W-what? Who is this creature?” Linda stuttered.

“He’s my guardian,” the girl replied. “And he’s your guardian as well.”

“My guardian? Why? What are you talking about?” Linda asked, widening her eyes. Her guardian? Since when she has a guardian? It makes no sense.

“You don’t remember anything now, do you?” the girl smiled kindly. Linda just shook her head.

“No, but… I think I’ve seen this being in my dreams,” she pointed her head to the monster that was holding her. “And somehow I find you familiar either. It’s like… like I’ve seen you somewhere already.”

The girl nodded, like she understood everything.

“Oh… it seems that you have some memories. Well, let me help you remember then.”

She put her palm on Linda’s forehead, and it felt like thousands of needles pricked it from inside. Darkness consumed her for a few moments, and then suddenly a multitude of images flashed before her eyes like a slideshow. The school, children bullying this poor girl, the diabolical cult of Silent Hill, the church, the crazed cult leader… the God…

And then, like by a click, the dawn came upon her mind.

“Alessa!” Linda exclaimed. “It’s you!”

Hearing her name, Alessa smiled delightfully. At this moment she looked like a happy child that had just got a toy that she wanted so much.

“Now you remember everything, Linda?”

“Of course. That’s why you seemed so familiar to me,” Linda sat up slowly, still being in the arms of a monster. “My god… so this is why I continue seeing the dreams about Silent Hill. It’s actually you who tried to make me remember, am I right?”

“Well, yes, but not just me alone,” Alessa replied. “As this is my world, I rule everything here. So it means that all the town of Silent Hill was calling to you. But don’t be scared. I know, this world might seem like Hell to you, but don’t let it fool you. It’s the incarnation of my anger, of my feeling of revenge.”

“Oh yes, I think I know what you mean,” Linda nodded sympathetically. “Your mother, Dahlia… it’s all because of her. She burnt you severely, wanting you to birth the God. That crazy bitch…” she clenched her teeth in anger. “Oh, sorry… it just went out by itself. I guess I shouldn’t talk like that. She was your mother after all…”

Alessa just shook her head with a grin.

“No, no, don’t worry, you’re right. I hate my mother for all what she did to me. My anger doesn’t concern you, so you don’t have to be afraid. You were the only one in my class that treated me kind, so… you were like a sister to me, just like Claudia was. We both were forced to pray to God every day. This is not the childhood that I’d wish for.”

“Sure, no child would ever want to go through this,” Linda said. “I wish I could do more for you when we were still in school. Can I at least hug you now?”

Right after Linda said these words, Alessa practically jumped into her arms, pressing her face to Linda’s chest. Despite going through all the torture, she was still a child that just wanted love and kindness. Linda felt her eyes filling with tears. This poor girl has suffered a lot, all her peers treated her awful, and mother didn’t care about her. All she cared for was her damn God. So at least she could give Alessa some comfort.

Suddenly Alessa jumped from Linda’s lap.

“Now… it’s time to awake…” she said, her voice began to fade.

“Wait! Alessa!” Linda exclaimed. “Who is this guardian that you mentioned?”

“Come to Silent Hill…” her voice had already turned into whispering. “You’ll understand everything.”

Just like Alessa’s voice, everything started to fade – the monster that held her, the infernal otherworld, everything. Darkness consumed her again. After some time Linda opened her eyes again and found herself in her bedroom.

“I’m back…” she whispered, sitting up on bed and rubbing her temple. “This dream of mine… no, it wasn’t even a dream. All felt so… real. Much more real than all of my previous dreams together. It’s like… I travelled to the otherworld. And that girl… Alessa. It looks like we knew each other and went to one school. But… it seems like all that happened in another life.” Linda scratched her head that was still hurting from all what she has just experienced. “She mentioned a guardian… Her guardian and mine, too. This strange creature that held me in its lap… Uff… It’s too much…” Not having finished her thought, she threw the blanket off her body. “I have to go to Silent Hill. Alessa also urged me to do it. She said – when you arrive, you’ll understand everything. So I have one more reason to go there.”

Linda took her phone and glanced at the clock. It was quarter to half past four, so there were still fifteen minutes until the alarm goes off. She turned it off and got out of bed. There was still time to have breakfast, so she planned to use it for this purpose now. After taking a quick shower, Linda dressed up, putting on her jeans, a long-sleeved shirt, a thick jacket and boots, then combed her hair and tied it in a ponytail. Her heart was beating fast while she thought about her last experience and what could await her in Silent Hill. What could Alessa mean by saying “you will understand everything”? This question didn’t give her peace, just like everything else. But Linda understood that no answer will come if she doesn’t search for it herself. And if going to Silent Hill is the only way – so be it.

With that thought she had breakfast, then put her backpack on. It was ten minutes to five, so at half past five she will already be at Alice’s place. Checking her flat once more to make sure if she hasn’t forgotten anything important, Linda left home.

Chapter 10

By the time when Linda arrived to her friend, Alice had already managed to bake a new pizza. To do so, she had to wake up much earlier than she usually did to manage making the dough, putting the other necessary ingredients and bake it. This time she decided to make a pizza with minced beef, so that everyone would enjoy it when it’s time to have a snack. Alice wasn’t sure if James liked seafood, like she and Linda did, so she thought it would be better to make it with meat. After taking the pizza out of the oven, she cut it to pieces and put into a plastic box that could be covered with a lid, and then wrapped the box into a plastic bag to be safe. And right after she finished, a loud doorbell broke the silence.

As it was half past five, Alice knew who was behind the door.

“Hey, Lin! Good morning! Come in!”

“Hi, Alice! Good morning to you, too!” Linda stepped in, giving her friend a tight hug and sniffing the air. “Hmm, seems to me that you’ve baked something.”

“Yeah, I’ve managed to bake pizza,” Alice said “this time with minced meat. I was thinking about seafood at first, but… if we love seafood, doesn’t mean yet that others like it, too, you know.”

“Sure, I know what you mean,” Linda winked. “At what time is he arriving again?”

“Well, he promised to be here at quarter to six,” Alice explained “so I’m expecting his call in fifteen minutes.” While speaking, she studied Linda carefully. “You look strange. I have a feeling that something has happened to you yesterday night. Am I right?”

Linda smiled slyly. Alice was always such a person that you couldn’t hide anything from. It’s like she could read things from your eyes alone.

“Actually, yes, something happened after I fell into slumber.”

“What? Another dream about Silent Hill?”

Linda shook her head.

“Well, yes and no. It was a dream, on the one hand, but on the other hand… it wasn’t.”

“I don’t really understand,” Alice sounded confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean… It felt much more real than any of my previous dreams. In this one I could feel everything, whenever I touched anything or if someone touched me. Like in real life, you know. Besides, now I know one of the reasons why I’m having dreams about Silent Hill.”

“Is that so?” Alice lifted an eyebrow. “And what is it then?”

Linda told her everything about her encounter with Alessa and all the things she said, not forgetting the faceless monster that was holding her in his lap and the infernal world she was in. Alice listened with her mouth agape and after Linda finished her story, it took several minutes for her to absorb the information and comprehend everything.

“This… this is unbelievable…” she muttered finally. “So she meant that your ancestors were from Silent Hill?”

“Pretty much so,” Linda replied. “She made it clear that we knew each other years ago, and I now realize that I’m the incarnation of one of her classmates with the same name. That infernal world is now Alessa’s world and she controls it. So you see now, those dreams of mine were a call of Alessa and the town of Silent Hill. She wants me to come and find out more. As I said, Alessa is just one of the reasons for me to go there.”

“And what’s the other reason?” Alice asked.

“Well, that’s up to me to figure out when I arrive to Silent Hill,” Linda explained. “She said that this faceless monster that held me in his arms, was her guardian and my guardian as well. Before my “return” to reality I asked about this, but Alessa explained nothing. She told me to come to Silent Hill, and then I’ll understand everything. Very much is still unclear to me, so I just need… no, I must go there and finally clear things up.”

“Fair enough,” Alice nodded in agreement. “Maybe after all of this is over, you will find peace of mind, and this Alessa also will find her peace. And that would be the end of your night terrors.”

“I really hope so,” Linda sighed. “But I must admit that I was happy when Alessa jumped into my arms. I felt like I was hugging my sister that I lost many years ago, and now we reunited. Despite all the sorrow she suffered, she’s still a child that wants to be loved. Mother has never loved her, peers bullied her every day, and I was her only ray of light in this darkness. I guess this is one of the reasons she wants me to come to Silent Hill. After all, it’s my spiritual home.”

“Yes, it’s understandable. But don’t worry, soon enough everything will find its place,” Alice said, patting her friend’s shoulder. “James is going to call any minute now, so I’ll just pack the plastic box with pizza slices in my backpack. Would you like to have a piece now?”

“Oh no, thanks,” Linda shook her head “I’ve had breakfast before leaving my flat, so for some time I won’t need food. I’ve packed some sandwiches with bacon, tomatoes and lettuce, and a few bottles of water.”

“Ok, nice. I have pizza and a few bottles of water, too,” Alice giggled, opening the fridge and taking three small bottles of water. “As someone likes drinking much water, there must be large amounts of it.”

Linda’s mouth stretched in a grin, as she knew perfectly that with this “someone” Alice meant her.

“I know, but it might be a problem to find restrooms in a ghost town. Everything is abandoned, you can’t get into any shop or café to use a bathroom.”

“Ah, come on, I’m sure it’s not that tragic. In every situation there’s always a way,” Alice tried to calm her down. She knew that Linda often dramatized too much, and in the result everything turned out better than expected, even when it seemed that the situation cannot get worse.

While Alice was zipping up her backpack, her cell phone on the table suddenly rang. Both women jumped slightly from the sound as it was rather loud. Alice picked it up and glanced on the screen.

“It’s him,” she smiled with a light blush and answered the call. “Hello? James? Yes, it’s me. Are you here already? Ok, good, we’re ready. Just give us a minute or two, we’ll be down. See you then.”

Finishing the talk, she put the phone into the pocket of her jacket and put her backpack on, and so did Linda. She went out of the flat first, while Alice switched the lights off and locked the door. Both women walked downstairs quickly and went outside. The fresh morning air and dawn greeted them first while they went a few metres further where James was waiting. There was no other option as to park a bit away from the main entrance, as the bus stop was right in that spot. After a few seconds they saw James standing at his car and approached him.

“Good morning, ladies,” he greeted, shaking hands with Alice and Linda. “Ready for the trip? I hope you had a good rest, as the journey is long.”

“Sure, no problem,” Linda replied and then suddenly remembered him mentioning about monsters and wanted to make sure if he took the weapons that he talked about. “Um, James? May I ask you something? When you told about the dangers of this town, you said you own some weapons. Did you take them with you? I just want to make sure we’ll be able to protect ourselves if needed.”

“Yes, of course,” James said, nodding. “I have them in my trunk. Would you like to see?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind.”

James opened the trunk and unzipped a large bag. There he had a handgun, a shotgun and a hunting rifle that he had to use in his fights with the nightmare incarnations in Silent Hill. In addition to that there were several boxes of ammunition for each weapon and a few first aid kits. Beside the weapon bag there was his backpack, as Linda assumed, filled with food and some items of first necessity.

“There they are. You can’t go to such places like Silent Hill unarmed,” James explained. “Luckily the creatures I encountered were all mortal, and I hope we won’t have problems when protecting ourselves. Their strength may vary from very weak to strong, but one of them was invincible. I’m talking about the thing with a red pyramid thing on its head. If you see him, don’t try to fight him. Better run and don’t look back. Oh, and one more thing. There are a lot of things you can find, like wooden planks, steel pipes and more. Don’t hesitate to use them as weapons, too, because I highly doubt that there will be ammunition scattered around.”

“Aha, all right, thanks for the advice. We’ll remember that,” Linda said and Alice just nodded.

“Alright then, hop in and we go. If you wish, you can put your backpacks into the trunk.”

“I’ll take mine with me,” Alice said and winked “as you mentioned that the journey will be long, I have something delicious for you to try.”

“Oh, really? Thank you very much,” James said with a kind smile “but I’ve taken some food with me, too.”

“So did I,” Linda giggled “but believe her, if she says it’s delicious. Alice is professional in baking pizza and by the time I arrived to her place, she had already made one. And the slices are in her backpack. So when it’s time for a snack, you should definitely try it. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.”

“Well then, I must say I’m already intrigued. I’ve always loved a good pizza,” James laughed and turned to face Alice. “So alright, when it’s time for lunch, I’ll gladly taste your work.”

“Ok, deal,” Alice looked happy like a child that has just got a pack of sweets. “Come on, Lin, drop your backpack in the trunk then. I have water here, paper towels and, if needed, some plastic cutlery.”

After Linda put her backpack in the trunk, James slammed it shut and sat in the driver’s seat, starting the engine. Alice and Linda occupied the back seats, but before the car began moving, Linda asked:

“James, excuse me, one more question. May we have a look at the map of Silent Hill? As I remember, you had one.”

“Yes, of course. Just a moment.” James opened the glove compartment and took a map out, handing it to Linda. While the ladies checked out the map, James had his own thoughts in mind. What awaits them in this terrifying ghost town? Will he encounter those creatures again and the red pyramid thing? He has repented his sins, so this being shouldn’t appear to him anymore. So it means he will see nothing there? After all, he was just offering these women a lift, as they would definitely have problems getting there. No, it was definitely not about him, it was about these women, specifically Linda. Just like Silent Hill called for him a year ago, using the illusion of Mary’s letter, now it’s calling for her through her dreams. James could only wonder what her reason was to go to this ghost town. But at the moment he couldn’t find answers to his questions. Things will clear up when they arrive to Silent Hill.

With that thought he pressed the gas pedal and the car started moving.

Their dangerous journey has just begun.

Chapter 11

The closer they got to their destination, the more dense the fog became. It was not just the town of Silent Hill covered in it, but the surrounding territories too. Soon the fog became so dense that it was impossible to see anything around. But it looked like that James knew for sure where he was going, which wasn’t surprising. He will never forget this place till the end of his days.

The journey took around two hours, even less, considering the speed. In the dense fog they had to slow down a lot not to crash anywhere. After arriving to the area of Silent Hill and reaching a square from which a good panorama of Toluca Lake was visible, James stopped the car, parking it at an abandoned public bathroom.

“Well, ladies, here we have to stop. The further road is completely blocked, so we’ll have to take a detour. We’ll have to walk a few kilometers to get to the centre of the town.”

Linda and Alice slowly stepped out or the car and looked around. The fog still wasn’t as dense as they expected, but considering that they weren’t in Silent Hill yet, there was more to come.

“Dear God, this place creeps me out,” Alice practically whispered in a trembling voice.

“Yeah, doesn’t look like it promises anything good,” Linda agreed.

“We should stick together at all costs,” James added. “As you maybe noticed, the visibility here is still fine. But as soon as we reach the town center, it will be like cotton surrounding us. You won’t be able to see anything around you. It will be literally zero visibility.”

“Alright then, I think we should get moving,” Linda said.

James opened the trunk so they could take backpacks and weapons. Linda chose a handgun, Alice took a shotgun and James took a rifle. Both women had no idea how to use a weapon, so James shared his humble knowledge about it.

“You know, I’m not a soldier and not even a hunter, so you might guess that I’m not a professional in shooting. But remember one thing – keep your weapon steady while aiming the target. I know that fear can be a huge obstacle, but try to focus.” He took a shotgun from Alice’s hands and showed her how to hold it right. “Although you can technically shoot the enemies in any spot, I would recommend aiming for their heads. Thus you can kill them faster and waste less ammo. At least, it worked in my case. Lucky for us, they are all vulnerable and can be taken down, except for that red pyramid thing. In case if you stumble upon it, don’t try to shoot it. Just run and don’t look back. The best option would be not letting it see you.”

“Ok, all clear, thank you,” Alice took the shotgun back from him. It seemed that something really serious awaits for them, but deep inside she truly hoped that there will be no urgent need to use weapons.

James locked the car and all three began their walk to Silent Hill. It was really hard to see anything in this fog, but as they approached the arc, it was pretty visible that the further road was blocked with barbed fence and debris. There was the only way to get around it – downstairs into the small wood, where the sign says “Toluca Lake”, so they took that path. James led the way, as this was exactly the same path he went two years ago, and nothing has changed. It was highly doubtful that something would change in this God forsaken place ever.

The further they went, the more dense the fog became, and soon enough nothing was visible around them, only in the distance of on meter or two, as maximum. But if you stick to the path and don’t turn anywhere, you will reach the goal without any problems. James clearly knew where to go, and when reaching the cemetery, memories enveloped him. This is the place where he met Angela for the first time. Just like him, she was looking for someone very dear to her – her mother. Unfortunately, unlike James, she had no luck in finding the one she was looking for, and in the result she walked into fire. So Angela was obviously dead, and the town didn’t let her go. James could only wonder – if she had sins in her soul, did she manage to repent them before her death? But she suffered much, so she must be in a better place now.

The walk took nearly an hour until they finally reached the town. It looked just like all the areas around it – empty, silent and sinister.

“So, here we are,” James said, pulling out a small radio out of the pocket of his jacket. “This little radio helped me to know if anything is around. If a monster is near, you can hear the static.”

“Really? Good to know. So it will warn us of any approaching danger,” Linda said. “We have to stay close and not split up in any circumstances.”

“Yeah, you’re right. So… where shall we go now?” Alice asked.

“It’s hard to say, but my best guess for now would be Historical Society,” James replied. “I don’t know what exactly we are looking for, but would be only logical to check it out first.”

“Ok, let’s go then.”

While they began walking to the Historical Society, Linda was lost in thoughts. The last phrase James said was very right. What were they looking for? After all, it was up to her to find out, as she was called to this town, while others were just accompanying for safety. She had no idea where to start searching for clues. Alessa also didn’t give any ideas about where to go and what to look for, and her last words were totally cryptic. But, thinking about the memories that Alessa made her go through, the next places they were about to check would be Midwich Elementary School, Alchemilla Hospital and Lakeside Amusement Park.

Getting to the Society wouldn’t be that easy as James thought. It was the same problem like two years ago – the road looked like it had collapsed a long time ago and a deep abyss separated the two sides of the same street. So there was no other way than going through the same apartment building that he went through – Woodside Apartments and Blue Creek Apartments. Shivers ran down his spine when he remembered his encounters there, but it was the only option. Other ways were either heavily blocked, so it was impossible to get through, or cut off by the abyss.

Lucky for them, those doors that James had unlocked while exploring the apartment buildings, stayed like that. There was no one who could lock them again. All the monsters he had seen were just illusions of the town, so this option was out of the way. To get to the other side, they had to jump through the window to the neighboring Blue Creek Apartments, just like James had to do, and find the stairwell to exit the building. Right in this filthy stairwell he had to fight that red pyramid thing, barely avoiding the blows of its huge blade. But still they haven’t stumbled on any monster. All that surrounded them was deadly silence.

The Historical Society provided nothing of particular interest. Most of what was inside was either broken, or faded. But Linda and Alice have read a bit of the town’s history online, and it wasn’t the main thing what interested Linda. But one painting caught her attention though. It was called “Misty days. Remains of the Judgement”, and it made the blood in her veins turn cold. It was him on that painting – that creature with a triangular helmet on its head, the same monster that haunted her dreams.

“Well, what do you know, this creepy painting is still here,” James said thoughtfully. “I have seen it several times already. The first time, when I was here with my wife, and the second time was a year ago, when I came back to Silent Hill.”

“This is the monster that I saw in my dreams several times,” Linda said in a slightly trembling voice.

“Yes, I remember, you mentioned it. And it seems rather strange to me. I was under a strong impression of this painting, so it might be one of the reasons why I encountered this being,” James explained. “I can only guess about its connection with you.”

“Yeah… I hope I’ll find it out later or soon,” she mumbled. “It seems we searched the Historical Society and haven’t found anything. I think we should search these places.” Linda pointed to the locations on the map that she wanted to visit.

“Wow, it looks far,” Alice huffed. “That would be one hell of a distance to go.”

“I know, but these were the places that I’ve seen in the memories, caused by Alessa. So it means they have something to do with me.”

“Erm, excuse me…” James began. “May I ask who Alessa is?”

Linda cleared her throat and explained:

“Alessa was a girl that used to live in this town years ago. She was abused by her religiously fanatic mother who believed that her daughter was the Mother of so-called “God” and, in fact, did everything to make Alessa bear the God, including the burning. Alessa barely survived the fire, but was saved in time. In short, all these monsters and hellish world are the manifestation of Alessa’s pain and rage.”

“Wow, is that so?” James widened his eyes. Linda and Alice nodded, as Alice has already heard this story from Linda. “Surprising, I’ve never known that. I just know as much as that the creatures that I saw were manifestations of my subconscious fears. But that someone actually rules all this hell…”

“Well, you could say so. And I found out that I’m the reincarnation of Alessa’s friend, and she had no friends in her class. She had paranormal abilities, and her classmates stigmatized her as a witch, and no one wanted to be her friend. So it was actually her who called me here, as she said – “me and all of this town called for you”. I’m not sure for what reason she wants me here though, what exactly she wants me to see, and I must find it out.”

“I see. Then we better get going,” James agreed. “The faster we get through it, the better.”

Although the way to the other part of Silent Hill seemed long, the walk didn’t seem longer than when they walked from their car to the town center. But to be sure, it was worth to check if there were any boats left. James remembered how he got to the other shore, where Lakeview Hotel was, so they went down to the pier. He doubted highly if there was even one boat, but lucky for them, there was one. So they could get to the other shore much faster.

The closest location to the lake was the amusement park. Linda remembered Alessa showing her this place often, concentrating more attention on the merry-go-round. But she wanted to explore all the park nonetheless, hoping to find any clues that could help her to get closer to the true reason why she was here.

Maybe before, when the town of Silent Hill was a resort town and full of tourists, this park sure was the number one place to have fun. But now fun is the last you could think about in this place and the town in general. As Linda and her friends entered the park and moved deeper inside, suddenly the silence was broken by a loud and terrifying siren.

“What the hell is that sound?!” Alice shouted, pressing palms to her ears, but it didn’t do much good.

“I don’t know, I’ve heard it a few times when I was here, but I wish I knew!” James screamed, closing his ears as well.

“Oh God, my head! I feel it’s going to explode! Aaah!” Linda grabbed her head, falling to her knees, and in a matter of seconds fell unconscious. Alice and James started feeling dizzy, and their vision began to blur. It didn’t take long, and soon they joined Linda on the ground. They couldn’t see it already, but the world around them was quickly consumed by the darkness.

Chapter 12

During all the days after his encounter with Linda in the city, Mitch could only wonder what she meant by saying that she would wait for him in some deserted town. And why a ghost town anyway? What does she want in an abandoned town? Mitch was totally confused. The name “Silent Hill” meant nothing to him, he has never heard of such place. To be sure, he checked the online map for such town, and there it was – in the state of Maine, not far from Portland, the city where they lived. So she didn’t lie after all. This strange town really exists. But why is she going there? What is she up to? In any case, Mitch was determined to find it out. Knowing Linda, he knew that she always preferred to do things as early as possible, so she would definitely go around five or six in the morning. It was Saturday morning now, and if he remembered it right, she was going to travel there today. If the luck is on his side, he’ll manage to catch up with her and finally teach her a lesson for all his mental suffering. This time no one will be around and there will be no lucky escape.

***

James and Alice slowly opened their eyes, and together with the awakening came also headache. They were happy to be alive, but their happiness lasted for a few seconds after they realized that darkness surrounded them from all sides.

“What… What the hell is going on here?!” Alice practically yelled. She was so scared like she has never been before, and it was no surprise. It was not just dark, but everything around seemed like covered in dirt and…blood. They were still in a theme park, or so it might seem, but it looked like this place has turned into real hell.

“Keep your voice down,” James tried to calm her down. “Such phenomenon happens here. Last time when I visited Silent Hill, I experienced the same thing. A loud sired went off and the world literally changes right before your eyes.”

“Or, to be precise, while you are unconscious,” Alice said in trembling voice, and it seemed like an echo. The only sounds that broke the dead silence were their voices. Alice then started turning her head around nervously. “Lin, are you… Hey, wait a minute… Linda?”

“Where is she?” James asked.

“I… I have no idea. She’s not here. I’m positive she was right here, with us when the siren blared. And now she vanished! Oh no… no…” Alice was close to crying. Linda was like a sister to her and now she was gone. “I can’t believe we lost her!”

“Alice, please, don’t panic,” James put a hand on her shoulder. “If you give in to panic, it will be only worse. Try to stay focused. If we lost her, we must start searching for her right now. Let’s begin examining the park first.”

“All right, let’s do it,” Alice agreed. “If we find nothing here, I think we should go to those places that Linda showed on the map. She mentioned seeing them in her dreams, so perhaps we could find some clues there.”

Holding their weapons ready, they began looking around, trying to stay close to each other. James already knew what danger lurks in this darkness, so it was up to him to protect Alice and himself. He fully realized that he liked her from the first time they met, and made him even more determined to be her bodyguard. They’ve had one date already, and she was obviously feeling something for him. If they manage to get out of this hell alive, James hoped that they can develop their relationship into something more.

Searching the park gave no success, nowhere was any sign of Linda’s presence. Alice was totally upset and frightened, but James tried to do his best to keep her calm. Of course, he felt fear, but not to such an extent, as he has gone through the Otherworld of Silent Hill and managed to survive on his own. Both of them had flashlights, otherwise navigating through this darkness would be a disaster. While examining the park and shining the flashlight into every corner, James noticed a steel pipe lying in the very corner underneath the first seat row in what looked like an open air theatre.

“Now this would come in handy. I suggest preserving the rifle and shotgun for dire situations, in case if we encounter any strong enemy. Many of the creatures were weak and could be easily defeated in melee combat, at least so it was in my case. We better use the ammo wisely.”

Alice nodded in agreement. After all, there were very slim chances to find extra ammo in this place, and she had a bad feeling that they will need to use the weapons, although she truly hoped she was wrong. She always thought that monsters existed just in fairy tales, but now she wasn’t so sure.

“Yeah, you’re right. I just hope it won’t be that bad to start using guns.”

“I wish it was so, but I’m afraid we must prepare for the worst,” James sighed. “I have gone through this nightmare once and can say for sure – if darkness comes, it brings its creations with it. I’m going to fight with this pipe and you can hold your shotgun ready. If it gets really bad, don’t hesitate and shoot. I hope we can find something that you could use as a melee weapon. Believe me, you will need it.”

Alice didn’t like the sound of that, but James seemed to know what he was talking about, he sounded confident. Deep inside she was happy to meet such a brave man that was strong enough to survive such nightmare like this. Somehow she was sure that with him around, they will be the winners in this dangerous game. The main goal now was to find Linda.

Making sure that there was nothing useful left in the park, James and Alice followed the road to another part of the town. The first location they planned to check was Alchemilla hospital. It was one of those places that Linda mentioned, and according to her story, Alessa showed her this place in her memories. The road seemed long, but Silent Hill wasn’t a big town, so it didn’t take too much time to reach that part of it. There was still the sinister silence around and the footsteps of two people were the only sounds that could be heard. But it was soon to be changed, as James heard the radio in his pocket starting to go off, but the sound was nothing but static.

“Uh oh…” James said with fear in his voice “that sounds bad.”

“Why? What is it?” Alice asked.

“If you hear the static from my radio, it can mean only one thing – there is a monster around here, and it’s near.”

“Oh, my God! What are we going to do?” Alice was literally trembling from head to toes.

“We’re going to defend ourselves,” James replied confidently. “Whatever there is, prepare for a fight.”

Chapter 13

Alice didn’t know what to expect and her hands were trembling so intensely that she was barely able to hold the shotgun. James slowly moved a few steps in front of her, like covering her with his body. Holding the steel pipe ready for a fight, he was prepared to see another creation of this infernal Otherworld, wondering if those creatures are the same like he has seen before, when he was here last time. But now, in the ray of his flashlight, he saw something that he definitely didn’t expect to see. The monster approaching them was four-legged and resembled something that could be barely called a dog. All its body was like grey and green in colour and wrapped in filthy bandages, even the legs. But it wasn’t what made James and Alice’s blood turn cold. No. It was the snout of the creature. At first it might seem two-faced, but if you look closer, it becomes pretty clear that its snout is literally split into two parts. It was such a feeling that someone grabbed a huge knife and sliced the dog’s snout into two halves. The bloody flesh was visible and both sides of its split maul were full of sharp teeth. Altogether it looked terrifying and the dog seemed not to just stand there and watch them.

“Holy hell, what is that thing?” Alice asked in trembling voice.

“Would you believe if I say I don’t know? This creature is new even for me, I have never encountered it. There were no animal-like beings on my way. But never mind. If it attacks, we have to fight back.”

And then, just like understanding their talk, the infernal dog howled so terribly that it could turn even the bravest person’s blood cold, and ran towards James and Alice. The frightened woman felt her eyes filling with tears and some were already running down her cheeks. But James seemed like having nerves of steel as he stood in a combat mode. And as soon as the dog pouched on him, James counted the right moment and hit the hideous creature with a pipe. The dog howled again, this time in pain, and fell on the dirty ground, but it was still alive and definitely planning another attack. But James was quicker, he wouldn’t allow this beast to strike again. He ran toward the dog that was trying to get up and made a few more hits. Each time the pipe connected with the creature’s body, its life faded fast. To be safe, James delivered the final blow, crushing the dog’s split head with his boot. Finally the dog stopped moving or making any sounds, so it was obviously dead.

Alice covered her mouth and began whimpering quietly. Till now she though that monsters and such terrible violence existed only in films. But now here she was, witnessing the real monsters with her own eyes and how brutally it was killed. James noticed that and came closer to her, trying to calm her.

“Alice, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry that you had to look at such things. But this is about survival in this place. I had to kill this thing, otherwise we would be dead meat. Do you understand?”

Alice barely nodded and finally gave in to her emotions and started crying. James didn’t like this and hugged her, hoping it would make her feel better, at least a little bit.

“Listen, I hate killing living beings, I’m not a monster,” he continued, holding her face with both palms “but in this case it had to be done. We have to kill these things to stay alive and to find your friend. Speaking of which, we’re already not that far away from that part of the town where Alchemilla hospital is.” He opened the town map and pointed to the hospital location. “The faster we reach it, the better. Now come on, let’s go.”

Alice wiped her tears and nodded. She understood that James was right. It’s not his fault that he killed that dog-like creature. They were under attack, and life has taught him how to defend himself and those who were dear to him. But Alice was more worried about Linda and silently prayed that she would be alright. Trying to focus and hold her nerves down, she followed James to the northern part of Silent Hill.

***

Linda barely woke up, it was that difficult to leave the state of unconsciousness. She thought she felt the world changing around her and being consumed by darkness, but it might be another dream like before. But opening her eyes, she noticed that it was dark around her, just like at night. But that was not all. Everything around looked rusty and filthy and there were blood stains here and there on the floor and walls. But the strangest thing was that everything looked… red, or to be precise, mixture of red and orange, but the red colour was stronger. She remembered that during her encounter with Alessa in the last dream the world around them looked the same. It could mean one thing – she was in Alessa’s infernal world now.

“Damn, is this another dream?” Linda whispered to herself. “But why do I feel everything when I touch the floor or myself? Or is it all… real?”

Linda slowly raised on her feet, but in a few seconds realized that she was completely alone. No sign of Alice and James. It seemed like they have simply vanished.

“Alice? James? Where are you? If you hear me, say something!”

Nothing. The only answer was just dead silence. Linda didn’t know what to think. She remembered for sure that when the siren went off, they were together, but now she got separated from them in some peculiar way. Looking around, Linda realized she was still in Lakeside Amusement Park, where she fainted, only now it has changed to its infernal version. The worst thing was that she didn’t know where to go now. The map was by James, so all that remained was to guess the way, and if she’s lucky, she would find a stand with a map of Silent Hill, so she could have at least some source of orientation. Glancing down, she noticed that the handgun was still lying on the ground where she dropped it.

“Oh, thank God, at least I haven’t lost that,” Linda sighed, picking up the gun. “Lucky for me, I can defend myself, but what if I run out of ammo?”

Then she remembered James mentioning that they shouldn’t forget about melee combat. Anything hard would do – a wooden plank, a pipe or other things of that kind. If she could find something, that would be nice.

“I’d better save the gun for more serious situations, if I get into such, but I hope I won’t,” Linda thought loudly. “But I’m somehow sure that it won’t go that smooth as you could hope. In fact, this is Hell, and it pretty means it’s full of abominations.”

Linda gripped her gun tightly and began searching around. She truly hoped to find some clues, and in this diabolical Otherworld there might be bigger chances to stumble on the answers that she needed and, maybe, find Alessa herself.

Chapter 14

While driving to the mysterious town, Mitch was lost in thoughts. He couldn’t comprehend why Linda was going there and practically invited him to arrive to the same place. He sure wanted to know what she was up to. Perhaps she planned to lure him in some kind of trap? Mitch remembered the ominous grin on her face when she told him she was going to that strange town… Silent Hill, was it? Yes, exactly, that’s how it’s called. He hasn’t forgotten to search the location of the town and bought the map of the area at the petrol station to see how far Silent Hill was from Portland. During the online search one thing made his blood turn cold. It was mentioned that Silent Hill was an abandoned ghost town and being there could be a risk for your own life and sanity. That confused Mitch even more. He knew that Linda definitely wanted to catch him into a trap, but at the same time she was risking her own life by going to this seemingly dangerous town. Whatever it was, Mitch was determined to find out the truth and catch up with Linda. If she wanted to lure him into a trap, she would be the one to get into it, not him. He would teach her a lesson that she deserved.

After a few hours of driving Mitch began to notice that the closer he got to the town, the thicker the fog became. This surprised him, as the weather forecast didn’t mention anything about fog around all the cities and towns of the state. Nonetheless, Silent Hill looked as a case of exception. Thus he had to reduce the speed because the fog now was like cotton and you couldn’t see anything in front farther than a meter or two. It took him one hour more until he finally reached some small building. As Mitch got closer, he saw one more car parked near it, but didn’t recognize it. As far as he remembered, Linda had never owned such car, so it definitely wasn’t hers. Perhaps she rented one? Or someone drove her here? Actually, it didn’t matter. She was here now, and now he had to find her, no matter what.

Mitch parked his car near the other one, not knowing whose car it was, and turned off the engine. It was time to explore the area, although without a map it will be difficult. And the thick fog made the vision even worse. The small building, if looked closer at, turned out to be a public bathroom which was located on the observation place where the lake could be seen perfectly. If it wasn’t for the spooky fog and the dead silence that engulfed this whole place, it would definitely be a marvellous landscape. Anyway, it was not time for enjoying landscapes. He had to find Linda and then leave this scary town as fast as possible.

Having a poor choice, Mitch decided to follow the road along the lake until he reached the sign which said “Toluca Lake”. He pondered whether he should follow it as it seemed to lead somewhere into the woods. But checking further and seeing the road being totally blocked, this path was the only way to go, so he just followed it, being careful not to wander away, otherwise he would remain here forever with this fog.

The walk to Silent Hill took some time, especially when Mitch got to the cemetery. He could see practically nothing in front of him, so the best idea was to stick to the fence until he found another gate which led further to the town. Everything around was blocked with fences and wires, like if they began renewing the roads or whatever and abandoned it in the middle of the work. But no bad can exist without good, such thought ran through the man’s head. If other ways are closed, it means he can’t get lost, which calmed him down a bit.

After approximately twenty minutes of walking Mitch finally got into the town itself. It looked just as deserted as the woods and everything around. He could only wonder how long this place has been abandoned. It seemed that Silent Hill has stayed empty for years or even decades. Mitch half expected this town to be rotting down, but no, the building were still standing whole, just many had doors and windows boarded up or broken, but that’s about it. On some streets there were cars standing at the pavement, all filthy and many had crashed window glass and flat tyres. In general, a typical ghost town, there are many such places around the world, but this particular town is engulfed in thick, sinister fog, which, probably, makes it different from other ghost towns. Now Mitch just had to find some map so he could navigate through the town, as now he had no idea about the locations and where to go. What’s more, where could Linda be at the moment? Mitch walked around the town for some time until he finally stumbled on a map. But it was a stand, and that meant, impossible to take the map with him. Mitch thought for several minutes about what to do until only one option was left in his mind – take a photo or two of that map, and then he could at least zoom in and see more details. So he pulled out his smartphone and tried to focus the camera so that it could take in as much of the map as possible. At least, it was better than nothing.

Then another thing popped in his mind. What about those strange warnings about the danger for life and sanity? If the town was totally empty, what could possibly happen? To Mitch, it made zero sense. So many questions, but not a single answer. He could only hope that before he leaves this town, things will get clear.

And then, all of a sudden, as an answer to his question about what could happen in this empty town, a loud siren broke the silence. Mitch stopped in his tracks, feeling the drops of cold sweat trickling down his face. Of course, he has heard sirens a hundred times, but this was something terrible. But that was not all. Beside the blood turning cold in his veins, he suddenly felt dizziness that he couldn’t resist. It became stronger with every second until Mitch finally collapsed on the ground and darkness consumed him.

***

After fifteen or twenty minutes of walking without any use, Linda finally stumbled on a stand with a map of Silent Hill. This was the right thing she needed for now, at least it could help her find out where she was. The map showed that these were the crossroads of Sandford and Riverside streets, and if you follow the Riverside Street just straight to north, you can get to Crichton street. And there, the corner building of Crichton and Koontz streets will be Alchemilla hospital. Linda hasn’t sound anything of use in the theme park, so the closest building for her to explore now was this hospital. She remembered Alessa showing her this place, the ward she was in after the fire, the red-haired nurse in a red cardigan that was nice to her… Linda guessed there could be something interesting for her to find, so she took out her phone and took a photo of the map, as she doubted that she could find one more map so soon, and the only map they had was still by James and Alice, but they were nowhere to be seen. Then she increased her walking speed, hoping to reach the destination as soon as possible.

The visibility was bad in the darkness, but everything around seemed… alive. It looked like all the town had its own blood circulation system, like the blood pulsed through its large veins. This place was indeed frightening and nightmarish, but it couldn’t be denied having its twisted charm. But this is Otherworld, another dimension, the home for the creatures that are hidden from human eyes. There were no one visible in the foggy version of the town, but maybe it’s just for now. The fog is known for hiding secrets within it, and it would be foolish to think that in this town it’s safe in the fog world.

Linda had already managed to reach Crichton Street and looked attentively to each crossroad, just to be safe not to miss Koontz Street. Alchemilla hospital is a rather large building, so she would see it anyway. As she continued her way north, the hospital would be on her right. So she went straight until finally reached the crossroads. And there it was, the large concrete building. In the fog world it would have looked grey, but in the Otherworld it looked as red as everything around, and, of course, filthy and old. Maybe, when the town was not yet abandoned, it was a nice, pleasant place for patients. But now it could only scare people away, although now there was no one here to scare off.

The young woman was surprised that no one has still attacked her or, at least, appeared in the radius of her view. But she was thankful that it didn’t happen. She had the handgun with her in case there’s any reason to use it, but she hoped it won’t be necessary. On the other hand, it was too naïve to think this. The diabolical Otherworld and no abominations around? Nonsense. Linda knew it was just the beginning. They have just arrived to the town, so there is much more to come.

At last, the Alchemilla hospital. Linda stood in front of the rusty gates, hesitating to go inside. She doubted whether to go inside or not, but if she wanted to find any clues, she had to do it. She had no idea where James and Alice could be, so all what remained was to check the hospital. Linda slowly pushed the gates and they opened with a loud screech. It seemed so loud to her that she was afraid it might attract every monster in the town, but no. Nothing happened. The screech of metal gates just broke the silence, but that was it. Slowly she approached the main door and reached out for the doorknob, her arm trembling. Linda expected it to be locked, but, surprisingly, it opened. The reception looked just as hellish as everything she has seen before – all in red, orange and yellow colours, filthy and bloody, and the walls seemed alive to her, like they had their own blood pulse. So, if the reception hall looks like that, then the rest of the hospital will be the same. But, whether it was the Fog world or the Otherworld, Linda was going to explore each room in this place, from the reception till the last floor upstairs. After all, she had no choice.

Chapter 15

Linda wandered around the infernal hospital, not knowing what exactly she was going to find there. The ground floor had many rooms, but which could give her at least one clue, she had no idea, so the best option would be to check them all, starting from the first door on the left from the main entrance. It was located behind the reception desk, so Linda had to lift the partition to get to the door. But it appeared to be firmly locked and the lock itself was obviously broken. Linda wasn’t sure whether she should be happy about it or not, but at least one room was out of the searching line. But what if there could be something that contained valuable information? In any case, if other rooms are empty, the locked doors could maybe be broken with some heavy tool, if one could be found. Linda admitted to herself that she had no wish to wander around this demonic world and look for trouble, but not like she had plenty of options. She might stay in this world forever, but the time doesn’t wait. She had to achieve the goal that she came here for.

The first floor had nothing of particular interest, but when Linda entered the doctor’s office, something caught her attention. Although everything looked like pure hell, the rooms were still recognizable. And in this particular room there were still two sofas, a small table for journals between them, a few bookshelves, and a desk with a typewriter on it. All in all, it seemed that this room was meant for taking a break, doctors could have a cup of coffee here. But not all of this caught Linda’s attention. On the right from the door she saw a large clipboard with some filthy and tattered papers stuck to it. But one of them stood out among the rest. Although the paper was smeared with blood in some places and the note was so old that the text was barely readable, but still Linda could make out the following lines:

“I forbid going to the basement without authorization. Any of the medical personnel that attempts to get there without permission, will be fired without explanation.

Dr. Kaufmann”

Linda could only wonder who this Dr. Kaufmann was, but one thing was clear – if he forbade anyone from going to the basement, it means he was definitely hiding something there. And that’s where she was going to go right now.

Holding her handgun ready, she searched the nearby doors. The next to the doctor’s office was the kitchen, then the principal’s office, and the last door before the elevator lead to the basement. But before going down, she decided that checking the mentioned rooms wouldn’t do any harm. Besides, she didn’t forget for a second that James advised to do your best to save the ammo and find something to use as a melee weapon against the weaker enemies. Kitchen would be the best place to start searching.

Linda opened the door, trying to do it as quietly as possible and from what she saw there her eyes widened, half from horror and half from amazement. Generally it looked as rusted, filthy, and bloody as the rest of the hospital, but the middle of the kitchen was occupied by something that looked a large rusted cage, but the most terrifying was that it looked bottomless with a blazing fire instead of the bottom. And inside the cage there was something that seemed to be hanging in the air and covered with a dirty sheet. Linda presumed that it could probably be a dead body, but she couldn’t break through the metal wires to get to it, and she totally lacked the wish to check it out. The general picture was horrible, a corpse covered with a sheet, literally grilling above the fire.

Trying her best not to look at this bizarre construction, Linda started searching around the kitchen. There were a few dirty frying pans, but that was not a good option for a weapon. Well, if she couldn’t find anything better, she would have to use a pan. At least it’s better than nothing. But when she opened a small door under the sink, Linda couldn’t hold back the smile. There was a rusty steel pipe, obviously lying there for a rather long time. The woman pulled it out of its place, hoping it would help her to defend herself if necessary. The pipe was heavy, but not as heavy for a female to carry it without problems. The only thing that matters is the damage it could make.

Linda put the handgun into the pocket of her jacket and slowly left the kitchen, holding the pipe in both hands. The next room on her way was the principal’s office. It looked not better than the kitchen, as the walls were, in fact, “decorated” with bodies wrapped in bandages, two on each side, plus they were locked behind metal bars. They looked like mummies stuck in narrow cages. But except for that, there was nothing of particular interest, so Linda couldn’t wait to leave this room, the faster, the better. She nearly allowed herself to return to the doctor’s office, as comparing to the kitchen and principal’s office, this room could be called luxurious. At least there were no grilling corpses or mummies on the walls.

But the most important and dangerous location was ahead; the basement. Linda hesitated about taking the flashlight out of her backpack. While on the first floor it was still relatively bright, it didn’t mean that in the basement the light would be the same. Anyhow, the world she was in at this moment was swallowed by darkness, so flashlight would be useful. On the other hand, Linda felt also afraid that thus she could attract the unnecessary attention to herself, but wandering in this place without light would be disastrous. So she took the backpack off her shoulders, putting the pipe on the floor, and pulled out a small flashlight that illuminated the distance of a meter or two in front of her. Linda stuck it into the breast pocket of her jacket, put the backpack on and picked up the pipe. It was time to go down into the basement and face whatever awaited her there.

Opening the door to the basement, Linda was mentally glad that she made the right decision about using the flashlight. The stairwell, if the light is switched off, was absolutely dark, pitch black, if you could call it like that. It wasn’t a long descent that ended in another door that led to the basement itself. It was nearly as dark as the stairwell, but the contours of the surroundings were visible. Linda entered the basement and turned right at once, illuminating her way with a flashlight. At first it seemed silent here, but very soon she realized that the silence was just one big, frightful illusion. Right at that moment a peculiar sound broke the silence, and Linda could clearly hear it behind her back. It meant that she wasn’t alone in the basement. Somebody or something was following her. Judging by the sound, it reminded her of footsteps, but they weren’t similar to the footsteps of a normal human being. They sounded kinda… halting. That was the best way to describe the sound Linda heard.

Fear paralyzed Linda’s whole body, she couldn’t help but start trembling. She was afraid to turn around and see what was behind her, but at the same time she understood well that if she doesn’t overcome her own fear and face whatever was following her, these could be the last moments of her life. So she swallowed hard and turned around, holding the pipe ready for the fight. But what she saw in the ray of her flashlight made her blood turn cold. There, a few meters away from her, two hideous humanoid creatures were coming right at her. Both were clearly female and when they came a few steps closer to Linda, she could take a better look at them. The zombie-like females had ghostly-pale skin, had black hair of cheek length and were dressed in filthy knee-length hospital robes that sometime might have been white. In addition, they had white gloves on their hands and wore small caps on their heads. It was hard to see their faces, as they kept looking down while walking. To Linda, these beings looked very much like nurses. And considering that she was in a hospital, the appearance of such creatures is no surprise. But the scariest feature of these diabolical nurses was their movement. Their gait was indeed halting, and their body movements made Linda think that every step they make causes unbearable pain to them, but she couldn’t be sure of that. To know it for sure, you have to be in the skin of these monsters.

Now Linda had to make a choice – to run or to fight. At first she mulled about the first option, about running away the same way she came here. But soon enough she realized the impossibility of this choice, as the demonic nurses were now standing right at the spot where the exit was, blocking the way. Plus, both of them were armed with steel pipes of the same type as the one in Linda’s hands. So there was only one option left – fight.

Linda stood in a combat position, holding one end of the pipe firmly. One of the nurses, after standing still for a few moments, finally began to approach her. Linda felt her arms trembling, but she had to do it if she wanted to live another day. Taking a deep breath, she made a few steps towards the nurse. Needless would it be to say that these were the hardest steps she had ever made in her life. The zombie-like nurse came closer and closer, and even if these creatures seemed slow, Linda knew that it might be deceptive and she had to react fast. And right when the nurse lifted her pipe, aiming for the blow, Linda moved faster and slammed the enemy with her own pipe, hitting the shoulder. The monster seemed stunned, and that was a good moment for another attack, which Linda certainly used in her favour. She aimed for the creature’s head this time and tried to hit with all her might. The woman delivered blow after blow until the nurse finally collapsed on the floor, twitching in her last movements. To be safe, Linda hit her on the head a few times with her foot, and the nurse finally stopped moving.

Linda was panting heavily, but this was not the end yet. Minus one enemy is good, but she still had to deal with the second nurse. Now the combat tactics were more or less clear, but she had to be careful in any case. Linda decided that maybe it would be better to hit her enemy on the legs, so the creature would fall on the floor and it would be easier to finish it. So she made a few steps back and then ran at the nurse, swinging the pipe in the process and aiming at the legs. At first she pushed the nurse with her body and only then delivered the planned blow. The hideous nurse definitely didn’t expect anything of this kind and, just like Linda thought, fell on the floor. Linda held the foe with her foot, not allowing it to get up, and with several swings of the pipe she finally managed to crash the creature’s skull. It stopped moving right then, not even twitching before death like its “sister”.

“Jesus… What the hell are these things?” Linda whispered to herself, trying to catch her breath. She was glad though that she could defeat them successfully. These particular enemies didn’t seem to be very strong, but it didn’t mean that it would always be that easy. These were only the first monsters on her way, and if she encounters any other creature, it might as well be twice as strong as the nurses.

It was the first time when Linda had to fight in her life. And she certainly could never imagine that her first fight would be with inhuman beings. If she manages to get out of this cursed town alive, this would be the first thing to remember about Silent Hill.

Now, why did these nurses appear here, in the basement? Linda expected to stumble on some monster already at the reception, but no one was in her way until she stepped into the basement. Plus, in the note she saw in doctor’s office, Dr. Kaufmann strictly forbade anyone from any attempts to get here. So could the appearance of the demonic nurses be a hint that something really important is hidden in the basement?

Linda decided not to waste time and started checking the doors, starting from the first one on the left. The exit was the closest to the elevator, so generally the basement plan was similar to the first floor. The next door had a warning about high voltage danger on it and the room contained some kind of a generator inside. The second room had some piping system in it and nothing else of particular interest. But the door on the opposite side was the entrance into a long corridor that led to some secret door. When Linda opened it, at first sight she wasn’t very much surprised. It looked like a hidden hospital ward with a bed in the middle and a catheter on the left. It might be the room where they kept a patient that might have especially dangerous disease or something of that kind. On the right side she saw what appeared to be a wooden nightstand with a single portrait on it. Linda came closer to examine it, and as soon as she took the portrait in her hand, her mouth went agape and eyes widened in shock. She could mutter only one word.

“Alessa…”

Chapter 16

It was more than clear to Linda that she has found the room where Alessa had been kept after she got severely burnt. In the portrait Linda was holding she looked so sweet and innocent, and on the backside it said that this photo was taken when Alessa was seven years old. Not letting the portrait out of her hands, Linda sat on the edge of a filthy mattress, supporting her head on one of her hands. Suddenly she felt such strong headache like if her head was going to explode, but instead a set of flashing images ran through her head again, just like in one of the dreams where she spoke to Alessa. The image of a burned girl appeared before her eyes, which was not a nice mental image at all. As a reincarnation of Alessa’s best friend from school, Linda could literally feel all the pain and suffering that Alessa had undergone, and it made her own heart cry in sorrow. In this moment Linda realized that her eyes were already wet, and tears began trickling down her cheeks. And that was all the doings of her psychopathic mother, Dahlia. Linda couldn’t comprehend even for a second how a mother can treat her own child like that. In the next image Linda could see that Dahlia made efforts for birthing the God through Alessa’s body, but luckily, the attempt failed. Her mother was sure that this so-called God can be born through pain and suffering, according to the beliefs of the Order cult. The cults always possess danger, so much Linda knew, but this particular cult hits all the records. She couldn’t imagine that such insanity is even possible.

Then there was this fair-haired woman in a red cardigan, obviously a nurse. She was pretty much the only person that treated Alessa well. But there was something strange about her. Sometimes she looked like if she was in some other world, although physically she was taking care of patients, specifically Alessa. It’s like if this nurse was under some kind of hypnosis. And then, Dr. Michael Kaufmann, the principal of Alchemilla hospital. As far as Linda understood from the images that flashed before her eyes, this Dr. Kaufmann produced some kind of drug for the needs of the Order cult that he cooperated with. Linda had heard that many cults use some hallucinogens to affect the minds of their participants, and the Order was no exception. Most likely that the nurse that cared for Alessa, was also under the affection of this drug. It could be that she started using it under Dr. Kaufmann’s influence. Being a principal, he could actually do whatever he wanted, and the staff, in fact, was under his full control.

The last image showed a church that was hidden somewhere under the Lakeside Amusement Park. Somewhere in it Linda caught a glimpse of Alessa’s room. The church, the sanctuary. This is where the attempt of God’s birth was taking place. And that pretty meant that this was the next destination that Linda had to go to. Right in that moment, when the church image dissipated, her headache subsided as well, and things returned to normal, except for the fact that she was still in the Otherworld. Getting up from the bed, she put Alessa’s photo back on the nightstand and stood beside it, lost in thoughts. As there was nothing else to search for in this hospital, she had a new goal. But, first of all, she would like to know where Alice and James were. Linda truly had no idea where to even look for them. The town wasn’t small, and they could be anywhere. As the phone had no signal, there was no hope trying to reach them, so maybe she would be lucky to stumble on them somewhere. Right now she had to get moving to the direction of Lakeside Amusement Park. With that thought, Linda took out a small notebook from her pocket and scribble down a note for the case if Alice and James happen to be here, telling them to look for her in the Lakeside Amusement Park where she would be searching for the underground church. Leaving the note on the table in the reception, Linda left the hospital.

***

Alice and James finally managed to reach the hospital and started searching through it. This place looked as horrifying as the rest of the town, all covered in rust, dirt, and blood. And still there was no sign of Linda anywhere. Little did they know that if they had reached the hospital a little bit earlier, they would have possibly met her on their way. But now, by the time they arrived, Linda had already left. They searched floor after floor, fighting off the demonic nurses of their way, until finally they were back in the reception again. Looking at the table, James noticed a small piece of paper on the table. Curiosity got the best of him, and he picked the paper up to check what it is. He widened his eyes in surprise and turned to Alice.

“Alice, look at this,” he said, giving her the note. “Looks like your friend has been here before us.”

“What?” Alice blinked fast and read the note he handed her. Then her own eyes began shining in joy, knowing that Linda was alive and well. “Damn, we were too late. If we had come here earlier, we might have met up with her. But now at least we know where she went.”

“Yes, and it pretty means that we have to follow and try to find her,” James agreed. “So, we better get going.”

Leaving the hospital building, James and Alice stepped through the rusty metal gates into Koontz Street and turned around the corner to the left and went south along Crichton Street. James opened the map and shone his flashlight on it. According to the map, Crichton Street continued into Riverside Drive and ended in crossroads with Sandford Street which led to the Lakeside Amusement Park. Alice and James started walking to that direction, and when they reached the end of Crichton Street, the sound of footsteps reached their ears. James prepared his steel pipe for a fight, and Alice held the shotgun ready. But what seemed strange to them that the steps sounded very much human, and they grew louder with every minute. It couldn’t be Linda, as Alice presumed, as Linda went the same way they were now going. So is there someone else wandering this town? If so, who could it be?

She got her answer quickly enough. Soon a silhouette of a man appeared from darkness, trying to illuminate the way with his phone and looking around him in fear. There could be no doubt about his identity.

“No… No freaking way!” Alice huffed angrily, but quietly. She said it just loud enough so that only James could hear her.

“What is it? Do you know this man?” James asked. “Who is he?

“Yes, unfortunately, I do know him,” Alice hissed, clenching her teeth in fury. “His name is Mitch, he is Linda’s ex-boyfriend. A scoundrel, the likes of whom I’ve never seen in my life.”

“Really? If I may ask, what has he done?” James was curious.

“Well, while Linda dated him, she found out he was cheating on her, and not just once,” Alice explained. “When Linda found it out, she broke up with him, of course, which left him unsatisfied. He explained he wanted open relationship or some kind of such crap, and Linda wasn’t going to bear that. From that moment he hates her, thinking that she is guilty in his suffering, although it’s absolutely vice versa. He made her suffer, not the other way round. And one day Linda told me how she bumped into him in the city centre. They had an argument, and in the end he hit her on the face so hard that she nearly fell down on the ground.”

“Jesus…” James shook his head.

“Yes. Believe my word, he’s a very bad and indecent person.” Seeing that Mitch noticed them, Alice whispered to James: “Please, don’t tell him anything about Linda’s whereabouts. If needed, just say that we are trying to find her.”

“Of course,” James nodded. “He won’t hear anything from me.”

When they got along with Mitch, he shone his phone light on them, trying to understand who was standing before him.

“Huh? Alice?” he asked. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, hello to you too, Mitch,” Alice said in irritated voice.

“Where is Linda?” Mitch asked in demanding voice. Alice lifted her head proudly and said:

“I don’t know where she is, we are looking for her. And even if I knew, I would never tell you, considering what a swine you are.”

James didn’t interfere in their conversation, but he could see that Mitch was barely controlling himself and his anger.

“What goes on between Linda and me is none of your damn business!” he practically yelled. “Now tell me where she is, or else…”

“Or else what?” James finally decided to join in, and his voice sounded threatening.

“Oh, I see you brought a boyfriend with you?” Mitch grinned. “How lovely.” He said “lovely” in a mocking manner.

“I’m just an acquaintance,” James said. “I have been to this town and I agreed to help these both ladies to navigate through here. And I wouldn’t advise you to yell in here if you don’t want to attract monsters.”

Hearing him mentioning the monsters, Mitch shut up at once. What he saw around him looked like pure hell, and in this moment the thought about some kind of hellish creatures roaming around didn’t seem absurd to him.

“Monsters? There are monsters here?” he asked, looking around frantically.

“Yes, there are,” James replied. “If you haven’t encountered any yet, it’s just a matter of time.”

“Then where the hell is Linda?” Mitch still tried to get information from them.

“I said already – I don’t know,” Alice huffed. “If you want to find her so much, then… good luck. Come on, James, let’s go.”

Alice went forward, calling James to follow her. James said nothing, just grinned when looking at Mitch and followed her, disappearing in the darkness. When they were already far away from him, James looked back one last time.

“Oh man, you were right,” he said. “What an unpleasant guy. He behaves as if everyone owes him something. No wonder that your friend suffered from relationship with him. Good that she left him.”

“No doubt,” Alice agreed. “But you know, I’m happy that he’s here, in Silent Hill. If this town makes the sinners pay for their sins, as you told me during our meeting in a café, then I have a feeling that he will remain in this town forever.”

“Quite possible,” James pondered aloud. “At least being in this town and encountering the creature will serve him a punishment. But there might be something else awaiting for him. I’m not sure what though.”

“Yeah, I hope so,” Alice sighed. “By the way, where are we now?”

“We are now going south along the Riverside Drive,” James pointed to the spot on the map. “We just have to continue our way forward till the end of this street and then turn right to Sandford Street, and then we go just straight without turning anywhere. The amusement park must be on the right side of the street, right after Bachman Road.”

“Okay, then we better get going. I only wonder why Linda went exactly to the amusement park and whether she has discovered anything in the Alchemilla hospital.”

“There is only one way to find out,” James said. “Let’s go.”

Chapter 17

As Alice and her companion disappeared in the darkness, Mitch didn’t know where to go now. It seemed that this town wasn’t small at all, and Linda could have gone anywhere. But something inside him was telling that he could find some answers in the hospital. Mitch didn’t remember its name, but when he looked at the map last time, it kind of reminded him of the word “alchemy” or something. He checked the photos he made of the map which said he had to move just straight forward along Sandford Street, then turn left to Riverside Drive and continue north to Crichton Street. The hospital named “Alchemilla” is right where Crichton Street meets Koontz Street, so he shouldn’t miss that turn.

Approaching the corner of Crichton and Koontz streets, Mitch suddenly heard a sound that made him stop where he was. It sounded like growling of some kind of animal and was following him from behind. Mitch shone the light of his phone to the direction of the sound and it took him strength to keep himself from losing consciousness. The source of growling sound was a creature he had never seen before in his life. Generally it resembled a dog, but the word “hellhound” would be the best to describe what was standing before him. The creature’s body looked like if it was wrapped in filthy, torn gauze, but that’s not what made Mitch shiver before it. It was the face of the being, if it could be even called a face. The dog’s snout was literally sliced in two halves, bloody insides visible, and each half had rows of sharp teeth in its mouth. The monstrous hound sniffed the air, and when it felt the presence of a human being before it, the creature howled, and after a few moments there could be more growls heard gathering around. Having no better idea, Mitch chose to run for it, and, as expected, the hellhounds started following him, their growling behind his back becoming louder with every second. Seeing the gate to the hospital being slightly ajar, he rushed inside, slamming the rusty gates right before the hounds could get to him. The demonic dogs couldn’t break through the gates, but there was no way back, so Mitch went to the main entrance. He knew he was trapped here, and hoped that after some time these abominations would finally lose interest and leave.

Entering the hospital, Mitch saw that inside it wasn’t different from what he saw outside. It looked like true hell, just like the whole damned town. He could only wonder what Linda had to do with all this hellhole, but continued the way inside nonetheless. After all, he didn’t have much choice.

Mitch tried to step as quiet as possible, being afraid to attract the attention of any creature that might roam around the hospital. He wasn’t sure though whether there were any monsters inside the building, but in this world of hell, they might be everywhere. Also, he understood that he had to find something he could use for protection. Not always he would be that lucky to run away unharmed, so finding some weapon was number one priority.

So far, the only door that Mitch could get through was the door to the on-call room, other ones being locked. He began to search it, but still nothing he could find that might serve as a weapon. This was the room where the hospital staff could rest during their shift, but this was of no help to Mitch now. There were two doors leading out of here, and he decided to check the one on the left first. It was open as well which was good. Thinking logically, Mitch concluded that this was the administration office, as the second door, if it could be opened, led to the reception, but it was firmly locked. The only thing that caught Mitch’s attention was a tool box on the table. He opened it and searched through the little amount of tools available until he found a wrench that was longer that the ones he used to see and heavier as well. Mitch decided to take it with him for now. At least it was better than nothing.

Returning to the on-call room, he tried the other door which was also open and led to a small room with closets full of different medicine. Deciding he didn’t need any of these now, and that medicine was unfamiliar to him, Mitch just went through the door in the other end of the room and got into the hallway. As he wandered through the otherworldly version of the hospital, the room had no names on them. At least, nothing was visible. As before, Mitch began checking every door, starting from the furthest one on the right, finding it locked. The next door happened to be open, and it appeared to be another room for resting, and it looked the least demonic of all the room he has seen so far. It even looked relatively cosy, comparing to the rest of the hospital. There were two sofas on both sides of a coffee table, several bookshelves by different walls. In general, there was nothing out of ordinary, apart from being a part of Otherworld. Not finding anything of interest here, Mitch tried the door on the right. Opening it, he felt he got into a different version of this hell he was already in. The light in this large room was literally red like nowhere else he had been so far. As he stepped inside, he heard his own feet stepping on something metallic, and when Mitch looked down, he realized he was standing on metallic bars that served as the floor. More than that, this “floor” was maybe one or two meters wide, and in the middle of the room there was a huge pit. Stepping to the edge, Mitch looked down, but saw nothing but blackness. It looked like endless abyss, and he wondered whether it had a bottom or not, but he definitely wasn’t going to check it out.

At first sight the room seemed empty, and beside the abyss in the middle and crimson light, there was nothing special about it. But when Mitch lifted his head up, he noticed something that made his blood turn cold. He was not alone in this room. On the left wall, so high that no human being could reach, there was a creature stuck to the wall and was spinning some kind of a valve. It looked humanoid as far as Mitch could distinct, but it was hard to tell in details. What surprised him most was that how this thing could stick to that wall without falling down. It seemed like this monster broke all the laws of gravity. But, on the other hand, in a place like this anything could be possible, even the absence of gravity.

And then, like feeling that someone was looking at it, the creature stopped its business and turned its head towards Mitch. Seeing that he had been spotted, Mitch was preparing to run back through the door he came in, but in the same second, the monster jumped down on the barbed floor and stood before the frightened man. Now Mitch could see what kind of being he was facing. The monster seemed to be male and dressed in some kind of robe which was filthy, probably smeared with what appeared to be dried blood. He wore gloves as well, as bloody as his robe, and wore black boots. All in all, his body seemed pretty muscular, but the main thing that stood out was the lack of face, or, to be precise, head covered with some leather or God knows what else. Mitch couldn’t comprehend how this creature could even see, but it obviously wasn’t blind if it noticed a human’s presence. And now it was more than clear that it was staring right at Mitch.

The monster stood motionless for a few moments, as so did Mitch. Both were studying each other, or so it seemed. Finally the faceless humanoid started walking towards the man with slow, unhurried steps.

“Stay back!” Mitch tried to sound threatening, but his voice was shaking. “You hear me? Don’t you dare to come closer!”

He lifted the wrench, trying to emphasize the seriousness of his intentions, but all his attempts didn’t seem to affect the monster in any way, shape, or form. Instead, the creature continued approaching him, and Mitch swung his poor excuse of a weapon for a blow. Suddenly the monster moved so rapidly that Mitch didn’t even manage to react, and grabbed his arm, making the man drop the wrench. Not leaving him any chances, the faceless creep grabbed Mitch’s throat with its other hand, lifting him into the air. Mitch struggled, trying to break free from the monster’s grip, but the creature was too strong. When Mitch began feeling the lack of air in his lungs, the monster lifted him above his head with the help of his other hand, holding the man now in horizontal position. It was surprising how easily he could lift an adult man, like he weighed not more than empty cardboard box. Mitch feared of what this abomination was going to do, but when the monster walked to the edge of the abyss, his intentions became clear at once.

“Please, no!” Mitch pleaded. “Don’t throw me there! Please!”

But it changed nothing. The monster made it clear that Mitch’s pathetic cries and pleadings meant nothing to him. Besides, he knew that this particular person is a sinner and deserved punishment. The executioner will take care of him later. All comes in time.

With this thought, the monster threw Mitch down without mercy. He yelled his lungs out while falling down the seemingly bottomless abyss, right into the embrace of darkness.

Chapter 18

As Linda walked through the gates of amusement park, she was ready for surprises this time. The park had the same demonic look as any location in this cursed town. She saw no creatures or any living soul so far, but another thing caught her attention. On the benches that stood on both sides of her, she saw strange looking pink rabbits of human size and splattered with what seemed to be blood. Linda wasn’t sure whether these were just dummies or maybe dead bodies hidden in rabbit costumes, and she sure wasn’t going to check it out. After all, she hasn’t come here for the rabbits or any useless stuff like that.

Linda walked slowly, watching her step. The ground in this place seemed unstable to her, as it looked like she was walking on rusty iron lattice instead of standard floor. Something similar she saw while searching through the Alchemilla hospital. Only the streets had solid ground. Linda wondered whether all the buildings had such lattice ground in the Otherworld or not. But at least in the park it looked more stable that in the hospital, but the deep, dark holes were seen here and there, so the risk of falling into the abyss was present.

Looking around for a way to proceed, Linda noticed a door in the wall. She tried it, and lucky for her, it was open. The location she got into shared some similarities with an arena, as it had circular shape and in the middle of it there was another hole, this time surrounded with metallic fence, like the one you can see in cemeteries. Linda had no other option but to try every door she could get her eyes on, but neither of them budged. And while she pressed one of door handles, Linda thought that a sound of footsteps reached her ears. She listened carefully and became more than sure that somebody or something was coming towards her. Raising the pipe in combat stance, she moved forward to meet whoever was moving to her direction. But what she saw made her freeze where she was. The stranger didn’t appear to be human, which wasn’t surprising. So far she hadn’t noticed any human being around here. The creature that stood before her was something that crawled out of depths of hell, and to Linda it seemed more terrifying than any other monster she had encountered before. This one was bipedal and was nearly two meters tall. The figure generally resembled a female, it seemed like it was even wearing some resemblance of a short dress, but most likely it was the creature’s skin. The monster was definitely faceless, as Linda couldn’t make out any features like eyes, ears, or nose. Its head also had a strange shape that she couldn’t even imagine how to describe. But the monster’s arms were the ones that stood out the most. If from the shoulders they began like normal arms, then the lower they got, the wider and more massive they grew. The lower parts of its arms looked like punching bags that are usually used in boxing. And the creature’s skin had such colour like if it was burnt. All in all, the general appearance of this being was so bizarre that anyone who encountered it, would prefer to stay away from it.

Linda wasn’t sure whether it was worth to begin fighting. Maybe it was better if she just ran? There wasn’t much time for pondering, as the peculiar thing before her lifted one of its punching bag-like limbs, preparing to strike. Linda didn’t lose vigilance for a second and dodged its attack by crouching and quickly rolling herself between the monster’s slender legs. And while the abomination realized what was going on, she ran forward as fast as she could. Linda now understood and there was one advantage in her favour – the monster was slow, and it didn’t seem even to run after her. She still could hear its footsteps, but they were slow as before. From this she concluded that this being was unable to run which was good. Moreover, it not just moved slowly, but it seemed to react slowly as well. Thus it was easier to evade these creatures without beginning a fight.

Linda reached what it looked like wooden fence and saw another door in it, and it was the only one of the doors open. Hoping to get away from the abominable creature, she rushed through the door, slamming it shut behind her. But peace was what she could only dream about. Turning around, Linda saw the new “company” of hers, consisting of another tall being with massive arms and an ugly resemblance of a hound with a snout sliced in two halves. Linda kept her steel pipe ready for a fight, determined to kill the demonic dog, as it obviously was much faster that this tall creature that she decided to call a Puncher. It seemed like a funny name for such a monster, but as its arms looked similar to punching bags, this was the only option that came to her mind. The hound spotted Linda and howled loudly which was definitely a sign of being ready for attack. As the dog pouched on her, Linda rolled on her side, dodging the attack, then got up quickly and ran a bit forward with a purpose to keep larger distance from the Puncher. Thus she could get further away from it and deal with the dog. Her plan seemed to work out well indeed. The dog ran after Linda, and when she made sure she was far enough from the Puncher, she stopped and waited for the dog’s attack. And when the hellhound pouched on her again, Linda, being in her combat stance, managed to swing the pipe, hitting the side of the hound’s split snout. The dog howled again, this time painfully, but it didn’t stop the creature from wanting to kill its prey. It ran towards Linda again who was ready for the attack, and was unlucky again to get another strong blow on its head, this time she hit right between the halves of its snout, and it happened to be its weak spot. The four-legged abomination collapsed to the ground in pain, and Linda finished it off with her boot. At least there was one problem less, but she still wasn’t safe. The Puncher was approaching her, and Linda just turned around and ran as fast as her legs could carry her until she reached rusty gates of metallic lattice.

Behind the fence was a rather wide square, and on its left side Linda found something that looked like a small amphitheatre with a stage in the middle. She presumed that when Silent Hill was still populated and functioned like a tourist town, they organized performances from children in this place. There was relatively nothing out of ordinary, and Linda couldn’t find anything of use, so she moved to the right side of the gates she had entered through. There she saw only a merry-go-round with resemblances of horses, only now they looked like meat carcasses hung on large meat hooks. Linda stepped on the roundabout to explore and study it better when in a moment she felt like something was not right. Looking around, she realized that the carousel slowly began moving.

“What the hell? What’s happening?” she spoke, but her voice was barely audible even to herself. “Who turned it on?”

She didn’t get her answer of course, but the roundabout moved faster with every second, and a merry music began to play in the background. Now the object moved with such speed as a usual carousel does, and the horses moved as well, just up and down. Linda didn’t know what to do, and trying to jump out of the carousel was dangerous, as she could damage herself in some way. She had to think of some other option.

“Shit! How do I stop this thing?” she muttered loudly. But then another sound reached her ears, and it reminded her of a neigh of a horse. Linda stepped closer to one of the horses on a hook. Did they make such sounds? She was more than confused. These horses aren’t alive, are they? The how can they make sounds if that is the case? It didn’t matter so much now, as even if they were alive, it didn’t help Linda find a way to stop the merry-go-round. And before stepping on it, she didn’t see any control panel near that could be responsible for the control of this carousel. Then, while staring at the moving horses, a thought flashed in Linda’s mind.

“Hmm, and what if I try to use the pipe on them, just like I used it on the enemies I encountered?” she thought aloud. “After all, I have nothing to lose.”

Thus she went to the first horse and started beating it with the pipe. The horse neighed with each beat and finally stopped moving. Linda then thought that maybe she should do the same with the rest of the horses. She didn’t hope that it would stop the carousel, but it was worth trying anyway. So she repeated the same process with each horse that was still moving until all of them stood still. The music began slowing down and fading, and Linda felt the carousel slowing down as well, until it finally stopped.

“Really? Are you serious?” she giggled nervously. So this was all she had to do? Was it really that easy? Well, Linda couldn’t be happier about making the right choice.

The carousel stopped, but what now? The ride, despite taking place in the Otherworld, was pretty much fun compared with the rest Linda had gone through in Silent Hill so far. But it still didn’t do any good in helping her to find the entrance to the underground church. And in her vision it clearly showed that the entrance had to be at the carousel somewhere.

Making one last circle around the horses, Linda noticed a wide gap in the wall. She rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating. She could swear that before she stepped onto the merry-go-round, there was no gap in the wall. So riding this carousel somehow activated a secret door? It pretty much looked like that. So maybe this is the secret entrance to the hidden church? If that was the case, she was incredibly lucky to find it so easily. Who would have known that riding a carousel triggered something that opened a secret passage? Anyway, whatever it was, Linda now had only one way to go.

The passageway was long and dark, and Linda had to illuminate her way with her phone. There was not much light from it, but it was better than nothing. At least she could see in the distance of a meter in front of her. As Linda went, she heard her feet making squishing sounds with every step she made. She couldn’t really understand what the floor was covered with, but it sure was something wet and a bit sticky. All the passage was damp, and sometimes the sound of drops falling to the ground could be heard. Linda wondered how long this passage is and whether it had an end. After walking approximately five or six more minutes, she finally reached the door in the end of the passage, and thankfully, it appeared to be open. Linda pressed the handle and pushed the door forward, stepping in a surprisingly well-illuminated room. What she saw there, made her smile in satisfaction.

It was the chapel.

Chapter 19

A chapel.

This is it, the final destination of this long and dangerous journey. Linda finally got to the place she was led with various hints in her dreams. She wondered what exactly she was going to find here, but in any case, she knew her journey was not over yet. In this moment her thoughts went to Alice and James. Linda wondered where they were now. It seemed very unlikely that they would be able to find her whereabouts, only if they just get lucky with this merry-go-round. Linda herself knew the secret entrance was somewhere by the roundabout, but they do not know that. She only hoped that when all this nightmare is over, she would be able to reunite with them.

Linda continued her way inside the chapel, studying her surroundings. The chapel looked pretty traditional, like in any other church in the world. There was nothing special about it, so Linda began checking every door available. Only one of them was open, the one located on the right from the altar. And as Linda stepped through that door, passing the hallway with two confessing rooms, she thought that now she literally has got into true hell. At least that’s how it looked to her. The walls around her and the floor underneath were literally burning with fire and looked like in some places lava was floating through. All of this was very well visible, as the floor and the walls appeared to be metallic bars and lattice, similar to those she had seen in the amusement park, but this time everything acquired the looks of hell. Everything in the Otherworld resembled it, but this place would be number one that looked like real hell. Linda was curious about this, why exactly here everything was burning behind the walls and the floor, as she hasn’t seen such phenomenon anywhere before, and she hoped to find out the reason behind it.

At the end of the corridor there was another door that led to the room that appeared to be a belfry. What caught Linda’s attention were portraits of the saints, and one of them looked very much like Alessa. Studying this portrait closer, she found a writing that said it was St. Alessa. Linda’s eyes widened in surprise. So Alessa was considered a saint in the religion of Silent Hill? – Linda thought to herself. - Then why did her mother try to burn her alive? If Alessa was thought to be the mother of God, then how..? Linda grabbed her head in confusion. This was too complicated for her to understand. Deciding to stop thinking about it now, she searched the walls in hope to find some secret door. It couldn’t be that this was a dead end. But unfortunately, all her searching was in vain.

Not finding anything of use in the belfry, Linda stepped out and slowly walked back thinking of something that she might have missed on her way. But when she turned around the corner, she found a strange painting standing at the wall. When she walked along this corridor, she was sure this painting wasn’t here before. It was like with that secret passage in the wall at the merry-go-round. Linda approached the painting to study it when suddenly she heard a sound of crying, not sure whether it was a girl or a young woman, but the crying was definitely of a female. Linda looked around frantically, but there was nobody else but her in the corridor. In addition to that, the sound of light footsteps reached her ears, and when Linda looked down, she saw bloody footprints appearing on the floor that lead to the painting and disappeared behind it. Without hesitation, Linda pushed the painting aside, revealing a hidden door. She then sighed in relief, realizing that she hasn’t missed anything, so she opened the door and went through. It appeared to be another hellish corridor behind it with several doors on both sides. But then something else caught her attention. On the right of her there was a wide gap in the wall right at the floor which appeared to be a ventilation shaft. And there was something moving back and forth. Crouching to the gap, Linda saw a faceless humanoid creature, seemingly male, in a dirty ceremonial robe, gloves on its hands and black boots on its feet. Somehow this being seemed very familiar to her, and Linda tried her best to remember where she had seen him. In a moment she finally remembered – she saw this creature in one of her dreams, the one she met Alessa in. Alessa explained that this being is her guardian, and Linda’s as well. And here he was, crawling through a vent. It just seemed strange to Linda that he moved back and forth and shaking his head now and then. The monster didn’t seem to notice her at first, but when Linda was already going to stand up, he suddenly stopped moving and turned his head to her. Now Linda was sure he was looking at her. Staying so for a minute or two, the monster lifted his left arm, supporting himself with the right one, and pointed somewhere behind Linda’s back. She looked back and saw a door behind her back. She was going to check all the doors anyway, but the monster pointed exactly to this particular door. And when Linda turned her head back to the faceless being, he was already back to crawling in the vent like before. Seeing no other options, Linda got up and went to check door the monster pointed at.

The room appeared to be a classroom. Linda was surprised to find it here, but it especially surprised her to see that it wasn’t even demonic like all other location she had been to. It was just a regular classroom, the one you can find in any school. The only thing that wasn’t right were the desks arranged in a circle around one that stood isolated from the rest. Linda came closer to it and noticed some writings carved on it. They looked rather crooked, but she could make out the words “witch”, “drop dead”, “go home”, and “thief”. Linda didn’t even have to guess twice about the owner of this desk. It belonged to Alessa, and this classroom originally could be found in Midwich Elementary School that Alessa went to. Running her palm along the surface of the desk, Linda closed her eyes and shook her head in sorrow. She already knew that Alessa had been bullied by her classmates because of her special abilities. The only thing that puzzled Linda was the fact that she found this classroom here, where the underground church was. But one thing she was sure about – this was like an episode from Alessa’s tormented life, and it meant that she might find more in this underground complex.

Linda went out of the classroom through the other door that was on the right from the teacher’s desk and the board. She then checked the other doors in the corridor and finding all of them locked, went to the last door in the end of the corridor. The first thing Linda saw when she went through the door, was blackness, but when she looked around she noticed more doors on her right. At the moment she was standing at the first door, three more by her side, and four more further. Plus, there was another floor underneath and an industrial-looking lift that could possibly take her down to the lower floor. Studying the surroundings with her eyes, Linda pondered that if she had been in normal world now, it would look like she was walking on one of the wide ledges of a multi-floored building. At least that’s what the surroundings generally resembled.

As neither of the doors budged on this floor, Linda entered the lift that automatically lowered itself to the floor underneath. As it was located right at the corner, she decided to start from the first door right under the one she went out of a floor higher, but that door appeared to be locked, no luck was with the other four as well, but the sixth door finally could be opened. Another fiery corridor stretch far ahead, but no doors were visible on both sides. Linda walked forward, not knowing what awaits her ahead, but finally the end of the corridor was becoming visible. It was a doorway, but this time it was blocked by something, and coming closer to inspect what it was, Linda recognized the same monster she had seen crawling in a vent. This time he was somehow hanging in the doorway and rotating a valve with his left hand. Linda decided not to take a risk and turned back, but in the middle of the corridor she heard the cry again, and bloody footsteps appeared on the floor again, leading to the wall and vanishing just before it. So there must be some secret passage behind this wall, and Linda began inspecting it in hope to find something that could help her open the secret door. But everything turned out to be easier than she thought, as pushing the wall a bit stronger, it began moving forward, which appeared to be a door she was looking for. A narrow, grey passage lay ahead, and Linda had a feeling that this looks familiar to her. As she proceeded into the passage and entered the door in the end of it, she recognized the room as the hospital room where Alessa had been held after being burnt. This was the same room she had seen hidden in the basement of Alchemilla hospital. Everything looked the same, even the portrait of Alessa was still there, on the nightstand. Linda checked around the room for something useful, but couldn’t find anything. As she has already been to this room in its original location, she left it and went back to the door that led out of the corridor.

As there still were a few doors to explore, Linda decided not to waste time and exit this long corridor, but before she did this, she took a look back at the faceless monster in the doorway. He still continued spinning the valve, not paying any attention to her. As Linda felt being curious about what was in the room he was guarding or whatever he was doing, she decided it was better for her not to disturb him, so she went back to the exit and found herself being back to the wide ledge with many doors. As this was door number six, she tried the seventh, and that had its lock broken, so no other choice than to go into the last, the eighth door. Linda pressed the handle carefully, and the door opened. It appeared to be another corridor with fire visible through several gaps, and behind the corner Linda noticed the faceless monster again, crawling through the vent, just like a few moment earlier. Same movements back and forth, same head shaking. Then it suddenly dawned on her that this monster appeared near the locations where she found something important. Each room she stumbled upon that had connection with Alessa’s life, this being was always near. From this fact Linda concluded that he was giving her some kind of hint. His presence meant that there was something in this area that might interest her. Thus she tried the doors on the left, opposite the monster, but all of them didn’t budge. The corridor ended up with a wall, and Linda was ready to get desperate because of running into a dead end, but then she spotted one door on the right, just before the last wall, and Linda was glad to find it open.

This was the room she recognized at once from her dreams, Alessa’s room. She recognized the bed, the desk, the blue dress with white collar hanging between the desk and the closet. This is how her room looked originally in Gillespie house, but about the strange door opposite the entrance Linda wasn’t sure about. She doubted that there was something like that in the real room. The door was obviously metal and looked rather heavy, and it had nine space of rectangular shape in it. Linda tried to open it, but it was firmly locked. The she touched the spaces in the door, and those felt being a bit deeper than the door surface. It pretty meant that something had to be inserted into them. This was some kind of a puzzle that she had to solve to proceed further.

Linda began searching for any clues around the room. She was sure they must be here, as she had never found any items of such shape and size that could fit into these spaces in the door. She checked the only drawer in the desk, but found nothing useful, and no success in the closet either. The only place she hasn’t yet searched was the book shelf. As Linda roamed through the various books, something suddenly fell on the floor when she pulled out one of the books. She picked it up and saw that it was a pack of Tarot cards. And they seemed to be of a perfect size for the spaces on the metal door.

“Perfect, that’s exactly what I need,” Linda smiled. “But I need only nine of them. Which ones should I pick?”

First she thought there might be some clue in one of the books, but after studying the book covers, she found nothing that could have any connection to Tarot cards. Then her glance fell on the bed that had something like an exercise book on it. Linda sat on the bed and picked it up. There she found some children’s drawings, so she understood that it was a sketchbook for drawing. Turning the pages, Linda stumbled on some strange drawings on one of the pages. It reminded her of some kind of diagram that consisted of several symbols, like an eye in the middle, a moon northeast of it, a hanged man upside down southwest, a resemblance of a queen southeast, and some figure that looked like a… wanderer with a dog beside him? Linda was confused, as she really was unfamiliar with Tarot cards. But when she glanced at the door, it became clear to her that these drawings represent the cards she had to insert in the spaces. She needed just five of them, and they must be arranged in the same pattern like it was shown in the sketchbook. Now all she had to do was to find the right cards.

There were no problems with finding three of the necessary cards: the Eye of the Night, the Moon, and the Fool. Linda couldn’t find anything that could be called a Wanderer, but the Fool card looked very much like the drawing northwest of the eye, so this must be the one. As for the queen, there were two cards that might be the right ones, the first being the Empress, the other was the High Priestess. Linda decided to try both of them, and if one doesn’t work, then the second would be the right card.

Taking one more look at the pattern in the sketchbook, Linda inserted the cards like it was shown. First she inserted the Empress as the last one, but it did nothing. The door still was locked. Then it had to be the High Priestess. After Linda replaced the Empress with the High Priestess, she heard a click. She turned the doorknob then, and the heavy metal door finally opened. Another dark and rusty corridor was behind the door, and Linda had no other option but to see where it led. There were no doors in the walls this time, the only one being in the end of the corridor.

As Linda entered it, she found herself getting into something that looked like another chapel, just smaller and, unlike the previous chapel, it looked demonic, like the rest of the Otherworld. As Linda proceeded into the inner chapel, she discovered something that looked like a long gap leading somewhere down, into the darkness. She was confused, not knowing what to do now and whether it was the end of the journey, when she thought she heard a voice saying her name:

“Linda…”

Linda shook her head, trying to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating again, when the voice echoed again, this time louder, and now there were no doubts that it belonged to a female.

“Linda… Come here… to us…”

After she heard the voice, Linda was sure it was coming from the dark hole in the floor. So there was someone alive? She crouched down to the hole, listening carefully.

“Linda, do you hear me? It’s me, Alessa. I know you’re up there. Jump into the hole you see before you, and don’t be afraid, you won’t get yourself killed. Come on, we are waiting for you!”

Alessa? She was down there? And why did she say “we”? So there was someone else there with her? Linda knew that if she wanted to find it out, she had to jump, but she was still doubtful about it. But, for the lack of choice, she had to do it. After all, there was nothing to lose. Thus she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and jumped into a gaping hole, and darkness consumed her.

Chapter 20

Linda opened her eyes slowly, awaking from blackout after falling into the darkness. She was surprised when her body felt no pain at all, considering that she probably fell from big height. Opening her eyes, she saw two faces above her, but to be precise, only one face, the other one was blank. When her vision became clear, Linda then realized that Alessa and her guardian bent over her.

“Are you alright?” Alessa’s gentle voice rang in Linda’s ears.

“Um, yeah, I’m ok,” Linda replied, sitting up and looking around. “Where are we now?”

“This is a ceremonial chamber,” Alessa explained. “It is right under the inner sanctum.”

Linda looked around her once more. The ceremonial chamber looked as bizarre as any other place in Otherworld. This room was round and had strange-looking walls, like covered with leather or even flesh, at least it had colour of flesh. The ceiling was as unusual. The more Linda stared at it, the more her eyes played optical tricks on her. Generally it looked like black sun in yellow sky, and now and then it seemed like its thin rays were moving. The floor this time looked pretty solid and covered in rust, and similar “rays” were seen on it, just like on the ceiling. No matter how strange Linda felt, but this room felt much more comforting than all the rest she had been to. And having Alessa and her faceless guardian near, she felt safe and protected.

Looking back to Alessa, Linda finally spoke:

“I finally found you. It seemed like eternity while I travelled through this town, although I have no idea of how much time has passed.”

“Yes, and I’m so happy when you are finally here, with me,” Alessa smiled happily and nearly jumped into Linda’s arms. Linda gladly returned the hug, holding this happy child in her embrace. She could barely believe in everything that was happening, that she had been the best friend of Alessa in her previous incarnation, like a sister for her, and now she was back here, in Silent Hill, to see her again, only now they looked more like mother and daughter, as Alessa still looked like a very young girl, while Linda was now a young woman. But it didn’t matter. They finally reunited and enjoyed this moment of happiness.

“I’m glad you made it through and reached the chapel,” Alessa continued. “I suppose it was a hard journey for you, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, you could say so,” Linda said, sighing. “I have read that Silent Hill is not a safe place, but I sure didn’t expect to see this part of the world, and especially its inhabitants. Luckily, not many were on my way, and I tried to avoid them as much as possible, but I must confess that I had to kill a few of them to survive.”

“I see. And I must say I’m sorry for making you go through what you could consider to be hell,” Alessa said. “But I want you to know that all that you see around you is a manifestation of my inner feelings and emotions, my suffering mixed with the cult beliefs.”

“Of course, I understand it very well,” Linda said, caressing the girl’s hair gently. “No one would ever want to go through all this torture that you were forced to suffer. And the town’s power manifested it all in what we see now. It’s pretty logical. I just didn’t expect to find myself in this world.” She sighed and continued: “You know, the chapel’s corridors were the only place where I saw burning fire and even something similar to lava. I wonder why?”

“I can explain that,” Alessa began talking. “You see, your journey ends here, in the chapel. To be precise, in a ceremonial chamber under the inner sanctum. Maybe you didn’t know it, but your destiny was leading you here. You are here for a reason. And the burning fire you saw here represents burning rage in your heart.”

Hearing this, Linda tilted her head in confusion.

“Rage? But I’m not in rage at the moment. What do you mean by that?”

“I know that a man that you hate is in Silent Hill now, and deep in your heart you wanted him to be punished for all that he has done to you. Your heart and your dreams gave you hints that Silent Hill is the place where he can receive his punishment. In your area it would be problematic, but here, in Silent Hill, he will certainly get what he deserved.”

“Oh, really? Mitch? Is he here?” Linda raised her brows. “Ah, yes, I told him I was going to Silent Hill. And knowing him, he won’t stop until he gets what he wants.”

Alessa nodded and continued:

“Well, you see? Nothing is accidental. He came to the town to get you, but in the result he will face his fate. Oh, by the way, after you left the hospital, Valtiel has encountered this Mitch there.”

“Valtiel? The guardian?” Linda asked, looking at the faceless monster standing near. Alessa nodded, and so did Valtiel. “And what happened then?”

“Valtiel was in rage when he saw that man. We can feel at once whether a person is good or bad. And this Mitch was an awful person. His black heart brought him to his own hell. He tried to attack Valtiel, but his attempts were futile. Valtiel just lifted him up easily and threw him down the abyss. Believe my word, Linda, that Valtiel could barely hold himself from killing that man. Knowledge about your suffering made him feel pain as well. But he’s not the one who kills. The executioner will take care of him.”

When Alessa mentioned the executioner, an image of a pyramid-headed monster flashed in her memory. Could it be the same being?

“Wait a moment,” Linda said. “Does it mean that Mitch is still alive while we are talking?”

“Yes, he is,” Alessa replied. “But not for long. It’s just a matter of time. The executioner is going to complete his mission any moment. Oh, there he comes.”

And then, as a confirmation of Alessa’s words, a sound of something heavy being dragged echoed through the chamber, approaching the entrance. All three turned their heads to the heavy doors that opened in a few moments, and a pyramid-headed monster walked inside. In one hand he dragged his large blade, and in the other hand – a human being, a man that futilely tried to free himself from the monster’s deadly grip. The sound of metal scraping against the floor was accompanied by pitiful screams and moans.

“Please, don’t! I’ll do anything! Don’t kill me!”

And then Linda remembered something. This was the exact scene from her dream. She has seen this being dragging a man, but couldn’t understand who this man was, although the victim seemed familiar to her. All she knew that she didn’t feel sorry for him, she had a feeling that she wanted this man dead, hate filled her heart. But now she understood why. The victim was meant to be Mitch, the man she hated with all her heart. Her dream showed her what was going to happen to him, and now this feeling grew even stronger.

“Be prepared, Linda,” Alessa said solemnly. “Now we’re going to witness the execution of a sinner.”

Hearing someone mention Linda’s name, Mitch lifted his head up after being roughly thrown on the ground. Linda was standing there with a young girl and some creep without any facial features. Feeling the monster’s heavy boot on his chest, he tried to call for help.

“Linda, please, help!” he pleaded. “Do something! Don’t let him kill me!”

Linda came closer to Mitch, crouched down to his level and spoke:

“Be quiet, Mitch, it’s enough. You are here for a reason, and everything that happens in Silent Hill, happens for a reason. Now you will get what you deserved. You can’t escape your fate. No one can.”

Saying this, she stood up and stepped back to Alessa. Instead, Valtiel then stepped closer to the executioner. For a minute or two both monsters stood silent and looked to each other, and most likely they communicated to each other, but Linda couldn’t hear it. She watched them in silence and could swear that they looked like twin brothers. The same robe, gloves, and boots, same body shape and muscles, same height. Just one of them wore the pyramid-shaped helmet on his head, and that made him look a bit taller. Then Valtiel nodded to the executioner and returned to the girls, standing by Linda’s side. Pyramid Head nodded in response and turned his head to Alessa who nodded to him as well. And last, he turned to Linda, obviously waiting for her agreement. At this moment Linda wondered how this being was even able to see, as there were no holes for eyes in that helmet of his, but he definitely wasn’t blind. Then she felt hands being put on her shoulders, which was done very gently. She turned her head to the left and saw Valtiel holding her shoulders and looking at her with his blank face. The same thoughts she had about him as well, but nothing of this mattered right now. All were waiting for her agreement. Finally, she nodded.

“Yes. Do it,” she said, addressing her words to the executioner. Pyramid Head then wasted no time and lifted his huge blade in both hands. Paying no attention to his victim’s pitiful pleads, the monster pierced Mitch’s body in in the spot right underneath the stomach. Mitch let out a painful moan, hoping that his death would be quick. But he was deeply wrong. The monster wasn’t going to show mercy on him. That would be too easy. This man had to die in pain and suffering. Removing his foot from the victim’s chest, Pyramid Head placed it on the man’s ankles instead for stability. Linda watched it all in silence, not feeling sorry for Mitch at all. All that she was curious about was why the monster needed to hold Mitch with the foot. It’s not like he was going anywhere. But the answer didn’t make her to wait long. The monster was holding Mitch’s ankles so his body doesn’t move together with the blade, and Pyramid Head began moving the blade higher, cutting the body in two halves. Mitch yelling his lungs out, screams mixed with cursing, but it didn’t have any effect on the pyramid-headed creature. He continued cutting Mitch’s body, doing it painfully slow, unlike in Linda’s dream. He was determined to make this rascal suffer like he deserved it. And when the blade was reaching Mitch’s shoulders, the monster pulled the blade out, lifting it above his victim, and in that second it fell down like a guillotine, chopping the man’s head off.

And what was the end. Mitch was finally dead. And in that moment when his head was separated from the body, Linda felt relieved. When Mitch was dead, her life could become peaceful. She watched as Pyramid Head threw Mitch’s mutilated remains on his shoulder and took the severed head in his free hand as a trophy. With that, he turned around and walked away through the gates he had entered before. Linda then looked at Alessa who was smiling gently.

“Well, this is it,” the girl said. “His soul will stay in his own hell forever.”

“Yes, finally,” Linda sighed in relief. “Now I don’t have to worry anymore that he would disturb me. Hell indeed is his home.” She went quiet for a moment and spoke again. “Now, I want to thank you with all my heart for your invaluable help. And it applies to you too, Valtiel,” she said, caressing the monster’s blank face with her hand, and he nuzzled his head to her soft palm. “If it wasn’t for you, for calling me to Silent Hill through my dreams, I would never find peace of mind. Going through all the difficulties on my way was worth the result.”

“Ah, anytime, dear,” Alessa smiled back. “But no need to thank me or Valtiel so much, but your own unique ability.”

“My ability?” Linda asked in curiosity and confusion.

“Yes. Your dreams,” Alessa explained. “You are not just able to see what is going to happen in the future, but also hear someone or something calling for you, whether for help or any other reason. This is why you are special. This is your unique ability. You felt and heard my call, Valtiel’s call, and the call of the town itself. You wanted that bad man to get punished, and we called you here to give you the opportunity to get what you desired. This is the main reason why you are here. And the second reason is that I wanted you here. I wanted to reunite with my best friend, in fact, my sister, even if just temporary. And the third reason…” She then took Linda’s hand and led here a bit away from Valtiel so he couldn’t hear their talking. “The third reason is that Valtiel has feelings for you.”

Linda looked at Alessa in surprise. Did she hear that right? The monster known as Valtiel had feelings for her?

“Yes, you heard it right,” Alessa whispered to her ear. “He wanted you here just as much as I did. And, by the way, when he met this man… Mitch was his name, right?” Linda nodded, and Alessa continued speaking: “So, when he saw Mitch in the hospital, all his body was burning with rage. Valtiel could feel through Mitch’s soul and finally look into his mind. And when he found out what Mitch has done to you, how he broke your heart and made you suffer, Valtiel could barely control himself. He wanted to kill that man with his own hands, but, as I said before, he’s not the one who deals with the sinners. That’s the executioner’s job.”

While Alessa spoke, millions of thoughts raced through Linda’s head. She had so much to think about: her journey through Silent Hill, meeting Alessa, Mitch’s death, her ability… But the feelings of Valtiel to her was something that made her heart beat faster. She felt that when he touched her, waves of joy went throughout her body. Could that mean that she had feelings for him as well?

“I can see everything, my dear Linda,” Alessa smirked. “I see that you feel happy being around him. And believe me, he feels the same. When I saw how he nuzzled to your palm, it couldn’t be more obvious that he was more than happy.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Linda said, and both went back to where Valtiel was standing. Looking at him, Linda couldn’t help herself but blush heavily, feeling that he was staring at her. “So, what now?” she asked Alessa. “I guess my journey is over. Will I be able to return home?”

“Of course,” Alessa said. “Now you will lie down on the ground and fall asleep, and then you will wake already in the foggy version of Silent Hill, just like you saw it when you arrived. There you can reunite with your friends.”

“Wait… my friends?” Linda interrupted her. “Are they alright?”

“Yes, they are perfectly fine and looking for you,” Alessa reassured her. “You will hear the siren in the distance before you fall asleep, and then you will wake up again. The same will happen to them, and you will find each other. Then you can leave the town.”

“I see. But… will I ever see you again?” Linda asked in a sad voice.

“Of course you will,” Alessa calmed her. “We can always stay in contact through your dreams. And if I decide that I want to see you again in person, you will know it. The town will call for you again, just like it did before you came here. As for Valtiel… well, you might see him much sooner than that.”

“What do you mean?” Linda asked.

“You’ll see,” Alessa winked playfully. “And never forget about your ability. Use it for the benefit of those who really need it.”

“I will, be sure of that,” Linda smiled, holding the girl’s hand, and then she lay down on the ground, ready to depart from the Otherworld. “So we see us then in dreams?”

“Yes, and I think that will happen soon,” Alessa said, caressing Linda’s hair, and Valtiel did the same before climbing on the wall and getting back to his valve spinning business. “Sleep now, dear. Stay safe. I will miss you.”

“I will, my dear Alessa. I will miss you too. Bye bye, for now.”

Linda heard the siren going off somewhere in the distance, thanking God for the sound being quiet this time, as it was so loud in the streets that strong headache was guaranteed. Her eyelids were closing, and finally sleep took her in its blissful embrace.

***

Meanwhile, James and Alice slowly awoke from another blackout after the siren went off. Both grabbed their heads while standing up from the ground.

“Damn this siren,” Alice cursed. “Next time it blares again, my head will explode.”

“Yeah, lousy feeling,” James rubbed his temple. “Hey, look, we’re back into the foggy town.”

“Oh… right,” Alice said, looking around. “To tell you the truth, I feel much better in the fog despite seeing practically nothing in it. Better than this hell of a world we have just been in.”

“Couldn’t agree more. I always felt more comfortable in the foggy version of the town, although this comfort is very relative.” James checked his rifle for any case, and it was still fully loaded, the same he did with Alice’s shotgun. “Now we better find Linda.”

“Yes, and I hope she is around here somewhere,” Alice said. “She said in her note she was going to Lakeside Amusement Park, and luckily we are still in the park.”

“Then let’s check each area carefully,” James offered, and Alice nodded.

Both began searching each area of the park, always holding together, but not even a single creature appeared on their way. Dense fog still covered the whole town, but it seemed like all monsters just vanished, like if their have never been here. Nothing but the sound of footsteps could be heard in dead silence.

They checked nearly every possible attraction of the park, but still no sign of Linda anywhere. Getting through iron gates by the Swing Rocket, they checked the Amphitheatre first, but it was also a dead zone, just like everything in Silent Hill. The next object was the carousel with the horses on their way. Approaching it, James suddenly tensed, looking into the fog where contours of the carousel were seen. Alice wondered what he saw there as the radio in his pocket was silent.

“Alice, look there,” James said, pointing to the carousel. “I think someone is lying among the horses.”

“Where?” Alice asked, coming closer until she also saw a body lying on the carousel floor. “Hmm, looks like it is a body. I wonder who it could…” She didn’t finish the sentence as her eyes widened in amazement. “Jesus Christ! Linda! It’s Linda!”

Alice rushed to her friend, followed by James. As they crouched by her, they found that Linda wasn’t dead, but just sleeping, as her chest was rising and falling in a peaceful rhythm. Alice than began walking her.

“Linda, wake up! Do you hear me? It’s me, Alice. Please, wake up!”

“Hmph…” Linda groaned drowsily.

“Linda, please, wake up,” a male voice spoke, and Linda felt being shaken lightly by her shoulder. Opening her eyes a bit, she could make out silhouettes of two people above her, but when she was able to see clearer, she recognized them at once.

“Alice? Oh, my God, Alice!” Linda exclaimed, pressing her friend in a tight hug. “Thank God, I thought I would be looking for you in ages!”

“I’m so glad you’re alive and well,” Alice said, hugging Linda back. “Are you alright? Where have you been? Have you found anything?”

“Well…” Linda said. “Let’s say that the mission is complete. I saw what I had to see. Now I can leave Silent Hill in peace.”

“Yeah, just like in my case a year ago,” James added. “When I found what I had to find, I could leave the town in peace.”

Alice smiled at them both.

“Well then, how about we get out of this creepy town?” she asked in a bit playful tone.

“Sounds like a great idea,” Linda agreed. Her voice sounded tired. “All I wish now is collapse on my bed and sleep like a baby.”

“Me too,” Alice said, and all three of them moved towards the observation deck where James had parked his car. “You know what’s interesting? During our time in Silent Hill, I haven’t felt sleepy even for a second.”

“Same here,” Linda added. “I wonder why it is so?”

“Hard to say, but I felt the same the last time I was in Silent Hill,” James joined the conversation. “It’s like this town feeds you with energy that suppresses your need to sleep. And no wonder, with all the creatures roaming around the town, there is just no time for resting.”

“Yes, I could definitely agree with that,” Linda said and yawned when they finally reached their car. “After we all get some sleep, we can team up again and share something about what happened to each of us while we were separated.”

“Sounds nice,” Alice agreed, and James started the engine. “Well, off we go then.”

“Yes, and say goodbye to Silent Hill,” James smirked, being more than happy to leave the cursed town, this time, as he hoped, for good.

Chapter 21

Since Linda and her friends left Silent Hill, her nightmares stopped. A week has passed, and not a single time she had dreamt of this town. She has seen what she had to see, and now it was all over. But after what she had gone through, Linda was now sure that even if she sees the town in her dreams again, she wouldn’t feel afraid anymore. Now she was sitting in Alice’s dining room and having tea with some pieces of cake. James was also there, invited for dinner by Alice. That evening Alice announced that she and James had begun to date and were now a couple. Linda felt happy and proud for her friend.

“I’m very glad you are now together,” she addressed her words to both Alice and James. “And I wish you happiness with all my heart.”

“Thanks, dear,” Alice said with a warm smile, and James thanked Linda as well. “And I’m so glad to live in peace finally after all what we experienced in Silent Hill.”

“Yeah, that’s for sure,” Linda giggled. “I guess now all of it seems like an exciting adventure, no?”

“Well, sort of,” James replied. “Although when you are there, it doesn’t seem that exciting at all, and all you can wish for is to get out of there as soon as possible.”

“All I know that if I ever dream of Silent Hill again, it won’t scare me anymore,” Linda added. “In that case it will be Alessa who would call for me.”

“Yes, you told us about her,” Alice said. “Who could have imagined that you turned out to be a reincarnation of her school mate?  It’s just incredible.”

“It was a surprise for me as well,” Linda admitted. “This was one of the reasons she called for me. She wanted to see me again. I was the only one who treated her well in school, as she had been an outsider because of her unique abilities. And second, the most important reason I had to go to Silent Hill, was my hate for Mitch and desire to punish him.”

Alice nodded in agreement.

“Pretty understandable. Although I never wish death to any living being, but in this case I am glad that Mitch is dead. He deserved it. It was just amazing how earth could even carry such person like him.”

“Yes, I didn’t have a good impression of him either when we met him in Silent Hill,” James added. “He was rude to us and behaved like the entire world owes him something.”

“That’s so typical of him. But now he will never leave Silent Hill. He found his home in hell.” Linda’s lips stretched in a satisfied smirk. “You know, we encountered monsters in Silent Hill, but I’ll tell you that there was one true monster that lived among us. And that was Mitch.”

“Well, that’s true, couldn’t agree more,” Alice agreed. “But ok, let’s forget about him and think of something good. I think that now our lives are turning to the bright side.”

And that was true. After Silent Hill all three felt like being born again, especially Linda. Thus they spent several hours, having dinner and then drinking tea with sweets. It was a nice, pleasant evening for three good friends. Time was approaching eight, and Linda began realizing she felt rather tired and told her friends that she would like to go home and rest. Saying goodbye to James, she went into the hall to dress up for leaving. Alice followed to close the door after her.

“I wish I could stay a bit longer, but I’m afraid I’m really tired,” Linda said and yawned. “Thank God it’s Friday today, so I can sleep as much as I want. And I think I would be better if I leave you both alone so you can be together in private atmosphere.”

“Sure, no problem, dear,” Alice said, giving Linda a hug, and she returned the gesture. “Sleep well and good night.”

“Good night.” Linda said and exited Alice’s flat, hearing the door being closer after her.

While walking to her place, Linda couldn’t get rid of thought about what Alessa said before Linda departed from the Otherworld. “As for Valtiel… you might see him soon.” What did she mean by that? And on Linda’s question about what she meant, Alessa just winked playfully, and her reply was “You’ll see.” It was obviously some kind of a hint, but what? A week has passed since she left Silent Hill, but there was not even a single sign of anything connected to Valtiel or to Silent Hill as such. So all that was left for Linda to do is wait, as only time will show what happens.

As she had dinner by Alice, Linda went right into the bathroom to take a shower before going to bed. Shower felt even more calming than before, especially after she arrived home from Silent Hill. She remembered how glad she was to see the sky again, and when they were out of Silent Hill’s zone, they saw it was daytime and the phone showed that it was Sunday. Thus all this adventure took one whole day and night, and while you are stay in that foggy ghost town, you never know whether it’s now day or night. The only thing that changed was two different versions of the town – the foggy world and the Otherworld. And not even for a second there was a desire to rest and sleep. Now her life has finally returned to normal, and she couldn’t be happier about it.

Linda slept peacefully and was oblivious to the fact that thick and sinister fog began covering the entire city. And tonight was the first time she saw a dream connected to Silent Hill since she left the town.

This time she saw herself in the diabolical Otherworld again, but this time she felt no fear at all. And she wasn’t alone. A faceless monster, Valtiel, was standing behind her, hugging her waist, and Linda pressed her own head to his chest. They stood somewhere high, and deep underneath a bunch of suffering souls of sinners could be seen, each of them locked forever in his or her own hell. Their torment will be eternal, and the town of Silent Hill will never let them go.

“What will happen to us now?” Linda asked Valtiel, turning to face him. The monster said nothing, not a single emotion on his blank face. He caressed her hair and face, and Linda thought that she would give anything for hearing his thoughts and feelings. She nuzzled to his chest and closed her eyes, darkness surrounding them both…

This time she didn’t jump in her bed in cold sweat. Dreams about Silent Hill did not frighten her anymore, and it was only normal seeing them after her terrifying journey through the ghost town. Linda got up from her bed and saw that it was night already, the clock showed fifteen minutes to midnight. Remembering the dream she saw just now, Linda pondered if that was what Alessa meant. And while she thought about it, she peeked to the window and noticed that the entire street was covered in fog, so dense that the streetlights seemed dim.

“What? Fog? It’s so thick, just like in Silent Hill,” Linda whispered to herself, feeling a bit confused, as nothing was said about the fog in weather forecast. She just had a dream of Silent Hill and Valtiel, and now the city was covered in fog. Was that a coincidence? Somehow Linda had a feeling that it was no coincidence at all, that something was about to happen, and as a confirmation to her suspicions, she heard a noise coming from the living room. Linda froze in her spot, hear heart beating frantically. It seemed like something broke. What could be the cause of that sound? She didn’t own any pets, so it could mean only one thing: someone or something was in her flat.

The frightened woman crept carefully into the living room and pressed the light switch, illuminating the room with bright light. Looking around for some broken object, she saw nothing, not even one shard. Then her glance fell to the open window on her left. Linda’s eyes widened in horror and surprise as she remembered closing that window. Then how could anything get inside? It just wasn’t possible. While Linda was pondering about it, she thought she heard something like rustling above her, and when she looked up, it took much of her strength not to lose consciousness. There, attached to the ceiling like a spider, was a monster in a dirty ceremonial robe, and Linda didn’t have to guess who it was. And then, like sensing that she was looking at him, the faceless humanoid jumped down on the floor, landing on his feet, and now he was standing face-to-face with Linda.

“Oh, my God… Valtiel… How you… What are you doing here? How did you find me?” Linda was so overwhelmed with a feeling of surprise and terror that she could barely form coherent sentences. The monster was silent, and at this moment Linda wished to know what he was thinking more than anything else. It was difficult to communicate with someone who was mute and whose face expressed zero emotions. But at least she got the answer to her question about what Alessa meant by saying that Linda might see Valtiel soon. And here he was, in her flat, standing before her. Linda studied him with her eyes and had to admit that this monster had rather good body shape, although most of his body was hidden under the robe. Looking at his muscles and realizing that she wanted to see more, to see what was underneath the filthy robe, Linda’s face grew crimson. Valtiel noticed that, and Linda didn’t even manage to react when he was already close to her, their bodies nearly touching. She gasped from this unexpected move, but soon relaxed, feeling his hands caressing her hair. In a second Valtiel took off his gloves and continued exploring the woman’s hair and face. Linda put her own hand on his, the one that touched her face, and nuzzled to his palm. It didn’t feel rough or calloused and even lacked the claws. Generally his hands looked very human-like, just being stained with dried blood in some spots. Linda caressed his face, feeling a bit sorry that he had no mouth and she was unable to kiss him, but nonetheless, she brought her face to kiss and gently pressed her lips to the spot where his mouth should have been. The monster seemed a bit surprised about this gesture, but it only made him wrap his muscular arms around the woman’s waist and rub his head against hers. Linda found his movements cute, as it reminded her of a cat rubbing his snout against his master’s hand or face. During this process, Valtiel moved his hands up and down her body, caressing the curves of her waist, and Linda realized she was slowly getting around from the feeling of how he was touching her. It was nothing to lose after all, so Linda decided to take the initiative in her own hands. Taking the monster’s hand, she led him into her bedroom, switching the light off in the living room and turning the night lamp on instead. It produced enough light for them to see each other, but not too bright either, thus creating a good intimate atmosphere.

Valtiel was growing impatient. He desired to see more of her, so he brought down the straps of Linda’s nightgown, making her understand that he wanted her to take it off. Linda didn’t mind at all, and without hesitation she slid the nightgown off her body, remaining nude before him. Valtiel devoured her body greedily with the glance of his invisible eyes, feeling his own body heat up. He couldn’t resist the temptation to explore the anatomy of the young woman, so he moved his fingertips along her body, savouring every centimetre of her tender skin. And when his fingers touched her already hard nipples, Linda let out a quiet moan. Valtiel understood that she liked to be touched there, so he cupped her soft breasts with his hands and massaged them gently, pinching the sensitive tip from time to time. It sent pleasant tingling through Linda’s body, and in this moment she decided it was her turn to explore his body. Thinking of the way to put it better, she took one of his hands in hers and spoke:

“You know, your hands look very much human. I wonder if the rest of you looks as human too?”

The monster understood the hint at once. He then sat on her bed, taking off his boots, and then lay down, supporting himself on his elbows. Linda presumed that he wanted her to undress him and thus find the answer to her question. So she took the edges of the robe and started lifting it up, revealing more and more of the monster’s flesh until she finally took the robe off over his head and tossed it aside on the floor. Studying his body with her eyes, Linda realized she liked what she saw. Aside from the lack of facial features, his body looked human-like and she had to admit, a very well-shaped one, looking at his muscled arms and torso. And when her glance fell on his semi-erected member, she felt herself calming down, as it was of an acceptable size. And as it wasn’t her first time, it shouldn’t cause much inconvenience.

Valtiel then sat up on his knees behind Linda and wanted to play with her body more before they get to the main part of their sexual intercourse. His hands slid up and down her skin until one of them stopped on her left breast, massaging it, and the other hand moved down to her private area. Feeling his fingers touching her slit, she realized she was already wet from his manipulations with her body. Linda’s back arched as she let out another moan, this time louder, when one of his fingers found the sensitive spot and started making circular moves on it. It continued like this for a few moments until Linda turned around to face her lover and began playing with his male parts, moving her hand up and down the entire length and massaging the testicles with the other. The faceless humanoid responded on this with a growl of approval, and when his member was fully erect, Linda lay on her back with open arms and legs, inviting him to enter her body. Valtiel was more than happy to accept her invitation, positioning himself between her legs. Taking his member in his hand, he rubbed its tip against her wet folds and then started pushing it inside her entrance. Linda half expected to feel pain, as Valtiel’s member was slightly larger than human one, but the feeling was better than she thought. As his organ was of an acceptable size, everything was fine. Valtiel stayed still for some minutes, allowing her to get used to his size, and when Linda finally nodded, he began moving. With each thrust, the miserable pain she felt, subsided, being replaced by pleasure alone. The monster moved his hips faster and faster, and every time he hit the sensitive spot, Linda’s moans became louder. Her body writhed and undulated under his, responding to each thrust with the movements of her hips. Valtiel just growled loudly from pleasure, this feeling of mating with the one he desired was intoxicating. This was pure bliss for him. They kept this smooth rhythm for some time, and then Valtiel began moving faster and hit her sensitive spot more often. Linda felt the knot in her lower part of stomach getting tighter until she was unable to hold anymore, and with a blissful moan she finally enjoyed her release. In a couple of seconds, Valtiel also couldn’t bear this pressure anymore. With a loud growl, he released his seed into her and collapsed on her chest from exhaustion and overwhelming euphoria.

For several minutes they both lay motionless, panting heavily, until their breath finally returned to normal. Linda turned the on her side to face her lover and whispered:

“Valtiel, please, stay with me tonight. You made me feel what true happiness is. Please, I want you to stay.”

The monster nodded in response and pulled the blanket on them, slowly falling into peaceful sleep. Most of all he wanted to be with his mate, and he won’t leave her side tonight. But Silent Hill was his home, and when the time comes, he might take her with him, and this time forever.

***

Morning sun shred its rays upon earth, and a few of them got into Linda’s home as well. She opened her eyes and stretched her limbs lazily. And in that moment she realized she was alone in her bed. Remembering what happened yesterday, she tried to concentrate her thoughts. Was it another dream? If it was, it felt so real… Much more real than any other of her dreams that had something to do with Silent Hill. Linda sat on her bed and only then it dawned on her that she was naked, and her nightgown was lying on the floor beside her bed. She then smiled in bliss, realizing that all what happened last night, happened for real. Valtiel was in her flat and they made love. This is the night she will never forget. No one has ever made her feel such unadulterated euphoria, and Valtiel was the one who showed her what it means to be happy. Linda giggled at the thought that she was most likely in love with a monster. But if he was the one who made her happy, nothing else matters. Linda just hoped she would see him again in her dreams, and after what happened, she most likely would. And if Silent Hill calls for her again, she wouldn’t hesitate to go there again.

Every person comes to that town for a reason. And Linda will come there for Valtiel.

He will be her reason.