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Games » Silent Hill » Silent Hill: Carried to the Grave
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Author of 8 Stories |
A/N: Hey, dudes and dudettes. Well, there's not much I can say in the Author's Notes except to tell you all that this will start off as a ONESHOT. If I get reviews soon, I'll continue this and convert it to a SERIES. It follows a few points from the Silent Hill games and it also stays true to some of the psychological horror the games delivered. It is a combination of what I call, "Silent Horror" as well as "Blood Fear." Read the story to figure it out.
NOTICE:
"Ordinary speech dialogue" Inside double quotation marks.Thought dialogue. Italicized.
The fog...
It feels cold but hot at the same time. The smell of pine wrapped around his nose as he averts his attention back on the road. The tires and the road causing mild friction which created rhythmical sounds that passes through his ears other than the roaring of the old blue sedan's engine. If he were to rename the town, he'd go for Silent Hell or the City of Silence because that's all he ever hears whenever he steps foot onto that ominous town. Silence. Such deafening silence.
Now call him mad for even thinking of visiting the cursed resort but he had some unfinished business there. Personal business. And with everything personal in his life, he just can't let it go until everything is done according to what he wishes it to be. He's been having these... nightmares over the past few weeks and they tell him that only by finishing this business will he be able to lay the violent voices to rest. He's nearing the town and he wishes not to go on any further.
If there's one thing he hates the most is his past. Finding a parking space just before a tunnel leading to a dark passage that could go anywhere in the world, he parks his car and got out. He went inside a restroom just beside the parking lot. The sinks, stalls and mirrors couldn't be any more ominous. The sinks and toilets all deliver much dread as to how exactly can he feel relief if he has to stare at unpleasant sights and smells. After reluctantly relieving himself, he turns to the mirror and took a good look of himself.
His name is Herbert Faulkner. Age 28. He gazes at his mirror self, observing much of his features. From his raven hair cut into a simple Caesar-style do, delicate chocolate brown eyes darkening due to the heavy eye bags under it, broad facial features and a ragged jaw. He wears a simple white T-shirt under a black sleeveless jacket, black cargo pants and white Nike shoes. Black is a recurring color in his life. He once wore black when he entered the world of Silent Hill and he got out of it with a black plastic bag over his back. If he were to get things right during his next stay here in Silent Hill then he has to start with himself. He opens the faucet but no water came out. It annoyed him that water no longer runs through here but it didn't matter. He takes one final glance at himself before turning to the door.
"Pustas elle quo shoun ditibitur..." he then heard voices almost sounded like a mad man's usual murmurs but Herbert took it with anxiety. He experienced much of the things that go about in Silent Hill and these voices were one of them. Even in his previous visits, he couldn't find the meaning of there presence. "Nuqua grutesk..."
THUMP! The mild noise reverted his gaze to one of the stalls on the far end of the restroom. THUMP! Someone's hitting their foot on the floor. The sound's mild but Herbert can feel the strong vibrations resonating from every stomp. THUMP! THUMP! THUMP! Soon, it began to grow louder and the vibrations stronger. He took a step back and prepared himself to run the hell out of there when all of a sudden, the doors on all the stalls got kicked open by some unknown force one-by-one. Closing in on him, with every passing second. The voices expanded their low and hissing voices to a more sinister and other worldly sound. He turns away and ran out of the restroom.He went back to his car and exhaled a huge breath he had been keeping ever since the voices began to speak. He turns his eyes to the tunnel ahead. Dark. Cold. Unknown. It's been a long time since he went to Silent Hill. Memories began to dig through his consciousness and eat away the sanity that he tries so hard to maintain. He had many tragic memories in that town yet he still pushes forward to achieve a goal that can only be accomplished there. If he had the chance to choose another place he'd take it even if it's Antarctica or the bottom of the ocean. Anything that can change the path of his fate.
He takes one last look at the restroom and began to forget about what happened. Opening the car door, he slid himself inside and took out a map of Silent Hill. He didn't really need it since he already know the area by heart but something about the map gave much chills down his spine when he first gazed upon it. The structure, the landscape, the landmarks... they seem to connect somewhere. He then went to the backseat and took something out from a secret compartment. A flashlight and... his father's pistol. It holds 10 bullets per magazine and he's carrying only 3. A standard M9 Beretta is in his hands which he slowly slid down the back portion of his belt with the safety on, of course. It took him a while to decide how to travel now and it could be a better way than going through the tunnel. He has a hunch that it's barricade around halfway through.
From the other side of the restroom are a flight of stairs that lead down into the thick forest surrounding Silent Hill. He remembers the time when he and his best buds almost got lost while exploring the deepest portions of the place. He walks towards the top of the stairs and gave time to look at some fliers posted on a few bulletin boards. Not of them pulled his interest except for one small piece of paper just at the lower side.
THE FOREST SLEEPS AT NIGHT AND THE FOG IS ITS BLANKET.
The writing is jagged and written in red. It reminded much about the sun setting in the horizon right now. The fog may be thick but it could never obscure the light of the sun. Night time isn't far behind and he wishes not to be in the forest when it gets dark.He took a few seconds to ponder from what that sentence is talking about. This forest sleeps at night... could it mean that most of the animals living in this forest all sleep during the night. But that couldn't be possible because even in the light of day you won't even hear a single sound once you enter this tree-infested area. No animal sound. No fluttering of birds. No sky. Just the sound of your breath and your own footsteps on the muddy ground.
Disregarding the sign, he went down the stairs leading to the forest. He has used this forest trail many times and he can still remember many things that happened during his travel. From beyond the trail, he'll stumble upon the graveyard and after the graveyard he'll arrive at the gates that'll lead to Silent Hill.
The forest had been quiet. No, it was always quiet. The only thing Herbert can hear is the sound of his own footsteps and the usual ruffling of the bushes here and there. He grew accustomed to it seeing that he wasn't attacked by something for the many times he's been going through here. It's either his mind is playing tricks on him or maybe a sort of guardian of the forest is keeping an eye on him so that he won't do anything to the forest.
Herbert observes much of his surrounding, even with the thick fog blocking most of his view. He can see that most of the trees look dead yet they still harbor green leaves on their branches. Even the bushes, there was something... out of the ordinary surrounding them and it made Herbert grew more anxious for every glance. The trail is covered in wet mud yet it hasn't rained in Silent Hill as far as he can remember.
Approaching the graveyard gates, he finds them to be closed and another person is leaning on the side. He walks closer and the person felt his presence. The person immediately stood up from the wall and looked at the stranger in front.
"If you're thinking of going through here well, you might as well forget it." Herbert knew right then from the voice that it was a female's. He came closer and he caught a glimpse of the female's features. She's wearing high black boots that reach up to the middle section of her calves, black fishnet pantyhose, a black mini-skirt, and a black blouse with loose sleeves swinging around her elbows. Her hair matches the style of her clothing, black emo-style hair. He guesses that the lady could be around her early twenties though he isn't sure. But what's most intriguing about this woman are her hazy blue eyes. Herbert could feel resentment with the world within those troubled eyes.
"What do you mean?" he decided to speak up so as not to hear the silence around them.
The young lady walked towards the middle of the gate and grabbed a metal chain wrapped around the lock. She shakes it a bit while glaring at him. She's not much of a talker and she likes to speak with actions rather than words.
"I see." Herbert stepped closer to the gate and warped his hand around the rusty bars and then at the fairly new metal chain around the lock of the gate. He notices a small padlock on the side. It felt cold as an icicle. "Is there any other way?" he asked the lady but she was already going to the path where Herbert had been. It seems she didn't hear him. "Hey!" he called to get her attention.
She did stop walking but she didn't turn around. Instead, she answered the man's question with her back facing him. "To your left, you can find a key that can unlock the padlock on the gate. You should hurry and find it before the sun is completely gone." And with that, she made her way; disappearing from sight as the thick fog swallows her figure.
Herbert's first thought of her is that she is definitely weird. But something about what she said made him feel more uneasy. Her tone almost felt like she's expecting him to die soon. From amidst his trickling thoughts, a slight breeze swept through and the leaves from the trees didn't even flinch from the intensity. To Herbert, it was truly ominous. Well, if she was telling the truth then the key to the lock should be... through the darkest portions of the forest. Clenching his fists and keeping his gun ready, he sets off to his left.
He passes through the muddy ground stepping on bushes and noisy grass along the way. His lungs felt awry like the left side had been completely removed from his body. He struggles for breath while he kept on moving, searching through the tall grass looking for that key. Not withstanding anymore, he leaned unto one of the trees and breathed deeply. There was just something about this forest that always gave people a short of breath making you feel as if your own soul is being taken away. Suddenly, Herbert began to feel dizzy. His vision blurring and his throat burning like it's on fire. Then, what felt like daggers, he bawls out the excruciating pain he's feeling in his head as he twists and turns around the bushes and trees, ultimately leaving him to get knocked out when he hits his head on a tree trunk thinking of stupid things to reduce the pain.
In the end, he wasn't able to find the key. He hates being out in the forest at night for a reason. SCREECH! That may as well be the reason.
Herbert reacted from the foreboding sound and looked everywhere. He only took maybe 2 or 3 steps and already something's about to happen. Were they watching him sleep? Were they waiting for him to wake up? Just who are they? Herbert took his gun out and prepared to fire whatever it is that may be hiding behind the trees and bushes.
"Who's there?!" he demanded. The raspy tone of his voice might be due to how dry his throat is. No one answered, only the sound of someone or something running through the thick tall grass all around him became the reply.
SCREECH! There goes that sound again only louder. The ambience of the place turned to mild whispers and incantations as the ear-bleeding noise got closer and louder by every passing second. From the vast darkness of the trees, Herbert can vaguely see crimson eyes staring at him in all directions. Staring... and staring... like that was all they're created to do. SCREECH! The ominous sound made one final noise before Herbert turned around to see who it was that's making it.
The sight paralyzed him. Unable to move from the horrible form of the figure in front of him. It's the figure of a woman sitting on a wheelchair both covered in rust and what could be dry blood. No, it is dry blood. He can smell the unbearable stench of rotting flesh and blood from where he was standing. She wore a hospital gown and had no arms or legs that were replaced instead with stitches that bound her to the wheelchair. She is literally stitched to the wheelchair. He also notices the woman's waist-length black hair and her pain-stricken moans coming out of her pale mouth. She's in pain and Herbert can feel it too. The pain. The anguish. The prison from where she's sentenced to serve forever. The woman turns her wheelchair a little to the left precisely where Herbert's flashlight is aimed at. At this point, Herbert can clearly see the source of the woman's pain. What seems like a chain coming from the lower rear portion of the wheelchair has been embedded to the back of her skull. Whenever she would try to move, it causes great pain even when she breathes (If she still does that, that is...). Her moans soon changed to screams of pain and weeps of sorrow mixed together.
Herbert couldn't breathe. It was the first time he has ever seen something... so awful right in front of him. His heart's racing yet his breathings don't even puff out a single bit of air. When the screams soon turned to shrieks, it puts Herbert out of his consternation giving him the chance to turn around and run away. He did what his instincts wanted him to do and he soon dashed through the forest without even looking back. The screams are subsiding and the staring eyes began to close one-by-one as he approaches the trail. He isn't sure if what direction he is going is the right way back to the trail but a feeling in his gut is reassuring him that it is.
A blink of light and Herbert emerged unharmed from inside the forest. He stands again in front of the tall gates of the graveyard and the lock is still in its place. Going back to that place is the least thing in his mind. He looks back to where he saw that... monster, and he can faintly hear the screeching of the rusty wheels. She's going after him and she's closing in fast. He then remembered the gun he had with him. Herbert quickly took it out, unlocked the safety and prepared himself for what he is about to encounter.
SCREECH! SCREECH! The wheels came to a stop just before the figure goes into Herbert's view. Seconds go by and the silence is inevitably present. Seconds soon turn to minutes as Herbert didn't move an inch from his position. Just what exactly is that thing doing? he asked himself. When he was about to turn his guard down, a loud shriek devastated his hears so he had to cover them up with his hands. And as it dissipates, something small was thrown to his direction and landed just beside his feet.
SCREECH! SCREEch! SCreech! screech...The sounds of the rusty wheels are slowly fading away like the monster is actually retreating. It took a few more seconds before Herbert completely lowers his guard and examines the object that had just been thrown at his feet. It was a key. A small key that's the size for a key in a padlock. It was the key he needed. But he's sure if he should pick it up now or wait until he recomposes himself and be sure that the coast is clear. He surveyed his surroundings again and he finally agreed that the forest no longer held the thick fog, only darkness. The faint smell of rotting flesh crowded his nose like a disease making him feel sick every time he breathes in. Where is that smell coming from? he asked himself that question but then again, he already knew the answer to that question. It's just that he can't accept the facts about the answer. It almost seems impossible.
He turns to the gate and inserted the key into the padlock. He heard a click sound when he turned it and the chains are now free from confinement. After removing the chains, he opens the gate and stepped inside. He takes one last look at the dark forest and the smell is still there. The answer to that question about the smell was obvious but he still feels something is missing to that answer. The forest itself is dead... and rotting.The moans were of the deceased, mourning over their own death and how they regret of ever setting foot on the cursed town. The elegy he keeps hearing is a mixture of accepting death as well as the wonders of being dead. Whoever wrote that kind of lament may as well be out of his mind to speak of death that way but how is he to argue over the issue of death. It's not like he has experienced it first-hand, right?
So how is he to know that death is really a bad thing?
Is it because you'll leave your life behind?
Is it because you'll miss your friends and family?
Death is like a contagious disease that spreads through everywhere whether you're young or old. It can always affect your body and you have no other choice but to succumb to fate. Everything in this world is never permanent, there would always be time where they have to bid farewell to the world and possibly, "move on" but the chances of knowing where exactly can you move on is left a mystery. Death is a mystery. The supposed "life" after death is a mystery. From my point of view, life can be considered the most dangerous thing in the world. None have survived.
Everything fell silent when Herbert found the grave he was looking for. The engravings were illegible but he's sure that this is the right grave. Old, battered and buried in the ground / Feeling cold and alone just beside a cursed town. A friend of his told him the first two lines in a poem he made when he visited Silent Hill. And just like Herbert, only bad memories sprung from it. He could barely remember the next few lines but he still remembers how his friend recited it to him. His voice going cold and gruff, the tone and intensity of his voice slowly rising to anger, and the words coming of his mouth were like the very pieces of his soul.
"Visiting a grave, are we?" a voice nearby called out. Herbert turned to its direction and his eyes stumble upon a strange looking man. "The cemetery barely has any visitors..." he can see the twisted and dead look in the man's eyes. Herbert just couldn't make eye contact with him."Don't get me wrong. I'm just passing through." Herbert replied still avoiding eye contact from the mysterious man. Other than the man's face, he could see, thanks to the flashlight in his hand, that the man is wearing a brown turtleneck sweater, blue tight jeans, and black leather shoes.
"..." the man crossed his arms and looked at Herbert, perplexed due to his earlier statement. He then turned his attention to the grave beside the raven-haired male. I see... it makes sense now... A grin crept to his lips but he soon hid it when Herbert aimed his flashlight at his face. "It's rude to flash a torch on someone's face, you know." an almost British-like accent escaped his lips. He could be posing as a British man but Herbert is not entirely sure.
"And you? What is your business here?" Herbert then asks, curious as to what the man is doing here in the outskirts of Silent Hill.The man walked a few steps to another grave just beside Herbert. "To make my annual greeting with Mother." The last word shrank to a whisper signifying he doesn't like talking about that kind of topic.
"Annual?" it puzzled him on what the mysterious man meant and curiosity always got the best of him. It could've been the death of him years ago if he wasn't so damn lucky.
"Something you won't understand." the man faces Herbert and finally made eye contact with him. From the scattering illumination of the flashlight, Herbert can plainly see that the man has green emerald eyes hidden away by a pair of glasses. His auburn hair is cut and combed into a curtain-style that made Herbert compare him to Resident Evil 4's Leon S. Kennedy with glasses, and his face showed a bit of age but he can guess that the man should be as old as him. He extends his hand for a handshake and introduced himself, "My name is Holt. Holt Everhard."
Herbert just did what has to be done and shook the man's hand. It was slightly cold but it still kept much of its warmness around the palm. "Herbert Faulkner. Pleasure to meet you." he then replied.
"Likewise." as their hands part, Holt turned around and headed to another portion of the graveyard. Herbert didn't plan to stop him. Whatever business he had in this place is his own. And the same goes for himself. He already learned that people need privacy whenever you encounter them just near Silent Hill. It was just something about their faces, the expressions, the turmoil, the disgust, the hazy eyes radiating even through the thick fog that made him shut his mouth whenever the question to ask for their intentions comes to mind. "If you wish to go to Silent Hill then I suggest you turn back while you still can." his back faced Herbert when he stated this. "Once you enter, it'll be impossible to get out." He then walked further leaving the sound of his footsteps to fade away for every passing second.
Herbert just stood there for a while, gazing at the mysterious man's disappearing figure. The breeze brushed through his hair again and he could've sworn he heard the voices again. Moaning and mourning in resent for themselves. Without anymore plans here, he sets off to the other side of the graveyard. Luckily, the gate there wasn't barricaded with a lock and he easily got through.
For the rest of the walk, he only sees darkness engulfing his very existence and the whole scenery. The flashlight is the only thing that's been keeping his sight in check. Whenever he would turn and look at one of the pine trees, he would always see some kind of shadow hiding behind them. Of course, they would disappear when he tries to stare at them for more than a second. They were cautious of his actions and he feels uneasy that something is watching his every move. But gathering much of his courage, he continued on to his destination. What must be done has to be done, and he can't turn back without fulfilling it.
Silence. It was always silent here. Herbert looks back to the vivid memories of his past when he first came to Silent Hill. He will never forget it. He tasted Paradise... as well as Hell on that day and he knew he swore he would never set foot into the town again but there was always something that kept on bringing him back here. Back to the place of insanity. He's been put to "test" his sanity many times over and whenever he thinks about it, he feels like he's watching reruns of "The Cure for Insomnia" nonstop. If he can't keep his eyes open, danger will increase tenfold and he doesn't need any of that right now. Sleep is the least thing on his mind and he'd be damned before he'd get knocked out again.And here he is. Just in front of the entrance that will lead him to the ominous town, Silent Hill. Once you enter, it'll be impossible to get out. He thought of Holt's words again. If what he said was true, then he should turn back but the 'goal' he had to do kept him from doing so. He ponders for a moment before giving his final decision... he will enter. He steps through the gate and made his way up the road to start his journey through Silent Hill.
What he didn't notice were another pair of footsteps that were closely following his own. "Estol la aloqui grutesk..."
The night is Silent...The town is Silent...
The roads are Silent...
Even his own footsteps... were Silent...
