Chapter 1: Nightmare
Alex Shepherd awoke, strapped to a gurney being pushed by a doctor whose face remained hidden in shadow.
“Where’s my squad?” he asked, “Are they here?”
There was no response from the man.
“Did they make it?” he pried, there was still no response.
Alex looked up at the man, “Hey, talk to me!”
The man merely glared down at him before Alex started screaming.
The man pushed the gurney through a pair of rusted double doors, “Come on, say something!” he pleaded.
The passed by an operating room with the silhouette of a girl was lying while a doctor shoved something down her throat.
“Oh, God.” cried Alex, as the girl thrashed wildly, “Oh God! What are they doing?”
They passed by another room where another doctor forcefully shoved a sharp instrument down the patients throat.
“Hey, what’s going on?” Alex demanded, “And where are you taking me?” he tried to escape but, his arms were strapped to the gurney.
All he could do was watch helplessly as he was being taking through the halls of this hellish place.
All he could see from where he was strapped down was his dog tag on his chest and a boot for some strange reason.
Alex was now tugging at the arm straps frantically as they passed by another room where a silhouette ripped something out of the patient as they screamed in agony.
“No,” he whispered, “Hey, No!” They passed by another room-only, this one was empty.
Alex began a new wave of questions; “What is this place? Where are you taking me?” the man merely ignored him and continued through the halls, “No!”
They entered a dark room before coming to a halt. “Where am I, man?”
The man continued to ignore him as he shouted; “Hey, what?” the man semi-circled the gurney before heading out of the door.
“Hey, where’re you going?”
The man pushed through the door to leave as Alex shouted, “Don’t leave me here!” he looked at the light above him; impossibly bright in a room that was so dark.
He heard slashing sounds, like some sort of giant knife throughout the halls-and then, the screams of the man who left him.
That fear is probably what gave him the adrenaline to break the arm straps and get off the gurney.
Alex reached into his vest to pull out his flashlight and clicked it on. With the room partially illuminated, he found the room’s exit.
There was blood smeared everywhere with the man’s severed limbs lying next to his cut open torso.
The killer seemed to have gone but, Alex took out his combat knife-just in case. He then began wandering the halls in search of an escape route.
No sooner had he began his search, than had he found a cell with a small boy in it, crouched over with his back turned to Alex, he seemed to be coloring or drawing something.
Alex walked a little closer to the cell, the boy had dark hair, was wearing a red T-shirt with blue jeans that had the legs rolled up, and sandals.
Alex had a pretty good idea who of who the boy was but, it didn’t seem likely he would be in such a gruesome place.
“Josh?” Alex whispered, “Josh, is that you?” Joshua was Alex’s baby brother; at the sound of his brother’s voice he ran off in the opposite direction.
“Josh, where are you going?” he demanded. However, his cries seemed to fall upon deaf ears as Josh continued to run.
The barred door mysteriously swung open as Alex picked up Josh’s disturbing drawing; it had a family of pink bunnies that seemed to send a chill down Alex’s spine for some odd reason.
Alex ran after his little brother and followed him into a restroom; “Josh, Stop!” he shouted.
But, his brother continued through the door at the opposite end of the room. Alex could have sworn that he heard an air raid siren as the room’s color changed from a sickly green to a rusty red.
The very fabric of the stalls seemed to peel away, leaving only the skeletons of their structure.
A woman stepped out of the stall to the immediate left of the door that Alex had entered through; her skin was a sickly pale color.
She was dressed in a nurse’s outfit while staggering toward Alex in stiletto heels as if drunk, she had no face, only a head covered in blood and bandages, she was wielding a carving knife in one hand as she lunged at Alex, who felt his military training pay off as he instinctively dodged the attack, and counter-struck by jamming his combat knife between her breasts, and into her heart.
She immediately fell to the floor and went limp. Alex wasn’t sure what she was-but, she definitely was not human.
He pulled the combat knife out of her chest-he would need it if there were more of those freaks in that dump.
Alex walked through the open stall that the woman came from and squeezed through the broken grate.
It led to another bathroom. Inside one of the stalls was a pair of blood red roots pulsating. Alex pressed on forward, he tried all of the doors-all but, the one to his immediate left were locked.
Alex walked through as he entered the next room an empty wheelchair fell down a flight of stairs.
Alex quickly ascended to see who could have pushed it down-it could have been Josh.
Alex made his way up the second flight of stairs and noticed another locked door.
He noticed a large two-way mirror with a large crack in it. Alex put force on the center of the crack with the hilt of the combat knife.
As he cleared the glass, Alex jumped over to see a couch with an IV drip behind it.
As he walked around it he noticed the man that the drip was attached to was lying on the couch-dead.
It appeared as though, his internal organs had been taken out by force. Two more of those bizarre nurses limped towards him-each one carrying a scalpel.
Alex slit the first one’s throat as it stumbled towards him. He then stabbed the other one in the face-where its eye would have been.
There was an old television in a corner of the room. It was an old brand, with a turn dial and crooked antennae.
There was nothing but static on.
Alex turned the knob, in an attempt to turn it off.
Instead, he ripped the knob off completely as the static remained. Alex looked behind the TV to turn it off by unplugging it.
It shocked him to see that the television was already unplugged, although, the static remained.
‘The TV isn’t plugged in! How is this possible?’ he thought.
He decided that then would be a good time to leave. There was a doorway filled with gunk.
Alex stabbed through the top of it with his knife and pulled downward as hard as he could.
Ripping the gunk apart, he was able to squeeze through it.
In the next room there were old beds and the same roots from earlier blocking the window shades.
Alex spotted a not on the bed next to the door which read: “she’s not here she’s not here she’s not here she’s not here.”
As he continued to the next room, he noticed another body on the gurney that had been sliced in half-only his torso and upper body remained.
Alex decided to ignore the body for now and continued down the hall.
Little did he know, out of a hole by the gurney crawled large black beetles.
One of them flew onto his arm and bit down as blood gushed out and dripped to the floor, attracting more of them.
“Damnit!” Alex shouted. He then flailed about frantically, “Off! Get off!” he grabbed the insect from his arm with his other hand and flung it to the ground before stomping on it.
He then noticed more crawling towards him.
Learning his lesson from the first one, Alex stomped on the others as quickly as he could-before they could cause more damage.
Alex continued until he reached another gurney blocking a steel door.
On it was a photograph of Joshua’s Robbie the Rabbit doll stuffed in his backpack-it was his favorite toy.
Alex entered a giant circular room and noticed something on a rack.
It was a patient’s chart that read:
“SCHEDULE OF TREATMENT,
TYPE: Electroshock,
Doctor: Copen.
Doctor’s signature is required after each entry.
MONDAY 9:00 a.m. (signed) Dr. Copen,
TUESDAY 9:15 a.m. (signed) Dr. Copen,
WEDNESDAY 9:00 a.m. (signed) Dr. Copen,
5:00 p.m. (signed) Dr. Copen,
THURSDAY 9:15 a.m. (signed) Dr. Copen,
FRIDAY 9:00 a.m. (signed) Dr. Copen,
5:00 p.m. (signed) Dr. Copen, 11:00 p.m. (signed) Dr. Copen.
Comments: Treatment has yet to achieve desired results.
Patient is non-responsive.
Please administer pureed foods only.”
Alex then dropped down into an operating room, where there was a dead man in jeans on the operating table.
Three more of the bizarre nurses, stumbled out of the shadows as soon as Alex’s feet hit the floor.
There was a set of double doors but, they were chained shut with a padlock.
Alex noticed another one of those gunk doorways and cut through it.
On the other side, Alex climbed up two more flights of stairs, which led to a gurney with a surgeon whose other half of his body was still of the operating table downstairs.
In the flickering light, Alex thought he saw something flash, and upon further inspection, he realized the dead surgeon was holding a key.
There was a tag attached to it. And on the tag was written: “Operating Room Theatre”
Alex made his way back down the stairs and tried it on the padlock.
“Come on!” he grunted.
The padlock fell to the floor followed by the chains.
“Yes!” he exclaimed triumphantly.
Through the doors he entered another room filled with cabinets and another piece of paper which happened to be the second part of the patient’s chart which read:
“…setting the electroshock machine beyond the seizure threshold has yielded impressive results in the patients.
The most violent and depressed patients are rendered completely docile…The only side-effects have been minor: memory loss, some dislocated bones, one fractured leg, and a patient bit off his tongue.
The accident was quite a nice side effect as this particular patient was also one of our nosiest.
I’ve instructed the doctors to continue with this intensity level for all treatments.”
Alex went through another door and noticed a little boy drawing a picture.
“Joshua! Is that you?” he inquired.
“I’m busy-go away!” the little boy abruptly replied, without looking up from his drawing.
“What are you doing here?” Alex asked.
“I want my toy.” He replied.
“Aren’t you afraid of being here alone?” asked Alex.
“I’m a brave soldier,” he replied.
“I’m looking for Robbie.”
Alex was quick to protest, ” I haven’t seen any toys.”
Josh just continued to color.
“Then I guess you’re not my friend.”
He replied stubbornly.
“Alright,” Alex sighed, “I’ll try and find Robbie.”
Josh was still coloring.
“I want my toy.” He grumbled.
Alex walked into the next room.
Where at a desk was a Missing patient bulletin:
“Room 205, patient went missing, last seen in the day room after a confrontation with another…”
The rest of the message was blurred an illegible.
As Alex pressed on, he entered a room with another two-way mirror.
There was a large hole in it the seemed to be made out of some organic slime.
Inside of it was Robbie the Rabbit.
Before Alex could reach him, something sucked Robbie in as blood slowly dripped from the whole.
Alex reached inside of the hole-even though it went against his better nature-but, how else was he supposed to persuade Josh to leave with him?
His parents would kill him if he let anything happen to Josh.
As he reached in, he grabbed the Robbie toy.
As he was about to pull it out, something grabbed his arm and began tugging on it.
After a brief struggle, Alex pulled out of the hole, unscathed with the Robbie toy-which was now covered in blood.
Alex returned to the room where Josh was.
And held out Robbie to him. “Here you go, pal. Look at him.”
Josh slowly looked up from his drawing.
“I want Robbie.”
He replied.
“Hey, this is yours-remember?” asked Alex.
“Take him.”
Josh reached out toward the doll before backing up slowly.
“Josh?” asked Alex, “Where are you going?”
Josh just broke into a run until he had gotten into an elevator.
The gate between the rooms swung open.
Alex tried following him and picked up the picture that Josh was working on.
It was a picture of the family of bunnies from the first drawing-only, they were bloody now.
This confused and scared Alex more than anything else in the hospital.
Why would his baby brother create such disturbing pictures?
As he continued onward, a door slammed.
And on it, was another drawing.
It had a boat with three stick figures in it and a bunny that seemed to be flailing about in the water.
‘First blood…and now drowning?’ thought Alex, ‘There’s definitely something wrong with Josh-if that is him, he’s been acting so strange…’
He then tried opening the door-to no avail.
He heard something.
‘I think I hear the faint sound of water lapping on the shore, the source seems to be coming from just beyond this door,’
He thought, ‘But that’s impossible, this is a hospital.’
Alex then pushed a button to call the elevator and entered as soon as the doors opened.
As soon as the doors closed he heard a large metal scraping sound before the elevator doors burst open and a giant blade impaled Alex.
Chapter 2: Shepherd’s Glen
“Aargh!”
Alex jerked awake.
“Bad dream?” asked Travis, the trucker that he was hitching a ride from.
“Yeah…” he replied.
Travis then turned on the radio as they passed a large sign reading:
WELCOME TO SHEPHERD’S GLEN
“Home town?” inquired Travis as they stopped.
“I guess you could say that.” replied Alex.
“Good Luck, soldier.” grunted Travis.
“Thanks for the ride.” Replied Alex as he shut the door and began to head off toward town hall.
The entire town was covered in a thick fog.
There was a huge monument with a coat of arms-only it was broken now, and the streets were all but abandoned.
“What happened to this place?” asked Alex to no one in particular.
“Alex?”
A feminine voice inquired as he felt something touch his shoulder and turned around, shocked.
“Judge Holloway. Hey.”
He breathed.
“I didn’t know you were home.”
She replied thoughtfully, “Does your mother know? She didn’t say anything…” her voice trailed off.
“No.”
Replied Alex, “I haven’t talked to her. Actually, I haven’t really talked to anyone. I’m not planning on sticking around for long.”
Judge Holloway seemed a little disappointed in hearing this, “Oh. Well, I hope you get a chance to catch up with Elle. I’m sure she’d love to see you.”
Alex was shocked to hear this, “Elle? She’s still here?”
Elle was Judge Holloway’s daughter and he was sure that she knew that he used to have a crush on her-that he still did.
Judge Holloway laughed light-heartedly,
“Of course.” She replied, “You know how it is. No one ever leaves this place.”
Something about that sentence made Alex a bit uncomfortable.
“Yeah, I guess.”
Alex looked around at the town that seemed to be dead.
“This town is so quiet.”
He observed.
“It’s changed.” Judge Holloway crossed her arms, “Not for the better, I’m afraid.”
She replied sadly, “You should go home, see your mother. Perhaps, I’ll see you later…You look well by the way.”
She commented before walking off.
“Thanks.” And with that, Alex headed back toward his old house.
“Home.”
He mused, “Feels strange to be back here again…” he entered through the front door which was unlocked.
“Hello?” he called out, “Hello? Huh. That’s strange.”
Alex walked into the den.
There was the rocking chair by the windows, his mother usually sat in but, there was no one there.
He then ascended the stairs, there was a distinguished marking of where a picture frame was previously hung up.
Alex then noticed a portrait with Josh and their parents. Alex wondered why he wasn’t in it too, and then realized he must have been the one who had taken the photo.
Alex then walked into his parent’s room.
There was a dresser and on it was a letter which read:
“Adam, I know that you will soon return to me, but I miss you dearly and writing to you always calms my nerves.
Everything here is the same, but with you gone, the house is so empty…”
The letter ended there and Alex guessed that she never finished it.
Alex went into his parent’s bathroom he’d been holding something in since he got back.
While he was peeing, Alex noticed a yellow-cassette tape.
It was unlabeled-he would just have to play it to figure out what it was.
Alex zipped up his pants and flushed, while washing his hands, he reflected on what had happened since he got back.
He then felt a sudden need to go back to his and Josh’s room.
As Alex got to the door of his room, he noticed that the photo of him, that was next to the door had been taken down.
Inside of his room, Alex noticed that his parents had sold all of his toys while he was away at boot camp.
Alex also noticed Joshua’s bug collection that was hung up on a wall.
One time he helped him to catch some spiders in the backyard.
He loved spiders for some weird reason.
On the desk was a photo of Josh and their father fishing.
Alex also noticed a flashlight on the bottom bunk where Josh slept.
Alex remembered waking up to Josh’s scream.
“God, what’s your problem?” groaned Alex.
“I…I was having a bad dream” stammered Josh.
He didn’t want to make Alex angry for keeping him up, so he laid back down, “Never mind. It’s nothing.”
He sighed.
Alex grabbed the flashlight by his pillow that he had used when he was a kid.
He handed it down to Josh. “Here, take it. If you get scared again, just turn it on, okay?” Josh turned it on and laid back down
“Thanks, Alex.”
“Sure.”
After snapping back to reality, Alex made his way down the stairs.
He noticed that his mother was back, and in her rocking chair.
“Mom.” He said, she just continued rocking in the chair, not seeming to notice his presence.
Alex walked up a bit closer, “Mom!” he repeated.
She slowly turned to face him.
“Alex. What are you doing here?” he shuffled his feet.
“I got discharged. I’ve been in the hospital for a bit, but…I’m alright now.”
“You’ve been gone too long.” She sighed.
“Yeah,” he replied, “Where is everybody? Where’s Josh?”
Her voice wavered, “I don’t know…your father went to go look for him. But now, he’s gone. Everyone’s gone.”
Alex noticed a gun in his mother’s lap.
“Mom, what’s going on here? What happened? Mom!”
She turned to face him slowly, her eyes red from crying, “I miss your brother, Alex.”
He kneeled down next to her and slowly took the gun from her lap.
“Look, I’ll find him.”
He assured her.
“I had this dream that-I just have a feeling that he’s in trouble.”
He then saw the worried expression on her face, “Don’t worry about it…I’ll find Joshua. Mom, your dress is-“
He was cut off by a faint roar.
“What was that?”
“The basement.” She replied darkly.
“I’m gonna go look around,” he replied, “You just…stay here.”
Alex then walked over the basement door which was underneath the stairs.
He also noticed that none of the lights worked because all of the wires in the circuit breaker had been ripped apart.
He didn’t try fixing it for fear of being electrocuted.
As he descended the creaking wooden steps he noticed that the basement was completely flooded.
“What is with all of this water here!” he exclaimed.
As he reached the bottom of the steps, he saw that the cold water went up to his knees.
He had the flashlight turned on in his vest pocket to keep both of his hands free.
“Josh?” he called out.
There was a faint bubbling sound.
Alex walked towards it to investigate he could have sworn he saw a lump of flesh before a humanoid creature jumped out of the water.
There was nothing on its face but, a vertical slit for a mouth-filled with razor sharp teeth. It also had long curved, protruding claws at the end of its arms, which vaguely resembled a rake.
Alex screamed and jumped backward in surprise before the creature dove back under the water.
He took out his combat knife and slowly circled the water the creature lunged back out at him.
Alex slashed blindly, trying to avoid its massive teeth and claws.
When he opened his eyes again, the creature fell backwards as a cloud of blood spread through the murky water.
Stepping carefully now, Alex walked toward the door leading to the backyard, it wouldn’t open.
And the safety latch was too far under the water for him to see-and he didn’t want stick his hand in it, when another one of those monsters could have still been hidden under the water.
Next to it was a water pump.
Alex tried starting it, without any success, he then picked up the garage remote lying on top of it and underneath was a note which read:
“If it runs out of fuel, use the can from the garage to fill it.-Adam”
Alex sighed, and made his way back up the stairs.
His wet shoes made his every step squeak.
“Alex?” his mother called out, “Did you find out what it was?”
Alex knew that she could probably take care of herself but, he didn’t want her to worry about him.
“Yeah, it-it was nothing…probably just some old pipes. The basement’s flooded and the water pump isn’t working-I think it might need some gas-does Dad still have a can of it in the garage?”
He asked.
“He should…” she replied thoughtfully.
“Okay,” he nodded, “I’m going to head out there now.”
He then exited through the front door of the house-for some reason the double door that lead to the kitchen and the backyard were sealed shut, so he had no other choice than try to fix the water pump.
As the garage door slowly opened, there was a familiar screech as a monster like the one in the basement crawled out.
He noticed that the creatures didn’t have any legs and that their waists ended in shredded strips of flesh, trailing blood behind them.
The creature raised its claws to strike Alex’s feet, he jumped backwards as its claws got stuck in the cement.
It tried, desperately to pull them out, while he ran behind it and stabbed the knife into the back of its head it shrieked out in pain, as Alex kicked the knife deeper into its skull, its face hit the driveway hard.
He then pressed the knife in deeper with his heel.
The creature twitched a little before going limp.
‘Damn Lurkers!” he thought, that was a good name for them-that’s what they did-lurk in the shadows and under the water, waiting for a chance to strike, a cowardly ambush tactic.
Alex noticed a circular saw-good weapon to use against one of those monsters-but, not very portable.
He then turned to see a steel pipe lying on a bench-that would work.
Alex saw the gas can in a cabinet in the back of the garage, it-was stuck.
Alex cursed in frustration and was about to shatter the glass with the steel pipe before getting an idea.
He then used it to pry open the cabinet-‘Yes!’
It worked.
He grabbed the gas can and shook it-empty-figures…he’d just have to find a place to fill it up, but where?
All of the gas stations in town had been closed down because the owners either went missing or moved out of town.
Alex then, decided he would have to do some sleuthing to fix the water pump.
As he exited the garage another Lurker crawled out from underneath a hole in the brick wall that separated their yard from the park.
Alex was ready this time, before the creature could even lift its massive claw he struck it full-force in the side of the head with the steel pipe he picked up.
While it was still recover from the attack, Alex struck downward repeatedly, until it went limp.
The damn things just wouldn’t quit!
He then crawled underneath the hole-all of the other parts of town were either dead ends or entire trenches block the path.
There was a dirt trail with dead tees on either side.
There was another fence up ahead with another hole in it.
Alex crawled through, to see that he was in the park where Josh used to play.
An eerie child-like voice rang out;
“Ring around the Rosie…”
That made Alex jump.
“Hello?”
He called out through the fog.
“Is anyone there?”
No response.
He just shrugged it off and noticed a backpack hanging on the fence-it was Josh’s bag and inside was another disturbing drawing that had, a child alone on a swing in a park, with the inscription:
“Where is Steven, mommy?
He can’t play and I’m sad.
You mustn’t ask, my darling-Steven has been bad.”
Alex noticed something lying on the ground near the slide; it was a photograph of Josh’s plastic toy spider towering over a toy truck.
Alex pocketed the drawing and the photo, only to discover that to his horror, there were also the drawings from his nightmare in his pocket.
He just shook his head and headed towards the fence to the south, where the gate was also stuck, so he had to use the pipe to pry it open.
It led to a dark alley-another Lurker appeared from behind a trio of trashcans.
After killing this one, Alex noticed a broken down semi-truck, the cap from the fuel tank had been taken off as if someone had siphoned gas from it.
Alex decided to try and use the gas from the truck for the water pump.
It didn’t look like the owner would be coming back for it, anyways.
Alex was surprised to see that, there was enough for him to get a full tank.
With that, he backtracked home and re-entered the basement, filling up the water pump with fuel.
After the water drained, Alex pulled on the safety latch-unlocking the door.
He made his way up the stairs and into the backyard.
There was an empty doghouse, with no dog…that wasn’t a good sign.
Alex found another child’s drawing with a child standing alone in the middle of a park and dead stick figures shown under the ground and the inscription:
“Billy too, and Sally?
Did they do something wrong?
I’m afraid it’s true, child-all your friends are gone.”
He then found a backpack on the fence with a photo inside; it was a photo of their father’s hunting room with a dead and skinned animal.
How did Josh get in there?
Alex then entered the backdoor of the house.
Inside of the kitchen was a pile of filthy dishes.
On the counter was a tape player/answering machine.
Alex inserted the tape he found and pressed PLAY:
It started off with Josh making guitar noises before their father could be heard entering the room;
“Alex! What are you doing?” he shouted angrily.
“We’re making a radio show.” Alex replied.
“Alex, downstairs!” he shouted.
“What! Why?” he asked.
“Just do it!” Alex could hear himself storming down the stairs, “Fine!”
“Are you mad at me?” Josh innocently asked, “Of course not!” replied his father.
“Then why were you yelling?”
He sighed, “Do you want to end up like Alex? Always playing make-believe?”
“I dunno.” he sighed again, “Just let Alex hang out with his own friends-and if you want a friend, just talk to me, okay?”
“Yes, sir!”
Alex realized that Josh probably wasn’t in the house, and glumly thought about his parents, his father; Adam Shepherd was a retired soldier who ran his household as strictly as his platoon.
He seemingly cast Alex aside along with his mother Lillian, focusing their affections solely on Joshua, he served as Shepherd’s Glen’s Sheriff, though his whereabouts were unknown.
Despite, these differences, Alex and Josh always got along well, and Josh seemed to idolize him, which made Alex more desperate not to let his little brother down.
Chapter 3: Missing Persons
Alex exited through the backyard gate and walked down an alley ended in an open gate which with a sign which read:
“Municipal Access Gate,”
With a message underneath,
“No Trespassing: Violators may be subject to persecution.”
Alex entered through the gate and turned right.
Alex pressed on to see that he was in a cemetery, through a gate he could barely see a man that was doing something with a shovel,
‘What’s that guy doing?’ he thought.
He turned around to see a broken down fountain at the end of a steep slope, he then jumped down and began walking towards it as he heard the sound of a dog barking, it jumped down from a ledge and advanced on him, snarling, it looked like the dog had been skinned with all of its muscles exposed.
“Whoah!” exclaimed Alex as he back up a bit, “Easy…easy!” the dog just continued to snarling as it jumped at him, Alex narrowly dodged it as it landed, he struck it across the face with the steel pipe, as it fell to the ground, Alex shoved the pipe through its skull, letting out a small whimper, before going limp.
As he walked up to the broken down fountain where there was half of a bronze plate inserted in a circular slot with the inscription:
“This fountain is hereby dedicated to the memory of Charlotte Borden by her loving parents. Taken suddenly from a life yet fulfilled-Born…”
The rest was illegible, “Age 8 years old.”
There was an additional inscription below.
“Inseparable, yet divided, two halves of the same person, in two places, now forever apart.”
Alex took the Odd Stone Plate, feeling like he might be needing it.
Alex climbed up the ledge next to the fountain and turned right, walking through a series of gates until, he reached a dead end, He then turned left, to notice a large hole in the brick wall that he could squeeze through.
He continued left until he reached a small hole he could crawl through.
Once he was on the other side he started going right until, he found another hole in the wall he could squeeze through.
Another Feral Dog attacked him, before he once again beat it to death with the pipe.
He then noticed another ledge to jump down with another hole to crawl through.
Once he was on the other side he descended the stairs to see another ‘Feral’ as he liked to call them, eating the corpse of a dead man.
Alex killed that one too, before moving ahead through another gate, he ascended another flight of stairs to see another fountain by a brick wall.
It was similar to the first one with the other half of the plate he picked up inside of it.
This one had an inscription as well;
“This fountain is hereby dedicated to the memory of Claire Borden by her loving parents. Tragically lost moments after her twin sister died-Born…”
The rest was illegible, ‘Age 8 years old.’
There was an additional inscription below this one, too:
“Inseparable, yet divided, two halves of the same person, in two places, now forever apart.”
Alex took that plate as well, he turned around, to see a gate with the same circular slot, the gate wouldn’t budge, and there was no keyhole, so Alex put both plates in the lock, forming the image of a bronze tree, the gate slowly creaked open.
He ascended another flight of stairs to find himself in a parking lot with dumpsters that smelled like something had died in them and two rusted vehicles,
‘Why haven’t these been towed?’
He thought, ‘They’re obviously broken down.’
Alex then exited the parking lot and turned right.
He made his way to the police station. Alex noticed a smoking squad car with a dead feral in front of it, from the way the blood was smeared on the pavement, it looked like it had been hit by the car.
‘It appears I am not the only one that doesn’t like these dogs.’
He thought, ‘Ouch.’
Alex then noticed Elle, putting up flyers.
The chair that she was standing on fell over “Dammit!” she shouted.
“You always were a klutz. You okay?”
She looked up at him,
“Alex? Oh my God. Alex!”
He helped her up as she hugged him.
“Hey, Elle, Your mom told me I might see you around here.”
He said as they broke apart.
“My God, It’s so good to see you. It feels like it’s been forever.”
“Yeah,” he replied softly, “You alone out here?”
She pretended not to hear him,
“Hey, you know I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, you took off without saying goodbye.”
“Yeah, well, I’m looking for my little brother, you seen him?”
“No, I haven’t. Alex.”
She replied bitterly before she resumed posting flyers.
Alex noticed all of the missing people that were on the flyers;
‘I knew some of those people…’
He thought horrifically, “Jesus. What the hell is going on here?”
Elle just shook her head,
“I don’t know. Everyday there are more flyers to put up…everyday more people disappear.”
“I had no idea.”
“And if you did?” she snapped.
“Would you have done anything about it?”
“Yeah,” he countered. “I would have come back for Josh, gotten him the hell out of here. God knows what kind of trouble he’s in now.”
“Trouble?” she repeated.
“Look around you, Alex. This whole place is in trouble.”
“I know. I get it. But, I have to find my brother, he’s my responsibility. After that, I’m gone. I suggest you do the same.”
He began to walk off, “Alex, wait.”
He stopped. “Yeah?” she pulled something from her belt.
It was a Walkie-Talkie.
“I got this from Deputy Wheeler, you should take it.”
“What for?” he asked.
“If I hear anything, I’ll let you know…”
“Thanks, Elle.”
He was about to walk off again.
“Alex. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”
Alex then turned on a path to the west and continued it until he reached a bridge, he then followed it to a gate which read;
Do Not Enter: Violators will be shot-Survivors will be shot again.
Alex then cautiously pushed forward, he had learned that Curtis wasn’t the friendliest of people to be around but, he could fix nearly anything.
Alex found himself in a junkyard, there was there was a large stockpile of gasoline barrels which, he found more than a little suspicious, he entered through a door into a dark shack with a man in a trucker’s hat tinkering with an alarm clock.
He didn’t seem to notice Alex.
“Hello?” he asked, the man just ignored him.
“You’re Curtis, right?” the man just grunted in response.
“Hey man, how’s it going?” he asked.
“I’m busy!” he growled.
Alex placed his father’s gun on the desk in front of him.
“Maybe this will interest you.”
Curtis looked up, Alex could see a cigarette in his mouth.
“I know you, you’re the sheriff’s kid.”
“Alex.” He replied.
“Riiiiight…Military man now, I see.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s broken. What do you think?”
Curtis lifted up the gun to examine it.
“Hmmm. I think you must have stole this from your daddy.”
Alex put his hands on the desk while glaring at him,
“Just tell me if you can fix it.”
Curtis slowly stood up and took the cigarette out of his mouth,
“Now don’t go barking orders at me, soldier. The only person that tells me what to do is me, you got it?”
That got Alex to back off.
Curtis continued examining the gun,
“Hmm…pretty neglected. It’s a damn shame, the way people mistreat such nice things.”
“Look,”
Alex spoke up, “What I really need is information, have you seen my brother, Joshua?”
“You want to talk to the Mayor, He knows everybody’s business.”
“Mayor Bartlett?” Alex repeated,
“You know where I can find him?”
“Sure-same place he is everyday, digging up people’s graves. There’s something seriously wrong with that guy. You know, like in the head?”
“That’s Mayor Bartlett?”
“Yup.” Curtis replied, “No wonder all of the streets are broken. Nobody around here gives a shit anymore. Yeah, I could fix it, might take a little while though.”
He was about to place the cigarette back in this mouth,
“Keep it’s yours.”
“What’s the catch?” he eyed Alex suspiciously,
“Consider it payment for your help.”
Curtis grunted before putting the cigarette back in his mouth, he reached under his desk to pull out a MK 23 Handgun before handing it over to Alex.
“A soldier’s gotta have a gun.”
Alex took it as Curtis sat back down,
“Yeah, I like a fair trade.”
“Hey, man, one more question; how about I take that shotgun off your hands?”
He jerked up angrily, “Yeah, how about I slap you and kill you? You’re looking for a weapon-take a look around the place, I’m sure you’ll find something else you can use.”
“Yes, sir.”
He then decided to ask a different question;
“You’ve got a lot of clock parts in this place-there a reason?”
“Yeah, there’s a reason.”
He replied,
“For fixing clocks! Haven’t you noticed that every single clock in this town has stopped at exactly 2:06?”
“No.”
Replied Alex, “I hadn’t.”
“Well take a look around, son.”
“Why do you think that is?” he asked.
“Hell if I know, I just try and fix ‘em-But, it’s no use. They won’t start running again. It’s like something’s not letting time move on.”
Alex spoke up again, “Hey, man, one last question; You know this town is crawling with all sorts of crazy shit. Why are you still running a repair shop?”
Curtis pulled a handgun from his belt, “Why do you think I’m carrying this thing around? What am I supposed to do, pack up and leave so somebody else can come in here and steal my stuff? You’re not too bright, are you?”
That made Alex feel stupid,
“I see.”
He went into Curtis’ backroom to pick up some pistol ammunition, Alex then headed toward the junkyard’s north exit, before a Feral jumped out at him, he had the MK 23 ready he fired at it in mid-air, as its skull exploded a gory mess.
He then exited the junkyard and walked back across the bridge. He then heard a voice from over the walkie-talkie;
“Elle. Elle, are you there?”
Alex pressed down the TALK button,
“Hello?” the voice crackled over the radio,
“Who the hell is this?”
He lifted the walkie-talkie to his mouth,
“Alex Shepherd.”
“Alex Shepherd?” the voice repeated,
“I thought you were-” the voice was cut off by loud static.
“Hello? Hello?”
There was a billow of smoke coming from behind him as he began coughing uncontrollably.
He turned to see a pitch-black skeleton that appeared to be scorched and skin with charred flesh and burning ash.
Its ribcage split in half as it inhaled, revealing glowing yellow lungs, it then spewed smoke, that smelled so foul, that it had caused him to vomit.
Alex opened fire on it, but, the bullets only bounced off. He then waited for the creature to expose its lungs again before firing at it.
The creature fell backwards, expelling a large amount of smog before dying.
Alex then took River View Road north and made a right onto Main Street and followed it all of the way east, until he returned to the parking lot.
The cemetery gates were still open. Alex killed a few more monsters before making it to the Bartlett Mausoleum, which he was surprised to see the gate open.
Alex entered to see a casket with a puzzle lock. He slid all of the pieces over to either side, and pulled the top one down so that it would reach the bottom.
All of a sudden, the mausoleum started shaking as the lid of the casket slid open. He picked up the watch, which had the inscription;
‘Forgive Me.’
He put it up to his hear to see if it was still working.
There was a loud shrieking sound, before Alex fell to the ground, unconscious.
Chapter 4: Hotel
Alex awoke in a street he didn’t recognize,
“What the hell?”
It was also covered in fog, he walked towards an old car in the side of the street, a child darted out in front of him,
“Hey, Josh!” he called out, he just kept on running, before he disappeared.
Alex noticed a red billboard that read in big yellow letters;
Welcome to Silent Hill.
‘Silent Hill?’ he thought, ‘How the hell did I get here?’
He decided to explore the town while he searched for Josh, it seemed completely broken down and abandoned.
Shattered and boarded up windows, abandoned and broken down vehicles covered in rest.
There was a large building with a boarded up doorway, and above it in flickering and burnt out white letters;
Grand Hotel.
Alex turned down an alleyway to run into another Smog creature, he was able to take care of it by shooting its lungs out.
Above him was some cut electrical wire, shooting sparks of electricity that showered down on the street below.
There was a fire engine next to it that seemed to have fallen face forward into some kind of trench.
Alex slowly climbed down on the ledge below to see that the trench had been the result of something ripping the ground apart like a giant fissure.
He crawled under the fire engine to pick up a Fire Axe.
Next to it was a man’s corpse with the bottom half of his torso-down missing.
‘The earth just collapsed under the whole street.’ thought Alex, ‘I can’t even see the bottom!’
Before climbing back up to town.
He walked up to the Grand Hotel with the Fire Axe and cut through the boards.
Inside, there was a silhouette of a child.
Who ran away as soon as Alex walked towards him,
“Josh…? Josh, wait!”
It was too late-he disappeared again.
Alex noticed a paper on the reception desk and began reading it;
Paul,
As Mayor Bartlett will be working in the Atrium late this evening, please make sure the exterior service doors are left unlocked.
Mr. Jones
Behind the counter was a pamphlet, which read;
General Notice:
A memorial service for Clayton Doyle will be held today at Dargento Cemetery. All employees are required to attend.
Alex then walked over to the elevator, the doors were open, and he tried calling for it.
No response, the power must have been out.
Alex hopped across and found a box of tools that looked pretty unorganized.
Inside was a Maintenance Key.
Alex backtracked outside of the hotel and turned right where there was a locked gate.
He used the key to open it, inside was a fuse box that looked like it needed to be rewired-but, how?
He noticed that sitting on a dumpster to his left was a maintenance clipboard with a sticky note;
Don’t forget to tape the big game! XXI
Alex realized that it was a code for the new maintenance guy to repair the fuse box.
He switched the bottom order of the colors: white, yellow, blue, violet, green and flipped the power switch-it worked!
The outside light flashed on with unbelievable intensity.
Alex went back inside the hotel and called the elevator, the gates closed as it was brought down to the first floor.
Alex found some pistol ammunition inside as he was about to decide which floor to go to, he realized that number five was the only one that lit up.
‘I don’t have much of a choice-only one of the buttons seems to be functional.’
He thought.
The elevator ascended normally before there were clinking and chattering sounds.
Huge blades ripped open the right side of the elevator, it was attached to a creature that resembled a mix between a human and a spider its head had no discernable features other than two black eyes and a mouth, making it resemble a furless hamster where its genitals should have been, on its shoulders there was nothing, it’s arms and legs seemed to have been replaced by blades.
He shot it, as it freely fell, before another one took out the left side of the elevator.
Alex shot five more before the elevator started falling, Alex jumped out just in time to make it onto a ground floor before the elevator crashed to into the dark abyss below.
A woman’s voice could be heard singing a lullaby but, the direction her voice was coming from was blocked off by rubble and discarded furniture.
To his right was a portrait of a woman in a wedding dress holding a bouquet of flowers. Alex shone his flashlight over it.
‘I think there’s something behind this painting…’ he thought, before taking out his combat knife and cutting a vertical hole through it.
A room was revealed behind it.
There was a door and on it was a picture of the Mayor’s son, Joey Bartlett sitting in the Tree House in the Shepherd family’s backyard.
The door itself, needed a key to be opened. Alex turned left to see a hole in the wall, he ducked under the beam of wood.
Inside, there was a drawer, a bed, and a dresser that had seen better days, Alex walked toward the door directly across from the room he was in.
It had a gaping hole in it, and it sounded like that was where the singing was coming from.
“Josh are you in there?” asked Alex.
“No one comes to visit me anymore…” a said female voice replied, she sounded old enough to be a grandmother.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“I wish I could remember…”
Alex decided to ask her something else,
“What are you doing in this hotel? This place should be condemned.”
“I can’t leave.”
She protested, “Not yet.”
“This is no place to be alone.” Countered Alex,
“You need to leave.”
“I lost something,” The voice explained,
“Once dear to me. Now all I have is memories of the past. Of better times, but I don’t know where they are. I can’t go until I have them. Will you help me?”
Alex decided to help her,
“Tell me what you need. I’ll see what I can do.”
“So difficult to remember. The warm sunlight dancing on the water, the smell of cotton candy in the air, and the sound of wind blowing through the trees. Find them for me, and I’ll give you what you need.”
“How will I know when I’ve found them?” he asked.
“Three small windows of better days.” She explained,
“You’ll know when you see them.”
“Okay,” he assured her, “I’ll look around.”
“You have a kind voice.” She replied before chuckling.
Alex decided to search room by room, he started at 303.
There were bugs crawling on the floor and there was a message written on the wall in red that said;
“I can’t see my face. Maybe you will in 404.”
Nothing useful, Alex then went on to room 304.
There were two desks on either side of a filthy bed with another large dresser across from it. The bathroom door was locked.
Alex then began to search the desks, nothing. He checked underneath the bed, nothing but, dust and even more filth.
Alex then scratched his head in confusion-there had to be something there that was important, the last room had a strange message…Alex then noticed a letter on the dresser that read;
Sam,
I can’t thank you enough for all of your hard work in restoring the Atrium to its former glory.
My illness continues to worsen, but it gives me great comfort that my Carol and I can find solace in the beautiful garden you’ve created.
Thank you so much.
-Clayton
Alex sighed, ‘Damn,’ he thought, ‘That didn’t sound like it described any of that old woman’s memories…’
He then squeezed through another hole in the wall to get around the debris blocking his path.
There was nothing inside of 307 except, a disgustingly grimy bathroom.
Room 305’s lock was broken.
Inside of 308 on the wall to the right of the bed was another message written in red;
“405 scares me. I left my ducky in there.”
Alex turned to see another letter on a dresser;
Dearest Sam,
I can’t describe how much my life has turned a corner since you’ve begun tending the Atrium.
With Clayton’s illness slowly taking its toll, I’ve felt so lost and alone.
Your presence and your gift in restoring the garden…It’s the single ray of light in my tired life, and it brings me joy.
Thank you for many wonderful evenings we’ve spent together.
It will be different-better-when I no longer have to pretend.
All my love.
-Carol x
The lock to 309 was broken as well.
Alex walked toward to the end of the hall and turned right to see a gaping hole in the wall, covered by wooden boards, he quickly chopped away at them with the fire axe.
Inside of 309 a dresser was on top of a pile of rubble, that he stood on to climb onto the next floor, which had a gaping hole in it.
Inside of 406 was a broken bed, a rusted wheelchair, a medical tray, two oxygen tanks, and a dresser with yet, another letter;
Carol, I’m struggling to find the right words.
My body was broken and now you’ve broken my heart too.
I don’t know why.
I loved you unconditionally, gave you everything I had, I thought you loved me too.
I guess I was a fool.
There are things, about Sam you don’t know, and if you did, I guarantee you’d feel differently.
I want to forgive you Carol, but I can’t…I’ve simply nothing left.
Alex grunted in frustration-was that woman just making shit up to fuck with him?
She certainly seemed crazy…the sound of the wind?
The sunlight dancing on the water?
The smell of cotton candy?
Just how in the hell was he supposed to get those?
Did she want him to move the moon and the stars while he was at it?
The Swarm from his nightmare attacked him as he was exiting the room.
He was more than happy to take his frustration on the football sized insects with his foot.
Room 405 also had a broken lock, in the hall on a drawer was a note;
Delivery Notice Alchemilla Hospital:
-Two oxygen tanks removed and replaced with full ones for Mr. Doyle’s suite.
That must have been the guys room that he was just in, it wasn’t important, but Alex still couldn’t help but feel sorry for the guy-he had a crippling disease-and when he needed her the most, his wife betrays him for the gardener-typical.
A Nurse from his nightmare jumped out of the darkness waving a knife at him.
He cut her knife arm off with the axe before striking her in the ribs.
Between the rooms 403 and 401 was a peephole, inside above the bathtub was another red message that said;
“You can’t wash it off.”
Room 402’s door was left wide open.
There was nothing inside, except a hole behind the dresser.
Alex pushed it out of the way and walked through the hole-entering Room 404.
Alex walked into the bathroom, with the cabinet open there was a post card.
‘This must be one of the memories she’s looking to reclaim.’
Thought Alex.
There was a picture of some trees on the front and a message on the back;
“I long for the days before my illness overtook me.
From my window I can see a large oak.
The leaves are ablaze-yellow and red-and with each day more of them fall.
When the sun is low, the shadows from it’s branches trail across my walls, but soon after the darkness fills the room.
Please come and see me soon.
I want to share one more memory with you, while I still can.”
Love always
As he hear large clanking and dragging sounds, he took cover behind the rubble, and watched as a muscular man dressed in blood red robes from the waist down, with a blood stained, triangular metal helmet, while dragging with one arm-what seemed to be a giant combat knife.
It stopped and turned in Alex’s direction-for a horrifying moment he thought it spotted him.
Instead, it just continued down its original path.
Afterwards the door next to him was shattered to splinters as another Swarm attacked him.
After crushing them Alex walked into Room 405 inside of it, was a hole in the wall that led to 407.
There was nothing of interest inside.
Back out into the hallway, 408 was locked, but there was another boarded up hole next to it.
Once inside the bathroom, he saw a medical kit on the sink with a serum inside, he decided to pocket it for later.
And exited back out into the hall. At the very end and to his right was another boarded up hole.
Seeing the broken stairs below he realized that the only way to go was up.
Once he reached the next floor, he called out
“Josh…?” he aimed the flashlight at a pile of debris and a knocked over dresser, before seeing one of the Needler things from the elevator.
“What the hell?”
It jumped up on the ceiling, a crawled towards him with its bladed limbs.
“You gotta be shittin’ me!”
He shouted before it jumped down in front of him.
He swung the axe at it, before it was blocked, he then rolled out of the way a chopped down at it, vertically, cutting it in half.
Inside of Room 508 there was a hole in the wall that didn’t reach all of the way through to the other side, and a similar hole in the floor in the middle of the room.
There was also a dresser with another letter;
Jim,
They were there again last night.
I saw Carol creeping towards the main ballroom and you know where that leads…I don’t know what the old man would do if he were to find out-given his health, he might not make it.
Do you think I should say something?
-Paul
Alex cut through the boards, blocking the entrance to 505 and pushed the dresser aside to enter 507.
On the dresser was another letter;
Mr. Jones,
I saw something strange the other night and I wanted to bring it to your attention.
I’d unlocked the service doors to the Atrium to let Mayor Bartlett in-just like I usually do.
I came by later to see if he needed any help (you know how I like to grow things too) and I saw him dragging one of his bags of fertilizer inside.
Only it didn’t look like any kind of fertilizer bag I’ve ever used.
It was real heavy and he seemed to be kinda struggling with it.
He didn’t see me, so I crept away.
Should I tell the sheriff?
I don’t know what to do, but I thought you should know.
Paul Ashley
On the bed was another postcard of a Lakeside Amusement Park;
“What a wonderful day!
The smell of cotton candy and the sound of laughter filled the air.
Days like this make me appreciate what it was like to be young and carefree.
Family is the most important thing-and our children are the future.
I only wish I could feel that innocent again.”
See you soon.
Alex chopped his way through 504 and pick up pistol ammunition that was lying on the bed, he also pushed the dresser to see if there was another hole in the wall, instead there was a child’s drawing, it was raining as two stick figures buried a child stick figure with the inscription;
For every sin a child has, must be a punishment to bear. Your friends are now beyond our reach: trapped deep within his lair.
Alex ducked under a hole in the wall, to enter a bathroom, inside of Room 503 was a gaping hole that Alex jumped down.
Inside of the bathroom in the room below in the bathtub was a postcard of Toluca Lake;
“I have some bad news to share.
Yesterday I took a boat out-as far as I could row-and I dipped my face into the cold, clear water.
As I leaned over the side of the rowboat, my necklace caught on the oar and the chain snapped.
I saw your precious gift slip into the blackness.
I wanted to dive in after it, but the water was so icy so deep.
Please…forgive me. I miss you.
Alex backtracked to the third floor and reached into the hole that was in the door while holding the three postcards,
“Is this what you wanted?” he asked.
“Thank you.”
She replied as she placed a Strange Key in his hand.
Chapter 5: Sepulcher
Using the key on the door he found Joey Bartlett’s photograph on;
Alex entered through the door to 306.
Inside, was a hotel room similar to the others, with the exception of a hole in the middle of the room, with Joshua standing behind it.
“Josh…?” Alex tried jumping it, underestimating the length, he grabbed onto the edge with one hand while extending the other to Josh.
“Josh!” he gasped, as he backed up, “Please help me.”
No response.
“Josh!” he pleaded, “Don’t let me fall!”
He lost his grip, and fell onto a table, breaking it.
He looked up at the hole in the ceiling.
“Josh…” he then looked around, he was in some sort of Dining Room.
He picked up some more pistol ammunition from off the table to his left.
There were two sets of double doors on either side of the room.
The set that lead back to the Lobby wouldn’t budge.
Alex then tried the one on the right.
It seemed to have led to a type of Greenhouse.
The doors were also locked, Alex turned around as he was about to backtrack, before the sound of an air raid siren filled the air as the world changed into a coat of blood and rust, just like in his nightmare.
Now the doors leading to the Dining Room were locked and the ones to the Greenhouse were open.
Once inside, Alex saw Mayor Bartlett standing in the middle of the Greenhouse.
Alex walked up to him, “Mayor Bartlett? Mayor Bartlett! Mayor Bartlett, I need to talk to you.”
He was wearing a shirt and tie, moving as if drunk.
“Yeah, well, make an appointment in my office.” Alex spotted a bottle in the Mayor’s hand but, he couldn’t tell what kind of alcohol it was.
“What the hell’s happened to Shepherd’s Glen?” asked Alex,
“You’re the Mayor. These people are your responsibility.”
Mayor Bartlett just pointed an accusing finger at Alex, “Now you listen to me, you little asshole,”
He growled, “I did everything I could to protect those people. But, you can’t stop what’s already been started! What the hell else do you want from me?”
“What about your son?” snapped Alex, “Don’t you want to protect him?”
“My boy. I didn’t do much right with him,” he admitted, “but I bought him some nice things. Remember, Joey? Remember that nice present I got you?”
He seemed to think that Joey was with them.
“I’m looking for my brother Joshua, and I know he used to be friends with your son. Have you seen either of them?”
“Joey?” the Mayor asked, “Uh, Joey doesn’t want to play with you! Why do you want to know about him?”
Alex grabbed Mayor Bartlett by the collar of his shirt,
“You listen to me, you drunken fool. My brother is missing, and so is your son! Where are they?”
Bartlett pushed his hands away, “Drunken fool, huh?” he staggered,
“Well, the sooner you hit the bottle, the sooner you’ll feel better too.”
He took a long drink from the bottle he was holding, before Alex placed the watch he had found in the mausoleum in his other hand.
“What the hell is this?” he was about to toss it away, before Alex grabbed onto his wrist.
“It belongs to your son, doesn’t it? Where is he?”
Mayor Bartlett glanced down at the watch,
“Joey?” he asked. “Yes, Joey.” Alex replied, like a parent talking to a stubborn child.
“He and my brother were friends. I need to find him.”
Bartlett shook his head, “You shouldn’t have come back, Alex. Times are bad…The people don’t trust me anymore. I can’t protect them.”
He threw the watch on the ground.
“Protect them from what?” pressed Alex, “What did you do?”
Bartlett averted his gaze, “Something has come…and taken everyone away.” He explained. “You can’t stop them. They’ll get you too.”
“Who’s taking them?” demanded Alex, “What are you talking about?” he then lost his temper and began shaking the Mayor.
“Where’s…MY…BROTHER?” Bartlett pushed him off.
“Bastard Sonofabitch.” He muttered, “You can’t save them.”
All of a sudden the Greenhouse started shaking.
“Wh-What?” stammered Alex. A slimy red organic mass appeared from the ground,
“What’s happening? What did you do?”
Chains lowered four other similar organic masses from the ceiling,
“What is all this? Jesus Christ!”
Long thin arms burst from the mass.
“Oh no.” the Mayor gasped, “Oh God no. Show mercy on me! I only live to serve you!”
Alex noticed that the creature had the appearance of a giant deformed man with very long arms who was supported by the four large sacks of flesh.
The man’s torso appeared to be heavily deformed and ripped in half.
It lacked any legs, although it’s long thin arms were still attached.
It’s face lacked any eyes, although it’s teeth were visible its jaws were open with a black tentacle-like substance jutting from them.
“Please…” he pleaded, “Please protect me in this moment of…” the creature moved its hand towards him.
“Oh shit!” he shouted before it crushed him flat.
There were three dressers around the creature, each one near one of the sacs of flesh.
Alex rolled out of the way as the giant monster tried punching him, he then cut down the first sac, using the fire axe.
He ducked behind the dresser as the creature took a swipe at him in a painful rage.
Alex the cut down the second one, repeating the process, after cutting down the last one, the creature fell to the ground and supported itself with its hands, as it swiped out at Alex.
He was sure that the sacs of flesh supporting the monster would have killed it, he’d have to devise a new strategy.
It tried punching him, before Alex rolled out of the way, it’s fist got stuck in the floor as he chopped at it with the axe.
It fell to the floor, face-first, shuddering, Alex then vertically slashed the axe at its head, piercing its skull.
It slammed its fist down, as it created cracks in the floor, it fell through the center of the hole it created in the Greenhouse.
Alex walked up to the hole to examine it, before passing out and falling in, himself.
Chapter 6: Police Station
Alex awoke to find himself in a jail cell.
He gripped the bars, and looked around, the place seemed deserted, there were a few flickering lights on the ceiling.
“Anybody here?”
He gripped the bars again as a blinding light.
Alex heard a gun cock, as a dark skinned, bald man, came into view holding a shotgun pointing at him.
“Deputy Wheeler!” he exclaimed.
“Well, well, back in the world of the living.”
“How did I get here?” inquired Alex.
“I put you here. I haven’t quite made up my mind about you yet.” He replied.
“Wheeler, c’mon you know me. Let me out!” he lifted the shotgun.
“You won’t be going anywhere until I get some answers. Start talking!”
“I don’t know.” Admitted Alex, “Last thing I remember, I was in a greenhouse with Mayor Bartlett.”
That got Deputy Wheeler to laugh a bit. “Sam Bartlett? That lunatic? Where is he? I got a couple of questions I’d like to ask him about what’s going on around here.”
“Well,” sighed Alex, “You’re not gonna be able to ask him anything. He’s dead.”
“Dead?” he repeated, “Shit! You better start telling me what you’re up to Alex. I wanna know right now!”
“I’m just trying to find my brother, okay? I thought the mayor might know something. His son is missing too.”
“A lot of people are missing,” He burst out, “but that doesn’t give you the right to kill a man.”
“I didn’t kill anybody!” protested Alex. “Then what happened to Mayor Bartlett?” pressed Wheeler.
“I can’t tell you what happened. You’ll never believe me! Shit, I don’t even believe me.”
Wheeler let out a dismissive grunt, “Huh, Alex. I can believe an awful lot. You’ve just gotta trust me. Now tell me what happened.”
“It was some kind of creature,” He explained, “but worse than the others. It came to life out of the goddamn tree! That’s what killed him. And that’s the truth, I swear.”
He lowered the shotgun.
“So you’ve seen the creatures too…” he unlocked the door to Alex’s cell, “We should get moving. I’m not sure it’s safe here anymore. Follow me.”
He lead Alex through the station until they reached a set of double doors,
“I’ll check it out first, stay behind me!” he opened the door to hear a low growling,
Wheeler slammed the door back shut, “Shit! We’re not going THAT WAY!” Alex followed him through another door.
“The doctor’s tied up in all the same shit as the Mayor.” Explained Wheeler.
“Doc Fitch?” inquired Alex.
“Yeah,” he replied, “they all know a helluva lot more than the they’re letting on, and I’m sick of being in the dark.”
“They?” repeated Alex, “Who are you talking about?”
“No time for that now Alex. Just trust me, we need to get to the Doctor before something happens to him too.”
Alex followed Wheeler through the halls of the station, checking over his shoulder every few seconds.
As they turned a corner Wheeler signaled for him to stop.
“Hold it. This isn’t good…” Alex heard screeching and growling sounds, “What is it?” he asked.
Wheeler fired a shotgun at a group of creatures, each one had an elongated head, split down at the middle with a hammer shaped, sharpened bulge at the end, but the rest of its body resembled a human.
They scuffled on two feet and moved quickly.
“You’re gear!” Wheeler shouted over the gunfire, “It’s in the Chief’s Office. Run that way!”
“Alright!” Alex shouted back.
Wheeler killed another one, “NOW!”
Inside of the Chief’s Office, Alex found all of his equipment lying on a desk; flashlight, Mk 23 Handgun, Fire Axe, Combat Knife, Steel Pipe, and his Walkie-Talkie, Elle gave him.
Alex also picked up a 12 Gauge Shotgun.
Wheeler closed the door behind them as Elle’s voice crackled over the Radio;
“Alex! Wheeler! Come in…! I’m on my way to the sheriff’s station. Something’s after me!”
Alex picked up the radio,
“Elle, head to the parking lot behind the station. We’ll meet you there.”
He then turned to Deputy Wheeler,
“Okay, clear down a path through the lobby and break down the barricade. I’ll cover you, Okay?”
Wheeler gave him his remaining shotgun shells and pulled out his handgun,
“Alright.” Wheeler opened the door, “Ready?”
There was a loud screeching as he opened the door, Alex was on the opposite end of the hall when the ceiling collapsed, Alex raised his arms to shield himself, as an unseen creature used the dust as cover.
“Oh God,” muttered Alex, “What the…?” the creature charged at the Deputy, “Wheeler!” exclaimed Alex, he didn’t see if the cop made it out of the way in time-but, given the size of the creature, he didn’t think it would be wise to stick around and find out.
With the axe he hacked his way through a boarded-up doorway. Alex killed the Schisms with the axe, he had made it to the Briefing Room, he then picked up Shotgun Ammunition from on top of a file cabinet behind the desk.
Alex then made his way to the Garage, as he entered a Schism knocked away some metal barrels to the right. Alex took care of it with two shotgun blasts as he walked over to a squad car, he noticed a wrinkled memo lying on the trunk;
“Only time will tell who has the will to live.”
Alex then made his way to the office next to the car. Inside, was a locked metal cabinet, Alex looked at the clock-2:06, he then recalled Curtis’ words;
“Haven’t you noticed that every single clock in this town has stopped at exactly 2:06?”
He then recalled what the memo said;
“Only time will tell who has the will to live.”
Alex then entered “206” inside, was a health drink, with shotgun and pistol ammo.
He then flipped a switch next to a television showing nothing but static.
The garage door slowly opened.
As Alex walked out into the parking lot, he saw Elle in a squad car, closing the door.
“Elle…” he ran up to her, before a monster jumped down onto the hood.
It seemed to have been a combination of two mutilated bodies; a man in the front and a woman on the back.
They seemed to have been bound together by a green bondage suit with the heads being fused together as one whole.
Both faces lacked any eyes and the woman’s arms dangled in front of the male’s face, his fists were largely swollen.
“Look out!” he shouted as the beast jumped onto the concrete and turned around to face Elle, before raising it’s gargantuan fists,
“No!” he shouted as it flipped the car over, “Elle!” Alex then saw the monstrosity focus it’s attention solely on him.
He saw it raise its fists before rolling out of the way, he then fired the shotgun repeatedly, rage overtaking him, even as it fell he continued to fire, until he ran out of ammunition.
He then saw Elle crawl out through an open window on the driver’s side as he ran over to her,
“Elle! I’m right here!” he helped he to her feet, “Come on!”
“Thanks.” She breathed.
“Alex, where’s Wheeler?” he held onto her shoulders in case she would freak out, “I don’t think he made it.”
He replied sadly.
More Schisms were just outside the gate, emerging from the fog.
“Come on.” He pressed, “We need to find Doctor Fitch.”
Elle brushed her hair out of her face, “We’ll be safer underground. Come on!”
They both ran over to a manhole as they pulled the lid up, the Schisms began climbing the fence, Alex looked up to see that they were almost over.
“Come on! Come on!” he urged. As the lid was pushed to the side, Elle climbed down the ladder, Alex then followed, pulling the lid back over the manhole just before a Schism could reach him.
Chapter 7: Sewers
As she hit the ground, Elle put her hand on her chest and leaned against a sewer grate, before sitting down, trying to calm her racing heart. Alex jumped down as an audible thud could be heard echoing throughout the tunnels of the sewer.
There was an audible dripping sound, as Alex turned around to spot Elle, he rushed to her side and put a hand on her shoulder, she looked exhausted.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She looked up at him sadly, “It’s getting worse, Alex.” She replied,
“The whole town is falling apart, and there’s nothing we can do about it.”
She took the flyers she was posting earlier in town out of her pocket and threw them to the ground.
“We’re never going to find them.” She grumbled miserably.
Alex picked up one of the flyers and glanced at it;
Missing!
Underneath was a black and white photograph of a blonde haired woman, underneath was the inscription;
Nora Holloway.
“Your sister. I didn’t know.” He whispered.
“She vanished when all of this started.” Explained Elle.
“Your mom told me things had changed.” He replied.
“I guess I didn’t realize…Look, we’re gonna find her, okay? This is all connected, and when we find Josh, we’re gonna find her too.”
“Yeah?” she asked hopefully. “Yeah.”
He assured her, before helping her up.
Alex walked down the waterway tunnel with Elle following close behind.
They walked towards the light that was entering from the grating above.
On instinct, Alex climbed onto the left raised portion, where there was a locked fence.
Alex then used the steel pipe to pry the gate open, before turning a red valve handle, behind it, Alex and Elle then continued down the tunnel.
They then climbed up a ladder, to reach a bilge tank, they walked through the knee deep water and climbed up the ladder on the other side.
They reached Gate 8, where Alex turned the valve handle, it would only lift the gate high enough for one person to fit through.
So, Elle crawled under, to the other side, there was no valve on the other side, so Elle told Alex that she would tried to find another gate, and that he would have to met her on another side of the sewer.
On the way back up the tunnel, Alex heard a familiar chattering sound, before rolling out of the way as a Needler jumped down from the ceiling.
Alex pulled out his fire axe and chopped its torso in half while its back was turned.
After reaching Gate 15, Alex caught up with Elle.
Three Needlers jumped down from the ceiling as Alex rolled out of the way of their blades, they each impaled each other as Alex could hear Elle scream.
Another Siamese-Twin creature like the one from the police station attacked that him.
It raised its fists to crush Alex, who rolled out of the way, behind it, and struck the female side. Cutting her diagonally, as the lower half of her chest split, gushing blood, only the straps of the bondage suit kept the two halves and man together.
Apparently, both of the disfigured corpse shared the body-and if one of them died-so would the other.
Alex crawled under the gate to see a trail of blood through the tunnel.
“What the hell happened here? Where’s Elle…? Oh god. That’s Elle’s radio! There’s so much blood everywhere…Could she have survived this…? I have to find her!”
Alex then climbed up the later at the end of the tunnel, to see that he was back in front of his house in Shepherd’s Glen.
