Chapter 11

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

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

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

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

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

"Yeah, doesn't look like it promises anything good," Linda agreed.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Yeah, you're right. So… where shall we go now?" Alice asked.

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

"Ok, let's go then."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Linda cleared her throat and explained:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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