Silence of the Mind

Chapter 4: Research and Otherworlds

"Ash, Jo, anything?" Ellen asked as she stormed back into the Roadhouse. Jo, in the process of hanging up the phone, jumped nearly a foot in the air, while Ash over at his computer took one look at Ellen's thunderous expression and gulped loudly.

"H-hey, boss. Any luck at the library?" he stuttered.

Shaking her head, Ellen replied, "No. There was nothing about the Order or Silent Hill. Guess it must be too small to show in anything but local papers."

Jo walked over to her mother, "Well, I managed to get through to Bobby. He thinks he has a couple books that mention the Order. He's gonna find them and head our way."

"Well, guess it's a good thing that I'M so awesome," Ash crowed and he chugged his beer.

Ellen just turned to him and glared. Wilting, Ash said, "Well, I found some info. Cheryl Mason was the adopted daughter of Harry Mason. He found her abandoned on the side of the road in a little, out of the way 'burb called…"

Jo chuckled, "Let me guess-Silent Hill?"

"Yup. But here's where it gets good. There's some info about a fire-well, a burning really. Some religious nutjob set her daughter on fire. Was trying to summon their 'god'. And guess what? Harry Mason was there. He was a big part of the incident. After that, he and Cheryl booked it to get out of town. Later, when she was in her early twenties, she moved to Silent Hill and had a kid. That kid was named Maria. Odd, though. There's no birth records or any paper trail that shows Cheryl was ever pregnant, much less had a kid. She was childless when she moved to Silent Hill, but had a kid with her when she left."

Ellen blinked, "Where did you find out all that?"

"There were some police records written by some officer...Bendle? Benny? Bennett?...that dealt with them. I, uh, also might have hacked a few online journals."

"Well, it's something," Ellen replied, shaking her head, "Jo, try and call Dean. Let him know what's up, okay?"

"On it, Mom!"

"Ooooh. Ouch," Sam grunted. He slowly raised his head, blinking blearily. After a few moments, his eyes shot open and he bolted up from the ground he was laying on. "DEAN! Dean, are you….okay?" Looking around, Sam failed to locate his brother. What he did find was a very different room from the one he blacked out in. Instead of the nursery that he and Dean had been in before, Sam found himself in a large, dark room. The floor was a rusted mesh, dripping blood. The ceiling, if there was one, was so far up that it was invisible. Both above him and below the floor was an endless black void. The walls were a pulsing, fleshy mass that surged in and out like the building itself was breathing. But the elder Winchester was nowhere to be seen.

Standing cautiously, Sam moved around the room, growing more and more horrified at the sight before him, "What. The. Actual. Hell?"

After pacing the perimeter of the room, he had failed to find anything useful, other than a door. He stepped out and found a hallway, similar to the one he and Dean had walked earlier. But, like the room he had just exited, the hallway was changed into some nightmarish biological horror. Reaching back, Sam made to draw his pistol, but there was nothing in his holster! He ran back into the room, but there was no sign of the weapon. Grumbling, and more than a little freaked out, Sam went back to the hall. He cautiously moved down the rusted path in the only open direction, trying to be as quiet as a 6'4" tall man can be. As he walked, he noticed a room number on one of the doors, "Room 204, huh? But, we were on the first floor, right?" Feeling curious, he reached out and tried the door. It opened, and he stumbled into a room not too different from the one he woke in.

He turned in cautious circles, until his foot nudged an object on the floor. It rolled a few inches with a metallic clatter. Reaching down, Sam felt for the object and picked it up. With a bit of happy surprise, he realized it was a long police-style flashlight! He turned the heavy light over in his hands until he found the switch, which he pushed. The light flared into being, illuminating a large swath of the room. He swept it back and forth, seeing only blood drenched hotel room furniture, until he reached the far left corner. There, he saw a figure huddled against the wall, facing into the corner and emitting muffled cries. He stepped closer and saw that the figure seemed to be a woman dressed in a dirty nightgown which was stained with blood and other, less savory fluids.

Sam took another step forward, clearing his throat and speaking, "Hello? Ma'am? Are you alright? My name is Sam, and I-" He stopped speaking with a loud gasp, for the crying figure turned around. It was a woman, as he thought, or at least it was vaguely female. But her stomach was gashed open, blood and intestines hanging out and trailing down legs that were mostly bone and burnt flesh. The worst was the face. Long, dirty, blood-matted blonde hair framed a face with a large, gaping mouth that was slashed open from ear to ear. As the thing cried, its mouth opened wide, and he could see…something…crawling and shifting inside that maw. And the eyes….the eyes were empty sockets, containing a terribly yellow glow.

The sobbing woman shuffled forward, reaching out with burned and blackened arms for Sam. He let loose a very unmanly squeak of terror and backpedaled towards the door. The creature shuffled faster and as he escaped back into the hall, it followed him out, its cries growing into loud, ear-piercing shrieks. Sam held the flashlight tight and tore off running down the hall. On each side, doors banged open and more of the sobbing women began to stumble out, reaching for him. One managed to grab his arm as he ran, and her long, blackened nails ripped chunks off of his jacket sleeve.

Down the hall he ran, weaponless and wishing he knew where Dean was. At the end of the hall was a left turn, and Sam almost collided with the wall as he tried to take it. He saw a door standing open, with a sign next to it stating "Cleaning crew." He dashed in and closed the door as quietly as he could, and looked around the room. Nearby, he saw a laundry cart loaded down with bloody bed sheets. He rolled the heavy cart in front of the door and sat down in the far corner, trying desperately to calm his breathing.

"Dean…where are you?"

To Be Continued….

A/N: Wow, it's been awhile. It's short, but I hope you all enjoy!