Disclaimer: I do not own Silent Hill. Nor, its characters. The characters of Liz, Tommy and Keita are my characters, and I do own them as well as a couple "no name" characters. The following story is a two plus two production.

Chapter One:

Memories

Memories, memories, memories… they flooded her psyche. They were not hers. Of that she was sure. They haunted her, always lurking, even in the middle of the day. She could never shake these memories. They would never leave her alone. They would never leave her behind.

She tossed and turned; lost in the abyss of her unconsciousness. A horrified scream rose from the darkness. It flung her from her sleep, her breath catching in her throat. Shaking uncontrollably, she looked around the room. The bed was empty, as it had been since the accident. He was no longer there to comfort her when these nightmares occurred.

She climbed out of bed and walked to the vanity cattycorner to the bed. Peering into the mirror she noticed that her face was swollen red and puffy from crying in her sleep. She sniffed and pushed her shoulder length brown hair from her face. She glanced around the room that they had made together. The light blue curtains fluttered in the night breeze. The bare floor was cool on the bottom of her feet.

She adjusted the light blue tank top that served as her pj top. She went back to the bed and pulled the large silk comforter around her neck. The Shiba Inu lying on the floor noticed her unease and came to the bedside. He didn't dare jump up in fear of knocking down the curtains that lined the large pillow top mattress. She parted them and called him up. He happily complied and joined her on the bed.

"At least you're still here." She said embracing the dog. He tried to lick her face but she gently pushed him back. "You're not going to go away are you Keita?" The dog lay next to her, her ever faithful companion.

"There's no other way Liz!" He said looking at the room. "It has to be this way!"

"Suppose we turned the vanity…wouldn't that work?" She asked inspecting the room.

He vigorously ran his fingers through his hair, the way he did when he was loosing his patients. "I've tried that. What's wrong with the way it is now?"

She shook her head. "Nothing I suppose." She shrugged and walked over to the hope chest her mother had given her on their wedding day. Flipping the lid up she sifted through the various gifts that they had received. She found a pair of teal Jersey sheets and took them out.

"What do you think?" She asked holding them up against the light blue of the drapes hanging from the four post bed.

"Looks good." He said and leaned against the door frame. "Know what would look better?"

"What?" She asked naively.

"You and me, on them!" He said with a grin.

She tossed a large plush pillow at him. "You're horrible!"

He ran at her, lifting her high in the air. She screeched, and moments later Keita came bounding into the room. He expressed his displeasure at seeing his female human being spun about the room by yelping loudly. When Keita got tired of warning Tommy to put his human down he began jumping up. As if vainly trying to stop their twirling.

"Put me down! You've upset the dog!" She cried taking notice of the danger that could befall them.

"Oh he's fine!" Tommy said ignoring the dogs protesting whines.

Keita howled and ran about the room. Tommy carried her over to the bed and parted the curtains. He tossed her on the bed, but as she fell everything changed. She could hear the screeching of tires and the scraping of metal against metal. The windshield caved in and shattered all around them. And then the scream.

Liz woke to sunlight flooding the bedroom. She looked around sleep still clinging to every inch of her body. Forcing herself to stand, she got out of bed and made her way to the kitchen. Keita had long since made his way to his dog dish and was happily eating the remains of the previous evening. Keita stood by the island crunching his food. His big brown eyes observed her as she made her way to the coffee maker. She put on coffee even though she hated it. It was habit. After all she wasn't making it for herself, she was making it for Tommy.

"Morning Keita." She said looking over at the tricolor backside that was facing her. She smiled as his ears perked at the call of his name. She straightened and made her way to the porch. On the doorstep lay the morning paper. She picked it up and went back to the kitchen. The coffee was beginning to brew and the smell invaded the house in a very welcoming way.

Rolling it out on the island she looked at the front page. Nothing of interest caught her eye, and she flipped through to the classifieds. She checked through all the puppy adds before folding the paper back up. The coffee was finished now and she poured a cup and set it on the table. Old habits were hard to break.

She poured some juice for herself and looked over at Keita. This time he took notice of her and came to her side. She knelt down and scratched him between his ears.

"Wanna' go on a trip?" She asked. He jumped up a little and tried to lick her face. "Yes, you wanna' go on a trip." She stood and Keita wondered into the other room. "Get ready Keita, we're going to Silent Hill."

Liz put the last of her things into the red Jeep and slammed the back door. Keita ran around the yard wagging his tail. He watched as she situated a few more things in the back seat and shut the door.

"Come on Keita!" She cried and clapped her hands. He leapt up and jumped into the Jeep. Taking his place in the passengers' side he looked out the window.

Making sure the door was locked; Liz took a final look at the house and walked over to the car. As she was climbing in a voice called out to her.

"Ah Dr. Marnell, where are you off to this fine day?" She looked across the hood of the car to the neighbor's house.

"Oh, Good Morning Mr. Thompson. Just off to West Virginia." She said brightly.

"Oh! Are you on holiday?" He asked leaning over the white fence.

She couldn't help but notice that age had indeed taken its toll on the kind old gentleman. But his eyes were exceptionally bright and full of life. Wrinkles adorned his forehead and his cheeks. Liz would have guessed him to be somewhere in his early seventies. He wore a very beaten up gardeners hat. His coverall's were dirt stained, implying that he had been in the garden only moments before. She smiled and placed a hand over her eyes.

"I guess." She said not wanting to be rude.

"West Virginia eh? What's a pretty young thing like you going there for?"

"I have family there." She lied. "I'm taking sometime off since the…."

He put his hands up and nodded his head. "I understand. I took a lot of time off when I lost my Martha. You have a good time there. I'll keep an eye out; make sure no body goes breaking in." He chuckled.

"Thanks. One less thing I'll have to worry about."

"You take care now." He said turning toward the direction of his porch.

"See you later." She called and climbed in to the car.

Keita looked at her, in a way that reminded her of Tommy.

"Oh don't look at me like that. He's a nice old man. A bit senile maybe, but still nice."

Keita laid down on the seat and rested his head close to the air conditioning vent. She smiled and stuck the key in the ignition. Then she put the car into drive and pulled out of the driveway.

Two hours later she pulled into a gas station. She parked the car along the forestry area and let Keita out. He seemed very happy to get out and stretch is legs. He wondered around the trees sniffing here and their. His dark coat stood out against the deep greens of the mountain so she had no trouble keeping an eye on him. She let him wonder around the shrubbery and popped inside the convenience store.

She selected a large water bottle and some orange juice to take with her. She also picked out some chips and jerky before heading to the counter. Once there she paid for her items she made her way back outside. She glanced around for Keita and didn't find him.

"Keita!" She called. "Keita! Come here boy!" She walked to where she had left him. He was gone. "Keita!" She waked down by the shrubs and looked into the forest area. He was gone. "KEITA!" She called louder.

He still didn't come. Getting frantic, she jogged to the highway and looked down either way. There was no trace of him. "KEITA!" She called louder.

He still did not come. Tears welt in her eyes. Where had he gone? He had never left on his own before. They had taken tons of trips. She turned and walked back to the car. Angry with herself she deposited the water and snacks in her seat. She walked around the front of the gas station looking for Keita. As she neared the garage she heard a mans voice talking in a tone that one would use on a child. She turned and found Keita happily wagging his tail and receiving much desired pettings. The man looked up.

"Oh, is he your dog?"

Here's your sign, she thought, quoting a comedian whose name she could never remember. "Yeah, he's mine."

"He's mighty perdy."

Perdy, she scoffed. It was east to tell this man came from the mountains somewhere.

"What kinda' dog is he?"

"He's a Shiba." She said wanting to wrap up this short but sweet conversation.

"Very perdy ma'am. You take care now." He patted Keita gently between the ears and brushed past her.

"Come here baby!" She called in delight. "Oh don't worry me like that!" She hugged him and kissed his furry snout. "Let's go!"

She wasn't sure how long she had been driving. But twilight was beginning to fall. Looking around she found a mile marker indicating that a small town was just a head. On the opposite side of the street she saw a billboard. It looked like an open bible and had a scripture of some sort on it. She didn't take to much time to read it. Looking for the turn off, she glanced at her clock. Quarter to eight. It was time to stop.

She turned off when she found the exit. A small inn lit up an area just off her right. It looked like a Super 8, but it had obviously been redone and was now just a small town inn. She disliked this type of motel but at this point all she wanted was a bed. Keita was beginning to get restless and was pacing on the seat. He yawned in protest of going any farther. She smiled and pulled into the parking lot.

After requesting a room and lugging in her overnight pack She collapsed on the bed next to Keita. He panted and looked at her as if she had just stepped on his favorite toy. Without exchanging a good night with her only companion, she drifted into unconsciousness.

She was running again. She was always running. Panicking she stopped and fiddled with a doorknob. The door wouldn't budge. She pounded on it, hoping to maybe break it down Though breaking it down would not solve her problem. She threw her body against the rotting wood hoping it might give. Nothing. The door stood strong as it had when it was new, as if to mock her. The hair on her neck rose and she shuffled against the adjacent wall. Her damp brown locks fell against her dirt smudged face. It was that noise again; that scratching of rusty metal against pavement. She was frantic now.

She looked down the dark halls. She couldn't see very far, it was too dark. She felt along the wall; the paint came off, sticking to her palms. She edged down the corridor hopping to escape the sound. The shrill scratching sound that seemed to be following her. Staying just far enough behind to keep her on her toes. As she turned a corner she bumped into something, something about her size. Her eyes widened as it came into view. A scream escaped her throat and chilled her to the bone.

Liz shot up, out of breath and sweaty. She glanced around the room unfamiliar with her surroundings. Keita nudged her hand and she jumped with fright. He licked her fingers in a gesture that meant he wanted to be petted. She shook off her sleep and climbed out of bed. Making her way to the bathroom she grabbed her overnight bag, a warm shower and some breakfast would wake her up. Then she planed to go into Brahms and pay the archives a visit.

Liz fiddled with the knobs of the shower, and cold jets of water spat out. She adjusted the knobs until she found a pleasing temperature. Then she removed her clothes and climbed in. Standing under the shower head she let the jets shoot warm water at her. It soothed the ache in her shoulder. She assumed she had acquired that discomforting pinch while sleeping on the firm hotel bed. Rubbing her shoulder with one hand she rung water from her hair with the other. She loved the water, it was always so soothing.

She applied her shampoo and conditioner and finished off with an oatmeal and shea butter body wash. She fancied shea butter because it always made her skin soft. And Tommy had liked the smell of the shea butter. In many ways she sought comfort in that scent. Since the accident she hadn't changed shampoo, body wash, deodorant, or perfume. Anything that reminded her of better times she kept. She finished up and climbed out of the shower.

The bathroom was muggy due to the steam, and so she opened the door. Keita was lying on the bed panting. He sniffed the air as she stepped out.

"What's up?" She asked as she put her over night bag on the bed. She rummaged through until she found her jeans, pink tub top, and white t-shirt hoodie. She dressed quickly and then towel dried her hair. She took a seat on the bed and located the remote. Flipping through the channels she found the weather channel. The weather look lovely today, but tomorrow- when she planned to go to Silent Hill- it looked rainy. She sighed, nothing she could do about it.

She looked around the room, realizing for the first time that she hadn't look around last night. It was a little room. In the middle was a queen size bed, and across from that was the dresser with the TV on top. To the left of that was a table and a lamp, and on the wall hung a few painting of wildlife from the area. Overall, it was a nice room.

"You want some breakfast?" She asked Keita. She jumped off the bed and did circles in the open space from the bed to the door.

Liz smiled and stood up. "Okay, let's go get some breakfast."