Chapter 1: The Beginning

Eyes darted around the fogged clearing, black iris colored eyes. She did not know how she had gotten there, or where there even was. Curiously, the woman raised her left hand to look at it. Her vision was not blurred, but not clear. It came to her; was she sleep walking? She continued to look at her left hand bewildered until she brought it to her opposite shoulder to scratch it. She blinks a few times, her vision clearing slightly. Gray specs were floating about the air around her, and she curiously stuck her tongue out to taste what she expected to be snow. A few specs landed in her mouth, and she began to cough suddenly. "Uuuggaahhh!!!"

She inhaled sharply, as if she hadn't breathed for a whole lifetime, and squint her eyes with disgust. It was now when she realized that she had accidentally not only tasted but inhaled specs of ash.

After staring at the specs for a few more, notable long, moments she smiled to herself. She did not speak as she walked forward past a sign that read Silent Hill. Turning her head, she continued to inspect the area. It sure is silent, she thought, walking. The name fits. For a quick second she glanced at what she was wearing; simple light beige jeans that nicely hugged her hips and thighs, and a fitting black polo styled shirt. Her shoes were walking shoes. Would match more with heals, she thought, unsatisfied by her attire, but pushed it aside as she approached what looked like a fenced area. She rubbed her eyes and reopened them, no longer needing to squint much to her liking. It would suck being slightly blind in an already foggy area without the aid of glasses. She spots a reddish and white run down building, along with a very vacant parking lot.

As she reaches the front doors of the building she noted that there were no sounds of animals or cars or people, just the sound of silence speaking to her. Pushing the creaking metal door open she enters the building, ignoring the sign that informs others of what it was and its purpose. She observes the area; stalls, sinks, and aged pale blue tiles on both the floors and walls. The lights flicked slightly, some looking as if they were about to give out. It hits her; she was inside of a bathroom. Not having the need to pee, let alone take a dump, she exits the dirty area back to the fog drenched air of outside only to spot a distant sign that read, 'Observation Deck'. She blinked, probably about five times, before she thought. Observation Deck huh? For observing what?

She turned her body fully towards the other direction, about to leave, when she suddenly noticed a railing, fallowed by a lake not too far off. She could read a sign by its bank, probably about half a mile to a mile off, that read 'Toluca Lake'. She blinked and then smiled at her silly self, now satisfied that her question was answered, and headed for the gate that led to a trail way that she expected to be a short cut. She fingered the gate, attempted to pry it open with her bare hands, only to be unsuccessful. She quirked her brows, sighed to herself, and then completely turned around again only to walk on back to the main road. She continued to walk until she reached Nathan Avenue.

The sound of scurrying was heard, and she stopped dead in her tracks. What the…?

Almost as fast as it came, the sound disappeared into the fog. The woman turned her head, she was in the cross road where Nathan Avenue and Willse Road meet, fallowed by the small path that she was trying to enter. She swallowed her saliva and continued walking forward, Toluca Lake still in sight as she slowly walked her way towards Silent hill in a good pace. She took her time to observe the area, not hearing any signs of life, which somewhat bothered her to a certain extent. However, it also eased her, and she was somewhat happy that the silence gave the place an eerie, uneasy feeling. For some reason, she felt…good, no, comfortable.

The woman tilted her head to the side, sticking her finger in her ear and twisting it around, cleaning it. Maybe my ear's dirty. Yeah, that's why I can't hear anything. It's probably dirty. A sudden gust of wind came for her and blew her dark brown, almost black, hair about, causing it to tickle her face. She frowned, clearly annoyed, and brushed it back with her fingers while walking. It was surprisingly cool, in between moderate cool and cold. She liked it this way; and with her shirt she didn't feel cold. She whistled out loud, calling for the wind to come, and so it did. Another gust of wind came and blew her hair about. She only wanted it for the feel on her skin, not for the hair-everywhereness. She sniffed the air, clearly bored, and her face became strait. She smelt the lake, getting a good whiff of fresh, algae filled water. So bored…

Her thoughts ceased to continue when she noticed a few buildings up ahead; expecting it to be another Observation Deck or two, but then the couple of builds grew to three, and then four, and then in grew into a whole city. She grinned, her canines noticeable longer than usual, but not exaggerating long like that of a vampire. Instantly she picked up her pace, now jogging through the main road to the small streets that branched from it. She observed the street signs; Lindsey Martin, Neely, Manson and Carroll. She made note of this, fallowed by a park half way through the two. The smaller streets branched out into more. I could really use a directory, she thought, looking around the streets. Stores, benches, signs, and a few fire hydrants here and there were present, but no directory. "…" the woman did not speak. Instead, she scoffed to herself, a grunt fallowing as she crossed her arms and tapped her foot in thought. She was in need of a person, aid, assistance, anything. Even a phone was good. Wait a minute…a phone. The woman reached in her pants pockets, searching them. All she found was a pack of gum that contained fifteen strips, spearmint flavored. No phone? Very sad… she grunted, feeling dumb that she didn't have a phone nor did she know her location. At least she knew who she was. Her name was Evelyn Ashcroft, and she…she…

Damn, how old am I again? And, where was I born? She frowns from her lack of knowledge of her own self and mentally sulked. She didn't notice that she was walking again, down Neely Street. She looks to her left, noticing a bar. Oh, how interesting. Assistance from drunken men is always helpful, she mentally joked, heading for the bar. She pushes the double glass doors open with ease, expecting to see people since it were open, only to see nothing. Once again, she was in emptiness. She sighed inwardly, looking around bored and noticing the numerous amounts of alcohol. She stared, slightly tempted, and gave in to her temptation. She grabbed an unopened bottle of whiskey, convincing herself that she was simply borrowing it, and walked out the front door back to Neely Street. She walked back towards the main road, biting onto the cork on the top of the bottle with her sharp canines and gripping it, pulling it out, a 'pop' heard which made her smile. She grinned to herself, always loving a good drink and a spearmint gum after, and stuck the cork in her pocket. She downed a good amount, the burning sensation waking her up, and she began to run down the main road once again. She continued to walk until she made her way completely out of Silent Hill, or so she thought. She was now on W. Sandford Street. Strange, I thought I was on the highway. I guess not… she shrugged, continuing on walking, absent mindedly heading for South Vale.

_______

Scraping was heard; extremely loud, ear bleeding, mind numbing, eerie scraping. A muscular figure made its way across the halls of Lake View Hotel. Pyramid Head, in which he was named by a man named James that he had encountered not long ago, was dragging his Great Knife along, the sheer weight from both his well known weapon and helmet causing him to slump a bit. He did not know why he was in the Lake View Hotel at the moment. Earlier he had seen stray humans from the church and other hiding places making their way towards it, however he had not seen any sign, and nor did he sense their presence. Pyramid Head heaved his Great Knife before him, giving it a short look before piercing the ground with it and leaning back to take a breather. He wasn't really tired, he was simply…bored.

He had seen Alessa not to long ago. She was strolling as usual, but in the open. He did not know why, though. The evil demon in disguise as an innocent, dirty look pale child never was out in the open during the Fog World, but mainly during what they call the Otherworld.

He doesn't know this through conversation but by observation; Pyramid Head has never really spoken to Alessa. He only sees her when she randomly runs by, which was normal, even to him. Ahead he spots a mannequin, walking its way about as it makes deep fearsome noises to warn others that it is approaching. As it turns, it sense a presence, mainly that of Pyramid Head, and quickly changed direction. All creatures avoided him.

This didn't shock him, however. Pyramid Head was the beast of Silent Hill, and whatever approached him dies a slow, painful, torturous death. This all fed his pleasure, which was what he was lacking at the moment. Pyramid Head's breathing slowed a bit, and he thought to himself; he could really use a nurse. He looked around, already doubting that there were any nurses around. They were mainly in the hospitals, which he was nowhere close near one. Clearly annoyed, he pulled onto his Great Knife, growling bitterly at his boredom, and made his way downstairs, only to find himself dead in his tracks. His muscles tensed as he instantly and wolfishly sniffed the air. A woman… he thought to himself as his long, eel like tongue licked his lips fully for no apparent reason. Pyramid Head turned his head to the side, his helmet making an echoing sound, and his deep breathing heard. He inhaled deeply once more, his muscularly toned chest rising. His eyes slightly widened with shock, but then quickly returned to their normal state. A new woman, he thought, his heart slightly rising with excitement. Slowly, once again, Pyramid Head dragged himself and his Great Knife, making his way for the exit out towards the main road.

______

The woman, known as Evelyn, was stunned. She stared at the new batch of buildings before her dumbfounded, and thought to herself. Perhaps I made a wrong turn? No…or maybe the street goes in a circle, and I'm back in Silent Hill? No, that's not true. The buildings don't look that much the same. I'm on Sandford Street now, not West Sandford…that means I'm still in Silent Hill, so this place has several sections, Evelyn pondered. Looking around, she finds herself absent mindedly walking again, and raises the whiskey bottle to her face to see that she had drunken about one thirds of the bottle's contents. She sighed inwardly, still clearly bored. Suddenly, she spots a woman. Finally, she thought excitedly, returning the cork to the top of the bottle and running for the stranger. The stranger, already seeing her from afar, stared at her bewildered and confused, as if she were thinking that her mind was playing tricks on her. Evelyn stopped before her, panting greatly, and stood straight, smiling at the woman kindly. "…" the woman remained silent, staring shocked. "What are you doing here? Who are you?" the woman questioned Evelyn. She was a red head, pale in skin, and slightly dirty. She had the bluest of eyes, and her body was very thin, but not anorexic. "Did you hear me? Who are you woman?" the red head asked, almost impatient, with a hint of excitement to her voice. Evelyn smiled and opened her mouth to speak. "A…Eve….lyn…." she struggled to let out, her voice slightly hoarse. She sounded as if her voice box were scraped by sand paper and coated with a line of thick phlegm. She went wide eyed, slightly surprised by her non-painfully strained voice and flushed with frustration.

"Evelyn? Now tell me, where are you from. Are you from here?" the woman asked. Evelyn stared, but then shrugged. She honestly didn't know. The woman stared with disbelief. "You don't know?" Evelyn nodded, and the woman sighed. "Okay then, are you alone?" she asked next. Evelyn nodded. "Good, at least you know something. I'm Beatrice, but you can call me Beebe…that is if you can." Evelyn grimaced, and Beebe only stared at her with a small smile. "I doubt you're from here. I've never seen you in the church…you must be a new comer from outside the town. Bumped your head on something and knocked you out cold," she stated, rubbing lightly on Evelyn's forehead. Evelyn went wide eyed for a second. Bumped? She noticed a broken piece of glass in the woman's hand and pointed for it rather than to ask with her ugly voice, and Beebe obliged by handing it over.

Evelyn held it before her, simply to look at her bleeding forehead. "Ahh…mah…" she struggled to speak, unable to talk over her confusion. Beebe shrugged. "Could explain your memory loss. Come, before the warning sirens sound off. The church is just up ahead," Beebe explained whilst grabbing Evelyn's hand tightly into hers. She pulls her forward, and they begin to walk hand in hand. There was an uncomfortable silence after.

Noticing Evelyn's tensing muscles, Beebe began to speak again. "Drinking alcohol isn't a very good idea. Being drunk out in the streets of silent hill alone is risky and just plain old stupid." Evelyn took in her words, slightly offended. Obviously it would be dangerous walking around foggy streets drunk—she could get hit by a damn car! But Evelyn almost instantly brushed it off as she heard scurrying, and turned her head to notice more people that stared. Beebe ignored them, continuing to pull her on when she tried to refuse her. "Ignore them; they're from the other church. They aren't new comers like you," Beebe explained in her accented voice, and Evelyn—as bored as she was—attempted to determine if it were either light Scottish or Southern, or maybe even both.

She shrugged, not really knowing, and then scratched the back of her neck once again before jogging towards Beebe's side to keep up with her frantic form. The two ran hand in hand now. "Are you a sporty person? You run fast," Beebe questioned, and she noticed that Evelyn was now dragging her for the past five minutes. "Plus you're leading me in the right direction. Have you been here before?" Evelyn rolled her eyes. Questions, questions… she thought becoming slightly annoyed. She felt as if she did know the area, but at the same time she felt as if she didn't. It didn't matter to her though; all she wanted was her questions to be answered, not to be asked questions that she isn't even capable of answering herself.

She looks up to notice a church; the usual gothic styled architecture and its stained glass windows. It's large, arrowed metal gates fallowed by its front entrance which consisted of large, wooden double doors with metal knobs. The church looked well protected, and it looked as if absolutely nothing could break into it. Well this looks promising, Evelyn thought, staring up at the man made structure and suddenly found herself being literally thrown into it. Sirens sounded off; loud, bomb sirens. This reminded her of a nuclear war. She looks around, the area smelling of musk and sweat, and then turned to see dozens of people running for the entrance frantically. Evelyn could only stare in shock as they bumped into her in all directions, her eyes in the horizon as the earth looked as if it were peeling, and being replaced with a new layer of skin—sick, bleeding, rotting skin. And then Evelyn thought to herself confused.

My god…it's as if I'm in hell.