FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

This is not furry-related at all. It is simply a story I wrote. I copied it from my page on fanfiction.net and thought you might want to read it. It is my second Silent Hill fan fiction.

Chapter one: Tu fui, Ego Eris

My story begins at the William Howard high school, a perfectly normal place of learning in the quant, little town of Pleasant River. It was a peaceful, little school, apart from the occasional prank by the delinquent of the year. We had a cafeteria that usually served nice meals; we had clean bathrooms, and a huge auditorium. I had seen so many schools elsewhere that were a true, messy hell. Our school was so top-quality probably because it was only a mile or two from Silent Hill; a huge tourist town.

At the time, I was 16 and in the tenth grade. My classroom was at the very northwest corner of the building, making it very easy for me to make a quick escape when school was over. I was always the first onto the bus. I found school to be quite a bore, and getting home not only meant I could be away from the worries of the day, but also that I could hear my music.

It was 2:57 in the afternoon; only three minutes remaining until I could go home. "Now, class," announced our teacher -Mr. Burnham, "I want you all to remember to-"The bell rang out and everyone dashed to the door before Mr. Burnham could finish his sentence. Surprisingly, even Walter left right away. This was very strange because Walter usually stayed after class. I had no idea what he did after everyone left, but you could always depend on him to do so.

I shuffled around in the wire basket under my desk, looking for my CD player I always kept there. "Shit..." I muttered under my breath.

"Looking for something?" asked Mr. Burnham.

I was silent for a moment, thinking of what to say. If I told him the truth, he'd just ask me to give him the damn CD player. "Just a... my calculator."

"Well," he replied, "Do hurry up. I can't stay here all night, you know. I have things I need to do."

"Yes, sir." I answered back with a grin. I had made him fall for it. Now I could safely search for my prized music. Mr. Burnham walked out of the room and the door closed behind him.

It took me only a minute or two to find my stuff. I tucked it under my arm and walked towards the door. "Damn!" I shouted. "I just remembered; the bus! I've definitely missed it by now."

Shaking my head, I turned off the light and stepped out into the hallway. To my surprise, all the lights were off. There was not a soul to be seen. It had only been a minute, but it seemed as if it had been ages. It was alright dark outside!

I walked over to the big, double-doors of the exit. I pushed the metal bar down, but to my horror, it stopped immediately. "Noooo!" I screamed. For several minutes, I desperately tried to open the door.

"Maybe one of the other doors?" I said to myself. But alas, all these doors, too, were locked tight. "Did that asshole Mr. Burnham not tell anyone I was still here!" I slumped down, back against the door. "What the hell am I going to do?" No sooner did I finish that sentence, when I heard a sorrowful wail in the distance. It sounded like a boy my age, but then again, it also sounded inhuman. Whatever it was, I knew it was in horrible despair. I just sat there for a few minutes in disbelief. I didn't want to believe there was some kind of monster here. When I heard it again, though, I stood up and headed toward it. I said to myself "Come on, this is all probably the doings of some mean assholes I know. I don't believe in this stuff. Ghosts, yes; monsters, hell no!"

With that, I walked down the south hall to the staircase. Once again, I heard the monster wail. This time, it was much longer, and even more painful. It sounded as if it were being tortured. A part of me knew it couldn't be the work of pranksters, but I just kept telling myself it had to be.

I walked down the staircase, my legs trembling. Each footstep seemed to echo through the whole building. Maybe it was my nervousness, but it sounded quite clear to me.

I came to the bottom of the stairwell and was just about to step into the hall when a message on the wall caught my eye. Written in red letters, almost like blood, was the message "Tu fui, Ego eris".

Fortunately, I had been taking Latin for a little while. I hadn't been taking it long, but I could least tell what "Ego Eris" meant: "What I am, you will be".

"What could this possibly mean?" I asked myself as I finally entered the hallway downstairs. Down there, it was almost to the point of being pitch-black. I was afraid of the dark, but if this monster really was a bunch of pranksters, then

Again, I heard the moan. "Damn," I stuttered. "You guys are really doing a nice job with that monster." I passed by dozens of classrooms, becoming more nervous with the passing of each one. I was starting to have a feeling that maybe this all wasn't a joke.

I definitely believed in ghosts. I had been watching shows about hauntings from a very young age; too young, I'd say. I had stopped believing in monsters before then, though. Ghosts actually have quite a lot of evidence on their case. Monsters, I thought, were figments of children's' imagination.

It wasn't long when I started hearing heavy breathing. It sounded like that of the wailing monster. It was totally dark, thus, I could not tell what it was. I swallowed hard before finally speaking. "Hello?"

It said nothing, but continued to breathe heavily in my presence.

I spoke again. "So, how did you make the monster sounds, guys?"

It spoke; not like any human I'd ever heard. Its voice sounded like a child, and at the same, like an inhuman manifestation. "Tu fui... Ego eris..."

"That's right. I understand the "ego eris" part, that means "What I am, you will be." What does the first one mean, though?"

The dark figure said nothing for a moment, then screamed out a scream so shrill and inhuman it made my head split with pain. Collapsing to my knees, I screamed out in agony. Never before had I experienced such an intense headache. It lasted only a few seconds, and when it was over, a light had turned on above me. What I saw then turned me motionless.

Chapter two: The Gate

With the light on, I could finally tell what was making the noise. My first thought, of it being a boy my age, was true... sort of. The figure in front of me looked like any other boy at my school, except for the fact that his entire body was covered in black vein-like lines. They covered up his entire form, making him look like cracked porcelain.

"Help..." was all that he could say. His words would come several seconds after his mouth would move. They were crackled, tortured, and moaning.

I stood there, aghast at this grotesque and horrifying sight that loomed before me. For minutes, I could do nothing but stand there and stare in disbelief. I awoke with a jolt, though, when I felt something cold and sticky trailing up my leg. With a gasp, I raised my pants leg. To my horror, I saw that one of the black veins had made its way from my shoe, up my shin, and was already at my knee. "Noo!" I shouted as I reached for it. The vein felt even stickier as it slipped through my fingers, forking itself and spreading up my hand. I glanced back at the black figure before me, now solid black with squirming, black veins. "What the hell is going on here!" I screamed.

The boy in front of me took a step forward and spoke to me with the most sorrow I had ever heard. "Tu Fui... Ego Eris".

"What... does that "Tu Fui" mean?" I replied, trying to keep my balance. Alas, though, before he could reply, more veins flooded down from the walls and completely swallowed him, like a black tidal wave of death. One last shrill cry of horror was heard before the mountain of blackness around him sank to the floor.

"God damn it!" I screamed, "THIS CAN'T BE REAL!" For a few more moments, I struggled to break free of the veins that had engulfed both my legs. "I can't... die here!" All of a sudden, a spark went off in my mind. "Ego eris means "What I am, you will be". The message hit me like a slap in the face. "He was trying to warn me!" I screamed out in agony and anguish, both from the realization of my ignorance, and from the feeling of the veins, which had now made their way to my chest. "This must be... the end." I said as the veins crept their way up my neck. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes before the blackness consumed me.

In the blackness, I had a dream. In that dream, I was a prisoner back in the days of the civil war. I was in my prison cell with my wife and our daughter, and we were eating the gruesome slop that they fed to all prisoners. We were simple civilians, taken from our own homes, and I hadn't the slightest idea why.

That night, a furious man dressed in a red cloak and a triangular-shaped hood stopped at our cell. He unlocked the door, and once inside, snatched my wife right before my eyes. I wanted to reach out and kill the bastard, but I simply could not move. Looking down at my hands, I noticed shackles there. All I could do was watch as he dragged her carelessly down the hall and out the door. My dream took me outside the prison building to the town square right outside. My wife lay trembling on a wooden stage, her hands bound together with rope and her head across a wooden block.

He was handed an enormous blade. He raised it high in the air, took one deep breath, and let it fall. Right before the blade made the fatal cut, I awoke.

My vision was blurry for a moment, but that was of little concern to me. All I knew is that I was happy it was a dream. "God... What a dream," I said as I sat up. "It felt so real. I could feel the footsteps of that red man as he made his way down the hall... I could feel the extreme warmth emanating from the ground wherever he walked... Damn." I felt all over my body for the black veins... not a single one. Wearily, I stood up and glanced all around me. I was in the middle of a city street. My first thought was that I had been sleepwalking. "But if I fell asleep in the school, then how the hell did I get out here?" I noticed very quickly that this wasn't even Pleasant River. It was night, and everywhere I looked, there was fog so thick that I could not see my own feet when I looked down. There were cars all over the side of streets, but not a soul around.

"Well," I started, "I guess the first thing I should do is to find out where I am." I glanced around and spotted a small building by an enormous gate, one blocking an entire street. As I came closer to the building, I squinted my eyes to read the sign. "Tourist Information Center... Paid for by the Silent Hill tourist bureau." "Silent Hill!" I gasped. "How the hell did I get all the way here!" I shook my head in disbelief. "I guess," I said with a morbid sense of humor, "I was running a sleepwalking marathon..."

Chapter three: Cybil

I stood in the street for a moment, considering what I should do next. I came to the decision that, since, I needed to get back home, that seeing a cop would be a good idea; I'd get a free ride out of this place. While this sounded like a good idea, I still had a major problem: just where was the police station? I took a quick look around myself, and seeing no one on the street to ask, I headed North, past the tourist office. As I passed it, I glanced at the street sign "Carroll street" it read in slightly faded letters. I laughed to myself "I guess I do feel like Alice right now"I stated humorously, ",if she were in hell."

As I walked up Carroll street, the blanket of fog surrounding the town seemed only to get more dense. Even with the street lights glowing, I could see only a foot or two in front of me, making it extremely difficult to tell where I was going. In an effort to find the police station more easily, I began walking on the left side of the street, only a foot or two from the buildings that lined it. A few more minutes were spent wandering up the deserted streets, wishing only for a sign of life to appear. Just as I had finished walking for what seemed like three miles, I saw that the fog was getting a little clearer. I stopped to look as best as I could straight ahead. There, in the shroud of fog, I saw a terrifying sight.

I stared in disbelief at something that can only be described as... a monster. Standing nearly eight feet tall, it was a dark, distorted figure. It had two towering legs, but where its torso should have been, there was nothing but a big, throbbing heart attached to a cluster of black veins, the ones I had seen in my school. "No!" I said as quietly as I could, "This can't be... those things can't be real! They were just a dream..." Thankfully, the creature could neither hear me or see me; it was facing away from me. As quietly as I could, I took a left at the four-way; avoiding the monster altogether. When I felt I was far enough away, I ran like hell. It seemed like it had been an eternity when I finally stopped. To my disbelief, I had stopped right at the Silent Hill police department. "What luck," I panted, "Now, maybe I can find out how to get the hell away from here."

I stepped up to the main door and knocked. After a few moments of no answer, I walked in myself. The lobby was enormous; it reminded me of a cathedral in the way the roof was so high. There was a blue couch against the right wall, along with several chairs, and a stack of old magazines... really old magazines. By glancing at the cover of the top magazine --Time-- I could see a picture of Ronald Reagan. "Either someone here doesn't like throwing away old junk," I stated with morbid humor, "or someone here is too cheap to buy new ones." CRASH! I jerked my head towards the source of the sound. After several minutes, not hearing it again, I bravely made my way over to the reception desk. The place was dead silent, not a soul about to explain anything.

I could understand some places being deserted, but a police station? It was just too strange. I skimmed the desk, looking for any clues as to where everyone was. I found nothing of importance on the desk, so I went behind it. Right in the middle of the floor there was a long, black flashlight, and a nightstick. I looked around me to see if anyone was looking, then snatched the two items from the floor. "After all," I thought, "What if I come across another monster? I need some protection. I slipped the nightstick into my right pocket, and turned on the flashlight.

I stepped out from the reception desk and headed out of the lobby into the hallway. Here, it was even darker than it was outside. Thankfully, I had my flashlight to guide the way. Using it like a holy beacon, I walked slowly down the long hallway. I came to many doors on both sides, and tried to open every one of them. Alas, though, not a single one would budge. When I had checked the last door, I slumped down against it. "Now I really feel like Alice" I moaned, defeated. Without warning, the door on which I was leaning jolted. From the other side came a gruff voice.

"Hey! I know this door is open, I have the key! Now, get off it"

"Who... who are you?" I asked timidly, not ready to let any monster enter the same room with myself.

"Jerry, is that you? It's Cybil, ok"

"I don't know you" I replied nervously.

"You don't sound like Jerry. Damn... anyway, I'm a police officer"

I jumped up from the door and stood there, waiting to see this "Cybil".

A tall man entered, wearing a dark, blue police uniform. "Why did you do that, son"

"I...I was trying to find you, actually." And, so, I told Cybil my entire story; staying late after school, being locked out, the monster, everything. When I was done, I was shocked to see the Cybil nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it may sound strange, but I believe you." Cybil then told me his whole story.

"Well, you see... I had just gotten back from a call and was hanging out in the rec room with David and Jerry --my buddies.

We were enjoying our coffe when, all of a sudden, FLASH! Out went the lights. David went to go check out the problem, and when he didn't return for ten minutes, Jerry went to check on him. After waiting about twenty more minutes, I got up myelf and went to check on them. To my surprise, no one was in the entire building. I checked everywhere, thinking it might be a prank, but that's when I saw that freakin' monster in the lobby".

I nodded in agreement. "But then," he continued,"instead of attacking me, it tried to talk with me! It wasn't speaking English, either. It was some weirdo foreign language." I gasped, thinking it could have been what I experienced.

"Did he say... Tu fui, ego eris"

Cybil was silent for a moment, then finally spoke. "Yes, I do believe that's what it was." "Holy..." I stood there in awe, at a loss for words. "That's exactly what that monster said to me"

"What does it mean?" asked Cybil.

"I don't know what the first one means, but "Ego Eris" means "What I am, you will be.

"So, I'm going to be a monster, too?" joked Cybil.

I was silent for a moment, thinking about the answer.

"Holy crap," said Cybil. "You're seriously thinking about that"

"Well," I replied shakily, "I think I was one of them.

"You mean when those black things covered you, too"

I nodded.

"This is so weird..." replied Cybil. "Alright, kid, you're stickin' with me. I have a gun, and you... have a nightstick"

"Yes, I'm definitely sticking with you. No way do I want to be alone again in this place."

Chapter 4-Friends That Fade Away

"Alright, son," said Cybil, "The first thing I need to do is get you home. If I didn't, then what kind of cop would I be? Where is it you live?"

"Pleasant River" I replied, "Just a few miles from here."

Cybil shuffled around in his pocket for a moment and pulled out his keys. "Well, let's get moving."

Cybil led me through the building and out into the police parking garage. We passed many squad cars before Cybil motioned at one and unlocked it. Once inside the squad car, he tried to crank the ignition. To my disbelief, It started. Cybil turned to me with a relieved look; I could tell he, too, was expecting the car to never start. "Alright, buckle up. You don't want me to write myself up, do you?" I forced out a little laugh. Now was not exactly the time for jokes.

Cybil backed the car out of the parking space, and it slowly crept along towards the exit door. As we came closer to it, I could barely make out a distorted figure in the fog.

"I sure hope that's a bum," said Cybil gravely. The closer we crept towards the exit door, the more I could make out of the figure. It appeared to be the silhouette of a man, about six feet tall. His face looked depressed and contorted, as if he had an extremely painful illness.

Cybil honked the horn at the figure and immediately, he faded away, like sand being swept away by the wind. With a serious look on his face, Cybil glanced over at me. "I know that man... That's Ed; he was one of my friends and a damn good officer here at the precinct. But... it couldn't have been Ed... He's been dead for two years."

At Cybil's chilling words, a chill ran down my spine. For a moment, I was silent, thinking about all that had happened.

"Hey," whispered Cybil as he started driving again, "There's one more thing... When I could finally see Ed's face, that's when he disappeared. Why would Ed not want me to know he's here?"

"That's just the weird world of the afterlife," I said nonchalantly, "One day, though, we'll both know everything we could want to know about it."

BAM! We both jumped as something crashed into the hood. The car screeched to a halt and we got out to examine the damage.

"Holy..." gasped Cybil as he saw the horrifying sight.

On the hood of the car, drenched in blood, was a short man in police uniform; just like Cybil's. "God damn it!" yelled Cybil in anguish, "Jerry! Those bastards killed Jerry!"

Cybil pounded his fists on the side of the car, so hard it made them bleed.

When he stopped, he slumped down against the car, covered his eyes, and sobbed there right in front of me.

It was a long while before I got enough courage to speak. "Who... who is he?"

Cybil lowered his hands and looked up at me. "Jerry... he was a good man at the precinct. His wife just had a baby for god sakes!" At that, stared down at the ground.

All was silent once again. For a while, all was peaceful again. Then, I noticed them...

Creeping along Cybil's arms were the black veins I had had been consumed by at school. "No!" I shouted as I sprung to my feet once more, "It's those black things again!" He gave me a weird look.

"What are you talking about?"

"Those damn things from school! You gotta get them off!"

Cybil gasped, noticing his entire arm, now covered in the black veins and making their way up his neck. "Damn it!" He jumped up and tried desperately to brush them off with his other hand, but to no use. Instead of being brushed away, they clinged to his other hand and began consuming it, too.

He tried to grab his nightstick, but the veins kept pulling his hand back. Cybil gave one bloodcurdling cry before the veins swallowed his head. Almost instantly, the blanket

of darkness collapsed to the floor and melted into the streets like water. I stood motionless in the street, paralyzed by the horrifying sight I had just seen.

The Journal of Steven Bellman

Chapter 5: Play With Me

With Cybil had gone, the car had stopped right in front of a pizzeria. I thought surely there would be a phone there, and I could call someone to come get me. I walked inside the dimly lit restaurant. There were many small, circular tables scattered all around, empty pizza boxes all over the floor, a tall, checkered staircase against the far wall, and a gut wrenching odor in the air.

I stepped up to the register and glanced all around, almost immediately finding the phone. I picked up the receiver and put it to my ear. The only sound that could be heard was faint static. I punched in my home phone number, but all I could hear, even while pressing the buttons, was the static. After a few more failed attempts, I hung up the phone and slumped down against the counter.

All of a sudden, I heard a banging noise upstairs; like someone was dancing. It was constant, and it occurred to me that it could be someone that works here. "If it is," I thought to myself, "then maybe they can help me find a working phone, or something like that." So I got up and bravely made my way up the checkered staircase and down a short hallway to a red door on the right. Almost as soon as my hand touched the doorknob, the banging stopped."

When I opened the door and peered inside the room, there was nothing; nothing apart from a few barrels of beverages, crates, and boxes of ingredients. There was a window at the far side of the room; as wide open as it could be. I ran over to it and looked out. There was another open window a few feet away from it that led into another building, and one floor below it, a bunch of trash bins.

I crawled into the window and carefully made my way into the next building. When I was finally on secure ground, I looked around the room. There were all kinds of toys and games on the floor, and several giant, dust-covered boxes filled to the top with toys. There were a few cribs on the wall, and I could hear the sounds of a baby crying... at least it sounded like it.

Following the sound, I was led to one of the dusty toy boxes. Sitting right on top of the pile of toys was an old, porcelain doll. It was cracked in some places, its clothes were dirty, and it, like everything else, was covered in dust. "Wow," I whispered, "these things must get really lonely. They don't have anybody to play with." I pondered it for a moment. "No, that's just stupid; toys aren't real." No sooner did I finish the sentence when I heard the banging noise again.

I followed it to the closet, curious, but cautiously. I took the nightstick out of my pocked and grasped it tight, then slowly opened the door. I jolted back in shock and stared at the tall, chilling figure. It was a tall mannequin-like figure; its body made of smooth, rounded wood, and its face blank and lifeless. It took one step toward me and I gasped; frozen in fear. It spoke to me; its voice sounded robotic in emotion. It showed neither sadness, anger, or anything in its words. "Play... with me."

I swallowed hard, darted around, and headed for the blue door out of the nursery.

"Why... won't you play... with me?" It asked me once more.

I couldn't answer his question. I didn't want to become his eternal playmate or what ever he had planned for me. All I knew is I had to get out of there. I burst out of the room, slammed the door, and locked it. I leaned against the door for a moment; catching my breath. I didn't hear anything.

When I had caught my breath, I opened my eyes. "Whaaaat the hell!" I shouted.

Right in front of me, painted on the wall in red crayon was a weird, circular symbol. There was a mysterious eye at the top, three circles in the middle, and all kinds of weird writing surrounding it. "I gotta get the hell out of here!" I shouted, "This place is too weird! I have to be dreaming!"

Chapter six-The Other Side

I hurriedly walked down the hallway and down a case of dusty stairs. The room I was in now was dark, and very similar to the one upstairs; dusty, unkempt, and full of toys. There was usual kiddy things painted on the sky-blue walls; teddy bears, clouds, a sun... It didn't help lighten MY mood. I was far too afraid that those playthings would come alive and drag me off to be with them forever. I had been watching way too many scary movies.

I noticed an old light switch by the door and made my way over to it. I had almost touched the switch when all of a sudden, the most head splitting headache came to me. I dropped to my knees and screamed out in agony. Never before in my life had I felt such horrible pain. It lasted only a few seconds, but seemed like an eternity. When I finally opened my eyes again, everything had changed. The walls had changed from blue to faded gray, there were scratch marks all over them, and a large number of the toys had vanished. Those that WERE left were all missing their head.

A shiver ran down my spine as I looked at the chilling sight. "Okay," I stuttered, "Let me just get out of here... and I won't hurt anybody." I staggered to the door a few feet away, turned the handle, and the door stopped no more than two centimeters after I opened it. I tried with all my might to push it all the way open, but it was no use. It was as if there was another building right against the door! I tried to peer out the narrow crack, but alas, I could see nothing but darkness.

"Okay," I said, "Maybe one of the other doors upstairs has a window..." I turned around cautiously and was thankful to see that nothing was moving. As I got to the foot of the stairs, I could hear footsteps in the distance. I halted immediately, drew my nightstick, and listened as they grew nearer. To my relief, it was just a little boy in a checkered shirt.

"Hey," the little boy started, "Who are you?"

"I... I'm Steven. I'm lost here and I can't find a way back home."

The little boy looked down. "Wow, that's strange. I'm lost, too."

"Did you used to play here?"

"Yeah; I loved it here. One day... One day I was just playing upstairs and... Well, I was playing with a spider, and I got bitten by it. I went downstairs so I could get a bandage, but when I got there, everyone was gone."

I thought about what the boy had said. "Bitten by a spider, then everyone just vanished? Could he be a... ghost?"

Just then, the boy gasped. "He's here! He's here!" he whispered to me frantically. "I gotta go now. You should go too, if you know what's good for you."

And with that, he ran past me, and towards the door. I had to tell him it was blocked off.

"Wait! That door is-"

With that, he ran right through the door and I never saw him again. That cleared up my question.

I glanced around the room for a minute; trying to find who he was running from. I found no one, so I walked upstairs and took the first door on my right. I bet you think I found a monster there, right? Well, guess what? It was something worse. The room was dimly lit by a single candle in the middle of room. It was on a long table with a few papers and an old-looking mixing bowl. Right in the middle of the room, inside a cage dangling from the ceiling, was a human corpse. It was covered in blood, pieces of meat hung everywhere on the body, and the head was gone.

I had to grab my stomach tightly to prevent myself from vomiting. "This... has to be a dream." I tried to reassure myself. Not wanting to see the grotesque sight any longer, I stepped out of the room, shut the door, and walked to door number two.

Chapter seven-Doors to Nowhere

As soon as my hand touched the cold, brass knob, there came a sorrowful moan in the distance; like the one I heard back at school. Determined to find out what was going on, I opened the door and bravely darted in. The moans seemed to be much farther away now; I could not see a sign of life anywhere. All I could see was a tall stack of old, dusty books, and a jar of... something... on the table. I could smell its gut-wrenching stench from where I was, and I didn't want to know where it was. I clenched my nostrils between two fingers and walked further into the room.

I reached the end of the small room shortly. There was nothing there but dust, the seeping, red and black veins on the walls, and a doll in the form of a boy that lay on the floor. The doll sent shivers down my spine. When I looked at it, it was if I was looking straight into the eyes of pure evil. Solid-black and lifeless they were, like penetrating daggers that made me want to leave this place forever.

I couldn't stand being in this room anymore. The mystery of the moaning child would have to wait... "Or was it, in fact, the doll that was moaning?" I asked myself. "No, that's just silly. What is it with me and toys today?" I gave a sigh and headed out the door. "Now where should I go?" I said, looking at the one door left untried. "Well, I have to get out of here somehow. Maybe there's some way out through that last room."

I cautiously opened the last door and stepped inside the room. Much to my surprise, the room, unlike all the others, was clean. It had no dust and it had no veins crawling down the walls. My relief was soon interrupted, though, when I heard a high-pitched squeak. I glanced over the floor, hoping to see a mouse. Instead, my eyes met those of a giant cockroach, about the size of a cat. This cockroach was soon accompanied by another, then another. Damn it! I darted out of the room as the giant insects made their way to me. I heard a loud CRACK as I smashed one in the doorway. "I feel like I'm in a funhouse!" I yelled out in agony.

So, with nowhere left to go, I went back downstairs and slumped against the blocked entrance door. Within a few minutes, I drifted off into sleep.

I had another dream that night. In the dream, I was a little boy living in a nice, little house in the woods. It seemed to be an orphanage, because there were so many kids there. I was sitting with many other children in front of an old man with a booming voice. He seemed to be telling us all stories; I couldn't tell what of. It wasn't long before a blonde-haired woman burst into the room and screamed "Walter's gone!".

"What!" replied the old man.

"I went to check on Walter just now. I wondered why he wouldn't join the other children for story time, and when I went in there, he was gone!"

The old man turned to me.

"You, you're Walter's friend. Do you know where he is?"

I shook my head, confused. I wanted to tell him that I don't even know what I was doing there, but the words would never come.

The old man jumped from his seat. "I'm sorry, children, but we have an emergency. We'll have to finish the story later." The dream faded slowly away with the disappointed moans of the other children.

It took a while for me to regain my sight, but when I did, I noticed I was not where I fell asleep. I was out on the fog-infested streets, and there was someone standing over me. He leaned down to me and said, "Hey, are you alright? You really shouldn't go in there, you know. Strange things happen all the time."

As my vision slowly cleared up, I could make out a dirty, young face, and long, brown hair. "Walter!" I gasped.

Chapter 8: Walter's story "Walter!" I shouted in shock.

"Yes, it's me. I know you're wondering why I'm here, but I think it would be best if I told you on your way back"

"On my way back!" I screamed. "What are you talking about"

"You need to get back to Pleasant river, right"

I nodded cautiously in agreement.

"Well, then" Walter replied, "Hop in my car. I know it is a risk, but you have to trust me. You know me at school, right?"

I didn't want to trust him; something told m not to. However, being with Walter was surely better than staying another minute in Silent Hill. So, we both stepped inside Walters car; it was an old, rusty, beaten-down two-door. I couldn't tell what color it was from all the rust and grime.

We began driving out of that godforsaken town. I had never felt so relieved in my entire life. While driving, Walter explained everything to me.

"You see, I'm an orphan. From the day I was born I lived at the Wish House in Silent Hill woods. I was taught the ways of god and brought up into his sanctity. When I was 12, I was assigned a foster family. I've been with them ever since. I came over here today to visit the Wish House again and give thanks to everyone that helped me find god."

I nodded in agreement. "So, do you know what's going on here? I've seen at least three... monsters... today alone"

"Well, to put it simply, the apocalypse is coming. Those who honor god like me will be saved and cast into an eternal nirvana. Those who have committed the deeds of evil will be cast into the pit of never ending blackness; far worse than Silent Hill. You see, Silent Hill is purgatory. Everyone that has ever died had to come here for judgment. This place is meant for no one to live on it. Because so many people insist on doing it anyway, it really causes hell to flow over into this dimension."

I was silent for a moment; wondering whether to believe him or laugh at him. I said nothing for the remainder of the ride; about ten minutes. When we arrived at the city sign "Welcome to Pleasant River" it felt as if millions of pounds had been lifted off my back. Finally, I was back safely in my own beloved hometown. I had taken my safety for granted before, but from now on, I would thank god every day I was still in Pleasant River... and still alive.

"Well, last stop ladies and gents" joked Walter. I stepped out of his beat up car and looked around to see where I was. I was right outside the door of my own house. What luck! I closed my hand around the cold, icy doorknob of my front door and stepped inside my house. Almost immediately, the same splitting headache I'd experienced before came over me. When it died down, I looked up to see three black veins trailing their way towards me...

The End... Or is it?