Chapter Text
***Unknown***
Safe to say it, Mary was lost.
Following the recommendation from that note and her brief little fetch quest, the woman had been guided down a creepy staircase, only to end up someplace completely foreign the moment her feet reached the bottom.
It was dark, claustrophobic, and just plain… strange.
From the little her eyes could make out of the environment, it seemed like wherever she had been led to had once been where the residents of the town took care of a certain type of business. What else could explain the presence of decrepit chairs, overturned cabinets, and so many sheets of paper scattered about on the floor?
Nevertheless none of these pieces of junk provided any help in guiding Mary towards where she needed to go next, let alone know what lay ahead in this next step of her journey.
“This is just how it’s going to be, isn’t it?” The woman thought, clicking her tongue in annoyance, “Feeling my way around until I make any bit of progress?”
Things could be worse, even if the events happening at this moment were far from chipper. Anything from being forced to wade through waist high water to being swarmed by another pack of monsters could’ve been her current predicament. If it had been anyone else in her position, they’d probably be grateful for the town’s continuing to choose restraint over ambushing them with the next act of malice up its sleeve.
Not Mary, though.
She had long since lost any reason to feel a hint of optimism. Good fortune was a fleeting commodity, it seemed. To rely on it in the hopes of it carrying her all the way to end relatively unharmed?
Well, that was plain silly.
That proverbial finish line would only be reached with the use of caution and making careful choices. Unfortunately, there was only so much that could be done in that regard flying blind as she presently was, leading Mary to grimace as she continued taking very uncertain steps down the path ahead.
“And here I thought that disgusting apartment with the clogged toilet was gonna be the limit of how bad my time here was gonna get…”
The moment she uttered that sentence, her hand inadvertently glided across something slimy, leading her to retract it quickly from the wall with a look of revulsion. The flashlight illuminated something quite dark and… putrid looking, motivating her to wipe it down on her sleeve in a quick bid to remove the stain.
“Maybe I should’ve held out on the idea of them getting worse…”
Shuddering, the woman turned away and continued her cautious approach, eventually leading her to turn a corner the moment it came into view. Doing so led her to stumble upon what seemed to be a room of the quite wide and expansive variety. It was easy to assume that based on the amount of objects scattered about from nearly every corner, appearing as if a destruction derby had blown on through sometime in the past.
Since nothing of value could be discerned from the junk littering the space, Mary simply concerned herself with maneuvering around the mess while trying not to step on anything.
Who knew? Maybe a single loud crack or echo would be enough to summon the demonic hordes lying in wait somewhere nearby, an outcome she wanted to prevent entirely. But while she was busy watching where her feet would land, the hapless survivor ended up noticing a slight glint out of the corner of her eyes.
It stuck out enough to make Mary stop what she was doing and face the direction where it came from, curious as to what may have been responsible for the shine.
The answer ended up being simpler than she expected.
A door, which compared to the rusted or rotten ones she’d spotted in this bizarre parallel dimension, seemed completely normal.. Almost fancy-like… probably thanks to being made from the finest pine a lumberjack could chop down with their trusty axe.
“Hang on… that looks… kinda like what I saw… back up in Ernest’s place.” Mary muttered, rubbing her chin, “And I remember things looking fine up there too. With… no monsters to be seen either.”
This could be it, a way out of this dark area through a possibly safe passage.
At any rate, going through there would hopefully yield a better result than bumbling about in the dark like she had been for the past fifteen minutes or so. Better than to keep chasing a ghost as she had been ever since that letter compelled her return to Silent Hill.
“I hope I’m right, though… and that I don’t suddenly throw myself into a trap.”
Sighing, Mary steadied herself and threw caution to wind, taking some big strides towards this door with an outstretched hand. The instant it made contact with the knob, she twisted it open and pushed her way on through.
However, this set of somewhat hasty actions resulted in a sudden flash of light to overwhelm her, which turned out to be much brighter than expected.
“G-Gah! Nngh! A-Aah… too bright!” She hissed.
Thinking fast, the woman shielded her eyes from the sudden flashbang by blocking it with an arm, remaining that way until they were able to adjust from the change in brightness.
And the moment the agony had passed and allowed her to lower the limb back down to her side, Mary felt a wave of shock as she realized just how… different this new environment was compared to what had lay before.
“Woah… what’s this place supposed to be?”
Unlike the dark mess from earlier, the newly entered area in front of her seemed… relatively normal.
Alongside the bright lights buzzing up above, she noticed that the carpeted flooring, white tiles on the walls, and shelves filled to the brim with all sorts of books. There was quite the variety, with the texts focusing on varying subjects such as chemistry, alchemy, and physics. Many of them appeared worn out, but the titles on their spines were still legible. They were also organized in alphabetical order and by category, flanking her on seemingly every possible side.
Up from where Mary stood was also a table covered in papers and science equipment, though she wasn’t able make heads or tails over what any of the writing meant. Overall, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, especially compared to where she had just come from.
Despite that, the woman figured there was still something off about this place… not helped by the oppressive atmosphere which continued to hound her like a bad storm.
“God… there’s something up about this room that’s creeping me out… I just don’t know what…”
With this in mind, Mary knew better than to let her guard down and stomp about like she owned the place. The better visibility didn’t suddenly mean the odd atmosphere hanging over the place meant that she got the green-light to act foolish.
Instead, while continuing to feel incredibly skeeved out, the woman tried to stay quiet while searching around for the next clue or hint at direction. These heedful movements led her up and down the aisles, all in the name of making progress.
Unfortunately, even though she sifted through anything that appeared to share some tenuous connection to their return trip gone wrong thus far, Mary’s disappointment would rise in each instance where she’d flip open a book only to end up finding nothing of value.
Frustration built the further along she went, eventually bringing her to the very back of this library. It was there when that feeling suddenly was swept away the moment her eyes laid on something quite peculiar.
There was a large desk, a wooden one to be more precise, nestled nicely against the wall. And seated behind it was a man wearing spectacles, dressed similarly to a librarian. He had yet to notice her standing just a few feet away, mainly thanks to his attention being squarely focused on the book in his hands.
“Huh? Another person?” Mary questioned, surprised by this sudden encounter.
The sound of her voice snapped him out of his focus, leading the two to make eye contact for the first time.
“Ah, this is a bit unexpected.” The man remarked, adjusting his glasses, “A visitor. Who might you be?”
He shut the book and placed it atop the desk, followed by him leaning forward to clasp his hands together. It was clear an answer from her mouth was expected, but Mary’s mind was still somewhat scrambled by the recent shift in environment. Resultantly, those words entered one ear and came out the other end as little more than senseless babble.
That reason also ended up serving as the motive for her blabbing out the very first thought she could think of, inadvertently sending the inquiry back like a return pitch at the sandlot.
“Who are you?”
That caused him to chuckle, leading him to fix the woman with an amused smirk.
“Now, now… that’s a bit unfair, isn’t it? I asked you first. It’s only fair you follow through. Order of exchange and all that.”
His words carried a smarmy, self-important tone that managed to sicken Mary in the same vein as if there was a mangled corpse laying in front of her eyes.
Only a few words had been exchanged and already, she had an intense dislike for this guy. She also imagined the word “slimeball” being tattooed right on his forehead, given how fitting of a descriptor it seemed to be.
Still, there was an expectation to respond to his question and so she did, albeit spoken through gritted teeth.
“Mary.”
“Ah… Mary. What a nice name. Pleased to make your acquaintance. The name’s Vincent, okay?”
This latest stranger reached back up to push his glasses back a bit more, a move which he probably did to seem classy, only for it to come across as pompous from her perspective.
“Sure.” She stated plainly, “I’d say ‘nice to meet you’, but I’m not feeling it this time around.”
“Heh, is that right? Sounding a bit grumpy there on your end, I hear.”
“You don’t know the half of it.”
Vincent chuckled once more, using his hand to dust off a part of his shirt before resuming the chat.
“You seem far from home… Mary. I take it you’re not in the best of spirits. Had a bad time by the sound of it?”
The woman huffed in response to the next question which left his mouth, but decided against indicating any form of irritation aside from visibly rolling her eyes in plain view.
“Refer back to my last statement.”
“Hm, wanting to keep it under wraps, don’t you?” Vincent said, cocking an eyebrow, “Fine. I won’t try to pry.”
He suddenly leaned forward a bit in his chair, focusing his attention past the rows and rows of books behind her. It was like the guy was trying to figure something out from his seat, leading Mary to briefly glance in the same direction.
Just what could he be thinking about? A question on his mind? Or a wonder regarding how she managed to get into this place?
Little did she know, the latter assumption ended up being right on the money.
“But I must know… how could you have gotten here? It isn’t as if this place of mine is sitting out in the open, you know…”
“Oh… um…”
The woman felt her focus quickly snapping back onto Vincent, realizing she had to come up with some excuse to cover her own ass. This little library was his private domicile after all, and once more, she was intruding on someone’s property. Of course anybody in his position would be curious about the “how” and “why” behind her presence here.
At the same time, Mary did not feel keen to be as open as she had been with Angela, Eddie, and Ernest.
Call it paranoia, but she didn’t think divulging such personal details to this guy would be the brightest idea, like her search for her missing husband or the letter itself.
Instead, the best course of action would be to keep things vague. Keep them vague and hope he wouldn’t try to dig any deeper.
“To keep it short…” She sighed, “I came here looking for someone. The plan was to have an easy trip where I’d also take my time. But then this weird fog rolled in and… I got off track after a while.”
Vincent was nodding along like a bobblehead during her little “explanation”, with his face visibly shifting around to express surprise, interest, and… what seemed like an acute awareness.
“Ah… I see. You’re one of them, aren’t you?”
“One of… who?”
“Don’t play coy.” He replied sharply, “You’ve seen the true face of the town, haven’t you? Not the falsehoods the travel agencies put on postcards to trick people into showing up.”
Their smirk then widened for a moment into a very wolfish grin, but it went away just as fast before Mary could make a comment on it.
“Just from looking at you, I can tell what sort of things you’ve probably gone through. Nothing good, I bet?”
She hated to admit it, but this odd and vexing fellow seemed to have quite the perceptive pair of eyes. Like he had the ability to tell what sort of experiences she had endured up to this point.
“No…” The woman sighed, shaking her head, “Not really. I was expecting an easy time and I got the complete opposite.”
Feeling a bit of a headache coming on, Mary reached up to rub her forehead, almost in an attempt to ward the pang in her skull away with touch.
“And the less I say about the places I’ve seen and… the monsters, the better.”
Unexpectedly, a shocked gasp escaped Vincent’s throat, followed by his hand coming up to rest on his chest. The reaction confused her, causing the woman to raise an eyebrow while she watched him seemingly come to terms with the words that had just been uttered.
Then… he hit her with a bombshell, something she wouldn’t have expected to hear in a million years…
“Monsters? They looked like monsters to you?”
Those few simple words caused Mary’s face to go pale in an instant, followed by a nauseous feeling which made her feel sick to her stomach.
“N-No, wait… could that mean…”
The expression of shock on the man’s face betrayed an unforgivable truth… one she’d probably had little clue about during her various fights for survival.
Was… Was this a trick? There was no way any of those horrible freaks were anything other than bloodthirsty demons dragged out from the depths of Hell for the express purpose of killing her slowly and painfully.
How could anything with the passing resemblance to disgusting lumps of flesh be another person? If they were, then why was their first and only move nothing more than relentless assault?!
But the way they bled… red as any human being.
And… the fog which shrouded the town, maybe… maybe it had other effects on different people? Her encounters with Angela and Eddie were good enough confirmations that other people could see the same monsters she did. In contrast, Laura acted like Mary out of her mind for implying their very existence and during the brief window of time they shared together at Brookhaven… there were none to be found.
Not until she and the girl ended up separated.
With this in mind… the woman felt another aching feeling in her gut as another dark thought popped into her mind.
The unforgiving mist and evil influence currently permeating Silent Hill… what if it had the effect of distorting other people’s realities? To the extent that anyone they may come across would look no different than something straight out of their worst nightmares?
Worse yet… what if they were swayed to attack them out of a sense of self-preservation, much like she was?
And if that was factored in, did that mean the man’s words were… true?
“I… I…”
Her worldview as Mary had known it was starting to collapse in on her, driving her closer and closer to crisis with a full-blown panic attack looming close by. However, just as it was about to come to pass, Vincent snapped her out of her state with a wave of a hand and another smarmy chuckle.
The fact he was expressing any hint of amusement in light of her distress baffled the woman, which made what came out of his mouth next all the more perplexing.
“Easy! It’s a joke! Just a joke.” He spoke, shaking his head, “I love pulling that one on people. It’s always fun to see their reactions.”
Feeling her head snap up in an instant at the apparent reassurance, Mary stared into Vincent’s eyes while trying… no, yearning for any lick of truth hiding behind those big round spectacles.
She was still reeling from this so-called “revelation”... and there was a part of her which refused to believe that his shocked proclamation was merely an act of jest, done in poor taste.
“You’re… You mean it right? You were just kidding?”
“Heh… if I wasn’t, why else would I say it? Maybe it’s you who needs a better sense of humor.”
Far from the reassurance she’d been hoping for, the woman felt incredibly unsure of his honesty.
The facade of horror he put on briefly was too… genuine-sounding for her to write off as just a prank. Not helping matters was that irksome smile he had, the very same that showed a clear lack of remorse for nearly causing her to spiral.
However, thinking things over… Mary realized she had to work herself back from the brink… she couldn’t lose it.
Not… now. Not now.
She needed to calm down.
The first step was by getting back the air that’d been sucked out of her lungs.
Next was quelling their racing heart, doing whatever possible to calm herself and return her pulse back down to something more manageable.
And lastly, it was reaffirming her own place in reality, along with the ordeals she’d been put through.
Those things… could not be humans of any kind.
Mary knew what she saw.
She knew what those things were capable of. They were monsters, plain and simple. And if she didn’t defend herself, her death would’ve came to be ages ago.
And who was this prick to claim the opposite was true?
Thankfully, she was able to calm down not too long down, even if doing so felt like an eternity. Mary then fixed him with a very scathing look, which contrasted with the very flippant one he was expressing.
“Gee thanks, jerk.”
“Oh… sorry for trying to have some fun. It’s been so boring around here lately. Nothing that’d make the paper, let alone a tiny print in the back pages.”
“Boring for you, maybe!” She snapped, “With what I’ve been through so far, I’d take sitting on my ass like you over fearing for my life every five seconds!”
“Heh… apologies. Sometimes it’s easy to forget what it’s like for those not versed in…”
Vincent’s voice trailed off before the sentence was properly finished, which only served to draw her attention towards what he had been leading towards before stopping himself.
Whatever it was, it could be important.
“What’s that? Is there something you know that I don’t?”
“Maybe. But I think my knowledge is what you'd call… on a ‘need to know basis’.”
That response wouldn’t do, especially not after he chose to toy with her mind and make her think those acts of self-defense were against actual people, nearly causing their very world to collapse. To express her dissatisfaction, Mary adopted a threatening posture and suddenly reached into her pocket, ready to pull out the pistol at a moment’s notice.
Luckily, the need to go further didn’t need to come to pass thanks to Vincent realizing what she intended to do. His condescending attitude completely vanished in a flash, replaced by a frantic panic.
“Hold on, hold on, there’s no need to go down that way!” The man pleaded, holding his hands in front of his face, “I can answer anything within reason. I’d just rather not be harmed in the process.”
“Well, don’t tempt me. I’m not really in a good mood right now.”
The leverage she had wasn’t much, plus Mary wasn’t certain she could stomach the act of harming another living breathing person, but the intimidation alone seemed like it would work in her favor.
Mainly, it meant the woman could probably get some insight into Vincent’s so-called forbidden knowledge, as there were a few things she was curious to know about.
And hopefully, maybe a hint towards where she could go next the moment this interaction with him came to a close?
“I don’t have much to work with. But I’ll have to make do.”
Now, all that was left to do was figure out what she wished to ask. Thankfully, another glance at her surroundings gave her a clear idea to start with, one that might give her a better grasp on who Vincent really was.
“Let’s start with you. And by telling me what you do in here.”
“Ah, interested in my private study, hm?” He asked, readopting a professional demeanor, “To keep it short, I’m an accountant. I manage… funds. Though, it’d be more accurate to say the donations which end up in my hands are often found… not where they’re meant to be.”
“I’d figure as much from you, scumbag.” Mary thought, narrowing her eyes at him.
“And I’m quite far up in that line of work. Nobody suspects a little skimming here or there.”
“You steal from people you know?”
“Steal? Not steal!” Vincent countered, “I’m separating money from the hands of fools who don’t value their own brains enough to think about their own idiocy. And once I’ve accumulated enough, my plan is to skip town and never look back.”
The rebuttal sounded awfully heated for some odd reason, but Vincent seemed aware of how ruffled he sounded and quickly tried to play it off with a smirk.
“And those same fools? They’re the ones who are aware of the dark truth about this town. Hell, they partake in some misdeeds themselves!”
“So… those people are the ones responsible for the town turning out this way?”
Vincent hummed, planting his hand on his chin for a moment while thinking of a good response.
“Not quite. For those in this… ‘group’ I’m a part of, they see the town one way. And anyone who draws their ire gets pulled along for the ride.” The spectacled man explained, “But then there are who I like to call the ‘outliers’.”
“Outliers?”
“Mmhm. They’re the ones who this town calls to. The methods are different, but the outcome’s the same. They show up here, get swept up in the madness, and often don’t know why.”
There was a brief moment where his eyes became dark and ominous, no doubt the short prelude to the dark sentence soon to follow.
“Most of the time, it’s so they learn their lesson. To repent. And some don’t make it back.”
“R-Repent? But I… I’m not…”
Similar to the doubt she had earlier in response to his “joke”, Mary began to feel worry stir back up inside her. Up to this point, the focus of finding James mixed with surviving in general had been the sole focus she had. Even the small detours she’d take would always lead her back to focusing on the goal, regardless of whatever took place.
However, that sentence made her think back to recent events… and she failed to shake off the notion of Vincent’s words carrying a good amount of validity behind them.
And as the very worst moments of her journey had sprung up again, replaying up in her mind like a bad memory caught on camera…
One involved their first steps back into Silent Hill… where her optimism was shattered in the aftermath of her first monster encounter.
Then, there was her separation from Laura, brought about by her being duped into separating herself… and not noticing the danger before it was too late.
Afterwards, Mary remembered Jamie's unfortunate demise, the very same she couldn’t stop despite her pleas for him to run…
Those incidents, unfortunate as they were, could have been set up on purpose.
Why?
To punish her, probably.
To fill her heart with regret… with anguish… with despair…
For what happened to James.
For what she did to James.
For what had been her own fault.
“N-No!” She spoke in her mind, joined by a shake of the head, “That can’t be it. James wanted me to come here! He’s waiting somewhere. He’s waiting, he’s waiting, he’s waiting… I just need… find him. Somewhere.”
The denial was strong, able to overwhelm those previous thoughts until Mary managed to rid them from her brain. The woman also quickly reached in and felt her hand brush up against the letter tucked in that envelope, the very piece of paper that carried her husband’s beckoning words.
And… the paper that reassured the purpose of her journey.
“T-There… that’s all the proof I need. Whatever happened before… was just bad luck. Misfortune. Yes, that’s it.”
Once again, Mary tried her best to write off Vincent’s remark as nothing more than the guy trying to play with her emotions simply for a laugh. And for her, already annoyed and worn-down as she was, this was enough to convince her to wrap things up and leave as soon as possible. The information he revealed may have been enlightening to some extent, but staying any longer would only cause further spirals.”
“T-That so? Good to know.”
“Heh, it was no trouble. If there are any more questions you have, best you speak them right now.”
“Uh… Just one.”
“Hm?”
“As much as I hate to ask this, especially from someone like you, but… would you happen to know where I should go next? If I have to help you out with something first, fine. I’m just looking for some help right now.”
Perhaps that idea coming to be was a long shot, given how untrustworthy Vincent seemed especially in comparison to Ernest from earlier. At the same time, what else was there Mary could do? Being lost meant the luxury of picking the battles she preferred was basically an impossibility.
To her surprise, the man at the desk didn’t even seem to bother considering the idea.
Instead, he just… waved it off along with a shake of his head, like her offer wasn’t something he cared to exploit, despite seeming like just the guy who’d do just that.
Worse yet, Vincent seemed to revel in the fact that he turned her down, probably due to knowing something about her circumstances which she didn’t.
“I’m afraid I can’t help you there, Mary.” He responded, “These experiences are your own. And they’ll cease to be once you reach the end. There’s nothing I can do to push you along.”
“The end…?” The woman reacted, “You mean like… some final showdown with whatever’s going on in Silent Hill?”
“Precisely. It’s not the first time that’s happened to someone. And I know for certain it won’t be the last.”
Those words of his were laced with that callous tone he’d maintained up to this point, yet they were able to provide some form of relief for the hapless survivor.
All these crazy happenings and terrifying ordeals… they’d stop eventually. She just had to keep herself alive until the opportunity for a clean and swift exit presented itself.
Would it come along with the added bonus of finding James and Laura alive and well? Just before the three left together towards a bright future with the sun shining through the clouds?
Regrettably, such an outcome was still up in the air. What made knowing that worse was the knowledge that each passing second was another where it would keep slipping away.
“You’re saying I should just ‘keep going’? But… what if I never find that exit? What if I somehow never get to leave?”
Vincent’s smile proceeded to widen just a tad, as if the idea of her ending up suffering such a fate was an amusing prospect he hoped would come to pass.
“Then you die. It’s quite simple, really. The town had methods to its madness, even ones I don’t know fully about.”
“Gee, that’s so helpful.” Mary sighed.
“Happy to help!” He snarked, tapping his chin, “Though, there’s one thing I can tell you.”
“Which is…?”
“Don’t worry about getting lost.”
Well, that was an odd thing to say, let alone far from helpful. Plus, with no map and only a flashlight to guide her way, the woman wasn’t thrilled to be told that her next moves should be left up to chance.
“You serious? I have no map and you’re telling me to just… not worry? That’s insane!”
The man barely seemed to register her complaint, focusing instead on grabbing one of those books on his desk and opening it up to a random page.
“This town has a plan for you, Mary. And that’s the most I’ll say.”
Afterwards, with his eyes more interested in looking down at the text rather than her, Vincent made a gesture which more or less told Mary to get out of his private space.
“Good luck. If you want, I’ll say a prayer for you! Might be of some help.”
The patronizing remark made the woman's lips curl in disgust, giving her all the motivation she needed to end this interaction right here and now.
“Don’t bother.”
Mary didn’t even spare the effort to lift her arm up for a half-hearted wave, let alone waste any more time looking at the guy. Instead, her focus was brought back to the entrance of the library, where she pulled open the door and returned to the dim halls waiting on the other side.
But the moment she had done so, it was clear that things were not as they were previously.
For one thing, the mess that littered the floor had completely vanished.
The area itself had also shrunk from the size it used to have, with it currently being no larger than the width of an average hallway. Ironically, the smaller space meant her flashlight was better accommodated for the environment, letting Mary see more compared to the last instance.
Though, there truly wasn’t much to see.
Aside from the very end of the hall, where a staircase awaited.
Another which went down… down… down…
“Oh… that’s for me, isn’t it?”
It seemed so, given how the area was changing to accommodate the next leg in her journey. Just as Vincent had said it would.
All for the sake of the “plan” the town had in mind for her.
Sadly, it was like she could refuse it, since the only other route the woman could take would just bring her right back into his dwelling.
There was little choice Mary had but to abide by the unspoken instruction… and begin her latest descent into the unknown.
***Later, Toluca Prison***
Her focus had been making it to the bottom without incident.
Luckily, encounters with the horrible and monstrous had been miniscule to nonexistent.
Which meant she could focus on the important task of… getting down these stairs without tripping and breaking a hip. Or mistiming the placement of her foot, causing them to tumble down the steps like a cartoon cat falling for one of their nemesis’ traps.
Even so, at the same time, Mary couldn’t help but notice the quite visible changes happening around her in real time.
It first started with these walls, which went from the standard decrepit look to something more rustic and worn out.
Then, there was the water, starting out as a few annoying drips originating from the ceiling.
Soon, the further along she went, the more the amount increased and became nearly similar to a steady stream leaking from a faucet.
And the moment Mary had finally gotten down to the end of the staircase, she found herself passing by barred windows, corroded gates, and… the seemingly infinite amount of cells which lay right beyond them.
The very same where the guilty would be punished, forced to stay there and far away from society at large, never able to see sunlight ever again unless they were really lucky. However, the sight of these odd elements gave her a bit of pause, along with a nagging feeling that she couldn’t shake from her mind.
“Is this a prison? What could this be all the way down here?” Mary thought, eyeing her surroundings, “Prison, prison… hold on…”
Just then, her foot had stepped into a puddle, one which had been obscured by the lack of light located at ground level.
A puddle… large enough for her footstep to cause ripples big enough to reach the edges.
It was here were it finally clicked.
“Wait… I think I know where I am…” She realized.
While giving this place another quick glance, Mary felt her mind wander back to her vacation to this town three years prior.
Back to the hotel… that wonderful, beautiful hotel.
It had been quite a substantial day. She and James had spent the day checking out the nearby tourist attraction, Lakeside Amusement Park. It was practically a hop and a skip away from where they were staying during their trip. Curiosity over the sights and sounds which could be found there motivated the couple’s interest in checking the establishment out.
Overall, it was a fun time for them both. Lots of laughs were had and a ton of good memories were made there.
Sure, the park was probably just another one of those tourist trap type of destinations. The kind whose sole purpose was to bleed their wallets dry as they spent it on rigged carnival games and a ride on the slowest moving Ferris wheel imaginable. And the same which used the image of a cheery pink rabbit to convince its attendants to shell out cash for cotton candy and hot dogs with the same healthiness index as a large quantity of asbestos.
But… to Mary, that’s what made it so appealing, along with making the experience such an enjoyable one. It felt like she and her husband were able to enjoy a slice of the culture the town was allowing outsiders to experience, to bask in the fun on offer.
It was… cozy, welcoming, a definite far cry from the way things were now.
Alas, there was only so much standing, walking, and waiting in lines the duo could do before their legs demanded for rest back at the hotel. After such a long day, Mary and James knew better than to strain themselves beyond the limits they were capable of.
So, return to the hotel they did, settling back into its comforting atmosphere as the sun began to set outside the building. However, a few hours remained before bedtime, meaning the pair would need something to do until then.
Mary chose to stay up in their hotel room, sitting by the window and gazing out at the shimmering lake. Meanwhile, James busied himself at the bar downstairs, having some drinks while also probably chatting with some of his fellow patrons.
And once doing that got boring for the woman, she started to sift through some of the magazines left behind by the previous tenant. One carried a headline titled “Mysteries and Omens: Secrets of Silent Hill”, catching her interest enough to start reading it.
Which was where she came across a passage discussing the history of Toluca Prison…
“Oh my God… I-I know about this place.” Mary muttered, recalling the words on that page, “The people of this town had a prison by the lake in the past. But one day, the whole place sank into it, never to be seen again…”
The knowledge that she had come across this lost piece of Silent Hill’s history had filled her with a bit of awe, though it didn’t take long for that to twist into apprehension. The forces of work probably made this happen on purpose and she feared all sorts of bad things happening now that she had come across it by pure chance.
Such worry also extended to where the hell Mary even was in the town itself. Not having a map of this place was bad enough, but noticing the obvious water damage caused her to worry that she was inside Toluca Lake at this very moment.
“That’s just peachy. If the monsters don’t get me, I might just drown if this place starts to flood.”
Perish the thought of such an incident happening, but the woman had to count that in her cards of “things which could go wrong”, which also included the possibility of ending up at the latest prisoner to be trapped here.
To get her mind back on track, she headed back down this dimly lit hall, then took the next left that opened up to a corridor with cells lining each side. All of them were locked tight, thankfully. Mary wouldn’t know what to do if any of them were open and hiding a monster in plain sight.
Or God forbid, a crazed lunatic who’d somehow still be alive even after all this time, kept alive by the rats they could feast upon and the few drops of water which could be found.
For now, the path remained clear, lacking any signs of opposition or an asinine puzzle preventing progress. Soon enough, Mary encountered the equivalent of a fork in the road. Along with several hallways leading out into further darkness, there were just as many doors, each promising either aid or torment in equal measure.
“Great, multiple choice. Just what I need.” She remarked sarcastically.
The urge to play “eeny meenie miney moe” again was quite low this time around, since none of the options on offer seemed appealing.
“Come on… can’t I just have things be easy for…”
Mary’s voice trailed off the moment her eyes locked onto something red and circular on one of the doors. It reflected off the gleam from her flashlight, drawing her interest even further.
“What could this be? Looks… strange.”
Upon closer inspection, the woman learned that it was a circular sigil. If her guess was right, it was some sort of religious symbol.
If so, why was it here?
Unlike everything else in this prison, this marking didn’t look faded or rusted away. Quite the contrary, appearing almost like someone had placed this here recently as a sort of reminder.
For some reason, Mary noted how unnerved it made her feel the longer she stared directly at it.
The feeling was comparable to having a creature with an evil face staring right back at her, which in turn only made the sight all the creepier. And yet, there was that little bit of morbid curiosity urging her to twist that knob and see what was on the other side.
Such interest ended up winning out and overriding sensible thought, silencing any attempt from her brain to flee instead. With nobody to stop her, Mary proceeded to head inside, shutting the door quietly as much as possible.
What awaited her was nothing short of shocking, a small room made entirely of stone, with the only form of illumination being the copious amount of candles emitting an eerie glow.
“What the… who could’ve had the time to do this? A-And… are they still here?”
Cautiously, the woman briefly peeked behind her back in worry over the culprit suddenly returning without warning. A few seconds of pause later and she sighed, turning around again to see what other odd things were there to see.
Mary didn’t have to look far, as surrounded by the candles was a stark white altar.
The object appeared similar to a holy shrine, albeit an incredibly creepy one.
Not helping its case was the copious amount of dried blood staining it from top to bottom.
“O-Oh…” She gasped, covering her mouth.
Based on intuition and any form of pop-culture osmosis about such a sight, this room was probably where a sacrifice had taken place. Taking a few steps closer to examine it better, she balked at the copious amount of gore on display, wincing at the dire scene which must’ve happened to the soul unfortunate enough to end up under the knife.
“I… I really hope this wasn’t recent. But… something tells me that it’s the opposite.”
Suddenly, the woman felt a shift in the atmosphere around her.
It was subtle, yet unmistakable and unable to be ignored.
The change was even more so, the only signifier being the brief flicker of the flames from the candles around her.
“Oh… a visitor? In our domain? What a welcome surprise…” Someone said.
A woman’s voice greeted Mary’s ears not too long afterwards, carrying a tone which toed the line between being monotone and vaguely threatening. Meanwhile, the hapless survivor tensed up where she stood, forcing herself to slowly turn around and face the person who had just addressed her.
The sight of them ended up being enough to send a shiver down her spine.
Looks like this was another new face in her journey, coming not too long after their encounter with the man she met back “upstairs”. However, in contrast to everyone she had met in Silent Hill up to this point, the vibes that came from them felt… incredibly off. Even more so than Vincent.
This woman barely looked normal, sharing similarities to a mannequin found standing in a backroom’s darkened corner. She certainly seemed like one, given their pale complexion, lack of visible eyebrows, and icy white eyes. Additional features included long hair with a silver-like coloring, a black cloak, and no shoes. And yet, despite the less than ideal conditions presented by the prison decrepitness, her lack of footwear was barely registered as a concern.
Rather, she simply stared at Mary for a few moments, as if scrutinizing her from top to bottom. It was also unnerving how they didn’t blink, not even once.
Was this person some sort of loon… or someone she should start running away from?
While Mary’s concerns continued bouncing around her head like a ping-pong ball, the cloaked woman quietly approached, fixing her with a look of interest.
“I had not expected company down this far. I presume you are not from here. Correct?
What could “from here” even mean in this context?
From out of town? From any of the other areas in Silent Hill not in South Vale? Or worse… of this world?
Gulping, Mary quickly tried to come up with something to say, while hoping this individual was talking about the first option.
“T-That’s right. W-Who are you?”
“Claudia.” The woman replied, “And you? Who might you be?”
Claudia, now identified, proceeded to clasp her hands behind her back and maintained a piercing gaze as she awaited Mary’s response. It took some immense willpower to get the latter to do so, given how unnerved she felt at this moment.
“M-Mary… My name is... M-Mary.”
Her new “acquaintance” hummed quietly, stepping a bit closer while continuing to stare at them in a manner similar to a predator eyeing potential prey.
“I see. You know, this is no place any ordinary man or woman should be. Unless… you are here seeking salvation?”
The odd question got a confused blink out of her captive guest, only furthering the worry she had about Claudia and whatever seemed to be their job.
If Mary was guessing right, then she seemed to be someone similar to a pastor seen at a church, a person of authority using their power to speak their sermons and words of faith to a wide congregation.
This assumption also influenced their following response, joined by a slow and nervous shake of her head.
“Um… no, I-I wasn’t. I’m… not really a religious person anyways.”
Claudia’s expression barely changed or shifted, but her eyes said more than words could, expressing disapproval, annoyance, or a mix of the two emotions.
“Oh… I see. Nothing more than a non-believer.” The robed woman sighed, “How disappointing…”
“I’m sorry?” Mary questioned, raising an eyebrow.
“Don’t you know? In rooms such as this one, we are putting good work to ensure Paradise for the world at large comes to pass.”
Upon uttering such a sentence, the priestess’ hand gestured to the altar, as if silently instructing her guest to lay her eyes and bask in the supposed beauty on display. However, Mary found little to be pleased by as her eyes glanced at it and the dried blood which stained the stone.
“Tell me. What do you know of this place? Of its past? Its history?"
“Uh... I… I was aware that this place was sacred… during my last visit here.”
“Tch, it is more than simply a ‘sacred ground’. It has always been the source of great power, blessed by those who knew how to wield it, bestowed by the Old Gods themselves.”
Pausing in her bizarre ramblings for a second, Claudia raised both hands and arms up to the ceiling, followed by lowering them back down to adopt a praying pose. And after briefly shutting her eyes, they reopened and were quickly used to fix Mary with a withering gaze.
“What brought you here to begin with, then? If not for faith.”
Quite the short and succinct question, but enough to make her gulp with nervousness.
If she was to get out of this situation alive and well, the woman knew she had to be careful.
And so, like had been done back in their earlier interaction with Vincent, Mary chose caution over anything else.
“I’m looking for someone. Uh… well, now it's two people. One’s still alive as far as I can tell, the other is… I’m still figuring that out…”
This response caused the priestess to smirk for a brief second, soon followed by her turning away and looking up at one of the corners of the room’s ceiling, almost longingly.
“I see. Searching for those you know, are we? It is something I am quite familiar with.”
“You are?”
“Indeed. I am looking for someone as well. The Holy Mother. The one who will bring this world into Paradise…”
“The… what?”
“The Holy Mother.” Claudia reiterated, clenching her fists, “Alessa. The girl… who may as well have been my very own sister.”
Surprisingly, her expression became solemn and a bit despondent. Meanwhile, the other woman next to her couldn’t hide her surprise at this "Alessa" person being somebody known by a native in this town, let alone like the devout and possibly insane religious type Claudia was presenting herself as.
“The same girl that got mentioned on that… ‘game show’ me and Laura were on?” Mary thought, her eyebrows rising in alarm, “But isn’t she dead?”
Eerily, the priestess faced her once more to utter another response, as if she had somehow heard the words in their mind.
“She was taken from us. Stolen, in fact. As of late, I have been leading efforts to find them. So she may usher in the new world we have been striving for. One free of war, famine, conflict…”
The further it went on, the more her words were starting to sound like creepy cultist talk. It was enough for every fiber of Mary’s being to start screaming at her to run, run far away as possible. Despite that, she couldn’t help but remain where she stood, growing more bewildered by the second while Claudia continued to spout out her “beliefs”.
“It will come at a cost, but I have long since accepted it is mine to bear.” She added, “The fear of blood tends to create fear for the flesh. And I cannot falter. It must be done… Alessa must be found and she must birth our God. Or else… the suffering will only continue until you, I, and the rest of this world is reduced to animals fighting over scraps.”
“Uh… um… good luck? I… I figure you trying to find your friend is… or has been hard.”
“More than you believe. And due to the both of us being in a similar predicament, I suppose I could offer a bit of… guidance for your own journey, if desired.”
Oh boy, help?
From this woman?
No way, Mary didn’t want that, lest she end up owing a debt to her she would have to repay with her own flesh and blood.
“Wait, you’re offering…? No, no, no, that’s okay! I-I can find my way around easily, I’m sure.”
The lie was probably printed on her teeth with how hokey it sounded, since Claudia continued to stare at them with a hint of judgment still being present.
“Hmph. It seems I will have to do so anyways. No matter. The job of the shepherd is to guide the sheep, after all.”
Breathing in through her nose, the priestess slowly closed her eyes and readopted the praying pose from earlier. Silence fell in the room for a while before she spoke, speaking in what sounded like a riddle.
“A man waits somewhere down this forsaken path on which you tread. A smile rests on his lips, but there is no happiness to be had underneath. He carries a deep burden, one mixed with hatred and affection. Each once of care will hold an ounce of spit, and each ounce of spite will hold an ounce of care. And you would be wise to know… he waits for you.” Claudia spoke, “He waits… He waits… He waits.”
Mary listened to those ramblings, feeling her worry continue to build up the further it went on. At the same time, she was also wondering who the person being referred to even was.
Obviously not Laura, so she could put that assumption away with little difficulty.
A man, then? A man was waiting for her?
Wait… a man.
Could that man be her husband?
Could it be James?!
Or… Or was it… no, not… him.
He’s dead.
He has to be.
Dead men don’t just come back to life…
But more importantly… why was Claudia speaking like she possessed any sort of awareness about her circumstances? Like she knew what lay ahead back in those darkened halls?
“How do you… um, know that?” Mary asked, probably a bit too bluntly.
“It is by the hand of God. Faith can take you quite far in this wretched world…”
“U-Uh… okay. Good… to know.”
By now, Mary’s urge to leave could no longer be ignored, leading her to make that intent clear when she started to back herself up towards the door.
Interestingly, Claudia lacked any obvious care or offense towards their visitor trying to make her great escape. In fact, the cultist seemed fine with letting her go, turning away in response.
“Looks like she stopped looking at me. This is my chance!”
Due to the small size of the room, it didn’t take much to get the woman within arm’s reach to the door knob.
Escape was so close, it was palpable.
All she needed to do now was twist it open and-
“Leaving, aren’t you?”
In an instant, the woman froze, fearing the worst yet to come in light of that short but disquieting question. Bracing herself for a confrontation, she refocused her attention back onto the priestess while quietly remaining ready to pull out a weapon if needed.
Oddly, Claudia remained facing away from her, choosing instead to stare at the altar like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.
“I-I am…” She stammered out, “Because… I can tell… you have things to do.”
“Hmph, how astute. In fact, I do. But before you leave, I wish to impart some advice.”
“Advice?”
“Yes.” Claudia confirmed, “The path ahead is a perilous one. And whoever or whatever you may be looking for, be wary. They may not be in the state you wish them to be.”
Mary’s breath hitched in her throat in response, causing her mind to suddenly be filled with a ton of frankly worrying thoughts. The unexpected influx almost tempted her to speak up and question what hidden meaning lay behind such an odd and… concerning sentence.
But the chance to do so would be lost, as Claudia would simply offering a backhanded wave, dismissing them as she would to any one of her potential subjects.
“Have a safe passage, now…”
Taking the opportunity to escape by the horns, the woman barely wasted a second reaching for the knob again, pulling this door open, and hurrying out of there. Mary didn’t dare to look back either, focused on getting herself as far as possible from that room and the person inhabiting it.
She dashed down the darkened halls, not caring much about which route was taken or what lay ahead.
The only concern in her head was getting the hell out of there, even if there were any potential obstacles, traps, or dangers waiting up ahead. Her actions being akin to one form of self-preservation conflicting with another didn’t matter either.
Mary barely registered the choices being made, only slowing down to catch her breath once it was certain she was far away from wherever the priestess could be.
Then, with trepidation filling her heart, the woman forced herself to continue forward while dreading what other horrible things could be found up ahead.
Which made it almost a relief encountering any one of those monsters again...