"I get it now. Why I'm still alive even though everyone else is dead. I'm not the only one who's still walking around. I'm the same as them! I just hadn't noticed it before!" - Nurse Lisa Garland, Silent Hill 1 =========================== Cerl Descending Chapter 01 - Opening Chords =========================== Cerl Tendo stared at the town as she walked toward it. She didn't know who was responsible, but she'd gotten a letter from her mother, which was impossible. Akiko Tendo had been dead for over eleven years and, according to her father, had never left Japan in her entire life. And yet, the note was disturbingly accurate, according to her father. Obviously, someone wanted her in Silent Hill, USA and whoever that person was, they were going to get a severe beating. No one mocked her adoptive father with letters from a dead wife. Cerl was only seventeen years old, but she knew more about the United States than her family. The main reason she was alone was largely to keep her entire adopted family from having to traipse all the way to some rinky-dink town just to find some jerk. They'd taken her in, so she had to repay them by taking care of the heckler. Cerl's long blonde hair, blue eyes and fairly caucasian appearance was an aid on the journey. Many of the people had been rather helpful to her, something that probably wouldn't have happened if they'd known she was a foreigner. Some communities looked to be fairly open about a lot of things, but when people from other countries came into their town, they could be incredibly rude. As she drew closer, a light fog seemed to start forming. Cerl considered turning back to the little town she'd passed through, Brahms, but decided to press onward. The sooner she got to the small town of Silent Hill, the sooner she could find the brainless prankster and force him or her to pay for what the emotional trauma they'd caused her father. No more than five minutes later, her resolve began to falter. The night air was getting colder and the fog was getting thicker. Soon, she probably wouldn't be able to find her way. She stopped to consider turning back, but once again, decided to press on. The town wasn't that far from Brahms and that nice female police officer told her that there weren't any other turns. The road would lead her there. Ten minutes later, she regretted it. The fog had grown so dense, she could barely find her feet. She doubted her ability to sense ki would do her much good. The only thing that she could do was keep her arms out and step loudly. She growled as she stumbled several times, walking in the fog. Then, she heard a strange shuffling noise. She paused and waited. The shuffling noise repeated itself. After about five seconds, it repeated again. Her danger sense flared as she looked around, trying her best to peer through the fog. She even tried to find an active ki source nearby, but nothing appeared to her senses, save the shuffling noise, like someone rubbing strips of denim together while dragging a shoe. She decided to move forward, despite the sound, but kept quiet. If she bumped into someone, she could apologize, but she didn't like the sound of whatever was moving around. Slowly, a strange scent caught her nose. It was nasty, like coffee grounds mixed with a plant-based compost. She coughed a few times as the repugnant smell grew stronger and did her best not to breathe too deeply. The shuffling noise stopped for about twenty seconds, then she heard it begin moving towards her. She grimaced and slid silently into a fighting stance as it drew near. The fog began clearing, allowing her to see a faintly humanoid shape... "OW! What the hell did you do that for?!" came the voice of an angry woman. Cerl blinked, then leaned forward. Through the fog, she made out a woman in her mid-twenties, wearing a police uniform similar to the ones worn by the Brahms police department. She had shoulder-length black hair and was obviously angry. "Sorry about that! I panicked because of this thick fog." Cerl apologized to the police woman. "It's all right, I guess. It is rather hard to see. I'll show you into town." the police woman told her, "Give me your hand." Embarrassed over her blunder, Cerl obediently extended her hand to the police woman, who's cold and clammy hand grabbed her wrist and lead Cerl into town. Cerl forced herself to calm down. The female officer didn't warrant danger. "Is it always this bad?" Cerl asked. "Hmm?" the police woman inquired. Cerl gestured to the air, "The fog." "Oh, not really. We've had a lot of fog in recent years, but not this much." the police woman responded. It wasn't long before they reached the police station, a somewhat small building with a brick exterior. Had it been any older, Cerl would have expected it to be made out of wood and have a deck for spurs to jangle on. As they entered, Cerl noted the absence of anyone else. Cerl also noted that the police officer was pretty sexy, but decided to focus on the other issue, "Are you the only one on night patrol?" "No, but I'm the only one who comes in regularly." the police woman responded, as they reached the officer's desk, which was fairly neat with a few file folders scattered about. She motioned Cerl to a wooden seat next to her desk as she sat down on her own chair, "So, what were you doing out there in that fog?" "Oh, right. My name is Cerl Tendo. Someone sent a letter to my uncle posing as his deceased wife. I came to find the joker who did it and teach them a lesson about playing with the emotions of others." Cerl explained, as she took off her pack and sat down. "I'm Kimberly Ganer." the police woman replied, before sighing, "Sounds like it's happening again." "What's happening again?" Cerl asked. "Letters. About thirty years or so back, a man came into town complaining about the same thing. I wasn't even born when it all happened. Turns out what happened was the biggest case in Silent Hill and Brahms history." Kimberly responded. Cerl quirked an eyebrow, "Something bad?" "Cults and Drug Rings. Kinda rocked everyone, since this isn't exactly the sort of place where people can just pop up, so that meant everyone who was involved stayed in this town or in Brahms." Kimberly answered. "Actually, I can believe that. Small town people can be easily tempted at the prospect of big money, especially when they think they can get away with it. Sad, really." Cerl sighed. Cerl turned suddenly. "What's wrong?" Kimberly asked, reaching for her gun. "I thought I heard something outside." Cerl told her. "I'll go check it out. It's probably just Scraper. He and his little pack of groupies come around here every so often, but better safe than sorry." Kimberly answered, hurrying towards the door as she drew her gun. "You're the officer." Cerl replied, tensing, just in case it wasn't someone familiar. Kimberly opened the door slowly, peeking out. She rolled her eyes and opened the door all the way, "Scraper, you and your boys git! This ain't the time to be playing. Go home." The sound of retreating feet reached Cerl's ears, though they weren't moving like they were scared or in a hurry. "I guess they don't respect you much if they ain't hurrying." Cerl noted. "They don't respect anyone. It's only because I have a gun that they respond to me at all. If I didn't have this, who knows what might happen." Kimberly answered, motioning to her revolver. "Better to not think about it." Cerl told her. "I guess so." Kimberly acknowledged as she walked back to her desk and sat down. "Anyway, so you think that these criminals might be back?" Cerl inquired. Kimberly considered Cerl's statement, "Well, the thing is, the letters were never officially connected to the incidents. It's very likely that your letter has nothing to do with the drug rings. But it _might_ have something to do with that cult." "Whoever it was will pay. That's all I care about." Cerl declared. "I don't condone physical violence, but I will help you from the legal standpoint. It's a clear case of harrassment and I won't stand for it." Kimberly answered. "So, where's the nearest hotel?" Cerl inquired. "You could get hurt out there with all that fog. You can sleep in one of the cells if you like. I'll keep it unlocked." Kimberly offered. Cerl contemplated the fog. It was getting too thick to see clearly. Only someone who was familiar with the town, like Kimberly, would be able to move so easily in the fog, "Well, it's probably a good idea." Kimberly stood up and headed for the jail cells, Cerl following closely behind after grabbing her pack. ======================================================================= ======================================================================= ======================================================================= Okay, as anyone can clearly see, I've never played Silent Hill all the way through. WHAT?! That's right, I'm using four things at my disposal to craft this tale. My imagination, my limited knowledge of SH1, a few walkthrough for Silent Hill 1-3, and the information I gleaned from various reviews (like the one's on Tech TV's X-Play) If I get anything wrong, that ain't my fault. And in fact, hardcore gamers should EXPECT me to get something wrong. After all, there's only so much that I can get from a walkthrough. However, I would like all readers of this to keep an open mind. After all, I'm basically screwing around with something I only understand via second-hand information and deductive reasoning. More things to note: Cerl is from Akane Revised. Expect different things from her. After all, this is about a horror genre video game, where survival is at an all time low.