"...more like a nightmare." - Heather Mason, Silent Hill 3 ======================== Cerl Descending Chapter 03 - Cultivation ======================== She might not always be comfortable trying to get to sleep, but once she entered slumber, Cerl always felt safe. As if the blanket of her unconsciousness would protect her from all. Sleep had reached her and for the first time in her life, she didn't feel safe. She did not feel the comfort or protection of that blanket. Instead, she felt like she was lying naked in a snowfield. Dreams came, but they were nightmares. They seemed all the more terrifying, as she had the falling dream, only she hit the ground and laid there, bleeding, but alive. Her back ached, as if someone had torn or burned it. Her dream self managed to sit up and began walking, as if it had a destination in mind. Her head turned to see mirrors on each side of her. One side showed a young and beautiful angelic man wearing nothing, his head bleeding heavily as he continued to walk, his wings torn and broken. The other side showed her, only she had black feathered wings, her left arm was black with jagged points, and she was crying tears of blood. The other her suddenly stopped, clutching her stomach with her right arm and her mouth with her left. Blood began seeping between the jagged black fingers as her mirror self fell face first to the ground. The dream changed, this time she was standing outside of a cage. Something inside the cage was both beautiful and dangerous. She couldn't see what it was. Cheryl was in the cage with it. The doctor seemed to irritate and comfort the thing at the same time. Cerl tried to get a better glimpse of it, but there was no angle that showed it any better. Then, she noticed Cheryl smiling at her, a smug look on her face, as if to say, "You can't see it from there." The cage's bars didn't seem that close together. She could easily step inside, but she was torn as to whether or not she should. Whatever the thing was, it desired Cerl's company. She knew that much. She sort of wanted to be with it too. As if it had an answer that she was looking for, but she had to step inside to get it. The dream changed again. She was standing in Nerima, looking like her mirror self from the first dream. Everyone looked at her with revulsion and disgust. Pain filled her. She didn't want to be rejected by them. A hand touched her shoulder. It offered warmth and comfort, which Nerima could not. All she had to do was turn around and accept it... Cerl burst awake in a cold sweat, her head pounding as if her heart were inside her skull. She'd never felt that kinda of realism in her dreams. Like it hadn't been a dream, but rather a vision. She looked around as she calmed down from her panicked state. She was in the police station, laying on one of the desks. It had been swept mostly clean, as if someone had been in a hurry to clear it. She looked down and found a bandage where the spear had penetrated her. There was another one on her left arm, where the needle had entered her. Kimberly looked over at her from a nearby desk, "Are you fully awake this time?" "..... what do you mean 'fully awake'?" Cerl asked, trying to get over the panic she'd felt. "Your eyes opened a number of times, but you didn't respond to anything I said." Kimberly answered. "...... my head hurts." Cerl replied, clutching her head. "It's probably because of the White Claudia." Kimberly responded. "White Claudia?" Cerl asked, "No, forget that. Where the hell were you and what the hell happened to this town?" Kimberly looked uneasy, rubbing her left arm, "You know how I said that there was that huge case a long time ago?" "Yeah?" Cerl inquired. "...." Kimberly turned to a file folder she had on her desk and opened it. She started to read, "The drug that the cult used was called White Claudia. It was a hallucinagenic made by Doctor Cheryl Spaniel and Doctor Michael Kaufmann over thirty years ago. Kaufmann apparently made a deal with the cult leader, but at some point backed out. Unfortunately, that's about all anyone knows about it." "And what does this have to do with where you were and what's going on in this town?" Cerl asked. "Spaniel is apparently still working with the cult. She made some sort of deal in order to carry out her horrible experiments. When she reappeared last year, she looked to be in her mid-twenties, which should have been impossible if she were the same person. Besides that, just about everyone had forgotten about her." Kimberly began, "until, that is, the yearly police physical." "Let me guess, she had been waiting for it, hadn't she?" Cerl inquired. "Yes. One by one, our officers went in, and got a 'special vitamin' injection." Kimberly answered, a cynical tone in her voice, "I had just joined the force half a year before, so I was designated as the 'backup'. Meaning my appointment was a full two weeks after everyone else's. But then, officers started calling in sick. Then disappearing." "So you went to visit the hospital to investigate?" Cerl asked. Kimberly nodded, "Stupid as I was, I decided 'hey, I don't need backup!'. I met with Doctor Spaniel, but one of her nurses gave me the White Claudia injection. When I woke up, I was in this place." Kimberly closed her eyes and sighed, before opening her eyes again, "As near as I can figure, this IS Silent Hill. But there seems to be some sort of magic involved. This place is separate from the real world, but certain things and people can interact with both worlds. Cheryl is one of them. She also has the ability to bend the illusion to affect the real world so that you see what she wants you to see. That was why her nurses can fool people." Cerl arched an eyebrow, "Are you supposed to say things like 'unexplained phenomenon' or something instead of magic?" Kimberly snorted, "Screw that! I can't think of a reason why a drug, no matter how powerful, could maintain a stable area like this. When I ran into you, I was on my fifth attempt to get out of this town. Apparently, even if you walk on the edge of the road toward Brahms, you can't exit. You just wind up back in town." "So then the chance that the cult is involved is pretty high. Because otherwise, I can't think a way that Doctor Spaniel could be at least fifty years old and still look like she was in her mid-twenties." Cerl commented. Suddenly, the largest bug Cerl had ever seen crawled up onto the desk behind Kimberly, causing her to yelp in surprise. Kimberly glanced back at it, and frowned, "Darn it, Scraper, I told you to stay out of sight until I had time to explain." Cerl stared at Kimberly, "You're talking to a giant cockroach?" "Scarab Beetle, actually. When I got here, I found I could understand these guys. I managed to create a rapport with them. They aren't much and they can't hurt any of Cheryl's minions effectively, but they're a huge help in finding passages and such in this city. They also saved your life." Kimberly explained. "Oh-kay.... I suppose that's a good thing, considering the situation. And that's why you told them to stay away yesterday because you thought I'd freak." Cerl noted. "Yeah. Here is one of the safest places in the city." Kimberly told her. "I don't think any place in this city is safe. Not while we remained trapped here." Cerl replied, turning and standing up. She winced. "You shouldn't be standing so soon." Kimberly told her, hurrying over to help her. Cerl held a hand out to stop her, "I'm fine." "Don't be ridiculous. Pyramid Head missed your organs, but-" Kimberly began. "Pyramid Head?" Cerl inquired, leaning back against the desk, "That triangle-faced guy?" "Scraper calls him Pyramid Head." Kimberly answered, as the scarab beetle began making chirping noises, "They seem to attack people at random." Cerl grumbled, "Just my luck. By the way, did Scraper see what happened to Nurse Lisa?" Kimberly blinked, "Uh, there isn't anyone named Lisa working at the hospital." "That's impossible, she and I were swatted out of the third story window together." Cerl responded, "And she was there with Doctor Spaniel when I...." Kimberly frowned and shook her head, "Maybe she's a recent addition through the cult." An uneasy silence fell over the room. Cerl decided to inquire about an issue she'd wanted addressed earlier. Cerl motioned towards the bathroom, "So do you know why there's a ghost in the bathroom?" "No, but I now suspect she was a victim of Cheryl's machinations." Kimberly answered. Cerl sighed in frustration. Even with all the answers, there were still too many questions. And it seemed that the best place to ask them were in the places Cerl least wanted to go. "I think I need to try and talk with her." Cerl declared. ".... it's your decision." Kimberly responded, shrugging. Cerl turned and headed for the women's bathroom. Hopefully, the spirit in there would have some answers. As she entered, an eerie quiet seemed to fill the women's bathroom. It was as if her breathing and once-sure footsteps weren't echoing off the tiled walls. Cerl hardened herself and opened the middle stall before turning to the mirror. The blonde police woman was there, looking very much like she had the last time, blood still covering half of her face. "Hi... I'm Cerl. What's your name?" Cerl asked, trying hard to keep her panic down. Rust formed on the mirror, forming a name on the mirror: //Cybil Bennett//. The words faded slower than they appeared. "Nice to meet you, Cybil. Listen, I need to know some things." Cerl began, relieved that the ghost was feeling talkative. More writing appeared on the wall: //Like what?// "Do you know Doctor Cheryl Spaniel?" Cerl asked. //No.// "Damn." Cerl murmurred, "How did you come to haunt this place?" //I was killed.// "By what, if you don't mind me asking?" Cerl asked. //Valtiel.// "Uh... who or what is Valtiel?" Cerl inquired. //I don't know, but when he killed me, I felt I had met him.// "So what is he?" Cerl pressed. //I don't know. He appears and moves as he desires in Silent Hill.// "How long has Valtiel been here?" Cerl queried. //About thirty years. But he hasn't done very much to my knowledge, outside of killing me.// Cerl pondered that. The spirit was only a little bit more informed than Kimberly on some things. But thirty years ago would put her in Silent Hill around the time of that big drug and cult case. But if Cybil didn't know Doctor Spaniel, then what about other people? "Do you know Nurse Lisa Garland?" Cerl asked. //Sort of.// "Sort of?" Cerl inquired. //It was thirty years ago. I was investigating Silent Hill when I met a man named Harry Mason. He was looking for his daughter. He made mention of Lisa Garland, but I don't think I ever met her in person.// Cerl contemplated that. Lisa didn't look any older than Cheryl. But if both of them had been working in Silent Hill for over thirty years, that meant that it was likely Lisa was working with Cheryl. And yet, from Lisa's attempt to save Cerl, it was evident that Lisa was having second thoughts. "Thank you for your help." Cerl told the ghost woman. //I wish I could help you further.// Cerl nodded and turned. She left the bathroom perhaps a bit faster than she should have, but she'd already exhuasted herself refraining from fleeing earlier. She laid down on a bench outside of the bathroom and fell asleep. ======================================================================= ======================================================================= ======================================================================= Well, another chapter at an end. More to follow.