"Mary, could you really be in this town?" - James Sunderland, Silent Hill 2
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Cerl Descending
Chapter 02 - Infection
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Cerl woke up around 8 AM. She sat up and yawned, rubbing her bleary vision away. Hopping to her feet, she straightened her clothes and grabbed her pack.
[Well, time to start looking.] Cerl thought to herself.
She hadn't noticed the other night, but many of the jail cells were empty. That was unusual, but not too strange. After all, the town didn't seem to have many people out in the night, so fewer people needed to get thrown in the drunk tank.
[Actually,] Cerl paused, [Even with knowledge of the town, that fog last night was thick. How did Kimberly expect to find anything last night?]
Cerl decided to ask the officer as she entered the lobby of the station. She glanced around. No one was in sight. Either Silent Hill was smaller than she thought or something was wrong. She decided to check the bathrooms to see if, perhaps, she was over-reacting and the person who was currently in charge of the station was simply visiting the 'throne room'.
She pushed open the door to the Men's room first, "Hello?"
No answer. Cerl looked at the grime on tile floor and wondered how long it had been since anyone had bothered to clean it. Now worried, Cerl pushed over the Women's restroom door, "Hello? Anyone there?"
Only a faint echo of her own voice and a foul odor was the only things she sensed from the room. She looked at the floor again and noticed something that looked like rust on the floor of the middle stall.
She began walking towards the middle stall, the sound of her own footsteps and breathing seeming rather ominous. She wondered if perhaps she was simply overreacting as she slid alongside the stall doors and gently pushed open the door.
Nothing but rust dripping from a leaky pipe. She mentally berated herself as she turned away, but her eyes chanced to flicker at the mirror.
Someone was in the stall. A woman wearing a police uniform identical to Kimberly's, but she had short blonde hair and blood on half of her face.
Cerl turned back and looked closely inside the stall.
No one.
The hairs on her head became ridged and a chill ran up her spine. She glanced back at the mirror at the woman, who seemed to mouthing something to her.
Panic rose inside her as she turned and raced out of the bathroom, pulling the door shut behind her. She grabbed her pack without thought and hurried to the door.
It was time to find Kimberly. Or anyone.
She stepped outside only to find that the fog had lightened considerably, but still permeated the entire city like thick carpet. The sky also refused to be of any help, as the clouds only allowed the sunlight to illuminate the town enough for people to see, but not enough for true sunshine to push through. Cerl looked around the street. There wasn't anyone visible.
Cerl listened closely, but she couldn't hear anyone. 8 AM on a weekday in late autumn? Children should be playing, cars should have been running and people should have been walking around.
Cerl turned left and began walking. If the town was abandoned, Kimberly should have noted that. Cerl turned left at the next corner and saw a large white building she could never mistake, especially not with that universal red cross.
A hospital. Namely, Alchemilla Hospital.
Unlike a police station on a dreary night, a hospital would _have_ to have people, especially since it was large enough that it could probably house at LEAST half the town's population.
As Cerl raced for it, she asked herself what she might do if it too were abandoned. She shivered and decided to ignore that possibility until she reached it.
Calming Cerl's nerves considerably, she noticed that the lights were on and two nurses wearing the traditional sexy pink uniforms were at the reception desk. She entered through the automatic doors and headed for the two nurses.
"Excuse me, can either one of you tell me where I might find Officer Kimberly Ganer?" Cerl asked.
"No, why?" one of the nurses, a young woman in her earlier twenties with long straight hair and brown eyes, responded, "Did something bad happen?"
Cerl began to feel like a bumpkin as she answered, "Um, more of something weird. I was staying overnight at the station because of the fog, and I think I saw a ghost in the women's bathroom."
The second nurse, a woman with short red hair and green eyes, who looked to be the older of the pair, giggled, "I see, you saw the famous police station ghost."
"Famous?" Cerl asked, glancing at her name badge, "Cindy".
"Well, she's been around for a while. Spooks the living daylights out of anyone who goes into either bathroom, but she usually stays in the women's restroom most of the time. The officers are so scared that they try not to stay at the station too long. Kinda pathetic, really." the blonde answered, her name badge read "Tina".
"She had me pretty spooked too. Why don't they try calling an exorcist?" Cerl inquired.
"Honey, an exorcist won't come out here. They all say any haunting out here are fake. They treat us like bumpkins just because we're a small resort town and tell us to just oil our gates and stuff like that." Cindy replied.
Cerl frowned inwardly. Exorcists didn't get very frequent business, and the possibility of payment would have interested some of them. The story didn't seem right at all.
"Actually, while you're here, would you like a free check up?" Tina inquired.
Cerl looked at her curiously, "Are you all THAT bored?"
"Yeah. Last person who came in was this whiner from out of state, claiming he saw boogey men outside his hotel and it made him impotent." Tina replied.
"Yeah, two days ago. That jerk wanted US to help him 'cure' it. Had an erection clear enough that we could see it the instant he walked in." Cindy joined in.
"Yeah, that little prick." Tina added.
Both of the nurses began snickering over that.
"But what about other patients?" Cerl asked.
"Honey, this hospital is so poorly placed, there's another hospital with twice the size with quadruple the staff in Jacobsville, two towns over. Now, seeing as we've got a staff of thirty eight nurses, but only six doctors, which are you going to head for if you get hurt?" Cindy inquired.
"That's a pretty small staff for this big hospital." Cerl noted.
"That's why most of the work we get nowadays is terminal cases for people who want to see some nice scenery before they die or stressed business people who were ordered to have supervised rest and relaxation." Tina explained.
"So, how about that check up? No time like the present to make sure you're good and clean for your boyfriend." Cindy answered.
"I... I don't have a boyfriend." Cerl replied haughtily, a blush coming to her face despite her wishes.
"Okay, then you can know before you get your boyfriend." Cindy told her.
"I'll go get Doctor Kaufmann..." Tina began.
"Honey, you're daydreamin'. Doctor Michael Kaufmann's gone." Cindy berated Tina.
"Oh, right! Where IS my head today? I'll go get Doctor... uh, is Doctor Spaniel still here or is she gone too?" Tina asked.
"Doctor Spaniel is going to be here 'til the day she dies, honey. So, you'll know when she's gone. Or at least, you SHOULD." Cindy replied.
"Right, right." Tina said, brushing aside the insult with a casual wave.
"So, this town... not many people, huh?" Cerl asked nervously as Cindy motioned her to follow her to a nearby exam room.
"Oh, it's got a healthy population, thanks to Doctor Spaniel." Cindy stated, "Don't worry about Tina. She's empty headed when it comes to who's here, but she's got some good skills."
Cindy opened a nearby door and motioned Cerl inside, "Take off your clothes. There's an exam robe in the closet that you can wear. I'll send Nurse Lisa in shortly."
"Are you sure this is okay? I mean, a free exam? Won't someone get angry?" Cerl asked, as she entered the room. She was getting the feeling she was doing something she shouldn't, but something in the air kept her from panicking like she had back at the police station. She was beginning to feel a bit cotton-headed.
"No, I know Doctor Spaniel. She's the sort who isn't really happy unless she's doing something, even if it's for free." Cindy replied.
Cerl nodded. As Cindy closed the door, Cerl set down her pack and began undressing as she opened the closet to find the exam robe.
It wasn't long before Cerl was impatiently waiting in the examination room. She was already wearing the exam gown, which, typical of hospital gowns, was open in back. Feeling a bit insecure, she was sitting on the chair nearest to the door, taking in the exam room. There was a long cabinet on the wall nearest to the door and another along the wall opposite of her.
Then, there was the exam table, which looked much like a vinyl Lazy-Z-Boy made flat as a board. Over the table was a prehensile exam light. There were straps on the side of the exam table, but they were likely to hold down patients who came in for shots and were nervous about needles.
"Hi!" a nurse with brown hair who resembled Tina quite closely as she entered, "I'm Lisa! Doctor Spaniel will be here shortly, so I'll just take care of the minor details, like your blood pressure and such."
Cerl nodded. Six minutes passed while Lisa cheerfully recorded the minor details of Cerl's medical history. Cerl had to be careful not to confuse her medical background with those of her family, but managed to get through the exam for the most part.
"Okay, Doctor Spaniel will be in here shortly." Lisa replied.
Cerl nodded again as the cheerful nurse exited the room.
[Why am I doing this? It's not like I really want to have a check up. So, why did I accept? I mean, I'm just a tourist as far as this place goes. The medical file they gather will be useless. It's like...] Cerl's thoughts trailed off as she struggled for the answer.
The door opened again and a woman in her mid-twenties with frayed dark hair entered the room, dark circles under her blue eyes. She wore a black sweater and black silk pants under her white labcoat. Her name tag read 'Cheryl'. Cerl bit her tongue to keep from blushing in front of the woman. She was quite beautiful despite the state of her hair and the circles under her eyes.
"Hello, I'm Doctor Cheryl Spaniel. You're here for a free check up?" the woman inquired, extending a hand.
"Yes, I'm Cerl Tendo." Cerl replied, standing up and shaking Cheryl's extended hand.
"Your name almost sounds like mine." Cheryl commented idly.
"Pleased to meet you." Cerl answered, wondering where Cheryl had gotten THAT idea.
"Why don't you lay down on the table and I'll begin the visual exam?" Cheryl suggested.
Cerl hopped up onto the table and laid back as Lisa, no longer smiling, re-entered with a leg harness. Cerl hesitated, "Uh, is that necessary?"
"Well, I'm not fond of knees bashing in the side of my head." Cheryl answered.
Cerl sighed as she laid back and raised her legs as Lisa moved the harness into position. She tried to relax as Cheryl and Lisa strapped her legs into harness, pulled as far apart as possible. Cheryl moved to her left while Lisa moved to the right. Then, she felt straps wrap around her wrists.
"WHAT-!" Cerl began as Lisa and Cheryl tightened the straps, effectively pinning her hands at a bad angle.
The doctor and nurse roughly shoved her back down and wrapped straps around her upper arms. Lisa tossed another long strap over to Cheryl, who tightened it over Cerl's stomach, preventing the girl from sitting up more than part way. Cerl thrashed angrily against the restraints.
Cheryl gripped Cerl by the forehead and slammed her head back down with surprising strength, stunning the martial artist and giving Lisa time to attached a neck restraint.
"Stupid girl. Coming here all alone was a big mistake." Cheryl replied, inserting a needle into Cerl's arm. Cerl could barely see the white liquid before it entered her body.
"This will calm you down while I check you over. Happy delusions." Cheryl said, smiling wickedly as she gripped Cerl's gown and tore it, exposing her breasts.
Cerl tried to protest, but it came out like gibberish even to her ears. It was like her tongue wasn't responding in time with her demands. Scarce seconds later, the world dissolved.
Her left arm hurt. Specifically, the place where the needle had entered her body. It was a small throbbing pain. She always felt it after a needle exited her body, likely her body's sympathetic revulsion at what had happened. She'd always hated needles. It was probably due to a bad memory from a past life.
She opened her eyes, hoping to see something other than the essence of Green, and found the room was dark. She sat up and shook her head, then realized she'd been able to move. That meant Cheryl probably thought she wouldn't recover before they'd rebound her or Cheryl foolishly believed Cerl wouldn't be able to break down that door.
She was naked, no surprise there. She grabbed her clothes from a nearby tray and dressed herself before hopping to the floor. She paused as she felt something strange under her feet and reached behind her, looking for the prehensile light. She found the stand, followed it up and turned on the light.
She instantly regretted that action, and not because of the sudden shock from the light source.
The floor was covered with patches of dried moss that was quite dead from the brown color, the walls were stained with a rust-like color and the exam table she'd been laying on had been covered with blood stains.
Much like the creep factor she'd gotten from the police station bathroom, the hairs on Cerl's head stiffened in terror and she got goosebumps. She glanced down at her clothes and found that they had been spared. She opened her pack and took out a small flashlight that she'd forgotten about. She had spare shoes, but decided that being barefoot would lower the chances of detection. She closed her pack, turned the flashlight on and headed for the door.
She opened the door hesitantly. The hospital was dark, but not dark enough that she couldn't see without the flashlight. Deciding not to alert Cheryl to her activity, Cerl turned off the flashlight and quietly slid out into the hallway.
[Cheryl must have moved me.] Cerl realized, because she didn't recognize the hallway at all. There seemed to be a number of intersections, but no sign of a window or door. The closest intersection was to her left, so Cerl turned that way.
Cerl began walking as quietly as she could down the hallway. As she came to an intersection. She glanced around the corner and saw a row of windows facing outside, revealing that it was night time.
Once she got out of the hospital and to a phone, Cheryl and her lackey nurses were all going to be reported. She wasn't sure if Kimberly or her police force were in on it. The safest bet was to contact the state police. Chances were strong that they would act. The state police were a bit too big for something like bribery to work.
She crept down the corridor and glanced outside, wondering what direction the window faced and noticed something entirely else.
The town was like a nightmarish hell.
All of the buildings looked decayed, as though they hadn't been tended to for at least a hundred years, with dead moss or vines covering most of them. All the windows she could see were boarded up, the trees were dead with their bark peeling off like paint chips and the fog from that morning was still covering the ground like a blanket, keeping Cerl from seeing anything on the ground. Even the hospital she was in had dead vines covering it like veins.
"...where's my brain... can't find it..." came a soft whisper.
Cerl turned to see Tina walking down the hall towards her, her head bobbing left and right unnaturally, allowing Cerl to see the large hole around her left ear. Blood caked the left half of the nurse's uniform and her eyes were milky white.
"...can't find my brain... can you find?" Tina seemed to ask as she continued towards Cerl.
A hand seized Cerl's right shoulder, startling her just as she spun to face the person who had grabbed her. It was Lisa, but unlike Tina, she looked like she had earlier.
"You have to get out of here!" Lisa told her, grabbing Cerl's right arm and pulling her down the hallway away from Tina.
"But what the hell is-" Cerl began, before they stopped abruptly. Cerl glanced past Lisa to see someone else down the hall.
It was Cindy. Her right hand had been cut off and placed where her neck should have been. Her fingers and palm had been sewed to her head with thick stitches that Cerl could see from where they were. Her head bobbed unnaturally, but the reason for her awkward head motion was more obvious.
"I told you we have a healthy population." Cindy gurgled, giving Cerl and Lisa a crooked smile.
Lisa began backing away, but Cerl stopped her.
"What's going on?!" Cerl demanded of the only normal-looking nurse.
"It should be obvious." the voice of Doctor Cherl Spaniel came from behind them, "I'm testing my genius."
Cerl turned to face the doctor, only to see that the doctor was not alone. A massive creature, standing roughly seven feet tall, with mace-like arms that were larger than it's torso, and patched skin that looked like it had been tanned like leather, was next to Cheryl. It's head had one red glowing oval, indicating an eye of some sort, with a gaping drooling mouth that resembled the open end of a cone.
"To see if you're a psycho? Bravo. You've succeeded." Cerl told the female doctor.
Cheryl sighed, "Just like Dahlia and all the others, you simply fail to understand how wonderful this is. I can't expect you to understand how great a gift I have."
The creature raised one of it's huge arms and swatted Lisa and Cerl through the glass window.
Cerl forced her eyes to open. She wasn't sure how long she'd been unconscious, but from Tina's slow lumbering form moving past the broken window on the third floor, it likely hadn't been too long.
Her entire body ached as if she had been hit by a freight train, but her left arm burned, as if it were on fire. She didn't know how she could have been so sloppy as to let that creature hit her. Then again, she'd expected it to punch forward rather than do a swatting motion.
Cerl glanced around her, trying to see if she could find Lisa, but the fog was too thick to see anything but the hospital. She had to get up and move. Who knew if Cheryl was going to hunt her down or not? It was very likely, given that if Cerl managed to make it out of town, the doctor's experiments would likely be stopped.
Cerl forced her body to roll over and she began to rise up onto her hands and knees when she noticed something moving to her left. She looked over to see a human-like figure dragging something away. She couldn't tell what it was because of the fog.
Then a foot slammed into her back, driving her to the ground. Cerl turned her head to try and see what was behind her. It looked like a man for the most part, but a strange triangular or pyramid mask was where it's head should have been, the angle pointing forward seeming to jut out much further than the others. In it's right hand was a large knife, like a butcher's knife that a giant might use.
The pyramid-headed man moved his head back and forth as if looking at things on either side of Cerl. It removed it's foot from her back and stepped back, but another pyramid-headed man stepped forward, this one wielding a spear. The second pyramid-headed man raised his spear over his head and thrust it into Cerl's side.
Cerl didn't know if it was her screaming or someone else, but she heard a pain-filled scream. She convulsed like a fish on the deck of a ship, her body trying in utter futility to force the spear out of her body by it's own accord. It was a pain unlike anything she'd ever experienced.
The spear was pulled from her body and the two pyramid-headed men seemed to share a nod before fleeing into the night. Cerl clutched at her side, a thousand thoughts rushing through her head as she rolled over onto her back, the world beginning to fade to black.
The delusions must have begun again, because she began to feel like she was floating down a river...
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Well, another chapter at an end. More to follow.
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