Chapter 16

It was more than clear to Linda that she has found the room where Alessa had been kept after she got severely burnt. In the portrait Linda was holding she looked so sweet and innocent, and on the backside it said that this photo was taken when Alessa was seven years old. Not letting the portrait out of her hands, Linda sat on the edge of a filthy mattress, supporting her head on one of her hands. Suddenly she felt such strong headache like if her head was going to explode, but instead a set of flashing images ran through her head again, just like in one of the dreams where she spoke to Alessa. The image of a burned girl appeared before her eyes, which was not a nice mental image at all. As a reincarnation of Alessa's best friend from school, Linda could literally feel all the pain and suffering that Alessa had undergone, and it made her own heart cry in sorrow. In this moment Linda realized that her eyes were already wet, and tears began trickling down her cheeks. And that was all the doings of her psychopathic mother, Dahlia. Linda couldn't comprehend even for a second how a mother can treat her own child like that. In the next image Linda could see that Dahlia made efforts for birthing the God through Alessa's body, but luckily, the attempt failed. Her mother was sure that this so-called God can be born through pain and suffering, according to the beliefs of the Order cult. The cults always possess danger, so much Linda knew, but this particular cult hits all the records. She couldn't imagine that such insanity is even possible.

Then there was this fair-haired woman in a red cardigan, obviously a nurse. She was pretty much the only person that treated Alessa well. But there was something strange about her. Sometimes she looked like if she was in some other world, although physically she was taking care of patients, specifically Alessa. It's like if this nurse was under some kind of hypnosis. And then, Dr. Michael Kaufmann, the principal of Alchemilla hospital. As far as Linda understood from the images that flashed before her eyes, this Dr. Kaufmann produced some kind of drug for the needs of the Order cult that he cooperated with. Linda had heard that many cults use some hallucinogens to affect the minds of their participants, and the Order was no exception. Most likely that the nurse that cared for Alessa, was also under the affection of this drug. It could be that she started using it under Dr. Kaufmann's influence. Being a principal, he could actually do whatever he wanted, and the staff, in fact, was under his full control.

The last image showed a church that was hidden somewhere under the Lakeside Amusement Park. Somewhere in it Linda caught a glimpse of Alessa's room. The church, the sanctuary. This is where the attempt of God's birth was taking place. And that pretty meant that this was the next destination that Linda had to go to. Right in that moment, when the church image dissipated, her headache subsided as well, and things returned to normal, except for the fact that she was still in the Otherworld. Getting up from the bed, she put Alessa's photo back on the nightstand and stood beside it, lost in thoughts. As there was nothing else to search for in this hospital, she had a new goal. But, first of all, she would like to know where Alice and James were. Linda truly had no idea where to even look for them. The town wasn't small, and they could be anywhere. As the phone had no signal, there was no hope trying to reach them, so maybe she would be lucky to stumble on them somewhere. Right now she had to get moving to the direction of Lakeside Amusement Park. With that thought, Linda took out a small notebook from her pocket and scribble down a note for the case if Alice and James happen to be here, telling them to look for her in the Lakeside Amusement Park where she would be searching for the underground church. Leaving the note on the table in the reception, Linda left the hospital.

***

Alice and James finally managed to reach the hospital and started searching through it. This place looked as horrifying as the rest of the town, all covered in rust, dirt, and blood. And still there was no sign of Linda anywhere. Little did they know that if they had reached the hospital a little bit earlier, they would have possibly met her on their way. But now, by the time they arrived, Linda had already left. They searched floor after floor, fighting off the demonic nurses of their way, until finally they were back in the reception again. Looking at the table, James noticed a small piece of paper on the table. Curiosity got the best of him, and he picked the paper up to check what it is. He widened his eyes in surprise and turned to Alice.

"Alice, look at this," he said, giving her the note. "Looks like your friend has been here before us."

"What?" Alice blinked fast and read the note he handed her. Then her own eyes began shining in joy, knowing that Linda was alive and well. "Damn, we were too late. If we had come here earlier, we might have met up with her. But now at least we know where she went."

"Yes, and it pretty means that we have to follow and try to find her," James agreed. "So, we better get going."

Leaving the hospital building, James and Alice stepped through the rusty metal gates into Koontz Street and turned around the corner to the left and went south along Crichton Street. James opened the map and shone his flashlight on it. According to the map, Crichton Street continued into Riverside Drive and ended in crossroads with Sandford Street which led to the Lakeside Amusement Park. Alice and James started walking to that direction, and when they reached the end of Crichton Street, the sound of footsteps reached their ears. James prepared his steel pipe for a fight, and Alice held the shotgun ready. But what seemed strange to them that the steps sounded very much human, and they grew louder with every minute. It couldn't be Linda, as Alice presumed, as Linda went the same way they were now going. So is there someone else wandering this town? If so, who could it be?

She got her answer quickly enough. Soon a silhouette of a man appeared from darkness, trying to illuminate the way with his phone and looking around him in fear. There could be no doubt about his identity.

"No… No freaking way!" Alice huffed angrily, but quietly. She said it just loud enough so that only James could hear her.

"What is it? Do you know this man?" James asked. "Who is he?

"Yes, unfortunately, I do know him," Alice hissed, clenching her teeth in fury. "His name is Mitch, he is Linda's ex-boyfriend. A scoundrel, the likes of whom I've never seen in my life."

"Really? If I may ask, what has he done?" James was curious.

"Well, while Linda dated him, she found out he was cheating on her, and not just once," Alice explained. "When Linda found it out, she broke up with him, of course, which left him unsatisfied. He explained he wanted open relationship or some kind of such crap, and Linda wasn't going to bear that. From that moment he hates her, thinking that she is guilty in his suffering, although it's absolutely vice versa. He made her suffer, not the other way round. And one day Linda told me how she bumped into him in the city centre. They had an argument, and in the end he hit her on the face so hard that she nearly fell down on the ground."

"Jesus…" James shook his head.

"Yes. Believe my word, he's a very bad and indecent person." Seeing that Mitch noticed them, Alice whispered to James: "Please, don't tell him anything about Linda's whereabouts. If needed, just say that we are trying to find her."

"Of course," James nodded. "He won't hear anything from me."

When they got along with Mitch, he shone his phone light on them, trying to understand who was standing before him.

"Huh? Alice?" he asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, hello to you too, Mitch," Alice said in irritated voice.

"Where is Linda?" Mitch asked in demanding voice. Alice lifted her head proudly and said:

"I don't know where she is, we are looking for her. And even if I knew, I would never tell you, considering what a swine you are."

James didn't interfere in their conversation, but he could see that Mitch was barely controlling himself and his anger.

"What goes on between Linda and me is none of your damn business!" he practically yelled. "Now tell me where she is, or else…"

"Or else what?" James finally decided to join in, and his voice sounded threatening.

"Oh, I see you brought a boyfriend with you?" Mitch grinned. "How lovely." He said "lovely" in a mocking manner.

"I'm just an acquaintance," James said. "I have been to this town and I agreed to help these both ladies to navigate through here. And I wouldn't advise you to yell in here if you don't want to attract monsters."

Hearing him mentioning the monsters, Mitch shut up at once. What he saw around him looked like pure hell, and in this moment the thought about some kind of hellish creatures roaming around didn't seem absurd to him.

"Monsters? There are monsters here?" he asked, looking around frantically.

"Yes, there are," James replied. "If you haven't encountered any yet, it's just a matter of time."

"Then where the hell is Linda?" Mitch still tried to get information from them.

"I said already – I don't know," Alice huffed. "If you want to find her so much, then… good luck. Come on, James, let's go."

Alice went forward, calling James to follow her. James said nothing, just grinned when looking at Mitch and followed her, disappearing in the darkness. When they were already far away from him, James looked back one last time.

"Oh man, you were right," he said. "What an unpleasant guy. He behaves as if everyone owes him something. No wonder that your friend suffered from relationship with him. Good that she left him."

"No doubt," Alice agreed. "But you know, I'm happy that he's here, in Silent Hill. If this town makes the sinners pay for their sins, as you told me during our meeting in a café, then I have a feeling that he will remain in this town forever."

"Quite possible," James pondered aloud. "At least being in this town and encountering the creature will serve him a punishment. But there might be something else awaiting for him. I'm not sure what though."

"Yeah, I hope so," Alice sighed. "By the way, where are we now?"

"We are now going south along the Riverside Drive," James pointed to the spot on the map. "We just have to continue our way forward till the end of this street and then turn right to Sandford Street, and then we go just straight without turning anywhere. The amusement park must be on the right side of the street, right after Bachman Road."

"Okay, then we better get going. I only wonder why Linda went exactly to the amusement park and whether she has discovered anything in the Alchemilla hospital."

"There is only one way to find out," James said. "Let's go."