Play@YSDC

Posted: **Sun May 20, 2012 3:38 am**

The side corridor ends in another door that has rotted somewhat in its frame, bulging slightly, and when he leans against the wall to steady his burden and tries the handle, he finds it stuck. They key won't even go in properly because the lock is too rusted to use. There's only one known way out and that's likely wherever Jack came in from - perhaps out through the theatre itself where that woman doubtless awaits him. Silent Hill sure is something else. If the bright lights and the dark shadows of the cities were meant to be dangerous, this fog-shrouded monster-haunted place was lethal. He'd be best served by grabbing a car and getting the hell out but Ash is still here, isn't she? The police station had people in it as well. Maybe he could go back there? Or maybe try the hospital again, though it was completely empty when he last saw it.

Posted: **Sun May 20, 2012 4:26 am**

Murray hadn't been heading in that direction anyway. He wants to go through the door leading back the way he had come, to the section of hall where he had met Jack, and then on to the dressing rooms to look for a sewing kit. Afterwards, he plans to bring Craig to the hospital. Even if no medical people are there, medical supplies are highly likely.

Posted: **Sun May 20, 2012 5:08 am**

Murray follows the blood smeared footprints toward the rearmost corridor, struggling under his blood-spattered burden, arms straining against the weight to carry him, but at least it's not far to the doors marked: dressing room. It'd be awkward to try to open the door with him in Murray's arms, with a greater risk of dropping him and causing further injury, so he lowers him to the ground and fumbles with the handle. At least there's no sign of that crazy person, Jack, now. Opening the door, he reveals the dressing room which appears much as he left it. There's a few drawers where a sewing kit could easily be kept. There's also a low couch against one wall where he could put Craig for now.

Posted: **Sun May 20, 2012 6:00 pm**

Murray picks up Craig again and brings him into the dressing room, kicking the door shut behind him. He sets Craig gently down on the couch and then rummages through the drawers to find a sewing kit.

Posted: **Mon May 21, 2012 5:50 am**

Posted: **Tue May 22, 2012 3:27 am**

Murray feels lucky as he hears something in the background and searches the drawers thoroughly.

Posted: **Tue May 22, 2012 4:16 am**

The drawers slide open easily and quietly, revealing a small first aid kit and a sewing kit to one side. There is also a map of the town with several destinations circled in red with dates underneath. The locations are the Balkan Church - 1924, Police Station - 1935, Post Office - 1968, Annie's Bar - 2011, and the Indian Runner - 1987. There's also an old tape lying there whose name has been whited out that lies on top of the folded up sheath of maps. There doesn't seem to be anything out in the hallway at the moment though there is some vague noise coming out of a speaker sitting on the corner beside a folded up sweater. It's probably feeding the sound directly from the stage, perhaps to ensure people can be aware of when their part is coming up. At the moment it's been turned down but there is a dial that can be turned up.

Posted: **Tue May 22, 2012 4:26 am**

Murray pockets the map, the tape and the sewing kit, taking out the first aid kit. He first makes sure that the doors leading out of the dressing room are locked, then turns up the volume on the speaker a little more, just enough so that he can hear what's going on on the stage, but not so loud that it can be heard from beyond the room. Then he sets to work properly cleaning, treating, and redressing Craig's wound.

Posted: **Thu May 24, 2012 2:59 am**

"Well, I suppose that's a wrap," says Mrs. Ash, over the speakers. Then there's a pause and a break.

"I wonder if anyone will see this. If they ever do, well, I'm sorry. I'm sorry because I've fucked up so often and I'm sorry because I never realised how good I had it. I thought ... I don't know what I thought. I thought it'd be easier, in the end, if I had no connections, no attachments, if maybe...." Her voice breaks in a sob. "It's so hard to always have to look over your shoulder, expecting it all to change, I never thought ... I never knew how to feel safe, and now.... Now I'm here, standing here, and I don't ... I don't know if I can go through with this."

"I thought it'd be easier on everyone if I were here but if I hadn't been so damn ... if Cecie hadn't been distracted ... then again, when wasn't she? I suppose I wasn't the one on the phone. She wasn't taking a call from me. But maybe, maybe if I wasn't there, maybe Katie would've stayed away from the water. I just ... I just want Katie to have stayed out of the water. I should've paid attention to where she was going. I should've...."

"They say there's a cure for death here. I've read about it. I think, though, I think it'll have a price. I think they always do. I doubt ... I doubt you'll get what you really want. You see, I ... well, I tried ... and ... it worked. It worked but it didn't work."

"Everything I'd heard about him made him seem like such a hero and I swear, I swear I thought ... maybe he could help me find a way because she isn't dead yet. Katie isn't dead. It's like she's lost her mind. She's so still.... A coma. A deep coma where any deeper and she'd be brain dead. I thought the cult might've taken her. I was raised with the stories. So many stories of what happened here and in Shepherd's Glen and the magic that was possible for those who believed. I believed, but perhaps my faith wasn't pure enough, because what came out of that morgue.... He didn't even look at me. Not really. It was like he was drawn on strings, back to that place, and I tried ... I wanted to ... I couldn't stop him. I was too afraid."

A pause, a long drawn out breath.

"I saw him again. I didn't know what to do but I was prepared with ... from the hospital ... I had them and I could.... Those damn cops. Those damn fucking cops locking me up in there. Only I don't think they're cops. Or if they are, they're not just cops. They belong to Her. They belong to the Cult. If I ever find them again, I swear I'd...."

"But then I'd have to come down from this ledge. I'd have to come down and I'd have to risk it all again but I've found the light and it's safer here and I don't want to risk the world down there but I wonder ... I wonder if I do what I came here to do ... I wonder if I'll ever truly leave."

"Well, I suppose that's a wrap," says Mrs. Ash. Then there's a pause and a break.

"I wonder if anyone will see this...." The speech continues.

Posted: **Thu May 24, 2012 4:48 am**

The first aid kit doesn't do much for Craig, but it's better than nothing. "I think we're hearing what's playing on the stage. I'd love to get a look at it, as it might give me some indication as to where Ash is, but there's still a monster out there. How are you doing? Do you think you can move under your own power?"

Posted: **Thu May 24, 2012 1:03 pm**

"I think I can walk, yeah," muttered Craig, struggling to his feet. "Don't think I can take another hit like that, though." He winces, clutching at his bandaged wound. "No one makes bandages like Silent Hill does."

Posted: **Fri May 25, 2012 3:23 am**

"We'll go to the hospital after we leave here," says Murray. "Maybe we can find more there. If we're really lucky, maybe we can find a doctor to go with them." He consults the map of the theater. "The back is sealed off, so we'll have to go out the front. We already know we can't get there through the hall on the right side of the building, so that leaves the left. Let's try the door to the backstage area. I left the curtain down, so it'll separate us from that monster lurking around in front of it. Maybe while we're there I'll have a peek out onto the stage behind the curtain and see what the location shown on the screen is. We can make our way through backstage all the way to the left hall, and then we can take that to the lobby and the front entrance. You ready?"

Posted: **Mon May 28, 2012 2:06 am**

Craig nods weakly, and staggers alongside Murray, clutching onto him like he might fall over at any second. The hallway outside is clear, as is the backstage corridor, and then the backstage area. Through the flickering projector's light, a woman's silhouette is blown up against the screen, but Murray can still see the back-to-front image of a woman by a railing, speaking into some sort of tape recorder while glancing idly at a small walkie talkie in the other hand. Behind her is fog, and she is alternately cast in shadow and light in a rhythmic fashion.

Ash continues to speak: "They say there's a cure for death here. I've read about it. I think, though, I think it'll have a price. I think they always do. I doubt ... I doubt you'll get what you really want. You see, I ... well, I tried ... and ... it worked. It worked but it didn't work."

Posted: **Mon May 28, 2012 4:26 am**

Murray nods when he sees the image, trying to place the location where it was filmed. Maybe that's the Lakeview Hotel, he thinks. I know she was staying there, and that could be a balcony. She probably did it with the camera I found in her room. He helps Craig along, moving quietly through the backstage area to the door to the hall running along the left side of the theater.

Posted: **Mon May 28, 2012 4:28 am**

Posted: **Mon May 28, 2012 4:37 am**

No, not the hotel, thinks Murray as he proceeds. Maybe it's the amusement park, then. I know she went there.

Posted: **Mon May 28, 2012 4:52 am**

There are no doors to the corridor in the back part of the stage behind the curtain but its an easy matter to head out through the Backstage area and then out through the leftmost corridors until he reaches the lobby. An empty and dilapidated foyer opens up before him, lit only by the greasy, sickly sunlight slanting in through the largely papered over the window glass. It's an old-fashioned theatre, still very much in the 1940s style from when it was last renovated, and that shows in its cracked walls and faded red carpet. There are doors that lead out of the theatre itself, or the little box office, or up the stairs.

Posted: **Mon May 28, 2012 5:13 am**

Feels almost like home, thinks Murray, looking around in admiration. "I want to check the box office before we go," he whispers. "Remember when we were out front and looked in through the window? There was something written down on the tickets there, but I couldn't make it out from that angle. Of course, it also looked like someone was inside, so we'll need to be careful." He listens at the box office door to hear anything on the other side and looks to see if there's a keyhole through which he can peek.

Posted: **Mon May 28, 2012 5:17 am**

There is no keyhole but there doesn't sound like there's anyone in there. Of course, if they were merely standing in one place then there'd be no way to tell. That last monster he'd dealt with didn't look like it were about to breathe.

Posted: **Mon May 28, 2012 4:26 pm**

"Better take another look through the window from outside first," whispers Murray, "see if whatever was in there earlier is still there." He tries the front door leading outside on the left.

Posted: **Tue May 29, 2012 1:19 am**

"We don't have time for this," growls Craig, as Murray goes in to peer in through the window again.

Posted: **Tue May 29, 2012 2:14 am**

"Ash might have left a note in there," says Murray, peering in the window. "It'll just take a second." He only barely notices something.

Posted: **Tue May 29, 2012 2:43 am**

Murray can vaguely make out the silhouette of someone inside the booth but whether it's a person or a mannequin or just an odd clump of shadows, it's so hard to be sure.

Posted: **Tue May 29, 2012 3:06 am**

"It looks like there may be someone - or something - inside," whispers Murray. As much as he wants to see what's written down, he knows he can't afford to take any chances or take any more time considering Craig's condition. "All right, let's get to the hospital. Do you know the way?"

Posted: **Tue May 29, 2012 3:18 am**

"I dunno, it's foggy as hell and the damn injury. Fuck Jack...." Craig looks around in confusion at the streets. "Somewhere that way ... all looks so different now." He gives Murray a wan smile. "If the theatre was dangerous, how bad do you think the hospital will be? I'd hate to meet a nurse...."

Posted: **Tue May 29, 2012 4:30 am**

Murray shrugs. "Under normal circumstances, I'd like to see a nurse, but things are far from normal," he says. He takes a look at the town map he found in the dressing room and tries to find the theater and the hospital on it. "This will help us plan a route."

Posted: **Tue May 29, 2012 4:53 am**

The Silent Hill maps show such locations clearly marked but in the fog it'll be easy to lose their way unless they cross the street at all of the right places in preparation to make the turn. Unfortunately, in the fog, it'll be hard to see more than a half dozen feet ahead of them so while they'll be well-hidden, they most assuredly won't be safe if there are any more ... things out here.

Posted: **Tue May 29, 2012 5:05 am**

"All right," says Murray. "Let's try to find our way." He helps Craig along, trying his best to follow the route on the map, but the dense fog isn't making it easy.

Posted: **Thu May 31, 2012 7:21 am**

"Do you ever feel like ... oh, I dunno ... I'm not sure the hospital'll have what we're looking for." Craig stared up at Murray as they walk, half bent over from the pain. "You're not ... you don't know what you're doing, do you? You're going around in circles. Shouldn't we have a plan? An ... idea? What if we run into Jack again?"

Posted: **Fri Jun 01, 2012 3:25 am**

"If we run into Jack again, my plan is to shoot him before he shoots us," says Murray. "As for the other...yeah, it does feel like going around in circles. Hell, I was at the hospital earlier, and the only reason to go back there is to look for medical supplies or people. We were going to go to Annie's Bar before that psycho showed up, and that sounds like a good idea. It was on that map I found, and maybe Rochelle will be there, and she might know where to find Ash. If not, there could be clues. I'm sure we've missed some back at the theater too, but I don't want to tangle with any more monsters. I don't have an endless supply of bullets. I did get a glimpse of the movie footage with Ash, and she was at a circular railing. Sound familiar to you? I was thinking maybe it was the merry-go-round at the amusment park or something."

Posted: **Fri Jun 01, 2012 3:52 am**

"Not sure," grunted Craig. "Light didn't look right for the amusement park. Uhh, the bar's opposite direction to the hospital. Looks like we'll be spending awhile walking. Umm, do you think ... do you think we'll find her? Ash? Your friend?"

Posted: **Fri Jun 01, 2012 4:04 am**

"Yeah. we'll find her," says Murray, helping Craig along. "It may take some time, but we know where she's been and we'll catch up to her eventually. Finding people is part of what I do for a living, and I've gotten good at it. It's harder if they don't want to be found, but not impossible. Do you know Ash, or anything about her? Every piece of information helps."

Posted: **Fri Jun 01, 2012 4:05 am**

"Nothing that you haven't told me," said Craig. "Not sure about going to that bar, though. That's where Jack worked.... What do you think that thing was? That big, pockmarked thing? It messes with my mind just thinking about it."

Posted: **Fri Jun 01, 2012 4:50 am**

"It's the stuff nightmares are made of," says Murray, giving voice to his earlier thoughts and shaking his head. "Maybe Jack will head to that bar. But if Rochelle's there, he might try to kill her too. There's no telling with that guy. If we're not there, she could end up dead." He pauses. "So, what can you tell me about Rochelle? How do you know her, and why do you want to find her so badly?"

Posted: **Fri Jun 01, 2012 4:58 am**

"Rochelle's a bartender," said Craig. "Tough as nails and with a will to survive like no other. She impresses me. I look up to her. If she's missing, if she's here, then I want to find her." Craig pauses. "What do you think happened to everyone else? This town is so empty."

Posted: **Fri Jun 01, 2012 5:19 am**

"Sounds like my kind of dame," says Murray. "Well, I'm sure she can stay alive until we find her, then. I haven't got the foggiest idea where everyone went or why. I've never seen anything like this. If you weren't seeing the same things I was, I'd think I was going crazy. You got any ideas?"

Posted: **Sat Jun 02, 2012 5:23 am**

"Seems like some kinda nightmare world," murmured Craig. "Like our nightmares come alive."

Posted: **Sat Jun 02, 2012 6:30 pm**

"Sure seems like it," says Murray. "You know, this looked like a nice town before everything went all screwy. I really liked the ambiance at the Lakeview Hotel, and the theater would have been great if this place were normal. Must be an interesting history behind Silent Hill."

Posted: **Mon Jun 04, 2012 12:05 am**

Their shoes echo against the asphalt in this quiet, foggy world, as they make their way down all the right streets by double checking the street signs and the buildings as they pass. It doesn't take long for the large hospital to loom up out of the fog, the gate to its courtyard drawn back, allowing them to make their way up to the rear exit of the building by the ambulance parks, if they don't want to head around the building to get to the front. The hospital is eerily quiet and still. Murray would've thought he'd hear something being here but there's nothing. No noises at all. To make matters worse, a smear of blood and two tyre skid marks lead up to a car whose bonnet is smashed up against the wall, a ruined and blackened body pinned between it and the bricks.

Posted: **Mon Jun 04, 2012 3:01 am**

"When I first arrived here earlier," says Murray, "the place was normal - except for a couple of mooks who leaned on me because I was asking the wrong questions about Jack. And of course Jack himself. He wasn't going around shooting people then. Everything went all bizarro while we were there, but maybe there's someone still alive inside, or at least more medical supplies." He tries not to look at the gruesome scene. "But then things were normal when I woke up in the cell next to you after the crash. Those mooks I saw slaughtered were even alive again somehow, and they were cops now. When we're done here, we can try to find my car out front. That'll make travel easier if it's still working. Ready to go inside?"

Posted: **Mon Jun 04, 2012 3:15 am**

"No, but I don't think ready means anything here," said Craig, groaning as he clutched at his wound.

Posted: **Mon Jun 04, 2012 3:44 am**

Murray nods and listens carefully at the door.

Posted: **Mon Jun 04, 2012 3:45 am**

Everything sounds so quiet and still.

Posted: **Mon Jun 04, 2012 4:12 am**

"All right, here goes," says Murray. With his revolver in one hand, he tries the door with the other.

Posted: **Mon Jun 04, 2012 4:13 am**

The door opens to reveal an empty, dusty hospital corridor with doors along one side. The linoleum is cracked and peeling and in some places has come loose a little, adding a dry crunch to any steps taken inside on the odd spot. The walls are flybitten and sometimes covered with faded health-related posters.

Posted: **Mon Jun 04, 2012 5:05 am**

Murray looks to see which doors lead off of this hallway, hoping to find one that leads to a storage room. He also recalls that there are storage rooms in the basement, so finding his way to the stairs leading down would be good too.

Posted: **Mon Jun 04, 2012 5:27 am**

Murray came from the basement last time so it's easy to find the stairwell, particularly as it's on this side of the U-shaped corridor. Craig doesn't do so well on the stairs, struggling with each belabored step to keep from sliding all the way down to the bottom. The difficulty is that there's no lights on down there. There's nothing but shadows.

Posted: **Tue Jun 05, 2012 2:24 am**

Murray takes out his flashlight with his free hand and turns it on, shining it around and looking for the storage room doors he had noticed the last time he had been here.

Posted: **Tue Jun 05, 2012 2:32 am**

The basement is still in its peeling, battered condition, and the store room doesn't seem to contain medicinal supplies. Rather, it is filled with spare gurneys, stacks of blankets, boxes of medical equipment, and other assorted goods. There are a lot of gauze bandages in rolls but nothing else. They must keep their medicinal supplies upstairs in another, likely smaller, room. There is, however, a Health Drink perched on the edge of one of the shelves.

Posted: **Tue Jun 05, 2012 3:16 am**

Murray offers the Health Drink to Craig. "You thirsty?" he asks. He stuffs a decent amount of the bandages in his pockets. "Looks like the first aid kits aren't down here, so I'm afraid we'll have to check back upstairs."

Posted: **Tue Jun 05, 2012 3:19 am**

The bandages don't appear to have been fully cleaned. Most of them are a little aged and yellow, all of them are dusty, and some of them have suspicious looking brown stains on them that could be rust or old blood.

"Yeah," says Craig, uncapping it and gulping it down. "Oh, that feels better. Whereabouts should we check?"

Posted: **Tue Jun 05, 2012 4:24 am**

"I'm not entirely sure," says Murray, putting the bandages back where he found them. "I've only been here once before. My guess is the ground floor. We can try each door systematically."

Posted: **Tue Jun 05, 2012 4:58 am**

Craig nods and follows Murray and his wavering flashlight back into the basement corridor but the stairwell has been locked with some sort of security gate, pulled shut and padlocked with a rusty lock. The elevator pings and the doors smoothly open.

"Well, that ain't natural," mutters Craig.

The probing light of the flashlight finds the elevator empty, its peeling greenish paint revealing the steel casing underneath. The lights on the buttons are all on and there's a choice of 4 buttons. B. 1. 2. 3.

Posted: **Wed Jun 06, 2012 4:25 am**

"Yeah, none of this makes any sense," says Murray. "Nobody was down here to block that stairwell off, and now the elevator suddenly works. I don't trust this thing, but I guess we don't have any choice. Shall we try 1?"

Posted: **Wed Jun 06, 2012 4:33 am**

"You go in first," mutters Craig, nodding toward the elevator.

Posted: **Thu Jun 07, 2012 1:31 am**

Murray steps into the elevator, waits for Craig to join him, and then pushes the button marked 1.

Posted: **Thu Jun 07, 2012 2:11 am**

The elevator doors open with a ping to the ground floor. The corridor is dark but for a single set of light coming from one of the rooms at the far end of the corridor. The ground is dusty, dirty. A lone wheelchair stands abandoned by one wall. Somewhere inside the Director's Office, a telephone rings. All around him is a miasma of hospital smells, bleach and cleaning agents, mixed in with the stink of abandoned houses, lost to time and decay. Somehow, in the space of a single trip down into the basement, the hospital seems to have aged a decade, and the years haven't been kind.

Posted: **Thu Jun 07, 2012 2:32 am**

"I think we'd better answer that," Murray says, leading the way to Director's Office and trying the door.

Posted: **Thu Jun 07, 2012 3:30 am**

The Director's Office is a mess of padded walls and open books. The telephone is a black telephone straight out of the 1950s with a winding dial and it sits on a stack of phone books in the corner behind the chair. Murray's shoes crunch shattered glass from a few dropped vials as he comes closer to it. The telephone keeps ringing. There's certainly no voicemail here.

Posted: **Thu Jun 07, 2012 3:36 am**

Murray picks up the receiver, which feels comfortable in his hand. I've always liked these kinds of phones, he thinks. He holds the earpiece to his hear and speaks into the mouthpiece: "Hello?"

Posted: **Thu Jun 07, 2012 4:09 am**

A man's voice, slightly buzzing as though he's speaking through a really bad connection: "You still at the hospital? Good. I need you to pick up the package from ICU and deliver it to me at the Indian Runner. We got a problem. Make sure nobody follows you."

He hangs up.

Posted: **Thu Jun 07, 2012 4:33 am**

"That was interesting," says Murray, hanging up the phone. "I think the guy on the other end must have been trying to reach the director and assumed it was me. He said to pick up the package from ICU and bring it to the Indian Runner. Then he said they've got a problem, and to make sure nobody follows me...or, rather, him. Any idea what this might be about? I'm thinking it could have to do with the drugs in this town. We should find the ICU. There's a good chance there'll be medical supplies there anyway."

Posted: **Thu Jun 07, 2012 4:36 am**

"Good point," mumbled Craig. "Though we should really just find ... Ash, Rochelle ... somebody."

Posted: **Fri Jun 08, 2012 2:34 am**

"Yeah, I want to find them too," says Murray, though he is also driven to unravel this mystery, "but you do need more medical treatment. How about we check out the ICU and then leave for Annie's Bar? We can leave through the front door. Maybe my car is still out there where I left it. Any idea where the ICU is, or what floor it's on?"

Posted: **Thu Jun 14, 2012 1:38 am**

Craig nods his head, though he grumbles, "If your car even works."

Posted: **Thu Jun 14, 2012 4:41 am**

"Hell, I don't know if it's even still there," says Murray. "They might have towed it. But it's worth taking a look at least. So, where's the ICU? I didn't see it on the ground floor when I was here last time. Let's check upstairs."

Posted: **Thu Jun 14, 2012 5:38 am**

Craig simply shrugs. "I really ... really don't know."

He sighs and looks around. "At least it's quieter in here."

Posted: **Fri Jun 15, 2012 3:54 am**

"Well, let's start by looking around on the second floor," says Murray.

Posted: **Sat Jun 16, 2012 4:36 am**

Murray leads the way up the stairs.

Posted: **Wed Jun 20, 2012 2:58 am**

This stairwell is, thankfully, unblocked and its easy enough to walk up into the pitch darkness of the floor above. Where the ground floor received some flimsy light through the windows, the second floor is filled with a roiling darkness that seems to flinch away from the probing flashlight beams. Somewhere, in the distance, a clanking and mechanical sound can be heard, like fan blades struggling agaisnt a rusty turning pole, and something metal clatters against a grille. The walls themselves flake and peel their plaster in slow, staccato motions, and the odd droplet of drying blood seems to slowly slide across the floor and walls.

"This ain't right," whispers Craig.

Posted: **Wed Jun 20, 2012 3:13 am**

"You're tellin' me," Murray whispers back. He peers around, trying to pierce the darkness with his flashlight and looking for any doors leading off the hall.

Posted: **Thu Jun 21, 2012 3:04 am**

He stands on the edge of an L-Intersection. The beam of Murray's light plays over the symbols for the men's and women's toilets on the two doors to the right of the wall he is facing, though it can't penetrate any deeper in that direction. When he turns to his left, his light can reveal the edge of a wooden door against the right side wall and to the left is a door with Room 201 stencilled upon it.

Posted: **Thu Jun 21, 2012 3:59 am**

"Well, it's not in the john," Murray whispers, "and I think the ICU would have something saying that, not a room number. Let's keep going." He leads the way quietly down the hall, examining the doors as he goes.

Posted: **Thu Jun 21, 2012 5:45 am**

Murray can go either straight onward from the stairwell door past the toilet doors or left down the other corridor past that random room number.

Posted: **Fri Jun 22, 2012 4:19 am**

Figuring that there will probably be more numbered rooms down the corridor to the left, Murray goes straight ahead.

Posted: **Fri Jun 22, 2012 4:22 am**

His flashlight wavers across a door standing at the end of the walled off corridor. There is no sign or other marking on the door to indicate where it leads.

Posted: **Fri Jun 22, 2012 4:49 am**

Murray proceeds to the end of the hall and listens at the door.

Posted: **Fri Jun 22, 2012 5:49 am**

The other hallway seems to be quiet other than a vague schhk-schhhk noise which sounds like something rough scraping across linoleum, though in a regular pattern at around the same spot. Perhaps something hanging off something else?

Posted: **Sat Jun 23, 2012 2:10 am**

Posted: **Sat Jun 23, 2012 4:15 am**

Posted: **Sat Jun 23, 2012 5:54 pm**

Murray whispers to Craig what he hears on the other side of the door. "Do you want to check it out, or should we try the other direction?" he whispers. "I'm game if you are. I'll need both hands free to hold the flashlight and the gun. If you open the door, I'll cover you."

Posted: **Mon Jun 25, 2012 2:42 am**

"I'm ready," said Craig, trying to flatten himself against the wall like he had seen in the movies. He grasped the handle firmly in one hand and gestured for Murray to step back and prepare himself for whatever was about to come through that door.

Posted: **Mon Jun 25, 2012 3:14 am**

Murray steps back and aims his flashlight and revolver at the door, then nods for Craig to open it.

Posted: **Mon Jun 25, 2012 5:50 am**

Craig wrenches open the door to reveal another dark corridor whose linoleum is peeling in long, thick lines, revealing the steel mesh underflooring. The walls are pock-marked, seemingly bullet ridden in places, and the fluorescent light bulbs seem to have shattered and the moorings partially ripped from their place, with loose wiring hanging down on a blood-slick part of the flooring, sliding back and forth as though recently disturbed. The door to the left is marked Nurse Center and the door to the right is marked Operating Prep Room. The corridor continues on past this point but the flashlight is soon swallowed up in the gloom.

Posted: **Tue Jun 26, 2012 3:21 am**

"I think we're on the right track," whispers Murray. He advances further down the corridor, carefully watching his step and giving the wiring and the wet floor a wide berth. Neither of these rooms are the one he's looking for, but it seems likely that it will be further ahead.

Posted: **Tue Jun 26, 2012 5:33 am**

It's a short walk to reach the Intensive Care Unit's door. Somewhere to the left where the corridor continues on into darkness, Murray can hear the sound of shuffling footsteps.

Craig shivers. "Aww man, think I'm gonna pass out."

Posted: **Wed Jun 27, 2012 4:41 am**

"Lean on me if you have to," whispers Murray, pointing his gun and flashlight at the ICU door. "We're here. You open the door while I cover you. And we need to be quiet, there's someone - or something - off to the left."

Posted: **Thu Jun 28, 2012 1:33 am**

Craig staggers over to the door, leaning his back against it as he tugs on the handle and lets the door slowly swing open, but it stops against something when it's only a few bare inches open. Within, the room is pure darkness from what Murray can see, but then, so is the rest of the hospital.

Posted: **Thu Jun 28, 2012 4:38 am**

Murray shines his flashlight through the narrow opening, hoping to get a glimpse of what's inside the room, particularly whatever is obstructing the door.

Posted: **Thu Jun 28, 2012 5:09 am**

Whatever is obstructing the door is also behind the door and there's no way to see it without sticking his head inside the room as the door is only open by about a foot. He can see that the paint has mostly flaked to reveal concrete walls and there are only a few patches of linoleum over the grille-flooring. When he flashes his light into it, it seems to pass unobstructed before disappearing into darkness. He can see that one corner of the room has a wheelchair inside but he can't see anything else of the room without either pushing against the door or squeezing through.

Posted: **Fri Jun 29, 2012 2:52 am**

Murray puts his shoulder to the door, trying to force it open while making as little noise as possible.

Posted: **Tue Jul 03, 2012 1:24 pm**

The door swings open to reveal a dark room, split with wan light in lines upon the floor from the fan grille that is somehow lit from within. The fan blades are each as long as Murray's legs and they beat a rhythm through the air, impossibly situated in the middle of the wall of the Intensive Care Unit. Three beds and a crib sit within this room, each one surrounded by machinery that lays inert and silent, each one partially wrapped with a gauzy curtain. For a moment, Murray sees silhouetted through the curtains figures writhing upon the beds, their heads thrashing this way and that with crazed abandon, but he blinks and they're gone, leaving the cold and empty room. Something shimmers at the other end of the room, partially hidden behind one of the curtains.

Posted: **Tue Jul 03, 2012 10:14 pm**

Murray glances to see what was obstructing the door, then creeps across the floor of the ICU, making very little noise. He makes his way over to the shimmering object, moving the curtain aside with the barrel of his gun to get a better view of it.

Posted: **Wed Jul 04, 2012 3:14 am**

There's an old-fashioned suitcase lying behind the door. Its faded brown leather patchy in places from frequent use. Murray creeps forward, past the silent beds, to the shimmering object and finds an expensive wrist watch lying on the floor. The light had been glinting off its cracked face. It looks like the hands had stopped on 4.23. A few feet away, laying in a dried blood smear, is a wallet filled with cash. Further along in the corner of the room, the trail extends up the wall and through an oddly placed vent that is just above head height.

Posted: **Wed Jul 04, 2012 4:55 am**

Temporarily wedging the flashlight between his chin and his shoulder, Murray picks up the wallet and watch and places them in one of his trenchcoat's many pockets to examine later. Then he retrieves the flashlight and shines it into the vent to see what's in there.

Posted: **Wed Jul 04, 2012 6:45 am**

The wallet fits snugly in one of his pockets like it was made to be in there. Murray has to go up on tip toes to peer into the vent and he can see some sort of shape in there, further inside, and as he moves his flashlight to capture it, the shape darts left down a T-junction and out of shape. It looked ... human, but it's hard to be sure. Somewhere in the vent, comes a woman's voice, sobbing: "Oh god oh god oh god". It sounds like Ash, though its warped and echoing through the vent shaft.

Posted: **Wed Jul 04, 2012 5:23 pm**

"Ash?" says Murray into the vent. "Ash, it's Murray Archer. I'm here to help you. Where are you?"

Posted: **Wed Jul 04, 2012 11:23 pm**

Murray's voice echoes back to him and he can hear the whimpers in the background. The vent is sized large enough for someone as big as Murray to crawl through, should he decide to do so.

Posted: **Tue Jul 10, 2012 5:12 am**

Murray returns to the entrance. "Ash is in this place somewhere," he whispers. "I heard her through the vent. She sounds upset and frightened. I think this might be the package that was left here." He wedges the flashlight under his chin again and examines the suitcase, opening it to see what's inside.

Posted: **Tue Jul 10, 2012 5:23 am**

The suitcase holds a nurse's uniform, carefully folded and put away, with a clip on flashlight and a matchbook for Annie's Bar. Inside, it has the words 'Missing You Truly' on a scrunched up piece of paper that appears to be tea stained. There's also an old envelope addressed to Mariam Mueller, on 12 Koontz Street, Silent Hill and a receipt for a local pharmacy. Underneath the uniform is a photograph of a young boy and girl, a few decades old, who appear to be dirty and ill-kept. They almost look homeless. The oddest item here is the bag of blood of the sort that normally gets placed into I.V. drips and a little Sad Face porcelain mask.

Posted: **Wed Jul 11, 2012 5:00 am**

Murray hands his flashlight to Craig and takes the clip-on out of the suitcase. He clips it onto one of the front pockets of his trenchcoat, then closes up the suitcase again and picks it up with his now free hand. "I'll go through this stuff later when we've got time," he whispers. "Right now we need to find Ash." He thinks back to when he had heard her voice through the vent, trying to figure out in which direction she was.

Posted: **Wed Jul 11, 2012 6:25 am**

It was somewhere through the vent which is on the other side of the left wall. Of course, that means moving closer to whatever made that noise earlier.

Posted: **Thu Jul 12, 2012 4:24 am**

"I briefly saw something roughly human-shaped in the vent," Murray whispers, flicking on his clip-on flashlight. "It might have been Ash - but it might not. It'd be risky to go through them. But I know from which direction her voice came. If we head around that way, we should be able to reach her. However, I know there's something shuffling around the hall up ahead." He indicates the corridor ahead and to the left. "Of course, that might be Ash too. How do you want to play this? Just keep going and hope for the best, or try the vents? Are you up to climbing up and crawling through them? Are you okay with waiting here while I go?"

Posted: **Thu Jul 12, 2012 5:02 am**

Craig nods weakly. "Okay, I'll just stand up against this doorway while you check it out. Don't think the door's far." He coughs and clutches at his wound, wincing. "Man, I wish I had a flashlight."

Posted: **Fri Jul 13, 2012 2:27 am**

Posted: **Fri Jul 13, 2012 2:28 am**

Posted: **Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:13 am**

"I just gave you one," Murray whispers back. He sets the suitcase down. "I'll just leave this here with you and come back for it. You can sit on top of it if you like. All right, I'm off. If you need help, just scream." He tiptoes ahead down the corridor, revolver in hand. He is so silent that he might as well be gliding.

Posted: **Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:32 am**

Craig blushes and looks guiltily at the flashlight he's still holding in his hand. "Yeah, I'll guard the suitcase," he mumbles.

Murray moves silently but he knows the flashlight must stand out against the darkness. There's no way to truly stealth through a corridor when a beam of light is coming from your shoulder. Still, he reaches the next door down before something further down the corridor unleashes an inhuman screen.

Posted: **Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:54 am**

Posted: **Fri Jul 13, 2012 3:59 am**

Posted: **Fri Jul 13, 2012 4:04 am**

Murray flicks off the light and tries the door, hoping it will open so that he can slip through. If that doesn't work, he presses himself against the wall, his gun ready in case whatever it is still sees him - which, knowing his luck, it will.

Posted: **Mon Jul 16, 2012 2:32 am**

No such luck. The creature brushes him by, its hand jerking against his arm. Is it a creature? It breathes like a human and that was a hand ... yet the noise it had made earlier.

Posted: **Mon Jul 16, 2012 4:52 am**

"Don't be afraid," says Murray softly. "If you're human, say something." He's ready to flick on the flashlight with one hand and shoot with the other if the figure does something inhuman.

Posted: **Wed Jul 18, 2012 4:14 am**

There's a terrified screech and hands scrabble at Murray's arm, trying to grab hold of him, but leaving only bruises for her efforts. Murray slips out of her grasp and backs up a few steps (I'm guessing).

Without any lighting, Murray is in complete darkness. He can't see anything at all but neither can she, hopefully.

Posted: **Wed Jul 18, 2012 4:56 am**

Murray stealthily creeps down the hall in the direction he had originally been heading, away from the creature. He feels his way along the wall for the next door. The vents probably would have been safer, he thinks. I'll have to use them to get back.

Posted: **Wed Jul 18, 2012 6:49 am**

As the creature came from the direction he was going, he now finds himself doubling back to the corner of the U. If he crosses the corridor, he can get back to the room where Craig waits. Otherwise, he can continue on to the stairwell or other rooms.

Posted: **Thu Jul 19, 2012 4:35 am**

Murray rejoins Craig. "There's something nasty roaming the hall ahead of us," he whispers. "I managed to slip away from it, but that way is out. I'll have to crawl through the vents to find Ash."

Posted: **Mon Jul 23, 2012 1:30 am**

Craig ensures the door is shut behind Murray, then whispers, "Okay, but be quick about it. Don't wanna be left here alone for long." He turns on his flashlight and glances around the room with its disturbing hospital beds. "And take care of yourself."

Posted: **Mon Jul 23, 2012 2:18 am**

Murray hoists himself up and tries to crawl through the vent, in the direction from which he had heard Ash's voice and seen the figure moving, but it is slow going.

Posted: **Mon Jul 23, 2012 2:37 am**

It takes him a moment and his hands reverberate against the sticky metal panels as he slowly thumps his way inside. He raises the flashlight and can see that the tunnel continues on for a dozen feet, which is odd considering that it would cross through a couple of rooms more than likely. It ends in a simple ventilation grille, which is the other odd thing. There are no other vents connecting to this one. It seems to simply connect two rooms together. As he grows closer to that room, he can hear the mild burble of conversation and can see a mild glow of light coming from the room.

Posted: **Mon Jul 23, 2012 2:52 am**

Murray cocks an ear to overhear the conversation and peers through the grating into the room beyond. He is extremely quiet as he approches the room.

Posted: **Mon Jul 23, 2012 4:21 am**

"...think that's really a wise idea?" asked a man in a low voice, seething with anger.

"You created this entire situation," said another man, his voice more airy yet still deliberate. "There are no wise ideas now. Simply damage control. Perhaps you should be more cautious where you put your knives...."

"That situation was out of control. We did what we had to do!"

"No, you did what you wanted to do. If we had left things to run their natural course they would have more fully understood the situation and either left or ... remained."

Murray gets close enough to see what looks like an old-fashioned den complete with a few overstuffed arm chairs sitting around a scarred heavy wooden coffee table that stood on a rug which covered the polished wooden floorboards. A few bookcases and display cases sat around the walls, showing leather bound books and a variety of African artwork. There are two men in the room, both dressed in suits.

The man who stands closest to him has his back turned to Murray, his suit and hair are both black, and he is somewhat pudgy. "Leave your remonstrations for the masses," he snapped. "It is our circle that administers to this town and ensures its health."

The other man stands by a grammophone, idly pouring himself some brandy from a decanter. "With a little bolstering from the church tithes, hmm?" He looked over at his companion. "How can I fund what I don't truly understand?" He gestures around the room. "Such as your awful taste in decor."

"If Claudia had been successful we wouldn't be having this conversation."

"Indeed, we would not. Pity." He paused and swirled the brandy in the glass. "And yet we are still devoid of Heaven on Earth and thus must seek out our own fortunes and futures. Perhaps you should finish what you started, hmm? Put down this Ash before she goes around resurrecting too many old ghosts. We already know about Jack and I've already seen Millicent when I called down the hammer of God upon that burglar. Now with Rochelle added to the Missing Persons Department I'm really beginning to worry.... Who will he come for next? Me?" He gestures to himelf. "Or you?"

"He can't harm me."

"Not directly, no, but there are so many indirect ways to slay that which the town disapproves of."

"I have served our Mother faithfully!" snapped the man.

"Do you?" The man cocks his head to one side. "Methinks the man protesteth too much. Silent Hill groans in its slumber and all eyes do appear to be going your way, councillor." He smiled. "It could be worse, though. You could be the Mayor."

Posted: **Mon Jul 23, 2012 5:37 am**

Murray continues to watch and listen with interest. Everything's gone to hell, and they're talking like it's business as usual, he thinks. What's with all the pseudo-religious claptrap? Councillor, huh? I bet he's the guy who hired those two mooks I met earlier. Gotta find out what they're planning and how much they know so I can protect Ash.

Posted: **Tue Jul 24, 2012 3:13 am**

"With words like that I'm not surprised you've been stabbed before, Father," said the Councillor.

"Oh, you wound me," said the other man, finishing his drink and then placing the glass back down. "Now I have to go and deal with your mess as it so often falls to me to lead the flock out of the jaws of stupidity." He turns and heads for the door and out of sight of the vent grille.

"Oh Vincent?" queried the Councillor.

"Mm?"

"Take care. You have many enemies. Someone has already made an attempt on your life to get their hands on your precious books once. I wouldn't want their next attempt to be successful."

"Indeed."

The door shuts and the councillor sighs before going to pluck out a book, sitting down on a wingchair, and reading it. Murray can get a good look at his face, but he can't recognise the man.

Posted: **Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:28 am**

Posted: **Tue Jul 24, 2012 4:32 am**

Posted: **Tue Jul 24, 2012 5:11 am**

Murray takes out his camera, turns off the flash, and zooms in on the Councillor. He snaps a picture, and it comes out quite well in spite of the lack of lighting.

Posted: **Tue Jul 24, 2012 6:23 am**

The Councillor doesn't seem to notice.

Posted: **Wed Jul 25, 2012 5:11 am**

Murray puts his camera away and quietly crawls back through the vent to the room where he left Craig.

Posted: **Wed Jul 25, 2012 6:10 am**

Its disconcerting to crawl backwards for so far, especially as the vent is tight enough that he has to peer down and between his legs to see anything, but he eventually comes out the other side and drops down into the room.

Craig is still there, looking pale and nervous as he leans up against the wall. "Least there's been no thudding on the door," he says.

Posted: **Thu Jul 26, 2012 4:18 am**

"The vent only goes to one other room," says Murray. "It's some kind of den. Looks very out of place in a hosptial. There were two guys in suits there, and they were up to no good. One of them, a fat man with black hair, is a Councillor. The only one whose name I know is Jarrod Raymond. Those two toughs I saw torn to pieces here earlier, who later turned up as detectives at the cop shop, probably worked for him. They had his cards in their wallets. I snapped a picture of him, and he wasn't any the wiser." Murray takes out his camera and shows Craig the photo. "Look familiar to you? He called the other guy, one with glasses, Father and Vincent. They were spouting all this gobbledygook about religion, but it sounded all weird and hinky to me. They belong to some secretive Order or circle or something, and they talked about serving their Mother. They mentioned a bunch of names when they were talking. Vincent told the Councillor to put Ash down before she 'goes around resurrecting too many old ghosts.' They mentioned Jack and someone named Millicent, and that Rochelle was missing. They seemed scared of someone, but they didn't say who he was. They were worried he'd come after one of them next. Before Vincent left the room, the Councillor told Vincent that someone had already tried to kill him to get his books."

Posted: **Thu Jul 26, 2012 5:26 am**

"Does any of this mean anything to you?" asked Craig. "It all just seems too strange for me. I never payed much attention to the council, tell you the truth. Any sign of Ash?"

Posted: **Fri Jul 27, 2012 2:52 am**

"The way I figure it," says Murray, "these two are part of some kind of secret society, up to some conspiracy or other. I didn't see Ash, but she must have gone through that vent before the first time I looked in there, and I'm sure those two guys want to kill her for some reason. The way I see it, I can either go back through the vent and confront the Councillor who's still in the den, or I can try to get down the hall again past that thing. Fighting it isn't a good idea; they'll be bound to hear the shots. But if I keep the light off, I can slip past while feeling my way along the wall."

Posted: **Wed Aug 01, 2012 2:55 am**

"Err, well, whatever you think's best," said Craig. "Personally I doubt she's here. I mean, if she was, wouldn't those two men have found her by now?"

Posted: **Wed Aug 01, 2012 4:03 am**

"Maybe," says Murray, "but they've only just started looking, and only one of them actually left the den. She could have found a very good hiding place too. That'll make it harder for me to find her, but I'm good at finding people who don't want to be found. I heard her voice earlier from the vent the first time I was in the ICU, and I saw someone crawling away through it. If she is here, I may be her only chance. I have to try." WIth his light off, he creeps down the hallway feeling his way carefully along the wall, heading in the direction that he had been going before whatever lurked there had interrupted him. He grips his revolver in one hand, just in case he can't avoid it.

Posted: **Mon Aug 06, 2012 2:43 am**

Posted: **Mon Aug 06, 2012 3:41 am**

Murray isn't as quiet as the first time he had gone this way, but he's silent enough, and this time his light isn't shining and giving him away. His luck holds up extremely well, and he hears everything around him.

Posted: **Mon Aug 06, 2012 5:04 am**

Murray can hear the sound of wood creaking, or is it bones rattling?, and the sound of chattering teeth only a few feet away from him further down the corridor in the direction he would need to go to get back to the stairs. His finger tips brush the wall as he steps cautiously, sticking close to it, until he reached the first door. There may be more further down the corridor. Will he take a chance or go in this one? Its only a few feet down the corridor so its unlikely to be where those two men were talking.

Posted: **Mon Aug 06, 2012 5:12 am**

Murray quietly tries the door. He doesn't want to find the two men, he wants to find Ash before they do, and he has to check everywhere in this section of the hospital so that he doesn't miss her.

Posted: **Mon Aug 06, 2012 5:17 am**

The door handle turns quietly and smoothly. Unlocked. There doesn't seem to be anything blocking it either.

Posted: **Tue Aug 07, 2012 3:30 am**

Murray opens the door without a sound, slips inside, and closes it quietly behind him. Then he turns on his clip-on flashlight and looks around.

Posted: **Tue Aug 07, 2012 5:29 am**

He shuts the door quietly behind him and finds himself in a very large ward with seven cots spaced around it with hospital curtains swung back against rusting poles. The hospital beds are spattered with an ashen shape that seems somewhat humanoid. The walls are hung with a wide painting, one of which covers the many layers of blood stained gauze that hangs from the windows like curtains, buzzing with flies. The paintings themselves seem important although Murray's flashlight is too weak to truly illuminate them from his position by the door.

Posted: **Wed Aug 08, 2012 4:50 am**

Murray quietly walks around the room, searching anywhere that could hide someone Ash's size, particularly on and under the cots. When he gets to the paintings, he examines them up close out of curiosity.

Posted: **Wed Aug 15, 2012 2:42 am**

Under the painting it says: "From within Three Saints Comes Truth Ascendant".

Under the painting of St. Jennifer, it says "Unwavering Faith Under Death's Blade"

Under the painting of St. Nicholas, it says "Miraculous Hands, a Doctor of God"

Under the painting of St. Alessa, it says "Mother of God, Daughter of God"

For some inexplicable reason, Murray is struck by a strong sensation that there is a riddle here and that it is vital to somehow get it right. While he doubtless doesn't believe in whatever weird cultic reason for these paintings, that doesn't mean that the cult themselves didn't put stock into them and decide to use it as some kind of code to protect their own secrets.

Posted: **Wed Aug 15, 2012 3:25 am**

The wheels in Murray's mind turn quickly. Oh, I get it, he thinks. I have to do something with these paintings in the proper order. Ascendant, that means I go from the shortest figure to the tallest. And Alessa is her own grandma, somehow. Well, she looks like the shortest one, on the left of that painting of the three of them together. Jennifer is next, and finally Nicholas. He examines the painting of Alessa carefully, looking for hidden catches, buttons, or anything of the sort with his keen detective's eyes.

Posted: **Thu Aug 16, 2012 3:54 am**

There seems to be a mercury thermometer partially hidden beneath the metal plaque.

Posted: **Thu Aug 16, 2012 4:43 am**

Okay, thinks Murray, taking the thermometer, so the thermometer represents Alessa. The other two paintings must have other objects hidden under the plaques, and the one with all of them together probably has some place to put them. And if I do it right, some secret door opens or something, I guess. Like in one of those computer games. Never thought I'd see anything like that in the real world. Or those freaky monsters, for that matter, but there you go. He examines the painting of Jennifer next to see if it too has an object hidden by its plaque.

Posted: **Thu Aug 16, 2012 4:57 am**

The thermometer seems tightly bound within the wooden frame of the painting. Much of it can't even be seen beyond its bulb. The Jennifer painting also has a thermometer held tightly in place within the painting.

Posted: **Thu Aug 16, 2012 5:01 am**

Murray examines the thermometers to see what temperature they show.

Posted: **Thu Aug 16, 2012 5:19 am**

Its only the bulbs that are on display.

Posted: **Thu Aug 16, 2012 5:31 am**

Murray checks the painting of Nicholas for a hidden thermometer, and finally he examines the portrait of all three of them.

Posted: **Thu Aug 16, 2012 5:38 am**

All three of the paintings have a hidden thermometer. The paintings appear to be securely fastened to the walls.

Posted: **Fri Aug 17, 2012 3:56 am**

Murray grips the bulb of the thermometer in the portrait of Alessa, hoping his body heat will trigger a reaction.

Posted: **Tue Aug 21, 2012 2:25 am**

Nothing seems to happen. Perhaps his body heat isn't warm enough?

Posted: **Tue Aug 21, 2012 4:50 am**

Posted: **Tue Aug 21, 2012 6:07 am**

Posted: **Wed Aug 22, 2012 4:52 am**

Murray takes out the matchbook and lights a match, then holds it to the bulb of the thermometer attached to the painting of Alessa.

Posted: **Thu Aug 23, 2012 1:54 am**

For a moment there is no sign of anything and then the eyes in the painting seem to char and a reddish substance identical to what is in the thermometer spills down the paintwork, running along fine grooves that Murray hadn't noticed before until they spell the numbers 555.

Posted: **Thu Aug 23, 2012 4:41 am**

Murray nods to himself and goes over to the picture of Jennifer, where he applies a lit match to the bulb there before repeating the process with the portrait of NIcholas.

Posted: **Thu Aug 23, 2012 5:41 am**

The process repeats to reveal a 677 and a 7610, in that order. So ... 555 677 7610. What could that mean?

Posted: **Fri Aug 24, 2012 2:31 am**

Looks kind of like a phone number, thinks Murray. A fake phone number at that. They're always using 555 in fake phone numbers. If it goes first, which it would if they're in ascending order, it's not a valid area code, but neither is 677. He examines the fourth painting, the one with all three figures, to see if it also has a thermometer or some other hidden object or component.

Posted: **Sat Aug 25, 2012 8:02 am**

Posted: **Sat Aug 25, 2012 5:50 pm**

Murray can't tell if there's anything unusual about the last painting. He takes out his cell phone and makes sure it is set to vibrate so that it won't make any noise and alert whatever is out in the hall. Then he calls 555-677-7610 on it.

Posted: **Tue Aug 28, 2012 3:13 am**

"Hello?" asks a weak sounding voice. "Travis? Travis, is that you? Have you found her yet?"

Posted: **Tue Aug 28, 2012 3:27 am**

"I'm sorry, I'm not Travis," says Murray. "I am, however, good at finding people. My name is Murray Archer. Who are you looking for?"

Posted: **Tue Aug 28, 2012 5:01 am**

"Oh no, you're not one of his dirty boys, are you?" She clucks. "Well, I hope you've been smart enough to find that girl yet. She's in the hospital and she's very sick. They've even said they're going to kill her if you don't get there and stop them. Poor little thing.... You won't want to have to face Cecie if you don't save her little girl. She's feeling quite poorly. Oh, and do tell Travis to bring some milk down to Brookhaven, will you? I can't put the kettle on if I don't have any milk."

Posted: **Tue Aug 28, 2012 5:13 am**

"Ma'am, I don't know Travis," says Murray, "but if I run into him, I'll pass the message along. This little girl, is she the same one that Ash has been visiting at the hospital? I'm there now. Do you know what room she's in?"

Posted: **Tue Aug 28, 2012 6:56 am**

"Is it a little girl? What was her name now? Laura? No, that isn't it. Cecie ... no ... not CC ... Katie. That's the one. She should be in ICU. Can you get her teddies for her? You might need to go deeper first. Can you see the door?"

Posted: **Wed Aug 29, 2012 4:52 am**

"I was in the ICU earlier, but I didn't see Katie or anyone else in there," says Murray. "I didn't find any teddies in there either. Do you have any idea where she might have gone?"

Posted: **Wed Aug 29, 2012 7:18 am**

"Well, have you found the door yet?" asked the woman in a brittle, snappish sort of voice as though he was a fool not to have thought of it himself.

Posted: **Thu Aug 30, 2012 3:43 am**

"Can you please be more specific?" asks Murray. "There are a lot of doors in the hospital. Can you describe what this particular door looks like?"

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2012 1:27 am**

"Didn't you notice what had nothing to notice about it?" asked the old lady. "Do you have a knife? You won't find the door without a knife. Such things are so easily concealed."

With that the phone clicks and the line goes dead.

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2012 4:44 am**

Murray shrugs and pockets the phone again. I do have that switchblade, he thinks, but I don't know why I'd need it to find this door. He examines the fourth painting one last time, the one with all three figures. He checks specifically for a hidden thermometer like the others had, and he also tries to remove it or swing it out from the wall to see if there's anything concealed behind it. Maybe I need to cut it open with the knife or something to find the door.

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2012 4:49 am**

The painting is quite firmly attached to the wall. There's no thermometer, no hinges, and it seems to be almost glued down against the plaster with some firm substance as it doesn't budge no matter how well Murray manhandles it.

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2012 5:02 am**

Well, THAT didn't work, thinks Murray. Maybe this is what she meant. He takes out his switchblade and tries to cut the painting free of the frame.

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2012 5:06 am**

The switchblade makes swift work of the canvas, soon leaving a small wooden doorway visible in the frame that leads into another small tunnel about four feet high and two and a half feet wide.

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2012 5:20 am**

Yep, still got it, thinks Murray. I should be a private detective or something. He crouches low and enters the tunnel.

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2012 6:08 am**

The cement floor is cool against his hands and there seems to be some sort of breeze coming down from the other end. His flashlight reveals only darkness and the passage takes a ridiculously long time to cross before finally the light settles on a cement bend that takes him right down an equally long passageway. The air smells slightly like cinnamon sugar and peppermint essence, the scent growing stronger as the tunnel grows narrower before ending up against some wooden obstruction. It seems like someone has pushed a cupboard up against the hole.

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2012 3:26 am**

Murray tries to slide the cupboard aside.

Posted: **Mon Sep 03, 2012 2:37 am**

It doesn't slide but it can be pushed. It looks like its some sort of wooden bin about half-full judging by the way it rocks. Moving it further aside with a noisy scrape against the floor, Murray finds himself in what looks to be the Operating Prep Room. Rusted stainless steel sinks, tables, and water-scabbed off-white cabinets line this room. A box of latex gloves, badly moulded, sits on a shelf by the door and a tray of surgical tools lays on the floor, having spilled much of its utensils across the damp floor. There's even some odd contraption that looks sort of like a microwave that sits in an alcove embedded amongst the wall of off-white cupboards. Its a dark and blood-stained room with a gore-slick steel operating table.

Posted: **Mon Sep 03, 2012 5:32 am**

Curious, Murray crawls out into the room, stands up, and looks inside the cabinets and cupboards.

Posted: **Mon Sep 03, 2012 5:51 am**

There's a Robbie the Rabbit doll sitting on a gore-slick steel operating table. The cupboards themselves contain stained and bloody gauze and other linen alongside rusted surgical tools that look to have stepped out from some sort of medieval torture dungeon.

Posted: **Tue Sep 04, 2012 3:18 am**

Murray picks up the stuffed rabbit and wipes it clean. Katie's going to adore you once I find her, he thinks. He tiptoes over to the door and puts his ear to it, hearing whatever is on the other side.

Posted: **Tue Sep 04, 2012 3:33 am**

The rabbit is about the length of his forearm and isn't easily stuffed into his pockets.

There does seem to be a slow, shuffling moment with someone whimpering and crying and whispering, "Heeeeeelp meeeeee", a few moments pass and her footsteps (it sounds like a lady in heels) grows more distant until there's a door opens and shuts behind her.

Posted: **Tue Sep 04, 2012 4:09 am**

Murray tucks the rabbit under his left arm so that his hand remains free and keeps his revolver in his right hand. Quietly, he cracks the door open and peeks out into the hall.

Posted: **Tue Sep 04, 2012 4:53 am**

Linoleum tiles peel back to reveal exposed and rotted wood riddled with holes and shavings as though large termites had infested it. Several ceiling tiles have fallen down, revealing hideous gaps where insulation should be, and vents smeared with a reddish brown rust jut from the ceilings. The walls are plain and bland, the paint having faded or even scraped loose in places, sometimes lined with thick scratches and gashes as though someone has taken a knife to it. It looks like an L-shaped corridor identical to the one you passed through earlier but that vent was quite long. Shouldn't you be in another section of the building now?

Posted: **Tue Sep 04, 2012 5:10 am**

Murray quietly ventures out into the hall, closing the door behind him and making a mental note of its location. He looks to see what other doors are nearby.

Posted: **Tue Sep 04, 2012 5:23 am**

As I forgot to mention, there is also a door in the room that he was in but it has been barricaded with wooden planks nailed over the door. It really doesn't look like this hospital has been taken care of at all. Is it an abandoned hospital? Once that is no longer operational? To the left is a door that compartmentalises the corridor and to the right is a left-bend in the corridor. Straight across is a Nurse Center door and to the right is the Intensive Care Unit label which is where you left Craig, isn't it?

Posted: **Wed Sep 05, 2012 4:45 am**

Murray creeps over to the right and listens at the door to the ICU. What, is there two of everything in this hospital? he thinks. This can't be the same place. Maybe that tunnel took me into some sort of weird version of it - or, rather, weirder. Nothing else about this place makes any sense, so why should this? Looks like we've gone down the rabbit hole, Robbie. Then he sidles along the wall and peeks around the corner to see what's in the rest of the corridor, just to make sure it's clear before he checks the ICU.

Posted: **Wed Sep 05, 2012 4:50 am**

To reach the ICU door he has to peer around the corner first. Taking a look around the edge of the corridor notes a few more doors matching the corridor he had blindly walked through last time. There's several bloodied footprints here and there that seem to have meandered aimlessly before heading into 205. The corridor goes on further than that but this shadowy darkness seems to cramp the beam of light. Heading across to the ICU door he can hear the vague sound of a heart monitor but not a whole lot else. A cursory inspection of the door handle reveals that the room is locked.

Spoiler:

Posted: **Wed Sep 05, 2012 5:11 am**

Murray is about to go for his lockpicks when he notices something.

Posted: **Wed Sep 05, 2012 7:24 am**

He wouldn't have seen it if his flashlight hadn't probed the key hole at the right angle and he hadn't caught a glimpse of the wires that had been inserted into the key hole from the other side. Some sort of electrical trap, perhaps? It might be worth finding some way to prise open the wooden boards on the other door. Alternatively, he could try his luck and hope that the power is out - presuming these wires are set to the mains and not to some internal generator.

Posted: **Thu Sep 06, 2012 3:33 am**

Better not take any chances, thinks Murray. I'm going to need a crowbar or something. Jaws of Life would be ideal. He returns to the prep room to see if any of the surgical tools would do the trick, and to take a closer look at that microwave-looking contraption.

Posted: **Thu Sep 06, 2012 5:18 am**

There's nothing in the Prep Room that's solid enough to take out those planks of wood. Even the rib spreaders aren't designed to jerk them out and most of the implements are rather delicate. Surgical steel is renowned for holding a sharp edge but it can be rather brittle in how it is fashioned into blades. Strangely enough, a lot of the implements are also rusty in parts and the one thing surgical steel is really known for is the way it resists rust - an important detail when you're cutting into people and possibly risking tetanus and other infections. How long have these tools been out here?

The microwave-like device is thoroughly beyond Murray's ken. Some sort of steriliser perhaps? It isn't on.

Posted: **Fri Sep 07, 2012 2:37 am**

Huh, thinks Murray. Funny, I don't feel a hundred years older. Twenty, maybe. That heart monitor or whatever it was in the ICU had power, so that trap on the door probably does too. He pads over to the door to the nurse's station and puts his ear at it to hear what the person who went inside is doing.

Posted: **Mon Sep 10, 2012 1:39 am**

There's a faint shuffling coming from inside that room as though someone were shuffling back and forth in a rather confined space, pausing every few moments before continuing.

Posted: **Mon Sep 10, 2012 4:51 am**

Maybe that's Cece, thinks Murray. From what I heard on the phone, I'd better not disturb her until I've found Katie. He tiptoes away and over to the door to Room 205, where the footprints lead. He listens at that door.

Posted: **Mon Sep 10, 2012 5:14 am**

It seems quiet inside.

Posted: **Tue Sep 11, 2012 4:16 am**

Murray tries the door, his gun ready, bracing himself in case there's a dead body or a live monster on the other side - or both.

Posted: **Wed Sep 12, 2012 2:54 am**

http://www.flickr.com/photos/andregovia/2194094428/

Room 205 is one of the greyest rooms he's entered and the only patch of colour comes from the bloodied footprints that leads to one of the patient lockers where the patients would have kept their clothes. There's about two beds in this room.

Play@YSDC

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