Chapter 1: Into the Fog

The fog thickened as the RV moved further down the road. Stan Pines kept a steady gaze on the road, but it was very hard to see. Every time he saw that the road curved, he jerked the steering wheel, causing the vehicle to swerve and the tires to squeal. His twin brother, Ford had been sound asleep in the passenger seat, but the last swerve shook him awake. His eyes opened and his body jolted upwards.

"What the hell was that?" he cried. He turned to his brother.

"Everything's fine," Stan insisted. "It's just sort of hard to see the road." Ford looked through the windshield. The road turned again, but Stan didn't. He was a few feet from driving off the cliff.

"Stanley!" Ford yelled. Stan calmly turned the wheel, jerking the RV again. "Let me drive! You probably can't see a thing with those bad eyes of yours."

"Oh my God, Stanford! Leave me alone! You've been awake for three days straight, you're in no condition to drive."

Finally, the road leveled out. Up ahead was a small parking lot. Stan parked the vehicle and turned to Ford. "You should sleep a little more."

"No point now. We're here." He looked down at the device around his wrist. "According to this, there are all sorts of anomalies in this area. I can't wait to see them all!" He climbed out of the RV. Stan rolled his eyes.

"You're such a stubborn jackass!" he whispered to himself before leaving the vehicle.

The two brothers moved over to the railing, looking over the lake down below.

"So, what's the name of this town?" Stan asked.

"Not sure." He got out the map. He looked at the east coast around West Virginia. "There's a town called Centralia. I think this is where we are."

"Okay, well I'm going to use the bathroom over there, first." Stan walked towards the small building.

Ford looked down at his wrist to see where each anomaly would be. They seemed to just be scattered around the area, no pattern of any kind. It didn't matter, as long as he could do his job and complete his research. For the passed few months, he and his brother had been hunting strange and unnatural things and containing or getting rid of creatures that were a threat to the environment around them. Most men their age didn't do this type of work, but even in their sixties, Stan and Ford were formable matches to any peril they came up against.

After another few minutes, Stan finally came out of the bathroom.

"Oh my God! You gotta see what's written on the walls in there," he said, laughing.

"No, I prefer not to," Ford answered.

"Come on, it will only take a minute."

Ford sighed. He knew his brother wasn't going to leave him alone until he showed him what he wanted, so might as well get it over with.

Inside the bathroom, dirt caked the walls, along with colorful graffiti decorated every corner of the room. There were a lot of curse words sprayed all over the place with other vulgar terms.

"I really didn't need to see this," Ford fumed.

"Oh, a lot of this is just juvenile. I meant, this thing over here." Stan showed him a bunch of small triangles in the shape of a heart with the words, 'I'm waiting for you,' in the middle.

"I could care less about someone's love note," Ford said.

"Love note? That's what you call it?"

"What would you call it?" Ford asked, raising and eyebrow.

I just thought it was funny," his brother responded. He looked into one of the foggy, dusty mirrors, smoothing out his white hair.

"Why?"

Stan shrugged.

"Are we done here?" Ford asked with annoyance.

"Yeah, I guess so. Geez, you're no fun!"

They returned to the RV where Ford grabbed a bag with several medical supplies.

"Are we taking all of that?" Stan asked.

"No, we probably won't need all of it, but I'm making sure we have enough," Ford said as he put three first aid kits, ammo, and two jugs of water in a large backpack.

"Okay, what guns are you taking?" he asked.

"I already got my magnum and I also have my six inch blade too," Stan answered. "I also have these too," he said showing a shinny pair of brass knuckles.

"Okay, but don't just go shooting, slashing and punching things. I have to—"

"—Make sure the anomaly is a threat and not just protecting its home. I know all of that—Geez! Can we go already?!"

"Yep, I'm ready. I'm not exactly sure what we're going to find, but it should be interesting."

"Come on, they're just more strange creatures like the others we've seen."

Ford shut the passenger side door. "Make sure it's locked."

"No duh, Ford," Stan said as he pushed the button on his keys.

On the other side of the parking lot was a sign that read, 'Toluca Lake, pointing down a set of cement steps. The twins followed them down to a dirt path. Trees surrounded them on all sides. As they continued down the path, they heard the sound of something brushing against the nearby bushes. Both brothers stopped and turned to look behind them. Nothing moved. They walked further down the path. It wasn't too long before the noises happened again and this time it sounded like footsteps following them.

"Is there something over there, are we just losing our minds?" Stan wondered.

"I don't know. I really don't have time to deal with ghosts following us."

They made it to the other side where they went through a gate. The two paused to look through the thick fog. It took a moment for them to recognize everything around them, but then recognized the rows of tombstones line on the grass.

"Oh, well, isn't this nice," Stan said sarcastically.

"Come on, let's keep going," Ford pushed.

They made there way through the graveyard and through another gate. Finally, they found a paved road that led into town. A stand with pamphlets in a plastic container stood on the edge of the sidewalk. Ford pulled out a pamphlet, on the front it read, 'Welcome to Silent Hill.'

"Oh, so this town is called Silent Hill? That sounds kind of tranquil," he said.

"Sounds like a backwater town that you'd see in a horror movie. It looks quiet from the outside, but there's a lot of secrets hidden on the inside."

Ford rolled his eyes. "Really Stanley? Stop watching TV." He unfolded the pamphlet, which revealed a map of the town. "Oh, perfect. This what we needed."

He looked over the map. For whatever reason, there was a black X next to Neely's Bar.

"I guess someone already used this map. Maybe I should get another one." He reached for another pamphlet, only to find an empty container. "Oh, this is the only one."

"It doesn't matter," Stan said. "It's just one mark. Besides, maybe it's a clue. Let's go to the bar."

"You just want to have a drink," Ford teased.

Stan smiled. "Sure, why not?"

"Actually, I wonder if anyone is around. This town looks deserted."

"Oh, well, it's Sunday. People are probably at home or at church."

"Oh, I didn't think of that," Ford replied.

The two siblings didn't have a problem finding the bar, especially with the big sign out in front. They walked inside. Their eyes opened in shock as they stood in a completely dark room in a hole in the wall bar. On the counter was another map and a key with a tag that read, Woodside Apartments.

"What the hell? Is anyone here?" Stan asked.

Ford took the key and looked over the map. "This is just weird."

"You want to see something weirder?" Stan asked as he pointed to the window. The light from outside made the writing on the window visible so they could read it. 'There was a hole here. It's gone now.'

"Okay, what does that mean?" Ford asked.

"I don't know. You're the smart one. Figure it out."

"Well, I understand what's its saying, but I don't know why. Was there really a hole here, and then it was repaired or is there a more metaphorical meaning?"

Stan rolled his eyes. "Geez, sorry I even brought it up."

Ford copied the new marks onto his map and grabbed the key before they left.

"Okay, the apartments are this way," he said as they walked down the street.

The gate to the apartment complex was locked with a heavy chain and padlock. Ford used the key and pushed open the gate.

"Just so you know, I'm very weary about these so called clues leading us right now," Stan said. "Who's doing this?"
"I really don't know," Ford answered. He looked down at his wrist device. "However, the anomaly ratings are really picking up as we're moving in this direction. In fact—" He walked over to the dumpster between the two sets of doors into the complex. A radio stuck out from under a trash bag. Static blared out of its speakers. Ford pulled it out and looked it over. No marks in the red exterior, but the thing still looked old.

"What are you doing? Don't mess with that," Stan warned.

"This thing's switch is broken. It doesn't even look like it should be working. I'm wondering how it's making that sound."

"Who cares?" Stan wailed.

Suddenly, something moved from behind the dumpster. It crawled out of the tiny space, its body twitching as it stood on its two legs. Whatever it was had its arms crossed in front of its body like it wore a straight jacket. Only there wasn't a jacket, but rather it's leathery skin. It continued stumbling its way towards the two brothers.