A Life Internal - A Fable

Part 1

The rain's constant machine gun beat pounded the windshield of the grey sedan. William Blake watched the road attentively between strokes of the windshield wipers, offering an occasional eye to the briefcase in the passenger seat. The war in his mind continued as it had since he had gotten into the car and began driving two days previous; Should he have taken it? Was his escape clean? He had received the answer to the previous question the prior day. A federal agent named Cole had stopped at the hotel where he had spent the night and questioned most of the guests. Thankfully William had made his hasty escape before being confronted, but now he wondered. Could he know? Could he be back there following me right now?

Maybe it was his loss of focus as he asked himself these questions, maybe it was the exhaustion of being on the road, but he was unable to react in time when the shape quickly darted out in front of his car, connecting with his bumper with a sickly thump. He locked up his wet brakes, bringing the car to a skidding halt and tightly gripped the steering wheel in his shaking hands. "Jesus...." He muttered to himself nervously, "Jesus fucking Christ..." Slowly he forced one hand from the wheel to the doorhandle and pulled it. The click of the door opening announced the magnification of the sound of the rain pounding the pavement and the tree line along the country road. Slowly he stepped from the car, almost immediately soaked to the bone, he grabbed the flashlight from beneath the seat and walked back to where the collision had been.

The beam of light from the (thankfully) waterproof flashlight danced in front of him as he scanned the road with a tremble from the cold of the storm. A few yards walk from his car he saw it: a shadow in the middle of the road; and as he got closer its human features became apparent. "Oh fucking Jesus..." He said again, this time with terror in his voice. He'd be caught for sure now, even if he left it would be hit and run, murder in any judges book after his already open record. "He kneeled beside the body and nudged it, it replied with a moan of pain. Blake answered this with a sigh of relief, "Are you alright?" He asked as he very carefully rolled the person over, seeing that it was a young girl, the storm prevented his further perceptions as visibility was still not good. The girl did not answer, instead she just looked at him. Blake sighed, and lifted her into his arms, he may be a thief, but he was no killer. He carried her to his car and laid her on his back seat, securing her as best he could with a blanket and the seatbelts so she didn't get thrown around too much as he drove.

The engine came back to life as he turned the key. A plan began to formulate in his mind, he would drop her off at the nearest hospital...surely there's one nearby, and simply leave. Noone would be the wiser, and even so, he'd be long gone. He glance in his rearview at the girl, getting a good look at her at last as he began driving down the quiet road again. She looked no older than 12, maybe 13 at most. Her long brown hair was matted to her face from the downpour and her green eyes gazed out blankly from behind it. Though she didn't speak she stared back at him in the mirror almost eerily, her eyes moving to stay with his. "Don't worry...I'm going to get some help...just hang on back there, ok?" He said, really not sure if he was reassuring the girl or himself. The girl simply blinked in response, which only made him realize how very little she did this, in fact this was the first time she had. Odd, he thought. Another mile up the road and the headlights illuminated a sign at the side of the road: SILENT HILL - 3 MILES. Another sigh of relief, hopefully there would be somewhere he could get the girl medical attention. He continued up the road until he saw the exit and took it, driving into the town of Silent Hill.

As he came into the town, he was instantly taken by a feeling that he could not place. A feeling of dread unlike anything he had ever felt. This almost primal fear screamed in his mind, demanding that he turn around now, leave this place and take the girl elsewhere. He reassured himself, certain that it was only his paranoia of being caught scaring him. Besides, he had no idea how far off the next town was, nor did he know the extent of the child's injuries. He looked into the mirror at her, still staring back at him wordlessly. "Now...to find a hospital" He said, looking for some clue of one's location. He stopped the car as he saw a rest stop just inside the town. Surely they would know where to find a hospital. He looked back to the girl over his shoulder, "I'll be right back...just stay here and wait"

He climbed from the car and approached the door of the rest stop. Above it was a sign that read: Welcome to Silent Hill, Leave Your Worries At The Door! Cute joke, he thought grimly and pulled the door handle with surprisingly no result. "You have to be FUCKING kidding me" He punched the locked door in anger, punctuation the blow with, "SHIT!" He leaned his head against the door with a soft thud and saw the map on the ground. He picked it up and looked over it. Thankfully it had been spared the storm's wrath from the canopy over the door. He hurried back to the car to better see it.

As he climbed back into the car and closed the door he gazed into the rearview to check on his passenger. His heart lept to his throat as he saw the serious face of Agent Cole staring back at him, along with the pistol in his hand. "You're going to burn for this one, Mr. Blake, I'll see to it personally." He twisted around in his seat quickly, a shocked expression on his face turning quickly to confusion as the vision in the mirror was replaced by the child still laying on the seat, again staring at him silently. No sign of the federal agent remained in the car or in the mirror as he looked back into it, half expecting to see it again. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "C'mon Bill...you're letting this shit get to you...don't start cracking now." He got his labored breathing under control and looked down at the map he had found. The words Brookhaven Hospital practically jumped out at him. He wasted no time putting the car in gear and following the map to Brookhaven.

He pulled into the hospital's parking lot and got out, telling his speechless passenger that he would return in a moment before heading into the building. He was greeted by darkness, which was hardly what he expected. "Hello?" His voice echoed through the silent halls, "Is anybody here?" He found no response other than the rain against the building. The fear he had felt when he had first arrived again rose from the pit of his stomach. Something just isn't right here. The feeling became so strong that he returned to the car and climbed back into the drivers seat. He turned around to face the girl and was startled to realize that she was no longer there. He tightly closed his eyes, thinking it was only his mind playing tricks on him again. They opened again to greet the sight of the empty seat. In fact, there was no sign that anyone had been there at all, the blanket was folded neatly where it had been on the floor behind the passenger seat, there were no bloodstains or even wet spots on the seat from the girl's soaked clothing.

It was at this point that the fear he had felt finally won over in his mind. He turned the ignition key, now fully decided that he was going to put as many miles between himself and this town as he could in the shortest time his motor's limitations would allow. The starter made a clicking sound as it sparked, but nothing further. "Oh no...."He said, trying again with no success, "No...nonononononono...." The car's inability to start only fueled his dread. He punched the steering wheel, the horn honking once at the impact as if to announce the car's victory over its stranded driver. He picked up the flashlight again, "Just great....just fucking great." He climbed out of the car again and proceeded into the hospital, hoping to find a phone. He stopped a few steps from the car and went to the passenger side door to get his briefcase. No way am I going to leave this out here, he thought. As he opened the door, he realized something else missing from the car along with the girl. "Son of a BITCH!!!!" He swore loudly, his voice echoing through the quiet parking lot. Ten million, all unmarked bills, completely untraceable once he had left the country. But now, it was gone along with the cheap briefcase he had hidden it in when he emptied the safe of the jewelry store he had worked for. "Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" His palm struck the side of the car with a thud with each time he repeated the phrase. "Where are you?!" He shouted, shining the flashlight beam around energetically. He began searching the parking lot, shining the beams in and under all of the parked cars. He reached the gate he had driven in and made another unpleasant discovery, it was closed and chained with several padlocks, barring his only obvious way out. He dropped to his knees, the flashlight clattering to the ground as he screamed out hopelessly. He turned and sat on the ground with his back to the gate, face buried in his hands. As he gradually pulled them away he saw a glimmer of hope: on the third floor of the hospital, a single room was illuminated, its yellow glow a contrast to the blackness of the rest of the building. He again took the flashlight and proceeded inside, he swallowed his fear and hid behind his light source as he began to explore Brookhaven Hospital for a stairwell.

To Be Continued...