It was literally like Raleigh had vanished before Eddie's eyes.

One minute, Raleigh was looking in the fridge, snickering and making side comments about Eddie. The next minute, Eddie found himself looking at this red substance that was splattered all over the place. Eddie closed his eyes and prayed it wasn't blood.

"Raleigh?" Eddie said, cautiously. No answer. "Raleigh, say something. Please…"

Slowly, Eddie opened his eyes. He slowly let his eyes drop to the floor.

Raleigh was lying on his back, eyes wide open, his face ashen grey. To Eddie's horror, he noticed blood gushing from Raleigh's head.

"Oh man!!" Eddie exclaimed. "Oh man, oh man, oh man!! What did I do now? Raleigh, PLEASE get up, man!!"

It was then Eddie noticed both his fist clenched, only in his left hand was a stick with nails in it. The same stick Raleigh had been using as a weapon.

"When the hell did I pick this up?" Eddie exclaimed, quickly throwing the stick to the ground. "What am I gonna do now? I've gotta get outta here!"

Though his stomach was still twisting and churning, Eddie bolted across the apartment to the door. He swung it open only to find himself face to face with one of those monsters.

The monster twitched rapidly and shrieked almost as though it was excited to see him, and before Eddie could react, the monster took one step towards him, leaned its head back and sprayed Eddie with some substance.

Eddie sputtered and quickly slammed the door. The liquid that the monster spit at Eddie smelled like rotted flesh., only it stung. Eddie was sure the zombie spray was melting the skin right off his face.

Reeling from the sight of Raleigh, his sour stomach and now the stinking, burning substance on his face, Eddie stumbled around the apartment desperately looking for the bathroom. He finally found it…one dirty and abandoned, and he quickly stumbled over to the toilet. He had barely made it there when he felt as though everything in his stomach started pouring out of him.

What's wrong with me? Eddie wondered. Why do I keep hurting people? Is this why I'm here? Jesus, I really am just a fat psycho.

Eddie rested his head on the toilet seat, too weak to care about the last butt cheek that sat there before the town had gone to hell. I'm not getting out of this one, Eddie thought. "What am I going to tell the cops?"

Have you seen a cop since you got here? At least one?

Raleigh's smart ass smirk flashed in Eddie's mind, and he frowned. "You're right! There ain't one cop here, is there?" He yelled. "They're all dead! Just like you!" He sat up away from the toilet to lean against the wall, but the sight of the living room area creeped Eddie out. He felt as though he could see Raleigh's blood pooling in the middle of the room. Eddie slammed the bathroom door. He was already tired of throwing up, but he could feel his stomach turning again.

You shouldn't have eaten that pizza.

"It was your fault I ate it, you jerk!" Eddie yelled towards the kitchen.

Oh, please.

"Oh please, yourself!" Eddie exclaimed. "So much for your little prank! I…don't feel…a bit sorry…for…"

Eddie quickly braced himself around the toilet again. The smell of what he was throwing up and the smell of the toilet in general only made him sicker. God, I just wanna get out of this place! Eddie thought. It's not my fault Raleigh's dead. It's his! He's worse than me! I don't deserve this. THEY all do, but not me!

Did…did someone turn on a light?

Eddie was almost afraid to turn around. The light was bright, and the only thing he could see at first as he turned around was the light. But as the light lowered, he could see the silhouette of a man. And when his eyes focused, he could see the man was about his age, only he looked like the jocks that use to pick on Eddie in High School. The man had a concerned face but clearly was approaching Eddie with caution, and by the way the man was holding his flashlight, Eddie was sure he was a cop.

"It wasn't me!" he exclaimed. "I didn't do it!"

The man look confused, but still cautious. "Do what?" he asked.

"I didn't do anything! I swear!" Eddie said again, sure this cop was trying to bait him into some sort of a confession. "He was like this when I got here!"

The man stared at Eddie for a bit, and then forced a smile. "My uh…my names' James. James Sunderland."

Maybe he isn't a cop. Maybe he's just like me. Maybe he's just like Raleigh. "Eddie" he replied.

"Eddie…who's that dead guy in the kitchen?"

Why does he care if he's not a cop? "I didn't do it! I swear! I didn't kill anybody!" Eddie's stomach felt as though it was cramping now, and Eddie quickly threw himself over the toilet. This is great! He thought. I could be proving to this dude that I'm just as brave as he is, and all my fat ass can do is pray to the Porcelain God.

But James seemed unconcerned with Eddie's intense regurgitation. "You're not friends with that that red pyramid thing, are you?" he asked.

Red? The thing I saw wasn't red. "Red Pyramid thing?" Eddie said, once he finished his third vomiting round. "I don't know what you're talking about. Honest! I did see some weird looking monsters. They scared the hell out of me, so I ran here!"

James looked behind him, and Eddie could've sworn he saw him shudder. "I guess this place isn't too safe either." He said, gesturing towards Raleigh's corpse. "What happened here, anyway?"

Why does he keep asking me that?! "I told you!! I don't know! I'm not even from this town! I just…I just…"

James suddenly looked sad. "You too, huh?" he said, without irony in his voice. "Something just brought you here, right?"

"Yeah," Eddie replied. "You could say that."

The man in 208. That "Angie Chick". Raleigh's Silent Hill Pamphlet. Eddie's signs that lead him straight into hell. They were all called here for a reason. Why was James here?

"Well, whatever it is," James continued. "I think you better get out of here soon."

Eddie shivered. He almost felt as though Raleigh was standing right behind James, staring at him, grinning. He wished James would close the bathroom door. "Yeah, you're right." Eddie replied, as he unclenched himself from around the toilet. "What about you?"

"I'll leave here as soon as I'm done here." James replied. The authoritative sound of James' voice kind of comforted Eddie. "Eddie," James finished. "Be careful."

Can I please come with you, James? "James, I…"

Fat wimp.

"I uh…"

Why would a guy like him want to hang with a big blubbering psycho like you?

Eddie sighed. James seemed ready to go, and Eddie still wasn't well enough to get moving. "You be careful too."

James nodded in agreement, and without another word he turned and left that bathroom. Eddie waited until he heard James was gone before he rested against the toilet once more. His stomach was starting to feel better, and he felt a strange pang of courage beginning to grow inside of him.

James seems like a nice guy, Eddie thought. Unlike Raleigh. Unlike Mr. Parkers. Unlike that stupid dog. Unlike all the rest. He didn't look at me like I was stupid once. "I should've went with him."

He would've eventually got sick of you and started making fun of you too.

"No he wouldn't have!"

What's the problem? Even if he did, you know what to do now. You know how to show him who you are.

Eddie grinned. "They're all afraid of me now, aren't they?"

You can make James afraid of you too. You're a different person now, Eddie. You showed them all that. You showed that jerk Raleigh that as well. And the moment James treats you like crap…

"I'll show him too."

End.