~HOMETOWN~(Chapter 2)

~HOMETOWN~

(Chapter 2)


I walked up Neely Street, crossing Katz Street, passing by the Lucky Jade on my left (A Chinese take-out joint my mother and I often order from), and Big Jay's bar on my right. I continued walking north until I reached the intersection of Neely Street and Nathan Avenue (Nathan Avenue is the main drag in the South Vale section. For a few moments I stared at the massive Toluca Lake, which loomed just north of Nathan Avenue. I watched the snowflakes and fog dance off the lake's placid surface. Being a resort town, this time of year, this area should be bustling with people. I crossed Nathan Ave and turned left onto it, walking zombified. I passed by the Silent Hill Savings Bank on my left and the ever-popular Rosewater Park on my right. When I finally reached a big billboard advertising 'Lakeside Amusements', I sat on the grass and began to cry.
My tears mingled with the snowflakes and landed on the wet grass in crystalline drops. It was Saturday. I made plans for today that were now impossible. I was supposed to spend this afternoon with Jon, Matt, and Jeff down at Pete's Bowl-O-Rama, and then yet another picnic with at Rosewater Park with my boyfriend, Andrew, followed by some gaming with him at Lakeside Arcade.

"Andrew! Where are you!?" I cried to the wind. Andrew was without a doubt the best thing that ever happened to me since I moved to Silent Hill a year ago. Andrew moved here nine months ago, and from the day we met, it was love at first sight.
Andrew is 18 (my age), and is slightly shorter than me. He sports a bright red fan-mohawk, which goes with his outfits that always has the color red somewhere. He also has his nose pierced, and wears chains and spiked jewelery. Punk rock, I guess you can say. I still remember the first day we met, nine months ago;


"Heyyy Donnie!"
"Jon! Fuck bro...what took ya so long!?? I been waiting here since 7! The arcade's closing soon!"
"Sorry man. Remember I told ya that I was gunna be showing around this new kid today from my English Lit class? This here is Andrew Cherkasov. Andrew, this is my buddy Donnie. He just moved here too, like three months ago. Oh, and guess what, Andy!? He's gay too. So like...I dunno...you two can do whatever two gay dudes do to get their rocks off"
"Dude!! Shut the fuck up, Jon! Pig! It's nice to meet ya, Andrew!"
"Um..you too. Hehe...Um..I'm sorry, I'm kinda shy with new people."
"Oh don't worry about it. I'll bring ya out of your shell. By the way, killer hair! You must really like red, huh?"
"...Yea. It's always been my favorite color. I'm actually obsessed with like...everything red. Um...you have really nice hair too, Uh...Donnie, is it?"
"Yep! And thank you so much"
"Sure. So like, do you wanna play Wack-a-Mole or something?"
"Ew! I hope that's not some double entandre!"
"Shut it, Jon"


'Man...nine months went by so fast', I thought, as I dried my eyes and actually began to smile a little bit.
Don't get me wrong, my first three months in Silent Hill without Andrew wasn't exactly torture. I didn't turn out to be Mr. Popular in Silent Hill High, but I wasn't an outcast either. I found my clique. I wasn't super outgoing, but I wasn't totally introverted either. I was average. Still, before my baby Andrew came alone, I kinda found Silent Hill dull, even for a resort town. Growing up in Chicago kinda spoiled me, I suppose. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I enjoyed the crime, or pollution, but there's something to be said about going from a bustling city childhood to some quiet New England town.
In any case, my mom dragged me here to Silent Hill while my 21 year old sister flew to New Jersey to enroll in Rutgers University;


"...But it will be an ADVENTURE, mio bambino!"
"Mama...ho mal di testa. State zi ti, eh?"
"Donatello Caravaggio Culpa! Watch your mouth! And try to look happy. Listen to this brochure:

Welcome to Silent Hill!

Silent Hill, a quiet little lakeside
resort town. We're happy to have
you. Take some time out of your
busy schedules and enjoy a nice
restful vacation here.

Row after row of quaint old houses,
a gorgeous mountain landscape,
and a lake which shows different
sides of its beauty with the
passing of the day, from sunrise
to late afternoons to sunset.

Silent Hill will move you and fill
you with a feeling of deep peace.
I hope your time here will be
pleasant and your memories will
last forever.

"Sounds boring! And besides, who wants to live around a bunch of antipatico tourists anyway? Questo posto sta per succhiare testicoli!"
"Donnie..*sigh*..we need a change. It's only you and I now. New England is a fresh start. Hey, we're almost there I think...what did that sign say?"
"It said;
Brahms: 10 miles. Silent Hill: 15 miles, Pleasant River: 25 miles.
"Buano! Silent Hill will change our lives! Here we come!"


'God, I was so mad at her for dragging me here', I thought, as I took out my pack of Newport 100's, and put one of the five cigarettes I had left into my mouth. 'Until I met Andrew', I stood up, lit my cigarette, the smoke and fog blending together in a vapor-dance. 'When I met him, everything was perfect. Life was bliss.'

I crossed Nathan Avenue and decided to head back home. Mid-morning passed into early afternoon, as the fog-shrouded sun rose in a birdless sky. 'Life really was bliss', I thought as I walked back up Neely Street alone. 'Until my world vanished.'

I made it back to my house at 1408 Neely Street, and opened the door. I figured I would grab something to eat and try to put this whole topsy-turvy situation out of my head, if only for a few hours.
I made it to the living room, and stopped dead in my tracks. On the big mirror above my white leather couch, written in what could only be blood, was:

HELP ME! D.C.! COME...ARCADE! PLEASSEE

My face went white. Mortal terror washed over me. That message wasn't there before I went for my walk.
"It couldn't be!", I screamed outloud.
The fear and panic was reaching my boiling point, and I started hyperventilating. Only one person calls me "D.C.", and the thought of him in need of help out there was too much to bare. I stared at the bloody message as it dripped down the mirror onto the white leather couch. My eyes welled up with tears and I dropped to my knees.
The message on the mirror was now illegible as it dripped and oozed. Not daring to think who's blood that is, I began to wonder - fleetingly - how Andrew could have possibly been in my house, and then went to the arcade. There was only one road to Lakeside Amusement Park where Lakeside Arcade was located...Nathan Avenue. I would have seen him. Hell, he would have seen me
The thought of him in danger, however, pushed any logical thoughts out of my head. I stood up, and bolted out of the door. On I ran back up Neely Street, the sights a blur to me as I turned left onto Nathan Ave, past Rosewater park, past the Silent Hill Historical Society. The trek to the arcade on foot was a long one, as Lakeside Amusements was all the way on the other side of Toluca Lake in Silent Hill's Resort Area near Old Silent Hill.

Yet on I ran...if my Andrew was in trouble, only I can save him.