After a short break in a relatively safe spot, Alex and Heather decided to continue moving through Silent Hill. They still had to make their way through the central part of the town to reach the older section, where Midwich Elentary School was located.
The reason for visiting the school was fairly simple: Alex wanted to visit all the places connected to Alessa, while Heather was trying to make sense of her vague and troubling mories, the aning of which she still couldn't grasp. When the wandering street monster had gone far enough, Alex cautiously led Heather outside, and they continued along the foggy streets, where a new danger could be lurking around every corner.
Alex tried to avoid encounters with monsters not because they posed a real threat to him—no creature in this town could truly harm him. He did it because of the very nature of Silent Hill: monsters here didn't die permanently; no matter how many were destroyed, new ones would soon appear—in the sa numbers or even more. The second reason was Heather.
These creatures embodied the human sins connected to the town, and Alex believed it was better for Heather not to co into contact with them unnecessarily. He didn't want her to suddenly beco the host of the evil god's seed, born from the fanatical faith of the Order cult. Of course, Alex could erase these creatures with his power of Destruction, but as long as sin existed in Silent Hill, the monsters would keep appearing endlessly.
After encountering another monster on their path, Alex noticed sothing gray rising from its body, resembling thick smoke or mist. At that mont, he realized this was the very essence necessary for the birth of a god.
If Heather herself killed the monsters, she would accelerate the process, as the essence would enter her body. But since Alex destroyed the monsters, all the substance could do was rge with the surrounding fog, eventually giving rise to a new monster again.
Throughout their journey to the central part of town, Alex kept a careful eye on Heather, trying to maintain at least so positive morale, despite the fact that Silent Hill was the last place where joy or fun could be expected.
While moving toward the central district, Alex occasionally spotted Alessa. She watched them from afar, appearing in dark, empty alleys, simply standing and staring. Whenever Alex paid attention to her, her figure would dissolve into the fog. Sotis Alessa appeared in the reflections of closed store windows, still silently and intently watching with her dark, emotionless eyes.
Alex understood that she was observing Heather but could do nothing, only watch. Every ti he noticed Alessa, he smiled kindly and waved at her. Heather saw this a few tis too, glancing at Alex with suspicion, while he pretended nothing unusual was happening.
From ti to ti, Alex checked the map he had taken from the Order cultist he had killed earlier, trying to figure out where to go next. However, he overlooked an important detail: for anyone in Silent Hill, the town appeared differently. A map of the entire city could be useful, but it couldn't be relied upon completely.
When, for so unknown reason, the weather began to deteriorate rapidly and the path ahead beca difficult, Alex realized that he and Heather would have to go through the Woodside apartnt building. Inside, the apartnts were significantly larger than they appeared from the outside.
Standing in the main hall of Woodside, Alex held the map in his hands and smoked a cigarette, frowning slightly, while Heather stood nearby, looking around, trying to spot anything useful or noteworthy. As Alex pondered where to go next, Heather noticed a map of the apartnts lying on the reception desk. Seeing it, she imdiately walked over, picked it up, and returned to Alex.
"Alex, look, I found a map. We need to go through these apartnts to get further," Heather said, handing him her find.
"Thanks, this is very tily. Tell , does this place trigger any mories for you? Maybe so strange or familiar sensations?" Alex asked, taking the apartnt map from her hands.
"No… I don't feel anything like that," Heather replied, slowly shaking her head.
"Alright then. Let's take a look around and figure out how to get out of this building," Alex said, putting both maps into his coat pocket.
Heather nodded imdiately and, sweeping the flashlight beam from side to side, began to carefully examine the area, hoping to find anything that could help them move forward. By the ti they reached these apartnts, she had already realized, as Alex had said, that Silent Hill was a strange, confusing town that lived by its own rules.
While Alex peered into the corridors of the Woodside apartnts on the first floor, Heather walked around the reception desk, deciding to check if there was anything useful behind it. Entering a small room, she began searching for keys or any other clues when the door behind her creaked quietly.
Heather turned and saw Alex, frowning, shining his flashlight alternately on the map and down the long corridors. Carefully pushing the door further open, she gripped her pistol tighter, ready for whatever monster might jump out from the shadows.
The room turned out to be a living space directly behind the reception desk. Like most places in Silent Hill, it slled of dampness, dust, and long-rotted wooden boards. However, Heather's attention was drawn to a strange object that looked like a cabinet, covered with a thick cloth.
Cautiously pulling it off, she revealed a rare, expensive-looking cabinet with an intricately carved pattern of a tree, sun, and moon. Heather's gaze lingered on several depressions in its surface, and she ran her fingers over them, intuitively sensing that sothing was missing. Looking higher, she noticed text that looked like both a poem and a riddle at the sa ti.
"Sheryl, where are you?!" Alex's voice called from the apartnt hall.
"I'm here! I found sothing!" Heather shouted back.
Alex, standing in the hall, heard her voice coming from the room behind the reception desk and sighed heavily. Once again, he caught himself feeling like Joel, who had to get Ellie to a safe place no matter what. Exhaling cigarette smoke, Alex adjusted the backpack on his shoulders and headed into the room where Heather was.
Upon entering, he imdiately saw her, intently examining the strange cabinet. Quickly surveying it, Alex almost imdiately understood its purpose. He knew well the simple truth of Silent Hill: the town itself tried to delay them, to prevent them from moving forward, and this openly irritated him.
"It seems like so kind of puzzle. These round holes are ant for sothing. Why is a cabinet like this even here? Maybe there's sothing important inside?" Heather said, looking at Alex.
"What makes you think that?" he asked, genuinely curious about her opinion.
"You said the town shows the way to where we need to go. Maybe this is its way of showing us the path?" Heather replied thoughtfully.
"Well, you're right, Sheryl. But as soone who can't stand puzzles and certainly isn't going to run through every apartnt looking for who knows what, I prefer a practical approach," Alex said, pulling a fire axe out of his backpack.
Heather looked at him in surprise and imdiately stepped back. She watched Alex, who was about to smash the puzzle cabinet simply because he didn't want to solve the riddle or look for the missing pieces. Heather had genuinely expected that they would need to find a part of the puzzle to get the answer, and it took her a mont to realize that Alex couldn't have cared less about such formalities.
Approaching the cabinet, Alex placed Heather's hand on his shoulder and gently pushed her back to keep her safe from flying splinters. Once he was sure she was at a safe distance, he raised the fire axe above his head and swung it. The first blow split the cabinet, sending wooden shards flying across the room, and a key fell to the floor with a clink, rolling to Heather's feet.
She picked it up, turned it in her hands, and quickly realized that it was the key to a room on the second floor, though she still couldn't understand why it had been hidden here. Alex calmly put the fire axe back in his backpack and turned to Heather, who was still examining the key.
"Well, that's the whole puzzle. Let's go, we need to get to the second floor, room 201," Alex said, taking the key from her hands.
Heather looked at Alex and nodded, once again realizing that for soone like him, this town seed almost like a place for leisurely weekend strolls. Leaving the room behind the reception desk, Alex and Heather returned to the apartnt hall. Without wasting ti, Alex headed for the stairs and began climbing to the second floor.
Heather followed cautiously, trying not to fall behind and watching his movents carefully. Reaching the second floor, Alex shined his flashlight down both sides of the corridor, assessing the situation and choosing a direction. He then gestured for Heather to follow, and together they moved down the dark hallway, illuminating the path with narrow beams of light.
As they approached apartnt 201, the radio clipped to Alex's coat pocket began to emit a dry, crackling sound, unmistakably indicating nearby monsters. Alex imdiately held up his hand, stopping Heather. Hearing the static, she froze, holding her breath without a word.
Alex listened intently to the surrounding sounds until his gaze fell on the door marked 202. He leaned slightly toward it and made out muffled, hoarse murmurs and uneven breathing from the other side. Not wanting to find out exactly who or what was behind the door, Alex drew "Ebony" from its holster and pressed the muzzle against the wooden surface.
He raised the pistol, relying solely on the sound, and at the very mont his hand steadied, he pulled the trigger. A deafening shot echoed through the quiet corridor, imdiately followed by the dull thud of a falling body. A second later, the radio went silent.
"We can move on," Alex said calmly, holstering the pistol.
"Maybe that's how the town wanted to warn us? I an… there could be sothing else behind the doors?" Heather asked, glancing at him.
"Anything's possible in this place, Sheryl. Everything here has a reason and a consequence," Alex replied, lighting a cigarette.
Heather looked at him understandingly, feeling that with every explanation, she began to grasp the very nature of Silent Hill a little better. The previous monster had been just a brief delay, and soon they continued down the dark corridor toward apartnt 201.
The door was at the very end, as if deliberately drawing attention—next to it, a single light bulb burned, the only source of light in the entire hallway. Approaching, Alex and Heather turned off their flashlights. Taking out the key, Alex unlocked the door, and they stepped inside.
Upon entering apartnt 201, Heather was slightly surprised: the place was strikingly different from everything they had seen before. There was none of the usual musty, damp, dusty sll. The apartnt looked clean and tidy, as if soone still lived there.
Despite the dim light, it was enough to make out the furnishings. As Alex and Heather stood in the hallway, Heather suddenly turned her head toward the side room, which contained only a bed, a chair, and a bedside table. Alex noticed her movent and the wary look she cast into the empty room.
"What's wrong, Sheryl? Did you hear sothing?" Alex asked, looking at her.
"I don't know… It felt like I heard a woman's breathing. It was faint, barely noticeable, but I'm sure I heard it," Heather replied thoughtfully, her eyes still fixed on the room.
"Maybe it's an echo from the past. Or, in the worst case, a ghost," Alex said, lighting another cigarette.
"An echo from the past? What do you an?" Heather asked, turning to him with interest.
"Places like this hold mories. Mostly tragic ones. I think a sick woman once lived in this apartnt. What happened to her, we'll never know. Maybe she died here alone, or maybe it was far more complicated. Not everyone becos a prisoner of Silent Hill. So remain just an old echo of the past, reliving their end over and over again," Alex said, shaking his head slightly.
Heather looked at the empty room once more, feeling a quiet, lingering sadness: if Alex was right, the woman who had once lain here had died not only from illness but also from loneliness. Noticing her gaze, Alex gently ran a hand over her shoulder, letting her know she was not alone.
Removing his hand, he continued down the corridor of the apartnt, still pondering why the key to this particular place had been hidden in the puzzle cabinet. Passing the living room, Alex froze: his attention was imdiately drawn to a human silhouette covered with a blood-stained white sheet.
Squinting, he stepped closer, pulled off the sheet, and saw another dead Bureau of Control agent. Heather, following him, also noticed the body, but this ti she didn't look away—by now, during their ti in Silent Hill, she had seen enough terrifying things.
Alex moved a small table in front of the couch and crouched next to the body. Taking a deep breath, he carefully examined the agent, trying to determine the cause of death, and almost imdiately noticed distinct marks of strangulation on the neck.
Gently removing the sheet, Alex took the badge and pendant from the corpse. He pocketed the badge, planning to return it to the agent's family when they managed to escape Silent Hill, and then opened the pendant to find a photograph of a young woman with a bright, lively smile inside.
"What did you bla yourself for, Ward? What brought you to this apartnt…" Alex murmured quietly, beginning to search the agent's pockets.
Heather stood slightly apart, not interfering. Alex quickly found a recording device and removed a flash drive from it. Inserting it into his phone, he began reviewing the footage, fast-forwarding until he reached the mont when the group of agents entered a store, and then Ward ended up here, in the Woodside apartnts. From the speaker, he could hear Ward attempting to contact soone outside official channels, and then a woman's voice clearly calling Ward by na. Despite his training and experience, the agent had succumbed to the voice.
At first, he tried to leave the apartnts, even looking for keys to the exit, but the persistent female whisper repeatedly lured him back until he eventually ended up in apartnt 201. The final minutes of the recording were filled with heavy static and interference, after which the image disappeared completely. Realizing there was nothing more to see, Alex turned off the recording and put the phone away.
"Maybe he blad himself for what happened to his wife or girlfriend… since he carried a pendant with her photo," Heather said quietly, looking at Alex.
"Perhaps. And, unfortunately, that guilt killed him—literally," Alex replied, shaking his head.
Heather was about to say sothing when a dull thud echoed through the apartnt, as if soone had thrown a heavy object against sothing. They both turned toward the kitchen and saw a door that hadn't been there a mont ago. It was painted a bright, rusty red, as if it had been sealed right into the wall, and cracks radiated around the fra, revealing rusty tal bars beneath.
Heather looked at Alex, expecting an explanation, but he rely shrugged, as if to say that in Silent Hill, such things were normal: doors appear where they shouldn't and lead wherever the town decides.
Alex calmly approached the door and grasped the cold, rough handle, while Heather stayed behind, gripping her pistol. So far, she had only had to fire a few tis—Alex handled all the other threats. Turning the handle, he opened the door without hesitation, already guessing what lay beyond, a thought that both irritated and darkly intrigued him.
On the other side was another door, identical yet even more corroded, as if it had been standing there not for decades, but centuries. The two doors were separated by a narrow passage, frozen between two apartnt blocks, and the adjacent block looked even more foreboding: its walls were eaten by ti, and the door was coated with a thick layer of brown rust.
Alex cautiously peered forward, then leaned down to look below, confirming where the passage led. A single glance into the impenetrable darkness stretching inward was enough to realize—this was no ordinary hallway. Heather stepped closer and shone her flashlight forward, then downward, but even the bright beam could not pierce the dense darkness, as if the light itself was being swallowed.
Satisfied that this was an entrance to an alternate Silent Hill, Alex returned to Ward's body and thodically began removing cartridges and a few grenades from his pockets, working calmly and without emotion.
"Where does this door lead? I can't see anything on the other side," Heather asked, watching his movents.
"You've seen sothing like this in the mall. Places like this have many nas: the Reverse, the Rusted World, the World of Darkness, the Nightmare World… or the simplest—Alternate World. If we go through it, we'll end up where we need to be," Alex replied, handing Heather so pistol magazines.
"Are you sure? I don't even know how I got out of there before. You said places like that have their own rules for leaving," Heather said, taking the magazines.
"I'm glad you listened, Sheryl. I'm about ninety percent sure. In the worst case, we'll cheat a little and cut the path short," Alex said, thoughtfully stroking his chin.
"And how do you plan to do that?" Heather asked, still full of questions.
"You'll find out when the ti cos. And be extra careful in the alternate world. It's far worse than here…" he grimaced. "Damn, I hate places like that. They always sll disgusting."
Heather already understood that Alex had been to such worlds more than once, and she knew he knew exactly what he was doing. Alex approached the edge of the passage and carefully looked down again, checking for anything that might grab Heather's leg the mont she jumped.
Satisfied that it was clear, he stepped forward and crossed the gap, hovering over the abyss for a mont longer than necessary—he knew all too well what could happen the mont soone fully entered such a doorway.
Alex held out his hand to Heather, helping her cross over, and as soon as she stepped to the other side, he followed. At that very mont, the rusty doors slamd shut behind them with a deafening crash. Heather flinched, spun around, and shone her flashlight on the sealed passage.
"Heh… knew it. Always the sa," Alex smirked.
"So this is normal for places like this?" Heather asked, directing her flashlight at him.
"What did you expect? That they'd just let you back out? No. Once you're in an alternate world, there's only one way—forward. Luckily, I know how to find the exit. You can enter one place and co out sowhere completely different," Alex said calmly.
"For example? We're in the apartnts… where could we end up?" Heather asked, trying to make sense of the situation.
"Once I went through a tree that had grown into a passage and ca out of a lake. Does that example work?" Alex said, lightly stroking his chin.
Heather was genuinely surprised by his answer. In the mall, she had exited in the sa spot she entered the alternate world, but according to Alex, the exit could lead anywhere in the city. While she was trying to process that, Alex was already surveying the room.
As he expected, the alternate Silent Hill looked like a twisted reflection of reality: the kitchen that had been on the right was now on the left, and everything looked ancient, rotted, and covered in a thick layer of rust. The worst part was the sll—a heavy, sticky mix of tal and blood, as if it had soaked into the walls permanently.
While Heather wasn't looking, Alex shone his flashlight on his own hand—and the shadow it cast wasn't his: it was a slender female hand pointing the way. Alex decided to trust Zhang Ya—she clearly knew how to navigate places like this, since the Red City under her control was far more dangerous than Silent Hill. Seeing the direction, Alex pressed his fingers together in a heart shape as a silent thank-you and confidently moved forward.
Patting Heather on the shoulder, Alex went ahead, moving through the alternate apartnt. Heather stepped carefully behind him, keeping her eyes on the floor as if afraid it might disappear beneath her feet. Exiting the apartnt, they entered a corridor, and to Heather's surprise, there was light—dim and cold, as if foreign to this place.
Alex looked at his shadow again, and Zhang Ya silently pointed the way forward. He didn't waste ti trying to figure out exactly where to go, simply following her guidance. Leading Heather, he scanned the surroundings; the acrid stench of rust and blood hung in the air, choking their breathing, and beneath their feet, the rusty grate that served as the floor creaked.
The plaster on the walls had crumbled in places, revealing the sa rusty tal grates instead of bricks. As they moved down the corridor, the radio clipped to Alex's pocket crackled to life again, emitting sharp static. Alex stopped at a corner and cautiously peeked into the next corridor, spotting a monster seemingly bound in a straitjacket: its body was pierced with rusty bars, and it stood squarely in the middle of the passage they needed to cross.
Heather peeked around the corner too, staring at the new creature with concern. Alex knew the local monsters had no supernatural powers and were essentially ordinary beasts, terrifying only in appearance. Stepping out from the corner, hands still in his coat pockets, he calmly walked straight toward the monster, wanting to gauge its abilities. The creature, as if sensing Alex, despite its restrained state, suddenly broke free and lunged at him with frightening speed.
"Watch out!" Heather shouted, seeing how fast it was moving.
Ignoring her shout, Alex calmly stepped aside, letting the monster rush past him, and imdiately grabbed it by the back of the head; gripping the creature's skull, he spun around and slamd it into the wall with force, literally crushing its skull against the iron grate.
The monster's body went limp, hanging on the rusty tal, twitching slightly from residual spasms. Heather froze, her mouth slightly open, unable to believe her eyes—Alex had just killed a monster with his bare hands. Alex lightly shook his hand, flicking off the remaining blood, and turned to her.
"Let's go, Sherril. We need to find the exit," he said calmly, lighting a cigarette.
"You… how did you do that?" Heather asked, stunned, stepping closer and shifting her gaze between Alex and the monster still dangling from the grate.
"These monsters aren't that tough. Kind of like smashing a waterlon with your fist: hard, but possible. Now co on, I can't stand the sll of blood and rust," Alex replied, exhaling a stream of cigarette smoke.
Heather nodded and was about to follow him when the dead monster twitched slightly, making her instinctively clutch Alex's coat. Feeling her tug, he smiled and patted her head, trying to calm her.
At the end of the corridor, they ran into a dead end: the path was blocked by a rusty grate draped with dirty cloth. Alex moved the fabric aside to peek through and saw Alessa again, staring straight at him; this ti, she extended her hand and pointed. Alex raised an eyebrow, turned his head, and noticed a wall with a faint network of cracks, and when he turned back, of course, Alessa was gone.
"So where do we go now? The passage is blocked, and I don't think you can chop through those rusty bars with the axe," Heather said, kicking the grate, which responded with a sharp tallic echo.
"As my friend likes to say: the road unfolds where I walk," Alex smirked, pulling the fire axe from his backpack.
Heather didn't imdiately understand what Alex ant until he approached the wall. Confidently swinging the fire axe, he struck once with precision and knocked a chunk of concrete out of the wall. Peering into the gap, she saw another apartnt on the other side, finally realizing the aning of his words.
Alex continued working the axe, thodically and without rush, until he had carved a full passageway through which they could pass. Finishing, he turned to the stunned Heather and gave her a thumbs-up with a satisfied expression. Heather could only nod silently and step closer to peek through the breach and see where it led.
Removing his backpack, Alex was the first to squeeze through the narrow opening, then reached out his hand to Heather, signaling her to hurry.
Once inside the new room, Alex quickly scanned the surroundings, trying to figure out where to go next. He didn't intend to wander through this place any longer than necessary, so he almost imdiately stepped into the corridor where he had previously seen Alessa. There, he surveyed his surroundings again and confidently moved forward.
At the end of the corridor, there was only one open door, leading to the fire escape balconies. Stepping outside, Alex and Heather heard the distinct sound of rain, though no rain was visible. Looking up at the sky, Alex stretched his hand forward but didn't feel a drop of moisture, then gave a short nod as if confirming his own thoughts.
At that mont, Heather tugged on his sleeve and pointed in a direction. Following her gesture, Alex noticed another open door on the opposite side of the balcony, a soft light spilling from within.
"How nice, they're showing us the way again. What great service," Alex said, nodding slightly with a hint of irony.
"If you don't count the monsters, the filth, and the sll of blood, you'd call this a five-star hotel?" Heather replied, giving him a crooked smile.
"Not now, young lady. Jokes like that require ti and place," Alex said, lightly pinching Heather's nose.
"We're almost the sa age. You're maybe just a couple of years older than ," Heather protested, swatting his hand away.
"I just look young. Besides, I'm married and have four kids," Alex stated calmly, putting his hands behind his head as he continued walking along the rusty balcony.
"What?!" Heather exclaid, staring at his back in sheer disbelief.
Alex simply chuckled quietly, paying no attention to the grim atmosphere around them, calmly making his way along the balcony to the other side of the building. Heather stood frozen for a few monts, still processing what she'd heard, then quickly hurried after him to keep up.
Crossing the rusty balcony to the other side, Alex gave the door a slight push and entered a room that was drastically different from anything they had seen in the alternate world of Silent Hill.
The room looked neat and tidy, like a fragnt of normal reality that had sohow ended up in this creepy place by mistake. Even Heather was surprised by the sight. The only thing that sharply stood out were the rusty doors, bound with three massive chains stretching in different directions.
Alex followed the chains with his gaze, fully aware of what they ant: one ran upward through the ceiling, the second led back outside to the balcony, and the third stretched toward the corridor, clearly indicating that the doors would only open when all three chains were gone.
"Another puzzle," Heather said, looking at the locked doors.
"This only counts as a puzzle if you don't have a crowbar. And I'll say it again—I'm not going to search, solve riddles, or do any of that nonsense. If I see locked doors I need to pass through, I just break them instead of looking for a key. And anyway, do you want to waste ti on this, considering we need to figure out the cause of your foggy mories and find where your father is being held?" Alex said, pulling a crowbar from his backpack.
"I'm not arguing with you. I also don't want to waste any more ti and want to figure out what's happening here as quickly as possible," Heather replied, crossing her arms.
Alex smiled slightly and approached the door, wedging the crowbar between the first chain and the door. With one sharp motion, he tore the chain free, and it instantly vanished into the wall, as if sothing heavy had pulled it in. Alex and Heather looked at the spot where the chain had disappeared, and he waved his hand, signaling Heather to step back a couple of steps just in case sothing went wrong.
Heather nodded and took two steps back. The second chain ca loose in the sa way, but this ti a crash echoed from the balcony, the sound disturbingly resembling tearing flesh. Curious about the noise, Alex pulled a glow stick from his backpack and, together with Heather, stepped out onto the balcony.
Throwing the glow stick, they watched it hit sothing that looked like a writhing piece of flesh, a chain tied to its end. Shaking his head, Alex returned to the door and tore off the last chain, which vanished straight into the ceiling. A loud crash echoed from above, as if several floors had collapsed at once.
"Ah, damn city… it's always the sa thing, every single ti," Alex muttered, putting the crowbar back in his backpack.
"When you say it like that, I almost stop being surprised by anything that happens," Heather replied, glancing at him.
"Well, that's normal for places like this. Plus, I'm nearly one hundred percent sure we literally avoided a bunch of monsters roaming the corridors of these alternate apartnts," Alex added, shrugging.
Seeing his confidence and optimism, Heather couldn't help but smile, catching his mood despite the darkness and eeriness around them, like a madman's nightmare. Still smiling, Alex opened the doors that had been locked with three chains, revealing an elevator—an ordinary-looking one, but in alternate Silent Hill, it felt strangely out of place.
"This is an elevator…" Heather said, standing next to Alex.
"Yep, an elevator. Nothing special, just an elevator," Alex replied, pressing the call button to open the doors.
When he pressed it, the elevator doors swung open with the characteristic chi, the light inside flickering eerily. Shaking his head, he stepped into the cabin first, which imdiately jolted beneath his feet. Alex waved Heather forward to hurry, and when she stepped inside, the elevator creaked as if the cables might snap at any mont, making Heather nervously glance up at the ceiling.
Alex pressed the buttons in sequence, starting with the upper floors and gradually moving downward. Each ti he pressed a button, a rattling beep sounded, as if the system wasn't responding. When only the last button remained, Alex clicked his tongue.
"Of course… the basent. Where would it be without a basent in a place like this," he said, looking at the single blood-stained floor button on the panel.
"Didn't you yourself say that one of the main rules is not to go into basents?" Heather asked, not taking her eyes off the panel.
"We don't have a choice. But I already know where this leads, so let's go," Alex said calmly, pressing the basent button.
After pressing the button, the elevator doors closed with a dull thud, and the cabin jerked slightly as it began to descend slowly. Even though they were only on the second floor, it felt as though the elevator was moving at a snail's pace, as if the cables could snap at any mont and send the cabin plumting. After so ti, the elevator stopped—but clearly not in the basent. Before Alex and Heather stretched a long, dark corridor, from which ca the grinding of chains and the sound of a rusted valve turning in the distance.
The air was thick with the acrid, biting sll of rust and blood. Heather turned on her flashlight, illuminating the long corridor lined with rusted pipes, where rusty grates peeked through places where the walls had collapsed, and the dimly flickering lamps only heightened the sense of abandonnt.
Sighing, Alex stepped out of the elevator first and confidently moved forward, already knowing where the path would lead. Heather followed cautiously, and as soon as they left the cabin, the elevator doors closed and the lift moved away, leaving the corridor in partial darkness. Alex lit a cigarette and continued forward without hurry.
Walking down the long corridor, they turned wherever necessary, as if wandering through a labyrinth made from a single endless passage. The sounds of their footsteps echoed off the walls when suddenly the noise of an opening elevator rang out, mixed with the tallic clang of sothing massive being dragged.
"I think we should pick up the pace," Heather said, glancing at Alex and quickening her steps.
"Yeah. I don't like fighting in tight spaces. Usually, I end up covered in blood afterward," Alex replied, speeding up to walk beside her.
Heather gave him a calculating look and understood what he ant: Alex wasn't afraid to fight in such conditions because of inconvenience or the enemy's size; he simply didn't like having his clothes drenched in blood after a fight. Continuing their brisk pace through the corridor, lit by flickering lamps, they heard a crash behind them, like soone smashing through walls.
At the next turn, an even louder sound ca from behind. Alex glanced back and in the dim light of the flashlight spotted Pyramid Head dragging a massive cleaver. He imdiately realized that if he got distracted now, unpredictable things could happen near Heather, so before she could look back, he nudged her backward.
"Run," Alex said, scooping Heather into his arms.
Heather didn't understand why he had picked her up, but the answer ca instantly: Alex turned another corner, kicking open an iron door, and behind them a wall was smashed through, revealing the creature with the tal pyramid on its head and the enormous cleaver in its hands.
Heather froze in terror, but Alex didn't slow down. If a wall stood in front of him, he smashed through it; if a door blocked the way, he kicked it open. He knew perfectly well that Pyramid Head, though slow, would always be right behind them. Heather kept urging him on, indicating how close the enemy was getting.
When Alex finally saw the elevator light at the end of the corridor, he sped up; the wall behind them had been broken through, and Pyramid Head erged after them. Alex ignored it and ran into the elevator with Heather still in his arms. She jumped down and frantically pressed the button to close the doors, but they were slow to shut, and Pyramid Head kept getting closer.
"This one's for you, loser," Alex said, tossing a grenade at the enemy's feet, pulling it from his backpack.
The grenade rolled across the floor and hit Pyramid Head's leg. The creature lowered its tal head, and at that very mont the grenade exploded, sending debris crashing onto its body. The elevator doors closed, and the last thing Alex and Heather saw was Pyramid Head, unhard, pulling itself from under the rubble and calmly walking away, dragging the massive cleaver behind him.
Heather exhaled heavily, leaning her back against the elevator wall, still in shock. Alex rely smiled, knowing this wasn't their last encounter with Pyramid Head—and next ti, he planned to take that enormous cleaver from him.
To be continued…
(So, here's Pyramid Head's appearance. He'll probably appear more often. As for what happens next, that's what will happen next. As I said, Alex knows the way. I want to show a couple of significant locations, but whether you recognize them or not is another matter. Next, the school where Alessa studied, yeah. As usual, to get to Alternative Silent Hill, you need to hit the right trigger. And as for the boss monsters, I think I'll add them. Well, just because I can.)
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