Silent Hill: Fateful Dreams

Chapter 16

It was more than clear to Linda that she has found the room where Alessa had been kept after she got severely burnt. In the portrait Linda was holding she looked so sweet and innocent, and on the backside it said that this photo was taken when Alessa was seven years old. Not letting the portrait out of her hands, Linda sat on the edge of a filthy mattress, supporting her head on one of her hands. Suddenly she felt such strong headache like if her head was going to explode, but instead a set of flashing images ran through her head again, just like in one of the dreams where she spoke to Alessa. The image of a burned girl appeared before her eyes, which was not a nice mental image at all. As a reincarnation of Alessa's best friend from school, Linda could literally feel all the pain and suffering that Alessa had undergone, and it made her own heart cry in sorrow. In this moment Linda realized that her eyes were already wet, and tears began trickling down her cheeks. And that was all the doings of her psychopathic mother, Dahlia. Linda couldn't comprehend even for a second how a mother can treat her own child like that. In the next image Linda could see that Dahlia made efforts for birthing the God through Alessa's body, but luckily, the attempt failed. Her mother was sure that this so-called God can be born through pain and suffering, according to the beliefs of the Order cult. The cults always possess danger, so much Linda knew, but this particular cult hits all the records. She couldn't imagine that such insanity is even possible.

Then there was this fair-haired woman in a red cardigan, obviously a nurse. She was pretty much the only person that treated Alessa well. But there was something strange about her. Sometimes she looked like if she was in some other world, although physically she was taking care of patients, specifically Alessa. It's like if this nurse was under some kind of hypnosis. And then, Dr. Michael Kaufmann, the principal of Alchemilla hospital. As far as Linda understood from the images that flashed before her eyes, this Dr. Kaufmann produced some kind of drug for the needs of the Order cult that he cooperated with. Linda had heard that many cults use some hallucinogens to affect the minds of their participants, and the Order was no exception. Most likely that the nurse that cared for Alessa, was also under the affection of this drug. It could be that she started using it under Dr. Kaufmann's influence. Being a principal, he could actually do whatever he wanted, and the staff, in fact, was under his full control.

The last image showed a church that was hidden somewhere under the Lakeside Amusement Park. Somewhere in it Linda caught a glimpse of Alessa's room. The church, the sanctuary. This is where the attempt of God's birth was taking place. And that pretty meant that this was the next destination that Linda had to go to. Right in that moment, when the church image dissipated, her headache subsided as well, and things returned to normal, except for the fact that she was still in the Otherworld. Getting up from the bed, she put Alessa's photo back on the nightstand and stood beside it, lost in thoughts. As there was nothing else to search for in this hospital, she had a new goal. But, first of all, she would like to know where Alice and James were. Linda truly had no idea where to even look for them. The town wasn't small, and they could be anywhere. As the phone had no signal, there was no hope trying to reach them, so maybe she would be lucky to stumble on them somewhere. Right now she had to get moving to the direction of Lakeside Amusement Park. With that thought, Linda took out a small notebook from her pocket and scribble down a note for the case if Alice and James happen to be here, telling them to look for her in the Lakeside Amusement Park where she would be searching for the underground church. Leaving the note on the table in the reception, Linda left the hospital.

***

Alice and James finally managed to reach the hospital and started searching through it. This place looked as horrifying as the rest of the town, all covered in rust, dirt, and blood. And still there was no sign of Linda anywhere. Little did they know that if they had reached the hospital a little bit earlier, they would have possibly met her on their way. But now, by the time they arrived, Linda had already left. They searched floor after floor, fighting off the demonic nurses of their way, until finally they were back in the reception again. Looking at the table, James noticed a small piece of paper on the table. Curiosity got the best of him, and he picked the paper up to check what it is. He widened his eyes in surprise and turned to Alice.