There's nobody there. Nobody.

I spend some minutes staying still, waiting for a surprise attack or something, but I am left with silence only and nothing more. With time, the effect of adrenaline wears off and I feel calmer but still upset. I get up slowly, my legs are shaking and my heart is still pounding vigorously: it feels like it's going to burst out of my chest while I pant. After slowly making my way into the town I'm welcomed with a completely deserted and silent scenario: the streets are empty, no noises nor voices, just fog, and silence... so much silence. Noticing a sign with some more accurate maps of the town near a flower shop I walk up to them and take a picture.

I need to reach "Jack's Inn": it's the motel where I and Mara will stay... if I get there alive, that is.
I slowly make my way through Lindsey Street and reach Nathan Avenue. I still haven't stopped panting and my throat feels dry and sore. I'm covered in sweat even if we have only 10 C° degrees right now.
Ten to fifteen minutes pass and I finally reach the motel: even here there is no one in sight. We rented room 106: Mara should be in there right now. Once there I open the door and get inside: I'm a mess. Mara is sitting on her bed using her phone. She turns as soon as she sees me looking confused.

"Where the hell did you go?"

I look at her full of anger. "Where did I go?! I was making my way through this shithole after you left me alone!" 

She looks even more confused. "What the fuck are you talking about? You came here with me, you even brought your suitcase" She points at it, and that's indeed my suitcase. How the hell did it get there? 

"Then I went to use the bathroom and when I came back you were gone." 

"What the fuck?!" A few seconds of silence pass. "When I came out of the restroom I found a note on your car that said you were waiting for me here, and then..." I sob and a few tears start soaking my eyes as I sit on the bed. Mara notices immediately and sits next to me visibly upset. 

"...then I followed a path through the woods and someone chased me down. I've never been so scared in my life." She holds me tight. She has always been very protective towards me: she knows how fragile I am. 

"Sweetie, I swear: I never left the car without you and I didn't leave any note on my car. You came here with me."

"I don't understand. I feel so confused. I don't remember coming here with you. Did I just pass out and dreamed all that stuff?"

She turns and looks at me in the eyes. "Listen, I know what's going on here: you're very stressed and your anxiety is messing with your head, so now go get ready because, if you don't remember, we have booked an appointment at the spa. We need to relax: this is our vacation after all."

I look back at her and, hearing those words, I feel slightly better.
We remained in the motel room just a little longer so that I could rest then I took my swimsuit and my flip-flops and put them in my backpack before leaving for the spa. We will have to walk all the way around Toluca Lake through Nathan Avenue and Sandford Street: it will be a long walk but it's not like there is any other way to get there without Mara's car.

(The Terminal Show by Akira Yamaoka - Silent Hill: Homecoming)

We walk through the foggy street for some time: still no cars, no people, nothing. I look at the lake, for a moment It looks like there's some sort of cylindrical figure in the lake, like some sort of tower but the fog quickly hides it again. 

"Jesus, why is there so much fog?!" Mara breaks the silence.

"The sun almost never shines on Silent Hill, I did some research on the place before coming here. Looks like you didn't do your homework even if you're the one who chose the place... as always" I giggle.

"Well, you really know me, faggot!" We share a laugh.

"I was wondering: why did you choose Silent Hill?"

"Well, it's close to where we live, it's pretty cheap and it has a spa!"

"Oh, I see. Knowing you I would have bet you were going to be scared by this creepy and foggy-looking town."

"Well, the friend who told me about this place described it in a different way than this. I feel like I've been scammed."

I giggle. "Well at least I like creepy and foggy places so I'm happy with what we've got here."

A few brief minutes of silence pass as we keep walking through this seemingly endless road. It feels like we're stuck in a loop.

"So... how was your summer?" I ask.

"Pretty crazy, as always: I was working in this hotel as a supervisor for the waiting staff. Got in a bunch of drama with some dumbass colleagues but I managed to fix everything. I also met this guy who seemed cute but he turned out to be an asshole."

"Why?"

"He had this old-fashioned mindset: always saying that women have to stay home to cook, clean, and shit."

"What a dickhead."

She goes on to tell me about all sorts of things that happened to her while she was gone. I keep thinking how she has a pretty full and exciting life, while I always stay locked up in my house being bored and lonely. We are two opposites, yet we see what's wrong with one another and we know what the other one is going through.

I feel kinda envious sometimes.

We keep walking and chatting until I see a huge building emerge from within the fog in front of us: It's the Lakeview Hotel; the spa should be right next to it. We walk closer and quickly find the place. There is a garden with lots of plants outside and a small cobblestone path that leads to the entrance. The building looks almost like a cabin, with a pitched roof and walls made with raw materials.

We get inside. The waiting room is not very big, but it's nice and cozy. It doesn't take long before a young girl, with her blonde hair tied in a ponytail, comes out of a door from the other side of the counter and greets us.

"Hello, welcome girls!" She looks very kind but, just like many people before her, mistook me for a girl: it happens constantly but I really don't mind, I really look incredibly similar to my mother after all.

"Hello! We have a reservation for 11:30 am." Mara takes care of it to avoid the embarrassment of explaining I'm not a girl. 

"Alright, follow me, please." We follow her to a door in the middle of a small hallway. "Unfortunately we only have one changing room so you'll have to use it one at a time. After that, you can go through that door across the hallway. That's all, enjoy your stay!" She gestures to a door right behind us and then leaves us alone. 

"You can go first, please be quick." I say while leaning gently on the wall with my back and crossing my arms. She doesn't respond and just gets in closing the door behind her. 

Five minutes pass, then ten, then fifteen, then twenty. I start to feel frustrated again: how much is she taking just to change into her swimsuit?! 

(The Stairwell by Akira Yamaoka - Silent Hill 2)

"Mara?" I knock on the door gently. "Mara?!" I knock again. "You're taking a while, are you ok?"

I wait for some seconds but I receive no response from the other side of the door. I take a step back and look down: there is no light coming from under the door, I can remember seeing a light gleam coming from there. Did she turn the lights off?

Suddenly I hear some noises coming from the small changing room. It's like somebody is moving in a hurry, not caring about any objects they are knocking over in the process. I wait some seconds but only silence follows. 

I get tired of messing around and I walk back down the hallway. I'll ask the girl to unlock the door to check what is going on with Mara. I get back to the counter but the girl is gone: has she gone back into the staff room? "Hello? Anyone? I'm having a problem." Silence. "Hello?" I stand there thinking of what to do next. I could try and get into the staff room, It will look rude but I have no other choice: I'm sure they'll understand. Just when I'm about to walk around the counter I hear a loud snap followed by the sound of a door creaking open coming from down the hallway. I begin to slowly walk back while keeping my eyes locked on the changing room door. 

"Mara?" No response.

While getting closer I notice the door is slightly open but the room on the other side looks completely dark, still I can see some movement inside.
My steps become faster.

"What is going on? Mara?!"

I swing open the door.

My heart drops.

My muscles become stiff.

Cold sweat runs out of my pores.

My legs feel weak: I can barely stand.

A terrible knot twists my stomach making me want to throw up.

What... what am I looking at?

Confusion swarms my brain.

Where is Mara...? Did... did she turn into this thing?

(Pyramid Head's Lair by Akira Yamaoka - Silent Hill 2)

There's a figure in front of me, it's tall, with abnormally long arms, the whole body is covered in spikes, from head to toe: they are black, shiny and very pointy, they are at least 2 centimeters thick. I feel immense disgust, I don't want it to touch me. Oh please don't touch me!
Its head... its head keeps twitching in an unnatural series of movements, some of which leave me wondering how it is able to do them without snapping its own neck, it has no eyes, like the skin grew so much it covered its upper half. There's only a huge mouth: it's so so wide and filled with sharp black teeth just like the spikes and emits a slow irregular breathing. The skin is pale and yellowish, there are blood stains and little wounds here and there, especially around the spikes.

I look in horror for a few seconds. I feel frozen: I can't move!
I let out a little gasp of fear and, suddenly, the monster turns its twitching head towards me and lets out a loud distorted scream immediately swinging one of its long arms in my direction. I instinctively scream at the top of my lungs, a sudden adrenaline burst allows me to dodge just an instant before that thing could hit me. I keep screaming uncontrollably while rushing down the hallway with that thing following me from behind.

"Help! Somebody help me!!" I hope somebody will hear me but something tells me nobody will.

Reaching the reception room once again I jump over the counter which gets smashed by the monster, it crumbles like a sandcastle under its deadly spikes. I open the staff room's door and close it behind me just in time, I try to block it with my body but the monster hits it so hard the impact sends my body flying across the room.

"No, no, no!!" I get up quickly and grab a hold of a nearby shelf: I pull as hard as I can making it fall in front of the door. The monster keeps beating relentlessly against the fragile wooden planks of the door. I don't have much time: I need to find help!

"Hello? Anybody?!" I go through the small break room and reach the staff locker room hoping to find anyone besides me.
The room is dark, I can't see anything. My hands feel desperately around the walls beside me, looking for a light switch. Found it! I press it and the lights turn on.

"AAAAAHHHHHHH!!"

The girl... the girl from before... her body is hanging from the ceiling! Did she do this to herself? Why?!
I hear the monster beating on the door even harder, the wood creaks, and the boards are snapping broken; all of the small objects on the shelf are falling down and breaking.

I start crying, this is just too much. I slowly stumble backwards and curl up in a corner with my face between my knees and my arms covering my head.

"This is it, it's over."

The door finally breaks open.