Hmmm. Have you come to witness the beginning? ...No? Oh. The Rebirth of Paradise, despoiled by mankind? Oh. I thought you did for a minute there. So what've you come for? OH! Part 18, of course! I should have known. Well, do what you do and read it already.
"Heh...hah..." Everyone was trying to hold back their laughter as Heather and little Walter both continually annoyed each other. They seemed to make Silent Hill a little less horrifying as long as they were making everyone feel like they were going to have a seizure laughing.
Heather looked at her pendant and fiddled with it a little bit. "Pretty...shiny..." Then she slowly moved it over to her lips and opened wide and started sucking on it.
"OH MY GOSH! DON'T DO THAT!" Little Walter screamed at the top of his tiny little lungs and started harmlessly pounding his fists against Heather's leg. "My dad gave that to me! Stop it! That's so gross!"
Despite little Walter's constant cries for Heather to stop, she continued slobbering all over the pendant. Henry felt a strange combination of amusement and guilt for accidentally making them switch bodies. And then he wondered how they switched bodies in the first place.
"Come on, Walter, quit sucking on Heather's pendant." James scolded, jabbing a finger in Heather's direction. She flushed a deep red and let it drop from her mouth and hit the rough pavement of the road.
Little Walter grabbed the pendant and cuddled it. "Sorry I let that happen, Dad..." He mumbled softly and let out a shreik when he realized he was rubbing his cheek on drool. "AW, DISGUSTING!"
Heather quickly tried to find an alternative thing to suck on and jabbed her thumb into her mouth again.
"Look, guys," James grumbled as he searched the map. "I think the final 'special place' I could try out is the Lakeview Hotel. It's where me and Mary vacationed before she..." His voice cracked and he rubbed a finger on his temple. "Let's just go. We're going to need to go by boat, though..."
Henry shrugged. "Better than climbing through endless holes." Everyone else nodded and followed James.
Out of nowhere, Henry felt an intense pain blast through his head, a headache to maximum proportions. He completely lost track of the world around him and collapsed, hands on his head, and let out a scream of pain. "OW! MY HEAD!"
"Wow? Really, Henry? 'Ow, my head'? Sure, you could have let out a more complex scream of agony, but..." Little Walter grumbled. Everyone else was trying to get Henry to calm down.
Henry couldn't stop feeling this horrible pain, and his life was flashing before his eyes and the faces of everyone were fading and he heard a voice whispering, "Receiver...Receiver...Receiver..."
A loud bang erupted through the fog as a bullet landed just by Henry's head. A few more inches and his brains would have been splattered on the concrete. Melinda knew who it was automatically and screamed for everyone else to run.
"Henry! Get up! You've got to run!" Melinda screamed, shaking Henry while he looked up at her, cross-eyed.
"Oooh...my head..."
"Just get up already!" Sounds of Walter's laughter echoed through the fog. "Come on, Henry, he's coming!"
"21 fingers...Receiver of Wisdom...which is weird cause I'm probably the least wise person here...and ooooh my head...."
Melinda saw Walter's foot burst through the fog, his blood-stained purple coat slowly following. "GET UP!" She cried at the top of her lungs. Henry wasn't responding, he just continued his mumbling like a deranged drunk and stayed down. Melinda realized she was going to have to fight for him and she stood, katanas out.
"Well, well, if it isn't the Assassin." She heard Walter's voice tauntingly coo. "I thought I smelled fear."
"Yeah, like seeing your face brightens up my day," Melinda hissed back. She nudged Henry's shoulder with her heel. He didn't get up. "Don't look into his eyes. You won't have a flashback. Don't look into his eyes. You won't have a flashback." She whispered to herself while she glared at Walter's feet.
His pipe had been replaced with a chainsaw, a revolver proudly displayed in his other hand. With this, she realized he had become significantly more dangerous. And she couldn't care less. "You know, Assassin, you've never told me your name."
"Why would it matter to you?" She scoffed.
"Because," Walter began, beginning to revv his chainsaw lightly. "I want to know what to write on your grave."
With that taunt, the battle began. Melinda scraped her katanas together and they made a sharp screech while Walter turned up his chainsaw, full power. "Don't look into his eyes. Don't look into his eyes." Melinda chanted to herself while Walter held his chainsaw over his head, preparing to attack.
The chainsaw swung downward and the katanas soared up in a protective X over Melinda's head. The chainsaw slammed against them and Melinda felt the metal vibrate, her arms trembling and trying to hold the oncoming threat back. She continued staring at Walter's feet while holding up her blades, trying not to run out of energy as the pressure grew higher and her arms grew tired.
"Don't give up...don't look into his eyes...and Henry, would you freakin' get up already..." Melinda mumbled, her voice almost inaudible under the sound of rapidly scraping metal. Her arms were growing terribly weak, and she could hear Walter's laughter and Henry moaning but something inside of her was telling her to keep going.
Henry felt his health slowly regain and his head return to a normal state and he watched as Melinda towered over him, Walter cackling as he crashed his chainsaw against her katanas. She was saving his life. He definitely owed her a thank-you. He decided to pay off some of that debt.
"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Henry bellowed and he took out a handgun and tried shooting at Walter's head. He missed, but it was enough to get Walter distracted. Taking advantage of this, Melinda uncrossed her blades and slashed at Walter. It made a sickening gash in Walter's thigh, and he screamed as she gave another swing and it gashed him again. He fell to the ground, moaning in pain.
Henry looked over at Walter as he lay there, groaning. "You know, you can kill him now." He whispered out of the side of his mouth. Melinda held out her gun. And for a split second, she looked into his eyes. And the world around her swam away and faded into the town of South Ashfield.
Walter stared down at the sidewalk, his filthy blonde hair covering his eyes as he looked over at Melinda. "Why do people gotta be so mean to me and you? It hurts."
"I know," Melinda mumbled, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. "But that's why I'm here. To bandage the wounds, I guess." They both walked silently for a moment.
"You know, Melinda, you're a really good friend." Walter sighed, glancing over at his friend. "I'm glad you're here."
Deep inside, Melinda felt tears ready to come, her stomach churning while she smiled back at him and looked around. "That means a lot, buddy." She covered her scar quickly and blushed.
"Don't cover yourself up," Walter mumbled, moving her hair back to its regular spot. "Like you tell me, you shouldn't care what other people see when they look at you. I see someone beautiful."
Melinda flushed to a deep scarlet and sighed. She was glad that Walter saw her that way, but she was nervous that he had forgotten they were only friends.
And with that, they continued around the city, talking to each other and laughing until the sun went down. Melinda didn't come home to her mother that night. She never came home at all.
"Hellooooo?" Henry yelled, waving his hand over Melinda's face as his voice ventured into her flashback and made her sling back into reality. "I SAID YOU CAN KILL HIM NOW!"
Melinda jumped. "Oh...err..."
"Forget it, I'll kill him for you." Henry lifted up his handgun, and Melinda felt adrenaline pumping at the speed of light through her veins and she felt words crawling up her throat.
"NO! DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM!" She screeched. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Then she shoved him out of the way before he could shoot and signaled for him to run. Henry was obviously shaken and confused, but he did as she said and ran off.
Melinda looked down at Walter and sighed. "You got lucky....YOU GOT LUCKY!" She screamed at him and ran away before he could stand.
After catching up to Henry, Melinda breathed heavily as they both ran to the docks. James and the others were waiting patiently. Heather and little Walter were taking turns smacking each other.
"About time you two got here," James grumbled. "We were getting worried." Everyone else let out muffled "Yeahs" and "Uh-huhs".
Henry and Melinda sat down on the boat. He looked at her, straight on. Sure, she hadn't killed Walter like he'd wanted her to. But he understood why and she had saved his life anyway. And that was enough for him to forgive her. "Thank you..." He whispered in a soft, golden tone. "I would've died...you know, if you hadn't..."
"No problem..." Melinda whispered back, wrapping her arm around his shoulder. "After all, Walter's not so tough, huh?" She playfully punched Henry on the shoulder and they both chuckled while James started rowing the boat away from the docks.
"SHUT YOUR STINKIN' MOUTH, PART 19!" But honestly, part 19, anyone?