Silent Hill 2 Official Novel

PATIENT RECORDS

Why would a young child like Laura want to be in a place like this? Brookhaven Hospital was

completely devoid of liveliness and dominated by an uneasy stillness. There wasn't a soul to be found

anywhere. The lights in the entrance hallway were all switched off, giving the area a dim and hollow

atmosphere as if the building had been abandoned for years. Despite this, the halls were immaculately

clean and free of dust or debris, like the staff had been working tirelessly to keep the place in pristine

condition, and quite recently too.

It was a fairly large hospital with plenty of room for the numerous patients that should have been

resting in their beds. Where did everyone go? James began searching through the ward on the first floor

with Maria huddled uncomfortably close. He caught the faint scent of Maria's perfume, bringing up

guilty recollections of his late wife. Their search came up empty. Laura obviously ducked into the

hospital because she knew they were on her trail, so it wasn't likely she would risk hiding on the first

floor.

"Let's keep going."

"Okay."

As they climbed the dimly-lit staircase, James began to think. He had been so intent on catching

Laura that he hadn't noticed before, but now he couldn't help but wonder: why hasn't Maria asked

anything about Laura? She knew he was here to look for Mary, but he hadn't mentioned anything to her

about the letter Laura was carrying. And despite this, she unquestioningly followed him on the hunt for

the little girl, as if she knew that it was important. Even though she certainly seemed to be a nosy

person...this seemed a little much, especially in a dangerous situation like this.

Having reached the second floor, James absent-mindedly took a left when they came to a branching

hallway. He stole a quick glance at Maria, who was still clinging nervously to his arm. If he was so

worried about her motivations, why didn't he just ask her right now? He tried to form the words, but he

kept hesitating, like he was afraid of saying the wrong thing. It was that uncertainty, among other unpleasant emotions swirling in his mind, that always made speaking with Maria so difficult. It was so

strange that -

"Look out!" Maria's frantic cry shocked James out of his thoughts. She yanked him backwards,

nearly pulling him off his feet as a long object swung through the darkness. The metal pipe that was

clearly aimed to bash his brains out made a dull metallic sound as it met the linoleum floor mere inches

in front of him. Whoever the attacker was, they meant business. The unknown assailant pulled its metal

pipe off the ground and swung it again, but James was prepared this time and blocked the strike with

his own pipe. The sharper, ear-piercing clang of metal hitting metal shot through the empty hallway and

the force of the impact sent a jolt of pain through James's arms.