God's Confectorium - Chapter 4
“What the fuck is that?” Mikey yells, jumping back, wide eyes trained on the tall creature as it pulls itself upright. Frank stumbles backwards, his back knocking into Gerard who’s frozen behind him, his mouth open in both fear and awe.
The creature has no arms or face from what Frank can see but it seems to be looking among the guys as if it can see them. It twists its body as if it’s focusing on each of them in turn and stops when it faces Ray who is standing closest to it. Frank watches as it cringes it’s body inward, shaking before shuddering and spewing out a stream of black liquid from a hole in its chest, splattering all over Ray.
He throws his arms over his eyes, but the putrid liquid coats them and the exposed parts of his face. Ray falls back onto the ash covered ground and thrashes around as he tries to remove his jacket that’s started to sizzle.
“It’s fucking acid!” He shouts, clawing at his face in a futile attempt at getting the substance off of his skin as quickly as possible. In his frantic attempt to wipe the acid from his skin, Ray doesn’t seem to notice that the creature is now advancing even closer to him.
“Ray, watch out!” Frank yells, not knowing what else he can do. He looks around in vain, trying to find something to throw at the monster and distract it.
Frank watches in horror as the creature doubles in on itself again, preparing to spew even more acid onto Ray. Before it can do so, Bob tackles it to the ground, beating it with one of their suitcases. Gerard and Frank rush to Ray’s side, trying to wipe off some of the acid with the sleeves of their jackets as Bob continues to attack the monster on the ground behind them.
Gerard wipes his sleeve over Ray’s cheek and watches as several layers of skin peel off, leaving behind grotesque blisters and faint signs of blood.
“Oh god,” he breathes out, looking down at the removed skin left behind on his jacket sleeve. He glances up at Frank, catching his eye and they share a knowing look. This is not good. They didn’t even bring any sort of first aid stuff. What the hell were they going to do with Ray’s burns?
Frank hears Bob let out a grunt behind him and turns just in time to see blood flow out around where the monster’s head used to be as he slams the suitcase down on it one more time.
“Holy shit,” he pants out, turning back to the group, his eyes taking in the band crowded around Ray. “What the fuck was that?”
“I don’t know, but whatever it was, I don’t want to run into another one out here,” Mikey says, kneeling next to Ray and examining another acid burn on his arm. “We need to get off the streets and get him somewhere sanitary or something.”
“Maybe the church will have a first aid kit?” Frank suggests, pointing at the church they had planned to go to in the first place. The group nods and Bob and Mikey lift up Ray, supporting him between the two.
“You guys realize I can walk, right?” Ray asks, cocking an eyebrow at the two. “I mean, if you guys want to touch me, I’m fine with it, but you don’t have to act like I’m disabled.”
Frank, Mikey, and Gerard all laugh, glad that Ray still has a sense of humor despite painfully losing half the skin on his face and arm. Bob however is not amused and shoves Ray away from him.
“Fine then, asshole,” he growls out, stomping head of the rest of the group towards the church. “You can walk by yourself then.”
Ray sighs and gives the rest of the group an exasperated look before following after him, leaving the other three in his wake. They wander down the desolate, ash-covered street and Frank can’t help but glance at the buildings that are surrounding them on each side. For being a ghost town, the buildings are very well kept. Maybe it’s because it’s such a tourist attraction, he thinks. They must want to at least have it look good if people are stupid enough to come here.
It doesn’t take long before they’ve reached the end of the street and find themselves wandering through an old cemetery area. Frank shivers as he takes in the scene. The air is hazy here, but he can make out rows upon rows of crosses and tombstones as they make their way closer to the seemingly never-ending staircase to the ominous looking church. Frank doesn’t think he’s ever seen a church that looks like this before. There isn’t even a cross on the top of it, just some strange looking symbol Frank’s never seen before. He points it out to Gerard as they climb the stairs, but Gerard just shrugs it off.
“Maybe it’s a satanic church,” he says offhand, not really caring that the simple statement just made Frank’s stomach do a quadruple somersault. As if the whole horror movie vibe was bad enough, now Gerard’s suggesting tossing Satan worshipers into the mix. Frank did not sign on for this shit. Gerard must sense the anxiety that starts pumping through Frank’s veins because he reaches over and grabs his hand and pulls it up to press a kiss to it. “Hey, we’re gonna be fine, alright? Quit worrying so much. You’re overthinking.”
Frank sighs and gives Gerard a nod. He knows he’s not overthinking though. They’ve already ran into a monster and Ray is hurt. How many more things need to happen before Gerard realizes that coming to Silent Hill was a mistake? Why couldn’t he just drag them all to the Paramour again? Frank would rather deal with doors slamming shut on their own accord than this shit.
They finally reach the top and notice that the heavy doors to the entrance are already open for them to walk through. The five men pause, glancing amongst each other almost as if silently debating about if they should go in or not. Eventually Gerard breaks the debate up and walks forward, dragging Frank behind him as he crosses the threshold into the church.
Frank tenses up, waiting for some sort of booby-trap to go off or some sort of monster to pop out of the shadows and attack them but nothing happens. The church is just as empty and silent as the rest of the town.
“Hello?” Gerard calls, stepping further into the church. Frank’s eyes dart around and take in the building’s layout. They’re facing a long line of candle-lit pews that leads to a giant circular area that reminds him almost of a stage or an altar. As they draw closer to the stage area, Frank notices it has the same symbol on it that was on top of the church.
Gerard stops walking right before they get to the steps up to the altar and Frank nearly plows into him, having not been paying attention.
“What are you- oh,” Frank cuts off his own question as he realizes what Gerard is staring at: a giant painting of a woman on the wall behind the altar. Only, it’s not just a woman. The woman is being burned alive. The words Domine Deus Omnipotens In Cuius Manu Omnis Victoria Consistit are painted above it and Frank wishes he could understand Latin right about now.
The painting leads up to a second floor, a balcony, which overlooks the rest of the church and Frank hates the feeling he’s getting of someone watching them all.
“Is there no one here then?” Mikey asks, stopping to stand next to Frank.
“I don’t think so,” Frank breathes out, afraid to talk even above a whisper.
“There has to be someone here,” Ray says his voice at normal volume which makes Frank jump. He gestures towards the pews. “Someone had to have lit the candles. There’s not any melted wax yet even.”
“Hello!” A cheery voice sounds from behind them, causing all five men to jump and Frank to even go as far as to cower behind Gerard. Frank peeks around Gerard’s shoulder and looks at the woman standing before them.
Her jet black hair is frizzy and unkempt, sticking out all over the place and her dark eyes are wide with excitement, almost as if she hasn’t seen anyone in quite a while. Frank notices her pale blue dress is coated in a dark liquid that looks uncannily like dried blood and Frank has to swallow down the bile that rises in his throat.
“Hi!” She chirps again when no one makes a move to respond, her high pitched voice making them all cringe. “I’m Lindsey, who are you? What are you doing in Silent Hill? Isn’t it just lovely? I really love the ashes, ya know? It makes it feel like Christmas all the time because it looks like snow! I love snow, don’t you? Winter is my favorite season, what’s yours?”
She fires off the questions at rapid speed and the five guys can do nothing but just gawk at her. Ray glances back at Frank and makes the universal symbol for “she’s fucking nuts” and Frank coughs out a laugh at how the expression looks combined with Ray’s injured face.
“So what are you doing in Silent Hill? Why are you in the church? Do you believe in God? I do, I think he’s wonderful! Blessings to all of you! Isn’t life great? Oh dear, what happened to your face? Are you alright?” The woman, Lindsey, has turned her attention to Ray and is wearing a look of concern that looks almost comical with her wide, crazed eyes and I-just-got-electrocuted hairstyle.
“Um,” Gerard says, finally gaining some bearing. “Well I’m Gerard and these are my band mates. We’re here to just, uh, kind of wander around for inspiration? We’re sorry if we’re intruding on anything, we can leave.”
The men start to move back towards the door, but Lindsey jumps in front of them, her wild eyes looking even more manic.
“No!” She yells, a wide smile on her face. “We never get guests! You’re more than welcome to stay as long as you wish!
“Uh, alright,” Gerard mutters, running a hand through his messy black hair before gesturing at Ray. “You wouldn’t happen to have, um, a first aid kit, would you?”
“First aid? We don’t need first aid!” Lindsey shouts, throwing her arms out wide. “Just pray! He’ll be healed in no time by God’s amazing grace!”
“Right,” Gerard draws out as the four other guys look at each other. What the fuck have they gotten themselves into? Religious nutcases? “Well, um, we’ll just be going then.”
“Oh, okay!” Lindsey chirps. “You’re coming back, right? The other two boys never did come back, but maybe they will! I hope they will! The photographer one was so nice! I hope they haven’t died yet!”
Lindsey turns away from them, humming as she skips off towards the altar. Frank watches as she kneels down on the symbol on the ground and slams her face to the ground and starts chanting in prayer. Gerard motions for the guys to go back to the door so they all scramble to get out as fast as possible, hoping Lindsey won’t follow them.
“What the fuck, man?” Bob hushes out, as they cross the threshold back outside to the top of the staircase. “What the actual fuck was that?”
“I don’t know,” Gerard says, shaking his head. “I had heard rumors about this place, but they didn’t include religious freaks.”
“Well I say we just avoid the church then,” Mikey says as they start descending the stairs. “Judging from the looks of her, she doesn’t get out much. I doubt we have to worry about her anywhere else in town.”
“Where now then?” Ray asks, glancing around the town at the buildings poking out of the fog.
“Well,” Gerard murmurs, taking a map out of his pocket. He unfolds it and scans over the contents as Frank leans over his shoulder to look with him. “There’s an amusement park not too far from here. Why not go check that out? Maybe it’ll give us some good ideas.”
The guys can’t think of any reasons to reject his proposal, so they follow Gerard’s directions, weaving their way through the town until they finally reach the entrance to Lakeside Amusement Park. As they walk through the metal gate, Frank looks up to see a rollercoaster in the distance. He realizes if circumstances were different and they weren’t standing in an abandoned amusement park in a ghost town that he assumes is filled with monsters, he probably would be ecstatic to see the ride.
The group wanders through the deserted park, taking in the ghostly look of the old rides, most of which aren’t as nicely kept as the rest of the town. They pass by a place that a sign identifies as Lakeside Bar and Grill and stop as they hear a strange chewing sound coming from around the corner. Frank, who happens to be in front, takes a deep breath and peers around it in search of the cause of the noise. His eyes land on a large dog that’s facing away from them, pawing and eating something in front of it.
“Aw, it’s just a puppy,” Frank purrs in a voice that one would use with a baby as he walks around the corner. “Hey, little fella.”
The dog turns around and Frank stumbles backwards noticing that it’s not a dog at all. The monster is shaped like a dog, but its head is split directly in half. It notices Frank and the rest of the guys right away and lunges towards them.
Frank is quick to dodge out of the way, but half of its head sinks its teeth into Ray’s unburned arm. Ray screams, moving his arms in an attempt to get the dog off but only causing its teeth to rip off more skin.
Bob runs over to the front of the bar and picks up a chair before running full force at the dog and knocking it loose from Ray. The dog snaps both sides of its head at Bob, lunging towards him. Bob throws the chair at the dog, knocking it down to the ground before turning back to the rest of the guys.
“Run!” He shouts, already taking off down through the amusement park. The four men follow him, careful to avoid as two more dog creatures run out from behind buildings and chase them down through the park. Frank breathes hard, feeling as if his lungs are about to explode when suddenly he realizes the dogs are no longer behind the group. They all slow to a stop, careful to look around and be sure that they’re really gone.
“Holy shit,” Frank pants out, bending forward and placing his hands on his knees as he locks his eyes with Gerard. “Why the fuck did we come here again?”
“I’m sorry,” Gerard chokes out, his voice catching as he gulps for air. “I’m so sorry, guys.”
“Why is it always me?” Ray asks, looking down at his mangled arm, chunks of flesh missing causing blood to pour profusely down it.
Before anyone can do anything more than stare at his new injury, a loud siren pierces through the air, causing all of them to look around in confusion.
“Is that an air raid siren?” Mikey asks, glancing up at the sky in search of some sort of aircraft.
Frank looks around, listening to the siren slowly die away. What the fuck? Why would an air raid siren go off for no reason? He goes to voice his inquiry, but before he can he notices that everything around him is starting to peel away and it’s getting very dark, as if it’s suddenly night time.
“Well this can’t be good,” Gerard undertones and Frank wants to punch him. No shit it’s not good. This is entirely his fault. Why did he have to drag them all to Silent Hill?
Chapter 5
A/N Written bysassyprostitute
The creature has no arms or face from what Frank can see but it seems to be looking among the guys as if it can see them. It twists its body as if it’s focusing on each of them in turn and stops when it faces Ray who is standing closest to it. Frank watches as it cringes it’s body inward, shaking before shuddering and spewing out a stream of black liquid from a hole in its chest, splattering all over Ray.
He throws his arms over his eyes, but the putrid liquid coats them and the exposed parts of his face. Ray falls back onto the ash covered ground and thrashes around as he tries to remove his jacket that’s started to sizzle.
“It’s fucking acid!” He shouts, clawing at his face in a futile attempt at getting the substance off of his skin as quickly as possible. In his frantic attempt to wipe the acid from his skin, Ray doesn’t seem to notice that the creature is now advancing even closer to him.
“Ray, watch out!” Frank yells, not knowing what else he can do. He looks around in vain, trying to find something to throw at the monster and distract it.
Frank watches in horror as the creature doubles in on itself again, preparing to spew even more acid onto Ray. Before it can do so, Bob tackles it to the ground, beating it with one of their suitcases. Gerard and Frank rush to Ray’s side, trying to wipe off some of the acid with the sleeves of their jackets as Bob continues to attack the monster on the ground behind them.
Gerard wipes his sleeve over Ray’s cheek and watches as several layers of skin peel off, leaving behind grotesque blisters and faint signs of blood.
“Oh god,” he breathes out, looking down at the removed skin left behind on his jacket sleeve. He glances up at Frank, catching his eye and they share a knowing look. This is not good. They didn’t even bring any sort of first aid stuff. What the hell were they going to do with Ray’s burns?
Frank hears Bob let out a grunt behind him and turns just in time to see blood flow out around where the monster’s head used to be as he slams the suitcase down on it one more time.
“Holy shit,” he pants out, turning back to the group, his eyes taking in the band crowded around Ray. “What the fuck was that?”
“I don’t know, but whatever it was, I don’t want to run into another one out here,” Mikey says, kneeling next to Ray and examining another acid burn on his arm. “We need to get off the streets and get him somewhere sanitary or something.”
“Maybe the church will have a first aid kit?” Frank suggests, pointing at the church they had planned to go to in the first place. The group nods and Bob and Mikey lift up Ray, supporting him between the two.
“You guys realize I can walk, right?” Ray asks, cocking an eyebrow at the two. “I mean, if you guys want to touch me, I’m fine with it, but you don’t have to act like I’m disabled.”
Frank, Mikey, and Gerard all laugh, glad that Ray still has a sense of humor despite painfully losing half the skin on his face and arm. Bob however is not amused and shoves Ray away from him.
“Fine then, asshole,” he growls out, stomping head of the rest of the group towards the church. “You can walk by yourself then.”
Ray sighs and gives the rest of the group an exasperated look before following after him, leaving the other three in his wake. They wander down the desolate, ash-covered street and Frank can’t help but glance at the buildings that are surrounding them on each side. For being a ghost town, the buildings are very well kept. Maybe it’s because it’s such a tourist attraction, he thinks. They must want to at least have it look good if people are stupid enough to come here.
It doesn’t take long before they’ve reached the end of the street and find themselves wandering through an old cemetery area. Frank shivers as he takes in the scene. The air is hazy here, but he can make out rows upon rows of crosses and tombstones as they make their way closer to the seemingly never-ending staircase to the ominous looking church. Frank doesn’t think he’s ever seen a church that looks like this before. There isn’t even a cross on the top of it, just some strange looking symbol Frank’s never seen before. He points it out to Gerard as they climb the stairs, but Gerard just shrugs it off.
“Maybe it’s a satanic church,” he says offhand, not really caring that the simple statement just made Frank’s stomach do a quadruple somersault. As if the whole horror movie vibe was bad enough, now Gerard’s suggesting tossing Satan worshipers into the mix. Frank did not sign on for this shit. Gerard must sense the anxiety that starts pumping through Frank’s veins because he reaches over and grabs his hand and pulls it up to press a kiss to it. “Hey, we’re gonna be fine, alright? Quit worrying so much. You’re overthinking.”
Frank sighs and gives Gerard a nod. He knows he’s not overthinking though. They’ve already ran into a monster and Ray is hurt. How many more things need to happen before Gerard realizes that coming to Silent Hill was a mistake? Why couldn’t he just drag them all to the Paramour again? Frank would rather deal with doors slamming shut on their own accord than this shit.
They finally reach the top and notice that the heavy doors to the entrance are already open for them to walk through. The five men pause, glancing amongst each other almost as if silently debating about if they should go in or not. Eventually Gerard breaks the debate up and walks forward, dragging Frank behind him as he crosses the threshold into the church.
Frank tenses up, waiting for some sort of booby-trap to go off or some sort of monster to pop out of the shadows and attack them but nothing happens. The church is just as empty and silent as the rest of the town.
“Hello?” Gerard calls, stepping further into the church. Frank’s eyes dart around and take in the building’s layout. They’re facing a long line of candle-lit pews that leads to a giant circular area that reminds him almost of a stage or an altar. As they draw closer to the stage area, Frank notices it has the same symbol on it that was on top of the church.
Gerard stops walking right before they get to the steps up to the altar and Frank nearly plows into him, having not been paying attention.
“What are you- oh,” Frank cuts off his own question as he realizes what Gerard is staring at: a giant painting of a woman on the wall behind the altar. Only, it’s not just a woman. The woman is being burned alive. The words Domine Deus Omnipotens In Cuius Manu Omnis Victoria Consistit are painted above it and Frank wishes he could understand Latin right about now.
The painting leads up to a second floor, a balcony, which overlooks the rest of the church and Frank hates the feeling he’s getting of someone watching them all.
“Is there no one here then?” Mikey asks, stopping to stand next to Frank.
“I don’t think so,” Frank breathes out, afraid to talk even above a whisper.
“There has to be someone here,” Ray says his voice at normal volume which makes Frank jump. He gestures towards the pews. “Someone had to have lit the candles. There’s not any melted wax yet even.”
“Hello!” A cheery voice sounds from behind them, causing all five men to jump and Frank to even go as far as to cower behind Gerard. Frank peeks around Gerard’s shoulder and looks at the woman standing before them.
Her jet black hair is frizzy and unkempt, sticking out all over the place and her dark eyes are wide with excitement, almost as if she hasn’t seen anyone in quite a while. Frank notices her pale blue dress is coated in a dark liquid that looks uncannily like dried blood and Frank has to swallow down the bile that rises in his throat.
“Hi!” She chirps again when no one makes a move to respond, her high pitched voice making them all cringe. “I’m Lindsey, who are you? What are you doing in Silent Hill? Isn’t it just lovely? I really love the ashes, ya know? It makes it feel like Christmas all the time because it looks like snow! I love snow, don’t you? Winter is my favorite season, what’s yours?”
She fires off the questions at rapid speed and the five guys can do nothing but just gawk at her. Ray glances back at Frank and makes the universal symbol for “she’s fucking nuts” and Frank coughs out a laugh at how the expression looks combined with Ray’s injured face.
“So what are you doing in Silent Hill? Why are you in the church? Do you believe in God? I do, I think he’s wonderful! Blessings to all of you! Isn’t life great? Oh dear, what happened to your face? Are you alright?” The woman, Lindsey, has turned her attention to Ray and is wearing a look of concern that looks almost comical with her wide, crazed eyes and I-just-got-electrocuted hairstyle.
“Um,” Gerard says, finally gaining some bearing. “Well I’m Gerard and these are my band mates. We’re here to just, uh, kind of wander around for inspiration? We’re sorry if we’re intruding on anything, we can leave.”
The men start to move back towards the door, but Lindsey jumps in front of them, her wild eyes looking even more manic.
“No!” She yells, a wide smile on her face. “We never get guests! You’re more than welcome to stay as long as you wish!
“Uh, alright,” Gerard mutters, running a hand through his messy black hair before gesturing at Ray. “You wouldn’t happen to have, um, a first aid kit, would you?”
“First aid? We don’t need first aid!” Lindsey shouts, throwing her arms out wide. “Just pray! He’ll be healed in no time by God’s amazing grace!”
“Right,” Gerard draws out as the four other guys look at each other. What the fuck have they gotten themselves into? Religious nutcases? “Well, um, we’ll just be going then.”
“Oh, okay!” Lindsey chirps. “You’re coming back, right? The other two boys never did come back, but maybe they will! I hope they will! The photographer one was so nice! I hope they haven’t died yet!”
Lindsey turns away from them, humming as she skips off towards the altar. Frank watches as she kneels down on the symbol on the ground and slams her face to the ground and starts chanting in prayer. Gerard motions for the guys to go back to the door so they all scramble to get out as fast as possible, hoping Lindsey won’t follow them.
“What the fuck, man?” Bob hushes out, as they cross the threshold back outside to the top of the staircase. “What the actual fuck was that?”
“I don’t know,” Gerard says, shaking his head. “I had heard rumors about this place, but they didn’t include religious freaks.”
“Well I say we just avoid the church then,” Mikey says as they start descending the stairs. “Judging from the looks of her, she doesn’t get out much. I doubt we have to worry about her anywhere else in town.”
“Where now then?” Ray asks, glancing around the town at the buildings poking out of the fog.
“Well,” Gerard murmurs, taking a map out of his pocket. He unfolds it and scans over the contents as Frank leans over his shoulder to look with him. “There’s an amusement park not too far from here. Why not go check that out? Maybe it’ll give us some good ideas.”
The guys can’t think of any reasons to reject his proposal, so they follow Gerard’s directions, weaving their way through the town until they finally reach the entrance to Lakeside Amusement Park. As they walk through the metal gate, Frank looks up to see a rollercoaster in the distance. He realizes if circumstances were different and they weren’t standing in an abandoned amusement park in a ghost town that he assumes is filled with monsters, he probably would be ecstatic to see the ride.
The group wanders through the deserted park, taking in the ghostly look of the old rides, most of which aren’t as nicely kept as the rest of the town. They pass by a place that a sign identifies as Lakeside Bar and Grill and stop as they hear a strange chewing sound coming from around the corner. Frank, who happens to be in front, takes a deep breath and peers around it in search of the cause of the noise. His eyes land on a large dog that’s facing away from them, pawing and eating something in front of it.
“Aw, it’s just a puppy,” Frank purrs in a voice that one would use with a baby as he walks around the corner. “Hey, little fella.”
The dog turns around and Frank stumbles backwards noticing that it’s not a dog at all. The monster is shaped like a dog, but its head is split directly in half. It notices Frank and the rest of the guys right away and lunges towards them.
Frank is quick to dodge out of the way, but half of its head sinks its teeth into Ray’s unburned arm. Ray screams, moving his arms in an attempt to get the dog off but only causing its teeth to rip off more skin.
Bob runs over to the front of the bar and picks up a chair before running full force at the dog and knocking it loose from Ray. The dog snaps both sides of its head at Bob, lunging towards him. Bob throws the chair at the dog, knocking it down to the ground before turning back to the rest of the guys.
“Run!” He shouts, already taking off down through the amusement park. The four men follow him, careful to avoid as two more dog creatures run out from behind buildings and chase them down through the park. Frank breathes hard, feeling as if his lungs are about to explode when suddenly he realizes the dogs are no longer behind the group. They all slow to a stop, careful to look around and be sure that they’re really gone.
“Holy shit,” Frank pants out, bending forward and placing his hands on his knees as he locks his eyes with Gerard. “Why the fuck did we come here again?”
“I’m sorry,” Gerard chokes out, his voice catching as he gulps for air. “I’m so sorry, guys.”
“Why is it always me?” Ray asks, looking down at his mangled arm, chunks of flesh missing causing blood to pour profusely down it.
Before anyone can do anything more than stare at his new injury, a loud siren pierces through the air, causing all of them to look around in confusion.
“Is that an air raid siren?” Mikey asks, glancing up at the sky in search of some sort of aircraft.
Frank looks around, listening to the siren slowly die away. What the fuck? Why would an air raid siren go off for no reason? He goes to voice his inquiry, but before he can he notices that everything around him is starting to peel away and it’s getting very dark, as if it’s suddenly night time.
“Well this can’t be good,” Gerard undertones and Frank wants to punch him. No shit it’s not good. This is entirely his fault. Why did he have to drag them all to Silent Hill?
Chapter 5
A/N Written bysassyprostitute