Wound (Silent Hill 4, Henry/Eileen, #16)
Title: Wound
Author/Artist: rosehiptea
Pairing: Henry Townshend and Eileen Galvin
Fandom: Silent Hill 4
Theme: 16. invincible; unrivaled
Disclaimer: Silent Hill 4 and all its characters belong to Konami, not to me. No copyright infringement is intended or implied.
Rating: PG
Notes: Violence, some messing with game mechanics. Also contains slightly implied Walter/Eileen.
Word Count: 1,031
"This is a way out, I think," Henry is saying. "Just up there... keep going."
There really is a door up there, with strange red symbols that remind Eileen of something she doesn't want to remember. She hasn't seen it before, but someone else did, and now it's in her brain. But she doesn't have time to wonder about that; it's all she can do to keep her body stumbling forward. Henry slows down and she wishes she could tell him that she's grateful but she's afraid to open her mouth. Strange words seem to come out sometimes when she does.
But they're almost there and she keeps going despite the pain all over her body. Then she hears the gunshot and Henry slips to the ground with one hand on his shoulder. When she turns, he is there... the man with the gun, the man in her brain. And she knows his name.
"Walter..." she says weakly. She starts to run toward Henry and the door but Walter grabs her good hand, the one that holds the chain, and pulls her toward him.
"Is he dead? Your friend?"
Henry isn't dead; in fact he's already struggling to his feet, though he's clearly in no shape to fight. Eileen gestures frantically toward the door with her broken arm. The thought that she is about to die has sent her into week-kneed terror but there's still no point in Walter killing both of them. But Henry just shakes his head and leans weakly against the wall. Walter uses his gun hand to force Eileen to face him.
"I never meant to hurt you, my little holy mother."
But she remembers him hurting her, remember calling for help as he beat her, remembers trying to send the child away.
But now she remembers more -- someone else hurting her, beating her just like that, when she was a child... but it isn't her, it's that child she saw. And he grew into the man she sees now. Walter is in her memories and she isn't certain what's real anymore and a part of her thinks she had just as well die.
"So you see now?" he asks, trying to look into her face, as if he can make her understand what he did to her.
She looks away. "Stop it," she says, though she knows he won't listen. She wants to run but even if she had the strength to break away from him he'll only shoot her. And she still wishes Henry would run. Walter kisses her forehead and she shivers.
"When the Mother descends, we will all be healed," he says in a happy voice. He reaches around, still holding the gun, and brushes his hand over the numbers on her back. It hurts, and Eileen bites her lip.
"I never meant to hurt you," he repeats. "But I had to."
He lifts his other hand to cup her face. Her eyes are locked on his, seeing their depths, just for a moment. Then the part of her brain that still belongs to her realizes that he has freed her good hand. As quickly as she can, she lashes him across the face with the chain. He blinks at her in surprise, his chin bleeding. Then she hits his gun hand, knocking the weapon to the ground. When he bends to grab for it she hits him so hard he crashes into the grass.
Her head is filled with the sight of him as he attacked her, the feel of the knife in her back. She kicks him in the ribs, and he twitches. Looking for a moment toward the door, she sees Henry, still clutching his shoulder with blood seeping through his fingers. Suddenly she is even angrier, and gives Walter a vicious kick to the head that makes him lie still. She knows he will only get up again, that she hasn't killed him however much she may wish she has.
Eileen grabs Walter's gun, though she is certain she can't really disarm him either. Then she runs and pushes Henry through the door. Outside is the stairway into worse-than-Hell, foggy and cold. Henry collapses onto a step.
"I don't think he can come out here," she says as she sits next to him.
"Why are you so sure?" he asks.
In her mind she sees a little boy stare at a closed door. "Don't ask me to tell you," she says.
"What is he doing to you?" Henry asks.
"Don't ask me to tell you!"
Henry nods.
"Take off your shirt and let me see your shoulder," she tells him, though she is no nurse. He shakes his head but unbuttons it so she can push the cloth aside. When she looks she sees a gash rather than the wound she expects.
"It doesn't look that bad. I don't even think the bullet is in you." She can see him wince with pain but she's telling the truth. There's nothing good to use for bandages but she guides him in tearing a piece of cloth off her sling to put on the wound for now.
"It... the bleeding is slowing down already," Henry says. "But I couldn't fight. He had you and I couldn't fight."
Eileen shakes her head. "I know." She stares at him as he buttons his shirt back up. "You could have run, though."
"I didn’t want to just leave you there," he says softly.
"A lot of good it would do for you to watch me die and get killed yourself," she says, but she isn't really angry and she thinks he knows it.
Eileen closes her eyes, but she still sees the staircase stretching below them and hears a man's laughter in her head.
"They beat him, when he was little. That child. They--"
He grips his shoulders gently, leaving a smear of his own blood on her arm. "I don’t think you should think about that now, Eileen."
She nods, and looks into Henry's eyes. "I wanted to save you," she says.
“I know,” he says. They finally rise from the step, and he holds her hand on the way down.
Author/Artist: rosehiptea
Pairing: Henry Townshend and Eileen Galvin
Fandom: Silent Hill 4
Theme: 16. invincible; unrivaled
Disclaimer: Silent Hill 4 and all its characters belong to Konami, not to me. No copyright infringement is intended or implied.
Rating: PG
Notes: Violence, some messing with game mechanics. Also contains slightly implied Walter/Eileen.
Word Count: 1,031
"This is a way out, I think," Henry is saying. "Just up there... keep going."
There really is a door up there, with strange red symbols that remind Eileen of something she doesn't want to remember. She hasn't seen it before, but someone else did, and now it's in her brain. But she doesn't have time to wonder about that; it's all she can do to keep her body stumbling forward. Henry slows down and she wishes she could tell him that she's grateful but she's afraid to open her mouth. Strange words seem to come out sometimes when she does.
But they're almost there and she keeps going despite the pain all over her body. Then she hears the gunshot and Henry slips to the ground with one hand on his shoulder. When she turns, he is there... the man with the gun, the man in her brain. And she knows his name.
"Walter..." she says weakly. She starts to run toward Henry and the door but Walter grabs her good hand, the one that holds the chain, and pulls her toward him.
"Is he dead? Your friend?"
Henry isn't dead; in fact he's already struggling to his feet, though he's clearly in no shape to fight. Eileen gestures frantically toward the door with her broken arm. The thought that she is about to die has sent her into week-kneed terror but there's still no point in Walter killing both of them. But Henry just shakes his head and leans weakly against the wall. Walter uses his gun hand to force Eileen to face him.
"I never meant to hurt you, my little holy mother."
But she remembers him hurting her, remember calling for help as he beat her, remembers trying to send the child away.
But now she remembers more -- someone else hurting her, beating her just like that, when she was a child... but it isn't her, it's that child she saw. And he grew into the man she sees now. Walter is in her memories and she isn't certain what's real anymore and a part of her thinks she had just as well die.
"So you see now?" he asks, trying to look into her face, as if he can make her understand what he did to her.
She looks away. "Stop it," she says, though she knows he won't listen. She wants to run but even if she had the strength to break away from him he'll only shoot her. And she still wishes Henry would run. Walter kisses her forehead and she shivers.
"When the Mother descends, we will all be healed," he says in a happy voice. He reaches around, still holding the gun, and brushes his hand over the numbers on her back. It hurts, and Eileen bites her lip.
"I never meant to hurt you," he repeats. "But I had to."
He lifts his other hand to cup her face. Her eyes are locked on his, seeing their depths, just for a moment. Then the part of her brain that still belongs to her realizes that he has freed her good hand. As quickly as she can, she lashes him across the face with the chain. He blinks at her in surprise, his chin bleeding. Then she hits his gun hand, knocking the weapon to the ground. When he bends to grab for it she hits him so hard he crashes into the grass.
Her head is filled with the sight of him as he attacked her, the feel of the knife in her back. She kicks him in the ribs, and he twitches. Looking for a moment toward the door, she sees Henry, still clutching his shoulder with blood seeping through his fingers. Suddenly she is even angrier, and gives Walter a vicious kick to the head that makes him lie still. She knows he will only get up again, that she hasn't killed him however much she may wish she has.
Eileen grabs Walter's gun, though she is certain she can't really disarm him either. Then she runs and pushes Henry through the door. Outside is the stairway into worse-than-Hell, foggy and cold. Henry collapses onto a step.
"I don't think he can come out here," she says as she sits next to him.
"Why are you so sure?" he asks.
In her mind she sees a little boy stare at a closed door. "Don't ask me to tell you," she says.
"What is he doing to you?" Henry asks.
"Don't ask me to tell you!"
Henry nods.
"Take off your shirt and let me see your shoulder," she tells him, though she is no nurse. He shakes his head but unbuttons it so she can push the cloth aside. When she looks she sees a gash rather than the wound she expects.
"It doesn't look that bad. I don't even think the bullet is in you." She can see him wince with pain but she's telling the truth. There's nothing good to use for bandages but she guides him in tearing a piece of cloth off her sling to put on the wound for now.
"It... the bleeding is slowing down already," Henry says. "But I couldn't fight. He had you and I couldn't fight."
Eileen shakes her head. "I know." She stares at him as he buttons his shirt back up. "You could have run, though."
"I didn’t want to just leave you there," he says softly.
"A lot of good it would do for you to watch me die and get killed yourself," she says, but she isn't really angry and she thinks he knows it.
Eileen closes her eyes, but she still sees the staircase stretching below them and hears a man's laughter in her head.
"They beat him, when he was little. That child. They--"
He grips his shoulders gently, leaving a smear of his own blood on her arm. "I don’t think you should think about that now, Eileen."
She nods, and looks into Henry's eyes. "I wanted to save you," she says.
“I know,” he says. They finally rise from the step, and he holds her hand on the way down.