Roy had been driving for almost a full day and night, barely stopping. Bumblebee's tires were practically worn down to the nubs by the time he reached New Hampshire.
It was right next to Maine, and he figured he had just a few more hours of driving to reach his destination, New Centralia.
Roy had come alone this time, not bringing anyone else with him.
After driving for so long, Roy's back felt stiff as a board, so when he passed a gas station, he decided to pull over and take a break.
He was also worried about driving his trusty Bumblebee to an early grave, and he needed to grab some grub to fill his stomach.
This gas station also had a convenience store. Late at night, the store was pretty empty, with only a mother and daughter eating, probably on a road trip just like Roy.
Roy didn't pay much attention to the mother and daughter. After buying a few sandwiches and drinks, he started to chow down.
Just then, a blonde female cop walked in. She glanced at the mother and daughter, then at Roy, and then walked over to him.
(Blonde female cop played by Laurie Holden)
"Is that white SUV out there yours?"
Roy looked at the female cop strangely, wondering why she was asking, but he answered anyway.
Cops in America can be a bit of a hassle. Say the wrong thing, and they might just empty their magazine on you. Luckily for Roy, his skin color was the right one, so the blonde cop spoke to him politely.
"No, that yellow Chevrolet Camaro is mine."
The blonde cop then looked at the mother and daughter. It was obvious the white SUV was theirs.
So, the blonde cop went over to the mother and daughter to ask them questions. The little girl seemed fine, but her mother looked visibly nervous.
Wait a minute, why does that little girl look so familiar?
Roy, who was in the middle of munching on a sandwich, paused. It wasn't that he was interested in the little girl; she just genuinely looked familiar.
Isn't that the little girl from the "Silent Hill" movie? I think her name was Sharon!
As one of the few video game adaptations that didn't completely bomb, Roy had watched both the first and second "Silent Hill" movies.
The first one had quite a few changes, turning the game's warrior father into a mother and weakening the protagonist's fighting ability, but overall, it was still pretty good.
So, this blonde cop must be the police officer character from the movie, right?
What a coincidence! He just happened to run into the main characters of the movie. Could he possibly follow the mother and daughter into Silent Hill?
Roy started to observe Sharon and her mother's situation without making a fuss.
The blonde cop started questioning Sharon's mother.
"Ma'am, can I see your driver's license?"
Perhaps Sharon's mother was acting a bit unusual, which aroused the blonde cop's suspicion. She put her hand on her holster and asked for the woman's license.
Sharon's mother rummaged through her bag and pulled out a driver's license for the blonde cop.
The blonde cop looked at it and then started talking into her radio.
"Dispatch, this is Cybil Bennett, badge number XXX... Can you run a check on Rose Da Silva, driver's license number XXX..."
"Roger that... This person is clear."
Hearing this, the blonde cop took her hand off her holster.
"Ms. Da Silva, I noticed some collision marks on your white SUV. Were you recently in a car accident?"
So, that was the reason the blonde cop came in to ask questions.
Rose breathed a slight sigh of relief. She had actually taken her daughter out this time without telling her husband, worried that he would use official channels to stop her, which was why she had seemed a bit nervous just now.
Luckily, the blonde cop hadn't approached her for that reason.
Gathering her thoughts, Rose came up with an excuse to deal with Cybil.
"Uh—I was a little tired while driving just now, so I scraped against the guardrail."
"I see! Ms. Da Silva, driving while fatigued is very dangerous. You should probably rest before getting back on the road."
Cybil didn't think much of it. This mother and daughter seemed harmless enough.
Otherwise, why would the blonde cop have asked Roy first?
Although Roy was definitely handsome, the burly young man also looked more threatening.
Just then, Cybil's radio crackled to life.
"Emergency! A prisoner transport vehicle has lost contact on the highway bordering New Hampshire and Maine. Any nearby officers, please proceed to investigate."
Cybil responded to her radio.
"Cybil Bennett received, en route to investigate."
The blonde cop left the convenience store, got on her motorcycle, and drove away, which made Rose feel a great sense of relief.
"Mommy, when are we going to get to that place you told me about?"
The adorable Sharon hadn't said a word until Cybil left, then suddenly spoke.
"Soon, honey, just a few more hours. If you're tired, you can take a nap, and we'll be there when you wake up."
"Okay!"
Rose bought another cup of coffee at the convenience store and then took her daughter back to the car.
Quickly shoving the rest of his sandwich down, Roy followed them.
"Bumblebee, follow that car in front, but don't get too close!"
"Understood, Mr. Black."
After turning on autopilot, Roy took out his phone and started calling the three little witches from the Apocalypse.
But the phone rang for a long time without anyone answering, which Roy found very strange.
"Weird, did they forget their phones?"
He redialed Madison's phone number, and this time it finally went through.
But Roy heard a piercing static sound coming from the phone.
What's going on? Was Madison holding the phone while standing next to an electronic jammer?
"Hey, Madison, what's going on over there? Why is there so much static?"
"Roy... help... us... trapped... in... the hotel... zzzzz..."
Madison said a few disjointed, incomprehensible words, and then the phone automatically hung up.
Although Roy didn't know exactly what had happened to the Apocalypse, he was sure it wasn't good.
So, Roy quickly dialed Mortel Snow's number again.
"Ms. Snow, it seems like something happened to Madison and the others. Have the people you sent to watch them found anything?"
Mortel on the other end of the phone was clearly taken aback.
"No way. I received a message saying that the three of them went into a hotel and haven't come out since. They're being very well-behaved and waiting for you to arrive. How could something suddenly happen?"
Roy's face darkened. Did the word "well-behaved" have anything to do with Madison and Maria? The reason he agreed to let Mortel send people to watch the three little witches was because he knew they would definitely stir up trouble, to prevent any accidents from happening to them before he arrived.
But it seemed like an accident had already occurred.
"Ms. Snow, you'd better have your people check it out. I think something might have already happened!"
Mortel was silent for a moment before answering Roy.
"Mr. Black, I'll call and check right away. Please wait for my call back."
The phone hung up, and Roy frowned at the dark road ahead, his mind racing about what might have happened to Madison and the others.
If he went by the fighting abilities shown in the "Silent Hill" movie, besides Alessa, no one should be able to threaten Madison, Zoe, and Maria.
But if it was the "Silent Hill" from the games, then the worldview was much more terrifying, and combining it with this world's worldview would be even scarier.
Just as he was thinking, Roy suddenly noticed the white SUV in front seemed to be speeding up.
"Bumblebee, what's going on?"
"Based on my analysis, there's a 97% probability that the vehicle in front has noticed we're following them and is speeding up to escape."
Roy's face darkened. Did Bumblebee really need to state the obvious?
There was only one road. He had been following the car for so long. Even Rose wouldn't be dumb enough not to notice something was wrong, right?
After all, in the middle of the night, a burly young man following a mother and daughter could easily be the plot of a two-hour action romance movie in Japan.
"I'm asking, how did she spot you?"
"Apologies, Mr. Black! The terrain in this mountainous area is too complex. If the following distance is too far, there's a possibility of losing the target."
Bumblebee's judgment wasn't entirely wrong. Since things had already come to this, Roy could only continue following the car and hope for the best.
The SUV in front was getting faster and faster, eager to shake off the Chevrolet Camaro behind it.
But even a fool could figure out that an SUV couldn't outrun a muscle car.
However, at this moment, an accident still occurred.
A police checkpoint suddenly appeared ahead, and the person manning the checkpoint was none other than the blonde female cop, Cybil, from before.
It turned out that, without realizing it, Rose and Roy had already crossed from New Hampshire to the edge of Maine.
And Cybil had set up the checkpoint here because there had been a landslide ahead, causing an accident with a prisoner transport vehicle, making the road conditions very dangerous.
This place was actually very close to New Centralia, but because there were no road signs to confirm the location, Roy hadn't realized it yet.
Rose quickly stopped her car and asked Cybil for help.
"Officer, it's me! That yellow sports car behind me has been following me. I'm really scared!"
"Is that so?"
Cybil immediately put her hand on her holster and stopped Roy's car, looking like she was ready for a quick-draw showdown.
"Stop! Put your hands where I can see them! Then get out of the car right now! What do you think you're doing?"
Roy looked at Cybil speechlessly.
"Didn't you just tell me to get out of the car? If I'm going to get out, I obviously have to open the car door!"
"Put your hands where I can see them right now!"
Cybil had already nervously drawn her gun and was aiming it at Roy.
This made Roy roll his eyes. America really liked giving these kinds of self-contradictory commands.
If he had to put his hands where the police could see them, Roy couldn't open the door.
But if he wanted to open the door, Roy's hand would have to reach for the door handle, and Cybil might think Roy was going for a gun.
This was a typical case of being stuck between a rock and a hard place, and plenty of unlucky folks had been mistakenly shot by the police for this very reason.
But there was no other way. With America's high gun ownership rate, the police couldn't determine if a suspect was carrying a weapon. If they made the wrong bet, their own lives would be over.
It wasn't worth risking their lives for such a small salary. Since that was the case, ordinary citizens could only suffer a bit.
"Officer, I'm on your side, you've got the wrong idea!"
Cybil snorted coldly.
"Don't think just because you're a little handsome you can impersonate a public official. That's a felony! Now, get out of the car right now!"
Just as Roy was helplessly arguing with Cybil, Rose in the white SUV saw her sleeping daughter Sharon start having a nightmare again, constantly muttering a word.
"Silent Hill... Silent Hill..."
This made Rose's heart ache.
Actually, Sharon wasn't Rose's biological daughter. She couldn't have children, so she and her husband had adopted a daughter, who was Sharon.
Rose had always treated Sharon like her own daughter, and seeing Sharon like this naturally made her feel like her heart was being torn apart.
At this moment, Rose noticed some drawing books next to Sharon, filled with the little girl's usual doodles.
Rose picked up the drawing book and looked through it, finding that most of the drawings looked eerie and disturbing, sending chills down her spine.
The only normal drawing was a family portrait of the Da Silvas, with Rose and her husband Harry Da Silva holding Sharon's hands, the three of them standing in front of their house, smiling happily.
This was perhaps the true reflection of Sharon's heart, rather than the messy drawings made under the influence of some force.
Rose stroked Sharon's face, seeming to have made up her mind, her eyes becoming incredibly firm.
"Sharon, Mommy will definitely make you better!"
After saying this, Rose stepped on the gas and drove off again.
This change attracted Cybil's attention, and she took a few quick steps forward, wanting to call out to Rose.
"Come back! There's a landslide ahead, it's dangerous!"
Unfortunately, Rose's car had already driven far away and she couldn't hear Cybil's words at all.
Roy was also getting anxious. He couldn't let Rose get away.
"Bumblebee!"
"Roger, Mr. Black!"
Bumblebee started instantly, going from a complete stop to 60 mph in the blink of an eye, brushing past Cybil.
This situation made Cybil very angry. She raised her gun, wanting to shoot Bumblebee's tires, but ultimately felt it was too dangerous.
After all, Bumblebee's starting speed was so fast that if a tire blew, it could easily cause the car to roll over, and if they were unlucky, it could flip over the safety barrier.
Helplessly, Cybil put away her gun, running towards her motorcycle while talking into her radio to report to dispatch.
"This is Cybil Bennett, badge number XXX... I've arrived at the location of the prisoner transport vehicle. There's been a landslide! I've placed roadblocks here, but two vehicles have already gone through! I'm following them."
"Roger that, Officer Bennett. Rescue is en route. Please prioritize your own safety and do not take unnecessary risks."
The police in America prioritize their own safety over the safety of citizens, which is why many outrageous things happen.
However, Cybil was clearly a police officer with a sense of justice. She didn't want anything to happen to Rose and her daughter, so she ignored dispatch's orders and sped up to catch up with the yellow Chevrolet Camaro and the white SUV.
Rose and Sharon