CHAPTER18 “Caw! Caw!”   A soft moan escaped Miah, as she turned over in her sleep.    “Caw! Caw!”   Her brow furrowed in annoyance, but after furrowing deeper into the warmth next to her, she found peace once more.    “Cawww! Caww!”   Not being able to take it anymore, she yelled, “Ahh shut up!” and threw the first thing her hand grasped at the noise. Through slit eyes she caught sight of a black crow perched in a small window propped open above the front door. Its beady eyes looking straight into my brown ones; a lone shoe lay ignored nearby.    “Caw!” it screeched once more. Shivers ran down her spine, the hair on the back of her neck standing up, and goose bumps rising on her arms. She gulped and pulled Suho’s jean jacket farther up on her body while simultaneously reaching over and shaking the sleeping man next to her. “Hmmm?” he hummed while shifting slightly. Apparently he was a heavy sleeper, as he hadn't made a noise before about her shouting.     Miah hadn’t taken her eyes off the crow, but she could feel Suho’s body move, and his arm snake around her bare waist, pulling her closer to him.   “Why are you up already?” he mumbles, his voice thick with sleep. He still hadn't opened his eyes.   “Because we shouldn’t stay asleep too long. Not in this place," she mumbled.   The reminder seemed to work its magic because he sat up and looked at her through one squinted eye. She nodded toward the black crow that still hadn’t moved and was eyeing them creepily.   “What the?” He says, standing up. As he did, Miah immediately turned away,  embarrassed at his bare maleness despite having already seen everything. Her curiosity overrode her shyness though as she looked back to see what he was planning on doing. He hadn’t gotten closer to the bird by a few steps before suddenly running at it and yelling like a madman. A full-bodied laughter burst out of her at his ridiculous actions. Just imagine, a man running and yelling. Any normal person would either be terribly frightened or uncontrollably cracking up.   Her laughing diminished when she noticed the bird had not moved, only cocked its head at Suho. It completely died down as she stood; Suho's jacket covering everything that needed to be. “What’s wrong with it? I’ve never seen a bird so brave before,” she questioned aloud.   “I don’t know, but you were right about not sleeping. We should get dressed and go,” he says turning to face her. Getting a frontal view of his body, she flipped the lapels of the jacket up to hide her burning cheeks. He chuckled at her actions and moved closer. Not looking away from her eyes, he enveloped her in a warm hug. He nuzzled his nose to hers, and smiled with closed eyes. Miah laughed and smiled back, moving slightly to place a chaste kiss on his plump lips. In reaction, his lower half twitched, and she squeaked, pulling away and running toward their pile of clothing. She threw his share at him, mumbling a, " Get dressed,"  as she moved to grab her own.      Once they were both dressed she shyly handed him back his coat, “T-thank you.” “No problem,” he just as shyly smiled back.   As he unlocked the front door to let them out, she stared up at the crow still a top the small window ledge. It had looked at them the whole time they were getting dressed, and followed their movements as they headed to the front of the store.   “Tck, ert,” she mumble toward the feathered intruder.   “What?” Suho asks having finally opened the door.   “Nothing, let’s go...no wait!"  She runs back into the store and grabs a random hunting knife from a shelve of them. It was half the size of her forearm, but with a thick and sturdy blade that was serrated toward the tip.    "What's that for?"  Suho asks, as she returns to his side. "You have your gun, but I forgot the machete at City Hall; I may as well rearm myself while we're in a weapons shop. It's only smart. He nods ands opens the door for her to go through first. As soon as they’re both through, the bird caw'ed loudly and flew off.   “Weird,” Suho mumbles. Nodding in agreement, Miah took his outstretched hand and they continue walking.    “So what do we do now?” he asks as they walk. She contemplated for a second then replied, “I don’t know. I mean all I really wanted was to find out why this place is the way it is, and if that lady from yesterday was telling the truth then I guess I already know.”   “So you don’t have any reason to stay here any longer?”   She quietly weighed her options again before replying, “No, I guess not. If this place has been this way for decades I don't see how we can change anything, and from what I had read online before we arrived, no creatures or weird things have been seen out of the towns limits so imagine this hell is stuck to this place alone. If it can't harm anyone, I don't see why we can't just find our way out and leave it at that.” She had stopped to turn and give him a thoughtful smile, not completely convinced of her words. Still, maybe Jae, Junggie, and Kris were still here, and the thought of seeing them evaporated her worries.   “Who is that?” Suho suddenly asks. Miah glanced to where he was staring and gasped at the unknown boy she saw. He looked about twelve or thirteen and was digging through a garbage can about two blocks away.   Without a second thought she called out to him, “Hey! Hey kid!” He looked up, a stunned expression on his face. He blinks once then bolts in the opposite direction of them.   “Hey wait!” she yelled out again, running after him while pulling Suho along. “Aish, running again? Don’t you ever get tired?” he complained trying to keep up.   She felt bad, but knew she couldn’t let the kid get away. They hadn't seen anyone in this place besides the woman and those monsters. She had to ask him what he was doing here!   They were gaining on the kid fast. His legs were much shorter than theirs, and when they were within a meter Miah yelled again, “Hey! Wait! I just want to ask you something!”   “Ack!” Suho yelled behind her, yanking her down to the floor before their hands were harshly disconnected. She looked over from where she was splayed and saw a man in some kind of hazmat suit wrestling with Suho.   “Suho!” she screamed in horror. She moved to help him, but someone suddenly came and grabbed her from behind. From the thin arms that were locked around her waist, she knew it was the kid. What surprised her most was not his arms around me, but the incredible strength he had. He may not have been able to hold Suho down, but her small frame was no match for the boy.   “Vincent, Brother Isaac, that’s enough!”   Miah stopped struggling and so did the two men in front of her, all four of them looked toward the new voice. It was a tall woman with platinum blonde hair, and a drab dark grey outfit. She stared at them through cold blue eyes, “I said, that’s enough.”   Slowly the man lifted himself off Suho and the boy removed his arms from around Miah.   “Wh-who are you?” she asked the woman.   The tall woman smiled eerily at her and replied, “Shouldn’t I be asking you that question dear?”   Miah blushed, but nodded. “My name is Sun Eunmi, and this is Kim Joonmyeon,” she pointed the latter toward Suho.   “I am Claudia Wolf and this is Vincent my son, and underneath that mask is Brother Isaac,” she says, the smile still on her lips.   “You’re brother?” Suho questions confused.   The boy giggles and looks at him like he’s stupid, “She said Brother Isaac not my brother Isaac.”   “No need to be rude Vincent,” the woman reprimands. Her son bowed his head and mumbled an apology.   “Where did you come from?” she asks looking at Miah oddly.   The girl chanced a glance at Suho who was looking at the man in the grayish suit with animosity. Sighing, she turned back and answered, “We drove here. We…are actually trying to find our way out.”   The three of them burst into laughter at her words. “You can’t get out of here stupid girl. No one can. This is Silent Hill!” the boy states.   “Language Vincent!” the blonde woman says seizing her laughter. She turns back to Suho and Miah, offering, “Why don’t you come back with us. We can ask Christabella if there is anything we can do for the two of you.”   “Chr-Christabella?” Miah asked hesitantly.   “Christabella told me there was a way to purge the evil from her. To cure my poor Alessa of the wickedness in her soul!” That’s what the woman from yesterday had said...   “Yes, she is my sister. She’s back at the church with the others.”   Miah couldn't help but remember something else from yesterday, “Christabella is the leader of the society. The leader of the brethren.”   Taking another glance at Suho, who was now looking at her open mouthed, she nodded, looking back at the woman and replied, “Yes,