When Claudia took the job, she'd been hoping for something to ease the ache of her daughter's anniversary. Three years marking her death, and still Claudia felt the sting of Alessa's foolhardy attempts to garner the family a little more cash.

So when the man, Douglas Cartland, came to her with a plea to find a teenager kidnapped at a young age and taken away from her family by a heartless woman, Claudia took it. Maybe through saving this child, she could redeem herself.

She knew her father wouldn't approve, though. She remembered him, 80 and frail, standing with her at Alessa's grave, scowling. He hadn't said anything, but she could feel the disappointment radiating from him. She had failed as a mother, as a parent, and he would have nothing to do with her.

(He'd left her nothing but a scornful letter when he died.)

(She kept it with her always, a reminder of her failures)

So she'd contacted all her resources, even the people from when she had attempted to find that woman, (Maria something), and started searching.

It wasn't an easy task, searching through property records, school enrollment papers, and many, many false names, before she found something.

Heather Morris, horror writer, living with her 17 year old son, Harry.

With a weary smile, Claudia wrote to Douglas Cartland, before taking her substantial pay and relocating. It wasn't far, but she had rent to pay on her house, and she would need gas money and hotel pay, and that took a chunk out of her funds.

It took some time, some careful surveillance work she thought even her father would be impressed with, before she found the time and place to approach Harry. Claudia sat on a bench just outside the food court Happy Burger, reading a newspaper, a rag with barely any sustenance, but it kept her hidden and away from prying eyes.

She started getting worried around the two hour mark, started wondering if she should go in and order some greasy thing off the menu just to make sure she hadn't been made by a seventeen year old boy. Then he hurried out of the restaurant.

He had his eyes on the ground and didn't notice at all as she stood, tossed aside the paper, and started to follow him. Claudia hung back when he called home, and she could tell that he'd been inside the fast food restaurant so long because he'd fallen asleep.

"…Yeah, I love you too Mom. I'll be home soon….oh wait! I totally forgot about your book. I'll just grab it, and be home as soon as possible. See you-" Harry softly spoke into the payphone receiver, and Claudia stood there, waiting for him to hang up before making her move.

"Harry, Harry Mason? My name is Claudia, can I have a moment of your time?" she asked, approaching him, trying to keep as quiet, polite, and non-threatening as she possibly could be.

Still, the teen jolted, recognizing the last name that was not quite the same as the one he was using now, and he stepped backwards. "Why, who are you?" He said as he crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes.

Claudia held up her hands, placating. "Like I said, my name is Claudia Wolf. I'm a private detective that was hired to find you. I have some information about your real family."

"My real family? The only real family I have is waiting for me to get home with a copy of her latest book. Now, if you'd excuse me?" Claudia watched as the boy spun, and started walking away from her. She too started to walk, following him until they reached the bathrooms.

"Lady, listen, if you don't stop following me, I'm going to scream. And I know, like, half the security guards on this shift," he snarled, spinning to face her.

"Okay, okay. I'll just be here," she said, starting to wonder. She knew that he was likely to insist his kidnapper was his real mother, but at the same time, something was starting to feel off. She looked up to see him peering through a crack in the men's washroom at her, before she backed off and settled into wait.

If her father were here, she knew what he'd say. It was fishy, if you thought about it, that one man would pay so much and put so much effort into finding one kidnapped child. It was also odd that him and his mother were forced to change their names on an almost a yearly basis. And there was something else. Her last meeting with Douglas had set off some major warning bells. He had been a little too interested in meeting Harry, and he'd kept talking about taking him away and back to Silent Hill.

With a jolt, Claudia realized that everything had gone completely silent. The chatter from the mall had vanished, even the rusty clang of the old AC system had faded.

"That's what you get for daydreaming, girl," her father snarled in her head, and she sprung forwards, pushing open the swinging door to the men's washroom.

No one inside- and the window was open.

Of course she'd missed that. What a rookie move!

With a sigh of annoyance, Claudia carefully made her way out of the washroom, and started towards the exit. She wasn't sure how long she'd been staring off into space, but the mall was obviously closing. But that didn't explain the deep fear that was rooting itself in her stomach.

(Last time she felt this, she'd taken her diploma from her father.)

(Last time she felt like this, she'd come home, 23 and pregnant.)

(Last time she felt like this, she'd come in to identify the body.)

She knew that something was up when the escalators stopped working as she was halfway down the first one. She saw what was causing the fear when something large and lumbering walked across her field of view.

She didn't even reach for her gun, following instead the judgmental little voice in her head that screamed for her to "run! Run like the hounds are after you girl, because if they catch you, you won't be leaving a pretty little body behind." When she reached the exit, panting, crouched over with her hands on her knees, she realized the oppressive feeling had left her body.

No longer could she hear her father's voice echoing in her head, everything he'd ever said to her floating to the surface. Instead, she could see people walking outside as the sky got darker, could hear mall patrons making their way towards the subway entrance.

Rather than cause a bigger scene, Claudia sat on the edge of the fountain, and waited. There was a chance that Harry had doubled back or been forced to come back into the mall through a service door. She'd wait until she was kicked out for loitering, before heading to the address she had on file for him.

It was the same address that she'd emailed to Douglas something-or-other, and she was quite sure it was correct. After all, she'd found the young man here, in the mall.

Still, there was something that he'd said during their last face-to-face meeting that was bothering Claudia, something about…

She was jolted from her thoughts when angry stomping alerted her to Harry, torn shirt, wild eyes, and a growl in his voice, storming over to her.

"You! What the hell was that!?" he yelled, and Claudia was thankful that the lobby was deserted.

"You saw it to? Wha-" she started but Harry cut her off.

"No, I don't even care. You and that creepy Douglas guy, you just stay the fuck away from me, okay? And stay away from my mom, she doesn't need this crazy cult shit again!" he said, before spinning and storming down the stairs to the subways.

"Where are you going?" Claudia yelled after him, jogging to the subway entrance.

"Home!" he yelled back, and Claudia waited for the echo to diminish before planning her next move.

Douglas, her client, was in town, and had approached Harry, definitely something she would have recommended he not attempt. The chances of Harry sitting down with her to listen were plummeting now. There was also something about a cult, something that Claudia hadn't heard about when researching the two of them.

"Is that why Douglas wanted me to find Harry? Was he the child of a member who gave him up?" she wondered to herself, and she bolted for her old, beat up car as the thought formed.

If Douglas had approached Harry, then he knew where he lived. And if Douglas knew where Harry lived…

Hopefully she wasn't going to be too late.

She was too late. Claudia stood in the living room of 102, Daisy Villa Apartments, staring at the mutilated body of Heather Morris. Or rather, Cheryl Mason.

He father was back, nasty thoughts floated to her mind as she stared down at the corpse.

"Look at what you've done, killed your own daughter through your negligence, and now this man's mother is dead because you didn't do a background check on this Douglas fellow. You ruined that young man's life by finding him. You had such promise, and now look at you, refusing to follow even the most simple of rules I had set out. Such a waste of potential, girl," he snarled at her in her head, and she felt the self-hatred growing in her chest.

She'd screwed up, and, again, it had ended in crime.

Drawn from her steadily darkening thoughts, Claudia looked up as Harry climbed down from the fire escape to the roof, entering through the sliding glass door.

"What are you doing here?" he said through anger and tears, clutching tightly to what, Claudia thought, looked like a maul.

The sight of the weapon, bloody and almost comfortable looking in the teen's hands, surprised her, and it took her a moment to reply. "I thought… I could make it in time. I never thought this would happen. I was only hired to find you!" The excuse was flimsy, and she knew it.

The voice that is her father knew it as well, and he whispered things into her ears as Harry closed his eyes and took in a shaky breath. "Yeah, well, you didn't make it in time, and the person who hired you just killed my mother!"

"I'm sorry," she said to him, and her father snarled "pitiful" at her. Harry only wiped at his face, and tried not to look at the body that used to be his mother.

"Help me move her, into the bedroom." He said, not looking at Claudia, and for a moment she thought to disagree. She should have been on the phone, telling someone that there's been a murder, but instead, she was helping a boy move a body into the master bedroom, covering it with a spare sheet from the linen chest.

Twenty minutes later, they stood there, side by side, and Harry placed a small arrangement of flowers on his mother's chest.

"Happy Birthday, Mom" her father breathed into her ear, and her eyes were suddenly are unable to focus. "Here's to not having to skip town for an entire 6 months! Love you!"

"What are you going to do now, Harry?" she asked softly, the room blurring as she fiddled with a frayed piece of paper in her left pocket.

"I'm going after the bastard, I'm going to Silent Hill," he replied, fists clenched.

"Silent Hill? Where you were born?" she clarified, before shaking her head. "You aren't seriously going to go after that man, are you? He's dangerous, Harry!"

"And he killed my Mother!" Harry replied, and turned to her, eyes blazing. "I have to, Claudia. Mom was the only person I have…had."

"Well, are you going to help him, girl? Are you going to right your wrongs?" her father murmured, and Claudia found herself nodding.

"I can take you there. I'll go get my car ready. Just…come out when you're ready to go," she said, before quietly leaving the bedroom, pausing only to grab the folio that she'd set on the kitchen counter. Mrs. Mason had been holding it, and Claudia had carefully taken it to set aside before moving the body.

She waited outside for Harry, her car ready with a full tank of gas, when a strange woman approached her.

"Claudia? Claudia Wolf, is that really you?" the woman asked with a secretive smile, reaching up to mime tucking a strand of short blond hair behind her ear.

Claudia had no idea who she is.

"Yes, that's me. I'm sorry, but I don't think I know you," she said after a short pause, a little suspicious. Who is this person, coming up to her, right after a murder- a murder that she hasn't reported to the police.

The woman gasped, a smile lingering still on her face, "Oh, my name is Cybil, Cybil Bennett. I though your father would have talked to you about me, but I guess not. Must have thought you couldn't handle the truth, huh?" Cybil covered her mouth with her hand, but Claudia could still see the smile poking through.

"No, no he didn't mention you. Must not have though you were worth my time," she retorted, angry and saddened by the idea that she should have known who this woman was. She would have contemplated if her father really thought so little of her, but with his ghost speaking so spitefully to her, she knew that it was true.

"Or that you were worth mine. But, no matter, I'm not here to talk about you anyways. When you get to Silent Hill, look for Loraine Cartland, she'll be able to help Harry. Oh, and you'll need this too. Now, I'm not sure where Loraine will be, either at the hospital or her home. But, say hi to Harry for me, and drive carefully. Wouldn't want any dreadful accidents, now would we?" Cybil shoved a map into Claudia's hands before chuckling to herself and walking away.

Claudia had started to chase after her, to ask why someone related to the man who hired her would help, when Harry stepped out of his house to meet her, a knife clipped to his belt, the maul, a handgun, and a taser on his person.

"You know how to use those?" she asked, nodding to the taser and handgun, and Harry nodded back, his face not completely twisted by sadness.

"Mom taught me, after there was a break-in when we lived in Colorado. Some crazy guy, thinking that there was a god in our house, and that my blood was sacred and needed. I guess I know now what he meant, huh?" he said, and Claudia simply handed over the folio. "What's this?"

"Your mother was holding this when I came inside. I think she'd want you to read it now. And, I just had a talk with a friend of yours? A lady named Cybil? She said we should look for a woman named Loraine once we get into town."

Her father's voice had disappeared again while she drove, the only sounds the sniffling of the teen in her passengers seat, the sound of pages flipping, and rain. Finally, the pages stopped, and Claudia hazarded a look over. Harry was slouched in the seat, eyes staring straight ahead, a strange look on his face.

"I think I know what's going on," he finally said, scooting up in the seat. "Mom did a good job explaining everything in here." He looked over at Claudia, and she shifted in her seat.

"Yeah? Does she explain what happened to Silent Hill?" she asked casually, trying not to feel guilty about a case long gone unsolved.

Even when she was trying not to look at him, she could tell that he had turned to watch her. "You've been there before?"

"Once. A missing persons, some lady just…vanished. I never did find her, but I could tell, it changed. It was nice when I went there, but, after hearing some of the stories coming out of that place. Crazy. You'd have to be crazy to live there." She sighed, dismal thoughts about the failed search filling her head. Her father wasn't the only one able to dim her spirits, not when she had herself to listen to.

He was silent for a moment, and Claudia peered over at him again, wondering if he'd fallen asleep. "I was born and raised there, you know."

"…Sorry, but I thought you grew up in Portland?" Claudia said, silently chiding herself.

"No worries, I…" Harry paused, screwed up his face, and touched his forehead.

Claudia stopped herself from immediately pulling over to the side of the road, and frowned, trying to keep her eyes both on the road and on the teen. "What's wrong? Are you feeling sick? I can pull over if you want me to."

But, as expected, Harry only shook his head as he winced. "No…my head is pounding, like the worst hangover but, I'm only trying to remember something I don't want to remember."

"And what's that?" she asked, before trying to remember if she had anything in the glove compartment that she could offer him. Probably not- she never kept the car properly stocked.

"My childhood." He paused again, and somehow Claudia knew he wasn't talking about his childhood spent with Mrs. Mason. "Something…terrible happened in Silent Hill, years ago. This man, his name was Travis, tried to summon this god. Even offered up his son as a blood sacrifice."

"That…that's insane!" She couldn't help but interrupt, though not sure she didn't believe it. From what she heard, the people in Silent Hill were a little weird.

"Insane, yes, but it worked. He was drained, and a god was born. He'd been given special powers, when he was young, and as they grew his classmates tormented him. Called him a demon. And he could do things, with his mind, even killed someone by wishing for it. But in the end the god was killed by my mother." Harry chuckled, and tried to smile. "Must not have been much of a good, eh, if it could be killed by a human. But I think Douglas is trying to recreate what happened, trying to bring forth god, and I've been chosen as the sacrifice."

"You've got the same power in you, then?" Claudia asked, and Harry nodded.

"After god died, the boy reappeared, holding a baby in his arms. Right before he died, he gave the baby, gave me, to mom." He sniffled, and Claudia passed over a tissue. "Even, even though she didn't know who or what I was, she raised me just…just like her very own. Oh mom, I…I never had the chance-"

Seeing the tears rising in Harry's eyes, the love and pain in his voice, made Claudia's chest ache as she wondered if Alessa had felt the same about her, if she had cared for her as a mother.

"I'm sure…that she knew. You obviously cared for her a lot." She offered before falling silent and focusing on the drive.

Claudia, luckily, had a friend in the owner of Jacks Inn in Silent Hill, and while Harry waited in her car, she slipped into the locked up owner's office, searching for a key that wasn't marked as occupied. Finding one, she wrote a note to Jack, telling him to send her the bill for the room later, before motioning for Harry to follow her to their room.

"Jack won't mind," she said with a smile, knowing that business was always slow for him, even after Lakeside Hotel burnt down.

Harry didn't reply at first, only following after Claudia into the room before sitting on one of the beds. "Okay, so if we're supposed to look for this Loraine person, I guess we should split up. I'll take the hospital, you go look at his house. I mean, that way if someone asks you what you're doing, you've got an excuse."

Claudia nodded slowly, thinking about it. "Okay, and we can meet up here in half an hour if we don't find anything? But, are you okay to go on your own?"

"Okay. I'm not a child anymore, though. Why, are you scared?" Harry nodded, before standing to leave.

"Yeah, I am. This is like a nightmare. A horrible, horrible nightmare." Claudia paused for a moment. "You be careful out there, you hear me?" Claudia said, but Harry only waved her concerns away as he left her alone in the room, the ghost of her father clinging tight.

"Jack is only your friend because you were able to find enough petty evidence to get him out of drug peddling and prostitution charges, girl. Hardly what I thought my legacy would lead to…"

Shaking her head in an attempt to lose the thoughts, Claudia gathered herself, before leaving the room. From the look she'd had at the map, Loraine seemed to live right in the middle of town.

The fog clouded around her, so heavy she could have sworn that she felt something brush her arms a few times, but she was still able to make her way towards what had once been a house.

"What happened here?" she murmured, touching a fence post, not wanting to really know the answer.

"Oh, I could tell you, but I don't think you really want to hear about the Cartland family. Anyways, looks like Mommy's not home, huh?"

With a shout, Claudia spun, her gun out and pointing at Cybil.

"Easy there, just making conversation."

"Conversation?" she hissed, ignoring the angry shouts of 'put that gun DOWN, girl!' that rattled her skull. "What the hell are you even talking about? You said to look here, so I am!"

"Whoa, I said she might be here, not that she was. She's probably having a nice-" Cybil took a step towards her, and Claudia's aim wavered. "-little-" Another step, and Claudia shifted her weight. "-chat with Harry, hm?"

By now, Cybil was close enough to carefully push Claudia's gun hand down and away from herself, while Claudia stood, frozen. "Why don't you go point that gun at someone who really deserves it? Douglas is hiding out in the old amusement park, you know."

"…Lakeside Amusement Park? That old death-trap is still up and running?" Claudia hears herself say, the happiest moments of her life, the trips with her father, blocking out his angry ranting.

"Yes, and that's where you'll find him. Why don't you head that way, and I'll let Harry know to meet you there?" Cybil said, and Claudia carefully nodded. Maybe, just maybe, she could find Douglas and shoot him before Harry got there. He was so young. He had no need to think of revenge.

Watching Cybil as she walked away, Claudia started making her way to where she remembered the amusement park had been, the fog now more of a nuisance than it had been while she traveled to Loraine's house.

"Who is that woman?" she asked aloud, fully believing that her father would answer, but for once the voice was quiet. It wasn't gone, by any means, because she could still feel the pressure in her head, but she just didn't get a reply. "You know what, never mind. I don't care anyways."

It was a lie, but it satisfied her to say it out loud, to announce to anything lurking in the fog that she didn't care. That feeling helped her make it to the park in what she felt was record time. Claudia pushed through the gates, looking for anything that would point her to Douglas.

Instead she found herself looking at a collection of mascots, at the red liquid- blood- oozing from the cartoon rabbit's mouth, surrounded by decrepit and broken down fair rides. She remembered wondering once if Robbie was real, aged six, only to be shot down harshly…

Shaking her head, she made her way to the Tea Cup ride, hoping that she wouldn't run into another pile of mutilated costume characters, when Douglas appeared.

She had her gun out, the moment she saw him, but he didn't seem concerned at all. Instead, he seemed annoyed, and disappointed.

"I hired you to find him, and you did well. But you're here. So, what's wrong? I didn't pay you enough, woman?"

Claudia snarled, reminded of her father, and raised her gun. "You lied to me, told me that Harry'd been taken, when he was given to Cheryl Mason. He was never kidnapped, he was happy!"

"No! He was taken, stolen away and hidden from us. Brainwashed and deceived, once he awakens, knows his true heart, he will know that he must bleed for god!" the man shouted at her, and for the hundredth time, Claudia regretted taking the job.

"Oh, girl, I could have told you many times that them of Silent Hill are to be avoided. But no, you probably wouldn't have listened." he father hissed to her, and she growled at Douglas, annoyed at her father's return.

"Oh? And what then? What after he dies for this God? Peace and happiness for all? Ha, not likely!" Claudia exclaimed. "Will his mother be there at the end? No, because you killed her!"

Douglas snorted, crossing his arms. "No, because she stole him from us! He will usher in a paradise, and that will be that! A glorious place for those who believe! Now, look at you. Going to shoot me? Is it so easy for you to kill?"

"I've done it before!" She retorted, almost a bluff. "But you never pulled the trigger, girl. You never will. Not enough fire in your belly to fire. No, you kill in other ways."

What happened next, she didn't really know, only a sharp crack, a pain in her leg, and then she was on the ground, tears welling in her eyes as Douglas walked away. She managed, after sometime, to sit herself up against a bench, and that was when Harry arrived.

"Claudia!" She turned her head to look at him as he ran over to her, and she smiled a little.

"You're late. I thought you'd be here sooner…"

"What happened? Are you hurt?" he asked, crouching, and Claudia was grateful that he didn't try to touch the wet, red spot on her pant-leg.

"I ran into Douglas, and I think I broke my leg. Can't move it at all. I'd like to say that I wasn't used to something like this, but…" She sighed and waved an arm to the side, to her gun sitting by her side, just in case.

Harry looked stricken, and his head shot up, looking around for something. "You… you complete idiot! I'll call for someone, an ambulance or something!" But Claudia shook her head, putting a finger to her lips.

"Shh, no! I'll be fine, besides…do you really think anyone's going to come? I mean, look at this place."

Harry hesitated, before standing. "Don't die on me, okay?" he said, and Claudia nodded.

"I'll try. You don't die either. What will we do, if this thing gets born? I'll be no use at all…"

Harry shrugged. "Eh, look at this place. How powerful do you think it'll get, coming from here? If I'm lucky it'll be short and kickable…" He frowned at her, tapping on his arm as he thought. "Do you think you'll be okay, out here? I don't want you getting any more hurt…"

"I want to help though," Claudia protested, her father snorting in her ear. "You remind me of my girl, and I want to help."

Harry looked a little surprised by that, and he frowned. "Well, then, you have to be careful for her!"

Claudia shook her head. "No, I can't. Being careful won't help the dead, after all."

"She's dead?" he asked, taking a step towards her again. "I…I'm sorry, Claudia."

"Yeah- Silly girl. I was too busy drinking and doing all sorts of things, wasting our money, and she got herself all shot up, going after a bank. It was my fault, and…Well, it's the second murder you could say I committed." She sighed, feeling tears at the corners of her eyes. "Sorry… Maybe if I had a son to kick me into gear, I'd have compared you to him."

There was a pause, and she tilted her head back, trying to regulate her breathing. She was lucky that it was her father ridiculing her, and not her little girl.

"Listen, stay there and keep safe. I'll take care of the rest, then… we can go home." As he turned from her, Claudia felt herself reaching for her gun, and pointing it at him.

"Maybe…maybe killing you… that'll end this," she said quietly, her sight moving between sharp and blurry, trying to focus.

"Yeah, maybe." Harry said, before walking off, and leaving her alone.

"Not enough fire, girl, and you might have killed everyone this time. Failure." Hissed a voice, and she leant back against the bench she'd propped herself against, her gun on the ground again, as she was trying to breath.

"Yeah? Well, I'm not going to kill another kid. Not again, Dad," she muttered before closing her eyes. Trying to sleep might have been a poor idea, but with the pain and the memories, it was hard to avoid.

She wasn't sure how long she was out: an hour? A week? 15 minutes? But when she awoke, Harry was there, and intense look in his eyes, blood in his hair, and knife pointed at her.

"You're that last one, the last one still alive," he said, and Claudia's heart sank. Her father was right; she'd messed up again and now…

At the look on her face, he started to laugh before pocketing the knife. "Hey, don't worry, I'm just kidding. See, just normal ol' me, I promise."

"That was a horrible joke!" she hissed at him, and he had the grace to look shame-faced, and even though she could see the hint of a smile, Claudia forgave him. "Harry, what happened? Did you…"

"Yeah. Mom helped me too, with the watch she gave me…Anyways, come on, let's get out of this place. I want a shower," he said, clearly not wanting to talk about what had happened. "Hey, do you think I should let my hair dye run out? I think I'm done with being a blond."

Claudia smiled and let him hoist her to her feet, and as they made their way from the Amusement park, out into the night, all she could think was how wrong her father had been.

"See Dad? I helped, I was right. It would have been a mistake to fire on him, and you'll haunt me no more."

A/N: I blame Tumblr for this. I blame someone elses anon ask for this. I blame my friends for this.

And now I have an entire world thought out for SH Origins, 1, and 3.
gdi