Chapter 14 finally here! As our heroes outside of the fog gear up (hence the title of this chapter!) and Claire Redfield and Sherry Birkin draw closer, three special visitors arrive just outside of Black Falls...they have a lot to share, not all of it good, and they have an offer that will have a dramatic impact on this story! Also, Cheryl Mason, Rebecca Chambers, and those with them experience a brutal shock that will complicate the situation greatly, but it'll resonate for those of you who played SILENT HILL 3!
Also, I've included some supporting characters you'll recognize from the non-canon RE game OPERATION: RACCOON CITY. I know some of you hated the game, but I've made a few changes adding them to this story...they're *all* good guys, but be warned some of them might not make it through, in the same way 'Red Shirts' on the original STAR TREK series tended to drop like flies! But who will live or die? And does that mean any one of your favorite major characters from RE or SH might suffer a lethal end, too? Hey, it's too early and I'm not gonna spoil things!
RESIDENT EVIL X SILENT HILL: JUDGMENT DAY
written by Charles Spencer,
inspired by Ygure
Chapter 14:
"GEARING UP"
-1-
Somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean
2157 HRS
The U.S.A.F. Gulfstream jet was flying high over the dark Atlantic waves this night at cruising speed, just over halfway finished with its journey from Berlin, Germany to Burlington International Airport in Vermont. In the jet, among other servicemen and women, were two special passengers. For a couple of hours during the flight, Claire Redfield and Sherry Birkin talked some more, but their hearts weren't exactly in it. They had seen some of the news on a TV monitor in the cabin as Sherry got periodic reports from fellow Division of Security Operations agent Leon S. Kennedy...none of what they saw or heard about Black Falls was good. The uncertainty and anxiety they both felt knowing so little about the extraordinary crisis they were flying to was too distracting.
Finally, Sherry suggested that it might be a good idea to get some sleep during the flight, and Claire agreed. Considering Sherry was going to hit the ground running straight into that supernatural fog and Claire wanted to go with her, it wouldn't be a bad thing to be as rested as possible. Carefully, sweetly, the innocent blonde agent said, "I-I hope you don't mind, Claire..."
Claire asked, "Mind what?"
Sherry's wide blue eyes looked into her hero's. "I-I just want to stay close to you. That's all." The agent then moved to lie on the bench seat...and one side of her head softly descended to rest on one of Claire's thighs.
Claire couldn't have minded at all...she smiled with pure fondness upon Sherry as one of her slender hands moved. The ponytailed survivor began to stroke her fingers through Sherry's short blonde hair devotingly. Claire softly said, "Sleep well, angel." As long as the pilots didn't fly into any more damned turbulence that made the jet quake like Los Angeles on a bad day.
Sherry Birkin smiled wistfully as she snuggled into the brunette's lap and closed her eyes...she said in a whisper, "Love you, Claire."
Claire Redfield felt perfect warmth as she whispered back, "Love you too, Sherry." She continued to stroke her fingers through Sherry's hair as she felt the girl fall asleep. It took a while longer for Claire to drift off, though; she was preoccupied by her own thoughts.
Claire wished she had been as completely open as Sherry was when they talked. But for the ponytailed brunette, there was something deeply personal she couldn't bring herself to share. Claire had been unhappy for a long time...even with the positive results of the work she did in Terrasave, which seemed to devour more and more of her life, she was unhappy. The survivor should have elaborated that she was depressingly, painfully single...she should have been able to confide in Sherry everything, especially after the blonde angel confessed so much, especially since it was about the same subject.
Claire had made her fair share of mistakes trying to find someone to share her life with. And it was an understatement that she had lousy taste in men. But she never told Sherry that it wasn't long after college Claire began to wonder if maybe she should have been searching for a man at all.
In private moments, quiet times when she really looked into herself, Claire Redfield realized that like Sherry, she was a lesbian. Unfortunately, again, her work kept her from truly trying to find another woman to have a relationship with. Claire began to wonder if she'd made a mistake joining Terrasave...did she honestly have to devote her life to them? How much longer could she do that? She had done so much work for them helping the victims of horrific disasters and conflicts involving bio-organic weapons, maybe it was time to stop? To find something else? There was nothing wrong with trying to find her own happiness, right? Claire frowned as she thought it wasn't that simple...
...and she thought of her brother Chris.
Claire quickly shifted her thoughts back to Sherry - she looked down at the amazing, beautiful girl, her expression serene as she slept. Why couldn't she have shared so much with Sherry? Because Claire was afraid, she knew...but that didn't make any sense! Why be afraid to share all of herself with Sherry?
Claire Redfield's eyes finally closed as she drifted off to a troubled sleep...as she wondered why...
-2-
Outside of Black Falls, Vermont
The command tent of the Forward Operating Base for Operation: Lightning Strike, within the quarantine line that isolated the fog-shrouded town of Black Falls from the rest of the world. Only a few minutes ago, Hack strongly recommended that the infiltration of the town proceed immediately. But General Beauregard Earle, the operation's commander, kept in mind Sherry Birkin and how necessary her involvement would be, especially if the worst happened: if everyone else who went into the fog was lost, Earle thought that at least Birkin would return alive because of her unique abilities. The chances of the infiltration's success would have been reduced to somewhere between slim and none otherwise.
On one canvas wall of his office, General Earle stood in front of a large map of the town overtaken by The Order and whatever else was threatening everyone inside. He looked at those he was briefing - Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance officers Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Sheva Alomar...the advisor accompanying them, Barry Burton...and DSO operatives Leon S. Kennedy and Helena Harper - as Earle's media liaison Andrea Grey watched from the side. Earle announced to those assembled, "This is Black Falls! Each and every inch of it is covered by a fog that won't let anyone see inside...visibility within the fog is anticipated to be at least a few yards, give or take! If survivors who escaped The Order's lockdown are right, all lines of communication and many power sources in the town have been nullified! The entire area should be considered hostile territory under the enemy's control...besides the cult followers themselves, we must be aware both of citizens under the control of parasites and possible B.O.W.s of unknown type and number lurking within! The strategy of this infiltration, therefore, must focus on stealth and speed!
"Captain Redfield...Agent Kennedy...you will each lead a combined team of both your organizations! Redfield, your team is designate Alpha! Kennedy, your team is Bravo! Alpha Team will infiltrate Black Falls from the north at the same moment Bravo Team infiltrates from the south! Proceed with recon of the hostile territory as quietly but as quickly as conditions allow! Stick together at all times and don't let your teammates lose sight of one another, even for a moment!"
About ten minutes later, in the main barracks. Chris, Jill, Sheva, Barry, Leon and Helena stood before an even larger group of a dozen people...only half of them were in BSAA uniforms. The other six men and women were more individually dressed and outfitted in ways that reflected not just their roles and specialities but their unique personalities...and all of them looked as formidable as the skills they earned in their respective histories in a spectrum of special operations groups before they gravitated to the DSO.
The operatives from the BSAA included:
Sgt. Crispin Jettingham, former Green Beret...Medical Specialist Christine Yamata, who transferred from USAMRIID...Karena LesProux, former French Special Forces, who recently was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant...Sgt. George 'Vector' Kishino, former Navy SEAL...Cpl. Sienna Fowler, former S.W.A.T. sniper of the LAPD...and Medical Specialist Erez 'Harley' Morris, former Army Ranger.
These were the six DSO agents:
Vladamir Borovski, former Russian military...Michaela Schneider, formerly with the German GSG 9...Hector Hivers, former Navy SEAL and explosives ordnance disposal (EOD) expert...Caroline Floyd, who had been the first woman to become part of the Army's 75th Ranger Regiment...Marissa Ronson, former British Intelligence...and Lawrence Kimbala, former virologist with the CDC.
These operatives were being briefed on the infiltration strategy by Captain Chris Redfield and Agent Leon S. Kennedy, the team leaders. Leon focused on advising that both teams be cautious, as General Earle wanted... "We'll need to keep our heads on the figurative swivel at all times, everyone! A hostile attack could come from anywhere in the fog with little or no warning! We're going in under the belief that the human enemies will have as much trouble as we will with the fog's low visibility, but the unknown creatures will be another story! Expect the creatures, whatever they might be, to have senses far more sensitive than ours, that they will use pack tactics, have superior strength and speed...those of you who have had experience fighting B.O.W.s before already know the drill! Now..." Leon turned to a map of Black Falls on display in the barracks...he drew close it and pointed at the town's approximate center, at a specific building circled in red. "...each team will make their way to Wyler Community Hospital in the center of town...there we'll rendezvous and combine our forces, and if things have gone well, we'll have gathered enough intel to have a better idea of what we're dealing with!"
Chris looked the operatives and said, "That's the first mission objective of this infiltration, everyone: to investigate the town and determine the exact nature of the situation! We must be prepared to encounter the followers of The Order and possible bio-organic weapons at every possible turn, along with those citizens who are under the control of the unknown parasites...if that happens, we're authorized to use lethal force to neutralize their threat to the innocent civilians in town!"
"Captain!" Crispin Jettingham was frowning as he raised his hand. Redfield nodded and the Sergeant asked, "If they have innocents under their control, do we have some way to help them - ?"
Chris answered quickly, "No, not at this time! Until we do, you know standing protocol for dealing with civilians under the control of B.O.W.s, which is the same for any innocents infected and transformed by a virus...termination!" The mood chilled in the barracks...they were all moral, decent people who hated that necessity, but Chris took it upon himself to put the situation in the right perspective and remind them why it was necessary: "Remember if you're engaged by a controlled host that wants to end your life, think of your own life and the lives of everyone on your team first and end the threat! More importantly, think of the many, many innocents who need our help and far outweigh the relative few under the control of the enemy! The success of this mission and over 20,000 lives depend on what we do!" He remembered those innocents he had little choice but to kill in his time, those who had become zombies or worse from Raccoon City to the Mediterranean to China...and the people forever changed and controlled by parasites to become Majini in Africa. The knowledge the people they had been were effectively dead and destroying them was for the sake of ensuring no one else would share their fate still didn't do much to ease his mind. It was the same for Jill, Sheva, Leon, Barry, Helena and everyone in the room who had such experience.
Leon added, "As we investigate, we'll also search for and secure any and every innocent civilian we can find...chances are they'll be in groups, sheltered in fortified positions! It's very likely we'll see a lot of civilian casualties at the hospital where we'll rendezvous! Hopefully, they can tend to their wounded by themselves because we can't take the time to babysit them or anyone else we find! If we bring an end to the enemy and what they're doing, their threat will end...like it or not, that takes priority!"
Chris then announced, "Our second mission objective is just as important...and I know this will affect some of you on a personal level, which is why I chose not to tell you until now." He felt like hell for doing that, but he didn't know how to tell his BSAA colleagues before...for better or worse, he had to now. "Our second objective is to find two people who may just be able to shed some light on the situation and help us understand how to end The Order's threat. The first is a young woman named Cheryl Mason...you've each been given a picture of her most recent photo so you'll know her by sight! We're not sure why, but The Order wants Mason very badly...she is also believed to be friendly, so it's our imperative to find Cheryl Mason and ensure her safety!" Chris paused very briefly as Jill Valentine looked at him with worry. "We're hoping that she's being accompanied by the second person we must find and protect: BSAA Medical Specialist Rebecca Chambers. The DSO agents participating in this joint operation have her photo so they can identify her, too! Rebecca was last known to be in Black Falls before the fog appeared and all contact with the town was lost - !"
The reactions from the BSAA operatives he was briefing, those who traveled with him, Jill, Sheva and Barry from Washington, D.C., was immediate. They all stared at him with sudden shock and confusion. Christine Yamata asked hesitantly, "C-Captain, you're talking about Rebecca? Our Becky?!" Rebecca Chambers had a way of making friends very quickly because of her cheerful, innocent soul, and she and Christine had become friends instantly when they first met. Christine, a former virologist for USAMRIID, had a love for science since she was a child, and she and Rebecca had so much in common. Each and every one of the BSAA agents there knew Rebecca to one extent or another, in fact, and all cared deeply for her.
"Hold up!" Erez Morris also worked in the BSAA's labs...he was also an excellent field medic; he distinguished himself in that role ever since he was part of the Army Rangers. His appearance didn't exactly peg him as a Medical Specialist, though. He was a heavily built, tattooed man almost as big as Barry Burton, and he loved motorcycles. Erez went to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota every year...it wasn't a surprise the big, burly biker earned the nickname Harley. Still, he was a true gentle giant and devoted husband and father. Harley could hardly believe what he heard and had to be sure... "Rebecca's in that fog right now?!"
Chris nodded sourly. "I'm afraid so, Harley."
Harley shook his head, not wanting to believe it. "The last time Christine and I saw Rebecca in the labs, she said she was gonna investigate some cult - !"
Chris clarified, "That cult was The Order, the same lunatics responsible for this crisis."
Christine suddenly stepped forward, her ordinarily sweet face full of anger. "Then what the hell are we just standing here for?! We need to get in there - !"
Jill Valentine, who was standing next to Chris, moved to Christine...Jill said, "Calm down, Christine!"
But the virologist couldn't - she shouted, "Calm down, shit! Becky's in there!"
"Christine - ! Christine." Jill quickly, gently took hold of Christine's shoulders...she stared into the virologist's eyes, compassionate yet unyielding. Christine stared back, and she couldn't help but issue a soft sob, and she looked down as she cried frustrated, helpless tears. Jill very nearly lost control and cried with her because she knew exactly how Christine felt...she also wanted Rebecca safe again in the most primal of ways. But Jill kept her focus and said gently, "You heard everything we've been telling you, right? W-we can't just rush in! Please tell me you understand why..." Jill's soothing voice had an effect almost immediately: Christine Yamata calmed visibly as she managed to look into Jill's eyes again and nodded.
As Jill Valentine soothed Christine, Sheva Alomar stepped forward to look at the others in the BSAA, who had managed to rein in their reactions, like Harley, but only barely. As the DSO agents looked on, unsure, Sheva said to her BSAA operatives, "We cannot just rush in, but you know Rebecca. We all know her. We know she'll find a way to survive whatever The Order is using to threaten everyone in that fog. Rebecca will be all right and she will be waiting for us. Do not lose faith in that." Sheva Alomar repeated those words with quiet passion: "Please, do not lose faith!"
-3-
2227 HRS.
It was at this time an emergency call was made to General Earle from Ingrid Hunnigan in the communications tent: "General Earle? We're receiving word from the outer perimeter blockade on I-89...there's a police cruiser approaching fast from the north!"
Earle growled, "So what?"
"They're not locals, sir, and they're not responding to any attempts to communicate with them by radio - shit! General, they just shot through the outer perimeter roadblock on I-89 like a bat out of Hell! They're heading directly toward the base! Troopers are pursuing and Little Birds are diverting to intercept!"
Earle was already on his way out of his command tent when he asked, "Give me an ETA, Hunnigan!"
Hunnigan answered, "Maybe less than a minute, sir!"
"Put the base on full alert now!" Barely a second later, alarm klaxons sounded across the FOB. "Did our people on the outer perimeter identify the cruiser?"
Ingrid Hunnigan told him, "They said the vehicle is marked as Brahms P.D., General, wherever that is! Wait, I'm getting word from one of the Little Bird pilots. The crusier has a Maine license plate, sir!"
Meanwhile, not much further to the north. The police cruiser was a Dodge Charger four-door, and it had already been built for speed in the factory before it was given additional high performance enhancements for law enforcement work that made it a bane of would-be leadfoots. It blasted south at over 100 MPH on I-89 as its lightbar flared and its siren screamed into the night, echoing the five Vermont State Police units that were in hot pursuit. Two Little Bird AH-6 attack helicopters suddenly appeared out of nowhere and chased the cruiser, as well...their bright spotlights quickly brought day to night.
In the FOB, soliders everywhere were already responding and moving to their ordered positions as Earle marched to the vehicle entry point on the safe side of the quarantine line. Leon S. Kennedy, Helena Harper and Jill Valentine moved to join him. Jill asked, "What's going on, General?"
Earle answered coolly, "We've got uninvited guests." He then lifted his radio to his mouth, and his voice was heard by every soldier in the base: "This is Command to all personnel, we have a possible hostile approaching from the north on Interstate 89 in a police cruiser, and we don't know their intentions! I want everyone enforcing the quarantine line on full alert now, but no one fires without my direct order! I repeat, no one fires unless the order comes from me!"
The moment he said that, bright lights glared from the vehicles as they came over the distant rise and approached fast, less than half a minute away; the brightest lights came from the Little Birds as they stayed firmly on the cruiser. Soliders were still clearing reporters and their crews from the interstate just outside of the FOB. One of the Little Bird pilots came over Earle's radio: "Wraith Six-One to Command! I've got a target lock on this unknown, over!"
Another voice, the pilot of the other AH-6, said, "This is Wraith Six-Two to Command, reporting same! Do we have permission to fire? Over!"
The cruiser was 16 seconds away, give or take...16 seconds from literally driving into Lightning Strike's FOB, and Earle had no idea what they wanted. The General said, "Wraith Six-One, Wraith Six-Two, prepare to fire on my command!"
But...only a few seconds later, the Brahms Police cruiser began to slow...and over 150 yards from the base, it came to a stop. The State Police behind stopped and positioned their vehicles to block the cruiser from trying to back up. The Little Birds hovered in the air, their guns and spots trained on the cruiser.
General Earle looked at the sight with narrowed eyes as everyone else wondered what the hell was going on. He finally spoke into his radio, "All personnel, stand by!"
Leon drew close to Earle and asked, "General, with your permission?" He cocked his head toward the cruiser. After a beat, Earle nodded. Leon briskly drew his handgun and looked at the beautiful fellow agent with him. "Helena?"
Helena Harper quickly understood and said, "I'm with you!" She drew her own weapon...and together, Leon and Helena moved with purpose toward the unknown cruiser. After a few tense moments, they reached it...
...and, with Leon on the driver's side and Helena on the passenger's, they could see inside the cruiser in spite of the spotlights from above. They looked at the occupants...and then they looked at each other. Not relaxing for a moment, they both reached the front door windows on either side. Leon considered the people inside the cruiser and finally said, "Hello! Can I see your license and proof of insurance, please?" He said that almost as a joke because there appeared to be a police officer behind the wheel.
The driver, a lovely blonde woman of middle age in her police uniform, said, "I'm sorry for causing any alarm, but we had to get here as fast as we could. I'm Captain Cybil Bennett, Brahms Police Department."
Leon had seen the cruiser's front license plate and said, "You're a long way from your jurisdiction in Maine, Captain. Who are those folks with you?"
Cybil gestured to the pretty, green-eyed lady with raven hair next to her. "This is Officer Anne Cunningham, Wayside Corrections." Cybil then glanced back behind her. "And that's Douglas Cartland in the back seat...he's a private detective."
In the back seat, Douglas Cartland reclined comfortably, unfazed by the bright lights from above. He looked at Leon and nodded. "Evening, officer! Or whatever your rank is!"
Helena looked at this unusual group of people and said, "You came a long way if you're from Maine. Why are you here?"
Cybil looked at Helena and answered simply, "We're here to help you."
Leon stared at Cybil. "What makes you think you can help us, Captain?"
"You have no idea what you're dealing with in that godforsaken fog...but we do."
The DSO agents shared a glance. Helena Harper looked back into the cruiser thoughtfully and granted, "Okay. This entire situation is strange enough we might take your word for that. But how do you know?"
The driver said, "Because we've been in that fog before. We've been to Silent Hill." Surprised, Leon and Helena glanced at each other again. Cybil Bennett then said, with barely-contained need, "Please, we need to talk to whoever is in charge right away!"
-4-
After a intense yet necessary security screening and verification of their identities, the three visitors were brought to General Earle's command tent to speak with him and the team leaders of the infiltration. It quickly became clear their claim of being to Silent Hill was legitimate, especially when Cybil talked about The Order (the cult's identity still wasn't known to the public, and would hopefully stay that way)...when Cybil and Douglas told them their histories and that they knew Cheryl Mason, the visitors had the full attention of their hosts. But like it was when Rebecca Chambers questioned Cybil and Douglas, all three kept the most supernatural parts of their experiences to themselves...they feared that they'd never be believed. They were still barraged by many questions, some the three could answer, and some they couldn't...
For instance: If this is the same kind of fog The Order created in Silent Hill and Shepherd's Glen, how did they do it? Cybil answered, "I have no idea." Her friends didn't know, either. Do you know even a clue to the origins of the creatures in the fog? Anne said, in echo of Cybil and Douglas' feelings on the subject, "Wherever those Order assholes got those monsters, I don't want to know about it." What's the enemy's end objective? Douglas answered, "They want Cheryl Mason. They really believe she's the Mother of their God." When asked if that was honestly possible, Cybil flatly returned, "Those lunatics are insane. Isn't it bad enough they believe that shit?"
The people who questioned the visitors from Maine - General Earle, Chris Redfield, Leon S. Kennedy and Earle's media liaison Andrea Grey - had expressions from very worried to flatly doubtful when they were told about one essential fact: in Silent Hill, any electronic equipment taken taken into the fog more advanced than a flashlight or a handheld radio would stop functioning...if soldiers were sent into the fog, they had to be warned they might face the same phenomenon if carrying complex equipment. The three were asked how the hell that could have been possible. Douglas could only offer, "It may sound nuts, but we're serious. It's something about the fog. Some things will work, but most stuff won't. It may depend on how high-tech something is. Have you sent some kind of drone thingy into that fog yet to try to see what's going on?"
General Earle answered with quiet irritation, "As a matter of fact, yes. Three times, we tried to send a Raven UAV into the fog to perform a recon of Black Falls from the air. The launch point was from a location a few miles away, and the Ravens were so small no one in the press noticed them." The RQ-11 Raven was a handheld unmanned aerial vehicle - similar to a model plane, it could be launched by hand into the air be a special forces operative - with state-of-the-art digital capabilities, and was operated by remote control.
This surprised Chris and Leon. Chris asked, "Why don't we know about that, sir?"
Andrea Grey answered for the General: "Because nothing came of it. All three times, we lost control of the Ravens and the surveillance feed being sent cut to black the instant they entered the fog." No wonder Earle was irritated. Andrea looked at Douglas and nodded. "Thank you for telling us this, we were about to try again with a Reaper UAV flown in by the New York Air National Guard. Those things are a lot more expensive than a Raven. Are you certain it makes a difference how advanced a device can be?"
Douglas shrugged. "I'm just guessing here, okay? Thirteen years ago, the car I owned was pretty old and I drove it into Silent Hill no problem, but I couldn't get it running when I tried to start it up again. Also, you'd better hope the utilities in Black Falls are about the same as Silent Hill's. Most lights should still be working...if they're working at all."
Leon, however, was focused on something else very important. "That doesn't matter as much as both losing control of our drones and their surveillance feed being disrupted. That means it isn't just phone lines and cellular devices that won't work in there. When our teams will be sent in, we'll have to anticipate that we'll lose all radio contact with the outside world and even to each other!" Chris and Andrea looked at him with serious worry then...
...but Earle growled, "Let's hope you're wrong about that, Kennedy. Your teams will have enough damn problems!"
"For what it's worth, unfortunately, you might be right," Cybil said. "I know from experience that telephones won't work at all and radios won't give anything but static in Silent Hill's fog...I don't doubt it'll be just as bad here." Then, Cybil Bennett told Earle and his fellow questioners, "Listen, I'm very sorry we can't answer all of your questions; in fact, everything we've said is making you ask even more. You have to understand that there's still so much about what happened during our experiences we don't understand, either...but if you're going to send anyone in there, we need to ask that we can join them."
Chris Redfield gestured to Leon and said, "We're the leaders of the infiltration teams being sent in, Captain. Why would you ask to join us?"
Douglas Cartland said, "Because we've faced this nightmare before. We know what's waiting for anyone who enters that fog. We might improve your chances of winning this fight...if you'll let us."
General Earle's eyes appraised the three as he said, "You and your friends are still asking for a lot, Mister Cartland."
"Are we?" Anne Cunningham was the most impatient of the three, keyed up and not in the mood to talk. "If you go in there and you're not prepared, chances are pretty damn good you'll never be seen again. Being there to tell you and your people what you're dealing with when something happens, telling you how to fight it...we're not asking for much, honestly."
Andrea Grey stared at the three thoughtfully. She offered, "You could take the safe road and simply tell us what to expect...rest assured, we will take your advisements to heart. In fact, I'd recommend to General Earle that he not grant your request to join the operation - "
Cybil quickly implored, "Please don't do that. We came a long way...we would have gone as far as we had to for the sake of being part of this, helping you stop The Order."
Andrea's eyes gently examined the policewoman. "But it's personal for you. You want to help that girl, Cheryl Mason."
Douglas snapped, "And I guess nobody else here is taking any of this shit personally? An entire American town taken over by a crazy cult, and now only the Devil knows what's going on in that goddamn fog? Who wants to guess along with me how many families are already dead? And what about you, Captain Redfield? Your agent Rebecca Chambers is in there. I can guess it's personal for you, too!" Chris had to frown in response...Douglas' words were right on target.
Cybil said, "I've known Cheryl for almost as long as she's been alive, General. The Order will do any terrible thing you can't imagine to make her their Mother of God. I already told you about Harry Mason, her father, and how he saved me and Cheryl...and thirteen years ago, those bastards killed him." Emotion filled her lovely face as she said thickly, "I owe him my life, and I owe Cheryl just as much...so yes, it's personal."
Douglas looked at the General and the others. "All Cheryl ever wanted was to be happy, to live a normal life, but she was afraid there were believers in that Church of the Holy Way still out there. I tried to help her find them, and I gave her the lead that took her to Black Falls. I told Rebecca Chambers that was where she could find Cheryl, too. But I think that lead turned out to be a goddamn lure. How else could a fog have covered this town like it did Silent Hill after Cheryl arrived to look for that cult?"
Leon S. Kennedy understood and quietly said, "The Order set a trap, and all they had to do was wait for Cheryl to walk into it."
Chris said with quiet tension, "Rebecca simply wanted to help her, and she got caught in it all, too." He gazed at the visitors and told them, "You need to know that the last I heard from Rebecca Chambers, she told me The Order kidnapped Cheryl Mason."
Cybil looked at Chris with wide eyes. "W-what - ?!"
"Listen. Rebecca told me she wasn't going to wait for help, that she was going to save Cheryl." Chris Redfield's eyes fixed on Cybil's as he said, reassuring, "I've known Rebecca for a long time, Captain Bennett, and she will do everything possible to protect Cheryl. Best case scenario, Rebecca and Cheryl are still together and they're fighting The Order right now."
Leon added, "We can't afford to think of anything worse that might be happening...besides, it won't help worth a damn."
Anne Cunningham said with quiet resolve, "But we can help you. I don't know Cheryl Mason like Cybil and Douglas do, but from all they've told me, she can help you stop The Order. But we need to help you find her."
The command tent was quiet for a beat...then, General Beauregard Earle stood from his desk as he carefully gazed at the visitors. He then said, "Andrea, Redfield, Kennedy...I need you with me outside." He then said to Cybil, Douglas and Anne, "We'll be right back."
Outside, Earle put his hands on his hips and looked at the ground as Andrea Grey, Chris Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy collected around him. Earle asked, "Opinions?"
Andrea said, "I believe them, General."
Chris nodded. "Me, too."
Leon quietly agreed, "So do I."
Chris asked, "But can we be sure they'll help us?"
Earle gave the BSAA Captain a look and growled, "There isn't a helluva lot I'm too sure of at the moment. I'm just finding out we may lose radio contact with your team and Kennedy's the moment you enter that goddamn fog, and we need to verify that somehow before we send you in. So ask me a better question."
Leon crossed his arms. "We don't have to. If this fog and the creatures in it are the same as what they said about Silent Hill..."
Andrea nodded. "The Order was involved with what happened to that town and to Shepherd's Glen, so it's possible."
Chris had to concede, "If we want this mission to succeed, then we will need them."
Earle looked at the others and said, "I want a consensus, people. Who's for their joining the infiltration?"
Andrea looked at the entrance of the tent. "I am, General."
Leon said, "They're both current and former law enforcement, so they know how to defend themselves...and they knew how to survive the fog of Silent Hill before. I'm for their joining us, too."
Chris thought for a beat...and he finally nodded. "If they can help us find Rebecca and Cheryl and survive whatever is in that fog...yes."
General Earle nodded. "All right. I suppose we'll have to designate them as advisors to your teams, like Redfield's buddy, Burton." He still frowned as he added gruffily, "I just hope they'll have as much luck here as they did in Silent Hill...maybe that luck will rub off on your teams, too." They all hoped that.
A ringtone suddenly sounded...the four of them looked at each other until Leon held up a hand and said, "It's me!" He got his smart phone from the clip on his belt and answered it: "Hello?"
A lady's voice he had listened to for years answered, "Leon, it's Hunnigan from the comm tent. Is Barry Burton anywhere near you?"
Leon said, "No, but Chris Redfield is." Chris looked at the agent as he asked, "Is there some kind of problem, Hunnigan?"
Leon almost felt Ingrid Hunnigan shrug over the phone. "I'm not exactly sure. I've got Kathy Burton, Barry's wife, on the phone. She says she's about two hours away from landing at Burlington International Airport. She wants to see Barry when she gets here!"
Chris asked, "Leon, what's going on?"
It was Leon's turn to shrug. "I don't know, but your old partner is going to find out in two hours!"
-5-
Black Falls, Vermont
On the edge of the suburban section of the town, where businesses reluctantly yielded to residential area, one could have found Richie's, a pharmacy and soda fountain that had been a family business since the 1940's on the corner of Harris and Lector. Richie's valiantly fought against the march of time as an old-fashioned place where folks could not only pick up their prescriptions but also find a place to eat; it still served everything from ice cream sodas of many concoctions to sinfully good egg creams...there was even an old-time jukebox in the corner that played honest-to-god vinyl 45s of rock & roll classics from the 1950's. Richie's, like the rest of Black Falls, was a vacant, dirty, abandoned place...except for the bodies of many customers, from old timers to teenagers, and the young soda jerks who served them - all of them killed by a squad of Order Soldiers - laid on the once-gleaming formica or rested where they sat in stools at the bar, pools from their blood mixing with the grime as the flickering neon lights of the establishment illuminated the dead intermittently. The rest of the street was just as lifeless. In spite of this saddening, cryptic tableau, a group of survivors chose to find temporary shelter in Richie's storage cellar at the same moment General Earle (among others) questioned Cybil, Douglas and Anne.
It was cold and dark in the cellar, but a couple kerosene lamps were found that gave much-needed light. The five of them hadn't run into any of The Order since they left the Sheriff's Office, but they knew that would change sooner or later, even with the extraordinary abilities of one among them to give them early warning or help them evade the enemy. The bastards were systematically searching the town, one street to the next, going from door to door to find them, and killing anyone else they found who couldn't defend themselves. These survivors also avoided the creatures in the fog only by the barest of measures at some terrifying moments; again, unfortunately, they knew they couldn't stay lucky forever.
For this time where they shared their warmth in the cold cellar, though, it was quiet. Rebecca Chambers devotingly stayed close to Cheryl Mason, who was lying on a group of large storage boxes...Alex and Elle Shepherd held each other not far away as they both wondered how in the hell to make this nightmare end...but visibly apart from the others was Elza Walker; the ponytailed girl was growing more and more morose since she had been liberated from the jail, her wide eyes full of doubt and fear, and seeing so many horrible sights like the bloody massacre in the pharmacy-soda fountain above only made matters worse. Elza also looked at Cheryl far too often, and when she did her face expressed palpable doubt and suspicion...the more she knew about the lady The Order wanted, the more she knew about Cheryl's powers, the more Elza became fearful of her. A part of the BSAA Medical Specialist wanted to confront Elza, get it through her foolish head that the ponytailed blonde had to be patient and get to know Cheryl, and she could have seen the one Rebecca adored wasn't some kind of threat. They needed each other if they were going to survive this crisis, but the pixie knew getting in Elza's face wouldn't have helped anything.
Rebecca Chambers felt a lot of personal frustration in spite of the horror of her group's situation...her feelings for Cheryl Mason could only have grown deeper with the passage of hours, and the agent wished dearly she could have expressed all that she felt. Rebecca felt so much for Cheryl, she knew they had to talk about it...Rebecca knew that the object of her desire felt just as much, but such intimate talk wouldn't have been appropriate in the company of the others. They had long ago agreed to never leave each other's sight, even for a second, which didn't give any of them much of a chance for privacy, much less intimate conversation...Alex and Elle had to be just as chaste since those intimate and far too brief moments in the Sheriff's Office; even though they were married, there was little intimacy with the others as they were forced to focus on surviving their ordeal, too. It didn't help that the damned control serum Cheryl was given had impaired her thinking to a degree almost as much as it physically incapacitated her in the hours since they escaped The Order at the hospital, so communicating by thought had to be kept to a minimum. Rebecca ached for the chance to have time alone with Cheryl, but only Heaven knew when that would be possible...one thought the brunette had repeatedly over the past five hours perfectly summed up her inner need and frustration: Argh!
Hope brightened in them all for the first time as Cheryl Mason managed quietly, "Becca...c-could you help me sit up, please?" Cheryl was already trying to do so, but it was clear that just doing that was costing her a lot of strength.
Rebecca bit her lower lip, her focus and concerns fully on Cheryl. "Okay, but...here, just take it slow...!" Rebecca took the freckle-faced beauty's hands and gently helped her sit up on the boxes.
Elle Shepherd's mood improved considerably as she moved from her husband to stand closer to Cheryl and Rebecca. But...Alex Shepherd didn't move as he looked at the women with a frown. Like Elza, he had his own concerns about Cheryl. But his wife didn't feel the same way as she asked, "Cheryl, are you okay?"
Cheryl looked down self-consciously as she continued to hold one of Rebecca's hands needfully. She said, "No, but I'm getting better, Elle. That damn serum Reeve gave me is finally wearing off...I may be weak as a kitten, but at least I can think straight!"
Rebecca cautioned, "Still, just keep taking it slow for now, honey. You hear me?" Cheryl smiled thinly and nodded. "Did you want to eat something?" She had
"No, I'm not hungry. Right now, I need to do everything I can to stop Reeve."
Rebecca frowned. "Are you sure? You just said you still felt weak...!"
Cheryl looked into the brunette's eyes and said softly, "Becca...I'm all right. People are going to keep dying as long as the fog covers this town. Reeve made me bring it here, and I've got to stop it any way I can."
"You'll do that?" Cheryl and Rebecca looked at Elza, who stared at Cheryl with quiet tension. There was too much of an edge to the girl's words as she asked, "You'll finally stop what you did to this town - ?"
It took a lot of self-control on Rebecca's part not to get angry with the girl...still, she suprised Elza when she suddenly interrupted, "Elza, remember Cheryl was forced to bring this fog here! Don't confuse yourself!"
"Cheryl?" Alex looked at the freckle-faced beauty, and there was clear and present frustration in his eyes he didn't bother to hide. Like Elza, he was becoming far too impatient...being threatened by the fog and The Order again was bad enough, Elle was being threatened once again. His pregnant wife was more important to him than his own life, and he was on the verge of blaming Cheryl as much as The Order. "There's still so much we don't understand about what's happening. We didn't even understand the fog and what it means in Shepherd's Glen and Silent Hill. Where exactly did this fog come from? And how the hell can it change things so much, make things so...so damned dark?"
Cheryl looked at Alex and began quietly, "It...it's never been as simple as the fog changing things, Alex." Pain flooded the lady's expression as she frowned and looked at Rebecca...her hazel eyes were full of apology. "I told you a lot, Becca, but...there's so much more you all need to know, and it's tough to explain in so many words. I-it isn't just the fog that came here because of me."
Alex asked tightly, "What the hell does that mean - ?"
But then Elle looked at her husband and said, "Alex, if Cheryl can stop this, questions can wait until later!" The hard look in her eyes told him she wasn't in a mood to argue the point, either.
Rebecca's hands sweetly took hold of both of Cheryl's as they rested in the blonde's lap...the pixie reassured gently, "It's okay, honey, that can wait. It really can. If you believe you can do this, go ahead." Her wide, blue eyes looked at Cheryl needfully. "I just wish I could help you somehow..."
Cheryl squeezed Rebecca's hands as she nodded and smiled gratefully. "You don't have to, Becca. I'll be okay." Her expression became solemn as she said with resolve, "I can do this...I have to do this." Cheryl Mason took a deep breath as she and Rebecca gazed at each other...and then the blonde closed her eyes as she focused within herself. She marshalled her inner strength and courage, and her power invisibly began to reach out into space...into the fog outside, and she connected to the mystical, smoky mist...and in doing so, that made it easier to reach even further, into the ether beyond mortal perception, and establish a connection with the realm where the fog and so much more came from...with the gateway connecting that realm to Earth...
At that moment in eternity, in a realm endlessly dark and beyond all hope, a thing that only had the shape of a man furitively maintained a large arcane machine it built long ago. The machine had long secured the fog's presence on Earth - in Silent Hill, then Shepherd's Glen, and now Black Falls - from the place it came from. At the command of the thing that only had the shape of a man, the machine could also shift conditions from the fog to the complete, godforsaken darkness the thing belonged within. That was not necessary. Yet. From one part of the machine, two pairs of small, feminine legs could be seen writhing in never-ending pain as the bodies they were attached to were shrouded, confined and connected to its inner workings...the legs seemed to be made of shadow, nearly insubstantial. Suddenly, the thing that only had the shape of a man felt Cheryl Mason reach out with her incredible power...the thing realized she sought to undo what Reeve had begun in Black Falls. The thing that only had the shape of a man could not allow that. It was all-important that Reeve and his fellow mortals succeeded. They could not fail to reincarnate God. The thing that only had the shape of a man had failsafes built into the machine to make Cheryl Mason stop, and it crawled quickly across the surface of a machine like a hectic lizard. The thing accessed the machine's controls, and it turned Cheryl's power back upon herself.
...and without warning, Cheryl Mason's beautiful face twisted to express complete and total agony as she screamed, a terrible pain more intense than Reeve's psychic assault before, as the sound of her tortured wail overwhelmed the dark, cold space of Richie's cellar...her closed eyes squeezed shut as she lifted her hands and clutched the sides of her head as she screamed, and her nose began to bleed copiously on her flannel shirt. Jolted by pure horror, Rebecca Chambers cried out, "Cheryl!" The pixie was already very close as she took hold Cheryl's shoulders...Elle Shepherd closed the distance fast, desperate to help but unsure of what to do. Alex Shepherd, who wasn't far away, simply stood there with confusion as Cheryl stopped screaming and her lithe body relaxed as she sat on the boxes, but she was clearly still in tremendous pain.
Elza Walker had nearly jumped out of her own skin when Cheryl screamed...her being cringed apprehensively as she looked at the situation and asked with building terror, "What just happened?! What did she do?!" And the fear in her voice was still of Cheryl, dammit...
...which made Rebecca whirl on Elza, and the pixie's expression was fierce as she snapped, "Be quiet, Elza!" When she turned back to Cheryl, her expression softened again instantly as she said carefully, "Cheryl? Lie down for me, honey...j-just lie down..."
As Rebecca clutched her shoulders, which were supported gently by Elle when she wrapped one of her arms behind them, Cheryl shakily began to lie back on the boxes again as her crossed legs relaxed. Cheryl's every breath was a moan as she managed, "Oh...oh, god..." When Cheryl was prone Elle moved to Rebecca's backpack, which laid on the floor, and she opened it to find something to stop Cheryl's nose from bleeding.
Rebecca's eyes were bright with tears as she hovered over Cheryl and held her hands gently...she began to ask, "Cheryl, are you..." But the agent stopped as she became angry with herself. She was about to ask Cheryl if she was all right, and it was brutally clear she wasn't.
Cheryl opened her eyes, and Rebecca felt sudden, horrible fear...the whites of Cheryl's eyes were red, worse than bloodshot, like most of the vessels in the sclera suddenly, spontaneously hemmorhaged. Cheryl shakily managed to say, "I...I'll be okay...I just need..." She wanted to finish the sentence, reassure Rebecca she just needed time to heal, but the pain in her head was still so terrible. Elle was there then with a roll of gauze and a bottle of alcohol, which she gave to Rebecca. Cheryl finally breathed, "God, it hurts so much...!"
Rebecca carefully, devotingly wiped Cheryl's nose and upper lip with a piece of gauze lightly damp with alcohol...the pixie thought Cheryl would have to get rid of her shirt, she bled so much on it. Fortunately, the bleeding from her nose was already ebbing to nothing. Rebecca said soothingly, "Don't try to talk, honey...it's okay..." Hearing the sweet, beautiful brunette's voice and feeling her ministering touch was so wonderful, Cheryl almost forgot her pain.
Elle Shepherd looked at the lady with worry and asked, "Cheryl...can you say what happened to you...?"
Cheryl thanked Heaven as the agony slowly began to subside...she looked at Elle and said, "I tried to make the fog leave, Elle. I swear I did, but...but I-I couldn't. I tried, and something...lashed out, shoved my power back."
Rebecca Chambers frowned as one of her gloved hands moved to softly caress the side of Cheryl's face...she asked fearfully, "Was it Reeve, Cheryl? He made you bring the fog here...he must have done something to you - !"
Cheryl looked up into the blue eyes of her adored and said, "No, Becca. I-it wasn't Reeve." This was very, very different from Reeve Meyers' assault on Cheryl earlier. But...there was still something strangely...familiar about it? She had felt an undeniable presence, something with a desperate, craven will that was responsible for turning her powers back upon herself. Cheryl tried to remember when she encountered such a thing before in her life, yet it was so hard to place in her memories. Thankfully, Cheryl's own power already began to help her heal quickly, but for the moment she, Rebecca and the others were still trapped in this transformed town, the brackish fog still dominated all within it...and even worse, something unknown was able to defy Cheryl's power and stop her from bringing an end to this nightmare, something she needed desperately to remember but couldn't. Cheryl Mason also felt deeply afraid as she told Rebecca, "I don't know what happened, but...something wants to keep the fog here..."
TO BE CONTINUED