Early the next morning on a weekend, Chris calls in the babysitter and drives off for the long ride to Silent Hill. Again, he was at the very familiar entrance to the town: the chained up gate with the bridge in sight and a hill of cigarettes, where he waited for some great revelation.
Chris steps out of his car and clutches the heavy lock, the cold sting reddening his hands. The skies were grey and the ground moist, ready for the season of winter. Chris absolutely adored all the sports and most of all the cold. But nothing excited him anymore. Besides, who else liked winter but him? Traffic, closed stores, stalled engines...etc.
He sighs, the purpose of Rose willing him on.
Beyond the gate and up the road used to be Rose's jeep where it layed in a ditch, and beyond that is Silent Hill, a deserted and poisonous town with its gruesome history of cults, sacrificed children and the devastating coal fire of 1974.
If Gucci had known Alessa Gillespie, then would he know Claudia Wolf? And what about Sharon, what did she know, how is it so terrible that it threatens their very lives? He knew everything about cults and crazy people, and he knew exactly what those kidnappers wanted.
Get more information about this Claudia Wolf and what her involvement is or will be, and it's most likely something undocumented or destroyed.
Visible beyond the gate is a mist slithering along the ground. He shivers, but with newly found determination, Chris readies himself to jump over that gate or ram into it when he hears a soft engine dying behind him. He almost makes a run for it, but an officer comes in striding confidently towards him.
"Officer Gucci." Chris breathes, surprised.
Thomas looks down at his cellphone with the message, "Warning, red line crossed."
So what are they worried about some obsessed husband? Da Silva didn't have his daughter anymore, so he couldn't be the father they were stalking. Whatever connection Sharon had with her double, Alessa, it didn't matter anymore. She was dead.
"So, Da Silva," He tucks his phone away. "What were you thinking about doing? It's been months now, and there's nothing over there to find. Just give up and live your life, Chris."
Play it cool, Chris thinks. "You know me, it's a habit." Just then, he had a thought. Chris knew Thomas wanted to be friends with him, so if he acted nice enough, Thomas could let him in some more of Silent Hill, and possibly find out who this Wolf was. Chris takes out a cigarette and lights it. "This town is pretty old, isn't it?"
"Yes, it was built a long time ago before becoming a ghost town after the fire. You shouldn't be hanging around here anymore, it's dangerous. There are some criminals who made this their personal hang-out." Thomas ignores the cigarette smoke and walks closer, peering behind the gate to make sure nobody was there.
"One of your buddies investigating it?" Christopher asks, puffing a smoke ring and looking through the gate also.
Thomas suddenly remembers the current case he was working on with the drug dealers, while the Da Silva missing case was tucked away to be forgotten. But he knew that the unsolved case was causing some rumors for the widower over the mysterious disappearance.
Gucci walks over to the pile of cigarettes and kicks it before turning to face Da Silva.
"Yes, as a matter of fact it's our new rookie. She's trained but inexperienced. Just like a kid learning to ride a bike." Thomas says smiling, clanging the gate as he leans against it.
Chris continues to smoke to the distaste of Thomas.
"You know I'm not going to leave until you do." Thomas says knowingly.
Chris paces and looks up. "You're right...do you like me?"
They both immediately blush. "That's not what I meant."
"Yes, I know what you meant, Chris. I do like you." Gucci clears his throat. "I've called you a hundred times, but none for just meeting. How about that restaurant, the Italian one?" Chris suggests.
"Uh, yeah, sure." Thomas stutters.
He hears a rustling and turns to see figures running back down the road. The druggies. Thomas steps nearer to Chris and slowly grabs the little cancer stick, leering to see Chris's surprised expression, and puts it out.
A protective urgency fills Thomas up as he thinks of saving his life from lung cancer, and grabs his arm to tear him away from the gate, away from the dangerous criminals.
Later that week, as promised, they made plans to meet at the Italian restaurant to initiate the friendship stage. Gucci makes an intricate story of meeting with an old friend while Da Silva pays the babysitter for another night. They were both nervous, but it was an ordinary enough place, single legged, round tables with large umbrellas were the defining characteristics for this outdoor cafe. It was spacious with families and couples seated away at a comfortable distance, a tall, criss-crossed fence with dark borders surrounding the side lawn of the restaurant. Down the hill are passing traffic, but birds hidden in the planted trees chirp and favourable music pours from inside.
"Thank you." Thomas and Chris thanks the waiter as he goes to take their orders.
"Did Silent Hill have any famous celebrities or important figures? I always thought that a town once so grand would have at least one." Chris says, clattering his silverware and plate in an attempt to straighten it up more, wiping some of it with a napkin.
Thomas munches on a bread stick. "A few."
"Do you remember any of their names?"
"The Artaud's owned the theatre and were quite well off. You should have seen Silent Hill back in its glory days: it wasn't all bad, it had an amusement park, tourist sites, an old mine-"
Thomas went on, no mention of any Wolfs. Finally their orders arrive and they eat.
"See you again next week?" Chris asks disappointedly, unable to obtain anything important or relevant.
They finished their meals and about to head off, standing near the door of the restaurant.
"No kisses on first dates?" Thomas jokes, closing in on Chris near the door.
"No..." Startled, he hits the wall where a poster crumples to the floor.
"Either you kiss me or I'll do it." Thomas closes in some more, unable to control himself now.
Unexpectedly, Chris quickly pecks him on the cheek, both of them looking around embarrassingly.
Thomas covers his lower face and backs away. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."
Dying with embarrassment, Chris looks down. "Uh, no, I should apologize."
Chris runs out the door and to his car before forgetting to say good-bye, then they both drive off to their homes.
"Oh, my god!" Chris yells into a pillow.
When he had planned to get close to Gucci, he hadn't meant like that. He was pressured. He panicked. He didn't actually want to do it. Chris moans as he can't think of how their next meeting will go, doubting anything more to happen now; no more information on Alessa Gillespie, Claudia Wolf and, most of all, no more on Rose.
"Dad?" Sharon peeks through the door, jumping into bed and before long snoring.
"My day went great, thanks." Chris whispers sarcastically.
He drags the heavy covers over Sharon's small body and combs red strings of hair off her face. Over her he sees a glow from the coffee table, his laptop on, no doubt the novel again. Why was she reading his manuscript every time he left?
"Good night. Call me whenever you want. I need the pay." The babysitter calls from the other side.
"See you." Chris groans, laying down.
A head sticks through the open door. "Tell your wife I said g' night, too. Is she still on duty?"
"I told you. On a business trip. Won't be back for months."
"Right." And the head disappears with a loud bang from the entrance.
Chris lets out another groan and rubs his face, ready to roll to his side when he feels Sharon breathing. He couldn't grasp just how small and tragic this child was. Just what did his Rose go through too? He wraps his arms around her, releasing a long sigh, and drifts off to sleep to the soothing, rhythmic sound of breaths. He couldn't help but smile all night.
While at Thomas's home, he was going over just how awkward their parting was. He was married and had no intention of that kind of relationship
Allison walks into the bedroom and catches Thomas undressing, sitting on the bed in the dark. She crawls behind him and massages his back as he undoes his tie.
"What is it, darling? Was it your dinner?" She whispers, kissing his neck and helping with taking off his shirt.
"My damn date was late, he was noisy trying to be clean and orderly, and then he did something stupid and just ran off."
"Sounded fun." She sarcastically states, neatly folding his shirt.
Thomas hangs his head back, relaxing while being massaged. He smells in her sweet perfume, twirling her long blonde hair in his fingers, and wonders how it was like being home all alone while he worked late hours.
Allison was visibly trying to seduce him but he couldn't get the soft pressure of Chris's lips on his cheek out of his mind.
"I'm not in the mood." Thomas coldly states, getting up and pulling off his pants then jumping into bed.
"Okay." Allison says quietly. "You know, I try so damn hard to please you." She starts, uncharacteristically. "I cook, clean, and we have sex when you want it!"
"Hold on, I don't make you do any of those." Thomas sits up agitatedly.
"I'm not forced to do any of those, but you make me when you get in a foul mood and ignore me. Don't treat me like an idiot, Thomas, I know your job's hard and I'm sorry about Margaret, but I know about your ideal women, like some 1940's fantasy."
Thomas stops himself in time. He thought back to his father, who was always filling his head with all kinds of junk, like the ideal marriage and was the main reason he joined the force and married Allison.
Neither went on with the fight but it takes hours for them to sleep. Thomas lays there, half asleep and already dreaming about the fire that killed his father and Gillespie. He knew he had to see Da Silva again, even if his wife or messenger didn't agree with it.