Interlude 2: Calm Before the Fog

Leitmotif: "Lost Carol" — Silent Hill 3 soundtrack

-:-

Déjà vu hadn't been exclusive to Douglas.

Cheryl Mason, once known as "Heather Mason" and now going by "Sharon Da Silva", was feeling it, too. Here she was again, being driven to Silent Hill in a rainstorm, anger simmering at the town that'd taken so much from her. This time, however, she wasn't going to Silent Hill to avenge her father or settle any old scores.

She looked back down at Douglas's notebook, where she'd jotted down locations pertaining to his latest case.

"On the road again, eh?" There was a near-hitch at the end of her sentence, for she had almost slipped and called Douglas by his real name. To his credit, Douglas merely grunted in affirmation, as if there hadn't been a near slip of the tongue. A familiar and not uncomfortable silence passed between them.

"Your head hurting?"

The twenty-something (or was it forty-something?) could've chuckled at the sixty-something's sharp memory. "Not yet." Though knowing Silent Hill, that'll change soon enough. She looked behind her. "How you guys doing back there?"

Indeed, Cheryl and Douglas weren't going to that town alone. Seated behind the two former Americans was a group of Japanese kids, six of them teens and one a preteen. Amazing what one panicked mother's phone call could set off…

The longhaired girl (Kotonoha, was it?) answered, seemingly on everyone else's behalf. "About as well as can be expected." Cheryl could hear a subtle edge to the younger girl's voice, as if she'd wanted to snap What kind of ridiculous question is that?! And it was a ridiculous question, wasn't it?

The faux blonde was also certain that these kids knew she'd been vague about what to expect in Silent Hill. But how was she to tell such uninitiated about monsters and the Otherworld? Some things you just had to see to believe…

She could only hope that the stun guns she'd had them buy would be enough. And that they were smarter than a slasher film cast.

"How much has Makoto told any of you about his old man?"

Inwardly, Cheryl sighed in relief. Good ol' Douglas.

"Very little. I don't think Makoto-kun liked talking about his father."

"Yeah. All we know is Makoto's parents split up and his dad got his little sister."

"All he told me was that he was a real spendthrift. And that he had a big cruiser."

Douglas gave a chuff at the petite girl's answer. "Sounds about right. Being a spendthrift is the least of that guy's problems."

"Problems? Like what?"

Douglas sighed at the idiot-haired girl's question. "Too many to list. That Tomaru… he's one screwed-up guy. I thought I'd seen 'em all, but he… he's on a whole nother level." Almost makes that Claudia woman look like a saint, he thought to himself, though for Cheryl's sake, he didn't voice this aloud. "And now, to think he could be part of the Order…"

"What's 'the Order'?"

Douglas could've kicked himself. Neither he nor Cheryl had mentioned anything about Silent Hill's cult when the Katsura girl and her group insisted on coming along. Well, no putting that cat back in the bag… "Any of you remember Aum Shinrikyo?"

A silence fell over the group before Chie eventually broke it. "My parents told me about it. They said it was about a week before they could take a train again."

"Well, the Order's kinda like that. They haven't done anything like those gas attacks, but I wouldn't put it past 'em. They're not too fond of those who don't believe as they do…" Or who interfere with their plans…

Kotonoha grew more alarmed, as did the others. "But what could this 'Order' have to do with Makoto-kun's father?"

"I don't know, but that's the only thing I can think of. Silent Hill was their base of operations, and this isn't the first time that Tomaru guy's invited a son of his to that town." (In his periphery, Douglas could see Cheryl suddenly turn to face him. He wasn't the only one with sharp memory.) "That has to be it. I also know that the Order ran a drug ring and my sources tell me Tomaru's no stranger to that business." Among others… "In any case, the sooner we find this Makoto kid, the better."

"Sharon?"

"Hm?"

"What's your experience with Silent Hill?"

Cheryl hesitated. "Why do you ask?"

Setsuna's reddish eyes bore into the blonde's. "Back at the airport, I overheard you tell Detective Da Silva that you weren't going to lose another father to that town."

Cheryl's blood froze. Fuck. How expository should I be with these kids?

The petite girl kept pressing. "If it could help us find Makoto that much faster…"

Facing the road, Cheryl sighed. Oh, hell. What's one more cat out of the bag…?

"I was born in Silent Hill, but I didn't stay there long. My dad took me away from there, and it's a good thing he did. This other girl I knew, Alessa… her own mother had sacrificed her to the Order's god. Years later, when I was seventeen, they came after me. And they…" Her breath hitched. "…they killed my father."

She took a moment to recompose herself, not missing the soft gasps behind her.

"Thanks to Chris, I got justice for Dad, and he's been like a father to me ever since." She turned to said father figure, her smile wan but grateful. "I don't know what I would've done without him…" She chuckled ruefully. "It's funny… After everything, I never thought I'd be going back to that hellhole. There must be some sort of karma here…"

Before anyone could say anything else, the radio, which had been playing easy listening music, crackled into static before a man's voice spoke.

[Are you yearning for that special place to spend quality time with your loved one? Do you need to relax and get away from it all? Come to Silent Hill for the ultimate peaceful getaway.]*

Cheryl turned the radio off with just a bit more force than necessary. "Great. Not even there yet and already, Silent Hill's taking a piss at us!"

Whether from Cheryl's outburst or from realizing the situation they were following that Makoto kid into, no one said anything for a long time.

-:-

*Radio ad: just had to include this bit from SH4 XD (youtu. be/4xRXuqpkrjs?t=88)

Silent Hill, the Order, Douglas Cartland, Cheryl "Heather" Mason, Alessa Gillespie © Konami
all other characters © 0verflow
Chris(topher) and Sharon Da Silva (names) © Christopher Gans/Open Road Films
this story, the Da Silvas = Cheryl and Douglas's aliases © me