Leon stopped in the middle of the road, struggling to catch his breath. The agent bent down and put his hands on his knees, breathing deeply. Although he was in excellent shape and could have easily run five miles without pausing for a breather, he kept on having to stop to catch his breath. It wasn't from exhaustion, there was something else…Leon sniffed, wondering if something in the air was giving him such a hard time. Was it the fog somehow? The person over the radio had mentioned fire, and…hadn't there been a fire at the Baldwin Mansion? Although Leon had searched for the girl and her father, there had been no trace of them, or anyone else, having ever lived in that house for a while.

I heard Amy screaming, there was smoke everywhere…

"Maybe I just imagined it," He grumbled to himself. It might have just been his imagination, but he did feel a little different, light headed somehow. Was it the same thing that kept on causing him to pass out? Had he inhaled something that had caused him to hallucinate? Leon glanced down at his shirt. Bloodstains didn't lie, he knew.

"Or maybe I'm dreaming." He said drily.

Sighing, the agent pushed forward. He didn't know where h was, or where the school was. He wondered about that other woman, Cheryl. Was she okay? He grimaced at the thought of her daughter being lost here. He couldn't imagine what that must feel like.

Leon had been having an inner struggle with not helping her. He was an ex-cop, and now an agent for the government! It was his job to protect people.

So why didn't you?

The image of Cheryl standing there clutching her handgun was burned in his mind vividly. Her expression had been so determined, even a little angry. She acted like she had known just what to do, and she probably did. He had offered to go, than decided against insisting and playing the big, macho man who came to the rescue. Something about her hadn't struck him as being a damsel in distress…

Chrreeechchchch…

Static slowly became louder; Leon's hand went inadvertently to his radio, his trigger finger ready. The fog was too thick to see anything yet…but he was ready. Slowly, seconds passed, the static got louder, than slowly began to fade down. Leon stared hard at the fog, turning around to see where the monster was closing in.

Come on you little bastard. He thought. I'm waiting…

Nothing appeared, he hadn't heard another sound, and now the static was completely gone. Leon blew the breath he had been holding out, his bangs fluttering. Maybe the radio was just broken…

Instinctively, Leon checked his gun, finding that the chamber was empty. Great. He had no more bullets, if that monster had appeared—

Leon's head shot up, his ears straining for the noise-yes, it was real! Leon peered closer into the fog, trying to find the source. It sounded like soft scraping…running?

The blond moved through the white blanket, trying to keep quiet. His sharp hearing was straining, as were his eyes. Damn fog…

Through it all, a small form took shape. Leon moved a little closer, not wanting to draw attention to himself…just yet. It appeared to be human…with long hair and wearing a dress. A child…Not Amy…someone else.

Leon relaxed a bit, smiling slightly in relief to see the girl unhurt, and moved forward in attempt to catch the child's attention. "Thank g-d," He called out in soothing voice. "Your mother's been worried sick-"

The girl took off running abruptly as though she hadn't heard him, her footsteps soft and rapid on the ground. "Hey!" Leon called, a bit louder. "Stop!" The girl kept on running.

What is with the kids around here?

Leon took off after the child whose advantage was the fog. Soon enough, she was out of sight, hidden behind the white curtain. Leon slowed his pace, confused and slightly disoriented in the thick mist. "Kid…!" He paced forward. "I'm not going to hurt you! I want to help! I know your mother!"

Only silence met him.

Leon made a large circle of the narrow street, his ears waiting for the sound of scuffling feet. There was still nothing, it was as though the girl had disappeared. Sighing in disappointment, he jogged forward in the direction the girl had run. The street boasted of mainly town houses, colonial and regal looking. Grass bordered the sidewalks, so if the girl tried to run past, he could have easily heard her. The fog was becoming denser, he must have been going into a wider area. Already, something was in sight, something on the ground. There was something different…

"What the-" Leon cut off, stopping dead in his tracks. His eyes widened. Nothing. The road had completely broken off, down a deep cliff, into nothing. It went down far too deep to see the bottom through the fog. Leon reached out into the open air, wondering if it was his mind. How did this happen?

Where had the child gone from here? The street had been too narrow to have passed her without seeing or hearing her.

"My g-d," Leon croaked, feeling sick. "My g-d." Dread pent up in his stomach, he dropped to the ground and tried to peer far over the edge, tried to see the bottom. "Hey!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, desperate. He waited for a muffled answer, but all was quiet. No sign of life, not that he'd had been able to tell anyways. His hands were shaking. He slowly got up. He hated things that involved children.

Still fighting off the urge to vomit, Leon turned and went rapidly down the street, a sense of failure coming over him. He was the agent; he was supposed to save people! Instead, he had chased the girl down the street through the fog that neither of them could see through—

No, He thought bluntly. I had no idea.

Hmmh.

Leon tensed, looking up sharply at the noise. Through the fog, a small figure was hurrying away, giggling merrily. Leon gaped, than nearly collapsed with relief, not noticing the girl disappearing. She had gone so fast, that Leon nearly wondered if he had seen her at all. Of course he had, hadn't he? She just must have seen the cut-off road and snuck by him quietly, why not?

This time, Leon sprinted forward, not wanting to miss her again. Taking long strides, Leon pumped out air, running as quickly as possible. The buildings seem to dissolve into one another through the fog, like an old fashioned tape. The girl had long disappeared, but she couldn't have gotten too—

A flash of orange ducked into the mist, his radio nearly jumped off his belt as it burst out static. Leon stopped dead short, his mouth dropping open. The static was so loud that Leon had to turn it off, hoping the…thing hadn't heard it. Making sure it was really there, Leon took a few steps back. For some reason, he had suddenly stepped into a cold fear, like fresh adrenaline. His mind seemed to scream Run! Run! Run!, but his legs remained still.

That looks like Ashley's sweater. Is she really here?

"H…Hey!" He called out hesitantly. "Ashley, is that you?"

Why did you make me crash?

Something stirred, there was a momentary silence that filled in the gaps between real and imagination, then a low sound, too soft to be heard almost, but it was there. Leon swallowed, why did that made him so nervous?

The silhouette of a girl became clear, her head bent sharply forward. She wore orange and a green skirt, just like Ashley, but what was wrong with her skin?

Leon backed up, wishing for bullets more badly than ever.

Ashley staggered out of the fog, her blonde hair hanging limply over her face, darkened by…blood?

"Ashley…"

The head shot back, revealing the same horrible creature from the hospital, the one with the unhinged jaw.

Every muscle tensed, Leon waited for something to happen. The creature, still partly hidden by the fog, just seemed to stare at Leon for what seemed like forever, the sounds emitting from its throat barely audible. Slowly, the creature retreated backwards into the fog. Leon couldn't move an inch; the hairs on his neck were standing straight up. Only once the creature was completely out sight did Leon dare to move. Slowly, he backed away from where the creature had appeared near, his heart finally slowing to its regular rhythm.

"You."

Cheryl walked up behind him, her gun pointed directly at his head. Leon looked at her in surprise. Slowly, she retreaded back a few feet, lowering her gun to her side. Placing her hand over her heart, she breathed out a ragged breath. "My g-d, I almost shot you." She murmured shakily.

Leon breathed out to, but in relief, glad she hadn't intended shooting him. Cheryl shook her head as though regaining composure, her face becoming grave and still. Wearily pushing a strand of blonde hair out of her eyes, she looked measurably at Leon almost despairingly.

Leon shrugged the last of his nerves away; meeting Cheryl's nearly dazed looked. A lightheadedness floundered his skull a second then, making him wonder if he was about to faint again. Was it ordinary for car crash victims to continuously pass out? Was the crash also responsible for the odd dreams? The more he thought about Amy and the fire, the less real it had seemed. There hadn't been any smoke after all, and he had been unharmed. There had also been those other weird dreams with the girl in blue…

"I just tried to go to the church." She said. Although her voice was oddly calm, her lip trembled and her eyes were red and moist. "I tried to cut through the amusement park, but the road was completely gone, there was nothing. And," She added, trembling. "I just tried to get to my car to see if Harriet was there, but the road had disappeared there to." She shook, laughing drily as though finding some hidden humor in the conflict. "All the roads leading out of town have gone. We can't get out."

Umbrella, 12:30, same day.

Everything was coming together too perfectly. Wesker grinned at the thought of the events that would come. All the pieces were about to fall into place, just as the man had said. The hardest part was over, now came rewarding bit.

Luring that brat out of her house was a bit of a challenge. He mused. Her mother must know she's gone already, the man said she would go to the town immediately.

He hadn't shared any of this yet to Krauser or Ada. Krauser would more or less attempt to get involved. Ada, well…Wesker found his trust in Ada was rapidly declining. As good of an agent as she was, she was dishonest, having had played double agent several times. Plus, after finding out she had stolen his files, well…

The tall man moved from his desk, almost restlessly. The previous night's experiments had revealed just as he had expected. All the bodies had contained failed fetuses, too premature to determine genders…although he expected all were the same. It was too odd to be a coincidence, all the bodies were found on the outskirts of Silent Hill, all the bodies burnt beyond recognition, there was a definite connection...one the man had refused to tell him for some reason.

All the more reason to find out. He thought.

Wong was becoming a bit of a nuisance to him to. She clearly was worried about Sunderland's, although Wesker could only imagine why. The girl was a bitchy brat when she was upset, apparently, he could only imagine why her father had adopted her.

Her dear father's been lying to her for years. He reflected. They say the human mind tries to avoid pain; she must have blocked it out all together.

The human mind was complex; people didn't really understand the true power it is capable of. If a traumatic event happens to someone, it is human nature to avoid pain at all cost, even blocking it out all together, sometimes. Some people would rather forget all together than facing pain…or guilt. But these things could only remain dormant for so long…after all, we all must face ourselves sooner or later.

There was shuffling outside the door, than a second later, Krauser walked in. "They're meeting tonight, all three of them." He reported immediately.

Wesker raised an eyebrow. "Three?"

"Wong, Sera, and Sunderland."

"Sunderland." Wesker nodded slowly, thoughtfully digesting this information. "Seems as if Ada is finally cracking on us. If she continues to disrupt my work any further, I'm afraid we'll have to use her for…far less unpleasant uses. Her lap dog Sera can go as well."

Krauser nodded, grinning. He had never like Ada or Luis, they were a nuisance to him and he would be glad to finally rid of them. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to let them play out their cards by themselves." Wesker sat himself down. "If all goes right, they'll choose to end up in Silent Hill in the end. Besides, I'm sure Ada would be glad to go…once she finds out that her little lover boy is there."

It was Krauser's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Kennedy…?"

"I believe you know him."

"Why is he there?"

Without a word, Wesker opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out thin pamphlet of paper that was a decorative red color bordered with yellow. Krauser accepted the paper and read it over once. "A pamphlet." He stated. "You sent Kennedy over making him think he was going on vacation?"

"He crashed before he reached town." Wesker said, sounding slightly irritated. "An animal must have darted out in front of his car. My people found his car, but Kennedy was gone."

"He walked off."

"No," Wesker leaned closer over his desk. "Every year, dozens of people go 'missing' in that town. No trace of them is ever found. Someone else got to his body before we did…someone working against us." He added quietly.

"Any idea who it is?" Krauser asked.

"No," Wesker brandished another sheet of paper from his desk, this one sloppily stained with red ink. It was a simple piece of white paper, small. In the middle, a circle with a triangle in the middle bordered with odd designs in red ink, as though someone had stamped it on.

Authors Note- I'm sorry, I know this chapter isn't very interesting, but I need these type of chapters to build up the storyline. Anyway, I have decided to have Leon and Cheryl (I always think of her as Heather ) to kind of join forces, or at least to help each other out more often. A cop and a parent searching for their kid...sound familiar? For those of you non-Silent Hill players who are reading this story, if you are completely lost, I will be glad to clearify anything. And thank you for those pointing out flaws I have added (Accidentally.) In games, I'm never the person fighting the monster, my friends are...I'm a wimp so I write really crappy fight scenes. Anyways, keep up the reviews.