Time for Chapter Three! Cheryl Mason and Rebecca Chambers continue to get to know each other as they prepare to hunt for The Order. Unfortunately, they discover how entrenched the enemy is in Black Falls, and the cult is preparing to do something terrible. In spite of that, something has begun to grow between Cheryl and Rebecca...something elemental and eternal...could it be love?

By the way, you veteran SILENT HILL fans will remember the parasites mentioned in this chapter from the very first game!

RESIDENT EVIL X SILENT HILL: JUDGMENT DAY

written by Charles Spencer,
inspired by Ygure

CHAPTER THREE:

"THE LAMPLIGHT DIALOGUES"

-1-

In a Happy Burger restaurant on the main street of a small Vermont town called Black Falls, Rebecca Chambers felt her blood chill. The petite, brunette beauty forgot about the value meal she'd been eating as she asked, "Cheryl, are you sure about this?"

Sitting across from Rebecca at a window-side table, Cheryl Mason responded to the BSAA agent's question with a glare: "I wouldn't be telling you this if I wasn't sure, Rebecca!" But the pretty blonde quickly, clearly regretted the angry tone in those words and she said much more softly, "I'm sorry..."

Rebecca said gently, "It's okay." It truly was. She still knew very little about Cheryl, and could only guess what kind of hell The Order put her through. "You've been in Black Falls longer than I have. Tell me what you know."

Cheryl relaxed, and after a moment got into it... "Ever since I arrived, I've listened to the locals talk. Sometimes I'd ask questions when I felt I could risk it, but I'd mostly use my powers to hear the thoughts of those who are worried about those parasites, and there are a lot of worried people. I've also seen things in the memories of some people who work at the hospital."

Cheryl Mason learned a lot. It started in May, and the cases were spread out across the local area and over the timespan of the past few months. At first, in the case of the first man afflicted, a local farmer, some thought that heavy drinking or drugs were involved. He suddenly began behaving very strangely in front of family and friends one morning...he didn't respond to anyone talking to him, and his every move became clumsy...twitchy. It was like he didn't know how to move in his own skin anymore; or better to say, he seemed to act like a puppet in the control of an invisible operator who didn't quite know how to use him. In this farmer's case and every case afterward, one didn't have to look hard to see something else out of the ordinary.

All those afflicted had developed strange, distinctive humps to their backs that made their clothing fit awkwardly.

It didn't take long before family and friends called for medical help in every case...however, the Black Falls Sheriff's Office also got involved in these cases because the afflicted didn't want any help, and that was putting it gently. In each case paramedics arrived, and the subject would respond to any attempt to approach them with sudden, savage violence. One killed his own brother before he was subdued, and another took up his old shotgun...he almost killed a deputy with its double-barrels before he was gunned down in self-defense.

And in most every case, after the afflicted were taken to the hospital, the shocking true culprit was exposed: a slug-like creature with glistening black skin about a foot long attached to the person's back squarely between the shoulder blades. In the case of the man who was killed, who was a mild-mannered insurance salesman most in Black Falls knew, the creature disengaged from him and damn near got away. Some on the scene thought fast and managed to catch the thing, even though it was harder to handle than a greased pig and they were sorely tempted to just kill it. To say the least, the creatures were unlike anything anyone had seen or even heard of before...but by July, Doctor Burton Young, Administrator of Wyler Community Hospital, described them as parasites. It was theorized by local wildlife experts that they were fully subterranean creatures somehow stirred from underground by a seismic event or something else that forced them to rise to the surface.

There was no doubt the creatures were parasites, albeit of a kind never before encountered, and it appeared humans made fine hosts. How the things joined with their prey was horrifying. When it attached to a human's back by small, incredibly strong suction cups on its underside not unlike those of an octopus, the parasite extended a long, sharp tube similar to a proboscis that pierced the host's skin and drove into the spinal cord, connecting the creature directly to the host's central nervous system. Every medical specialist involved was at a loss to explain it, but the results were undeniable.

The parasite effectively possesses a host, their own brain supplanting the human's and taking control of them. That was why in every case, the spasmodic and unsure movements of each victim made them appear like puppets on strings. Something yet to be explained, and far more disturbing, was how the late insurance salesman could have operated a shotgun while under parasitic control...this indicated that the creatures had a surprisingly high intelligence of their own, at or approaching human levels, and that alone was scary as hell.

It absolutely frightened Rebecca Chambers, as she thought back on all she learned about parasites in college...while she didn't have a photographic memory, her ability to recall information came pretty close. Parasites were designed very, very simply: to inflitrate a symbiont, another living being, for nourishment and even reproduction. In nature, they took the form of worms or microscopic, single-cell organisms. But what was in Black Falls, what Cheryl claimed had been in Silent Hill...such a thing shouldn't have been possible!

But then the BSAA agent only had to recall what happened to her in 1998. In the forests and that damn mansion in the shadow of the Arklay Mountains, and finally in Raccoon City just before its fall. Rebecca Chambers knew from those experiences and terrible crises like the C-Epidemic that the rule of nature no longer applied anymore.

Because of those driven by greed or insanity, in their desire to create bio-engineered, genetically-altered beings and viruses for their own purposes, this had long ago become a brave yet frightening new world.

Rebecca broke from her thoughts and focused fully on Cheryl as the blonde spoke again: "In Silent Hill, The Order used the parasites on people they decided they'd rather control instead of kill. People here don't want to talk about the creatures, but they're terrified. So many just want to ignore it and hope it goes away while others are waiting to hear about Doctor Young's 'solution'...but I know it's going to get worse." There was such a haunted knowledge in Cheryl's eyes when she quietly finished, "It's just a question of when."

Rebecca's lovely face took a serious set as she laced the fingers of her hands together on the table...she looked down for a moment before she spoke. "I need to see these parasites for myself...I'll investigate what's being done about them at the hospital. I do have authority as a Medical Specialist for the BSAA." She looked up into Cheryl's eyes. "I believe all you're saying, Cheryl, and I'll talk to Doctor Young, too. You came here because you suspected he's tied to The Order, right?"

Cheryl nodded. "The moment Douglas told me about Doctor Young, about his history in Silent Hill...I had a terrible feeling he might be connected to whatever was left of the cult, and I was right."

With determination, Rebecca said, "Then maybe I can rattle his cage and see what drops."

Cheryl had been relaxed mostly, but suddenly sat up straight in response, her expression uncertain. "I'm not sure if that's a good idea, Rebecca. Even if you're a federal agent, you could get in trouble..."

Rebecca smiled at Cheryl fondly, but her eyes were confident. "I'll be okay, Cheryl. I won't take any dumb chances."

Cheryl then implored, "Please don't. I don't want anything to happen to you." The pretty blonde fell silent then...she looked at Rebecca awkwardly for a beat, and she looked at the table defensively, away from the brunette's gaze. She said, much quieter, "I-I mean, I've gotten close enough to Doctor Young to know his thoughts at the time. He's a selfish bastard and he is working with The Order. He might see you as a threat if you do rattle his cage."

Rebecca felt awkward for a moment, as well...she could feel the care and something much, much deeper from Cheryl when she let down her guard and said what she was feeling. Rebecca felt warm inside as she smiled softly and promised, "I'll be careful, Cheryl. I really will." She then thought to ask, "You read Doctor Young's thoughts...is he a part of the cult, Cheryl?"

Cheryl shook her head, her expression one of contempt for Burton Young. "No. He's no true believer. Young is just working with The Order because he thinks it'll get him more power and money." The blonde added darkly, "He's just like Kaufmann."

Rebecca looked at Cheryl and asked, "You mean Philip Kaufmann, who Young worked with in Silent Hill - ?"

Cheryl Mason's face twisted with sudden anger as she said with disgust, "Kaufmann was an asshole. He wasn't a believer either, but he also worked with The Order to get what he wanted, to make himself richer. They gave Kaufmann the manpower and other things he needed to make drugs and sell them in Silent Hill." Something in the blonde's eyes shifted then. "The thing was, Kaufmann didn't care what The Order wanted, and that was his biggest mistake. By the time he did figure out what they had in mind, it was too late. Kaufmann deserved what he got, Rebecca. He really did." Cheryl looked down and said softly, "Maybe Doctor Young will too someday."

"We'll see," Rebecca said as she looked at Cheryl with a thoughtful expression. "Cheryl...the way you talk about Kaufmann...did you know him?" The blonde girl didn't look up into Rebecca's eyes, but she finally nodded, clearly reluctant to say anything. Rebecca gently pressed further... "Did Kaufmann do anything to you, like Dahlia...?"

Cheryl suddenly looked into Rebecca's eyes as she began to cry. It seemed to take all of her strength to keep her overwhelming emotions bottled in as she wiped away the tears on her cheeks quickly. Cheryl Mason's voice was measured yet incredibly strained as she said, "I...I-I can't talk about it. I'm really sorry..."

Rebecca Chambers' heart went out to the girl again as she shook her head gently. "Don't be sorry," the brunette reassured.

But. Rebecca's thoughts were working at high speed as she realized. She thought, Wait a minute. Cheryl was born in 1983. We are about the same age...heck, she said she was in high school at the time Raccoon City was destroyed. No doubt about any of that. Yet 1983 was the same year Kaufmann disappeared, just like most everyone in Silent Hill.

And that would have meant Cheryl couldn't have known Kaufmann...she'd have been a newborn at the approximate time he disappeared!

Rebecca would have been tempted to think that Cheryl was lying...if not for one thing. A long time ago, one of Rebecca's instructors in the specialized courses she took to become part of the Special Tactics and Rescue Squad enlightened her to 'tells'. In the world of poker, tells were those little things a player did that indicated whether they had a strong hand or a weak one. In law enforcement, tells were the little things a person did that betrayed them as liars as they answered questions. The look in a person's eyes...a glance to the side or away from whoever was questioning them...nervous, anxious gestures...and much more. The subject fascinated Rebecca, and she learned all she could from the seasoned instructor who had interrogated his fair share of suspects in his police career. She never, ever forgot, either.

Not even once since the first moment she met Cheryl Mason did Rebecca Chambers ever see any tells from the blonde girl. Cheryl hadn't lied to the BSAA agent, not even once, and only refused to speak of things that were clearly painful for her. Rebecca thought, But there's so much you're not telling me...I have a feeling the most important things I need to know are what you haven't said to me yet.

In response to that thought, the haunted, moody beauty looked at Rebecca. Cheryl said neutrally, "Please be patient with me, Rebecca. Please."

Rebecca's expression softened again, but before she could say anything, bright lights suddenly washed into the Happy Burger through its big windows as the loud screech of tires on pavement were heard. Mercifully, the headlights of the vehicle shut off, but the lamps of its lightbar pulsed urgently. Rebecca and Cheryl saw that it was a police vehicle, a big Chevy Tahoe 4-door SUV that had quickly pulled to a stop at the curb diagonally right in front of Cheryl's LTD in a blockading move.

Cheryl Mason looked outside and breathed, "Dammit."

Rebecca Chambers looked at her. "What's wrong?"

The blonde said, "If this is who I think it is, he gave me trouble before. Mostly because I'm a stranger in town, y'know?"

Rebecca frowned. "He knows you by the name Heather Morris, right?"

Cheryl nodded. "I need to get out there before he busts one of my taillights and gives me a ticket or something."

Rebecca then quickly but gently corrected, "We need to get out there. I'm here for you, Cheryl."

-2-

The ladies left the Happy Burger, and standing there about between Cheryl's blue Ford and the police truck was a tall, hard-looking man in a Black Falls Sheriff's Office uniform. But this wasn't a deputy...he was the highest ranking law enforcer in the town. On the driver's door of the truck, in bold lettering, was the name SHERIFF GULAGER.

Under his flat-brimmed hat, 57-year-old Sheriff James Gulager seemed to embody the classic sheriff of a small town at first glance. He even had this laconic, cowboy quality that would have made him fit right into a frontier town in the days of the 1800's Old West. But everything about this man was visually hard and unyielding, like he'd been carved from an oak tree, especially his deeply-lined face framed by thin gray hair. Even Gulager's blue eyes were hard, like glacier ice. His uniform, the star on his chest, and the big semi-auto handgun in his thick and heavy gunbelt all announced his purpose, yet the rest of him naturally compounded his authority, and not in a positive way. This was a man who, at least to strangers in his town, more likely inspired fear than a respect for law and order.

Gulager didn't just look perpetually unhappy, he seemed ready to spread unhappiness around...and his hard eyes were fixed on Cheryl Mason as she left the restaurant with Rebecca Chambers. He nodded to them as they approached, and his voice was low, unfriendly. "Good evening, ladies."

Cheryl said flatly, "Sheriff."

Rebecca, meanwhile, sought to try to make this iceman melt just a little with a warm smile. "Hello! I'm - !"

Gulager jabbed a finger at the brunette and said, "I'll get to you in a minute." He then took two long steps to Cheryl, and his eyes bored into her. "Miss Morris, I gave you some good advice before. Looks like you don't know how to listen."

Cheryl tried to say, "Sheriff, I - "

But Gulager chopped her words off like an axe by growling harshly, "I'll tell you when to open that mouth of yours. Until then, keep it shut." It took all of Rebecca's self control to keep her building anger at Gulager contained. Rebecca thought, The big jerk's almost two feet taller than Cheryl, and he's pushing her around like a schoolyard bully! Which was something Rebecca knew about, flashing back briefly to her days in high school, when she was expected to graduate years before anyone else because she was so gifted. Naturally, some of her fellow students got jealous...and she became the butt of pranks and other unkind things constantly. It made her graduation day from high school cause for relief as much as celebration.

Gulager loomed over Cheryl as he spoke. "As I was saying. I gave you good advice before, and you ignored me. I don't like to repeat myself, but to keep this night peaceable, I'll do it just once."

A short, loud honk was heard, and Gulager turned around to its source. Rebecca and Cheryl saw a second Sheriff's Office SUV pull up in the nearby traffic lane, and a much younger, redheaded man looked out from behind his wheel. In his late twenties, Deputy Tony Callahan was the polar opposite of Gulager, friendly and outgoing. He said, "Hello, Sheriff! What's the situation?"

Gulager looked at him and answered, "It's nothing, Tony. I'm just talking to these ladies."

The young deputy looked at his boss, confused. "Uh, okay. Is there anything I can do - ?"

The Sheriff then almost shouted, "I said it's nothing, boy. Get back to your patrol."

Tony went rigid in his truck's seat and nodded quickly. "Y-yessir!" The man then glanced at Cheryl and Rebecca and nodded. "Ladies." He then put his truck in gear and moved out, down the main drag.

Sheriff James Gulager then turned to Cheryl, his eyes even colder than before. "Listen to me very carefully if you were too stupid to do it before, Miss Morris. I want you on your way and out of my town, sooner instead of later. I don't need a vagrant like you coming into my town and causing trouble." He then took a deliberate step and got into Cheryl's space, his presence like a shark's on the hunt. To her credit, Cheryl Mason didn't step back...she looked back into Gulager's eyes, her expression still neutral. That only stoked Gulager's fire... "Make no mistake, I'm in a position to ensure you won't make trouble for anyone. If you don't want to give me a reason to get aggressive about my opinion - make me think, for instance, of searching your car for contraband or something else criminal - I suggest you go. Now." Both Cheryl and Rebecca automatically thought of the blonde's Colt .45 in her LTD's glove compartment.

Cheryl's voice was quiet when she said, "Sir, I'm not here - "

Gulager cut her off again, this time in her face: "I said shut up."

But Rebecca had taken all she could watching this crap. She said loudly, "Sheriff?" The tall law enforcer almost seemed to finally take notice of the brunette for the first time. Rebecca smiled. "Hi. I know you said you'd get to me, but we really need to talk."

Gulager gave her an annoyed frown. "Girl, you're a stranger in town, too. Hell, maybe I ought to look at you for possible vagrancy - "

Not losing her smile for a moment, Rebecca cheerfully said, "Then maybe you should take a good look at this instead." From her handbag, she quickly pulled out a leather folder and opened it, showing her official badge and identification. "Rebecca Chambers, Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance."

Gulager stared even harder at Rebecca than he had Cheryl, who looked at them both quietly. Gulager finally said, "I need to run that I.D."

Rebecca offered it to the Sheriff then. "Do whatever you have to, sir." Gulager snatched the I.D. from Rebecca and walked back to his truck. He got in behind the wheel and began to use his computer inside to a check on the agent. As he did, Rebecca lost her smile and said softly, "Jerk."

Cheryl drew close to the brunette, her expression worried. "Rebecca..."

Rebecca said, "Shush. You weren't making trouble for anyone, Cheryl. I'm not gonna let him push you around."

Cheryl responded defensively, almost annoyed, "I can take care of myself, Rebecca." But the girl winced at her own words, Rebecca saw, and her expression softened. Cheryl added quietly, "But...thank you." Rebecca realized the girl wasn't used to anyone standing in her defense, and she smiled reassuringly at the blonde.

A few moments later, Gulager returned from his vehicle...he offered Rebecca's badge back to her, but he looked even unhappier than before, if that was possible. He growled, "What are you doing here? I thought your group didn't work in the states."

Rebecca Chambers shook her head as she smiled, as she put her I.D. back into her handbag. "A lot of things changed because of the C-Virus, Sheriff. Domestically we're a federal task force alongside our worldwide duties. And I think that's only appropriate since Americans founded the BSAA." She spoke of her fellow survivors from Raccoon City, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine. Ever since its creation, the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance was meant to have global duties when it was formed with the authority of the U.S. government, the United Nations and global pharmaceutical interests to deploy to any country besieged by bio-organic weapons created by rogue states and terrorist groups. It would have had domestic responsibilities to help defend the security of the United States too, but left-leaning politicians screamed bloody murder at the thought of an 'unnecessary, reactionary' paramilitary organization watching over their citizens...they demanded the BSAA limited its duties to foreign lands, much like the Central Intelligence Agency was allowed to operate clandestinely only in other countries.

The recent and worldwide C-Virus epidemic hit nearly every civilized country across the planet, and America wasn't immune...worse, the President of the United States himself fell victim to the virus, assassinated. A vaccine was finally created and began to be distributed globally in July. As the entire world started to recover from the crisis, the voices that demanded the BSAA not work on American soil quickly fell silent. A federal division was created within a few weeks by order of the newly sworn-in President. Rebecca finished, "Anyway, I'm not here on official duty. I just came to meet my friend."

Gulager's eyes narrowed as he glanced at Cheryl and said, "Her?"

"Yep! Now I'm not a lawyer, but I'd call what you're doing to my friend harrassment." Rebecca then boldly stepped up to the Sheriff and stopped just outside of his personal space. The petite beauty lost her smile as she said, "What would you call it?"

Gulager's frown deepened the lines of his face further as he put his hands on his narrow hips. "I don't appreciate you accusing me of something, Miss Chambers - !"

"That's Agent Chambers, sir," Rebecca reminded him. "And I'm just telling you what I saw. I also saw you dismiss one of your deputies as you harrassed my friend, which means at least one thing to me: you didn't want your deputy to witness your unlawful harrassment. No matter how suspicious you are of my friend, you have no probable cause to even question her, much less search her vehicle, which your deputy would have known. You should know that, too."

Gulager's lips turned thin as he snarled, "I don't like you, Agent Chambers!"

Rebecca suddenly, loudly fired back, "I don't care!" She was so focused on Gulager, she didn't notice Cheryl Mason smile for the first time since they first met. Cheryl couldn't help but be impressed. Rebecca said angrily, "I take your harrassment of my friend very seriously, Sheriff Gulager. That's James Gulager, right? I researched everything I needed to know about Black Falls before I got here." The survivor paused only for a beat, deliberately, as Gulager fumed. "Now let me give you some good advice! If you insist on making trouble for someone I care about for no good reason at all, then the only one who's going to have any amount of trouble is you. I promise."

For a moment, the petite brunette and the tall law enforcer stared at each other.

Finally, Gulager quietly asked, "What are you both doing here, anyway? If you don't mind my asking."

Rebecca found her smile again, one that would have brightened the night if it could have. "I don't mind a bit. We're here for the County Fair."

The tall man blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Uh-huh. We heard it's one of the best in Vermont, and we're gonna be there on opening day tomorrow. The fairgrounds are just beyond King's Bridge, right?" Gulager nodded slowly. "All we plan on doing is spending money in your area. Is that any reason to be suspicious? Honestly?" Rebecca didn't wait for an answer. "If it is, I'll need to call your mayor. And it's okay, I've got Mayor Griffith's number. I did do my research."

Gulager's posture relaxed a little...his expression was almost one of respect, but grudging. His glacier eyes were still cold. He asked, "You two got a place to stay for tonight? I know Miss Morris has been at the bed and breakfast on Koontz Avenue the past couple of nights. They should still have an open room or two to stay tonight."

Rebecca nodded, her cheerful smile on her face again. "That sounds great, actually. Thanks."

Gulager advised, "You ought to know all of their rooms are booked up for the whole weekend after tonight. Mostly by folks who want to see the fair like you two do. The other inns might be full by then, too. Just so you both know."

"Okay, we'll remember that. Is there anything else?"

Sheriff Gulager said, after a moment, "No. That'll be all...for now. Agent Chambers. Miss Morris." He did a slow burn at them both, though, before he turned and strode back to his truck. He got in, backed away from the curb, and his tires squealed as he stomped on the accelerator and did a fast u-turn. The traffic wasn't that heavy, but the move made the drivers of two vehicles brake so they wouldn't hit the police truck.

The two women watched Gulager drive deeper into town...Rebecca lost her smile again as she crossed her arms. She said, with feeling, "Jerk!"

Cheryl drew close to Rebecca...her expression was very serious. "You don't know the half of it, Rebecca."

Rebecca's eyes were fixed on Gulager's shrinking taillights as she asked, "What do you mean, Cheryl?"

Cheryl then said, matter-of-factly, "The Sheriff's working for The Order, too."

Rebecca Chambers turned to look at Cheryl quickly, her wide eyes full of shock as she felt the bottom drop out of her stomach. The agent shouted, "WHAT?! You're just telling me that now? You could have said something before I even started talking to that jerk!"

Cheryl Mason shook her head, a knowing light shifting in her eyes. "Not a good idea. If you knew Gulager was a criminal, how would you have talked to him? I thought it would be best you didn't give anything away."

Still, Rebecca gave Cheryl a troubled frown. "I-is he like Doctor Young? I mean, he's just on The Order's payroll?"

Cheryl nodded. "So are several other local officials in City Hall. I could see that in his mind."

"Uh, does that include the mayor?"

"No, not yet." Cheryl stepped softly from Rebecca a short distance...she was the one to look in the direction Gulager left then. Her voice was bleak as she said, "Still, this town is already becoming like Silent Hill in too damn many ways. The Order and their corruption, the parasites...we've got to stop this before the worst happens."

Cheryl felt a gentle touch on her shoulder as Rebecca came up to her side, very close. The brunette's expression was one of true worry. "Cheryl...Douglas told me how The Order used him to find you and your dad, and he did in spite of your name change to Heather! Your using that name will still be a red flag to the cult, and if that Sheriff works for them - !"

"You're afraid if he knows I'm here, so will The Order." Cheryl shook her head, her eyes soft as she looked at Rebecca. "It's too late to worry about that. Sheriff Gulager knows who I really am. He had to restrain himself from calling me by my real name."

"Then why did he just try to drive you out of town like that?"

Cheryl answered, "Gulager may be working with The Order to get more money, just like Young, but he doesn't like them. He's afraid he'll get caught, and so he doesn't want me anywhere near him or Black Falls. And even if he did make me leave, he or another agent of The Order would keep tabs on me no matter where I went now."

Rebecca felt dread...there was no denying it. The Order had to know Cheryl was here. Rebecca almost groaned, "Oh, that's just great!"

Then Rebecca felt a soft yet firm hand gently close over one of hers...Cheryl's eyes might have been heavy with a history of sorrow and terrors yet unknowable to Rebecca, but there was a light of determination in those eyes, too. "Rebecca, they may know I'm here...but they can't know that we know that, too! Wouldn't you call that an advantage?"

The BSAA agent looked at Cheryl for a long moment and smiled. "Yeah...yeah, I would." Her eyes became full of worry again as she quickly added, "But you're still taking a huge chance, girl - !"

"Maybe, but I don't care." Cheryl looked down as she held Rebecca's hand, and there so much strength in her soft voice. So much resolve. "I don't want them to hurt anyone else. I want to be free of them. I have to stop them once and for all, and I will."

Cheryl felt Rebecca's hand softly squeeze her own...the brunette said, "We will, Cheryl. Remember you're not alone anymore."

There was warm, quiet silence for a moment as they looked at each other.

Slowly, reluctantly, Cheryl let go of Rebecca's hand as she said, "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm pooped."

Rebecca smiled and nodded. "Me, too. Gulager mentioned that bed and breakfast...?"

"It's not far away. The Order's strength is that no one knows about them, and we should be all right as long as we're in public places. We can split a room there, if you want."

"Okay, and that sounds good. I've never been to a bed and breakfast before." Rebecca had stayed at motels to sleep since she began her journey from Washington, D.C. to Maine to Vermont by motorcycle. "I'll bet it's a lot like staying at another friend's house for a sleepover. You know, like in high school?"

Cheryl Mason shrugged and said flatly, "I wouldn't know. I've never been to a sleepover."

Rebecca Chambers smiled warmly. "Me, either...but it's not too late, Cheryl."

-3-

As he drove away from the women, Sheriff James Gulager got out a cell phone and speed-dialed an important number. Indeed, he didn't like his secret employers...he didn't like them since they approached him months ago. But they offered a lot of money, and he liked the idea of spending the rest of his days in what he thought of as a thankless job even less. He connected to the person he needed to talk to and he didn't wait for them to say hello. Gulager got into it with a gruff tone: "It's me. We just got a wrinkle in the situation."

A smooth, measured voice said, "Tell me, Sheriff."

"Cheryl Mason isn't alone anymore. Someone arrived in town to meet her."

"Who?"

Gulager glanced at his computer screen as he drove...on it was the photo and information on the lady who wouldn't back down from him just before. "This lady from the BSAA, Rebecca Chambers. I'm looking at her file on my computer now. She's more of a PhD than some anti-terrorist agent, but she's had quite a history."

"I see. Rest assured, this changes nothing. Things will still proceed as I've planned tomorrow."

"Maybe before tomorrow you can finally tell me what that plan is?" Gulager's voice had become thin with irritation.

"Be patient, Sheriff. You'll receive a call later tonight at your home with instructions. You will also receive a delivery before morning light tomorrow. You'll know what to do with it."

Gulager's hand on the steering wheel suddenly gripped it tight. "Is that a fact." He tried to keep focus on the traffic ahead and behind as he spoke, but it was difficult. "Reeve, I haven't had a reason to argue with you...hell, I don't care about that crap you keep saying about your God and whatever Paradise you think's gonna happen. But remember I'm sticking my neck out for you here. You promised me a lot, but you insist on not saying a damn thing about what this so-called plan of yours is. I don't even have a clue why that Mason girl is so important to you."

-4-

Somewhere in Black Falls. In an office where the only illumination was a single lamp, which sat on a desk where a man known as Reeve sat as he spoke into his phone... "I told you before it's for your own protection you know as little as possible, remember? I understand if your peace of mind is bothered, Sheriff, but rest assured. If you play your part, you won't just reap a worldly profit. For your services, true glory shall be yours, just as it will be for all of the faithful." The man's face was in shadow, but one his pale hands fell into the illumination of the lamp to rest on a thick black book. On its hard cover was a blood-red seal...dominant in its design were three circles arranged in the configuration of an inverted triangle.

This was the Halo of the Sun, the symbol of the Church of the Holy Way.

He heard Gulager say, "That's nice. For your good and mine, though, maybe we ought to make a few changes, just in case. We've got a counter-terror agent involved, and there's no such thing as being too careful."

Seemingly unbothered, Reeve sighed, "And if need be, she will be dealt with in the same way certain other elements must be. In fact, you may be asked to do something about this Rebecca Chambers, Sheriff." A visitor entered the office as Reeve spoke. He was a tall and thin, dressed in black. He was bald, and his eyes were covered by sunglasses. It wasn't possible to guess how old this individual was, or even to determine his mood. His expression was stiff and neutral as he approached Reeve, his steps soundless on the crimson carpet.

Gulager quickly said, "You're going to have to pay me something extra for that, you understand?"

"We never know how much is demanded of us until the time comes to give, Sheriff. Was there anything else?"

"No, that's it."

"Then good night, Sheriff." Reeve hung up the phone, and then he stood as the bald visitor stopped a few paces away from the desk. Reeve's face was was still mostly shrouded by shadow...but the new arrival's black suit seemed to make him part of that darkness. The man known as Reeve spread his hands and bowed before the bald visitor.

His head low, Reeve said ominously, "Events are unfolding well. Tomorrow, the time will come. The Mother of God will be ours again...and this world will finally be delivered to Paradise."

-5-

Rebecca and Cheryl reached the humble yet beautiful two-story house that served as an inn on Koontz Avenue driving their motorcycle and old Ford, respectively. They parked next to each other in two of the lot's few free spaces. Cheryl got her loaded .45 from her car's glove compartent and stuck it into the beltline of her jeans under her jacket, then got out and took a couple of gym bags from the big trunk which held changes of clothes, a first aid kit, and several boxes of .45 Long Colt bullets for her gun. Rebecca's motorcycle was customized to have a couple of secret compartments under two of the aerodynamic panels, one for use during extended travel and the other for emergency situations. She accessed the one for travel and got out a humble duffel bag that had a couple of changes of clothes. The other compartment she left alone...she didn't need to get into it, and hoped she wouldn't have to at some point.

The bed and breakfast was still open, in case of any evening customers looking to stay in one of the few available rooms for the night, as Gulager said...the owners were a kind middle-aged couple who were as friendly as their place was charming in that classic New England way. Stepping into the place was like going back in time to an old-fashioned, more innocent era. When the couple offered a service to the ladies that they can have their clothes cleaned and ironed overnight and brought to their room in the morning, Rebecca cheerfully agreed...she wasn't a clothes horse, and she'd only gotten into town; a change of clothes wasn't necessary in her mind yet. Cheryl felt differently and said no.

The couple said they could have their breakfasts brought to their room at 8 in the morning, and the brunette quickly said yes, eager to try it...her moody blonde companion was silent on the subject.

Rebecca and Cheryl entered their second floor room, and the petite government agent couldn't help but gush, "Oh, it's so pretty!" And it was, its distinctive style truly sumptuous in comparison to, say, a Holiday Inn. The bed alone, its mattress at first glance as thick as a stuntman's air bag, was especially inviting with its plush pillows and beautifully embroidered covers. Illumination was offered by the soft glow of old-fashioned butane lamps. (There were electric lights, of course, but they were innocuously high on the walls and at strategic places throughout the inn in case of an emergency.)

Cheryl's opinion, though, was much more subdued. She said, "Every night I've been here, I felt like I broke into someone else's bedroom."

Rebecca turned to her, her smile beaming. She said, "Hey, it's ours for tonight, at least. Let's get comfortable!"

"Sure. Just as long as I never find out how many people slept in that bed..."

They took turns showering in the bathroom...Rebecca went first. As she tried to get comfortable like her companion said, Cheryl got out her .45, double-checked the weapon, and put it into one of her gym bags with some of her clothes. She then traded places with Rebecca after the brunette was done with her shower.

Not much later, Cheryl exited the bathroom wearing another unbuttoned flannel shirt with a slightly different color pattern over her t-shirt and panties. Her damp blonde hair wasn't combed quite right. In fact, her hair hadn't been cut well either, but right after the shower it was clearly noticeable. Before, one would have thought she drove all day with her window down, or some other reason for her hair being sort of unkempt. In spite of that, her beauty had increased in some ways as she tried to relax.

Rebecca, meanwhile, was there sitting on the bed patiently, and her short, styled hair didn't change in look much. She had gained a pixie-like quality to her as she was dressed only in a guest's robe that looked too big for her to wear. Her clean, lovely face was just as attractive without any makeup. Rebecca smiled and said, "Hey!"

Cheryl nodded. "'Hey', yourself," she said lightly. But she still didn't smile.

Rebecca did her best to not let that annoy her as she asked, "Is it okay to see your gun? I'm just curious."

Cheryl nodded. "Sure. It's in the bag closest to you." She pointed to where her two bags laid on the floor next to the bed, not far from Rebecca's bare feet.

"Thanks," Rebecca said, and her smile got even brighter...Cheryl wondered how that could be possible. She also wondered how long it would take before the brunette's natural good cheer got under her skin. Probably not much longer, Cheryl thought in a non-cheerful way.

Then Rebecca had the Colt .45 Peacemaker in one of her slender hands...it almost looked too big for her to hold, but only almost. The single-action gun was a stainless steel beast with a heavy frame and classic design that made it unforgettable for those who saw it in enough Hollywood Westerns. In fact, Rebecca briefly thought back to when she was still a child and she loved sitting with her parents as they all watched John Wayne movies, and she remembered that outside of four Westerns in which he didn't meet the best of ends, The Duke always beat the bad guys, saved the girl and won the day. This Peacemaker, however, wasn't an antique...it was mostly based on the 1873 design, but it was a modern weapon with refinements like improved rifling in its barrel to make it as accurate as it had to be in the new millenium.

Rebecca Chambers' smile faltered only slightly when she thought of Sheriff Gulager, and she knew he was the kind of guy John Wayne would have punched in the mouth out of general principle. Then the agent's smile was gone like quicksilver...her face took a very serious set as her training and professional experience with many firearms took hold. She smoothly opened the cylinder, took out the bullets, and inspected the weapon carefully. Cheryl watched as Rebecca's petite form took on a Weaver stance as she held the empty gun like she was aiming down a target range, and she was a striking sight...a nearly waif-like young woman - she reminded Cheryl of a young Winona Ryder with really short hair - in an overflowing white robe with a huge six-shooter firmly in her right hand as she looked down its sights.

Then Rebecca visibly relaxed, moved to Cheryl and gave her .45 and shells back...her bright smile returned as she said, "That's a very nice gun, Cheryl. Where did you learn to shoot?"

Cheryl took back the gun and said, with self-conscious quiet, "Douglas taught me a few things. I really started learning through experience."

"You mean when The Order came looking for you and your dad...?"

Cheryl frowned as she nodded and finished reloading the .45.

In a couple of minutes, they were sitting on the bed with their legs crossed. Rebecca's attention was fixed completely on Cheryl as she said, "You told me your mom was the cult's high priestess when Harry took you from her. What happened to Dahlia?"

Cheryl answered with very little emotion, "She's dead. She was killed when dad rescued me."

From what Cheryl told her about Dahlia, that was no great loss. "So The Order had a new leader by the time they went after you again?"

Cheryl nodded. "When I was young in Silent Hill, I had only one real friend. Her name was Claudia, and she had powers, too. We connected so easily, and she promised we'd be like sisters forever." Cheryl's expression began to falter. "But...time can change people. After Harry rescued me she was suddenly alone, and The Order was all she had. Claudia grew to care about her beliefs more than she did for her promise she'd always love me. Anyway, she became the cult's leader, and she wanted me to be the Mother of God, too." Growing grief began to overcome her beautiful face. "Claudia was the one who hired Douglas Cartland to find me. She..." Cheryl Mason barely managed to finish, "...she was the one who had my dad killed."

Cheryl began to cry again, and openly, and the terrible loss of her father overwhelmed her...but she wasn't alone. Rebecca was there, and she carefully drew close and her arms slowly reached out to take hold of Cheryl as she whispered, "Come here...come here..." Gently offering, giving the blonde as much freedom as she wanted to say no. But Cheryl didn't move, she simply surrendered and sobbed heavily as she felt Rebecca's warm, soothing arms hold her. Rebecca stayed silent, but felt her own tears fall down her cheeks as she tried with all her heart to comfort the girl. Unmeasured time passed as they stayed that way on the bed...eventually, slowly, Cheryl began to calm...her tears began to subside as Rebecca held her.

Then...Rebecca Chambers had one of the most amazing experiences of her life. If any part of her doubted that Cheryl Mason had powers, those doubts disappeared as she heard the blonde girl's thoughts in her own mind. It was truly unique for Rebecca to hear Cheryl's disembodied voice speak within her very being: "Rebecca...even after I lost my dad, as I fought for my life, as I fought to stop those bastards from hurting anyone else...I found the strength to forgive Claudia. She'd turned into a cold-blooded zealot, just like Dahlia...but I forgave her. I stopped her, but in the end Claudia tried to be the Mother of God herself. It...it didn't go well, and she died."

As Rebecca quietly absorbed that, Cheryl gently began to pull from Rebecca's embrace...the brunette softly let the blonde go. Cheryl remained very close as she looked into Rebecca's eyes, her cheeks wet with tears, and her full lips parted to speak. "After that...I found Douglas and we left Silent Hill."

Rebecca couldn't help but look at Cheryl with fondness and wonder. In spite of her own wet cheeks, the brunette smiled again comfortingly and asked, "Before...before all of that happened, was life any better for you after Harry got you out of Silent Hill? I mean, just for instance, how were things in high school?"

Cheryl's moody expression became brighter with rememberance and adoration as she wiped her tears from her cheeks. Her voice was soft as she thought of Harry Mason. "My dad made me feel loved all the time, Rebecca. No girl could have asked for a better father, ever." She almost bit her lower lip as she looked away lamely and said in a very different tone, "Outside of home was a very different story, especially high school! I was always the awkward girl. The loner. I didn't feel like I could relate to anyone. I mean I was friendly to other kids, but...I never got to be friends with anyone." Cheryl looked back at Rebecca with a curious gaze. "I'll bet you must have felt alone, too."

Rebecca frowned softly. "Me?"

"You are the prodigy, right? How hard of a time did you have in high school?"

"Oh, I was..." Rebecca reflexively frowned a little more as she looked down and finished, "...I was okay." She still remembered the bullies. The pranksters.

Cheryl's expression was a knowing one. "Uh-huh. When did you graduate from high school?"

Rebecca looked into Cheryl's eyes again. "I was just thirteen. You want to talk about awkward, I went straight to college the same year. Forget about having anything in common with jocks and divas who wanted to party half the time! I could only relate to geeks like me."

"Nobody tried to hit on you?" Cheryl suddenly winced and said, "Oh, wait. You said you graduated from college when you were 18...!"

Rebecca nodded lamely. "Yeah. I never had a chance to have anyone hit on me. I was a tomboy too, and that was like the cherry on top of it all. I was a really late bloomer when it came to looking the way I do now."

Cheryl raised her eyebrows, curious. "How late?"

Rebecca smiled a little. "A few years after college and Raccoon City. When I saw in the mirror one day how much I was changing, I just went all-out." The brunette laughed then. "I loved the idea of being pretty! But these days, it's no big deal."

Cheryl gazed at Rebecca and said, "You are beautiful, Rebecca."

Extra color bloomed in Rebecca's pale cheeks as she smiled and said humbly, "Thanks."

"It's not hard to picture you being like me."

Rebecca gave her a look. "Huh?"

"Well, I'm a tomboy. I don't like makeup at all..."

Rebecca smiled brighter and said with feeling, "So what? You still look great, Cheryl!"

Cheryl gave Rebecca a dubious look. "Oh, come on."

"I wouldn't say this if it wasn't the truth, honey." Rebecca then gave Cheryl a level gaze as she said, making sure there was no misunderstanding: "You! Are! Beautiful!"

Cheryl blushed then too, and brightly. She looked down and almost, almost smiled. Rebecca thought, Aw, come on! Cheryl said, "Th-thank you..."

"But! There's just one thing..."

Cheryl nodded and sighed, "I knew it!" Like she was expecting bad news to go with the good. She gave Rebecca a look and asked, "Let me guess, I still need a new face?"

Rebecca mock-scolded, "Stop that! Are you always so lazy with your hair?"

Cheryl looked at Rebecca with surprise. "What's wrong with my hair?"

"Nothing, except it looks like a blind man cut and combed it."

"Oh, that's all?"

Rebecca reassured, "Really, that's all! But I don't get it."

Cheryl looked at Rebecca for a long beat before she finally said, very self-conscious, "I...I've got this fear of mirrors."

"Oh."

"I've been afraid of them for the longest time. I-it's not worth talking about." Cheryl said, a little brighter, "You know blonde isn't my natural color, right?"

"Yeah, Douglas told me your hair is really black. You've been making it blonde for the longest time." Rebecca gave Cheryl a curious look. "I'd like to see you in your natural color one day."

"We'll see," Cheryl said softly.

"Do you have any other phobias?"

Cheryl shrugged and said, "Only of scumbags who want to use me and destroy the world. That's pretty much it."

Still so close together as they sat on the bed, one of Rebecca's hands drifted to gently lay over one of Cheryl's. "You won't have any reason to be afraid of them for much longer, Cheryl."

Cheryl felt her touch, and she looked into Rebecca's eyes. She felt so warm, so grateful. "I believe you, Rebecca. It means so much you believe me..."

Rebecca nodded softly. "That won't change. I swear."

Sudden pain flooded Cheryl's lovely face...she almost whispered, "That's what Claudia said." Rebecca felt Cheryl's hand shift and hold hers. "I-I have been alone for so long...I was wrong to think I could fight The Order myself. You being here now...you being here means more than I can say. Just...please, we need to trust each other. We need to believe in each other if we..."

Rebecca's hand held Cheryl's tightly as she said, "I do trust you, Cheryl. I do believe in you, and you can believe in me. Everything will be okay."

They both looked at each other...into each other's eyes.

Have you ever met someone, and it felt so perfectly, wondrously right? When you were close to them, did the world suddenly feel like a warmer, better place? When you looked into their eyes, you felt like you could trust them completely, just as they felt they could place their trust in you? If so, did you wonder why in the hell it took so long to find that person? Like you had known them your entire life, and you wished with all your heart you met them sooner?

In that moment, Cheryl Mason and Rebecca Chambers felt those things...for each other.

As they sat there and held hands, gazing into one another's eyes, what they felt made them draw closer to each other...drawn slowly together by a force more primal and powerful than gravity...it was like the rest of the world faded away -

Suddenly, Rebecca cleared her throat and began to blush. She said softly, "Cheryl..."

Cheryl's voice was almost a whisper. "Yeah...?"

And Rebecca Chambers' expression broke into pure, adorable embarrassment...her entire body tensed up as she said, "Uhm, I really-really-really hate to ask this, but I need to go to the bathroom! I-it just hit me, and - !"

Cheryl Mason nodded quickly and almost smiled again. Almost. "Go on, it's okay!"

Gratefully yet lamely, Rebecca's hand pulled from Cheryl's as she got out of bed. She moved quickly to the bathroom as she said, "Thank you, I'm really really sorry, excuse me!" Then she closed the door behind her.

In the bathroom: Rebecca sat on the toilet, and the relief she felt from peeing didn't ease how foolish she felt. She'd pulled up the lower part of her robe up to her waist before she sat down, and she leaned forward covering her face in her hands. She groaned, "Me and my dumb bladder!" She finally looked up, and being alone at the moment, she really felt strange not being with Cheryl.

Rebecca bit her lower lip, unsure. What she felt just before...for Cheryl...it felt so right. It was wonderful just to be with her. Did Cheryl feel the same way?

Rebecca had to wonder...but she suddenly felt anxiety, as well.

Did she want to know the answer?

Finally Rebecca finished, flushed, and washed her hands at the sink. She saw that Cheryl had covered the mirror above the sink with a big towel...Cheryl was serious about her fear of mirrors. But Rebecca remembered there was so much that Cheryl said that didn't fit, wasn't quite right. There was so much she didn't say. Or...maybe Rebecca needed to ask the right questions?

But when Rebecca came back into the bedroom, she saw she'd have to wait until later to ask anything more. Cheryl was lying on her side on the bed, and she was sound asleep. Rebecca turned down the lamps, and the room slowly became dark...her eyes adjusted quickly and she moved to the bed and got on the mattress, as well.

Rebecca got on her side too to face Cheryl...and she couldn't help but smile as she watched Cheryl's relaxed, sleeping face. She felt that wonderful feeling just being with Cheryl again, and she didn't want it to go away. One of the blonde's hands was lying limply on the mattress between them, seeming to offer itself to Rebecca.

Rebecca took Cheryl's hand carefully in hers, not wanting to wake her up.

It truly did feel so right.

Rebecca Chambers looked at Cheryl Mason's sleeping face and said softly, "I promise I won't fail you." The brunette closed her eyes as she held the blonde's hand. Then...they were both asleep on this quiet summer evening.

This was only the beginning.

TO BE CONTINUED