Chapter 5 is here! Things get sweet between Rebecca and Cheryl...but the situation isn't long from turning into something beyond anyone's worst imagining. Far, far beyond...

In this chapter, I couldn't help but give a humble, respectful nod to a music legend, George Jones, who sadly passed away recently.

RESIDENT EVIL X SILENT HILL: JUDGMENT DAY

written by Charles Spencer,
inspired by Ygure

CHAPTER 5:

"...BLACK FRIDAY"

-1-

The County Fairgrounds south of Black Falls, Vermont. The huge open area big enough to hold a small town by itself was home to the Clearwater Amusement Park, named after the nearby stream. The park was open from May to September and held a respectable array of rides and attractions from bumper cars to its ferris wheel and wooden rollercoaster. The rest of the area, half of it within the town limits, was basically parkland that hosted a wide variety of events over the year, and was the starting point for hikers who wanted to take the nature trails outside of town.

For three days of the year - the weekend before Memorial Day - the fairgrounds served their ultimate purpose: to host the County Fair. The amusement park became part of the fair, as well, and earned most of its money at this time. If you've never been to an event like this, just imagine going to a carnival and amplifying that experience accordingly to cater to thousands at any given time. The number of people expected to visit over the holiday weekend - much more than last year, in fact - prompted the Vermont State Police to send troopers to supplement the County Police officers and Black Falls Sheriff's Office deputies who had the daunting task of making sure things stayed orderly. Three times the amusement park's rides were added to please fairgoers, along with scores and scores of game booths. Try your luck with the ring toss, test your strength with the big hammer to ring the bell, or knock down the tower of milk bottles with a single throw to win a prize! Music acts gave their all alongside blue ribbon contenders in this fair that was close to the heart of a state deeply rooted in farming and the dairy industry. Prizes were fought for to see who had the best cow, cheese, syrup, and much more. And yeah, Ben & Jerry's made their presence felt along with fried food vendors...you know, the kinds of foods that are so amazingly, sinfully good, yet your doctor would frown at you for having any.

Naturally, it would have been next to impossible to take it all in from a single vantage point...entire families got in the way of one another, which prompted competition that ranged from friendly to spiteful as they tried to even get from one part of the fairgrounds to another. Strangely enough, fighting to get some elbow room or a decent look at whatever attraction the County Fair has to offer is part of its charm. It should have been a loud and chaotic assault to all five senses, but it's events like this that have been and always will be synonymous with the word fun.

Close to the center of the County Fair was the main stage, where an all-girl tribute band was performing for a sea of listeners the greatest hits of the late Country music legend, George Jones. All four of the girls were knockouts, all dressed in the classic, sexy image of the farmer's daughter...straw hats, shirts tied up to their bosoms to show their midriffs, denim Daisy Duke shorts, and sneakers. The girls sounded like angels and were putting many of their listeners to tears with a soulful version of George's signature song, He Stopped Loving Her Today, making the man proud.

A short distance away was the big tent that served as the main clinic for the fair itself, equipped to handle anything from a bad cut to exhaustion to anything else short of life-threatening, and held over two dozen cots. If something really bad happened to someone because of an accident or rowdiness, a person would be hustled quickly by stretcher out the back of the tent to one of two ambulances standing by, which would take them straight to Wyler Community Hospital in town. The man who was the administrator of the hospital, the one who oversaw the preparation of the clinic and two more first aid tents on the fairgrounds, exited the big tent.

Doctor Burton Young was a timid yet immediately charming man...he looked like someone's highly active grandfather, wearing a silver-gray suit in complement with his white hair and beard. His lively face animated easily and quickly, depending on his mood, and he defintely seemed to be in high spirits with a jovial grin. Young was outgoing, almost extremely so...as he stepped out, a few from town in the throngs of fairgoers shouted hello to him, and like a reflex action he immediately, enthusiastically waved back. One who first saw the man would have thought he worked a bit too hard to be friendly to people...in much the same way a used car salesman or politician worked hard to be friendly. But in general, Burton Young's persona seemed to communicate he was simply a kindly old man who still had a lot of work to do, and seemed to have more than enough energy to do it.

It was about ten minutes before two in the afternoon on this Friday, the first day of the County Fair. Young was ready to leave and return to his hospital, but as he walked in the general direction of the main entrance/exit a cheerful voice got his attention from behind: "Doctor Young?! Doctor Young!" The old man turned and saw a petite brunette who looked like she was dressed to go to someone's party, lovely with wide, curious eyes and a luminous smile. She approached Young as she said, "Hi! I was hoping to run into you!"

Young, a widower who never had kids, suddenly wished he was at least thirty years younger. She had his attention completely. He almost bowed and said, "Ah, good afternoon, young lady! Can I help you?"

"We'll see," the lady said as she reached him, and then she flipped open a leather folder in one slender hand to show Young her badge and government I.D. "Rebecca Chambers, Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance."

Young's eyes perked up. "I-Indeed? How can I help you or your organization? There are certainly no terrorists here." He nervously smiled and laughed, "Ah, at least not the last time I checked!"

Rebecca smiled with his joke. "I'm sure there wouldn't be, but I have heard of something interesting. I'm talking about the parasites that several citizens of Black Falls have fallen victim to over the past months."

The old man frowned deeply. "Oh, yes. Truly regrettable business, and quite confounding. We've just finally reached a solution for those creatures, thankfully."

Rebecca said, "That's great to know!" Her smile suddenly lost a few degrees of its warmth as her eyes became more serious. "However, according to what I've heard, I understand those parasites don't just attack people, right? If I heard correctly, they possess a human host and make them do things they wouldn't do."

Young nodded...as more time passed during their conversation, he seemed to get more nervous. "Y-yes, you did hear right, Miss Chambers - "

Rebecca gently corrected, "That's Agent Chambers, Doctor."

"Ah, my apologies. Well, the parasites are truly unique creatures, Agent Chambers."

"Mmm. But it's strange you never requested any help from any state or federal agency, even the State Board of Health. I can imagine the Centers for Disease Control would be interested in your situation, too."

"W-well, those parasites are unique, but they also proved to be simple creatures. Again, we did find a solution for them, which I'll formally announce at a town meeting next Monday."

Rebecca's eyebrows raised then. "Oh! Well, why not announce it now?" But as quickly as she asked that, the petite lady raised a hand and snapped her fingers, a light seeming to dawn on her. "Oh wait, that's right! You wouldn't want to scare off any visitors to this fair, would you? I guess it would be bad for the local economy?"

Young opened his mouth, but: "Ah..."

Rebecca kept the conversation going, in spite of his lack of an answer. "Anyway, I wanted to ask if I can meet you later this afternoon to see your parasites and your solution for myself."

She might as well have asked if the elderly doctor could drop his pants in front of all the fairgoers and cough for her. "Oh...ah..."

"Unless you think that wouldn't be a good idea for some reason...?"

"Eh? N-no, Agent Chambers, I'd be more than happy to show you anything you need to see!"

The brunette's smile returned to full brightness. "Awesome! What time would be best for you, Doctor? I know you're a busy man."

"Y-yes. How does...how does four o'clock sound, Agent Chambers?"

Rebecca nodded enthusiastically. "That's great, thank you! Where should I go to meet you in the hospital?"

"Ah, simply go to the third floor to see Gwendolyn Park, the Head Nurse. I'll be with her waiting for you unless, ah, something comes up and detains me..."

The girl put her hands on her hips and said lightly, "Well, that wouldn't do! I'd have to go looking for you!" Then she giggled...

...and Young laughed with her, but nervously. "Eheh, o-of course!"

"Well, I won't keep you, Doctor Young. I'll see you at four?"

"Yes, yes you will, Agent Chambers. E-excuse me!" Then Doctor Burton Young turned to quickly leave in the direction of the main exit again. He moved so briskly, he almost bumped into several fairgoers.

Rebecca Chambers folded her arms as she watched the old man go with a thoughtful frown. "Way too nervous!" Then she felt a slender hand gently touch one of her shoulders. "Cheryl...?"

Cheryl Mason drew close to the brunette's side as her hand rested on her companion's shoulder. She hadn't been far away, just out of Doctor Young's sight...her power helped her monitor their conversation, as they'd planned before, and much more. "It went okay, Rebecca. As I 'listened in', I got a sense of what he was feeling. He wasn't just nervous, you scared the hell out of him. I thought he was going to crap his pants a couple of times."

"You said you'd look into his thoughts, too. Did he think of anything that can help us?"

Cheryl shook her head softly. "I wish I could say yes. I saw...fleeting images of memory, like snapshots, but nothing coherent. Young was that scared and focused on you."

"Shoot. At least we know he has a guilty conscience."

"Wait." Cheryl cocked her head a little to the side as she looked at Young, who was disappearing into the sea of Humanity. "He's calming down a little, but...he might have been scared of you, but he's even more frightened of The Order. He's thinking of them...and a name. He's saying the same name in his head, over and over."

Rebecca looked at Cheryl. "Who?"

Cheryl answered softly, "Reeve. The name doesn't mean anything to me."

Rebecca said softly, "I never heard it before, either."

"Reeve is important and Young has as much fear of him as he does of The Order...he may be their leader."

"Okay. That's something we didn't know before. I'm looking forward to my next talk with the good doctor." Still looking in the direction Young left, Rebecca suddenly smiled. "Say, Cheryl..." She then turned fully to the blonde. "We have the better part of an hour to kill before we have to leave the fair. Wanna get some cotton candy?" With sudden excitement, she suddenly added, "Oooh! If there's time, let's do the bumper cars, or - !"

Cheryl stared at her. "Rebecca. Are you serious?"

"When it comes to having fun, I'm always serious!"

"Huh?"

"C'mon, Cheryl!" Rebecca suddenly grabbed her companion's hand and began to pull her into the crowd. "C'moooon!"

"Whulp!" Cheryl couldn't help but be pulled!

-2-

Minutes later, Doctor Burton Young was in his car driving back to the heart of Black Falls. He was on his cell phone; he'd punched in a number and it only took two rings before someone picked up and answered in a smooth, quiet voice, "Hello?"

Young almost cried, "Reeve, it's Burton! We need to talk right now!"

"Good to hear from you, Burton. Did the fair start off well?"

Young almost shouted, "Screw the fair, w-we have a problem! This woman from the BSAA came up to me and started asking about the parasites!"

"Rebecca Chambers, no doubt."

"Y-you know about her?!"

"She came into town last night, Burton."

That was when Young did shout: "Well, thank you so much for telling me NOW!"

"Calm down, Burton. You of all people should know getting uspet can be unhealthy."

The old man started to sweat from anxiety. "I have a right to be upset, dammit! I've only barely been able to keep the state and federal authorities from looking into Black Falls, but I have no idea how much longer that will last! I thought I had enough worries about the CDC, and now out of the blue, a bioterrorism task force has sent someone to ask me questions!"

"Well, there are certainly no bioterrorists here."

Young snarled, "Like you're any better, considering what you've been doing with those damned parasites - !"

"Careful, Burton." A deadly chill could be felt in that smooth voice.

Young gulped air reflexively. Cheryl was right: the old man was deathly frightened of the man he talked to. "But...but she wants to see the parasites for herself, Reeve!"

"You didn't say no, did you?"

"O-of course not, but she'll be visiting the hospital later this afternoon!"

"Burton, simply keep a cool head and relax. Show the girl whatever she wants to see. Her involvement in the situation makes no difference. Very, very soon now, The Order's work here will reach its conclusion, and you will be rewarded for your services, as promised."

-3-

The first thing Rebecca and Cheryl did was get some cotton candy...and yep, Rebecca insisted. Cheryl liked it okay, just it got too sticky too easily. The cheerful brunette said, "That's part of the fun!" In spite of any hazards that went with eating the stuff, they still held hands as they searched for something to do, but they couldn't search long.

For almost twenty minutes, Rebecca and Cheryl couldn't find a single ride or game booth that didn't have a ridiculously long line. It was getting to where they'd soon have to give it up if they wanted to be in time to meet Young at the hospital at four - it was a long walk back to town. Then they got lucky and saw an opening at a booth that was having a slow go of it, at least at the moment. It was a classic shooting game that involved air guns that looked like Thompson submachine guns made famous by Chicago gangsters in the first half of the 20th Century. At the end of a short range were paper card targets with stars in the center suspended on a wire by clothespins. As the ladies approached the game's manager, a friendly fellow with a thick moustache, balding hair under his straw hat, and a very loud suit grinned at them expectantly and bowed with a flourish as he spoke in grand style: "Aha! Step right up, ladies! Try your luck and win a prize!"

Rebecca beamed at the man like a little girl, full of excitement. "That's why we're here, sir!"

Cheryl, though, was the polar opposite of Rebecca's exuberance. Doubtfully, she tried to say, "Uh, remember we're really here for - !"

The brunette gently interrupted, "Hush!" Rebecca turned to the manager again and asked, "Just shoot the star out of the target, right?!"

Moustache Man grinned. "Exactamundo, my dear! Two dollars is all you'll have to pay for a chance to give one of these prizes a happy home!" He gestured to a long line of big plush animals, a rainbow of different breeds and bright colors. All looked too cute for words.

"You got it!" Rebecca paid the man...and then she turned and pointed at Cheryl. "And my girl is gonna do the shooting!"

Cheryl, of course, was surprised to hear that. "Wait, what?"

Rebecca drew close to the blonde. "You told me you're a crack shot, right?"

Cheryl frowned and reminded Rebecca, "I only said I was a good shot!"

"Either way, that's enough for me! Go for it!"

Moustache Man leaned forward toward Cheryl, his eyes inviting. "Listen to your friend, Annie Oakley, and don't be shy!" He then gave her a deliberately skeptical look. "Unless you're scared of showing us what you're made of...?"

Cheryl Mason's eyes narrowed as her expression became very serious. Still, her tone was light and fully in the moment as she answered his challenge: "I've been scared of a lot worse, mister." Then the lady stepped up to take up one of the big air guns as Rebecca Chambers gleefully clapped her hands. Cheryl readied the gun and picked one of the cards...she finally said, "Just say when!"

The manager grinned as he reached under the counter, and his hand found the valve for the tank that held pressurized air. "Pick your target, aim and..." He quickly opened the valve and shouted, "GO!"

Cheryl only had thirty seconds to take the star out of the center of the card she chose with the air gun's pellets, which made it a contest as much about speed as it was precision. Cheryl felt herself relax as she began squeezing the trigger, firing in short bursts. The pellets chopped into the card, at first into the star itself. Rebecca lifted her fists to her chin in anxiousness as she watched. But the blonde was a natural as, in the limited time she had, she carefully yet quickly stitched a hole around the star...and then tore it out only a second before Moustache Man shut off the air, and the gun went silent.

Rebecca couldn't help but jump and cheer, "Whoo-HOOO, YEAH! You did it, Cheryl! AWRIGHT!"

Cheryl almost smiled then...again, only almost. Moustache Man looked at the the card and the ragged hole closely, and... "Mighty clean shooting, Annie Oakley! You got all of the star!" He didn't mind losing one of his big prizes...there were still plenty of them and more would-be shootists, young and old, were being drawn to his booth due mostly to Rebecca's cheers. The man said to Cheryl as he pointed to the shelf full of animals, "Take your pick of any of these prizes!"

Cheryl set down the big gun, looked at the colorful, huggable, wide-eyed animals...her heart really wasn't into 'adopting' one, and she sighed. "I don't know! Rebecca, does he have one you wanted?"

Rebecca grinned at her companion. "One I want to give to you? Heck, yeah!" She turned to the man and said, "I'll take Robbie the Rabbit for my girl!"

Moustache Man bowed deeply. "Very well, young lady, a long-eared friend for Annie Oakley!" He began to reach for the big, pink rabbit...

"W-wait!" Both Rebecca and the man were surprised to see Cheryl looking at Robbie with a troubled expression. The blonde said to Rebecca quietly, "Uh, I-I'm sorry, could you pick a different one? Please?"

In spite of a sudden worry she felt for Cheryl, she didn't lose her smile. "Uh, sure!" She looked at the plush animals for a beat and said, "I'll take Huey the Horse for Cheryl!"

As they both left the booth, Rebecca carried Huey by one of his big hooves in one hand as she carried her handbag in the other...Cheryl was quiet with her hands in her jacket pockets, seeming not to have gotten into the spirit of the fair at all. That got Rebecca really worried as she asked, "Don't tell me you have a problem with Robbie the Rabbit?"

Cheryl said, "It's not a problem. I saw him...in a way I didn't want to once. In Silent Hill."

Rebecca bit her lower lip, her eyes becoming sad as Cheryl looked down at the grass. "Cheryl...I know you said you've been through terrible things...but..."

Cheryl looked at her. "What? What is it?"

Rebecca said softly, "I want to see you happy at least once, honey."

That was when Cheryl Mason stopped and really looked at the brunette, who stopped with her. The moody blonde asked, "Why do you care so much?"

Rebecca Chambers smiled again. "Because it would be wonderful to see you happy, to see you at least smile! You didn't even smile when you won our new buddy!" She looked down at Huey fondly.

"I was happy to win that. Really." Defensively, Cheryl frowned. "What do you want from me?"

Rebecca gently let the plush animal fall to the ground, and she fully focused on Cheryl. The feelings that had grown within her for the blonde since they first met intensified. Her affection, her need to be with Cheryl, to be there for Cheryl made Rebecca say, "The only thing I want from you is something you need to do when you're at a fair like this, when you're having at least a little fun, when you win something, and that's smile at least a little! C'mon, girl, I want to see your frown...turn upside-down!" For emphasis, the animated brunette took the index fingers of her slender hands, made an arch...and then turned her wrists to invert it, and it did form a smile.

Cheryl gave the lady a look and shook her head as Rebecca drew curious watchers from those passing around them. "You really are a geek, because you'd make a lousy cheerleader!"

"Cheryl - !"

In spite of her own feelings, her own warm, growing need to always be Rebecca, Cheryl suddenly said, "Please stop! Please? I have been through terrible things, things I can't talk about. I-I saw my own father murdered, Rebecca. I don't need any of the other shit I remember, my memories of Dahlia, okay? Coming home one night and seeing my dad dead showed me how cold and terrible this world can be." Cheryl spread her hands as she looked around. "This...fun like this doesn't last! And happiness? If I'm damned lucky, happiness comes in small doses!" Cheryl looked down and finished softly, "I'm not like you, Rebecca. I...I haven't been able to see the brightness in life for a very long time."

But Rebecca didn't give an inch...she couldn't. "Honey...if happiness can't come to you, then you make yourself happy. Just as long as you're not hurting yourself or anybody else, you find happiness any way you can while you can! I mean, life's too short, right?! Or maybe you need someone to make you happy, and trust me, I can do that!"

Cheryl's saddened eyes looked away from the brunette. "Rebecca...!"

"You deserve to be happy, Cheryl, and I don't care if you disagree! I swear I'm gonna see you smile, because you need to...and if you're going to make me use cheap tactics, then I will!"

Cheryl looked sharply at Rebecca then. "What does that mean?"

Rebecca's smile formed a truly naughty edge then as she sighed, "Oh, nothing!" Suddenly, the brunette turned around to look at the sea of people around them and she began waving her hands...she yelled, "Hey, everybody! HEY! ATTENTION, EVERYBODY!"

Taken completely off her guard, Cheryl looked ready to panic. "Rebecca - ?!"

Rebecca, meanwhile, was carrying on LOUD as she spun around and continued to wave her hands furiously. "HELLOOOOO! CAN I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION, PLEEEASE?!" Her antics had the desired affect, though...she drew a crowd all around them of families, couples, fairgoers of all ages who looked at the beautiful, energetic brunette curiously. Beaming at them all, Rebecca gratefully said, "Thank you! I've got a little problem - no, this isn't about me, it's about my girl Cheryl here!" Then, with a grand gesture to the moody blonde, she said loudly, "Everybody, meet Cheryl!"

Cheryl's mouth almost dropped open as she stared at Rebecca. "Oh, you are NOT - !"

Rebecca grinned and countered, "Oh, yes I am!" She quickly whirled to everyone around and shouted, "C'mon, everybody, say 'Hi, Cheryl!' EVERYBODY!"

Much to Cheryl's horror, Rebecca was being successful: most everyone said loudly, "HI, CHERYL!"

Mortified, the blonde wanted to crawl into a hole and bury it behind her. "Rebecca, I swear - !"

But Rebecca quickly stepped up to her and said, "Say hi to everyone, Cheryl!" The brunette clasped her hands together as her wide eyes pleaded to the blonde. She said softly, "C'mon, please?"

Cheryl Mason wanted to say no...she wanted to resist, even unto death...but her heart melted feeling the sweet, sweet emotion from Rebecca's soul, seeing the beautiful girl's imploring expression. How could she refuse? Hesitantly, lamely, she looked around at the curious crowd and managed a wave as she said humbly, "Uh...hi, everybody!"

Elementally delighted, Rebecca Chambers yelled, "OKAY!" Many of the crowd couldn't help but laugh as they felt her pure, positive energy. Rebecca felt theirs, and it only boosted her high enthusiasm. She announced for everyone in earshot, "You need to know Cheryl has a little problem! She's forgotten how to smile!"

Many of the audience, to their credit, responded with "Awww!"

Rebecca threw up her hands and agreed, "Yeah, I know! But she needs just a LITTLE help to fix that! And it'll be easy! Really!"

Cheryl shook her head slowly; her face had turned a bright pink color. She groaned, "I can't believe you're doing this...!"

Rebecca moved to one of the audience, an eight-year-old girl with her parents close behind. The brunette dropped to one knee, gave the girl a winning smile and said, "Hi, there!"

The girl said cheerfully, "Hi!" Many of the audience couldn't help but laugh.

Rebecca drew close to the little one and asked brightly, "You wanna know how to help Cheryl?"

Fully into it, the kid said, "Yeah!"

"Awesome! And like I said, it'll be easy! I'm gonna start a chant, you know what that is?"

The little girl shook her head. "Mm-mmm!"

Rebecca said, in a voice strong enough for the crowd to hear: "I just need everyone to say the same thing with me, over and over, until Cheryl does it! And if she does it, she wins!" Rebecca quickly stood and looked at everyone and announced, "Just say one word with me, over and over, everyone...and that word is 'smile'!" The lady suddenly shouted then, "IS EVERYBODY READY?!"

To Rebecca's delight...and Cheryl's chagrin...everyone enthusiastically responded in the affirmative! Cheryl yelled at the brunette, "Rebecca, this is embarrassing!"

Rebecca looked at Cheryl and said, "Just remember you made me do this, honey!" She then spun around and yelled, "Everybody, say it with me! Smile! Smile! Smile! Smile!" And, young and old, the crowd did...their voices added to hers in an energetic, rhythmic chant.

Cheryl lowered her head and covered her face in her hands, completely embarrassed. "Oh, god...!"

And it only got worse. Rebecca rallied the crowd to turn up the volume of the chant, and suddenly everyone around her was virtually yelling with the brunette, over and over, "SMILE!-SMILE!-SMILE!-SMILE!-SMILE!"

Cheryl Mason looked around her, looked at Rebecca Chambers with wide, helpless eyes as she led the crowd to increase the tempo of the chant, too. The blonde suddenly found herself stuck in a sea of cheer and good fellowship. She wanted to draw into herself, run, hide, anything, but she was trapped. And yet...and yet, the positive energy of the moment reached into her heart, as well. For a moment, she forgot about her nightmare past, she forgot about the things she still couldn't tell Rebecca, things she knew that sweet, wonderful girl wouldn't have believed...and Cheryl felt her heart begin to swell as she began to smile...a radiant, amazing smile that echoed the building happiness in her heart. Even more, Cheryl Mason laughed, and it was a truly jubilant sound as Rebecca Chambers squealed with sheer joy and applauded, and everyone around couldn't help but clap with her.

Rebecca rushed to Cheryl and glomped her in a big hug, and they laughed together as they clutched each other tight, as the applause washed over them. Rebecca looked around her and Cheryl and waved to everyone...she shouted with all her heart, "Thank you! THANK YOU SO MUCH!"

Cheryl felt wonderful as she Rebecca held each other tight...as she continued to smile, she criticized lightly, "You still make a lousy cheerleader!"

Rebecca laughed, "So I'm lousy! What matters to me is how you feel, honey." She truly didn't want to let Cheryl go.

The blonde's lips twisted into a smirk. "You keep calling me 'honey', and I'll give you a pet name!"

Rebecca's eyes honestly widened with excitement at the thought. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah!" But what Cheryl said next was elementally gentler as her eyes turned solemn. "Would you mind Becca?"

Rebecca Chambers looked into the blonde's eyes for a long moment as they held each other...her smile was perfect as she said, "Honestly, I'd love it." She added in a much softer tone for the lady she held in her arms, "It makes me so happy to see you smile."

Cheryl Mason couldn't stop smiling back at the brunette she held and began to adore in turn. "Thank you, Becca. Thank you for making me happy."

-4-

At that time, even as Rebecca and Cheryl felt their hearts soar, dark events were unfolding across Black Falls. Preparations were being made. The time had almost come.

For example, in the Black Falls Sheriff's Office, a squat two-story brick building that sat across from City Hall on Kubrick Street...Sheriff James Gulager entered from the back, walked between the iron-barred cells of the jail area, and entered the main office. It was quiet here, and Gulager saw that only one other man was present. It was still early, and no one had caused enough trouble at the fair to get arrested yet. The thin, hard man who was the highest law enforcement officer in town was relieved to see he had good timing.

The last thing Gulager needed was witnesses as he carried a portable styrofoam cooler in one hand.

Deputy Tony Callahan was working Dispatch at the radio console, and he looked bored. So far it was quiet, but as this first day of the fair grew long, the redhead knew that would change sooner or later. Tony didn't wish for anything bad to happen, of course, but he at least needed something to break the boredom as Gulager approached behind him quietly on the carpeted floor...almost too quietly, because the deputy didn't hear him until he was five steps away. Tony turned and saw Gulager and nodded. "Good afternoon, sir!"

"Tony," Gulager said in a low rumble. "Any calls?"

"Nothing yet, Sheriff. I hope it stays that way."

"We'll see, boy." He set down the cooler on a desk not far behind Tony.

As he moved to the redhead, Tony turned from the console and asked, "Ah, I never got to ask, Sheriff. Did I do something wrong last night?"

The tall, thin man looked down at his deputy. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you looked kinda mad when I stopped to ask if things were okay. When you were talking to those ladies?"

"You're worried about that? Trust me on this, Tony. If you ever got into real trouble with me, you'd know it. Understand?"

"Yes, sir!" Still...Tony had to wonder. "Um, why put me on dispatch, then?"

"Would you rather be out on patrol driving? Or hoofing it on foot?"

Tony wanted to ask if that was a trick question. Instead, he answered straight: "Well, yeah. I mean, yessir!"

"Relax, Tony, you're too uptight." Gulager relaxed in his posture visibly...still, he pointed at the deputy and said, all-business, "Keep focused on your job, though!"

"Yes, sir!" Tony turned in his chair and kept his eyes on the radio console. Away from Gulager.

The deputy heard his superior ask, "So I heard your family had to go back to New Hampshire?"

"Yeah, just a couple of days ago," Tony Callahan said, and he already missed them.

"What made you come here all the way from New Hampshire? I never thought to ask you that."

Glad for some conversation, Tony relaxed a little more as he watched the console. "Well, my family visited Vermont a few times as I was growing up. This is a beautiful part of the country, you know? I thought when I grew up, I'd come here to stay, and I love small towns like Black Falls. It's quiet here, and if I can, I want to help keep it that way." He'd only moved to Black Falls, made it his home, about a year ago.

"I'm sure your family's proud of you, Tony."

Tony smiled, a little self-conscious. "Thanks, Sheriff."

"You found a good girl in town to settle down with, boy?"

Tony shrugged. "Well, I've got a couple of prospects, nothing serious yet." Then Tony heard a strange sound...a metallic snikk! He began to turn around in his chair again as he said, "Why are you ask - "

CRACK! The deputy's question was cut short harshly as he was hit across the face with a collapsible metal police baton, an Asp. Sheriff James Gulager had just flicked it to full extension, and he didn't want to kill the redhead, just knock him out. The blow sent Tony Callahan out of his chair and to the carpet, one of his cheekbones brutally broken, but he was still barely conscious...for him, the world became a senseless red haze.

As he loomed over the semi-conscious deputy and retracted the Asp, Gulager said, "Just wanted to make sure no one's going to miss you right away!" Gulager pocketed the baton, bent over, and lifted the much younger man. It took some strength on his part to haul the dazed redhead to a desk, where Gulager helped Tony stand, only to make him fall limply on top of it, face down. Not far away was the cooler on another desk. Gulager considered his deputy for a moment and shook his head. "Nothing personal, Tony. I just have my own job to do."

James Gulager received instructions for his job, a job very different from his duties as Sheriff, from someone in The Order. He was hesitant at first because up until then, he didn't get his hands dirty. He wasn't directly involved with his secret employers' activities, which beyond any doubt were criminal. Until now. With both hands, Gulager took hold of the back of Tony's uniform shirt just above his equipment belt and pulled it up over his head as he laid face-down...he quickly did the same to the younger man's t-shirt, and he moved to the cooler.

The Sheriff of Black Falls opened the cooler, and his face quickly twisted in disgust. Still, as he got out a pair of latex gloves from his pants pocket and snapped them on he said in a mild tone, "I got a friend for you to meet, Tony. He's not much for conversation, and he likes to take charge..." He then reached into the cooler and managed to get ahold of what he needed.

Tony was literally still reeling mentally, barely able to see with his shirt pulled over his head, and in a world of pain. He heard Gulager continue: "...still, I think you two are gonna become fast friends." He barely felt someone loom over him as he heard Gulager's voice finish: "Just call him Sluggo!"

Tony Callahan felt something heavy and wet slap onto his bare back...a sudden, tremendous suction that made the new weight literally stick to his back...and then pain. The pain was incredible, beyond any imagining as he felt something sharp drive into his spine. And then it became indescribable. James Gulager watched as the redhead's entire body convulsed, his limbs flailed from violent spasms...Tony almost fell off the desk, but didn't. It lasted only a moment, but for Gulager it felt like a century. Tony Callahan's body finally went still far too suddenly, and the thin, hard man thought his deputy was dead.

A moment later, Tony began to move...but he rose slowly, jerkily, like a puppet on strings. As he did, Gulager pulled down the redhead's shirt and the black, glistening parasite was obscured, although one would have noticed he had a strange hump to his back. Tony Callahan turned, and his mouth was wide open in a frozen scream, but the rest of his expression was slack and almost lifeless. And the young man's eyes...his eyes had turned the color of blood.

Sheriff James Gulager folded his arms and looked at Tony...he said simply, "I was told you'd understand me and do what I said." The redhead's mouth slowly, shakily closed. His slack expression didn't change...but he nodded in the affirmative. "All right. I need to tell you to come with me. You got friends who are gonna pick you up out back. Just follow me. You hear me?" Tony Callahan - no, what was in control of him - understood and nodded.

Keeping a respectful distance from the possessed deputy, Gulager walked past and gestured to the redhead to follow him. And he did...from the office to the jail and to the back door, where an old Econoline cargo van was waiting outside with the motor running. It's side door opened, and a man in dark clothes and a black ski mask got out and said in a commanding voice to the possessed deputy, "Inside!" The thing in control of Tony Callahan obeyed, and the redhead jerkily entered the van to sit with a few others in the shadowy interior. Like Tony, the others he joined also had bright crimson eyes. Then the man in the ski mask got back in the van, closed the door, and it drove down the back alley behind the Sheriff's Office.

James Gulager watched them leave, and he nodded. He still had two more of those parasites in his cooler. He still had two more deputies to call in...men no one would miss right away, like Tony. Gulager had no idea what Reeve had in store today, but he was promised he'd profit immensely working for The Order, like many others in Black Falls' city government had been promised. In the Sheriff's case he'd been given half a million dollars months ago, what Reeve called a 'down payment' for his services. In small measures and big ever since, like Doctor Burton Young and others of influence, the highest law enforcement officer in town helped make things happen for the cult. And yes, up until that point, ignorance had been bliss. As long as he made his money, the less he knew of what those cultists were doing, the better.

But Reeve and his people were working on something, and they'd been doing things he didn't want to know about very quickly in just the past few days...ever since that nothing of a girl Cheryl Mason came into town. Then to find out on such short notice that the reason The Order was in Black Falls, that all the things Gulager and his co-conspirators had helped Reeve accomplish led to something they needed to do today, made the Sheriff even more uncomfortable. And now Gulager had to turn a few of his own deputies into what Reeve called Puppets and let them be taken by his people for...what? And why? What made Cheryl Mason so damn important to Reeve? A part of James Gulager wondered if he'd made a blind deal with the Devil or something.

In spite of everything, Gulager had always felt in his gut how dangerous Reeve was...it was fear as much as greed that made Gulager sell his soul and his honor.

Ignorance had been bliss, and he never went out of his way to discuss the situation with the other officials to make sense out of what The Order was preparing for. There was one time he spoke to someone else the cult bribed, the man in charge of Public Utilities. The bureaucrat found out that someone else had been bought and paid for by The Order...the guy responsible for the maintenance and testing of the town's electronic civil defense siren, which would warn citizens of hazardous weather or other emergencies. The Public Utilities man told Sheriff Gulager that Reeve's people were in control of the siren now, and it was the strangest thing...

...it had been replaced with a much older, mechanical air raid siren.

Why in the hell would Reeve want that?

TO BE CONTINUED