PREVIOUSLY: Rebecca Chambers and Cheryl Mason wanted to find the remnants of The Order, the cult responsible for the bleak fates of Silent Hill and Shepherd's Glen, and stop them once and for all. Their search led to a small New England town of Black Falls, but tragically everything is threatening to go to Hell...literally. The Order's new leader, Reeve Meyers, just forced Cheryl to use her mystical power to bring the same fog that shrouds Silent Hill to Black Falls...but thankfully, before he could make Cheryl the Mother of his demonic God in the presence of the captive Alex and Elle Shepherd, Rebecca came to the rescue of the freckle-faced beauty she is falling in love with!

But now what? Rebecca, Cheryl, Alex and Elle need to get away from The Order and take time to regroup until Cheryl recovers. That means they have to brave the infamous, smoky fog...and the things that lurk within it...

But they'll get some help from a surprising source in this chapter, dear readers. I foreshadowed it before a few chapters ago, but now finally it happens. Prepare to be re-introduced to the lost heroine of what could have been RESIDENT EVIL 2 (aka RE 1.5): Elza Walker!

RESIDENT EVIL X SILENT HILL: JUDGMENT DAY

written by Charles Spencer,
inspired by Ygure

Chapter 11:

"THE PRISONER"

-1-

In the heart of Black Falls, which had been transformed into a fog-shrouded purgatory, the group moved as fast as they could to the bank of elevators on the second floor of Wyler Community Hospital. In the lead was Head Nurse Gwen Park, who moved as fast as she could as she pushed the rickety wheelchair in which Cheryl Mason sat; the girl was drugged and barely able to think, much less move, as her slumped form rested limply in the wheelchair. Right behind them were Alex Shepherd and candy striper Bea Montoya. Alex was mostly focused on his wife, Elle Shepherd, as she and BSAA agent Rebecca Chambers brought up the rear...both women were armed and moving backward carefully as they kept their guns trained down the hall in the direction they came from in case any of the lunatics they left behind gave chase. No one followed the group before they rounded the corner, and in a moment they reached the bank of elevators. Like everything in this small Vermont town, the hospital had changed when Cheryl Mason was forced to use her power to bring the terrible fog. Bea Montoya said fearfully to the Head Nurse, "Gwen, I don't understand what's happened to the hospital! Everything looks so old and dirty!" It was as good a description as any for the state the hospital was in, which was nearly polar opposite to its formerly clean and sterile environment. But their surroundings had a much, much darker and foreboding quality that went beyond simply old and dirty, and it made everyone in the group feel a sense of dread.

Gwen Park was still trying to process all of that, along with only a hundred other things. The Head Nurse punched the down button and answered with quiet anxiety: "I don't know, Bea. I wish I did." Rebecca and Elle had caught up as a set of doors opened, and the group got into an elevator quickly. The doors closed, and the car began to descend slowly...it seemed to be as aged as everything else, and an uncomfortable grinding could be heard outside. Gwen looked at the pixie-cute brunette. "Rebecca, is it because of the fog? It sounds so crazy to ask that, but I...I-I feel like this and the fog are connected somehow...!"

Rebecca Chambers' gaze was completely sympathetic to the Head Nurse. "You're not being crazy, Gwen. This has happened twice before. I came here because I didn't want this to happen again. I wanted to help Cheryl stop The Order..." Rebecca frowned sadly and looked down. "...and I failed."

Elle Shepherd said quickly, "Rebecca, don't say that! I blame those...those animals."

Gwen offered, "No, even animals are better than those bastards. God, what they were about to do - !" The Head Nurse shuddered when she remembered what she, Rebecca and Bea saw when they entered the Delivery Room...and were just in time to stop something unspeakable from happening to Cheryl.

Alex Shepherd's eyes were soft as he looked at Rebecca. "You and Heather - I-I mean Cheryl, you both did your best, right?" The last time he had seen the blonde girl in the wheelchair, he and Elle knew her as Heather, when she was hunting for The Order. "Elle and I know we were lucky to survive them and...and everything they made happen years ago. You both wanted to stop them but you couldn't and there's no crime in that. Sometimes..." Alex looked down with a pained expression as Elle looked at her husband with sadness, as they both thought of the nightmare horrors they had been through in Shepherd's Glen and Silent Hill. "...sometimes shit happens in spite of us and what we want. I know that can't help much, but..."

Rebecca nodded shakily. "I-it does help, Alex...but it doesn't change what's happening now." The elevator came to a shaky stop, and the doors opened. The group moved into the main lobby area of the first floor, and it was a dark and dank place. Lights everywhere here flickered off and on like they did on the second floor, making the atmosphere relentlessly foreboding. They stopped a few yards from the entrance...through the broken, grimy glass doors, the obscuring fog strangely seemed to be brighter than the lobby. Parked at an angle just outside on the sidewalk was Sheriff Gulager's truck, where Rebecca left it...she'd been so fixed on finding Cheryl before, she didn't give a damn where she left it.

Rebecca moved in front of Cheryl and lowered to one knee, and she reached out with both hands...one carefully cradled one side of Cheryl's face as the fingers of her other hand gently combed through her blonde hair on the other side with perfect affection. Rebecca was on the verge of crying as she looked into Cheryl's half-open eyes, and her voice thickened with regret. "I-it doesn't make what those bastards still did to Cheryl hurt any less."

Alex and Elle were close together, holding hands. Elle said quietly, "We saw what happened to Cheryl when The Order made her bring the fog here. We had no idea she...she was so special..." But it was still so strange for Elle and Alex to accept, that Cheryl could have had such extraordinary power. Gwen and Bea drew close together too as they watched.

Rebecca nodded slowly as she looked at Cheryl. "She is, Elle. Cheryl is so much more special than...than I can ever tell you." And the way Rebecca said that, the way she looked at the blonde girl and carefully, tenderly touched her helped the others realize that Cheryl was special to her, in a truly profound way. Rebecca's voice trembled a little as she gently said, "Cheryl...? Honey, can you hear me?" For a beat, Rebecca wasn't sure if the one she adored could respond...Gwen would have told her if she had the chance it wasn't likely...

...but away from Reeve Meyers, who she had been forced to fix upon and surrender to, Cheryl Mason sighed...and then she spoke in a voice barely above a whisper, and it had to take an amazing amount of inner strength to simply do that in spite of the control serum: "B...B-Becca...?"

Rebecca smiled with relief, and she couldn't stop from crying anymore. "Cheryl - ! I'm here, honey! I'm here!"

Gwen Park was stunned to watch as Cheryl's eyes focused on Rebecca...and she managed a weak smile. "I...I'm so happy...to see you, Becca...so happy..." The blonde began to cry, as well, and quiet tears ran down her freckled cheeks.

Rebecca shook her head again as she frowned, as her wet eyes expressed shame. "I-I don't understand why. I swore I'd protect you...I-I failed you..."

The light in Cheryl's eyes shifted as she looked back at Rebecca adoringly. "Y-y-you haven't...failed me yet...you sweet, beautiful girl. D-don't say you did...okay?"

Rebecca Chambers issued a quiet sob as she looked into Cheryl Mason's eyes...and then answering a needful impulse, remembering the brief but sweet moment they shared in front of the hosptial, the brunette pixie drew close and slowly, tenderly kissed the blonde's full lips. They both closed their eyes as Cheryl managed to kiss Rebecca back, and in that singular moment they felt each other's warmth and knew such a certainty and strength because of their ever-growing feelings for each other. The rest of the group quietly watched the women kiss briefly, and they felt a quiet happiness for them. Rebecca broke the kiss reluctantly, and she and Cheryl looked at each other...for a moment they were both unsure what to say next.

But because of the circumstances, Gwen Park was the next to speak... "Rebecca? I'm sorry, but you and Cheryl can't stay here, not with those lunatics still in the hospital. There might even be more of them on their way here, for all we know. But...where will you go?"

Rebecca's slender hands moved from Cheryl face to hold the blonde's hands...the agent looked at Gwen and said, "We have to escape this damn fog and get out of town, at least until Cheryl recovers. Then we'll be in a better position to - !"

Cheryl suddenly, quietly interrupted, but again it took great effort: "N-n-n-no."

Rebecca looked back at the blonde quickly. "Cheryl...?"

Cheryl managed, "We...can't leave...Becca. Wuh-we came here...to stop those assholes...r'member?"

The pixie felt sudden fear in her gut for the blonde. "But you can't stay here, not in the state you're in! It'll take hours before the shit they gave you wears off!"

Cheryl Mason frowned softly. "Doesn't...matter..." She fell quiet again...but then Rebecca heard the beautiful blonde's voice in her mind: "I'm sorry, Becca...shit! It's still so hard...just to think! In Silent Hill, things came...with the fog. Creatures. And Reeve brought...a lot of them here, too. We'll have a hard enough time just...just getting from one street to another."

Rebecca Chambers frowned deeply as she understood. "You're talking about the creatures in the fog you and your dad had to fight..." She looked at Alex and Elle Shepherd with concern then. "...the monsters you both must have fought in Silent Hill, too?"

The young couple looked at each other with sudden horror. Alex breathed, "Oh, shit! We know what you mean, Rebecca."

Elle voice was thin with tension: "We'll have to be damn careful out there."

Cheryl drew on so much of her inner strength to speak again: "And...and people out there...will need our help...i-if we can help them. We huh-have to stay."

Rebecca nodded solemnly. From the very beginning, she and Cheryl wanted to stop The Order from hurting anyone else. "I hear you, honey." Rebecca rose to stand and turned to look at the Sheriff's Office truck. She mused, "I have no idea how helpful driving around can be with that fog..."

Elle said, "We can't drive that truck, anyway." Rebecca looked at Elle with surprise. "Seriously. The fog does something to cars and most anything with complex machinery or electrical systems. Back in Shepherd's Glen and Silent Hill, we could only travel by foot." Alex nodded with a dubious frown.

Rebecca suddenly asked, "Even telephones...?!" She quickly got her iPhone from a pouch of her belt...it said, OUT OF SERVICE.

Alex said, "Forget about land lines, too. There's no way to call anyone outside of town now."

Rebecca bit her lower lip to keep herself from cursing again. There were too damn many layers of bad to their situation. The pixie-like agent thought quickly of the young couple then. She said to Alex and Elle, "Just because we're staying doesn't mean you both have to. You've got to get to the edge of town somehow..."

"Th-that might not be a good idea!" Those fearful words came from Gwen. "Remember what Doctor Young said...he said those lunatics will have the strength to isolate Black Falls from the rest of the world? Am I wrong when I think that means strength in numbers, including people controlled by parasites?" Rebecca remembered too, and her dread compounded quickly. "And chances are they'll be armed! You might run into some kind of resistance that could keep you from escaping!" The mood from everyone chilled because there was too much logic in the Head Nurse's words.

Elle looked at Rebecca and said, "Then we're going to have to stay with you, Rebecca." She looked at Alex. "Darling?"

Alex's face took a firm set as he nodded. "I'll do whatever you feel is right, Elle. Besides, this is our fight, too."

Rebecca's eyes were full of worry for them both. "You two need to be sure about this. You are pregnant, Elle - !"

Elle Shepherd was clearly full of fear for herself, her husband, and their unborn child. But there was a resolute bravery in her eyes as she said softly, "And that won't stop me from being a cop...if I can do anything to help you, to help anyone, I will."

Alex Shepherd drew close to his wife and took her hand. He gazed at Rebecca as he said, "We saw The Order kill Shepherd's Glen, just like they did to Silent Hill. I hate the idea of that happening to anyone else. You and Cheryl aren't gonna be alone."

Rebecca smiled at them both, but there was such a sadness in her eyes. She prayed their decision would have a happy end. "Thank you both...thank you." Rebecca turned to the Head Nurse and the candy striper. "Gwen...Bea...what do you want to do?"

Gwen Park looked at Bea fondly as she said, "Take Bea with you, Rebecca. I have to stay here."

Bea Montoya stared at her, stunned. "Wh-what?!"

Everyone else felt dubious about what Gwen wanted. Rebecca immediately said, "Gwen, you shouldn't stay here, either! Reeve and his followers - !"

Gwen quickly, gently interrupted: "Those lunatics will be so focused on you and Cheryl, most likely I won't matter to them. Besides, I have to stay."

Rebecca was about to protest...'most likely' wasn't good enough for her. "But - !"

Gwen Park's expression was stoic as she looked into Rebecca's eyes. "Make no mistake, I want to go with you! I have a husband out there I want to see again, you know?! I want him to know that I..." The Head Nurse stopped herself and looked down herself...one of her hands touched her slender belly, where her unborn child was slowly growing. "...that we're okay." Gwen looked at Rebecca again. "But there are too many patients here who don't have the strength to help themselves, and I have a duty to care for them. God, I have no idea how they're doing right now with the state everything's in! I'll help the rest of the staff secure this hospital the best we can too, keep whatever you say is in the fog from getting in." Rebecca's eyes were solemn as she understood and nodded...she couldn't argue with Gwen's logic, and she knew she couldn't change the lady's mind.

But Bea Montoya's wide eyes were scared for the lady in white. "G-Gwen..."

Gwen gently held Bea's slender shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Listen to me, Bea. You're a volunteer here, remember? You don't have to be here! And you have a family waiting to see you again." Gwen smiled softly and said, "I'll be all right." Bea could only look down, overwhelmed with emotion. Gwen looked at Rebecca, and she was close to tears as she offered, "You might not want to keep Cheryl in that wheelchair. It'll make too much noise!"

Rebecca nodded sadly, but before she could say anything to the brave Head Nurse, Alex quickly stepped up to Rebecca. He quietly offered, "I'll carry Cheryl, if that's all right? You and my wife are the only ones with guns right now, anyway."

"Thanks, Alex," Rebecca said with feeling. She looked back at Gwen, and the agent was resolute as she said, "We will come back for you somehow, Gwen! And remember I have friends on their way to help, too!"

Gwen Park nodded gratefully. "I'll remember! Just take care of Bea, okay?"

"We will!" Rebecca looked at Cheryl affectionately and asked, "Are you ready to go, Cheryl?"

Cheryl Mason managed to form a smile and said, "Just as long as...I'm going with you."

Rebecca Chambers nodded...she looked at Alex Shepherd, who easily yet carefully lifted the lovely blonde from the wheelchair and cradled her in his arms. Alex said, "I'm ready whenever you are, Rebecca. Elle?"

Elle Shepherd nodded, but she still felt awkward just wearing a tank top and panties...it was all she wore when she and Alex were kidnapped by The Order and brought to Black Falls. Alex was more fortunate to have had on a t-shirt and jeans. As she held Rebecca's Beretta at the ready, Elle said, "I'm ready...um, sort of! We'll need to stick very close together." She thought, Clothes would be nice, too!

Alex nodded. "Yeah. If we're not careful, we could lose each other in the fog! Where should we go first?"

Elle, in spite of her need to regain her modesty, kept it coolly practical: "Rebecca, I suggest we go to this town's police department or its gun store, whichever's closest. We'll need more guns, ammunition and other provisions."

Pure business, Rebecca nodded deeply. "I agree. The Sheriff's Office is maybe three or four blocks north of us, across from the city hall..." Then she thought of something and smiled as she finished, "...and I do have the keys to get in." The keys she 'borrowed' from Sheriff Gulager along with his truck; she thought it would be a good idea to keep the big ring of keys in her backpack.

Alex said, "Then let's do it!"

Bea Montoya, who hadn't made her voice heard before, suddenly blurted, "Wait!" The pretty candy striper slowly moved toward the Head Nurse as she said, "I-I want to stay with you, Gwen."

Gwen frowned and began, "Bea - !"

But the teenaged, raven-haired girl desperately reached out and took Gwen's hands. Bea almost cried, "Please don't tell me to go again, please! I do want to be with my family again...I-I want to know my boyfriend's okay...but I can't just walk away from you, Gwen! I want to stay with you!"

Gwen's exotic face softened. "Bea..."

Bea's wide, needful eyes looked into hers. "Please don't say no, Gwen! I-I've got to confess, I'm so scared of going outside...but more importantly, I don't want to abandon you!" The Head Nurse looked at the teen with surprise. Bea began to cry as her lips trembled... "I've never been able to thank you enough for...for everything you taught me, Gwen. I told you before I want to be like you, I-I want to help people. It's what I want when I g-get out of school, to become a nurse!" She squeezed Gwen's hands as she looked down and shook her head as she wept. "If I...if I'm gonna turn away from all of that, i-if I'm going to abandon you just because things are rough...what'll that mean?" The girl looked up into Gwen's eyes again and said softly, "Please tell me you understand...please...?"

Tears fell from Gwen Park's eyes as she looked back at Bea, but she smiled with warm, elemental affection. One of her hands lifted to tenderly wipe one of the teen's cheeks as she said, "I understand better than you know, dear girl." The Head Nurse then embraced the candy striper as the others watched silently. Gwen's voice was soft when she said to the girl she held, "But we're going to have a lot of work to do. You sure you're ready?"

Bea Montoya felt warm in Gwen's arms and couldn't help but hold the older woman in return...she said, "N-no...but I can't let that stop me now..."

The Head Nurse smiled sadly. "Yeah." The lobby fell quiet for another moment as they held each other, and Rebecca, Cheryl and the others couldn't help but admire Gwen and Bea. Even though they didn't have guns, in spite of the fog that darkened all, their bravery shone brightly.

Rebecca took a step toward them. She said, "Bea?" The teen looked at her. The petite agent said, "You said you had a boyfriend, right? What's his name? Did he give you that anklet?" Rebecca pointed down at one of Bea's ankles, where the gold anklet with a matching heart charm gleamed in the flickering light.

Bea smiled a bit more. "Y-yeah. His name's Billy."

Rebecca nodded. "If we see him, we'll let him know where you are. We'll do the same if we see any of your family, okay?"

Bea Montoya sniffed and nodded as she held Gwen. "Thank you!"

The agent asked the Head Nurse, "What about your husband, Gwen?"

"Chan?" Gwen looked at Rebecca gratefully...her voice was thick with need. "With the situation outside, I couldn't even guess where he is now. We agreed a long time ago that if an emergency happened when we were apart, he'd come meet me here. Still, if you see him...?"

"We'll let him know you're all right, Gwen," Rebecca promised. "I swear."

"Thank you...thank you all." Gwen Park looked at the others as she held Bea Montoya, and she gave them a reassuring smile. "Y-you'd better go while you can. All of you take care!"

Rebecca spoke for the others after she nodded deeply. "You and Bea do the same, Gwen...you will see us again! I promise!" She turned to Elle, Alex, and Cheryl, who was in his arms. "You guys ready?"

The couple nodded...Cheryl Mason smiled warmly in response and managed, "Whenever...you are...Becca..." She said to the brunette by thought, "I'll do my best to...give us warning if...we're going to...to run into any enemies out there. Okay?"

Rebecca Chambers nodded, grateful. For Cheryl's sake, she gathered her inner strength. "Like Elle said, we stick together, and we keep each other in sight!" Alex and Elle nodded. "Let's go!"

The group of four exited through one of the manual doors of the lobby entrance, and they stepped into the fog.

-2-

It was only possible to see three or four yards in any direction before all faded to gray. As she led the others, Rebecca Chambers felt some comfort knowing that the soldiers of The Order and...anything else out here would have had as much difficulty because of the reduced visibility. She hoped.

One thing immediately obvious about the fog that blanketed Black Falls was this...there was a cold that came with the oppressive feeling of wrongness within it. It felt almost twenty degrees colder in the thick, smoky mist. However. Even though the drop in temperature wasn't harsh, Rebecca and the others saw snow fall around them in the misty gray as they moved very slowly, keeping on the west sidewalk of Kubrick Street, on the same side of the town's main drag as the Sheriff's Office. They couldn't see much, except for the different storefronts they passed on their left that looked aged and abandoned, if not damaged by the recent chaos. Calamity was still happening across town...they could hear horrible things from both near and far. Repeated gunshots and thudding explosions. Screaming. And there were other sounds. They were almost like animals, but they were unearthly and alien, and thankfully those particular kinds of sounds were heard from a distance...for the time being. They even heard the crackle of fires, but the cold and the obscuring fog wouldn't give them a sense of exactly where those fires were happening. Rebecca felt such sadness for Black Falls and its people. It had been a truly beautiful place, and she could only imagine how terribly it was being damaged. She was afraid to think of how many people were dying.

On their right, in the street, they saw a nearly-ghostly image of the cars at a standstill on the street going south. They had to have been abandoned when The Order began their lockdown. It wasn't possible to tell how damaged any of the now-useless vehicles were. At one point almost halfway to their destination, Rebecca and the others were surprised when a haggard young man covered in blood burst past them from behind at a full-tilt run. They barely had warning because they heard his rapid footfalls approaching from behind. They watched as the man disappeared like a wraith back into the fog. It was the only encounter of any kind with anyone or anything they had on their way to the Sheriff's Office, and it felt like a bleak omen.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, they were in front of the wood double-doors of the modest brick building that was the Black Falls Sheriff's Office. Elle said quietly, "This is it? It doesn't look like much." Elle had to remind herself she and Alex came from a much larger town - Brahms, Maine, which had over twice the population of Black Falls, and so the police department she was a part of was much bigger and had a budget for better facilities.

Alex said it best. "Hey, this is a small town, right? It's the kind of place..." He felt a sudden burst of awkward sadness as he finished, "...where nothing happens."

Rebecca nodded, her expression downcast...that couldn't be said anymore about Black Falls, could it? "Yeah." She refocused again as she lowered to one knee, put down her SMG, and took off her backpack to access it. In a moment, she got Sheriff Gulager's key ring. She looked at the locks on the doors and then at the key ring, and thankfully it only took a couple of minutes to find a key that slid comfortably into the lock. Rebecca turned the key and felt the door unlock. "Okay, we have a winner...!"

Rebecca suddenly felt Cheryl speak into her mind: "Becca, wait!" The pixie quickly turned to the blonde, forgetting the doors instantly. Cheryl then thought to her, "There...there's someone inside."

Elle couldn't help but see the sudden fear in Rebecca's eyes as she stared at Cheryl. Elle asked tentatively, "Rebecca...?"

Rebecca looked at both Elle and Alex. "Cheryl can sense that someone's in there."

Alex looked down at the girl he cradled in his arms awkwardly. "Uh, I didn't hear her say anything...?"

Rebecca matter-of-factly informed him, "Cheryl can speak with her thoughts, too."

Alex looked at Elle. "O-kay. Considering everything else we've seen, that doesn't sound strange."

Elle nodded. They had both been part of things a LOT stranger. Elle asked, "Can Cheryl tell if it's an enemy?"

Rebecca thought of only one person to really worry about who might be in the Sheriff's Office. "Cheryl, is it Gulager?"

Alex and Elle asked in virtual unison, "Who?"

Cheryl said into the pixie's mind, "No. She's okay, but she's alone...and she's really scared, Becca. We need to help her."

-3-

The jail of the Sheriff's Office, close to the back of the first floor. There were five cells on each side of a secure, narrow corridor. Each cell was small in size, meant to hold one occupant. Again, Black Falls was a place where nothing happened...once upon a time.

At that moment there was only one person in the jail, locked behind the iron bars of the last cell on the right. It had only been about an hour ago she'd been arrested by one of Sheriff James Gulager's deputies for driving her dirt bike on the sidewalk. Gulager himself decided that she'd spend a couple of hours in jail as a warning before she was released to be back on her way to Boston, Massachusetts for a big motocross event. In the time since her arrest so much had changed, and she felt a persistent terror clutch her heart that made her tremble, body and soul, as she paced around the inside of her cell like a person about to be executed. The girl was only 19 years old and had long blonde hair done up in a ponytail that reached down past her shoulders...her eyes were a bright ocean blue that complimented her pale skin. Her beautiful features were soft with youth, but she didn't like makeup; she never felt the need to pretty herself up. Her lean yet curvaceous body was sheathed in a red and white motocross jumpsuit with blue and black stylings and script. After everything she heard outside, the terrible chaos that the brick walls of the Sheriff's Office couldn't shut out, she wondered if she'd ever see Boston, or even her family in northern Vermont ever again.

The girl had always worried her parents because of her love for motocross, a love she had held in her heart since she entered her teens. Something about the sport just drew her to it, something that made her save her money and buy her first dirt bike just after she was old enough to drive. The girl tried to tell her parents again and again that she wasn't reckless, and she definitely wasn't like one of those clueless thrillseekers who could be seen on YouTube videos failing in bone-breaking ways because they didn't prepare or even think before trying something. Eventually, her mom and dad figured out that they did indeed raise their only daughter right: when it came to motocross or doing anything on a motorcycle, the spirited yet thoughtful blonde girl was level-headed, responsible, and took every possible precaution to keep from getting hurt. If she had any kind of character flaw, it was an impatience that defined many teens. She wanted to make her mark in the male-dominated world of motocross, and she wanted to do it yesterday.

She let her youthful impatience get the best of her once during a race: she gunned her engine at the wrong time, and she and her bike damned near flew into the air for a heart-stopping moment before she landed hard on the dirt again. The landing was too hard, unfortunately, and she lost control and spilled. Thankfully she wasn't seriously hurt, but she had to spend over a thousand dollars to repair her bike. She felt like she let down not only her parents after she promised again and again she'd be careful, she failed herself...and those things hurt more than damaging her bike and losing the race. The girl swore she'd never let herself be a failure again, and she put even more care and caution into her preparations. Over the past year alone, she had seen steady improvement in her efforts...she won more races than she lost across the region. Then she heard about the big event in Boston, a national event that offered huge exposure - hell, it was going to be televised live on ESPN2 - and she felt confident she was ready. As she began her journey to Boston earlier that Friday, it wasn't like she had visions of becoming the first lady of motocross, but she had high hopes, and very possibly the skill to make those hopes a reality.

But the road she began to travel to Boston led here, to getting busted for being impatient again...and she found herself in a situation far, far worse than simply crashing and losing a race. The girl was completely, horribly alone as something she dreaded to even imagine was happening outside, something that began just after she watched her own cell and all of her surroundings change to become something much older, darker and threatening. It felt like she was in a dungeon instead of a jail now. She was on the verge of crying as she trembled, as she paced fearfully in her claustrophobic cell. The girl had the frightening feeling that whatever was responsible for the chaos outside wouldn't stay out there...that it might come into the Sheriff's Office and find her in her cell, a prisoner trapped and helpless.

The girl's heart almost stopped when she thought she heard a key turn a heavy lock in the distance to her left, from the entrance down the corridor. She wanted to hope she'd just imagined things - no. She heard the security door open with a metallic creak. The trembling girl didn't feel tears spill down her own cheeks as she heard soft footsteps on the concrete floor. Her breaths came faster as she took a couple of steps back, almost coming into contact with her cell's cot. She lifted her hands and clutched them together before her bosom as she prayed, as she softly moaned, "Oh god, please..."

And a slender, pretty lady who didn't look much older than she did appeared before her under the flickering lights and looked into her cell with eyes a lighter, gentler shade of blue. Her black hair was short and stylish, and she wore a distinctive crimson top and matching long gloves, shiny black pants and shoes. She wore a backpack and what seemed to be a gun belt, and she had a big gun slung behind one of her shoulders. For a moment, the blonde thought she was seeing things. But the brunette pixie was real and her expression was gentle as she smiled at the prisoner. "Hi. It's all right. I promise that I'm here to help you. I'm a federal agent."

The girl in red and white looked at the visitor and blinked...unsure, she said, "R-really? You look like you're about to go clubbing or something...e-except for that big gun you're carrying!"

"I like to dress casual. I see you like motocross."

Something about the pixie made the blonde girl relax...somehow, she felt by instinct the brunette was a friend. She still frowned a little as she said in a guarded tone, "I...I'm not a pro or anything yet. I-I hope I get the chance to be one day."

The brunette nodded and introduced herself. "I'm Rebecca Chambers. Who are you?"

The blonde had to decide then: could she trust this stranger? Somehow, deep in her heart, she felt like she could. She took a leap of faith and told Rebecca her name: "E-Elza...Elza Walker."

Rebecca smiled brighter. "It's nice to meet you, Elza." She then displayed the key ring she held in one gloved hand. "Want me to get you out of there?"

Elza Walker quickly stepped forward and she clutched at the bars of her cell's door with both hands...she almost cried, "Oh god, yes! Please!" However, the blonde saw that the brunette didn't know which key would unlock her cell at first. As she began to experiment with different keys, Elza asked fearfully, "Rebecca, what's going on outside?! I-it's been sounding like the end of the world out there!"

Rebecca recalled what those monsters in The Order wanted, the rebirth of their God and making Earth into a Paradise, which would have literally meant this world's end. She thought, I hope you're wrong, Elza. Rebecca said, "There are bad things going on, but my main concern at the moment is you. Do you live here?"

Elza shook her head. "No, I-I was just passing through. I was on my way to this big event in Boston."

Rebecca gave the blonde a quick glance as she continued trying to find the key for the cell. "How did you get in jail?"

"I got caught doing something pretty dumb. I-I wasn't being some kind of criminal or anything, honest!"

"I believe you, Elza. I'm afraid you're not going to see Boston anytime soon, though."

Elza frowned and nodded shakily. "Yeah, I got that feeling when I heard crap outside that sounded like a cross between Scream and Battle Los Angeles. Lots of gunshots, explosions...weird noises...s-screaming..."

Rebecca breathed, "Okay!" Just like that, a key slid into the lock of the cell door, and she unlocked it. The brunette opened it, much to Elza's relief, but Rebecca's serious expression sobered the blonde quickly. The agent told her, "This town has been taken over by a cult, Elza. They won't let anyone enter this town, and they won't let any of us leave."

Elza's pretty face reflected pure dismay...she haltingly took a step back and almost moaned, "Uh, maybe it'd be a better idea if I stayed here...?"

The brunette gently shook her head. "Staying in one place is the last thing you should do." Rebecca was struck by how young the blonde was, as young as she had been when she first joined S.T.A.R.S at the age of 18, when she had no idea what she was getting into. The brunette saw the fear in the blonde's eyes, and she remembered her own fear as she desperately avoided the nightmare creatures in the forests at the foot of the Arklay Mountains...as she sought to help Chris and Jill in that mansion...as Hell came to Raccoon City...

And didn't that same fear make Rebecca decide what she should do afterward...and that decision was the greatest mistake she ever made because it led to tragedy and a terrible regret that would always be a part of her. It was something she couldn't share with Cheryl, and the brunette wanted to share everything with that amazing, freckle-faced beauty. But no. Not this. Rebecca feared so much what Cheryl would think of her if she knew...

It took a lot of inner strength for Rebecca to stop thinking about that and focus on Elza, and she did. The pixie's voice was soothing as she spoke to the girl with the ponytail: "I can imagine how scared you are right now...I am, too. But I learned a long time ago that fear never, ever solves anything when the worst things happen. It can...i-it can only make you do the wrong thing." There was a haunted quality in Rebecca's eyes... "I need to ask for something important from you, Elza."

Elza frowned softly... "What do you want, Rebecca?"

Rebecca carefully took a step into the cell, closer to Elza. "I need to ask you to come with me. I'm not here by myself, and I promise we'll help you in any way we can. But we're going to need you, too. We need to work together and help each other through if we're going to survive. Okay?"

The blonde girl in red and white still trembled...but her fear visibly began to ease very slowly. Her breaths calmed as she carefully nodded and said, "O-okay." Elza Walker stepped forward and suddenly hugged Rebecca. She said softly, "Thank you...thank you, thank you. I...I-I didn't want to be alone anymore..." Her arms clutched the brunette with pure and total need as she began to cry with gratitude and relief.

Rebecca Chambers gladly, gently held Elza...one of her hands softly rubbed the blonde girl's back, comforting her. "I know, Elza...I know exactly how you feel. It's all right...shhh, it's all right. You're not alone anymore."

-4-

In the main office and reception area of the Sheriff's Office, Cheryl was lying on a couch as Alex watched over her from only a few feet away. He heard his wife say, "Well, half a loaf is better than nothing, as they say!" He looked in her direction and saw Elle had taken a light jacket off of a coat rack in a corner and put it on. The lady frowned a little in reaction because it felt a little stiff; there was a musty film to the surface of the fabric, too. Like it hadn't been worn for a long time. It also proved to be a little small, even for Elle's lithe form. She decided to keep it anyway, and put the Beretta Rebecca lent her in an inside pocket, where the gun fit snugly. The lower half of her body still displayed itself provocatively - especially her lovely behind - since she only wore panties besides her tank top. Elle sighed, "I'm still feeling a little exposed, though." No wonder.

Alex gazed at her and responded, but not quite in the way his wife expected: "Elle...would you hold it against me if I told you that you look seriously hot?"

Elle looked at him and smiled as she blushed a little, honestly flattered...but it wasn't hard to remember where they were and what they were facing at the moment. She said, "Alex, there's a time and a place, you know?"

Alex drifted over to her... "Yeah, and you're about to make me stand at attention, if you know what I mean." Cheryl watched what was happening as a warm, amused smile slowly formed on her full lips.

Elle's lips curled wickedly as she gave her approaching husband a devilish smirk...and she couldn't help but feel a building heat in her, as well. "I guess the next thing you'll say is you only want to see me in this jacket and nothing else."

Alex was completely fixed on her as he smiled back with loving affection...as his arms reached under either side of her jacket to take hold of her slender body. "You guess right, beautiful."

Elle's arms eagerly wrapped around him in response. Cheryl watched, and she was truly happy for the young couple, that their love and passion burned so brightly between them. She hoped it would never, ever dim in even the slightest measure. Cheryl then thought of Rebecca...and she wondered... As their faces were bare inches apart, Elle set aside where they were and what they were facing. In spite of the crisis, in spite of the darksome environs of the office, there was untold value in quiet moments like these as they both felt the love they were fated to know even when they were kids. Elle purred softly, "Strange time to finally find out about a 'thing' you have, dear..."

Alex's need for his wife was becoming overwhelming. "The only 'thing' I've ever had is for you, Elle." Their faces began to drift closer as the husband and wife held each other...they had almost forgotten Cheryl was there as they were about to kiss -

"God, you two seriously need to rent a room!" Both Alex and Elle suddenly snapped out of it and turned to the source of the voice...a girl with her blonde hair in a ponytail, wearing what looked like a racing jumpsuit. The girl's arms were crossed and she had an amused smile on her face. Rebecca was standing next to her, covering her grinning lips with one hand and trying like blazes not to laugh.

Rebecca then heard Cheryl speak to her by thought: "You and Miss Motocross...could've waited...a while longer, Becca!"

Rebecca quickly thought back, "Behave, honey!" She regained her composure and focused on the suddenly-awkward couple; she gestured to the ponytailed girl and made introductions: "Um guys, this is Elza. Elza, that's Elle...Alex..." Rebecca's expression shifted to become much more gentle as she gestured to the young woman lying on the couch. "...and this is Cheryl."

Elza's eyes were full of concern as she looked at Cheryl. She asked, "I-is she okay?"

Rebecca promised, "She will be." The pixie drew close to Cheryl then and she said, "You, Alex and Elle know what we're dealing with better than I do, honey. Will we need anything besides guns and food?"

Cheryl managed, "Food...won't mean much...Becca."

Elza frowned. "Why? Does the food suck in this town?"

Alex and Elle knew what Cheryl meant from their own experiences. Alex said, "It's not easy to explain. Food is...different because of the fog, too."

Elza blinked. "Wait, what fog? It's a clear and sunny day outside, the last I saw!" And she'd only been in jail an hour...!

Rebecca told her, "A lot more has changed than you think, Elza. You'll see." She looked at Cheryl. "At least most lights are on...well, kinda. But would anything else work?!"

Elle said, "Flashlights will! And we'll need them if the darkness comes."

Elza couldn't help but ask, "You mean later tonight, after the sun goes down...?"

The brunette agent shook her head. "No, Elza. I...I-I know something about the darkness you mean, Elle...because of Cheryl. Let's pray to god that doesn't happen."

Cheryl said then, "We need...radios."

Alex looked at Cheryl and nodded with enthusiasm. "She's right about that! We'll need at least one radio to carry around."

"Really?" Rebecca turned and looked around her at some of the vacant desks of the deputies who worked here. "Oh!" She took a few steps to one desk in particular and picked up a small portable radio small enough to carry in one's back pocket. "Bingo!" Rebecca smiled as she turned it on...but her smile fell fast as she heard static. Her mood didn't improve when she tried going up and down the dial for a moment, and there was still nothing but that annoying noise. "Aw, this won't help...!" She was about to turn it off and put it back where she found it -

"No!" This came from Cheryl, who said, "It will help, Becca. It reacts when...bad things are near." Alex and Elle knew exactly what the blonde meant...their expressions became grim as they nodded in agreement.

Rebecca looked as confused as Elza then. "'Reacts'...? I don't understand...!"

It was like fate decided to take a moment to enlighten the brunette: as she held the radio, Rebecca and the others heard the static of the radio shift. It made the brunette fall quiet and think maybe a station was trying to come through from somewhere. No. The static was slowly, ominously building in intensity. Rebecca looked reflexively at the others. Alex was staring at the radio with wide, worried eyes...so was Elle, who was incredibly tense as she slowly took the Beretta from her jacket. Rebecca heard Cheryl say in her mind, "Becca...get ready...right now." And the pixie understood as she readied her SMG that the radio was acting like a geiger counter, a device that got louder and more urgent the closer it got to a source of radiation. But in this case the radio was responding to something, something that wasn't just nearby it was approaching - !

The double-doors to the Sheriff's Office were smashed inward, broken to pieces by what appeared to be a giant, bulbous appendage of flesh that swung into them. The others stared for a moment, their eyes wide with shock as they saw what the big limb was attached to. It had to stoop as it entered, it was so big. Cheryl Mason recognized it instantly...she remembered killing something exactly like it in a shopping mall on the day her father died.

The Closer was a profane, strangely feminine creature that was misbegotten and almost impossibly distorted in its dimensions. Perhaps eight feet tall, covered in gore and grime, it looked like it had been...cobbled together from different creatures that had no relation to each other, and parts of it were bandaged; the thing's movements were unsure and clumsy, like it just began to learn how to move. Its thin legs would never have held the Closer up by themselves, but it used its massive, clublike arms to help it lumber forth like a gorilla. It was topped with a bullet-shaped head that had no ears, eyes or nose, but its flat face had a single massive mouth that turned in one direction and another with a frenzied pace. It issued groans from its rotating slit of a mouth and its head turned from left to right with frantic speed as it sought out a target.

Elza Walker screamed, long and loud, and that was more than enough to galvanize Rebecca Chambers and Elle Shepherd...both of the young women were armed, and immediately took action. Rebecca fired on the Closer with her suppressed MP5 on full automatic as Elle fired on it again and again with the Beretta in her hands. Cheryl Mason, Alex Shepherd and Elza could only watch as the thing trembled from being hit by so many rounds in the space of a handful of seconds, as chunks of its misbegotten flesh were blasted from the exit wounds of the bullets Rebecca and Elle fired into it...and it pitched forward to crash to the floor at the same moment they ran out of bullets. Cheryl was reminded of how thankfully weak such a creature was - she'd killed her first with several rounds from the handgun she had found. The Closer writhed and issued disquieting moans for a moment before it went still.

Rebecca instantly moved to Cheryl and knelt next to her and took one of the blonde's hands in one of hers. Not because Cheryl had been hurt, but because the agent needed to be near her. They gazed into each other's eyes for a moment. This was the first time Rebecca had seen such a monster, and being near to the one she adored was comforting. Alex and Elle couldn't help but gravitate to each other needfully, too.

Elza, however, took a few steps toward the hellish yet dead thing as her wide eyes stared at it. She finally said with a trembling voice, "Holy shit!" Then Elza began to scream, "HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING?! OH, MY GOD!" The girl looked at the others helplessly, desperate to understand, but she only received fearful looks in return.

Rebecca frowned as she knelt next to Cheryl and she said, "We can't stay here! We need to find whatever we can and go!"

-5-

The group moved quickly to get what they needed as Alex carried Cheryl; Rebecca absolutely did NOT want the one she adored to be left alone in her helpless condition, even for a moment. Elle had to scavenge the locker room to find a pair of pants, but they were too big...it seemed only men had been employed by Sheriff Gulager. Fortunately, a belt she found quickly helped the pants fit. She and Alex also found shoes, and he got another light jacket for himself. Again, the clothes had a queer quality to them, like they hadn't been worn for years, but that didn't mean they weren't unwearable. Elle had no problem wearing her tank top under her jacket.

The group then focused on the weapons room of the Sheriff's Office. On one side of the room were two big racks of rifles, carbines and shotguns; on the other side was where handguns were secured. There were many drawers full of a surplus of bullets and shells for the Sheriff and deputies to draw upon. Everything had a visible layer of dust, but the weapons still looked functional. Rebecca took it upon herself to be the dealer of what each person wanted to carry. She said to Cheryl, "I've got your Peacemaker and ammo with me, Cheryl. Did you want another gun?"

Cheryl sat limply in a chair close by, and Elle was standing close by her, just in case. The freckle-faced beauty frowned as she decided. "Something...simple," she managed to say. Her half-open eyes fixed on a weapon on one of the racks. "I'll take...one of those shotguns behind you..."

Rebecca looked behind her at a rack and saw what Cheryl meant...she nodded and said, "You got it!" She took from the rack a deadly-black Remington 870 12-gauge, complete with a shoulder strap. From there the agent focused on Elle, who wanted an AR-15 carbine and a Glock-19 9mm pistol...Rebecca got her Beretta back accordingly.

When the pixie got to Alex, she asked, "What kind of gun do you want, Alex?"

He shrugged at first. "Well, I've gotten into hunting since Elle and I got married. To provide something for the table some times of the year, you know?"

"Uh-huh?"

Alex scanned the racks... "I own a bolt-action just like that one..." He pointed at a Remington 700 hunting rifle. "I'll take that!" Rebecca quickly obliged. He also wanted a handgun, and the agent gave him another Glock. Alex looked at it as he held it and mused, "It's not much different from what I had to use long ago...I still remember how..." Alex also remembered he temporarily suffered the delusion of believing he'd been a soldier fighting overseas, when in fact he was in a mental hospital before he escaped it. It was a brutal irony that when he returned to Shepherd's Glen, he had to fight an eerie personal war against The Order and other, unspeakable things for the sake of both his and Elle's survival. Alex's expression was bittersweet...his beautiful wife took his hand gently as they both remembered.

Rebecca looked at Elza then. "Okay, what would you like?"

Elza seemed surprised by her question. "What?" Then the girl realized what Rebecca was asking...she gave the brunette an incredulous look. "Oh, come on! Do I look like I know anything about guns? I know motorcycles! The closest I've ever been to guns has been watching movies like Rambo!"

Rebecca suddenly felt a little dumb. "Oh! Well...you'll still need to defend yourself against things like the creature that attacked us."

Elza's eyes widened. "There's more ugly bastards like that out there?!"

Alex answered, "A lot more."

Elza groaned, "Oh, shit! Uh...so what's best for a stone cold noob like me?"

Elle quickly said, "Rebecca, give me another shotgun like Cheryl's!" The agent did so, and Elle held a second Remington 12-gauge to display it for Elza. "If you want something to defend yourself, you can't go wrong with a shotgun."

The sight of the shotgun intimidated the heck out of Elza, but she felt confident. Sort of. "Um, okay!"

Elle told the girl, "It'll take down anything threatening you, and it's as basic as you can get. I swear it's easier to use than...well, riding a bike. I'll teach you how, but we don't have the time now."

"No, we don't," Rebecca agreed. "If we don't want another monster or any of The Order to come looking for us, we need to get out of here soon."

They finished quickly yet carefully to collect as much ammo as they could carry, including things from bandoliers for holding shotgun shells to gun holsters and cleaning kits. They scavenged as much as they could from other parts of the Sheriff's Office, necessities like more flashlights, a couple of spare radios, batteries, and other things. A couple of duffel bags were found that held most of the provisions. As much as they wanted to collect food, which was found only in the building's vending machines, it all looked so grimy and old they quickly decided against it. Elza suddenly had the fear in her gut that they might die of thirst or starvation while trying to survive whatever-the-hell, but kept it to herself.

On the first floor reception desk, Rebecca spied a stack of four-folded maps for Black Falls...it was for the heart of town, where the local businesses were concentrated, but it was more than enough. After opening one up, they looked for a place where it would be least likely The Order would be. They agreed on moving from the Sheriff's Office to a laundromat two blocks west where they could take the time to rest, clean their guns, and really prepare for a fight. Rebecca then wondered with some anxiety how to leave a note or something for anyone who might come for them - hopefully, Chris, Jill and others in the BSAA - without it being found by The Order first. Cheryl said to her by thought, "When I get my strength back...I might be able to...get a message to them. Help them find us." Rebecca didn't doubt that.

By the time they got back to the blasted entrance, where the hideous Closer still laid not far away, the dense fog outside had begun creeping in. They all had a lot to carry, and they hoped they were ready. Rebecca looked at Alex and asked, "You'll still be okay carrying Cheryl?"

Alex smiled confidently and nodded. "Oh, yeah. The girl's light as a feather."

The pixie's expression softened as she focused on the one she adored. "Are you okay, Cheryl?"

Cheryl half-whispered, "Don't worry so much...about me, Becca."

Rebecca ignored that...she took one Cheryl's limp hands in hers and gently squeezed it. "We're going to make this right. We really will."

Cheryl managed to say regretfully, "I just...I-I hate feeling so...damned useless..."

Rebecca drew closer to Cheryl and softly kissed her forehead. "You are not useless, honey. You just need time to get your strength back, and you will. You hear me?" She squeezed the blonde's hand, reassuring.

Cheryl Mason managed to smile. "Thank you."

Elle Shepherd considered the radio she held in one slender hand as she listened to it. "Doesn't sound like anything's close by. We should be okay." Rebecca nodded...

...but Elza couldn't help but look into the fog anxiously. It was all so unreal, and she wondered if understanding what was going on would help in any way. Still, she asked, "Uh, what exactly are we going to do? You said before we can't get out of town. Where can we go?"

Rebecca answered, "We'll find out when we get there." She also stared into the fog... "The important thing is we move and keep moving...we don't stay in one place too long...and we protect Cheryl. The Order will be desperate to get her back. They need Cheryl to be their Mother of God, and she's the one who has the power to stop them and change things back to normal."

The ponytailed girl had to giggle nervously. "Uhm, half of what you said just flew over my head, y'know that?" But...Elza Walker drew upon her inner strength, and her eyes became serious. "I do understand it's like you said, Rebecca. We need to help each other."

Rebecca added solemnly, "We also look for anyone who needs help. We do what we can for them."

As he cradled the one person who might be able to save the world from what The Order set in motion this day, Alex Shepherd smiled and asked, "So what are we waiting for, Christmas?"

The brunette pixie smiled back...but then she turned to the fog, and her eyes became full of steel. Whether they were ready or not, they had to go. They had to end this. Rebecca Chambers only thought of Cheryl and said quietly, "Let's get out of here."

They moved into the fog...and in seconds, they disappeared...

TO BE CONTINUED