Sigh, sorry for the delay again.

Finally, the next chapter is here! As a mystery deepens in Black Falls, we look into the heart of Jill Valentine, the first lady of Survival Horror. You might be surprised by what you'll find! And a change of plans will have nightmarish consequences...just read on!

"RESIDENT EVIL X SILENT HILL: JUDGMENT DAY"

written by Charles Spencer,
inspired by Ygure

Chapter 15:

"NIGHT TERRORS"

-1-

Saturday, August 31, 2013
Somewhere in Black Falls, Vermont
0017 HRS

Doctor Burton Young was at his wit's end...and perhaps his sanity's end, as well. It had been hours since Black Falls literally became a place of nightmares with his quiet assistance. It was hours since he followed Reeve Meyers, the High Priest of the Sect of Valtiel, the last remnant of the cult known as The Order, and some of his followers from Wyler Community Hospital to what Reeve called 'a more secure location' for what the pale man called 'his own good'. That was all, no preamble, they just walked out of the hospital shortly after that government agent Rebecca Chambers saved Cheryl Mason and escaped with a couple his people had kidnapped earlier! Young thought he was going to die as he and the small group of cultists followed Reeve through the fog and heard the chaos, the nightmare sounds, the screams all around them until they reached their destination...like Reeve promised, they weren't harmed, but that was little consolation to the old doctor.

Young hadn't given much thought to those left in the hospital...Gwen Park, young Bea Montoya, and all of the staff and patients brought to hazard by the terrible changes...all of his fears were for himself. When he realized where Reeve had taken him and the group, he was stunned. But then, didn't The Order have months to insinuate themselves into this small Vermont town? In retrospect...no. Doctor Burton Young knew it didn't help to dwell on the past. What was done on his part to help The Order was done. He had to live with the consequences, but that was a proposition he could barely endure as he paced around in the room set aside for him in what Reeve claimed was a shelter from the horrifying storm outside. The cult's seal, the Halo of the Sun, was everywhere - emblazoned in red across every door and strategically on the floors at intervals. Reeve called them protective wards, but looking at the symbols in his room didn't make him feel safe - he felt the exact opposite, in fact.

It was just after midnight on this very early Saturday morning...with his grip on rational thought becoming a fragile thing, too frightened to sleep or even relax in any way, he had to talk to Reeve again. The old man still wore his silver suit as he moved from his room and down a dark hall to the double doors of an office, the seals on the face of each door. He reached out to open them, but he heard a voice from within that made him pause. It was Reeve himself, and it sounded like he was talking to someone. From through the doors, he heard the cool voice say: "Yes, it would have cost us dearly if Alessa had used her power, but she wasn't given the chance, was she?" A pause that lasted for a few seconds. "I know better than anyone your needs, and I share them, remember? We will do our part and secure Alessa again, and she'll finally serve her purpose as the Mother of God." Another brief moment of silence...and Reeve said impatiently, "Finding her should have been simple, but I didn't expect so many Soldiers to fall victim to the creatures I summoned from the same place we gained the everlasting fog. At least we still have the Puppets, and we can create more, as many as necessary to suit our needs. Only...what, perhaps three or four-thousand citizens of this town have died so far? There are still many, many more who we can...convert to our cause, so to speak."

Young wondered if Reeve was talking to someone on the phone, but he quickly remembered telephones in Black Falls didn't work at all. But then, who was Reeve talking to? To himself? The old man's curiosity got the best of him...he dared to turn the knob of one of the doors, and he slowly opened it a crack. Young looked inside and saw the cult leader standing in the office dressed in his ceremonial black robes, not far away from a desk with a small lamp on it that flickered from time to time. Like a horse fitted with blinders, Young's perspective was narrowed only on the pale man. He couldn't tell if anyone else was in the office or not. Reeve's expression was casual, unbothered as he stood there with his arms crossed and said dismissively, "Actually, I'd prefer to utilize the Puppets and the parasites controlling them instead of my human followers. Not only are they completely subservient to my will, the parasites are kin to the creatures I brought here, so I don't have to worry about them or their hosts being eaten...unlike my more vulnerable Soldiers." God, Young thought, this man didn't even care for his own followers? Reeve stood there silent for a beat, and Young didn't hear anything else...but then, as if in response to someone again, the leader smiled a little and said, "They need not know that...besides, they swore to live and die for God, didn't they? If they die before seeing Paradise brought to Earth, then that is simply their fate." Reeve turned after a moment as if considering someone, but Young still didn't hear anything or anyone else at all as the leader's expression became serious...then the pale man spread his arms and bowed in what seemed to be deference. His head hung low, Reeve said quietly, "I haven't forgotten we are in this together...we need each other. Have faith in me, because I have faith in - "

But before Reeve could finish, Doctor Burton Young had lost his patience...he burst into the office in spite of his fear and began to say loudly, "Reeve, why in the hell are you - !" And the old man stopped awkwardly as he stared. He wanted to ask why Reeve was talking to himself...but he wasn't.

Young was a couple of feet into the office and finally saw that there was another in the office, only a couple of yards away from the cult leader. It was a man Young had seen before in Reeve's company a couple of times, and he was memorable because he was a distinctive sight. The man was a little taller than Reeve, bald and thin in his black suit and tie, and he wore black sunglasses. Young couldn't see the bald man's eyes, but the man was definitely frowning at the intruder. So was Reeve Meyers, who said with annoyance, "Burton. It isn't polite of you to interrupt our conversation."

Conversation? Young looked at them with wide eyes and stammered defensively, "I-I-I didn't hear anyone talking but you, Reeve...I-I thought y-you were alone - !"

Reeve said, "You can plainly see I am not." The leader then turned to the other and began, "Forgive me, I..." Reeve's voice trailed off. The bald man in the black suit simply looked at him and remained silent, but Reeve bowed deeply and said quietly, "Thank you. With your leave...?" Again, the bald man said nothing and began to move to the doors of the office. The old man felt this man stare at him through his dark glasses as he passed by; he then left the office and closed the doors behind him. Young felt a sudden, instinctive fear of that bald man that rivaled his fear of Reeve. He finally heard the cult leader ask, "How long were you eavesdropping on our talk? That isn't polite, either."

Young stared at him and he said impatiently, "Wh-what talk?! I only heard you and nobody else!"

Reeve Meyers stared at Young and said in a tone colder than an Antarctic wind: "I asked you a question, Burton. Do not make me ask again." Reeve stalked toward the old man...

...and Young knew perfect dread as Reeve reached him and stared the old man down. Young carefully, meekly answered, "I...I-I had only been at the door for a minute. I-I-I meant no harm, Reeve, I swear..."

The air in the office warmed, but slightly, as Reeve relaxed. He turned from Young and said dismissively, "Of course you didn't."

As he looked at Reeve's back, Young managed, "I...I-I had seen that man with you a few times before...I mean, before you brought this fog to town."

"And?"

"Y-you never intro...introduced me to him, Reeve. Who is he? I-I'm just curious."

As he looked away from Young, Reeve offered simply, "He is one you have no reason to know, Burton. Leave it at that."

Young eagerly did so without a thought, but he still frowned as he felt the need to ask, "A-anyway, why were you the only one talking?"

Reeve turned to look at him. "I wasn't. The one who left spoke to me by thought. He usually does. That was why you only heard me."

Young stared at the leader, perplexed. "I don't understand - "

"I realize you are simply curious, Burton," Reeve sighed...but then the expression in his eyes hardened and he said, "But if you want to stay in my favor and in the grace of God, do not ask about him again." A quiet, deadly beat passed as the old man fought the impulse to urinate in his pants, and barely succeeded. Reeve broke the silence by asking, "Now why are you here in the first place? I can guess you have other worries?"

"I..." Young gulped dry air. "...I-I just want to have an idea of when this nightmare will end. It's all too much for me...it..."

"The end will come soon, Burton," Reeve said. "I swear on my faith as a true servant to the First Servant of God himself, Valtiel, the moment Alessa Gillespie is back in our hands...her destiny shall be sealed and you'll be greatly rewarded. I never forget what I owe others for their services, but remember my patience has its limits. Simply be polite...be patient...and - !" Reeve stopped in mid-sentence...his face expressed surprise, and then his lips curled into a dark smile. "Well, now."

Doctor Burton Young suddenly felt fear twist in his gut. "W-w-what?"

Reeve Meyers laughed as he said, "It had to happen sooner or later...interlopers are entering the fog right now. The poor fools."

-2-

Just outside of Black Falls
About twenty minutes earlier...

When she heard the question, Jill Valentine couldn't say anything for a moment. The survivor who endured one horror after another for the better part of fifteen years - and was changed by them - was quiet as she stood outside of the communications tent in the FOB...she held her smart phone to her ear in silence as she stared at the spectral fog that wasn't far away outside of the base. A voice finally spoke again into her ear from her phone, a man with a robust Italian accent: "Jill? Are you still there?"

Jill blinked and said quickly, "Yeah! Yeah, Parker, I'm here." She frowned a little as she lied, "I-I'm sorry, you cut out for a moment."

"Ah, understood, Jill," BSAA Agent Parker Luciani said from long distance, from the organization's United Europe branch office...she answered his call only a minute ago. "I'll ask again, then. How is everything?"

Jill bit her full lower lip, drew from her inner strength, and managed to lie convincingly, "Everything's good, Parker. I mean, it won't be much longer before I go into this supernatural fog to face god-knows-what, but otherwise, everything's good."

Parker laughed, "Ha-ha, I can only imagine what it's like to stare in the face of that fog. I'm looking at it now on this live news report, and it bothers me deeply. Forgive me, but there's something so ominous about the fog it makes me want to go to church. I understand a lot of people are doing just that to seek some kind of understanding."

Jill looked away from the fog and smiled a little. "I did say supernatural, didn't I? Until we do know how in the world this fog was created, we can only guess...and I've heard a lot of that guessing involves the spiritual."

"Even if I wasn't Catholic, I would wonder if this is the work of God. Or maybe the Devil himself. But I know you, Jill. You'll find out what's going on and you'll triumph over the bad guys, just like you did when we investigated the Queen Zenobia."

Suddenly self-conscious, Jill reminded her old partner and dear friend: "Parker, we fought those monsters together, remember?"

The tone in the European agent's voice cooled a little. "Yes...I also can't help but remember giving into my fear at the worst of times. I thought I was going to drown and speaking of the Devil, I would have made a deal with him to save myself, but you never gave up..."

Jill quickly, emphatically declared, "Parker, if you were here right now, I'd punch you in the face! How many times have I told you to not be so hard on yourself! Besides, I had no idea at the time you suffered from hydrophobia." Parker had confided that secret to Jill a couple of years ago, on one of many occasions he visited the lady while she was in the government's protective custody. "Even if you never told me that, you thought you were going to die and I would never have judged you for feeling what anyone would have in your place. Besides, I recall more than a few times on that damn ship I would have been dead if you hadn't been there."

Parker Luciani said humbly, "You are a magnificent, generous lady, Jill Valentine."

"Hey, easy on the praise, mister! What about your fiancee? I'd imagine you have kinder words for her?"

Parker laughed again. "Isabella is an absolute goddess, Jill. I'm still so amazed we met, and even moreso that she fell in love with me...and she won't have to worry about me getting into bad situations much longer. By the time we're married next year, I'll be retired and we can have a nice, quiet life together."

Jill managed a warm smile. "I look forward to meeting Isabella at the wedding, Parker. You know I'm so happy for you both."

"Thank you, dear friend. Thank you. But what about you?"

The beautiful survivor's smile faded a little. "What about me?"

"I'm thinking of your happiness too, and I remember what you told me the last time we talked long-distance. Do you still want to retire, as well?"

The lady said hesitantly, "That's...still up in the air, Parker."

Parker asked, "Why do you say that? Is it because of Chris? Have you talked to him about it yet - ?"

"I-it's not just because of Chris," Jill said as she barely maintained her composure. "I'm sorry, Parker, but...it's complicated."

"I won't ask any more about it, Jill. But again, I want you to know that all I want is for you to be happy, too."

Jill felt so warm hearing those words, but... "Thank you, Parker. Listen, I...I need to go. I'm sorry I couldn't talk long..."

"It's all right, Jill, I know you need to get ready for the bad guys. I wish you and your friends the very best fortune."

"Thank you again...and I will talk to you later. Take care, okay?"

She almost felt Parker Luciani smile over the line. "You do the same, Jill. Until then!"

"Okay...bye." Jill Valentine ended the connection...and she turned to again gaze at the distant fog that blanketed Black Falls a little over 100 yards from where she stood. It had been a simple question: how is everything? Jill deeply regretted lying to Parker, but the truth was far less sunny and more complex than she could have told him in so many words. The beautiful survivor looked back on all that brought her to this moment in time outside of Black Falls, Vermont as her face expressed the building, deepening sadness she barely hid from Parker as they talked.

Jill Valentine was only five years old when her father suffered a heart attack and passed away. As she grew since, Jill felt the void of his absence more and more; she wished her dad was still part of her life, that she had been given the chance to know him. As she approached graduation from high school, she decided that the only way to better know her late father, an Army veteran who served two tours of duty in Vietnam, was to follow in his footsteps. With the hesitant blessing of her mother, who suffered her beloved's loss so much more profoundly, Jill enlisted in the Army at the age of 18. The girl found herself overwhelmed at first by a way of life normally dominated by the male of the human species. Jill Valentine was by nature modest to a fault - she had never made an effort to draw attention to herself in any way before, but she realized she had to stand out in order to earn respect. The athletic, intelligent girl rose to the challenge and learned fast. Jill earned the attention of her superiors because of her proficiency in hand-to-hand combat and bomb disposal - she became so skilled in such little time, in fact, she was given a singular honor: the chance to train with the special operations soldiers of the Army's Delta Force. Jill Valentine continued to excel as she learned even more, including counter-terrorist tactics and lockpicking. However, spec ops were still fully in the domain of men, and she didn't hit a glass ceiling so much as a wall...but she had few regrets because she had never intended to devote her entire life to the military. Even though she felt so much personal reward serving her country to the best of her abilities, even though she might have been a natural warrior, Jill quietly put in her papers for an honorable discharge and left the Army in 1996.

That left Jill Valentine in an unusual position when she tried to figure out what to do with her life next. Outside of knowing how to play the piano, the skills she learned from the Army meant her choices of a vocation in the civilian world were limited. Then an opportunity came that same year when she heard of a special unit being formed by the police department of Raccoon City, a tourist destination in the Midwestern wilderness that was growing in popularity with nature lovers across the country. The Special Tactics and Rescue Service was created to respond rapidly to emergency situations and major crimes, and Jill applied for a position with the unit. She was accepted, and she met Chris Redfield, the man who became her leader in S.T.A.R.S.' Alpha Team. From the first moment, Jill felt an attraction to the strong yet quiet man who seemed a natural leader...it was so easy to follow him, to commit herself to Chris and devote herself to the team. Not long after that, Jill's mother tragically passed away from an illness, and she found solace from that terrible loss in her work with S.T.A.R.S. She felt reward again in serving and protecting others as her relationships with Chris and others in Raccoon City cemented...by the time she met Rebecca Chambers, a sweet and innocent new recruit who joined Bravo Team and bonded so deeply with her, Jill Valentine felt like she had found her place in this world.

And one terrible July night in 1998, everything changed. Most of S.T.A.R.S. was consumed, literally, by the cold-blooded machinations of the unit's commander, Albert Wesker, who secretly worked for the Umbrella Corporation in their secret, incredibly criminal bio-weapons facility under the darksome grounds of a hidden mansion deep in Raccoon Forest. Wesker sabotaged the labs and had both Alpha and Bravo lured there to be destroyed as he stole valuable research on bio-organic weapons...only Jill, Chris, Rebecca, Barry and pilot Brad Vickers survived. In the aftermath, with the assistance of city government officials on their payroll, Umbrella covered up their recklessly criminal activities (which were still being conducted in other hidden facilities in the city) and the survivors were disgraced. After Chris left Raccoon City to begin a maverick quest to find evidence against the corporation, Jill made preparations to join him...too late, because she found herself trapped in the city when a devastating, zombifying outbreak hit. With the help of Barry Burton and an Umbrella mercenary named Carlos Olivera, Jill was saved from being infected by the T-Virus and escaped Raccoon City before the government launched a missile that completely annihilated the town.

Jill lost so much because of Umbrella...she lost the city she called home, but it was far more heartbreaking when it sank in that all of those who lived there she swore to protect were dead...even Carlos, the man who saved her and became a friend, was killed as the corporation did all it could to cover its tracks and eliminate witnesses and evidence against them; Umbrella even sold their bio-organic weapons on the black market to fund their efforts, but Jill, Chris and Barry, with the help of Claire Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy were ultimately successful and the corporation fell. After that, Chris continued his crusade against bio-organic weapons, and Jill followed him. They were parted briefly after they founded the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, but fate brought Jill and Chris together again during the incident involving the Queen Zenobia. The two were always so much stronger together than they were apart...but even for the best of us, there are limits. Like it was with the military, Jill Valentine had never wanted to devote her very life to the BSAA and to fighting B.O.W.s, and secretly she was becoming tired. But Jill stayed with Chris because of her devotion to the man and her hidden love for him. And then, finally, they tracked down Ozwell E. Spencer, the aged, fugitive former owner of Umbrella himself in 2006...but they also encountered the man who betrayed them so long ago, Albert Wesker, who found Ozwell first and murdered him. The battle that resulted with the genetically-enhanced madman ended with both Wesker and Jill presumed dead after they struggled and then fell from a tremendous height together...their bodies were never found.

The posture of Jill Valentine's lovely body became rigid as tears began to fall quietly down her cheeks as she remembered. Of course, she hadn't died; unfortunately, neither did Wesker. The bastard took Jill prisoner and experimented on her as she was kept in cryogenic suspension, and then he enslaved her with a powerful mind control serum. That monster Wesker had kept Jill under his command as an unwilling puppet for three years.

Three years.

Jill Valentine was only partly aware of what she was doing under Wesker's control during that hellish time...it was like she was looking through the haze of a dream as she watched herself obey and assist the monster with his sick experiments to create the Uroboros virus in Africa. When Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar rescued her and destroyed both Wesker and his mad ambitions, Jill had changed so much. Her once-brunette hair had bleached to blonde, and her skin became ghostly-pale. Far too often in the years since that shit, she barely recognized herself in the mirror. Jill had suffered other changes because of Wesker's experiments...there had been dormant, lingering traces of the T-Virus in her since Raccoon City - the vaccine Carlos gave her wasn't 100-percent effective, it seemed - and Wesker not only took samples from her to aid in his research, the dark man did things that made the T-Virus establish a harmless equilibrium and changed her in a fashion similar to what Sherry Birkin went through when she was transformed by her father's G-Virus as a child. Those changes, which included dramatically enhanced strength and speed - she had almost killed Chris and Sheva with her bare hands, but their ingenuity freed her from Wesker's control - made the government place Jill in protective custody and carefully study her for even damned longer...until she was finally given her hearing, released and reinstated in the newly-established U.S. office of the BSAA only a month ago. But that time lost didn't matter as she was reunited with Rebecca, Barry and Chris...and oh, it was like Hell to be without Chris for so long. Jill Valentine didn't want to waste another moment and finally tell Chris how she felt, especially since she sensed that he loved her too, so they could leave the BSAA and live a normal life together...

...but that didn't happen. Jill learned that while she was in custody at the time of the C-Virus epidemic that gripped the world, Chris Redfield had lost two teams to the horrors of the terrorist organization Neo-Umbrella. He was so affected by those losses, especially losing his friend Piers Nivans, he became that much more resolute and committed to his self-appointed crusade of ending the scourge of bio-organic weapons. Jill set aside her own needs again to continue to follow the man she loved...

...but it was all on the verge of becoming too much to bear in her heart and soul. Jill Valentine never regretted serving her country and the greater good, all for the sake of preserving innocent lives from bio-engineered terrors. But she was so damned tired...she had lost so much, including three years of her life...and she wanted to leave it all behind for the chance to have a normal, peaceful life. Jill yearned so deeply to share that life with Chris, with hope, happily ever after like the old fairy tales. But she kept silent because she knew better than anyone that being part of the BSAA had become Chris Redfield's life. Jill had no idea how much longer he wanted to fight, and she feared it might be until...he couldn't fight anymore. How could she tell him she wanted to retire, to leave it behind, and that she loved him and wanted him to join her? Jill couldn't help but fear the worst that might have resulted if she did.

Chris, I love you...but I can't be a part of this anymore. I need you to come with me so we can be together. Was it selfish of her to ask that of him? Even if Chris said yes, Jill was afraid that with the passage of time he would ultimately resent her, even hate her for making him leave his cause. And that would have been just as painful as his refusing her outright, that he'd choose his crusade over her. And how much more will Jill lose if she stayed in this life she was burning out from? Will she finally lose her own life? Or far, far worse, could she lose Chris? It was as if Jill was in a horrid, inescapable trap, and it didn't help the sadness and weariness in her heart at all.

Jill Valentine thought darkly, Oh, everything's just...wonderful. As quiet tears spilled down her pale cheeks, her arms crossed under her bosom as she hugged herself. For a moment, she felt so lost...and without sweet Rebecca, she didn't know if she could keep hold of her strength...

"Lieutenant Valentine?" Surprised by the soft voice that spoke behind her, Jill turned and saw the pretty figure of BSAA Medical Specialist Christine Yamata. The young virologist saw the blonde woman was crying and said awkwardly, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to - "

Grateful for the girl's presence, Jill quickly wiped her cheeks with her hands and reassured, "Y-you're okay, Christine. You didn't do anything wrong." Jill's expression was soft as she approached her friend and colleague. "And please, I told you more than once before you can call me Jill."

"Yes, ma'am - I-I mean Jill!" Christine frowned and shook her head. "I'm sorry again. It's just...this whole thing is so crazy..." And she looked as lost as Jill felt.

Jill drew closer as she said, "I'm right there with you, Chistine. I'm still trying to make sense of this, too."

And this crisis was so personal for them both...Christine she looked down and said, "I know there's thousands of people in danger, but the worst part is Rebecca being caught up in this. Becky...oh god, if anything's happened to her..."

"Hey." Christine suddenly felt Jill's warm, gloved hands on her shoulders. She looked up into the veteran survivor's face. "Don't think that way. Remember you're not the only one who holds Rebecca dear."

Christine nodded. "I know. I can't imagine how you're feeling. I know Harley and the rest of the team are ready to give everything they can to help her."

Jill nodded and smiled. "So don't feel alone. We're going in, and together we'll get Rebecca back. You hear me?"

In spite of the cool New England night, they brought each other such warmth in this moment. Christine smiled brightly and nodded again. "I hear you, Jill!"

"Hey, don't forget to include the DSO!" The women looked to the confident voice to see two more people approach them, and they were both with the Division of Security Operations, the organization that would be working with the BSAA to investigate Black Falls. The man who spoke, Hector Hivers, was just over six feet tall and thick as a tank...he almost dwarfed the shorter lady with him, fellow agent Caroline Floyd. The big Latino reassured, "We're gonna be right there with you guys!"

Jill and Christine clearly didn't mind seeing them both, even though they didn't know these two or the rest of the DSO group well. Jill asked, "Agent Hivers, right?"

"Call me Hector!" But he quickly added, "Erm, I mean if you want to, ma'am!"

Jill looked at the lady with Hector and nodded deeply. "I've heard many great things about you, Agent Floyd. It's an honor."

Caroline Floyd nodded in return...the agent was Native American in descent, as exotic in her beauty as Christine. "I was about to say it's an honor to meet you, Lieutenant."

Jill sighed and held up her hands. "Okay, could you both call me Jill? We're not on the clock yet!"

Caroline nodded quickly. "Okay."

The BSAA Medical Specialist nodded as she looked at them both and introduced herself with a smile: "I'm Christine."

"Caroline."

A sly smile suddenly formed on the big DSO agent as he took a step toward Christine and offered, "You can call me Hector too, if you wanna - ow!" Caroline hadn't even looked at the big man as she interrupted him with a practiced, brisk Gibbs Slap upside the back of his head. She'd done it before, and more than once. Hector gave her a hard look in response. "What?!"

Caroline informed Christine and Jill mildly, "Pardon Hector, he's a would-be Casanova. Fair warning, he also thinks he's a practical joker."

Hector crossed his arms impatiently and griped, "Hey, you only say that because you haven't seen one of my pranks yet!"

"And I never will because you know if you even try to prank me, I'll shoot you."

"Don't blame me if you don't have a sense of humor, Caroline!"

The BSAA agents were bemused, but Jill gazed at Caroline with appraising eyes. Jill said, "I only trained with the Delta Force years ago, but you're the first woman to truly rank up there with the men in spec ops. The first woman to become an Army Ranger."

Caroline Floyd smiled modestly. "It wasn't that big of a deal, Jill. At least, it wasn't to me. I had plenty of experience to prepare me to become a Ranger."

Christine asked, "What kind of experience?"

Caroline answered, "I learned how to hunt and track from my mom and dad back on the Cree reservation in Montana. Friends like to call me a perfectionist, but I just wanted to honor my parents and all they taught me. After I graduated from high school, it felt right to join the military. I'm as surprised as anyone I accomplished so much."

Jill observed, "You accomplished more than most men could, Caroline. I know your specialty was Long Range Recon Patrol. No one would ever call that a cakewalk."

Caroline looked at Jill thoughtfully. "What you've done is more impressive, Jill. You've hunted honest to god monsters for a living." The lady said much more tentatively, "I meant it when I said it's an honor to meet you. You're as much a role model for me as my mom."

Jill felt her cheeks flush a little...god, she honestly inspired someone? "Thank you. What made you join the DSO?"

Caroline said, "Actually, Leon Kennedy himself recruited me. I understand you know him?"

Jill frowned a little. "I don't know Leon well, unfortunately. We worked together years ago to dismantle the Umbrella Corporation, but I only met him a few times."

Hector Hivers suddenly said with a raised eyebrow, "Hey, is Kennedy really as big of a boy scout as we think he is?"

Another man's voice suddenly answered: "That big and then some, Hector!"

The four looked in the direction the voice came from, and they saw a familiar figure. Jill smiled and greeted, "Leon!" As Leon S. Kennedy approached them, the others greeted the veteran DSO agent, as well.

Caroline asked her boss, "Has it been decided who's being assigned to which team, sir?"

Leon nodded. "Chris and I just got that settled, Caroline. We'll let everyone know their assignments soon." The handsome man looked at Jill and nodded deeply. "I'm sorry we never got the chance to get to know each other before now, Jill. I know Chris thinks the world of you."

Jill looked at him. "Really?"

"He told me so. Maybe after this, we can rectify that and finally get to be friends?"

Jill nodded and said with feeling, "That would be great, Leon...but I'm more focused right now on saving Rebecca." Rebecca was all she could focus on outside of...other complications.

Leon nodded, his eyes serious. "I haven't had the honor of meeting Rebecca yet either, but I'm looking forward to it. We'll find her and Cheryl Mason and make them safe again."

Caroline Floyd looked at Jill solemnly as she didn't just echo Leon's sentiment. "Jill, I speak for every DSO agent in this op...I speak as a Ranger when I say we'll help you get Rebecca back!" Hector Hivers offered a solemn nod in support.

Jill Valentine felt so humbled to be with her friends, with such amazing, selfless people. For a moment, she forgot her sadness as she smiled and said to them all with a thick voice, "Thank you."

Sudden activity...a building roar was heard, and Jill, Leon and the others saw a group of five Strykers pull up to the barracks halfway across the FOB. Over two-score personnel came out, men and women fully armed and equipped with varied gear, and all were outfitted in both pale-white and camo-patterned NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) suits. They began to pile into the Strykers as Hector Hivers asked, "What the heck's going on?"

That was when Leon heard the ringtone of his smart phone. He got it out and answered, "Hello?" As Jill, Christine, Caroline and Hector watched, Leon's expression tightened with building anger as he listened. "Are you serious?!" He paused briefly, and then he quietly cursed, "Damn!" He shut down the smart phone and looked at Jill and the others. "Everyone, that was Chris, and there's been a change of plans!"

-3-

General Beauregard Earle radiated tension as he spoke into the phone he held to his ear: "Mister President, we need to stick with the mission strategy we agreed on before - !" He had to pause as Ingrid Hunnigan, Captain Chris Redfield, Barry Burton, Sheva Alomar, and many others watched and listened with quiet anxiousness. Earle spoke again: "Sir, in any other case I'd agree that time is critical...!" He listened for a beat and then shook his head. "Goddamn it, don't let politics make your decisions for you! I know you've been getting calls from the people to respond as fast as possible, but the situation is so unusual we need to take this slow and wait for Agent Birkin!" He listened again as Leon, Jill, Christine, Caroline, and Hector entered the comm tent...they were in time to hear Earle say, "Sir, remember how badly we underestimated things in Somalia, and we rushed in only to come out bloody? I'm afraid that's exactly what might happen here if...!" His head lowered a little, almost in defeat. "I can only tell you what I think, sir. If this goes bad..." His posture didn't relax in the slightest bit. "Yes, sir. If this doesn't go well, we'll return to the original strategy and have Redfield and Kennedy's teams go in after Agent Birkin arrives." Earle finally nodded slowly. "Yes, sir. For what it's worth, I'll be praying, too. Thank you, sir." Earle then slowly, carefully put the phone back in its cradle in front of him...but he really wanted to take a hammer to the fucking thing.

The silence was far too loud in the communication tent...Leon quietly asked, "General?"

Earle growled, "This was the President's choice, not mine, and you just heard me try to talk him out of it. He's been facing more and more public pressure 'to respond affirmatively' to this situation, and he's buckled under it." He turned to look at everyone, and his expression was as dubious as the tone of his voice. "Because your teams have to wait for DSO Agent Birkin to join the operation, the President has ordered a task force be sent in combining personnel from the Rangers, USAMRIID, and the Centers for Disease Control to assess the situation in Black Falls."

Leon, Jill and those who came with them were stunned to hear that...those in the tent who already knew held expressions of doubt in the decision. Chris Redfield said with concern, "General, I'm not saying this because of ego or anything, but we should be the ones to go in! If those Strykers roll in blind without knowing what they're dealing with - !"

Leon Kennedy frowned. "If they roll in at all, Chris. Remember what Captain Bennett and her friends from Maine told us!"

General Earle almost shouted, "The decision's been taken out of our hands, all the same!" He regretted that outburst and took a moment to control himself. For Earle, this wasn't about ego, either. He was looking out for the safety and welfare of everyone who served him as much as those who needed to be rescued in Black Falls. "All we can do is watch and wait. Have our new advisors brought to me, anyway...they should be in the barracks."

Outside, scores of military personnel watched as the convoy of Strykers rolled out of the entryway on the quarantine side and began moving toward the fog at a slow but steady pace. They had to travel on Kubrick Street's northbound lanes into town because the southbound lanes were still full of empty, derelict, bullet-ridden vehicles that had been abandoned at the time the fog came, when the soldiers of The Order killed many on the fringes of Black Falls as they locked it down. Many personnel led by Earle, Andrea Grey, Chris, Jill, Leon, Sheva Alomar and others - which included Cybil Bennett, Douglas Cartland and Anne Cunningham - crowded toward the south side of the FOB to watch. The base itself was still continuing to fortify...watchers stood behind a chest-high wall of sandbags that surrounded the FOB just behind the ringed razor wire. Douglas Cartland griped to General Earle, "Hey! I saw those folks getting ready in the barracks, and they don't need those suits with the gas masks! We told you The Order didn't use any kind of gas or chemicals or anything in Silent Hill, and I doubt they'd start now!"

General Earle said to Douglas in an impatient tone, "They're taking that precaution at the President's order. That's one of several things about this shit that isn't my choice!" But then he and the others focused on the Strykers as they continued to move at a snail's pace...they finally reached the fog...

...and it wasn't long before something strange happened. Two of the Strykers disappeared into the ominous gray mist, but as the third huge vehicle entered the fog, shouts were suddenly heard just before that vehicle came to a stop with an audible metal whump!, like it ran into a wall. That made the remaining two Strykers behind it come to a stop, as well. Everyone at the FOB looked at the sight as soldiers quickly walked out of the fog and conferred with their comrades outside of it. A few moments passed as they discussed something, and a few of them were very loud and vulgar in the way they spoke. Finally, Earle and everyone around him heard over his radio, "Recon One to Command! Recon One to Command, we have a problem!"

Earle keyed his radio and said, "I'm right here, Lieutenant, go ahead!"

The voice of the solider transmitting to him said hesitantly, "Ah, something's gone wrong with our people in the lead, sir. Their vehicles just...stalled out, and they won't work anymore! Wait...they're also telling me they can't use their radios. They're only hearing static, and they can't send shit! Uh, sir!"

Leon looked at Cybil, Douglas and Anne...he said, "Well, we had to verify what you told us somehow. Looks like we just did."

Cybil bit her lower lip and said nervously, "I wish to god we were wrong, though. It is like Silent Hill in there."

Earle suddenly felt a horrible foreboding, but he ignored it as he spoke into his radio: "What else do they have to report, soldier?"

The lieutenant answered, "S-stand by, sir..." The discussion between the soldiers in the distance got even more animated. Earle finally heard the soldier say, "It looks like most all of their electronics gear won't work, either! Everything from motion sensors to night vision and the infrared sights on their rifles died after entering the fog!"

Earle said in a clipped tone, "Son, that doesn't make sense!"

"I-it still happened, sir! Our people say their flashlights still work, though! How do we proceed, sir?"

General Beauregard Earle was very quiet for a beat as he felt so many eyes on him...he finally ordered, "You still have a mission to carry out, Lieutenant. The President wants to know what's going on in that fog. Leave your vehicles where they're parked, dump everything that won't work, and go in on foot. Keep your suppressors on your weapons and proceed very carefully. Keep your eyes open in every direction, stay quiet..." He paused briefly. "...and godspeed, son. Out."

The voice of the leader of the task force responded confidently, "Understood, sir! Recon One proceeding, Command, out!"

Jill Valentine didn't want to believe the situation, either. "It's crazy! A fog jamming communications and shutting down electronic systems! How the hell could that even be possible?"

Chris Redfield shrugged. "Maybe The Order is using some kind of electromagnetic field of some kind - ?"

Andrea Grey looked at him and said, "There is no such thing in existence, Captain. Besides, an EM field would have negated radios and flashlights, as well."

Leon said, "Something in the fog wants to make life difficult for us, but I'll be damned if I know what."

"I don't know, Leon." Jill gazed into the fog and quietly mused, "Maybe...maybe this fog doesn't follow the same rules that the rest of the world does...!" Jill Valentine had no idea how so very close her thought was to the truth of this nightmare situation.

Finally, the collected personnel in their NBC gear entered the fog on foot. Everyone in the base quietly watched as a minute passed...then two minutes...three...

Hector Hivers looked impatiently at the people from Maine and said, half-joking, "Hey! Just so we know, you're sure GUNS will work in there, right?!" Some laughed in response...

...but Anne Cunningham was deadly serious as she looked at him with bright green eyes and said, "Yeah, we're sure! I hope you can shoot a gun better than you shoot off your mouth, mister!"

The raven-haired lady's retort provoked even more laughter...Caroline giggled at Hector's expense too, and he said defensively, "Hey, she wasn't that funny - !"

That was when the screams began from within the fog.

General Earle, Chris, Jill and everyone heard those screams and more, and they felt their blood chill to frigid levels. The popping sound of some kind of gunfire was heard as a voice screamed, "Fire, fire, fire!" The soldiers' suppressed rifles wouldn't have been heard from so far as they fired, but witnesses heard another voice clearly cry for Jesus just before a sudden, thudding explosion was heard...Earle recognized the sound as a grenade detonating. More thudding explosions. A lost, terrified wail, "Oh fuck, get me out! GET ME OUT!" More noises unknowable in context, and worse sounds that could only be called chilling, unearthly, monstrous...more screams of pain and undeniable horror, male and female. Then there came a tremor that made the ground and pavement shake under everyone in the surrounding area...the sound of some tremendous upheaval...and the screams died as Chris Redfield stared into the mist and thought he saw something. He got the impression of a great dark shape just within the fog's boundaries rising up several meters high, and its form seemed...serpentine. Part of the shape dipped down and everyone heard a loud, sudden crunching of thick metal in the distance.

Jill was next to Chris, and he heard her ask in a numb, nearly-breathless voice, "Dear god, what kind of monster...?" She saw it, too.

Then the great shape rose up again - it looked different...no...no, it seemed to be holding something big - and Chris Redfield's battle-hardened instincts screamed to him. He began to say, "Jill...General, everyone..." The great shape suddenly lurched back, coiled, and Chris felt more than knew what was about to happen and he barely shouted in time, "GET DOWN!"

And one of the eight-wheeled Army Strykers that had entered the fog flew out of the brackish mist end-over-end like a Matchbox car tossed into the air by a child, and everyone quickly ducked behind the sandbags as the huge vehicle landed on and pulverized some of the abandoned cars and trucks in the southbound lanes. One of the cars' fuel cells broke open and when a burst of sparks was created because metal clashed violently against metal, it detonated in a massive fireball. The blaze quickly spread, and another abandoned car exploded...then another...and another as the Stryker itself burned. The lines of vehicles left behind was turning into an inferno outside of the fog. The fire's light illuminated the fog's cover, making it impossible to see even the shadow of a shape just within, like Chris had before...those behind the sandbag barrier rose again as another sudden tremor came. A sustained rumbling followed and faded to nothing in a few moments.

Heartbeats later, General Earle, Chris, Jill and everyone bearing witness saw something else.

A lone figure stumbled out of the fog on the northbound lanes of Kubrick Street...it looked like it was one of the soldiers of Recon One. The man was still so far away it wasn't clear to those in the base how badly he was hurt; it took someone with a set of binoculars to confirm he didn't seem to be injured or bleeding. Because of the light of the inferno the figure passed closely by, it was clear even from a distance the upper half of his camo-patterned NBC suit had been torn away...he still carried an M4 assault rifle in one hand...and there was something else.

There was something very strange about the soldier's shambling gait...like he wasn't used to the act of walking...

...but no one could have seen that he had a distinctive hump to his back under his uniform...

TO BE CONTINUED