Thanks again to SHFan for your comments and to evolution-500 for letting me know about my mistake in Chapter 17!

Chapter 18 has arrived, and things aren't going well for Cheryl, Rebecca and their friends in Black Falls...and things are about to go worse for Alpha Team and Bravo Team after they enter the spectral fog! How much worse? Imagine the worst parts of BLACK HAWK DOWN...or BATTLE LOS ANGELES...or ALIENS...yeah, that much worse...

Tribute time...you'll notice the title of this chapter is a tribute to another great game I love, HALF-LIFE 2. And keep your eyes peeled for my tip of the hat to the LEFT 4 DEAD series of games!

"RESIDENT EVIL X SILENT HILL: JUDGMENT DAY"

written by Charles Spencer,
inspired by Ygure

Chapter 18:

"POINT INSERTION"

-1-

Somewhere in Black Falls, Vermont

In the gloom of the attic of a house in the residential area of Black Falls, a young woman devoted most all of her conscious will to keeping herself and her companions beyond the sight of The Order...and anything else that might threaten them.

The house was abandoned by the family that lived within it on the once-prosaic corner of Hyacinth and Poplar during the initial hours of The Order's siege of the town after the coming of the fog. The place was once attractive inside and out, a warm and comfortable home for the husband and wife and their three children - it was now darker, derelict, and full of menace, like the rest of the town. The attic, which had already been dusty and nearly forgotten by the family, only looked even bleaker. It was here five survivors sought to get some much-needed rest this early Saturday morning. The near and distant sounds of intermittent screams, gunshots and unearthly, animal-like sounds echoed through the grey air.

Cheryl Mason wanted to ensure her companions - the lady she was falling in love with, BSAA Agent Rebecca Chambers, with Alex and Elle Shepherd and Elza Walker - got that rest. Cheryl realized not long ago that Reeve Meyers, the leader of the order, was using his malefic power to track her and the others by thought, so he could send his Order Soldiers, Puppets and any number of the terrors in the unworldly fog after them. Reeve's powers had been enhanced dramatically by the arrival of the fog...but he didn't realize that the mystical strength of the freckle-faced blonde he wanted so desperately also became stronger, and she was already much, much more powerful than he was by far. The only reason the monstrous leader of the Sect of Valtiel, the last remnant of the Church of the Holy Way, held an advantage over Cheryl Mason even at this moment was because he was as cunning and ruthless as he was completely devoted to his terrible faith...the beautiful, moody blonde by contrast wanted solely to do what was right, was concerned first and foremost with safeguarding Rebecca, who she was falling deeper and deeper in love with, and their fellow survivors, and perhaps most importantly she feared her own incredible power, the same power that Reeve used against her will to bring the unworldly fog to Black Falls from...another place. Ever since they left the bloody soda fountain, Cheryl devoted her recently-increased strength to keeping herself, Rebecca and the others virtually cloaked from Reeve's extranormal perceptions and the heightened senses of the monsters lurking in the mist. The effort didn't keep her from moving on her own, but it didn't put her in the mood for conversation, either. They all needed rest, and took shelter in this abandoned house less than a couple of hours ago. Cheryl told them she'd make sure they got some rest...Rebecca tried to protest out of sweet concern for Cheryl, but the blonde wouldn't take no for an answer.

Cheryl sat cross-legged on the dark, grimy floor of the ominous attic as diffused light from the strangely luminous fog outside illuminated her from a half-moon window on the wall...she cradled her Colt Peacemaker in her right hand in her lap, and she stared at the dull gleam of the gun's metal as she concentrated. The others laid on the floor not far away from Cheryl...Rebecca slept soundly, and so did Alex and Elle as their bodies held each other, yet Elza was in a fitful, troubled sleep, her form shifting in position every so often. The ponytailed girl had already seen some things worse than most people's nightmares...any form of rest wasn't much help to her. Cheryl had moved from where she sat only once in the past hour and a half, and that was to quietly go to the second floor to smoke one of the few cigarettes she had left in the pack she carried in her jacket pocket. It felt good to finally indulge in her one vice as she smoked in the bathroom, where the smell was reasonably contained and nothing in the fog would have detected it...the cigarette even helped her concentration, but only a little.

Time had passed since then, and in the quiet gloom of the attic, Cheryl's mood became darker as she tried to figure out what the hell to do next. Alone as she sat in vigil over dear, beautiful Rebecca and the others, she silently stared at her Peacemaker as she concentrated. And it didn't help at all that her thoughts were becoming increasingly troubled...and turning inward against herself. I tried to stop this and I couldn't, even though I've somehow become stronger since the fog came here. Reeve made me bring the shit here with my own power, and I almost killed myself trying to make that right! But how can that be? HOW?! It isn't just Reeve who wanted this horror to happen...something else wants the fog here. I got the sense of...some kind of machine being used as my power was turned back on me. And there was a...thing at the controls. I-I couldn't quite see it, but I know this thing and the machine were in that OTHER world. The dark, DARK place that replaced the fog in Silent Hill at times. Oh god, I need to stop this before that happens here! Things are terrible now, but if that happens and the darkness comes...there won't be any hope at all.

That thing at the controls...it felt familiar to me. Did I see it before? C'mon, dammit, you have to remember! Remember for Becca...remember for all of our sakes!

And the girl tried so desperately to think back and remember, to sift through the memories of three lifetimes as Alessa Gillespie, the Cheryl Mason who never got to grow up, and the young woman she was now...she tried with all of her heart because when Reeve Meyers forced Cheryl to bring the fog to Black Falls in the hosptial hours before, when their minds were briefly linked, she had the chance to glimpse into his mind. What she saw was cold, unspeakable, and made her mission to bring an end to The Order more urgent than ever. She had seen into that sociopathic mind, and she realized something she couldn't share with the others, even Becca.

Cheryl realized what Reeve wanted - what would result if she was forced to become the Mother of his darksome God.

Cheryl tried so hard to recall, it almost broke her concentration keeping herself and the others concealed...she sighed shakily as she came up empty. She told herself to be patient, that the memory would come back to her at its own speed. It didn't help. It only made her thoughts darker as she looked at herself, and her self-image was rarely ever positive before. I'm pathetic. I really am. I can't remember what I need to, and I can't use my power to end this nightmare. Dahlia said I was nothing. She said I had no purpose and point. W-was she right? She said all I was good for was to be a sacrifice for her God. I couldn't stop her before. I...

...I couldn't save my dad.

I'd give anything, even my soul to save Becca, but I'll most likely fail her, too. Cheryl thought of the others... Elle wants to believe in me, but...but Alex and Elza don't. They're afraid of me. They think this is all my fault, and they're right. I am a monster, after all. Why else would I feel like my power has grown since the fog came? Maybe I don't belong in this world. Maybe I belong...wherever the fog came from. Or the other, dark place. I've been connected to those other places ever since Dahlia tried to sacrifice me in my first life as Alessa Gillespie, and I somehow opened a gateway to them and destroyed Silent Hill. Ever since I found out it reached out like a cancer to take Shepherd's Glen, I've thought of myself as a monster. What other explanation is there? She felt absolutely desolate as she asked herself another question: I wonder what's worse, being a monster or being...nothing?

Cheryl's sad eyes stared at her Peacemaker, nearly transfixed by its dull gleam.

Maybe there's only one way to end it all. This started because of me. Maybe it'll end and I can make Becca safe again if I k -

Warm, soft hands gently fell on Cheryl's shoulders then, surprising her. Her dark train of thought was thankfully derailed, but her concentration was also broken. Cheryl's mystical 'cloak' fell as she nearly jumped out of her skin and breathlessly cried, "Huh!"

Immediately, she felt Rebecca Chambers draw close behind her...the Medical Specialist was on her knees and she wrapped warm, soothing arms around Cheryl as she said awkwardly, "I-it's just me, Cheryl! I'm sorry if I startled you...!"

Cheryl suddenly felt so much better. Her body relaxed as she wanted to melt in the pixie's slender, perfect arms. As her right hand still cradled her Peacemaker in her lap, her left lifted to clasp needfully over one of Rebecca's. The freckle-faced beauty reassured softly, "It's okay, Becca. You're okay. I...!"

Then, unfortunately, Cheryl winced as she felt misbegotten thoughts assault her from somewhere else in Black Falls...but she was ready as she felt Reeve Meyers snarl into her mind, "THERE you are! It's useless to deny your fate and the will of God, you little bitch - !"

Cheryl thought harshly, "Piss off!" She then blocked the monster out of her thoughts entirely. Her power ensured that Reeve wouldn't trouble Rebecca and the others in such a way, as well. She frowned as she finished, "...I have a lot on my mind."

Rebecca looked at Cheryl's troubled expression as she held the blonde. "What is it, honey...?"

"We're not hidden anymore. Enemies will be coming soon."

The lovely brunette was crestfallen. "I-I'm sorry, Cheryl, if I distracted you...!"

Rebecca felt Cheryl's hand squeeze hers gently. "You didn't. I was already distracted."

Rebecca Chambers sweetly held the one she adored as she asked, "You're sure?"

"Yeah." She thought, I'd die for you, Becca...and if I have to, I will. Cheryl Mason added, "But we need to wake the others and go, right now."

-2-

Outside of Black Falls, Vermont
0245 HRS

At that moment, as both teams were assembled in front of the barracks of the FOB outside of Black Falls, fully armed and ready as best they could be, General Beauregard Earle was brief when he addressed them: "I don't have much to say, people. You already know what you have to do. You know you're going in for the sake of justice for those you can't help...and to end this situation before it gets any worse. It's been said that god helps those who help themselves! That means that people can pray for your success all they want...I believe god's already with you because you're the best! You've survived the worst before, and I have faith you'll survive again! What matters more is YOU believe that, too! So find the answers we need you to find, save as many lives as you can, and tear The Order a new asshole!" He snapped off a brisk salute and said, "Good hunting!"

Barry Burton felt like hell as he left with Alpha Team and spared one more loving look at his beautiful wife, Kathy...she was with Ingrid Hunnigan and Andrea Grey, and her cheeks were wet in spite of her brave expression. General Earle told him his wife would be allowed to stay at the base for as long as need be until he and the others came back. Barry hoped he'd be able to keep his promise to see Kathy and their daughters again. He hoped they'd all pull through...but he had to wonder... As Alpha treaded deliberately to the edge of the fog boundary on Kubrick Street, Bravo was transported by Black Hawks to the entrance of the County Fairgrounds to the south. After deploying from the choppers within the quarantine zone, Leon's team made their way through the vacant amusement area to where the brackish mist waited at about its midpoint.

Each team would move from one location to another in the fog assuming a column formation...such a formation would be best for efficient maneuvering and control. Each team member would have to keep the column relatively tighter than usual, though, at the most four yards of distance between each operative so no one would lose sight of each other. The formation could easily tighten up and expand as well, dependent on the situation. Each team was dispersed in this way, front to back:

Alpha Team: Regina was assigned Point, taking the lead, followed by Floyd on her left and Schneider on her right ...next, in the core, was Chris Redfield, Valentine, Alomar, Bennett, Burton and Yamata...following them on the right, side by side, were Hivers and Ronson, with Borovski in the Rear Guard position.

Bravo Team: Rain was Point, followed by Vector and LesProux...in the core was Kennedy, Harper, Cartland, Cunningham, Kimbala and Morris...behind them was Claire Redfield and Birkin, with Fowler as Rear Guard.

Chris Redfield said to his comrades, "Whatever happened to Recon One took place only a couple of minutes after they entered the fog. Let's look for them first." They were already next to the inert line of Strykers outside of the fog. "Keep your flashlights off unless you absolutely need them. Everyone set?"

Michaela Schneider nodded deeply and said, "Ready to play."

Hector Hivers said, "Let's kick some ass, boss."

Leon S. Kennedy told Helena Harper and everyone with him, "Remember to stay together and stay quiet at all times. Don't lose each other, and be aware of your surroundings. It wouldn't be hard for us to lose our sense of direction in this fog. Any questions?" Brave silence was his answer. Leon nodded. For his team and Alpha, the time had come. "Let's move in."

At exactly 2:55 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, both teams inserted into the unknown...

-3-

The moment Alpha Team entered the fog, they were surprised by the dip in temperature: it was over ten degrees cooler in the mist compared to outside of it. And there was light snow falling, too. The white flakes contrasted with the brackish grey, appearing almost like ash floating down from above. As strange as the snow was, there was an ethereal glow to the fog itself that was disorienting. If they didn't know it was still night outside of the mist, they would have thought it was very early or very late in the day. Cybil Bennett glanced upward as she felt a fear that brought goosebumps to her skin and made her stomach knot up. Just being in this fog was like going back in time to relive her ordeal in Silent Hill once again. Alpha moved purposefully, carefully south down the northbound lanes, first past the Strykers...at a steady yet careful pace, they passed the logjam of abandoned vehicles of every kind, cars and trucks, in the southbound lanes. The line of vehicles stretched for blocks, and yet seemed to fade into nonexistence only about three to four carlengths ahead.

It took a moment for them to realize that in spite of the cold and the impossible snow in this fog, the air was also unnaturally still. There wasn't even a hint of a breeze. And it was too damned quiet. The town was as silent as it was still...they would have wondered if there was anyone alive in Black Falls if not for the distant sounds of sporadic violence...and the occasional screams. Jill Valentine became more anxious to find Rebecca Chambers than ever.

"Chris," Jill said quietly as she stopped...she moved to her right, closer to one of the vehicles. Her blue eyes gazed into it, a green Voyager minivan.

Chris quietly but urgently ordered, "Alpha, halt and form up on my position!" Everyone stopped and tightened ranks to within a yard of each other around Chris and Jill. The team leader was already close to his lieutenant.

Jill said softly, "I just wanted a closer look at these vehicles for a second. There's a lot of damage to some of these cars...a lot of blood too, inside and out, just like this van."

Chris said, "Whole families were coming here for the fair, Jill." He really looked at the van, as well...and there was something about it. "Looks like it hasn't been washed for...well, ever."

Michaela Schneider, who passed by the vehicles the closest, said, "This may sound strange, but they all look that way, sir." The statuesque, leather-clad agent wore a face mask with bio-filters - she always did in case the enemy set loose any kind of airborne viral contaminants in hostile territory - and gave her German-accented voice a hollow, ominous quality. Friends of Michaela would have testified instantly she was one of the kindest people they ever met, but on a mission she 'switched on' completely to become a pure-business professional who rarely relaxed and revealed her warmer side. The blonde agent added, "It's like they had been abandoned a very long time ago, instead of just yesterday during the chaos."

Hector Hivers offered, "Yeah...the Strykers that got in the fog looked that way, too."

Jill nodded. "That's not all that's strange. There are no bodies in here. Michaela, did you notice any bodies in the vehicles you passed by?"

Michaela immediately answered, "Negative, Lieutenant."

"I don't think we'll find anyone in any these vehicles. Or anywhere around us. If people were killed here in and around their cars when The Order first struck...where are they?"

Chris frowned. "I can only guess. Maybe they were eaten by the creatures The Order brought here?"

Not far away, Hector chimed in, "Oh, that's a pleasant thought."

Sheva Alomar said, "It's happened before when monsters are involved." She knew that from personal experience, and not just because of the nightmare she went through a few years ago with Chris Redfield in Kijuju, her place of birth in Africa.

Jill nodded. "Yeah. We'd better not linger."

"Let's get moving, everyone," Chris ordered. "Resume formation."

As Alpha proceeded again, Hector Hivers glanced at the digital watch on his left wrist, which had a halogen display. When it worked. He grunted, "What the f - ?" The watch was dark and nonfunctioning. "Hey, my watch won't work."

Not far away from him, Marissa Ronson said, "Don't be so surprised, Hector. Only jack and shit works in this fog, remember?" The flame-haired beauty was once a British MI6 special operations agent...she had seen a lot of action in her young life, which gave her persona a very tough edge. Marissa had a sharp wit and always spoke her mind, sometimes to the annoyance of others.

"Yeah-yeah..."

At that moment, leading the way, Regina stopped and held up a hand, palm open. Behind her, Michaela and Caroline Floyd stopped and made the same gesture. Caroline looked back and added with an urgent tone, "Hold up!"

Chris Redfield ordered again, "Everyone, halt!"

Jill looked at the agents ahead of her and asked, "What's wrong?"

Caroline, the first woman to become an Army Ranger, said, "It's Regina, Lieutenant. She signaled us to stop."

Jill turned to Chris and volunteered, "I'll check it out." Chris nodded, and Jill moved quickly to reach the redhead, who was using the flashlight equipped to her M4 assault rifle to shine it on something in front of her. Jill asked, "Regina, what's wrong?"

Regina turned and looked at Jill with a deliberately neutral expression. She said, "I found some of Recon One, ma'am..." Regina looked down at the street before her, where she directed the beam of her flashlight as she finished quietly, "...pieces of them, anyway."

Jill looked at where Regina illuminated the street and whispered softly, "Oh, god." There was blood everywhere on the pavement ahead. Along with random pieces of bodies, gore and viscera. She saw a couple of limbs still had the fabric of the camo and white NBC suits the personnel of Recon One wore. Whatever happened here happened very fast. The results were very messy.

Regina observed, "There's only these few remains and a lot of blood." She turned her flashlight to look toward the fringe of the blood on one side. "Wait...could you help me check the perimeter of the attack site, ma'am? To see in what direction the bodies were taken away."

Jill nodded. "Okay, but we have to be fast...we can't lose sight of the rest of the team, either!" She turned to the member of Alpha nearest to them. "Michaela, turn on your flashlight so we'll know where you are! We won't be far away!"

"Yes, Lieutenant," Michaela Schneider said, and turned on her flashlight attached to her Bear Commander. Jill and Regina quickly but carefully skirted around the irregular area of the blood on the pavement and found their way back to Michaela within a minute. With every step they had taken, they looked at the fringes of the attack area with the help of their own flashlights.

Close to Michaela again, Regina said to Jill, "I didn't see any signs that bodies were dragged away, ma'am."

Jill nodded and said, "No bloody tracks leaving the scene, either. If Recon One was killed here..."

Michaela offered, "It's been a while since they were attacked. Perhaps they were eaten here...?"

Jill and Regina looked at the leather-clad lady thoughtfully. Jill mused, "Maybe...the only other explanation is they got carried away somehow..."

Regina said, "I saw something else while we were checking the area." She looked south and pointed at a barely distinguishable yet huge shape in the middle of the street, obscured by the fog. "You can just barely make it out from here, straight ahead of us." It looked like the street...rose up ahead in the distance, but the fog made it impossible to tell for sure without getting closer.

Jill nodded. "Okay." She signaled to Michaela and said, "Everyone move up, slowly!" Everyone formed up and moved forward again. They only had to go another dozen meters or so before they really saw it. As they drew closer, they saw that several vehicles had been literally crushed flat as beer cans someone had stepped on.

Alpha collected before what was a massive hole in Kubrick Street, several meters across...broken pieces of pavement jutted upward around the rim. Caroline Floyd said, "What the hell...looks like a crater..."

"No." Marissa Ronson lowered to one knee to look at the sight before them closer. "Look at the way the pavement has broken. Look at the cars around this hole, how they've been knocked to the side and flipped over. Something came up from under the ground. Something big."

Jill looked at Chris and said nervously, "Chris...that thing we saw before..."

Worried, Chris nodded. "Yeah. The earth shook, and then that creature picked up the Stryker and threw it out of the fog. Captain Bennett, have you - ?" He turned to the police captain...and he saw the blonde cop had a small, red portable radio in one hand...her other hand lifted to affix an earplug connected to the radio by a white cord. Chris quickly closed the brief distance between them and hissed quietly, "Hey, keep that damn thing off!"

Cybil Bennett looked at Alpha Team's leader and whispered back coolly, "I brought this radio along to keep us alive! It won't make noise, anyway. I've got this earplug to listen to it."

Sheva Alovar regarded her curiously. "But why do you have that? You and your friends said radios won't work..."

"For the most part they won't, but it'll still be important for our survival. This is going to sound strange, but radios will react to the monsters in this fog...if they're the same kinds of monsters from Silent Hill."

Vladamir Borovski asked, "What do you mean?"

Cybil Bennett answered, "The static of the radio will get louder and more intense the closer a creature gets to it. And please don't ask, I can't even start to explain why that is! We didn't mention this because we knew you would've been skeptical, but I still felt it would be necessary to carry this along. It might just help save our lives."

Christine Yamata was a little doubtful, but she had an open mind as she asked, "Can you hear anything now?"

"No...just regular static so far - wait." Cybil frowned as she lifted a hand to press the earplug a little into her ear. She said, "It's getting stronger...get ready, all of you." Everyone just looked at her, but then Cybil said with quiet, undeniable urgency, "I'm serious, something's coming!"

As he readied his assault rifle, Chris Redfield ordered, "Alpha, weapons live. Keep your eyes open in every direction!" Every agent pointed their weapons into the fog, following their leader's direction. "Sound off the moment any of you see something approach."

Marissa Ronson was armed with a beast of a primary weapon, an M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (suppressed, of course, like everyone else's weapons had to be)...she held the death dealer in both hands and said mildly, "With all due respect, Captain, if I see something, I'll bloody well shoot it!"

In the center of the group, Cybil listened to the radio's earplug with quiet intensity as she held her silenced Government .45 at the ready. She said softly, "It's strange, the static's weakening...building again...whatever it is, it's getting close and then moving away..." Her brow furrowed as she heard something else. But it wasn't coming from the radio. "Wait, does anyone else hear that?"

Christine Yamata's primary weapon was an H&K UMP45, a powerful .45-caliber SMG that evolved from the popular MP5. Her slender hands tightened around the gun's pistol grip and foregrip as she looked up and said in a hushed tone, "I do. It's coming from above us...it sounds like..."

Regina's gaze was also fixed upward as she said, "Wings flapping." The flapping had a thick, leathery quality to it. And the sound seemed to come not from one winged creature, but many...

Cybil said softly, "Air Screamers." The blonde's lovely face was full of fear as she hissed to Chris, "We need to get indoors now. Right now!"

Chris looked to his left and saw the barely-substantial image of the front of a bar, several yards distant on the west side of the street. They couldn't have known that this was the place where Rebecca Chambers first met Cheryl Mason on Thursday night. He pointed to the tavern and said, "We need to double-time it over there when I say the word. Remember to keep together and stay quiet, all of you. Move!" As a team, they moved quickly to the front of the establishment and collected around its front door not far from the lot at the building's side, where many vehicles were parked. Were there still people inside? Were they civilians, or...? Chris ordered, "Regina, Caroline, Sheva, on me." The three moved close to him. "Sheva, you, Regina and Caroline move in and clear this bar, all right?"

Sheva Alomar nodded. "Understood, Chris." The warrior women with her nodded, as well, and they moved quickly. Sheva quickly took position before the door as Regina moved to one side of it and Caroline positioned herself on the other, their weapons ready. Sheva saw the door was ajar and said to her comrades, "Follow me on my go." The lady rushed to the door and kicked it in as she called out, "Go!" Caroline and Regina were behind her instantly. They all trained their assault rifles in different directions...and saw the interior of the bar was dark and empty. They systematically cleared the interior, including the back rooms...there was no one inside, alive or dead. Sheva called outside, "Chris, we're clear!"

"Inside, team! Move!" The rest of Alpha quickly moved into the dark environs, with Vladamir Borovski last; the Russian sniper shut the door behind him.

Before any of them took a moment to relax, Hector Hivers looked at Cybil Bennett and said anxiously, "What the hell, lady! You didn't say anything about FLYING monsters - !"

But Caroline cut him off by saying loudly, "Hector, everybody...look around." They looked at her first, though, and saw her face as she really took in the interior of the bar. With wide eyes, she asked carefully, "Am I the only one thinking something's wrong with this picture?"

Everyone else looked around, and no...she wasn't the only one to think that. There was a derelict, aged quality to the place. Only some lights worked, flickering ominously like the few neon signs that worked both behind the bar and on display in the massive showroom window at the establishment's front. Chris said, "This bar looks like it got abandoned a decade ago..."

"Longer than that, Chris," Jill said as she felt an unnameable, vague apprehension. "But...there's signs that customers were here." One only had to look at the tables, where so many unfinished drinks and partly empty bowls of untouched peanuts, buffalo wings, or whatever.

Hector chimed in, "Yeah...cars were still in the parking lot right outside, too!"

Regina observed, "Maybe everyone here was interrupted in the middle of what they were doing when The Order began to take over the town. The civilians would have stopped and went to run, to fight, or...go wherever."

Barry Burton shook his head, his expression skeptical. "I've got to disagree. No way a bar like this had any customers, not with the state it's in."

Christine Yamata quietly said, "Okay...then why does so much stuff in here look new?" And in spite of the dark, grimy environs that looked like it had been left abandoned long, long ago, it wasn't hard to see what Christine meant. There was a widescreen TV on one wall. On another wall was a huge poster that celebrated the New England Patriots becoming the AFC Champions in 2011. Most everything in the bar was new or at least made fairly recently.

Marissa Ronson went up to the counter and took one look at something...with a perplexed look on her face, she informed everyone, "The cash register looks new, too...and there's still a lot of money in the open drawer."

Vladamir Borovski growled, "This does not make any sense."

"Silent Hill." The voice was thick with fear, and it came from Cybil Bennett. The lady cop looked at Chris Redfield and said, "When I helped Harry Mason look for his daughter in that town thirty years ago, it looked just like this."

-4-

In the fog-shrouded portion of the County Fairgrounds. Bravo Team moved quickly yet carefully down the midway. Surrounding game booths, tents and wooden concession stands looked like ghostly visions as the agents moved between them. Larger carnival rides, which were meant to bring fun and joy to others, were dark and foreboding shapes. Strings of pennants and flickering lights criss-crossed in the air a couple of yards above their heads...they seemed to float in the grey air above, enhancing the spectral feel of the environment. Everyone tried to suppress the primal emotions they felt in response to what they saw. On the right flank of the group's heart, Harley Morris quietly grunted, "At least I can see my hand in front of my face in this shit."

Helena Harper's lips turned into a thin, anxious line as she looked around her. She whispered to Bravo's leader, "Leon, it all feels unreal. It's like we left the world behind..."

Leon pointed his sidearm in every direction he looked. "I hear you, Helena. Everything feels different."

Just behind them, Douglas Cartland felt overwhelming anxiety as he glanced at Anne Cunningham and said, "Been over ten damn years since I've been there, Anne...but this feels exactly like Silent Hill."

Anne nodded...the corrections officer was beside herself with fear. "Yeah. We might as well be there."

Not far ahead of Leon and Helena, George 'Vector' Kishino looked back at his leader and whispered, "Leon, there should be bodies everywhere. There's all kinds of trash and refuse on the grass...some blood...but no bodies."

Next to Vector, Karena LesProux moved with the grace of a panther as she held her M4 at the ready. Her beautiful, athletic form was clad in form-fitting black, her face covered by a glass biohazard mask; her mouth and nose were obscured by a filtration system as her eyes scanned her surroundings carefully. Karena's voice held a rich French accent as she mused softly, "Hundreds were believed to be killed in the initial attack by The Order...where are they now...?"

Leon said, "No time for questions, people. Stay quiet and focused on the mission."

More moments passed as they treaded carefully through the fog. The wooden framework of the rollercoaster in the distance was barely substantial yet dark, like a half-remembered dream. Claire Redfield looked at the blonde girl next to her and asked, "Sherry, how are you holding up?"

Sherry Birkin's expression was full of disquiet as she looked at Claire with wide blue eyes. "I was about to ask you that, Claire. It's strange. It feels...haunted here..."

"Yeah...I feel it, too."

Karena almost paused as she moved past a wooden concession stand and saw how dirty it was...everything around her had a squalid appearance and feel. "Merde, there's grime all over...was the fair this dirty before The Order hit?"

Anne said with a little discomfort, "Silent Hill was just as bad."

Karena looked at the corrections officer. "Really?"

Douglas Cartland said, "Yeah, it honestly looks the same, too. But this place was busy yesterday before The Order hit, right? Everything should look newer than this!"

In spite of the oppressive, surreal air, Sienna Miller looked around from her Rear Guard positon and said with a light southern twang, "Wow, this takes me back. When I was little down south, there was this amusement park, Whispering Oaks. My parents took me there all the time." The blonde smiled as she remembered. She was born in South Carolina, where she was raised for most of her childhood before she and her family moved to California.

Claire looked back and smiled. "No kidding?"

Not far ahead of her, also in earshot of Sienna, Harley Morris said, "Never been there, but who doesn't love an amusement park...aw, man!" He grinned as he passed by one abandoned concession stand and booth after another and saw what they had advertised. "Elephant ears...funnel cakes, corn dogs...I'm startin' to get hungry!"

Anne Cunningham sighed, "Just hearing about food like that is clogging my arteries...!"

Harley looked back and asked, "You know if the park's still running today, Sienna?"

The blonde's smile soured a little. "Yep, but it got wrecked during the Great Infection of 2008. Took 'em a while to recover."

Lawrence Kimbala had a sour expression as he said, "It took a while for everyone to recover from that. I thought that was as bad as things could get before the C-Virus came along - !"

POPP! The noise was very loud and very close...it came from nearby Harley as he walked; the big medic almost jumped out of his boots as he cried, "Aw, SHIT!"

It surprised the hell out of the rest of Bravo, too. Rain snarled, "The fuck?!" On the heels of her curse, Leon said coolly, "Everyone, stop! Harley, you all right?"

Everyone formed up on Harley, who said quickly, "I'm okay, I'm okay!"

Rain's eyes were hard as she complained, "You're making enough damn noise, you know!"

"I'm sorry, I just heard that 'pop!' and I thought I got shot!"

Helena Harper asked, "What happened? What made that noise?"

"Damned if I know, it came from over here - !" Harley looked to his right into the fog, but nothing could be seen...

...but Rain moved to that area a handful of yards away to look around with the flashlight on her rifle. It took only a moment before the lady in black announced quietly, "I got it." She lowered to one knee, and stood just as quickly. Rain had picked up something from the grass, and she held it in one hand as she carried her SMG, an MP5K, in the other. It was a colorful cardboard tube about a foot long, and confetti hung loosely from the open end. The girl said, "It's a damn party popper!"

Douglas Cartland asked, "I don't get it, why'd that thing go off?"

Karena LesProux said quietly, "Wait a moment..." She drew close to Rain to look at the tube, and quickly noticed a wire was hanging from the other end. The wire was very long. "This wire was connected to the party popper..."

"That's not just a wire." Rain looked at Karena with growing apprehension. "It's a tripwire."

Most everyone in Bravo realized what that meant, especially Harley. No one would have seen the tripwire connected to the party popper in the fog. Harley began to say, "You mean I just...? Aw, damn." How many more traps like this were left scattered across the fairgrounds in the fog? Traps made to reveal the presence of intruders.

Leon S. Kennedy nodded sourly and said, "We just got the enemy's attention."

-5-

The bar. Hector Hivers was at a vacant table, and picked up one of the drinks that seemed to be left behind. It was still half-full of an amber liquor. Caroline Floyd had her arms crossed under her bosom as she walked up and asked with a smirk, "Drinking on the job, Hector?"

Hector said, "No, smart-ass, I'm just checking this out..." He lifted the glass up to his face close enough to smell it through the filtered slits in his facemask. He cocked his head in response and grunted, "Hold up." He visibly sniffed at the glass again. "This is whisky, no doubt about it, but there's no smell to it."

Caroline frowned. "That's weird."

Hector set the drink down. "I'm gonna look behind the bar..."

As he moved to the counter, Christine Yamata drew closer to Caroline and asked, "Whisky that has no smell? Maybe it's just old?"

The DSO agent looked at the BSAA Medical Specialist. Caroline asked, "You ever had whisky, Christine?"

"Uh-uh, I'm no drinker."

"Well usually, whisky gets better with age...it should still have some kind of smell."

Only a few meters away, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine and a few others were with Cybil Bennett. Chris asked the Brahms police officer, "Captain Bennett, are you saying the fog somehow made this town...older?"

Cybil had her hands on her hips; her stance was tense as she answered, "Harry and I saw it before in Silent Hill. Most of that town's population either disappeared or were killed less than a decade before we got there, but the town looked abandoned and derelict for even longer...just like this town seems to be now. But we need to check other places in order to make sure."

Jill asked carefully, "But...how could that even be? How could a fog do something like this?"

Marissa Ronson said, "We might as well ask why most all electronics don't work in the fog, too."

Cybil shook her head impatiently. "No matter what questions you have about how or why, I can't answer them. I said before there's so much I don't understand about this." But Cybil felt a burst of shame because even though there was so much she didn't understand, she did know there was only one way this could have happened...Cheryl Mason had to bring the fog here. She did it before when she was Alessa Gillespie decades ago in Silent Hill. On their way here with Anne, Cybil and Douglas asked themselves repeatedly why Cheryl could have brought that same fog to Black Falls, but they both finally concluded there could only have been one of two reasons: either Cheryl made it happen by her own will, or...maybe she was forced to make it happen. If Cheryl was caught in a trap set by The Order, as Cybil had already feared, it was reasonable to suspect the zealots had forced her to make history repeat itself...lord, anything could have been happening to the girl now, and she had already suffered enough! But Cybil kept such thoughts about Cheryl to herself. The agents she was advising would never have understood. "I can only tell you for certain this is too much like Silent Hill, and that's a very, very bad thing."

Behind the bar itself, Hector had dipped into the nonfunctioning refrigerator and held a grimy can in each hand, each made by a different brewer. He looked at them closely as Caroline stepped up to the counter...he was confounded as he said, "Hell, these cans of beer haven't even reached their expiration dates yet!"

Caroline shook her head. "And they look as old as everything else."

Hector carelessly dropped a can on the floor and considered the other. "Y'know, I'm tempted to give this a try...!"

Alarmed, Caroline began to blurt, "Hector - !"

"Just kidding!"

As Caroline growled at him, Christine approached Cybil and asked, "Captain, could all of the food and water in town be affected, as well?"

Cybil's expression wasn't a sunny one. "It stands to reason. The water alone in Silent Hill just looked wrong...at least, when I found a sink or drinking fountain that worked. I wouldn't recommend eating or drinking a damn thing here." She looked down and mused aloud, "Elle and Alex told me Shepherd's Glen changed like this, too...but I never thought..."

Hector left from behind the bar and said irritably, "Anything else you didn't think to mention, lady? Like for example, flying monsters!"

The police captain said flatly, "Air Screamers." Everyone looked at her, but her gaze was fixed on the big man in armor. "That's what Harry Mason called them. The only warning you'll get is when they scream as they attack you. But it's not much of a warning since the bastards are so damned fast." Her lips curled a little into a cool smile; she didn't much like Hector's griping. "Happy now?"

Hector stared back at her and growled, "Oh yeah, I'm fuckin' thrilled, lady..."

Caroline was next to him as she said, "Calm down, Hector."

Regina looked at Chris and said, "We won't do each other any good if we lose our focus on the mission."

Before Chris said anything, Jill nodded and agreed, "Regina is right." The lady looked at Hector, but her words were for all of Alpha Team: "We have to get past our feelings so we can find Rebecca and Cheryl."

Cybil nodded. "I promised that when we run into any kind of monster in the fog, I'd prepare you. That's all I can do, okay?"

Barry Burton shrugged his big shoulders. "Hey, at least we left those flying things outside...as long as we're indoors, we should be - !"

Before the big survivor had the chance to finish, Jill Valentine began to say in warning, "Barry - !"

Because Jill had been looking at Cybil, who as Barry spoke raised a hand to press the earplug connected to her radio deeper into her ear...and almost immediately in the next moment, Jill saw the beautiful cop's eyes grow wide as her face expressed sudden, thudding horror. Cybil had heard the static build to overwhelming intensity in the space of a few heartbeats, and she knew instinctively what it meant and she screamed in warning, "THEY'RE COMING!"

In the next instant, the showroom window of the bar exploded inwards, glass shards flying everywhere, as five Air Screamers burst in issuing unearthly, bloodcurdling screams. The things which were each half the size of a human adult partly resembled artist's renderings of the long-extinct Pterodactyl...like that ancient flying predator, they each had dramatically large wings held together by membranous skin. They were the ruddy color of brick and their heads tapered to points - so did their beaked mouths, which were full of razor-sharp teeth. But the creatures had strangely humanoid torsos and legs...their thick toes ended in curved, deadly talons that could rend and tear into the flesh of their chosen prey.

But in this moment, the Air Screamers chose the wrong prey. Most of Alpha, all veteran survivors, managed to draw their guns when Cybil screamed her warning, and they opened up on the flying beasts. The combined sound of their primary weapons in the dark tavern was strangely quiet because they had suppressors attached, but the results were dramatic and bloody. Four of the five Air Screamers were virtually annihilated, their falling bodies destroying a few tables...the one still alive was in gory shape, flopping and beating its wings as it screeched in agonized pain. Michaela Schneider quickly, smoothly stepped forward and drew a short sword with a fatal hatchet-type blade sheathed at her right hip. With a single fluid motion, the blonde ruthlessly decapitated the creature, and it fell still.

Silence for a moment...and Hector Hivers lowered his silenced shotgun, turned to look at Cybil, and said conversationally, "Air Screamers."

Cybil looked at him and nodded. "Uh-huh."

Everyone in Alpha slowly relaxed...reluctantly. But Vladamir Borovski, the team's sniper, stared at the sight of the dead, winged monsters and shook his head. He said to no one in particular with a nervous voice, "This is insane! How could creatures like this exist?!" The man turned to his left to Cybil and said, "Captain Bennett, I do not mean to interrogate you, but you must tell us what other kinds of monsters are in this fog!" In spite of the fact Vladamir had lived his entire adult life as a soldier, the situation was so surreal it was fraying his nerves. And he had seen so much mayhem and chaos in his time, especially when he served in the Russian military. Vladamir had believed that nothing could surprise or disturb him anymore...before he entered Black Falls.

Cybil Bennett shakily reholstered her suppressed .45 and said with haunted eyes, "Things just like this. Things from the worst possible kinds of nightmares."

Everyone looked at her as the Russian-American sighed, "I do not doubt that! But we need to know more so we can - !" But with the sudden crash of a gunshot, Vladamir Borovski wasn't able to say anything else as a bullet tore into the left side of his head, exited out the right in a gory burst of blood, bone and gray matter, and shattered the glass that covered a poster on a back wall of the bar.

Michaela Schneider saw the terrible sight of her fellow DSO agent's death through the blue lenses of her facemask and she cried, "Vladamir!" The sniper's body began to fall to the floor in the darkness of this abandoned, eerie bar, and more gunshots sounded from outside the establishment. The agents of Alpha Team reacted as quickly as they could and most managed to dive for cover, but a couple of them fell as they were shot...Jill Valentine instinctively grabbed Cybil Bennett in her strong yet slender arms and pulled her down as bullets relentlessly sheared into the bar.

Outside of the showroom window, wraithlike as they stood in the fog, were a group of six people. Men and women, and all were armed with rifles. Firing one bullet at a time into the bar, striving to kill everyone in Alpha Team.

All of them were Puppets...their bright, blood-red eyes were inhuman and malevolent as they obeyed the will of the leader of The Order...

-6-

Deep in the County Fairgrounds. All of Bravo Team heard a noise from somewhere in the fog, undefinable...and then the sound of something treading on cold grass, distant but closing in quickly from the east. Rain brought up her MP5K and said, "Company comin' dead ahead, sir!"

Leon ordered, "Bravo, weapons live! Defensive positions!" Everyone in the team moved to cover behind wooden and tented booths in the area and pointed their weapons into the fog toward whatever was coming, safeties off. Leon's being was taut as he and Helena stayed close to one another...he pointed his Lightning Hawk into the grey and reminded his comrades, "Short, controlled bursts, everyone...!"

Something could barely be seen in the gray then, a nearly insubstantial shape approaching...and in a moment, it was close enough to be identified...as a Golden Labrador Retriever trotting toward them. The handsome dog seemed to smile as it looked at the humans it approached. Its was panting and wagging its tail excitedly.

Rain quickly lifted her weapon to point upward in a safe position and looked at the dog with annoyance. She breathed, "Well, what the hell...!"

Harley caught sight of the Golden Lab and grunted, "Gotta be kiddin'..." Others in Bravo laughed with relief as they saw the dog...some still didn't realize it was a false alarm, though. Further back, Vector asked impatiently, "What's up?!"

Claire Redfield giggled, "It's just a dog, everybody!"

Leon sighed and shook his head as he lowered his weapon...Helena, who was close by, relaxed and announced in a bright tone, "Stand down, people!"

Everyone came back out into the open to form up as Douglas Cartland griped, "'Stand down' why?! What's the deal...?"

Lawrence said to others close by him, "Dog."

Anne Cunningham passed on to Douglas, "Dog!"

Douglas almost deflated in his posture as he groaned, "Oh, brother!"

Sherry Birkin quickly dropped to her knees and holstered her Triple Shot. She reached out to the Golden Lab with inviting arms and cooed, "Hey, there! It's okay!" As if drawn by her gentle persona, the dog moved right to her. Claire smiled as she watched Sherry giggle when the dog licked the blonde's face. Sherry's gloved hands moved to stroke the animal's fur in response...she said, "What are you doing here all by yourself...?" She, Claire, and a few others saw that the dog was a male in spite of its fur.

Everyone in Bravo felt the impulse to relax. At the wrong moment.

The dog suddenly turned his head to look in the direction he came from; he stared deep into the mist as his ears perked up and his posture turned rigid. Something caught his attention. Sherry was the first to realize that as her fingers slowed in their strokes through the dog's fur...she said quietly, "What's wrong, boy...?" That was when the dog turned fully and began to growl in a low, threatened tone as he stared into the mist.

Claire stared into the fog, as well...her hands clenched her M4. She didn't want to be loud, but she feared she had to be as she said, "Leon...something else is coming!"

The ponytailed survivor was loud enough to be heard by all of Bravo, and they swiftly readied their weapons again. Leon, Helena and everyone else closed ranks behind and around her and Sherry. Rain, on Sherry's left, became fully tense as she finally saw several shapes in the distant mist. Getting closer. The commando announced hesitantly, "Looks like more dogs...!"

Rain was right...and yet she was also terribly terribly wrong as she and the others really saw what was coming.

Claire Redfield felt revulsion as she softly murmured, "What in the name of...?" The things that approached in a pack only looked like dogs, but they were something horrible. Something unworldly and only barely resembling canines. Not even all of the terrors Claire survived in the past quite prepared her for the disturbing sight.

There were nearly a dozen of this pack of growling, snarling Hellhounds. There were three distinct types of them. On the outer flanks of the pack were the smallest of the creatures, the Groaners...they stalked with agitated steps, like they were full of energy about to burst from their rotting brown skin. There were just as many Double Heads between them, stocky and medium in size yet grotesque - fraying bandages covered their burnt, ugly bodies, but the worst part of them were their heads...they split open vertically to form terrible mouths that opened and closed urgently. The two in the center were the the largest of the Hellhounds, as big as the Golden Labrador, the Alphas of the pack: Ferals that shouldn't have been alive because they appeared skinned, and they were bleeding so horribly with every step; they left crimson trails in their wake on the grass.

Leon, Helena and the rest of Bravo Team barely had a few seconds to really register what they were seeing...and then the Golden Lab burst from Sherry Birkin to charge the pack. The humans would never know if the dog was motivated by survival instinct or perhaps to defend the petite blonde he just befriended. Full of concern for the dog, Sherry began to cry, "No, boy, WAIT - !" But it was too late. Two of the Double Heads quickly rushed to meet the dog before he could confront the pack.

It took less than three seconds for one Double Head to take down the poor dog as the other closed its hideous mouth over the Golden Lab's head and ripped it from the rest of his body violently. Rain cried, "Aw, FUCK!" Sherry screamed in anguish at the sight as she reflexively drew her Triple Shot. The rest of the pack charged Bravo Team.

Rain and Sherry blasted the two Double Heads that killed the dog to pieces as the rest of the Hellhounds drew dangerously close, but Bravo Team wouldn't let them get any closer. Some of the team panicked as the Groaners, the fastest of the monsters, moved in and they fired on the ugly things on full automatic. Leon shouted to everyone as he fired, "Controlled bursts, dammit! CONSERVE AMMUNITION!" Only heartbeats later, though, it was over. The pack had no chance against Bravo's firepower.

The lifeless pack was an uglier sight than before as they laid fallen before Bravo, riddled with bullets and staining the ground with dark, putrid blood. The agents tried to be stoic and contain the horror they felt. Some, though, couldn't contain their emotions. Sherry Birkin was in tears as she moved shakily to the headless body of the Golden Lab...she fell on her knees next to the dog and reached out with a trembling hand to carefully stroke the fur on its lifeless side. Rain looked at the blonde with quiet sadness. So did the others...so did Claire Redfield, who drew close to Sherry and lowered on her knees, as well...she wrapped a loving, comforting arm around the blonde girl's shoulders. No matter how much experience Sherry had as an intelligence agent, no matter how many battles she fought, she was still a pure, innocent soul who could be deeply affected by a dog's death. Sherry Birkin glanced at the lady she idolized for most of her life and her voice was mournful: "Oh, Claire..." But she couldn't say anything more then as her head hung low and she wept.

"Sherry..." Claire Redfield was at a loss as she gently took the blonde girl in her arms and held her.

Then. A distant noise began to issue, at first ahead of Bravo Team. Rain quickly raised her SMG to her shoulder to point it into the mist and called to Leon, "Sir!" Sherry shakily looked up as she heard the noise, too...as did Claire, whose face expressed a sudden dread all of Bravo Team felt as the sound began to multiply, coming from more than a single direction. Everyone readied their weapons as they felt a primal fear from the noise, an unceasing, collective din that sounded like a non-stop grinding of metal against metal.

It was a noise that was finally coming from all around them in the brackish mist.

Leon ordered loudly, "Everyone, form up on me! NOW!" Claire, Sherry, and the rest of Bravo immediately obeyed and closed ranks into a tight group around him and Helena. They pointed their weapons outward, in every direction, seeking out the first hint of what was making that damn noise.

Because the unceasing grinding was getting louder...closer...

Anne Cunningham had no idea what it was making the building noise...but Douglas did. He never ran into the fucking things when he was in Silent Hill, but Cheryl told him about them, and he considered himself very lucky. The old P.I. didn't feel lucky now. Douglas said fearfully, "Pendulums...!"

In spite of her dread, Helena Harper heard the old man and glanced at him. "What did you say?"

Douglas Cartland said tightly, "You wanted me and Anne to advise you, right? Then I advise you folks to start firing the first moment you catch sight of anything. Kill what's coming before they kill us."

-7-

As Cheryl Mason, Rebecca Chambers, Alex and Elle Shepherd, and Elza Walker ran for their lives in the residential area, wary for any sign of a threat, Cheryl had sensed the arrival of Alpha and Bravo in the fog. But. She needed to devote her power fully to keeping themselves invisible to Reeve Meyers' perceptions...her first priority was to keeping Becca and the others safe. The blonde felt she couldn't take the risk of communicating with the teams yet, even though she realized people Rebecca knew and loved were among them. Even though there were people Cheryl Mason cared for with them, too. Douglas...Cybil...I'm so sorry. There's nothing I can do for you right now. I can only wait for the chance to reach out to you, find a way to bring us all together.

But we're all going to have trouble staying alive before I get that chance...!

TO BE CONTINUED