Chapter 19 is here...MATURE CONTENT WARNING again for violence and foul language! Finally, we see the end results of Alpha and Bravo's first skirmishes with the monsters in the fog. But remember my warning before, that things will only get worse...those of you who are fans of SILENT HILL can use your imagination! (That's what I'm doing!)

Meanwhile, fear and suspicion within Cheryl and Rebecca's group of survivors threatens their unity. Needless to say, they HAVE to work together to stay alive, so that's not a good thing. Also, Cheryl is forced to look back and examine her dark past (and it might make you ask questions, too!) as she gets more and more in touch with her supernatural powers!

I've referenced the works of the great Stephen King many times in this story so far, and if you don't catch my latest tribute to the author, then you're blind! Also, watch for a tip of the hat to ELFEN LIED!

RESIDENT EVIL X SILENT HILL: JUDGMENT DAY

written by Charles Spencer,
inspired by Ygure

Chapter 19:

"SURVIVING IN THE GREY"

-1-

Time slowed to a crawl for Regina as she dove to the grimy hardwood floor of the bar, striving to avoid the methodical, lethal barrage of bullets. The bullets came from the outside of the establishment's shattered showroom window, fired by a group of six Puppets that got the drop on Alpha Team. Regina barely succeeded and as she was prone, and pure instinct as much as adrenaline took hold of her completely...she focused only on the threat and how to deal with it, ignoring her comrades very briefly and hating herself for that. Alpha's sniper, Vladamir Borovski, who was once known by the callsign Spectre when he was in Russian spec ops, was lying dead not far away. He'd dropped his Bear Commander assault weapon as he fell. Regina instantly rolled to it, but for her slowed perceptions, it felt like it took forever.

The redheaded commando took hold of the heavy carbine in her slender gloved hands as she heard the gunshots from outside stop. The others must have dived for cover with her...or did some of them fall, like Borovski? She didn't know, but from her vantage the assailants outside were out of her view temporarily, as well. On pure instinct, Regina prepared to fire the Bear Commander's grenade launcher attachment as her being tensed...the launcher, which operated like a semi-automatic shotgun, had a maximum capacity of seven 25mm high explosive (HE) grenades, each with a lethal blast radius of three meters.

The beauty in gray and black quickly sat up with the Bear Commander at full extension in her hands as she screamed, "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Immediately, she saw the six armed hostiles standing side by side and still partially shrouded by fog, yet their eyes had a terrible supernatural glow the color of crimson. They saw Regina and began to fire again as the commando fired the grenade launcher. Phumm!

CHOOM! The sound of the grenade's detonation was deafening when it hit one of the Puppets in the center of the group - that enemy virtually exploded as the rest were knocked down by the blast and lethal metal fragments. The fog seemed to gain a reddish tinge as blood misted in the air outside momentarily. Then...the only sound Regina heard was her own shaky breathing in the silent air of this darkened bar in the town of Black Falls, Vermont.

A warm hand fell on Regina's shoulder, making her jump...she turned to see Jill Valentine on her knees, looking at her with concern. The lady looked unhurt as she asked, "You okay, Regina?"

The adrenaline rush began to fade, but slowly, as Regina nodded. "Yeah, Jill. Are you okay?"

Jill smiled fondly at the commando and said, "Only because of you."

Close by Jill, Alpha Team leader Chris Redfield also looked at Regina with clear gratitude. He nodded deeply and said, "Amen. Thanks, Regina." Chris looked around and said loudly, "If anyone's been hurt, sound off! Barry?!" He thought his old friend had been shot just now...

...but Barry Burton was also sitting up as he grunted, "I'm okay!" The man-mountain raised a hand to brush at a couple of new holes in his red ballistic vest. "I took a couple of rounds, but I'm okay!" Barry looked at another member of Alpha, a man almost as big and tall as he was, picking himself up off the floor. "What about you? You were right in front of most everybody!"

Hector Hivers, who provided fire-support for the group, nodded and said, "I'm all right. I'm dressed for this kind of shit!" Hector was clad head to toe in heavy armor and padding designed to defend him from explosives ordnance. It worked pretty well against bullets, too. Hector looked to another comrade and asked, "Caroline?!"

"I'm okay, Hector." Caroline Floyd stood up as her eyes fixed on the showroom window...the recon specialist hadn't been hurt, either. "I'm gonna check those hostiles outside." Armed with her carbine, Caroline moved carefully to the window.

Hector suddenly thought of the first man to fall from the Puppets' bullets. Hector asked quickly, "How's Vlad?! He - !" But he looked to where the man fell, and he suddenly moaned, "Aw, no..."

The sniper in black laid dead on the floor of the bar as blood pooled under his head...Michaela Schneider, who worked with Vladamir, Hector and Caroline in the DSO and knew them as friends, knelt next to his body. Michaela's face was shrouded by her biohazard mask, but her voice was full of sadness as she said, "V-Vladamir is dead, Hector. He never had a chance..."

Hector's big body stiffened...his face also couldn't be seen, but he was clearly full of rising fury...he turned to the window and growled, "Are any of those bastards still alive - ?!"

He was just in time to see Caroline fire her suppressed M4 into the mist outside in short, controlled bursts. Making sure. With a dark expression, Caroline looked at Hector and said softly, "Not anymore."

Regina moved close to Caroline's position to look at the bodies outside...and what was left of the few parasites that Caroline just shot to pieces as they tried sluggishly to escape their dead hosts. The redhead frowned and mused, "We're supposed to be here to save these people."

Caroline, a beauty of Native American descent, nodded. The people Alpha just killed were innocents who had been possessed by profane, unworldly parasites to do the bidding of The Order. Caroline said gently, "You saved our lives, Regina...because of you, we have the chance to end this nightmare and save even more."

Barry looked at another not far away and asked, "Captain Bennett...?"

"Huh?" Captain Cybil Bennett had shakily risen to a sitting position...the blonde police officer looked back at Barry as she felt wetness on her cheek. She lifted a hand to her face, and when she pulled it away she saw blood on her fingers. One of Cybil's porcelain cheeks had suffered a small cut from glass shrapnel just under her left eye, but she didn't feel any pain. "It's nothing, I'm okay."

Jill Valentine suddenly cursed and shouted, "Chris, Sheva's been shot!"

Chris and the others looked and felt sudden dread as they saw Jill gently help Sheva Alomar stand...she was bleeding from the midsection, front and back, from a gunshot wound that tore through her side. The exotic BSAA operative was stoic in spite of her condition, and managed, "I'm all right, Jill. It's not bad."

But in an instant, Alpha Team's medic was right next to Sheva...Christine Yamata, like Jill, was a close friend of the woman warrior in the BSAA, and her eyes were wide with concern above the bio-filter that masked the lower half of her face. The lovely medic quickly took Sheva's hand and said, "Sheva, come over here and sit down. C'mon." With Jill's help, Christine led Sheva to one of the few chairs that still stood in the wrecked bar...a dead Air Screamer laid next to it. Christine kicked at the dead thing as she helped Sheva sit and she cooed, "Easy..." Jill stepped back and watched as Christine lowered to one knee and began to examine Sheva's wound...but she quickly looked up at her friend and counseled, "By the way, I'll be the judge of how bad you're hurt, okay?"

Sheva smiled warmly and nodded. "Whatever you say, dear friend."

Christine turned briefly to look at Cybil. "I'll take a look at you next, Captain Bennett!"

"Excuse me, I hate to be a bother, but - shit!" The English-accented voice called from Marissa Ronson...and Christine and everyone there was jolted when they realized the fire-haired specialist had also been shot in the left shoulder. Marissa's right hand rose to favor the wound as she stood unsteadily. "I might need a little attention..."

Christine suddenly felt a terrible conflict as she wondered if the DSO agent needed more help than Sheva. "Marissa - !"

But Michaela was with Marissa almost immediately...the masked blonde carefully helped Marissa to another chair as she said, "I'll take care of her, Christine! Focus on Sheva!" Michaela spared a glance at Christine and informed her, "I also have field experience as a medic."

Christine was surprised. "You do?" Alpha, like Bravo, was comprised of agents from two different organizations...they didn't get much of a chance to know each other, as was the case between Christine and Michaela.

But Marissa knew Michaela well, and she smiled at her masked friend as she testified, "She's pretty bloody good, too."

Michaela said matter-of-factly, "I had to specialize in many things when I was part of the GSG-9 a long time ago." The GSG-9 was Germany's elite anti-terrorist strike force. Michaela Schneider had worked with them for years before she retired and made a new life for herself in America...and then was recruited by the DSO. "Let me know whenever I can be of help to you."

Christine nodded deeply. "Thank you, Michaela."

Jill Valentine looked around and said, "Christine, Michaela, I hate to say this, but the noise we made is going to bring more of the enemy. Or more monsters. Please work as quickly as possible."

Christine answered, "Yes, ma'am!"

Michaela responded, "Of course, Lieutenant."

Christine and Michaela did work quickly, and were able to do so with ease because they both utilized a recent innovation brought to military field medicine, thanks chiefly to Rebecca Chambers. When still a raw recruit with S.T.A.R.S. and trapped in that damned mansion in Raccoon Forest fifteen years ago, Rebecca chanced upon the botanical research of some Umbrella researchers who died ugly deaths because of their colleagues' biohazardous experiments. This unique research, later refined by the young medic, verified that certain unique herbs located around the Arklay Mountains in the American Midwest had amazing, unprecedented medicinal properties. The modest-looking green plants were a natural agent that dramatically increased a human's natural rate of regeneration. With the proper application or simply eating the herb, a person could heal much, much more quickly than normal and increase their strength. Trauma that could take days to mend or even be life-threatening would heal in a matter of hours. With further exploration of the research at that time and in the years since, Rebecca discovered similar herbs in the colors of red and blue in that region, as well. Red herbs could increase the healing properties of green herbs several times over, and blue herbs were capable of being an antidote to a stunning number of poisons and toxins. These remarkable plants were since found to grow in the New England region of the U.S., Africa, Spain and China.

Not many believed in the near-miraculous qualities of these herbs...those who did, like some other certain survivors of note, were grateful they existed. Only a couple of years ago, Rebecca Chambers wanted to finally change that and lobbied hard to make what she simply, affectionately called the Green Herb (its scientific name was very long and virtually unpronounceable) a part of both civilian and military medicine. In this modern age, however, many were skeptical of such a thing as an herbal remedy healing people...they forgot that herbal medicine was as old as humanity itself on the planet. Rebecca won out, though, and by seemingly taking a step back, the Green Herb and its variants recently began to revolutionize modern medicine.

It only took a few minutes after applying GH salve in Sheva Alomar's wound before the African-born warrior felt its effects. Both the bullet's entry wound and exit wound at her slender midsection stopped bleeding...her pain eased as her regneration rate increased and she felt a boost of strength. Sheva also ate a GH tablet at Christine's order, just in case. Christine saw her patient already become visibly better...she said, "You'll be all right, Sheva. It was a through-and-through, but the bullet didn't hit anything vital." If the bullet had, it would have complicated things only in the sense that field surgery might have been necessary along with applying Green Herb to assist the process.

Sheva grinned at Christine as she joked, "You mean nothing vital besides my body?"

Christine giggled. "Yeah. You haven't lost any mobility, but be careful until you finish healing." That would only take a handful of hours if Sheva wasn't hurt any worse by the hostiles they had to fight.

Sheva nodded deeply. "Thank you."

"My pleasure." The medic looked across the room. "Michaela, did you want a hand?"

"I'm fine, Christine, thank you." Michaela Schneider was finishing ministering to her patient and friend, as well. "You're good too, Marissa, but you'll have a sore shoulder for a short while."

Marissa Ronson stood from her chair before Michaela as she carefully put her leather jacket back on. The flame-haired lady smiled and nodded as she felt better from the GH remedies given to her, too. "Thanks. Just as long as I can still carry my gun and stick with the mission." She had to use both of her slender arms to carry her heavy M249...the big gun was set on a table not far away. But the tomboyish operative turned to look at something else, and her expression shifted to soul-deep sadness. Marissa had to devote some of her strength to keep from crying as she said, "I...I still can't believe Vlad's gone..."

Hector Hivers was on one knee next to Vladamir Borovski's body...he had just put the sniper's respectfully on his chest and moved his hands to cross over it. The armored man's emotions nearly radiated from him as he said quietly, "The Order's gonna pay for this. Oh, they're gonna fuckin' pay..." A few others from Alpha milled around Hector and his dead friend, and they all felt the same way: saddened, enraged, and newly committed to stopping the enemy.

Christine, meanwhile, was focused on the living as she moved to one of Alpha Team's advisors. "Captain Bennett? Let me take a look at that cut, okay?"

Cybil Bennett frowned a little...the cut on her cheek wasn't bleeding badly, and she didn't want to trouble the young medic. "I'm all right, Christine..."

"Captain." Chrstine's exotic, almond-shaped eyes hardened a little, but there was still such a gentle quality in them, as well. "You're bleeding. I'm a medic. Please let me take care of you."

Cybil relaxed as she nodded. "Thank you."

Christine Yamata was almost half a foot shorter than Cybil Bennett...the police captain had to bow. The beautiful medic drew close as her hands lifted up to feather-touch the blonde's lovely face. Christine carefully applied salve to Cybil's cheek as her soft voice soothed, "Hold still..."

Alpha's other advisor, police chief and weapons specialist Barry Burton, saw it wouldn't take any time at all to heal Cybil. He crossed his big arms across his broad chest as he turned to Chris. "Looks like we're almost set to go, old buddy, what should we do next?" Barry frowned a little. "Chris?"

It seemed that Chris Redfield hadn't heard his former partner and friend as he stared at Borovski's dead body on the floor. He was very quiet.

Jill Valentine moved to Chris...her blue eyes gently examined his face and saw a dark, troubled expression in his eyes. Jill said carefully, "Chris?"

Chris stared at the dead sniper...and he knew there was no one to blame for this but himself. They should have found a more secure shelter from those Air Screamers, prepared better for the Puppets. He second-guessed himself furiously, and in his heart he came to the conclusion that this death was his responsibility. He should have done more. Chris finally looked at Jill and said, "I...I didn't expect to lose anyone so quickly, Jill..."

This was his fault, he knew. Just like when he lost those two teams of brave agents in Eastern Europe and China. It was his fault he lost Piers.

It was his fault that -

"Captain?" Chris looked to the source of that soft yet firm voice: the black ops commando Regina, who had her M4 at the ready. The redhead stared at her team leader and said, "Losing a teammate hurts, but we've got to continue the mission. We need you to tell us where to go from here." Chris saw Caroline Floyd stand with Regina, and she was also staring at him.

Chris realized everyone in Alpha was looking at him...they were ready and waiting for his next word. It took a few beats before the veteran survivor gathered himself deep inside, looked at everyone, and nodded deeply. He shelved the dark feelings in his heart for the moment, he had to, as he said with authority, "Okay, Alpha, listen up! We've got to keep moving." He pulled a folded map of Black Falls from under his tactical vest and opened it; every member of Alpha and Bravo had a map of the town too, just in case anyone was separated from the rest. Chris referred to it for a moment and decided, "We're going to keep going south on Kubrick to the Sheriff's Office several blocks down. After checking things there, we'll move to the town's City Hall across the street. We may gain much-needed intelligence, but we might also encounter innocents or hostiles holed up in those locations. Either way, prepare for trouble! We'll have enough difficulty if we run into more hostiles on the way, so let's stay alert and stay alive!" The strength in his voice had the effect he needed it to...Jill and the rest of Alpha Team looked back at him with renewed purpose. And quiet, unwavering determination. Chris Redfield glanced at the fallen body of Vladamir Borovski one more time and reassured, "We will make The Order pay...for Agent Borovski and all of their victims!"

-2-

The County Fairgrounds, just to the south of Black Falls proper...several Pendulums came into view in the fog as they surrounded Bravo Team.

The biomechanical things were a sight that made even the most seasoned members of Bravo feel a sudden, lurching terror. The Pendulums were completely abnormal monstrosities that shouldn't even have been alive as, impossibly, they floated like wraiths through the fog. Their bodies seemed to be two human torsos joined together by a circular steel harness, and each head looked in opposing directions; a wicked blade jutted from each face as two more, even longer blades connected to armatures extending from the central harness rotated like helicopter blades. It was those killer rotating blades that made the constant, nightmarish grinding noise that preceded them. They looked like they were created by a gothic god that glanced into a lunatic's fever dream.

No one in Bravo Team needed an order from their leader, Leon S. Kennedy, to fire...they just did and opened up on the Pendulums with their primary weapons, motivated by disbelieving fear and pure survival instinct. Lawrence Kimbala yelled at his leader, "Leon, what the hell are these monsters?!"

Leon, who had seen a lot of monsters since Raccoon City, couldn't even begin to answer that question. He sure as hell didn't care to know the answer as he yelled back, "We can ask what they are later, just kill them! Don't let them get close!"

Those he commanded eagerly obeyed his shout...the Pendulums' grinding might have overwhelmed the sound of their suppressed weapons as they were fired, but Bravo's efforts were quickly rewarded. Only a few of the surreal things almost got close enough to use their deadly blades on the survivors, but only almost. The Pendulums dropped one by one from the grey air until they were all dead. But even the sight of the things inert and lifeless was enough to haunt Leon and the others.

Then unsilenced shots rang out, snapping everyone in Bravo back to reality. The young commando called Rain cried, "SHIT! Incoming fire!" Humanoid shapes began to form in the mist, but their eyes were hellish pinpoints as bright as the muzzle flashes of the weapons they carried as they fired on Bravo. The Puppets were still limited by the perceptions of their human hosts and had impatiently, aggressively begun to fire on the team before the possessed had clear sight of them...it was the only reason no one in Bravo Team got shot.

Helena Harper, Leon's second in command, wanted to keep it that way as she yelled, "Defensive positions! Return fire!" Some dove to the ground and fired as they were prone as others found cover behind grimy concession stands and game booths. For a few moments the opposing forces traded weapons fire, but the Puppets almost mindlessly marched into their enemies' bullets. The parasites only cared about obeying their master, Reeve Meyers, who spurred their actions by thought...and the things might as well not have cared at all about their innocent hosts. They were very simply bent on killing Bravo, but in their inhuman zeal the possessed fell instead. It took another few moments for some of the agents to ensure the parasites were dead too, and shot to pieces the few sluglike things that attempted to escape.

The eerie quiet that returned to the mist as snow fell around the survivors was troubled. Anne Cunningham gripped her M4 hard to keep her hands from trembling...she almost breathed, "Oh, god...was that it? Are anymore coming?!" She'd seen things in Silent Hill that were horrible, but nothing quite like those Pendulums.

Claire Redfield looked intently into the grey mist all around her, her M4 still at the ready. Seconds passed, and she saw nothing. "I...I think that's it, Leon! We're clear!"

Sienna Miller, the team's sniper, relaxed as she shouted, "Clear!" That declaration was confirmed and echoed by Vector and other teammates. In a lower voice, though, Sienna felt the need to say, "Damn, that was crazy...!"

Close by Anne, Douglas Cartland grunted, "Just in case, maybe this will help...!" He got out a small red radio and quickly switched it on. All that sounded from it was the white noise of static. Which didn't surprise anyone, considering Douglas himself, along with Anne and Cybil, forewarned them that no electronic devices would work in the fog.

But Douglas still brought one anyway, which made Harley Morris say, "What's with the radio?! I thought you said - !"

The old private investigator looked at everyone, and every member of Bravo was looking at him and Anne with annoyed, questioning eyes. Douglas enlightened them in the same way Cybil did for Alpha Team: "We told you radios won't work in this fog and you'd only hear static...still, the static gets stronger the closer a monster gets!" He shrugged. "I guess you could almost rename radios like this monster detectors."

That was when Anne stared at him, too...she said, "Douglas, do you have any idea how silly that sounded?"

Douglas looked back at the green-eyed prison guard and griped, "Okay, you think of a better name!" The old timer looked at Leon and informed him, "For what it's worth, it's just giving a low rumble. That means there's nothing else coming. Uh, for now."

Karena LesProux relaxed in her posture, but she asked, "If what you say is true, then why didn't you turn that on sooner?"

Douglas looked down lamely. "It worked that way in Silent Hill, but that didn't mean it would work here, too. Cybil thought maybe it would, but I wasn't so sure. Seeing these bastards and the monster-dogs made me wanna change my mind, though."

Rain shook her head as she said, "I'm still trying to wrap my head around this!" The young commando in black was anxious as she turned to look at one of the dead monsters with the blades. "These...whatever they are..."

Douglas said, "Pendulums."

Rain wheeled back around and gave Douglas an annoyed glare. "Like I said, whatever! I mean, how the fuck were these things floating?! Th-they didn't even look like they should have been alive, but they were...!"

Sherry Birkin looked at the ground, her beautiful face troubled, as she said softly, "It's all like something out of a nightmare." Sherry shuddered, but Claire Redfield was there, too. The brunette survivor drew close and wrapped a warm arm around the petite blonde's shoulders. Sherry's shudders eased quickly as she relaxed into her hero and idol.

Anne's expression was dubious as she nodded. "That's what Silent Hill was, too...a great, big waking nightmare."

"Wait, everyone calm down." Leon S. Kennedy looked at Helena and the others...his own confidence was shaken by the unreal nature of things here in Black Falls, but he said to his team, "We can't let this get to us. We'll have enough problems getting through this mission! All right?" Most around him, like Helena, Rain, Claire and Sherry, visibly calmed in response to his stalwart tone; if anyone wasn't reassured, they kept it to themselves. Leon fixed on his advisors from Maine then. "You both told us a lot about what you've been through in Silent Hill, but I've never heard you hint to an explanation for any of it...!"

Douglas Cartland frowned and shook his head. "Agent Kennedy, we also told you and Captain Redfield not long ago that we couldn't explain Silent Hill...we still can't! I never got the chance to make much sense of what happened at the time, I'm just lucky to have lived through it." But that wasn't entirely accurate, primarily because the old man felt the need to be careful in what he had to say. How could he even start to explain that what happened to Silent Hill was because of the powers of a little girl named Alessa Gillespie, who later reincarnated herself into one of those Alpha and Bravo Teams were here to save, Cheryl Mason? Those bastards in The Order had to force Cheryl to use her unworldly powers to manifest the fog again here in Black Falls, probably as they tried to make the girl their Mother of God again. That was what her own mother, Dahlia Gillespie, wanted...it was what Claudia Wolf wanted 13 years ago...and now this fucker Reeve Meyers who was leading what was left of that monstrous cult... He and Cybil Bennett agreed as they traveled here from Maine that they had to keep some things secret, if only to protect Cheryl Mason. He didn't care how good and decent the men and women of Alpha and Bravo were, Douglas Cartland didn't want them to get the wrong idea and think Cheryl was some kind of threat, too!

Douglas had to wonder: if this place had become exactly like Silent Hill, how could he and Anne prepare Bravo Team for other things that might happen...how could they begin to tell these soldiers that this place can do things to people...?

Anne Cunningham said quietly, "It was the same for me. I want to understand this as much as the rest of you do." Still, Douglas and Cybil convinced Anne to keep quiet about the few amazing things she knew about Cheryl, too. The prison guard did understand (although, understandably, it was difficult) that the girl Douglas and Cybil cared for so much could do such incredible, supernatural things. Her fellow survivors from Silent Hill reassured her none of this could have been Cheryl Mason's fault, and she believed them. Still, Anne Cunningham knew she'd have a LOT of questions for the blonde when she finally got to meet her. "But we have lived through this before, Agent Kennedy, and we'll do our best to help you get through this, too. Maybe then we'll all find the answers we're looking for."

Leon S. Kennedy looked at them both with a measuring gaze...and his expression warmed as he nodded. He believed them, and he hoped that faith would be rewarded. For Bravo Team's sake. "Fair enough...but we won't find any answers just standing here." He looked around at Helena and his team and announced, "All right, everyone, it won't be much further to the north before we reach the exit to the fairgrounds. After that, the only thing between us and Black Falls itself will be King's Bridge." He hoped. "Let's move out!"

-3-

Somewhere else, in a secret sanctum somewhere in the fog-shrouded town, Reeve Meyers was displeased.

The High Priest of the Sect of Valtiel, what remained of The Order and the Church of the Holy Way, sat on his knees nude in the middle of a large Halo of the Sun painted in blood on the floor of what was once an office. The profane symbol glowed, bathing the cult leader's pale, lean form in spectral red light. He frowned as he focused on casting his second sight outward into the fog, not only doggedly searching for Cheryl Mason but keeping track of the damned interlopers that just invaded the holy ground from north and south.

It was relatively simple for Reeve to command his Puppets to herd packs of the creatures he summoned from...another place toward the two teams of outsiders; he did it in much the same way a shepherd would have a well-trained Border Collie herd sheep on his behalf. The parasites controlling the Puppets and the other monsters were kin, and had means to communicate with each other far beyond what a mortal could have comprehended. The moment Alpha Team had inserted from the north, he had a group of Puppets move to a rooftop and call upon some Air Screamers...as for Bravo, a group of possessed managed to divert even more monsters to deal with them.

But Reeve Meyers was displeased because unlike those ill-prepared fools in Recon One, the first team of soldiers sent into the fog only to meet grisly fates, these two teams of specialists were far more seasoned and skilled. He got a sense of their collective experience and realized they had faced terrors before comparable to what threatened them now in the mist, and the fact one of Alpha was killed did nothing to ease his worries. The cult leader realized that many of these interlopers knew Rebecca Chambers...troublesome as that was, even worse was the fact Cybil Bennett and Douglas Cartland were assisting them! Reeve cursed himself for not truly dealing with those two infidels long ago, like he almost had the heretics Alex and Elle Shepherd, and he knew he should have anticipated they would want to be here to help Cheryl Mason. That other who survived Silent Hill, Anne Cunningham, might also have been cause for concern.

Reeve was also starting to get frustrated because he'd lost sight of Cheryl Mason and those with her. The bitch was using her powers to conceal herself and those she cared for from the cult leader's extranormal perceptions. But that was the only thing in Cheryl's favor. In most other respects, Reeve knew he had the advantage, especially psychologically. When he had the girl at his mercy very briefly in the hospital, he had the chance to look into her soul as he used her. The freckle-faced blonde was depressed, insecure, and haunted by all that had happened to her in three lifetimes. Her self-image was an unkind, fractured one - she thought of herself as a freak at best, nothing and meaningless at worst. She blamed herself for what happened to Silent Hill and to her father, Harry Mason. Best of all, Cheryl was honestly afraid of fully embracing her own incredible powers! In so many ways, Reeve thought with amusement, Cheryl Mason was her own worst enemy.

But. With annoyance, Reeve knew that could all change because of one person. Rebecca Chambers. Reeve looked into Cheryl's heart and saw she had begun to hope, to truly be happy for the first time since Harry Mason's death. And why? Because of the damned love that was growing between her and Rebecca. Reeve Meyers knew that killing Rebecca was as important as finally recapturing Cheryl and making her the Mother of God.

Of course, he had to find them first.

For the moment, Reeve focused on Alpha and Bravo and redoubled his efforts as he used his power...he called out to other Puppets to redirect even more monsters in the mist to destroy the interlopers. He couldn't let them reach Cheryl Mason, Rebecca Chambers, Alex and Elle Shepherd, and that nothing of a girl Elza Walker. If that happened, they would all only become stronger working together and that was the LAST thing he wanted.

Reeve let himself smile a little...even if the next attacks on Alpha and Bravo didn't succeed as he wanted, the cult leader knew that it would only be a matter of time before they were dead, anyway. Black Falls had become exactly like Silent Hill and Shepherd's Glen. And Reeve Meyers remembered that those towns had an...effect on those souls who had troubled histories. Personal demons.

He got the sense that like Cheryl Mason, there were those in Alpha and Bravo who might sooner or later become their own worst enemies...!

-4-

The residential area. Even though they were shielded from Reeve's perceptions, the group led by Cheryl and Rebecca had to run into trouble sometime. There were that many monsters in the fog. They couldn't have stayed lucky forever.

On Perlman Street, in spite of their efforts, they found themselves upwind of a collection of creatures that just killed a mother and her two children as they sought out a safe haven, like Cheryl and Rebecca's group had been doing. When the things finished feeding, there was nothing left of the three but bloodstains and some viscera to stain the ground heavily. The monsters smelled the fresh prey, became hungry again instantly, and moved fast.

Besides four Hellhounds of differing types, the attack was led by three Schisms...the profane things were tall and only at first glance humanoid. The Schisms were freakish mutants with elongated heads ending in wide, wicked half-moon blades; mouths full of dull teeth ran the full length of their heads. They were followed closely by the hairless, sexless Lurkers, which were also humanoid - but again, only in a way. They crawled quickly with their arms, in spite of the fact their legs looked literally fused together. The Lurkers were faceless, only having vertical maws full of sharp teeth. Their arms ended with three curved sickles grafted to the stumps of their wrists. The sounds these monsters made were as haunting as their appearance, and they affected Alex and Elle Shepherd the most...they remembered the creatures vividly from their horrific experiences in Shepherd's Glen and Silent Hill.

But the creatures didn't expect to run into prey that was heavily armed. At the moment, Cheryl Mason carried her Colt Peacemaker in her right hand as her shotgun was slung over her shoulder by its strap...Rebecca Chambers was armed with her suppressed MP5...Alex Shepherd had his Glock pistol out...and his wife Elle and Elza Walker both held shotguns at the ready. Right after Elle warned the others that the static on her radio was building fast, they heard and saw the creatures coming in the mist. Rebecca cried, "Everybody get ready!" One second later, gunshots tore through the silent air.

The Schisms fell first as they swung the blades of their heads back and forth. The Lurkers that followed were greater cause for primal worry in the survivors...the bastards were fast, yet not fast enough to avoid bullets and double-ought buckshot. But the Hellhounds attacked quickly too as they tried to press into the group on their flanks. Elza Walker hadn't needed to defend herself or anyone else yet, and then she saw a Double Head coming, its ugly head hung low as it stalked toward her.

Elle Shepherd just shot another monster to pieces, instinctively thought of the girl who loved motocross, and saw she'd frozen as the Double Head approached. Elle ordered the girl, "Remember what I taught you, Elza! Shoot that thing!" Elza looked at the lady cop, her expression full of horror. Elle screamed, "KILL THAT MONSTER OR IT'LL KILL YOU! NOW!"

Elza seemed to snap out of it and turned back to the Double Head...as it burst toward her. The girl screamed as she squeezed the trigger of her shotgun. BOOM! The front of the monster opened up like a gory flower as its grotesque head was blasted off. Elza truly froze then as she stared at the dead thing. She had never used a gun before in her life, and never needed to use one. Until that moment.

The battle was fast winding down; only a couple of monsters were left. As she shot down another creature in front of her with her suppressed MP5, a Groaner dashed toward Rebecca on her right...the thing was almost a brown blur it was so fast, and it was lucky not to trip over its long, lolling tongue that hung from its ugly mouth. But the creature got very unlucky very quickly because just in time, Cheryl spotted the creature. The freckle-faced beauty cried, "Becca, LOOK OUT!" At the same moment she gave her warning, Cheryl realized she'd fired all six bullets in her Colt single-action. She had no time to reload...but with the speed of thought, she drew upon her mystical power to defend Rebecca.

The brunette pixie turned to see the Groaner as it leaped at her beautiful face...but before she had the chance to react, Cheryl Mason did. The blonde's eyes glowed with blue brightness as her right hand reached out, her fingers curled harshly, and she made a sweeping motion as if she was raking at the air with her nails. Her power instantly reached out to mirror her physical gesture.

As the Groaner flew in midair, the thing shredded violently as if huge, invisible claws rent it to pieces. The creature's momentum was diverted to the side and it splattered to the pavement in pieces before the Medical Specialist's stunned eyes. Rebecca felt a warm hand touch her shoulder, and turned to see Cheryl...and the brunette felt relief and gratitude flood through her in response. Alex, Elle and Elza stared at Cheryl because of her literally luminous eyes.

A sudden, unearthly growling. Cheryl, Rebecca and the others saw one creature was left that threatened them, a bloody Feral. Before anyone could react and shoot the bastard, Cheryl looked at the monster and her bright eyes flared as she commanded, "Down, boy!"

SPLATTT! Cheryl Mason's power ruthlessly hammered down upon the Feral with such tremendous force, the creature was smashed literally flat. It had been reduced to an unrecognizable brackish-crimson grease spot smeared across the pavement. Not even a steamroller could have pancaked the creature so completely.

For a moment, no one moved...even Cheryl was surprised by what she had done. The freckle-faced blonde visibly relaxed as her bright blue eyes dimmed to their natural hazel once again. Rebecca relaxed too and drew close to Cheryl...she took one of the blonde's hands and asked, "Honey, are you okay?"

"Is SHE okay?" Elza Walker was staring at Cheryl with naked, elemental fear. She thought of a Japanese anime she saw once and said, "Jesus, are you kidding?! That lady just did things out of Elfen Lied!"

Rebecca looked at the ponytailed blonde and said, "Elza, calm down! You just went through a lot - heck, we all did - !"

Elza suddenly cried, "No-fucking-shit, Rebecca!" The girl looked at the carnage of the dead monsters around the group and then at the shotgun she held in her hands with a dismayed expression. "I...I-I just killed a dog. And I love dogs!" Fear clutched her heart tightly. "What the hell am I doing here?! I'm supposed to be in Boston, not here!"

Rebecca tried again to soothe her, but she already had a bad feeling it wouldn't work; the girl was on the verge of losing control. "Elza, remember you're not alone. I'm scared, too. We're all scared."

Then Elza scowled as she gave a hard look at Cheryl. "Oh, yeah? I'll bet you're not scared. All of the supernatural shit you do, you must be so into this! Hell, YOU made all of this happen, right?!"

Rebecca's pixie-cute features hardened...she didn't like the way the girl said that at all. "Elza!"

Cheryl Mason's lovely face was as downcast as her voice when she said, "I did bring the fog here. All of this is because of me."

Rebecca turned quickly to look at her adored with surprised eyes. "Honey...!"

Elle Shepherd looked at Cheryl with sympathetic eyes as she said, "Cheryl, you were forced to do that! Alex and I saw what that monster Reeve did to you in the hospital, remember?" She turned to Elza; her eyes became unkinder as she told the motocross racer, "Elza, you weren't there and you didn't see what was done to Cheryl! She was drugged and couldn't help herself - !"

"What about the fog that first took Silent Hill?" This came from Alex Shepherd, her husband, as he stared at Cheryl. Elle looked at Alex as he continued, "The same fog that reached out to cover Shepherd's Glen...you said you did that, too?"

Cheryl looked back at Alex and answered softly, "Yes." Ever since they left the Sheriff's Office to evade The Order and the creatures that had been summoned by Reeve Meyers, Cheryl Mason enlightened Alex, Elle and Elza about her history and her connection to Silent Hill.

But it seemed she didn't say enough, at least to satisfy Alex. His eyes hardened as he asked, "How?! How the hell did you bring that damn fog in the first place?" There was a hardness in his voice, as well, as if he was reacting to a terrible wrong Cheryl Mason had done to him.

Elle stared at her husband and said loudly, "Alex!"

Cheryl looked down at the pavement...she told him, "It was something that just happened when I was Alessa...when Dahlia - "

Rebecca Chambers quickly but gently interrupted Cheryl: "Cheryl, you don't have to talk about that!" The pixie stared hard at Alex. "Besides, it isn't exactly the right time to talk with us out in the open - !"

Alex looked at his wife and asked, "Elle, can you tell if anything else is coming?!"

Elle took hold of the radio clipped to a pocket of the jacket she wore. She raised the radio to her ear to listen carefully, just in case. Elle said, "No, Alex. We're okay for now - !"

Curtly, he looked back at Cheryl and said in a clipped tone, "Then that means we've got time to talk!" Elle frowned at Alex. "You haven't told us enough about how this started, Cheryl, and I need to know everything NOW! To start off, what the hell do you mean by 'just happened'?! Explain that to me!" Elza stared at Cheryl, too. She also seemed impatient to understand.

As Rebecca Chambers watched with concern, Cheryl Mason's expression darkened in mood as she began to speak about her past to enlighten Alex Shepherd. "Alex, I was a little girl when I created the gateway...a-and I did it without really thinking about it. I wanted to escape so badly...I wanted to get away from the pain, from being used as a sacrifice by Dahlia." The sadness increased in her eyes... "As I reached out with my power, I found...another place, but instead of going there I brought it to Silent Hill. It just...happened, and I didn't know how to stop it...!"

Elza's eyes became wide as saucers as she stared at Cheryl...the girl was incredulous, almost afraid to believe what she heard. "My god -! You did something so powerful, and you don't even know HOW?!"

Defensive of Cheryl, Rebecca fired at the girl, "Cheryl said she was just a child, Elza!"

Alex crossed his arms as he continued to question Cheryl... "Okay, and you already told us that years later, Harry Mason saved you after you reincarnated yourself...I'm still trying to accept that!...but when he took you away from Silent Hill, why didn't the fog go away?"

Elle stared at her husband and said, "Alex, you sound like you're accusing her of something!"

The man didn't even look at his beautiful wife as his eyes fixed on Cheryl. "I'm asking a simple question, Elle! Why didn't the fog go away after you left Silent Hill?"

Cheryl Mason looked back at him as her expression shifted...to dismayed confusion. It was something she had never asked herself, much less given any real thought to. Why didn't the horror end when Dahlia died and her father took her away from Silent Hill? Cheryl finally managed softly, truthfully, "I...I don't know."

Alex's face turned cooler as he snarled, "That's awful damned convenient! 'You don't know'. Tell me this! Back when The Order and your friend Claudia killed your father and tried making you the Mother of God, what stopped you from changing Silent Hill back to normal then?"

"I..." Cheryl's posture radiated tension...her voice was thick with emotion. "When I defeated Claudia and The Order 13 years ago, I lost my dad and I just started remembering my previous lives. I had a lot of shit to sort out, and I just wanted to forget about Silent Hill and leave it behind. I wasn't even fully aware I still possessed the power I had as Alessa Gillespie. But when I realized what I could do...I just kept my powers buried within me for years. I was afraid of causing another nightmare like Silent Hill..."

Alex turned cold then as he said, "Well, what you started took Shepherd's Glen without your help...IF you're telling us the truth!"

Shocked, Elle stared at the man she loved and demanded, "Alex, are you blaming Cheryl for what happened to Shepherd's Glen?!"

Alex finally looked at his wife again and snapped, "Why shouldn't I?! Shepherd's Glen was our home, Elle! And five years ago, the fog and the darkness and all of the other shit SHE brought to Silent Hill destroyed it, too!"

Cheryl looked down and closed her eyes, her expression bleak. "I-I never imagined something like that that could happen...!"

Rebecca Chambers had endured more than enough of this shit...not just because she knew Cheryl better than Alex did, not just because of the knowledge she gained from receiving Cheryl's encapsulated memories yesterday, the ever-deepening desire she felt for the freckle-faced beauty made her shout at him, "Alex, stop it! You have no idea what Cheryl's been through!"

Alex stared at Rebecca and challenged, "And I guess you do?"

The pixie's blue eyes were cool as she stared back at him. "I know enough, enough to know you're wrong!"

"Oh, yeah? So with all the power she has, nothing's her fault." Alex looked at Cheryl again. "With all of your power, you supposedly couldn't even fight Reeve and stop this nightmare from happening again here in Black Falls. And not long ago you said something's stopping you from taking this fog away?" The man finally spat, "Bullshit."

Feeling a hot flare of anger, Rebecca yelled, "Don't you dare blame Cheryl for what happened here!"

But Alex didn't give an inch, and he started to say to Cheryl, "As far as I'm concerned, lady, you're no better than that bastard Reeve - !"

Anything else Alex had to say was cut down harshly as Elle Shepherd warned loudly, "Alex, I swear if you say another word, you won't like what I'll do next!" Surprised, he looked at his beautiful blonde wife, and she was very angry, as well. "I love you, I'd die for you, but you REALLY won't like what I'll do next."

Taken aback, he tried to say, "Elle - "

But his wife had lost all of her patience...Elle pointed at Cheryl as her lovely eyes bored into him. "For godsake, look at her, Alex! Really look at her! Cheryl's as lost and scared as the rest of us are, and I don't give a shit how much power she has! She said what she did to Silent Hill was an accident when she was a little girl, when she was being sacrificed by her own mother! Well, maybe I'm stupid, but that means Cheryl was as much to blame for THAT as you were to blame for what happened to your brother!" The man visibly flinched, like he'd been punched in the gut. Elle said, "Yes, Alex. I'm standing up for Cheryl. I believe her."

There was slowly building pain in Alex's expression as he stared at Elle. He didn't need to be reminded of the accident, of the mistake he made that killed his brother Joshua, when they were both little boys young and innocent in this world. Time, a brief loss of sanity, and horrible events made Alex Shepherd grow much, much older since. "But Elle - !"

But Elle was adamant as she slowly approached the man she loved more than life itself. "No! I know you don't want to be reminded of what happened to Josh. I know you don't want to be reminded that what happened to Shepherd's Glen was because of our families. Because of the pact they made generations ago with their God long before Alessa Gillespie was even born." Tears began to fall down her cheeks as she reached him and said in a much, much softer tone, "I-I know you don't want to be reminded that was why Shepherd's Glen was destroyed...I sure as hell don't need to be reminded my own mother wanted to kill us both..." They had told their stories to Elza and Cheryl since they left the Sheriff's Office, too...Rebecca already knew, having interviewed them a week before she found Cheryl Mason.

A thick intake of breath came from Alex Shepherd as he began to cry, too. He was still trying to heal from all he went through, like his wife was. He lamented all of the dark and terrible things that happened he couldn't change...and felt responsible for. "If it wasn't for me...my brother would still be alive. Mom and dad wouldn't have broken the pact in order to save me. I still blame myself for everything..."

Very, very close, Elle held her shotgun in one hand at her side as her other lifted to touch and sweetly caress one of her husband's wet cheeks. Her eyes bright with her own tears, she lovingly whispered, "I know, dear husband...I know. But don't blame yourself, please don't...please don't blame Cheryl, either. She was just a child. Just like you. Okay?" Her husband managed to slowly, shakily nod. Elle Shepherd declared in a soft yet firm tone, "First and last, what we went through before and what we're facing now is because of The Order!"

Rebecca Chambers was absolutely grateful Elle had such a level grasp of things. Even if she wasn't falling in love with Cheryl, the pixie knew exactly where to properly place the blame for everything. But...Cheryl Mason was still a moody, troubling sight as she looked down in silent shame. Rebecca drew close to the blonde, reached out and sweetly took hold of her arm, and said softly, "Listen to Elle, honey. What happened to Silent Hill and Black Falls wasn't your fault...!"

But Elza Walker looked at Rebecca and Cheryl and said in a harsh tone, "Like Alex said, bullshit! You just don't want to hear anybody say anything bad about your girlfriend!"

Rebecca stared hard at Elza...she hated to do it, but she left Cheryl's side and began toward the girl in the motocross jumpsuit. The brunette's expression was firm as she said, "Elza, that's enough."

But Elza only got louder and frantically animated as the unrelenting stress, terror and uncertainty that took hold of her life since yesterday visibly took their toll. She was quickly escalating into hysterics as she began to scream, "Don't you see this is all her fault!? I wouldn't be trapped in this fucking nightmare if it wasn't for her!"

Rebecca almost reached Elza as she repeated herself, "I said that's enough!"

But the ponytailed girl couldn't listen. At the top her lungs, she wailed, "Jesus, she's worse than CARRIE WHITE! SHE'S SOME KIND OF MONSTER - !"

Rebecca Chambers reached the girl, and she hauled off and slapped Elza Walker with the back of her gloved right hand...it sounded like the crack of a rifle in the silent air. And that silence sounded so very loud as Elza was suddenly very quiet. The girl was shaking like a leaf as her beautiful face was slack with horror, her eyes huge, as one of her cheeks became bright pink from the slap.

Rebecca moved close and took hold of Elza's shoulders firmly and she said, "Get ahold of yourself right now, Elza. You're letting your fear get the best of you. You remember what I told you before? Fear will make you do the wrong things." Rebecca's elvish face softened as she said much more gently, squeezing the girl's shoulders, "Your fear is making you blame Cheryl, but she's fighting this nightmare with us, remember? We're in this together, Elza. We need to trust and have faith in one another. We need each other in order to survive, do you understand what I'm saying to you?" Her blue eyes looked deeply into the girl's, hoping and praying she would give her strength somehow.

The BSAA agent felt Elza's shoulders tremble violently as her slender hands held them, as if the girl was quaking from her very soul. Elza's mouth opened, but the poor thing couldn't say anything at first. Quiet tears began to flow down her cheeks as she breathed raggedly. Finally, slowly, the girl tried to talk as she cried... "I...hkk...I-I should be in Boston right now...I muh-made one stupid mistake, and now I-I'm lost in a fog that won't go away...I-I-I wanna be with my mom and dad again, but I'm being chased by monsters and I'm carrying a gun and I h-have to KILL shit just to suh-stay ALIVE..." Her expression broke then as she moaned, lost and so terribly afraid, "Oh god, I just wanna go home..."

Her expression full of complete empathy for this lost, terrified girl, Rebecca Chambers quickly took Elza Walker into her arms, and the girl needfully held the government agent in turn. Alex and Elle Shepherd watched quietly as the pixie sought to give the ponytailed girl warmth. Rebecca gently urged, "Shhh. Shhhhh..."

Elza Walker cried into Rebecca's shoulder...and she felt the brunette's warmth, and it felt so good, so reassuring...and her trembling began to ease, but very very slowly. Elza cried as she tried to find her strength, the inner strength she needed once and for all if she wanted to survive...to see her family again, to have a future at all. The girl's voice trembled as well as she managed to say, "I-I'm so sorry...s-so sorry...I...I-I just wanna go home..."

Rebecca almost whispered, "I know, Elza...shhh...I know..." As she comforted Elza, Rebecca's thoughts reached out to Cheryl. "Cheryl, please ignore what Elza said. She was just afraid, that's all. Everything will be all right. I know you'll stop The Order and end this nightmare, okay?"

For an uncomfortable moment, however, the pixie didn't hear a response. Finally, Rebecca felt Cheryl's thoughts...but they felt so dark:

"Becca...Elza was right. I am a monster."

Dismayed, Rebecca Chambers turned quickly to Cheryl Mason...and the moody beauty looked so alone, so inconsolable and beyond hope as she stood there in the grey, snow falling around her like ashes. Feeling a vague foreboding, Rebecca's thoughts sweetly, gently touched the one she adored: "I believe you too, honey...I believe in you!"

TO BE CONTINUED