Sigh, finally, the next chapter is on! :) Picking up right from where we left off last chapter, Alpha Team must find new sanctuary fast...but will they make it? The mystery deepens as the survivors try to figure out what The Order has done and more importantly, how to stop it. Unfortunately, the evil Chris, Jill and the rest are seeking might be a lot closer than they expect...

All I can say about this chapter is, prepare for some shocks...and you'll about see how evil the remnants of The Order hunting for Cheryl Mason can be!

RESIDENT EVIL X SILENT HILL: JUDGMENT DAY

written by Charles Spencer,
inspired by Ygure

Chapter 22:

"FOG AND MIRRORS"

-1-

In the Black Falls Sheriff's Office, as evil encroached upon it. Alpha Team leader Chris Redfield snarled, "Goddamn it!" He looked at everyone around him and ordered loudly, "Listen up, and this includes you, Sheriff! We're going to have to make a run for it across the street to the city hall! Everyone moves in tight formation, and we move as one! Control your fire, and fire only if you're sure you'll hit your targets!" Because of the thick, brackish fog outside, though, hitting a target was an uncertain thing, to say the least.

Sheriff James Gulager fired back anxiously, "Wait!-WAIT a damn minute! Why can't we just stay here?! We can hold out in the jail - !"

The sudden, loud sound of something breaking violently from the direction of the jail, deep inside. Most everyone there realized something smashed through the back door of the building, and would soon make its way into the jail itself. Hector Hivers looked at Gulager and growled, "Yeah, bright idea, Einstein!"

The black ops commando known only as Regina glanced at the destroyed entryway at the front of the building and said briskly, "This place isn't secure, and we have to go somewhere!"

Jill Valentine, Chris' second in command of Alpha, moved up to Gulager...her expression wasn't gentle as she snapped, "Sheriff, you'll want to stick close by me! I don't like this anymore than you do, but we will do everything we can to protect you!"

Gulager didn't look encouraged. Haggard, scared out of his wits, he could only respond by groaning, "Ah, shit - !"

Captain Cybil Bennett looked up from her radio, which was virtually blaring with white noise, and yelled, "Captain, we REALLY have to go now!"

Chris Redfield nodded and said to all of Alpha, "No more time to talk about this, we're moving straight across the street to city hall! Everyone ready!?" A trick question, of course. None of them were ready, not even he was. Still, they had to move in order to survive, and he could only pray that wherever they went was better than here. He didn't wait for an answer from anyone and roared, "LET'S GO!"

And Alpha Team moved, with Jill Valentine taking Sheriff Gulager by the arm, out of the building and into the oppressive fog. They moved fast in spite of the low visibility, moving (mostly) as one, and began crossing the street. But the sounds were all around them, shapes advancing from nearly every direction. The Sheriff's Office disappeared behind them, as if it had never even been there. Some of the operatives saw nightmarish shapes closing in within a few yards of them...they barely kept control of their own fear as they fired at the shapes, praying to kill them as they ran. Chris urged in a commanding shout, "Keep going, team! DON'T STOP!"

Christine Yamata, in the core of the group with Chris, Jill, Cybil and Sheriff Gulager, breathed anxiously, "My god, they're everywhere!"

Jill tried to motivate them: "Keep moving! Go!-Go!-GO!" They had almost crossed the street...the horrible sounds around them threatened to be overwhelming. They couldn't afford to pause for even a second...

...but one, for better or worse, was far, far too human. Sheriff James Gulager easily, eagerly answered to his greed, his basest desires to elevate himself from a place most would have been honored to hold as the chief law enforcement officer of a small town. At this moment, his weaknesses made him obey something far more primal and powerful than avarice: terror. Gulager wrenched his arm free from Jill and broke from the others...Jill cried with alarm, "Sheriff!"

Cybil cried, "What are you doing?!"

The rest of the team stalled on the street's pavement as Gulager backed away from them, his head turning in every way, elemental fear bright in his wide eyes. He managed, "I-I-I can't do this! You're all gonna die, don't you see that?!"

Barry Burton began to break from the group to get the idiot and pull him back as he snarled, "Dammit, man! Get back here!"

A slender hand took hold of his arm...he heard Jill implore, "Barry!" The big man turned to look at her; the lovely survivor's expression was somber as she shook her head. Barry understood almost immediately: they couldn't let Gulager drag them down along with him.

Almost five yards away from the others, the lawman who sold his badge for the sake of greed began to cry, "You're gonna die no matter wha -" SHUKK! "- aaaAAAAHHHHH!" Because of the obscuring mist, the others were thankful they didn't see very clearly what happened. Sheriff James Gulager's rant had turned into a scream because a Lurker had reached him from behind and with one swipe of its horrid metal claws, it chopped away one of the man's legs at the knee. Gulager keeled over and fell to the pavement...the man was overwhelmed by pain and horror as the Lurker and several other shapes converged on him. The things fell on James Gulager as he screamed, "OH GOD! OH GOD, HELP ME! HE - UURGGKKK!" The operatives in Alpha couldn't quite see what silenced the man forever. Fortunately.

Hector Hivers cried, "Holy SHIT!"

Chris Redfield, on the verge of panic like everyone else was, shouted, "MOVE, ALPHA! MOVE!-MOVE!-MOVE!" Galvanized by their leader, the team moved again fast and left behind someone who, unknown to them, faced a kind of justice for working with The Order and making this living nightmare possible. They reached the other side of the street, ran around the still, strangely foreboding and derelict carousel on the main walkway leading up to the city hall...and then they reached the seat of the city's government itself.

The city hall had once been a proud example of 18th Century New England architecture...before the fog came, it was a grand six-story building, and it reached so high mainly because of the steepled clock tower that made up its top three stories. The city hall had once been a symbol of benign, stately authority, but in this terrible fog, grimy and seemingly discarded for years, it was an ominous image that had a haunted quality to it. The great clock on its tower was stopped at 5:02. The structure seemed to offer no shelter at all, only terrible threat as it loomed high in the mist before them.

But that didn't stop anyone in Alpha as they reached the main double doors of the building under an arched enclosure. Caroline Floyd was the first to reach the doors and she tried to open them - not surprisingly, she had no success. They seemed to be locked! Caroline shouldered her assault rifle and tried again with both hands to open either door as she yelled, "Hello?! HELLO! OPEN THE DOOR!"

"Caroline!" It was Chris, and she turned around to see the rest of Alpha Team literally crowded around her. They all looked at her expectantly, including her team leader.

Caroline reported, "The doors are locked, sir!"

Chris snapped, "Then shoot the lock out!"

Caroline frowned back. "Captain, remember there may be civilians holed up in there!" She was about to voice her concern that shooting into the door might mean a bullet could hit someone inside.

Marissa Ronson snarled, "Hey, we need in there, too! NOW!"

Christine stared out toward the fog and suddenly said nervously, "What the hell is THAT?" An unknowable distance away, a spectral, crimson glow appeared with surreal brightness. It gave the smoky gloom of the fog a hellish-red accent as everyone stared at it.

Marissa said shakily, "It can't be good, whatever it is - !"

Suddenly, Cybil said loudly, "Wait! Wait..." She was focused on her radio, and she and everyone heard that it was issuing a low rumble of static, virutally nothing compared to the sound it made as they raced across the street. Cybil could only conclude: "...I-I think those monsters stopped chasing us!"

Michaela Schneider looked back toward the street...there were no shapes in the crimson-tinted fog, near or far, with the exception of the carousel they passed. She said, "Negative movement, no sign of any hostiles! But why...?" Each and every Alpha Team member were asking themselves why, too.

Christine said haltingly, "M-maybe that glow has something to do with it...I know that must sound crazy!"

Barry frowned and said, "Crazy or not, Christine, you might be right!"

Hector growled, "Shit, this ain't an episode of Tales From the Darkside, guys! I think those fuckers that were chasing us are more focused on the Sheriff now." The others stared at him, and the armored man added lightly, "You know, fresh meat!"

Caroline glared at her friend and growled, "Jesus Christ, Hector!"

"Hello!" The voice surprised them all, issuing from the other side of the doors. It was meek at first, but the male voice shouted louder, "HELLO!"

Caroline exclaimed to the doors, "Thank god, hello! Hello, we need inside right now, please!"

There was clear nervousness in the voice as it answered, "J-just a moment!"

In the meantime, almost half of Alpha Team had their guns trained outward, looking for any threat. Chris barked, "Any sign of any hostiles?!"

Barry answered, "Negative! It's like they lost interest in us!"

Michaela shook her head, not relaxing for a second. "Still do not understand why...!"

Then one of the doors to the City Hall of Black Falls opened with an audible, aged creak...and there stood a thin, bald, middle-aged man in a suit with glasses on his round face. His gesture to come in was animated as he said, "Please come inside, quickly!"

Chris glanced at Michaela and said, "We can talk about why later! Move, team!" And Alpha Team moved into the building...the door shut loudly behind them.

Inside this lobby area, which was as foreboding and dark as everywhere else in town, the man locked the door again and set a heavy bar across them both. There were two other men in the immediate area, both dressed in casual civilian clothes and carrying pump-action shotguns at the ready. The armed men stared at everyone in Alpha suspiciously...everyone in the team considered them cautiously in return. But the meek gentleman with glasses was the most nervous of them all as he looked at the operatives. He asked carefully, "W-who are you people?"

Chris nodded and declared, "We're a federal task force, sir. We mean you no harm. How many of you are here?"

The man said, "Perhaps...three or four dozen of us are holding out here. We managed to turn this building into a sanctuary since the fog and...a-and those monsters arrived."

Barry Burton's stare was fixed on the men with shotguns...he asked, "How many of you are armed?"

"Only these men and a few others." Staring at the heavily armed visitors, the man quickly looked at Chris and added, "Nuh-no one is a threat to you, sir, I promise!"

Chris nodded as he slowly approached the armed men. "Still, as a precautionary measure while we're here, we need to confiscate any weapons any civilians are carrying. It's for your safety and ours." He stopped before the men, giving them a curious gaze. "Or would you have any problem with that?"

For a moment, it was far too quiet in this lobby. The men exchanged a look before one of them said mildly, "You sound like you're not going to stay."

Jill stepped up next to Chris and said, "We can't. When we leave, you'll get your guns back. All right?"

Another tense moment passed...and then, to the uniform relief of Alpha Team, the men offered their weapons. One said quietly, "All right."

The other said, his mood clearly dark and suspicious of the federal agents, "Just as long as we get 'em back if you're not gonna protect us."

Barry Burton stepped up and took their guns. The man with glasses approached them, his eyes wide. "Y-you have no problem with - ?"

One of them said coolly to the man with glasses, "We don't need them. We've been doing okay on our own, right?"

Meekly, the man nodded. "Y-yes, of course."

Chris looked at the man with glasses and said, "We're investigating your entire town, and we can't stay in one place for too long. I'm Captain Redfield, sir. And you are?"

The balding man with glasses nodded and said, "I'm Deputy Mayor Howard. Would you want to see the mayor?"

"Please. We need all the information we can get."

Jill said gently, "We're here to help in any way we can, as well."

"Thank you, but..." Howard gave a nervous glance to one of the men. "...b-but as Roy said, we've been managing to hold out so far on our own. Please, follow me."

-2-

Through another set of doors from the lobby, everyone entered the massive commons area in city hall. One of Alpha, Marissa, softly whispered fearfully, "My god." Again, most lights flickered here ominously, and most of the illumination was provided by butane lamps placed throughout the area. The sporadic glow offered by the lamps only seemed to emphasize the dark, dank environs that had all the charm of a medieval dungeon. There were over 40 men, women and children here...some, families, were huddled together as other survivors sat on chairs, sofas and benches brought here. Some, the oldest of the Black Falls residents here, were lying on blankets on the floor. There could have been only one word to describe the mood and the atmosphere here: desolate.

That desolation was even in the expressions, especially the eyes, of these people...which didn't improve the moment they caught sight of Alpha Team after they entered.

Chris managed to focus on Deputy Mayor Howard again and asked him, "According to our knowledge about this town, your mayor is Andrew Griffith, right?"

The bald man nodded. "Y-yes, Captain. He's in his office on the first floor."

Hector couldn't help but chuckle. "Seriously? Andy Griffith - ? Ow!"

The armored man had been kicked between the metal plates that wrapped around one of his legs by Caroline...she gave him a hard look and said, "Don't even start, Hector."

"Oh, come on! I'm wondering if we'll find Opie and Aunt Bea here, too - !"

The Native American beauty glared at him and snarled, "Hector - !"

"All right, all right!"

Christine's wide, fearful eyes looked at the situation, and she felt the need to ask, "Sir, is anyone here in need of medical attention?"

Howard managed a smile and said, "N-no, thank goodness. Everyone here is in good bodily health...I wish I could say the same about their spirits."

"The situation still can't be good. I imagine you're suffering a lack of provisions like food and water - ?"

Howard quickly said, "Yes, b-but we've been managing to hold out, keeping the situation calm. It means more than I can tell you to know some kind of help is here." Two more men marched from the shadows ahead to meet them...one had a pistol, the other a shotgun like the men Alpha met before. Howard greeted, "B-Bart! Jimmy! These people are federal agents and need your weapons."

Neither of the men looked friendly, or in the mood to make new friends. The first, who had long hair and a furry beard, asked bluntly, "Why?"

The other man was just as joyless...at least he was clean-shaven so one could see all of his dour expression as he asked, "Are they here to help us?"

Howard answered, "Yes, but they can't stay."

Barry offered, "It's for security's sake. We don't want anything to happen that shouldn't. It won't be long before you get them back, gentlemen."

Again, these two exchanged a look...and then offered their guns. "Hope it won't be too long," one of them said flatly.

The weapons confiscated, Howard gestured ahead and said, "Ah, I-I'll take you right to the Mayor's office, Captain."

"Thank you, sir." Chris looked at his second in command and nodded. "Jill, you and I can talk to him."

But Jill surprised him by saying, "Chris, if it's all right, I need to talk to Regina for a few minutes." She glanced quickly at the redhead and added, "I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

Chris frowned a little...but he nodded. The team leader looked at his oldest friend. "Barry, you want to join me?"

The man mountain nodded. "Anytime, old buddy."

Chris looked at the rest of Alpha and instructed, "While we're talking to the mayor, I'll need two of you to talk to these people. Show them our photos of Rebecca and Cheryl Mason and the sketch of Reeve Meyers. One of these people might know something...if anyone's willing to tell us."

Sheva Alomar stepped forward and volunteered by saying, "I'll ask around, Chris."

Christine nodded and said, "I'll help, sir."

Chris nodded in return. "All right. Barry, let's go." As Chris and Barry moved with Deputy Mayor Howard toward the Mayor's Office, Jill quietly spoke to Regina and pointed in a direction...the two separated themselves from the rest of Alpha as two of the team, Sheva Alomar and Christina Yamata, slowly broke away to drift among the survivors here. Most of the group they left behind didn't stray too far from each other.

One of them, Michaela Schneider, stared at her surroundings quietly through the blue lenses of her foreboding biohazard mask. She said to no one in particular, "Something is wrong."

Hector looked at her. "Wassup, Michaela?"

Michaela slowly shook her head, her Amazonian figure rigid. "I'm...not sure, Hector. It's just a feeling..."

The flame-haired agent Marissa Ronson sidled up gently next to Michaela and offered quietly, "For what it's worth, I feel it, too. Something's not right."

Hector said impatiently, "No damn kidding, Marissa. Nothing about this mission has been right - !"

Marissa suddenly turned to him, her beautiful face tense...her eyes were hostile as she snarled, "That's not what I mean, dammit. Something isn't right here. Right now."

-3-

Inside the Mayor's Office, Chris and Barry were introduced to two men who were already inside...with a gesture, Deputy Mayor Howard introduced, "Gentlemen, His Honor Andrew Griffith and our Comptroller, Ray Hudson." Seated behind the large desk in an office that was once dignified but now looked as bleak as everything else in Black Falls, Mayor Griffith was a man in his sixties, with a full head of silver-grey hair and a thick build that came from overindulging in food at times. But this official who ordinarily must have looked distinguished radiated weariness and uncertainty because of the present circumstances. Standing behind him on his right, Comptroller Hudson was a more robust, leaner man in his thirties...he looked at the visitors and nodded cordially.

The leader of Alpha nodded in return. "Captain Chris Redfield, Alpha Team."

The big man with him said quietly, "Barry Burton. How is everyone doing here?"

The Mayor said bluntly, "Not well. Everyone is alive, but...clearly the situation is not good."

Hudson looked at Chris and said, "It could be worse. We could be out there in the fog being hunted by things."

Chris asked, "Are you all that's left of this city's government?"

Chris directed that question toward Griffith, but Hudson said quickly, "We're the only ones who are here. Many officials were at the County Fair yesterday afternoon when everything changed."

Close to Chris, Deputy Mayor Howard offered, "We have no idea how they are now...for all we know, they...well..." He stopped himself, clearly not wanting to think about the possibilities, which were few and dire.

Hudson asked, "How many of you have come to help us?"

Chris answered, "Us and one other team. We're here mainly to assess exactly what's happening here."

The Mayor sat forward, surprised. "So...you're not part of a full-fledged rescue operation...?"

"We knew nothing about the situation before entering your town, mainly because of the fog. We hope maybe you or someone else here can help us find some answers."

Griffith sighed. "What do you need to know, Captain?"

Hudson earnestly told the visitors, "Rest assured, if there's anything we can do to help, we will."

-4-

Hector Hivers crossed his metal-clad arms and said, unsure, "Okay, so maybe you two can clue me in on whatever the hell you're talking about. Or is this some kinda 'women's intuition' sort of thing?" He quickly uncrossed his arms and held them up in a halting gesture, adding sarcastically, "Not meaning to offend anybody, god forbid!"

"I'm serious, you big idiot." Marissa scanned around the dark commons area carefully. "Really look around, would you? Look at the way everyone is behaving."

"I see it, Marissa," Caroline Floyd said, her eyes also looking around her with the same intensity as a hawk's would searching for prey. "We should be seeing some kind of anxiety here. You'd think any number of these people would at least be asking us questions, asking for something. But no one's made even the slightest effort to even speak to us. It's like...they're afraid of us."

Hector shrugged. "These folks are probably as scared of us as they are of the monsters outside. Hell, they don't know us. Heck, the amount of firepower we're packing would make anyone keep their distance."

Caroline frowned deeply. "There is fear here, Hector, but...there's something more."

Marissa nodded. "Yes. There is such absence of hope here. There is almost a weight you can feel in the air..."

"Okay, I really don't get it." Hector looked at Michaela again. "Michaela?"

"I cannot explain it," Michaela said. "There's something...something we're missing..."

Apart from the others, Jill Valentine and Regina stood facing each other. Worried, Jill needed to know more about Regina's secret orders to replace Chris Redfield as team leader if he proved to be a risk to the mission's success. Jill asked carefully, "Regina, how much would it take for you to replace Chris as team leader?"

Self-consciously, Regina put her hands on her slender hips as she looked at the veteran survivor. "It depends on what kinds of choices Captain Redfield makes from here on out." Her eyes examined the lady who inspired her to become a soldier. "Jill, I know his history. I mean, General Earle wanted me to read up on Captain Redfield's history on my way here."

Surprised, Jill asked, "The General is that worried about Chris?"

"You're not? You know him better than I do, Jill."

"Yeah..." Jill looked down, away from the redhead's gaze. "...and I have worried about him at times, especially lately."

Regina smiled a little. "You know, in a way, he reminds me of someone I knew. His name was Dylan. He liked to charge through an obstacle like a barbarian just to reach his goal." She remembered vividly the first and last time she worked with the man three years ago.

Jill quickly looked up, almost offended, and said defensively, "Chris isn't like that!"

"Really? He doesn't use his heart before he uses his head? The man got kicked out of the Air Force for striking a superior officer years ago."

"He's changed since then, Regina. He..." Jill stopped herself. Hating herself, she had to be honest. If anyone she ever knew wore their heart on their sleeve, it was Chris Redfield. "You have to understand, Chris is at his best during a crisis. He follows his instincts, and I can tell you from firsthand experience his instincts are usually right!"

Regina said in quiet, gentle response, "Usually, but not always. I can think of two times when he made a big mistake that cost him the teams he was leading. You have to be thinking about that, too."

But Jill couldn't give an inch...not when they were talking about the man she loved. "Regina, Chris is a good leader. You can have faith in him. Just...give him a chance, please."

Regina drew a little closer to the blonde warrior and said, "I will. That's what I'm doing right now." The redhead smiled fondly at Jill. "You are a hero to me, Jill, and I felt like I owed it to you to tell you this. All I ask is you don't say anything to Captain Redfield. He's got enough on his mind now."

Jill felt sudden relief as she nodded quickly, in full agreement with the redheaded commando. "Absolutely, Regina. I won't say anything to him."

But...Regina frowned softly and said, "I also need to know that you're okay with this, Jill." She truly did need to know that. It was so clear in her eyes.

Jill Valentine sighed and said, "Honestly, I'm not. I'm far from okay with any of this. But...I won't stand in your way if you have to replace him. If it means the mission's success and saving our lives, especially his, I won't stand in your way." Jill managed a smile of genuine gratitude for Regina and added, "Thank you."

-5-

Chris started off with the logical questions he and Alpha needed answers to. Did Mayor Griffith or anyone under his authority notice anything out of the ordinary? Besides the parasites that plagued the town for months. Did anyone see anyone new arrive in Black Falls during that time who raised any kind of doubts or suspicions? Did anyone they personally knew act differently in any way? For those questions and others, the mayor and his subordinates present said no...or at least said they didn't know. One thing that got Chris and Barry's interest was that almost immediately the town's Comptroller, Ray Hudson, was the first to answer most every question. It was almost like Griffith and Howard subtly deferred to him when it came to answering whatever Chris and Barry had to ask, and maybe there was a logic behind that. Hudson was in his late thirties, a naturally forthright and energetic man, even in the present circumstances. Griffith and Howard were much older, both in their sixties, and perhaps they were much more worn down and uncertain because of the nightmare situation, which would have an adverse affect on even the best people, even those in the highest government offices.

But there was something subtler underneath, something that rubbed both Chris and Barry the wrong way. They got the same feeling from Hudson as they did on a few occasions back in Raccoon City before its fall, when they encountered pompous lawyers who represented morally questionable clients. As a consequence, Chris and Barry had to question Hudson's motivations...and whether he and the two highest government officials in Black Falls were honestly trying to be of help, or something else entirely. It didn't help that Griffith and Howard definitely weren't the types to lie, much much less work with terrorists. Indeed, they seemed to be in the same grim circumstances as anyone else in town.

Chris and Barry pressed forward...the leader of Alpha Team got to three important people they were looking for, and showed the men photos of Rebecca Chambers and Cheryl Mason and a copy of the last known police sketch of Reeve Meyers. Chris didn't go into details at first: "These women and this man are persons of interest...it's extremely important that we find them. Have you ever seen any of them in town lately?"

The Comptroller frowned as he looked carefully at each picture. "Mmm, no. Can't say I have. Andrew?"

The Mayor readjusted his glasses as he peered at the images...he said haltingly, "Ah, no. No...wh-who are they, Captain?"

Chris glanced at Barry. The big man said quietly, "We can only say that the man is responsible for the present crisis. The women you see are in great danger, but for reasons we're still not clear about ourselves."

Deputy Mayor Howard looked pensive. "So...s-so you know who the monster is wh-who did this to our town..."

Hudson shot him a look and said, "Calm down, Richard." He looked back at Chris. "I wish we could help you, but we've never seen this man."

Chris heard him...but kept his gaze fixed on the Deputy Mayor. He said, "Actually, we haven't heard from the Deputy Mayor if he's ever seen this man or the women we need to find. Sir?" Howard was almost surprised when he realized Chris was prompting him to answer.

But Hudson became stern and insisted, "I'm sure if the Deputy Mayor saw any of these people, he'd tell you first thing - !"

That was when Barry Burton didn't just get impatient, he voiced how he felt in no uncertain terms by telling Hudson, "Then it would be nice if he told us, and until he does, maybe you could stop speaking for him!"

Just like that, there was a tension in the air...no. Chris and Barry realized the tension had always been in this office the moment they walked in. They and Hudson stared at each other as the Mayor and Deputy Mayor looked away, silent. Chris Redfield took a step toward Howard and reassured, "It's all right, sir. If you're unsure at the moment if you've seen these women or this man, we're patient." He offered the three pictures without any hurry and nodded. "Take your time and look at the photos. Please."

Fortunately, Chris' words had the affect they needed to have: Deputy Mayor Howard visibly became calmer, but his eyes were full of anxiety as he took the pictures and really looked at them. Barry couldn't help but note the Comptroller was staring at Howard with intensity. Finally, after a moment of examining the pictures, the Deputy Mayor looked at Chris and said, "I've never seen those women before in my life, I'm afraid. I..." But his tone significantly changed, his voice was tighter, and he couldn't look Chris in the eye when he finally finished, "...I-I've never seen that man, either. I s-swear I haven't."

Chris Redfield kept his expression deliberately neutral. "Okay."

But his instincts were screaming four alarms at the moment...something was wrong.

-6-

Sheva Alomar focused on a couple, a brunette man and blonde woman, who huddled together on a bench. The man saw Sheva approach and visibly clutched the woman with him tighter. Within two yards of them, the BSAA Lieutenant asked them, "Are you all right?"

The woman buried her face into the man's shoulder as they held one another...the man answered quietly, tensely, "Yeah, what do you want?"

"I...I simply had some questions to ask. But is there anything you needed, anything I can do...?" Her soft expression communicated that as much as her words.

The man softened...but only a little. He shook his head and said quietly, "There's nothing you can do for us. It'd be better if you're not here."

Sheva frowned. "Sir...?"

The man suddenly said in a louder, more impatient tone, "We're all right! Just...just leave us alone." He held the woman with him tighter as he said in a lower tone, "Please leave us alone..."

Helplessly, Sheva could only do as the two of them clearly wanted. She moved away from them...but the encounter left her confused. It'd be better if you're not here. Did the man honestly feel that threatened by her? Did everyone here feel that way?

Christine Yamata stopped milling about these survivors a short distance away, meanwhile. Her slender arms wrapped around her midsection as she felt so helpless. She wanted to do something, but how could she when it was clear her very presence seemed to only hurt matters here...? And like Sheva, she didn't understand why...!

"Are you a bandit?" Surprised by the child's voice, the virologist turned and saw a little girl in rumpled clothing with long, brown hair. The girl was absolutely adorable as she looked at Christine with wide, curious eyes.

Christine's eyes smiled above her filtered mask. "Hi, there! Why do you ask that, honey?"

The little girl answered simply, "Cause you're wearing a mask. Bandits wear masks. Are you gonna rob somebody?"

"Oh, no! I'm one of the good guys." The girl measured only half as high as the lady did, so Christine lowered to one knee to talk to her eye-level. Christine told the girl, "I only wear this mask just in case...um, bad people put bad things in the air." The little girl frowned a little, unsure. Christine quickly said, "There shouldn't be anything bad in the air here, though." The virologist took off her face mask, and the girl saw all of her beautiful face. Christine smiled and said, "See?"

The little girl smiled back as she stepped a little closer. "You're really pretty."

The lady purred, "And you're a little angel. I'm Christine. What's your name?"

The girl with long, brown hair answered, "Jennifer."

"How old are you, Jennifer?"

"I'm nine. You're really one of the good guys, Christine?"

Christine nodded deeply. "I promise I am, sweetie. We're here to help you and your family." The moment she said that, she quickly had to wonder if the rest of Jennifer's family was here, or if she was alone.

The girl asked, "Will you save us from the monsters?"

Solemnly, Christine nodded again. "Yes, Jennifer. That's why my friends and I are here."

"Will you save us from the bad guys?"

"Of course." It was Christine's turn to look at the girl with curiosity. "Why do you say that?"

Jennifer looked down at the grimy floor for a moment...and finally said in a much softer, hushed tone, "There are bad guys here, Christine. Really bad."

"You mean here in town? What kind of bad guys do you mean?" The lady frowned a little. "Did you see something, Jennifer?"

"They...I..." For the briefest moment in time, it seemed the child was about to say something to Christine. Perhaps something important, but...the girl's posture became stiffer, more rigid, and then she looked into the eyes of the lady in black. Christine realized that something had changed in the little girl's eyes in a way that was beyond quantifying, and yet at the same time undeniable. Jennifer's voice sounded as if she was speaking from far away as she finally said, "...I-I shouldn't say." The girl began to visibly sway as she stood, as if she was suddenly woozy.

Christine drew closer and gently put her gloved hands on the girl's shoulders to steady her as she blurted, "A-are you okay, Jennifer? Hey - !"

"What are you doing?! Keep away from my daughter!" A slender woman in her mid-forties marched up toward them both fast and quickly picked up the girl and cradled her in her arms in a brisk, fluid motion. The woman did seem to be the girl's mother because of the traits they both had in common, especially the resemblance in their facial features. But where the girl was sweet and curious, her mother was full of anxiety and for whatever reason anger toward Christine. The mother looked down at the girl needfully and asked, "Are you all right, Jenny?!"

Cradled in her mother's arms, Jennifer said, "I'm okay, mommy."

Christine had risen to stand and said awkwardly, "I'm sorry, ma'am, I-I promise I didn't mean any harm. W-we were just talking!"

But the woman cradled her child protectively, as if the girl was an infant, and said shakily, "It's be all right, baby. You don't have to say anything to this woman!"

As Christine looked on, she noticed the girl barely even moved in her mother's arms. Jennifer said, "Christine's one of the good guys, mommy."

The mother frowned and shook her head. "Baby, she can't help us. She can't stay."

Christine dared to take a step toward them...concerned for the girl, she began to say, "Jennifer...!"

Then...something happened that bothered the virologist deeply. Jennifer looked at Christine and said almost in a whisper, "Sleepy." And then she closed her eyes, and just like that the girl was asleep, her adorable face slack in expression and at peace.

Christine was suddenly very worried for Jennifer, and she needed to understand as she stared at the mother and said, "Ma'am, there seems to be something wrong with your daughter - !"

But defensively, desperately, the mother clutched her sleeping daughter even tighter in her arms as she declared, "She's tired, that's all! Keep away from my girl, you hear? Keep away from us!" Christine Yamata watched on the verge of geniune fear as the mother took Jennifer away...she exchanged a glance with Sheva Alomar, who wasn't far away. They both knew something was wrong...but they didn't understand what it was.

And they knew without a doubt no one among these citizens of Black Falls would talk to them.

-7-

"We have one more important thing to ask you, and then we'll have to go." Chris Redfield continued to conduct himself with calm, even though he knew the men he and Barry were talking to were hiding something, if not outright lying. He looked at Hudson, Griffith and Howard and said, "There's one other person of interest we need to find. I believe you and most of your community might know him: Doctor Burton Young?"

Ray Hudson visibly relaxed and grinned. "Well, it goes without saying we know the man! Doctor Young has been a pillar of this community for decades! Isn't that right, Your Honor?"

Mayor Griffith didn't look at his Comptroller...his gaze was fixed on the top of his desk as he said, without the same enthusiasm Howard had, "Y-yes, of course. A truly...upstanding citizen, indeed." Chris and Barry couldn't help but notice that, as well.

Hudson raised his eyebrows. "Why do you ask about Doctor Young?"

Chris answered, "We know that before yesterday he's been helping those who have been victims of the parasites at Wyler Community Hospital. He may have information important to us, as well." He didn't tell them the whole truth, of course...he kept to himself what Rebecca Chambers told him about Young's connection to Silent Hill and perhaps to The Order, too. They had no evidence to consider Young an outright enemy...yet.

Barry asked, "Is Doctor Young here in your city hall, by any chance?" But he already anticipated what the answer would have been...

...and the big man was right, and again it was Hudson who was the one to give that answer: "I'm sorry to say he isn't, gentlemen. I have no doubt he'd be more than willing to help you, though. I wish I could say for sure where he could be...god forbid, he might have fallen victim to the monsters out there."

Mayor Griffith added quietly, "In a time of great emergency like this, h-he might be at the hospital. Doctor Young is administrator there, and I'm sure he...he's helping people at the moment, like he always does."

Hudson nodded deeply. "Of course he is, Andrew. It's best to have positive thoughts at a time like this. Isn't that right?"

Griffith looked down, his expression downcast anyway. "Yes. Yes, that's right."

A couple of minutes later, after a little further discussion, Chris and Barry left the Mayor's Office. Neither of them looked happy. Jill was the first of Alpha to reach them and she asked, "Chris...?"

Sparing a quick look at Mayor Griffith, Hudson and Howard right behind him, he said, "We'll talk about it on our way out, Jill." He gave Griffith a respectful nod and said, "Thank you again for your help, gentlemen. We're going to be leaving now...if your men want their weapons back, they should come with us to the building entrance."

Mayor Griffith smiled thinly, uncomfortably, and said, "Th-that's much-appreciated, sir. Thank you. I hope you'll all be careful out there!"

Chris said, "You and your own take care, too. We'll be back as soon as we can...rest assured, no matter how any of you may feel, you're not alone. And there will be a resolution to this nightmare, god as my witness!" He turned to Jill and his team and said, "Alpha, let's move out." They began making their way back toward the entrance to city hall, many of them reluctantly. Christine Yamata was on the verge of anger as she put her mask over her face again - she hated to leave Jennifer behind, in spite of the fact that there was something wrong. Everyone felt that way, but all they had were their suspicions...if only they had anything more, seen something more...

Jill was very close to Chris as they moved...she said in a hushed tone, "What did you find out, Chris?"

Chris kept his eyes focused dead ahead as he walked, but his tone was as thoughtful as it was quiet. "You could say we learned more and less than we wanted to, Jill. We didn't get any information worth a damn, but the men we questioned are hiding something."

Jill Valentine asked in a whisper, "Could they be working with the enemy?"

"I'm not sure...I'm not sure about much right now. I do know that we could have sold tickets to that performance. The Comptroller, Hudson, was clearly in the lead."

Barry growled quietly, "We have the authority to go back and interrogate them at length. I really want to grill that guy Hudson...!"

Chris shook his head. "We've been here too long as it is, and Rebecca and that Mason girl need us even more. If we get the chance, we'll come back to spend more time with those gentlemen. Until then, we only have our suspicions and nothing else."

Not much further away, Cybil Bennett asked Chris, "Where do we go from here?"

"Straight to the hospital in the heart of town, that's where."

Jill's lips turned thin with anxiety...she mused, "I hope Leon and Bravo Team will be waiting for us by the time we get there."

Barry Burton chuckled as he said, "And on our way, we'll just have to get through the goddamn fog and however many monsters." The big man glanced at Chris and quipped, "You know, Chris, you take me to the nicest places."

Chris grinned, but there wasn't much humor in his expression. "Like I said before, Bear, you're the one who wanted to come along..."

When all was said and done, when Alpha Team was outside, as they heard the doors behind them close tight once again, Caroline Floyd realized... "Hey, that strange red glow...it isn't out here anymore."

Hector Hivers looked at her and asked, "Okay, but is that good or bad news?"

"We'll find out as we go along, team." Chris Redfield stared out into the fog, determined. "One way or the other, we'll find out what the hell is going on here. Until then, we keep moving north to Wyler Community Hospital. Move out!" And if he had anything to say about it, he thought, he'd come back here and find out once and for all what the Mayor and those with him were hiding.

But that would never, ever happen.

-8-

As Alpha Team moved into the fog, battle ready, one of the few men present who were armed and supposedly there to defend everyone else in City Hall walked back into the commons area, looked across the way at Mayor Howard, the Deputy Mayor and Ray Hudson and said loudly, "They're gone!"

Ray Hudson nodded, his smile a truly satisfied one. He looked at Mayor Griffith and said, "You did good, Andrew. You did exactly what you had to do." As he said that, he reached out with one hand to touch the Mayor's shoulder -

"Don't you touch me, Ray!" Mayor Andrew Griffith finally gave voice to the anger, fear and loathing he felt for Ray Hudson, the feelings he couldn't display in front of Chris and Barry. He earnestly added, nearly shouting, "I don't want any damned praise from the likes of you, either! I did absolutely nothing."

"On the contrary, sir! You proved to be of great service to The Order!" The voice was cold as ice, and it came from Reeve Meyers...the pale man in his black robe deliberately descended the steps from the second floor only yards away. Moving at a faster pace on either side of him down the steps were almost a score of heavily armed Order Soldiers. They dispersed around the innocents in the commons area and aimed their weapons at everyone, pure and deadly business. Reeve reached the bottom of the steps, and the malefic cult leader addressed to everyone, "I promise, my bretheren appreciate how each and every one of you cooperated." Close behind Reeve, still in his grey suit and looking at Reeve with deep worry, was Doctor Burton Young.

Catching sight of the old doctor, the Mayor cursed him, "Damn you, Young! Damn you for bringing this horror to us..."

The bearded old man almost cringed in reaction...he nervously opened his mouth to speak. "Y-Your Honor, I..."

But Reeve cut Young short by cautioning, "You should be more civil, Mayor Griffith. It doesn't reflect well on you or your office to be otherwise!" The leader of The Order then looked deeper into the room, spotted someone, and briskly walked to them. One of the hostages under the guns of his followers. He stared at this one and said with disappointment, "As for you...couldn't you keep at least a minimum amount of control over your daughter? Everyone else behaved themselves just fine!"

The brunette woman held her sleeping daughter in her arms desperately, her eyes full of terror. She managed, "I...I-I'm so sorry, please don't be angry with Jennifer. P-please..."

Reeve's eyebrows raised with surprise. "'Angry'?" He moved closer to them and fixed his gaze on Jennifer's beautiful, sleeping face. He declared, "Why, I think of your girl as an absolute gem, priceless beyond measure!" He looked up into the mother's eyes and asked, "May I hold her?"

On the verge of panic, the woman whined, "Wh-why? We did everything you wanted, why - ?!"

Reeve began very calmly, "I simply want to hold your daughter for a while..." But then his nearly black doll's eyes became even darker as the terrified woman stared into them, and his voice chilled to become something predatory: "...so do as I say, you worthless bitch, unless you want to see me become angry. Now." Crying openly, scared out of her mind for her child and herself, the woman's arms trembled as she gave Jennifer to the monster. Reeve smiled reassuringly and said, "There, was that so hard? I won't hurt your girl - I won't even wake her up. After all, I'm the one who made her fall asleep in the first place...so she wouldn't say the wrong things." He looked down upon the girl he cradled in his arms and smiled, but the smile was terrible and thin. "I couldn't let you be a bad girl, could I?"

The woman's entire being seemed to quake with pure and complete fear. Her voice couldn't even raise to above a whisper as she pleaded, "Please don't hurt her...please..."

Reeve Meyers looked into the woman's eyes. "You have my word that I won't," he lied. He looked around and addressed the other survivors being threatened by his followers. "As I promised, none of your children will be harmed! The poor things look as sleepy as this dear girl did, though!" Even as he spoke, his power invisibly reached out to make his words a reality.

There were ten children in total here with their families, not a one of them over the age of twelve. They all visibly reacted to Reeve's words...this wasn't the power of suggestion, but something much more horrifying. One little boy leaned on his mother's leg as he said, "Momma? M'sleepy..."

Those closest to the children reacted with alarm...one, a father, found himself holding the nearly-limp body of his own daughter in his arms. He almost cried, "Honey?! A-are you okay?!"

The girl with blonde hair was only a year younger than Jennifer...it took so much effort for her to speak, but she didn't want her dad to be worried. It wasn't like she was hurt. She managed, "M'okay, daddy...but I can't...keep my eyes open...anymore..." Then, just like that, she was in the deep, warm embrace of sleep. As she and the rest of the children here became limp and unresponsive, those who held them sacred started crying...others were on the verge of screaming.

But Reeve Meyers said in a booming tone, "They will be all right! I simply decided they needed a rest, too. There's nothing you can do for them." When the commotion finally died down, the pale man said, "I think it would be best if all of you good citizens of Black Falls leave your children behind for a moment to report to Courtroom A on this floor." He pointed to the east, toward where he wanted them to go.

Still terrified, reluctant to leave her child, Jennifer's mother asked defensively, "Why do we have to go there?"

The cold man said in a cold voice, "Because I want you to, that's why...and that should be enough, don't you think?" He then began speaking to all the hostages, with the exception of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor. "Go ahead, in an orderly fashion. And once again, please don't mind my bretheren with guns, they're here for your protection!"

Mayor Andrew Griffith looked a thousand years older than he was as he approached Reeve with defeated steps. He said, "R-Reeve...we need to talk."

Reeve turned to the man and smiled brightly. "Yes, we do. Let's retire to your office, Your Honor. Ray, Doctor Young, Deputy Mayor Howard, if you'd join us...?" Finally, Reeve led the way as Griffith, Howard, Doctor Young and Hudson followed him into the dark office of the highest elected official in the city. The moment Ray entered, Reeve added absently, "Oh, close the door behind you, Ray."

"Yes, Your Grace." Comptroller Ray Hudson, a willing follower of the Church of the Holy Way, obediently shut the door as he was told.

Reeve nodded deeply as he held Jennifer in his arms. "Thank you."

Mayor Griffith seethed at Hudson. "I'll never understand why you'd want to help these monsters, Ray! I realize that Burton Young is a goddamn coward, but you - !"

Hudson cut him short by saying simply yet earnestly, "I simply found something to believe in, Your Honor. I'm sorry you don't have the open mind to want to understand The Order like I did. Our faith simply wants to make a better world, to end chaos and bring order!"

Griffith fired back, "Muslim zealots think they'll be given virgins in Heaven if they terrorize people too, Ray!"

The Deputy Mayor looked at his superior with alarm and began, "A-Andrew...!"

Howard was worried how Reeve Meyers might react to Griffith's anger, and he was right to. But the leader of The Order's Sect of Valtiel sighed irritably, "Mayor Griffith, is that all you wanted to talk about - ?"

"No!" It took all of the effort of the silver-haired leader to regain his calm. "No...there was something I needed to understand. Those soldiers were obviously a threat to you, and you gave us permission to let them in anyway?"

Reeve smiled. "Well, we couldn't let them think anything was out of the ordinary, was there? Hence the reason for you, your Deputy Mayor and Ray speaking to them as if my bretheren and I weren't here. You did very well, by the way..." He glanced at Hudson and criticized mildly, "...you were a bit overenthusiastic, however."

Griffith frowned. "But then...then you let them leave after we talked to them. I-I don't understand that either, especially considering you can...you can do things..."

Reeve Meyers didn't lose his smile for a moment. "Then let me explain, Your Honor. You and the others bore witness to my power when I made examples out of some of you, and that was for the sake of establishing that I was the one in control, not you or anyone else. Me." And the leader of the misbegotten cult did so definitively, to the horror of those who became his hostages. "Don't get me wrong, I could have killed each and every member of Alpha Team with my power. For instance...I could have killed them one by one, and very quietly, just like this!" Then the pale man spared a simple glance at the Deputy Mayor, and his dark eyes flared momentarily with crimson light.

"Ghgk - !" For Deputy Mayor Richard Howard, death came very quickly and with no warning as a large part of his brain exploded in his own skull soundlessly from a devastating anuerism Reeve created. The only visible signs of what Reeve had done was that Howard's eyes became crimson-red as blood suddenly flowed from his ears and his nose. In the next instant, the bald man crumpled to the floor, dead.

"RICHARD!" Andrew Griffith was beyond shocked, horrified to his core, as he watched his subordinate and friend fall. The only thing he was grateful for was that Jennifer hadn't been woken up...he murmured, "Oh, my god...!"

Close behind him Ray Hudson, a true believer, bowed his head and said devotingly, "Blessings be to our God and her First Servant Valtiel, from whom we gain our strength, amen."

Reeve Meyers' smile was bright as he said, "Amen, Ray!" Doctor Young stared at the dead Deputy Mayor with wide eyes as Reeve considered the Mayor again and informed him matter-of-factly, "The reason I didn't kill them, Your Honor, is because they can actually be of use to me. Outside of a handful of my Soldiers still out there somewhere in the fog, most of my followers are here with us, and they would be in danger if they went out there to find Cheryl Mason. The closer Alpha Team got, however, I realized they might actually serve a purpose to me." It was why he created that protective ward outside of the building that stopped the monsters from getting any closer to Alpha Team before they got inside.

Griffith blinked as he said haltingly, "So...y-you think you can use those soldiers?"

"Yes, to find Cheryl Mason. Exactly how useful they will be or even if they will succeed is still unknown...your usefulness, however, has come to an end."

Griffith stared at him. "Wh-what do you mean?"

"You and the adult citizens of Black Falls here no longer serve a purpose to me and The Order. Therefore, I'm having them all killed as we are speaking in Courtroom A. They are each going down very quietly, you should know...my followers told them per my instructions that if they resist, their children will die." His smile turned far, far colder as he declared, "Besides, there is no such thing as too many sacrifices for our God!"

Stunned, the Mayor managed to say, "But...but you gave your word you wouldn't do that! You said if we did what you wanted, you wouldn't kill us!" He'd made that bargain with Reeve, hoping and praying the monster would honor his word. He'd made the bargain for those innocent survivors here, hoping to save them.

"Incorrect, Your Honor! I believe my exact words were: 'If you don't do as you're told, I swear that the worst possible thing will happen to you and your children.'" Reeve looked down at Jennifer's sleeping face and said, "Ray, if you'd please?"

"Of course, Your Grace!" Mayor Andrew Griffith, so distracted by Reeve and the death of Howard, didn't realize that Ray Hudson had moved behind him and took a folding knife out of one of his pants pockets. But when he heard Hudson's voice and realized, the next thing he felt was a strong, restraining hand over his face. Then the hot, intense, slicing pain of his throat being cut open. The strangest thing was, he felt the sensation of the front of his suit becoming drenched in his own blood much more keenly as he crashed to his knees in his office. Doctor Young issued something like a mewling moan as he turned quickly away from the Mayor's murder.

Standing before the dying man, Reeve Meyers looked down upon him and said, "Death isn't the worst thing that could have happened to you, Your Honor...rest assured of that!" A moment after that, Andrew Griffith fell on his face and died. Reeve smiled upon Jennifer, who still slept in his arms...the monster mused quietly, "As for you and the rest of the children here, my gem of a girl...I have something special in mind for you...!"

TO BE CONTINUED