Chapter 12: A Burning

Heading back into the mists Julia had no desire to be out in the open with who knows how many people looking for them. It was clear the mercenaries had strength in numbers and they'd been exceedingly lucky to have caught them unaware. The pessimistic pilgrim was under the impression that it was not going to happen again.

Clutching the large shotgun as they navigated through the streets at least made her feel slightly better. She'd fired the 9mm rounds many times at the shooting range and was glad to have such a large stock of them but it was not her first choice. Even though it felt at first like the gun was going to recoil so hard it would hit her in the face she liked the impressive force of the larger .45 round. Determined to save them for when she knew danger was coming she had felt a little underpowered bringing the smaller caliber. With the shotgun in her hands that was a worry of the past. She'd only fired one a few times at the range and it usually gave her shoulder bruises but the tattered targets left behind attested to the lethal force it was capable of.

She could tell Victor was tense by his abnormally hurried movements but they reached the store front a handful of blocks away unchallenged. The glass windows spelled out 'Old Thyme Silent Hill Baking Company' with pleasing script. Victor ushered them inside but Julia still had to admire the tiny door and craftsmanship of the wrought iron handle. Inside the shop was more spacious than it seemed and the glass let enough light in to see well. To the left was the counter and baking area while tiny, perfect little chairs and tables were set out for customers.

"Oh my god, this place is so cute!" she gushed.

"Jesus woman, focus." Chuck bristled. "We're kind of in danger still."

"We're always in danger here. Vic?" she tugged on her man's arm. "Can we open a bakery when we get home?"

"Yes, yes." Victor dismissed like she was a nagging child while he scanned the room. "Over there." he pointed across the room to the oven which still had traces of flour around it.

"Ugh." Chuck grunted as he lugged the body of his good buddy towards the old machine. Poking at the door of the long oven Victor found a short lever that he had to force down. The metal grated in protest at being woken from its sleep but opened to a flat baking tray some four feet long. Set in the the wall at almost shoulder level the full size of the apparatus had to be quite large on the inside.

"Jackpot." Julia said and rubbed her hands together. "Let's load him up and get the off the streets."

"Kind of a small fit." Victor said disapprovingly.

"Better shove." Chuck suggested. Together the two of them hefted the corpse into the oven and did have to manhandle limbs into place. The straight jacket wearing body was mostly contained when Victor reached for the very simple control buttons. There was a green one and a red one; hopefully they couldn't screw that up.

"Here goes nothing." Victor said and depressed the button. The oven remained inert as if laughing at their attempts to use it.

"Well you were right about the nothing part." Julia said with just a touch smugly.

"Feck." Chuck blurted.

"Anyone know how to fix ovens?" Victor threw out.

"We could try sticking a fork in it." Julia suggested. "Oh wait, that's a toaster."

"Maybe you have to like, close it first?" Canada offered.

Furrowing his brow Victor cranked the lever upwards and shut the sliding door before pressing the button again. Incredibly the old oven sputtered to life and it could be heard heating up at the very bottom. "Huh. Whaddaya know." the pilgrim blinked.

"Looks like we've got a bun in the oven." Chuck said.

Drawing in a breath through her nose Julia stared at him with as much hate as she possibly could. "What?" he asked.

"You seriously aren't doing this on purpose are you?" she shook her head. "Canucks."

"Maple syrup and hockey. Deal with it."

"How long do you think it will take to get him back to normal?" she changed the subject.

"You're asking for definite answers to something we made up on the spot." Victor reminded her. "I wouldn't be very surprised to see nothing but a smoking body when we open this thing again."

Chuck took a seat on the grimy floor and Julia was actually surprised she hadn't thought of doing that earlier. Resting the shotgun by him she leaned against the baking table across from the even. Reluctantly Victor joined them though she suspected that he only did so to remain out of view.

"Anyone else hungry? I'm dying of starvation over here." the Canadian said. "Feels like I haven't eaten in forever."

"We ate before we came to town." Julia recalled.

"That was days ago."

"Feels that way, but it really hasn't been."

"I'm going to dive right into one of those MREs. They look delicious." he said with a gleam in his eye.

"I'm positive they're gross."

"Yeah well try eating hospital food for two years." he grumbled.

They sat listening to the oven warming up and Julia's mind wandered to food as well. This bakery probably churned out dozens of warm bread based products hourly when it was in working order. Though this was her third trip to Silent Hill in as many years she still did not feel like she had really seen the town. So much was shrouded in mist and fear to appreciate what it must have looked like before.

"Vic?"

"Yes?"

"Do you remember much of the town before you moved away?"

"The memories are very hazy." he admitted which was strange as he had a superlative gift for mental recording. "I remember bits and pieces. We had an apartment with a green lawn out front with a fence I remember I wasn't big enough to see over."

"Did it have a lobby?"

"Did what have a lobby?"

"Your old apartment."

"Yeah, why?"

She smiled and put her arm around his shoulder. "The room with all the runes over it, the one you brought me to originally and where we came when we first arrived. That was your where you lived when you were a kid wasn't it?"

He dipped his head down which meant she was right. "You don't have to explain." she said. Pulling off his helmet she dropped it in his gloved hands and kissed him on the cheek.

"A couple had been living there." he affirmed after a few moments of silence. "I was fifteen. I didn't know where else to go. It took me months to find the place and that was after I'd learned to dodge the things in the mist."

Distantly he continued, "We moved away in...1982 I think is what my mom told me. They had a few years to settle in. It didn't feel right staying anywhere else but there were a lot of their personal things I had to move out to feel comfortable."

"Like what?" Chuck asked.

"Photos, chew toys, legal documents, clothing."

"What did you do with it all?"

"What could I do?" he shrugged. "I put all of their things in boxes and moved them next door."

Julia always found it fascinating to go through other people's belongings especially when she knew they wouldn't find out about it. In this case though her curiosity was tempered by the fact that possessions now belonged to dead people.

"The couple that lived there, do you think they could still be alive somewhere?" she asked.

"I've thought of that often." Victor said. "All my years here and I've never gotten any closer to finding out. They could still be alive if they've managed to survive these last 18 years. I hope they did."

They sat quietly a few minutes as the oven began to give off a noticeable trace of heat. "I'm sorry, we got side tracked. Was there anything else you remembered about Silent Hill before the...accident?" she repeated.

"Oh, yes. I remember that it was sunny a lot but the weather changed constantly from day to day. Clear and blue one day then gusty and gray the next. We went to the lake a lot in the summer." he showed a rare, wry half grin. "Can't imagine I'd want to go swimming in Lake Toluca these days."

"Heh. Were there a lot of people?"

"Now that you mention it, yeah. Lots of other kids at the lake. Must have been a nice place to live."

"Can we undo it?" Chuck spoke up.

"Undo the town?"

"Yeah. I mean, there's got to be a way right? Someone made all of this happen in the first place. There has to be a way to...shut it off."

"You're talking about things beyond even my ken." Victor said. "Whatever happened was no mere conjuration gone awry. It took powerful, possibly godly force to enact this kind of change. I wouldn't even know where to start."

"What do you mean, godly?" Julia asked.

"This place has been a spiritual haven centuries before the first Viking ever set sail for the New World. I suspect there was a good reason it was called 'the place of silent spirits' before colonists arrived."

"Do you believe in spirits?" Chuck pried.

"I believe in what's real, Chuck." Victor said with a surprising lack of disdain. "Before coming back here I would have said no. Having seen what I've seen and spending years working runes...well, something lives here that doesn't live anywhere else which is not a part of Christian mythology."

The oven thudded inside and the sound made Julia jump. Looking at each other the three of them scrambled up to investigate. Hitting the red button to stop the oven Victor dropped the sliding door. The heat blasted them in the face and to Julia's shock they found the oven completely empty. In place of the the body were a number of swirling, oddly curved runes made from ash.

"It...worked?" Julia said tentatively.

"I guess?"

Victor was staring intently at the symbols and clicked on his head light to get a better look at them. The corpse – the man – had traced them with his fingers it looked like. "This...is very strange."

"We pulled a dead guy out of an ice cube and threw him into an oven. I'd say strange is an understatement." she observed.

"No, I mean these. These are...glyphs like the Order's but...they're all wrong. You're supposed to make them straight as an arrow, perfect circles and lines or they lose their power. None of what's here should function at all yet obviously he did something right."

"Can we assume it we did it then?" Julia asked.

"I suppose. If something went wrong I'm sure we'll run into his body again somewhere."

"And if it didn't?"

"We're going to find a lot of bodies." Victor promised grimly. "And I've got a feeling if there's any of those soldiers left around the holding chamber they're going to be dead soon. Come on. Let's get out of here and back to the store room. We'll see if we can get into contact with Nothing when we're safe."

"-we followed them into the sewers as best we could but we were set on by a pack of...creatures. One of my men sustained additional injuries as we fought past them but by then the hostiles were long gone. As best we could tell they had no foreknowledge of the primary target but they did know where to look. I can only assume there was a leak of information at this point."

Hulme concluded his report and put his hands behind him. He didn't like being the bearer of bad news but he was ultimately responsible for everything that happened within his jurisdiction. Sitting across from his desk Marcus Stone had demanded to see the commander in person after news of the incident had been relayed to him. While the bony man always had a far away look on his face this time there was an undercurrent of deadly, cold rage in his voice.

"You have failed us, Commander." he said and a chill went up Hulme's spine with how angry his employer was without showing the slightest bit of fire.

"We have." Hulme agreed. "However there are elements of this attack I find very off putting. The lack of the security of information for example. Who among your people could have leaked the holding cell's whereabouts? Not only that but I was promised that the men posted there would be sufficient with your own protection in place. Had I been aware it was going to fail I would have assigned a much more robust guard."

"And your men are sure they broke in?"

"Positive. Your liaison confirmed that the seal thing wasn't operating when he came by. We certainly didn't touch it."

"I know that, Commander. Your men are too incompetent to properly attack that which they do not understand." Stone answered absently. The mercenary officer kept his cool as Stone stared off into space.

"You have no idea what you've done." he said finally. "I cannot estimate how long it was take him to recover but he will recover. Not only that but the intruders took the one thing we needed to make sure he wouldn't rise again. It is you and your men who are going to suffer the most. He will not look kindly on you for helping cage him."

"Are you talking about the guy in the cube?" Hulme asked in confusion.

"I am. The holding cell was for your protection as much as ours, Commander. Now that the Fater is loose our options have narrowed significantly."

"You telling me the dead guy is going to attack us?"

"I don't have to tell you. You're going to see for yourself when he begins slaughtering your men and ripping their hearts from their chests." Stone said without a trace of emotion.

Putting aside the illogical nature of the conversation Hulme asked, "Well how are we going to stop him then?"

"You need to find those intruders and quickly. Make them talk. Find out what they know and how they managed to breach the door. It should have been impregnable, we made sure of it. If they can tell us what he's planning we may be able to salvage this situation."

"We'll start combing the south end. Door to door if we have to." Hulme promised.

"Good. Now, my aide told me your men got a good look at them. One was in a suit of armor, tell me about that."

"Oh, right. He was dressed head to toe in this greenish medieval looking get up complete with sword and shield. It reminded me of one of our first assignments here where we raided an empty apartment. I believe you took custody of a similar suit of armor at that time."

Mental machinery churned behind Stone's eyes and it did not escape Hulme's notice. "You know something." he said plainly.

"Yes." the smaller man said distantly. "Only two we have trained ever manged to successfully elude us. The first was our erstwhile guest. The second I assumed had done the smart thing and disappeared. It is possible there was a collusion I did not foresee taking place."

"You know who it is?"

"That he would return to the misty land unbidden and in service of his senior I did not expect. It would seem that pieces have fit together." Stone said mysteriously. "He shouldn't have been able to live so long without us but it would appear he has done more than just survive."

"Any idea on where he'll be?" Hulme asked.

"He's too sharp for that Commander. Your adversary is as dangerous as a human can be here. Together with a fully powered Fater he will be a most serious problem."

"No enemy is completely invulnerable." the commander said confidently.

"Yes. Outside his dream the Fater is reasonably mortal and even now is too weak to risk assaulting us. We have time before his lethality increases to insurmountable. In that time we must kill or capture the three who attacked your men."

"Assuming we can find them."

"I know where he will come next." Stone breathed. "He's going to our old locations. That's how he found the Fater in the first place. He will be drawn inexorably to the Rissen building here on this side of the lake. The bridge will be the only way across."

"Sounds like the perfect place for an ambush."

"We will assist you, Commander. It is imperative that they are taken out of the equation one way or the other. Just be sure your men do nothing rash. It will not be easy for anyone."

"They're ready." Hulme promised. "We don't take kindly to being shot at."

"Good. Let us properly welcome our new friends."

The cold stone absorbed the pounding rain as it had done since it was created. The downpour never abated but only occasionally grew in ferocity from time to time. The steady assault on the weather beaten rock was interrupted by frequent lightning which was the only source of illumination to cut through the overwhelming darkness and storms.

On the highest balcony of the highest tower in existence a prone figure curled up on the black rock. Unmoving and unconcerned by the ferocious elements it merely existed out in the open.

"Master." came the voiceless voice. "You have returned." The still body did not move or respond but merely continued to be pummeled by the rain

"You are badly injured." the voice continued. "The dissonance problem also has not been resolved."

When no reply was forthcoming the voice went on, "All else is in order. Aside from the breaches on floors two through four I am secure. Light collection activities are ready for the upcoming solar flare. I faithfully await further instructions."

Lightning struck nearby and ear splitting thunder rattled the wet stones. It was gone as soon as it appeared and the heavy patter of rain continued ceaselessly.

The house was made of charred wood that could not have possibly supported any weight whatsoever. He fled through it as he was being chased by a nameless horror that he did not see but knew was chasing him regardless. No matter how many doors he flung open or stairs he ran down it followed behind him with heavy, thudding footsteps. He had the vague impression that it was gaining on him even with his breakneck pace. Somewhere behind him it crashed through the charcoal structure like a battering ram splintering cheap plywood.

He called out to his mother, a couple of deities, the police, anyone that would help him. No one and nothing came to his aid and finally the beast cornered him in a basement which was not in the scorched building he was just running through by somewhere nearby, maybe still in town.

Turning around fearfully to see what evil had been chasing him he saw her. She was laughing hysterically and came at him with a dozen knives in her arms with had been changed to a writhing mass of slimy tentacles. He listened to her laughter as his blood spattered against the wall.

Waking in a cold sweat Chuck had to take the better part of a minute to orient himself to his surroundings. He wasn't in a burned building, he wasn't being chased and he wasn't being stabbed to death by his ex-girlfriend. It took quite some time as he stared at the plain white ceiling of the apartment they were staying in for him to let the trauma pass. Normally he didn't dream; required to take powerful soporifics and usually anti-psychotics as well his dreams were mercifully rare. Off the drugs he was more alert, thought more clearly and didn't fall asleep as easily. He was glad to be fully himself but at the same time he missed the comfort of the numbness. He had a lot of time to dwell in his own head which never went well.

He had taken one of the bedrooms to himself and the room was scarcely larger than the bed itself. It was strange at first climbing into someone else's bed but he reminded himself that the person who owned it was likely long dead. They certainly had no need of their worldly possessions anymore but he said a quick mental sorry to whoever was listening for using their things.

The windows were dark and he assumed that it was still night or early morning. Pulling on his pants the killer shuffled out to the living room and was surprised to find Victor sitting on the couch. He was reading a book though Chuck had no idea where he found it. It was going to be awkward being around the other man without Julia acting as a buffer though he supposed it couldn't be helped. Taking a seat on the other end of the three section couch he nodded when Victor looked over.

"Can't sleep either?" he asked.

"I never sleep long." Victor answered without looking up from his book.

"Do you have a condition?" Chuck asked as he'd become fond of attempting to diagnose his fellow crazies.

"Yes. Used to live here." he answered curtly.

"Nightmares?"

Victor turned the page of the book with amazing displeasure for such a simple act. "After three years I gradually began to sleep less and less until I stopped altogether." he explained. "Same thing with food."

"Wouldn't you...die?"

"Normally, yes. But as you well know, sometimes the rules do not apply to the misty land like they're supposed to."

"Will that happen to me too?"

Victor finally looked up at him to raise an eyebrow. "Are you planning on staying here for the rest of your life?"

Chuck hadn't honestly thought about it but now that he did it didn't seem like too bad of an idea. "Maybe I should." he shrugged. "No place for me back in the real world. I'd just be going to the hospital again. If I stay here maybe I can help people that I run into. Give them a place to stay."

Victor snorted like the idea was preposterous and returned to his book. Not having anything else to say Chuck got up to visit their equipment room. Stacked almost over his head was a perfectly square tower of MREs which were good for another four years apparently. Selecting a box of cheese tortellini from the top he busied himself with getting it heated. Opening the thin box he unfolded the pouches inside and dropped the food pouch into the heating bag. Heading to the kitchen he filled up the heating bag with just enough water to begin the chemical reaction. Replacing the quickly warming pouches back into the box he set it upright on the counter and let it cook. The meals were ingeniously designed and with the last two years of dining at the hospital mess he thought they were the tastiest thing he'd eaten in years. Likely due to their fancy city food both Julia and Victor found them revolting.

Plopping himself back on the couch Chuck stared at the ceiling while Victor continued to pretend he didn't exist. The other man might not have liked or trusted him but they were allies if reluctantly. The bag boiled for a several minutes while Chuck wracked his brain for something to say. Thinking back on his time in Silent Hill he remembered that he had a question never answered before.

"Can I ask you something?" he looked over to Victor.

"Ask."

"Do you remember meeting me in Brookhaven?"

"Like it was yesterday." the knight answered indifferently.

"When I met you, you were talking to the Dark Man. You were bartering for something and then gave him a letter, then ran off. Never found out what that was all about."

Victor sighed and actually put down his book. Putting his hands together in a steeple on his lap he looked up as he thought. "I'd been following Julia." he admitted rather easily. "I first encountered her when she ran screaming out of a building. I made a promise to myself not to get involved with the people that wandered into Silent Hill but...well she looked so alone."

"Huh. And her being pretty had nothing to do with it."

"It didn't." he said defensively.

"Not really sure that's true but keep going." Chuck said and privately assumed he was dead on.

"I trailed behind her to make sure she didn't run into anything she couldn't handle. I helped her fight some creatures off and showed her to my apartment to give her aid like you wish to do. Sent her on her way again but in secret I followed her still."

"Hmm. That's kind of stalker-ish."

"It had been years since I had human contact. I might have been lonely but I certainly didn't want to find her corpse somewhere or worse, her corpse stumbling around attacking other people. When she went into Brookhaven I knew things were going to get out of hand. I lost track of her when the darkness took over."

"Yeah, I remember. That's what got me out of the cell I'd been locked in."

"I panicked. I didn't know where she was and who knows what was lurking in the dark. I did the only thing I could and summoned Nothing."

"Ah." Chuck said. "That makes sense now. I'm sure he showed up pretty fast, huh?"

"Yes...?" Victor furrowed his brow. "How did you know that?"

"He was already there, trying to convince me that I should just leave the town. I didn't listen." Chuck said wistfully.

"Huh. That explains a bit."

"What was it you gave him?"

"A book page." Victor recalled. "When the darkness takes over sometimes the letters in books change. Don't ask me why, it just happens like that. Most of the time it's gibberish but rarely there's powerful magic to be found. They revert back to regular books when the nightmare leaves but change just as surely back when it comes."

"Oh wow." Chuck blinked. "I had no idea...wait, does that mean those guys took all your special books from your apartment?"

"No." the knight shook his head. "Each one with useful magic I took with me when I left Silent Hill. They are safe in a locked chest in Julia's condo. The Order took only useless, normal ones. To have left them unguarded would be to ask to have them fall into the wrong hands."

"Like the Dark Man?"

"Or the Order. Anyone who would misuse them."

"But you traded a page anyway?"

"I did." the other man said. "It was a simple sacrifice ceremony that I had committed to memory. When I was done copying it he informed me that he wanted the original, too. It was a last second request and we were arguing about it when you showed up."

"Yeah, remember that now. Why did you want to know my name?"

"There's power in knowing someone's true name." he said. "You would do well to guard yours in this place."

"Oh. Weird. Does that mean the Dark Man...?"

"No. No one knows his name." Victor said. "When he worked with the Order he was clever enough to use a fake one from the start. I don't know how he managed to swindle them or even why. It was clear though that he joined them with malice aforethought. Not even the Ordermaster could have predicted what he was going to do."

They were silent a few moments while Chuck thought on his strange friend. "Never could figure that guy out." he spoke up. "Why he does what he does I mean. Why did he help me in the first place? Why go through the trouble? I'd have been dead a dozen times over if it weren't for him. He's never asked for anything in return."

"I know what you mean. When we first met he was bent on killing me but suddenly spared me. He's never asked for anything in return for it until now. I can't believe he did that all those years ago just to have a favor to call in now."

"In a weird way that kind of sounds like something he would do though."

"I suppose. However I doubt he planned to be put into an ice cube."

"Or thrown into an oven."

His own oven comment reminded him that he had food going and he returned to the kitchen to retrieve a now steaming bag of tortellini. Eating straight out of the pouch he sat down on the couch and sighed.

"Don't suppose we're going to get too many moments like this." he said thoughtfully.

"Like what?"

"Sitting on the couch, relaxing, enjoying a hot meal. Won't be long before everything goes to hell."

"It already has." Victor said as he turned a page. "It will be morning in a few hours. Enjoy the peace while it lasts because where we're going there won't be any left."