Cheryl was humming happily, bouncing Hope in her arms. The tiny girl was cooing happily, reaching up for the blonde with a babyish smile. Chery thought it was absolutely adorable~!

"Awww, you're so cute!" Chery cooed, playfully, poking Hope's nose. The Baby garbled and spat, looking up at her as if she was asking 'me, really?' Cheryl giggled and hugged her. "Yes, you."

There had been two trials since Hope was last dragged into one, and there was something odd about one of them… the survivors found themselves staring down the blades of the Huntress, being forced to hit the deck or run for their lives, but more often than not, after taking someone down, the Huntress had spoken. Now, yes, her creepy, if somewhat oddly soothing song was known to all the survivors by now, how couldn't it be? But aside from a few grunts and growls, the Huntress never spoke a word. And more than once, she had all but shouted at them:

"Где ребенок?!"

The issue was, no one spoke Russian, and the Entity didn't seem to feel the need to translate for them, so they were left trying to figure out what was being said, and what they should do about it. Aside from run. The Huntress always struck them as one of the weirder killers (well, some of the survivors thought so) she seemed almost lost, some days, as if she didn't know she wasn't wherever she came from. Granted, it was hard to feel pity for the sociopath who was putting hatchets and hooks in your back, but still.

"Heh, it's good t'be home…"

Looking out from under the brim of his worn out hat, the Deathslinger couldn't help but let a slight smirk form as he saw the Dead Dawg Saloon before him. Even after being grabbed and pressed into service of whatever the Entity may be, there was something reassuring about seeing the old saloon. It was- what was that word- nostalgic? Was that it? Quinn didn't know, but it didn't matter. When he was on his home turf, these trapped souls didn't have a chance. Which was fine with him. Making his way towards the small building off to the side, the question which often presented itself, but would go unspoken decided to make itself known. What were they all doing here? What could any of them have possibly done to deserve this kinda punishment? Caleb wasn't no fool, he knew there were no 'innocents' in the world, there were good people, for sure, but even good people could have twisted sides to them. Heck, he knew all about that…

"May y'burn in hell, Bayshore…" He snarled, moving a bit faster as the pain in his leg became a tad more unbearable. Shaking his head to clear it, he frowned as the pain seemed to be creeping its way up his leg. Well, the sooner he was done here, the sooner he could leave…

Laurie grunted as she worked, the paranoia already rising in her mind. The sunset above her did little to alleviate her fears of what could be around any corner. At first, she had thought a place like this would be a God send! The light would make things easier to see, meaning the killers would have a harder time trying to hide from them! But, as she had quickly learned, the increased visibility was very much a doubled edged blade... being wielded by the killers. Sure, it was easier to see them, but a fair amount of the Killers seemed to drop any sense of subtlety and stealth in favour of simply letting them know they were there. It didn't matter if you could see them or not, dusk or dawn, they were still gunning for you. Michael didn't seem to care in the slightest, as he was able to hide and strike from anywhere, following her, or whoever was unfortunate enough to be in his sights as if it was child's play. Well, if they were going to be brazen, then the survivors would be bold. She smirked slightly, impressed with how well she had been doing so far… and kept going! Usually at that moment, she'd make a mistake and cause the generator to explode, but she seemed to be doing better.

Rustle…

Freezing in place, Laurie looked around for the origin of the sound. It was nearby… but she wasn't hearing her heartbeat increase. She knew a few killers could hide that ability, but wasn't sure if this was one of those cases. Narrowing her eyes, she looked for a rock, or a shard of glass or something she could try and use as a weapon. That had never (well, very rarely) worked before, but she wasn't just going to lay down and die, either! She had some degree of dignity.

"Abba…"

"No." Laurie whispered, horror filling her eyes. She hurried over to where the noise had come from, and saw Hope sitting there, looking up at the sky, babbling incohesively. Grabbing the girl, Laurie sighed, knowing now she had another job to take care of… she went back to the generator, the sound of the mechanical machinery drowning out the heavy footsteps of the Deathslinger in the distance.

There was a low rumble, like a muted crack of thunder, and it caught Laurie's attention. Hope's too, as the baby looked about curiously. That… was a sound Laurie had never heard before, and that wasn't a good thing. A new sound usually meant some new freak hunting her down. Biting her lip, she doubled her effort, keeping Hope tucked close.

"There you are…" Caleb scowled, raising the Redeemer to spear his first quarry. It had been a bit longer than he'd care to admit, but he had found one of the survivors, it seemed like she was trying to hide something, probably one of those offerings they'd bring to try and help them. It made no difference, as Caleb closed in, he aimed the rifle, and was about to fire, when the rumble echoed throughout the air. Caleb stumbled, looking around in confusion. What in blazes was that?! That wasn't him, and it wasn't one of these contraptions backfiring… was the Entity up to something? Was it changing the lay of the land? Quickly, he dismissed them, knowing this was the best time to take down his tar- "The baby…" He muttered, hesitating again. When the girl looked up, he saw what she had been hiding, she was holding the newborn that Evan had mentioned. "Well hang me by the old church, he wasn't lyin'…" Caleb muttered, blinking in bewilderment. Sure, he didn't disbelieve Evan, or the Wraith, or the others who claimed to have seen it, but hearing accounts and seeing something yourself were two different things… He aimed the Redeemer, but felt something inside him freeze, and again, he hesitated.

"Agh… damn it." Caleb spat, lowering the Redeemer. He'd hunt who the Entity told him to. It didn't matter what their crimes were… but this? He wasn't about to shoot a baby in cold blood. Sure, there was a very good chance the spear would tear into the Survivor, but the baby would be unharmed… But he remembered the first few targets he had shot, and how the Redeemer had ripped their insides out, bones, organs and all… He kept his distance, knowing most likely the survivors could hear his leg brace, but really it didn't matter. Deciding to deal with the others, he slunk off into the shade of Dead Dawg Saloon, hearing one of those weird contraptions backfiring, and knew he had to work.

"If the Entity is pissed at me… well, I guess we got ourselves an issue then."

Finished with the one generator, Laurie sighed and headed off to find the others, knowing that this was the only one that was finished. Some days she wondered if the others actually tried or not, or if she was the only one left to actually do the job they were forced into doing! As if on cue, Hope let out another garble, as if she was agreeing with her. "Heh, you know what I'm talking about…" Laurie smirked, poking her nose.

Caleb wasn't sure what was making that odd noises every few minutes, but it was starting to get on his nerves, honestly. Rounding a corner, he stopped when he saw someone he hadn't seen before, some woman in a weird outfit, even by the standards of what he saw the other survivors wearing… and she seemed to be working on a pile of bones. Caleb realized she was working on a totem. Why? That made no sense… those things were used by some of the killers, but majority of them went unused. Then, to his astonishment, she seemed to be speaking to the totem, and it began to glow blue.

"I don't know if yer'a demon, or some kind of witch. Either way, I'll enjoy killing you…" Firing, the woman screamed and jumped out of the way, the spear digging into the wall nearby, much to Caleb's annoyance. Yanking it free, he had to reload as he watched the girl run off… well, it made no difference. She would run, and she would die, just like everyone else. He looked at the glowing pile of bones and growled, kicking it and extinguishing the blue fire. Witch. Definitely a witch. And he'd make sure she died for her sins.

"Hi, sweetie." The woman smiled, tilting her head. "You mind telling me what a little cutie pie like you is doing out here?

"My name's Mikaela, Mikaela Reid." Mikaela nodded. "Are you this little cutie's older sister?" She bounced the baby in her arms, trying her best to keep her calm. The gentle, playful tone seemed to be resonating with Hope, and she was oddly quiet.

Hope then started crying.

"Gaaaaaaa-" Mikaela began to panic, and nearly dropped Hope out of pure shock. Laurie snatched Hope from her and looked at her in utter disgust.

"What is WRONG with you!?" She snapped, and both women went quiet, realizing if Hope's crying hadn't given them away, Laurie's screaming had. With a shot that sounded like the thunder one would experience in hell, the metal tipped spear of the Redeemer fired and his Laurie, just BARELY missing Hope.

"Damn, witch!" Caleb spat, anger over taking him as he began to pull Laurie towards him. He had seen that wretch was holding the baby, and couldn't fire at her… and then she nearly dropped them! Laurie managed to pass Hope over to Laurie, letting out a pained "RUN!" As Mikaela stood there a few moments longer than she should've, and Hope's crying only seemed to get louder and more horrified by the sounds of what was happening around her. Finally, Mikaela turned and fled… Caleb felt torn, on the one hand, he needed to sacrifice the survivor, but on the other hand, he wasn't sure he wanted to leave a baby with one of those demon worshippers. Then again, what was he supposed to do with it?

In the end, only two survivors managed to escape that trial, and Hope was one of them…

So far, The Observer's horror at the inclusion of a baby had not weaned in the slightest. If anything, it had only been increased by the Entity's willingness to throw it into the 'trials' alongside the others. No, fear wasn't the right word. Horror, and disgust. That's what he felt. This wasn't a solider, or even a teenager! It was a baby! It should be at home, tucked under blankets with its parents! Not wondering if it could be impaled on a hook and fed to an uncaring abomination!

…yet, he couldn't lie, there was intrigue as well. He hated thinking like that, but he had to at least acknowledge that much. The way things had changed were not negligible. Sure, the Survivor's stepping up to care for her was expected, that was how they survived. They built community, no, family, among themselves. It was somewhat of a requirement to try and make it to the next trial.

But then, there were the others, the killers. So far, the way they had reacted had been anything but expected… the one he had come to know as 'The Trapper' had seemed indifferent, if almost curious, but the Wraith, and the one girl had surprised him. Both of them had the chance to either use her as bait, or simply kill her, but the former had tried to put her somewhere safe, so she could be hidden from the horrors that would transpire around her, and the latter seemed like she wanted to, or felt like she had to, but couldn't go through with it, thankfully. Slowly, he walked to a shelf and pulled an old tattered scroll down. He had considered his options, considered them well, but time was running out… what she needed was someone or something to protect her at all costs, and at all times.

He looked at the grotesque drawings, stained and inked in blood, of the beast which would roam the trials, and he had to wonder… was it worth the risk? He didn't know if it would react to his words, or even if it would care. But- he threw the drawing away, this was madness! He could not – nay – WOULD not put the girl's life at risk by attempting to broker a deal. It had never worked before, and he had nearly lost everything last time. Slouching in his chair, the Observer put his head in his hands, as the overwhelming guilt of what was happening came crashing down once again. And he had one question, one thought which might never be answered, either because he didn't WANT it answered, or he was scared of what the answer could be.

"Was this… my doing?"

Well… that can't be good. The Huntress now knows about Dawn… This can't end well. For ANYONE. What's gonna happen? Well, we'll find out next time!

Also, no. I don't hate Mikaela, despite what this chapter may have seemed like, but this is a life-and-death scenario! Someone will make a mistake, and those mistakes could have REAL consequences!

Just to clarify, here's a list of the characters who AREN'T in the Entity's Realm just yet… and no, the order they were released doesn't mean anything to the story.

Leon Kennedy, Jill Valentine, Nemesis, Sadako, Yoichi Asakawa, I-Commited-War-Crimes-And-All-I-Got-Was-These-Stupid-Shades, The Artist, Haddie Kaur, The Dredge and the characters in Project W because that chapter isn't out yet.

Also, I've been playing Hooked On You, and it is delightful. Keep spoilers out, I'm not done! :D