SHPD had never been quiet at this time in the morning. Most of the staff would normally be at the station with coffee and donuts, ready for action. Cybil's mom would have been proud of them all, early to bed, early to rise, was one of her favorite proverbs.

It was strange to see the place so empty, so many dear friends absent. And so dark; it was the height of summer and would still have been pitch black if not for David, the irritable mortuary assistant who was deathly afraid of the dark. His emergency candles threw a dim glow across the front desk. Crumpled on its' surface lay Ed; disconsolate over the loss of Officer Barkin. He had taken news of her horrific death badly. And so soon after Thom.

It was almost a relief to see him mournful. He was frighteningly chipper when she first arrived. Several crisis management plans and a plethora of unhelpful homilies. Mother would have enjoyed his company. Like her, he insisted on keeping a calm head in a crisis. Cybil found it incredibly surreal to sit down and discuss the best way to deal with an impending apocalypse. With all the death and destruction wrought by this awesome display of nature's power, it did seem that the world was ending. The monsters she saw reinforced the theory. If God had decided to punish the peoples of the earth, she was not sorry he had chosen to begin with Silent Hill.

"We need to bring in help from outside. We can't just sit here and wait."

"No. You need help. You're the one fighting winged demons bursting forth from the depths. This is not the end of the world Cybil, this is an earthquake. A strong one. They must have felt the tremors in Brahms. Maybe even in the next state. It's dangerous to go tearing across the country on a motorbike now, there could be aftershocks. I figure this as good an emergency headquarters as any so we may as well sit tight. Help will be on its way."

"But what if they're not coming Ed? We have no way of knowing. Phones are out and power lines are down. We can't even get a local radio signal between us now. There won't be any messages going out to the townsfolk. How will they know to come here?"

"They will come."

At that moment, as if by magic, the door to the station opened and a man stepped in. For a moment she couldn't make out the face. Then as he came closer to David's candles she smiled. Her heart swelled with relief and she thanked God for small mercies.

Harry.

"I'm so glad you're here. It's awful out there." he said grimly, "It's been a tough night."

Bruises on his neck and a gash on his brow were testament to that. Reaching out to check the extent of his injury caused him to flinch.

"We've all had a tough night Mr. Mason." withered Ed.

There was truth in what he said. It had all been very strange and difficult since the sun went down. But there was something about his mood, his glare. She hadn't seen him like this since the divorce, since…since Alice.

"We were just deciding how best to deal with the situation…In the absence of any senior member of staff, I have decided to set up a crisis center here, at the station." challenged Ed.

"I was thinking of going to the hospital, to see if I could help." answered Harry.

"Help?" he derided, "How exactly are you going to help? I thought you were a writer, not a doctor."

"Yes. But I could at least give blood, if nothing else. And I wanted to check on Lydia…has there been any change?"

"No. She's just the same. I'm sorry." Cybil interjected.

"Still, if I could just sit with her for a while…I can't help feeling that somehow I'm to blame."

Ed's eyes narrowed at this. Suspicion had been growing at SHPD over Harry's involvement in the events of the past few weeks. No one knew that Cybil was protecting him. Holding on to information that would certainly lead to his arrest and probably hers too.

"It would really help us if you could remember what happened Harry." grumbled Ed softly. Being nice to suspects was not his strong point. His counterfeit warmth giving him away as much as the grimace on his face that masqueraded as a smile.

"I wish I could…"

The two men stared at each other, like children in the schoolyard after a disputed game of tag.

"Perhaps you could set up your crisis center at the Alchemilla." suggested Cybil, hoping to placate her ex. It was just as good a base as the station, but he could also keep an eye on Harry. Despite the evidence starting to weigh against him, she still didn't think that he was the one to be suspicious of. If only she had time to find out how Wolf was involved…

"Maybe." he said, seeming to catch on, "But how will people know? What if they come here looking for help like Mr. Mason?"

"The pen is mightier than the sword…" another of Mother Bennett's favorites.

"What?"

"Leave a note, Einstein."

Ed glared.

After leaving several messages regarding the new crisis center's location, the three moved tentatively outside. In the darkness it was impossible to tell if Sagan Street had escaped unscathed. It could have been any small town police department, sitting unattended in the wee small hours of the morning. Except that it was eight and should have been light already.

Her bike sat, untouched, where she had left it the previous day. She pulled on her helmet and sat astride it. The men, startled by the engine turning over, turned to face her. Ed already knew that this was her plan…but Harry…she had to leave him again.

"I hate to say goodbye…"

"Where are you going?" asked Harry.

"I'm riding out to Brahms to get help."

"But it's dangerous out there…I've seen things…I…" he trailed off, looking terrified.

"What things?" quizzed Ed.

He didn't answer. Cybil wondered if they had witnessed the same events. Certainly, the ground disappearing beneath her feet, pulling in entire streets, was very frightening. God alone knew what happened to poor Louise Barkin, fallen into the bottomless pit. She shuddered at the thought of the young officer's gruesome demise. And little Andy Morgan…

But seeing pterodactyls…surely that was only 'hysterical' divorcees as Ed so charmingly put it. No, what she had seen wasn't possible; tired and traumatized, she had imagined the whole episode. Ed was starting to get that suspicious look on his face that she knew too well.

"Mr. Mason – " started her ex.

"I have seen things too." she interrupted. She knew she opened herself up to more humiliation from Ed, but Harry still needed protecting. Without proof of Wolf's involvement he was fast becoming the chief suspect. If only she could stay…but she couldn't shirk her duty, not this time.

"We have a complete communications blackout with the outside world. There is no way of knowing if help is coming. The phone's out and the radio too. I'm going back to call in some reinforcements. I appreciate your concern but I've traveled this route a thousand times."

"But the road might have changed, fallen away in the quake."

"He has a point Cybil."

She smiled. They had found something in common.

"I'll be careful. I promise…Harry, you'd do best to stay nearby. I'll be back with help as quick as I can."

The throttle roared and she was away, watching the two men in her mirrors, disappearing into the blackness.