finalflight | OPEN POST; [ JAMES SUNDERLAND / SILENT HILL 2 ]

[James steps forward, his chainsaw whirring to a full stop and the scythe still held in one hand. He's going to have to drop one of them soon, but until they're out of this room, he's holding onto both.]

I don't know, Ivan.

[That's not something he can answer in any reasonable, logical way. He's still figuring out how to forgive himself; he doesn't have the means to tell someone else how to do so.]

I just know that from what I've seen so far, you don't seem to be that person anymore. And I think that should count as something.

Mm.

[ Does it count for anything? It's not like Death is about to let him off the hook for good behavior, but... he learned pretty early into this reaper business that the souls under his care deserve more than to be treated with scorn. If he can't at least make their passing a little easier to bear, what good is he?

Does that make him a better person? A different person? He doesn't know.

Anyway, now with all the cards in his hand, minus the one still slotted into a seemingly random slot in the tablet, he fans them out to look. ]

So... what do we think?

[He doesn't expect to change Ivan's mind on the matter with a few words. But it's important that he says his piece. He doesn't know why, but he knows it must be. He wants him to hear it, that maybe one person who needs it will believe what he tells them, and it'll finally help. It'll reach them, in ways it never could reach Angela or Eddie.

He sighs, gaze drifting over the empty slots in the tablet. If he had any free hands, he'd scrub his face a little.]

Well... I guess we need to find the correct placement for all of these. Our first clue is "Be Not Afraid", so maybe the card with the screaming face shouldn't even be there.

We have six cards and six slots, so it must go somewhere.

[ He goes through the cards again, one at a time, since he's the only one with free hands to do so. ]

Sun, rain, clouds... wind? Seasons. Death, and... [ motions to the screaming face. ] Whatever that is. Fear?

[ Why do all of these things feel like they fit together... is it just him? Is this something that only makes sense in his brain? ]

[James closes his eyes — scrunches up his face a little. Murmurs…]

Why does this place always have to do this…

[Puzzle hell. Somehow, he tries to sort these images in his head, shuffling them around mentally.]

Wait, do you know the, uhh… [His brain is drawing a blank. It can only supply-] That “more cowbell” song, or something…

[Is he dating himself by knowing this— Wait, it doesn’t matter, Ivan is way older than him, anyway.]

[ The look James gets is less one of wondering what he's talking about and more of trying to figure out just where that reference slots into all this.

It clicks a moment later, and Ivan drags a hand over his face with an exasperated sigh. ]

Oh, do I ever know it. You didn't tell me this place had a sense of humor.

[James huffs, wry.]

Yeah, well. It's usually an ironic and unfunny sense of humor. But at least we can move on if we're right.

I'm assuming we just need to put them in the right order based on the song.

Probably.

[ He picks the card already in the tablet up and shuffles it over to what he deems to be the correct slot, then places the rest in after them.

Seasons. Fear. Reaper. Wind. Sun. Rain.

From the back of the room, there's a loud click. ]

[A small sense of relief when he hears that click. He glances towards the back of the room.]

...Good job. Let's take a look.

[Uh. But first. Holds out the scythe.]

You don't need an extra, do you?

Not particularly.

[ Says his mouth, but he finds himself reaching for it regardless, if only to see if it's really real or not. (It must be real. It spilled his blood. James was holding it.)

The moment he takes it in hand, it vanishes in wisps of shadow. ]

... So much for that. I guess we'd better keep moving.

[Damb. Guess that scythe was never meant to be.]

That's a shame. But I think the chainsaw suits me better. [Smiles faintly.]

Come on.

[TO THE BACK OF THE ROOM]

[ Away they go, the little light bobbing along with them. When they reach the wall at the back of the room, they'll find a lever jutting out from the stone. Ivan exchanges a brief glance with James, but ultimately figures that's their way out of here.

He curls his hands around it and pulls. And pulls.

It appears to be a little stuck. ]

What was all that for if the lever doesn't even work? [ He's so!! Sick of this place!! ] A little help?

[If a reaper can't pull that lever, he's not exactly sure how much he'd be able to help, but as if James will say no.]

Maybe you're overdue a visit to the gym.

[He's kidding.

But okay, he sets down his chainsaw for now and grips the lever with both hands, as well.]

On the count of three? One, two... three! [PULLS]

You're not— [ PULLS! ] —funny!

[ The two of them are enough, and maybe there's something to that, and the lever clicks into place, sending a portion of the wall sliding out of the way. They should be underground. They are underground, right?

So why is the rest of the graveyard suddenly right through this doorway? ]

... What.

[He's hilarious, what do you mean.

But the lever gives, and that wall slides out of the way. And they're greeted by...]

The graveyard again?

[Is it like, outdoors, or is it still inside the mausoleum. The second option would be nothing new to Henry, weirdly enough.]

[ Outdoors, though they've been dumped not too far from the entrance to the church. ]

Apparently. Physical space is really a suggestion around here, isn't it?

Yeah. You don't know the half of it. The last time somewhere spat me out into a graveyard like this, I had to jump into one of the open graves to move forward.

[Hopefully that's not a requirement this time, but who knows. Being outdoors is somewhat of a relief, though, and hopefully more of those creatures from before aren't lurking around.]

The church is just ahead, though.

Let me guess. Your name was on it and everything.

[ He knows your tricks, town! (Not really, but that one seems to be a fairly obvious bit of symbolism.) ]

Have you been through here before? The church, I mean.

That's exactly right.

[At least by that point, James was very used to jumping into bottomless pits of holes.]

Not through the church. I just passed by the cemetery on the way to the town the last time, I didn't really have a reason to make a pit stop.

We should probably try to make it back towards the town if we can, but...

[ He glances back behind them. There are vines everywhere, and vague shapes moving through the fog. Ivan makes a face. ]

Through the church it is.

You’ll get used to this, eventually. All the detours.

[Will he tho. Once again it’s delivered dryly, but he starts moving. He glimpses those shapes, too, and he doesn’t want to waste time finding safety.

Assuming they reach the church without incident, he squints as the building makes itself clearer through the fog as they near. The door, just like last time, has messy words carved into its wooden front:

ALL HAVE SINNED AND FALL SHORT OF GOD’S GLORY

He scoffs when he sees it.]

Yeah, tell me about it. Well, at least this is still the same.

[He might not have entered the church… but he did check every nook and cranny before moving on, like a proper horror protagonist.]

All bets are off once we open the door, huh?

[ No use in putting it off. He shoves one of the double doors open with a little effort, thanks to an upturned pew that's in the way. The inside of the church is in absolute shambles, littered with broken furniture, the windows smashed and boarded up in places. What windows are left don't exactly paint a welcoming picture as the cold, fog-choked light streams through the grimy stained glass. ]

Hm. Charming.

[ There's a couple of places to go — side doors off the main sanctuary — but most prevalent is the altar at the front of the room. ]

It's seen better days.

[It would be strange, he thinks, if the church were in good shape. A spotless, safe sanctuary. Things are never so easy in this town once things have begun to change.

He steps in, making sure not to stumble over any detritus. James takes stock of the area, noting the side doors, but of course he's going to head towards the altar first.]

I wonder where all this is ultimately trying to lead us.

Hard to say.

[ This, as Ivan steps his way over some debris, tagging along with James like the lost puppy in a survival horror setting that he is. ]

Where did your journey take you?

…To the hotel.

[Yes, the same one he was trying to get to when he arrived.]

The room my wife and I stayed in during a vacation here once… years ago.

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