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[ You find yourself in a church, dimly lit with sputtering candles covering every available tabletop. It's quiet -- eerily so -- and the air is stale. You're standing in the middle of the aisle facing the front door. You could walk out if you wanted, something in the back of your mind assuring you it's not locked, but you feel compelled to stay for
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[A reluctant sigh. He's never said these things out loud before. Sure, bits and pieces to people who already knew, or a story or two in group therapy, but hospitals hardly count. They had always told him opening up would speed up the process, that facing his past was the only way to move on, but he had never really managed.
Slowly, he begins to tell the priest his story. About the mine collapse and the events following both one and ten years later. He speaks briefly about the darkness inside him, a monster he contracted like a disease from Harry's blood, and how it had plagued him, replacing his reflection, and tainting everything he touched from thereon out.
He speaks of his friends leaving him to die, his father turning his back, and the town following suit. The years he spent in limbo moving from place to place, no strings attached, before coming back to Harmony - and the death that drove him to finally commit himself.
His years in the institution are glossed over, but they hold the sense that Tom had only managed to delude himself further, and a clean bill of health from a team of doctors isn't something to fight against. Tom mentions getting word of his father's death, and his last return. How the darkness re-awoke, and Harry as the puppet master, slaughtered everyone...]
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Not that he doubts the validity of what Tom is saying. In a place like Silent Hill, you either accept the impossible or suffer for your disbelief; and Vincent's mind is wide open to suggestion of all kinds.
The pity he felt earlier morphs into a perverse kind of admiration, and he can't keep the giddiness out of his voice anymore. ]
What happened next? Were you caught, or did you slip through their fingers?
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[Tom looks up, staring beyond the wooden partition.
At first it had been almost impossible to talk about his past, then as he got further into the story it was almost as if Vincent was no longer there and he was only talking to himself. But as his story finished and the man speak up, the realization that he wasn't alone, that he actually did just say all that aloud to another human being- It's nearly crippling. He feels dirty.]
No, I-uh. I remember, laying on the ground. And people started coming in. And then I woke up in a motel wearing a Search and Rescue uniform.
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It would be foolish to push him too hard too fast, he thinks, steepling his fingers in front of his mouth. Another heavy exhale through his nose and then he responds. ]
I've heard all I need to hear for today. You're free to leave, if you'd like. However, my door is always open if you need further comfort.
[ He's careful to keep the disappointment out of his voice. If Tom feels like he's being judged, he may not take up Vincent's offer to come back whenever he needs to talk. ]
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So, what do I do?
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[ Oh. Right. Penance. He's rarely ever asked. Order members typically take things into their own hands and attack whomever they decide is the offender that caused them to sin, even for the pettiest reasons.
With his chin propped in his hand, Vincent lets him off with a light sentence. ]
Ten Hail Marys and a prayer reacquainting yourself with God before you go to bed.
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[He wasn't sure what he was expecting, here. But that sounds like the standard thing to do.]
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Not quite, but think of it as the crucial first step toward the real you.
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You might surprise yourself.
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I think I've had enough of those.
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See that you do.
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Thank you.
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