In the Eyes of a Child - part 1
Title: A Mother is God in the Eyes of a Child - part 1
Fandom: The Silent Hill movie
Rating: Who knows?
Characters/Pairings: Cybil/Rose
Summary: What happened afterwards, told from Cybil's perspective
“She’s just a child! What the fuck is wrong with you people?!”
I struggled against the ropes tying me to the ladder, but there was no way to get loose, to save Sharon from the crazy cultists. My head was still spinning from the beating they gave me at the hospital. I should never have let them grab me; never have entered the church in the first place. I should have gotten Rose out of here, climbed down the gorge, fought until I could fight no more. I had failed.
Outside the arched windows, the monsters were waiting. Here, a wholly different kind of monsters were lighting a fire, chanting about witches. But surely, they wouldn’t actually burn me? No one could do something like that, no matter how crazed. They were just going to scare me.
And then they tilted the ladder over the fire.
The child… oh no, not the child. She was watching. I knew they were forcing her to watch, even as I grew blind from the smoke, even as I felt my skin crack from the heat. Suffocating. Burning. My throat barely worked as I tried to speak.
“You’re on your own now.”
Can’t breathe. Can’t think. Leave her alone… God… she’s just a child…
---
“The child!” Gasping, Cybil opened her eyes. An instant later her instincts brought her to her feet, and she staggered over the floor to gain her balance, barely avoiding falling into a huge, round hole gaping in the floor, two tall ladders leaning against the balconies surrounding the altar. White light sifted in through the windows of the church and illuminated dust that danced in the calm air. The interior of the church was familiar by now, from the giant painting of the witch burning behind the altar to the wooden rows of benches facing it, dim lamps set along the aisle. And everything was empty, not a human being in sight.
Where have they taken her? I have to find her before something happens to her. Something like… oh fuck -
“My child is gone...” The deep, raspy voice brought Cybil spinning on her heels, reaching for her gun, then her baton. Then her flashlight. Everything gone. Fuck! She ran her fingers through her short hair, squinting to try and make out the figure sitting in a dark corner near the big doors as she warily moved closer. Clad in colorless rags and with wisps of tangled, dirty hair falling down to cover her face, Dahlia looked much like she had the last time Cybil saw her. Empty cans and bottles lay strewn around her, rags piled up against the wall. Dahlia stared back at her, sitting on her heels with her hands motionless in her lap.
The fire.
“Where is the child? Where did they take her?” Slightly unsteady still, she navigated around the benches and stalked up the stairs to Dahlia, her biker boots loud against the stone floor. Dahlia shrank back against the wall, and as she tilted her head back in defiance the daylight illuminated her features. Young. Arched eyebrows and high cheekbones sat in a face untouched by age, if not dirt. How could she be so young still? Cybil stopped, faltering for a second, but then she shook her head almost violently and closed the distance between them, her boot sending a can flying against the wall. Getting down on one knee, the cop grabbed Dahlia by the poor excuse for a collar she wore and yanked her up.
“Where did they go?!”
Got to find them, got to save them from those monsters.
Dahlia was breathing heavily, her eyes wide in her eerily beautiful face, but she only shook her head. “They’re gone, all of them. The demon killed them all.”
Cybil found her hands shaking, and she swallowed hard, blinking to clear her vision. “Where’s Rose? Where’s Sharon?” When Dahlia didn’t answer, Cybil shook her hard, causing the other woman to gasp and grip Cybil’s wrist. She smelled of ashes and blood, just like the rest of this damned town. “Where?!”
“The woman went with the demon. They’re gone as well. Why did she spare me?” When Dahlia’s eyes grew blank with tears, Cybil released her as if burned and got up, but the woman’s hand was still clasping her wrist. Her eyes were as mad and desperate as Cybil remembered them from… when? How much time had passed?
Dahlia held on even as the cop tried to move further back, dragging slightly over the floor. “You came back. Why? I saw you. I saw you burn! I saw you dead!”
“No!” Yanking her arm loose with suddenly regained strength, Cybil backed away, stumbling down the steps behind her and barely managing to remain standing. She hugged herself, her throat closing up as dammed up emotions suddenly threatened to rush her, to tear down her last shreds of self-control. Somehow, she managed to support herself against the last row of benches, closing her eyes as she tried to breathe slowly, deeply. I can’t break, not now. I must… I must get to Rose. She’s alive. I know she is. I must protect her and the child. A minute passed. Two. At last, it became easier to draw breath, to steer her thoughts away from… that.
When the cop finally opened her eyes again, Dahlia was still watching warily, sitting on the floor poised like an animal. The impression was only strengthened by the tangled tresses of her hair and the dirty fur adorning her clothes. Shakily, Cybil straightened and once more ran her fingers through her hair, for the first time looking down at herself. Her uniform was dirty but whole, except for a few tears. How? Swallowing, she steered away from that thought as well and slowly walked up the stairs away and past Dahlia, placing her hands against the wood of the main doors. Barred. She could feel Dahlia’s presence behind her as she shouldered the bar and lifted it to the side. She was going to find them, whatever it took. As she pushed the doors open, She remembered the desperate expression in Rose’s eyes.
Don’t worry. I will find you. I will keep you safe. Both of you.
Fandom: The Silent Hill movie
Rating: Who knows?
Characters/Pairings: Cybil/Rose
Summary: What happened afterwards, told from Cybil's perspective
“She’s just a child! What the fuck is wrong with you people?!”
I struggled against the ropes tying me to the ladder, but there was no way to get loose, to save Sharon from the crazy cultists. My head was still spinning from the beating they gave me at the hospital. I should never have let them grab me; never have entered the church in the first place. I should have gotten Rose out of here, climbed down the gorge, fought until I could fight no more. I had failed.
Outside the arched windows, the monsters were waiting. Here, a wholly different kind of monsters were lighting a fire, chanting about witches. But surely, they wouldn’t actually burn me? No one could do something like that, no matter how crazed. They were just going to scare me.
And then they tilted the ladder over the fire.
The child… oh no, not the child. She was watching. I knew they were forcing her to watch, even as I grew blind from the smoke, even as I felt my skin crack from the heat. Suffocating. Burning. My throat barely worked as I tried to speak.
“You’re on your own now.”
Can’t breathe. Can’t think. Leave her alone… God… she’s just a child…
---
“The child!” Gasping, Cybil opened her eyes. An instant later her instincts brought her to her feet, and she staggered over the floor to gain her balance, barely avoiding falling into a huge, round hole gaping in the floor, two tall ladders leaning against the balconies surrounding the altar. White light sifted in through the windows of the church and illuminated dust that danced in the calm air. The interior of the church was familiar by now, from the giant painting of the witch burning behind the altar to the wooden rows of benches facing it, dim lamps set along the aisle. And everything was empty, not a human being in sight.
Where have they taken her? I have to find her before something happens to her. Something like… oh fuck -
“My child is gone...” The deep, raspy voice brought Cybil spinning on her heels, reaching for her gun, then her baton. Then her flashlight. Everything gone. Fuck! She ran her fingers through her short hair, squinting to try and make out the figure sitting in a dark corner near the big doors as she warily moved closer. Clad in colorless rags and with wisps of tangled, dirty hair falling down to cover her face, Dahlia looked much like she had the last time Cybil saw her. Empty cans and bottles lay strewn around her, rags piled up against the wall. Dahlia stared back at her, sitting on her heels with her hands motionless in her lap.
The fire.
“Where is the child? Where did they take her?” Slightly unsteady still, she navigated around the benches and stalked up the stairs to Dahlia, her biker boots loud against the stone floor. Dahlia shrank back against the wall, and as she tilted her head back in defiance the daylight illuminated her features. Young. Arched eyebrows and high cheekbones sat in a face untouched by age, if not dirt. How could she be so young still? Cybil stopped, faltering for a second, but then she shook her head almost violently and closed the distance between them, her boot sending a can flying against the wall. Getting down on one knee, the cop grabbed Dahlia by the poor excuse for a collar she wore and yanked her up.
“Where did they go?!”
Got to find them, got to save them from those monsters.
Dahlia was breathing heavily, her eyes wide in her eerily beautiful face, but she only shook her head. “They’re gone, all of them. The demon killed them all.”
Cybil found her hands shaking, and she swallowed hard, blinking to clear her vision. “Where’s Rose? Where’s Sharon?” When Dahlia didn’t answer, Cybil shook her hard, causing the other woman to gasp and grip Cybil’s wrist. She smelled of ashes and blood, just like the rest of this damned town. “Where?!”
“The woman went with the demon. They’re gone as well. Why did she spare me?” When Dahlia’s eyes grew blank with tears, Cybil released her as if burned and got up, but the woman’s hand was still clasping her wrist. Her eyes were as mad and desperate as Cybil remembered them from… when? How much time had passed?
Dahlia held on even as the cop tried to move further back, dragging slightly over the floor. “You came back. Why? I saw you. I saw you burn! I saw you dead!”
“No!” Yanking her arm loose with suddenly regained strength, Cybil backed away, stumbling down the steps behind her and barely managing to remain standing. She hugged herself, her throat closing up as dammed up emotions suddenly threatened to rush her, to tear down her last shreds of self-control. Somehow, she managed to support herself against the last row of benches, closing her eyes as she tried to breathe slowly, deeply. I can’t break, not now. I must… I must get to Rose. She’s alive. I know she is. I must protect her and the child. A minute passed. Two. At last, it became easier to draw breath, to steer her thoughts away from… that.
When the cop finally opened her eyes again, Dahlia was still watching warily, sitting on the floor poised like an animal. The impression was only strengthened by the tangled tresses of her hair and the dirty fur adorning her clothes. Shakily, Cybil straightened and once more ran her fingers through her hair, for the first time looking down at herself. Her uniform was dirty but whole, except for a few tears. How? Swallowing, she steered away from that thought as well and slowly walked up the stairs away and past Dahlia, placing her hands against the wood of the main doors. Barred. She could feel Dahlia’s presence behind her as she shouldered the bar and lifted it to the side. She was going to find them, whatever it took. As she pushed the doors open, She remembered the desperate expression in Rose’s eyes.
Don’t worry. I will find you. I will keep you safe. Both of you.