Shadows of the Past

Secrets Beneath the Ash

⚠️TRIGGER WARNING⚠️ Mention of Rape/SA

"Where is your friend?"

Cillian looked up, meeting Father John's gaze. The priest stood beside him, wearing his usual serene smile. Cillian's eyes swept over the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of Thomas, but he'd disappeared toward the back of the church and hadn't returned since. Turning back to the priest, Cillian kept his expression neutral.

"He went for a walk," he replied smoothly. "Needed to clear his mind."

Father John's smile didn't waver, but his eyes took on a sharper glint. "I see."

Father John's smile lingered, though his gaze sharpened, as if peeling back Cillian's calm façade. "I imagine he has much weighing on him," he murmured, his voice smooth and unsettling. "Silent Hill has a way of... magnifying one's guilt."

Cillian held his own composed expression. "Thomas is only here to find his children. I wouldn't worry too much about him," he replied lightly, hoping to deflect the priest's probing.

Father John chuckled—a hollow, unsettling sound. "Children... a blessing and a burden, don't you think?" His gaze lingered on Cillian, studying him with an intensity that felt uncomfortably probing.

Cillian shrugged, choosing his words with care. "I wouldn't know."

The priest's smile grew, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Of course not. Let us hope Thomas finds the answers he's seeking... and soon." His gaze drifted to the door where Thomas had gone.

Cillian hesitated, then ventured, "Father, you seem to know things about Thomas." The priest's eyes shifted back to him, glinting with something unreadable. "Do you... know why he and his children ended up in this town?"

Father John's smile widened, as if he'd been waiting for the question. "Follow me, my son."

A chill slid down Cillian's spine as Father John turned toward a back hallway. Every instinct warned him to stay seated, but he rose and followed, determined to get answers. They entered a small room that seemed to be Father John's office. A wooden desk stood in the center, scattered with papers, while frames on the walls displayed church scenes and portraits of priests who had served before him. Father John gestured for Cillian to sit across from him, and once they were both seated, he leaned forward, his gaze unyielding.

"So, Detective," he began, his voice low, "what do you really know about Thomas?"

Cillian shifted uncomfortably in his chair, the priest's question hanging in the air like a trap. He glanced around the small, dimly lit office, feeling the weight of the portraits watching him with hollow eyes.

"I know enough to trust him," Cillian replied carefully, not wanting to reveal too much of Thomas's past. "Thomas has his share of troubles, but nothing that should lead him here. And his kids... they didn't deserve to get mixed up in this place."

Father John leaned forward, his fingers steepled, a glint of something unreadable in his eyes. "Trust can be a burden, Detective, especially when one does not know the whole story. Have you considered that perhaps... there's a reason they are here?"

Cillian tensed, trying to hide his unease. "What kind of reason would that be?"

The priest tilted his head, his smile never faltering. "Sometimes the lost come to Silent Hill not by accident, but by... invitation. Guilt, grief, sins of the past—they all draw people here, as if the town itself is a mirror of their souls. Thomas's children are here because he is here. Because he has... unfinished business."