Disclaimer: I do not own Silent Hill or Edward Scissorhands. They belong to their respective owners who are not me.

Warnings: Horrible writing ahoy! Lots of blood and violence (Pyramid Head is a very angry mo-fo), and Edward being his adorable scared self. And yes, this is mild slash between two horribly opposing characters so IF YOU DO NOT LIKE, PLEASE DO NOT READ.

Everyone else, enjoy!

This is a prequel to Protected and another addition to my Boogie Man series. Apparently I'm going back in time, seeing as this little snippet is briefly mentioned in Protected and I plan on writing another scene mentioned in this one. There's also a bit of a teaser for Protected and possibly what direction I may be going with the series. I'm starting to get an idea of what I want to do with this.

Anyway, I woke earlier and immediately had this in my head and just had to write it. Aside from the Lorax fic I posted the other day, I haven't posted much lately. For that, I apologize.

Part Three to Boogie Man.

Most days were quiet and uninteresting in Silent Hill, but Edward preferred it that way. It made exploring the tiny town easier. He didn't have to worry a whole lot about some random monster popping out of the woodwork or one of the horrible residents bothering him. The two Groaners that had for whatever reason taken to following him trailed after him, providing him with some kind of companionship. Miss Dahlia never liked to join him. She didn't much care for strolls in her damned town, a place she already knew like the back of her hand.

Edward took in the town with wide eyes as he walked. He owed Dahlia. She had pulled him off the streets when he had first arrived and had taken him in. She was kind of like Mrs. Boggs in a way; all mothering and caring for some random stranger that could possibly hurt her. Except Dahlia did not have Mrs. Boggs cheerful disposition.

The Groaners yipped behind him, Edward peering over his shoulder at them. They were ugly creatures, nothing like the dogs the townspeople back home used to make him groom. He was kind of glad they didn't need grooming; all matted and missing hair, with snarling mouths and angry eyes. He couldn't even fathom why they had taken to following him. They could easily have found some poor, defenseless soul to tear into.

Unless that's what they were waiting for from him…

His thoughts ceased when they came upon the church. He stopped walking, the Groaners stopping and growling behind him.

Edward had learned from Mrs. Boggs when he had met Ursula that churches were supposed to be a place of peace and worship. Worship of who, he didn't really know or care, but since it was supposed to be peaceful, the church had been the first place he had sought shelter from the Darkness. People had been running towards it in the distance and so Edward had followed. Only when he arrived he had come to know that the residents here were not all that kind and extremely closed-minded.

They had yelled and screamed horrible things at him when he arrived on the steps of the church that day. He had only sought shelter from this strange town and had hoped for a kind hand. He hadn't said a word to the people, knowing from experience that they probably would not listen, but hoped that maybe, just maybe, one of them would show a kind heart and accept him into their church.

Instead, a hand had reached out from the Darkness and revealed a withered old woman who must have been beautiful in her younger years with sad, tired eyes. She had led him away from the angry people and into the Darkness, protecting him from whatever it shielded in the light and took him to the hotel.

He had avoided the church since that day.

This day was no different. Instead of walking past the steps of the old building, Edward crossed the street quickly, monster dogs trotting to catch up. He chose to walk around the building opposite, out of site from whoever's watching eyes. He didn't know if someone stayed behind to keep some sort of lookout while the residents pretended that hunting and gathering was a part of their normal lives. Dahlia said that they were too stupid to see that their blind hate and un- acceptance was what damned them in the first place.

The dogs growled, each lumbering at a faster pace to walk on either side of him, sensing Edward's discomfort. Their pace was fast as they practically jogged to get away from the church, Edward not slowing until they were a good couple hundred yards away. All three relaxed when it disappeared from sight behind another building.

The Groaners slowed their pace again, once more following along behind the scissor-handed man. Edward gave them a small smile, stopping to pat their heads before continuing his stroll. The hospital caught his eye in the distance and he made a mental note to explore it one day. This day, though, he walked in the opposite direction back towards the hotel. He felt put off after walking by the sacred old house and felt the need for some more sentient company.

And he missed Dahlia.

He could see the hotel in the distance. The sight of it made him smile. The dreary, ashy fog cleared as he moved closer.

There was a crash.

Edward stopped. The Groaners growled.

Edward happened to be standing at the mouth of an alley where the noise came again, this time a bit louder. There was a frustrated moan, stopping the black-haired man in his tracks as he started to move forward curiously.

Aside from Dahlia, he didn't like the humans here. They were mean, rude and just all around bad people. They reminded him of Jim, who hated him without good reason and the town that had turned on them when he had not meant to do any harm. These people were worse though. But either way, Edward wanted to see if he could make a difference.

"Hello?" he called softly. The Groaners were snarling quietly now, saliva dripping from their muzzles.

"Hello?" a voice called back. "Someone there?"

"Yes," Edward raised his voice, a bit louder than he was used to. "Do you need some help?" He continued to move forward, walking cautiously.

There was a relieved sigh. "Only an extra pair of hands. I found some supplies and can't really carry them all." There was a friendly chuckle. Edward relished the kindness while it lasted. Maybe this one would be different.

The black-haired creation finally turned a corner in the ally to see a middle-aged man kneeling on the dirty, ashy ground, clothes a bit tattered. There was a scattered pile of knickknacks before him. They must have made the crashing noise when he dropped them. He was gathering as much as he could into his arms. Edward glanced down at his own scissor hands, feeling a little helpless. He was nervous suddenly.

"I-I don't know how much help I would be…" he stuttered quietly.

The man chuckled again. "Nonsense. Just start picking up what you can. We can come back for the rest if we have to, but the two of us should be… able… to…" He finally looked up.

Edward saw the instant fear in his eyes. The scarred man gulped. He prayed to whoever would listen that the frozen man on the ground would react differently.

"Demon!"

He was wrong.

"Monster!" the man cried again. "Freak! Demon!" He scrambled frantically to crawl away backwards, keeping wide terrified eyes on Edward. Edward only stood there helplessly; hands puled close to his chest as tears filled his eyes.

"I'm not a demon," he muttered hopelessly.

The dogs rounded the corner behind him, teeth bared at the man on the ground. The man started anew, fear radiating off of him at the sight of the flesh-eaten Groaners.

"Monsters! Keep away from me!" He scrambled back some more. The Groaners stayed put, but snarled at him, ready to pounce at their new master's command or if the man made any sudden movements.

Instead, the scissor-handed man turned around, not allowing the Silent Hill resident on the ground to see the first tears fall.

Pain exploded in the back of his head, tears instantly flowing for an entirely different reason. The dogs barked, growling as Edward fell to his knees. He reached up and gently touched the dull side of a blade to the back of his head, wincing when he felt his flesh squish in more than it should. He pulled it away, bringing it close to his face, vision swimming as he caught sight of the bright red liquid coating his blade.

Apparently he was bleeding.

Edward glanced over his shoulder just in time to feel the impact of another blow to his leather-clad shoulder. This one didn't hurt as bad but the spot throbbed slightly. It would bruise later.

Two rocks lay at his feet.

He saw the man pick up another rock. Tears streamed down Edward's face, one Groaner licking his cheek tentatively, the other advancing forward to the stranger on the ground. The man paused in his primitive stoning.

He caught the gleam of tears in the leather-clad man's eyes and the ones streaming down his pale, scarred face. The demon looked genuinely pained, brown eyes soft with all the sorrow in the world. One mutilated dog was licking him. The other was advancing, but he didn't notice. All he could do was stare at the so-called demon crying with blood starting to run down his face and neck.

Did demons bleed? Could they even cry?

He lowered his hand, noticing that the mangled animal in front of him was backing off, half-eaten tail lowering between its legs. Fear suddenly filled the "demon's" soft eyes. He turned to face him, scissor-hand reaching out for him, and the man was almost tempted to grasp it.

"No!" the strange demon cried.

A sudden dark presence filled the alley and the man had just enough time to turn around. A great, muscular body with a pyramid helmet loomed over him.

This was the real demon.

The man screamed as he was lifted in the air, a large fisted curled around the front of his shirt, choking off his cries. He grasped desperately at the hand, feebly trying to tug it away. The great Red Pyramid held him there, listening to his whimpers and gasps as he held him there. Behind him, the scissor-handed creature was crying for him, begging the monster to let him go, but he couldn't focus on any specifics. It was enough to know that the scarred man cared. For that's all he could be: a very strange looking man indeed.

Pyramid Head dropped him. He was free; the monster was letting him go. He glanced up at the demon and started to crawl away only to scream loudly as the snarling dogs tore into his legs. Pyramid Head set a heavy boot on his back.

Edward screamed, terrified beyond belief as his companions ripped into the man's flesh as the great executioner held him down. Blood splattered the walls. Blood splattered the ground. Edward stood on shaking legs, vision swimming as he stumbled backward. The three monsters didn't notice. He ignored the pain in his head, turning and stumbling away from the scene.

His vision was going black. His head hurt so bad, he thought he was going to throw up.

Edward stumbled and tripped as he ran as fast as he could towards the hotel. He had to get to Dahlia.

Shoving open the entrance door was no problem, but going up the stairs was another matter. He tripped up the first couple steps in his rush, opting to crawl the rest of the way to the floor Dahlia inhabited. He was shaking as he scratched frantically at the doorknob, vision starting to go black around the edges.

The door opened wide and Dahlia stood there staring at his tear stained face.

"Edward, what's wrong? What happened?" she asked. She felt his forward, pulling it away quickly with how hot it was. He stumbled into her arms, surprising her with his loud sobbing and shaking. She wrapped her arms around him, motherly instincts kicking in. She shushed him, whispering soft words into his ear and rubbing his back soothingly. She pulled her hand away when she felt how sticky the leather was.

Red coated her hand.

"You're bleeding!" she exclaimed, more out of shock than anything. Edward just shivered, slumping more in her arms.

The old woman brought him over to what was now his bed, having him lay down on his stomach with his head facing the wall. She examined the open wound, gently moving wild hair aside to assess the damage. Edward passed out almost as soon as she touched it gently, the pain just too much.

Instantly on her feet, Dahlia was grabbing a cloth and a bowl, filling it with water. She located a needle and thread before heading back to the prone man.

She wasn't much of a doctor, but Dahlia had been hurt severely enough to know how to clean and stitch her own wounds. She dipped the cloth in the water, wringing it out and gently wiping as much blood away as she could. She even wiped it off his leather clothes before they could be ruined.

Cleaning the actual wound was tricky. The scissor-handed man's hair was so wild that it kept getting in the way, and every time she set the rag against it, the man whimpered, breaking her old heart a little more each time. Eventually, it was as clean as it could be and she was able to set to work on stitching it.

There was an old lighter at her feet that she used to make fires with and occasionally sterilize her needles. After heating it to a decent temperature, the old woman threaded the hot needle and set to work. She did her best to ignore the younger man's quiet cries.

About an hour later, Edward lay silently, breathing heavy but even as Dahlia sat at the foot of his bed rubbing his leg in soothing circles. She wondered what could have possibly happened for the man to end up hurt and so scared he collapsed in her arms. He hadn't done that since he first met Pyramid Head, whom she had had to explain wouldn't hurt them. Edward was only a poor lost soul in their dark and damned little town, someone who never should have been there in the first place, unlike all the other souls that end up here. He didn't need to be surrounded by the death and evil that surrounded this place and yet, here he was. Dahlia wondered what such a wonderful person could have possibly done to end up here.

"You poor soul…" she muttered.

It was then that she realized her door was still open and that heavy boots on stairs could be heard, along with the scratching of metal on the floor. Soft whimpers could be heard following the noise.

Dahlia stood when Pyramid Head halted outside the door, Groaners trailing behind in fear. He tilted his head at her.

"Hello," she greeted to their "protector."

His head swung to look at Edward's peacefully slumbering face. He tilted it again.

"He'll be fine," Dahlia answered his silent question. She sat back down and continued to rub the man's leg. "He's been through a lot and needs rest. I'm guessing you had something to do with what ever happened?" She glanced back at the executioner.

He did not hesitate to nod, although his grip tightened around the handle of his blade. The Groaners' tails were between their legs as the crawled into the room.

Edward moaned quietly and all eyes turned to him. Sunken eyes opened slowly and he sat up, faltering when his vision swam. Dahlia steadied him.

"Easy, Edward," she said quietly. She let go when he opened his eyes again. "You had a nasty blow to the head."

Edward nodded. "What happened?"

"I don't know. You were frantic outside the door and collapsed when you came in." She rubbed the top of his bladed hand soothingly. "You were crying and bleeding. I had to stitch you back up."

Edward stared questioningly at her, not really remembering, but when he glanced at the door and saw the monsters, it hit him; the man, the rock, the pain, Red Pyramid, the Groaners ripping into the poor man's flesh. He flinched at the sight of the creatures.

Pyramid Head stared at him, Groaners crawling forward. Their bellies practically dragged on the floor; they were so terrified of the Red Pyramid's presence. They were always like this when he was around. Edward swung his feet off the bed as they crawled closer, the dogs nuzzling his legs. He watched Red Pyramid for a moment before glancing down at the pathetically whimpering creatures. He smiled slightly and patted the tops of their heads with his palms. Then they were barking and happy, nuzzling him and laying down at his feet.

Edward glanced back up in time to watch the muscled creature nod and walk away, blade dragging behind him. The dogs' tails were wagging.

Dahlia was staring at him with wise, old eyes. Edward stared back questioningly.

"I don't know why he protects us," she started. "But for some reason, he keeps an especially close eye on you."

Edward shrugged. "I really don't think he has much reason to," he admitted. "I'm not worth it." He ducked his head down.

"Oh, but you are, Edward." Dahlia scooted closer, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "You don't realize how important you are. You are so important to me-" she pointed at the Groaners – "to them, and to him." She pointed to the doorway. "I don't know how you got here or why you are here, but there has to be a reason. You are so much kinder than anyone I have ever met. That is reason enough for him to keep you safe."

Edward blushed at her praise. "Thank you, Dahlia. I don't know what I would do if you were not here."

Dahlia held him tighter. "I am on the brink of insanity in this town. Believe me, I don't know what I would do if you were not here." They both cracked a small smile. "Now, why don't you tell me what happened to you."

And so Edward told her what happened.

2,950 words. So close to 3,000! I could push it if I want, but don't feel like it right now.

Anyway, I thought this was cute, aside from the whole continuously hurting Edward thing. I swear, something good will happen to him!

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