Burning
Chapter 1: Drilled in My Head

Disclaimer: Don't own anything. All belongs to Konami

A/N: Krackfic Ahead. I don't know where I came up with this pairing. Maybe it was because I played the game for 10 hrs straight. I dunno. Anyway, pairing: Alex Shepherd/Judge Holloway

Curtis' face loomed over him as Alex was being dragged away from the elevator. The light above him was bright, nearly blinding him as he passed under it. Another passed over him, and the blinding effect happened again. This convinced him that he had a slight concussion, from where Curtis blitzed him earlier. Finally, he stopped moving, and was placed in a bad sitting position. The chair he had been shoved into was rough against his skin., which he noticed was exposed, due to a large ripped place in his shirt..

His vision was blurred slightly, when his head was pressed against the metal cuff in the back of the chair, and eventually the room cleared, revealing Judge Holloway sitting in a chair, almost asleep. Curtis' voice startled her.

"Do whatever you want with him. What should I do about the girl?"

She indicated two weapons in the room. There was a gas=powered saw and a cordless drill. He chose the saw, which Alex vaguely remembered seeing in the sea of junk at his repair shop. Curtis stomped toward the door, muttering something to himself, before he left, letting the door slam with a bang. Judge Holloway finally focused her attention on the man slumped over in the chair.

"Judge Holloway… What the-"

"You should probably call me Margaret, seeing as you're so grown up…" Her voice held a note that he couldn't recognize. It was sending mixed signals, but the tone was not new to him.

The hotel… The woman behind the door with no knob. She had this same tone to her voice. I never saw who she was, but… there was something familiar to it…. His wrists were bound, as well as his ankles, but he noticed that they weren't too tight to escape from. "Why are you here? Is Elle here too? What about Joshua?"

She shook her head, making him a little uncomfortable. "Joshua is not here." She sat up straighter, and gave him a pensive look. "Elle is, though. Curtis was headed her way."

"WHAT? That's what he was talking about? What the hell is wrong with you? You know what he's going to do, and you're just going to let him?" This angered her, and she stood, coming to stand right in fromt of him.

"I'd rather her die at my hand, than to those pigs from the order." She began pacing the room in front of him, and began speaking again.

"Years ago, the founders left the order and Silent Hill so that they could start a new life. However, they fear our God. This caused them to form a pact. We would be asked to sacrifice our children once every fifty years. This way, we could remain safe, rather than reviving the order."

"What the hell? How could a God demand this of people?" His question was ignored for the moment. She rounded on him then. "All of us were supposed to sacrifice a child, Bartlett, Fitch, your father, and myself. Three people succeeded, but one didn't. Mayor Bartlett buried his son Joseph alive, Doctor Fitch dismembered his daughter Scarlet, and I watched the life drain from Nora's eyes, as I strangled her. Your father failed to fulfill his duty. You Alex, YOU were supposed to drown! This makes all our sacrifices worthless! Ours were in vain, and the wrong child was killed, FALLING TO THE BOTTOM OF Toluca Lake. Your brother Joshua was killed, causing you to lose your mind! You haven't been gone, fighting in the war as a soldier! You were locked up in a nuthouse, because of what you did to your brother! Don't tell me your father didn't telly you that!"

Angry tears had begun to fall at the mention of Nora, and now Judge Holloway turned away from him. She didn't see the look of horror on his face that was almost like a child's when they realized they had made a mistake.

"How… When-" Alex felt almost powerless, bound to the chair, and his speech was reflecting it. His voice was cracking, and his breath was coming in quick bursts. "When d-did this…" His brain seemed to be trying to recreate memories of what had happened to him in the war, and there was nothing, but he did remember being on Toluca Lake, with Josh, In the dead of night. The ring had glittered before his eyes, before Josh fell over the side of the canoe, sinking lifelessly into the water. Alex was subconsciously struggling against his bonds, causing his captor to turn and watch him. His skin was becoming more and more torn, as he struggled against the rusty cuffs of the chair, and it seemed he didn't even realize it.

"Don't!" His shout caused her to flinch, as his eyes snapped open. The blood had started to leak from his wrists, from where he had scraped them raw. An invisible force caused Margaret to grip his wrists in her cold hands, causing him to jerk away. Whether it was concern or something else, she didn't know, but his eyes weren't even focused on her. They were spinning around the room, searching for a way out. They came to a rest on the cordless drill, sitting on the shelf, and reality set in. "You are supposed to k-kill me…"

Curtis stood over Elle, whispering taunting information into her ear about her mother, Alex, and Wheeler. His circular saw was hissing and sputtering in her ear, causing her to jump when he decided to rev it up. The blade came within an inch of her chest, and he would pull back.

"Why the hell are you-" The saw made a sickening wail as it was powered up again. Curtis moved within half an inch of her face.

"Your mother sent me. She's in there dealing with your little friend now. Within the hour, there'll be nothing left of you both. That ought to set the record straight." He started chewing on a cigarette, before continuing. "See, there's a certain order to things, that's how they work. When things stop workin', then I'm called in to fix 'em. This is one of those times. Yer friend in there, see there's no room or need for him. That puts things out of order. That's why we were brought here. See, your mother and I are people who are able to fix this mess."

"You're crazy! Mom wouldn't!"

"Who the hell do you think made sure you were brought here? You think the order just brought you here on their own so you could see this dump? No. They had a plan for your mother and me. It's time we finished it."

"Why would mom ever do something so stupid. This is sick shit!" He neared her with the saw again, but it sputtered and died on him.

"Fuck!" He tightened the bonds on Elle's wrists and ankles, and left the room, intending to head back and replenish his gas supply. "Should've just sliced her up and gotten done with it. Hopefully, Holloway will have the punk dealt with by the time I get back."

"That's right. I'm supposed to kill you. I fully intend to finish what you rather couldn't." She reached out, getting the drill from the shelf, and turning it on. His face changed from blank to horrified as the drill bit came closer to his leg. As it penetrated his thigh muscle, he screamed, moving his wrists quickly, trying to get free. Blood poured from the wound, but he couldn't concentrate on that. He was trying to read the expression on Judge Holloway's face, when Curtis re-entered the room. He found the rusty gas can, refilled the saw, and left, flashing a sadistic smile back at Alex. The rusty cuff finally budged, allowing for one of his hands to get free. He pushed her away, breaking her concentration, and he struggled to get the other hand free. By the time he did, she had aimed the drill at the skin between his eyes.

His reflees were fast enough to grip her wrists. This allowed for Alex to push the drill away from him, but as he did, the realization of where it would go hit him. Less than an inch from her jaw, he gripped her wrists hard and twisted them, causing her to drop the drill before it lodged itself into her head. The drill fell to the floor, shattering the back of it, and the bit stopped moving. Apparently, she hadn't seen where the drill had been aimed, and looked at him confused.

"I couldn't…" Alex looked at her wrists, which were turned at an odd angle. Gently, he twisted them so that the joint popped back into place. "No matter what, I couldn't bring myself to harm you. Not just for Elle's sake, but for mine as well. You Elle, and Nora were real family to me." He slowly sat up straighter, not letting her go. "Don't let Elle go. I saw the look on your face in the prison, when you saw Nora's locket. You miss her terribly, and it would positively destroy you to lose your other daughter. Don't let these order bastards bully you into losing all that makes life worth living."

They heard footsteps, and soon, two men in mining suits came into the room. Both stood on either side of the chair, one glaring at Margaret, the other looking around the room. "You were supposed to finish him." The other order soldier looked at a loose wire jutting from the wall, seeing It sparking, he picked it up.

"I know a way to make sure this ends here." He moved toward the chair, placing the wire down at the base of one of the legs, causing the electric current to travel through the metal. Alex's body started jerking, and the two order soldiers sniggered, leaving. Once they were gone, Alex fixed his eyes on the woman before him. "D-d-d-do somet-thing!"

Within a few seconds, she swiftly kicked the live wire away from the chair, causing Alex's body to stop shaking. He felt an odd sensation running up his arm, and saw that Margaret was checking his skin for electrical burns.

"What possessed you to kill your daughter and try to kill the other one?"

His question was so blunt, it took her by Holloway released his ankles from their binding cuffs, noting that they were soaked with blood, just as his wrists were. "You don't get it, do you? Didn't you see how your parets died? Do you think I want that to happen with Elle? As for Nora, it was to protect my family from this! Since Adam failed in his duty, all of us are in for a horrible death at the hands of the order and God!"

"Not if you take your own life into your you honestly believe that a God would be so wrathful as to demand that one of his children sacrifice one of their own? Do you really think that he would ask that of one of you, when Abraham didn't even have to sacrifice his son? Really, do you?"

"Does it matter now!" Her voice was angry and desperate. "We are screwed, for lack of a better term, and you're quizzing me on my religious beliefs?"

"Screwed is such an ironic term, seeing as you tried to force a drill through my head, and yes. I am questioning you. These beliefs that the order and the founders implanted into your head are a load of shit!"

"Really, seeing as Shepherd's Glen's streets are wasting away to nothing, and people are missing every day? Is that really a load of it?"

Her anger had increased, and he could see tears brimming in her eyes. This was something he had never imagined. When he was a kid, Margaret Holloway was one woman who could take whatever life threw at her and never show any emotion. Even when he first arrived back in Shepherd's glen, her face had remained an emotionless mask. The only time he had seen a remnant of an emotion, was when she had said he looked well. Even then, it was a ghost of a smile.

I remember only one time when I saw just how frayed her nerves were. I was ten, and Elle and I were walking around, venting about our parents. Dad had gone off on me for trying to play army men with Josh. He said that there was no pretend to war, and that army men were for strategy only. Josh got off, and sort of rubbed it in my face. Elle said something about how Nora was being a handful, what with nightmares and shit. Elle said Nora was screaming about how her mom was trying to kill her by choking her to death. We went into the Rose Heights Cemetery. While we were exploring the graves, we noticed someone who was originally from Silent Hill. They were buried around the same time Edwin Holloway was buried. We headed home, when two crazy guys jumped us, saying that we shouldn't be anywhere near the founders' graves. They said there was too much we didn't need to know. As we were trying to get away from them, Elle fell, twisting her ankle and fracturing her elbow. One of the guys swung some odd pipe thing at me, and hit me in the chest. Needless to say, when we didn't show up, Dad and Judge Holloway joined the police force and searched around. Luckily, she found us, otherwise, Dad would have my head.

"Alex, Elle, I demand an explanation!" Her voice was weird. I'd never heard her sound so cold, but I couldn't speak, due to trying to catch my breath, and Elle couldn't face her mother. She waved it off, leading us out of the cemetery, and to Dr. Fitch's office. He checked out my ribs and reset Elle's ankle, and left us to Judge Holloway.

"Now, explain yourselves, both of you."

"Mom, we-"

"It's my fault, Judge Holloway…" I had interrupted Elle, and Judge Holloway's anger was directed toward me.

"Of all places, why the graveyard? There are people there who could have killed you both! Alex, you know what your father will-" Before she could finish her angry rant,I had already sat down on the examining bench, looking down at the floor, tears threatening to fall.

"I-I never meant for any-thing to happen… I was t-talking to Elle about Dad, and she was talking about Nora. We were headed back, when these t-two crazy idiots jumped us. They were saying we sh-shouldn't be near the founders' garden. They said there was too much we didn't need to know… One of them tripped Elle, and I doubled back, and they hit me with a pipe. I didn't want her to get hurt… I just had to-"

Before I could finish, she had gotten down to my level, wrapping her arms around me, trying to calm me down. "Alex honey, I know it wasn't your intention to get hurt, all I ask is that you be wary of your surroundings. The cemetery is a very dangerous place, especially now." She was taken aback by what I had said. I didn't give a damn about myself. I was solely concerned for Elle. She had me look at her, and I don't know, I don't think I had ever seen that much concern from my own mother.

"I know how your father is, and I hate it for you. He doesn't seem to be there nearly as much as he should. I guess that's why I like having you spend most of your time at the house with Elle. That way I know you're out of trouble."

Margaret's voice called him out of the memory. She called his name for about the third time, and he finally focused on her. "Did you hear a word of what I said?"

"I'm sorry, no. What was that?" He rubbed his head, feeling a knot growing on the back of it. She gave him an exasperated look, and leaned against the wall, massaging her neck.

"If you think this is a load of crap, then explain just how we're getting out of here. How do you propose we get out, saving Elle, and escaping these order bastards?" Her voice was still stressed, and she looked extremely tired. "If you've got a plan, I'd love to hear it."

"The only thing I'm concerned with is getting the fuck out of here. Unless you want to be bait for these murdering pigs, I suggest you stick close. I don't want what happened to my parents or Wheeler to happen to you. One thing though, When I freed you from the chair in prison, how'd you wind up in this dump prepared to kill me?"

"Damned if I know… I headed out, then was whacked over the head, and woke up in the room where they brought you. I had the thought that I had to set things straight for the sake of Shepherd's Glen."

"Fuck Shepherd's Glen! It's ruined! If we get out of here, I'm leaving this place!"

"You may not care, but I do! I gave up my kid to keep the place safe! Nora died, thinking I hated her! How do you think that makes me feel, knowing that you don't give a damn about that!"

"I never said I didn't! I never said I didn't care about you or Nora! Damnit, you were more of a parent than I ever had! How can I just say forget you!" He crossed the room, resting both hands on her shoulders. Her flinch was what worried him. "What is it?"

She shook her head, and turned away from him. The tears were still there, and they were falling openly. Alex spun her around to face him again, only to feel her grip him tightly. Her arms had wrapped themselves around his neck, while her face was buried in the alcove of his neck and shoulder. His arms slowly and tentatively snaked around her slender waist. Her entire body began to shake with silent sobs.

Something I said? What in the world did I do to have this happen? I'm not the world's most sensitive person, but I guess I'll have to play this out.

He got a strange urge, but didn't dare to act on it. It was odd, because he had always thought of her as a mother figure. His eyes moved to observe her, and it didn't surprise him that he had a hard time believing the woman before him was Elle's mother. She slowly raised her head to look into his face, expecting to see him horrorstruck, but instead, there was an unreadable expression. This stumped her for all of a few seconds, until she noted that Alex's hands were not at her waist anymore. His left was slowly removing a loose strand of hair from her pale face. His right was now at the middle of her back. "Alex…"

"Don't." He pulled away, forcing open the door, and then doubled back to pick up the ceremonial dagger and a first aid kit. "You coming? I don't want you to be alone."

"Yeah…" She followed without a word, and Alex made a personal vow. I'll do whatever I can to protect her and save Elle. It's the least I can do for her. I know I will never understand my own reasoning, but I feel like I've go to do this…