Harry felt himself floating. He was weak. So very weak. He could feel it weighing him down. After what he had just been through, he wouldn't be able to last much longer. He needed something to help him recover.

Blindly he reached out. It wasn't a physical action. He was instinctually sending out his consciousness, groping for something, anything that would help.

Eventually he came across something. It was like a stream of energy winding its way like a breeze through a forest. He latched onto it, and drew on that power, using it to replenish himself.

But there was something wrong with the energy he was drawing on. It was tainted, dirty. It was akin to trying to drink pure, clean water through a black, toxic sludge. The more he used it, the more he could feel it tainting him as well. But he had no choice. It was draw strength from the corrupted power, or be too weak to do anything, much less survive.

And so he drank…

Harry groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. His head hurt, but not as much as he felt it should. And he, oddly enough, seemed to be laying on something relatively soft.

Hesitantly he opened his eyes to din weak light coming through dirty windows. He groaned again as he sat up, finding himself laying on a lightly cushioned bench.

"Glad to see you're up. I was getting worried. You've been out for over an hour." Came Cybil's voice.

Harry turned to find her sitting on a chair nearby, watching over him with her rifle resting on her lap. He raised his hand to his head, letting the last of the pain he was feeling bleed away. "No more attacks?"

Cybil gestured to the entrances to the room, which had been barricaded with the now intact if dilapidated furniture in the room. "I made some changes. Radio's been silent though, so hopefully that means they weren't necessary. Still, safe than sorry and all…" She cracked her neck. "How are you feeling?"

"I'll be fine. I'm not in much pain anymore. Mostly just a headache." He responded.

Cybil nodded. "Good." She took a deep breath. "Now, what the hell were you thinking?"

Harry blinked, nonplussed. "What?"

"You heard me. What you did was beyond reckless, especially considering what it does to you. For all we know you could have given yourself brain damage!" The cop said sternly.

Harry stared. "Uh, I was thinking that we didn't have many other options and you were about to be cut to ribbons." He frowned. "Why are you angry? It worked, didn't it?"

"That's not the point!" Cybil retorted, scowling. "It's my duty to get you the hell out of here, and it's kind of hard for me to do that if you turn your brain to mush being reckless!"

Harry glared now. "I'm not your responsibility, Cybil! In case you hadn't noticed, we're in this together. You'd be dead if I hadn't done what I did. Now let's just focus on getting the hell out of here."

Cybil growled but nodded. "Alright, let's head for the graveyard. I was checking the map and got the route memorized. Get up and grab your stuff."

Harry nodded and got up, wincing slightly as his slightly sore muscles protested. He grabbed his bag and made sure the radio was securely attached to his waistband before un-holstering his pistol, lamenting the loss of the rifle. Once he made double sure it was fully loaded he nodded to Cybil, who had moved the furniture away from the main door enough to get out. She nodded back and opened the door, letting them back out into the foggy streets of Silent Hill.

They were both tense, weapons at the ready, but nothing sprung out of the fog to attack them.

"This way." Cybil said, moving down a different street than they'd used to arrive.

"Too bad we can't use a car like we originally meant to." Harry said softly. "But it's not like it'll be of any use once we reach the cemetery. Made the trip to the station kinda pointless." Cybil nodded in agreement.

They walked for several long minutes, both still tense and wary for any attack. They were crossing the street at an intersection when Harry turned and stared down one of the side streets.

"Harry?" Cybil asked.

"I thought I saw…" He took a few steps forward, squinting. Then his eyes widened and he started running. "Cybil! There's someone this way! They're human!" Cybil was startled, but ran behind Harry, who shouted out "Wait, we're not going to hurt you!"

"Harry, wait! Dammit kid!" Cybil cried after him as she hurried to catch up.

Eventually the chase led them to a large building. They both saw a figure rush in and slam the door shut behind them. Cybil tried to catch her breath. "What the hell, Harry? That was dangerous as hell. What if you'd run into something like big ugly back in the station?"

"I know, Cybil, but if there is somebody else here, I wouldn't feel right leaving them behind." He looked up at the words above the doors to the building. "Midwich Elementary School, huh?"

Cybil looked up too. "Why would they rush in here?"

"Maybe they've been hiding out here? Like they found a safe space?"

"If they managed that, I'll be impressed. Well, guess we should take a look." So saying, Cybil walked up the steps of the school, rifle at the ready, and carefully pushed the door open, Harry right behind her.

The inside of the school was empty and dark. There were papers scattered on the floor. Children's drawings and essays in untidy writing. Some of the lockers were open, casting weird shadows in the light of their flashlights.

They slowly stepped in, wary for any sign of attack. Thankfully, the radio remained silent and they walked forward a bit more confidently.

"We should check the school room by room. Hopefully we'll run into whoever that was quickly and can continue getting the hell out of here." Cybil said, and Harry nodded in agreement. They moved towards the first classroom and, after a glance inside, walked in.

The room was silent and full of desks placed haphazardly. There didn't appear to be anything of note, but they looked through it thoroughly anyway. They found the same in the next couple of rooms they entered. The only real difference between the rooms was the decorations. One was obviously the science room as it had the periodic table on the wall. Another appeared to be the English classroom, as it had famous lines and quotes posted on the walls.

They were in the math room, which had multiplication tables and other math paraphernalia, when they finally heard the radio start to crackle. They both whirled, weapons at the ready, and stared, once more horrorstruck at what they were seeing.

They were small. Each about the size of an eight year old child, with mottled greyish-green skin. They had a series of slits where their eyes should be and open, gasping mouths. Each carried a long, lethal looking knife in grotesque hands with long, multi-jointed fingers. They made screaming sounds, like children in unbearable pain, as they approached the two, ready to attack.

"A-are those… kids?" Cybil asked, sounding sickened. Indeed, it seemed like she was going to vomit from sheer horror.

Harry gulped but lifted his pistol. "Not anymore." He said grimly before firing, hitting one of the little monsters right where its eye should be. The remaining monsters screamed again as that one dropped, and both humans shot into the group without stopping till they were sure the enemy was down and the radio had quieted down.

They both stood, breathing heavily, before Cybil sank down on a desk with shaking legs, staring blankly, unable to tear her eyes away from the bodies of the monster children. Harry, not knowing what to say, lay his hand on her shoulder, offering support in spite of his own desire to just curl up in a ball.

"I knew, intellectually, that kids had died when whatever affected Silent Hill hit, but this…" Cybil said after a long moment of silence. Harry gave her shoulder a squeeze and she took a shuddering breath. "We're getting out of here, Harry. And then we're making sure this place is leveled, even if we have to fucking nuke it ourselves."

"You won't hear any argument from me. C'mon, let's get moving. The sooner we do, the sooner we get out." Harry said softly in response. Cybil nodded, and they both left the room, hoping to not run into any more of the things they just killed.

Thankfully they didn't run into anything further for a while as they checked the rest of the rooms. They paused upon reaching the nurse's office, grabbing bottles of pain killers and some bandages, just in case. Harry was quick to take a couple of the pills, swallowing them dry. Then they continued their search.

Harry opened a door in a corner, finding cleaning supplies and not much else. "Where could they be? We both saw them run into the school, they have to be somewhere."

Cybil, who was keeping an eye out while Harry checked the closet, shrugged. "I don't know. Would have to be somewhere out of the way, especially to keep anything from noticing them." She narrowed her eyes down the hallway, sure she had seen something in the darkness beyond the beam of her flashlight. "Maybe a basement?"

Harry closed the door. "Probably. We still need to check the other rooms though." He paused as he was about to move off. "Do you hear that?"

Cybil tilted her head, listening. She was about to say no when she heard it, a scraping sound. She gripped her rifle tightly as they heard it again. It was louder, closer. The two looked at each other and Harry opened his mouth to speak before the radio crackled loudly and insistently. Neither could avoid the thought that it was as if the radio was screaming at them.

They both started moving away from where the scraping sound was coming from, trying to avoid being spotted by whatever was approaching them. Harry waved Cybil into a classroom and, after making sure it was empty, they closed the door and hid, glancing carefully out the window in the door. Soon enough the newest monster to torment them appeared, and both stared.

It was tall, six and a half feet at least, and thin yet muscular. It wore what seemed to be dirtied, sleeveless robe that was formerly white, but was now stained with dirt and blood. Behind it was dragged an enormous blade that looked like a kitchen knife, if not for having a length of approximately five feet. The most notable thing about it, however, was its head. It seemed to be incased in a huge helmet/torture device. It was a pyramidal structure with a sharp, lethal point reaching down in front, almost reaching the things waist. It had to weigh at least a couple hundred pounds, but the monster moved regardless.

It glanced around, though how it could see was anybody's guess, before moving forward, leaving them behind, till only the faint scraping of its weapon on the ground was heard. Cybil let out a sigh of relief. "Whatever that was, I don't want to face it in a fight." Harry nodded fervently, and the radio's noise died down.

Once they were sure it was safe they warily left the room. They found they had reached the stairwell which led up and down.

"What do you think? Second floor, or basement?" Harry asked.

Cybil considered it. "If they're hiding I think it's more likely they're in the basement than up top, so let's check there first."

Harry nodded, and the two made their way down, weapons drawn and ready, though thankfully the radio remained silent. They looked around when they reached the bottom. It was even darker down here, but beyond that it was silent. Pipes snaked their way across the ceiling and walls, but nothing moved.

They moved down the hallway, ready for anything, but nothing appeared. Rather than set them at ease, this fact served to make them more and more tense. Their luck couldn't last forever. Finally they reached a door labeled 'Boiler Room'. They looked at each other before carefully opening it. Both quickly raised their weapons when they saw a figure standing in the, surprisingly, lightly illuminated room. They didn't fire though, as the radio was silent.

It was a woman. She appeared to be about thirty and was very pale with a somewhat gaunt face. Her long hair was a silvery blonde that reminded Harry of the Malfoys, and her eyes were blue. She wore a coat over a simple dress of dark blue or black which reached her shins, revealing that she was completely barefoot. She was standing in the middle of the room, watching them calmly.

"Er… Hello?" Began Harry, lowering his weapon slightly. Cybil did the same, eyeing the woman carefully as she and Harry entered the room fully, closing the door behind them.

"Hello." The woman said, voice strong. "I see you followed me into the school rather than continue trying to make your escape."

"Well, we couldn't just leave you. If there's someone else trapped here, we had to try and help." Harry said, confused.

The woman gazed at them, and it was then that Harry noticed she didn't seem to have eyebrows, meaning it was very difficult to try to read her.

"Trapped? I'm not trapped, young man. I live here. I am priestess and attendant to my god." She said simply.

Both Harry and Cybil glanced at each other. Cybil looked back at the woman, feeling tenser. "What's your name?"

"Claudia. Claudia Wolf." The woman, Claudia, responded simply.

"You're here voluntarily!?" Harry finally blurted out. "But the monsters! And that weird decay!"

"They won't harm the devoted." Claudia replied calmly.

Before either of them could respond another door opened admitting another woman in. This one was older than Claudia, most likely in her mid to late fifties. She had grey hair that reached her neck and her face was one that indicated previous beauty, though now she was sallow cheeked and dark eyed. She wore what appeared to be a ceremonial dress and headdress with a red and black striped tie, and was barefoot as well.

"Claudia. There you are girl." She approached before stopping upon seeing Harry and Cybil. "Ah, I see."

"Yes, Mother Dahlia. These two souls have recently joined the town. I was observing them when I was spotted. They followed me here." Claudia said calmly.

The newly named Dahlia observed the two. "Interesting. Very interesting. You, boy." She pointed at Harry. "I can tell you hold great power. Yes, you will be prefect. Perhaps even enough for the next stage."

Harry looked at the woman, beyond confused. "What are you talking about, lady?"

Dahlia looked at them dismissively. "You are in the domain of our lord. Your souls are now his, granting him more power. Power needed to spread to the rest of the world, bringing about Paradise."

Harry scowled. "My soul is my own! Who is this lord of yours?"

Dahlia's eyes suddenly glinted with mad zeal. "Our god, and future lord of this decadent world, Samael!"

Harry felt as if he'd just been doused with the entirety of the water from Hogwarts' lake in early January. "Samael? You follow a Fallen!?" He raised his weapon, seriously contemplating shooting.

Near the beginning of his Hogwarts career Hermione had babbled about a topic that he'd actually found interesting at the time and so had listened intently. She'd just found books in the History section of the Library regarding world mythologies. When she'd asked Madame Pince why they were there, she'd been surprised to find it was because the magical world knew the gods of the various pantheons to be real. There were NEWT level students focusing on History who studied the topic extensively.

Among them Hermione had interestedly read about the beings dealt with in Abrahamic mythology, such as Angels and Demons. The Fallen had been mentioned as being essentially like their Biblical counterparts, except even worse. Any whisper a magical government heard of anybody trying to make contact with such beings brought down a hammer made of the combined might of every government on Earth. Nobody wanted to give the Fallen a foothold on the material plane. And Samael was considered one of the worst of that group.

Harry had a further revelation as he remembered all this. "This town is due to Samael!? He has a foothold!?"

Claudia looked as unperturbed as her senior, though now that Harry looked for it he saw the same glint of madness in her eyes as was in Dahlia's. "The great lord Samael has blessed this place since our Order opened the path to him twenty years ago. He came through and turned Silent Hill into his domain. This location was perfect for him. It has always been a powerful place. Even the savage natives knew it. They called it 'The Place of the Silent Spirits'." Claudia smiled. "Now, our lord will spread his influence from here. Soon the entire world will be covered in the fog, and true Paradise will be born! It already began by spreading to Shepherd's Glen. Soon it will spread to Brahms, and from there one of the great cities, packed with souls to give lord Samael more power and help him extend his reach."

Both Harry and Cybil stared at the two women in horror, weapons up and ready to fire. "You're insane…" Breathed Cybil, before her stare turned into a glare. "We won't let you get away with this." She snarled. "We'll call the Justice League in as soon as we get out and they'll put a stop to all of this."

Dahlia sneered slightly. "I do not know what this Justice League is, but you won't be able to call upon them. Nobody gets out of here. You'll remain here till you die, and then your soul will empower lord Samael." She let a nasty smile curl her lips. "And even if you managed it, that would only help us. More powerful souls for lord Samael!"

Harry was about to speak when he heard something. A scraping sound. A thrill of horror went through him as he remembered the horrible, pyramid headed thing. It was coming.

The others heard it too, and while Cybil looked apprehensive, the other two women looked interested.

"Oh my." Claudia said. "One of you has summoned a Shadowed One. I wonder which. They only appear for certain reasons." She looked at them both. "Is it you, boy, who's calling to it? Or perhaps the police woman?"

Before either could answer, or even ask what the hell she was talking about, as neither wanted that thing after them, the radio started to crackle. At first they thought it meant the pyramid thing had gotten close enough to register. The something landed on Cybil's shoulder. "OW!" She cried, grabbing whatever it was and throwing it to the floor. "It bit me!" They looked and saw that it was an insect, like an exceptionally large cockroach. Harry promptly stepped on it before looking up to see if there were any more, and froze.

The ceiling was crawling with the things. Cybil, who had followed his gaze, aimed her rifle up unthinkingly. The weapon wouldn't be much help against a mass of insects though.

Harry looked at the women in front of him, and while Claudia was gazing at them bemusedly, Dahlia stared at Harry's radio. "So…" he heard her whisper. "That's where you've been hiding, my dear…"

The radio's static got much louder, seemingly in response, but then the door Dahlia had come through was smashed open, and the pyramid monster walked in, dragging its weapon behind it. Harry made a strategic decision. "Run for it, Cybil!"

They both turned and ran. Harry glanced back momentarily to see Claudia and Dahlia watching them, being utterly ignored by the pyramid monster and the insects.

Harry and Cybil rushed down the hallway. Harry paused briefly to turn and shoot at the monster following them. The bullets impacted its metal torture device ineffectively. Not only that, but Harry could see the monster bugs flowing down the hallway after them as well. He abandoned his attempts and ran after Cybil, who had reached the stairway.

They both rushed up it desperately, trying to get their asses out of the school as quickly as possible. Because of this they practically rant into a group of the children monsters from before. Screaming shrilly the things attacked. Cybil, who was in the lead, got a nasty cut on her leg as she backpedaled, raising her rifle and firing.

The two cleared a path as quickly as possible and rushed past the remainder, even as the things followed them on their short legs, still screaming. Soon the saw the doors to the school ahead, the weak light of the outside beckoning them onward.

With everything still following them the two burst back into the streets of Silent Hill and didn't stop running.

So here's another chapter of Brightest in Shadow. The next chapter I write will be a Dragon one, I promise.

So, some lore exposition for my version of Silent Hill here. As you can see, in this universe the Order for the most part succeeded in summoning their god. So now I've upped the stakes, seeing as in my story, the town's influence is spreading. How will things go forward from here? Well, next is another classic Silent Hill location.

Sorry if you're disappointed about there being no Otherworld version of the school this time, but I couldn't think of how to work it in. Next chap we'll definitely head back to Otherworld though.

Pyramid Head. In my opinion he's overplayed. He made sense in 2 because he was an integral part of the story, but then they tried to shoehorn him in to the others, with varying success. Homecoming had a decent explanation for it, but they could have easily used something original. Still, I think he makes sense for this universe. Anybody that's played SH2 knows who he's after and why, I think.

Surprised nobody knew where the new monsters from the last chapter were from. Or if anybody does, they didn't mention it in the reviews. Debating using another monster from that series in the next chapter. I'll see what I think up.

In case anybody was interested, I posted the first chapter of a RWBY fic last week. It's short, more a concept idea. If it's your cup of tea though, let me know what you think.

Again, next chapter I put out will be for Dragon. Probably be out this time next week. I'll see if I can get it out faster.

Till next time, read and review. Bye.