A/N: I apologize for the lengthy wait between chapters. I've had loads of exams to study for, and finals and state tests are coming up soon as well. I shall do my best to continue posting chapters regularly, but there is no guarantee they'll be posted anytime soon. I do plan on finishing, but for the time being, I am short on time. In the meantime, ejoy, and thanks to all my reviewers!

Chapter Twenty

The return to the outside world was as welcoming as it could be in such a place as Silent Hill; the forces of the living darkness were no longer in effect, and the Red Pyramid remained absent from their field of view. Rose found that she was nearly certain the raggedy figure she had seen crouched in the distance behind the being during Cybil's rescue had been Dahlia herself; she recalled, with slight amounts thought towards the matter, that she had seen Dahlia near to the same creature in the past. When Anna had died…Dahlia had administered the same motion of the hand at Anna which Christabella had used upon Rose after claiming her to be a witch; shortly following, the Red Pyramid had materialized behind the mother's and cop's short-lived companion, and had torn the life from the young woman's body—quite literally, in fact. Was Dahlia in control of such a monstrosity? Was the Pyramid there to do her bidding? And if that was the case, why would the woman have tried to kill Rose by way of that blasted Jeep, yet make certain to preserve Cybil's life?

In all honesty it made no sense whatsoever to the young mother, as she strode through the small patch of forest with Cybil sticking near to her side. In her hand she carried a thick but flexible vine; in case she needed to defend them at any time, she'd explained, and she imitated a strangulation by placing it around her neck for a short moment. Rose quickly pulled it down though, scolding her for trusting the thing wouldn't turn into some great snake-like living thing and do just what Cybil had intended to do to any entities which befell their path. In truth, it was a far-off chance, but one Rose just wasn't willing to take. She had grown too attached to the sturdy female; not a soul on earth could convince her to let even the most seemingly insignificant risks be taken in relation to Cybil Bennett. Not to mention the fact that something else looked as if it were growing between them; whether their 'relationship' was a positive or negative concern remained to be seen.

The two resumed walking side-by-side down the rough slope that they had trekked up just a short while ago; every so often they would reach a particularly rough section and the cop would insist Rose take her hand for extra balance; Rose would make certain that each time such an action was taken, she was to relinquish her hold as soon as was possible. Just before reaching the level ground of the ancient street below, the mother's cerulean irises caught hold of a figure in what appeared to name itself white silk, with a crimson ribbon capturing dark brown locks in a thick, low, ponytail. The figure was flanked by two miners. Galia. Rose's steps faltered and she felt hands gripping her waist in an obvious attempt to prevent the fall she would have inevitably taken in their absence.

"For Christ's sake Rose—will you be careful?"

Heated blue met violet, and the mother snapped back her own reply.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, if you'd give me a goddamn chance once in a while."

The cop shook her head and suddenly realized her hands had not left Rose's waist, though she made short work of that fact, and she removed them quickly. Her eyes looked swiftly in the opposite direction, biting her tongue until she had composed a less harsh remark of her own, and muttered it only just loud enough for Rose to hear it.

"Sorry for caring."

Choosing to ignore the statement, Rose broke into a long-stride jog down the steep face of the hill, stumbling at the sudden leveling of the earth, and was brought to one knee, saving herself from falling completely when she threw her arms out before her. Cybil's pace increased until she reached the same level ground as Rose, but rather than assisting her friend to her feet, she simply slowed to a walk and stood beside the mother, shaking her head and putting her hands on her hips.

"There you go Rose. Take care of yourself."

Righting herself, Rose proceeded to brush herself off, and then looked up at the cop with an annoyed expression written across her face. She said nothing, just as she had done before; instead she merely trudged onward in the direction of the town, weaving her way between the rusty skeletons of long since dead vehicles, though she traveled by way of a thin trail directed away from the chain link fence and the ancient bridge. 'Twas a route she hadn't taken in the past, and she presumed the same for Cybil; in the distance she could hear what sounded to be human voices, yet the mother was far too great a distance from Galia and her followers for the source to have been the lady in white.

A looming mass of twisted metal and half-burned wood blocked the pair's view until Rose proceeded to approach and peer around it; she let out a short, partially strangled gasp in the instant before she pulled herself swiftly back 'round; Cybil's protective instincts immediately kicked in, and she rushed forward to see what had caused the surprise. She also peered around the edge of the mass, being careful where to place her hands lest she slice them open upon the jagged, rusty edges; now fully able to see what had spooked Rose, the cop herself drew back.

A mass of what may have been thirty or more long-tongued canines scurried about like disturbed ants; something had upset them, and while they didn't appear to have focused their attention in she and Rose's general direction, Cybil wasn't about to write it off the list of possibilities. She peeked through a space between two iron rails jutting out of the pile, and realized with horror that every one of these canines was fully able to see; their eyes, unlike the others the cop and the mother had encountered, were not sealed shut by flesh. The vine quivered in the cop's hand, tapping against the nearby metals for a moment, and then Rose snatched the end of it to silence the noise. The mother frowned and mouthed the word 'Quiet!' to the lady deputy, dropping the vine in the process. Cybil switched it to her other hand to be sure it would not strike anything and produce unnecessary noise.

Abruptly, one of the dogs let out its ferocious, wild-cat-like roar, and leapt at some unknown entity; a yelp instantaneously followed, and the dog creature was seen to be soaring back in the direction that it had come, its great body sliced raggedly in two. Still alive, its frontal half lay on the ground about ten meters from Cybil's position, groaning in anguish and shuddering horribly. Less than a minute later, motion ceased, and the monster lay silent. The remaining beasts had stopped their darting about to watch the goings on; another dared to leap at whatever it was that had enticed the first dog to do the same, and soon the second too was returned in several pieces.

Rose moved closer to Cybil so as to look over her shoulder without exposing herself; the cop did her best to ignore the warm breath shooting down the back of her neck as the dog-slayer moved into the two's range of vision. The Red Pyramid, flanked by Dahlia, Galia, and the two miners, raised his massive blade and cut down on another canine; Rose gasped and shut her eyes as she pulled back; the enormous cranium of the Pyramid suddenly rotated in the direction of the women, and the form of Dahlia could be seen pointing viciously at them as well. The officer ducked behind the mass, breathing hard and beginning to shove Rose backward in the opposite direction. Before she could move herself, however, a great roar split the deathly silence, and Cybil cast her glance round long enough to see that the Pyramid had successfully maneuvered the beastly canines into a full-out stampede, their fear of the enormous blade driving them straight toward the mother and her friend.

"Around the back, Rose! Now!"

The young mother did her best to keep herself out of the way of the more physically fit cop, but she was unable to do so upon such a realization as the fact that before them both was the same sticky, pulsing, acidic goop that had injured Cybil upon their arrival to the tainted town. Desperately glancing in all directions, the Da Silva woman thought quickly and turned to bound up the dangerously sharp pile of steel and other metals; Cybil followed suit, the ends of the scraps carving chunks out of her hands and legs like jack-o-lanterns; Rose was suffering similar injuries, but they were the least of her concerns at the moment. One of the dogs spotted their motions as it skidded 'round a bend; a howl was emitted, and the brainless creature launched itself a good seven feet up the pile, its lengthy appendage nearly wrapping itself 'round the custom boots Cybil had been so worried about. Pierced through the abdomen by a particularly jagged piece of iron, the monstrosity whimpered loudly and died; noticing its plight, other members of the group altered their directions to match those of the dead. The two women reached the summit of the monstrous metal hill; on all sides, entities, or what they assumed to be entities, watched.

"Great fucking idea Rose," Cybil panted, her back pressed firmly against the mother's. "Now what the Hell are we supposed to do?"