Title: Drag Them Into Hell
Author: HousethatJackBuilt

Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Swearing, violence, gore, horror, slight slash *SPOILERS FOR SH5 AND SH2!*

Chapter Warnings: Strong language, moderate threat
Pairing: None
Disclaimer: I don't own Silent Hill or any of its characters or creations. All credit goes to the makers. I am not making any money off this story.
Author's Note: I'm so sorry I've taken so long to update this! I have a habit of taking a while to write new chapters but rest assured, I have not given up on this story! I just have a lot going on at the moment but I'm really enjoying writing it. Thank you as always for all the reads and reviews. Much appreciated.

Summary: It's been five months since Alex Shepherd left Silent Hill and he is trying to rebuild his life. Things are going well until children start to go missing from his hometown and he hears voices calling him back to Silent Hill. James Sunderland is still in Silent Hill, continuously being tormented. His spirit is faltering and he is growing weaker by the day, considering suicide daily. Pyramid Head won't allow James to leave and wants Alex to come home. You cannot escape who you are.

The bullies and their spiteful wrath will find torment as well.
Soon he will strike them where they stand and drag them into hell.

The small camp fire flickered and hissed, sending tiny flecks of ember floating to the ground like burning ash. No birds cawed overhead like the first time James woke up on the highway, no scurrying footsteps of deer nor elk could be heard in the surrounding forest. Everything was as silent as the stars above them, which shimmered like crystals against the midnight sky. It was as if everything was calm and quiet for a reason, as if the surrounding wildlife knew that something was going to happen and were watching curiously from the safety of the woodland. Something was going to happen and James wished that it would just hurry up.

He and Alex had finished walking three hours ago, after leaving the motel an hour before that. James couldn't possibly remember the exact spot on the highway in which he woke up after leaving Silent Hill, so they just had to sit and wait on the roadside at the spot that James guessed was closest. He knew he was probably miles out; the highway looked exactly the same as far as the eye could see. But somehow James didn't think that Pyramid Head would have too much trouble picking up their location. He knew exactly where they were and he would pick his moment when he and he alone was ready. James looked at Alex who was staring intently into the fire. They hadn't spoken to each other much since they'd left the motel. James was feeling pretty defeated and he knew Alex must be feeling the same. Neither of them wanted to go back to Silent Hill. They wanted to stay in the land of the living where the sun shone and the breeze was soft. Each step they both took when they were trawling along the highway seemed to get heavier and heavier, the threat of death and Pyramid Head moving ever closer.

"Why were you called to Silent Hill?" asked Alex, startling James out of his thoughts. Alex had turned his attention from the fire to James, waiting patiently for an answer. Now it was James's turn to avert his eyes and gaze at the flames.

"We're both being called back for a reason," continued Alex. "A reason that we're both unsure of right now, but we both know why we were called there the first time. You know why I first went to that town... I just think that if we're going back there, all we're really going to have is each other whether we like it or not. I can't go into this with a guy I know jack shit about, I may have to trust you with my life at some point."

James remained silent and unresponsive. He wasn't ready to open up about what he'd done in the past. If Alex knew what had happened, what he'd done to Mary, he wouldn't trust him at all. He'd be the last person he'd trust his life with and he'd run a mile. James couldn't risk that, he had to get Alex back to Silent Hill. Hell, James couldn't even trust himself! What with all of the thoughts he'd been having lately, the whispers in his head that made him almost kill Officer Stanton. He didn't know who he was or what he was becoming and it frightened him. He'd never been more scared in his life.

"My brother was the greatest kid you'd ever meet," Alex said so quietly that James almost didn't hear him. He was looking into the fire again, a soft orange glow cast on his face and the shadows deepening his features. He was staring into the flames but James thought that he looked like he was staring at something else entirely, like a distant memory of a fading past. Alex smiled a little and went on. "He used to think that I could do anything, he used to call me Superman. Whenever he'd get scared in the middle of the night, he'd climb up into my bed and we'd fall asleep together in the dark. If he was getting bullied in school I'd teach him how to fight back and he'd be the happiest kid alive when he'd defeated them all, despite breaking his nose in the process. I knew my parents loved him more than me; he was the apple of their eye. It would always be Josh that my father would take hunting, or to the movies, or fishing... I don't remember one hug or one kiss from him; I stopped trying after Josh was born. But Josh, Joshua always loved me. I was his big brother and when he was born, I held him in my arms and promised that as long as I lived, as his big brother, I would always protect him no matter what..."

James stared at Alex who was still looking into the fire, the flames reflecting in his eyes that were full of pain and sadness. He knew Alex wanted and needed to continue, so he waited patiently. After a few minutes, Alex continued.

"When I saw him in Silent Hill, before I could remember what had happened, I kept chasing him. I was worried about him, running around town all by himself... but every time I'd get close to him, he'd always run away. It was like chasing a ghost. When I finally remembered the truth and held my brother's... body in my arms I thought I'd put everything to rest. That's why I was allowed to leave, right? So why am I being called back there? Maybe it's because I failed to keep my promise to Josh, I couldn't protect him. But I know that, I realise the truth and I'll have to live with it for the rest of my life. So that can't be the reason. What does that town want?"

Alex looked up at James expecting an answer but James couldn't give him one. He knew more about the situation than he was letting on, he knew that he was deceiving Alex slightly. He could tell him about the things that Pyramid Head frequently whispered to him, about the blood that was running through his body which wasn't entirely his, but what good would that do? It would only scare Shepherd even further and he'd never get him back to that town. He decided to go with the only answer that he felt was safe, if it could even be called an answer.

"I don't know Alex," replied James, without much conviction at all.

"You know, for a guy who's been sent from Silent Hill to find me, you don't know an awful lot do you?" There was an accusatory tone to Alex's voice. "How do I know I can even trust you? How do I know that you only want the best for those kids? You haven't told me anything about yourself besides from your name and you expect me to just follow you blindly into the fog without so much as a second thought?" Alex was looking at James suspiciously and James could almost hear the cogs in his mind turning and assessing the situation.

"Alex, everything I've told you so far has been the truth." James felt bad for deceiving the guy but it was the only way. "I've told you that I've been sent to find you by... by the red demon and he has taken two kids! Isn't that enough?"

Alex stood up suddenly, the reflection of the camp fire flames burning in his eyes. "I know he's taken two kids Sunderland! One of those kids happens to be my friend's son! I know what it must be doing to him; it's killing him inside not knowing where his son is. I was there when he and his wife were told of William's disappearance; I had to look them in the eyes okay? So don't ask me if it's enough!"

James remained seated on the floor, looking up at Alex apprehensively. He needed to calm him down or he was never going to get him to cooperate.

"Alex I'm sorry but... just trust me. I promise I'll tell you everything but I can't right now. Not at this moment in time, but I promise I will."

"Not good enough. I know what's at stake here; I know there are kid's lives to think about. But without me, you've got nothing."

James felt panic flare up inside of him. He knew what was coming next and he didn't like it one bit. All he could do was stare up at Shepherd and wait for the words he knew he was going to say.

"If I go into this with a person I know nothing about, I won't last long out there. You could stab me in the back at anytime. And if that happens, I'll be just as useless to those kids as I will be if I don't go. You either start explaining properly, or you're on your own. And I have a feeling Pyramid Head won't be too happy about that."

Alex looked down at James who could only stare back open mouthed. James knew this was coming but he didn't know what to say. He was frantically trying to think of a way to make him come back to Silent Hill willingly without telling him the whole truth. Shepherd would never trust him if he knew all of the details and James wouldn't blame him. It was better for all involved if the truth was omitted, at least just for a little while.

After a short silence Alex made a decision. "Say Hi to Pyramid Head for me," he stated bitterly. He then turned on his heel and began walking down the highway in the direction they had come.

James leapt to his feet and started after Alex. He couldn't lose him now! Not after all of the shit he'd been through just to get him here in the first place. He'd almost killed somebody for Christ sakes! He was so close to getting him to Silent Hill and he was dammed if he was going to let him just disappear down the highway. The main driving force behind all of it though was fear. Fear of Pyramid Head and what he would do to James if he let Alex just slip through his fingers. He didn't even want to think about it.

"Alex wait! Just think about this for a second would you?" James caught up with Alex and grabbed his arm pulling him back. Alex turned around, visibly furious and pushed James in the chest, hard. James stumbled back a few steps, the breath knocked out of him. Alex glared at James and turned around, storming off down the highway once more. James tried a different approach this time and ran ahead of Alex, standing in front of him and blocking his path.

Alex stopped and stared at James. "Get out of my way. You and Silent Hill can go fuck yourselves." He barged past James, knocking into him as he did so. James was beginning to feel a little frustrated now. He understood that Shepherd was pissed at him and angry at not knowing the truth but he had no idea of the pressure James was under. He didn't know the half of it!

James spun around and grabbed Alex by the shoulder and less than a second later felt a blinding pain in his nose when Alex turned around and punched him head on. James's head felt fuzzy and he lost his balance, landing on his back on the ground with a heavy thud. He looked up at the stars which were swimming before him like millions of ice crystals floating in a sea of darkness. He felt blood running from his nose on to his cheek. He was vaguely aware of Shepherd standing over him and before he could stop himself, his leg shot out kicking Alex hard in the ankles and sweeping him off his feet, causing him to hit the ground hard.

Alex let out a cry of pain and surprise, "Son of a bitch!" He tried to sit up and get back on to his feet but James was quicker and was on him in an instant. He sat on Alex's stomach, straddling him and preventing him from moving. Alex tried to push him off but James grabbed both of his arms and pinned them to the ground either side of his head.

"You sneaky bastard!" cried Alex furiously. "I've already told you, I'm not going back there! Now get off me!"

James looked down at Alex. He didn't even know what prompted him to trip him up in the first place. It was as if his leg had a mind of its own. He didn't even know what had happened until it happened. The blood from James's nose dripped down on to Alex's face causing him to flinch. That's when the voices began and he felt a dark cloud begin to spread through his mind.

Tell him the truth my Creator... tell him how you loved suffocating the life out of your beloved wife Mary.

James squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the voice but it was no use. It only became louder and stronger.

You will bring Alex back James... you will find a way to bring him back to me... or you will pay the price.

James felt the darkness begin to overcome him. He tried with all of his strength to resist it, to fight it but the urge was almost overwhelming. His grip tightened on Alex's wrists, eliciting a hiss of pain from his captive. The last thread of rational thought he had left told him to snap out of it, Shepherd would see that there was something seriously wrong and would never go back to Silent Hill with him. But that last thread of thought was cut almost instantly when the last bit of darkness enveloped him.

James bought his face down to Alex's, their noses merely inches apart. Fury still danced in Shepherd's eyes but there was a hint of uncertainty there too. James smiled and began to speak, his mouth working of its own accord. To his own ears his voice sounded like his own, but it was very steady, almost too steady.

"You want to know the truth about me?" asked James, his voice low and even. Alex only stared back, the uncertainty growing in his eyes. James continued, "Fine. The reason I was called to Silent Hill in the first place was because I had a very dark secret... a very dark past. I was called to that town because I needed to confront my past and pay for my sins, much like you. I was chasing a ghost, being stalked at every turn. Do you want to know what I did Alex... do you?"

Alex just stared into James's eyes, wanting to avert his gaze but not being able to. James lowered his mouth to Alex's ear, his breath tickling his skin. He spoke very quietly; barely a whisper but Alex heard every word, "... I killed my wife."

Alex's eyes widened and he could only stare at James, unblinking, unmoving. James looked down at Alex and continued, "We all have our sins Alex, you should know that by now."

"I'm not a murderer though!" cried Alex, struggling to push James off him. "You expect me to trust you now, after what you've just told me?"

James tightened his grip on Alex's wrists at an almost bruising force. He could hear the faint whispers in his head, could feel the darkness growing, and he could feel himself liking it. "You're not a murderer Alex, but you took your brother out on to that lake in the middle of the night. Maybe you didn't have a clear intention on what was going to happen, but you did it all the same. And Joshua paid the price."

Alex began his struggle with renewed fury but James held him down effortlessly. It was if he had some sort of abnormal strength, he could almost feel it inside of himself.

"I didn't kill my brother! He fell into that lake! I know I'm responsible for what happened, I paid the price last time God damn it! I may have been responsible for my brother's death but I didn't kill him in cold blood, I'm nothing like you!"

James smiled a cold smile and bought his face closer to Alex's. "You may not have killed him in cold blood but you caused his death. It never would have happened if you hadn't taken him out on to that lake. I know what I am... I know what I did... and I've been paying for it ever since. Both of us have failed the people we were supposed to have loved the most. We're more alike than you think."

Somewhere in the back of James's mind, his thoughts began to clear and he had a sudden overwhelming urge to get rid of this darkness. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to focus. He couldn't think straight and his thoughts were conflicting, his mind was hazy. It was as if he was in a horrible nightmare and no matter how much he tried he couldn't wake up.

Get out of my head! He thought. Shepherd will know that something is wrong... I don't want you in my head. Can't... can't think straight!

The cloud that was fogging James's mind began to clear and his grip softened on Alex's wrists. His eyes became unclouded and the green shone through once more. He felt weaker somehow, as if his mind and body had been drained of energy. He got up off of Alex and stood up, his legs trembling. Alex got up with a lot more speed, fuelled by anger and stood facing James, breathing heavily.

"Alex... I-I need you to come back to Silent Hill," James managed to say in a shaky voice. "Think what you will of me, I don't expect you to trust me after what I've just told you. But I'm... I'm trying to do something right for once, I need to do this... and I think you do too. There are two kids who need us, who haven't done anything wrong. So what do you say? Are you in?"

Alex stared at James for what seemed like hours and without saying a word, he walked past James and sat down again by the campfire, staring into the flickering flames. James knew that he shouldn't say anything else; he knew that Shepherd needed time to think. So he walked over to the campfire and sat down. He stared into the fire too, the flames almost hypnotic.

Later that night, after the campfire had burned out, Alex was laying down on his back and staring up at the stars. He looked over at James who was on the other side of the remains of the fire, asleep in the foetal position. His brow was furrowed and he would often cry out in his sleep, as if troubled by relentless bad dreams. They had decided to call it a night around three hours ago and all was silent on the deserted highway. A heavy atmosphere still hung in the air, an impending sense of something coming was ever present and Alex had a constant feeling of unease in his gut.

James had fallen asleep almost instantly but Alex hadn't been nearly as successful. Both he and James knew that as soon as they fell asleep and their mind fell into an unconscious state, the gate to Silent Hill would be opened and when they awoke they would find themselves back in the place they had been trying to escape for a long time. That was the main reason Alex couldn't get to sleep, no matter how much he tried. After everything he had been through he was exhausted but he couldn't shut his mind off. He was dreading waking up and seeing nothing but fog, dreading hearing the cries of the tormented and constantly looking over his shoulder. But most of all, he was dreading seeing the red demon who he knew was coming for him. His mind took him back to when he last saw the one who had been stalking him the last time he was in Silent Hill. When Alex was standing in front of his father and watched as Pyramid Head came up behind him and sliced him in two with that great knife of his. He watched his father die right in front of him, at the hands of that monster.

He was terrified of going back there because he didn't want to come face to face with Pyramid Head and made a vow to himself to avoid that confrontation at all costs. He just wanted to find those kids and get the hell out of there. Another reason why he couldn't get to sleep was because of Sunderland's confession. How the hell was he supposed to sleep when there was a murderer sleeping only a few feet away from him? How do I know he's not going to knife me to death as soon as my eyes are closed? He thought. But he knew deep down that wasn't going to happen. Sunderland wouldn't have gone through all of this trouble to find him only to kill him at the final hurdle. It would be when they were actually in Silent Hill that he would have to watch his back and keep an eye on him.

He thought back to when James had him pinned down and had told him about murdering his wife. Alex thought there was something not quite right about James in those few minutes. He looked the same but something about him had changed slightly. He became more aggressive but not in a violent way... more like a cold and calculated way. Almost that there was something bubbling away under the surface and if unleashed, would be very dangerous. It was as if he was a snake that was being threatened and ready to strike, and if pushed too far, would bite you and bite you hard. Alex knew there was more to Sunderland than met the eye and he knew that he would have to be very careful if he wanted to have any chance of surviving this.

Alex turned over on his side, hoping that a change of position might help him get to sleep. The dirt was rough beneath him and a cockroach scurried past his head, just inches away from his nose. He sat up sharply and swatted at it with his hand. Ever since Silent Hill he'd had a terrible fear of cockroaches.

"This is hopeless," muttered Alex. "Where's a sleeping pill when you need one?"

Alex was about to lie back down again but stopped when he heard a soft cracking noise. He sat still and listened, but the silence only stretched on. After a few seconds he heard it again, only louder this time. He snapped his head towards the trees behind him. Maybe it was just an animal stepping on some twigs? He looked over at James who was still asleep. They only had one gun between them and James was the one who had it. He also had the only flash light they had between them in his jacket pocket. Alex stood up and began to make his way over to James to retrieve it. All of a sudden the lack of light made him very uncomfortable.

Before he reached James he heard the cracking sound again, only this time it was very loud and was coming from the highway. Alex whirled around and despite the darkness he could see what was causing the noise. A great crack was appearing in the road a few feet ahead, starting from one side of the road and continuing to the other. At first Alex thought it might be an earthquake but the ground wasn't shaking, nothing was being disturbed apart from the great crack that was slowly making its way across the highway. The noise rose to an almost ear splitting level and Alex winced. He jumped with a start when a light flashed on behind him. James had woken up and was now pointing the flash light at the highway.

"It's happening. The door is being opened," James whispered.

Now Alex wished he had fallen asleep. His heart began to beat faster as the crack stopped and the ground began to part where the road had split, creating a huge opening in the ground. He felt his stomach drop when fog began to rise from the crevice, seeping out and crawling over the concrete. He half expected dozens of hellish creatures to claw their way out and drag him down into the dark hole but he knew that wasn't going to happen. The door was open, now it was up to him and James to do the rest.

James began to walk towards the parting in the road and Alex followed close behind. The fog gathered around his feet and he felt as if they weighed twice as much. His stomach lurched with every step he took. Finally they both reached the edge of the opening, and both stared down into the bottomless depths. James shone his flashlight downwards but it didn't help much. The fog was so thick and the darkness so black that not even a helicopter spotlight would reveal what was down there. James clicked off the flash light and put it back in his pocket. He felt for the gun in his waist band just to make sure that it was still securely there. He looked at Alex, his eyes filled with dread.

"You know what we have to do?" he said ominously.

"Yeah... I don't like this one bit. Who knows what will be waiting for us at the bottom of this thing, who even knows if we'll make it to the bottom?"

"He's opened the door for us now. Somehow, I think he'll make sure that we get there unharmed."

Alex felt sick. He was just expected to take a leap of faith, straight down into hell. He just wanted to get it over with, but his legs wouldn't move.

"We'll both jump at the same time," said James, sensing Alex's hesitation. He grabbed hold of Alex's jacket by the shoulder. "Hold on to me."

Alex did the same, grabbing hold of James's jacket. "Just close your eyes on the way down," said James. "We'll go on three... one..."

Alex tightened his grip on James's jacket, his breathing became shallow.

"Two..."

His pulse quickened and his heartbeat raced. Sweat trickled down his temples.

"Three!"

He gritted his teeth and stared down into the darkness. He took a deep breath, his feet left the ground, as did James's and they jumped. In the blink of an eye they were plummeting down, down the through the fog and the darkness. Alex squeezed his eyes shut and prayed it would be over quickly. He regretted not taking one last look at the stars before he jumped, as he didn't believe that he would be seeing them again anytime soon.

Fog and darkness, he thought bleakly. Fog and darkness...