Title: Drag Them Into Hell
Author: HouseJackBuilt
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Swearing, violence, gore, horror, slight slash *SPOILERS FOR SH5 AND SH2!*
Chapter Warnings: Strong language, violence, sexual themes, slight non-con
Pairing: Pyramid Head/Alex
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: Hey everyone, so sorry I've taken so long with this chapter. The last few weeks in university were really busy and then I came down with tonsillitis which put me out of action for a few weeks. But I'm back with a super long chapter and some Pyramid Head goodness! Again I thank you all for your continued support, I appreciate every read and review I get from you all, so a big thank you and I hope this chapter was worth the wait.
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.
Child, you must obey your parents; do everything they say.
Little ones who do otherwise, he tortures in the flames.
James awoke groggily to the sight of nothing but grey swimming before his eyes and knew immediately that he was back in Silent Hill. His heart sank and he felt an overwhelming wave of nausea sweep over him. He knew what was expected, he knew that he would end up back that town and he thought he'd prepared himself for it. But James knew that no amount of preparing could ever shield him from his worst nightmare. It was always there in the back of his mind, lingering like an ever present shadow. A tiny part of him hoped that when he and Shepherd had made that leap down into the dark, that they wouldn't make it at all. How easy would it have been for it to be all over when they hit the bottom? This whole nightmare would have been over in the blink of an eye if the leap had done to him what he'd been afraid to do for so long. He knew fate would not be that kind however; of course they were going to make it. Well, he was almost certain he had made it. What about Alex?
James gingerly sat up, adamant that he must have broken something in a fall like that. But he checked himself over and he was fine. No broken bones, not even a scratch. He stood up and took in his surroundings. The fog was thick but it wasn't so thick that he couldn't see a thing; he could see a few feet in front of him in every direction. He turned on his flashlight which improved his visibility even more and he began to walk in search of Shepherd.
"Alex? Alex, can you hear me?" James called. He didn't want to be too loud. His old survival instincts were kicking in once more and he was reverting back to the old James Sunderland who dwelled in Silent Hill, tormented by the memories of his haunted past. Even having the flashlight on was making him feel uncomfortable, the light attracted the beasts. Even his radio couldn't fully comfort him. He was so intent in looking out in front of him into the fog, wary of a burst of acid that would melt his skin or a sharp set of teeth ready to rip his throat out, that he wasn't paying attention to his footing. He didn't see the huge drop only a few feet away from him. One step, two step, three step, four... and on the fifth step, his foot touched only air. It was like it was happening in slow motion. James tried to jerk his body backwards to the safety of solid ground but he teetered forward and down where the fog was thicker than ever, so thick that he couldn't see what he was falling into. James cried out, his back foot leaving the concrete also. He waved his arms, he lurched forward, he was going to die. But something stopped him in mid air and dragged him back to safety. He landed on the floor, the body of whoever had saved him trapped underneath.
"Jesus Sunderland, I can't breathe!"
It was Alex. Alex was the one who had saved him. James rolled off him and helped him up. They were both breathing heavily and James was shaking. He thought he was done for... and it had terrified him. Maybe he didn't want to die as much as he thought he did. He looked at Alex who didn't seem to have a mark or a scratch on him either.
"Well, you're welcome," said Alex, dusting himself off.
James caught his breath and steadied himself. "I'm sorry Alex; it was just such a shock. Fuck, I thought I was a dead man... Thank-you."
"Well I'm sure you'll get the opportunity to return the favour soon enough. Looks like we made it then," replied Alex who looked more depressed than James did. "It seems that we're on the roof of some building," continued Alex. "There are two small buildings back there, one of them is the stairwell, the door is unlocked, and the other seems to be a control room of some sort."
They both made their way in the direction that Alex had stated and the two buildings came into view. James stopped suddenly as it all came flooding back. The stairwell, the control room... and the chain link fence that was no longer there anymore because James had taken it with him when he fell. Alex turned around to face James.
"I know where we are," James whispered. Alex looked at him curiously. "We're at Brookhaven Hospital. I – I've been here before."
It began to play like a movie in James's head. A starless, pitch black night sky. Hearing the heavy footsteps behind him, the scraping of the great knife. Turning around, his flashlight illuminating the terrifying sight before him, the beam catching the blades surface making it shine like the sun. Then the mighty blow, his back hitting the chain link fence, the fence giving in and falling, James falling with it. Then nothing but a blinding pain, and then only darkness.
James instinctively looked over his shoulder, half expecting his tormentor to be standing behind him and for the incident to happen all over again. But there was only an endless fog.
"James. Do you still have the gun?" Alex asked. James checked the back of his waistband and the gun was still securely there.
"Yeah," replied James pulling it out and checking the chamber. His face fell.
"How many?" asked Alex, a hint of dread in his voice.
"Four." James let out a sigh of frustration. There was no way they were going to get far with four measly bullets. The place was bound to be crawling with monsters and God knows what else. And they couldn't exactly share the gun; James was going to have to look after himself and Alex and that was the last thing he wanted the responsibility of. The last time he was here, the person he was supposed to be looking after fell victim to Pyramid Head. An image of Maria flashed through his mind and he willed it away as quickly as it came. He flinched violently when Alex kicked the door in of what James remembered was the elevator control room. Alex went inside.
"Christ Alex, warn me the next time you want to scare the shit out of me. What are you doing?" asked James standing in the doorway.
"I'm looking for something I can use as a weapon. You've got the only gun we have and I'll be damned if I'm going to go into that hospital with only my fists for defence." Alex kept looking until eventually he found something. "This will have to do."
He had found a rusty metal pipe wedged behind one of the control desks. James looked at the pipe and then at his almost empty gun. He was good with a gun, rarely missed a shot but four bullets didn't exactly inspire confidence. It was going to take a miracle for them to get out of this hospital alive.
"Listen James, you have the only flashlight and the only radio so we're going to have to stick together. If we get separated, I'm going to be blind in there. You know this side of town better than me, where do we go if – when we get out of here?"
"We'll go to the place where I've been staying, Woodside Apartments. It's not that far from here and I've got all of my weapons in there. Everything we'll need to... to go and get those kids."
"Right. You said you've been here before, can you remember the way out?"
"I don't know. I can try... it's been a while since I've been here. All we need to do is get to the ground floor, out the front doors and straight to my place."
"Simple," said Alex who had gone rather pale. "You ready?" he asked, his hand on the doorknob to the stairwell.
James nodded even though he wasn't. He didn't want to do this. After being in the real world he hated this place more than ever. He didn't think that would be possible but he did. Now he was back to looking over his shoulder and listening to the sounds of Hell echoing all around him. Hell, he didn't even feel good about finally getting Shepherd here. Sure, that's what he'd been trying to do for so long; he'd been through so much shit to get him back. But Pyramid Head wasn't finished with James. He was going to meet his maker whether he'd brought Alex back or not. They were both up to their necks in shit. But there was nothing he could do about it, he was here and he'd have to deal with it. He needed to focus, to be on high alert if he wanted to make it out in one piece. He nodded again and held his gun out in front of him, his hands steady.
"Alex," said James, just as he was about to open the door. "Remember, I've only got four bullets left. So you get as many as you can with that pipe okay?"
Alex nodded and slowly turned the doorknob, the hinges making a painful creaking sound that ripped through the silence that hung in the air, making both men wince. Alex took a deep breath and yanked the door open, quickly stepping back with his pipe raised in the air. James aimed his gun into the darkness but nothing came out to attack them, no static hissed from his radio. The way was clear for now. They both entered the stairwell cautiously, the door closing behind them, shutting out the fog and bringing in the darkness.
The door to the third and first floor were locked so Alex and James had to go with the second floor and try to make their way down from there. Alex knew it wouldn't be that easy. Silent Hill would never just let you take the short way and walk out the front door, oh no. It would make you go the long way round and encounter a couple of hundred monsters before you even got close to the front door, and even then it might be locked. He just wanted to get out and get it over with. The situation was dire enough as it was. He just wanted to get back to Oakley and be left alone. Or did he? Who could he even trust in that town? After the horrific incident with Dr Fox, he wasn't sure that he even wanted to go back there at all.
Alex slowly opened the door to the second floor of the hospital, James close behind him holding his gun steady. He seemed to have been a little shaken up there on the roof Alex had noticed, but he seemed to be pulling himself together now and had focussed himself. Alex knew it was hard for him, but he was having just as much as a hard time adjusting to this as James. They didn't have time to wallow in self pity, they had a job to do and Alex just wanted to get through it as quickly as possible.
They stepped out into the corridor as quietly as they could, James's flashlight guiding the way in through the darkness. A foul stench of blood and death hung in the air. The walls were crumbling and the floors were cracking. Hospital gurneys, broken glass, rubble and blood stains littered the corridors and light fixtures hung uselessly from the ceiling. It looked like a scene out of a horror movie, only this time it was very real. Alex shuddered, he hated hospitals.
"Which way?" whispered Alex to James.
"Left, I think."
They turned left down the corridor being careful not to trip on a loose floor tile or an unseen piece of brick work. Alex held his pipe steady, ready to swing at anything that moved. He would have felt so much more comfortable with a gun in his hand but he guessed the pipe was better than nothing. They moved slowly, their footsteps barely making a sound, and that's when they heard it.
*Hisssssss*
They both stopped sharply. Alex stayed facing forward, his pipe raised while James spun around to look behind them, aiming his gun. This left Alex in the dark and he squinted into the blackness, afraid that any second he was going to be slashed with a rusty scalpel.
*HIIIISSSSSSSSSSS*
The static was getting louder. Whatever it was, it was getting closer.
"You got anything back there?" asked Alex.
"No," replied James.
"Well shine the light back over here; I can't see a damn-"
Alex's response was cut short when James shined his flashlight in front of them and he came face to face with a Nurse creature, with two others close behind. The first Nurse creature Alex had encountered since the last time he was in Silent Hill and he could have done without it. They were just the same as they had been in his nightmares. They still wore the blood and dirt stained white nurse's uniforms, their top buttons open exposing their cleavage. Bloody bandages covered their faces and they walked in a twitching, mechanical way that made Alex shiver.
The Nurse swung with her scalpel but Alex swung quicker and hit the monster with a lighting fast and mighty blow to the side of the head, sending a fountain of blood spraying on to the wall. The Nurse went down fast, twitching and writhing in pain on the floor. James stepped beside Alex and aimed his pistol at one of the two remaining Nurses who were advancing fast.
"You take the one on the right, I'll get the left one," cried Alex.
James nodded and widened his stance. He held the gun steady and squeezed off one shot, hitting the Nurse point blank in the forehead sending her brains scattering in every direction. She hit the floor instantly. Alex made his way over to the last Nurse creature; this one was wielding a rusty pipe, just like his. She swung violently in his direction but because Alex didn't have a flashlight and the light wasn't as strong because he wasn't as close to James, Alex avoided the blow easily. She swung again in desperation and Alex swiftly stepped to the side and brought his pipe down hard on the top of her skull which produced a sickening cracking sound. The Nurse creature died, as did the static on the radio. Alex turned around to face James.
"Three bullets left," James said. "Come on, the door at the end of this corridor should be open if I remember correctly."
They were about to make a move when they heard a low groaning sound. They both stood still and listened, the silence seeming to stretch on forever. After a few seconds they heard it again, this time louder and more agonised. It sent shivers up Alex's spine. It seemed so pained, so anguished. What the hell is it? It couldn't have been a monster; there was no static coming from the radio. Alex looked at James who pointed to a room on the right side of the corridor that was labelled 'M3'. Alex nodded and James made his way over to the door. He turned the doorknob and pushed the door inwards. Both Alex and James stepped into the room quickly, weapons at the ready. But they soon realised that they didn't need weapons as they stared at the horrific sight before them.
Lying down on a rusting and blood soaked gurney was a man in a mining suit, an Order member. Alex's mind was cast back to when he was captured by the Order. To when he was tied to a chair and Judge Holloway ran a drill into his thigh. He still had an ugly scar as a constant reminder. He remembered running that same drill through Holloway's eye, killing her, hearing her screams. It had slipped his mind that along with the monsters in this town, he'd have to watch out for Order members too. How are these guys still around? He thought. I killed their leader God damn it!
The man groaned in agony once more. Someone or something had stuck four huge iron spires through his torso, which protruded from his body and pointed upwards towards the ceiling. He was also missing a hand. Alex didn't think he'd ever seen so much blood; he was astonished that the man was still alive. He felt sick just looking at the poor bastard; he broke out in a cold sweat. He couldn't see the man's face due to his mining suit and he was almost grateful for it. Alex looked over at James who was just staring at the man, his hands were shaking.
"... me."
Alex and James both looked at each other. They had barely heard the man speak, but he did, just below a whisper.
"What? What did you say?" asked James, bringing his head closer to the dying man.
"K-Kill... me," said the man, clear that it was causing him terrible pain even to speak.
James looked at Alex sharply. Alex looked down at the Order member. Nobody should have to live in that amount of pain. He nodded at James who raised his gun with trembling hands. Alex watched as James took aim but stopped suddenly. He frowned and shook his head, as if he didn't know where he was. He took aim again but again, he stopped and lowered the gun. He brought his hands to his head and groaned.
"Stop it, get out of my head!" Alex heard James mumble.
What the hell is wrong with him? James continued to struggle; his eyes squeezed shut as if in pain. The man on the gurney groaned in agony. Alex stared at James. He's not going to do it. Alex stormed over to James and snatched the gun out of his hand. He took aim and shot the man right between the eyes, killing him instantly. This seemed to snap James out of it and he stared at Alex. Alex had had enough. James wasn't telling him everything. He'd said, "Get out of my head" and that didn't sound good at all. It made James sound like a fucking nut case.
"What the fuck was that about Sunderland?" demanded Alex. "You haven't been telling me the whole truth have you? You looked like you were talking to some kind of voices in your head or something! Do you realise how nervous that makes me in the situation we're in? What the hell is wrong with you?"
Before Alex could get his answer, he heard something that made his blood run cold.
*Thud, scrape, thud, scrape, thud, scrape*
It was him! No, no, no! This couldn't happen, not now! They didn't have any decent weapons and only had two bullets left, they didn't stand a chance! He looked at James who looked deathly pale.
"We have to get back to my apartment and fast!" said James. "There's no point in trying to fight him, all we can do is run. We need to get out of here now!"
Alex decided that he would just have to trust James and get the truth out of him later. He gave the gun back to him.
"Pull the trigger this time James. Two bullets left. Let's go. When I open that door, we run like hell and stick together!" said Alex. He was sweating profusely.
There was a soft static coming from the radio meaning that Pyramid Head couldn't be that close, but he was coming. Alex cautiously opened the door expecting the bastard's great knife to chop his head off at any second, but the corridor was deathly quiet. It was too quiet and Alex didn't like it.
"Okay, on three, we run for it," said Alex. James nodded.
*Thud, scrape, thud, scrape, thud, scrape*
"Three!" shouted Alex and they both turned right and bolted down the corridor. They jumped over rubble and manoeuvred around gurneys. Alex prayed that neither one of them would trip up. He was terrified, he didn't know whether the creature was in front of them or behind them, or was going to burst out of the many rooms they were flying past at any second.
"There are two doors at the end of the corridor," James cried breathlessly. "One is straight ahead; the other is on the left. Take the left one!"
They blundered down the corridor and came to the end. James fumbled with the lock on the left door whilst Alex skidded into the double doors in front of him and bashed his shoulder. The door was indeed locked, James had remembered correctly. The static on the radio got louder. James got the door open.
"Come on!" he shouted.
Alex was about to follow James when the doors he'd bashed into just moments before flew inwards revealing Pyramid Head, a terrifying sight to behold. Alex's blood ran cold as the monster took a step forward.
"Run!" shouted Alex, pushing James through the door and following close behind. But he wasn't quick enough and felt a hand on the back of his right ankle pulling him backwards, causing him to drop the pipe. He fell to the floor hard and turned his head just in time so that he didn't fall chin first, or else he would have bitten off his tongue. The right side of his face hit a sharp piece of loose tile that was sticking out of the floor, cutting a deep gash into his cheekbone making it bleed. He winced in pain and struggled to break free of the monsters grip.
James turned around and fired off one shot at the monster but it didn't do anything except spur the beast on. Alex realised he was being dragged off into the room from which Pyramid Head had came and he began to panic. He remembered his last encounter with the monster; he couldn't be alone with him! He couldn't let this bastard take him away. He began to claw desperately at the floor but there was nothing to grab on to. James lunged forward and grabbed both of Alex's hands, desperately trying to pull him free but he couldn't match the strength of Pyramid Head.
Alex was in the room now but James hadn't given up. He was still pulling with all of his might. That's when a long black tongue snaked out from beneath that triangular helmet and wound itself around James's neck, lifting him off his feet and forcing him to let go of Alex. Then the beast spoke, sending an icy chill up Alex's spine.
"You brought him home my Creator... I will be seeing you very, very soon."
He then threw James through the doorway sending him flying half way down the corridor. Alex saw James slowly getting up before the doors slammed shut and the lock was clicked in place. He didn't have a flashlight but the red glow emanating from Pyramid Head provided just enough light to see. The beast let go of his ankle and Alex sprung up and bolted to the back of the room, breathing heavily. He guessed he must have been in some sort of day room. There was furniture everywhere but it was all covered in white sheets. Alex found a door at the back of the room but wasn't surprised to find it was locked. He looked back and Pyramid Head was slowly making his way towards him. He turned his attention back to the door and pulled at it frantically, trying to force it open.
"Fuck!" Alex cried when it wouldn't budge. Pyramid Head was almost upon him now and Alex tried to run to the other side of the room. He felt a hand grab the back of his jacket but he struggled out of it, leaving the monster with his coat, and ran. He knew he couldn't keep this up forever. He was like a caged mouse. He looked around the room desperately for anything that he could use as a weapon but there was nothing.
"You can't escape me Alex... not this time."
"You – you stay the hell away from me!" said Alex, his voice shaking with fear.
He heard the beast give a soft chuckle and then he raised his great knife. Alex's eyes widened in fear as the blade was thrust towards his neck. He squeezed his eyes shut, but opened them again when the blinding pain never came. The tip of the blade had stopped just inches from his neck, and despite the thing looking like it weighed a ton, it didn't even tremble in Pyramid Head's hands. The monster withdrew the knife and raised it again. This time with one mighty thrust, he stuck it into the floor just inches away from Alex's left foot, sending bits of white tile flying everywhere. Then, before Alex knew it, Pyramid Head was just inches away from him, trapping him against the wall.
Alex felt sick. How were he and James supposed to even have a chance of finding those kids against this beast? They were stupid to come back in the first place, doomed from the start! He winced when the monster brought a gloved hand up to his chin and turned his head to the left, admiring the gash on his cheekbone which was now bleeding quite heavily.
"Such a pretty mark... I could give you many more Alex... beautiful scars."
Pyramid Head brought his other hand up to the wound and dipped his finger in the blood. Alex's breath quickened and he tried to force himself to stay calm. Pyramid head then let go of Alex's chin and lifted up his t-shirt, exposing his muscled stomach. Alex began to shake, he wished the bastard would beat the shit out of him or cut him up, anything was preferable to this! The creature then brought his bloody finger to Alex's stomach and began to write a word. By the feel of it, the blood stained word was, MINE. Alex felt sick at the thought. He didn't have a fucking clue how he was going to get out of this.
When he had finished, Pyramid Head began to run his hands over Alex's chest and up and down his torso, being terrifyingly gentle. Alex's mouth went dry as the long black tongue came out once more and began to lick at the wound on his cheekbone.
"Please... just – just stop," said Alex hoarsely.
The tongue withdrew but the hands didn't, they continued their exploration of Alex's body and Alex bit back a cry of terror when one hand began to head downwards. The other hand came to rest in Alex's hair and pulled his head back, exposing his neck. The other hand continued on down, painfully slowly.
"You must come with me Alex... be with me in the darkness... I can make you scream and beg... and bleed that beautiful blood of yours."
"Just... just fucking stop! Where are the – the kids?"
The hand found its way under the waist band of Alex's trousers and found what it wanted, it began to caress gently.
"Shit!" cried Alex. He tried to struggle free but the hand in his hair only tightened making his scalp sting with pain. "Aaahh! Look... I – I'll do whatever... you want, just leave me... alone!"
"You're already doing what I want Alex."
The hand continued its assault and Alex began to tremble violently. He was getting groped by this bastard and there wasn't a damn thing he could do to stop it. It was only a matter of time before he took it to the next step. All of a sudden there was a deafening gunshot and the hand withdrew. Pyramid Head spun around and the door that Alex had previously tried to unlock was now open, and James was standing in the doorway. Pyramid Head began to move towards James and James began to shoot. Alex saw his opportunity and took it. He bolted past the monster and through the doorway to James. They were in a small room and there was another door at the back.
"It's open, go!" cried James firing off a few more rounds and then following close behind. Alex heard Pyramid Head let out a cry of frustration and this made him run even faster.
"Take a left and it's the second door on the right!" shouted James. Alex flew down the corridor, hoping that they wouldn't run into any Nurses. He flung the door open and they were in the stairwell. They headed down, their footsteps thudding on the crumbling steps.
"Where did you get the bullets?" cried Alex.
"I found them in the Nurses station. Almost got my throat slashed trying to get them."
Alex opened the door that led to the first floor and noticed that the lock had been shot off. Probably from that last bullet James had. He stepped out into the corridor and heard static from the radio.
"Take a left, then a right, then another left and we're out!" commanded James. He turned off his flashlight as they didn't have time to bother with the Nurses. They were still attracted to sound though and took a few swings at Alex and James but they were avoided easily enough. Alex sprinted down the corridor and took the last left. He burst through the double doors and brightness streamed in and stung his eyes. They had made it. There was no time to celebrate though, Pyramid Head could be anywhere.
"Back to the apartments, hurry!" shouted James, bolting down the fog filled streets leading the way.
Alex followed close behind, the sounds of monsters and beasts howling in the distance. It was as if the demons that stalked the streets were all awake and aware of their presence. All of them sniffing the air, smelling the fresh blood and running to find them, to hunt them.
Alex and James were home... the town had awakened.