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, violence.
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: Again guys, very sorry for the delay. I've been so busy looking for a job and now I've finally found one, things are a bit more busy than usual. But I vow to have this story done by the end the year it out and it's drawing to a close now anyway. Again, I thank you all for your reads and reviews and for sticking with me and the story itself. I hope you enjoy the chapter!

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.

And while the good children live, the bad ones cannot escape their fate.
For once you hear his screeching wail, it's already too late.

Alex didn't remember stumbling into Annie's Bar on the corner of Craig Street and Riverside Drive. He didn't remember barring the door from inside with one of the many chairs that went with the many tables dotted about the place. And he didn't remember passing out whilst cradling his gun in both hands as if it were a child. What he did remember however was waking up to a blinding pain at the back of his head and a small pool of blood on the floor in the spot where he'd been lying. He also couldn't remember how long he'd been out for and became increasingly nervous at the thought that the longer he'd been unconscious, the more time that gave James to catch up with him and sniff him out.

He now sat the dusty bar, hands trembling with the pain throbbing in his skull, dismayed to find all of the alcohol bottles either empty or undrinkable. What he wouldn't give for a shot of Jack Daniels right now. He remembered how he would sit on his front porch in his house back in Oakley with a JD and coke in his hand, watching King chasing butterflies in the front yard, with the sun setting behind the clouds, a cool breeze caressing his face. He wondered how his dog was doing. He pictured him padding around the empty house, crying with loneliness, wondering if Alex would ever return to him. The thought made him sad and want a JD more than ever before.

He had found an old first aid kit under the bar and had patched up his head injury as best he could but the throbbing would not subside. The kit was not short of bandages but when it came to pain killers, there was none. It's as if this town didn't want you to feel good, as if it had locked all of the things that could numb the pain away in the shadows. James had really done a number on him. Alex shuddered as he remembered the ferocious strength of the thing that used to be James. The way he smiled as he ripped the Order member's throat out with his teeth and the animalistic cry he made that was not of this world and that would haunt his dreams forever, whether he was sleeping the sleep of the living or dead.

Alex knew he needed to make a move. It would do him no good to sit here dwelling on what had happened earlier and in the past. He needed to get himself together and go and find the kids so he could get back to Oakley and back to his house and King. He needed to get to the Historical Society and keep going down to the labyrinth, just as John Wayne had said. The truth was though, that he was afraid. He didn't know how long he'd been passed out for. Maybe James had seen him coming into the bar and was waiting for him to take one step outside. Alex could picture him now, standing across the street in the shadows. His eyes not visible as the black pools would blend into the darkness that surrounded him but his pearly white teeth would be visible though and he would be smiling. Oh yes, would he be smiling.

Alex shook his head trying to erase that disturbing mental image and in the process sent a stab of pain through his skull and down his neck. He winced and got up off of the stool, putting a hand on the bar to steady himself and waiting for the dizziness to pass. He would have to go out there sometime; James would still be roaming the streets no matter how long he left it so he might as well just get it over with. He checked the rifle was securely fastened over his back. Checked he still had his combat knife and checked that his handgun was fully loaded. He gave his numerous pockets that he had in his long coat a pat, to assure himself that the ammo was still there.

He made his way cautiously over to the door, turning off his flashlight so as not to draw attention to himself when he stepped out into the streets. He held the gun in his right hand and reached for the chair that was barring the door with his left. He was about to move the chair when suddenly, the door handle moved. Alex snatched his hand back as if he'd just been burned and watched with horror as the handle slowly began to turn downwards. His radio began to hiss softly and he quickly turned it off because he didn't want the thing on the other side of that door to know he was in here. He also didn't need the radio to tell him what the thing was, because he knew. It was James.

Alex felt as if he were hypnotised, he couldn't tear his eyes away from the door handle that was slowly going up and down, up and down. The door began to push inwards but was halted by the chair that was obstructing it. Sooner or later James would get tired of this game and would smash the door in, and Alex knew that the flimsy chair would be obliterated on James's first try, and then he would be in here, smiling that awful smile. That thought snapped Alex out of whatever trance he was in and he frantically began looking for another way out but the only way out was the way in and with James out there, it was a no go. His only other option would be to hide but there was only the bar and a few tables to provide any cover, James would find him in less than five seconds.

Alex took a few steps back from the door and held his gun out in front of him, trying to steady his hands. He watched the handle begin to rattle more frantically and flinched when James began to pound on the door from the outside, the chair shuddering with every blow. He tried to remember how much taller James had become, tried to mentally imagine where his head would be. He aimed his gun a little higher. The wood began to splinter on the door, a few more seconds and he would be in. Alex tightened his finger on the trigger. As soon as he gets through that door, go for a head shot. Don't miss this time, for God sake, don't miss! And as soon as the pounding had started, it abruptly stopped. Alex waited on tenterhooks, sweat gathering at the nape of his neck. Had he gone? Or was he still waiting on the other side? And then he heard it.

*Scraaaaaatch, scraaaatch, scraaaaaatch.*

There was a scratching sound coming from the other side of the door, as if an army of the undead weretrying to claw their way in. Every scratch made Alex wince, as if someone was scraping a blade down his spine. He wondered if this was just another part of James's game. Was he just scratching on the door to try to unnerve him? Would he get bored of that and begin to pound on the door again? Alex could only stand where he was and wait, keeping his finger firmly planted on the trigger. A part of him wanted James to come bursting through those doors. Then he could just put a bullet in his head and that would be one less thing to deal with. But a moment later the scratching stopped. Alex listened, the silence almost too much to bear and then he heard it, a faint chuckle. Then receding footsteps, retreating back into the darkness.

Alex couldn't say how long he stood there with his gun pointed at the door. It could have been a minute, it could have been an hour but when he finally emerged from the bar, the streets were deserted and no static omitted from his radio. The way seemed to be clear for the moment. He turned around to face the outside of the doors and finally realised what had caused that awful scratching sound. James had taken out his knife and engraved a message on the wooden surface. A message that made Alex cold all over, a message that he wished he hadn't seen.

JOSH IS WAITING FOR YOU ALEX.

XXX

Waiting for you... Alex was making his way as quickly but as cautiously as he could down Nathan Avenue, he knew the Historical Society was not far off now. He hadn't been ambushed by James or any other creatures when he left Annie's Bar and he prayed that he would reach his destination without incident. He heard the waves of Toluca Lake sighing softly to his left, the water so black it looked like a lake of oil. He didn't want to look at it. He knew that if he did he would see himself and Josh out on that lake, he would try and shout to himself to go back, to go home before he lost the one good thing in his life. But he'd just be chasing phantoms, trying to change what had already come to pass.

Josh. Ever since seeing that ominous message that James had left for him, he couldn't stop thinking about it. He kept replaying it over and over in his mind, asking himself time and time again if he'd read it right, even though he was certain he had. But he couldn't have because Josh wasn't waiting for him, because Josh was dead. He'd held his brothers lifeless corpse the last time he was in Silent Hill. He had begged Josh's forgiveness and had accepted what he'd done. He'd moved on god damn it! Josh wasn't alive, it was obviously some sick and twisted joke that James was trying to play on him and he wasn't going to let him or that bastard Pyramid Head give him false hope and cloud his judgement.

Finally the Historical Society came into view. It wasn't a remarkable building by any stretch of the imagination. It was small and unimposing; the white washed wood panels and the blue roof on the exterior of the building muddied and clouded by years of non maintenance. Alex made his way through the entrance; the double doors creaking as he cautiously pushed open and closed them behind him. A musky odour that could only be caused by thick layers of dust and grime build up assaulted his nostrils when he entered the lobby. The wallpaper was peeling and the carpet was thick with dirt. He treaded carefully and made his way through the first set of double doors into a small room.

The display case which held some form of model was smashed and paintings littered the walls. One particular painting on the wall to his left caught his attention. He walked over to it; his flashlight illuminating the piece of art and a cold prickle of fear trickled down his spine when he saw who the subject of the painting was. It was Pyramid Head. There he stood, holding his great knife in his right hand and he was surrounded by dead bodies hanging in cages, lifeless and without features. Alex read the information plaque below the gruesome scene which read, "Misty day, remains of the Judgement." Alex tore his eyes away from the painting and made his way through another set of double doors, his gun held out in front of him.

He found himself in a room very similar to the last one. More smashed display cases, more paintings on the walls, although Alex didn't want to look at any of them this time. Directly to his right there was a huge hole in the wall, which revealed a long set of stairs leading down. Alex stood at the top of those stairs, gazing down into the darkness. Although he had his flashlight on, he couldn't see the bottom. How long did they go on for? Alex hesitated. What would be waiting for him at the bottom of those stairs? Would James be down there, chuckling inanely? Or would it be Pyramid Head, sharpening that knife of his? The Order member, John Wayne's terrified words about the labyrinth echoed in his ears, "it-it's deep underground. Just keep going down!" Alex knew there was no other way. He took a deep breath and began to make his descent, very aware that somewhere in the distance, a boat horn was sounding.

XXX

After what felt like two hours, Alex finally made his way to the end of the long staircase and made his way through a rusting metal door at the bottom. He found himself in a tiny room, his flashlight illuminating the whole space quite adequately. The walls were concrete, grey and drab and the floor was covered with metal panels, rusting and flaking. To his right there was a desk and on top of it, a ledger of some sorts. He quickly read the first page of contents and discovered that it was a list of prisoners dating all the way back to 1820. Alex was puzzled but not surprised. It wasn't the strangest thing he'd discovered in this town. He left the ledger where it was and made his way through another metal door across the room.

As soon as he had heard the door creak shut behind him, his radio began to hiss. He held up his gun in front of him and proceeded into what looked to be a long corridor leading both left and right, and to his right, a Patient Demon was ambling towards him. Alex took careful aim, making sure to stay out of range should the beast decide to spray him with acid and shot it three times in the head, sending it crashing to the floor with a heavy thump. The static from his radio died and all was silent once more. Alex reloaded his gun and made his way to a door at the right end of the corridor but it was jammed. He turned around and at the left end of the corridor he had more luck. He opened the door and made his way through it, leaving the lifeless corpse of the Patient Demon to decay along with the rest of the building.

Alex found himself in a tiny room; small windows were set high up in the walls with rusting bars covering them, preventing any escape. In the middle of the room set in the floor, was a large square hole. Alex stood at the edge, looking down into the gloom. There was nowhere else to go but here... Was he going to have to jump down that thing? He shined his flashlight down into the abyss but the darkness stretched on forever. Alex knew there was no other way to go but that didn't make him like it any less. What if John Wayne was just lying about the Historical Society? In his terror of dying at James's hands, he could have just blurted out anything in an attempt to make Alex get him out of the cemetery alive. But deep down Alex knew that wasn't true. First he'd found the staircase and now this.

"Just keep going down," Alex whispered.

He took a deep breath. He closed his eyes. He jumped.

XXX

Alex awoke to find himself in one piece in the bottom of what seemed to be a deep well. He stood up carefully trying to ignore the flash of pain in his head, the jump clearly making it flare back up again. He was standing in ankle deep water, evident by the fact that his backside was wet from sitting in it and now his shoes were sodden, making him feel even more uncomfortable. The well was circular and he was surrounded by bricks on all sides. He shined his flashlight to the left and discovered a section of bricks that had come away to reveal a metal door. He pushed it open, chasing away the darkness on the other side and leaving the well with it.

Alex found himself in yet more ankle deep water in what appeared to be some sort of sewer. After navigating the murky tunnels and killing another Patient Demon, he came to yet again, another hole. It seemed as if a metal gate on the floor used to cover the hole and prevented any chance of going down but it looked like somebody had unlocked that gate and now it stood open, inviting anybody who dared to take the leap. Again Alex couldn't see the bottom and again he hated the prospect of throwing himself blindly down into the darkness where death could possibly be waiting for him on the other side. But he had no other choice, and he knew there was no other way.

"Just keep going down," he whispered into the gloom.

With less hesitation this time, he jumped.

Alex didn't pass out this time but he wished he had when he hit the bottom. He managed to keep his legs bent on the point of impact but he landed on his feet which gave way and he hit his ass on the floor so hard that if he had his mouth open he would have bitten off his tongue. His ankles throbbed and he was surprised he didn't break or at least sprain one of them. He got to his feet awkwardly and looked around. Ever since emerging from the bottom of the stairs in the Historical Society he had a strong suspicion about where he was and looking around now only confirmed those suspicions. He was in a prison, more specifically now, the cafeteria of said prison. He found himself thinking of Overlook Penitentiary and Deputy Wheeler. He pushed those thoughts from his mind and scanned the room. Benches and tables lined either side of the decaying room, some overturned, some rotting. Alex even saw some food trays on some of the tables, most of them crawling with maggots or cockroaches, feasting on leftover food that had been there for a length of time Alex didn't even want to think about.

He made his way through a set of doors on the other side of the room and found himself in a long corridor. Alex didn't even know what he was looking for. He knew he had to get to the labyrinth but prison's were big places, and dangerous. He assumed he was looking for another hole, or another route that led downwards but that could be anywhere and he was rapidly running out of time. Any minute now Pyramid Head could come thudding down the corridor or James could come running and then it would be game over.

Alex made his way across the corridor and through another metal rusting door, bringing him into yet another corridor but this time; a row of metal barred cells occupied the right side of the stretching hallway. Static immediately filled his ears and as he passed each cell, he discovered that some of them contained Patient Demons, pacing restlessly in the small space and trying to spray him with acid as he went past. Thankfully he avoided the deadly liquid and thankfully the cells containing the beasts seemed to be locked. He found the second to last cell near the end of the corridor open and he stepped inside.

The space was tiny inside with only a small desk, a rather foul smelling toilet and a rusting bed frame without the mattress to occupy it. The desk was littered with papers and books. Alex examined some of the titles and found that they read, "On Sacrifice and the Art of Demon Summoning", "Tome of the Seer", "The Feast of the Succubi" and "The Fallen Angels of Mercy and Favour." Alex wasn't sure whether he was too busy being occupied with the strange books or the fact that his radio was omitting constant static because of the beastly prisoners in the next cells, that he didn't hear the footsteps approaching until it was too late. The door to the cell that he was in slammed shut and he whirled around faster than he thought was possible with the gun aimed out in front of him to find two Order members on the other side of the metal bars, staring at him through their mining masks, with guns pointed at him.

"Well, looks like we caught ourselves a live one Mac," said the one on the right.

"We sure have Curtis," replied the one on the left, now identified as Mac. Alex noticed that Mac was holding a ring of, what looked to be about thirty keys in his free hand and realised with dismay that he must have been locked in when his attention was elsewhere. Alex scolded himself for being so stupid and his mind was racing to come up with a solution on how to get out of this mess.

"Now put the gun down Alex." They know my name. "You'd only get off one shot before one of us would put one in your head. There's one of you, two of us. Do the math and put it down boy," commanded Curtis.

Alex knew they were right. He slowly put the gun in the back of his waistband.

"And turn that fucking radio off!" shouted Mac. "It's giving me a headache!"

Alex turned it off, drenching the corridor in silence. The only sound that could be heard was the Patient Demon's laboured pacing and horrible suckling sounds.

"Now, first things first," began Curtis. "Where's the other one? Where's Sunderland?"

He's coming, and if he finds us he'll kill us all you fucking idiot. "I don't know. I don't know where he is," replied Alex.

"You lying little shit!" accused Mac. "If you won't tell us, we'll take you to the Punisher. You'll talk for him boy!"

Fear ran through Alex like a steam train. He couldn't let these guys take him to Pyramid Head. They obviously didn't know that James had changed and was working with Pyramid Head. If he was taken by force he'd lose the element of surprise and his chance to get the kids out of there.

"Come on Curtis, we'll just take him to the visitors hall, through the trap door and-"

"Shut up Mac! I know the fucking way just as well as you do. Honestly you're so stupid sometimes, you..."

Alex watched as Curtis trailed off. He watched as Mac pointed behind Curtis at something that was evidently at the end of the corridor. He watched Curtis turn around to see what Mac was pointing at and he watched as both men began to tremble and back away. Then he heard the laugh float down the hallway.

Alex knew exactly what was at the end of that corridor and his heart began to hammer in his chest. He needed to get out of this cell now before James got to him. He took aim with his handgun and tried to shoot the lock off of his cell door but it didn't so much as move an inch. Curtis was well out of view now, probably running his ass off through the other door to wherever that led, but Mac was still standing there, shaking with fear. Alex seized the opportunity with both hands and grabbed Mac through the bars of his cell. Before the Order member knew what was happening, Alex had wrenched the ring of keys from his hand and was fumbling to find the right one. He frantically tried one wrong key after the other, his hands shaking, his pulse pounding.

"Run you idiot, RUN!" shouted Alex to Mac. Mac began to move but before he could take one step a dark blur shot past Alex's cell, taking Mac with it and leaving a spray of blood which drenched Alex's face. Alex ignored it and continued to try key after key. He could hear James's guttural snarl and then Mac's scream which didn't sound human.

"Come on you son of a bitch, COME ON!" screamed Alex, getting more and more desperate with each passing second. He was shaking so violently he almost dropped the keys. He must have been on his fifteenth try by now.

He heard James stop feeding. He heard his footsteps approaching. Alex shoved another key into the lock and almost cried with relief when he heard the click and the cell door swung open. He didn't even bother to get out his gun; he knew James would be too fast for him in such close quarters. He just darted left and began to sprint down the corridor, heading for the door in which he came. He heard heavy footsteps behind him, and then the breath was knocked out of him when James tackled him from behind. He fell to the floor and quickly tried to scramble back up but he was turned around on to his back and came face to face with James who was pinning him to the ground, grinning inanely, blood smeared around his mouth. Alex could do nothing but to stare into those black eyes and struggle to free himself but to no avail.

"Order members, they taste like shit," said James in that chilling voice of his. "But I bet you'll taste a whole lot better Alex."

James smiled and Alex acted. He wrenched his right arm free of James's grip, pulled out his combat knife and stuck it in James's side. James let out a howl of pain and anger and dragged Alex to his feet. He pulled him off his feet by the lapels of his jacket, with the knife still stuck in his side.

"You'll pay for that. Oh will I have my fun with you when Pyramid Head get's hold of you. I'll take your heart," rasped James before throwing Alex down the length of the corridor.

Alex hit the floor hard. His head throbbed more than ever before and he watched James through blurred vision wrench the knife from his side and advance once more. Alex stumbled to his feet and fell through the door he came through. He raced to the end of the corridor, hearing James right behind him. He threw himself through a door to his left and then another door across the room, finding himself in another corridor. He looked this way and that, breathless and dizzy from the throbbing in his head. He heard a door slam somewhere behind him and knew James was close.

He ran to the end of the corridor, catching a glimpse through one of the open doors to his left. He saw a chair and a pane of glass with a mouth piece through which to talk to. I'm in the visitor's hall! Where is that trapdoor? Alex burst through the door at the end of the corridor, slamming it behind him. He then came to a metal gate and swung it open, stumbling through and closing it again. He found himself in a small corridor surrounded by doors and in the floor was a trapdoor with what looked to be a handle made out of wax. Alex was flooded with relief but knew he didn't have time to be jubilant. James was coming.

He threw open the trapdoor and without a moment's hesitation, jumped down into the darkness.

Alex landed on his ass this time and wondered how many more falls it could survive before he broke his tail bone. He was in yet another corridor, surrounded by rusting doors and beneath him, a white tiled floor. He heard a faint cry somewhere above him and the mental image of James coming crashing down the hole from which Alex had just came spurred him into action and he quickly made his way through a set of double doors which brought him into a small room. Occupying the room was a dead body on a gurney covered with a white sheet. Its pale feet sticking out the end were the only thing visible. On the walls to his right and left were multiple large holes with many pairs of feet sticking out of them. Alex shuddered to think how many corpses were stuffed in those tunnels and quickly moved on through another set of doors.

To his right was another corpse on a gurney but in front of him two gates stood open and the floor gave way into another deep hole. Somehow Alex knew this was going to be the last hole he'd have to jump down and that it led to the labyrinth. He was dreading what waited for him down there. He would finally have to come face to face with the thing he'd been running from for so long. Death was waiting for him down below, and if he tried to go back, death would also be waiting for him there. He thought of little William and Toby. He hoped that they were still alive. He hoped he'd live to see Oakley again. Just one more plunge, the final leap.

"Just keep going down," Alex whispered.

He jumped, leaving his fears behind and getting ready to face what lay ahead.