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: Well this is it everybody, the FINAL CHAPTER! The story is finally finished! I can't believe this has taken me almost two years to complete but I am very proud of it and thankful that all of you have stuck with it and me. I probably won't be writing anymore fanfiction for a while as I'm going to make a start on a completely original story and see where it can take me. But I just want to say it has been so much fun writing and sharing this story with you and I thank you all so much for all of your reads, reviews and kind words. If you have any questions about the fic or anything just drop me a PM. So, for the last time, here is the final chapter of Drag Them Into Hell. I hope you all enjoy it and I hope it was worth waiting for, I sincerely enjoyed writing it. Thanks again guys!
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.
So do not cry aloud at night, stay hidden in your bed...
Or the Bogeyman from Silent Hill will come chop off your head.
Part II
Alex had lost count of how many corners he'd turned, how many times he'd backtracked and gotten lost and how many Patient Demons he had given the gift of a bullet to. But he knew he was getting nowhere and his fear was beginning to grow with each wrong turn and each bit of distinguishable piece of peeling wallpaper or chipped concrete that told him he had been here before. He now knew why this god forsaken place was called the labyrinth. Now he really did feel like a rat trapped in a maze.
He and Toby had been stumbling around in the dark for what seemed like hours to Alex but it could have been any length of time really. Despite the place being infuriatingly similar and both of them getting lost on a number of occasions, Alex kind of had a sense of the layout of the place by now.
The corridors with the peeling wallpaper and the wooden floors where the upper levels of the labyrinth and each section of the upper level had a ladder somewhere leading down to the lower levels, which Alex hated more than the upper ones. At least with the upper levels he could actually see where he was walking and was on solid ground, the lower levels contained ankle deep murky water which obscured the floors of the lower level and the walls were made of brown and muddy concrete. It reminded Alex of a sewer.
The cloudy water presented multiple difficulties like slowing down his movement considerably. Also it alerted whatever beasts may be nearby that he was coming due to the slosh, slosh sound of his and Toby's footsteps wading through the water and worst of all, not knowing what could be lurking underneath it. He'd already had to save Toby from being dragged under and drowned by a Patient Demon that had snuck up behind them after they'd bypassed it because it was lying low just beneath the water level. If Toby hadn't been behind him watching their backs, they both would have been burned alive by its deadly acid.
Now once again, Alex and Toby found themselves trudging through the dangerous water with no sense of direction and Alex had never missed a pen and a piece of paper so much in his life, just so he could of drew a map and kept track of where they were going. He was becoming increasingly anxious for William, himself and Toby. He was anxious for William because he knew he was with James and must be terrified and that his life could be ripped away from him at any moment, as soon as James got bored and tired of waiting for Alex. He was also anxious for himself and the kid because he knew that Pyramid Head was still down here somewhere, and not knowing where or when he was going to appear was making him very agitated and jumpy.
Alex knew that fall couldn't have put an end to the red demon. The time it took for him to hear the splashing sound that meant Pyramid Head had reached the bottom wasn't long enough for the drop to be deadly. He would be out there now, maybe stalking some other part of the lower or upper level, still with his spear in hand. Only now he would be driven by a burning rage, along with whatever the other desire was to trap Alex. He would be furious that he had been tricked and that Alex had escaped his clutches when he had been trying for so long to ensnare him. That thought made Alex unbelievably edgy and with every corner he turned he silently prayed that he wouldn't find his tormentor waiting for him.
"How much farther Alex?" whispered Toby, his voice echoing in the hollow cave-like corridors.
"Not long," replied Alex. "We'll be out soon." He tried to sound confident even though he didn't believe a word of what he was saying himself and he was pretty certain that Toby didn't either.
The beam from the flashlight reflected off the murky water giving it a golden like glow, as if they were walking on a yellow brick road. Only there were far worse things down here than lions and tigers and bears. And the thing that would be waiting for them if they ever got out wouldn't be a beautiful shining Emerald City; it would be horror, uncertainty and possibly death with a very slim chance of getting their wish of going home back to Oakley.
Alex could just make out a ladder up ahead and began to limp towards it. He had dressed the injury on his knee yet again after his encounter with the red demon but Pyramid Head had reopened the wound when he had pulled on his leg and the bleeding was more severe than ever, as was the pain and it was slowing him down even more now. Even the slightest pressure on his knee would cause him agony and climbing ladders was a huge effort in itself. Alex didn't even know how he was going to face James or Pyramid Head should it come to that; he knew he was in no physical condition to do so. The past few days of being in Silent Hill with no sleep, very little food and hardly any water was taking its toll on him. He didn't know how much longer he could hold out.
They made it to the ladder without encountering any demons, patient or red and Alex began the agonising climb to the top, reminding Toby to keep an eye out behind them should anything try to ambush their small party of two. He made it up feeling lightheaded and dizzy and got his breath back as Toby was climbing up to join him.
At the top they both made their way through a door, Toby hanging on to the back of Alex's coat and staying close, and found themselves in yet another corridor on the upper level. They made their way slowly forward, Alex holding his gun out in front of him as steady as he could. He had noticed since his last encounter with Pyramid Head, when the demon had pulled on his leg making his injury worse, his hands wouldn't stop shaking. He knew this was due to the pain and the fatigue he was suffering from and he wondered how much use, if any, he was going to be to William and Toby when and if he finally caught up with James.
They came to a door on the right of the corridor that was covered in newspaper pages. Most of them were illegible due to being smudged and ripped and as Alex was debating whether to open the door or not, a soft static began to hiss from his radio, indicating that whatever was in that room wasn't going to be friendly. Alex decided to leave it well alone and continued on down the sickeningly familiar hallways.
They made a left turn and came to another door. Alex's radio remained silent and he decided to take a chance with this one. Every doorway was a possible way out after all; he didn't have a clue where he was going and had to explore anything that could lead him to William.
He slowly turned the handle and opened the door just enough for him to be able to see inside, the beam from his flashlight pushing through the small gap and illuminating the room. Alex squinted his eyes; trying to adjust to the poor light and immediately wished he had left the door alone like he had with the previous newspaper covered one, when he saw what the room contained. Inside were six decomposing bodies hanging by their necks from nooses that were attached to the ceiling. They were hanging in two rows of three, all facing each other. Around the room ran a chain link fence, and beneath the bodies was a section of grated flooring, just like the one that Alex had used to trick Pyramid Head.
Alex didn't want Toby to see this, he had seen more than enough horrors whilst he had been here, but Alex did want to get a closer look at the bodies. Maybe there was something in that room that could lead him to William. He didn't see how, but he knew that those bodies weren't there for nothing. Everything in Silent Hill was here for a reason, nothing was coincidence and nothing was chance. He turned back to Toby.
"I'm just going to have a quick look inside this room okay? I want you to stay here with your back to me and keep a look out on the corridor. If you see anything coming you shout me. I'll leave the door open so I can see you all the time."
"What's in there?" asked Toby, his childlike curiosity still present.
"Bad things that I don't want you to see. So if you need me or see anything coming, just shout me, don't turn around and look in here okay?"
Toby nodded and Alex knew he wasn't going to need telling twice. He turned around and faced the corridor, keeping an eye out for any monsters that might decide to appear. Alex needed his flashlight to inspect the bodies and the room so he gave Toby his radio to make up for the lack of light out in the hallways. If anything decided to creep up on them, the static would alert them of any impending danger.
Alex went inside the room of the hanging men and left the door open so he could see Toby at all times. The closer he got to the corpses, the more powerful the stench became but Alex found he was building up a tolerance to it now after having seen quite a few bodies since he'd been here. He was grateful for the fact that he didn't feel vomit rising in his throat the closer he got, but it also frightened him that he was becoming desensitised to it all. It made him feel less human, as if this town was taking his humanity from him piece by piece.
These bodies weren't as badly decomposed as the ones in Pyramid Head's blood stained room and Alex could see that they were all male. He couldn't see their faces because they were each covered by a piece of paper with writing on it. Alex was grateful that he couldn't see their expressions of anguish. He already had enough faces haunting his dreams and he didn't need six more to add to the list. He inspected the pieces of paper one by one. Each piece indicated that every one of the hanging men had committed a crime and ended with the phrase, "Justice and revenge have been served."
Alex read each piece of paper and discovered what crimes the men had allegedly been hung for.
"This man was hung for the crime of arson. Justice and revenge have been served."
"This man was hung for the crime of kidnapping."
"This man was hung for the crime of counterfeiting."
"This man was hung for the crime of thievery."
"This man was hung for the crime of murder."
"This man was hung for the crime of swindling."
Alex didn't know what to make of this. These bodies and those notes were obviously there for a reason but he didn't think it had anything to with William, nor would it bring them any closer to finding him. He felt a pang of disappointment and frustration that he was no closer to getting out of this damned place and he may very well be back to square one again.
He limped back over to the door and took the radio from Toby, thankful that at least no monsters had decided to show up for the moment. He told Toby that he didn't find anything in the room and that they needed to keep going. Alex held out his gun once more, trying to stop his hands from shaking and his vision from blurring from time to time but he couldn't make either go away. His condition was deteriorating rapidly and he knew he was going to have some permanent damage if he didn't get medical attention soon. He just hoped he could keep going until they found William. He couldn't even think of a plan beyond that point, he just had to take things one step at a time.
They made a right, then a left and came to another door. Alex decided that he might as well try this one too, even though he didn't have much hope that it would lead to a way out of the labyrinth. The door was unlocked and his radio remained silent. He told Toby to keep watch again and gave him his radio to alert them of any monsters.
Alex entered the room, the beam from his flashlight chasing away the shadows. It was exactly the same as the room with the hanging men. A chain link fence ran around the room, there was metal grating underfoot but the only difference was this time there were no hanging men, just empty nooses. All empty except one, and when Alex saw what one of the nooses contained his heart began to thud. Hanging from one of the nooses, the one where the kidnapper hung in the previous room if Alex was remembering correctly was a pink bunny rabbit doll. The exact same one that Josh used to have and the exact same one that William had now.
When Alex got closer his flashlight illuminated the label and he saw what was written on it: William Oldman, Oakley. It was William's doll. The very same one he had shown to Alex when he had came home from taking King the park. The very same one that William had said the man in the gutter had given him. Did that mean that William had been here? Or was it James playing another sick joke on him, purposely placing the doll in the kidnappers noose? Alex looked around for more clues or an indication that William had in fact been here and noticed a sign on the chain link fence behind him that he didn't see before. He got closer and held up his flashlight and read the inscription. It was a poem.
"Dead men, dead men, swinging in a tree
How many dead men do you see?
Tongue turned blue and face gone grey
Watch them as they twist and sway
The first one killed the butcher man
Then cooked him in the frying pan
Served him to his hungry guests
And gave them seconds on request
The next one with his smile and sweets
Stole poor children off the streets
To men who dressed unsavory
He sold them into slavery
Breaking into home at night
The thief he had a nasty fright
Filled his foolish head with ale
Woke in the morn in the county jail
The artist with his daunting skill
Tried his hand at painting bills
But caught in rain he was undone
When the ink he's use did start to run
With promises of great return
Taking gold he did not earn
Bundled it up out of sight
Quietly slipped off into night
Three houses into ashes burned
The sheriff with no place to turn
Did spy a stranger to his town
Locked him up and beat him down
Dead men, dead men, swinging in a tree
How many dead men do you see?
Six feet long and six men wide
Round their necks the noose be tied."
Alex knew that this was some kind of riddle and the answer hit him almost instantly. When he was a child he loved to read riddles and try to find the solution. He would sit there for hours on end solving one after the other, challenging Josh to solve one before him but he never could. Alex just had a knack for solving them quicker than most people and this one was exactly the same. One of the hanging men was innocent and it was the arsonist.
"Three houses into ashes burned
The sheriff with no place to turn
Did spy a stranger to his town
Locked him up and beat him down"
The sheriff couldn't find out who burned down the three houses so he blamed it on a stranger who had came into his town and hanged him for it, an innocent man. So now that Alex had solved the riddle, what did it mean? He looked at the empty arsonist's noose then at the kidnapper's noose which held the pink rabbit. He didn't even want to remove the doll because it was in a guilty mans noose and Alex had a feeling that nothing good would come out of touching it. If it was placed there by James Alex knew it had to be some kind of trick.
He stepped on to the metal grating and went over to the innocent mans noose who had been hung for arson. He prayed that something would come out of this that would help him get out of here and find William. He was about to pull on the noose when he heard Toby shout behind him.
"That's William's doll!" He came running into the room and over to the noose where the bunny rabbit hung. "We should give it back to him!"
He began to reach up, his fingers touching the rabbit's leg.
Alex watched with horror and dread. He began to shout out to Toby, "No! Toby don't –"
But he was too late. Toby's fingers had already curled around the dolls leg and he was pulling it downwards, trying to free it from the noose. The doll came free and as the noose was pulled down there was a loud clicking sound. Alex felt the metal grating begin to shake beneath his and Toby's feet, and before he could even act on what he knew was about to happen, the grating fell inwards and Alex and Toby began to fall.
He heard Toby's screams and his own rapid heartbeat and Alex wondered if his luck was about to run out, and if this fall was going to be his last.
Alex vaguely remembered falling down a series of slopes and shoots, most of them with cascading water running down them. He remembered trying to hold on to something, trying to find something he could grab to stop himself from falling any deeper but the slopes were too slippery with water and he was falling too fast. He remembered hearing Toby's screams echoing up and around him and he remembered falling into waist high water at the bottom. After that he remembered nothing.
He awoke to find himself underwater. When he opened his eyes he couldn't see a thing and immediately began to panic. Water filled his nostrils and stung his eyes and he inhaled a lung full of the murky stuff causing fear to drive him forward and push him up and through the surface. He came up coughing and spluttering, trying to get his breath back and not to be sick. When he had composed himself and had brought up as much of the water as he could Alex could feel that he was standing in water that came up to his waist.
He couldn't see a thing and realised with fear that his flashlight must be under the water and therefore useless. The same could probably be said for his radio. He still had his handgun and his rifle however and thought that they should still be in working order as they hadn't been submerged under the water for long. That's when the sickening thought hit him that he was missing someone.
"Toby? Toby can you hear me?" Alex cried out in to the darkness.
His voice echoed off the walls and he knew that he must be in a similar tunnel to the ones in the lower levels of the labyrinth. Although the water was deeper here so he guessed he might even be further underground and that thought made his breathing a little more shallow.
Not a single sound indicated that Toby was nearby. He couldn't have fallen far from where Alex had landed; they were standing pretty close together when the metal grating gave way. Unless he was under the water unconscious just like Alex was when he'd landed. That thought spurred Alex in to action. He didn't care that he had no radio to alert him of any beasts that could be sneaking up on him in the darkness, he didn't care that he had no flashlight to hold back the shadows, all he cared about was finding Toby before he drowned.
Alex began feeling around under the water with his hands, desperately hoping to grab hold of a t-shirt, a shoe or an arm that would indicate that Toby was under there. He was about to give up hope and was certain that all the noise he was making was going to attract some unwanted attention very soon when his hand brushed something that felt like material. He grabbed hold of what he now knew was a t-shirt and hauled whoever was wearing it up to the surface and out of the water.
He held the small body in his arms and when it began to cough and splutter, he knew it was Toby and felt dizzy with relief. He felt Toby bring up mouthfuls of water and his body convulsed every time he tried to get his breath back but he was alive and that was all that mattered. He gave him a few minutes and asked if he was okay.
"I'm okay now," replied Toby in a breathless and raspy voice. "But the water is too deep Alex, I can't walk in it."
Alex knew that if it came up to his own waist, it must come up to Toby's neck so he hoisted him over his shoulder in a fireman's lift and began to wade through the water, bringing the rifle around to his front and holding his handgun in his free hand. Even though Toby weighed next to nothing, Alex was exhausted. The deep water didn't make things any easier and the cold was making his knee throb to a new painful level. He was also terrifyingly aware of how exposed they were like this with no flashlight and no radio, they were practically blind. Alex just tried to be as quiet as possible and rely on his senses as much as he could.
He wondered where they were. They were on the upper level of the labyrinth when they fell but he knew they hadn't simply fell down to the lower level. Somehow he sensed they were even further down than that. The water was deeper and the air was more thick and heavy and noises sounded more muffled. A horrifying realisation hit Alex that this could be the exact same place where Pyramid Head had fallen. He had also fallen through metal grating and Alex had heard a splash when he had landed. Panic began to seep into Alex's consciousness at the thought that the red demon could be lurking anywhere in the darkness.
He tried to move at a faster pace, sacrificing stealth for speed. He kept his shoulder to the wall so he knew when there was a turn and came to an intersection. He was about to turn left but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw what was advancing slowly but surely down the tunnel in his direction. He let out a strangled cry when he saw the spear, the bulging muscles under the blood stained apron and the horrifying pyramid, all illuminated by the dreadfully familiar crimson glow.
Pyramid Head saw Alex and stopped. Alex saw the demon's gloved webbed hand tighten around his spear and then the monster let out a terrifying, unearthly howl. Fear stabbed Alex through the heart and he heard Toby whimper over his shoulder, the boy not needing to see to know what was making that fearful cry. The red demon began to advance at once and Alex didn't need any other motivation. He turned on his heel and began to wade through the water as fast as he could in the opposite direction.
Toby could now see Pyramid Head behind them and began to tremble violently.
"Hurry Alex, he's getting closer!"
Alex tried to go as fast as he could, his heart hammering in his chest and his pulse pounding in his temples. He tried to ignore the blinding pain in his leg and the fact that if Pyramid Head was to throw that spear, it would all be over. He could hear the monsters footsteps behind him getting closer and could see the red glow begin to creep over the walls on either side of him. He prayed that he would find a way out soon and his teeth began to chatter.
He couldn't bear the thought of Toby getting killed at the hands of the beast that was getting ever closer and he knew that was his exact intention. Alex didn't think that Pyramid Head would kill him; he'd had so many chances to already. He'd kill the boy as punishment for tricking him earlier. He'd kill him in some unimaginable way, right in front of Alex's eyes and Alex really didn't think that he'd be able to keep hold of his sanity any longer if that were to happen.
He made a sharp right when he felt the wall turn and saw a small shaft of light up ahead at the other end of the tunnel. Please be a way out, please! He pushed himself forward feeling dizzy and his breath was coming out in heavy bursts.
"He's almost here Alex, please go faster!" cried Toby.
Alex risked a look behind him and saw that in a few more steps Pyramid Head's spear would be in range. He forgot his pain, exhaustion and fatigue for the moment and focussed on the shaft of light up ahead and forced himself to focus on only that. As he got closer he saw a ladder leading up to the light and Alex realised with rising hope that it was daylight. The ladder must lead to the outside, still in Silent Hill of course and he dreaded to think what part of the town he'd end up in, but still, he'd be out and he'd be able to track James down.
Alex reached the bottom of the ladder and saw that the small beams of light were coming from holes in a manhole cover that was at the top. He didn't think Toby would be able to push it up but he didn't want to go up the ladder first and leave him to follow. Alex put Toby down and told him to climb on his back quickly. Toby scrambled up and hooked his arms around Alex's neck.
"Don't let go of me," instructed Alex and he began to climb the ladder with Pyramid Head almost upon them.
His clothes were soaked through and were weighing him down. His leg was throbbing and his hands were slippery on the rungs but he forced himself to keep going because he knew death would be waiting at the bottom for both of them if he fell. He knew they'd be safe for the moment if they reached the outside. The red demon wouldn't be able to fit through the manhole with that huge pyramid. Alex reached the top and pushed the heavy manhole cover with all the strength he had left and he almost cried with relief when it began to move. He pushed it a few more times and a brilliant shaft of light rained down on them when he removed it completely.
His eyes stung from the drastic change in light conditions and he saw the fog swimming above him but it felt so good to be able to breathe fresh air again and after being underground for what felt like days to him, the air in Silent Hill felt like the freshest air he'd ever breathed in his life. He hoisted himself up through the hole with Toby still clinging to him and collapsed on the pavement just trying to get his breath back. Alex felt so tired he thought he would easily be able to fall asleep right there and then but Toby's voice brought him back to the matter at hand.
"Alex," he said, peering down into the hole from which they'd just come. "Put the cover back on, he's still down there."
Alex wasn't too concerned, he knew that huge pyramid of his would never make it through the small hole in the ground but he went over anyway to put the cover back on. Just before he was about to slide it back into place he risked a look down at the bottom to see if the red demon was still there. He was indeed and it took Alex a few seconds to realise what he was doing and when the realisation hit him, panic flared up in Alex once more. Pyramid Head was removing his helmet. Alex could see his muscles straining under the weight of trying to remove the thing.
Once he got that off of his shoulders he would become faster and more agile and he'd be able to follow them out here! Alex didn't waste another second; he slammed the cover back over the hole and got to his feet. He grabbed Toby by the hand and began to walk quickly through the fog, trying to look for some indication of where in Silent Hill they might be. As they were walking along Alex realised he could hear the sound of water to his right. He followed the noise and after a few minutes they came to the lake, Toluca Lake with a lone rowing boat just off to their left. Alex guessed they must have come out near the boat dock.
He knew they must be close to the Lakeview Hotel and this was their best chance of throwing off Pyramid Head. He got himself and Toby into the boat, took an oar in each hand and began to row, letting the fog swallow them and hide them from view. He didn't have a clue which direction the hotel was in and the fog didn't help matters, all he could do was keep rowing and hope that they'd find it sooner or later. James wasn't going to wait forever.
"Your leg looks bad Alex," said Toby after about half an hour of them being afloat in the fog and still no luck finding their destination.
Alex knew that it was more than bad; he could feel it all the while he was underground but now in the harsh light of day, it wasn't a pretty sight. His pant leg had completely ripped open at the knee now exposing the wound. It was a harsh, bright red colour with a deep crimson gash right in the middle which was still bleeding. He knew that the water he'd been wading through had been unclean so if he didn't get medical attention soon it was going to become infected, if it wasn't already. But he'd worry about that later, if he even made it out alive first.
"I'll be okay, it's just a little cut that's all."
Alex had been fully aware since he and Toby got into the boat, that this was the first time he'd been out on the lake since Josh had died. The situation he was in was also hauntingly familiar; he was out in the middle of the lake in a boat with a boy only one year younger than Josh was when he had fallen in. Alex was just trying to focus on rowing, he'd re-lived this moment a hundred times over in his head but coming back to the scene of the accident made it so much harder and he didn't want to see it again. He didn't want to go back to the moment when his world, in the form of his little brother, had shattered and changed forever.
It was that stupid ring! The ring that Alex's father had given to Josh that then hung around his neck on a chain, which Josh had shown to Alex when they were in the boat.
"Oh yeah? Then why'd he give me this?" Josh had challenged Alex that night, after Alex had told him that their father thought he was a baby, who couldn't go out on the lake on his own.
"It's Dad's ring," Josh had said after Alex had asked him what it was. "But he told me not to show you so; I guess that makes me cooler."
Alex had snatched it off Josh, calling the ring a piece of crap. He remembered feeling hurt and resentment towards his father at that moment, and jealousy towards Josh. Of course their father had given Josh that ring, because his little brother was the favourite, the prodigal son. But it wasn't his brother's fault; it was his father's for being such a bad parent, such a cold hearted bastard. His father was going to sacrifice Alex, the way the four founding families of Shepherd's Glen would sacrifice one of their children every fifty years to keep the demons that haunted Silent Hill at bay.
But that ritualistic sacrifice all changed on that fateful night when Alex and Josh went out on to that lake.
"It's worth more than a million dollars, that's why Dad gave it to me!" said Josh, hurt by the fact that Alex had called it a piece of crap.
Alex had swung the ring around on the chain, teasing Josh. He remembered the beam from the flashlight they had taken with them catching the gold surface of the ring, making it appear like it was sparkling.
Josh grabbed the ring, pulling it whilst Alex kept hold. "Give that back! Give it back, come on!"
Alex had laughed whilst Josh tried to pull the ring free of his grasp, both of the brothers playing tug of war with the chain it was attached to.
Josh stood up in the boat, pulling and pulling and on the third tug the chain snapped and Josh fell. Alex could still remember the sickening crack his neck had made when it hit the side of the boat and then the awful splashing sound as his body hit the water. Alex had screamed Josh's name but it was no use, his brother was gone.
He remembered his father's words after he had come on to the lake looking for them in his own boat. He remembered the look of pure hate in his father's eyes as he held Josh's lifeless body in his arms, the chain and the ring still in his brother's hand.
"Do you know what you've done?" Alex felt sick, he felt numb, his little brother was dead. He told his father it was an accident.
"This is not the way it's supposed to be. I chose you! Now you've ruined it for all of us!" his father had accused. Alex had no idea what his father was talking about then but he had broken the pact that the founders of Shepherd's Glen had made. Josh had died instead of him and Alex would have to live with that guilt every day, knowing that if they hadn't of gone out on to the lake that night, Josh would be here and Alex wouldn't.
"He's okay, I can save him. I can save him," Alex whispered, his voice floating on the lake and through the fog.
"Save who Alex?" Toby asked, pulling Alex out of the past and into the present.
Alex had already made his peace with the past; he didn't want to feel guilty all over again. He loved his brother, it was an accident.
"Save William, Toby. Save William."
"Hey look!" shouted Toby, pointing over Alex's shoulder.
Alex turned around and saw a building in the distance on the shore. Most of it was obscured by the fog but he could see that it was big and grand. As they got closer he realised that the building was definitely a hotel, or it used to be. The whole place was charred and scorched, a former shell of what it once was. A fire had burned the place down long ago and now the hotel was a blackening and crumbling wreck. They had finally arrived at the Lakeview Hotel.
He moored the boat near a wooden walk way that led up to the hotel and got out, Toby following behind. They made their way up to the entrance, Alex holding his handgun out in front of him. The shoreline at the front of the hotel was lined with trees and Alex knew that James could be hiding behind any one of them.
As they got closer to the burned out building, Alex could smell ash and burning cinder that still hung in the air long after the fire had consumed the hotel. He wondered what had happened here. It must have been one hell of an intense fire to take out a huge three story building like this. He saw that parts of the hotel were crumbling and had given way completely. He could still see bits of white brickwork peeking through the blackened soot that was covering the exterior, indicating that before it burned down, this was probably a quite beautiful place to stay.
"I'm Johnny, one hot guy!"
Alex spun around in the direction of the voice, his gun held as steady as he could and his finger on the trigger. He let his eyes focus and then he saw them, James and William down by the shoreline with their backs to the lake. James held William in front of him with his arm round his neck to keep him from escaping and held a knife to his eyeball with his other hand. William was trembling violently and his face was wet with tears.
"That's what it said on the heater in room 312, mine and Mary's room. Johnny, in all his wisdom, had left a heater that was right underneath a curtain burning away, probably causing the fire. Stupid son of a bitch," James laughed intensely, showing his pearly white teeth and making Alex feel immensely uncomfortable.
Alex began to move slowly closer towards James, keeping his gun trained ahead. He whispered to Toby to stay close behind him. He stopped a few feet in front of them, not wanting to get too close whilst James had a knife so dangerously close to William's eye. William was looking at Alex with pleading and desperation and Alex had never felt so much resting on him in his life. He was so glad that William was still alive but all of that could change in a split second if he made the wrong move.
"You're not looking too good Alex," said James with amusement, looking at Alex's knee with those awful black eyes of his.
"Neither are you," replied Alex, gesturing to the stab wound in James's side that Alex had previously given him in the prison. The bleeding seemed to have stopped but the cut looked rather deep, and the blood seemed to be black, not red.
"Yes, well, you'll pay for that one," James said with a sadistic smile.
William began to whimper, obviously terrified that the beast was going to take out his anger on him.
"Look James, your issue is with me here, not the kid. Let him go."
"Or I could kill him, kill the other kid, and then drag you off to room 312 and kill you in there. You know that's where I found the videotape of myself killing Mary in our house. I put a pillow over her face until she stopped breathing."
Alex's mind began to work frantically. He was losing James; there was no way he was going to be able to rationalise with him. His lust for blood was too high, his mind was too primal and there was no human part of him left any more.
"But I wouldn't kill you like that. I said I'd take your heart, just rip it right out of your chest and you can watch in your final moments whilst it still beats in my hand."
Alex saw William squeeze his eyes shut and he felt Toby trembling behind him. He had to buy time, he needed to focus more.
"I don't think Pyramid Head would be too happy about that. He'll be here soon and he wants me alive, you know that. What do you think he'll do to you if he finds out that you killed me?"
Alex saw uncertainty and a hint of fear in those deep midnight pools in James's eyes. He saw the hand that was holding the knife begin to falter and he fixed his gaze on it, trying to focus and stop his hand from shaking. He knew if he made one single mistake now it was cost them all their lives.
"I'm not scared of him!" snarled James. "I'm not scared of anyone. If he wants you alive, I'll just start by killing the kids shall I?"
"You're not going to kill anyone James," replied Alex. He took aim, prayed that he wouldn't live to regret his decision and pulled the trigger.
The gunshot was deafening and echoed all over the lake. Alex saw William fall to the ground and for one sickening moment he thought he'd missed his target. But William was unharmed and James was clutching his hand that held the knife that was now lying on the ground next to him. Black blood seeped from the gunshot wound which went right through his palm and James was looking at Alex with murderous intent.
Alex didn't know how many bullets it was going to take to stop James and his vision was already blurring once again, his hands shaking violently. James was already recovering and advancing on William who was now on his feet and running away. Alex did the only other thing he could think of which had a better shot of killing James than an unknown amount of bullets. He took his rifle from over his shoulder and threw it to the ground, along with his handgun and he began to run towards James.
He ran as fast as he could, ignoring the agony in his knee which probably wouldn't matter in a few minutes. He gathered up as much speed as he could, knowing he was going to need a great amount. James saw Alex advancing on him and smiled with glee. He stood facing him, beckoning him to do what he was about to do, waiting in anticipation. Alex saw the knife on the ground a few feet in front of him. He pushed himself faster and snatched it up on his way past, stooping low but not losing speed. He held it in his hand and gripped it as tight as he could. He was almost there.
"COME ON!" shouted James, his arms open wide.
Alex's feet left the ground and he hurled himself at James, knocking into him with great force and sending them both tumbling into Toluca Lake. There was a loud splash and then they were both underwater, the cold almost making Alex too numb to move.
He opened his eyes and saw James swimming towards him, still smiling that evil smile. Shafts of light shined down through the lakes surface and James's silver hair was flowing upwards and out in all directions and Alex thought he really did look like a white ghost, an aquatic spectre. He knew he had to hurry up; he was getting short of breath already.
He swam towards James, hoping that he wouldn't drown under here, the lake bed being his final resting place. James reached him first and his hands shot out, wrapping themselves around Alex's neck. Alex's first instinct was to breathe in, to get some air into his lungs that were now being deprived of oxygen by James. But he knew if he breathed in then it would be instant death so he held his breath that was now rapidly depleting and tried to ignore the darkness that was seeping into his vision.
He gripped hold of the knife that he still had in his hand as tight as he could. He pushed his arm forward with all of the strength he had left, knowing that the water was going to slow down his movement. He pushed hard and fast and saw James's eyes go wide and his grin disappear as the knife penetrated his stomach. The hands came free of Alex's neck and black blood began to rush from the wound, clouding the water and obscuring James's face from view. James's arms floated up, as if he'd lost all feeling in them and he began to sink to the bottom of the lake.
Alex began to feel dizzy; he couldn't hold his breath for much longer. He pushed himself upwards and began to swim as fast as he could. He was expecting a hand to grab on to his leg at any moment and pull him down into a watery grave but nothing happened. Instead he swam towards the surface, his face turning purple and his heart pounding at a dangerous speed. Just a little further, hang on! Faster, faster and he was through. He burst through the surface of the water and breathed in huge lung full's of air, never being so grateful for oxygen in his life.
He swam to the shoreline and pulled himself on to dry land with huge effort. He lay on his stomach, soaking wet and feeling like he couldn't move even if he wanted to. He had no strength left, he was physically drained. He felt himself begin to drift off to sleep when he heard William's cry of terror.
He snapped his head up and looked toward the hotel and let out a low, terrified moan at what he saw. Pyramid Head had found them. He had the spear in his hand and the triangular helmet was on his head once more. Alex had no idea how he'd got it through that manhole with him.
He was standing over Toby and William who were huddled together, cowering at the front doors of the hotel. Alex didn't have the strength to fight any more. He looked around for his guns but they were too far off to the left near the water. He tried to get on to his knees but he didn't even have the energy for that so he started dragging himself across the mud with his arms and did the only other thing he could do, he got Pyramid Head's attention.
"Hey!" he shouted, his voice raspy and hoarse.
Pyramid Head turned around, turning his attention to Alex.
"Over here. Let's finish this."
The red demon began to make his way over to Alex, taking slow, labouring steps. Alex put his head down once more and waited for whatever the monster had in store for him. He wanted to save Toby and William so badly but he couldn't fight anymore, he was in no condition. Maybe once Pyramid Head had Alex he'd leave the kids alone. That was the best he could hope for. He closed his eyes and waited for the punisher to come, and wondered if his brother would be waiting for him in the next life.
James found himself floating through time and space. He passed through billions of stars, sparkling and twinkling like candles in the night. He floated over fields and meadows, the grass a brilliant beautiful green, the trees blazing orange in the golden setting sun. He witnessed moments in his life from times gone by, his birth, crying and screaming and new to the world. His mother holding him in his arms and his father almost bursting with pride. He saw his fifth birthday party, blowing out the candles on his cake shaped like a football. His first day of school, nervous and wearing his shorts that were too big for him. His first day of high school, his first girlfriend, his first kiss. His mother dying, holding her hand as she passed on from this world and his father following her shortly afterwards.
He saw his beautiful Mary. He remembered the first time he'd met her at a house party held by one of their friends. She was so beautiful, her auburn hair shining whenever the light would catch it and those deep brown eyes that held so much life and spirit in them. Their love was so passionate at first, and then it evolved into something much deeper and meaningful. He remembered her illness, the day she was diagnosed with a terminal, incurable disease and was given just three years to live.
He saw her condition deteriorate all over again; he saw her beauty fade, even though she always remained beautiful to him. He saw her lash out and blame him, he saw her hate herself and the way she looked, he saw her slip away as time went by. He saw himself begin to drink and feel angry and frustrated that he couldn't help her and the strain the illness was putting on their relationship. He remembered when she was allowed to come home from the hospital in her final days and he remembered how he had smothered her with a pillow in her own bed. He remembered her lifeless body and his guilt begin to take over.
And then she was there.
She was wherever James was at that moment in time. He found himself standing on solid white ground, surrounded by white fog. He was no longer the beast that he had been turned into by his tormentor, he was James Sunderland again, just a man. But he knew he wasn't in the land of the living. Was he dead?
"James," said Mary, very softly.
She was standing in front of him, as beautiful as she had always been, as beautiful as he'd always remembered her.
"Mary," whispered James, tears stinging his eyes and emotion choking his throat.
He wanted to ask where he was, if he was still in Silent Hill, if he was dead or if he was simply dreaming. But he didn't know how long this was going to last, whatever this was, and there was only one thing he wanted to say. One thing he'd wanted to say for so long.
"I'm sorry Mary... I'm so sorry," he said, tears spilling from his eyes.
She came over to him and put her hand on his cheek, the way she used to do in happier times. Her touch was so light, he could barely feel it, but he knew it was real.
"You've suffered enough James. You've been punished for too long," she whispered, her hand staying on his cheek, her eyes shining with more light than ever.
"... I forgive you."
James broke down, sobs wrenching out of him and shaking his whole body. He burned with shame and guilt but he had never felt so happy. A huge weight had been lifted and wherever he returned to after this, he knew he could be at peace.
"You have to go back now James," said Mary.
"No!" James snapped his head up to look at her. "I want to stay here with you, there's nothing left for me back there."
"Alex and the children need you James, they're in trouble."
"But-" James began to protest but Mary cut him off.
"Be the James I fell in love with and go and help them. If you choose to stay there, know that I forgive you. If you choose to come back... I'll be waiting."
She smiled the warm smile of hers that always made James feel safe and gave him a feather light kiss on the forehead. She then turned and walked away, the fog swallowing her up.
"No, Mary, don't leave me!" cried James, running after her but finding only the thick mist.
From somewhere in the distance he heard a faint cry, a child's cry, "Alex! You need to get up Alex!"
James looked around him and made a decision. He closed his eyes and felt a huge rush of energy. He was seeing all of the moments in his life again but they were rushing by so fast. He was floating through billions of stars at lightning speed, over the meadows and the hills and towards a blinding bright light.
He pushed through the light and opened his eyes, he was underwater and back in Toluca Lake. He was aware of an agonising pain in his stomach and felt so weak but he began to swim upwards towards the surface. He could feel himself losing more blood, the moment when Alex stabbed him coming back into his memory. He knew he wouldn't last long but needed to make his final moments count.
He broke through the surface of the water and saw Pyramid Head in the distance, standing over Alex who was lying on the ground. Pyramid Head was in the process of taking his helmet off and this is when James seized his chance. He swam over to the shore and dragged himself on to dry land and saw the rifle that Alex had discarded before he knocked James and himself in to the lake. He crawled over to it, keeping one hand over the stab wound in his stomach to try and stop the flow of blood as long as possible.
He picked up the rifle and took aim. Pyramid Head hadn't spotted him yet and was just about to remove his helmet. His muscles bulged under the great weight and strain of removing it and after a loud groan the pyramid came off, exposing the red demons face. And that's when James pulled the trigger and sent a bullet right between Pyramid Head's eyes. His tormentor's body jerked and blood sprayed from the bullet wound, and then his body fell to the floor with a thud and Pyramid Head was no more.
Alex was preparing himself for death. Pyramid Head had finally reached him and kicked him over on to his back so Alex was looking up at his tormentor standing over him.
"I've got you this time Alex... No more tricks, no more running away... You are going to become me."
Alex could do nothing but watch in horror as Pyramid Head began to remove his helmet and finally understood what he intended to do. He was going to take off that helmet and put it on Alex's shoulders, making Alex become him. That was a fate worse than death, roaming around the streets of Silent Hill as another red demon. Stealing children off the streets and killing any unfortunate soul who happened to get trapped in this town. If he still had his gun he'd blow his brains out right there, the thought of being trapped in this town for eternity was too much to bear.
Pyramid Head finally took off his helmet and Alex squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't want to see his face, the face of death. He didn't want to see what he was about to be turned in to. He braced himself for whatever hell he was about to be tossed in to when he heard a loud gunshot and then a thud of a body hitting the floor. He opened his eyes and saw that Pyramid Head was no longer standing over him; he was lying dead at his feet.
Alex sat upright and whirled around in the direction that the shot had come and saw a body lying by the shore line. A body wearing a green coat and with blonde hair.
"James!" Alex shouted.
He threw himself to his feet but fell back down again when the agony in his knee became too much. Instead he half crawled, half dragged himself over to where James was now lying and sat down next to him, pulling James's upper body on to his legs and taking his head in his arms. He was no longer the beast that Pyramid Head had turned him into, he was back to the man he once was. His skin was still deathly pale but his hair was back to its blonde colour, matted to his forehead with the water and his eyes were no longer black but green, although the light was fading from them slowly.
Alex saw the rifle next to James who was looking up at him with a smile on his face.
"You're going to be alright James; we're all going to get out of here."
"No Alex... it's over for me," said James in a raspy and breathless voice.
Alex looked down at the stab wound that he had given James, James's hands covering it and shaking uncontrollably.
"I'm so sorry James, I just-"
"You were... just doing what I – I asked you to do Alex." James began to cough violently, bringing up blood.
"T-thank you Alex... thank you."
Alex didn't think he'd feel this bad, he didn't think he'd feel emotion start to choke him. He had no problem killing James when he wasn't himself, but now that he was dying in his arms as the man who he'd been through a lot with, he felt an overwhelming wave of grief sweep over him.
"Listen to me Alex... when you get back to – to Oakley, you have to-" he began to cough and splutter once more. "You have to tell the police that it was... me who took the k-kids."
Alex felt like he'd been punched in the gut. "No! No I won't, you've just saved our lives. I won't tarnish your name like that."
"They will think you... you did it otherwise and t-they'll arrest you. You t-think they'll believe s-stories about the... bogeyman?" James began to laugh, and then his teeth began to chatter violently.
"I'll think of something, you just hold on James."
"This is it for me Alex. Let something... good come from my d-death." He began to tremble and shake, his breath coming out shorter.
Alex knew he didn't have long left, and he felt so helpless that he couldn't save him. "Just know that you're a good person James. You saved my life and two children, you're a good man."
James smiled. "I – I saw her Alex... I saw Mary. She – she said she forgave me, and that she'd be... waiting for me." James's eyes began to glaze over and he looked up, as if he was looking at some far off beautiful sight that only he could see.
Alex took James's hand and held on to it. "Go to her James," he whispered.
James smiled and Alex never thought he'd seen anyone look so peaceful. He shut his eyes and took his last breath and died in Alex's arms.
Alex didn't know how long he sat there with James's body but at some point, William and Toby came over to him. He asked the kids to help them put James's body in to the boat that they'd come over in and he pushed it off out in to the lake, watching it disappear in to the fog. It was the best send off he could think of under the circumstances and he knew they wouldn't need the boat anyway; he didn't have a clue where to go.
"What do we do now Alex?" asked William.
Alex really didn't know. "Let's just go and rest for a while okay?"
They all went over to the doorway of the Lakeview Hotel and huddled together in it. William was on one side of Alex, Toby on the other. He put his arms around them and told them to go to sleep.
He rested his head against the door and closed his eyes. He saw the faces of all those he'd lost in this town. His mother, his father, Josh and James. But he felt the warmth of the bodies next to him that he'd managed to save and despite the place he was in and not knowing what would happen when he woke up, he fell in to a long and untroubled sleep.
Days, months or it could of been years passed by of Alex waking up and then falling back to sleep.
Sometimes he'd awake to doctor's faces floating above him, talking in far off voices using words he didn't understand. Sometimes it would be the stern faces of police men, asking if he could answer a few questions but he'd always drift back off before he could respond. Sometimes it would be Elle sitting on a chair next to his bed, holding his hand. And sometimes it would be Pyramid Head looming over him, taking off his helmet and bringing it down over Alex's face, and that's when Alex would start screaming awful screams, then doctors would rush in and give him an injection that sent him right back off to sleep where he fell into the deepest depths of unconsciousness.
One day Alex opened his eyes and his head began to pound but he didn't feel as tired as he normally did. He looked around and he was in a hospital bed with tubes and drips running out of his arms and his leg propped up in front of him in a thick cast. He turned his head to the left and saw Elle asleep in a chair next to his bed. He tried to say her name but the only sound that came out was a croaking sound, his throat was raw.
This still roused Elle though and she broke into a huge smile when she saw that he was awake. She was about to get the nurse when Alex grabbed her hand and shook his head, he wanted to know everything that had gone on first.
"K... K-k..." Alex tried so hard to speak. His mouth was so dry and his throat was in agony.
Elle put her ear to his mouth, "Try again Alex."
"K... Kids!" Alex finally managed to get out, wincing at the pain it caused him.
Elle looked at him. "William and Toby are fine Alex. They found the three of you huddled on the side of the highway, not far from an old diner. They're both back with their parents now. They both say you saved them and that they want to see if you're okay, but Alex..."
Elle looked around to make sure nobody was listening outside the door and lowered her voice, "Toby is pretty traumatised and when the police ask who took him, he says the bogey man who carried a big knife. And William is saying things about Silent Hill. What happened Alex?"
Alex felt his eyes go heavy and he fell back asleep before he could even try to give Elle a response.
He awoke again sometime later and felt a lot better. His throat wasn't as raw anymore and the pain in his head was gone. The chair next to his bed was empty however; Elle must have gone home to get some rest.
A doctor with a beard that immediately made Alex think of Santa Claus entered his room with a clipboard and a cup with some pills in it.
"How are we feeling today then?" he asked.
"A little better," replied Alex. "Where am I, and how long have I been here?"
The doctor, who revealed his name to be Dr Stark, told Alex that he was in Oakley General and had been here for three weeks. He told him how police had found him, Toby and William on the side of the highway, all unconscious. The children were released after just a few days having suffered no serious physical damage but their psychological state was still being heavily monitored. Alex's knee had not become infected, they got to it just in time but there was a serious break and he had shattered some bones, the wound had been stitched up but would leave a nasty scar and he'd be on crutches for at least eight weeks when he was discharged. The cut on his cheekbone would also leave a scar.
He was highly malnourished and dehydrated when they'd found him and suffering from extreme exhaustion and there were moments that they didn't think he'd pull through. But all his signs were stable now and he'd be able to leave in about a week's time. In the meantime, the police wanted to ask him a few questions when he felt up to it, and that's when, three days later, Officer Stanton paid Alex a visit.
"How are you Alex?" asked Stanton, making himself comfortable in the chair where Elle sat when she came to visit.
He had deep yellow and purple bruises around his neck where James had tried to strangle him and a nasty gash on his forehead.
"I'm okay, how's the head?"
"I'm getting there thanks. Now I have a few questions for you Alex if you feel up to it?"
Alex nodded.
"Well the first and most obvious question is where you have been for the past five days and where did you find William and Toby."
In the three days leading up to Stanton's visit, after Dr Stark telling him about what had happened and Elle filling him in on more details, Alex had tried to get his story straight without lying completely but omitting certain truth's that would make him sound like a lunatic and he tried to tell it to Stanton now as best he could without tripping up or forgetting some details.
He told Stanton that after he'd escaped from the asylum from where Fox had taken him, James had picked him up and took him to a motel. He said that he didn't have no other choice but to go with James because that he was about to be caught by Fox and his men. James had told Alex that he knew where the kids were, that they were in Silent Hill and he needed his help in getting them back. Alex of course left out the part about why he was wanted back in that town, he just said that James didn't give him and explanation and Alex had no choice but to trust him because he wanted to find the kids. He said that they went to Silent Hill and searched for days, and that Alex finally found Toby in an underground sewer system and William at the Lakeview Hotel.
"How did James, Sunderland, is it? How did he know you were at the asylum?"
"He heard you talking to your men on your radio after you realised I was missing. He was the one who strangled you Stanton," Alex replied.
He saw Stanton's jaw tighten and then relax again. "Do you know where he is now?"
Alex knew he had to be very careful here, if he said that James had simply disappeared, his picture would be plastered all over the news and the hunt would be on for this crazed kidnapper. His name would be smeared publicly and after what he did for Alex, Alex couldn't bear the thought. So he did what James asked him to do, even though it was hard for him to lie and he almost choked on his words.
"James went a little crazy when I found Toby in the sewer system. He took off on his own through the town and I found him later on at the Lakeview Hotel with William. He was going to hurt him so I... We had a confrontation. He had his hands around my throat, he was going to kill me so I... I stabbed him in the stomach with a knife he was carrying. He died from the wound."
Stanton was looking at Alex, debating whether to believe his story or not. He stood up and made his way to the door.
"That's all for now Alex, we're going to search Silent Hill and see if we can come up with anything."
Alex knew they wouldn't find a thing. You get into the other world of Silent Hill by invite only, if you're guilty and have sinned. They would just find an old, abandoned, fog free town.
Stanton was about to leave when a thought hit Alex. "Wait. What happened to Dr Fox? Where is he?"
"We arrested him, he's in custody. My men showed up at the asylum he took you to. Turns out you weren't the only one being tortured in there. We found a few victims still alive and quite a lot of bodies. Fox has been babbling on about how they were all upsetting the order of things and how they needed to be punished. We also arrested others who were working with him. The horrific things he did in there, if I have anything to do with it, I'm going to see that he gets life. Get some rest Alex, we'll talk again soon."
At least that son of a bitch was behind bars, that was one less thing he had to worry about. Alex turned his head and looked out of his hospital window. The sunlight was streaming in and beautifully golden. He heard birds singing outside and the wind rustling through the leaves of the trees. He decided that no matter what happened from here on out, he was just happy to be alive.
Two months later.
"Elle, come on, you ready?" Alex shouted up the stairs as King was pulling on his leash, dying to go for a walk.
"Coming," replied Elle. She came down the stairs to join Alex and they both pulled their coats on and headed out the door.
King walked along happily, sniffing everything he could get close to. The air was chilly and the leaves on the trees were falling slowly, leaving the branches bare in time for winter. Elle held on to the Labrador's leash and Alex limped alongside her, out of his cast but still on his crutch for another week or two. The cold made his knee hurt, a forever present reminder of the ordeal in Silent Hill.
It had been two months since Alex had got out of hospital and after about two weeks of being back in his old home in Oakley, he decided it was time to move on and move in with Elle. He loved her, he always had and she loved him. She was the only person he could tell the true account to of what happened in Silent Hill because she was the only one who believed him.
Stanton and his men had come up with nothing in Silent Hill, just like Alex knew they would. He wasn't suspected of taking Toby and William, the condition he was in when they found him and the fact that both kids hail Alex as their hero still to this day was proof enough of that. The man Alex had killed in the asylum was investigated and all charges were dropped as it was clear he killed in self defence. Dr Fox's trial was still ongoing but it looked as if he was going to be locked up for a very long time. And as for the fact of who took those kids, only Alex, William, Toby and Elle knew the truth. Everybody else was baffled. The police's explanation to the press and to the public was that they hadn't yet made any arrests and were still looking for the culprit.
The press wouldn't leave Alex alone when he got out of hospital. They called him a 'Hero with a troubled past'. He couldn't stand all the attention; he'd been through too much and just wanted to be left alone. So he made the decision to move away from Oakley and into Elle's place. He'd said goodbye to William, and Bill and Iris who said he was always welcome at their home at any time and they couldn't thank him enough. He also received a heartfelt letter from Toby's mother telling him that she'd never be able to pay him back for bringing her son home to her. All of those things made what he and James went through in Silent Hill worth it.
He and Elle made their way through a secluded area of woodland with a little stream running through it. They followed the stream with King chasing the dragonflies that hovered on the surface of the water.
They walked along the dirt path and came to a clearing where the lake ran into a small pool of water which was always so very still and a beautiful clear shade of blue. They'd been here many times since Alex had moved in with Elle. It always calmed him, the still water and the golden shafts of light peering down through the trees. One of those shafts of light now fell on the very thing he'd come to see.
Right next to the lake, facing out on to it was a small slab of oval shaped, pure white rock sticking up from the ground. Alex went over to it and knelt down on his good knee, whilst Elle stayed back with King, giving Alex a moment.
Inscribed on the stone in cursive writing, done by Alex's very own hand it said:
James Sunderland
Loving husband and friend.
Never forgotten.
Rest In Peace.
His body was still out on Toluca Lake of course but this was something for Alex to remember him by. He hoped that maybe some part of him was here with Mary, dancing and laughing on the surface of that pure sapphire pool and knowing that he'd always be remembered.
Alex gave the headstone a gentle pat and rejoined Elle and King. He gave one last look at the headstone and smiled at the golden light that was shining on it.
He looked forward to his future, never forgetting the past but leaving it behind and knew that where there was light, however little, darkness can always be overcome.