I do not own Silent Hill.

Lilith ran. Her lungs burned and screamed and her sneakers pounded away at the decrepit concrete below. She felt each jarring step spike its way up her body while her nose ran and her eyes watered. She could hear nothing but the sound of her pulse steady as a war drum and the quick pitter patter of paws at her heels. Finally, she slowed and leaned back against the crumbling brick of an old general goods store. She placed her hands on her knees and breathed, quick and desperate at first, but then steady, slow and deep. Lily drug the back of her hand across her forehead, wiping the sweat away. Ghost panted at her side, but he never seemed to tire as much or as quickly as her. She dusted some ash off of his back and scratched the top of his head.

"I think that's enough for today," she told him, pushing off the wall. Her legs began to get heavier with every step and her sweat, combined with the brisk air, made her feel too cold now that her heart rate was slowing. It wasn't a long trip back to the apartment from her position, but with her wobbly legs it felt longer than she cared for.

It had been almost a month since Pyramid Head had brought Ghost to her. She felt as if a part of her had been repaired with a piece of her life by her side. She was determined now, to keep herself together as much as possible. To not become a victim. Lilith didn't exactly know how she planned on doing it, but she would get through this and she would go home and she would clock Mathew in the face and bat her lashes at whoever the hell struck her fancy and go dancing and quit her stupid job and ride horses. As well as a whole list of other stuff she had always wanted to do. She didn't dwell on whether she would ever get to do them or not, those hopes were all she had and they were keeping her sane. As well as her big shaggy pup.

The big shaggy pup barked. She swore he could read her mind now. As Ghost walked by her side she also swore he had gotten bigger while she scratched him behind the ears. But she didn't dwell on it too much either. He was her Ghost and he was here and that was all that mattered.

Once they made it back into the apartment, Lilith locked the door and went to the kitchen where she filled a bowl of water for Ghost and a glass for herself. Her kitchen was nicely stocked now, as well as the whole rest of her apartment. She was relatively sure she could hold out comfortably for at least two weeks if she had to.

Stripping off her clothes and throwing them into a basket she went into the bathroom for a much needed shower. She took her time, laying down in the bathtub, allowing the water to pelt her naked skin. It was soothing to her muscles and her mind, the steam warming her bones. Lilith dozed in and out of slumber until something jarred her awake. She jolted up frantically, listening. Ghost barked. Without hesitation she jumped out of the tub with the water still running and grabbed the knife off the sink.

Bursting through the bathroom door she held her knife threateningly, "who's there!?" she demanded. Ghost crossed the room and ran around her legs, eager to see her as if he hadn't in days. He barked again. A familiar figure sat on her couch. He said nothing, but she knew when he was staring at her.

Staring at her. Her eyes went wide and she looked down at her soaking wet bare body before screaming and running back into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. "YOU FUCKING PERV!"

Pyramid Head laughed, the sound softly echoing through the metal helmet. The dog jumped up on the couch beside him, looking and turning his head to the side as if to communicate something. 'I don't speak mutt.' The dog turned away and watched the bathroom door once more, waiting for his mistress to return. When Lilith came out, she was wrapped in a towel and red-faced (which he didn't think was from the steam). She very studiously ignored him, holding her chin up and marching to her bedroom where she slammed the door again. Pyramid Head chuckled, recalling the curves of her body, dripping wet as she barged out bare naked with a knife, ready to attack. It was attractive, for sure. The reality was almost better than his fantasy.

Lilith came out of the room in a pair of black pants and a plain t-shirt that was slightly too big. "What do you want?" she snapped.

'Just making sure you haven't lobbed off any heads today.'

Lily threw her hands up. "Fine. Whatever. Don't answer me," she stomped over in front of him and scowled, "you had your laugh, now leave," she demanded. Her face looked angry. He liked that. Pyramid Head leaned back into her couch in defiance. "UGH. FINE. Then I'll leave." Turning on her heel, Lilith marched to the door and slipped her tennis shoes back on, grabbing her sword and tucking a small pistol into the hem of her pants. "C'mon Ghost." Ghost obeyed, jumping up and following her out the door. She stomped out of the apartment complex. Pyramid Head stood, leaning leisurely against his sword.

Lilith scowled and threw her hands on her hips, "do you ever stop doing that?!" No response. Frustrated, she stormed past him.

"Darkness is coming," he said.

"Yeah, so what? It's always-" Pain shot through Lilith's head and she doubled over, crying out with her palms squeezed against her temples. Pyramid called her name, but she couldn't hear anything except the ringing. But suddenly, it stopped just as quickly as it had come. Like it always did.

Lily blinked and straightened herself up. She felt a hand pressed softly to her back and Ghost approached her with his ears flat against his head. She crouched down and embraced him, "it's okay," she told him soothingly as he licked her face.

"What happened," Pyramid Head demanded.

"They're just headaches. They happen all the time."

"How long?"

"For a couple weeks now."

He was silent then and worry crept its way into her chest, "they're just headaches."

"Go back inside," he told her.

"What? Why?"

"DO IT!"

She stood. "No."

"Lilith," he growled, "…please." Lilith was surprised by his use of manners even though he spat it out like it was poison. She didn't think he had it in him. Any other time, she might have mocked him for it, but the little seed of worry in her chest was starting to sprout at his tone. "Fine," she huffed, heading back towards the building. She turned to ask him something before entering, but he was already gone.

'She can hear it.'

"That's impossible."

Pyramid Head sat comfortably in a chair caked in dry blood as Alessa paced the room. 'She complains of headaches.'

"And you think that means she's listening? Humans get headaches all the time. I get them every time I have to deal with this bullsh-"

'They're not headaches, Alessa. And for all we know she isn't human. In fact, it's more likely that she's not.'

"It doesn't matter, she still wouldn't be able to listen."

'You aren't with her like I am. If you were you would see. There's something wrong with her. She's changing."

Alessa was scowling at the floor as her pacing became more urgent. "It's impossible," she said, "impossible."

'It's not impossible and you know it." Pyramid Head paused, "you're afraid of her."

"I am not afraid of some cowardly little bitch."

'She's not a coward.'

"So say she can hear? What do we do about it? It's too soon."

'I thought you were the one with all the answers."

"Don't be a smartass," Alessa said.

There was a moment of silence in the room as Alessa quit pacing and stared down at the rusted metal floor. 'Have they said anything?'

"No, I can't get them to talk. Just watch her. Stay close to her," and with that, Alessa was gone. And once again he was left to clean up a mess that they wouldn't be in if it wasn't for her.

Lilith laid herself down to the bed feeling lightheaded and dizzy. There was a prickling sensation that crept down her spine and through the rest of her body. Ghost barked beside her and she flinched, "ouch. Keep it down." He stood up on the bed, tongue out and tail wagging. Lilith peeked up and then groaned, "go away"

"No," Pyramid Head said.

"I don't feel well, please leave."

"Darkness is coming," he told her.

"They've never gotten in before."

"Doesn't mean they never will. I protect you."

"I can protect myself. You made sure of that. I've still got the scars to prove it too," she snapped.

"I taught you to survive," he said.

"Bullshit. You taught me to swing a pipe. I taught myself how to survive."

'Ungrateful skank,' he thought.

Lilith sat up and glared at him, "the fuck did you say?"

'You heard that?'

"Of course I heard that, you're standing like two feet away you stupid helmet head!"

'Helmet head? Classy.'

"Yeah. Helmet head. A big, fat stupid helmet head."

'I am not fat.'

"You have a fat helmet head. And for your information I am not a skank. I have only ever had one boyfriend."

'Wow, it's pretty amazing you were able to find anyone willing to put up with your mouth…unless is has some secret talent I don't know about.'

"Are you insinuating something?" Lilith huffed. "Whatever, I don't care. It doesn't matter…" she hugged her pillow and ran her fingers through the fur on Ghost's neck, "I bet he has a new girlfriend now. Everyone probably thinks I'm dead. Not that it matters, I didn't have many friends and Mathew wasn't a very nice boyfriend anyway."

Pyramid put up a barrier to his thoughts the same way he did when he didn't want Alessa to hear him and it seemed to work. But Lilith suddenly looked as if all the life drained from her eyes and they became glassy and for a moment there was a mixture of fear and sadness on her face so pathetic he felt an instinct to reach for her. But he didn't. Instead, he turned out of the room and sat on the couch where he could still see her, but was far enough away so that she had enough space to look as pathetic as she wanted. He even turned away and looked out the window. Pyramid didn't know why he bothered or why he cared, but he felt as if he were trespassing on something private. Usually he lived for the grisly details of sin and the tears of his victims, but she was not his victim and the thought of prying her open, of peeling back her mind layer by layer had become a disgusting concept to him. He no longer could think about pulling her apart, in fact, the only thing he ever seemed to think about was how he could keep her together.

But that didn't mean he wasn't curious. He spent a good deal of time wondering just what was Lilith and why did they want her so badly. But more than that, he wondered about her life before she became trapped here. What did she do? Did she enjoy life? Also, the name Mathew suddenly left an agitation deep inside him and he wondered why he wasn't a nice boyfriend (whatever that exactly meant) and there was an undeniable urge to shred his skin from his bones. He supposed that he had begun to take his job as babysitter a little too seriously. In fact, she was a burden, he reminded himself, and hopefully he would be rid of her soon along with this whole fucking town.

Pyramid Head looked back towards the bed where Lilith lay curled up into a tiny ball, her eyes closed while the mutt remained alert beside her. Lilith wrapped her arms around her knees and pulled them tightly to her chest as if she were trying to make herself as small as possible. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her body shook. She was in pain and there was nothing he could do about it.

The siren went off and Lilith squeezed her eyes tighter and began gasping as if she couldn't breathe. Pyramid got up and quickly strode into her room, "Lilith."

"Make it stop!" she screamed, tears streaming out from beneath her eyelids, "please make it stop."

"Make what stop?"

"That noise!"

"The siren?"

"Oh god, it's getting closer." Lilith pressed her hands against the side of her head but it didn't stop the pounding noise. Like a great bang, getting louder and louder, closer and closer. She didn't know where it was coming from or if it was coming from inside her head, but she knew that it was coming and when it reached her there would be nothing she could do. She leapt out of the bed, diving towards the safest place she could think of- pressed up against Pyramid Head. "Make it stop, please, I'll do anything, don't let it get me."

"The hell are you talking about!?"

"He's coming," she couldn't breathe. There was glass in her lungs and a great hammer beating down on her chest as the pounding grew louder and louder, echoing through every bone in her body. "Can't you hear him!?" She heard herself speak but she didn't even know what she was saying. Who was she talking about? Part of her felt confused because she didn't understand but part of her felt terrified because it was as if her subconscious knew something she didn't.

Pyramid Head grabbed his sword with one hand and wrapped the other around Lilith's shaking body, supporting most of her weight in an effort to keep her from collapsing, "no one is going to hurt you."

The pounding became louder until it was like he was pounding on her door and then inside, on her walls. Blood trickled out of her nose and she dug her nails into Pyramid's sides, but he didn't budge or flinch. He did, however, grip the sword tighter preparing to cut down whatever invisible enemy that was clearly torturing the girl in his arms.

The pounding stopped. Lilith stepped back from Pyramid, her arms stretched out in front of her. The flesh of her fingers became charred, turning black as her skin peeled away as if she were being burned alive. Her eyes were wide, darting about frantically in shock as she watched her skin burn and blacken. It wasn't until it reached her elbows that she began to feel the pain. Lilith screamed. And Pyramid Head watched, frozen in what could only be described as terror as she was burned alive, her body crumpling into nothing but a pile of ashes on the floor.