Drag Them Into Hell - Chapter Five

[housejackbuilt1]

Title: Drag Them Into Hell
Author: housejackbuilt1
Rating: NC-17 eventually
Warnings: Swearing, violence, gore, horror, slight slash *SPOILERS FOR SH5 AND SH2!*
Chapter Warnings: Strong language, sexual imagery/threat
Pairing: PH/James.
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.
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 if they take what is not theirs, there can be no doubt.
He'll stretch their skin until it snaps, and all the blood drains out.

James stood silently in the shadows listening to the retreating footsteps of the Order members echoing off the pavement, the thump-thumping of their boots sounding like an eerie death clock. He tried to calm himself long enough so he could think things through. So now instead of being hunted by Pyramid Head only, the men in the gas masks were after him too. But why? James had known about the Order's presence in Silent Hill for about as long as he'd been there but he'd never once thought that they had known about him. He'd always been careful to avoid them at all costs, knowing what they did to people who opposed their "Gods". So how did they know about him? And why were they looking for him?

Come on, it's obvious, he thought. There's only one of you and God knows how many of them. They could have seen you roaming the streets at any time without you realising. You've also worked up quite a body count since you've been here. The corpses littered with bullet holes you've left lying in the streets would be enough to raise the alarm that someone other than themselves were getting a little trigger happy.

"But why now?" James whispered into the darkness. "If they've known about me for a while, why are they only choosing to come after me now?"

His subconscious spoke up once more. Because before you weren't a threat. You were a hopeless case, a suicidal lunatic who would soon blow his brains out. Now you are choosing to oppose their beloved God. You are creating chaos, threatening the order of things. And they don't like that; they don't like that at all.

James felt a wave of despair wash over him, the darkness around him seeming to close in, making him feel claustrophobic. There was no way he could infiltrate the Lair now. He thought rescuing the kid would be near impossible even with the element of surprise on his side, but now the Order was looking for him, the chances of him even pulling this off had withered from slim to none.

He began to feel anger build up inside him too. He had actually begun to feel good about himself again. He had silenced the darkness inside him for the moment and was actually doing something right and just, stopped being so selfish and had taken a small step towards facing his fears. But as soon as he thought he was getting a little bit of his old self back, the forces that be, whatever the fuck they were, decided to go against him once more and throw another spanner in the works and crush his glimmer of hope of redemption. He was fighting a losing battle.

He let out a sigh and the weight of despair rested heavily on his shoulders. Who was he kidding anyway? The Lair was crawling with Order members and he was just one man, even if he got inside it wouldn't be long before he was discovered and dragged off to one of the torture chambers. Plus, he didn't even know if Pyramid Head would be there anyway. He just assumed he would be. He could be in the Labyrinth for all James knew. Hell, he could be anywhere. He was basing this whole rescue mission on assumptions and James silently scolded himself for being so stupid. The guilt that had been keeping him awake had made him rash and he hadn't thought things through properly, he hadn't planned things and had risked being discovered. He couldn't make the same mistake again. Now that he knew that the Order was looking for him too, the stakes were far too high.

James reached into his bag and pulled out the bunny rabbit doll that he'd found lying in the gutter just a few minutes ago. His eyes had grown accustomed to the dark and he could see the writing on the label without the aid of his flashlight. 'William Oldman, Oakley'. Pyramid Head must have brought another child here; he must have him trapped along with Toby. Could it be possible that Toby was also from Oakley? If he was, then Pyramid Head was taking children from the town of Oakley for a reason and until that particular reason was achieved, children were going to continue to disappear. Whatever it was, James knew he wasn't going to find out by brooding in the dark. If he ever wanted to rest, if he ever wanted peace, however little he deserved, he knew what he had to do... he had to wait.

"You know where I am," whispered James, not to the dark but to someone else entirely who he knew was always listening. "You know where to find me. I'll-" James's voice cracked. The realisation of what he was saying was beginning to dawn on him, and he was terrified. "I'll be waiting."

Before he could even think about it, James exited the alleyway and ran as fast as he could back to Woodside Apartments. His mind was screaming at him, screaming that he did the wrong thing and that the demon was coming to drag him into the dark. But James's rapid footsteps and his pounding heart made just enough noise to drown out the warnings and prevented him from hiding once more.

James made it back to the apartments and his room without incident. On the journey back, the streets were eerily silent, even more so than usual. No tormented cries could be heard, neither snarls nor howls. A heavy feeling of anticipation hung in the air, as if all of the monsters had retreated to the very darkest corners of the town because they knew what was stalking the streets. They knew what had awakened and they knew that it was coming.

James wished he could do the same. He wished he could just keep running like he had always done ever since he had come here. He wished he could hide away in the shadows because that's essentially what he was... a shadow of his former self. But he knew he couldn't run forever and it was time to face his judgement once more, it was time to face his punishment. He didn't have a clue what the demon intended to do with him. He might drag him down into the depths of his lair and trap James in his own personal hell, tormenting him for all eternity. He might even kill James tonight; pierce that great knife of his right through his heart and out the other side.

James didn't know what he was expecting to gain when he made that offer in the darkness. Did he think Pyramid Head was just going to show up tonight with Toby and the other kid, William, unharmed offering a sincere apology? James would have laughed at the thought had he not been so afraid. He was hoping to gain something though. Something that would perhaps save the life of even one of the kids and prevent more innocents from being brought to this nightmare town. But the more James thought about it, the more that hope faded. This was Pyramid Head, evil in the purest form. James should know, he created him. The red demon was unmerciful, sadistic, corrupted. The last thing on earth the monster would do is show compassion. He delighted in the pain and suffering of others so even if there was a slight chance that Toby and William would be spared, it would most surely come with a price.

James paced the small room several times. He then sat down. Then he paced again. With each passing minute he became increasingly agitated. He just wanted it to be over with, he hated waiting. He'd spent countless nights like this, lying awake at night and listening to Pyramid Head roaming the halls. Waiting to see if he would show up or if he would just continue to toy with him, almost driving him insane with the ear splitting sound of his great knife scraping along the floor. The presence of his weapons in past days made those nights more bearable because James knew in the back of his mind that he always had a slim chance of survival as long as he kept fighting. But now his weapons were in his bag on the floor untouched. James wasn't going to need them tonight. He wasn't intending to delay the inevitable any longer.

He was beginning to think that his tormentor would never show up until he heard that all too familiar sound.

*Thud, thud, scrape. Thud, thud, scrape. Thud, thud, scrape*

He was here. James stood a few feet away from the door to the apartment. The footsteps were getting closer. Sweat trickled down his forehead and an icy prickle ran up his spine. His hands and legs were trembling and James was afraid his knees were going to buckle. He felt nauseous and his mouth was as dry as cotton wool. James let out a shaky breath as the footsteps stopped.

Silence.

The silence was shattered as the door flew inwards almost coming off its hinges and Pyramid Head stood there in all of his horrifying glory. A crimson aura surrounded him and the black bugs that often followed him crawled over the doorframe but never entered the apartment. His apron was stained with blood, as was his great knife and his muscles bulged under the weight of the huge rusty pyramid shaped helmet.

The monster took a step forward and James automatically took a step back. He knew he was supposed to face this but that didn't stop him from being scared shitless. His teeth began to chatter despite the fact that he was sweating profusely and he couldn't stop shaking. This reverse reflection routine continued, step forward, step backward, step forward, step backward until James's back hit the kitchen counter and he could retreat no more. Pyramid Head propped his great knife up against the wall and placed both of his hands on the kitchen counter either side of James, trapping him.

James's breath became laboured and he looked up in fear as his tormentor leaned down, closing the height gap between them so they were merely inches apart. James flinched as Pyramid Head raised his right hand. He expected the demon to strike him and braced himself for a blinding pain but instead felt confused and uneasy as the gloved hand began gently stroking his hair, fingers running through his blonde locks. This caress continued as the monster spoke, as always, barely above a whisper.

"Waiting for me hmm? You could have done this much sooner my Creator."

The hand that was caressing his hair tightened and Pyramid Head pulled James's head back fiercely. James was terrified that his neck was going to snap and let out a hiss of pain.

"That poor, poor child... He could have been saved had you come to me sooner James. Had you embraced me... and that beautiful darkness inside of you."

Pyramid Head's left hand moved from the kitchen counter and under James's t-shirt, caressing his hip bone and ribcage with terrifying gentleness. James tried to jerk away but the hand in his hair tightened even further and James fell still at once in fear of his scalp being ripped clean off.

He'd witnessed this side to Pyramid Head many times before. He knew that the son of a bitch enjoyed inflicting pain and causing death, he enjoyed tormenting people and watching them snap but of course his sadistic side did not end there. Pyramid Head revelled in causing distress to other creatures, human or otherwise, and apart from pain, there were other ways of causing distress. He'd seen the red demon take out his sexual urges on other creatures more than once. The Mannequin creature when he'd first arrived in Silent Hill, a Nurse in Brookhaven Hospital just a few weeks ago and other numerous occasions that he didn't like thinking about.

Pyramid Head was sadistic beyond comprehension and the creature's violent nature wasn't the only reason that James evaded the monster at all costs. If he was willing to do these vile things to the creatures that roam the streets, he was willing to do it to anyone. The only difference being that James had never seen an ounce of gentleness coming from his tormentor with the other creatures, yet he was showing a great deal of it now. Somehow, the act of gentleness was a lot more unsettling than if Pyramid Head would have just taken what he wanted by force.

The hand that was caressing James's ribcage began to make its way slowly downwards, over his stomach and beneath the waistband of his jeans. Panic flared up inside of James and spurred him into action.

"Wait! Just stop! I was waiting for you because..." James was finding it difficult to breathe. "The kid... just-just let him go."

"The child is beyond saving... you saw to that my Creator."

The hand made its way further downwards and James's panic reached a new level.

"No! You've bought another kid here, I... I know you have! You're b-bringing them from the town of Oakley. There has... has to be a reason. Just tell me what it's going to take for you to stop!"

The hand stopped moving and after a short silence that felt like hours to James, the monster spoke.

"There is a man who... like you, has been to this town before. But unlike you... he escaped. He's now living in the town of Oakley and I want you to bring him home my Creator... His name is Alex Shepherd."

James had never heard of him but already felt sorry for the poor bastard. He'd been to this hell hole before and had been lucky enough to get out alive. Now he was going to be dragged back, back down into hell.

"How am I supposed to bring him here? I... I'm trapped in this town!"

"I'll open the doorway for you my Creator. I'll let you go back to the real world... go further than I can and bring this man back. No more children need be sacrificed."

"And if I bring this guy back... what happens to me?"

"I'll let you go James. I'll give you resolution... It's that simple."

James didn't believe for a second that Pyramid Head would let him go. He hadn't been tormenting him for days, weeks, and months on end just to let him slip away that easily. But it was either accept the bastards offer and have a small chance of doing something right for a change or refuse and be taken away to die a painful death or... or worse.

"Fine... I'll do it."

James could almost hear the monster smiling. He let out a startled cry when Pyramid Head lifted him up with ease and sat him on the kitchen counter so he was level with the creature's helmet. He began to panic once more as Pyramid Head pulled him close and before he knew what was happening, James's head was inside the helmet, face to face with the creature.

James had never in his life been so grateful for darkness. He couldn't make out the face that was inches away from his as it was cast in deep shadow. The only thing that was barely visible beneath the pyramid, due to the little light that was filtering in from below, was the creature's mouth. James could just make out a pair of black lips that looked very human and a strong jaw. When Pyramid Head spoke once more, he could make out a set of pearly white teeth which again looked human.

"When you get back to the real world my Creator, you know not to try and escape me don't you? You're not going to run because you know what will happen. I will take more children... make them scream... make them beg... make them bleed. Then I will find you... you know I'll find you wherever you go. I'll bring you back here... and you will stay with me forever."

James knew only too well. He was in deep shit right now. He was on the edge of the cliff and he was terrified of falling.

"I know you won't try to escape me... but just to be sure... I need to give you something. Now hold still."

James felt fear flare up inside of him as the creature placed his lips against his. He tried to pull away but he felt a gloved hand being placed at the back of his neck to prevent escape. James's lips were parted as a cold tongue made its way inside his mouth, exploring every inch. He was so tempted to bite down but he knew he'd be killed instantly if he even tried. He squeezed his eyes shut, tried to block it out.

This can't be fucking happening! James thought. I agreed to the deal. The deal is done, sealed, so leave me alone you bastard!

James heard a sickening lurching noise coming from Pyramid Head's stomach and slight tremors began to pass through the creatures frame. The noises became more frequent and violent and all at once James felt something pass from the creature's mouth into his. The liquid substance was warm and tasted of copper. Blood. James was hit with a sickening realisation that Pyramid Head was passing some of his own blood into him. It travelled down his throat and into his stomach before James even knew what was happening.

When it was done, Pyramid Head withdrew his tongue and mouth but not before biting James on his bottom lip, drawing blood. He let go of James's neck and James fell to the floor gasping and coughing violently.

Need to vomit! Need to get the blood out of me now! James thought frantically.

"Don't even think about it my Creator... my blood is inside of you, coursing through your veins... I am a part of you now. We are connected."

James felt sick and helpless. The son of a bitch had got him. He was right, they were connected and he knew why, even as it was happening. He gave James his blood so that if he did try to escape in the real world it would be impossible because the creature was a part of him now. It was his insurance, his guarantee that James wouldn't run. And James couldn't do a fucking thing about it.

"Go to sleep James... in the morning, the doorway will be open for you... and you will bring Alex Shepherd home."

"I'm sorry Dr Fox; I really don't think I can do this right now."

Alex leaned forward in the comfortable arm chair and buried his face in his hands. He was in Dr Fox's office for his appointment with the psychiatrist but the last thing he felt like doing was talking. He didn't have the energy to be selective about what he was saying today. If he started talking then he would have to leave out certain parts of the incident that happened yesterday whilst what he really wanted to do was to get it off his chest.

He wanted to tell somebody, anybody, about what had been happening to him lately. Dr Fox would most definitely ship him off to the insane asylum with a sticker labelled "Lunatic" if he heard about it, and who could blame him? Arms coming through the wall and blood dripping from the ceiling didn't exactly scream sane.

He knew that there would be only two people who would understand what he was going through, two people who would believe him. Elle and Wheeler. But Wheeler had his own life now, he was moving on. And he didn't want to worry Elle any more than she was; she needed to move on too.

"Now Alex, just sit back and take your time. You've only been here ten minutes."

"I know, but I'm not really in the mood to be talking today Dr Fox," replied Alex with all of the patience he could muster.

He just wanted to go home and have a peaceful sleep. He felt like he could sleep for an eternity, he was so tired. After the incident with the thing that grabbed him yesterday, he didn't get one ounce of rest that night. He was getting more paranoid with each passing hour, jumping at the slightest noise and becoming more weary of shadows.

The pull of Silent Hill was becoming stronger, something was calling to him. Something wanted him to go back there for whatever reason and he was terrified that whatever it was that wanted him back was going to come for him soon, pull him back to that town screaming and screaming.

But what of William and the other little boy? There had been no news on William's disappearance; the police still hadn't found anything. Bill and Iris were in bits and Alex felt guilty every time he looked at them. He was beginning to question whether he should have held back information from Stanton. He could tell the police to go to Silent Hill; he was certain that's where the children were. But he knew it wouldn't be that easy. Even if the police did believe him and didn't lock him up for withholding information, they'd never get into the Otherworld of Silent Hill which is where William and Toby most likely were. Only a select few get to wander into the Otherworld, only the select few who deserve Hell... or crave it.

As if sensing his thoughts, Dr Fox spoke. "I heard about your neighbour's son going missing. Another child gone, it's so terrible. Is that what's affecting you Alex?"

"No," Alex said, a little too defensively. "Why would it affect me?"

"Well, what with your brother and all. Wasn't William the same age as Josh?"

Alex didn't like Dr Fox's patronising tone and the way he was tilting his head to one side, as if he were talking to a child.

"I think I'm going to leave now Dr Fox," said Alex as he stood up and made his way to the door. "I'll see you at our next session; I need to get some sleep that's all."

"Of course you do. Still having nightmares about Silent Hill Alex?"

Alex stopped. His hand tightened on the door knob. He turned around and looked at Dr Fox who was sitting in his chair, a small smile playing upon his lips.

"What did you just say?" asked Alex, his voice hoarse.

"Do you think me a fool Alex, hmm? Did you think that by not disclosing certain parts of your past to me that I wouldn't find out? You were in a hospital before coming to Oakley, after what happened to your brother, and with hospitals come records. It wasn't hard to find out everything about you once I had the basic information to get me started."

Dr Fox let out a small chuckle and stood up but didn't make any further movement. Alex felt a sickening feeling begin to grow in his stomach. What else did Dr Fox know about? And how the hell did he know about Silent Hill?

"So what? I've been to Silent Hill," said Alex, keeping his voice as steady as he could. "A lot of people have been there, it's a tourist town. Hell, it borders my old town of Shepherds Glen so I wouldn't call it extraordinary that I've been there."

"Of course other people have been to Silent Hill Alex... but not like you. You know what I'm talking about. The fog, the blood stained streets, the creatures."

Alex fought to keep the trembles that had now begun to spread all over his body under control. He needed to think! Why was Dr Fox telling him all of this? And how did he know about it all in the first place? This was all happening too fast for Alex, this situation was heading somewhere and it wasn't good.

"You're confused Alex, I know. Have a seat; we still have forty five minutes left of our session. Sit down and all will become clear."

"I'd rather stand."

"Sit!" Anger flashed through Dr Fox's cold grey eyes but that anger was quickly replaced with calculated and cunning. The word snake came to Alex's mind. "You do want to find out how I know about all of this don't you Alex? Then sit down."

As if on auto pilot, Alex sat down in the arm chair opposite Dr Fox. He felt as if he weren't in his own body, like he was a spectator watching the events unfold and he couldn't stop them from happening.

"Children are going missing from our little town of Oakley Alex and you know more about it than you're letting on don't you my boy?"

"I know no more about it than anybody else in this town."

Dr Fox chuckled, "It's time to stop playing games Alex."

"You're the one playing games!" Alex shot back, his anger taking over for the moment. "I've been coming to you for five months. I told you about Josh, told you how I've felt since it happened and you've sat there and listened. You listened to my problems and fed me your bullshit about how I'll get over it but all the while you were just playing with me. Fucking laughing at me!"

"You really need to get that anger of yours under control Alex, quite a temper you have there isn't it?" said Dr Fox, a smug smile on his face. "I thought you'd eventually open up about Silent Hill but you've been very resilient. This is a necessary step I had to take. Children are going missing and we both know it has something do with that town... and you Alex. You've brought something back with you, you're infected and we can't have it spreading into Oakley. We can't have it upsetting the order of things, do you understand?"

"The order of things?" Judge Holloway, Elle's mother, suddenly flashed through Alex's mind. Dr Fox sounded just like her. The hairs on the back of Alex's neck stood up and a feeling of dread began to form in his stomach. "How do you know about Silent Hill?"

"All will become clear soon enough but first we're going to ask you a few questions. You're going to tell us everything about Silent Hill. Oakley will not become another Shepherds Glen!"

"I don't know anything!" Alex insisted. "I don't know why kids are going missing; I don't know what that town wants with me!"

"Don't worry, we'll make you remember. We have our ways. Now, we're going to take a trip to the asylum and see if we can't get you to tell us everything."

Alex felt a stab of fear as soon as Dr Fox mentioned the word asylum. He couldn't go back to another hospital, another institution; there was no way he was going back. They'd have to kill him first as far as he was concerned. Dr Fox was smiling cruelly and Alex took his chance. He shot up out of the chair and bolted for the door, flinging it open and running out in to the hallway. He thought he'd gotten away but his triumph was short lived when he ran straight into two, well built men in white doctor's coats who grabbed him by the arms.

Dr Fox stepped out in to the hall and shook his head at Alex. "Disobedience won't be tolerated Alex. You'll have to be punished for that little act of defiance."

"Fuck you, you son of a bitch! You think people won't notice when I go missing? You'll have the police knocking on your door soon enough!" spat Alex. He was furious and finding it difficult to get his temper under control. Fox's betrayal was the ultimate humiliation. He'd told this man everything about his feelings. Personal and private things that were hard enough to think about, let alone talk about with somebody. And Fox had known all along, had put Alex through the pain of re-living the death of his brother for nothing.

"You won't be gone long enough for anybody to notice Alex. My people are good; they won't need more than a few days to break you and if you co-operate, you'll return only with physical wounds. The severity of those wounds will be up to you. But if you try to pull another stunt like the one just a moment ago, well... there are always ways to make death look suicidal. Your records will re-surface and the death of your brother will come to light. After all, people won't find it hard to believe that you killed yourself with a past like yours."

Alex was trembling with fury and fear. The son of a bitch had thought this through. Alex felt one of the men who was holding him let go of his arm while the other man grabbed it and Alex felt both of his hands being handcuffed behind his back. He began to struggle but the man only held him tighter, his fingers digging into his biceps. The man who wasn't holding Alex reached into his pocket and pulled out a black piece of material. He tied it tightly around Alex's mouth, effectively gagging him.

Dr Fox smiled. "We're leaving now Alex. If you're good, this will all be over quickly. If not, we'll cause you more pain than you can ever imagine."

Alex snarled around his gag but his eyes were full of fear. It was happening all over again. Silent Hill, Shepherds Glen, Josh... All of the things Alex wanted to leave behind were coming back to haunt him. Dr Fox nodded to one of the men behind Alex and all at once, he could see nothing but black. He was blindfolded.

Alex felt himself being dragged down the hallway and then through a door. Cool air hit his face and he knew he was outside. He heard another door opening, this time it sounded like a vehicle door. He was then hoisted off his feet and shoved forcefully to the floor. He heard doors closing and was submerged in darkness and silence. He assumed he was in the back of some type of truck. The engine roared into life and they began to move.

Alex could do nothing but lie in the dark and try to think of a way out of the situation he'd found himself in. But no matter how much he tried to think of a way out, the nagging thought at the back of his mind that he may not live to see tomorrow wouldn't go away. It was constantly there, like an ever darkening shadow. The tick-tock, tick-tock of the death clock was slowly counting down.