Author: Shell (with a big S, at ShellMSX14@aol.com) Title: Two Spirits, One Mind Classifications: AXA-Adventure, X File, Angst (I think) Spoilers: Little Green Men, Summary: Mulder and Scully are kidnapped and experimented on by a scientist, and notice they suddenly share a certain strange paranormal gift. DISCLAIMER: Yes almighty Chris Carter and 1013 Productions and Fox Broadcasting, we all know that Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, and any other characters that have appeared on The X Files belong to you. Please don't sue me, I'm saving up for the prom and a car. Oh, and Jeep Cherokee is a trademark of somebody who hopefully doesn't like to sue people. And 7-Eleven is someone's trademark too. Notes: First of all, most authors seem to use parts in their stories, not chapters, but it is easier for me, since I read a lot of books. And I know the chapters are kind of short, but I'm still not writing epic novels and it's easier to distinguish different parts this way. One last thing: I got the idea from the TV version of 'The Shining', even though the characters in there were born with their 'talents'. Plus, with all the paranormal happenings in that movie, I instantly thought of Mulder and Scully, as a true X Phile would. But remember this is NOT an X Files/The Shining crossover. Those have already been done, and I thought the writing in them was good. So if you didn't like the movie, don't skip out on me yet. And if you have seen it, you might notice a tiny 'reference' to a creepy element of that movie in this story. ATTENTION SHIPPERS: This isn't a MSR, but with enough encouragement, I might be persuaded to write one in the future. Mulder-Scully Romance is a good story angle as long as the relationship doesn't take away from the story. Well, that's my opinion anyway. DEDICATION: This story is dedicated to two people: Amanda Smeltzer, one of my best friends because she puts up with me( and Sophie and George and Spot and Sarah and Andrew and 'sa and Grant and Alyssa and well, all the rest of the animals{{but we know you love 'em!}} ;-) and my X Files obsession, probably because she is an X Phile herself, and shell, with the lower case s, who offered me encouragement to write a second story and is a great cyberpal. Also, she is a fanfic author herself, check out her stories in the Gossamer archives. PLEAS FOR ATTENTION: PLLEEEEEEAAAASSSE SEND ME FEEDBACK! My address is ShellMSX14@aol.com Two Spirits, One Mind By Shell Chapter One "And I'll have the steak," Agent Fox Mulder said, folding his menu and handing it to the waiter. After the waiter had left, he looked back across the table at his disapproving partner, Agent Dana Scully. She had simply ordered a salad. He smiled, knowing what she was thinking. Well, he had been in the mood for a steak, that was why he had suggested going out to dinner. "Mulder, do you know what kinds of diseases you can catch-" Scully began in her doctor voice. "From eating a rare steak? Yeah, but it still tastes good!" he finished with a grin. Scully just smiled and shook her head. Even though Mulder was considered strange by everyone else in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, he could still act like every other man she had ever known. Actually, Scully was in a good mood tonight as well. They had just closed one of their many bizarre cases, this one only involving a standard alien abduction and a returned abductee who remembered nothing. Other than that, the victim had been unharmed and safely returned to her relieved family. Even though Mulder and Scully had each been thinking about their own very personal encounters with abductions, both were in light spirits with the relatively happy ending of the case, or at least happier than many of their other cases. Mulder, who had also been thinking about the case, said, "You know Scully, if we get more cases as mundane as this last one, maybe we should be renamed the G-Files!" "The G-Files?" "Yeah-rated G." Scully groaned at Mulder's horrible joke. Fifteen minutes later, their orders arrived, and they both cleaned their plates. They argued over the check, but eventually Mulder got it. After he paid, they walked outside. It was a two block walk to the car, and the restaurant wasn't in a very well lit part of town. The walked down the street next to each other, Scully closest to the buildings. Mulder started talking about another case he had discovered and was ready to investigate. A truck rolled noisily past them on the street, and suddenly, before Scully could make a sound, a firm, gloved hand clamped a strange smelling rag onto her nose and mouth, and she passed out as she was dragged into the alley. Because of the noise of the truck and his preoccupation with thoughts on the new case, he didn't even notice that his partner was missing until a few seconds later. "Scully?" he called in a worried voice. He noticed the alley they had just walked past, and Mulder's instincts steered him towards it. He looked at the dim light at the end of the alley, and saw a man dragging his partner down it to the next street over. Mulder pulled out his gun and took off running as he yelled "FBI! Stop!" He had gotten halfway down the alley when something hit him hard on the back of the head. He groaned, and slumped to the ground, unconscious. Chapter 2 "Mulder? Mulder?" Mulder's eyes were still closed but he was aware of laying on a hard concrete floor, and a worried familiar voice calling his name as he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes, blinking in the light. Scully was looking down at him with a relieved smile on her face. "Oh, thank God you're OK!" she said. She was reminded of that time in Puerto Rico when she had found him unconscious, and for a minute, she had thought he was dead. But like this time, he had survived. He had always survived, she though wryly. Mulder managed to get into a sitting position. "Where are we?" he asked, looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings in confusion. "I'm not sure," she answered," I only woke up about 15 minutes before you." Suddenly he looked worried. "Are you okay?" he asked. "I'm fine, Mulder." He carefully stood up, still dizzy from the bump on the head. He found it with his hand and winced. That must not be pretty, he thought. They both looked around at their surroundings. The agents were apparently in a small room with two uncomfortable looking beds up against the wall. The entire room was immaculately white and clean. The bright whiteness was stopped in the middle of one wall by a door. The door looked like it was made of metal, probably steel. There wasn't even a handle on the inside. It was like being in a prison cell, only the conditions were better. Both Mulder and Scully suddenly realized what it reminded them of: A mental institution. Just by looking around, it was obvious they weren't leaving without their captor's permission. A few hours later Mulder and Scully each lay on a bed. Scully had fallen asleep, but Mulder hadn't. He normally didn't sleep more than a few hours each night, and he didn't even think it was midnight yet. But being Mulder, he was overcome with guilt about getting Scully into this situation. And the worst part about it was he had no idea where they were, why they were here, or even who had put them here. He felt so helpless. Eventually, his own thoughts tired him out, and he fell asleep too. The next morning Mulder was awakened by someone roughly yanking on his arm. He instinctively began to fight against who ever was pulling on him. Another pair of hands was on his other side. He opened his eyes to see the same thing happening to Scully, just as he was pulled out the door. He was forced to walk down a bright hallway, with white walls similar to the room they had just been in. Every few feet, he would see a metal door, each only distinguished by a big, black, three-digit number. He quickly surmised by noticing the numbers going up at each room that they had been in 217. Once in a while, someone would walk past the struggling man and women and the four body guards. Mulder yelled at the white suited people to help them, but his pleas were ignored, almost as if this sight was nothing new to them. Mulder and Scully were yanked quickly down a short hallway, which ended with a pair of swinging doors. As the two men who were pulling Mulder pushed the doors open, Mulder's heart sank. The room looked like a large operating room with two metal tables and matching restraints. And he and Scully were each being pulled toward one. Chapter 4 Despite their struggles, the two agents had each been strapped down to the table, and their captors were coming towards them with two wicked-looking instruments that couldn't be used for any thing good. Scully started yelling for them to stop, to let them go, and Mulder joined in, despite the fact that they each knew their cries were useless. The men slipped them onto Mulder and Scully's necks, and they realized that they were neck braces, made of metal. Two men wearing white labcoats and masks walked into the room, snapping on latex gloves. Mulder's eyes widened, and he began to struggle desperately as a plastic mask was placed over his nose and mouth, and held there firmly by an unrecognizable person. Mulder couldn't turn his head to see, but he had a feeling that the same thing was happening to his partner. The person standing over Mulder nodded to someone he couldn't see, and Mulder instinctively winced as a gas started hissing out of the mask, and he couldn't help inhaling it. At first he was afraid that they were going to kill him and Scully with some kind of lethal gas, but his thoughts began to fade, and he was starting to feel sleepy. He stopped struggling and gave into the darkness that was seeping up on him and fell into a deep sleep. The last thing his mind registered was one of the doctor-men leaning over him, scalpel in hand. Chapter 5 That afternoon Mulder was aware that he was in a silent room, and his restraints were still on. He tried to turn his head, still not opening his eyes. He groaned. His head HURT. There was no other word for it. "Scully?" he called weakly, but there was no answer. He voice was muffled by a mask that was on his face, but this one just felt like an oxygen mask, nothing that would make him fall asleep again. Oh no, what if they killed her? he thought in fear. How would he live with himself? He was quickly reassured by the sounds of slow, steady breathing, almost like his, which also echoed hollowly in the mask. The sounds came from right next to him. Weakly searching with his hand, he turned his wrist, the only moveable part of his arm, trying to touch something. He found Scully's limp hand and grabbed it for reassurance, even though she was obvious that she was unconscious. He was still groggy from the anesthesia though, and he dropped off to sleep again, reassured that Scully was at least still alive. His head hurt to much to try anything else. The Next Morning "Mulder?" His eyelids fluttered, but remained closed. His eyes jerked open to see Scully looking down at him, much like the first time he had woken up in this place. What was that? He thought, thinking of the thought that had come into his head unbidden, almost sounding like Scully's voice. Then she jerked backwards in astonishment, looking at him. The two agents stared at each other. "Mulder-" "Scully-" ""What was that??"" they both asked at the same time. "It was almost-" "like I could read" "your mind!" they finished together. Then Mulder noticed the bandage on Scully's head, and quickly crawled over to her. He winced as he felt an ache suddenly fill his head, and put his hand up to head to feel a bandage like- It happened again! "Scully," he asked slowly, "what were you just thinking?" "Umm..." "Were you wondering if my head hurt as much as yours?" "You knew." She said. It was a statement not a question. Suddenly, Mulder was excited. "Scully, I think we're telepathic." For once, she didn't argue with his theory. She just nodded slowly in agreement. "It seems like that," she said quietly. Scully stopped thinking, realizing Mulder knew everything she was thinking. He was watching her quietly, suddenly sharing her apprehension. Suddenly, she was angry at him for invading her privacy. "STOP LISTINING TO MY THOUGHTS!!" she yelled at him. His face crumpled, looking miserable and guilty. He knew it wasn't his fault he could read her mind, but he felt like it was his fault for getting them caught in the first place. Scully's face softened. She walked over to him. He was sitting on one of the beds with his head down. She put her hands under his chin, lifting his face so she could look in his eyes. The look in his eyes was a familiar one...guilt. "Mulder," she said gently, speaking to him out loud," First of all, we could have been pulled into any alley in the city. And I'm glad you took me to that restaurant, I had a good time. You didn't plan for us to end up here. And I'm not really mad at you for knowing my thoughts, I know it's not you're fault...I'm just still getting used to the idea, and it's kind of strange, you know?" He nodded. "Look Mulder, I know you feel guilt for a lot of things in your life, most of which you have no reason to be upset about, but listen to me... THIS-IS-NOT-YOUR-FAULT." She said each word slowly and clearly, drilling it into him. Even though she still saw traces of guilt, he looked mostly relieved. Suddenly, the door opened. Chapter 6 The two agents looked up, Scully still with her hands on Mulder's face. A man walked in, looking at them like a scientist looks at his lab rats. Scully saw no compassion or feeling in that gaze. It was simply cold. "You're finally awake," he said by way of greeting. Mulder looked right back at him. "Why did you bring us here?" he asked angrily," just so you can screw around with our heads?" "Screw around?" the man said, looking surprised, "not at all! My partner and I knew exactly what to do, we've known for quite a while, actually," he said ominously. "Don't worry, You'll be released eventually, and since it's apparent I've succeeded and you will never find me again, I will explain to you what we did. You two look angry, you should actually be proud! After all, you've been a big part in a major scientific breakthrough. Ha-my former associates thought it could never be done. They were wrong. "They thought it could never be done, and if it could, it was too risky." He waved his hand as if he were swatting away a pesky fly. "As if I cared. I had the tools to do it, the procedure, the assistants. Some people will do anything if you pay them. All I needed were two people to test the procedure on. We didn't want just any two, first of all, I wanted these two to know each other well. So don't think we just were going to pull any two people off the streets. I narrowed it down to you. Any way, from what I see, my experiment has worked!" he exclaimed in excitement. "Do you have any idea how much money I could make off of this?" he asked in a whisper, his face close to the two agents. "Maybe even a Nobel Prize!" "But if you're going to let us go, you won't be able to prove your results!" Mulder protested. Then he thought, yeah, great, now he'll probably never let us go. I had to open my big mouth. He simply smiled. "I said I was going to release you-eventually. You're right, and I've already thought about that. But that will be no problem. There are plenty of tests we can do to prove that people have telepathy. Agent Mulder, you of all people should know all about that! "I do, and I know how easily those results can be changed by the test participants. Even if for example Agent Scully 'sent' me a message and I knew exactly what it was, I could easily give a wrong answer and choose not to participate!" he said smugly. The smile hadn't left the man's face. "I'm not worried. We know what you two can do now, and if you do give a wrong answer, we have our ways of making you cooperate." He stood up. "Now, you two better rest today, we have a big day tomorrow!" he said cheerfully and walked out of the room. As soon as the door was closed, Scully grabbed Mulder's arm. "Mulder, what kinds of tests is he talking about?" Mulder sighed. "Well, there are many different kinds of tests given to psychics to see if they are telepathic. One involves two people who claim to be telepathic sitting at a table across from each other, but with a barrier in between so they can't see each other or the other sides of the table. One person has a deck of cards with various shapes on them. That person will look at a card, and try to send the image on the card to the person on the other side. The other person will then draw what design they think the other person sees. The person with the cards picks a few more cards to make sure the other person didn't just get lucky with a guess. And there are many others, but they are all basically variations of that one." "Listen Mulder," Scully said, "I know you're thinking of not 'participating' in these tests, but if we do, they might let us go sooner! Maybe we should just do what they say!" "No! How can you believe them?" Mulder protested, "How do you know they'll let us go at all?" He stood up, gesturing wildly with his arms to make a point of what he was saying. "Mulder, will you stop trying to protect me for once and worry about yourself?" Scully said angrily. Mulder winced, pain suddenly shooting through his head. He sat down, and the headache started to go away. "I am worrying about myself-I'm worried about both of us. Because of this telepathy thing, wherever we go, they'll send us there together I'm sure. I'm just trying to figure out how to get us out of this." Scully was surprised. He was actually worrying about himself for once? "Well, will you sit down and think before you give yourself an aneurysm?" she asked gently. She saw a small smile come onto his face at her attempt at humor, then quickly disappeared. Jokes weren't going to help them tomorrow. Chapter 7 The Next Morning This morning, Scully was awake first. She looked over at her sleeping partner. Luckily, he hadn't had any nightmares about Samantha while they were in this place; who knows what those 'bodyguards' would do if he woke up screaming his head off. She sat up, leaning against the wall. The only things in the room were the beds. There was absolutely nothing to do, and she wasn't about to wake Mulder up for conversation. Scully sighed. She knew Mulder wanted to protect her, but she was old enough to take care of herself. Sometimes his concern blocked his reason. If he wanted to take care of her so much, why didn't he be careful and worry about himself more often? She looked at the other bed and heard him move. He was waking up. He opened his eyes, saw her, and smiled sleepily. "Good Morning, sleepyhead," she said with a grin. He put his head down, remembering their situation. "What's so good about it?" he mumbled into the pillow. Scully didn't have an answer for that. Suddenly, the door swung open. The scientist they had met the day before(who hadn't told them his name) was standing there with a wicked smile on his face, surrounded by the four men who had dragged the two agents to that operating room. "Ready to go?" he asked cheerfully. Before they were given a chance to answer, Mulder and Scully were once more being dragged down the hall, this time in the other direction. They both cooperated, but at the same time, searched for a way to escape. Mulder noticed that the men's hands were loosening a little as the agents didn't try to escape. Maybe they were just loose enough to... He decided to try it. As they walked past someone entering a door, Mulder grabbed Scully's arm and yanked her into the room the door opened to. Once inside, he spun around and locked the door. The men angrily banged on the door, trying to knock it down. Mulder smiled at the irony. The same metal doors they had built to keep their prisoners in was now keeping them out. He remembered the man who had walked through the door before they dove in, and turned around to find him on the floor, unconscious. Scully was standing next to him with a computer keyboard raised in the air as if she expected him to get up. Mulder saw a door on the far wall that (thank god) had a sign that said EMERGENCY EXIT. The banging on the door had stopped and the men had obviously left to follow the agents outside. They stopped and quickly looked around. They had just run out of a huge compound, and were standing in a parking lot. The compound was surrounded by a huge field. The field was stopped around the edges by a huge forest, and mountains could be seen rising above the trees. A single road led from the compound, out of the parking lot into the trees. "Mulder," Scully said, panting, "I don't think we're in DC anymore." Mulder and Scully hopped in a nearby Jeep Cherokee, which was thankfully unlocked. Unfortunately, Mulder noticed the keys were nowhere to be found. He quickly went under the steering wheel. At least the few friends he had had in High School had taught him how to hot-wire a car... Within seconds, the car roared to life, and Mulder sped out of the parking lot. In a minute, Scully alerted him to cars trying to catch up with them. Mulder crashed through a gate at the edge of the property, and they followed the road into the woods. Mulder drove off the road into the trees. The forest floor was pretty clean, so the driving wasn't that rough. Plus, it would be easier to get away. By now, they realized it was easier and required less energy to communicate mentally. It was still a little strange though. Later that Day Eventually, they had reached a road, and had decided to drive until they found some kind of store and seemed safely away from anyone who might be following them. They found a 7-Eleven, and went inside to check the maps to see where they were. Mulder discovered he still had his wallet, so they bought enough snacks and drinks to last a while. Scully managed to find out where they were. Mulder smiled. They out in the middle of nowhere. At least they had gotten the bandages off of their heads and still managed to look somewhat normal. They decided to just drive to DC and decide what to do when they got there. Chapter 8 Two hours later After getting into Washington, they drove downtown to the FBI building. The went right to AD Skinner's office. The quickly explained why they hadn't been in work for the past two and a half days, and how they had gotten here. The agents casually omitted the fact that they were now telepathic and could read each other's minds. Since it was getting late, Skinner sent his agents home, promising they could use bureau resources to find out what had happened to them and where they had been kept AFTER they got a good night's sleep. Too tired to argue, they went home. The next day As the scientist had smugly claimed, they could find no trace of him or the building they had been taken to. Despite the obvious fact, they had been taken to the hospital and diagnosed only with a cut obviously made by a scalpel (and Mulder, with a concussion) and no other outstanding effects from their kidnapping. The agents decided to return to desk work. A week later After a boring week of paperwork, Mulder was itching to get back into the field. Skinner reluctantly gave them a few cases, which were handled by the two agents with surprising ease. Within a month, their numbers of case solutions and convictions had jumped ten percent. Dana Scully's journal It's hard for me to believe and admit this, but now I can't deny proof of telepathy. It's amazing, but really a mixed blessing. Mulder sometimes finds out things I don't want him to if I think about them too hard (and vice versa) but we are a lot more open with each other now. And it can really help during cases. When we're interviewing a suspect, we can tell each other what we think without the suspect having a clue we're talking about them. But I'm still not sure if this is a gift or a curse. Mulder and I are two totally different people, but now it feels like we're sharing one mind. THE END Two Spirits, One Mind II- By Shell Spoilers: Quagmire Category: Rating: Summary: DISCLAIMER: Any characters in this story that you've seen on X Files belong to Chris Carter. Author's note: Well, here it is! The sequel to Two Spirits, One Mind, which is here by popular demand. It's taking me awhile to write this, because I've been really busy lately, with flags and school. I'm trying to put stuff people have suggested into the story, because it's written for your reading pleasure. Oh, and if you haven't read the first story, this isn't impossible to understand, but it would be to your advantage if you read the first one. I'm not exactly sure how long it takes to drive across Virginia, because I don't live their. Just keep in mind that Middleville, Virginia is out in the country. And once more my wonderful computer impresses me: now I can listen to a CD and type at the same time! So I was listening to "Pure Moods" while I wrote this. ARCHIVE: Wherever you want, as long as you ask me first. Comments, flames, and any neato X Files wavs or pics can be sent to ShellMSX14@aol.com Now, on with the show! Two Spirits, One Mind II- By Shell Middleville, Virginia "Alyssa, I swear, you are one of the strangest people I have ever met!" Katie announced. The two girls had just been shopping at the mall, and were walking home. Alyssa was showing Katie a very strange necklace, made of tiny little frogs, all holding hands. She put it around her neck. "Well, I think it's cute!" she said indignantly, spinning around like a fashion model showing off a diamond necklace. The two of them lived in Middleville, not affectionately referred to by some people as middle-of-nowhere-ville. The mall was the biggest building in the whole town, with 20 small stores, and one medium sized department store, a Sears. Alyssa and Katie live a half-mile from each other, each on a large farm. Alyssa and Katie's families both owned about 15 acres of land, and plenty of cows, pigs, sheep, and horses. The two girls loved horses, and even though their families competed at each other at the fair every summer for biggest animals and things like that, they were close. Their mother's loved to share recipes with each other. Their fathers went golfing together every Sunday, and the two families even vacationed together. As they walked through the woods, Katie suddenly noticed how dark it was getting as Alyssa talked on. They were going to leave the mall earlier, but on the way out, Alyssa had seen a new dress that she just had to try on. Katie started walking a little faster, as did Alyssa, who was quiet now. The two girls were actually a little frightened. What am I so scared of? Katie thought. She was used to this darkness. She loved the starry nights, when she could pick out constellations you couldn't even see in the city. But tonight the woods had an edge of foreboding, a feeling that silently urged both of them on. Alyssa frowned. Something didn't feel right. By now, the woods were dark, and they still wouldn't be home for another 20 minutes, even hurrying. "Uh, maybe we shouldn't have looked at that dress," Alyssa said nervously. "Yeah," Katie agreed, then was silent. She was hearing something strange.like a ticking noise. It didn't sound like anything she had ever heard. And it was getting closer. Alyssa had obviously heard it to, and the girls shared a nervous look and began to run. It was coming faster now, and it sounded like it was right behind them. Then, as fate would have it, Alyssa tripped. "KATIE!!!" she screamed. Katie was tempted to keep running, but she couldn't leave her best friend to whatever was out there. She fell to the ground next to Alyssa, ready to help. But when she looked up, all she could do was scream. Alyssa turned, and joined Katie in screaming. But the screams were muffled by the loud ticking, and the cracking of bone. Then the screaming stopped, and the ticking was quiet again. Two weeks later FBI Headquarters, Washington D.C The Basement Agent Dana Scully carried a tray of coffees into the basement office she shared with her partner, Agent Fox Mulder. She hesitated before she went in. She smiled at her partner's wry voice, now echoing in her head, and pushed open the door. She always felt different around her partner, now that he knew what she was thinking. They had been experimenting with their telepathy, deciding on it's range. She found that she could read Mulder's thoughts while they were each in their separate apartments, but only if the thoughts were strong enough, like a cry for help. Or a nightmare. She had woken in a cold sweat last night, but not from her usual nightmares of abduction. It was Samantha's abduction. She had been forced to watch Mulder's beloved sister's kidnapping through her partner's terrified twelve-year-old eyes. As she suspected, Mulder had dark circles under his eyes when she walked in. After waking up, Scully had been reasonably shaky, but not all that upset, and she had gone back to sleep. The nightmares hit Mulder much harder though, despite the fact that he had been having them most of his life. He looked up at her, with a sleepy smile. "Rough night?" she asked gently. Mulder knew exactly what she was referring to, and didn't lie. "Yeah," he agreed, but then turned around, picking something up off the edge of his desk. "I've got a new case for us!" he announced, quickly changing the subject. Scully decided to just go with the flow, it was to much trouble to try and talk about his nightmares. "Uh, oh.now what?" she asked suspiciously. "I don't like that look on your face." Mulder smiled, glad to be off the subject of his nightmares. He handed her a folded-over case file. Scully scanned the case. Two girls in rural Virginia.found with their necks broken and hanging from two trees with their eyes apparently ripped out. " It happened to more people back in 1973, but no one bothered to call the FBI then, "Mulder told her. "It wasn't really a lot of people then-9. But for a small town like this, it was, and some of them were even from out of town. They came for a beauty pageant, involving the members of the town. "Well, the missing eyes are obviously important. I'm not sure how though," she finally said. "Well," Mulder said, "you'll have plenty of time on the way there to think about it.Middleville is about six hours away.a car trip! Won't this be great?" "Oh yeah, a blast," Scully sighed. Chapter two The next morning For once, Mulder had been content to ride shotgun and let his partner drive. As soon as they started off, he put on his sunglasses, cranked back his seat, and promptly fell asleep. She couldn't blame him. Part of the ride was incredibly boring, almost like when her family had taken a trip through the Midwest when she was young. But at least it wasn't as flat. Scully didn't mind the silence; it was nice to just have a quiet, peaceful drive. "Quiet" and "Peaceful" were two words that Scully didn't use much to describe her job anymore. But as she looked over at her sleeping partner, whose mouth was hanging wide open, she was still happy with her decision to stay with him. He needed her, to keep him company, and to keep him sane, especially with some of their more difficult cases. After they had been driving for four hours, she stopped at a small gas station to fill up, get a snack and something to drink, and exchange seats with Mulder. Scully gently shook his shoulder. "Time to get up G-man!" she said quietly. "Wha-? Oh, time to switch?" he asked sleepily. After filling the tank, Scully grabbed some granola bars from the station, but she overrode her doctor instincts for once and grabbed a Coke and some M&Ms. Mulder got plenty of junk food to satisfy himself for the rest of the trip. Once on the road, they started to talk about the case. "Well, the killer could be taking the eyes for trophies, almost like a twisted version of a headhunter-" "Not that headhunters aren't twisted enough to begin with," Mulder added. "Right. Well, what theories have you come up with?" "I'm still thinking.." he said quietly, and turned to look out the windshield, silent.. It was silent in the car, only this time it wasn't a friendly relaxing silence. Scully popped in the first CD she could grab: Pure Moods. She loved listening to it, but song five sounded awfully familiar for some reason. When they arrived into town, they checked into the only hotel or motel around-surprisingly, a Holiday Inn. Scully expressed her surprise to the clerk at the hotel at a Holiday Inn being in such a small town. A little bit offended, the clerk replied," Well if you're driving west from the east coast, it's the perfect place to stop!" "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that we're-" "Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully," Mulder broke in quickly. "We're just used to big cities like Washington D.C. Umm, we have a reservation for two rooms?" It was late, so Mulder and Scully decided just to wait until the next day to begin the investigation. The hotel had apparently lost their reservations, and had only one room left. They took it, but Mulder noticed Scully didn't seem to really mind. <> Scully jumped and looked at him strangely. He gulped-he hadn't meant for her to hear that. He just smiled back, giving her a teasing grin. <> <> he shot back, <> <> Scully glared at him, just daring him to challenge her. He put his head down, and sighed. "You win," he told her softly, still smiling. They both laughed, as a passing maid looked at them strangely. The Next Day Mulder got up bright and early, ready to begin his investigation. However, being that it was 5:00 in the morning, Scully was still asleep in the next bed. He decided to for a jog. He put on his sweats, and walked out of the hotel. The hotel was at the edge of town, near the woods, and Mulder decided to jog through the woods, as the ground was clean enough. Don't worry, he said to the nagging voice in his head (which ironically sounded like Scully), I won't go far enough to get lost. He had been jogging for about two minutes when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Startled, Mulder jumped and spun around pulling out his gun. A man stood there and flung his arms up. "Whoa, don't shoot mister!" he cried. Mulder looked the man over. He was wearing a hat, a plaid vest, and jeans. The part that interested Mulder the most was the shotgun slung over his shoulder. "What are you doing out here?" Mulder demanded, "and just what were you planning to do with that gun?" "I dunno," the man replied in a southern drawl, " maybe shoot some deer. After all, ain't that what huntin' season's for?" He looked at Mulder more closely. "You ain't from `round here, are you? Well, mister, even with that gun you'd better be careful. Some hunter might be mistaken you for an animal and shoot you, or you know," he said in a conspiratorial tone," those two girls got killed out here. My son went to school with `em. People are sayin' a monster did it!" "Actually," Mulder replied irritably, "I did know. That's why I'm here." He pulled out his badge. "I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. My partner and I are investigating the deaths of those two girls." The man leaned back. "Whoa!" he said in awe," A Fed! I didn't know you guys were in on this. Well, I'll leave you to your investigatin', Mister Mulder." Then he walked away, and Mulder set back out on his jog. As the forest floor began to give way to branches, Mulder had to carefully dodge the big ones. Suddenly, he yelped in pain and collapsed onto the ground. It had felt like something had jumped up and bit him, and was still hanging on. Mulder gritted his teeth in pain, and looked at his ankle. He had walked right into a steel trap. There was blood covering the leaves around his ankle. Mulder moaned as he saw the white glint of bone meshing with the steel of the trap. He knew he should try to pry it off, but every time he moved, pain radiated up his leg. White spots danced before his eyes as he slumped back onto the ground, panting. He tried calling for help, but apparently the hunter he had met was no where near. Mulder felt him self start to go into shock. Scully, he thought, I have to get her. He drew in a breath, closed his eyes, and thought as hard as he could- <> Back at the hotel, Scully was jolted out of a sound sleep. Mulder's voice echoed in her head, and she knew something was wron- <> By the sound of his voice she could tell he was in pain. <> <> Mulder ended this frantically. <> Scully knew Mulder had to be really upset to be begging for her help. <> <> Scully could sense him calming as he listened to your voice, and began to quickly get dressed. <> he asked in a shaky voice. <> <> <> <> "SCULLY!" he hollered, "I'M OVER HERE! SCULLEEEEEEE!" She could hear him faintly, and started to run towards the voice. <> A couple minutes later, she noticed his calls becoming weaker, just as she found him. "Oh, Mulder," she said, running to his side , "I'm here." He was laying on the ground, pale and shaking. "Y-y-y-o f-found m-me," he whispered gratefully. She wrapped the blanket around his pale trembling body, then turned to look at his ankle, and barely kept from gasping. She saw all of the blood laying on the ground, and bone glistening up through a coat of it. Then she saw the steel cruelly attached to it. She realized she would have to pry the trap open, and knew it wouldn't be pleasant for either of them. She turned back to look at her partner's face. "It hurts," he whimpered weakly as she stroked his hair. "I know, " she said gently, " and I have to get it off. You know that." He nodded weakly. Scully searched for a branch that looked strong enough for the job, and snatched one up off the ground. "I've got some Tylenol to ease the pain a little, but you'll have to dry swallow it," she told him as she dumped two into his shaking palm, and he tossed them into his throat, making a face. She waited a couple minutes, before gently wedging the stick into the trap. "Here we go," she said, and started to pry it open. Mulder gasped and squeezed his eyes shut. Scully quickly realized a branch was nothing to a steel trap. After a few tries, she stopped, panting. Mulder, I can't get it open," she started. " I'm gonna have to-" She stopped when she saw him. He was shaking even harder, and may have even been paler than before, and tears were running out of the corners of his eyes, onto his freezing cheeks. She quickly gathered his head into her lap. "Shhh," she soothed," it's gonna be OK." Mulder just kept silently crying, and Scully suddenly realized with dread that neither of them had their cell phones. She pulled off her sweater, revealing a T-shirt underneath. It was cold out, but right now, Mulder needed the sweater more. She wrapped it as tightly as she could around his leg, and taped it up, hoping to try and keep it warm and stop some of the bleeding. Part Two She closed her eyes. <> <>Mulder asked weakly. "We have to get you to a hospital, but I don't know how. You don't have your phone, and I was in such a hurry I forgot mine," Scully told him, speaking out loud. She thought for a minute staring at her partner, who was still shivering and pale. "I'm gonna run back to the motel and get help. Will you be Ok?" He nodded. "Ok, I'll be back as soon as I can." "P-promise?" "I promise," she assured him, and set off, jogging. 10 minutes later Mulder was still laying there, waiting for Scully and dozing off. He was trying to stay awake, but sleep was so tempting. He let his eyes close, when suddenly, he heard a strange sound. Tick, tick, tick.. It sounded like whatever was making the noise was still far away, but coming closer. Mulder felt nervous, and had a feeling that whatever was making that noise wasn't good. His stomach sank when he suddenly remembered where he was and why he was there. The murders.in the forest. Mulder managed to drag himself up against a tree for support, and pulled out his gun. He held it up, hands shaking, and knew he wouldn't be a very good shot in his condition. <> he thought silently. Scully didn't hear him as she jogged across the road. She ran into the motel lobby and straight to the main desk. "I need to use your phone," she panted, "it's an emergency." The girl behind the counter handed the phone to her, looking curious as Scully dialed 911. When someone answered, she quickly told her story and asked for an ambulance. The person on the phone said one would meet her out front in a few minutes, so she hurried out to wait. Back in the woods, Mulder could hear the sound getting louder, and looked around anxiously. He realized how dark the forest could be, even during the day, and how many places there were for someone to hide. He was reminded of his and Scully's conversation on the rock in the middle of that lake: and realized the same could be true for the forest during the day. He prayed that if it was more than some kind of bug making that noise, that it wouldn't come any closer. He was in no condition to fight anyone, especially considering he couldn't move more than a few feet. The noise got louder. He could hear cracking twigs and crunching leaves. If it was a bug, he thought, it would have to be a pretty big one. Suddenly the cause of the noise appeared in front of Mulder. He looked up in shock and fear, unable to move as it reached for him. Meanwhile, Scully was waiting for the people she had called. She suddenly jolted upright! <> <> When he didn't answer, she got scared, and tried again. Still no answer. As she was praying for the Paramedics to hurry up, she heard the familiar screaming siren. She ran to meet them. "Scuse me, ma'am, are you the one who called?" "Yeah," Scully answered as they grabbed the hand-held gurney, "Il'l show you were he is." Scully and the two paramedics quickly jogged into the woods. At the same time, Mulder stared up at the creature in front of him in disbelief. It reminded him of all the faint pictures and descriptions of big foot, but with the clicking(which the creature seemed to be producing in it's throat), and three inch fangs. Mulder suddenly froze as the creature bent down and sank it's teeth in his hand. Suddenly snapped out of his stupor, he started screaming at the thing and waving his arms, trying to get it away, when he suddenly felt exhausted. He tried to stay awake, but the last thing he remembered was hearing metal snap, and being heaved over the creature's shoulder before he slipped off into oblivion. Part Three Scully quickly jumped over logs, and bounded right into the clearing where Mulder was-or should have been. The only traces of her partner were blood, crushed leaves, and the blanket she had wrapped him in. She was suddenly overcome with a feeling of dread. <> Still no answer. The paramedics looked at her in confusion. "He was here! How could he move? He was caught in the tr-" she stopped as she noticed the metal trap. The steel looked like it had been pulled apart. She looked heavenward, and just hoped he was OK. Mulder woke up surprisingly warm. He was content to lay there until pain jolted up his leg. He couldn't help letting a small whimper escape his lips-the pain was getting worse. He looked around. He was in a cave, on the floor, wrapped in smelly blankets. He tried to sit up, and froze when he felt a cold steel ring around his neck, and heard the jingle of chains. He slumped back down in defeat, just in time to hear someone in the cave. "H-hello?" he asked, trying to maintain a calm tone. It was the creature from the forest who had obviously brought him here, followed by another of the same. The first one was carrying a bag-and the bag was moving. The two of them kneeled beside him, and the bag was opened. <> Mulder was astonished when he heard the voice inside his head, and even more so when a wiggling centipede was dangled over his face. "No!" he cried, starting to struggle as the other held him and forced his mouth open, and he moaned in disgust as the tiny animal was dropped into his mouth. He choked, and could feel it slide all the way down. Another bug was pulled out of the bag, and Mulder shook his head pleadingly. But it was to no avail. <> Out in the forest, Scully couldn't help hearing her partner's pleas for help. <> <> <> The creatures had stopped forcing the creepy-crawlies down his throat, and Mulder noticed they were rubbing huge claws he hadn't seen before over stone, as if they were being sharpened. One smiled at him. <> Mulder lay back and closed his eyes. <> Scully noticed the entrance to what looked like a cave, and rolled her eyes. With luck like this, she should be spending the day in Vegas. But she decided that winning the bet on Mulder was more important-MUCH more important. She jumped into the entrance of the cave. She had been told numerous times at the FBI Academy to "Look before you leap", but instinct told her she didn't have the time to be careful. Sure enough, two huge hairy creatures were bent over her partner, with razor sharp claws to his throat. She quickly shot them, and ran over to her partner. He smiled up at her. <> he smiled at her, tears in two pairs of eyes. <> They both laughed. THE END What did ya think? EMAIL comments, flames, jelly bellies to ShellMSX14@aol.com "Mmm...tastes like chicken!" Timon to Simba in "The Lion King" "Life's too short to be normal" -a keychain.