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Hop Bottom, Pa. 11:21 PM
The sleeping child's eyes suddenly popped wide open. A scuffling sound made him sit bolt upright and stare at the shadows near his dresser. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a shape move quickly towards him. As he opened his mouth to scream, a small, hairy hand clasped his mouth tightly.
Henry and Julia Wilkes sat in the living room of their old ranch home, engrossed in their favorite sections of the town newspaper. The sound of a sudden thump made Julia look up from her paper. "Honey, did you hear that?" She asked, getting up.
"Mmmm, probably a slab of ice falling from the roof," Henry mumbled, without looking up from his paper.
"I'm going to go check on Danny, just in case." "Hmmmph."
Julia headed down the hall and gently opened the door. The first thing she noticed was the empty bed. Then she let out a piercing, blood-curdling scream and crumpled to the floor as she saw the little gray man handing her child out of the window.
*****
FBI Building, Washington, DC 10:45 AM
"Hop Bottom, Mulder?" Dana Scully asked, head tilted slightly to the left, as she searched in vain for the little farm town on the road map of Pennsylvania that was sprawled across her desk.
Mulder stood in front of Scully's desk, looking down at her with an impish grin. "Even I couldn't make that up. Did you find it on the map?"
Mulder came around the desk to get behind Scully, leaned over shoulder and peered at the map. "There, see?" He pointed to a flea-sized black dot near the border of New York. "Hop Bottom."
Scully squinted at the map. "Oh. So what's our assignment, anyway?"
"Kidnapping. Or rather, a series of kidnappings. So far all the children have been taken at night and found a day or two later, unharmed, just across the border in New York."
"Kidnapping isn't part of the Domestic Terrorist Division. How exactly did we get this one?" Scully asked, not really wanting to hear Mulder's explanation.
"Violent Crimes is busy with the hostage situation in Utah and the search for that abortion clinic bomber in North Carolina. They were short on agents, so I volunteered us. Don't worry, it's cleared with Kersh." Mulder said, his eyes sparkling with excitement as he spoke.
Scully looked up at her partner with her what-are-you-up-to expression. "What aren't you telling me, Mulder?"
"Well... the mother of the latest victim reported seeing little gray men."
Scully raised an eyebrow.
"Specifically, little, lumpy, hairy, gray men with huge feet." Mulder paused for a moment. "Goblins."
"Goblins, Mulder???"
*****
Somewhere in Southeastern Pa 12:34 PM
"I guess we can add this to the number of times in 'the five years we've been together' that you've been wrong while driving." Scully said, stretching her stiff legs and neck as Mulder pumped gas.
"Hey, I did find that corn field and the bee domes, right?"
Scully grumbled something about bees and consulted her road map. "This road should lead us into Intercourse, where we can catch route 283 and get back to 81."
"Intercourse?" Mulder stifled a snicker and glanced at Scully, waggling his eyebrows. "Wouldn't that countermand the FBI policy on agents consorting?"
Scully's look was enough to stifle him. *****
The Pennsylvania - New York border 2:44 PM
A dirt road ran east to west across the hilly landscape, barren farm fields on either side of the road. A little way further to the north, past the fields, was a forest full of bare trees. A large group of cars stood in the field to the north side. There were police and EMS vehicles there, along with pickup trucks, SUVs, and a TV van. Mulder slowed down and pulled the Taurus into field where the other cars were parked. "This must be where the receptionist in the Sheriff's office said they would be," Mulder said.
Scully grabbed her trenchcoat from the backseat and unbuckled her seat belt. "It's cold up here. Leaving children in the forest in this weather is dangerous. These parents are lucky all there children turned up alive."
Mulder nodded. "All the kids were wrapped up in their blankets, which were taken along with the children. They had a hood over their head as well. It seems they were hooded the whole time they were gone; none of them saw a thing."
"Any signs of abuse? Sexual, physical?" Scully asked, trying in vain to understand the situation. Mulder shook his head. "Curious." Scully opened her door and stepped out of the car as Mulder turned off the ignition. She stood outside the car, waiting for Mulder as he grabbed his coat and got out of the car. He just stood for a minute, looking at the large group of people standing just at the edge of the woods.
"Come on Scully, let's go crash the party."
An older man approached them as they neared the edge of the woods. "You must be the federal agents we called in. I'm Robert Walsh, the sheriff of Hop Bottom."
Mulder started to introduce himself when a blue car came careening through the field, nearly knocking him over. A man and a woman leapt from the car, running to the woods.
"Hey! Don't let them in there!" Sheriff Walsh hollered, but it was too late. A scream rose on the air as the woman cleared the edge of the woods. "Damn," muttered the sheriff, "That's Julia Wilkes, mother of the deceased."
"Deceased?" Scully looked concerned for the first time.
"Yes, ma'am, the latest victim turned up dead."
"We're just waiting for the forensics team to photograph the site. You can go take a look, if you like." The sheriff glanced back at the woods, where the distraught woman was now being led to a car by a deputy. "I'd better go talk to Julia."
"I'll go with you," Mulder volunteered quickly, "I wanted to speak with Ms. Wilkes as soon as possible, anyway. Scully..."
He glanced over to see Scully already headed for the woods, pulling on a set of rubber gloves. Nodding at the sheriff, he followed him towards the still weeping woman.
*****
Montgomery County Morgue 7:12 PM
Scully brushed a strand of hair off her forehead with the back of her hand. Bending over the small body on the table, she carefully stitched the incision together. She sighed as the loose hair fell again, and jumped as a hand suddenly brushed it softly back.
"Wha.. Mulder, don't sneak up on me like that!" Scully pulled off her gloves and covered the body with a sheet.
"Find anything interesting?" Mulder glanced at the small form.
"Apparent cause of death is exposure. There are marks around the neck that seem indicative of strangulation, but I believe they were left by the cords on the hood. The bruises don't seem to extend to the larynx." Scully continued to recite the results of her examination tiredly, as Mulder flipped through her notes.
"I didn't get a chance to speak with Ms. Wilkes. It seems her family physician was on the scene, and had already administered a sedative. By the time we started to ask questions she was completely out of it. I did talk to her husband, but he believes she has been in a state of hysteria since the night their son was abducted. Forensics did find some interesting tracks near the scene, however."
"Let me guess. Goblin tracks. You can tell because they obviously run heel first, and look just like the Sasquatch tracks you followed as an Indian guide, only smaller. Slightly larger than moth men, though."
Mulder looked hurt. "I thought you would be a little more concerned, considering the situation."
Scully sighed, sliding the body into the refrigeration unit. "I am concerned, Mulder. That's why I think it's important that we look for some concrete leads so that we're not out chasing goblins when the next child is abducted."
Mulder tossed a photograph on the table. "Well, here's a bit of concrete evidence for you, then. The tracks were "obviously" left by an ATV."
*****
The ATV rumbled through the dry leaves and left the ground briefly as it sailed over the embankment. Laughing, the driver accelerated into the dark woods. Without warning, the large wheels of the black vehicle slipped over a damp bed of leaves, causing the ATV to fishtail, then spin. The vehicle smashed into the side of a large tree, sending the occupant flying through the air, smashing into the ground twenty feet away.
The red-haired teenage boy lay crumpled on the forest floor. Blood trickled from his nose and some scrapes and cuts along his arms and head. He moaned groggily, trying to get up. From out of the corner of his eye, the boy saw a group of five or six hairy, gray figures in a circle, closing in on him. Suddenly, his world became dark as a canvas bag was forced onto his head. "Guys?" he asked quietly, dazed. "Guys?" he asked again.
The boy became more forceful as the unknown abductors lifted him off of the forest floor. "Hey, guys! This isn't funny!" He whined. The darkness spun around him, faster and faster, until finally, he lost consciousness.
*****
The morning sunlight streaming through the crack between the cheap canvas drapes shone brightly into Scully's eyes as she woke up. The pounding noise that had disturbed her slumber came again, followed by the sound of a key in the lock. Her hand shot out to her night stand where her service weapon lay in its holster, but she stopped, grumbling when she heard Mulder's voice.
"Scully, are you ok?" The blinding light of the sun became stronger as the door opened to reveal Mulder's concerned face standing out in bright relief against the six inches of snow that had fallen the night before. Seeing her in bed, his face relaxed. "Another kid was abducted - this time a teenager. Let's go."
The door swung shut just in time to save Mulder from a pillow which hit the door at eye level. Still grumbling, Scully started to grab her clothes and dress.
*****
The wrecked ATV halfway into the tree stood out starkly against the snow-covered forest. The snow was hampering the efforts of the German Shepherds as they circled the area with their handlers. Scully scanned the area as Mulder spoke animatedly with the sheriff. Shivering, she pulled her heavy parka closer. The glaring whiteness of the snow made her eyes hurt. Just the sight of the ice and snow chilled her to the bone.
Mulder walked toward her. "As far as we can figure, the boy was abducted shortly after the crash. I think..." He stopped mid-sentence at the look on Scully's face. "Are you ok? You look spooked."
"I'm fine." Scully shook her head and carefully made her face as neutral as possible. "I'm just wondering why you insist this is another abduction. How do we know this kid didn't take a blow to the head and just wander off into the woods?" Scully shook her head. "I'm going back to town to see if I can talk to the school officials and parents of the victims. There has to be some connection between the original kidnappings that will prove that this accident is unrelated."
"Did you know that in one town in England, an increase in the stork population corresponded with an increase in births?"
Scully looked at Mulder blankly. "Have you completely lost it, or do you have some sort of point?"
"Even if you find a correlation, that won't guarantee that this was not part of the pattern. You're the one that's always citing coincidence."
Mulder turned, and began pawing through the snow near the wreck. With a sigh, Scully climbed into the rental car and cranked up the heat.
*****
Hop Bottom Consolidated School 8:11 AM
"It is certainly a tragedy. But I'm not sure how you expect me to help. None of the kidnappings took place at the school. We have very tight security measures, despite our rural setting." The principal, Mr. Moore, frowned. "Now, if you ask me, the parents are to blame here. They don't spend enough time with their kids. We have such attendance problems. The parents just don't care..."
Scully sat politely while he droned on. She finally interrupted when he paused for air. "It would be really helpful if I could talk to some of the children or their teachers. We're trying to establish a correlation between the victims so we know what we're looking for here."
The principal nodded. "None of the students are here yet. We don't start classes until nine because of the amount of snow we get in this area. The teachers should be in their rooms, planning. Do you know which teachers the students involved were placed with?"
Checking her list, Scully nodded. "Yes, I have that information. Do you have a list of room numbers?"
"Why don't I just walk you around. Wouldn't want you to get lost. Besides, that way we can continue our conversation. I'd really like to know how you feel as a law enforcement officer about the problems in our schools..."
Scully hoped he didn't hear the sigh that escaped her lips as they walked out into the corridor.
*****
"Here's that information you wanted, Agent Mulder." Mulder looked up, surprised to see that someone had followed him so far into the woods. He had been circling out away from the crash scene, trying to find anything that the team had overlooked.
"Thanks," he said, absently reaching for the report that the young man from forensics was holding out to him. Glancing at the first page, he groaned. "Damn it," he said under his breath, "she might be right."
"Sir?"
"The tracks found at the other kidnapping site match the treads on the wreck back there. That may mean that either this kid was involved, or that he borrows ATV's from strange people. Although it is possible he was going for a joy ride in the area."
The sound of branches cracking and leaves rustling came from the west. The two men turned to see. "What was that?" the young scientist asked.
"I don't know," Mulder said, reaching cautiously for his gun. Just then, a teenage boy stumbled out in front of them, his half naked body caked with dirt and blood. Groggily he tripped over a tree root, falling into Mulder's arms. Mulder slowly set the boy down onto his back on the forest floor. Grabbing his cell phone, he quickly dialed. "This is Agent Mulder. I need an EMT about 100 yards west of the ATV crash site..."
*****
The bell rang and suddenly Scully was surrounded by a crowd of adolescent boys and girls, heading for their lockers. She had managed to get rid of Mr. Moore when he discovered a group of teachers sitting in the lounge discussing the previous night's episode of "Friends." Leaving him to lecture them on the importance of lesson plans, Scully had wandered to this end of the building. An out-of-place sound caught her attention. Glancing towards the noise, she saw a six year old girl crying, huddled near a locker that was at least twice her height. Scully knelt next to the child. "What's the matter, honey?"
"Cara says the goblins are going to get me if I don't behave." The girl burst into a fresh bout of tears. "I didn't mean to spill the glitter!" With a sob, she threw herself into Scully's lap.
Patting the child's back reassuringly, Scully glanced around, trying to ascertain where the child belonged. "How did you get here?"
The girl looked up at her earnestly. "My mommy says the stork brought me."
Just then, a teenage girl swooped down and grabbed the girl by the arm. "Brianna, you know better than to talk to strangers. Now get back to daycare and clean up that glitter if you know what's good for you."
Scully stood up slowly, looking sternly at the older girl. "You must be Cara." Deciding to exact a little revenge on behalf of the frightened Brianna, Scully flashed her badge. "I'm Agent Dana Scully of the FBI. I'd like to ask you a few questions about the kidnappings."
All of the blood ran out of Cara's face. Dropping Brianna's hand, she took off down the hallway. Scully stared for a moment, surprised at her reaction, then quickly set Brianna out of harm's way and took off in pursuit.
Glancing back, Cara saw Scully dodging a group of students. She tried to run faster, but only succeeded in running smack into the principal as he exited the faculty room.
"Young lady, running in the halls is strictly forbidden," Mr. Moore began, taking her by the wrist. Just then, Scully ran up and snapped handcuffs on Cara's wrists. Mr. Moore's mouth dropped open, but for once, no sound came out.
*****
"We didn't mean to hurt him. I swear! We didn't mean to hurt any of them..." Cara was still blubbering, twenty minutes after Scully had brought her into the relative privacy of Mr. Moore's office. After seeing that Brianna was returned safely to the in-school daycare for kindergarten students, Scully had checked the roster of students. All of the previous victims had been enrolled in the daycare, which was staffed by high school students interested in careers in education. Beginning to understand what was going on, Scully had returned to question Cara, only to find that no questioning was necessary. Cara had been babbling a confession ever since she had been placed in the office.
"I need the names of the other daycare staff who were involved in the kidnappings," Scully said, sitting down across the desk from Cara. "Your cooperation is essential, if we are going to save the latest victim."
"But it's too late for Danny. We didn't mean for him to freeze..." Cara started bawling again.
"I don't mean Danny. I'm referring to..." Scully glanced at her notepad, although she didn't need to. She was hoping to get Cara to jump in and admit culpability for the latest disappearance. "Andrew Greer," she finished, "He disappeared last night, supposedly after an ATV accident?"
"Andy?!" Cara's eyes went wide with apparent shock. "Andy is missing? But, he was in on it with us. He's a senior, not some kindergarten brat. You mean that's why he wasn't at work this morning?" She started sobbing again, slumping down in her chair.
The sound of her crying was interrupted (and none too soon, Scully thought) by the ring of Scully's cell phone. Scully turned away from the eyes of Cara and Mr. Moore to answer.
"Scully."
"Scully, it's me. Where are you?"
"I'm at the school. I think I've found your goblin, Mulder. She's sixteen and the only gray thing about her is the mascara running down her face. She's admitted to all the kidnappings except Andrew's, and I still think that could simply have been an ATV accident..."
"Sorry to disappoint you, Scully, but I'm at the hospital with Andrew right now. He's telling a similar story about the other victims, but he claims he was taken by a completely different set of goblins last night."
*****
Sacred Hope Hospital Scranton, PA 11:01 AM
Mulder sat with his back to the hospital room door, munching sunflower seeds and glancing occasionally at the copy of Andrew's confession he held in his hand. At the sound of footsteps he glanced up to see Scully walking towards him.
"Cara gave me the names of the other students involved and I have placed them all in custody. They are all telling the same story, and none of them will admit to having menaced Andrew. They seemed genuinely surprised to hear about his accident."
"Kidnapping," Mulder corrected her.
Scully picked up a clipboard from the slot outside Andrew's door. "According to these charts, he has a traumatic head injury as a result of the accident. He was probably delusional. His guilt about the kidnappings may have subconsciously influenced his hallucinations."
Mulder sighed. "Listen, Scully, he was found with most of his clothing shredded, and we still haven't found his helmet."
"It's quite possible, given the extent of his injuries, that he wasn't wearing one. I doubt he'd admit it since he'd probably lose his license."
"He claims the goblins took his helmet and hung it in their cave. He described them in detail, and he has quite a few injuries which I don't feel are fully explained by the crash."
"He probably got them from wandering through the forest for hours. The Sheriff's Office considers this case closed. I don't think we're needed here any longer."
*****
Scully rapped lightly on the door outside Mulder's room. She knew her skepticism (however completely justified it may have been in this case) had been increasingly upsetting to Mulder recently and hoped he wasn't sulking. It was a long car ride, and she wasn't looking forward to spending it driving in tense silence. She rapped again, harder. "Mulder?" She tried the knob and the door opened.
Stepping inside, she saw Mulder's bags packed and sitting next to the door. A note lay on the suitcases: "Scully -- Get some dinner. Be back in a bit. FM" Scully kicked the suitcase with an exasperated "Damn it, Mulder!"
Scully took the bags in hand and headed out to the car. She placed them in the trunk next to hers. Sitting in front of the wheel, she thought briefly of going home without Mulder. Picking up her cell phone, she hit his number on the speed dial. The ring of a cell phone came from somewhere within the car. She flipped open the glove compartment and watched Mulder's phone fall to the floor.
Backing quickly out of the parking lot, she sped towards the interstate, fully intending to leave Mulder in the lurch for once. The car sped past the dirt road leading to the forest. With a curse, she suddenly swung the car around and headed back towards the ATV crash site.
*****
Mulder's feet were cold and numb and he was damn hungry. He had seriously begun to doubt the existence of the goblins at this point, but he stubbornly refused to be wrong. He noticed marks on the snow and quickly moved to investigate. With a moan, he recognized his own footprints. It was beginning to get dark, so he flashed on his light. The ray was momentarily blinding. The heavy object that descended on his head as his eyes adjusted also created a blinding flash before darkness enveloped him.
The darkness became gray and shadowy. A flickering light of some kind was casting strange shadows on a rock wall. Mulder sat up quickly. A sharp pain reminded him why he was lying down and he slumped back to his shoulder. Glancing around, Mulder saw a battered ATV helmet tied to a root extending through a crack in the rock. Turning to look behind him, he saw a glimpse of a hideously deformed grayish face lit by firelight. Rough hands grabbed him from all sides as his world once again went black.
*****
"Mulder! Mulder!" The voice came from far away, as though his ears were filled with water. Mulder became aware of cold snow under him, and someone gently shaking him. Opening his eyes, he saw Scully's concerned face looking down at him. Removing her parka, she wrapped it around him and started dialing the rescue teams. "This is Agent Scully. I found Mulder. Looks like head trauma due to an ice covered branch falling. Our location is roughly 75 yards east of the wreck site."
Mulder was muttering softly and she leaned over him to hear. "There were goblins, Scully... I saw them... ." Smiling softly, Scully gently lifted Mulder's head onto a soft rescue blanket. As Mulder lost consciousness again, he heard her whisper "Did I save the world this time, too, Mulder?"