Summary: Mulder & Scully investigate a strange case in Ohio. Timeline: summer of 1996, no real references to prior cases

Disclaimer: The characters of Dana Scully and Fox Mulder & The X-Files universe belong to Chris Carter and Ten Thirteen Productions. For me, they also belong to the gifted minds of GA and DD without whom those characters might not have been so intense. I don't intend to steal anything or to make any money with this. This is purely a creative game, a way to train my brain cells, so to speak.

This was my first-time experiment with a script... back in college. Written as a bday pressie for an X-phile friend. I know, our lovely Agents would shudder at my scientific explanations - but hey, I didn't exactly major in that field. *LoL* So please bare with me. :o)

NIL ADMIRARI

Scene 1

07/03/1996 Berlin, Ohio

11.48pm

[A group of teenagers is sitting around a campfire in the woods. They are drinking beer and some are smoking. They are dressed up and have a good time. Some are singing, some are talking, some are kissing. One girl, CHRYSTYNE, is walking around taking pictures with her Polaroid camera.]

CHRYSTYNE: [addressing a group of friends] "Hey guys, say we did it!" [She takes her picture of the cheering group.] "Great! Look at this. You all have to sign it!"

[She hands them the developing Polaroid. The group begins to cheer again at the sight of the picture. They start to mock each other about the picture and are looking for pens to sign it. CHRYSTYNE moves on to the next group.]

CHRYSTYNE: "Amanda, Tony. Smile!" [She takes another picture and hands it over to her friends. AMANDA smiles.] "This is for our time capsule, remember? So just sign your names."

AMANDA: "That's so cool. A time capsule. What else did you bring to get buried?"

CHRYSTYNE: "I brought my friend-ship ring I used to exchange with Barry in the 4th grade."

AMANDA: "Oh, that's so adorable! I just brought my essay on Poe."

TONY: "Why did you bring school stuff?"

AMANDA: "It was my only good mark. Ever, you know!"

[A humming sound is heard from the woods. It's intensity increases with every second. Everybody looks around, irritated.]

AMANDA: "What's that?" [She fearfully hugs TONY.] "Do you hear that?"

TONY: "Yeah. It's freaking scary."

CHRYSTYNE: "Oh my God, it's coming from the woods."

[Something approaches them. CHRYSTYNE raises her camera and shoots pictures of what is coming closer at them. The camera falls to the ground and the picture emerging from it, develops into an overexposed Polaroid. Close-up on the Polaroid.]

X-FILES INTRO CREDITS

Scene 2

07/06/1996 Washington, D.C.

FBI Headquarters, Fox Mulder's Office

07.30am

[MULDER is sitting behind his desk, chewing sunflower seeds. He looks up when SCULLY enters. She takes off her raincoat and places her umbrella next to his desk.]

MULDER: "Good morning, Scully."

SCULLY: "Morning, Mulder. I don't see what' supposed to be so good about this one though."

MULDER: "Is it raining now?"

SCULLY: "No, it's fashionable now to wear raincoats and umbrellas." [She lets herself fall into the chair next to his desk.]

MULDER: Oh, are we a little grumpy this morning?"

SCULLY: "Just don't start."

MULDER: "Ohh'kay." [He hands her an X-File.] Maybe this will put a smile on your wet face.

SCULLY: [examining the file] "What am I looking at?"

MULDER: "Have you ever seen pictures like that before?" [He points at some overexposed pictures.]

SCULLY: "Not that I remember."

MULDER: "Neither did I."

SCULLY: "Which tells me what? That you found a piece of art you were previously unaware of?"

MULDER: "I see your mood's already improving." [SCULLY darts her eyebrow at him.] "Please, take a closer look at the pictures."

SCULLY: "Alright." [She examines the pictures more closely.] "I don't know, Mulder. What am I supposed to see?"

MULDER: "I don't know."

SCULLY: "Did I miss anything?"

MULDER: "These pictures were found at a crime scene in Berlin, Ohio. Two teenagers were killed. They had a Polaroid camera to shoot pictures of their private graduation party in the woods at night." [He points at the rest of the pictures in the file.] "These pictures here show the attendants. It must've been about 20 kids. 10 of which disappeared without a trace." [He chooses one of the pictures showing a teen-age couple.] "This is Chrystyne Buttons. She is one of the witnesses. She used to take the rest of these pictures. She told the police that they heard a startling humming sound in the middle of the night. That is the last thing she can fully remember. She woke up again with her camera and 10 of her friends gone and two others dead."

SCULLY: "A startling humming sound."

MULDER: "I knew that you would jump at that."

SCULLY: "Mulder, if this is somehow UFO related, please, spare me with any further details."

MULDER: "I don't think that this is related to any extraterrestrial activity."

SCULLY: "You don't?"

MULDER: "No. I mean, since when do aliens steal cameras?"

SCULLY: "Oh right, How could I miss that obvious fact?"

MULDER: "I've been thinking more mental control."

SCULLY: "I am thinking more mental asylum now."

MULDER: "Haven't you ever heard about telepaths?"

SCULLY: "Sure, on TV."

MULDER: "Strong telepaths cannot only read your thoughts or control your mind. They might also be able to brainwash you."

SCULLY: "Stealing information from my mind? Well, how about someone would do that to me right now?"

MULDER: "Scully, c'mon. Scientifically speaking, don't you believe in the existence of people with extreme mental power?"

SCULLY: "Science and mental power in the same sentence already contradict themselves."

MULDER: "C'mon, wouldn't you want to find out?"

SCULLY: "No. Actually I feel quite comfortable right now. Starting to dry after all."

MULDER: "Scully, please. Give me one day. If we shouldn't dig up anything by tomorrow morning, I promise that you'll be home by Saturday afternoon."

SCULLY: "You promised that so often before."

MULDER: "I know, but this time, it'll be different."

SCULLY: "Different how?"

MULDER: "This time I mean it."

[MULDER, standing already, hands SCULLY her coat. She gets up, unwillingly, and follows him through the door.]

Scene 3

Interstate D.C. to Ohio

09.30am

[MULDER is in the driver's seat. SCULLY, sitting next to him, goes through the file again, examining the pictures.]

SCULLY: "You know, maybe these pictures were just overexposed."

MULDER: "In the middle of the night? In the woods? By what?"

SCULLY: [shrugs] "I don't know. By another camera, a flashlight?"

MULDER: "The kids didn't mention another camera."

SCULLY: "What about lightning?"

MULDER: "It was a warm summer's night. No rain, no storm, no thunder. Nothing."

SCULLY: "Okay. Maybe the camera was malfunctioning."

MULDER: "Or maybe it just took a picture of what was to be seen."

SCULLY: " Alright, I give in. But mental powers? What kind of a theory is that?"

MULDER: "Quite a plausible one, regarding the circumstances.

SCULLY: "You truly believe in the existence of telepaths?"

MULDER: "Sure. Science can't fully explain the reason for the millions of unused brain cells each of us possesses. One theory says that it is possible to train these dormant cells to evoke a mental state of communication."

SCULLY: "A mental state of communication."

MULDER: "Yes. Wouldn't you want to be able to communicate with your mind?"

SCULLY: "I'm trying to do that right now. Oh, who would've guessed, you don't seem to hear me."

MULDER: "Oh, I heard you. But I try to block cynicism."

SCULLY: "Okay, let's seriously assume that these teenagers were brainwashed. That someone, or something, controlled their minds. Why did 10 of them disappear? And why did two of them die?"

MULDER: "That, I don't know. But we will find out."

Scene 4

Berlin, Ohio

House of the Buttons family

02.22pm

[CHRYSTYNE is sitting on her bed. Her room is tidy, her walls are decorated with Nirvana, Garbage, Foo Fighters, Hole and Red Hot Chili Peppers posters. She goes through the shoe box which was meant to be buried as a time capsule. It contains pictures, letters, keyrings, a T-shirt, her friendship ring, and so on. Her mother yells her name from downstairs.]

MRS BUTTONS: "Chryssie! Lunch is ready!"

CHRYSTYNE: "I'm not hungry, mom!"

[CHRYSTYNE continues to look at the items in the box, examining some Polaroids which she presumably has taken. The pictures are signed with names, hearts or slogans. They show some of her friends, including some of those we've seen in scene1. A soft knocking is heard at the poster-decorated door.]

CHRYSTYNE: "Yes, mom?"

MRS BUTTONS: "Can I come in, sweetie-pie?"

CHRYSTYNE: [rolling her eyes] "Mom, I told you I'm not hungry.

MRS BUTTONS: [entering the room] "Chryssie, I'm worried about you. You got to eat something. It won't help your friends if you starve to death."

CHRYSTYNE: "Mom, I know. But I'm really just not hungry."

MRS BUTTONS: "Alright." [sitting down on the bed] "But at least come down to join your sister and me, will you?"

CHRYSTYNE: [packing the capsule items back into the box] "Uhum, okay."

[The doorbell rings. Cut to the front porch of the Buttons house. MULDER and SCULLY are standing at the door, waiting.]

SCULLY: "What exactly do you want to interrogate that girl for?"

MULDER: "She's our main witness. I just want to hear her story."

[The door is opened by MRS BUTTONS.]

MRS BUTTONS: "Yes, can I help you?"

MULDER: "Hello, Ma'am. Agents Mulder and Scully with the FBI.

[MULDER and SCULLY show their Id's.]

MULDER: "We'd like to speak to Chrystyne Buttons."

MRS BUTTONS: "FBI? My daughter already answered all questions to Sheriff Easylake."

MULDER: "Yes, Ma'am, we know. But if possible, we would like to hear her story again, in her own words."

SCULLY: "Maybe she remembers something now that she considered to be of no importance in the first moment of shock."

MRS BUTTONS: "Agent..."

SCULLY: "Scully."

MRS BUTTONS: "My daughter doesn't remember anything, Agent Scully. I'm afraid she won't be a great help."

MULDER: "The slightest details might help us to solve this case."

MRS BUTTONS: "I don't think that you'll get the information you're looking for, but please, come in."

[MULDER and SCULLY nod their thank you's to MRS BUTTONS and go past her to enter the Buttons house. They are led into the living room where they sit on the couch. In the background a 13-year-old girl can be seen - she is seated at the set dining room table. In the meantime, MRS BUTTONS has called for her daughter CHRYSTYNE who enters the room now and sits vis-à-vis MULDER and SCULLY.]

SCULLY: "Chrystyne? [She goes on at the girl's answering nod.] We are Special Agents Scully and Mulder. We are with the FBI and would like to ask you some questions about the murder and the disappearance of your friends on July 03."

MULDER: "Just tell us what you remember."

CHRYSTYNE: "I don't know anything about what happened. I wish I did, but I can't remember a thing. I was taking pictures of my friends and the next thing I know is that I woke up in the woods with Amanda and Tony dead and some others gone."

MULDER: "You mentioned a humming sound prior to the incident."

CHRYSTYNE: "Yes. It was eerie, spooky - if you know what I mean."

SCULLY: [shooting a skeptical look at MULDER] "Well, I don't. Could you describe it more accurately? Was it a whistle or a buzzing sound. Have you heard that kind of sound before?"

CHRYSTYNE: "No. It was strange. Almost like that annoying little sound our TV set sometimes makes. Artificial, you know. I never heard something like that in the woods before."

MULDER: "So you've been in the woods before with your friends?"

CHRYSTYNE: "Sure. It was our private hiding place. Somewhere we'd turn to in times of stress or if someone wanted to get away from it all."

SCULLY: "So, did anybody else know about this place?"

CHRYSTYNE: "I don't know. It wasn't exactly a secret I guess. But usually, people don't go to the woods so much around here."

MULDER: "Why not?"

CHRYSTYNE: "After what happened to Barry. People were scared."

SCULLY: "Scared? Of what?"

CHRYSTYNE: "Of becoming weird. Of becoming ill."

MULDER: "What exactly happened to Barry?"

CHRYSTYNE: "Barry and I were playing ball when we were kids. We were really close. We used to stick together like glue until one day, I hit one of the balls too hard and it flew into the woods. Barry went to catch it and didn't return. I got scared and went looking for him. He had vanished, disappeared for three straight days. Then he was recovered by a local search squad. He wasn't able to speak and he didn't seem to recognize any of us. He's never been the same again since."

SCULLY: "Was Barry at your party in the woods on Tuesday?"

CHRYSTYNE: "No. It was our private graduation party. He never returned to school with us after that incident. We actually didn't see him much lately."

MULDER: "So you did see him again?"

CHRYSTYNE: "Sure, but not since he was sent to that asylum place. It's strange to go there. We were all afraid of those people they locked him up with."

MULDER: "What kind of people?"

CHRYSTYNE: "I don't know. People who would bore their eyes into you, who would haunt you in your dreams."

MULDER: [giving SCULLY a calming smile] "Haunt you in your dreams?"

CHRYSTYNE: "Yes, I know, it sounds strange. And I actually don't know how else to describe it. But since I went there to see Barry, I had nightmares. Of people I'd seen in there. Of their eyes, trying to rip my thoughts from my mind."

SCULLY: [putting her hand on MULDER's knee, getting up] "Well, thank you Miss Buttons. We will keep you informed about our investigation. If you should be able to remember any further details about this case, please, don't hesitate to contact us."

[SCULLY hands CHRYSTYNE her card and indicates to MULDER to follow her out.]

MULDER: [getting up and handing his card to CHRYSTYNE as well] "Could you tell me where I could find that asylum?"

Scene 5

Humboldt Asylum parking lot

4.13pm

[MULDER and SCULLY are sitting in their rental car. MULDER goes through some files while SCULLY takes out her cell.]

MULDER: "What are you doing?"

SCULLY: "I'll call a friend to come over tomorrow night."

MULDER: "To water your plants?"

SCULLY: "To have dinner with."

MULDER: "I'm sorry to disrupt your romantic plans, but I'm afraid we'll still be here tomorrow night."

SCULLY: "Oh no! You promised to get me home by Saturday."

MULDER: "In case we shouldn't dig up anything."

SCULLY: "There is nothing to be digged up here, Mulder."

MULDER: "Scully, you heard that girl."

SCULLY: "I heard a scared and confused teenager. I heard someone who lost her friends."

MULDER: "Someone who told us a story about an abduction that took place in these very woods here, in that town, 9 years ago."

SCULLY: "I thought you didn't believe in any extraterrestrial activity?"

MULDER: "I still don't. But I'm open for alternatives."

SCULLY: "Which are what?"

MULDER: "I'm not entirely sure right now. But Scully, I know we're up to something here."

SCULLY: "Mulder, we talked to the sheriff, we went through the files. Barry Langston was kidnapped as a child and his case was never solved. I know that cases like these appeal to you. I know that..."

MULDER: "This is not about my sister here, Scully."

SCULLY: "And are you sure about that?"

MULDER: "I am. And I told you, this is not an alien abduction case here."

SCULLY: "Alright. So you think that the abduction of Barry Langston in 1987 is somehow related to the abduction of these kids in the woods a couple of days ago."

MULDER: "Exactly."

SCULLY: "So, what's your theory?"

MULDER: "I think that something is out there, Scully. In the woods. Some creature, some field, some power, something that alters the human mind."

SCULLY: "But Chrystyne and her friends have been in the woods for 9 years now, without anything harming them. Why now?"

MULDER: "I don't know. But maybe Barry can tell us more about that. Maybe, he's the connection. If we can solve the mysteries of his disappearance in 1987, maybe we can crack the mysteries of the most recent incident."

[Cut to the asylum. A psychologist leads SCULLY and MULDER into a visitor's room. BARRY is sitting at a table, playing cards with a nurse. MULDER further approaches BARRY while SCULLY remains with the psychologist. The nurse gets up and joins SCULLY and the psychologist.]

MULDER: "Hello, Barry. My name is Fox Mulder. I'm with the FBI. Do you mind if I sit down and ask you a couple of questions?"

[BARRY keeps staring at the cards and shakes his head.]

MULDER: "I'm here to ask you about your disappearance in 1987. Do you remember anything about that?"

[BARRY shakes his head again. In the background we see SCULLY talking to the psychologist and the nurse, her back turned to MULDER and BARRY.]

MULDER: "Barry, did you see Chrystyne and her friends in the woods lately?"

[BARRY raises his head, boring his eyes into MULDER's. MULDER can't help but stare back and he seems to be paralyzed. SCULLY looks around irritated, hearing a humming sound. She turns to see MULDER starting to shake as if he suffers from a seizure. She rushes towards him, looking at BARRY, who focuses on his cards again. MULDER falls against SCULLY and she catches him in her arms, carefully trying to stabilize him in her arms. She feels his pulse and screams for the nurse. The nurse approaches them and injects MULDER a sedative.]

Scene 6

Free Hospital

6.21pm

[SCULLY is sitting at MULDER's hospital bed in the emergency room. She looks worried and holds his hand in hers. A nurse comes in to bring some water and to check his readings before she leaves again. Then, MULDER wakes up slowly.]

SCULLY: "Oh, God, Mulder. You sacred me."

MULDER: "Scully. What happened?"

SCULLY: "I hoped you could tell me. We were at the asylum to interrogate Barry Langston when you collapsed and became unconscious."

MUDLER: "Where are we?"

SCULLY: "We are in a hospital right now. You were stabilized and your readings are normal again."

MULDER: "I have a headache."

SCULLY: "Well, that might just be a reaction to the sedative we had to give you to relax your body."

MULDER: [trying to get up] "I definitely know better ways to relax my body."

SCULLY: "Under normal circumstances I do too."

MULDER: "Uh, Scully. Is there something you want to tell me?"

SCULLY: "Mulder, what do you think you're doing?"

MULDER: "I'm trying to get up here. You don't seriously expect me to spend the night in this hospital?"

SCULLY: "Well, but take it slowly." [She gathers the rest of his clothes and hands them to him.]

MULDER: "I will, I will, doctor."

SCULLY: "You better. I don't want to have to gather you up again."

[Cut to the hospital's parking lot. SCULLY helps MULDER into the car. Then she gets into the driver's seat.]

MULDER: "So, where are we going now?"

SCULLY: "Looking for a motel to spend the night in I guess."

MULDER: "Well, why don't we stop by at the morgue first?"

SCULLY: "You seriously want me to run an autopsy on these two kids tonight?"

MULDER: "Why not get it over with right now?"

SCULLY: "And what exactly do you hope I'll find?" [Mulder shrugs.] "Okay, just don't say it. You don't know."

Scene 7

Free Hospital Morgue

7.01pm

[SCULLY starts performing an autopsy on AMANDA and TONY. She compares her findings on one body with those on the other one. She speaks into a microphone and looks tired.]

SCULLY: "No obvious cause of death. On both bodies. No entry wounds of any kind. No bruises, no signs of any violation, no signs of struggle, no puncture marks."

[Cut to SCULLY leaning over AMANDA's body which is cut open. She looks puzzled.]

SCULLY: "No clear signs of the cause of death. The inner organs are intact, the heart does not show any kind of damage."

[Cut to SCULLY looking at TONY's skull which is cut open, too. She looks skeptical.]

SCULLY: "There is an unusual connection of veins in the brainstem. The entire cellular structure of the brain seems to be uniquely tied together. It seems as if the two brain halves were unusually attached to one another."

[Cut to SCULLY sitting at a desk, typing her reports. She tries to fight her fatigue and looks at the morgue watch. The watch shows 10.33pm. SCULLY rubs her eyes and grabs her cellular. She presses her speed dial button and the name MULDER appears on the display.]

[Cut to MULDER standing at a hospital bed with SHERIFF EASYLAKE. He grabs his ringing cellular and answers it. The following conversation cuts back and forth between SCULLY at her desk and MULDER walking down the emergency hallway.]

MULDER: "Hey, Scully. You won't ever believe what just happened."

SCULLY: "Try me, Mulder. I'm so tired I might even believe in the existence of telepaths."

MULDER: "The missing kids are back."

SCULLY: "No kiddin'?"

MULDER: "All of them. Showing no harm whatsoever."

SCULLY: "Which is identical to the two victims. Only that they are dead."

MULDER: "Do you mean, you didn't find anything?"

SCULLY: "Well, not really. I found some interesting brain tissue."

MULDER: "Interesting how?"

SCULLY: "Interesting in the way the cellular structure is concerned. It looks as if the victims might have suffered from some unusual brain activity."

MULDER: "So their brain halves were connected."

SCULLY: "How do you know that?"

MULDER: "Connected brain halves are representative in cases of telepathic ability."

SCULLY: "According to whom?"

MULDER: "Literature, experts, scientists."

SCULLY: "Alright, Mulder. This scientist here tells you that this might just be a deformity. A genetic failure..."

MULDER: "With both kids?"

SCULLY: "Well, ..."

MULDER: "Scully, would it satisfy you if you found similar evidence in the survivors?"

[Cut to an x-ray of one of the returned kids. It shows the brain halves connected and melted together.]

Scene 8

West-of-India Motel

11.15pm

[MULDER is sitting on the bed. He goes through the files and x-rays. The TV is running, showing an old Ed Wood movie. A package of sunflower seeds lies on the nightstand along with more files. In the background running water from a shower is heard. Suddenly, it knocks at the door. MULDER goes to the door to open it. It is the delivery guy to bring burgers and fries. His uniform cap covers his face. MULDER turns around to collect his money and hears a familiar humming sound. He tries to grab his gun but he is paralyzed.]

[Cut to CHRYSTYNE BUTTONS who is sleeping in her bed and wakes up abruptly.]

Scene 9

West-of-India Motel

11.37pm

[SCULLY exits the bathroom of her motel room. She wears beige pajamas and slippers. Her wet hair is wrapped in a towel and she is ready to go to bed. MULDER is still lying on the bed, his hands behind his head. He grins at her. The files and an empty burger bag and ice tea cans are lying next to the bed. SCULLY grabs the remote control and switches off the TV.]

SCULLY: "Mulder, what are you doing?"

MULDER: "What do you mean?"

SCULLY: "I mean, what are you doing on my bed?"

MULDER: "Oh, this is your bed now?"

SCULLY: "Mulder?"

MULDER: "Scully?"

SCULLY: "Of course this is my bed. This is my room!"

MULDER: "Ew, this is my room. I guess, this is our room now."

SCULLY: "I don't think so."

MULDER: "Do you want me to sleep in the car?"

SCULLY: "Mulder, get your own room!"

MULDER: "I can't. They are overbooked."

SCULLY: "In the middle of nowhere?"

MULDER: "Don't ask me if this could be the X-File we're looking for."

SCULLY: "Mulder, c'mon. I need some rest."

MULDER: "So do I."

SCULLY: "Alone."

MULDER: "Well, we all sleep alone, don't we?"

SCULLY: "Don't quote Cher lyrics on me, will you!"

MULDER: "There is no couch."

SCULLY: "Excuse me?"

MULDER: "There is no couch for me to sleep on."

SCULLY: "This is a motel room."

MULDER: "Do you want me to sleep in the bathtub then?"

SCULLY: "There is no bathtub."

MULDER: "Oh, thank you."

SCULLY: "I, ... Oh, forget it."

MULDER: "The car it is then." [MULDER gets up from the bed, headed for the door.]

SCULLY: "Don't be ridiculous!"

MULDER: "Excuse me!"

SCULLY: "Mulder, cut the crap, will you!"

MULDER: "Alright, let's. Where do you want me to sleep?"

SCULLY: "I guess we could be shift-sleeping."

MULDER: "What?"

SCULLY: "You could sleep for 3 hours and then we'll switch."

MULDER: "Scully, did you drink?"

SCULLY: "Mulder! We need some kind of a solution."

MULDER: "Shift-sleeping?"

SCULLY: "It was just an idea!"

MULDER: "Not one of your best I might add."

SCULLY: "Well, then where's your brilliant idea?"

MULDER: "We could just make out." [He grins.]

SCULLY: "Serious idea. Not one of those you keep hiding under your bed."

MULDER: "Are you scared of me?"

SCULLY: "No!"

MULDER: "Then you despise of me."

SCULLY: "Right now, yes."

MULDER: "Oh, that cut right into my heart."

SCULLY: "Oh, Mulder..."

MULDER: "I know. You are tired. You always get cranky when you are tired."

SCULLY: "That's not true!"

MULDER: "Yeah, I know. Deny everything."

SCULLY: "Mulder, if you go on like that, none of us will be able to catch some sleep."

MULDER: "My plan right now."

SCULLY: "Well, then you sure don't mind if I just lie down, on my bed."

MULDER: "I never knew you were so possessive."

SCULLY: "I am not. I'm just cranky."

MULDER: "Hah! There, you admitted it! I heard you, no need to deny it now!"

SCULLY: "Will you shut up if I just admit it again?"

MULDER: "Maybe..."

SCULLY: "Oh boy, did you drink anything?"

MULDER: "Only your ice tea."

SCULLY: "Oh, great. First my bed, now my ice tea. What next?"

MULDER: "Your principles?"

SCULLY: "What principles?"

MULDER: "Well, your won't ever share my bed with freaky Mulder principle for once."

SCULLY: "Oh, you know."

MULDER: "What?"

SCULLY: "I don't think that you're freaky."

MULDER: "Not? Thanks!"

SCULLY: "Crazy, misled, insistent, unnerving. Yes. But never freaky."

MULDER: "Oh, great. It's getting better for me any minute now."

SCULLY: "Mulder, please! What can I do to for you to leave my alone?"

MULDER: "Let me sleep with you!"

SCULLY: "Pardon me?"

MULDER: "Oh, what did you think I meant?"

SCULLY: "Oh, shut up! For God's sake... But you'll stay on your side of the bed!"

MULDER: "Naturally." [He jumps onto the bed.]

SCULLY: "And you'll leave your hands where they belong."

MULDER: "Yes, ma'am!"

SCULLY: "I don't believe this."

MULDER: "Neither will anyone believe that in the Bureau. Could I take a picture?"

SCULLY: "Mulder, don't overdo it!"

MULDER: "Okay, okay. Sorry."

SCULLY: "You should be, yes!"

MULDER: "I am."

SCULLY: "Just be quiet now. I want to sleep."

MULDER: "Alright. But what about you?"

SCULLY: "What do you mean?"

MULDER: "What about the rules for you?"

SCULLY: "What?"

MULDER: "What if you start getting at me?

SCULLY: "I ask again, what?"

MULDER: "Oh, the way you look at me sometimes... It screams for passion."

SCULLY: "I don't believe this..."

MULDER: "Neither did I. Until Skinner mentioned it."

SCULLY: "I'm not listening anymore!"

MULDER: "It's alright, Scully. I understand."

SCULLY: "One of us, at least."

MULDER: "Yes, you are embarrassed now. Your feelings uncovered, your secret detected."

SCULLY: "Whatever."

MULDER: "But I wouldn't tell anyone if you actually did get at me."

SCULLY: "In your dreams!"

MULDER: "My lips would be sealed."

SCULLY: "If you keep talking nonsense like that, I'll get my gun."

MULDER: "Ew, so you want to play the tough cookie. Roar!"

SCULLY: "Mulder, I don't know what it is you drank today, but it was definitely not my ice tea!"

MULDER: "Well, Scully. Good night then. And feel free to include me in your dreams."

SCULLY: "Oh Lord."

MULDER: "Mulder, my name is Mulder."

SCULLY: "sigh"

Scene 10

07/07/1996

West-of-India Motel

00.54am

[CHRYSTYNE is standing outside of MULDER's and SCULLY's motel room. She wants to knock at the door when the humming sound rises again.]

CHRYSTYNE: [whispering]"Oh, no!"

[CHRYSTYNE shakes her head and hastily disappears in the night.]

[Cut to SCULLY who calmly tosses and turns in her sleep. A slight trace of a smile appears on her lips and she turns around to MULDER who lies on the side, facing her in their sleep.]

[Cut to Assistant Director Skinner. He exits SHERIFF EASTLAKE's car, heading for a motel door. He checks his watch. It is 7.06am. Then he stops at the door, turning to the SHERIFF.]

SKINNER: "And you're sure this is the room?"

SHERIFF: "Yes, sir. You should find your agents here."

SKINNER: "I wonder why they didn't answer the phone. Their car is here, alright."

SHERIFF: "Isn't it against FBI policy for agents to share a room?"

SKINNER: "It is."

[SKINNER kicks the door open with his foot and enters the room. He blinks his eyes and indicates the SHERIFF to stay outside.]

[Cut to MULDER and SCULLY on the bed. MULDER is still lying on the side with SCULLY protectingly wrapped in his arms. SKINNER clears his throat. SCULLY moves slightly in MULDER's safe embrace. SKINNER clears his throat again, more loudly this time. MULDER moves a little bit, hugging SCULLY closer to his chest and a slight smile appears on both of their faces. SKINNER closes the door from the inside and moves closer to the bed.]

SKINNER: "Agents!"

[SCULLY moans tiredly. MULDER breathes heavily and slowly opens his eyes. SCULLY also opens her eyes.]

SKINNER: "Good morning. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

[SCULLY, realizing their captious situation, hastily frees herself from MULDER's arms. She blushes and almost flees from the bed, checking if she is still wearing her pajamas. She does. MULDER is confused.]

SCULLY: [stammering]"Oh my God. What? How? When? Mulder!"

MULDER: [shrugs]"I..."

SCULLY: [still stammering]"Sir! We, I, oh, I don't know."

SKINNER: "Agent Scully, calm down."

SCULLY: "How could this have happened?"

MULDER: "I, I don't know."

SCULLY: "What happened?"

MULDER: [shaking his head] "I don't know."

SKINNER: "Alright, what is the last thing you can remember?"

SCULLY: "I, I was taking a shower, I guess."

SKINNER: "Mulder?"

MULDER: "I guess I went through these files."

SKINNER: "Did you eat or drink anything?"

SCULLY: "Sir, we would never drink in the field."

MULDER: "Wouldn't we?"

[SKINNER examines the room. He goes through the empty burger bags. He finds the empty ice tea cans and he takes a quick look through the files.]

SKINNER: "Did you both have these?"

[MULDER and SCULLY shrug.]

SKINNER: "Okay, what about your investigation? Any memories?"

SCULLY: "We weren't able to discover anything yet, sir."

MULDER: "Apart from the brain abnormalities."

SCULLY: "Apart from that, yes."

SKINNER: "I understand that the missing teenagers reappeared last night?"

MULDER: "Yes, sir."

SKINNER: "Any hints? Any useful statements?"

MULDER: "Not that we know of."

[SCULLY, regaining her composure, sits down on the bed again. She goes through the files.]

SCULLY: "Sir, Agent Mulder suggested that we might be confronted with some unusual cases here."

SKINNER: "What kind of unusual cases are we speaking of?"

MULDER: "I suspect that mental communication or telepathy might be involved here."

SCULLY: "I found some unusual brain tissue in the two victims. In addition to that, the survivors show no existing brain halves. Their brains are grown together. I can't explain it. But it appears that these teenagers were exposed to something that altered their genetic structure."

SKINNER: "Do you want to play the alien card on me here?"

MULDER: "Not at all."

SKINNER: "Then what are you suggesting? Is this some sort of conspiracy again?"

MULDER: "I don't think so. I think these people here know what's going on. When Barry Langston disappeared in 1987, the FBI wasn't even informed about his case."

SCULLY: "Maybe because he reappeared so soon again."

MULDER: "Would you wait patiently for your child to reappear? Of course not. But what if you knew that everything would turn out alright?"

SCULLY: "Are you suggesting that this entire community is involved in something? Some voodoo, some occult activity, some witchcraft?"

MULDER: "No, I think this has something to do with the woods."

SKINNER: "The woods."

MULDER: "What if the reason for all of this is in buried in the woods?"

Scene 11

Berlin woods

9.01am

[MULDER and SCULLY park their car at a clearing. They exit the car and walk into the woods.]

SCULLY: "What exactly are we looking for?"

MULDER: "We'll know when we've found it."

[SCULLY shoots MULDER an "excuse me?" look and starts to check her gun. MULDER looks around with SCULLY closely behind him.]

MULDER: "Why don't you go to the right and I check here?"

SCULLY: "Oh, no. You won't get lost in the woods and neither will I:"

MULDER: "Already scared of the hearings and the reports you'd have to fill out about the loss of your devoted partner?"

SCULLY: "Scared is too strong a word for that."

MULDER: "Don't worry, I won't leave your sight. Just go checking over there and I promise to call when I get lost."

SCULLY: "Just don't make me gather you up again."

MULDER: "I'll try my best."

[They both head into different directions, SCULLY with her gun held up and MULDER with his eyes on the ground. The camera follows SCULLY. She wanders about the woods with a desperate and annoyed look on her face. She doesn't know what to look for until she hears the sound of cars. A short while later, she hears rushing footsteps approaching her. She turns around to see a crowd of villagers who rush towards her.]

SCULLY: "FBI! Freeze!" [No reaction.] "I'm armed, so don't come any closer!" [Still no reaction.] "I'm serious, I am more than capable of using this gun". [Pause.] "Mulder!"

[SCULLY recognizes MRS BUTTONS and looks inquiringly at her when she is grabbed from behind. Her mouth is covered by a larger hand of a man and she is being tied up.]

[Cut to MULDER who seems to be lost. He grabs his cell only to realize that it doesn't work. It is dead.]

MULDER: "Damn! Now what?" [Hearing SCULLY's scream.] "Scully? Scully!"

[He runs in the direction of her scream and catches the last people from the crowd with his eyes. He runs after them when he falls over something and is also tied up from behind and gagged.]

Scene 12

09.13am

[MULDER and SCULLY lie next to each other on the ground somewhere in the woods. SCULLY tries to scream through her gag and she struggles to get the ties off her hands and feet. MULDER tries to calm her with a look.]

[Cut to SKINNER in the Sheriff's office. He's going through some files when the Sheriff enters.]

SKINNER: "I wonder where they are? Are you sure that nothing's out there apart from trees?"

SHERIFF: "Well, nothing unusual around here."

[SKINNER checks his cell and tried to reach his Agents. "This number is currently unavailable." Can be heard.]

SKINNER: "Alright, I want to go to the woods, right now."

SHERIFF: "I don't think so." [The Sheriff stares right into SKINNER's eyes, paralyzing him.]

[Cut back to MULDER and SCULLY in the woods. They are still lying on the ground, with their backs facing each other and trying to unknot their ties. After a while, they succeed and are able to get up and remove their gags as well.]

SCULLY: "Alright, Mulder. What's this all about?"

MULDER: "They must've left us here to be brainwashed or killed by whatever is out here."

SCULLY: "Okay, I know I asked you to be honest to me once. But right now, I think honesty is highly overrated."

MULDER: "And they are afraid of what's here."

SCULLY: "Could you stop that, please. You are making me afraid."

MULDER: "Don't worry, I'm here."

SCULLY: "Yeah, great. We're both here. Lost! With no cell phones." [She reaches for her gun.] "Or guns for that matter."

MULDER: "I guess, I understand it now."

SCULLY: "Then would you please have the decency to confide me in?"

MULDER: " Of course..."

SCULLY: "Mulder, I'm lost here."

MULDER: "I wonder why I didn't think of it earlier..."

SCULLY: "Well, I don't know. Some ass-kicking once in a while improves brain functions."

MULDER: "Scully, why do you think these brain halves were connected?"

SCULLY: "Genetic deformity?"

MULDER: "Yeah, that's it! You're right!"

SCULLY: "Excuse me? You're telling me I was right with no one to witness this?"

MULDER: "Scully, these kids were all born here. They all have connected brain halves. What could cause a deformity like that? It must be something that affected all of them, right? I mean, a genetic mutation would be highly improbable regarding the number of cases."

SCULLY: "Yes, indeed. But the only possible scenario I can think of is radiation."

MULDER: "Exactly."

SCULLY: "But Mulder, we're in the middle of Ohio. And there's never been a radiation accident anywhere close to this place."

MULDER: "Scully, how many cases of hidden, destroyed or secret evidence have you seen until now?"

SCULLY: "Okay, Mulder. But what you are suggesting is that every citizen in this town was radiated about, what, 20 years ago and the only effect they showed was the connection of their brain halves."

MULDER: "I'm afraid so."

SCULLY: "But why?"

MULDER: "Maybe I was wrong before." [Ignoring SCULLY's high darted eyebrow.] "Maybe this was one of our government's experiments."

SCULLY: "To result in what? In a new species of telepaths?" [At MULDER's shrug:] "But the surviving kids did not show any unusual brain activity. Nor did any medical reports prove anything even close to that."

MULDER: "Well, don't forget Barry and the asylum."

SCULLY: "You mean, that the experiment partially worked, but that one side effect is insanity?"

MULDER: "Don't look at me like that! I know it sounds far-fetched. But what if this is related to something else? What if Barry and the others are indeed capable of reading your thoughts and altering your mind. What if they showed the reaction the experiment was hoping for?"

SCULLY: "It would mean that they cannot control it."

MULDER: "Exactly. And that's why they are in the asylum. Locked away from the rest of the town, spreading rumors about their mental state of health, to keep frequent visitors away."

SCULLY: "Are you suggesting that some of these mental patients are in fact capable of using their brains to manipulate others. To haunt them in their dreams like Chrystyne put it?"

MULDER: "I think that asylum is more than a mere mental institution. The experiments never stopped. And out here, in the woods, they can continue to train their abilities without anybody disturbing them after the nightmares they placed into the others' heads."

SCULLY: "So this is government-controlled?"

MULDER: "I would swear that cigarette smoke is in the air around here somewhere."

SCULLY: "But why put us out here?"

MULDER: "Because these people believe that something is out here that could get us brainwashed and make us forget."

[MULDER indicates for SCULLY to listen carefully. Nothing. Then he takes her hand and they rush through the woods. They hear a cracking sound from one side and freeze. It is CHRYSTYNE. She indicates them to follow her. She brings them to the parking lot & hands them their car keys, cells and their guns.]

CHRYSTYNE: "Quick. You have to get out of here."

MULDER: "Why are you doing this?"

CHRYSTYNE: "I know what's going on here. Barry told me in my dreams. He asked me not to speak about my ability to dream of other people's thoughts. To keep me safe."

SCULLY: "You can read other people's thoughts?"

CHRYSTYNE: "Only when I sleep. But I can't control it. Nobody can. But they want us to. Barry tried to tell us that on that night."

MULDER: "So he was in the woods."

CHRYSTYNE: "Yes, we would often meet there at nights."

MULDER: "But what happened that night?"

CHRYSTYNE: "I don't remember that exactly. All I remember is that sound. It always appears when some of the mind-readers are close. They can't control that. Electricity reacts to them and overloads."

SCULLY: "But what about your friends?"

CHRYSTYNE: "Someone always disappears around here, for tests. It's normal. We don't make much of a fuss about this around here. But Tony and Amanda did not want to be taken. They had never been taken before. They were scared bout the stories they'd heard."

[A crack is sounding from the woods.]

CHRYSTYNE: "Hurry, now! Get out of here before they'll kill you!"

MULDER: "But what about ...?"

CHRYSTYNE: "Hurry! They wanted to brainwash you once before, they will try it again and kill you with it."

SCULLY: "Like Tony and Amanda."

[CHRYSTYNE nods and shoves them towards the car. MULDER rushes behind the wheel and doesn't even wait for SCULLY to close the door. He starts the car and they rush off.]

SCULLY: "Mulder, we have to get Skinner."

MULDER: "I hope he got to the asylum. For some proof."

Scene 13

12.34pm

Sheriff's Office

[SKINNER sits at the table with SHERIFF Easylake.]

SHERIFF: "Well, Mr. Skinner. There they come, your Agents."

SKINNER: "Well, thank you for your hospitality, Sheriff. I really don't know where the time has flown."

SHERIFF: "Well, visitors often report that around here. Must be the good and fresh air."

SKINNER: "Probably."

[SKINNER exits the Sheriff's office and climbs into the car of his Agents.]

SKINNER: "Well, so nice of you to pick me up. Very considerate."

MULDER: "Sir?"

SKINNER: "I really enjoyed this little trip to the country. Didn't you?"

Scene 14

07/08/1996

Mulder's apartment

02.22pm

[MULDER is sitting on his couch, eating some sunflower seeds and going through some reports. Then it knocks at the door.]

MULDER: "Come on in, Scully! It's open."

SCULLY: [entering] "How did you know it was me?"

MULDER: "Mental powers, remember?"

[SCULLY smiles at him and sits next to him on the couch.]

SCULLY: "Mulder, I'm sorry that Skinner didn't dig up anything at the Sheriff's office."

MULDER: "Well, another X-File unsolved."

SCULLY: "So you truly believe that what we were told is true?"

MULDER: "Why not? We've seen stranger things, haven't we?"

SCULLY: "To that I have to agree."

MULDER: "Oh, and what don't you agree upon?"

SCULLY: "Still, Mulder, mental powers?"

MULDER: "I found a number of cases with similar incidents."

SCULLY: "You did."

MULDER: "There seems to be number of small towns which were selected as test places for radiation tests in the 1950s. The government seems to have tested the use and effects of controlled doses of radiation on average citizens throughout the States."

SCULLY: "And you believe that these radiation tests altered the human brain."

MULDER: "It was your suggestion, remember?"

SCULLY: "We were stuck, we were lost. I was just playing along."

MULDER: "Oh, that's what you call it now."

SCULLY: "Mulder, cut the crap. Now, why those tests?"

MULDER: "To learn more about radiation. The mental reactions were just an unforeseen consequence. That is why they keep up testing the Berlin citizens."

SCULLY: "To learn more about their accidental mutation, to be able to heal it?"

MULDER: "Are you kiddin'? To use it."

SCULLY: "For what?"

MULDER: "As a weapon. Imagine a secret army of mind-readers. No more limits, no more barriers, no more secrets."

SCULLY: "So you think that it could actually work?" [Shaking her head.] "Mulder, I told you once before. The human brain doesn't work like that."

MULDER: "Did you notice Skinner's loss of memories about our little one-night hug?"

SCULLY: "Oh, speaking about that. Mulder, it might come in handy here for us both to agree on a sudden case of amnesia regarding last night."

MULDER: "What exactly did happen last night?"

SCULLY: "Well, keep that up and we'll have a chance never to bring it up again."

MULDER: "No, seriously, Scully. Explain it to me. What did happen? Exactly?"

SCULLY: "Are you talking to me? I don't know. I just woke up in your embrace."

MULDER: "Oh, you woke up in my... I'd rather, I woke up in yours."

SCULLY: "You know, Mulder, I still have my gun and I know how to use it well."

MULDER: "Oh, you mean last night?"

SCULLY: "Shut up, Mulder!"

[MULDER enjoys this little quarrel. So does SCULLY, but she pretends to be upset and annoyed. They continue to word-wrestle when the camera slowly moves out of the apartment.]

[Cut to the mental asylum in Berlin, Ohio. CHRYSTYNE is lying on a bed in a single cell with a tiny window at the ceiling and another one in the door. She is tied to the bed and her eyes are moving uncontrollably under her closed eye lids. She is dreaming. A monitor records her brain readings. The readings become irregular and CHRYSTYNE darts her eyes open. The NURSE at her bedside smiles eerily at her.]

NURSE: "Now, what are they talking about?"

End Credits