THE X-FILES: ARICONTOUS

PROLOGUE

LARDEN, MARYLAND

JUNE 3rd, 2003

WALTERS RESIDENCE

(A small town just outside Baltimore)

"You can't catch me!" cried 6 year old Lizzie Walters as she playfully ran around her 3 year old brother, Eric.

"Nof Aire!" Eric cried as he eagerly chased after Lizzie.

Each time Eric tried to say, "No fair," it sounded like "Nof Aire."

Just then, their mother stepped out onto the back porch, wiping her hands on a dish towel.

"Kids! Time for dinner!" called 34 year old Julie Walters.

The children had been playing out in the backyard with the family dog, a German Shepard named Joey.

They eagerly hurried back into the house with the dog bounding after them. The backdoor slammed shut as Lizzie and Eric happily sat down at the kitchen table.

"What's for din din?" Lizzie asked.

"Spaghetti," Julie replied.

"Yaaay! Spasghetti!" Eric cried happily.

Julie smiled and shook her head. She went over to the stove where a large pot of spaghetti was boiling. She reached above the kitchen sink and pulled out a bowl. She then went back over to the stove and began dishing out some spaghetti for Eric. Once he had his supper, she handed Lizzie hers and then got some for herself. She sat down at the kitchen table next to Lizzie.

Julie's husband left her 2 years ago for his secretary. She was dumped quickly for someone younger and prettier. It didn't matter since Julie had a good job herself. She was the president of La Rennet National Bank here in Baltimore, Maryland where they had a two-story white colonial home with a wrap around porch and an arc driveway.

Her husband hadn't paid child support since he left. Julie had tried everything to get him to pay. She finally had to go to court to force him to. Now, once a month, she gets about $200 dollars for both Eric and Lizzie to split for clothes, medical bills, and food.

Julie has shoulder length light blond hair and blue eyes. Lizzie has shoulder length dark brown hair and honey brown eyes. She looks like her father. Eric, however, looks exactly like Julie with short, wavy blond hair and blue eyes.

Eric was hungrily digging into his dinner. Lizzie was eating as well.

"Hey…how about we go to the movies tomorrow?" Julie suggested.

"Yeah! What will we see?" Lizzie cried ecstatic.

"How about Fuzzy Bunny and the Turtle Race?" Julie asked.

Both kids cheered.

"Okay…it's a date then," Julie grinned.

They continued to eat dinner.

Once they were done, Lizzie and Eric played in the living room in front of the TV while Julie watched a movie on the TV.

Just then, a news reporter came on the screen. She was standing in front of the local zoo.

"I'm standing in front of the local zoo where one of its prized animals had somehow managed to escape and is now on the loose in Baltimore. If you should see an unusual looking animal, please report it to the local police immediately. It is extremely dangerous and hostile. It has already killed 2 people. This is Annie Manson for WLKD Channel 3 news,"

"But what kind of animal is it?" Julie mused as she switched to another channel hoping they would have more detail on what sort of animal had escaped, but each station was saying exactly the same thing.

"Ugh. So basically we're looking for a weird looking animal? That's a lot of help," Julie muttered.

Julie checked her watch. It was nine o'clock at night.

"Alright you two knee nibblers, it's time for bed," Julie said.

Lizzie and Eric whined, but allowed Julie to lead them upstairs to their beds. She tucked Eric in first, then kissed him on the forehead. Then, she tucked Lizzie in and also gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"Night," she whispered.

"'Night, mommy," Lizzie said, and she turned over onto her side and immediately fell asleep.

Julie carefully closed Lizzie's door and then went to bed herself.

Around midnight, she heard glass breaking downstairs. Julie jumped awake and groped around for the old baseball bat she kept near her bed. She gripped it and carefully tossed off the covers and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She padded barefoot over to the bedroom door and out into the hallway.

First, she crept into Eric's room and told him to hide under the bed. Then, she went into Lizzie's room and told her to hide in the closet. She crept downstairs, holding the bat like a sword.

She reached the bottom step and saw bits of glass lying on the living room carpet. She heard noises coming from the kitchen. She tiptoed toward the kitchen, her heart pounding loudly in her chest the entire time. The silvery glow of the full moon cast silver/white triangles against the wall through the blinds in the living room.

She took a deep breath before she jumped into the kitchen brandishing the bat in front of her. The garbage was tipped over, spilling out everything. But there was nothing there.

She lowered the bat, and started to breathe easier but that's when she heard the growling behind her. Immediately, her adrenaline began rising again. She adjusted the grip on the bat. Then, something jumped on her from behind and stood on her back. The next thing she knew was a set of powerful jaws clamping down on her neck and head.

It walked up the stairs on all fours. It sensed there was another person in the house. It reached the top of the stairs and sniffed the air. It turned to the left and entered a room. It could smell the child under the bed. It lowered its head and clamped its jaws on the child's leg and dragged him out from underneath. He was screaming as It began mauling him and it clamped its jaws around the child's head and bit down. The screaming stopped.

It sniffed the air once again and got a faint scent of one last human. It walked out of the bedroom and back out into the hallway. It found another bedroom and sniffed the air as it stopped in front of a closet to look around searching for the root of the scent it picked up. Finding nothing, it turned and galloped out of the bedroom and jumped cleanly out of the living room through a bay window in which it first entered.

Lizzie Walters sat in the closet, breathing heavily and shaking.

Once she was sure it was gone, she opened the closet door and hurried out into the hallway and into her brothers' room. She saw him lying on his stomach, his head crushed. A small pool of blood stained the carpet. She screamed and fled downstairs, hoping to find her mother.

She found her mother near the kitchen in the same condition. Lizzie screamed again and dropped to her side as she fainted.