I careen my neck carefully, peering through the glass window, silently watching sister as she sits on the floor, concentrating on a picture she is drawing with broken and dulled crayon stumps. The colors mix with each other, until the picture is a chestnut brown instead of the intended colorful reds and blues. A woman, a very slight woman, slowly walks into the room, approaching sister almost as if Death was waiting for her in that living room. Her hair is limp and tousled and full of dead ends, and the color is beginning to be mixed with subtle shades of gray. I study the woman's face, a weary face that reminds me of an ice statue that has been left in the sun for too long, hard at some places, sagging in sorrow in others, and full of lines all over. Despite the fact that the woman's footsteps make no sound, sister looks up and sees the woman, but doesn't see the tortured look on her face.
"Mommy!" sister cries, pushing against the rug and propelling herself upward. She runs to the woman, her small arms encircling her non-existent waist. This gesture of love brings a genuine smile to the woman's mouth and tears to her eyes. It is only then when I see the smile light up her face, pushing the features of her face back into proportion do I realize who this woman is. Dana Scully. So sister made it, after all.
"Hey Lizzy," Dana says, her voice dropping into sadness again, despite all her efforts keep it up. I grin slowly. So that is what they have named her.
"What are you up to?" "I made this picture for you," Lizzy replies, leaning down and grabbing the piece of construction paper on the floor and pushing it into Dana's hands.
Dana takes the picture and looks at it with distant eyes. "What is it, honey?" she asks, tentatively, her forehead creased with puzzlement.
"The lab," Lizzy reports nonchalantly, sitting back down and reaching for a new piece of paper and the box of crayons.
I instantly stiffen and I can sense my eyes grow wide. I glance back at Magdalene, and she nods, her right hand clamped tightly on the ear piece. She bites her lip with fear and meaningfully glances down at the tape recorder and then back at me. I shrug helplessly, but we both know what will become of sister if we deliver the tape, and what will become of us if we don't.
"The lab?" I hear Dana question, and I turn back to watch them. Dana has sat down next to Lizzy, gazing curiously at her and I notice she is beginning to look more and more like her old self, the inquisitive and bright soul that we had deemed trustworthy enough. "What's the lab, Lizzy?"
"Where my family is," Lizzy replies without even glancing up from her new picture. Dana lets out a deep breath of disappointment that she seemed to be holding for a very long time, so long she has forgotten she was holding it at all.
"Your parents?" she asks, not wanting to hear the answer.
"No," Lizzy replies, "You're my mommy and Mulder is my daddy. My sisters are at the lab."
I hear Dana let out the breath she was holding in relief.
"You have sisters?"
"Yes."
"Do you have a lot of sisters?"
"Yes."
I realize my breathing has increased in speed, and I try to calm my racing heart down. This was never supposed to happen, Lizzy was never supposed to remember, let alone talk about us. I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I glance quickly back. Magdalene is looking back at me with the same sense of panic and confusion in her eyes that I know she sees in mine.
"McKayla," she whispers desperately. "It's not taping."
I look at her quizzically. 'That's good then, right?"
She shakes her head. "They're listening" she mouths frantically.
I spin around, eyes searching for the slightest sign of their presence. On the end of the block, a white van starts up and drives away. A man across the street exits his house and, while talking on his cellular phone, enters and sits in his car without moving. A helicopter flies quickly overhead. A woman jogs down the street with headphones on. Magdalene glances back at me, her green eyes wide with fear and panic.
Inside, the phone rings.
Magdalene panics, tearing out the ear piece and sprinting down the block.
"Magdalene!" I call out, forgetting to be quiet. I glance back once more at Dana and Lizzy in the house, and I'm shocked to see Lizzy staring straight in my direction.
"McKayla!" she exclaims, happily, recognizing me. In fear, I look over at Dana and notice that she's staring at me confused, with the phone clutched in her hand. We regard each other carefully. And then I hear the loud slam of a car break. I spin around, and a few houses down is the white van again, blocking Magdalene's way. She backs up slowly, glancing to the left and right, looking for an escape. A man in a suit exits the van and at the sight of him, she turns and begins to run, reaching out towards me desperately, calling for help. Behind me, I hear Dana forcefully hang up the phone and run to the front door. I glance back to see her and Lizzy watching Magdalene running towards us, and she suddenly sprints to her car, dragging Lizzy with her.
I watch all this frozen by fear for my own safety, by my selfishness. The man across the street on the cell phone suddenly starts up the car and tears down the street straight at Magdalene. She freezes again, turns around to see the van coming at her from behind, looks back to see the car coming at her from the front and begins to madly dash left and right, running as though her legs were on fire and she was trying only to escape them, not caring where she went. She stops for a moment, and her forehead creases with thought. Then an idea dawns on her and she slowly and very deliberately turns around to face the van and draws a shiny gun from her pocket.
I cry out wordlessly in panic. By showing the gun, she has now become a threat. I know they'll kill her without any remorse. Dana, her hand on the door handle freezes, mesmerized by the boldness and insanity of the girl. Slowly, so painfully slow, Magdalene draws up to her eyes, cocks it, pulls back the safety, aims, places her finger on the trigger and...
The man in the car racing towards her back noticeably speeds up at the sight of the gun. I stare dumbly as he nears her, heading straight for her frail body, and I begin to scream, trying somehow to draw her attention to the car so close behind her. Dana roughly covers Lizzy, drawing her close so she can see the events unfolding before her. My scream gains volume as the car draws closer, closer, 10 feet, 7 feet, 5 feet, 2 feet, merely inches...
The gun goes off.
The car continues on its course, passing over Magdalene, the crunching of her bones and body sounding like a simple speed bump.
The van stops, the driver slumped over with his eyes glazed over with death. The car seems to speed up, leaving the bloody mess that was once my sister behind and heading for the van, swerving at the last second, but not soon enough as the two cars crash, exploding into a brilliant flower of fire which reaches high for the heavens and licks the street with its deadly tongue.
I watch the now conjoined van and car burn in silent agony, angry that Magdalene's murder would not be avenged by me or any of the others. Suddenly, I feel rough hands on my arms, pulling my hands back and I feel the sharp pain of cold handcuffs slapped around my trembling wrists. I turn my head and see the woman who was just jogging by minutes before. I pull away from her grip, and begin my own flight, hoping against hope that mine will end better than Magdalene's.
I start down the street, away from the fiery pyre, and I can already hear the woman behind me, gaining, coming closer. Suddenly a car pulls up in front of me, blocking my way. My eyes widen with terror. Will I suffer the same end as my sister? My mind is set on fire with panic and I come to a screeching halt. The back door swings open and I see Lizzy sitting there, gesturing for me to enter.
"C'mon McKayla!" she cries, her voice sounding older and wiser than her years and hinting towards her superior knowledge. I dive headfirst into the car, and Dana in the front seat pulls away before I can get the car door closed. I glance behind and see that the woman has abandoned the chase. I turn back, sighing heavily in relief.
Dana drives the car quickly away, not saying a word. I stubbornly wipe away tears growing in my eyes. What Magdalene did was stupid, I remind myself. She was half-crazed by panic. But still.. she was my sister. Then again, there were others to worry about. And bigger problems than her death.
Lizzy looks over at me, her blue eyes curious and sympathetic. Slowly, she extends a hand and reaches for my necklace. I glance down at it, almost like I was seeing it for the first time. Lizzy smiles, and the gold glow from the cross plays across her face.
Dana suddenly stops the car and turns to look back at me. Upon seeing Lizzy inspecting my necklace, her face twitches in sorrow but she quickly composes herself. She studies my features, my bluish-green eyes, my reddish curly hair, and I can almost see a flicker of recognition go across her face.
"I think you have a lot of explaining to do, McKayla."
"Mommy!" sister cries, pushing against the rug and propelling herself upward. She runs to the woman, her small arms encircling her non-existent waist. This gesture of love brings a genuine smile to the woman's mouth and tears to her eyes. It is only then when I see the smile light up her face, pushing the features of her face back into proportion do I realize who this woman is. Dana Scully. So sister made it, after all.
"Hey Lizzy," Dana says, her voice dropping into sadness again, despite all her efforts keep it up. I grin slowly. So that is what they have named her.
"What are you up to?" "I made this picture for you," Lizzy replies, leaning down and grabbing the piece of construction paper on the floor and pushing it into Dana's hands.
Dana takes the picture and looks at it with distant eyes. "What is it, honey?" she asks, tentatively, her forehead creased with puzzlement.
"The lab," Lizzy reports nonchalantly, sitting back down and reaching for a new piece of paper and the box of crayons.
I instantly stiffen and I can sense my eyes grow wide. I glance back at Magdalene, and she nods, her right hand clamped tightly on the ear piece. She bites her lip with fear and meaningfully glances down at the tape recorder and then back at me. I shrug helplessly, but we both know what will become of sister if we deliver the tape, and what will become of us if we don't.
"The lab?" I hear Dana question, and I turn back to watch them. Dana has sat down next to Lizzy, gazing curiously at her and I notice she is beginning to look more and more like her old self, the inquisitive and bright soul that we had deemed trustworthy enough. "What's the lab, Lizzy?"
"Where my family is," Lizzy replies without even glancing up from her new picture. Dana lets out a deep breath of disappointment that she seemed to be holding for a very long time, so long she has forgotten she was holding it at all.
"Your parents?" she asks, not wanting to hear the answer.
"No," Lizzy replies, "You're my mommy and Mulder is my daddy. My sisters are at the lab."
I hear Dana let out the breath she was holding in relief.
"You have sisters?"
"Yes."
"Do you have a lot of sisters?"
"Yes."
I realize my breathing has increased in speed, and I try to calm my racing heart down. This was never supposed to happen, Lizzy was never supposed to remember, let alone talk about us. I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I glance quickly back. Magdalene is looking back at me with the same sense of panic and confusion in her eyes that I know she sees in mine.
"McKayla," she whispers desperately. "It's not taping."
I look at her quizzically. 'That's good then, right?"
She shakes her head. "They're listening" she mouths frantically.
I spin around, eyes searching for the slightest sign of their presence. On the end of the block, a white van starts up and drives away. A man across the street exits his house and, while talking on his cellular phone, enters and sits in his car without moving. A helicopter flies quickly overhead. A woman jogs down the street with headphones on. Magdalene glances back at me, her green eyes wide with fear and panic.
Inside, the phone rings.
Magdalene panics, tearing out the ear piece and sprinting down the block.
"Magdalene!" I call out, forgetting to be quiet. I glance back once more at Dana and Lizzy in the house, and I'm shocked to see Lizzy staring straight in my direction.
"McKayla!" she exclaims, happily, recognizing me. In fear, I look over at Dana and notice that she's staring at me confused, with the phone clutched in her hand. We regard each other carefully. And then I hear the loud slam of a car break. I spin around, and a few houses down is the white van again, blocking Magdalene's way. She backs up slowly, glancing to the left and right, looking for an escape. A man in a suit exits the van and at the sight of him, she turns and begins to run, reaching out towards me desperately, calling for help. Behind me, I hear Dana forcefully hang up the phone and run to the front door. I glance back to see her and Lizzy watching Magdalene running towards us, and she suddenly sprints to her car, dragging Lizzy with her.
I watch all this frozen by fear for my own safety, by my selfishness. The man across the street on the cell phone suddenly starts up the car and tears down the street straight at Magdalene. She freezes again, turns around to see the van coming at her from behind, looks back to see the car coming at her from the front and begins to madly dash left and right, running as though her legs were on fire and she was trying only to escape them, not caring where she went. She stops for a moment, and her forehead creases with thought. Then an idea dawns on her and she slowly and very deliberately turns around to face the van and draws a shiny gun from her pocket.
I cry out wordlessly in panic. By showing the gun, she has now become a threat. I know they'll kill her without any remorse. Dana, her hand on the door handle freezes, mesmerized by the boldness and insanity of the girl. Slowly, so painfully slow, Magdalene draws up to her eyes, cocks it, pulls back the safety, aims, places her finger on the trigger and...
The man in the car racing towards her back noticeably speeds up at the sight of the gun. I stare dumbly as he nears her, heading straight for her frail body, and I begin to scream, trying somehow to draw her attention to the car so close behind her. Dana roughly covers Lizzy, drawing her close so she can see the events unfolding before her. My scream gains volume as the car draws closer, closer, 10 feet, 7 feet, 5 feet, 2 feet, merely inches...
The gun goes off.
The car continues on its course, passing over Magdalene, the crunching of her bones and body sounding like a simple speed bump.
The van stops, the driver slumped over with his eyes glazed over with death. The car seems to speed up, leaving the bloody mess that was once my sister behind and heading for the van, swerving at the last second, but not soon enough as the two cars crash, exploding into a brilliant flower of fire which reaches high for the heavens and licks the street with its deadly tongue.
I watch the now conjoined van and car burn in silent agony, angry that Magdalene's murder would not be avenged by me or any of the others. Suddenly, I feel rough hands on my arms, pulling my hands back and I feel the sharp pain of cold handcuffs slapped around my trembling wrists. I turn my head and see the woman who was just jogging by minutes before. I pull away from her grip, and begin my own flight, hoping against hope that mine will end better than Magdalene's.
I start down the street, away from the fiery pyre, and I can already hear the woman behind me, gaining, coming closer. Suddenly a car pulls up in front of me, blocking my way. My eyes widen with terror. Will I suffer the same end as my sister? My mind is set on fire with panic and I come to a screeching halt. The back door swings open and I see Lizzy sitting there, gesturing for me to enter.
"C'mon McKayla!" she cries, her voice sounding older and wiser than her years and hinting towards her superior knowledge. I dive headfirst into the car, and Dana in the front seat pulls away before I can get the car door closed. I glance behind and see that the woman has abandoned the chase. I turn back, sighing heavily in relief.
Dana drives the car quickly away, not saying a word. I stubbornly wipe away tears growing in my eyes. What Magdalene did was stupid, I remind myself. She was half-crazed by panic. But still.. she was my sister. Then again, there were others to worry about. And bigger problems than her death.
Lizzy looks over at me, her blue eyes curious and sympathetic. Slowly, she extends a hand and reaches for my necklace. I glance down at it, almost like I was seeing it for the first time. Lizzy smiles, and the gold glow from the cross plays across her face.
Dana suddenly stops the car and turns to look back at me. Upon seeing Lizzy inspecting my necklace, her face twitches in sorrow but she quickly composes herself. She studies my features, my bluish-green eyes, my reddish curly hair, and I can almost see a flicker of recognition go across her face.
"I think you have a lot of explaining to do, McKayla."