Chapter Four

'Does this hurt?' She asked the girl as she pressed against her bloodied side. The girl winced and nodded in response, clearly in distress. 'I'm sorry, I won't be much longer.'

'How bad is she Scully?' Mulder pressed.

'She needs a hospital, there's only so much I can do.' She said, shaking her head anxiously. The girl's lower lip trembled with emotion as she fought back tears.

'Please help me, I wanna go home.' She said, her voice wavering. Mulder knelt down beside them and looked at her sympathetically.

'And you will. I will get you home.' He said firmly.

'What's your name?' Scully asked gently.

'Katherine.' She said in a small voice. Scully glanced over at Mulder and knew that he was thinking the same thing.

'That's my middle name, we have something in common.' She said with a reassuring smile as she continued to check her. Katherine looked into Scully's eyes for a second.

'Really?' She asked.

'Yes.' Scully said kindly. 'This is Agent Mulder, and I'm Agent Scully. We're here to help you. I'm a doctor so I am going to take care of you, OK?' She said with another soft smile, and Mulder watched as she tended to her. He felt his heart pound in his chest as he was very aware that they didn't have much time.

'Look, we need to get out of here.' He said to Scully, who now looked at him with focused eyes. 'I'm gonna shoot that door. I'll help you move her.' And with one quick movement, he helped Scully get Katherine to her feet. She exclaimed in pain as they moved her, but they had to carry on. They slowly made their way across the wet floor towards the other side of the huge room, near the door with the bolt. Scully held her upright and took Katherine's weight on herself as Mulder pointed his gun at the bolt. He took one deep breath then fired.

The sound was deafening in the room. It filled every corner and echoed around and around.

Scully's eyes darted around in panic, terrified that they had alerted the man to their presence. She felt her heart skip a beat as Katherine fell into her, her body weakening. She struggled slightly but managed to keep her with her, holding her firmly.

Mulder felt the sweat run down his face as he knew that this was their last chance. He must have heard that, it was only a matter of time…

He launched himself towards the door and pulled off the broken lock, scrambling with it in his hands, feeling Scully's eyes burning into his back as he grabbed hold of the heavy door and pushed it open slowly, using all his strength. He grunted in frustration as he battled against it. It was so heavy. He wondered if it had been opened at all for years.

'Mulder?' She urged, feeling the nerves and fear take over. She heard her heart pound loudly in her head.

'I know, I know..' Mulder said between gritted teeth as he forced it open. He finally gave it one last push and it slid open revealing another room of darkness. He felt disappointment wash over him as he looked inside, not sure whether it would take them to the outside world but at least it was a start, and it was somewhere to hide.

'MULDER!' Scully exclaimed louder, the fear now evident in her voice. Mulder looked over at her with a start to check if she was all right. She was glaring at him with wide, desperate eyes. He felt his heart call out for her as she struggled with Katherine's limp body and he ran towards her, taking Katherine in his arms.

'Go!' He said to Scully urgently. She nodded and ran into the room, disappearing into the deep blackness.

Suddenly, Mulder heard an angry voice from behind him. He opened his eyes wide with shock and felt his stomach flip in panic as he realised that the man was back in the room with them, and he sounded like he knew that Katherine was gone.

'WHERE ARE YOU! SHOW YOURSELF!' He roared from behind Mulder.

Mulder pulled Katherine towards him and up into a carrying position in both arms. He ran towards the open door and into the darkness, and in the panic he nearly ran into Scully.

She stopped him in surprise and held her arms up in a barrier, trying to get him to stop before he knocked her down.

'Stop Mulder!' She exclaimed, and he stopped dead in his tracks.

'SCULLY! CLOSE THE DOOR!' He shouted in frustration and worry. But he watched as Scully's expression changed to fear as she looked over his shoulder and out the open door behind him. She swallowed nervously as Mulder glared at her. 'NOW SCULLY!' He shouted, and she ran across the room, towards the door.

She felt the adrenaline kick in as she reached the heavy door and she grabbed the handle tight. But to her horror, she could see the man striding towards her angrily. She made out his figure, it was tall and lank. She suddenly felt a wave of terror come over her as he caught her eye in the dark, and she froze for a second, all the air leaving her.

But she had to close the door.

Mulder was shouting behind her to CLOSE IT NOW!

She forced all of her weight against it as the man neared her, his angry shouts filling her ears. Scully felt her own brow get wet with sweat as her body registered the danger.

'SCULLY!' Mulder was shouting from behind her. She felt his cries fill her with dread.

With another strong push, she desperately tried to close the door, but even Mulder had struggled to open it, so this wasn't going to be easy. She still had another few inches to go, and if she didn't shut and lock it completely, the man would be able to overpower her immediately.

'MULDER! I NEED HELP!' She screamed as she realised that she couldn't do it alone. She turned her brilliant blue eyes to Mulder who was already running towards her in the darkness, and as if in slow motion, he reached her side and together they heaved the door shut, just as the man reached it and banged on the other side.

Mulder and Scully gritted their teeth as they used all their strength to overpower him as he pushed against the other side.

'Scully! The lock!' Mulder managed, and she glanced down quickly to see the end of it protruding out on her side. She slammed it with her hand, making pain soar through her hand as the heavy metal hit into her palm hard, but she blocked it out.

Mulder saw it move and helped push it through the latch, and together they finally pushed it all the way in, locking themselves inside.

Exhaustion washed over them. Mulder turned and placed his back against the door and took deep, painful breaths, Scully pushed herself away from the door and placed her hands on her knees, doubling over to regain her breath.

They steadied themselves, breathing heavily together.

Scully raised her head slowly and met Mulder's eyes, and they looked at each other for a moment in relief as they appreciated that they were still alive, and more importantly, still together.

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