Scully hated the position of her argument. Mulder had gotten a better look at what had attacked she and Grant but his claim that it was Bigfoot was ridiculous to the extreme, "Mulder, it was a gorilla that escaped from the laboratory." She had said countless times by now, "Besides, all accounts of Bigfoot are that it's not aggressive, right?" She countered, trying to use his own argument against him.
"Scully, this isn't Harry and the Hendersons, and I know what I saw." His voice had lost patience, "It was not a regular gorilla or ape, it was bigger and…" he thought and chose his words carefully, "Taller."
"Mulder-" She began before he cut her off.
"What do we agree on here? It's dangerous and needs to be stopped before it attacks other people?"
Scully nodded and Mulder put his hand on her arm, "Let's start there, then."
"We don't have the resources or authority." She argued.
"It was headed in the direction of a town." said Viste, pointing, "It will take days to get Mounties up here and if it's as aggressive with people as we think, we need to track it now."
At least that, Scully couldn't argue.
Grant seemed to be having more and more of a difficult time as Viste tracked the animal further into the woods. They stopped once to eat the last of their food and Bennett seemed to notice Grant's visible decline.
"Drink this." He offered a cup of tea to Grant, who took it gratefully. DiNozzi seemed more quiet than usual, but refused the tea. Scully sipped on her own cup while Mulder opted again for water.
"Mulder, Grant is ill. He can't go on." She whispered to her partner, knowing that even as she said so, her own body was showing signs of affliction, "I know this thing is dangerous, but we were not prepared for this."
Mulder searched her eyes and what he found disturbed him. Her face was drawn and stressed, her skin pallid and dark circles had formed under her eyes. He hadn't seen her eat all day and her pace had lagged in the last few hours, "Is Grant the only one who is feeling sick?" Mulder wanted to know, testing her stubborn resolve.
The focus in Scully's eyes softened and he could see that they both knew what he meant. He could also see that he had hit the nail on the head, "No." She admitted, and it looked as if she was admitting to murder.
"What do you think it is?" He asked, now that they had reached an understanding that Grant wasn't the only one.
"I don't know. DiNozzi seems to be the least effected, although he was complaining of a headache earlier. It must have been something in the laboratory." She said, glad to separate herself from the problem and focus indirectly on it.
"I don't feel anything." Mulder pointed out.
"But you weren't gathering samples either." Scully said back immediately, having expected his words.
He nodded, "I think you're right, we need to get back." Mulder's hazel eyes showed deep regret, longing to discover the creature they were now so close to and Scully felt a stab of guilt for holding him back.
"We are too far away now, we'll have to spend another night out here." She added, wearily.
"We'll split the watches between Viste, Bennett, and myself. You, Grant, and DiNozzi ought to rest. I don't want you getting any worse."
"Mulder, I'm fine." She protested, knowing perhaps she shouldn't, "I'm going to check on DiNozzi and Grant." She said, veering him off of the subject of her health once again.
