Chapter 14

"This way" Zimmerman ushered the two Agents into the hall and gestured towards a doorway to their left. As they walked into the room, Mulder noticed how old everything looked. The dark blue pattered wallpaper was peeling at the edges, the mahogany furniture looked shabby and worn, and so did the carpet. God this place was depressing.

"Please take a seat, "Zimmerman said pointing to a battered loveseat near the window, its floral upholstery long faded out by the sun. They both sat down tentatively, and waited for Zimmerman to sit down in an armchair opposite them. "So what's all this about?" he said looking from one to the other. "I don't know anything about a murder; I barely even leave the house."

"We're not implying that you do Mr Zimmerman." Mulder spoke up. "We've actually just spoken to a friend of yours, Mr Douglas Grant who runs a website for you, Night Chatter. From our investigations we believe you might know some of the victims, and wondered if you could maybe tell us some more about them"

"I might know the victims?" he said his face growing pale "Who is it? What happened to them?"

Scully opened the file she'd been holding, and read from the list of names, watching for any kind of reaction as she did so, "Albert Fineman, Heather Thomas, Billy Rose, Macey Egbert, Christian Swift and also an unidentified male in his 50's".

"Oh my, this is…this is unbelievable!" Zimmerman rose from his chair and began to pace about the room.

"You know these people, Mr Zimmerman?" Scully asked as she watched him walk restlessly about the room. "Yes, I do know three of them." He stopped by the side of the fireplace, and looked into the mirror hanging on the wall above it as he spoke. "Heather, Macey and Christian were all members of my sleep disorder workshop."

"Did they attend this workshop regularly?" Mulder asked.

"Certainly Heather did, I've been counselling her for years and she attended every week without fail until a couple of months ago, but I presumed she'd decided to use the chatroom instead like the other two; Macey and Christian."

"They stopped coming to the group?" Scully asked, making some notes on the file. "Yes, I think they preferred the anonymity of the internet rather than talking to each other face to face. I suppose that's the culture we live in these days." Zimmerman said sadly, as he sat down heavily on the chair and leant over to place his head in his hands. "How did they die?" he asked quietly.

"It seems like they all died at the hands of a serial killer." Mulder said. "I'll spare you the details Mr Zimmerman, but we know they all died a very violent death, and we would like to establish why the killer chose them specifically. By doing so we might be able to stop any more murders."

Zimmerman simply nodded and continued to sit with his head in his hands.

"I'm sorry if this has been upsetting news for you Mr Zimmerman," said Scully looking at Mulder for backup.

"Yes, this is terrible news indeed." Zimmerman said finally raising his head. "But I have to tell you I don't know the other victims. I have regular attendees at my workshops and I have never heard those names before."

"What about this man?" Mulder said as he held up a close-up photograph of the Hispanic male whose decapitated head was found together with Christian Swift's body. Zimmerman leant across, took the photo from Mulders hand, and studied the face closely.

"Oh my lord….No I don't know this man either, I'm sorry." He said handing it back to Mulder.

"That's fine Mr Zimmerman you've been very helpful." Scully said looked across to Mulder who nodded in agreement, and stood up from the loveseat.

"Here's my card, If you can think of anything else that you think may be relevant please give me a call."

Zimmerman stood from his armchair and took the card from Mulders hand. "Yes I will thank you."

"Don't worry we'll see ourselves out." Scully said edging towards the doorway, followed closely by Mulder.

"That is one creepy looking dude." Mulder said as he started the car, and looked across when she didn't reply. "Are you alright Scully, you seemed a little nervous in there?"

"Yeah, fine." She answered quickly, reaching around to fit her seatbelt. "Just tired perhaps. I'm looking forward to getting something to eat, and taking a nice bubble bath."

"Oh really…." Mulder leered, over her while waggling his eyebrows. "If that's an invitation, then bring it on. I'm game if you are Scully."

"Shut up and drive Mulder…" She said giving him a withering look. He laughed and began to pull the car away from the curb. "Did you notice his reaction when you read out the list of victims?"

"Don't you mean lack of reaction?" she answered thinking of Zimmerman's hard face and cold stare. "Exactly." Mulder said. "He's hiding something, and we need to find out what it is, and fast."

As they heading down the street, Mulder turned to look back at the house to see Zimmerman stood in the window, watching them drive away.

An hour later, they had arrived back at the hotel and after waving Mulder off in the corridor; she closed the door to her hotel room, took off her jacket and sat down heavily on the edge of the bed. God she was so tired, she could barely think straight. Deciding that a lovely warm bubble bath was in order she slipped off her shoes, grabbed her wash bag and padded into the bathroom. Shutting the door behind her, she was just about to undress when a dawning realisation hit her like a slap in the face. Oh right…she'd forgotten, there wasn't even a bathtub in this hellhole. Just a mouldy old shower with a cracked screen and a blocked drain.

"Great…" she muttered to herself sliding back the screen in disgust. Another reason to kick Mulders ass in the morning….

After she'd taken a tepid shower, and demolished a rather questionable club sandwich from the hotels room service, she finally collapsed onto the bed. She slid under the covers and reached over to shut off the bedside lamp. It wasn't long before she slipped into a deep sleep…

Scully opened her eyes to find that she was standing in the corner of a darkened room. The walls were completely blank with no doors, no windows. The room possessed no furniture, just black and empty. As she stared in front of her the room seemed never-ending with no far wall to speak of, just a continuing void. She turned around quickly, trying to touch the walls but as soon as she laid her hands onto its surface, it disappeared as if going through thick, shimmering smoke. Was she dreaming? She must be….Another nightmare perhaps; but why did it feel so real?

Then all at once, her confusion turned into a feeling of a very different kind. Fear.

She knew she wasn't alone in this strange room. There was another person standing in the opposite corner. Observing her silently, intently watching her every move like a tiger waiting to pounce upon its unsuspecting prey. She couldn't see his face, but she knew who it was.

"Where am I?" She asked in a shaking voice. She did not recognised this voice, it sounded weak and pitiful like a frightened child.

"What do you want?" She tried again, this time with a little more conviction. However, the man didn't answer, he just continued to watch her silently.

Suddenly he stepped forward and began to walk across the floor in her direction. Scully tried to turn, to run away, but her feet became frozen to the spot. It wasn't due to fear why her feet wouldn't move; they had sunken into the floor as if she was standing ankle deep in black quick sand.

"Stay away from me!" she yelled, pulling at each of her legs in turn, willing for her feet to be free of the sinking sand, but it was no use. He reached her in an instant, his body looming over her like a dark impenetrable tower, a giant fortress of a man.

"Nooo!" She cried as Zimmerman clasped one giant hand around her throat and lifted her clear of the floor, and pinned her against the wall which was no longer soft as smoke , but harder than concrete.

She struggled and fought as hard as she could, but her strength was no match for his, as she felt his grip around her neck getting tighter and tighter.

There must be a way out, she thought frantically, as the edges of her vision began to blur and fade to nothing. This cannot be real; I can't go out like this. I can't leave everyone behind…

"Mulder!" She was screaming inside, no longer able to utter a word. "Mulder help me, please I…"

"Scully…"

I just heard his voice. He's in here somewhere. Why can't I see him? "Mulder, where are you?" She tried desperately to turn her head, to look for him; but Zimmerman would not let her move, his grip becoming even tighter.

Scully took one last gulp of air, as the image of Zimmerman's face began to fade away, and she closed her eyes tightly as she listened to the voice, calling out her name.

"SCULLY! SCULLY WAKE UP!"

I am dreaming. I am dreaming. Mulder. "MULDER!" she screamed, amazed to find that she could now use her voice, and breathe freely. The hand was gone. Zimmerman was gone.

"Scully, it's me wake up"

Her eyes flew open to see Mulder's face directly above hers, as he leaned over her on the bed. He looked panic-stricken. "Scully, thank God you're awake. You were choking…your lips were going blue."

She sat up quickly, and wrapped her arms around him in an awkward embrace. Trying but failing to stop the wracking sobs that had seized her body, she pressed her face against his chest and nuzzled into the soft fabric of his grey cotton t-shirt.

Sitting down more comfortably on the edge of the bed, he hugged her closer to him. He lowered his head so that he could whisper soothing words in her ear "It's all right…I'm here Scully," and then he just held her for what seemed like an age but in reality was maybe only a couple of minutes. He hated to see her cry, each anguished sob tore at his heart like knife. This was not Scully…it simply wasn't like her to show such vulnerability, and the thought of that scared him to death. What could have possibly happened in that nightmare to frighten her so badly?

"I'm okay Mulder," she said eventually pulling away from him, self-consciously wiping the tears from her eyes

"You don't seem okay to me," he said, smoothing back a few strands of hair that had fallen across her face and gently tucking them behind her ear.

This simple gesture caught her off guard for a second, and she felt her lower lip beginning to quiver again as the memory of Zimmerman's face returned to her once more, the fear slowly rising from the pit of her stomach. She had to be stronger than this; she was stronger than this…but why did she have the overwhelming urge to cling on to Mulder as if her life depended on it?

"No I'm fine….really." she said, the words catching in her throat as she looked him in the eye willing him to believe it, even if she didn't believe it herself.

He didn't look convinced. "I feel like there's something you're not telling me," He said holding her gaze for a second, as he reached over to place his hand over hers. "We've been partners for a long time Scully. I need you to tell me when somethings wrong."

"No, there's nothing wrong Mulder" she replied as she looked down at his large hand covering her own, drawing strength from the warmth and familiarity of his touch.

"Just another bad dream", she smiled, feeling relieved to hear the conviction had returned to her voice.

"What were you dreaming about?" he asked "Was somebody trying to hurt you again?"

"Maybe…I don't know" she shrugged. "Look, I don't want to get into it now."

"Okay, but if somethings bothering you, I really wish you'd talk to me. Maybe it would help." He said not making any moves to leave.

"We'll talk in the morning and thank you…" she paused, trying to think of a sentence that didn't make her sound like a pathetic damsel in distress. "Thank you for being there…"

Her eyes flicked upwards, expecting to find him smiling at her lame attempt of showing gratitude, but instead his face was deadly serious.

She felt herself take a sharp intake of breath, as she looked into his eyes. She had never seen him looking at her like this before. The raw power of his gaze sent hot and cold shivers up and down her spine. She vaguely became aware that his thumb had begun to stroke the back of her hand, moving slowly back and forth, back and forth. "You're welcome" he answered softly.

"Mulder…" she managed to utter, his name blowing across her lips in a low, hot whisper. It was meant as a warning for him to back away, to stop looking at her like that. However, it sounded desperate even to her ears. "What?" he asked, a slowly smile beginning to tug at the side of his lips.

"I…" she started, the words suddenly escaping her as she saw the look in his eyes, and the unbridled emotion that swirled in their hazel depths. Fear, frustration, longing, trust, love. It was all there for her to see, and it simply astounded her.

"Nothing" she said, moving her face closer to his…