Benji slid the seat as far forward as it would go, but cars are not designed to be driven by eight-year-olds, so he had to perch at the very edge of the seat to both reach the pedals and see over the steering wheel. Whoever owned the car had conveniently left a box of books on the passenger seat, so he shoved it behind him to help him keep his balance; at least it was something to lean back against.
He almost panicked when the car lurched forward as he tentatively touched the gas pedal, but then he remembered that it was supposed to do that. "Just like go-carts." He muttered to himself as he slowly piloted the car down the dirt road.
The dirt road seemed endless. At least until it ended rather abruptly, in Benji's opinion, at a paved U.S. Route. The problem was then twofold: there were too many cars whizzing by for him to be comfortable with attempting to turn onto the Route, and even if he could get on safely, he didn't know which way to go.
An idea bloomed as he watched the steady stream of traffic. As carefully as he could, he pulled the car off to the side of the road; the small bumps as he did so made him cringe. Then, after checking to see if Owen was ok, or at least no worse, he got out of the car and ran to the front of it.
It didn't take much arm-waving and shouting before someone stopped. A head poked out of the car is window and Benji was relieved to see if that the woman was dressed in a T-shirt and denim shorts - she looked nothing like the cultists. "What's wrong?" She was out of her car and beside him in seconds. It took Benji a few seconds to realize that she was glancing around, looking for an adult.
" My little brother needs to go to the hospital, but I don't know where it is." Benji said, watching anxiously as the woman's struggled to pull Owen out of the car. She was small, and didn't seem any stronger than William.
" What's wrong with him? How did you get here? Where your parents?" Her questions came at rapid fire as she tried to wake Owen and failed.
" Owen's arm is broken, that made him faint. I drove us here, but not too good. I'm not sure where they are. A weird cult kidnapped half my family this week, and last night they took my dad and Dana away. I'm kind of afraid they'll look for us." He glanced around nervously.
The woman got them in her car before asking any more questions. " Why would a cult kidnap your family?"
Benji shrugged. " My dad says they're a doomsday cult, whatever that means. They think my big brother, William, can make aliens come and take over the earth. When he couldn't do what they wanted, they broke Owen's arm on purpose."
She turned her face from the road only long enough to give him horrified look. " As soon as we get to the hospital we'll call the police to help them, okay?"
" Ok." Benji said. Signs for the hospital came into view, telling him with relief. He and Owen were going to be ok, and he had fate that his brother would make everything else okay too.
William could feel their fear, and anger, and it called to him like a radar. At first he couldn't figure it out, since there were bound to be stronger emotions all around him, but he could only feel his parents. In the end he decided that must be blood, or relationship, that called to him; he had no connections to any of the others. He honestly didn't care if they lived or died.
Walking away from the circus the compound had become, he didn't fear that anyone would try to stop him. They no longer scared him. The only thing he feared was that the fire would reach him, for his parents before he was able to free them.
After walking about a mile he saw it. It was a small wooden shack, and there was just a padlock on it. Foot-tracks in the dusty path suggested there had been a guard, recently and probably armed, but no one was there now. William looked around cautiously, really didn't think anyone was there but his parents.
The wooden door was heavier than he thought it would be, so it took quite a lot of effort to heave it open. As soon as he did Mulder sprang up. " Dad!" He'd expected a warmer reception, but they didn't smile inside that empty shed. William couldn't imagine why.
The bright sunshine dazzled their eyes, but they seemed unhurt besides a dried line of blood along the side of Mulder's face. " What are you doing here?" Mulder asked dully. " Did you do what they wanted? They said we'd never see you again unless you did it."
" I pretended I was going to after they hurt Owen, but I didn't. I destroyed their damn beacon, and they all went crazy."
" What did they do to Owen? Where are your brothers?" There was a hysterical edge to Mulder's voice; Scully touched his arm to calm him.
" Owen's arm is broken, and I sent him with Benji to get help. A lady stopped and is bringing them to the hospital."
Scully gave him a puzzled look. " Did you see the woman's stop to help them?"
" Not with my eyes. I sensed it the same I found you." William tried to explain. " Emanuel gave me a shot, and I'm different. I think he reversed what my uncle did me. I don't like it, even if it did help me."
" We'll get your uncle to fix it." Scully promised.