As Scully lay in a soft slumber safely surrounded by her blankets in the hazy darkness, a bony, withered hand grotesquely reached out for her. It torturously creeped ever closer to her lush auburn hair that lay spread on the pillow. A long, deep, hoarse, raspy breath emanated from the darkened shadows of the room which momentarily caused Scully to squirm in her sleep uncomfortably. The unknown hand further intruded into Scully's personal space. In her sleep she knew, she was not alone. Little beads of sweat trickled down Scully's forehead, her heart threatened to burst out her chest at any moment and her breathing had quickened. Adrenaline flooded her veins, the surge of adrenaline was welcomed by a spooked Scully who had awoken in a cold sweat. She instinctively grabbed her gun from the nightstand, she didn't even reach for her lamp and dived from her bed. She half rolled down onto one knee, with her arms outstretched with one hand caressing the butt of her gun and the other on the trigger. 'Calm down Dana!' her mind imperatively instructed her. In the dark, she scoured the room for the slightest hint there was an intruder. The dim light that was leaking into the room from the small gap in curtains allowed her to immediately see there was no one. She lowered her gun and switched on her light. Not quite wanting to believe her horrible dreams had returned, she swept the entire apartment for any sign of a real invader to her sanctuary. It was 3 am and she knew she wouldn't get back to sleep and she didn't want to be alone. On her chair were her clothes for the day's work ahead. She scooped them up, put on her shoes, grabbed her bag and placed her gun inside and wrapped her long overcoat around her and went to her car.
Mulder was awake too. He had been since 3 am and was watching 'War of the Worlds' with his legs on the table with a bag of Lays chips and a coke. The film was on his top 10 of paranormal classics which he would watch over and over again without it growing tiresome. But his mind quickly turned elsewhere. His mind raced over Scully and how he would longed to be with her. He knew how her dreams had plagued her and he couldn't explain where it had come from. The paranormal side of him wanted to say she had either already had some sort of premonition gift in the form of dreaming or she had suddenly developed it but he knew Scully wouldn't appreciate that, even if she did think of it herself. At that very moment, a light tapping at his door snatched his thoughts away. The conspiracist in Mulder always made sure he had his gun with him in every room, especially after several attempts had been made on his life whilst at his apartment. He slowly reached for his gun when the tapping became slightly louder and he heard a familiar and welcomed voice. "Mulder, it's me…" whispered Scully. The sound of the locks being opened was almost too much for her and she tried not to crumble. Her eyes filled with tears. Mulder opened the door and was taken back at her natural beauty but he could see that Scully was upset. He gently took her by the arm and ushered her into his apartment. He took the bundle of clothing she held and noticed she was trembling. Her body shivered as it knew it had reached the one place it needed to be. Mulder carefully reached for Scully's hand and affectionately placed his hand into her. The pleasant warmth of his hand was momentarily offended by the icy cold shock of Scully's hand. Gently, Mulder guided her the few steps to the lounge, where he chucked her clothes in a pile onto his chair. He noticed her head was down and she was staring at the floor. This was the safety Scully needed, this was the masculinity Scully needed, this was the love Scully needed. Standing just centimetres apart, Scully still couldn't let her frightened eyes meet Mulder's, even though she wanted him, she hated to show anyone her vulnerabilities, even if Mulder did know them. It was a very rare occurrence she asked anyone for help, and she had already called on Mulder once already but he really was her best friend. Fox placed his hand under Scully's chin and raised her face. He saw tears rolled down her porcelain skin like scattered diamonds from a broken necklace. He knew she had had another nightmare. This time he took her to his bedroom. Not to make love but to let her sleep whilst feeling safe and secure and he would stay awake and watch her beauty glow as she silently slept.
Finally! Scully thought to herself as she took the keys out of the ignition. A six-hour drive with Mulder had taken its toll on her back which was screaming furiously in agony. She was happy though they didn't need to go back to the forest and investigate the Bigfoot case after it was found that a Park Ranger was responsible for the attack on the teenagers to deter them away from his drug stash. A pit of butterflies grew in Scully's stomach as Mulder smiled and said "You OK?" His eyes almost asked her the question but he asked anyway because of the night before. It hurt him to know she was suffering and was frightened because Scully wasn't the type of woman or agent who was scared easily.
Scully smiled back and nodded that she was OK as she proceeded to open the car door which screeched as much as her back did. She walked around the car to where Mulder was and both stood in sheer awe at the building that loomed over them like a colossal fairground ride. The dark wooden beams infiltrated the dirty walls of the house like fossilized bones, menacing stone-grey gargoyles covered in green moss peered over the roof watching the agents every move. Mother Nature had tried to claim the house with the plants and shrubs rampaging wildly along the paths and walls. Ivy snaked up the walls of the house and covered the windows but left a little gap which refused to reveal much. Angry grey clouds threatened rain at any moment.
With Mulder and Scully void of any temporary safety of the car, Mulder stepped forward and pushed open the intimidating ashen wrought-iron gate causing them to groan malevolently as they protested at being forced to let the strangers in. Scully knew she shouldn't have worn heels as it dawned upon her that it would be a mammoth task trying to walk through the ocean of wild foliage to the front door. Mulder stepped into the jungle of a garden first and gestured to Scully to come in. Under the vein like growth of vines, weeds and grass Scully was relieved to see the remnants of an old bony path, which she hoped would lead to the front door. Cautiously, the agents made their way to the ominous front door which stood already ajar slightly.
"A welcome card for breaking and entering." Mulder smirked as Scully realised what he meant, "When will people learn?" he asked as he stepped onto the wooden porch. The decaying wood shrieked as he stepped on with both feet. There was no way Scully was stepping on there until Mulder had done, and Mulder already knew this.
"Hello?" Mulder called out. With no reply, both agents instinctively drew their guns but pointed them down to the ground as they both felt something was not quite right. "FBI, anyone here?" Mulder demanded to know. There was no noise from inside so Mulder stepped across the threshold of the door and he slowly creaked open the front door. The stale cold air hit him and made him shudder.
"Hello, dears" caused Mulder and Scully to take aim. Their hearts pounding in their chests, they had automatically gone into protective mode and were willing to shoot but Mulder had realised the voice had come from an elderly lady. He chuckled to Scully that it was ok as he lowered his weapon. The old lady was haggard and wrinkled like a dried prune, her hair was white like snow but wild like a stray dog's. She leant to her left on a wooden cane that resembled a long bone which slightly disturbed Scully.
"Ma'am, you scared us, we called." Scully said as blood pulsated in her head from her thundering pulse rate.
"Sorry Dear, I am a little deaf. My name is Miss Sharp." She said as her lips curled back to reveal a sinister grin that stretched from ear to ear.
"Cup of tea?" Miss Sharp asked. They both were desperate for a drink even if Mulder didn't drink tea but seeing as Miss Sharp was British, he was happy enough to accept. "Go and sit dears" she ordered as she gestured with her withered finger. Silently, she turned and left the room. Both agents stepped into the foreboding lounge room.
"Now THIS is haunted Scully!" grinned Mulder.
The darkness of the lounge made the furniture covered with sheets look like grotesque figures in body bags. They seemed to get closer and closer. A wave of fear washed over Scully as she imagined a hideous hand, much like the one in her nightmare, reaching out from under a sheet and grabbing her ankles.
Mulder sensed something was wrong and gently whispered her name, which seemed to pull her back into reality. Scully came too with a jolt and she cleared her throat.
Next to the unlit dusty fireplace were two worn black armchairs. Feeling unsure, Scully reasoned to herself that Miss Sharp was just a gentle little old lady and she needed to calm down. As both agents sat in bony armchairs, goose bumps swept across their bodies and a Scully's chest locked in a vice grip, crushing her every time she tried to take a breath, fear took her sanity hostage. "What's happening?" she begged silently. A murky haze began to consume her as she fought to stay awake. Within the room, light infiltrated the gaps in between the heavy drawn curtains, which illuminated the dust which danced and swirled in the air. What felt like minutes painstakingly ticking by, was actually mere seconds.
'Agents, are you here?' hurried Scully back to reality and made Mulder almost jump from the chair in fright. He immediately burst into a chuckle and said "God Scully, I am getting as bad as you." instantly knowing such hurtful and crude wise crack was uncalled for. Luckily Scully knew that was his Agent mode in full swing. Tutting, Scully got up, still with a high heart rate, and called out "Miss Sharp?" and received no response. Mulder took notice and rose up from the dusty and neglected armchair. He opened the front door which creaked with utter dislike of being moved on it's fragile hinges.
A familiar and croaky female voice said "Hello, you must be Mulder and Scully I presume? I see you already let yourself in. I hope you can help solve this matter, it is becoming tiresome now. I trust you watched the tape I sent you?"
Puzzled, Scully presumed Miss Sharp was a little senile and had forgotten that she had gone to make some tea.
"Miss Sharp, you were just making us tea" Scully gently said, trying to prompt Miss Sharp's memory. The door was ajar, so we came in. You offered to make us tea.'
Miss Sharp replied "Don't be silly dear, I haven't been in this house since my twin sister died 6 months ago…"