Chapter 1
Ever so silently
Wrapped in fog
October's moon.
He checked his watch, momentarily and impatiently, its dials glowing in the darkness. The time had not changed. A moment had barely passed. He was impatient, more so than usual. The radio did little to comfort him and in realising so he switched it off and simply sat there in the blackness of the car. It would've done him good to bring a book to read, a cup of joe and all that. But in his impatience he had forgotten all those things and rushed out into the dusk.
And yet dusk had come and gone. He was alone with his thoughts and the rain that pitter-pattered on the glass and metal all around him. He'd promised her an interesting case, as he always did. She always reluctantly went with it. Probably at best to supervise his escapades into the unknown and make sure he didn't do anything dangerous and downright stupid. Nonetheless it was raining which quite literally put a dampener on things. The traffic on the way up to North Carolina would be terrible.
He wondered if she would bother to come at all, until of course, her car pulled up alongside his. She was likely questioning his choice of location – a forest just off the main road with not a damn streetlight in sight – but more likely she would be rolling her eyes and would've guessed he'd lead her to a place like this. He waited until she switched off the engine, as reluctantly as he had expected given the weather, and made her way to the car door. She let herself in quickly, sighing inwardly as she had become drenched in the few steps between cars.
"I was beginning to think you wouldn't come," Mulder spoke.
He finally caught her stare, briefly, before she turned away. Her hair was dripping.
"I hear the roads were pretty bad." He continued, indicating to the now silent radio.
"Well, I'm here now."
He nodded, ignoring her obvious lack of enthusiasm on her arrival.
She swept her hair back off her face and attempted to get comfortable, her clothes clinging from the wet. She hoped this wouldn't take long.
"So what's the plan?" Scully requested, hopeful to get this over and done with.
"Take a look." He replied, indicating over his shoulder to the backseat.
Her heart immediately sank.
Raincoats. Torches.
"You have got to be kidding…"
"It won't take long," he interrupted her. "If we're quick."
There was never a quick with Mulder, not when it came to the x files. Her plan of getting to the motel and having a hot bath was quickly being stolen from her.
"No." she replied irately. "Not tonight."
"Why not?"
She paused out of annoyance.
"Have you lost your mind?" she asked, ignoring the oblivious look on his face. "Christ don't answer that…"
Scully turned away from him and the outdoor gear, now face to face with the rain pouring over the windscreen.
"Don't you even want to read the case?"
She sighed, hoping he would go easy on her. She'd driven the five hour journey alone straight from Washington D.C. through the evening rush hour, Mulder taking the journey earlier in the day. The motel he had booked was enticingly nearby and only worsened her overwhelming need to sleep.
"Mulder…"
"If you don't want to come with me, it's not too late to drive back." He interrupted her again. "I'll go by myself."
Again she sighed, shaking her head.
"No you won't."
"No?"
"No."
"Then are you coming or not?"
She swallowed her hopes of a decent night's sleep.
"Just tell me about the damn case."
Mulder smiled inwardly.
"Please…" he muttered quietly, reaching for the case file.
He felt her glare burning holes through him, as expected.
"The Devil's Tramping Ground."
"The Devil's Tramping Ground??"
"You know it?" Mulder asked, playfully.
"Is this really why we're here?"
"Aren't you intrigued?" he questioned her, amused by her growing annoyance.
Scully sighed for what seemed the hundredth time, losing her patience.
"Mulder I'm tired," she pleaded, her voice weakening. "Really, really tired. I've driven a long way. By myself. In traffic. "
"But you didn't even hear about the case."
"I am familiar with the case."
"And it doesn't interest you?"
"Didn't you hear me, Mulder?"
"I did, you just surprised me."
She hesitated at his sheer resistance and blatant attempt to tease her.
"Can this not wait til morning?" she continued. "Can't we just go back to the motel room?"
He paused momentarily at the offer, or rather, the ploy. He reached out to her, placing a hand on her arm comfortingly.
"No." Mulder replied bluntly. "Now get your damn coat on."
