Forbearance
By: maninblue88
Copyright Notice: This story is based upon and set within the fictional universe of "The X-Files". Therefore, with the obvious exception of certain original characters and other elements, all characters, locations, plot references, etc. are the official property of the Fox network, Ten Thirteen Productions, and any other associated entities. No infringement of any kind is intended by my use of these various elements in my story.
Episode Spoilers: This story contains several elements and references that speak of events that occurred during "The X-Files" episode 8X03, "Patience". Additionally, certain references and story elements to the Season 11 finale, "My Struggle IV" are also featured here as well as references to other past episodes and the series' overall lore.
This story in its entirety is Rated "M" for violence, some language, and certain scenes describing some particularly gory content.
Author's Note: This story takes place approximately 8 months after the events of the eleventh season finale. My first intention with this was to bring back a "Monster-of-The-Week" creature from Season 8, making this story sort of a sequel to the "Patience" episode. Secondly, I wanted to make an attempt at tying up some of the loose ends brought on by the cliffhanger at the end of Season 11 and try to implement my vision of what I thought the storyline would be from that point onward. I have been a huge "X-Files" fan for 20+ years, so this story is a very special project for me. Thank you all in advance for taking the time to read this, and as always, I hope you enjoy the story!
Chapter 1: A Rude Awakening
East Riverside Drive
Austin, Texas
8:35 PM (Central Standard Time)
October 26, 2018
A black 2018 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck quietly made its way down a populated drive in Texas' capital city of Austin on a cloudy Friday night. Behind the wheel was rookie Texas Fish and Game Warden Boyd Aikens, who had only been with the department for just over 3 months.
The tall, handsome, blonde-haired 24-year-old white man was dressed in his beige game warden's uniform. This attire consisted of a beige uniform shirt emblazoned with the official badge-like logo of the Texas Department of Fish and Game, long beige pants, beige work boots, and the appearance is occasionally rounded out by a beige Fish and Game baseball cap.
Riding shotgun with Warden Aikens in their state-issued Silverado work truck that night was his Field Training Officer, Fish and Game Sergeant Mercedes Lucia, known to her friends and colleagues as "Mercy" for short. Lucia, also clad in a beige Fish and Game uniform, was a dark-haired Hispanic woman of medium height in her mid-30's.
"We're lucky we started out a little early tonight, rookie" Lucia said to Aikens, "East Riverside Drive always fills up with cars around nine o' clock on Fridays."
"Respectfully, Sarge" Aikens said, "I'm well aware of that fact, ma'am. I learned that the hard way my first night here. I think the reason why it fills up so heavily is because that's when everybody in town is trying to make their way to all the bars and get lucky." He then flashed a charming smile.
Sergeant Lucia smirked in retort. "You may be right about that, Boyd" she replied, "Just remember that not all of us have that luxury."
Just then, the truck's CB radio chirped to life. "Austin Communications to any Fish and Game unit in the vicinity of Stoker Lane", a female dispatcher's voice said from the radio, "We just had a citizen call in to our non-emergency line and report a possible injured bat inside Harker's Cave, over."
Lucia looked to Aikens curiously. "You want to take it?" she asked.
"Sure", Aikens replied, "We're right near there anyway."
Lucia nodded and grabbed the radio's handset off its cradle, keying the mic. "Fish and Game Two-Forty-One to Austin, be advised, Fish and Game Two-Forty-Seven and I are now making our way to Harker's Cave from East Riverside Drive so you can hold us down on that call, over."
"Copy that, Two-Forty-One" the dispatcher's voice replied from the radio as Lucia reset the handset back onto its cradle.
Warden Aikens then turned the truck in a westbound direction towards Stoker Lane, which was a rather long and desolate-seeming dirt lane not far from the Congress Avenue Bridge. The Congress Avenue Bridge, coincidentally enough, was also the site of a well-known bat congregation spot in the Austin area.
The duo soon drove the length of Stoker Lane, quickly reaching a dead end. Punctuating this lengthy and barren lane was a huge stone cave, known by the locals as "Harker's Cave". The seemingly gargantuan cave had reportedly also been a known bat congregation spot with its population being regularly documented since the 1960's.
Aikens and Lucia then exited their truck, with both wardens grabbing their flashlights from the utility pouches on their gun belts and promptly turning them on as they got increasingly closer to the mouth of the cave. "We get a lot of bat-related calls out here, as you can probably imagine" Lucia explained, "This shouldn't take too long."
Aikens nodded before using his free hand to key the mic on his portable radio. "Fish and Game Two-Forty-Seven to Austin Communications", he said into the radio, "We have arrived at Harker's Cave and are making our way inside now. We'll advise you further if we find anything noteworthy, over."
"Copy that, Two-Forty-Seven" the same female dispatcher replied from the radio a few seconds later.
Lucia gave her young partner a thumb's up with her free hand, silently commending his very proper use of the radio, as they headed inside the cave.
The cave's interior seemed very vast to the two wardens despite the fact that they were bathed in almost complete darkness. Lucia scanned the right side of the cave, the beam of her light illuminating a small nest of roughly half a dozen sleeping barn bats perched on the edges between the cave wall and its ceiling. "Looks like these guys are still getting their beauty sleep", she whispered.
Aikens scanned the left side of the cave wall opposite his partner and apparently had less luck spotting any bats. "I don't see a whole lot on my side, Sarge" Aikens whispered, "Maybe the rest of them flew out for the night looking for mosquitoes or something."
Lucia nodded as she moved her flashlight beam over to her partner's side of the wall. "Maybe", she whispered back. She then held her beam on something she had caught sight of: four distinct claw-like marks occupying one specific area of the cave ceiling. "Boyd", Lucia whispered with a soft but urgent tone, "Look at this."
Aikens then shined his own flashlight on the same spot, illuminating the strange marks even more. "Damn", he whispered, "If those are bat claws, that's one big bastard."
"No kidding", Lucia replied in a whisper, "In any case, I don't see any injured bats here. I think I'm going to head back out and radio Austin to tell them the report was bogus. You coming?"
Aikens swallowed hard before turning and looking further down the cave. "I'll catch up", he apprehensively replied, "I just want to make sure we don't miss any."
Lucia nodded. "Okay", she whispered back as she started to turn back around toward the outside, "Don't take too long, buddy." She then gave her partner a smile.
Aikens momentarily smirked before hesitantly turning and walking a bit further into the cave, the eerily chirp-like sound of bat sonar having now morbidly piqued his interest.
Finding nothing more than a few more groups of sleeping barn bats and a few scattered piles of guano, Aikens carefully scanned the beam of his flashlight along the cave's dirt floor. He soon found another distinctive four-toed print roughly 25 feet from the claw marks they had found earlier.
He soon looked up and was floored by what he saw: impossibly large wings opened up from a spot on the ceiling above him, revealing a revolting inhuman face. The creature screeched a loud and primal squeal of anger as it descended on him.
Meanwhile, Lucia sat down on the Silverado's front bumper and keyed her radio mic. "Fish and Game Two-Forty-One to Austin", she said into the radio, "We're doing a final check now, but it looks like that 'injured bat' call is unfounded at this time, over."
Before the dispatcher even had a chance to respond, Lucia was startled by the sound of an echoing and guttural scream, presumably from Aikens, following by a burst of gunfire.
"BOYD!" Lucia hollered as she sprung up off the bumper, withdrew her Smith and Wesson M&P M2.0 handgun from her shoulder holster, and sprinted back inside the cave.
"BOYD!" Lucia's echoed scream was heard from way inside the cave, "OH MY GOD! BOYD! NO!"
Mulder/Scully Farmhouse
Eastern Virginia
The Next Morning
6:00 AM (Eastern Standard Time)
Fox Mulder startled awake on a decidedly chilly Saturday morning in the cozy bedroom of the rural Eastern Virginia farmhouse that he shared with his pregnant girlfriend and FBI partner, Dana Scully. Shirtless and clad only in black cotton boxers, the FBI agent straightened up in bed and swung his legs over the side. He chuckled when he heard the sound of the flushing toilet coming from the adjoining bathroom.
The door opened and Dana Scully crossed back into the bedroom. She was dressed in a set of emerald green silk pajamas and Mulder's very ratty white cotton bathrobe, as well as a blue bath towel she had wrapped around her short reddish blonde hair. The emerald green silk seemed to hold for dear life across her very pregnant stomach.
"Good morning", Mulder warmly greeted as Scully carefully made her way back to her side of their queen-size bed, "Are you okay?"
Scully groaned with frustration as she flopped herself back in to bed and looked to her significant other. "I'm eight months pregnant, Mulder" she sardonically replied, "I just peed for what seems like the fortieth time in ten hours and I'm afraid you'll have to call a goddamn construction crane to lift me out of the bathtub next time."
Mulder smirked before leaning in and kissing her on the forehead. "So that's a 'no' then?" he groggily asked.
Scully giggled and smiled in retort. "Charlie should be here this afternoon", she said.
Charles Scully, known to his family as "Charlie", was Dana Scully's younger brother. Now on maternity leave from her work at the FBI and on bedrest at the insistence of her obstetrician, Dana had the bright idea to have her estranged brother come stay at the farmhouse for a while. Seemingly out of optimism, the brilliant medical doctor and FBI agent hoped to ultimately mend the rift that had been between them since the death of their mother, Margaret, several months before.
"Oh yeah", Mulder said as he crossed to the bureau and started arranging his clothes for the day, "Sorry, I forgot about that. Where's he coming in from this time?"
"He's supposedly been working on some farm outside Bangkok for the last year or so", Scully explained, "Honestly, though, who really knows with him. I intend to get to the bottom of it, though, believe me."
"I'm sure you will, dear" Mulder, now wearing a faded pair of blue jeans, sweetly replied just before putting a navy-blue cable knit sweater on over his head.
"I take it you're going into work today", Scully said.
"However reluctantly", Mulder replied as he sat down on the edge of the bed to pull his socks on, "Yes. I spoke to the Director on the phone yesterday. Apparently, the new Assistant Director he's brought in is a real champion of our work on the X-Files."
As if on cue, Mulder's cell phone rang. Scully strained to reach over to his nightstand, but was in due course able to scoop up the phone and hand it over to Mulder.
"Mulder", Mulder answered after putting the phone to his ear.
"Agent Mulder", a female voice kindly replied from the other end of the line, "Good morning. This is Arlene calling from Assistant Director Duebner's office at FBI Headquarters. She'd like to see you as soon as possible."
"I'm sorry", a fleetingly perplexed Mulder replied, "Who?"
"Renee Duebner, sir" Arlene clarified from her end of the line, "Your new boss."
"I see", Mulder said, "Please tell her that I'll be there as soon as I can."