AUTHOR'S NOTE: Wow! A special thanx to everybody for giving me such nice
reviews . . . Oh, and a thanx to Jamie for the sympathy. It's very much
appreciated. Anywho, this chapter should give you guys some limited
insight into what in the heck is going on with this wacky plot, LOL . . .
Happy Reading!
Capt. Janeway ;)
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CHAPTER 11
System #2
John didn't even want to think about how incredibly late at night--or, probably more accurately, how early in the morning--it was when he and Sam Mulder pulled-up to the motel.
Somehow, they'd managed to escape the shooters at his house, and from that point on, Sam had fallen into a sort of pensive silence. They'd agreed on the out-of-the-way cheapie motel, but that was all.
She followed him like a bad omen as he checked-in and got a room, and she followed him to the room, to ensure that everything was all right.
She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the sorry room. "Are you sure you're okay with this place?"
John looked around and shrugged. "I've had worse."
There was a silence.
"Look," John said finally, "I really appreciate what you're doing . . . I'd just like to know what's going on."
"I'd be putting you in danger if I told you," she said flatly.
"I think we're both in danger, right now, no matter what we know or don't know."
Sam gave an exhausted sigh, before sitting on a small chair at a flimsy table in the room. "I don't *know* anything, John . . . but, I do have a theory."
*Now, there's something familiar, coming out of a Mulder's mouth,* John thought. He sat on the bed nearby.
"Go on," he said.
"The John Doggett--the one I knew, my John--had been leaking information to me for several months. Originally, he gave me information to help me find my missing brother, though that was just the bait to draw me in. What he really wanted was for me to bring down a conspiracy of some sort that he believed had abducted my brother--he was only ten years old when they took him, you know . . . Anyway, he wanted me to be the whistle-blower. He claimed he couldn't do it himself, because he and his family were too close to the conspiracy for their safety. Hoping to find my brother, or, at least, some clues as to what happened to him, I agreed to help him, ."
She glanced at him, as if to see whether John recognized any of this. He shook his head slightly, and she continued.
"Naturally, this wasn't the only thing the conspiracy was up to. According to my John, one of the conspiracy's primary activities involved the study of phenomena called 'gaps,' and he suspected that there were experiments being performed on humans, too. He believed that these two things were very closely linked, and he was planning to get the files detailing their purposes.
"Unfortunately, he failed, and was killed in the process." She noticed John's questioning look, and added, "I saw his dead body in your--his-- house when we were there earlier. That's why we were shot at."
"We weren't meant to see it," he concluded aloud.
She nodded. "But, here's the part where you come in. He said that the gaps were portals to other systems--other worlds, parallel universes, or whatever you want to call them. As far as I know, the government's manipulation of the gaps wasn't particularly nefarious, when the government had them under control. Now, however, the government has somehow lost control of them.
"I know this all sounds far-fetched, but I think there's definitely something to it. In the past three years, the number of missing persons cases has skyrocketed all across the country, and there've been bizarre reports of people reappearing either insane or with completely different memories of their lives from what they had before they went missing. My John believed most of these people had accidentally wandered through the gaps out of or into our system."
A pause.
*Definitely a Mulder,* John thought.
"So . . . That's what you think's happened to me? I accidentally went through a stray . . . gap?" he asked.
"Yes."
"But what's so important about these gaps? For the government to be tinkering around with 'em, there's got to be something else."
"That's what I've been trying to figure out. I think my John would have found out had . . . well, if he'd managed to . . . live," she said uneasily.
*Had her John lived . . .* he mused. Hardly aware of what was going on, his mind momentarily allowed that other John, her John, to surface, flooding him with memories. It was just long enough to feel a shiver of *something* race through him . . .
*Oh, no. Please, no.*
Pushing that other John back down, he abruptly stood and took a step away from the bed, as though it were a bed of hot coals.
But he did believe her; he felt every word was true. Just a few elements were missing, but what she did say was true.
"At any rate, your life is in danger. If they saw you back at the house . . ." Sam started.
". . . They'll try to kill me, too, to make sure everything's settled," John finished.
She gave him an odd look for a moment. "Right . . . And there's something else we must consider: your--*his*--family. If I tell them everything, they could be in danger. If I omit you from the story, and just tell them about my John . . . Well, who knows how they'd handle it. The kids are pretty torn-up as it is from all of Dana's trouble."
"I dunno . . . I don't even know them," he said softly to himself.
There was another pause.
"Well, why don't you sleep on it," she suggested. "I'll tell you about all of them tomorrow, and we'll decide then."
"Sure," he replied. "See you tomorrow, then."
Sam rose from her chair, and went to the door to leave. Just as she opened it, though, another tremor of that . . . *something* . . . got hold of John.
"Sam."
She looked over her shoulder at him.
"I just wanted to say . . . thanks. For everything," he said sincerely.
"Well, you're my friend. Or, you're the spitting image of him, anyway."
And with that, she left John to ponder this strange new world.
**************************************************************************** ************************************
Remember to review, por favor, no matter what you think of my little yarn. Thanx! ;)
Happy Reading!
Capt. Janeway ;)
**************************************************************************** ************************************
CHAPTER 11
System #2
John didn't even want to think about how incredibly late at night--or, probably more accurately, how early in the morning--it was when he and Sam Mulder pulled-up to the motel.
Somehow, they'd managed to escape the shooters at his house, and from that point on, Sam had fallen into a sort of pensive silence. They'd agreed on the out-of-the-way cheapie motel, but that was all.
She followed him like a bad omen as he checked-in and got a room, and she followed him to the room, to ensure that everything was all right.
She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the sorry room. "Are you sure you're okay with this place?"
John looked around and shrugged. "I've had worse."
There was a silence.
"Look," John said finally, "I really appreciate what you're doing . . . I'd just like to know what's going on."
"I'd be putting you in danger if I told you," she said flatly.
"I think we're both in danger, right now, no matter what we know or don't know."
Sam gave an exhausted sigh, before sitting on a small chair at a flimsy table in the room. "I don't *know* anything, John . . . but, I do have a theory."
*Now, there's something familiar, coming out of a Mulder's mouth,* John thought. He sat on the bed nearby.
"Go on," he said.
"The John Doggett--the one I knew, my John--had been leaking information to me for several months. Originally, he gave me information to help me find my missing brother, though that was just the bait to draw me in. What he really wanted was for me to bring down a conspiracy of some sort that he believed had abducted my brother--he was only ten years old when they took him, you know . . . Anyway, he wanted me to be the whistle-blower. He claimed he couldn't do it himself, because he and his family were too close to the conspiracy for their safety. Hoping to find my brother, or, at least, some clues as to what happened to him, I agreed to help him, ."
She glanced at him, as if to see whether John recognized any of this. He shook his head slightly, and she continued.
"Naturally, this wasn't the only thing the conspiracy was up to. According to my John, one of the conspiracy's primary activities involved the study of phenomena called 'gaps,' and he suspected that there were experiments being performed on humans, too. He believed that these two things were very closely linked, and he was planning to get the files detailing their purposes.
"Unfortunately, he failed, and was killed in the process." She noticed John's questioning look, and added, "I saw his dead body in your--his-- house when we were there earlier. That's why we were shot at."
"We weren't meant to see it," he concluded aloud.
She nodded. "But, here's the part where you come in. He said that the gaps were portals to other systems--other worlds, parallel universes, or whatever you want to call them. As far as I know, the government's manipulation of the gaps wasn't particularly nefarious, when the government had them under control. Now, however, the government has somehow lost control of them.
"I know this all sounds far-fetched, but I think there's definitely something to it. In the past three years, the number of missing persons cases has skyrocketed all across the country, and there've been bizarre reports of people reappearing either insane or with completely different memories of their lives from what they had before they went missing. My John believed most of these people had accidentally wandered through the gaps out of or into our system."
A pause.
*Definitely a Mulder,* John thought.
"So . . . That's what you think's happened to me? I accidentally went through a stray . . . gap?" he asked.
"Yes."
"But what's so important about these gaps? For the government to be tinkering around with 'em, there's got to be something else."
"That's what I've been trying to figure out. I think my John would have found out had . . . well, if he'd managed to . . . live," she said uneasily.
*Had her John lived . . .* he mused. Hardly aware of what was going on, his mind momentarily allowed that other John, her John, to surface, flooding him with memories. It was just long enough to feel a shiver of *something* race through him . . .
*Oh, no. Please, no.*
Pushing that other John back down, he abruptly stood and took a step away from the bed, as though it were a bed of hot coals.
But he did believe her; he felt every word was true. Just a few elements were missing, but what she did say was true.
"At any rate, your life is in danger. If they saw you back at the house . . ." Sam started.
". . . They'll try to kill me, too, to make sure everything's settled," John finished.
She gave him an odd look for a moment. "Right . . . And there's something else we must consider: your--*his*--family. If I tell them everything, they could be in danger. If I omit you from the story, and just tell them about my John . . . Well, who knows how they'd handle it. The kids are pretty torn-up as it is from all of Dana's trouble."
"I dunno . . . I don't even know them," he said softly to himself.
There was another pause.
"Well, why don't you sleep on it," she suggested. "I'll tell you about all of them tomorrow, and we'll decide then."
"Sure," he replied. "See you tomorrow, then."
Sam rose from her chair, and went to the door to leave. Just as she opened it, though, another tremor of that . . . *something* . . . got hold of John.
"Sam."
She looked over her shoulder at him.
"I just wanted to say . . . thanks. For everything," he said sincerely.
"Well, you're my friend. Or, you're the spitting image of him, anyway."
And with that, she left John to ponder this strange new world.
**************************************************************************** ************************************
Remember to review, por favor, no matter what you think of my little yarn. Thanx! ;)
