A Very Long Night - chapter eight
"Snow continuing for at least another 24 hours as the low pressure system seems to have stalled over much of Pennsylvania. Total accumulations anywhere from 18 to 36 inches before the storm is over."
Chip snapped off the Jeep radio and sighed to himself. This snow was making his job much harder than it had to be.
It had been so easy to slip poison to those two people. Unfortunately the female was some sort of health nut whose body had actually been able to hold off the poison.
Chip looked at her, bound and gagged sitting next to him in the car, knowing she would not be so lucky the second time around. He would kill her eventually, but planned on keeping her with him for a while first.
He was a bit lonely down in the cabin. A little female companionship was just what he needed.
About a mile from the main house he stopped the Jeep and got out to open up the back. He tugged and pulled and finally managed to pull Jake's body out. He unceremoniously dumped it by the side of the road.
It would first be covered by snowfall and then by the snowplows. They wouldn't be able to dig out the body until summer.
He got back in the car and turned to Stacy whose eyes were huge in terror.
"You know it was pretty easy to sneak you two out of the house. Those two agents were too busy talking to everyone and taking notes to even notice."
He paused a moment as he worked his way back onto the road. The snow was getting deep and even his Jeep was having a bit of trouble.
"Those two agents are going to cause me a lot of grief. I will have to take care of them next. Once I get rid of them, the rest of them will be like shooting ducks in a barrel."
Stacy started to quietly cry. "Don't worry honey. I like you. I am going to keep you around for awhile. Of course, I like that little redhead too. Maybe I will spend some quality time with her before slitting her throat."
Chip looked out the window and turned his wipers up to a faster speed. The snow was falling quicker now. "I wish this damn snow would stop - it is messing up everything." +++++++++++++++++++++++
Scully stood in the doorway of the storage room shaking her head in disbelief. What else could possibly go wrong? She groped through her pockets looking for her ever present flashlight only to realize that it was sitting neatly next to her bed.
"Great" she thought to herself as she slowly started feeling her way along the walls back to the main foyer.
She let out a small shriek as she bumped into someone.
"Scully, is that you?"
She sighed recognizing Mulder's voice. "Yeah, it's me. I only got a glimpse of the room before the lights went out. I think Jake's body is gone too."
Scully thought she heard Mulder nodding his agreement and was a bit surprised when he felt her body looking for her hand.
His touch felt nicer than she wanted to admit right now.
"Come on, we have to try to get back to the lounge"
They proceeded quietly along until they saw a shaft of light heading towards them. It was Colleen.
"There you are" Colleen said when she spotted them. "Here are a couple more flashlights. I am trying to round everyone up and get them into the lounge before anything else freaky happens."
Scully and Mulder both grabbed a flashlight. Mulder went looking for people stranded in the dark, while Scully headed back to the storage room.
Her observation had been correct. Jake's body was indeed gone. From what she could tell, it had been dragged through the door on the opposite side of the room. She would have to wait for daylight to look for any real clues.
Everyone else had gathered back in the lounge when Scully joined them. Colleen had dug out dozens of candles and the room was aglow in a warm light. It would have been a peaceful scene if not for the underlying tension in the room.
Mulder quickly filled everyone in on the disappearances. "Obviously there is some foul play going on here. I think it would be wise if we all stayed together and took shifts watching until morning"
Ray got up and started pacing the room. "Don't take this personally, anyone, but how do we know that one of us isn't doing all of this?"
Mulder paused before answering. "My gut feeling is that someone outside of this group is to blame but to be on the safe side - I think two or three of us should stay up at a time. Does anyone here besides Dana know how to use a weapon?"
Only Ray and Charlie, who worked in accounting, raised their hands. Both had done time in the service.
Suddenly Mulder realized that they were not on an official assignment and turned towards Scully "Dana did you happen to bring your weapon with you?"
"Actually, I brought two. I was on an assignment before coming here."
"Great, then along with mine we have three - unless of course someone else here is packing a weapon."
There were strained smiles as everyone looked nervously around the room at everyone else. Either no one else had a weapon or no one was going to admit to it.
Colleen stood by Mulder and gestured for everyone to be quiet. "We have plenty of camping gear stored in one of the back rooms. I think we should all get a sleeping bag and a pillow and camp out down here. The fire can keep us warm and I think we all agree that we will feel safer being together. Fox and I will take the first watch."
Mulder tried not to look surprised at Colleen's statement. He was secretly hoping that he and Scully would do the graveyard shift. He glanced towards her and saw Scully trying to hide a smirk.
She knew Colleen was after him and seemed to be enjoying watching him squirm.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It took over an hour for everyone to get settled in and to finally drift off into restless sleep. Colleen positioned herself on the coach and was hoping that Mulder would settle down next to her.
He didn't. He was too full of energy. His mind was slowly starting to work building a profile of the killer as he slowly paced the room.
Colleen watched him go back and forth in front of the fireplace. She was getting a bit frustrated. She had seen how he looked at Scully when he thought no one was watching and she knew that if she was to make her move, it would have to be tonight.
So she waited for her chance to pounce.
Colleen was rewarded about 20 minutes later when Mulder finally stopped his pacing and stood at the window looking outside into the blackness.
Within seconds she was coming up along side him. "When do you think the snow will stop?" she whispered trying not to wake the others.
"I have no idea - I bet we already have a foot of snow out there, if not more. Do you have a vehicle that can handle driving through this?"
"Only the Jeep and Chip took that to get himself home tonight. My little Saturn is useless in this stuff."
"And Chip has all the phones and computers?"
"Yeah. Look, I don't want to bother the others so why don't we go out to the foyer so we can talk easier?"
"Okay" Mulder said so deep in thought that he missed the obvious setting of the trap.
Colleen led him out to the foyer and motioned for him to sit on the loveseat next to her. As soon as he did, she threw herself on him pretending to be distraught by the entire situation.
She cried on him, whimpered and looked at him with big puppy-like eyes trying to get a reaction from him. Mulder began to fall for it and started to comfort her wrapping her in his arms.
She paused for a moment enjoying the feeling and went in for the kill. She pulled his face down and engulfed him in a passionate kiss.
Mulder was surprised at first and tried to resist but Colleen would not relinquish her hold on him. She deepened the kiss and Mulder felt a small twinge in his groin and knew that if he didn't stop immediately, he would be in serious danger.
It took quite an effort, but he pushed Colleen away. She looked at him and whimpered "What's the matter Fox? I think we both could use a little comfort right about now." She pulled away only far enough to maneuver her hand onto his crotch.
Mulder pushed her away and stood up quickly shaking his head. "Colleen I am indeed flattered but this is neither the time nor the place for the kind of comfort you are offering. How would you feel if something happened during our watch?"
"I would feel great if what I wanted to happen, happened."
"Well it's not. Why don't you try to get some sleep. I'll get Dana to stand watch with me."
Colleen was smart enough to know defeat when she saw it. She stood up and stormed back into the lounge throwing herself onto the couch. There was no way she was going to sleep on the floor.
Mulder went over and gently woke up Scully. She awoke with a start reaching for her weapon and only relaxed when she saw Mulder smiling down at her.
"Colleen got a little tired of standing watch. I was hoping you could keep me company."
Scully rubbed her eyes and sat up "Sure" she said her voice deep with sleep. "Just give me a second to pull myself together."
"Okay, I will be out in the foyer"
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scully joined Mulder out in the foyer and sat next to him on the loveseat. Their bodies weren't touching but they were both very much aware of the closeness of the other.
Mulder couldn't help but think of Colleen launching herself at him and wondering if he would have had the same response if Scully had been the one throwing herself at him.
"Nope" he thought to himself "I would have dragged off into another room in an instant"
They spoke briefly about the events of the evening and then fell into a comfortable silence.
When Ray and Charlie came to spell them a few hours later, they found them still sitting in the foyer. Mulder was wide awake keeping watch and Scully was fast asleep gently resting her head on his shoulder.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I love reading all the feedback. It keeps me motivated so keep it coming.
"Snow continuing for at least another 24 hours as the low pressure system seems to have stalled over much of Pennsylvania. Total accumulations anywhere from 18 to 36 inches before the storm is over."
Chip snapped off the Jeep radio and sighed to himself. This snow was making his job much harder than it had to be.
It had been so easy to slip poison to those two people. Unfortunately the female was some sort of health nut whose body had actually been able to hold off the poison.
Chip looked at her, bound and gagged sitting next to him in the car, knowing she would not be so lucky the second time around. He would kill her eventually, but planned on keeping her with him for a while first.
He was a bit lonely down in the cabin. A little female companionship was just what he needed.
About a mile from the main house he stopped the Jeep and got out to open up the back. He tugged and pulled and finally managed to pull Jake's body out. He unceremoniously dumped it by the side of the road.
It would first be covered by snowfall and then by the snowplows. They wouldn't be able to dig out the body until summer.
He got back in the car and turned to Stacy whose eyes were huge in terror.
"You know it was pretty easy to sneak you two out of the house. Those two agents were too busy talking to everyone and taking notes to even notice."
He paused a moment as he worked his way back onto the road. The snow was getting deep and even his Jeep was having a bit of trouble.
"Those two agents are going to cause me a lot of grief. I will have to take care of them next. Once I get rid of them, the rest of them will be like shooting ducks in a barrel."
Stacy started to quietly cry. "Don't worry honey. I like you. I am going to keep you around for awhile. Of course, I like that little redhead too. Maybe I will spend some quality time with her before slitting her throat."
Chip looked out the window and turned his wipers up to a faster speed. The snow was falling quicker now. "I wish this damn snow would stop - it is messing up everything." +++++++++++++++++++++++
Scully stood in the doorway of the storage room shaking her head in disbelief. What else could possibly go wrong? She groped through her pockets looking for her ever present flashlight only to realize that it was sitting neatly next to her bed.
"Great" she thought to herself as she slowly started feeling her way along the walls back to the main foyer.
She let out a small shriek as she bumped into someone.
"Scully, is that you?"
She sighed recognizing Mulder's voice. "Yeah, it's me. I only got a glimpse of the room before the lights went out. I think Jake's body is gone too."
Scully thought she heard Mulder nodding his agreement and was a bit surprised when he felt her body looking for her hand.
His touch felt nicer than she wanted to admit right now.
"Come on, we have to try to get back to the lounge"
They proceeded quietly along until they saw a shaft of light heading towards them. It was Colleen.
"There you are" Colleen said when she spotted them. "Here are a couple more flashlights. I am trying to round everyone up and get them into the lounge before anything else freaky happens."
Scully and Mulder both grabbed a flashlight. Mulder went looking for people stranded in the dark, while Scully headed back to the storage room.
Her observation had been correct. Jake's body was indeed gone. From what she could tell, it had been dragged through the door on the opposite side of the room. She would have to wait for daylight to look for any real clues.
Everyone else had gathered back in the lounge when Scully joined them. Colleen had dug out dozens of candles and the room was aglow in a warm light. It would have been a peaceful scene if not for the underlying tension in the room.
Mulder quickly filled everyone in on the disappearances. "Obviously there is some foul play going on here. I think it would be wise if we all stayed together and took shifts watching until morning"
Ray got up and started pacing the room. "Don't take this personally, anyone, but how do we know that one of us isn't doing all of this?"
Mulder paused before answering. "My gut feeling is that someone outside of this group is to blame but to be on the safe side - I think two or three of us should stay up at a time. Does anyone here besides Dana know how to use a weapon?"
Only Ray and Charlie, who worked in accounting, raised their hands. Both had done time in the service.
Suddenly Mulder realized that they were not on an official assignment and turned towards Scully "Dana did you happen to bring your weapon with you?"
"Actually, I brought two. I was on an assignment before coming here."
"Great, then along with mine we have three - unless of course someone else here is packing a weapon."
There were strained smiles as everyone looked nervously around the room at everyone else. Either no one else had a weapon or no one was going to admit to it.
Colleen stood by Mulder and gestured for everyone to be quiet. "We have plenty of camping gear stored in one of the back rooms. I think we should all get a sleeping bag and a pillow and camp out down here. The fire can keep us warm and I think we all agree that we will feel safer being together. Fox and I will take the first watch."
Mulder tried not to look surprised at Colleen's statement. He was secretly hoping that he and Scully would do the graveyard shift. He glanced towards her and saw Scully trying to hide a smirk.
She knew Colleen was after him and seemed to be enjoying watching him squirm.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
It took over an hour for everyone to get settled in and to finally drift off into restless sleep. Colleen positioned herself on the coach and was hoping that Mulder would settle down next to her.
He didn't. He was too full of energy. His mind was slowly starting to work building a profile of the killer as he slowly paced the room.
Colleen watched him go back and forth in front of the fireplace. She was getting a bit frustrated. She had seen how he looked at Scully when he thought no one was watching and she knew that if she was to make her move, it would have to be tonight.
So she waited for her chance to pounce.
Colleen was rewarded about 20 minutes later when Mulder finally stopped his pacing and stood at the window looking outside into the blackness.
Within seconds she was coming up along side him. "When do you think the snow will stop?" she whispered trying not to wake the others.
"I have no idea - I bet we already have a foot of snow out there, if not more. Do you have a vehicle that can handle driving through this?"
"Only the Jeep and Chip took that to get himself home tonight. My little Saturn is useless in this stuff."
"And Chip has all the phones and computers?"
"Yeah. Look, I don't want to bother the others so why don't we go out to the foyer so we can talk easier?"
"Okay" Mulder said so deep in thought that he missed the obvious setting of the trap.
Colleen led him out to the foyer and motioned for him to sit on the loveseat next to her. As soon as he did, she threw herself on him pretending to be distraught by the entire situation.
She cried on him, whimpered and looked at him with big puppy-like eyes trying to get a reaction from him. Mulder began to fall for it and started to comfort her wrapping her in his arms.
She paused for a moment enjoying the feeling and went in for the kill. She pulled his face down and engulfed him in a passionate kiss.
Mulder was surprised at first and tried to resist but Colleen would not relinquish her hold on him. She deepened the kiss and Mulder felt a small twinge in his groin and knew that if he didn't stop immediately, he would be in serious danger.
It took quite an effort, but he pushed Colleen away. She looked at him and whimpered "What's the matter Fox? I think we both could use a little comfort right about now." She pulled away only far enough to maneuver her hand onto his crotch.
Mulder pushed her away and stood up quickly shaking his head. "Colleen I am indeed flattered but this is neither the time nor the place for the kind of comfort you are offering. How would you feel if something happened during our watch?"
"I would feel great if what I wanted to happen, happened."
"Well it's not. Why don't you try to get some sleep. I'll get Dana to stand watch with me."
Colleen was smart enough to know defeat when she saw it. She stood up and stormed back into the lounge throwing herself onto the couch. There was no way she was going to sleep on the floor.
Mulder went over and gently woke up Scully. She awoke with a start reaching for her weapon and only relaxed when she saw Mulder smiling down at her.
"Colleen got a little tired of standing watch. I was hoping you could keep me company."
Scully rubbed her eyes and sat up "Sure" she said her voice deep with sleep. "Just give me a second to pull myself together."
"Okay, I will be out in the foyer"
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Scully joined Mulder out in the foyer and sat next to him on the loveseat. Their bodies weren't touching but they were both very much aware of the closeness of the other.
Mulder couldn't help but think of Colleen launching herself at him and wondering if he would have had the same response if Scully had been the one throwing herself at him.
"Nope" he thought to himself "I would have dragged off into another room in an instant"
They spoke briefly about the events of the evening and then fell into a comfortable silence.
When Ray and Charlie came to spell them a few hours later, they found them still sitting in the foyer. Mulder was wide awake keeping watch and Scully was fast asleep gently resting her head on his shoulder.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I love reading all the feedback. It keeps me motivated so keep it coming.