Ditched yet again, Scully was understandably pissed. After having checked Alyssa's room, she had walked out onto the parking lot just in time to see her take off in their rental. It was bad enough that she had to put up with this from Mulder. He always sought to protect her and thought that the best way to accomplish this was to take off on some foolhardy mission.  She should have known that Alyssa wouldn't be different. When are people going to realize that I can take care of myself?

It was thirty minutes before she was able to acquire another vehicle and take off after Alyssa. And it took her two and a half-hours to reach the lodge.  Scully got out of the Jeep Cherokee and headed straight for the main house and the front desk. She was about to hit the bell when she noticed that the computer was logged on and turned towards her. She didn't know if Alyssa had anticipated her arrival or not . . . for with her, who knew? . . . But there it was displayed in front of her, the name and location of the person responsible for Mulder's abduction: Samantha Mulder.

"Oh my God," she whispered. She couldn't even begin to imagine what Mulder was going through but she had a good idea.  If this was another clone of his sister. . . Scully knew that she had to get to him. She just prayed to God that she wasn't too late.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Mulder heard the latch give on the cellar hatch above his head and quickly stashed away the stone chip he'd been using unsuccessfully to cut through the leather strap at his neck. The light wasn't as intense as it had been before and Samantha didn't bother coming down this time. Instead he saw that she had lain down on the floor above and had propped her chin on top of her hands.  Mulder approached the opening carefully and glanced up into a smile that could rival that of the Cheshire Cat.

"Well, don't you just look pleased with yourself.  Tell me, did you just eat Mickey or did you manage to gobble up the Mousketeers too?"

"Now, Fox, didn't mother ever tell you that it was impolite to tease?  Anyway, that doesn't matter. I have something to tell you."

As he watched her, he could practically see her body glow from all the excitement she tried to contain. Even her eyes glowed, figuratively and literally, like the anticipation of a child about to share a big secret. Mulder didn't dare ask what it was that had gotten her so excited. That was a question of which he had already guessed, and dreaded, the answer. He didn't have to wait long before she told him anyway.

"I'll give you a hint. One bird looks like you but sings a prettier, if weak, tune," she said in a singsong voice.  "The other bird tweaks your beak and sings a song just for you. That's right, Fox, they're here." With that last note, the clone slammed the hatch shut and left Mulder staring at cracked and decaying wood.

He thought it ironic that it was that view which led him to a realization. The cabin was old. Very old. And that meant that the chain, which was anchored in old mortar, might not be so soundly secure in the wall as he had previously thought. Wrapping his hands around the chain, Mulder braced his feet and steadily began to pull. At first there was nothing, then he heard the telling sound of the bolts starting to give.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Scully stopped the jeep about a quarter of a mile down the road from the cabin.  It was less than that through the woods. Her gun at the ready, she began to circle the cabin from the tree line. The front of the cabin opened up onto a large lawn with a curved drive positioned towards the left that circled back onto the road. The right side of the cabin opened up to a large porch that stretched along its length with a narrow boardwalk extending 5 yards to a dock and a small speedboat. Scully continued to circle round to the left until she was nearly at the drive and could see the left side of the house more clearly. On that side she noticed small windows at the base of the cabin that were barely visible through the overgrown grass. The windows were probably those of a cellar in which she was sure Mulder was being kept. 

Damn, Scully thought, the worst things always seem to happen to us in cellars.

Scully decided that she would sit and wait. She hadn't seen any movement and she had no idea what Alyssa had planned. She did know that she wasn't leaving here without Mulder, even if she had to take 'Samantha' out to do it. It was then that she heard it. Actually it had been more of a feeling than anything else, and she ducked down just in time to avoid a blow to her head. There, right behind her, she brought her gun up to point at a woman who was the spitting image of Samantha Mulder.

"Hello, Dana. Nice move. Can you do it again?"

Samantha took another swing, which Scully sidestepped, but not before her gun was knocked form her hand. She was then caught hard in the side by a powerful kick. Scully barely had time to recover before she received another forceful blow to the temple a second later. Down on the ground, Scully looked up through bleared eyes into the face of a mad woman and knew that, if she didn't act quickly, she wouldn't have another chance.