Part 39.
It was pitch dark now. They had been hiking for over an hour and they had yet to come across anything that might lead them directly to Monica. John felt like they were walking in circles. He knew they weren't since they were still following the path. But it felt like it.
Mulder stopped walking suddenly and Scully and John turned to look at him.
"What?" John looked at him impatiently.
"I think we're going about this the wrong way."
"What the hell does that mean? They were in a car, so they had to of followed this path."
Mulder ignored him and slowly turned a circle. It was very difficult to make out the surroundings. They only had enough moonlight to guide them along the path. They didn't dare take out their flashlights. "We would have seen a turn off or a driveway by now."
All three of them stared at each other with uncertainty for a moment. Then Scully stepped away and walked over to the lining of trees. Staring into the canopy of darkness, she said, "I think John's right, Mulder. I mean, how could these men have just taken their car and veered off without leaving a trail blazed behind them?"
Scully turned around and gazed at both men. "I know we are in almost complete darkness here, but we have enough moonlight to know when there is a sudden clearing of trees."
"Right, and that's just the way humans would hide, but were not dealing with humans here. Come on Scully, you remember all of things the Super Soldiers were able to do…"
Scully looked at him and then averted her eyes and stared up at the moon and Mulder felt like the stupidest son of a bitch in the world. Of course she remembered…what the hell was he thinking?
Before Mulder could say anything else, John said, "Oh right…because we're dealing with Red Guns here, nothing logical is going to help us locate her? Bullshit. They had to of taken this path. Besides, wouldn't we have seen lights by now if we had run across the place where these Red Guns have set up camp?"
With that, John began to hike up the path again and Mulder and Scully fell into step right behind him. Mulder reached out and grasped Scully's hand and began to rub it gently with his thumb. Scully looked over in surprise and smiled at the guilty look on his face.
She shook her head slightly to tell him everything was okay.
The three agents kept walking silently through the darkness, the moonlight their only guide.
Owls hooted in the distance, and sometimes right next to them, which made them nearly jump out of their shoes the first time. They were all on edge with being extremely worried about Monica and not knowing if they were on the right 'path', so to speak.
Wind blew around them once in awhile and sent the dead leaves dancing. A couple of times a tree branch would snap or the bushes near them would rustle and the agents would stop and, guns drawn, investigate the perpetrator. So far they had managed to point their guns at four deer and two squirrels.
Three hours later, they stopped simultaneously and looked at each other.
"I don't get it. We saw them go down this path!" Scully blew out a long breathe and glanced around her.
"They did. I know they did." John looked at both of them. "You guys are going to give up aren't you? Well, if you are, have a nice hike back. I know she's here and I'm not leaving without her."
"We're not giving up. We're just trying to figure this out. We'll find her John." Scully smiled at him encouragingly and looked at Mulder. "So, got any theories Mr. Spooky?"
Mulder didn't look at her when he swung his arm around her and still stared hard down the path. "Now? Well…not really. But you can bet they are trying their damnest not to be seen."
That got John's attention. "Yeah? How do you figure?"
"Well, if they really do plan on taking over the world, they better be ready to do it. Even with everything they are able to do, it's still not enough to gain complete control, to gain power. They need time to plan and time to strategize. That's where the Super Soldiers fell short. They got too cocky too quick."
Scully and John stared at Mulder.
Then John turned around and began to almost jog down the path.
Scully ducked out from under his arm and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Nice job Mulder. The man is already sick to death with worry and now you've just sent him over the edge."
Suddenly they heard what sounded like crashing in the trees to their right. Flashlights began to cut through the trees.
Mulder and Scully raced silently after John and almost ran into him about fifteen feet ahead. He was crouched behind a bush and staring at the bobbing lights.
"Looks like we hit the jack pot," John whispered.
Part 40.
Monica felt the gun prod her in the back as a Red Gun pushed her along down a dark trail. They were in the woods, moving somewhere north of the cabin. Threatening dark clouds were beginning to roll in and cover up the moonlight. Maybe it was better that she couldn't see what she was being led into. Or that she couldn't see the other innocent people being led to their deaths as well. And they were going to die. No doubt about that.
Glancing to the right she could see the dark images of figures being pushed along too and she couldn't help but grimace.
It seemed like days ago since she had made that run to the barn and had discovered all of those people being held captive by the Red Guns. But she knew it had only been hours, since the sun hadn't come up yet. Remembering when the light had exploded in her face, she could still see, in her mind, all of the people sitting motionless. Only their eyes told her of their fear. There must have been at least a hundred innocent people sitting on the floor of the barn. When the Red Guns had seen her, they had yanked her down on the ground and had shoved a rifle to her head. She had sat still for awhile and then was ordered to stand up and to begin walking.
Now they were in the forest. Even though she could hardly see, she knew that they were being led in groups. About twenty people in each, if she had to guess. Less suspicious. Right, so people being forced by gun to walk isn't suspicious? Monica felt hysteria crawling up her throat and struggled to keep it down.
To keep herself sane Monica trained her eyes forward. Occasionally lights bounced off trees and people in front of her. Reflecting green eyes would peer at her through the darkness and then scamper away.
Lucky animals.
There was a time she knew she could do that too. Use her instincts, mentally and physically, and outsmart her captors. But now, she was done. She had nothing to fight with. Physically she was weakening by the minute. Her feet were beyond hope. She now had a twisted ankle because she stepped wrong on a root a few miles back. But what good was it to think about these things?
She was going to die anyway.
Tears threatened again and Monica let them escape. Who the hell cared? The Red Guns would probably love to see it, the sheer weakness of it. But it was dark so the hell with it.
On and on they marched. Stumbling on branches and rocks, they kept going. Red Guns silently guarding them, their only warnings were the shoving of rifles to their heads if they slowed down.
Suddenly a Red Gun in front of her stopped and Monica almost ran into him. No, they couldn't stop! She didn't think she could keep walking if they stopped and then decided to press on again. Her legs were shaking and dizziness threatened to take over her body and numb it.
But they were ordered to stop. Silence engulfed her as she stood still and could only hear the harsh breathing from the other prisoners. Even the animals hiding in the trees and brush were silent.
Then the Red Guns began yanking them in all different directions. A Red Gun grabbed her and pulled her with him a few feet where he planted her in place and went to grab another person. They were putting them into a circle, she realized. Moonlight peeked through the clouds and Monica could see the faces of those who stood in front of her. No children, which made Monica sigh with relief.
"Well if it isn't Agent Reyes."
Monica refused to acknowledge Agent Ryan as she stared straight ahead.
"You're really not looking too good." Agent Ryan laughed and caressed her swollen cheek. Monica had to fight with everything she had not to grimace at his touch.
Fucking bastard.
When Monica refused to say anything, Agent Ryan tried again. "So, want to hear the details of what's going to happen next? Sure you do. Now I can't tell you all since I know you actually have a brain and there's a slight chance you could try to stop us."
Agent Ryan laughed again and really seemed to be enjoying himself.
Monica fisted her hands but showed no emotion on her face.
"You," Agent Ryan gestured to the circle, " will be our example. This group of fine human beings will be our key in making the world know we mean business. Well, I shouldn't say you in particular. We have a different job for you."
Monica couldn't stand it any longer and turned her head to look at him. "What?"
Agent Ryan smiled, "You will manipulate for us."
Monica looked at him and started to laugh. He was kidding right? They still wanted her to help them? After her attempts at escape and her obvious hatred for them, for their plan? They really thought she would help them?
Agent Ryan lost his smile and Monica could see heads, silhouetted in the moonlight, turn to look at her. She wasn't surprised. Who in their right mind would be laughing at a time like this?
Calming down, Monica looked back at him, "No, I won't do that. I'd rather you kill me right here, right now."
"Ah, well that can be arranged."