Chapter 8
Skinner and Krycek circle the perimeter of the cabin twice before deciding that they're safe for the moment. Once they meet at the front of the cabin, Skinner pulls his gun on Krycek again, motioning for the man to take a seat on the porch swing.
"What's that for?" Krycek asks, staring at the gun more annoyed than anything. "Is this how you thank me for keeping your precious agents safe?"
"That is what I can't seem to figure out," Skinner starts, making sure Krycek doesn't even think about moving. "Why are you doing this? What are you up to? And just exactly what is going on with you and Scully to make her trust you all of a sudden."
"Why? Jealous?" Krycek almost expects the blow that comes when Skinner backhands him. He spits out the blood from his split lip onto the ground.
"I'm only going to ask one more time, Krycek. What are you up to?"
"You wouldn't believe me."
"Try me," Skinner snarls.
"Dana and I have been working together for almost two months now to find Mulder. I've been helping her track down leads while she worked the FBI angle. We got a call yesterday about Mulder being in the hospital in St. Louis. It felt kind of like a set up to me, but we went anyway. But I still was feeling not right about it, so we left. You know the rest."
"You've told me practically nothing, Krycek. I still don't know what you're up to."
"I'm not up to anything."
"You just decided, out of the blue, to help find a man you have no use for?" Skinner frowns and takes the safety off the gun, putting the barrel directly up against Krycek's forehead. "Something tells me that's not the truth. You're lying, and if you don't tell me what, then I'll . . . "
"Sir, that might not be wise."
Skinner and Krycek both turn to see Mulder standing against the door, holding onto the frame with all his might.
"Mulder, what are you doing up?" Skinner asks, putting the gun back into its holster. "You should be resting."
"Dana's going to kill you when she realizes you're up," Krycek warns.
"You seem to know an awful lot about Dana," Mulder says, his glare focused on Krycek. "How is that?"
"Mulder, let's sit you down," Skinner suggests, realizing there's no way he'd be able to get the man back inside without a struggle. He seems determined to talk to Krycek so Skinner's going to let him. Maybe he'll be able to get some information out of the man.
Skinner helps Mulder walk to the swing and sits him next to Krycek, wondering briefly if he should sit between them like a referee of some sort.
"Thanks," Mulder says, panting a bit for breath. "Why don't you give us a few minutes."
Skinner can tell he's been dismissed, so he goes back inside. But something tells him this is going to be a conversation he's sorry he missed.
Mulder waits until Skinner's gone back into the cabin before turning to Krycek.
"Why don't you tell me what you were holding back from Skinner," Mulder starts. "Because I just don't understand what's going on."
"I don't know where to start," Krycek admits. "It's complicated."
"Complicated," Mulder repeats. "In what way?"
Krycek just stares out into the dark forest, trying to gather his thoughts. There's no way he can keep this from Mulder.
"I saved your life," Alex says, figuring that's as good a place as any to start.
"You helped Scully find me," Mulder clarifies. "I just heard you tell Skinner that. But what I don't know is why?"
"Why did I help Scully find you? Because I was the one responsible for losing you in the first place," he laughs. "But you know what? The joke was on me. I gave you to them, but I was the one dying. The guilt was killing me."
"You led me right into a trap, didn't you?"
"You sound surprised," Krycek says with a mirthless chuckle.
If Mulder had the strength, he'd have his hands around Krycek's neck, squeezing until there was no breath left in his body. But sitting there, he's able to think about what he just said about the guilt killing him. He wants to know what he meant by that.
"You said the guilt was killing you . . . "
"Yeah, it shocked me too, believe me. Guilt is not an emotion I was used to feeling. But for some reason, I felt . . . I don't know, a connection or something, with you. I felt everything you did while they had you. I know when and how you got every scar on your body. Except I had to live through it night after night. Every time I went to sleep, I was where you were. It was . . . "
"Torture," Mulder says quietly, finishing the though Krycek left dangling.
"Yes, it was," Krycek nods, staring off into the distance again for a few moments before continuing. "I couldn't take it anymore and tried to kill myself one night. But you wouldn't let me die. You begged me to help you. To find you and stop the pain."
"I remember that happening. I thought it was one of their mind games," Mulder says with a gasp. "Why is this happening? Why you, of all people?"
"That's even more complicated," Krycek sighs. "Right after your abduction, I went to see Old Man Spender. To, um, deal with him. Once and for all."
"You killed him." It's not so much a question as it is a statement of fact, because Mulder knows that it's true.
"He had a lot of secrets he almost took to his grave," Krycek almost whispers. "One that I wish he had. Turns out that the old man was my father."
"Can't be. I don't believe it. Then that would mean . . . "
"How do you think I was able to save you at the hospital? You needed a bone marrow transfer. Bone marrow that came from me."
"No," Mulder shakes his head, not believing. "That's impossible. Are you trying to tell me we're brothers?"
"Twins actually," Scully says, pushing open the cabin door and stepping out on the porch. "I saw the test results myself, Mulder. There's no way I would have let them go ahead with the surgery unless I was sure the marrow would match."
"But . . this can't be," Mulder gasps, trying desperately to hold in his tears.
"Alex, give us some time, okay?" she asks, sending the other man into the house. She takes his seat next to Mulder on the porch and pulls him into her arms. "It's okay. It's going to be all right."
"How, Scully? That demon is my twin! How is that all right? You seem to have forgotten all that he's done to both of our families these past few years."
"No, Mulder, I haven't forgotten. But I also haven't forgotten how everyone seemed to give up on finding you. I haven't forgotten how one day, Alex Krycek showed up and was almost as desperate to find you as I was. I haven't forgotten how he spent many, many weeks following leads on your whereabouts, going places I physically couldn't. I remember all the evil he's done. But I also remember the good. And I had to forgive him and learn to trust him. Because it was the only way I was going to find you. You're going to have to do the same. I have a feeling that by forgiving him, you'll get to know the real Alex Krycek and also find out more about yourself."
"Easier said than done, Scully."
"Only if you want it to be. Mulder, Alex is not the enemy. The enemy is now dead. There's no reason why you two can't come to some sort of understanding." She takes his hand and places it on her swollen belly, rubbing gently. "Preferably before the next generation is born."
She leans over and places a kiss on his lips before resting her head on his shoulder. They sit in the silence and swing peacefully, each thinking of how their lives have changed so much. Scully thought that after they found Mulder, the rest of the journey would be easy. She never anticipated this hurdle. She can only pray that they'll be able to surmount it and become the family that they all deserve.
Chapter 9
Krycek keeps peeking out the window, annoying Skinner with his apparent nosiness.
"Why don't you leave them alone," Skinner snaps, flipping through his magazine. It was a pretty old one from the early eighties, but he wasn't really reading it anyway.
"I'm not looking at them. There's something out there. It's found us," Krycek says, the terror evident in his raspy voice.
"How do you know that? You keep on saying that something's coming, but you haven't told me what and you haven't told me how you know this. Why should I believe you?"
"I don't care what you do, Skinner. But I won't let Dana get hurt. So you can either stay here and die, or help me keep her safe."
Mulder and Scully hear the commotion going on and come inside, wondering what's going on. Scully sees the agitated look on Krycek's face and sends him a questioning gaze.
"They're coming, aren't they?" Mulder asks, seemingly knowing already what's happening without Krycek having to say.
"They must can sense us the same way we can sense them," Krycek guesses. "Maybe with the two of us together the signal is magnified or something."
"Let me guess. There wasn't anything in the old man's files about this, was there?"
"Sorry, buddy. We just have to wing it."
They both look to Skinner at the same time, having come to the same conclusion. Mulder is the one, however, who speaks first.
"You have to get her out of here, Sir."
"Mulder, no. Whatever this thing is . . . "
"It's too dangerous, Dana," Krycek interrupts her. "Besides, it just wants Mulder and me."
"But you both just got out of the hospital. How are you going to fight it?"
"We'll be fine, I promise," Mulder assures her, pulling her into a hug. "I have something to live for now. I have a family to come back to."
"You better come back to me, Mulder. Because I'll hunt you down for the rest of my life if you don't." She gives him the most passionate kiss she dares in front of company before stepping away and walking over to Krycek. "The same goes for you, Alex. Take care of each other."
She presses a quick kiss to his cheek, shocking him to silence. For once, he doesn't have a smart aleck remark for her.
"I'll do my best," he promises.
"There should be guns and ammunition in that cabinet," Skinner points out, tossing a set of keys at Mulder. "There's also a truck out back that should have enough gas to get you into town. We'll be there waiting for you. Don't make us wait long," he orders.
He shakes each of their hands, Krycek's a bit reluctantly, before leading Scully out the house and to the car.
Mulder feels a hole open in his heart watching Scully leave him behind, but he knows it's for the best. Whatever this thing is, he has to face it without her. But he's not alone, he's reminded as he looks over to Krycek. Scully warned him that one day he'd have to forgive and learn to trust the man. He just didn't think the time would be so soon. But it seems now that his very life depends on it.
"So, who was born first?" Mulder asks out of the blue.
"You were. I came 9 minutes later," Krycek smiles, both he and Mulder seeing the humor in the number.
"We're not going to beat this thing, are we?"
"I don't see how we can," Krycek shrugs. "I don't know what it is or what it wants with us. I just know that it wants us."
Mulder just nods, heading over to the cabinet and pulling out some guns. He takes one of the shot guns for himself and gives Krycek a smaller handgun.
"Then I guess if we're going down, we should go down fighting."
Just then, a bright light fills the cabin, blinding them temporarily. Mulder is paralyzed with fear, unable to move at all. It's just like out of his dreams, his memory of Samantha's abduction. Except this time instead of hearing Samantha calling for him, he feels a nudge at his side.
"Snap out of it, Mulder. They're coming. Let's hide back here until they come in. Maybe we can ambush them," Krycek orders. He pulls on Mulder's arm until Mulder realizes he has control of his actions.
They get out of the way just as the doors come crashing in. Four tall beings enter the room, leaving Mulder and Krycek speechless momentarily. But eventually, Mulder remembers his FBI training and comes up with a plan.
"You take the two on the left, I'll take the ones on the right," he whispers to Krycek. "On the count of three, shoot them and run before the fumes can get to us."
Mulder silently counts to three, slowly lifting his fingers. Together, him and Krycek aim and shoot, hitting three of the beings with the requisite kill shot to the neck. The other one ducks out of the way and only gets clipped in the shoulder.
Mulder has already turned to run, but realizes Alex isn't behind him.
"Krycek," he mutters. "Let's go."
"You're not going to believe this."
"What? What do you see?" Mulder's interest in piqued.
"Blood. Red blood. Seems our invaders are as human as we are," Krycek smiles.
They come out of their hiding place and check the three dead bodies before going to the one man still alive.
"Who are you?" Mulder asks. "What do you want with us?"
The man refuses to answer, choosing instead to reach for something in his pocket. By the time they get to him, it's too late. He's already activated some sort of device. With a increasing sickening of his stomach, Mulder realizes what the device is. He rips open the man's jacket to reveal a vest of explosives strapped to his chest.
"Looks like failure is not an option with this guy. He was either to capture us or kill us. Even if that means killing himself."
"We have to get out of here. We don't have long," Krycek says, pulling Mulder from the ground. "Which way is that truck?"
The men run out the back door, taking only the minimum time to check for any other assailants before running to the truck. Halfway across the field, Krycek slips, his foot falling down a hole. He can't get enough leverage with his one good arm to pull himself out.
Just as he reaches the truck, Mulder senses more than sees that Krycek is no longer behind him.
"Krycek? Krycek? Alex where are you?"
"Back here," Krycek grunts, still trying to free himself. "Get out of here. There wasn't a lot of time on that explosive."
Mulder considers it for only a moment before turning back and dashing across the field. He feels the fatigue starting to set in, having just got out of the hospital, but something deeper inside him is giving him the strength to go on.
"I got you," he says when he reaches the man. "Grab my hand."
He quickly pulls Alex out, and the two men make it back to the car. Mulder has just enough energy to fall into the front seat and shut the door, his tired body finally giving way to the fatigue. In the corners of his consciousness, he hears a roar of the truck engine coming to live and he can only trust that Krycek will get them to safety.
Chapter 10
Skinner and Scully get to town and call for back up, unwilling to let Krycek and Mulder face the enemy unaided. Scully looks around while Skinner places the call, both realizing they'd get more help with the request coming from an Assistant Director. Suddenly, something comes to her and she gets a sinking feeling in her heart.
"Sir," she calls, just as he hangs up the phone. "Look at that, leading to the cabin. Fresh tire tracks. Mulder and Alex think this is something supernatural. Then why would they need SUV's?"
"That's just what I was thinking," Skinner nods. "Someone is doing this to them. Someone human. Someone they can beat if we help them."
But she's already back in the car, ready to go back to the cabin. He joins her and head back in the direction they came. They're only driving a short while when they see an abandoned truck.
"That's the truck from the cabin," Skinner tells her, putting the car into park and runs over to the truck. "Krycek?"
"Help us," the man grunts, trying to pull a still unconscious Mulder from the front seat.
"What happened?" Scully asks, coming up behind them.
"The truck stalled. We have to get out of here now. They armed a bomb. It's going to blow any minute."
Skinner effortlessly scoops up Mulder and slings him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. They all rush back to the car, Scully taking the driver's seat this time. She barely waits for all the doors to close before taking off. They make it to safety just as a rumbling in the near distance lets them know they narrowly escaped certain death.
"That was too close," Krycek sighs, relief taking over his body.
And for once, they all agree with him. That was closer to death than they care to ever want to be again. As the sirens grow louder, they all feel relieved to know help is on the way. Maybe they'll make it through this after all.
After the ambulances arrive, they immediately start to work on Mulder, getting him started on an IV. They're just getting ready to take him away when he starts to wake.
"Mulder?" Scully asks tentatively, running the back off her fingers up and down his chin. "Can you hear me?"
"Am I dead?" he croaks.
"No, but you may feel like you are for a few days," she smiles. "They want to take you to the hospital."
"No! Please. No hospitals."
Scully bites her lip at the dilemma. She can see he obviously doesn't want to go, but she'd feel better with him there. She turns to the paramedic to get his opinion.
"What do you think?"
"Well, he appears to have just been dehydrated and exhausted. The IV seemed to have done the trick. But I'd recommend him at least seeing the doctor."
"Scully, you're the only doctor I need," Mulder says to her before lifting his arm with the IV to the paramedic. "Take this off please. I'm going home."
"Are you sure?" Scully asks. "You really should have a doctor check you out."
"I'm positive. And I told you before, I have my own doctor. I trust her to cure whatever ails me," he smiles before turning serious. "I just want to go home and get back to a normal life for awhile."
"I wish it were that simple from me. I don't know where home is anymore," Alex sighs. "I don't think I ever truly had one."
"Then you come with us," Mulder says quietly, almost not able to believe the words coming out of his own mouth. "Until you figure it out, home is with us. With your . . . family."
"You really mean that?"
"Yeah. I do," Mulder nods, placing a hand on Krycek's shoulder.
"All right, then. Thanks." Krycek turns his head so that they can't see the emotions threatening to overwhelm him. But Scully sees, her Mommy radar kicking into full gear.
"What is it, Alex?"
"It's just . . . well, I've never truly been accepted anywhere. I'm going to have to get used to this."
"Well, you saved my life, Alex. And I think we owe it to ourselves to give this thing family thing a try, don't you?"
"If you're willing then I'm willing . . . Fox." Alex laughs at the cringe on Mulder's face at hearing his first name.
"Ugh, not the name. That's going to have to be something we work up to," he laughs.
"Come on, Fox," Scully teases. "You don't expect your brother to call you by your last name, do you?"
"Not you too, Scully! Let's get out of here. I think this mountain air is getting to your brain."
Skinner just watches the three with a mixture of amazement and amusement. What a strange little group they make. But for some reason, they seemed determined to stay together. For their sakes, he hopes they succeed. Everyone needs family, even him. He hopes they have room for one more.
"Wait up, you guys," he calls out, jogging to catch up with them. He doesn't want to be left behind.
The End.
Skinner and Krycek circle the perimeter of the cabin twice before deciding that they're safe for the moment. Once they meet at the front of the cabin, Skinner pulls his gun on Krycek again, motioning for the man to take a seat on the porch swing.
"What's that for?" Krycek asks, staring at the gun more annoyed than anything. "Is this how you thank me for keeping your precious agents safe?"
"That is what I can't seem to figure out," Skinner starts, making sure Krycek doesn't even think about moving. "Why are you doing this? What are you up to? And just exactly what is going on with you and Scully to make her trust you all of a sudden."
"Why? Jealous?" Krycek almost expects the blow that comes when Skinner backhands him. He spits out the blood from his split lip onto the ground.
"I'm only going to ask one more time, Krycek. What are you up to?"
"You wouldn't believe me."
"Try me," Skinner snarls.
"Dana and I have been working together for almost two months now to find Mulder. I've been helping her track down leads while she worked the FBI angle. We got a call yesterday about Mulder being in the hospital in St. Louis. It felt kind of like a set up to me, but we went anyway. But I still was feeling not right about it, so we left. You know the rest."
"You've told me practically nothing, Krycek. I still don't know what you're up to."
"I'm not up to anything."
"You just decided, out of the blue, to help find a man you have no use for?" Skinner frowns and takes the safety off the gun, putting the barrel directly up against Krycek's forehead. "Something tells me that's not the truth. You're lying, and if you don't tell me what, then I'll . . . "
"Sir, that might not be wise."
Skinner and Krycek both turn to see Mulder standing against the door, holding onto the frame with all his might.
"Mulder, what are you doing up?" Skinner asks, putting the gun back into its holster. "You should be resting."
"Dana's going to kill you when she realizes you're up," Krycek warns.
"You seem to know an awful lot about Dana," Mulder says, his glare focused on Krycek. "How is that?"
"Mulder, let's sit you down," Skinner suggests, realizing there's no way he'd be able to get the man back inside without a struggle. He seems determined to talk to Krycek so Skinner's going to let him. Maybe he'll be able to get some information out of the man.
Skinner helps Mulder walk to the swing and sits him next to Krycek, wondering briefly if he should sit between them like a referee of some sort.
"Thanks," Mulder says, panting a bit for breath. "Why don't you give us a few minutes."
Skinner can tell he's been dismissed, so he goes back inside. But something tells him this is going to be a conversation he's sorry he missed.
Mulder waits until Skinner's gone back into the cabin before turning to Krycek.
"Why don't you tell me what you were holding back from Skinner," Mulder starts. "Because I just don't understand what's going on."
"I don't know where to start," Krycek admits. "It's complicated."
"Complicated," Mulder repeats. "In what way?"
Krycek just stares out into the dark forest, trying to gather his thoughts. There's no way he can keep this from Mulder.
"I saved your life," Alex says, figuring that's as good a place as any to start.
"You helped Scully find me," Mulder clarifies. "I just heard you tell Skinner that. But what I don't know is why?"
"Why did I help Scully find you? Because I was the one responsible for losing you in the first place," he laughs. "But you know what? The joke was on me. I gave you to them, but I was the one dying. The guilt was killing me."
"You led me right into a trap, didn't you?"
"You sound surprised," Krycek says with a mirthless chuckle.
If Mulder had the strength, he'd have his hands around Krycek's neck, squeezing until there was no breath left in his body. But sitting there, he's able to think about what he just said about the guilt killing him. He wants to know what he meant by that.
"You said the guilt was killing you . . . "
"Yeah, it shocked me too, believe me. Guilt is not an emotion I was used to feeling. But for some reason, I felt . . . I don't know, a connection or something, with you. I felt everything you did while they had you. I know when and how you got every scar on your body. Except I had to live through it night after night. Every time I went to sleep, I was where you were. It was . . . "
"Torture," Mulder says quietly, finishing the though Krycek left dangling.
"Yes, it was," Krycek nods, staring off into the distance again for a few moments before continuing. "I couldn't take it anymore and tried to kill myself one night. But you wouldn't let me die. You begged me to help you. To find you and stop the pain."
"I remember that happening. I thought it was one of their mind games," Mulder says with a gasp. "Why is this happening? Why you, of all people?"
"That's even more complicated," Krycek sighs. "Right after your abduction, I went to see Old Man Spender. To, um, deal with him. Once and for all."
"You killed him." It's not so much a question as it is a statement of fact, because Mulder knows that it's true.
"He had a lot of secrets he almost took to his grave," Krycek almost whispers. "One that I wish he had. Turns out that the old man was my father."
"Can't be. I don't believe it. Then that would mean . . . "
"How do you think I was able to save you at the hospital? You needed a bone marrow transfer. Bone marrow that came from me."
"No," Mulder shakes his head, not believing. "That's impossible. Are you trying to tell me we're brothers?"
"Twins actually," Scully says, pushing open the cabin door and stepping out on the porch. "I saw the test results myself, Mulder. There's no way I would have let them go ahead with the surgery unless I was sure the marrow would match."
"But . . this can't be," Mulder gasps, trying desperately to hold in his tears.
"Alex, give us some time, okay?" she asks, sending the other man into the house. She takes his seat next to Mulder on the porch and pulls him into her arms. "It's okay. It's going to be all right."
"How, Scully? That demon is my twin! How is that all right? You seem to have forgotten all that he's done to both of our families these past few years."
"No, Mulder, I haven't forgotten. But I also haven't forgotten how everyone seemed to give up on finding you. I haven't forgotten how one day, Alex Krycek showed up and was almost as desperate to find you as I was. I haven't forgotten how he spent many, many weeks following leads on your whereabouts, going places I physically couldn't. I remember all the evil he's done. But I also remember the good. And I had to forgive him and learn to trust him. Because it was the only way I was going to find you. You're going to have to do the same. I have a feeling that by forgiving him, you'll get to know the real Alex Krycek and also find out more about yourself."
"Easier said than done, Scully."
"Only if you want it to be. Mulder, Alex is not the enemy. The enemy is now dead. There's no reason why you two can't come to some sort of understanding." She takes his hand and places it on her swollen belly, rubbing gently. "Preferably before the next generation is born."
She leans over and places a kiss on his lips before resting her head on his shoulder. They sit in the silence and swing peacefully, each thinking of how their lives have changed so much. Scully thought that after they found Mulder, the rest of the journey would be easy. She never anticipated this hurdle. She can only pray that they'll be able to surmount it and become the family that they all deserve.
Chapter 9
Krycek keeps peeking out the window, annoying Skinner with his apparent nosiness.
"Why don't you leave them alone," Skinner snaps, flipping through his magazine. It was a pretty old one from the early eighties, but he wasn't really reading it anyway.
"I'm not looking at them. There's something out there. It's found us," Krycek says, the terror evident in his raspy voice.
"How do you know that? You keep on saying that something's coming, but you haven't told me what and you haven't told me how you know this. Why should I believe you?"
"I don't care what you do, Skinner. But I won't let Dana get hurt. So you can either stay here and die, or help me keep her safe."
Mulder and Scully hear the commotion going on and come inside, wondering what's going on. Scully sees the agitated look on Krycek's face and sends him a questioning gaze.
"They're coming, aren't they?" Mulder asks, seemingly knowing already what's happening without Krycek having to say.
"They must can sense us the same way we can sense them," Krycek guesses. "Maybe with the two of us together the signal is magnified or something."
"Let me guess. There wasn't anything in the old man's files about this, was there?"
"Sorry, buddy. We just have to wing it."
They both look to Skinner at the same time, having come to the same conclusion. Mulder is the one, however, who speaks first.
"You have to get her out of here, Sir."
"Mulder, no. Whatever this thing is . . . "
"It's too dangerous, Dana," Krycek interrupts her. "Besides, it just wants Mulder and me."
"But you both just got out of the hospital. How are you going to fight it?"
"We'll be fine, I promise," Mulder assures her, pulling her into a hug. "I have something to live for now. I have a family to come back to."
"You better come back to me, Mulder. Because I'll hunt you down for the rest of my life if you don't." She gives him the most passionate kiss she dares in front of company before stepping away and walking over to Krycek. "The same goes for you, Alex. Take care of each other."
She presses a quick kiss to his cheek, shocking him to silence. For once, he doesn't have a smart aleck remark for her.
"I'll do my best," he promises.
"There should be guns and ammunition in that cabinet," Skinner points out, tossing a set of keys at Mulder. "There's also a truck out back that should have enough gas to get you into town. We'll be there waiting for you. Don't make us wait long," he orders.
He shakes each of their hands, Krycek's a bit reluctantly, before leading Scully out the house and to the car.
Mulder feels a hole open in his heart watching Scully leave him behind, but he knows it's for the best. Whatever this thing is, he has to face it without her. But he's not alone, he's reminded as he looks over to Krycek. Scully warned him that one day he'd have to forgive and learn to trust the man. He just didn't think the time would be so soon. But it seems now that his very life depends on it.
"So, who was born first?" Mulder asks out of the blue.
"You were. I came 9 minutes later," Krycek smiles, both he and Mulder seeing the humor in the number.
"We're not going to beat this thing, are we?"
"I don't see how we can," Krycek shrugs. "I don't know what it is or what it wants with us. I just know that it wants us."
Mulder just nods, heading over to the cabinet and pulling out some guns. He takes one of the shot guns for himself and gives Krycek a smaller handgun.
"Then I guess if we're going down, we should go down fighting."
Just then, a bright light fills the cabin, blinding them temporarily. Mulder is paralyzed with fear, unable to move at all. It's just like out of his dreams, his memory of Samantha's abduction. Except this time instead of hearing Samantha calling for him, he feels a nudge at his side.
"Snap out of it, Mulder. They're coming. Let's hide back here until they come in. Maybe we can ambush them," Krycek orders. He pulls on Mulder's arm until Mulder realizes he has control of his actions.
They get out of the way just as the doors come crashing in. Four tall beings enter the room, leaving Mulder and Krycek speechless momentarily. But eventually, Mulder remembers his FBI training and comes up with a plan.
"You take the two on the left, I'll take the ones on the right," he whispers to Krycek. "On the count of three, shoot them and run before the fumes can get to us."
Mulder silently counts to three, slowly lifting his fingers. Together, him and Krycek aim and shoot, hitting three of the beings with the requisite kill shot to the neck. The other one ducks out of the way and only gets clipped in the shoulder.
Mulder has already turned to run, but realizes Alex isn't behind him.
"Krycek," he mutters. "Let's go."
"You're not going to believe this."
"What? What do you see?" Mulder's interest in piqued.
"Blood. Red blood. Seems our invaders are as human as we are," Krycek smiles.
They come out of their hiding place and check the three dead bodies before going to the one man still alive.
"Who are you?" Mulder asks. "What do you want with us?"
The man refuses to answer, choosing instead to reach for something in his pocket. By the time they get to him, it's too late. He's already activated some sort of device. With a increasing sickening of his stomach, Mulder realizes what the device is. He rips open the man's jacket to reveal a vest of explosives strapped to his chest.
"Looks like failure is not an option with this guy. He was either to capture us or kill us. Even if that means killing himself."
"We have to get out of here. We don't have long," Krycek says, pulling Mulder from the ground. "Which way is that truck?"
The men run out the back door, taking only the minimum time to check for any other assailants before running to the truck. Halfway across the field, Krycek slips, his foot falling down a hole. He can't get enough leverage with his one good arm to pull himself out.
Just as he reaches the truck, Mulder senses more than sees that Krycek is no longer behind him.
"Krycek? Krycek? Alex where are you?"
"Back here," Krycek grunts, still trying to free himself. "Get out of here. There wasn't a lot of time on that explosive."
Mulder considers it for only a moment before turning back and dashing across the field. He feels the fatigue starting to set in, having just got out of the hospital, but something deeper inside him is giving him the strength to go on.
"I got you," he says when he reaches the man. "Grab my hand."
He quickly pulls Alex out, and the two men make it back to the car. Mulder has just enough energy to fall into the front seat and shut the door, his tired body finally giving way to the fatigue. In the corners of his consciousness, he hears a roar of the truck engine coming to live and he can only trust that Krycek will get them to safety.
Chapter 10
Skinner and Scully get to town and call for back up, unwilling to let Krycek and Mulder face the enemy unaided. Scully looks around while Skinner places the call, both realizing they'd get more help with the request coming from an Assistant Director. Suddenly, something comes to her and she gets a sinking feeling in her heart.
"Sir," she calls, just as he hangs up the phone. "Look at that, leading to the cabin. Fresh tire tracks. Mulder and Alex think this is something supernatural. Then why would they need SUV's?"
"That's just what I was thinking," Skinner nods. "Someone is doing this to them. Someone human. Someone they can beat if we help them."
But she's already back in the car, ready to go back to the cabin. He joins her and head back in the direction they came. They're only driving a short while when they see an abandoned truck.
"That's the truck from the cabin," Skinner tells her, putting the car into park and runs over to the truck. "Krycek?"
"Help us," the man grunts, trying to pull a still unconscious Mulder from the front seat.
"What happened?" Scully asks, coming up behind them.
"The truck stalled. We have to get out of here now. They armed a bomb. It's going to blow any minute."
Skinner effortlessly scoops up Mulder and slings him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. They all rush back to the car, Scully taking the driver's seat this time. She barely waits for all the doors to close before taking off. They make it to safety just as a rumbling in the near distance lets them know they narrowly escaped certain death.
"That was too close," Krycek sighs, relief taking over his body.
And for once, they all agree with him. That was closer to death than they care to ever want to be again. As the sirens grow louder, they all feel relieved to know help is on the way. Maybe they'll make it through this after all.
After the ambulances arrive, they immediately start to work on Mulder, getting him started on an IV. They're just getting ready to take him away when he starts to wake.
"Mulder?" Scully asks tentatively, running the back off her fingers up and down his chin. "Can you hear me?"
"Am I dead?" he croaks.
"No, but you may feel like you are for a few days," she smiles. "They want to take you to the hospital."
"No! Please. No hospitals."
Scully bites her lip at the dilemma. She can see he obviously doesn't want to go, but she'd feel better with him there. She turns to the paramedic to get his opinion.
"What do you think?"
"Well, he appears to have just been dehydrated and exhausted. The IV seemed to have done the trick. But I'd recommend him at least seeing the doctor."
"Scully, you're the only doctor I need," Mulder says to her before lifting his arm with the IV to the paramedic. "Take this off please. I'm going home."
"Are you sure?" Scully asks. "You really should have a doctor check you out."
"I'm positive. And I told you before, I have my own doctor. I trust her to cure whatever ails me," he smiles before turning serious. "I just want to go home and get back to a normal life for awhile."
"I wish it were that simple from me. I don't know where home is anymore," Alex sighs. "I don't think I ever truly had one."
"Then you come with us," Mulder says quietly, almost not able to believe the words coming out of his own mouth. "Until you figure it out, home is with us. With your . . . family."
"You really mean that?"
"Yeah. I do," Mulder nods, placing a hand on Krycek's shoulder.
"All right, then. Thanks." Krycek turns his head so that they can't see the emotions threatening to overwhelm him. But Scully sees, her Mommy radar kicking into full gear.
"What is it, Alex?"
"It's just . . . well, I've never truly been accepted anywhere. I'm going to have to get used to this."
"Well, you saved my life, Alex. And I think we owe it to ourselves to give this thing family thing a try, don't you?"
"If you're willing then I'm willing . . . Fox." Alex laughs at the cringe on Mulder's face at hearing his first name.
"Ugh, not the name. That's going to have to be something we work up to," he laughs.
"Come on, Fox," Scully teases. "You don't expect your brother to call you by your last name, do you?"
"Not you too, Scully! Let's get out of here. I think this mountain air is getting to your brain."
Skinner just watches the three with a mixture of amazement and amusement. What a strange little group they make. But for some reason, they seemed determined to stay together. For their sakes, he hopes they succeed. Everyone needs family, even him. He hopes they have room for one more.
"Wait up, you guys," he calls out, jogging to catch up with them. He doesn't want to be left behind.
The End.