Chapter 2
Avondale Park
Washington D.C. 10 a.m.
Detective Pendrell, a man in his late 40's approached an area that had been sectioned off by a "Police Line Do Not Cross". The local coroner was already on the scene as well as various police officers. There was a large crowd gathered just outside the restricted area and the local law enforcement had their hands full trying to keep them at bay.
"So, what does it appear we have, John?" asked Pendrell walking up to the coroner.
"Oh, hi George," said the coroner looking up from his place on the ground. "Well, it appears we have a homicide on our hands. Only this is one of the more violent and bizarre ones that I have seen.." He uncovered the body. "Take a look for yourself."
Pendrell looked on in shock as he stared at the body. "My god!" he muttered. "It looks like this man had his throat torn out!"
"Yep and that's not all. He appears to have been drained of every last drop of blood," the coroner added covering the body again.
"So, do you have any theories as to what may have done this?" asked Pendrell.
"Well, at first I thought it might have been some kind of wild animal but then again there would have been blood at the scene." The coroner pointed to the area in which the body had been discovered. "As you can see there is no blood to be found anywhere and no animal tracks leading away from the crime scene."
"If it wasn't a wild animal, then what the hell was it John?"
"Frankly George I'm stumped. However, I have taken the liberty of contacting my friend Walter Skinner of the FBI." The coroner stood up next to Pendrell. "He tells me he has two agents who specialize in this kind of thing."
"Two agents who specialize in bizarre homicides? Now that must be an interesting job!" laughed Pendrell.
He had barely finished speaking when he noticed two individuals making their way across the park. Flashing their ID's they proceeded and walked under the police tape. As they came closer he could see that one was a man and the other a woman.
The man walked up to Pendrell and flashed his ID. "Excuse me, I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder and this is my partner Special Agent Dana Scully. We're with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Could you please direct me to the person in charge here?"
"That would be me," answered Pendrell. "so, would you happen to be the two agents that specialize in "strange" homicides?" he said looking at the coroner and smiling.
Mulder grinned. "So, is that what you have been told about us? That we deal with "strange" homicides?" He watched as Scully walked away and headed towards the body. "Well, let's just say that we are assigned to the cases that are not classified as "normal". He leaned over to Pendrell. "As a matter of fact, our last case involved a government official who dressed as a transvestite and was discovered to be an alien."
Pendrell looked at Mulder and a less than pleased look. "So, this is what American tax dollars pay for?"
Mulder shrugged his shoulders and walked over to Scully who was putting on a pair of laytex gloves. She crouched down next to the body and removed the sheet. As she stared at the face of the body, a flash of a man wearing long robes and a crown appeared in her mind. Her image was interrupted by Mulder's voice.
"So, what do we have Dr. Scully?"
She looked at Mulder seemingly in a daze. "Wha...what?"
"You ok, Scully?" said Mulder crouching beside her.
"Yeah....yeah sorry I guess I kind of zoned there for a minute." She shook her head. "I'm ok though." She began to read the clip board that the coroner had handed her. "According to the report, this man was drained entirely of blood and his throat was torn out." She began to run her hands up and down the right side of the victim's neck. "It also appears that this man's throat was crushed judging by the vertebrae."
Mulder put on a pair of latex gloves and examined the left side of the neck. Moving the head over to the side, he saw two tiny puncture marks. "Is there anything on that report about what they believe may have done this?"
Scully leafed through the report. "As a matter of fact, they are saying that he was attacked by an animal of some kind. Only..." She turned the page. "There does not appear to be any more blood near the body to substantiate it. However, there are two puncture marks located on the left side of the neck."
"Answer me this Scully, how does a full grown man die in the middle of the night in a Washington D.C. park and what kind of animal drains it's victim of all it's blood and leaves no trace?"
Scully makes a side glance to Mulder. "I'm assuming you have a theory about what this might be? You don't think this is a chucacabra do you?
Mulder grinned. "Well considering that we are not in South America and that there have never been any human victims, no. However, there is one theory I have and that is that this man was killed by something that has been around for centuries. Something that drains all its blood from its victims and leaves no trace."
"Mulder if you are thinking what I think you are...."
"What? Do you have a better explanation?"
"You're trying to say that this man was attacked by a vampire right? A mystical creature that just appeared out of the night and just sucked the blood out of this man and then just disappeared into thin air. Mulder are you insane? Do you realize who this man is? This man is one of the most influential business men in the entire world! You are going to go on record in front of the entire world and tell them that this.. this famous man was killed by a vampire?!"
"Well what other explanation is there? You said it yourself Scully. There is no conclusive evidence to support that this man was attacked by an animal and there is no other way that this man could be drained without there being blood everywhere." He looked to Scully and all she could do was let out a sigh. He continued. "And...and there were no animal tracks leading away from the scene."
"All right Mulder. I do agree that this man was not killed by an animal." Mulder gave her a grin as if he had achieved a great victory. She stared at him intently and continued. "However I do have a more reasonable theory that could just be possible." Mulder's grin faded as she spoke. "Did you ever think that maybe this was a gang related incident? The two puncture marks could have easily been made by two needles. Maybe he was attacked by a gang who believed themselves to be vampires and they were able to drain him of his blood using needles. That would explain why there was no blood found at the scene. As for his throat being torn out it was just done out of violence."
Mulder looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I figured you would come up with something like that."
"Mulder you are jumping to conclusions before we have even studied this case! Personally, I don't plan on making any deductions until I have at least performed an autopsy." Mulder just turned his head away and rolled his eyes at her.
As Mulder looked towards the crowd standing behind the police line, he was drawn to a particular person who stood out. He wore a long black coat, black boots and had dark sunglasses on. Taking off the sunglasses he stared at Mulder. Mulder could feel an electrical surge pulse through him as the man stared at him. His mind became like a movie with scenes flashing before him. With his eyes closed the images of a farm and a castle on a hill and a young girl with long red hair danced before him. The young girl had a radiant beam around her and as he focused more he could see that she was smiling at him. Upon closer observation he could see that she looked a lot like...
"Mulder?" said a voice bringing him back to reality. His head was throbbing in pain from the sudden jolt. He opened his eyes and grabbed his head. He looked up to see that was Scully was staring at him. Mulder stared at her.
Scully stared back at him. "Mulder, is something wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Mulder fumbled for words. "I...I don't know. I was just.." Suddenly everything started to get fuzzy around him and he found himself on the ground.
Scully ran to Mulder's side and stooped down. "Mulder? Oh my god are you all right?" She placed her hand under Mulder's head and began to lift it. Mulder tried to get up but Scully pushed him back down. "No. No Mulder just lay here and rest. It appears that you have had a shock of some kind." She noticed that the detective and the coroner had saw Mulder collapse and had made their way over.
Detective Pendrell was the first to reach them. "Agent Scully, is he all right? What happened?"
Scully looked up from where she was crouched. "To be honest, I don't really know. He was standing here and the next he fell. I do think he had some kind of seizure or something. " She looked down at Mulder. "Mulder can you tell me what happened?"
Mulder struggled to focus as she spoke. "There was this..this man I saw him in the crowd. He was dressed all in black. He looked at me and then the next thing I knew.."
Scully looked in the crowd searching for the person that Mulder had described but she saw no one that fit his description. "Mulder, there is no one like that in the crowd. You are sure you saw him right?"
"I know what I saw Scully. It was not just my imagination. I saw him."
"I believe you Mulder. It's just that he is not there anymore and if he is where you said he was he could not have left that quickly."
The coroner and Detective Pendrell looked at each other. Scully ignored their stares as she helped Mulder to sit up. "Mulder, I think I should get you home. I have already asked the coroner to have the body sent to Quantico and I will do the autopsy later. I will tell Skinner that you were not feeling well today and we can pick up on this case tomorrow. It is important that you rest Mulder and as your Dr and partner that is an order, understand?"
Mulder looked up and smiled. "Well after putting it that way, I guess I have no choice. Do I?"
"No you don't." Scully said returning the smile. She helped Mulder to his feet. Seeing that he was a little unsteady she put her arm around his shoulders to steady him. As they began to walk she turned to Pendrell and the coroner. "We will be in touch with you later. Thank you for your help."
As Mulder walked with Scully he was preoccupied in his thoughts. Who was that man he had seen and why had all those strange images come to him?
Avondale Park
Washington D.C. 10 a.m.
Detective Pendrell, a man in his late 40's approached an area that had been sectioned off by a "Police Line Do Not Cross". The local coroner was already on the scene as well as various police officers. There was a large crowd gathered just outside the restricted area and the local law enforcement had their hands full trying to keep them at bay.
"So, what does it appear we have, John?" asked Pendrell walking up to the coroner.
"Oh, hi George," said the coroner looking up from his place on the ground. "Well, it appears we have a homicide on our hands. Only this is one of the more violent and bizarre ones that I have seen.." He uncovered the body. "Take a look for yourself."
Pendrell looked on in shock as he stared at the body. "My god!" he muttered. "It looks like this man had his throat torn out!"
"Yep and that's not all. He appears to have been drained of every last drop of blood," the coroner added covering the body again.
"So, do you have any theories as to what may have done this?" asked Pendrell.
"Well, at first I thought it might have been some kind of wild animal but then again there would have been blood at the scene." The coroner pointed to the area in which the body had been discovered. "As you can see there is no blood to be found anywhere and no animal tracks leading away from the crime scene."
"If it wasn't a wild animal, then what the hell was it John?"
"Frankly George I'm stumped. However, I have taken the liberty of contacting my friend Walter Skinner of the FBI." The coroner stood up next to Pendrell. "He tells me he has two agents who specialize in this kind of thing."
"Two agents who specialize in bizarre homicides? Now that must be an interesting job!" laughed Pendrell.
He had barely finished speaking when he noticed two individuals making their way across the park. Flashing their ID's they proceeded and walked under the police tape. As they came closer he could see that one was a man and the other a woman.
The man walked up to Pendrell and flashed his ID. "Excuse me, I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder and this is my partner Special Agent Dana Scully. We're with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Could you please direct me to the person in charge here?"
"That would be me," answered Pendrell. "so, would you happen to be the two agents that specialize in "strange" homicides?" he said looking at the coroner and smiling.
Mulder grinned. "So, is that what you have been told about us? That we deal with "strange" homicides?" He watched as Scully walked away and headed towards the body. "Well, let's just say that we are assigned to the cases that are not classified as "normal". He leaned over to Pendrell. "As a matter of fact, our last case involved a government official who dressed as a transvestite and was discovered to be an alien."
Pendrell looked at Mulder and a less than pleased look. "So, this is what American tax dollars pay for?"
Mulder shrugged his shoulders and walked over to Scully who was putting on a pair of laytex gloves. She crouched down next to the body and removed the sheet. As she stared at the face of the body, a flash of a man wearing long robes and a crown appeared in her mind. Her image was interrupted by Mulder's voice.
"So, what do we have Dr. Scully?"
She looked at Mulder seemingly in a daze. "Wha...what?"
"You ok, Scully?" said Mulder crouching beside her.
"Yeah....yeah sorry I guess I kind of zoned there for a minute." She shook her head. "I'm ok though." She began to read the clip board that the coroner had handed her. "According to the report, this man was drained entirely of blood and his throat was torn out." She began to run her hands up and down the right side of the victim's neck. "It also appears that this man's throat was crushed judging by the vertebrae."
Mulder put on a pair of latex gloves and examined the left side of the neck. Moving the head over to the side, he saw two tiny puncture marks. "Is there anything on that report about what they believe may have done this?"
Scully leafed through the report. "As a matter of fact, they are saying that he was attacked by an animal of some kind. Only..." She turned the page. "There does not appear to be any more blood near the body to substantiate it. However, there are two puncture marks located on the left side of the neck."
"Answer me this Scully, how does a full grown man die in the middle of the night in a Washington D.C. park and what kind of animal drains it's victim of all it's blood and leaves no trace?"
Scully makes a side glance to Mulder. "I'm assuming you have a theory about what this might be? You don't think this is a chucacabra do you?
Mulder grinned. "Well considering that we are not in South America and that there have never been any human victims, no. However, there is one theory I have and that is that this man was killed by something that has been around for centuries. Something that drains all its blood from its victims and leaves no trace."
"Mulder if you are thinking what I think you are...."
"What? Do you have a better explanation?"
"You're trying to say that this man was attacked by a vampire right? A mystical creature that just appeared out of the night and just sucked the blood out of this man and then just disappeared into thin air. Mulder are you insane? Do you realize who this man is? This man is one of the most influential business men in the entire world! You are going to go on record in front of the entire world and tell them that this.. this famous man was killed by a vampire?!"
"Well what other explanation is there? You said it yourself Scully. There is no conclusive evidence to support that this man was attacked by an animal and there is no other way that this man could be drained without there being blood everywhere." He looked to Scully and all she could do was let out a sigh. He continued. "And...and there were no animal tracks leading away from the scene."
"All right Mulder. I do agree that this man was not killed by an animal." Mulder gave her a grin as if he had achieved a great victory. She stared at him intently and continued. "However I do have a more reasonable theory that could just be possible." Mulder's grin faded as she spoke. "Did you ever think that maybe this was a gang related incident? The two puncture marks could have easily been made by two needles. Maybe he was attacked by a gang who believed themselves to be vampires and they were able to drain him of his blood using needles. That would explain why there was no blood found at the scene. As for his throat being torn out it was just done out of violence."
Mulder looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I figured you would come up with something like that."
"Mulder you are jumping to conclusions before we have even studied this case! Personally, I don't plan on making any deductions until I have at least performed an autopsy." Mulder just turned his head away and rolled his eyes at her.
As Mulder looked towards the crowd standing behind the police line, he was drawn to a particular person who stood out. He wore a long black coat, black boots and had dark sunglasses on. Taking off the sunglasses he stared at Mulder. Mulder could feel an electrical surge pulse through him as the man stared at him. His mind became like a movie with scenes flashing before him. With his eyes closed the images of a farm and a castle on a hill and a young girl with long red hair danced before him. The young girl had a radiant beam around her and as he focused more he could see that she was smiling at him. Upon closer observation he could see that she looked a lot like...
"Mulder?" said a voice bringing him back to reality. His head was throbbing in pain from the sudden jolt. He opened his eyes and grabbed his head. He looked up to see that was Scully was staring at him. Mulder stared at her.
Scully stared back at him. "Mulder, is something wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Mulder fumbled for words. "I...I don't know. I was just.." Suddenly everything started to get fuzzy around him and he found himself on the ground.
Scully ran to Mulder's side and stooped down. "Mulder? Oh my god are you all right?" She placed her hand under Mulder's head and began to lift it. Mulder tried to get up but Scully pushed him back down. "No. No Mulder just lay here and rest. It appears that you have had a shock of some kind." She noticed that the detective and the coroner had saw Mulder collapse and had made their way over.
Detective Pendrell was the first to reach them. "Agent Scully, is he all right? What happened?"
Scully looked up from where she was crouched. "To be honest, I don't really know. He was standing here and the next he fell. I do think he had some kind of seizure or something. " She looked down at Mulder. "Mulder can you tell me what happened?"
Mulder struggled to focus as she spoke. "There was this..this man I saw him in the crowd. He was dressed all in black. He looked at me and then the next thing I knew.."
Scully looked in the crowd searching for the person that Mulder had described but she saw no one that fit his description. "Mulder, there is no one like that in the crowd. You are sure you saw him right?"
"I know what I saw Scully. It was not just my imagination. I saw him."
"I believe you Mulder. It's just that he is not there anymore and if he is where you said he was he could not have left that quickly."
The coroner and Detective Pendrell looked at each other. Scully ignored their stares as she helped Mulder to sit up. "Mulder, I think I should get you home. I have already asked the coroner to have the body sent to Quantico and I will do the autopsy later. I will tell Skinner that you were not feeling well today and we can pick up on this case tomorrow. It is important that you rest Mulder and as your Dr and partner that is an order, understand?"
Mulder looked up and smiled. "Well after putting it that way, I guess I have no choice. Do I?"
"No you don't." Scully said returning the smile. She helped Mulder to his feet. Seeing that he was a little unsteady she put her arm around his shoulders to steady him. As they began to walk she turned to Pendrell and the coroner. "We will be in touch with you later. Thank you for your help."
As Mulder walked with Scully he was preoccupied in his thoughts. Who was that man he had seen and why had all those strange images come to him?