Her heart thudded rapidly and so loudly she was sure that the sound alone would give her away. In the few seconds it took the men to cross the room, Scully's mind raced with her limited options. She quickly decided against facing them and pulling her gun, because her chances of getting away in that scenario were slim. Her instincts told her to simply flee further into the shadows, though to what end she had no idea. The labyrinth of metal cabinets couldn't go on forever, and hiding was no means of escape. Nevertheless, she hastily crouched over the jars and crawled past the end of the shelving unit into the next storage space, where she silently pushed aside more lab equipment. The flashlight beam flooded the area she had just escaped from, and she could see the shadow of a head turning about frantically.
"I don't see anything, Aaron. Maybe it was just another rat."
"No it was bigger than a rat; I'm damn sure of it. I'll open the other end."
With no where else to run, Scully made her body as small as possible by curling into a ball with her head over her knees and hid behind a stack of steel specimen trays. Harsh light filtered in from the opposite end of her shelter, and she was sure that she was in plain sight.
"Nothing on this side either. Let's go ahead and open the middle—to be sure."
Don't see me. Please don't see me. The shelf surface beneath her jostled as the door directly in front of her was forced open.
"Nah—still nothing. You're making me paranoid, Travis. I'm going back down to see if he needs anything. You just get back to your watch outside, and don't call me up again for rats…or ghosts."
The cabinet door slammed shut, the beams of light were extinguished, and the door to the room creaked closed. Scully breathed out an enormous sigh of relief and wondered if, perhaps, there was a God. She waited until she could no longer hear footsteps echoing in the corridor, and then kicked the metal door open and slipped out. After pushing the heavy door open a crack and peering into the empty passageway, she gently squeezed out of the room. The walls of the long corridor were made of wood and old earth; and flickering, old halogen lights hung in a rusted row along the ceiling. Scully crept against the wall to remain in the protective arm of the shadows.
Eventually, she came to a decaying wooden door at the end of the walkway and softly pushed it open to peek inside. Surprisingly, instead of another room on the other side of the door, there was a dark, narrow, winding staircase; Aaron had mentioned going 'down' somewhere. Too afraid to risk clicking on her flashlight, Scully let the door swing shut behind her and painstakingly navigated her way in the dark. Both the stairs and the walls were made of earth and stone; and Scully felt loose dirt cake under her fingernails as she slid her hands along the walls for support. When she finally found the bottom, the darkness receded gradually, and a light source slowly became visible from around the corner. As she tentatively stepped forward, someone burst out of the shadows behind her, and a dirty, sweaty palm pressed against her lips to muffle her scream. The jagged edge of a rusted blade pressed into the throbbing pulse in her neck. Aaron whispered harshly into her ear.
"I got ya. Game's over sweetie—don't struggle." He removed the blade from her neck, scraped it lightly down her torso without cutting flesh, and rested it firmly against her lower abdomen.
"I know what you've got here. How does it feel to help create a new species?" he said icily.
In one fast move, Scully kicked forcefully backwards and up, striking the heel of her boot into his crotch. He sucked in his breath on a word that sounded like "bitch", doubled over, and attempted to grab her ankles to bring her down. Scully dodged out of his reach, smashed her foot down onto his fingers so that he lost his grip on the knife, and quickly grabbed the blade before he could react. In a swift and fatal motion, she skillfully stabbed the knife into his neck, severing his carotid artery.
She turned and left Aaron wheezing and sputtering in a growing pool of blood and removed the 9mm from the back of her jeans. The gun drawn with both hands, she noiselessly stepped forward and around the corner. After crossing another corridor similar to the one upstairs, she arrived beside the entrance to the central factory area. The entry passage gradually dipped upward into a massive warehouse-size space with a high ceiling. Remnants of ancient, rusted, factory equipment were scattered about the room; and someone was standing on the opposite side of the space with their back to the entrance, speaking. Scully crouched over and silently moved between large pieces of equipment, inching closer to her target. As shetraveled the length ofthe room, she was able to distinguish the man's words and was shocked when she recognized his voice.
"She'll be here soon, Mr. Mulder, so I'm afraid it's time for me to be rid of you. What do you think: knife or gun? Hmmm…the knife adds a more poetic touch, don't you think?"
Scully heard Mulder moan in a weak attempt to cry out as the Well-Manicured Man raised a knife above his head. Time slowed to a trance-like state as she saw the blade shimmering in the moonlight that was streaming in from a row of windows just below the ceiling. In a fraction of a second, Scully raised her gun, hoping she was close enough, aimed, and fired one shot to the back of the man's head. He collapsed over on the metal table in front of him onto Mulder's legs. She tucked the gun back into her jeans and raced to the table to discover Mulder with his eyes squeezed shut, his arms and legs bound with leather strapping, and his bare chest covered in large cuts and swollen bruises, clearly resulting from a harsh beating. Scully shoved the man's lifeless body aside as she hurriedly began unfastening Mulder's restraints. His eyes were still shut in pain and fear, and he shrank away from her touch.
"Mulder, it's me. We're going to get out of here. I promise. But I need you to help me." At that moment, she felt like bursting into tears of relief, screaming out how much she loved this man, gathering him into her arms, and kissing away his pain. There's time for that later. We have to move.
His hazel eyes slowly blinked open, bleary and out of focus as he gazed at her face. "Scully?" he said shakily.
"Yes Mulder. I'm here. Come on. You need to get up."
"I can barely see you."
She helped him sit up, and then supported his weight as he stepped off the table onto wobbly legs. Scully draped one of his arms around her shoulders, snaked her arm around his back, and dragged him forward.
"Mulder, there are others that would have heard that shot. We have to get out of here. Keep moving—you can do it.
"No, Scully…you go …I can't move fast enough…leave me."
"I am not leaving without you. You're my life, Mulder. Come on!"
Scully searched frantically for an outside exit from the large room. Her eyes scanned the walls and came to rest on the row of windows under the ceiling. A ladder next to each wall lead up to a platform that stretched across the high backside of the factory, and she steered them in that direction.
"We have to get up this ladder. Climb. I'm right behind you," she said.
She steadied Mulder's backside as he pulled his trembling legs up each rung of the ladder. Twice he almost tumbled backwards on top of her, but she was able to throw her weight forward each time to help push him back up. When at last they reached the top platform, Scully searched hurriedly for an object with which to break the window. While Mulder lay slumped in the corner, she pulled forcefully on the old piping system on the ceiling until she was able to remove a large metal shard.
"Mulder, move back!" she cried as she smashed the piece of piping into the glass, shattering it instantly.
She pulled Mulder upright by his underarms and directed him to climb out of the small space onto the grass outside. When his body was half way out, she heard screaming coming from below.
"What the hell do you think you're doing? Stop right there!" Scully recognized Travis' voice.
Several shots were fired in her general direction, probably intended simply to frighten her, and she heard footsteps climbing the ladder. As another clip was fired, the kick from the last shot must have thrown the man back, because Scully heard him yell as he flew through the air and hit the ground with a thud.
"Scully?" Mulder cried from outside the window.
"I'm not hit. I'm coming!"
She quickly snaked her body out of the window, dragging her forearms over broken glass in the process. Once they were both outside, Scully hastily stood and resumed the position of supporting Mulder's weight as they ran together in the direction of the thick forest. They stumbled over rocks, roots, and brambles as they plunged further into the cover of darkness. After they had fled for what seemed like forever and were both out of breath, they collapsed against a tree trunk clinging to one another.
"We can stop for a minute, but we have to keep going soon, Mulder," she panted. "Can you see any better?"
"A little. I can see shapes and colors; everything's just blurry."
"OK…I don't know what they gave you, but it appears to be wearing off. In an hour or so, you'll probably regain feeling in your limbs."
"Are you hurt, Scully?"
"No. I'm OK. My arms are cut, but I'm fine."
"Do you think the…the baby's OK?
"…Yeah. I'm not hurt, Mulder."
As he opened his mouth to speak again, a bright orange glow flooded the silhouettes of the trees in front of them; and they stumbled to their feet in preparation to flee in another direction. Before they could cover any ground, a man seemed to appear out of nowhere directly in front of them. Light swirled around him, and the reflection of flames flooded his cold black eyes. Fear tightened in Scully's throat as she began to realize there was no escape. Mulder moved in front of her, covering her body with his. She quickly drew her gun, reached around Mulder, and shot at the menacing figure; but he did not react to the bullets.
"We finally come face to face Ms. Scully," he said in a gravely voice with a thick Russian accent.
"Krycek did well in leading me to you. My race has long worked to help prevent the Men from succeeding with their experiments. This is the closest They've come to beginning colonization. Now it's over—we will prevail. You must die. I'm quite embarrassed I missed the first time."
As Ivan calmly raised his steel, cylindrical weapon in preparation to release the deadly flames, another figure burst out from behind the trees and grabbed him around the neck. Ivan dropped his weapon as he struggled; and Alex Krycek reached around to swiftly rip the face off his former partner and shove a narrow, silver blade into the back of his neck. Green acid simmered out of the convulsing body as it collapsed to the earth, the orange glow melting away.
Mulder and Scully were frozen staring at the body, and as they turned to look at Krycek, Scully quickly pulled her gun on him. Krycek raised his arms, palms up, in a gesture of surrender.
"I used to work with that man, and several years ago, he was murdered by one of Them. I did not lead that thing here—he knew where to find you. Just like I warned you, Scully."
He slowly reached into his pocket and retrieved a key ring, which he tossed at Mulder and Scully.
"Keep heading straight this way and you'll soon reach the highway. The car is parked off the shoulder. It has a full tank of gas. Just go." He removed his outer shirt and handed it to Mulder, who took the offering hesitantly.
Mulder and Scully continued to lean on one another as they stumbled past Krycek. They turned back, glancing at him unsurely, and he nodded for them to continue. After that night, they never saw him again.
Scully and Mulder drove in silence in the early light of morning to a bus station, where they ditched the car. While Scully cleaned up in the bathroom, Mulder called Frohike to ask if they could crash at the Gunmens' while they healed, rested, and decided what to do next. Frohike jabbered nonstop begging for all the details, and Mulder promised to fill him in when they arrived. After he hung up the pay phone, he sunk into a chair in the lobby and nearly collapsed in exhaustion. His sight had finally returned completely, and his arms and legs were at last in proper working order; but his body still ached unbearably. All he wanted to do was curl up and sleep with Scully safe in his arms and worry about everything else later. Mulder had about a million questions for her, but he knew they wouldn't have a chance to speak until they were out of imminent danger. He had been reluctant to let her out of his sight in case they'd been followed; and he nervously looked about to check for any conspicuous figures. Scully emerged from the ladies room with wet paper towels pressed against her forearms and silently took a seat beside him.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
"It just stings a little. I should be asking you that, Mulder. You took a much worse beating. When we get to the Gunmens', I want to take a look. Did you ask them to have medical supplies ready?
"Yes…other than the cuts…do you feel OK? I mean, you've been running around all night…It can't be good for the…"
"I'm OK, Mulder—we're both fine. I promise. It's time to catch the bus now, but we'll talk about everything later—when we're alone. OK?"
"OK," Mulder agreed as she helped him to his feet.
"Whoa Scully. You're a total badass!" Langly cried excitedly after she and Mulder finished the abbreviated version of their adventures.
"Geez Mulder. She really makes you look like a pansy. You're lucky to have her watching your back." Frohike added playfully.
"She—OW!" Mulder cried as Scully stitched a deep laceration on his chest.
"Hold still, Mulder, or it's going to hurt worse," she said, adjusting the lamp beside her to improve her vision. "Byers, stop hovering over me; you're blocking out the light. I'll let you know when I need you to pass me something else. Thanks."
"You like playing rough Scully. I'm beginning to see you as a dominatrix. With leather. Lots of leather," Mulder dead-panned.
"Shut up," she whispered, smiling, and leaned in to press her lips against his. "Or I'll have to punish you," she added softly, but loud enough so the three stooges could hear.
"I knew it! How long have you two been doing the wild thing? Three years? Seven years?" Frohike quipped. Byers turned a deep shade of red and looked away shyly.
"None of your damn business," Mulder replied with a smile.
"Anyway, back on a serious note…Scully and I have to get out of Washington as soon as possible. They may still be after us, so we need to leave quick and cover our tracks. If you guys could get a message to Skinner and let him know that we're alright—that'd be great… And we're going to need a car, papers, fake ID's…can you do that?" Mulder asked.
"You've come to the right place. Our king-fu is the best," Langly said.
"Thank you," Scully murmured as she finished playing doctor on Mulder.
"You two look exhausted. We'll let you sleep while we get to work. Make yourselves at home. Those couches are more comfortable than they look," Byers said
The Gunmen turned and left, pulling the door closed behind them, leaving the partners alone in the room. Mulder pulled his fresh shirt down, sprawled onto the couch, and opened his arms for Scully to join him. She gently settled herself into the crook of his arm, careful not to disturb his injuries. Mulder delicately pressed a kiss onto her forehead.
"Are you too tired for conversation?" he whispered into her ear.
"No. I don't think I can quiet my brain enough to sleep now anyway…I can't stop thinking about Krycek. Was he on our side all along?"
"Maybe not all along…But from what you said about how he came to you—I think he was sincere in helping us."
"But why?"
"Maybe he wanted to work against the remnants of the Syndicate and the Renegades…or maybe he just wanted to help us…I guess we'll never really know…Scully, how could you not tell me that you're pregnant?"
"I was afraid. Krycek said you'd be in danger if you knew; and I believed him, so I kept it from you. I wanted to protect you."
"I can't stand that you had to endure this alone. We're in this together—it's our baby… We tell each other everything, right? Especially something like this! I would have helped you—we could have left Washington together."
"I'm sorry, I just…I wasn't willing to risk your life."
"But you risked yours—and the baby's—by coming after me."
"No. I saved our family by coming after you."
Mulder sucked in his breath and could think of no come back for that one. Our family. He tightened his arms around her and drifted one arm down to press his palm against her flat stomach. She placed both of her hands on top of his.
"Marry me, Scully?"
"Sure, Mulder. I thought you'd never ask."
"I love you," he whispered contentedly.
"Love you," she replied as she began to drift to sleep against his chest. He lightly brushed tangled auburn hair out of her closed eyes and watched her begin to dream. Patterns of sunlight streamed from the window and danced over her peaceful face.
Two months later
Scully turned the simple white gold band around her finger and gazed over at Mulder as he drove with one hand—his other gently held hers and was resting on the slight bulge of her belly. They had bought the matching rings just outside St. Louis, and inside each band was inscribed simply "My Truth". They'd been married in a simple ceremony on an Apache reservation in Oklahoma, where no one asked any questions.
Mulder's brows were knitted as he stared intently at the winding road and fields of wheat breezing by the windows of the Ford Taurus. Mountains of various shades of deep orange rust rested on the horizon, and Mulder pressed forward, as if he were trying to meet them.
"You look enigmatic. What are you thinking?" she asked.
"I'm thinking…I feel like a traitor, Scully—just running. That man's work will continue by another's hand—the DNA samples you found remain. It will be someone else's child that begins colonization…Was it all worth it? The X Files? With the high personal cost—especially to you—what did we really accomplish? What kind of a world is our son going to grow up in? What do we do—just pretend we don't know what's happening to the human race?
"Personal cost to me? When I look back at the X Files and the last near decade of my life, I realize that maybe I didn't find all of the answers I was looking for or the proof that I wanted…But what I did find is so much more than that; and it makes everything else worth it. I found courage and trust and…love—which I had ceased to believe in. And I found something that I'd lost: faith. Everything happens for a reason. Because I chose to leave medicine, I now have a husband and a son. That is the sum of my life Mulder. That's what we've accomplished. You wonder what we're supposed to do now? That's easy—we live. We raise our son, and we don't worry about the things we can't change."
After a heavy silence, Mulder gazed at her and smiled. "You're right," he murmured. "Maybe there's hope."
"We danced in graveyards with vampires till dawn. We laughed in the faces of kings, never afraid to burn. Give me life, Give me pain, Give me myself again." Tori Amos 'Little Earthquakes'
To be continued in the epilogue