Some find faith before they die…
Under the Stairs
Sunlight played off the echoes in the old house, and reality seemed as distant as the day the world ended. Mulder saw the bouncing shadows and with no idea of where he was, proceeded to observe and speak sparingly.
The woman in the next room, who was now staring at Mulder with a dispassionate look of scrutiny, was most likely middle aged, but with her scrunched up face and overweight physique, she had seen better days many days ago. When she spoke, one arm swinging over the side of dirty beige couch, her voice was gravely, whiny. She said her name was Angela.
"I don't know who you're or where you're from, this is my house, not theirs. You understand? My house, not yours or theirs or your friends, if you've got any. You hear me?"
Angela scrunched up her face at him, as she spoke, and Mulder had the urge to laugh, despite the sad reality of the situation.
"Yeah, I understand."
"Good."
An awkward silence followed, as they stared at each other. Angela with her scrutinizing tiny eyes, and Mulder with a calm, almost happily bewildered stance.
"So, where exactly did you find me? How did you bring me here?" He said, attempting to make sense out of the situation.
Face relaxing, she said, slightly less suspiciously: "You were miles down the road, an old town. You were jus' lyin' there. I needed supplies. At the very least, you'd get taken 'stead of me. They came for you, probably took you, but if I've got you, they won't take me."
Unsure of how to reply, Mulder simply gave an, "Ah." But she looked at him piercingly again.
"You can't leave."
"Excuse me?"
"I won' let you. I won' tell you how to get back, it's just desert 'round here. You're stayin'. They won't take me. They get closer every time. It's 'sa atmosphere, they know everyone's where everyone can breathe. They close in on those areas. They're coming for me."
Seeing no immediate threat, Mulder considered his options. Argue, or just talk. Talking would suffice.
"Come back with me then, we have a settlement near the town. There's about 80 of us, plenty of room for you, and anyone you might know. We have medicine, food—we can even shut down power entirely to reduce possibilities of detection—"
"I'M NOT GOIN' THERE. You can't shut down the power. YOU'RE STAYIN' HERE."
She was hollering at Mulder, and had now taken up a defensive stance, planted directly in front of Mulder, staring eye to eye with him.
"You got to keep the lights on, they only come in the dark. It's the burning mystery, 's I guess, they're not here in the lights. I've got all the lights, there's plenty of gas in town. You're gonna stay here till the lights burn out and then they'll take you instead a' me."
Mulder had still not lost his head and was profiling her, as best he could, but was unfortunately unable to conjure any knowledge save for an image of Duane Barry and a haunted voice on his answering machine.
He could see the picture of Scully, Scully gagged and terrified in the trunk of a car, when Angela pulled out the gun from the other room.
Moving quickly towards her, he forgot that she could be trigger happy. A bullet whizzed by his left shoulder, and he froze, no longer advancing, no longer calm and impassive.
"I was a great shooter in my day man. I was great one day." Smiling, Angela held the gun towards him, yellowed teeth grinning at his confusion and inability to do anything.
"You'll be safe here. I promise. I got 'dis, and I got the lights. I got you, and as long as I got you, I'm safe. You'll be safe here, I promise."
She smiled sweetly, and lowered the gun. Turned her back to him, and then beckoned him follow her to the other room. There were no choices, no refusal or acceptance. He just followed. Mulder wondered where he was and thought maybe this was hell. Perhaps a purgatory. He had never believed that though.
He just followed her.
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Disclaimer I haven't included so far: Only the words and how I put them together are mine. Save for Angela and names I've made up, I do not own the brilliance that is: The X-Files.
Italicized stuff usually lyrics. So far, I've used Filter and Interpol lyrics.
A/N- Thanks for reviewing Firelight, I'm glad you like it! We'll get more Mulder, don't worry. I just have an easier time writing Scully, so it takes me more time to put these short (sorry :) )chapters together.
