Chapter 6

Adrian awoke from her dream with a start. It had been so vivid. She still felt the dampness of sea spray on her cheek. Or was that just a cold sweat. Something about that man had been familiar. His voice. Or was it his eyes. Something. She couldn't quite place it.

She noticed her bunk was empty…it must be late. She drew back her covers and pulled a clean shirt out of her pack, which she had slept with, and threw it on. Tossing her dirty shirt into the pack, she got out her pocket knife and etched the number 6 into the leather strap. Her boots were at the foot of her bed and she laced them onto her feet quickly. God, it felt so late! As if she'd been asleep for days.

The foggy haze of her dream still gripped her. What had he said? She was sure it was something important. She hopped down off her bunk, the clunk of her feet on the cold ground and the ambient hum of electricity the only sounds. Shrugging on her jacket she exited the bunk only to bump headfirst into one of the women who'd slept there during the night. Her hair was wrapped in a towel.

"Washroom's down the hall on your right. It's all yours, I'm through." She said gruffly.

Adrian felt the woman's eyes on her back as she continued walking. I don't fit in here she thought. I'm out of place; I can never measure up to any of them. I'll never be as strong as them….as strong as Dana. That last thought had crept in uninvited. Adrian never meant to compete with Dana. It was just that sometimes, well most of the time, Adrian felt as though she paled in comparison to her. Dana was smart, incredibly smart. She was cool and controlled and by all rights earned the credit of taking the first step toward saving humanity. Adrian chuckled to herself at the thought. Couldn't really one up saving the world. Why did she even care? Adrian glared at her reflection in the grimy washroom mirror as she splashed her face with cool water. She peered into her own dark eyes, her mother's eyes, willing herself to answer the question. You have no idea who you are her thoughts replied. She was some obscene conglomeration of two sets of parents and one amazing set of circumstances. How was it that her ability to know others was so keen and yet she could not know herself? What she did know of herself she didn't like. She knew that she had jumped at the chance to seek William, not only because she longed to help Mulder and Scully, but because she wanted that chance to distinguish herself. To set herself apart from them. That desire was what she expected to drive her throughout this journey. Now that she was really on it, the only thing she could feel was doubt.

"Adrian!"

She heard Robert's voice echo down the hall.

"Time waits for no man! Or woman!"

Adrian laughed, "I'm coming!" she yelled back.

Robert and Adrian were back on the road before 9 am.

Four days passed with little excitement. They followed very much the same routine of waking, walking and spending the night at Route Stations nearly carbon copies of one another. Their passing only marked by the numbers etched in the strap of Adrian's satchel. Two more days.

It was not long before Adrian and Robert found themselves a mere half a day's hike from Camp Raleigh. They're fourth day came to an end at a particularly inconvenient area not in range of a Route Station. Had they been Riders, they would've continued on into the night to Camp Raleigh. Robert, however, decided that they would make camp.

They hadn't run into any trouble. They hadn't run into anyone or anything in fact. Adrian was beginning to think her biggest adventure wasn't an adventure at all. The two companions had gained a warm and comfortable rapport. They were developing a sincere affection for each other. Of what nature, Adrian was unsure. All she knew was that she enjoyed his company and was thankful for it. She suspected he felt the same.

As dusk fell, the two were walking along the edge of a sparse wood.

"Let's head in here…for cover." Robert said taking them off the road. They found a small, soft clearing maybe half a mile from the road and laid out their bed rolls.

"I'm going to go gather some dry twigs…start a little fire."

"Jeez Robert…it's August. I've been sweating for a week!" Adrian laughed.

Robert chuckled.

"It'll get chilly tonight. You watch!" He said pinching her chin, "You'll thank me later."

Robert walked toward the tree line. He glanced back at Adrian fluffing up her mat and smiled.

Adrian looked up and caught his eye. They held each other's gaze for a moment then he turned. Suddenly Adrian was filled with a horrible sense of foreboding. She swallowed the urge to call him back. Don't be an idiot she thought. He knows what he's doing.

Adrian felt around in her pack for the bottles of precious vaccine. She held one in her palm, feeling the coolness of the glass. Two more days. She grabbed her last pack of seeds and drew out a handful.

A few moments later Robert returned.

"Hey." He said dropping the armful of spindly twigs in between their two mats.

"Hey," Adrian replied.

She watched him arrange the twigs into a small pyramid.

"Alright." He said slapping his knees and standing up from his squatting position and grabbed for Adrian's pack.

She pulled it from his grasp. "What are you doing?" she ask, brow furrowed.

"Matches."

"You have the matches Robert. This is my pack."

"Jeez. Right. I don't know where my head's at tonight!" He laughed, reaching for his own pack and pulling out some matches.

Adrian's breath quickened. Something wasn't right.

"I'm going….to go…um…use the facilities." She said nervously standing up.

"Ok." Robert said smiling at her as he struck a match. "Don't go too far."

Adrian shakily turned her back and walked as naturally as possible toward where she had seen Robert come from a moment ago. No. Not Robert. That wasn't Robert.

That was an Alien Bounty Hunter. They'd been found.

She continued to walk into the woods. Twilight had set in. Her pack. Why didn't she think to bring her damn pack? God she was so thoughtless!

Adrian knew it was there before she saw it. She shut her eyes against the awful truth of it and stifled a cry. A body. A lump cast in shadow not four feet from where she was standing. Adrian felt the icy claw of fear take her heart in its paralyzing grip. She approached the still form slowly as if willing the inevitable moment of contact never to occur.

When she finally reached Robert's crumpled body, the sob which had threatened to escape her burst from her lips.

"No…" she whispered as she knelt next to Robert on the ground. He was facing her, his bottom lip bloody. His left arm was twisted in an impossible direction and his shirt was soaked and stained with blood. Adrian surmised that he had been shot in the abdomen. She did what Dana had taught her and shoved her hands on the gushing wound, applying pressure.

"Adrian."

Robert's hoarse whisper came as a surprise to Adrian. He was still conscious.

"Robert," she said, "I'm…I'm going to help you."

Robert took Adrian's slender, bloody hands off his belly with his right hand.

"What are you doing?" she asked quietly, hot tears now spilling freely from her eyes.

"No use for that."

"Please..." Adrian moaned.

"You have to find him Adrian. He's the key. William is the key."

Blood began to gurgle from between Robert's swollen lips.

"But…I'm so afraid." Adrian sputtered in wet, broken syllables.

"Don't doubt yourself Adrian Dogget. You can do this. You can. Do what Mulder taught you to do. Base of the neck…base..of.." he trailed off and his eyes rolled backward for a second before regaining their focus.

"Please stay with me." She clutched at his weakening grip on her fingers.

Robert's head fell back and his bloody fingers slipped from Adrian's.

"Adrian!" He spoke with sudden force. "You can't trust anyone."

And then he was gone. Gone the way of her father and mother and countless others. And for the first time in her life, Adrian was completely alone.