"Scully. Scully wake up!" Mulder was shaking Scully's shoulder and she slapped at his hand irritably before waking properly.
"What's happening?" She asked. She reached back towards him grabbing his sleeve in the darkness while she tried to collect herself. Then it snapped into place; the crash, Mulder going and coming back near collapse, and the damn snow.
"Whoa…" Mulder shouted as he heard Scully trying to force the door open.
"Mulder, get off me. I don't know how long we've been asleep or how much snow we're under. We could be buried for it to be this dark. We have to get out of here before it's too late." Her fight with the door was frantic.
Mulder flicked on a flashlight. "Not a big fan of the dark?"
"Not a big fan of being buried alive," Scully snapped back. "In fact not a big fan of being buried at all. Get that light out of my face." She was less panicked now that she could see. "Give me that," she said and snatched the torch from him.
She shone it near Mulder enough to illuminate him. "How are you feeling?"
Mulder shrugged. "I feel fine. Hey Scully, you didn't try and take advantage of me when I was out for the count did you. I had the strangest dream. You were…"
"I was doing everything I could do to save your life. Whereas you seem determined to get us both killed. And Mulder, for the record, I don't want to die and especially not because of one of your ill-conceived plans." She switched off the torch so as not to look at the hurt in his eyes.
"Scully, you know that I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. The car flipped out, I couldn't help that. And I have to admit that with hindsight letting someone know where we were going when we set out would have been a good idea. OK I'm sorry for that."
There was silence.
"But
on a more positive note there is town just across the way and it
isn't snowing there."
Scully
became rigid with shock.
"Are you still there?"
"I'm still here Mulder. What did you just say?"
"There's a town just across the way where there's no snow. I was coming back to get you when I lost my bearings. Thought I wasn't going to find the damn car."
Scully's tone was measured. "Do you know how ridiculous that sounds Mulder?"
"How ridiculous what sounds?"
"That next to a road where there is a blizzard and a temperature of about minus twenty there should be a town where it isn't snowing."
"Well, you hear about houses where during a thunderstorm it will be raining out back and sunny out the front. Maybe it's like that."
"And this town of yours Mulder. Is it warm? Does your explanation account for that?
"It could be an airflow thing. I don't know, Geography was a bit of a miss with me."
"We've got to get out of here so we can see what's going on outside and we can work out what to do then. I'll try and get the door open although I think it's frozen. You should rest."
"That's ok, I'll help you with the door."
Scully turned the torch on and Mulder got in front and lay down across the seats. Scully held the door handle in the open position and Mulder began to kick using both of his feet. There was no movement from the door for the first two blows, and then on the third there was a screech and it moved slightly encouraging Mulder to make the last kick the biggest. The door banged open and bright light filled the car. Everywhere the snow reflected the daylight.
And with the light the bitter temperature filled the capsule as well. Scully reached for the heater and turned it off to save the battery.
Mulder had dived in the back and was passing clothing to Scully and pulling on his coat. "Put your boots on," he said passing them to her.
Scully ripped off her sneakers and forced the hiking boots onto her feet, all the while with the wind cutting around the car. Her numb fingers managed to pull the laces together and then she was out of the car.
Mulder followed on behind and they both tried to stand in the violent onslaught of the wind. Mulder turned and wrestled the door back into place. Scully was pulling her hat on and making to try and clear the windshield.
"Leave it," Mulder yelled and seized her arm and began pulling her out into the road.
"Where are we going?"
"This way." Mulder pulled her some more and could feel that she was pulling back on him. "Come on. If you don't believe me about the town, then you're going to need some cover for a bathroom stop."
"Christ Mulder, I don't think so." But vanity won her over as she hoped it would be possible out here as she was feeling quite uncomfortable, especially once the icy wind had bitten into her.
Like a geriatric couple the pair staggered across the road, buffeted by the wind. Scully was only glad that she had worn a pant-suit which she preferred for long journeys. There had been no original plan to end up in Canada so the warm clothes she had with her were only the emergency ones she took with her wherever she went. At least they had turned in their own car and rented something a bit sturdier though it had done them little good – as the guy who had rented it to them had warned.
As they approached the edge of the road Scully pulled up to a stop which nearly took them both off their feet.
"What about that boy? Who was it?" She yelled.
"It was nothing," Mulder yelled back. "Come on or we'll both freeze."
Scully started to move again, only because it was too painful to stay stopped. At the very edge of the road the wind seemed to rally itself into one huge force and the two agents had to lean right into it to stay standing. The icy whorls blew straight through the material of their pants and sliced up sleeves and outmatched the coats they wore. They stood there unable to move forward because the wind was stopping them or backwards as they would be knocked down if they changed their angles. And then it dropped for a moment and they both lurched forwards.
As they rushed forwards with the sudden loss of opposition they found themselves stepping onto a slope beside the road where Mulder was the first to lose his footing. His hand was still on Scully's arm so he took her down with him. Mulder had landed long ways and was rolling and Scully was sliding behind him. Hidden rocks and stumps jutted into them as they careered through the snow, but nothing stopped them until Mulder rolled to a halt at the bottom and Scully crunched into the back of him.
Scully looked up to see if Mulder was ok. Instead she was distracted by the sight she saw over his body. A town. Suburban in every way. Estate cars parked in drive-ways, carefully maintained lawns, tree lined streets and, most startling of all, no snow. Judging by the leaves blowing about in the gentle breeze it would be fall in this enclave.
Scully looked over her shoulder to see her booted feet still lying in the snow and she pulled them out to sit on the grass they had landed on. Although she was still bitterly cold she could tell that it was from where they had been and not where they were now.
"Mulder," she hissed. "Are you ok?"
"If this isn't a delusion," he said pulling himself up to sit next to her, "then I should say that I'm fine." He gave her a lop-sided grin.
Scully looked in wonder along the line of snow that evenly surrounded this town as though it had been swept back there.
"There must be some kind of heating grid," she mused.
"And how does a heating grid stop the wind?" Mulder asked.
"I don't know, I just got here," Scully said not trying to cover her irritation. "But however it's done, it's clever."
"Well admirable as it is to look at, I suggest we go and find a pleasant local who might give some weary travellers a bit of kindness." Mulder stood up.
Scully got to her feet. "Well, I guess we may as well. Let's hope the native's are friendly."
