Hey guys! Thanks so much for sticking with me on this story. Also, thanks for all of the reviews! I just realized that I can respond to them individually, so I will definitely start doing that because they mean a lot.

Anyways, here is chapter 6. Enjoy! :)


Mulder tore his eyes away from the beautiful sunrise, painfully aware that Jud and his two companions were getting closer and closer. He felt a searing pain from his wrists as he realized that he was still trying to free himself of his binds. His breath was coming in short, shallow bursts as they finally approached.

Mulder looked at them with as much hatred as he could muster.

I'm sure that I'm the opposite of intimidating. He thought to himself darkly, remembering he was still only dressed in his boxers. Not to mention, he looked like a human punching bag right now.

Jud stopped in front of Mulder and pulled a piece of cloth out of his pocket, clearly intending to gag him. Jud made his move, reaching, trying to put the cloth in Mulder's mouth but Mulder jerked his head away, trying his hardest to evade him even though he knew it would do no good.

"Get away from me, you son of a bitch!" It came out rushed and panicked, but that was exactly how he felt at the moment. Until he heard her voice.

"Mulder!"

It was faint, muffled, and seemed impossible but Mulder, as Jud finally secured the gag, couldn't help but respond in an even more muffled voice, "Scully?"

He looked wildly around, completely baffled how she could even be anywhere near this place; hopeful that she might be there to save him, but terrified at the idea of her being remotely near these psychopaths.

Lost in confusion, he was unaware of the other two men removing him from the tree and tying his hands behind his back, dragging him away from the tree and toward the Town. He kept trying to turn to look back toward the tree as they struggled to drag him further away from Scully's voice. Mulder felt a spasm of panic as he saw Jud walking up next to the tree and extending his hand beyond it.

"No!" Mulder yelled through his gag. Scully had to be there if Jud had heard her too. She had to be hiding behind the tree somehow.

None of it made sense, but Mulder always trusted his instincts and his instincts told him that Scully was really nearby and she was in danger.

Mulder made a desperate move to escape and drove the heel of his right foot down on one of his captors feet. He felt a crunch and heard a strangled cry as a pair of hands removed their grip. Almost at the same time, Mulder squated down and thrusted upward, catching the other captors chin with the top of his head.

It all happened in a blur. He heard the second captor drop as he turned toward Jud and ran toward him as fast as he could manage. As if it were happening in slow motion, he saw Jud pulling someone through what seemed to be, impossibly, an invisible veil. To his horror, he realized it was Scully. She fought back as her body slowly emerged through to the other side of the veil. Jud had a strong grip on her arm but he was pulling her toward him with difficulty.

Mulder fell suddenly with a groan and looked up. He was pleased to see blood coming from Jud's nose and he could see Scully punch him hard in the groin. Mulder scrambled to his feet once again and stumbled towards her.

He realized almost at once that this was a mistake. Scully had driven Jud to his knees and she spotted Mulder as she glanced over Jud's shoulder. In an instant, her distraction was her downfall.

Jud seized the opportunity and backhanded Scully hard across the face, sending her crashing to the ground. Mulder yelled as he stumbled to his knees, his body exploding with pain and black dots dancing in his vision.

As he lay there in the soft meadow grass, the sun now fully risen, he watched helplessly as Jud roughly tied Scully up and heaved her to feet.

"No, no, no..." He muttered over and over to himself.

In a moment of adrenaline and raw determination, he managed to push himself to his feet once again and charged at Jud, feeling nothing but pure hatred for the man who was now pulling Scully toward the Town with one hand.

Mulder realized that what he was doing was stupid and reckless, but all he could feel was anger and it had momentarily consumed him. He ran at Jud but suddenly he felt two strong hands grip around his arms, bringing him to a halt. He watched as the other captor grabbed Scully from Jud, blood was dripping down his chin and he looked murderous. The hands tightened painfully around Mulder as Jud walked briskly up to him; he had never seen his eyes look so crazed before.

He heard Scully cry out before he felt the impact of Jud's fist on his burned ribcage. He let out a strangled cry as his knees went out. The captor holding him heaved him back to his feet right as Jud sent another punch to his ribs again.

This time, Mulder heard a crack as he sank to his knees. He heard himself cry out again and he could hear Scully now shouting angrily at Jud, even though he couldn't understand what she was saying. In fact, he couldn't hear anything anymore. He was sort of within and without, not really there but still faintly aware of what was going on around him. He could hear Scully's muffled voice, still angry. He could feel the soft grass now moving beneath his knees and he could see blurry shapes of people growing closer and closer. He felt himself being pushed aggressively to the ground on his back and he looked up. His vision was blurry, but he still managed to make out the smiling face of the old woman, peering over him.

And with that, he retreated into unconsciousness.