Hey all! Sorry for taking such a long time to update. I've been mulling over where to take this story, and I've recently got a burst of inspiration! This chapter is extra long and adventure packed, so hopefully it makes up for taking so long to update.
Enjoy! :)
The next few days went so slow, that Mulder felt like time must have stopped.
One whole week after Scully gave him the note, he was forced to clean every part of Jane's house. On the bright side, he thought bitterly as he hobbled room to room, at least they finally gave me some clothes to wear. Even though it was a simple grey shirt and jeans, Mulder was thankful that he wasn't only in his boxers anymore.
The whole day, Jud was hovering behind Mulder, watching his every move. The day had gone pretty smoothly, though, and Mulder was glad that he had made it this far without incident. He had just finished cleaning Jane's house, when he walked out onto the porch, followed closely by Jud. Jane was there, sitting in her rocking chair, looking at Mulder with contempt.
"Well?"
"Well, what?" Mulder shot back, jaw set, suddenly on edge.
Jane glared at Mulder. "Are you all finished?"
"You guessed it." His mouth slid into a smirk; he knew he was pushing his luck, but he didn't care.
Jane coughed and smoothed her skirt out. "You will address me as, ma'am, from this point forward, do you understand me?"
Mulder scoffed. "You can go to hell."
Jane shot to her feet and snapped, "Watch your mouth."
"No," Mulder stepped toward her, he had finally snapped. "You watch your mouth, bitch."
As soon as he said it, he knew that he went too far. He felt Jud's strong hands grip his arms as he was shoved off the porch onto the ground. Jud jumped off the step and roughly pulled Mulder to his feet. The look in his eyes sent a cold chill through Mulder.
"You'll pay for that."
Mulder heard Jane say, "Jud, give him 30."
Mulder didn't have time to process what she had said before another man grabbed him. The two of them forcefully led Mulder into the barn, it's huge doors already open. They shoved Mulder to the ground again and Mulder fought as they pulled his shirt off and tied rope around his wrists. He kicked out at them, but it didn't do any good. He looked up and saw the the ropes lead up, wrapping around a large beam overhead. His stomach dropped as he realized what was happening. Wildly, he looked behind him at Jud holding a whip in his hand. He felt a tug on his wrists as the ropes tightened, and pulled him upward until his feet barely touched the ground. The discomfort was immediate and he groaned as pain radiated from his ribcage.
This isn't happening. This isn't happening.
He closed his eyes, muttering this to himself. His stomach was in a knot as he waited for the first blow. It felt like an eternity before he heard the crack of the whip. Then came the pain. He let out a stifled cry and his body arced as the whip made contact with his bare back.
"You son of a bi-"
Another crack. And then another explosion of pain.
Again and again and again, Mulder endured strikes from Jud's whip. By the 12th one, he couldn't hold his screams any longer. He no longer cared if it made him look weak, all he wanted was for it to stop.
As the lashing continued, Mulder turned his thoughts to Scully. Thinking of her strength that had helped him maintain hope over the past week. He tried to let these thoughts carry him through the torture he was enduring, but it was so hard. It was so hard to understand why this was happening to him; to them.
The blinding pain pulled him out of his thoughts and he was startled to feel the stream of hot tears rolling down his face. His legs had given out on him a while ago and black dots were swirling in his vision.
Two more cracks of the whip and then silence.
Across the grounds, Scully watched Mulder from her barred window, silent tears running down her face.
Scully sat on her bed, staring blankly at the dusty hardwood floor. Her door suddenly flung open and she abruptly stood up when she saw Jud dragging an unconscious Mulder into her room. He dropped Mulder in front of her feet and extended a hand, which appeared to be holding an ancient first aid kit.
Wearily, Scully took the kit and bent down to examine Mulder. His face was bruised and bloody, but that was nothing compared to his back. Gently, she rolled him onto his stomach and her breath caught in her throat. His back was covered in whip marks and blood and Scully immediately started cleaning the wounds.
Jud's deep voice broke the silence. "Will he live?"
Scully's shot Jud a venomous look, but stopped herself from reacting in anger. An idea had popped into her head. "Maybe, but he'll need my full attention for a while, a few days at least."
Jud cleared his throat. "I don't know about tha..."
Scully continued to give her full attention to Mulder. "Listen, do you want him to die or not? It's your choice."
Jud narrowed his eyes. "No. But he can't stay in here with you."
Scully shot to her feet. "If he doesn't, he will die."
A look of fear flitted across Jud's face. Scully could tell he was on the fence. "If he dies, Ma will be so angry."
"Maybe you shouldn't have whipped him within an inch of his life if you were so concerned about that." She didn't hide the anger from her voice.
"Fine. 3 days. 3 days and then he's back in the cage."
With that, Jud left the room, slamming the door behind him.
Scully let out a breath of relief as she bent back down to finish cleaning Mulder's wounds.
It was a long, arduous process, but she let out a shaky breath as she looked down at Mulder's cleaned and bandaged back. Gently, she rolled him onto his back, and cleaned the cuts on his face and torso, paying extra attention to the burn on his ribcage, which looked infected.
She was applying the final bandage to his burn, when he groaned and slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Scully.
"Scully? What are you...How did I get here?"
Scully smiled sadly. "Jud brought you to me. Do you know what you've been through."
Mulder squeezed his eyes shut and slowly nodded his head, choosing not to say anything.
"We need to get you on the bed. Do you think you can stand?"
"I think so."
With great effort, Scully helped Mulder into her bed. Once she had him situated she crawled in next to him, forgetting how small the bed was.
"Wow, Scully." Mulder croaked, feeling Scully's body against his. "I'm flattered, but I don't think I'm in the mood tonight."
Scully chuckled. "Don't flatter yourself, Mulder."
They spend a few moments just lying there, staring into each others eyes before Mulder spoke.
"Seriously though, Scully. When are we gonna ditch this place."
Scully sighed. "Well, you're in no condition to break out right now. But Jud said he'd let you stay with me for a few days. I think we should let a couple days pass and make our move."
Mulder grinned, but it turned into a grimace; it was painful to smile. "Can't wait."
Scully smiled, but felt herself slipping into the comforting arms of sleep.
Mulder watch her sleeping for a long time, the moonlight streaming from the window, illuminating the two of them. A small smile stuck on his lips as he finally descended into a peaceful sleep.
The next couple of days brought such pain that Mulder had never known in his life, but it also brought happiness, since he was able to spend time with Scully instead being stuck in the cage.
Scully had diligently tended to Mulder's wounds and, by the second day, she felt confident that he was at least stable enough for them to make their escape.
It was the end of Mulder's third day with Scully, their tenth day in the Town. The sun was just setting behind the trees, and Mulder and Scully put their plan into action.
Scully pulled her pocket knife from her pocket, and quickly and quietly picked the lock to their door. They crept down the hall and into the living room, where the family's gun cabinet was located. Again, Scully easily picked the lock; she grabbed a pistol and Mulder grabbed a rifle.
Suddenly a light popped on in the hallway behind them. Scully felt her stomach drop; she had forgotten to shut their door.
The woman that had been escorting Scully, ran down the hall, holding a vicious looking knife in her hand. She ran at Scully and wildly swung it at her. Scully jumped back and gasped as the blade sliced through her shirt and into her ribcage. She heard scuffling next to her and assumed that the husband was trying to subdue Mulder. The woman attacked again, but this time Scully was ready. She deflected her attack, knocking the knife from her grip, and punched the woman in the face. She staggered back for a moment before charging again, hitting Scully with a right hook and a sharp jab. Scully tumbled to the floor, prepared for the attack that was sure to come. The woman lunged at her again, but then dropped suddenly. Scully looked up to see Mulder, breathing deeply, holding his rifle in his hand; the husband was unconscious on the floor as well.
Mulder pulled Scully on her feet. "C'mon, let's go!"
They sprinted through the door, trying to regroup, and instantly heard shouting that seemed to be increasing in volume. The town had somehow learned of their escape.
Porch lights all over the Town sprang to life as the townspeople flooded out of their houses, guns in hand. Mulder saw Jane walk onto her porch, rifle in hand.
"This way!" Mulder grabbed Scully's hand and they sprinted toward the wood shed that was across the grounds.
Shots rang out, but the two of them managed to fling themselves behind the wood shed, each returning fire. Mulder leaned against the shed, his back felt like it was on fire. He pushed past the pain and peaked his head around the corner, realizing that the two of them were facing a small army. He became distantly aware of a a different pain, blossoming in his right shoulder, but Scully's voice pulled him away.
"Mulder, we have to make a run for it. It's the only way."
For a brief moment, their eyes locked and Mulder could see a flash of terror in Scully's eyes. He was sure she saw the same in his.
He gripped her hand. "Ready?"
She set her jaw and nodded. "Ready."
"Go!"
They both set off at a run, sprinting as fast as they could. Mulder kept turning and firing a shot, hoping to keep them at bay, trying to ignore the pain racking his body with every step. They ran past the edge of the forest and Mulder realized that no more shots had been fired at them since they made a run for it.
Mulder came to a halt, pulling Scully behind a tree, suddenly hyper aware of their surroundings. "Wait, Scully."
"Mulder, wha..."
He held up a finger to shush her, and it didn't take her long to realize why.
It was dead silence.
Scully peered from behind the tree, looking at the Town through the trees. There wasn't one person in sight.
Scully whispered, "What do we do now?"
Mulder didn't answer right away. He looked down at Scully, noticing her bruised face and busted lip; her shirt bloodied from the knife wound. He wondered what he ever did to deserve a partner as amazing and strong as her.
"Mulder?"
He shook his head slightly. "Right, lets keep moving. But be as quiet as possible and listen for any noise. They know these woods a lot better than we do."
They continued to work their way through the forest, on high alert, when Scully broke the silence.
"We should be working our way towards the meadow clearing, towards the tree where I found you. That's where help should be, if there is any."
Mulder nodded his head as he moved a branch out of the way. "It should be to the East. Hopefully these trees will be good cover for us for a while."
They walked in silence for a while before Scully suddenly remembered something.
"You know that tree you were tied to? I etched a note on it for you."
Mulder glanced at Scully, he noticed that her face was getting red. He felt a grin spread on his face.
"Oh? What did it say?"
Now it was Scully's turn to grin.
"That's for you to find out."
Their mood lightened considerably for a while longer as they trudged through the forest. For a moment, Mulder felt a sense of longing as he glanced at Scully walking beside him to his left. He felt a longing for a normal life where he and Scully were friends, or maybe even more than friends, walking through the forest, hiking, camping, doing normal things that normal people enjoyed. But, instead, here they were: beaten, bleeding, on the run from a Town full of psychotic maniacs. He sighed, just another day at the office.
The dull throbbing in his should suddenly turned into a sharp pain, pulling him out of his thoughts. He let in a sharp intake of breath, and looked at Scully, hoping she didn't notice; she didn't. He looked down at the source of the pain, his right shoulder, and felt a shock when he saw that there was a bloody hole through it. He gritted his teeth and kept moving foward, he couldn't let this slow them down and he definitely didn't want Scully to find out.
Crunch. Crunch.
Scully flung out an arm in front of Mulder, looking wildly around for the source of the broken branches. Mulder grimaced as he felt pain radiate from his shoulder as her hand struck his chest.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
It was getting closer.
Mulder brought the rifle to his shoulder, ignoring the pain, hoping that adrenaline would take over again.
Crunch. Crunch.
It was behind them now.
Mulder and Scully wildly swung around, but still couldn't see anyone.
Crunch. Crunch.
Scully turned back behind her and let out a gasp before a figure sent a fist flying into her face as she tumbled into Mulder, her gun flying into the night. At the same time, another figure jumped out, grabbing Mulder's gun and shoving it into the air. Mulder sent a kick toward the figure, but suddenly he was thrown off balance by Scully. He staggered sideways, trying to maintain his footing. He heard Scully fighting with the other person, as Mulder sent a right hook toward his assailant, which he now came to recognize as Jud. Anger rose up within him, as he sent a right hook flying toward Jud's face. He felt his fist collide and he squatted down, anticipating Jud's counterpunch. He rose with a left upper hook, but missed. Suddenly, he felt pain bloom once again in his shoulder, as he realized Jud had found his weak point. Jud grabbed Mulder's collar and threw him as hard as he could across the small clearing of trees. Jud briskly walked to Mulder, until he was hovering over head. Mulder's breath was coming in ragged gasps; his injuries from before were catching up with him. Abruptly, Jud picked up his foot and dug the heel of his boot into Mulder's injured shoulder. He couldn't stop the scream that escaped from his lips as Jud continued to press harder and harder. A evil smile spread across Jud's face as took his foot off of Mulder and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him up until they were face to face. He struck Mulder's face again and again with his giant fist and Mulder could feel blood streaming from his nose. Something silver and shiny gleamed in Jud's free hand and Mulder felt a jolt of panic as Jud brought it closer to Mulder's throat.
Right next to them, Scully was fighting her own battle. After she was knocked into Mulder, she rose to her feet and quickly attacked her attacker, which was one of the men that had dragged Mulder away from the tree on Scully's first day in the Town. Her size was an advantage, as she easily dodged her attackers slow and heavy punches. She punched and punched and was satisfied to see a steady flow of blood coming from the man's nose. He surprised her with a kick to her already injured abdomen that sent her flying into a tree. Hazy, she picked herself up, grabbing a large rock on her way. In the distance, she saw Mulder on the ground, a large man looming over him, stepping on him. Then she heard him scream. A rush of adrenaline pumped through her as she saw her attacker rushing toward her. Right when he got close enough, she brought the rock around, right into the man's face and immediately saw his body drop.
Mulder's screams pierced through Scully's body again and she, in disbelief, saw Mulder's rifle only a few feet away from her. Scooping the rifle up, she sprinted at Mulder's attacker, cocking the rifle as she cleared the distance between them. Everything slowed to a crawl as she saw the man bringing a knife down to Mulder's face. She sucked in a deep breath and she put her finger on the trigger and pulled.
It sounded like an explosion.
Scully didn't even break stride. She sprinted toward Mulder, pushing aside Jud's lifeless body off of Mulder, and sank to her knees next to him.
"Mulder..."
She cupped his unconscious face in her hands, and began nervously running her hands over his body, checking for new injuries. Immediately, she spotted the bullet wound in his shoulder. But it would have to wait. For now, they had to get moving.
"Mulder." She said more forcefully, as she shook him awake.
His eyes snapped open as he wildly tried to sit up.
"Mulder!" Scully pushed him down. "Mulder! We need to go now!"
Mulder's chest was heaving and his eyes were wild.
"Scully..." He blinked hard as he looked into her face above his.
"Mulder...we need to get moving."
He nodded as Scully helped him get to his feet. Once up, he put his hand on Scully's shoulder for support and he also became aware of Jud's dead body on the ground.
As wrong as it might have been, Mulder felt a sense of relief seeing Jud dead. More than that, a sense that justice had finally been served. His tormenter would never touch him or Scully again.
Scully grabbed his arm and pulled him into the forest, away from the grisly scene behind them.
Adrenaline once again kicked in, as they made their way, much more slowly, through the forest.
In the near distance Scully could see bright sunlight filtering through the trees, and then, suddenly, they broke through the line of trees into the grassy meadow.
Mulder held his arm against his battered ribcage, which felt like it was on fire, still. Scully held out an arm, pointing to a tree that wasn't very far away.
"There's the tree. Look."
Mulder felt that familiar sensation of hope rising inside of him before he heard a scream from the forest behind him.
"Noooo! My...son!"
The voice wailed again and Mulder and Scully both knew that Jane had just found her son, dead.
Mulder grabbed Scully's hand and took off toward the tree.
They were about 10 feet from it when they heard voices emerge from the now distant tree line behind them. Mulder snuck a glance behind and saw that several townspeople were sprinting toward them, guns in hand; Jane was in the lead.
They put on a burst of speed, fighting through the pain as they finally reached the tree.
They hesistated a brief moment before Mulder grabbed Scully's hand and he locked eyes with her.
"Let's get out of here."
Together, they jumped across the barrier into the world on the other side, hoping that help was waiting for them.
