The X-Files, Scully and Mulder belong to Chris Carter.
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Chapter eleven
Don't Give UP
Joe Taylor nodded his head in greeting when they stepped out of the car.
"Let's go down to the sweat, I'll explain a few things before the others join us. You'll be the only whites."
They followed Joe Taylor the short way down to the sweat. The sweat lodge looked very small, not tall enough for a man to stand in his full length inside of it, the lodge was round shaped and covered with blankets. It appeared to be nothing much but at the same time, it draw her with a gentle power.
"The four colours you see in the flags represent the four colours of men; the yellow people, the white people, the negroes and the red people. We are all the same in the sweat and all colours are welcome." He explained in his humble voice. "You have doubts" he turned to Scully, "nothing is entirely good or entirely bad; we choose the nature of who we are and how we choose to act. Your faith is inside your heart and it is between you and the creator, I've learned to take the best parts of two worlds, maybe you can learn the same."
Soon, they were joined by five elderly men and three elderly women; a woman took Scully aside and approved her clothes. Gently, the woman told Scully the protocol. Still, unsure of the rightness of her participating, Scully grimaced.
"You'll be okay and you won't offend anyone" The elder woman, June, smiled reassuringly at her.
Looking into the fire beside the sweat Scully made up her mind, she would give it a try, even if it didn't help solving the case. It wasn't a sin and she had wandered before, once in the temple. Prayers were the same no matter where they were said, she would let go of her fear, the fear that kept coming back to. Her fear of believing.
When the darkness surrounded Scully her prayers came easily to her. She gave thanks for the returning of her son, as soon as the words left her mouth, peace surrounded her and she was able, for the moment, to let go of her fear of loosing William. Feeling a small breeze caressing her chin she heard the faint words; "don't fear for him."
Shocked, she opened her eyes and inhaled abruptly, it was the same clearness she had experienced, when praying in the temple years ago.
A few hours and a change of clothing later Scully sat next to June inside the house, they were the only women left. June was as petite a woman as Scully and ageing beautifully. A joy radiated from the woman affecting her surroundings positively, having learned the woman suffered from diabetes, and had lost a husband to alcohol and a son to crime, Scully was amazed.
"We only survive if we maintain our humour. Your son will be fine; he was given back to you to stay. Miracles can happen twice." June patted Scully's hands kindly before she got up from the chair.
Stunned, Scully watched the woman leave; she had just given voice to Scully's biggest fear. Giving Scully no chance to answer June was gone. She had felt a peace settle in her during the sweat, a promise of time with her son had been whispered in her ear, but dared she believe it? Dared she believe the woman's words? So much in her life was a question of faith, simple and not so simple faith.
Walking over to Mulder, she was rewarded with a big smile from him and a quick peek on her lips, "you're okay? He whispered to her. Nodding her head, she ran a hand though his hair. "What about you?"
"Fine!"
Joe Taylor came over to them, "we will go to Standoff now to meet Jim Casey.
In the car she took the opportunity to re-read the file, it was thin. Nothing unusual had been found at the crime scene, except that the bodies were lying on their backs in a circle. It was odd.
"Mulder, did you notice that the bodies lay in a circle on their backs?"
Never moving her eyes from the file, she turned the paper.
"Yes, I did and I find it even odder now, why would they gather in a circle to die. I think this Jim Casey had something to do with it. I still think it involves mass hypnoses or mind controlling. We have seen it before, the total control of the victims."
"Have you considered that they were placed in a circle after they were killed, Mulder. It would be a logical answer."
"Yes it would, but I don't think so. I think they died in that circle."
His statement earned him one of her sceptic glanced.
"A hunch." He simply stated.
Not bothering to comment his statement, she looked at the autopsy files, they looked normal. No toxics or alcohol or drugs were found in the bodies. Her eyes quickly scanned through the information again, abruptly, they stopped at the bottom of the last piece of paper. A petite font said something she had overlooked before, the typing seemed to have been written in haste and regretted.
"Mulder! The bodies have been exposed to an extremely high temperature, their organs appears to have been boiled. I can't figure out how it happened, the outside of the bodies haven't been exposed to heat. Why didn't Phoebe tell us that? I whish I had the photos"
"Scully, do you have a theory?"
"No, I don't, but here are cases where people develop such extreme temperatures that their organs are damaged."
"I think our guy, Jim Casey, has some special powers."
"Why was the pictures removed from the file, that's what I'm thinking, Mulder."
Arriving at the Kainai Tribe Reserve building they got out of the car and followed Joe Taylor inside, this time they passed the large room and went into a smaller one. In a chair watching television sat an older man; he turned his head and looked at them when they entered.
Getting up from the chair, he switched off the television and turned his chair to face them, four chairs were placed in a circle and he pointed to the empty ones.
Sitting down Scully studied the man, he, like Joe Taylor, had a special air of power around him, only this man had none of the humbleness and gentleness, she found in Joe Taylor. This man wasn't ageing nicely, he obviously suffered from an illness, his face swollen and coloured in a light shade of purple. His hair hadn't lost its colour it was, still, silky ebony. His eyes held the clarity of a man who knew his destiny. He was a proud man.
"I hear you have been looking for me." He said.
"Are you Jim Casey?" Scully asked.
"I am." He confirmed.
"We're agents Scully and Mulder." Both agents flashed their badges.
"We've reason to believe, you've recently been in England running sweat lodges. It that correct Mr. Casey" Scully asked in a neutral voice.
Watching them intensely Jim Casey answered, "I just got home from England a few days ago, why?"
"Five young men died after attending one of your sweat lodges, Mr. Casey, are you aware of that?"
"Yes I'm aware of that. They came to the sweat to find answers about how their Church affected the Native American's lives. They knew only parts of the history, believing the church saved the children from the evil of paganism. The truth horrified them. The children were stolen from their homes and forced to leave everything behind, their hearts and families. Many children were never returned. We lost so much to the Catholic Church and the white man. They took our future."
"You lost your twin brother at your boarding –school?" The question was asked by Mulder.
"He died after a server beating, punished for speaking Blackfoot. Too young to understand his crime, he died. He never found his heart again."
"Did you find your heart again, Mr. Casey?" Scully studied the man.
"I returned to our traditions and looked into my heart." She let it pass that he avoided answering the question directly.
Glazing, briefly at Scully Mulder asked, "who was responsible for your brother's death, Mr. Casey?"
"Father Johnson and his disciple Levinson. Levinson, who always followed Father Johnson, could've stopped him but he chose not to, and he helped Father Johnson covering up afterwards." Jim Casey spoke in a monotone voice, showing no emotions at all.
"Did you have anything to do with the deaths at the Rectory?" Mulder pressed.
"We all have to take responsibility for our actions sooner or later, agent Mulder. We can't avoid paying for our crimes"
"You didn't answer my question. Are you responsible for their deaths?"
"I wasn't there when they died, agent Mulder."
"We'll be in touch, don't leave the reserve." Scully got up, they were getting no where with Jim Casey, but sensing they had overlooked something, she was reluctant to leave.