Chapter Thirteen
The next morning, Scully got up early and headed over to talk to Mulder. She hadn't been able to sleep at all the previous night, as she had thought about what Mulder had said. Kayla predicting the future? It seemed farfetched, but at the same time, it didn't make any logical sense how Kayla would know anything about Marzulli's Laboratory without ever having heard of it before. In any case, Scully believed what they were dealing with was far more dangerous than they had been giving it credit for. If the same men who attacked Janette Reynolds for information, how much more danger was Kayla in? They were after her, after all.
Forgetting to knock on his door, Scully barged in as Mulder scrambled to pull his shirt over his head. He turned and stared at her incredulously.
"You don't knock?" He asked innocently. Scully sighed and looked away as Mulder finished dressing.
"Sorry, I should have. I had to talk to you though, it's kind of important."
"You buy my theory that Kayla has telepathic powers?"
"Mulder!"
"Sorry, so what's up?"
"I think we should head down to the police station this morning and get some extra guards for the hotel and the room. If those same guys who attacked Janette are the ones who are after Kayla, then we can't be taking this lightly. There will be more than one of them, and if there's only one cop manning the post, he'll be outnumbered. If we're going to be away and investigating Marzulli's Lab further, I need to know Kayla's going to be safe here." Scully explained. Mulder simply nodded, as he straightened his tie.
"Sounds like a good idea," he said, and with a smirk, added, "but I'm still right about Kayla." Scully sighed.
"Great, why don't you just ask her about it? I'm sure she'd love to tell you herself she is not psychic." Mulder shook her head with a roll of his eyes.
"Scully, you said she doesn't remember anything in those states. She's not conscious of her gifts."
Scully had to admit, Mulder had her there.
Scully headed back to their room to gather her stuff together and Kayla was brushing her teeth. She peeked her head out the bathroom door and curiously watched as Scully got ready.
"Where are you going today?" Kayla asked boredly. Scully looked up and saw Kayla coming out of the bathroom with a discouraged look on her face.
"Oh, we're just going to the police station, get some things in order." She said, leaving out the part about extra bodyguards.
Kayla was quiet for a minute before she spoke again.
"Can...can I come with you?" She asked. Scully didn't say anything. She just stopped gathering her things and peered at her curiously. Kayla continued.
"I understand why I can't go other places, it's dangerous and everything, but if it's just the police station. What could happen there? Please?"
Scully did feel for Kayla, cooped up here all alone all day besides the company of a strange police officer. She was right, what harm would it do to bring her to the police station. Then she'd bring her back here before they continued their investigation on Marzulli's Laboratories.
"Alright, you can come, but I have to admit, it might be a little boring." Scully warned, but smiled when Kayla's whole face lit up and she ran to gather her coat. Scully grinned as she headed out into the hallway, telling the police officer on duty they would be taking Kayla with them for a couple of hours.
Mulder seemed happy to bring Kayla along as the three of them piled into the rental car. Mulder got along so well with Kayla, and Kayla really enjoyed Mulder's stories and conversations. Scully was having such a difficult time connecting with Kayla, but Mulder dove right in. But last night was good. Scully reminded herself. It was the first time they had talked about stuff other than the case. It was a breakthrough, Scully was proud of herself. She had been so scared to get close to the girl, because of Melissa, but she had to remind herself that this wasn't Melissa, it was her daughter. Is that any different? She wondered to herself.
Kayla seemed pleased to get out of the hotel room, just as she had earlier in the week when they had taken her for lunch. She seemed to want to help in every way, trying to offer any information she thought was necessary, but of course, nothing turned into a lead in any way, but still, Scully admired Kayla's willingness to help find the people who were after her. And if she was feeling any fear, she wasn't showing it at all.
They arrived at the police station not long afterward, and Scully told Kayla that under no circumstances was she to wander off or anything. She needed to stay with Scully and Mulder the whole time. Kayla understood, and followed them in.
One of the officers led the three into a small room to wait for the first available officer to help them set up new bodyguards.
They didn't think it would take long, but half an hour passed, and still, nobody was coming in. Scully was getting restless; there was so much they could be doing right now. The police knew how critical this investigation was - why would they take so long?
Kayla seemed to be bored as well. She hadn't brought any of her books along with her, and she did a good job pretending like she was interested, but Scully understood - she was getting antsy too.
Finally, Mulder stood up.
"I'm going to get a coffee, and I'm going to see what's taking so long," he turned to Scully and Kayla, "you want anything?"
Kayla requested a hot chocolate and Scully declined. Mulder left and Scully sighed.
"I'm sorry, Kayla, I really didn't think this would take very long." Scully apologized. But Kayla didn't respond. Scully looked over and recognized it immediately. Kayla was staring at the wall behind Scully with wild eyes and her body was trembling. She was having one of her episodes.
"Kayla." Scully tried, but this time was different. Kayla began shaking so violently, she collapsed from her chair onto the floor!
Scully ran over and dropped to the ground beside her, grabbing her shoulders to keep her steady. Scully noticed Kayla's mouth was moving softly, and when the girl stopped shaking, her eyes were still fixed hard on the ceiling, almost catatonic.
Scully pulled Kayla up and leaned her up against the wall, hoping it would help the blood flow to her brain and pull her out of this sooner. Scully knelt down in front of Kayla and watched her carefully for any signs of distress. Kayla was breathing very heavily, and her eyes were off somewhere else. She wouldn't look at Scully, she couldn't look at Scully. It was almost as though she weren't even there.
Kayla's body was still trembling, and Kayla was sweating profusely as she struggled to breath. It almost sounded as though she were...whimpering. Scully knew this was bad, when she had first seen Kayla have an episode, it was nothing like this. What changed?
Scully didn't even know what to do - she knew Kayla would come out of it, at least she hoped. She didn't dare leave her alone.
And then suddenly, Scully could make out what Kayla was mumbling. Usually, her lips just moved, but now, the practically inaudible whisper was just loud enough for Scully to make it out.
But Kayla was speaking so fast and rapidly, as her wide eyes stared at the wall behind Scully with such intense fear, Scully didn't know what to make of it. But then, as Kayla seemed to be repeating her sentences again and again, Scully made it out, and her stomach dropped.
"They're coming, they're coming in a car, a blue car, they're coming for me, they're coming right now, they're here, they're here to get me. They're coming, they're coming in a car, a blue car, they're coming for me, they're coming right now, they're here, they're here to get me. They're coming, they're coming in a car, a blue car, they're coming for me, they're coming right now, they're here, they're here to get me." There were tears in Kayla's eyes as she breathed in and out so fast and her body continued to tremble. Scully shook her head, grabbing Kayla by the shoulders again.
"I'm not going to let it happen, okay? I'm right here, nobody's taking you anywhere!" Scully said, feeling a strange truth overwhelm her. What if Mulder really was right? If Kayla was somehow seeing the future, then the people who were after her were here. Scully breathed out, checking her belt for her gun to be safe.
"Kayla, you gotta keep talking to me. What are you seeing? Do you see something? How do you know?" She asked quickly, but it was all in vain, because Kayla's eyes fluttered quickly, and she lost consciousness.
"Mulder!" Scully screamed out, easing Kayla down into a lying position, patting her cheeks slightly to try and wake her up but it was useless.
Mulder came flying into the room, placed the drinks on the table and ran over.
"What happened?" He asked. Scully shook her head.
"She went into one of her episodes, and she was talking so fast and then she passed out," she turned to Mulder with wide eyes, "Mulder, if you're right about her being able to see the future, then whoever's after her is here right now."
Mulder's face paled, and he pulled out his gun.
"Then we need to track them down." He said quietly. Scully nodded, as Mulder pulled a random police officer who was standing close by into the room.
"Watch her." He said, pointing at Kayla, who was still out cold. The officer nodded, as Mulder and Scully ran from the room, holding their guns up carefully, ready to attack anyone who tried to get to Kayla. Scully vowed she was not going to let anything happen to the girl.
Kayla groaned as she felt consciousness returning to her. She struggled to sit up as she opened her eyes and realized Scully and Mulder were gone. Feeling nervous, she looked around and realized she wasn't alone. There was someone in the room with her.
Her eyes widened as she stared at the man. She knew him. She had seen him. In her mind, she knew he was coming for her. He was dressed in a police uniform, but it was a ruse, it had to be. It was the first time she remembered something from one of her episodes. He was coming right at her.
She tried to scream, but he jumped her, pressing his hard hand against her mouth to silence her, as he reached into a pocket and pulled out a syringe bubbling with green liquid. Kayla tried to squirm away from the man, but he was too strong, and before Kayla could escape, the man injected her and Kayla fell victim to unconsciousness in seconds.
Seconds later, a police officer ran into the room and stared at the girl who was unconscious on the floor.
"What happened? I heard her screaming!" The officer pointed out. The man, who was not really a police officer, hid his face, but answered.
"I don't know, she woke up screaming and then passed out again. Must have been another one of her weird episode things." He explained. The officer hesitated.
"Alright, I'd better go tell those FBI agents." He said, and with that, he ran from the room.
The man had to act fast. He had to get Kayla out of here before those meddling agents found out what he was doing.
He ran to the window, and pulled it open, where his sidekick was waiting, the back door of their police car open and ready to go.
The disguised man quickly scooped Kayla into his arms and passed her out the window to his accomplice, who placed her gently in the backseat. The first man jumped out the window, and in seconds, the two men were in the car, and driving away from the police station.
Nobody had even seen it comin
*
Scully and Mulder did a full run around the station, checking vehicles, and bushes and behind trees, but there was nothing suspiscious happening at all. Scully was beginning to wonder if Mulder was right after all. Maybe Kayla was just expressing some unconscious fear that she was in danger, and it came out during one of her episodes. That was all she could figure, because there was nobody around who seemed to be a threat.
"Mulder, let's go back inside. I want to check on Kayla. Sorry to drag you out here, but for a minute there, I thought you could be right." Scully said, putting her gun back in her belt. Mulder raised an eyebrow.
"I still could be right." He pointed out. Rolling her eyes, Scully followed Mulder back into the police station.
She was surprised to find a bunch of officers yelling at each other, and some scrambling around with panicked looks on their faces. Scully's stomach dropped, as she approached one of them.
"What's going on?" She asked. The officer hesitated, and, sighing, looked down.
"The girl who was with you, she's, uh, she's gone." He explained. Scully's heart leapt into her throat.
"Gone? What do you mean, gone?" She asked.
"One minute, she was with an officer in that room, and the next, she was gone. The...the officer's gone too." The man replied.
Scully's stomach was doing flips. This was it. Mulder had been right all along. Kayla saw them coming, but they were looking in the wrong places. It had all been a set up. They had come dressed as cops, and their plan succeeded.
Kayla was right. She had seen them coming, and now, they had her.
