Bobby climbed in through his open bedroom window, gesturing William to follow.
"Quiet" He whispered, placing a finger over his lips, "Keep it down or my sister will hear us"
Footsteps came thundering down the hallway, "Robert! Where the hell have you been?!"
The older sibling collared her brother, quickly observing the trickle of blood on his cheek.
"Are you hurt? What happened?" She asked in shock.
"Nothing Becky, lay off will ya?"
"You little dweeb, don't you get it? Mom left to keep us safe, and you're running around town as if this whole thing is a complete joke!"
She stopped in her tracks as William stepped into view, hauling himself over the window ledge.
"You're supposed to be dead…" She breathed, failing to hide the surprise in her voice.
"Yeah well he's not, okay"
Bobby wriggled out of his sister's clutches, leaving her to fold her arms, uncertain of her next move.
"Where are your parents?" She directed at Will.
"They weren't so lucky…"
The sunlight beaming through the open window fell abruptly. All three of them glanced cautiously outside, simultaneously falling silent. The litter on the streets below swirled in a whirlwind updraft, as the clouds grew dark.
"Is it a storm?" Becky suggested.
"Storms don't form that quickly, dumbass" Bobby quipped.
"Shhh" Will crouched down in the frame studying the mysterious clouds.
Flocks of birds flew away from the epicentre, squawking in fear as lightning flickered in amongst the grey.
"The birds are acting funny" Bobby pointed out.
A roar of thunder echoed down the street and the strange storm dissipated just as quickly as it had formed.
"What just happened?" Bobby questioned, looking blankly at his friend for reassurance.
William made for the stairs, his sneakers thudding loudly on the worn carpet. He flicked the light switch; nothing, as he'd guessed. He tried the phone and that too was uncooperative.
Bobby and Becky sprinted down the stairs after him.
"Powers out" William announced.
He paced back and forth for a while, vaguely wondering what to do until he sunk square into the coach in the living room, his head drooping in his hands.
Becky took the seat opposite, eyeballing her brother's odd friend with an air of scepticism.
"Right weirdo, I want to know everything you know" She demanded.
"Hey, the fridge is broken" Bobby called from the kitchen.
The others threw him a look, "Ah yeah, the power, right, got it" He clicked, grabbing a few soda's and joining them on the coach.
"The noise that me and Bobby experienced back at the school, I've seen it before. The same thing happened at the base I was residing in. They said it was caused by the ships passing over us…" Will explained, "… It's what made our ears bleed. Some kind of bizarre frequency, I'm not entirely sure how it works…"
"Ships? You mean this was like an attack?"
"They're not attacking, they're observing. This virus that is making everyone sick, they put it here, they somehow set it in motion. Now their watching it unfold"
"So, it's like the Russians or something?" Bobby asked with a confused expression.
"No, it's not Russia"
"China?"
"Jesus, Bobby" William sighed, slowly loosing the will to live, "No, they're not human… they're something else…"
"So the thing we just saw in the sky, that was the same as what you experienced at the school" Becky spoke slowly, still trying to get her head around the idea, "…And that's what's making everyone sick?"
"Exactly"
"So, shouldn't the authorities do something about this? I mean they bought in the military but they don't seem to know what they're doing" Bobby supposed.
"They probably still don't fully understand what they're up against"
"What, and you do?"
Will scratched his head, "I have a pretty good idea. I got up close and personal with one of those things…" Will remembered the big dark sinister eyes piercing through him, "… Let's just say you better hope they stay up there"
"So, what do we do?"
"People will start fighting back, they're already trying. The people I was staying with were working on a vaccine against the virus. If they're successful, we might stand half a chance"
"And if they're not successful?" Becky asked anxiously.
William shook his head. It didn't bear thinking about.
"I have to go" William rose.
"Go where?"
"They're here. That's bad news for you guys, but good news for me. My brother and my friend are on one of those ships"
….
The chromatography machine hummed rhythmically in the darkened room. Both Mulder and Scully hunched over the equipment watching feverishly as it performed its tasks.
"How long until we'll know?" Mulder asked, squinting at the computer monitor pretending he understood the data that had started to churn out.
"Couple of hours, maybe more" Scully flopped back in her office chair.
"Do you think it'll work?"
"I don't know. It's possible the DNA could have been present all along. It could have been laying dormant in his system until something triggered it to surface"
"Is that plausible?"
"Theoretically, yes. The trigger could be in the form of acute emotional trauma; he recently lost his adoptive parents, then there was the attack, and almost losing you and his brother. There have been a number of factors that could have contributed. Even puberty can spawn enough imbalances in the system…" She trailed off into her own wonderland of thought.
Mulder smiled. Her expression was one he'd often missed. She was caught up in her own racing thoughts as she explored her brilliant mind for answers. The surroundings weren't far from familiar as well, although he was more accustomed to the dingy basement office.
"You look like you need some caffeine, or maybe a decent sleep" Mulder interrupted, "Come on, we've got a couple of hours, it'll be waiting right here when we get back"
Scully reluctantly left the lab with him. She wouldn't have admitted it, but the fact she'd had to re-read each sentence four times before it made the faintest of sense was a pretty good indicator of her sleep deprivation.
They'd not seen another soul between the lab and the upstairs living area. Sections of the facility were still absent of power but luckily there were enough flickering overhead beams to light the way.
Scully plonked herself on the comfy coach as Mulder dug out the coffee sachet. He turned the empty packet upside down looking bemused at its lack of contents. He'd forgotten supplies were running dry with the lack of food drops.
"Bingo" He grinned, fishing out a sealed box from the back of one of the far cupboards; the perks of being tall.
By the time he'd poured out two mugs worth and added some powdered milk, Scully was curled up staring vacantly into space.
"Thanks" She said, as he handed her the warm mug.
"When the vaccine is successfully, I'm going to find our son" The words had escaped his mouth before he'd fully comprehended them.
"If the vaccine is successful, Mulder. We don't know that it will be yet"
"You can do it, Scully" He cupped her small hands in his, "I know you can"
They melted into each other, and for a short moment it felt like home, like the times they lived together in Mulder's house. So many days of sorrow, but far more of happiness and enjoyment in one another's company. She'd missed the smell of the wood-burning stove that kept them cosy during the long winter evenings. More than ever she missed how he felt next to her, his soft skin warm under the quilted sheets, the faint scars across his back and abdomen, each a memento of their times working on the x-files.
"I'm coming with you…"