Date: 6 Jun 2003 00:01:18 -0700
Subject: Engine Failure (PG), MT
Source: atxc

I'm posting this for a friend.  Send all feedback to her please at
mulderhussy@hotmail.com


Engine Failure

by Koo

Disclaimer: All characters except those invented by 
the author are the property of Fox, 1013 and Chris 
Carter. Not making money, don't have any money so a 
lawsuit would really do you no good now would it? 
Can't get blood out of a turnip.

Rating: PG (for adult subject matter)

Genre: MT/SC

Synopsis: After spending a horrible weekend at an FBI 
Teamwork Retreat, Agent Mulder experiences engine 
failure on a deserted road. There he meets a strange 
family who seem to live outside the modern world 
seemingly harmless, but are they?

Note: In a previous story I introduced a character 
named Carole Lundgren who was a classmate of Mulder's 
at Quantico. I felt compelled to give her a little 
back-story, though she is only an incidental 
character in this tale.

-----------------------------------------------------

Friday Night, May 17th, Scully's Apartment, 
Georgetown VA, 8 PM
-----------------------------------------------------

"Mulder, you know how much I love going to these 
retreats, but this year I am going to have to pass," 
Scully said, her sarcasm evident despite the raspy 
sound of her voice.

"I really don't want to go.  You got lucky, getting 
strep throat."

"It isn't that bad, Mulder."

"I should just call Skinner and tell him I am not 
going to go.  I won't go without you."

"Skinner will have your head on a platter if you 
don't go.  We haven't been to one of them in four 
years.  You know they *are* required by the Bureau."

She could hear a loud sigh emanating from the other 
end of the line.

"Are you going to be hitching a ride with some other 
agents?"

"Hell no! After that Florida thing, I can't bear 
being stuck in the backseat of a sedan with former 
members of ‘Up With People.'''

Scully chuckled.

"Stonecypher wasn't all that bad."

"Yeah, if you are a Kathie Lee Gifford fan. I just 
can't stand to be around that much effusiveness."

"That's what happens when you have been a basement 
dweller for far too long."

"It's like being stuck in a cheerleading camp for 
cops. Give me an F, give me a B, give me an I what 
does that spell? *FBI*!"

"Well, try to make the best of it. The decongestant 
that Dr. Strayer prescribed is making me very sleepy. 
I can barely keep my eyes open."

"OK. Scully get some rest and I will fill you in all 
the exciting details when I get back."

"I can hardly wait," she said dryly, bringing a 
tissue to her nose to blow it.

"Hope you feel better soon," he said and she could 
hear a dial tone once again. She reached over to the 
coffee table. She turned the phone around in her hand 
sliding the small buttons that read "Ringer" and 
"Sound" off with her fingertip. When she was sick she 
didn't want to be disturbed. She just wanted to be 
left alone in a darkened apartment. No TV, no radio, 
no sound, just sleep. She placed the receiver back 
onto the cradle where it rested. 

-----------------------------------------------------
FBI Teamwork Retreat, Virginia Beach Palms Hotel, 

Virginia Beach, VA 

Sunday, May 19th 6 PM

-----------------------------------------------------

Fox Mulder sighed in relief as he got up from the 
hard folding chair. With his right hand, he lazily 
stroked the right cheek of his buttocks. He couldn't 
believe that he had been sitting there so long that 
it had actually gone numb. The last seminar was over, 
and he wanted nothing more, despite the lateness of 
the hour, to get into that rented Chevy Cavalier and 
drive home to the comfort of his worn leather sofa in 
Alexandria.

He saw her from across the room. Her hair was now 
short, cut into a more sophisticated style than the 
swag of a ponytail he had seen during their last 
interaction. He picked up the copies that were 
distributed during the seminar from the chair next to 
the he had been sitting in. He hoped that she had not 
seen him. It was too late when he looked up to see 
the toothy grin of Agent Patty Stonecypher.

"Agent Mulder," she called in her simpering sweet 
southern drawl.

"Shit! She's walking over here," he thought to 
himself. "Just inches from a clean getaway."

"Agent Mulder, we were all heading over to Crabby 
Bill's for seafood, $11.95 all you can eat seafood 
buffet. We were wondering if you'd like to join us."

"It sounds great, but I wanted to head back to DC 
tonight."

"It's awfully late."

"I know, but I just want to get home."

"That's too bad. We came with an old friend of yours, 
Quantico Class of 1988. She was really wanting to see 
you again."

"And who would that be?"

"Carole Lundgren."

'For sure I don't want to go now,' he mused to 
himself.

Stonecypher's expression perked up as she saw the 
tall brunette woman enter the room. She was just as 
Mulder remembered her. She hadn't changed over the 
course of ten years. The face was still stony and 
expressionless and devoid of humor. The dark locks of 
her hair were pulled back in a tight bun which tugged 
at the skin of her face, causing her to look even 
more severe. Her fashion sense, or lack thereof, 
hadn't changed either. She still preferred an ultra-
tailored black suit with a straight skirt. The hem of 
which touched her bony ankles. She still wore the 
same white blouse with a rounded collar similar to 
that worn by Catholic schoolgirls. Mulder thought she 
looked like the school marm from hell. In fact that 
was the nickname by which she was known at Quantico. 
A nickname whose origin came from the lips of one Fox 
William Mulder.

Stonecypher lifted her hand into the air summoning 
the other agent to approach.

"Carole, you remember Agent Fox Mulder, don't you?"

"Of course. We were classmates," she said while 
extending her hand.

"Nice to see you again, Carole," he replied as he 
grasped her hand in his.

"How are things going in the basement these days? 
Have you seen Yoda or Chewbacca lately?"

'Bitch,' he thought, but just offered a strained 
chuckle.

"Isn't this great? Just like a high school reunion,"
Stonecypher effused, completely oblivious to the 
tension that now engulfed the room.

Stonecypher gazed down at the watch on her wrist.

"We'd better get going. It's nearly seven. I
don't
want to get there and find out that they have run out 
of cracked crab."

-----------------------------------------------------
Crabby Bills Seafood Heaven Restaurant, 7:30 PM
-----------------------------------------------------

Mulder sat next to Lundgren as she picked at some 
peel and eat shrimp on her plate. The restaurant was 
just as he had expected it to be. It was bustling 
with tourists and families. Young children were 
running around the outer edges of the salad bar 
nearly colliding with diners carrying piles of 
seafood on their plates. The decor was Carribbean. 
Palm frowns and paintings depicting beach scenes 
covered the walls. Mulder looked up to see the marlin 
that was stuffed and mounted above the bar. Reggae 
music which, with every note, was giving Mulder a 
pounding headache streamed in from speakers attached 
to the exposed beams that hung just below the 
ceiling.


Wasting away again in Margaritaville with ‘The Marm', 
he thought.

Stonecypher got up from her place in the booth. She 
untied the bib from around her neck. On it was a 
large picture of a lobster. She tossed it onto the 
table.

"Agent Kingsley and I are going back for some more. 
Would you two like anything?"

"No thank you," both he and Lundgren said 
simultaneously.

"Are you sure? The coconut shrimp are damned tasty.", 
Kingsley asked as he grabbed one of the clean plates 
that the waitress had brought only a few minutes 
before.

"I'm sure," Mulder replied.

"Well, suit yourself."

Once Stonecypher and Kingsley were in the buffet 
line, Mulder turned to Lundgren.

"That was a real shitty thing to say to me back at 
the hotel."

"You should be one to talk about shitty things, Fox 
Mulder."

"That was years ago. Can't we just let bygones be 
bygones?"

"That hurt, Fox, and that was a -very- shitty- thing 
-to -do," she said slowly , emphasizing the last five 
words.

"I was sick that night. I couldn't help it, Carole. I 
would like to hope that you would understand that I 
wouldn't be up to a movie and dinner with a 
temperature of 102."

"I know you weren't sick, Fox. I know you paid Frank 
Dickson $50 to take me out so you could go out with 
Diana Fowley that night."

"Who told you that?"

"Frank did. Years later."

Mulder sighed. He felt badly that after nearly ten 
years that she had been unable to get past a 
schoolgirl crush.

"Why Fox?"

"I tried to tell you so many times I just wasn't 
interested, but you kept badgering and bugging. What 
else was I supposed to do?"

"The truth would've been nice."

"I had told you the truth, but you kept chasing 
anyway."

"Whatever, Mulder. I just wasn't your type I guess."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"A big busted bimbo with boundless ambition."

"Oh you always had ambition, Carole. You took every 
opportunity to one-up me in class. Don't even go 
there."

"Yes that is true. Look where I am now. I'll be 
Deputy Director while you are still chasing Alf and 
The Butt Ugly Martians."

"I don't have to sit here and listen to this tired 
old bullshit, Carole. Tell Stonecypher and Kingley I 
had to go."

He leaned over and picked up his bill from the table.

"As always, a pleasure to see you, Carole," he said 
bitterly

He paid the bill and left.

 
-----------------------------------------------------
A Rural Highway
Central Virginia 
1 AM
-----------------------------------------------------

The car was steadily losing power. The familiar hum 
of an engine was replaced with sputtering. Mulder 
pulled onto the narrow shoulder of the road and 
brought the car to a stop. He looked up and could see 
the white smoke rising from the hood.

"Shit," he muttered, as he turned the key to the 
"off" position.

Unfastening his seatbelt, he tossed the keys onto the 
passenger's seat. Reaching into the glove compartment 
he hastily retrieved his cell phone and pressed the 
pre-set button for Lariat, the car rental company 
that had rented him the 1997 Chevrolet Cavalier. He 
heard the familiar automated voice of a woman tell 
him that he was out of the service's calling range. 
He resigned himself to the fact that he would have to 
walk into town and unfastened his seatbelt. Twisting 
around, he reached for his suit coat that was laying 
in the back seat. Upon exiting the car, he could feel 
the chilly night air sting his cheek. He walked 
around to the front of the car, popped the hood and 
accessed the damage. The engine was gone- of that he 
knew for certain. He remembered the map which was in 
the pocket of his jacket. Spreading it out on the 
hood his finger retraced the various lines looking 
for the nearest town.

"Riley," he mouthed.

It would be a ten miles walk straight down the middle 
of the highway. He was hopeful that perhaps a state 
trooper or fellow motorist would see him walking, 
stop and ask if he needed assistance. Retrieving his 
duffel bag from the backrest he started to make the 
long trek into town.

About twenty minutes into the walk he could see 
headlights approaching. Waving his arms he shouted,

"PLEASE STOP!" but the car continued on its way.

"Asshole," he muttered. In a way he couldn't blame 
the driver for not stopping. Being an FBI agent, he 
knew the dangers of picking up strangers. He had seen 
the unfortunate results of such encounters: the 
bloody post-mortem photographs. He had felt the 
discomfort of having to interview women laying in 
their hospital beds recovering from the most intimate 
of violations. In moments like that he hated his job. 
He reached into his pocket and removed the phone to 
see if he was now in range. He once again heard the 
same message. Another vehicle approached and stopped 
as he put the phone back into his pocket.

"Hey buddy, ya need a ride?" a twenty something woman 
asked from the unrolled window of a battered Ford 
truck.

‘Yeah. My car broke down. I need to get into Riley."

"Ain't gonna find much in Riley at this time of 
night. Everything done closed up at 10 pm."

"I just need to get to a payphone."

"The only pay phone is at the general store and they 
closed at 10. Say, I'm not far from home, it ain't 
the Hilton, but I have a spare bedroom. You could 
crash there and I will take you in town in the 
mornin."

"I don't want to impose. Could I just use your 
phone?"

"Well you could, if I had one", she said.

'Welcome to Bumfuck Egypt,' Mulder mused to himself.

"C'mon, get in. I don't bite."

Mulder walked toward the cab of the truck and tossed 
his bag into the bed. He got into the truck and for 
the first time saw the face of his rescuer. She was 
thin, with long blond hair which was styled into two 
braids. Clad in jeans and a red checkered blouse, 
Mulder thought she was cute. He thought back on a 
movie he had watched a while back, "The Farmer's 
Dirty Daughter."

She reached down to the seat and picked up the pack 
of Marlboro reds which rested between her and Mulder. 
Taking one from the pack, she lit it, inhaling the 
smoke.

"Don't mind if I smoke?"

"Go ahead", he replied, "you're the
driver."

The truck started to roll down the road, she turned 
up the radio.

"Damn, I love this song!" she enthused and started 
singing loudly with the radio.

"I am very proud of my daddy's name all though his 
kind of music and mine ain't exactly the same.
Stop and think it over. Put yourself in my position. 
If I get stoned and sing all night long its a family 
tradition. So don't ask me, Hank why do you drink? 
Hank, why do you roll smoke?  Why must you live out 
the songs that you wrote? If I'm down in a honky-tonk 
some ole slick's trying to give me friction. I said 
leave me alone I'm singing all night long it's a 
family tradition. 

Lord I have loved some ladies and I have loved Jim 
Beam and they both tried to kill me in 1973.  When 
that doctor asked me, Son how did you get in this 
condition? I said, hey sawbones, I'm just carrying on 
an ole family tradition." 

Mulder gazed out of the window trying in vain to 
escape from honky tonk heaven. She wasn't a bad 
singer he supposed, but Hank Williams Jr. was just 
not his thing. It was a little too low brow and shit-
kicking for his liking.

"You like Hank?" she asked as she lit yet another 
cigarette.

" I really don't listen to much country music."

"Didn't think so.  You got city slicker written all 
over you."

"What's wrong with that?" he asked mildly
exasperated
by her overt rudeness.

"Oh nothing. Just don't like big cities. Too crowded, 
no privacy. That's the funny thing, you would thank 
that with all them people living in one place you'd 
have more, but ya don't. Everyone wants to know your 
business."

Mulder absently nodded.

"Came out here about six years ago from Memphis and I 
have never regretted the decision."

"What happened in Memphis?"   Mulder asked not so 
much for curiosity, but politeness.

"I was married to a controlling asshole. Beat me 
ev'ry single night. He wasn't a bad guy when he 
wasn't dranking. But Lord, get a couple shots of Wild 
Turkey into that boy and he'd turn mean as all hell. 
Rather live with a rattlesnake than him. So I packed 
up my bags, took my baby girl and came out here. 
Life's been peaceful ever since."

"He never tried to find you?"

"Nope. He thought of himself as quite the sanger. So 
I would imagine he went to Nashville like he always 
dreamed of. Of course it was my fault fer gettin 
pregnant with Lacey that he never got to live out his 
dreams. So I am a thinking he's happy. Staying up all 
hours dranking and whoring. Lord knows that was all 
he was good for and besides that he ain't no Hank so 
what else is he gonna do?"

"What time does the general store open up in Riley in 
the morning?"

"Nine I think. I never venture into town all that 
much. Don't need to. Have everything I need on my 
land. Maybe go in once a month to buy seeds for the 
garden."

"How long you been out here all alone?"

"Six years."

"Where's your daughter?"

"In bed. My sister is lookin after her. Ah, we're 
here."

Mulder looked up and saw the locked gate. She put the 
parking brake on the truck, got out and unlocked the 
it. She got back into the truck. It was a small dimly 
lit cabin. Mulder suspected that it had no 
electricity. The truck came to a stop, Mulder got out 
of the truck, not even noticing at first the small 
blond girl which stood in front of him.

"Hello," he said gently.

The little girl did not respond. Mulder could swear 
that he saw a terrified expression on the youngster's 
face.

"It's OK. I'm not going to hurt you."

Mulder felt badly for the child and the type of 
domestic discord she had probably witnessed in her 
six short years. She reminded him of Samantha and a 
sudden melancholy swept over him. Girls possessing a 
beauty and youth which would remain unfulfilled by 
the fickle finger of fate; the unfairness of life 
which dictated that the innocent should suffer. This 
girl would probably never be capable of trusting a 
man. The thought saddened him. He too knew what it 
felt like not to trust. Hopefully, Lacey too would 
come to find one person just as he had found Scully.

"Lacey now you git back into the house," the woman 
yelled at the child. She disappeared up the short 
staircase on the wraparound porch and into the house.

"Hey Caroline, where the hell have you bin?" a woman 
shouted from the porch. She looked similar to the 
woman that Mulder had been riding with though she was 
shorter and plumper. He deduced that it was her 
sister.

"Damn general store in town was out of rock salt, so 
I had to drive to Staterton and damn truck got a 
flat. By the time I got that done it was well after 
midnight."

"You git the salt?"

"Of course I did. Can't let all them shanks go to 
waste."

"Who's with you?"

"Car broke down on the highway. Gonna take him into 
town in the morning."

"He don't have a name?" she inquired sarcastically.

"Fox Mulder."

The woman walked down the staircase and extended her 
hand.

"I'm Thelma. You shure you look tired. C'mon on in 
sit a spell and I will git the spare ready for you."

Mulder followed behind Caroline and Thelma into the 
cabin. It was clean and sparsely furnished. Rustic 
was the word which popped into Mulder's head. There 
was no electricity. The light was provided by several 
kerosene lamps which were on the mantle of the 
fireplace. Mulder sat down on the worn plaid sofa.

"You hungry? I can fix something up fer ya?"

"No I'm fine. Thank you for taking me in. I hope it 
isn't an inconvenience.

"No inconvenience. We don't get many strangers up 
here. So it's a bit of treat when I can actually 
entertain someone."

"Sure you don't want anything? I have some coffee 
made."

"No thank you. Just need to get some rest. It's been 
a long night."

-----------------------------------------------------
The Next Morning

7 AM
-----------------------------------------------------

Mulder awakened with a start. Quickly he realized 
where he was and rose from the bed. His bag was 
hanging on one of the bed's four posters. His whole 
length spread across the bed as he leaned over and 
grabbed it. Unzipping it ,he found the faded jeans 
and gray T-shirt which were his off-duty mainstay. He 
put on the clothes and walked into the small living 
room of the house.

"Good morning Mr. Mulder," Thelma said as she cracked 
two eggs and dropped them into a hot skillet. The 
young girl was sitting at the table eating a piece of 
toast. He walked over and took the chair next to the 
girl's.

"Good morning, Lacy."

"Won't do you no good to talk to her. She won't 
answer you."

"She's deaf?"

"No mute. Doctors don't know why. She used to talk 
real good. One day she just stopped. That was when 
she was five."

"Have you ever taken her to see a doctor?"

"Can't afford doctors."

"A friend of mine back in DC is a doctor. Maybe when 
I get back we could come out and Scully could do an 
exam on the girl."

"That would be up to Caroline and she don't like 
strangers and she especially don't like men."

"Dr. Scully is a woman."

"Well here you go" she said as she walked over and 
placed a teaming plate of ham, eggs, potatoes and 
toast in front of him.

Mulder picked up the knife and fork and cut the pan 
fried meat. He brought it to his mouth. The flavor 
was a bit unusual, but not unpleasant. He looked up.

"Never had ham with this taste before."

"Ain't it good? We make it ourselves. Don't have
that
store bought taste."

He took another bite.

"It's very good."

"That's how we make our money. I'm so glad she 
managed to get that damned salt last night otherwise 
all that meat would be on its way to rotting right 
now. We would have no money left for the winter. We 
didn't wake you last night did we?"

"I was so tired I could've slept through an 8.0 
earthquake."

"Good we were up prepping all that meat and hanging 
it in the smokehouse."

Mulder took a sip of coffee. Caroline walked through 
the front door.

"I'm gonna be heading home now."

"See you soon," Caroline said. She walked over and 
embraced her sister.

"Take care of my niece."

"I will. See you soon."

"Bye now. Mr. Mulder pleasure meetin ya."

"You almost done? It's about 8:30"

"Yes," Mulder said discarding his piece of toast, 
tossing it back onto the plate.

-----------------------------------------------------
FBI Headquarters 

8:40 AM
-----------------------------------------------------

Despite not feeling her best, Scully managed to limp 
out of bed that morning and come to work. Usually 
Mulder was already there looking through files, 
viewing slides or drinking a cup of coffee. She 
walked over to his desk, lifted the receiver to his 
phone to see if any of his voice-mail messages might 
yield a clue to his whereabouts. She felt silly. He 
was only a half hour late. There was probably a pile 
up on the expressway from Arlington to DC. She walked 
into the adjacent room and poured some coffee into 
her mug which she doused with a healthy sprinkling of 
Cremora when her thoughts were interrupted by the 
voice of a woman.

"Excuse me, are you Agent Scully?" said the woman 
clad in a beige suit with a skirt that was slightly 
shorter than the FBI dress code allowed. Her hair was 
raven black and straight, bangs framing her face. 
Scully immediately thought that she might be a 
girlfriend of Mulder's. She was his type, lean with 
blue eyes a small nose and pouty lips. She dismissed 
the notion soon after having it. If Mulder had a 
significant other, she of all people would know about 
her.

"Yes, how can I help you?," she asked, her voice 
still hoarse.

"I was here to see Agent Mulder."

"Agent Mulder is not here right now. May I ask who 
you are?"

A strained chuckle came from the woman as she 
extended her hand to Scully.

"Agent Carole Lundgren. Fox and I were classmates 
back at Quantico."

"I would be more than happy to give him a message as 
soon as he comes in."

"Well Fox and I didn't part on such good terms after 
the conference. I wanted to apologize, so on my way 
here this morning I stopped by his apartment. Nobody 
was home."

"You stopped by his apartment?" she asked her voice 
displaying just a hint of jealousy which Lundgren 
detected immediately.

"It's not what you think. I was rude and I merely 
wanted to apologize. Now I am concerned that 
something may have happened to him."

Scully walked into the main part of the office, 
lifted the phone receiver and punched in his cell 
phone number.

"The cellular customer you are trying to call is not 
responding or is out of the calling area. Please try 
your call again."

"What time did he leave the conference Sunday night?"

"It was after dinner. I would say between 9 and 10 
pm."

"Well that would give us a general idea of where to 
start looking. Agent Lundgren, would you mind looking 
through maps to see any routes he might've taken."

"Sure, where are you going?"

"To see AD Skinner to coordinate a search."

 
-----------------------------------------------------
Riley, Virginia 

9:10 AM
-----------------------------------------------------

The truck came to a stop in front of the Riley 
General Store. Mulder briskly hopped out of the 
passenger's side and onto the dirt below. Turning, he 
grasped Lacey by the waist and genyly lowered her 
onto the ground below. She quickly ran to her 
mother's side, grabbing her mother's calf 
protectively. Walking in he felt as if he were in a 
time warp. Old wooden shelves held boxes and cans and 
had it not been for the large freezer cases 
entrenched along the store's back wall, it could've 
easily been something out of a Laura Ingalls Wilder 
book.

The woman stood behind the counter unwrapping rolls 
of quarters. Mulder could hear the clang as they hit 
the chamber in the cash drawer. She looked up.

"Hey Caroline, how are things goin?"

"Not too bad."

"Those hams gonna be ready on time?"

"Yes Ma'am."

The plump matronly woman looked over at Mulder and 
smiled.

"They are our best sellers you know? People drive in 
from all the way from Staterton to buy Caroline's and 
Thelma's hams. Keep telling em they should patent the 
recipe, but do they listen....", she commented as she 
winked at Mulder.

"Hell no," she replied in answer to her own question.

"Nadine, this is Mr. Mulder from Washington DC. His 
car broke down so he spent the night up at my place. 
He needs to use your phone."

"Damn. Wish I could help, but the phone has been out 
of order, since that lightening strike three nights 
back. All the phones in town are out of order. Called 
it in, but those people still ain't shown up."

Mulder sighed audibly and his shoulders slouched in 
resignation.

"Is there a police station in town? I'm a federal 
officer. Perhaps they could get in contact with the 
FBI?"

"We don't have a police station."

"You're kidding."

"Well we don't. Town is so small and nothing much 
goes on up here. Whenever we need the police we just 
call the county sheriff. Thank he's only been up here 
once, in what, fifteen years, Caroline."

"I recon so," she answered.

"Damn. Do you think anyone would loan me their car?"

"People are poor up here Mr. Mulder. They never go 
anywhere. I think that Caroline is about the only 
person I know who owns a truck."

Caroline turned towards Mulder. A polite smile was 
forming at the corners of her mouth.

"Listen, I will drive you into DC tomorrow morning. I 
can't do it today. I'm running low on gas and the 
tanker don't come in until late tonight, so you can 
use the spare and we will be on our way in first 
thing in the morning."

'What else can I do?' Mulder mused to himself.

"That's fine, but I am sure my partner is worrying 
about me."

"Well I can tell you Mr. Mulder, you're in very good 
hands," Nadine remarked, smiling.

"Well I am going to do some shopping, feel free to 
walk around town. I shouldn't be no more than an 
hour."

Mulder walked around the rural town, finding it 
difficult to believe that a place like that still 
existed in Post World War II America. Town was an 
overstatement. In addition to the general store, 
there was feedstore, a gas station that looked as if 
it were out of the Depression era and a doctor's 
office that was closed Sundays and Mondays. Walking 
to the garage he noticed a young woman walking toward 
a toolbox in the garage attached, taking an orange 
shop towel to clean the grease from her hands. She 
looked up.

"Can I help you?" she asked as she tossed the spent 
rag onto a counter nearby.

"I was wondering if you would know anyone who might 
be able to loan me a car."

"Only two folks in town own cars. And one of em here 
is in need of a new transmission I reckon."

From behind he felt a tugging at the hem of his T-
shirt. He looked down and saw a small girl with red 
hair and sparkling blue eyes. He thought to himself 
that she probably was the spitting image of a young 
Scully.

"Hello," he said gently.

"Hello," she said, reciprocating his greeting.

"Now Nancy Ann, don't be going and spookin people 
like that."

"It's OK. How old is she?"

"She's 6 and knows that she ain't supposed to be 
creeping around the garage. It's a dangerous place."

"Mind me asking why she isn't home with her father?"

"Well sir that ain't really any of your business," 
she snapped defensively.

"I'm sorry. I just haven't seen any men in
town."

"Oh they're around.  Well at least the ones that 
didn't run off."

"Your husband ran off?"

"Yeah, went fishing one day and never came back. The 
county sheriff was out here looking around, they 
dragged the swamp even, never found a trace. So I 
suppose he found a younger, prettier model and took a 
test drive."

"Do you think he was murdered?" Mulder inquired.

"Murdered? Hell no! Who the hell would wanna do 
that?"

"Mr. Mulder," he heard a woman's voice say. Looking 
up he saw Caroline her arms full of brown paper bags. 

"Need some help with that?" he asked hoping to be of 
some assistance. 

"Sure, would you mind taking this one? It's full of 
cans and the heaviest."

She looked down at Lacey who was fiddling with a 
stick on the ground, carelessly pushing it with her 
right foot. Caroline looked down.

"Lacey honey, do you think you could carry one of the 
smaller ones for Mommy?"

The child nodded in silent response.

"OK. Gotta get home and git dinner started. How does 
ham and grits sound?"

Mulder lamely smiled, the ham was fine, but grits 
were what he considered a refined taste, if taste 
could even be a word which described them.

"Sounds terrific" he responded trying his best to 
mask his lack of enthusiasm.

-----------------------------------------------------
-
FBI Headquarters

AD Skinner's Office

4 PM

-----------------------------------------------------
-

"Well we have tracked down Agent Mulder's rental 
car," Skinner said as he stood at the foot of the 
conference table addressing the six agents who were 
assembled.

"However, we have found no trace of Agent Mulder. The 
car was found abandoned near a rural highway in 
Central Virginia between a small town called Riley 
and another called Staterton. We have the full 
cooperation of local law enforcement. Of course, in a 
situation like this we hope for the best and prepare 
for the worst. Agent Scully..."

"Yes sir," she said looking up.

"Are you sure that you would like to stay on the task 
force?"

"Of course, sir."

"I am just asking because he is your partner and I 
wouldn't want you to have to see...."

"I know sir, but he is my partner. I owe it to him 
and if something has happened to him I would have to 
deal with it sooner or later."

"I just wouldn't want you to become traumatized by 
seeing something that it would be best for you not to 
see."

"I'm fine with it sir and we will find him. It isn't
a question of ‘if' with me."

Lundgren looked up from the Xerox copies that were on 
the table below her. 

"Sir, did you say one of the towns was Staterton?"

"Yes. Do you have any information that you would like 
to share?"

"It has nothing to do with the case, but I grew up 
near Staterton. In the late 1960s there was a rather 
bizarre murder there."

"Bizarre in what respect?" Skinner asked.

"A local woman, I think her name was Nancy Jean 
Clemins, murdered her husband with an ax. He worked 
for an oil refinery near Richmond and when he hadn't 
shown up for work in days, his co-workers became 
suspicious. Local police went out and questioned Mrs. 
Clemins. One officer noticed a foul smell emanating 
from the root cellar below. It was there that they 
found Mr. Clemins, or shall I say, pieces of Mr. 
Clemins."

"Whatever became of Nancy Jean?" Scully asked, her 
interest piqued. She had a feeling, though she could 
not substantiate it above a hunch, that this murder 
was somehow related to Mulder's disappearance.

"Well it never went to trial. She was found 
clinically insane and was put in the state mental 
hospital up in Richmond. As far as anyone knows, she 
was cured, released and never heard from again."

"Well, in the meantime, Skinner began, "I think we 
should concentrate our search on Staterton, Riley and 
any of the outlying communities, question residents 
and shop keepers. You all have copies of what little 
we have to go on. Let's find him."

-----------------------------------------------------
Caroline's Cabin 8 PM
-----------------------------------------------------

There was a knocking at the door which startled 
Caroline. Rising from the sofa she walked to the door 
parting the curtain she could see a sort redheaded 
woman accompanied by a brunette who was much taller. 
Slowly she opened the door.

"Yes can I help you?"

Scully reached into her pocket. With a quick and 
fluid motion she flapped open the leather holder 
which contained her FBI credentials.

"I'm Special Agent Dana Scully and this is Agent 
Lundgren. Mind if we come in for a few minutes? We 
would like to ask you a few questions."

"Well my daughter is asleep. Can't this wait until 
morning?"

"No it can't," Lungren flatly stated pushing her way
past Caroline and into the living room.

"Have you seen this man" Scully said holding a 
picture of Mulder, "he is a Federal Agent who went 
missing from this area two days ago."

Caroline took the photo into her hands and studied 
it.

"Nope can't say that I have. We don't get too many 
visitors up here."

"Mind if we take a look around the premises?" 
Lundgren asked. Scully was a bit taken aback by her 
overt aggressiveness.

"Sure, be my guest, but you ain't gonna find 
anything."

After looking through the house and the barn, Scully 
and Lundgren walked back their car. Scully felt as if 
someone were watching her, looking back she could see 
the figure of a small girl gazing from a window on 
the far right end of the house.

"Well that yielded absolutely nothing," Lundgren said 
as she slid the key into the driver's side door.

"She's lying Carol, Mulder was here."

"What makes you say that?"

"The back bedroom."

"I didn't see anything out of the ordinary."

"I didn't see anything either. I smelled something."

Lundgren looked up, her face covered with a quizzical 
expression.

"I smelled his cologne on the pillowcase."

-----------------------------------------------------
Riley, Virginia

11 PM
-----------------------------------------------------

Coming to, Mulder could smell hay and manure. Through 
the shut door, he could hear several voices. From 
their pitch he knew they were female, but he couldn't 
make out the words. Sitting up, he noticed that his 
legs were bound and that his arms had been tied 
together behind his back as were his legs. An ever 
increasing throb was pulsating at the base of his 
skull.  The last thing he could recollect was having 
dinner with Lacey and Caroline, then everything went 
blank. Now he knew that he had been the victim of a 
blunt force trauma to the head.

"We need to do it soon," Nadine said to Thelma in the 
tack room which was on the other end of the barn.  "I 
know. We only have forty-eight hours, after that you 
will no longer be fertile."

"He won't be a willing participant."

"Are they ever?"

Nadine laughed. 

"No, but we always manage to turn that around now, 
don't we?  Get enough whiskey into em and they will 
do almost anything. They are such predictable 
creatures after all."

"It just might be better to slaughter this one and 
find easier prey."

"No we must keep the family going."

"What if the child is another boy?"

"Then he will just join the others."

Thelma exhaled.

"Thelma, if you cannot stomach the thought, might I 
suggest that you leave?"

"It's just..."

"It's just nothing. They are loathsome creatures. 
They are beneath all of us. Need I remind you of what 
Billy Dean did to your sister? What my husband did to 
me?"

"No."

"Well then it is settled."

She handed Thelma a glass full of what appeared to be 
milk.

"Now go in and make him drink it. This one is a bit 
on the thin side. He needs to be fattened up."

Thelma walked into the barn slowly. Mulder leaned 
back against a bale of hay trying to rest his head on 
anything which might feel soft.

"Mr. Mulder, you need to drink this."

"Like hell I will."

"If you are going to be uncooperative I will just 
have to get Nadine to shove it down your throat and 
believe me you don't want that to happen. It won't 
hurt you. It is just a protein shake."

"This is why there aren't any men in this town. You 
kidnap and torture them to death."

"No, we don't torture. We treat all of our animals 
with kindness."

"Oh my God...." Mulder uttered coming to the 
realization of what was really occurring.

"It will be fast and painless Mr. Mulder, but first 
we have other plans for you."

"This is why Lacey is so traumatized. How many 
murders has that child been a witness to?"

"Only one. Her father. Bastard followed Caroline and 
well we took care of him. But we didn't plan, 
couldn't think of what to do with the body, so that 
night our cottage industry was born."

"I've done nothing to you, Nadine or Caroline and all 
the others have done nothing."

"Oh you are all the same.  Sweet, oh so sweet at the 
very beginning, but then your true natures come out. 
You're all lying, abusing animals and we treat you as 
such."

"I am a federal agent."

"Is that supposed to frighten me?"

"It should, it won't take them long to figure out 
where I am."

Scully looked through the binoculars once more, but 
the cabin was quiet, dark and devoid of all activity.

"So what was your connection to Mulder," Scully asked 
in an attempt to make small talk.

"It's a long story."

"I have a feeling that we are going to be here all 
night Carol."

"We were classmates at Quantico and you could say 
that I had a crush on him."

"I take it, it wasn't reciprocated."

"No."

"Was that the reason for the disagreement you had at 
the end of the conference?"

"Yes and if I hadn't been that way, he wouldn't have
left so hastily and none of us would be in this mess 
right now."

"Now I am curious."

"Well basically we had a date and he paid another 
agent to go out with me. He had fallen for Fowley at 
the time. I really couldn't blame him. I mean look at 
me, Agent Scully."

"There is nothing wrong with you Carol. To be honest 
I am really surprised. You are exactly Mulder's 
type."

Lundgren chuckled.

"At the time I wasn't. The metamorphosis is recent."

Scully jumped up.

"We have activity."

Lundgren picked up her set of field glasses from the 
center console of the car.

"Damn, she is only taking out the garbage," Scully 
sighed.

‘Mind if I ask something?" Lundgren asked her voice 
displaying an uncharacteristic lack of confidence.

"Sure."

"How can you work with that gorgeous man and not be 
distracted?"

"Who says that I am not distracted?"

"Have you ever crossed that line..."

"That line?"

"That line separating the professional from the 
personal."

"Mulder and I are the best of friends in addition to 
being partners and I will leave it at that."

"Never, even once?"

Scully shook her head.

"Damn, I found it hard at Quantico. I can't imagine 
being within inches of him everyday."

"Mulder is consumed by his work. Any woman he would 
become involved with would come in at second place I 
fear."

"You sounded disppointed when you said that."

"You're very astute Lundgren. If it were to get 
involved with any man, it would be Fox Mulder."

The truck pulled into the backyard of the cabin. 
Thelma and Nadine got out of the truck and lightly 
shut the door. Upon entering, they could see Caroline 
asleep on the couch, a tattered afghan covering her 
legs. Thelma walked over and gently nudged her 
sister's left shoulder.

"What?" she asked her voice still hazy from sleep.

"We are being watched."

"By who?"

"Two women in a car parked just a little down the 
road. There is no time to waste. It must be tonight."

"It's too risky."

"We must not give the FBI women anything to become 
suspicious about. It was stupid for you and Mother to 
come here."

"Don't worry. I'm your sister, I have a right to be 
here. Nothing suspicious about me coming to visit my 
own sister or a mother calling on her daughter."

"We will do it tonight," Nadine insisted.

"We will not have time to mate him with Thelma, but 
with his flesh our orders will be filled."

They made their way down the darkened path and 
through a weed infested field which led to barn on 
Nadine's property. The sound of the door sliding open 
roused Mulder from his less than restful sleep. He 
noticed the twelve gage shot gun which was slung over 
Caroline's shoulder and the chainsaw which was 
grasped firmly in Thelma's.

"It's time Mr. Mulder. Would you like to be
sedated?"

Lundgren could hear a gentle rapping on the car 
window. Scully jumped up in startled surprise.

"Did you hear that Lungren?"

"Yes, I fell asleep."

"I don't see anyone."

Lundgren opened the car door and exited, looking from 
left to right. Turning around she could see a small 
child clad in a flannel nightgown, her blond hair 
tied into pigtails.

"Hello" she said gently.

"Lundgren, what is it?" Scully asked as she got out 
of the car.

"A little girl."

The child grasped her hand and started to lead her in 
the direction of a path, Scully following close 
behind.

"Where are you taking us?" Scully asked trying her 
best to keep pace with Lungren whose stride was much 
longer than hers.

The girl didn't answer. Lundgren stopped.

"Sweetie can you talk?"

The child just shook her head.

"She's a mute Agent Scully."

Thelma approached holding a hypodermic needle in her 
hand which contained a large, if not fatal, dose of 
ketomene. Mulder finding all the strength he could 
muster, lifted his bound legs, kicking her, sending 
her toppling to the dirt floor below.

"Now that wasn't very nice," Nadine said as she 
grabbed a sledge hammer that was hung on the wall 
behind her. "He is going to make it hard on us. Now 
you two go hold em down."

Mulder laid on the ground. His shirt was inching up 
and he could feel the scratchy hay on the exposed 
skin. He turned his head . He could see Nadine 
approach with the syringe. He closed his eyes as the 
needle pierced the skin of his right arm. He opened 
his eyes again briefly. His eyelids fluttered in a 
vain attempt to thwart the effect of the powerful 
drug just injected into his blood. Within seconds he 
lost consciousness.

"Are we almost there?" Lundgren asked the child whose 
hand was firmly gripped in hers.

The child nodded. They came to a large barn which was 
in what could be kindly termed a state of disrepair.

The girl brought her index finger to her lips 
indicting that all three of them needed to remain 
silent. With her small hands she slid open the door. 
She could see her grandmother lifting the 
sledgehammer into the air about to inflict a fatal 
blow.

"NO!!!!!! HE'S NICE! DON'T HURT HIM!" she
screamed at
the top her lungs. which caused Nadine to drop the 
hammer.

Scully and Lundgren slid the door the rest of the way 
open, their weapons drawn.

"FEDERAL AGENTS! PUT THE HAMMER DOWN! PUT YOUR HANDS 
ABOVE YOUR HEAD AND APPROACH SLOWLY" Scully 
commanded.

The woman lifted the hammer. She screeched like a 
banshee and ran toward Scully. After discharging 
nearly all of her clip, the woman finally fell to the 
ground.  The remaining two stood in silence with 
their hands up. Lundgren cautiously approached. 
Taking the cuffs from her back pocket, she roughly 
brought them down on Caroline's wrist.

"Scully do you have your pair of cuffs on you?"

"Yes," she said walking over to assist Lundgren in 
the arrest.

Lundgren looked over to the corpse of the woman who 
had just been shot.

"My God Agent Scully, that is Nancy Jean Clemins."

-----------------------------------------------------
-
Georgetown Medical Center

2 Days Later

-----------------------------------------------------
-

His eyes fluttered open to see Scully sitting by his 
bedside. He smiled as he tried his best to sit up, 
but he still felt too weak.

"I can prop you Mulder. Just take it easy."

She took his hand and started to gently hoist him up. 
A barely audible gasp sprang from his mouth.

"The doctors tell me that you are going home 
tomorrow."

"Oh joy. I could really use a couple more days," he 
said , his fingers stroking the huge bump on the back 
of his head.

"You'll be happy to know that Lacey has been placed 
into foster care and is receiving therapy."

"I don't know if all the therapy in the world could 
help that child after all the horror she has seen."

"Well she is still young and that is the one thing 
that she has on her side. Hopefully, time will heal 
those wounds."

"My God," he muttered.

"From what we've been able to piece together, Nancy 
Jean Clemins was released from the state mental 
hospital in 1973. She petitioned the court to restore 
custody of her two daughters Thelma and Caroline and 
moved to Riley. Caroline married, but Thelma stayed 
living with her mother. The marriage was not a good 
one and Caroline left. One night in 1998 her husband 
came back and it must've triggered something in Nancy 
and she passed the madness onto her daughters. I only 
hope that Lacey will be immune from it."

"Only time will tell."

"VC is out digging up a mass grave on both Nancy 
Jeans and Caroline's property. No bones or any other 
remains of past adult victims have been recovered, 
but we did find barrels full of hydrochloric acid in 
the barn which we deduce is how the bodies were 
disposed of."

"You said adult victims Scully. They murdered 
children as well?"

"You being Sunday dinner was not their only plans for 
you Mulder. The initial forensics investigation 
points to them to being the remains of both Thelma's 
and Caroline's infant sons."

"Are you saying that they wanted to mate with me?"

"Yes."

"But they only wanted female offspring."

"Praying mantis," he said absently.

"What?"

"Like a praying mantis, they mate and then eat the 
fathers."

"Basically," Scully said dryly.

"Change of subject..."

"Yes."

"Who is that beautiful agent who is standing out in 
the hallway?"

"She helped me on the case. She was a classmate of 
yours, name is Carol Lundgren."

"The Marm? No."

"The Marm?"

"That was her nickname at the academy."

Scully motioned with her hand for Lundgren to come 
into the room. Mulder took in the sight of her. Only 
three words came to his mind: new and improved.

"How are you feeling Fox?"

"Been better. Thank you for coming to my rescue."

"Just doing my job."

"Would you like to have dinner with me on Friday?"

"No thank you Agent Mulder I already have a date."

"Congratulations. Who is the lucky guy?"

"I think you know him Fox, he's your boss, AD 
Skinner."

Mulder hoped that she could not see his jaw dropping. 

"Fox, you're right. Let's just let bygones be 
bygones. I know a woman who would just love to go out 
with you," she said winking at Scully. "Gotta go. 
Walter and I have a lunch date."

She turned and walked out of the room. The little 
visual exchange between Scully and Lundgren had not 
escaped his notice.

"What the hell was that supposed to mean" he 
questioned.

"Oh nothing," Scully said in mock innocence.

"Get some rest Mulder. I will be here tomorrow 
morning to pick you up should Dr. Benedict release 
you."

Scully picked up her purse and coat. Stopping at the 
doorway she waved and was on her way.

An orderly entered the room pushing in the lunch 
cart.

"What's on the menu today?" he asked looking up.

"Ham and Swiss on Rye."

Mulder made a disgusted facial expression.

"Take it away. I'm never eating ham again."

THE END