From: "Lisa R. Colodny" <dr_lisa@gate.net>
Date: Tue, 28 Apr 1998 19:20:19 -0400
Subject: Resubmittal

H20 

by  L. R. Colodny

Setting: Taylorsville, Kentucky 
Population 5468, Rural farm area, major industry Union Underwear (Fruit of the loom) 
Company.

September  7,  21:45 PM
Heavy forest with a blanket of green  covered the mountains visible on the horizon. The 
hills in the immediate area seem less densely covered than those visible off in the distance. 
A medium size river separates two distinctively visible patches of land. The landscape on 
the other side of the river is more heavily populated with scrubbery and trees.  

On this side the trees and landscape are fewer in number. It appears much flatter than the 
area across the river. From the larger trees grape vines hang menacingly to the ground, 
some reaching out towards the water.

The  moon is full and clearly visible from the area, a secludedness unknown to city 
dwellers. To the right of the river parked carelessly near the edge of the closest barrier of 
hills are the dust covered truck. One couple each is clearly visible inside two of the trucks. 
The vehicle closest to the river stands empty. Its windows rolled completely down so that 
the radio can be heard by the young man & woman laying down viciously on the ground. 
They appear to be in their mid to late teens, a letterman's  varsity jacket folded neatly into 
a bundle atop the gray colored rocks that encompassed the couple. The rocks seemed 
smooth, almost  like a polished table top. Some  of  the rocks resembled a makeshift "stair 
step" trailing up along the hill that the trucks bordered. The young man pulled away from 
the young girl. He was an attractive young man with blonde hair and intensely blue eyes. 
His muscular frame evident as he undressed and dove headfirst into the river.

The girl gasped a very "fake" screen and announced to the occupants of the other trucks, 
"Okay guys, swim time !" One by one the teenagers undressed and dove into the river, 
splashing and dunking each other in sequence. 

Across the river an accumulation of foamlike bubbles began to congregate. Finally the  
foam maneuvered toward the swimmers as if selecting out the most isolated one. It 
focused on the young teenager with the letterman's jacket. It was somewhat translucent  
shadowed against the moon as it moved toward the unsuspecting swimmer. The young 
swimmer looked anxiously behind as if aware of the danger drawing closely near. He 
jerked quickly around as the creature pulled at his left shoulder. He swept his hand against 
the shoulder. Finding nothing he continued to splash water at his friends and pushed even 
from the shore.  The  "foam " followed him and suddenly he is pulled under the water, 
screaming and fighting with all his might. 

His friends didn't really pay much attention to the first of his screams. However, as his 
screams grew more intense, they ventured out to help him. But, as the  boys neared him, 
they sensed his struggle and withdrew back to the safety of the river bank. 

By now the girls had taken refuge on the river's bank as well. They stood entangled 
around each other, they bodies wet from the water. As the boys embraced the trio, all of 
them turned and looked back to where their friend was slowly submitting to the foam. He 
went below sea level with one final plea; a mountain of foamy bubbles enveloping the area.
Off in the distance his female companion screams, " Michael !!"


FBI Building
Washington, DC
September 21, 06:00 AM

Mulder sat impatiently at his desk, arranging slides onto a carousel. He was dressed as 
usually in a dark blue suit, sleeves rolled casually to his elbows, and the coat jacket 
slumped uncaringly over the chair pushed near his desk. Scully entered almost on cue as 
he looked to the door and then to his wrist watch. She dropped the ragged brown brief 
case atop his desk and exchanged a greeting with him.  He answered her good morning 
address to him with a shrug of his shoulders and a witty smile, "That depends," he replied 
dryly. She inquired, "Depends on what?" He smiled and turned the lights down, flipping 
the slide projector on at the same time. He pointed to the picture and went on, "Feel like a 
trip to Nowheresville?" Scully took a seat against the desk and repeated, "Nowheresville?" 
Mulder pointed to the photograph of a young naked male laying face down against the 
ground." "Taylorsville, Kentucky. Nowheresville, USA." He indicated towards the screen, 
"Michael Wilkes, 18 year old varsity athlete. He drowned  about  3 weeks ago. Local 
deputies pulled his body from Green River." He switched to the next slide which showed a 
close up of the boy's back area." Mulder approached the screen and circle with his hand 
an area on the boys back that appeared to be inflamed maybe even sunburned. He looked 
to Scully who had moved closer to investigate that which Mulder indicated. "What do you 
make of that, Scully?" She shook her head, "Sunburn,  allergic rash, I `d need to examine 
the body." He smiled,  "Thought  you might say that." He handed her a plane ticket, "We 
are booked on an 11 am flight to Louisville." She took the ticket and asked, "We `re going 
to Kentucky because a boy drowned? Mulder, is there something else?" He turned the 
projector off and the lights back on. "Michael Wilkes is the third person to drown in this 
small town in just under 2 months." He handed her a file folder with the preliminaries on 
the first 2 victims.  He pointed to a picture of a young girl approximately 16 years old 
lying  eerily in the same fashion as Michael Wilkes body. She wore a blue one piece 
bathing suit. The same familiar blue - green rash visible just above both her ankles.  The 
next picture was of a farmer. He was about 65 years old, his sunburned face looking 
awkwardly off into the distant. The  body again lying face down against the bank of the 
river. This picture, however, was not like the other two. He was fully clothed in a blue 
work shirt, denim overalls, and work boots. Scully pointed to the picture, "What's with 
this one. He looks really out of place." Mulder nodded and explained, "Ray Kearney, fell 
off his tractor and into the river. She looked closer at the picture, "Dis he have this rash, 
too?" Mulder nodded, "On his neck, face, and upper torso." Scully looked at the black & 
white pictures, "Its almost like an allergic reaction to the water itself." She looked around 
for another folder or two. "What did the ME list as cause of death?"  All 3 deaths have 
been labeled as accidental drowning. The rashes, however, are of unknown origin." She 
smiled, "You're kidding?" He smiled, "Taylorsville, is a very small town. I guess a certain 
amount of drowning fatalities occur every year. There  was very little forensic evidence 
gathered." She slid the folders into her briefcase. "Alcohol? We're those kids drinking?" 
Mulder smiled, "Scully,  the Wilkes kid was the varsity quarterback for the local 
highschool. He and his friends brought their girlfriends up there for a little party."  He 
gathered the remainder of his papers and stuffed them into Scully's bag. He went on, 
"They call that place up there, the landing. I suppose its a makeout spot for the 
teenagers." He opened the door for her, "I'd be real suprised if there was no liquor." He 
followed her out the door, closing it behind him.

Mulder adjusted his seat and allowed the seat to fall into a reclining position. Scully seated 
comfortably next to him was busily studying what little information was available on the 
drownings in Nowheresville, as Mulder had named it. He looked up to her, "Scully?" She 
answered without even looking up from the folder, "Huh?" He smiled as if choosing a 
very deliberate routine, "What was the name of the makeout place when you were in high 
school?" She looked at him questionably, "What?" He went on, "You know the place guys 
and girls go to make out..." She interrupted him, "I know what it is. Why are you asking 
me?" He sat up and began fiddling with the buttons, "Don't tell me you don't know." She 
closed the folders, "Mulder, leave me alone." He laughed, "Come on Scully, you can tell 
me." She adjusted the seat and made as if she was going to sleep. "Scully, come on.." She 
shook her head again, "I'm taking a nap." He laughed again looking to his side to see that 
she too, was smiling. He gathered the folders she was reviewing and slid them into her 
briefcase, then under the seat in front of him. He looked at his watch and snapped his 
fingers, "I forgot to tell you that the agent assigned to that area is meeting us in 
Louisville." She raised up, "Why?" Mulder shook his head, "I don't know. Skinner just 
mentioned that the agent would meet us in Louisville and ride with us to Taylorsville." 
Her questioned was interrupted by the seatbelt warnings indicating the airplane was about 
to make its landing. She slid the metal hooks into one another, " Do we know this agent?" 
Mulder nodded, "Not personally. Skinner said he was the bureau `whiz kid'". She 
shrugged, "Oh no, not another one." He laughed, "Yeah, 2 for the price of one, Uh?"   

The plane arrived in Louisville at about 3 PM. As the agents emerged from the terminal, a 
dark haired young man approached them with his hand extended. He inquired, "Agents 
Scully, Mulder?"  He shook each of their hands as Mulder nodded and pointed towards 
Scully, "Dana Scully." The dark haired agent smiled and nodded to them both, but his eyes 
held onto Scully's. He held her extended hand just a little bit longer than Mulder was 
comfortable with and said, "I've heard a lot about you both." Mulder smiled and lead 
Scully down the corridor to the baggage area, "Well, don't believe everything you hear." 
He smiled, "I have heard only good things, I swear." Scully interrupted, "I'm sorry, I 
didn't get your name." He flashed her a dazzling smile, his handsome face flushed as if he 
had forgotten the most basic of formalities. He offered his hand again, "Gates, Chris 
Gates." Mulder  nodded again, "Great, Agent Gates. What do you have for us?" Gates 
took the carry on bag from Scully and lead them towards the escalator to claim their 
baggage. "I am afraid not very much." He looked awkwardly from one agent to the other, 
"To be honest, I don't know they have you wasting your time on this." Mulder snatched 
his bag as the turntable went by and looked anxiously for Scully's. He replied to Gates but 
never took his eyes from the carousel, "You find nothing odd about these deaths."  Gates 
nodded, "Listen Mulder, Scully. I am very familiar with the types of cases you guys work 
on. I was thrilled when they told me I'd be working with you on this one. But I am afraid 
you're going to be very disappointed." Mulder spotted Scully's bag and pulled it off the 
belt and unto the floor beside him. "Why is that? ", Mulder asked. Gates and Mulder both 
reached down for Scully's bag, Mulder touching it first. Gates retreated and went on, 
"Those kids drowned, Mulder. Its that simple. They went up to the landing to make out. 
They were drinking, they went skinny-dipping,  the Wilkes kid drowned. That's it." 
Mulder handed  Scully's bag to him, Gates took it and smiled.. Mulder took Scully at the 
elbow and lead her to the airport exit with Gates tagging up the rear. "Scully, looks like 
we might get that rest you've been wanting. This one is all but solved".

The brown rental car raced purposely north toward farm country with Gates steadily 
behind the wheel and Scully to his right in the passenger seat.  Mulder had made his place 
in the backseat most comfortable for the 2 hour drive to Taylorsville.  Casually Gates 
handed Scully a packet of very formal looking documents. "Sorry, " he began, "The ME 
reports didn't get to you in time. I thought you might want to look them over during the 
drive." She smiled to him and accepted the packet, "Thanks". As she did she noticed the 
young man's eyes kept roaming from the road ahead of him over to her legs. She moved 
uncomfortably in the seat, pulling her skirt by the hem as far down as it would go. The 
agent's face turned a faint red color as if he knew he had been caught and looked to her 
apologetically.

"So Gates, " Mulder broke the silence, looking back & forth from Gates to Scully, "How  
long have you been assigned to Nowheresville?" Gates seemed confused, Scully 
interjected, "That's his pet name for Taylorsville." Gates began to laugh and looked to 
Mulder in the rear view mirror, "City boy, too, UH?" Mulder nodded and tossed a 
sunflower seed into his mouth. Gates went on, "I just received this assignment about 2 
weeks ago. It is very seldom that we get any activity in these little towns. Usually one 
agent is responsible for a pretty large size area." He looked back to Scully who was 
heavily engrossed in the reports, "Actually, I'm in DC, more than here." 

Scully interrupted, "According to these reports the ME found very high levels of histamine 
in the bodies." She read on, "And an almost obsolete about of Dopamine". Mulder pulled 
himself closer to the front seat, "Meaning what?" She closed the file folder, "Histamine is 
usually released in response to many of the body's physiological functions. One of these is 
a result of anaphylaxis. Dopamine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the CNS. It opposes 
the actions of acetylcholine." Mulder tossed another seed into his mouth, "Is it warm in 
here or is it me?" Scully threw him one of those looks and went on, "Mulder when a 
person is having an allergic reaction, large amounts of histamine are released." He pointed 
to the folder, "And this Dopamine?" She slid the folder in her case, "Usually geriatric 
patients who present with symptoms of Parkinson's Disease will have very low 
concentrations of Dopamine in the CNS". Gates continued to look at her, very confused. 
She glanced and him and smiled, "I am a medical doctor. I joined the FBI right after I 
finished  a residency in  forensic medicine." He smiled, "Very nice."  Mulder joined in, 
"Any chance these victims could be Parkinson's patients?" Scully shook her head, 
"Doubtful, the most likely would be Kearney, the farmer. And his medical record doesn't 
give anything to lead me to believe he was afflicted with the disease." 

She allowed the seat to recline just a bit, "There are certain drugs that can induce 
Parkinson's like symptoms. In the early 70's a pseudo Parkinson's occurred in a number 
of substance abusers. A number of demerol addicts were afflicted with a non reversible 
Parkinson's  like symptoms. Some anti psychotic medications will also induce this pseudo 
Parkinson's."  Again Mulder made waving motions in front of his face as if he were 
fanning himself against a hot flash. Scully smiled, "Toxicology on the victims was positive 
only for alcohol only for the Wilkes kid. The other 2 were negative." She looked to Gates, 
"Any chance I could examine the bodies." He nodded, " I have The Wilkes kid on ice in 
the morgue in Taylor County Hospital." He looked to his watch, "We should be there 
within the hour."

When they arrived at the hospital both Mulder & Scully looked to the hospital in 
amazement. It was the smallest hospital either of them had every seen. Scully shut the 
door and followed Gates to the rear entrance of the hospital. "Are you sure this hospital 
will have the facilities to do the autopsy?" Gates nodded, "It isn't as fancy as what you're 
used to, but she'll do. You'll see." He opened the door for Scully, and Mulder followed.

10PM:
Scully positioned the light over the Wilkes body a little to the left, switched her micro 
recorder on, and made the first incision with Gates and Mulder leaning out of the way 
over to the left of the small room. It was nearly 2AM when she turned the recorder off and 
pulled the surgical mask from her face.

Mulder drank coffee from  cup number 4  and handed her cup number one. She sipped 
cautiously and explained, "I can't find anything else to add to the ME report. This is 
probably the healthiest body I have ever autopsied." Mulder added sarcastically, "Too bad 
he's dead". She rubbed her neck, "Mulder I'm tired." He nodded, "Yeah, I know.  Gates 
was considerate enough to reserve rooms for us." She took the key from Gates, "So we 
are all at the same hotel?" Gates laughed and corrected, "Motel, and there is only 1 to stay 
at." She  nodded, `I see." The trio made there way back to the rental car and to the 
Lakeview motel. The  motel was pleasant enough, Mulder had to admit. It was charming 
in a unsophisticated kind of way. Surprisingly he liked its roomy, comfortable atmosphere. 
Somehow he knew that this was a place where one could sleep with or without the lock 
on. However, he also knew that he & Scully would be sleeping with their locks on. The 
motel was located behind the one and only park. Surrounded at all sides by trees and hills. 
Directly across form the motel was a medium size lake once again encircled by trees. To 
the right of the end of the trees was the county elementary school. A big old  structure 
with darkened areas of aged rock & brick that gave it a somewhat mystical persona. There 
were approximately 25 yellow buses parked in the adjoining field. Gates nodded to each 
agent as Scully went into room number 7 and Mulder disappeared into the one marked 8.
Gates, himself locked the door on number 6 and settled in for a much needed rest.


September 22;  900 AM
The agents rental car pulled off the road into a clumsy forest area and parked next to the 
brown sheriff's car. The trio made their way through the brush and over growth to find 
themselves overlooking the area of the river where Michael Wilkes drowned. As they 
emerged from the thicket an older looking man dressed in a  tan  sheriff's uniform 
approached them. He offered his hand as Agent Gates introduced them, "Sheriff 
Browning, these are special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. He pointed to the sheriff, 
"Sheriff Joe Browning" Both Mulder and Scully shook his hand. He was a burly 
gentleman, towering about 3 inches above Mulder. He had graying, thinning hair with a 
thin beard that matched his hair. What little hair we had was parted on one side and swept 
over to the other side. He wore the tan colored shirt and pants with brown boots. It was 
obvious the shirt was an older one, purchased when he was about 20 pounds lighter. 
Mulder moved quickly into action, "What do you have for us, Sheriff?" The sheriff pushed 
his hat back on his head, "Kids been coming out here for years, drinkin, makin out." He 
shook his head, "We chase em out every night." He chuckled, "But hell, I came out here 
when I was in school, we all did." He looked towards the river, "The kids come back the 
next night. They always do." He looked to where Scully had gone next to the river's edge. 
She pulled on a latex glove and filled a vial with about 30ml of water. She handed it to 
Mulder, "Can we get Danny to run this, see what's in it?" Mulder nodded and pointed to 
the river as he asked, "Sheriff, what's wrong with the water." Scully and Gates looked to 
where he indicated. Mulder went on, "Why is it so green?" The sheriff nodded, "It has a 
sort of greenish color to it, always has." Scully added and nudged him, "Hence the name, 
Green River." Mulder looked to Gates whose attention seemed to be focused on Scully. 
He watched her every move, studying her body language in a way that Mulder was not 
comfortable with. Gates aware that Mulder had caught him, looked away and made as if 
taking notes in a small pad he pulled from his pocket. Gates asked, "Has it always been so 
green?" The sheriff looked up towards the sun, "Always been green, but to be honest, it 
fluctuates a lot between black, green, & blue." Scully asked, "Why is that?" The sheriff 
answered, "The  factory I guess." It was Gates who made the follow up on this question, 
"Factory?" The sheriff led them back towards the vehicles, "The underwear factory in 
town. You know the golden apple brand." Mulder added, "OOh La La ." Scully chided 
and smiled, "Wrong label, Mulder."

Gates stepped back towards the river, pulling out his cellular phone from his pocket," If 
the factory is responsible for this, then lets get some EPA people out here to check it out." 
The sheriff's hand grabbed Gates arm, "Hold on, son. That factory feeds this county and 
the other four that surround us. You can't go messing with the bull, boy." Mulder added, 
"Let's not do anything rash,"  he smiled at his pun, "Let's nose around first, see what falls 
out." Scully nodded in agreement, "Yeah, we don't want to create a riot by the 
townspeople. We can always request the  EPA."  Gates nodded and replaced his phone. 
Mulder added dryly, "I doubt it even works this far down in the boonies." It was now that 
his attention was drawn to an area of  forest line in the distance. A series of trees that ran 
the length of the river line had suffered from some sort of trauma that left nearly the top 
half of the tree charred as if burnt. Mulder indicated in that direction, "Sheriff, was there a 
fire here recently?"  The sheriff nodded that there had been no fires. In fact he reported 
this season to have been a record setter for rainfall.  Mulder chewed on a sunflower seed 
and followed after Scully and Gates who were heading to the car. 

He opened the passenger side and climbed inside, unsure of why Scully had taken the rear 
seat for the ride back to town. After a light lunch at the corner drug store, the agents 
returned to the motel to review the case  and make plans for how to proceed.  Gates 
disappeared into town with the car. In Mulder's room both he and Scully where fast at 
work. Mulder contacted  his source at the NICP for a report of any UFO sightings in the 
area over the last 6 months. Scully was busy going over the medical profiles for all the 
victims. It was nearly dinner time when Mulder hung up the phone and announced, "Scully 
3 days before the first victim was pulled from the river, a UFO report was filed by a 
Homer Callahan" She pushed the papers aside, removed her glasses, and rubbed her eyes, 
"So?"  He took the place beside her on the floor, "So, this Callahan lives less than 5 miles 
from all 3 places where victims were pulled from the river." 

The rental car sped alone the gravel road, throwing rocks and sand high into the air. 
Mulder suggested they check out the factory in town. It was nearly 3:00 when they arrived 
at the massive building. The structure covered probably 2 miles in diameter and 3 or 4 
times that in length. From its aged chimney, smoke bellowed up into the heavens, leaving a 
grey colored haze hovering over the factory itself. Gates parked the car at the visitor lot; 
all 3 agents stepped form the car and headed inside. They were told at the guards gate that 
the plant manager had left for the day, but would return by 6 AM the next morning. 
Disappointed, the trio returned to the car and headed back into town to the sherriffs 
office.

Gates held open the door as Mulder & Scully entered inside. The office was small, cut 
comfortable. A old wooden desk covered with papers. Directly behind it, mounted on the 
wall was an antique gun rack with 3 or 4 rifles secruely fastened to the rack. To the 
immediate right was an old ragged door that led to the confining area. Mulder peered 
through the tiny window and saw what appeared to be 4 tiny cells, two on each side.
The sheriff rose from his desk,offered them coffee, and asked how he might help them?
They begged off on the coffee after noticing its unusually dark cantor. Mulder asked if 
there was an area they could claim for the next day or so while they were in town. 
The sheriff nodded and pointed to a smaller desk, piled high with magazines and 
glassware. He replied as he pulled away the soiled mugs and cups, "Used to have 
an assistant once." Scully nodded and handed him a stack of old playboy 
magazines from the desk. He accepted the magazines and replied as his face turned 
a pale reddish color, "Sorry, Maam." She smiled and said to Mulder, "You and he 
have much in common, law enforcement & recreational tastes." Mulder smiled and 
checked the receiver to see if the dusty old phone was still functional. To his 
delight a loud dial tone blarred from the receiver. Gates looked around for a place 
to stack the remaining magazines. He took them awkwardly from her arms and 
piled them on the floor.  

Bye the time they had arranged the space into a work area, the sun was settling in for a 
nice September night. The nights were still pretty warm this time of the year, a 
gentle breeze pushing tight against your face. It had been so long since Mulder had 
seen a night like the one before him now. The heavens seemed to have opened 
itself up, allowing every possible star imaginable to be seen from where he 
standing. He held unto her arm as they walked outside toward the car, "Isn't this 
the most beautiful sky , you have ever seen?" She nodded in agreement and 
followed him to the car.  Gates started the engine and pulled the car in the 
direction of the motel. He looked into the mirror at Scully sitting quietly in the 
backseat. "Can I buy you guys some dinner?" Mulder answered quickly, "Sure, 
I'm starving." Gates looked back into the mirror awaiting a reply. She nodded in 
agreement, "Thanks."

He parked the car at the motel and waited for Mulder & Scully to meet him at the door of 
their rooms. He nodded to each, "Meet you out here in about 10 minutes?" They nodded 
and disappeared into their respective rooms. Mulder reappeared within minutes making 
small talk with Gates who sat perched atop the hood of the rental car. Scully, however, 
took a little longer. She appeared a few minutes later at the door, begging out of dinner. 
She announced that she was too tired and opted for a quick snack & a long bath.

Gates seemed disappointed, his dark eyes nearly saddened. A gesture to which Mulder 
made mental note. Nevertheless, Gates slid the hood and proceeded back into the car. 
Mulder caught her arm as she was closing the door, " I think you hurt his feelings." She 
replied, "Mulder, plleeaasse..." He smiled and leaned in closer, "Seriously, I think he has a 
crush on you." She pushed him toward the car, "Go!" He smiled and pulled away just as 
she was shutting the door. Mulder and Gates headed into town to the only steakhouse 
available.

September 22; 8AM

"Scully, you ready?" Mulder asked, tapping lightly at her motel door. She opened the 
doosr and came out quickly, "Sorry." She nodded to both Mulder and Gates and headed 
for the car. Mulder opened the passenger door for her and she slid quickly in, adjusting her 
skirt all the while.

During breakfast it was decided that they would check out the factory. Mulder had just 
started his pancakes when he reported, "I got some interesting information from Danny 
lastnight." Scully drank a sip of orange juice and looked at him inquisitively. Mulder went 
on, " Over the last 5 years there have been 9 suspicious accidental drownings. Each one 
with no other apparent cause of death and all with that same greenish rash." Scully looked 
up from her fruit salad, "Nine?" Mulder nodded and went on, "Each time before the first 
drowning someone reported a UFO near the river. In most of the instances the observer 
swears it crashed into the river itself." She asked, "Do you have anything on the victims?" 
He nodded, "Only that drowning was the only casue of death, they all had that rash, & all 
of the victims had low or no detectable concentrations of dopamine in their neurosystem." 
She pushed the empty plate to the center, "That's incredible". Mulder swallowed the last 
bite and pointed to Gates, "Maybe you two should check out that farmer while I visit the 
factory?" Scully questioned, "The farmer?" Mulder went on," The one who reported the 
UFO a few days before the Wilkes boy was pulled form the river." Gates interjected, 
"Homer Callahan." The conversation was interrupted by the sheriff as he pushed himself 
into the seat next to Gates. Gates reluctantly scooted aside and allowed him to enter the 
booth. The sheriff sipped arrogantly at his coffee, "You folks steer clear of Homer. That 
ole man's crazy." The sheriff played with the remaining muffin on the platter in the center 
of the table, pulling small pieces off and tossing them into his mouth. He went on, 
"Homer's was one of those moonshiners back in the ole days." Scully smiled as if 
intrigued, "A real moonshiner ?" The sherriff went on, " Him and his boys don't like 
strangers much. They keep to themselves pretty much." Gates finished the last of his 
coffee, "If he's illegally transporting liquor, why not arrest him?" The sheriff answered 
very matter of factly, "Because the small amount of booze he transports he made himself. 
Callahan's not hurtin anyone". Mulder pushed the empty plate away, "But it's still illegal." 
The sheriff interrupted, "He's an ole man. like me, he's from another time - another place. 
A simpler time." Mulder nodded and looked to Scully who gave him one of `those' looks. 
The sheriff added, "Besides what little money he makes, he tosses in the pot on those rare 
Sunday mornings appearances in church."  Scully asked, "So how do the Callahan's 
service, then?" He sheriff rose from the booth, replaced his hat on his head, and tipped its 
rim to her politely, " They survive on the land, like folks round here have always done." 
He tossed a dollar bill unto the center of the table, "You folks be careful at the Callahan 
place." He looked directly to Scully, "You understand?" She nodded to him as he walked 
away from the booth and out the door to his patrol car. Mulder looked to Gates and 
remarked, "I think the sheriff needs to cut back on the caffeine, he's really out there." 
Gates laughed and nodded in agreement as Scully added, " Way out there!"  

Gates rose first offering Scully his arm; she smiled to him and pulled herself up from the 
booth accepting the aid he offered. Mulder followed her up and added a twenty dollar bill 
to the dollar left by the sheriff. Mulder looked out the window to the haze in the sky 
clearly visible from his position. It was a grayish mass with heavy black spots scattered 
throughout giving it an almost curvaceous appearance. Without asking he knew that had 
to be the direction of the factory. He stared off as if deliberating, "Listen, Scully why don't 
you and Gates interview the moonshiners. I think I'll check out the factory. I'd like to talk 
to the plant manager before we get to far into this investigation."

Mulder followed them outside to the rental car looking toward the direction of the haze, 
"Nice day for a walk, UH?" Scully nodded and slid into the passenger seat, "We shouldn't 
be long." His hand touched the door allowing her to get completely inside befor he 
slammed it shut. He glanced over the top to Gates then back down to Scully, " Be careful, 
watch your back." Scully nodded and smiled to him. He slammed the door and watched 
them drive away from town. He pulled off his jacket, tossed it over his shoulder, and 
began the walk towards the factory.

Scully and Gates drove nearly an hour through what Scully believed was probably the 
most isolated place she had ever encountered. Although its isolation was unerving, it had 
at the same time a peacefulness, an  gentleness she could not comprehend. As the car 
rolled along the small road, she wasn't even sure it was a legitamite road at some points, 
she could not help but awe at its beauty. A beauty that seemed somehow to be untouched 
by time or age. She thought it is as if time had somehow forgot this small piece of the 
world. She wasn't sure how long she had been contemplating the areas, but a great 
amount of time must have passed. Gates, as if sensing her amazement, stated in a very 
monotone voice, "Awesome, UH?" She nodded taking in a few extra breaths, "Yeh, I 
can't decide if I should be amazed or just refused to believe it." He smiled and added, 
"Oh, its real alright." He nodded to the remains of an old house high up on the hill to their 
right, "That old house is probably 100's of years old." She agreed, "Wonder what the 
people who lived there were like?"  Gates shook his head, "Hard to say, probably a farmer 
with 10 kids."  She laughed, "Or a moonshiner  with lots of guns."  He cleared his throat 
and smiled to her, "So Agent Scully, you got kids?" She blushed and replied quickly, "No, 
I married my career very early in life." He nodded, "Yeh, me too."  She took a deep 
breath, the tone had changed somewhere. She did not like the pace it was taking, "Do we 
have anything else on Callahan?"  He nodded, "No, just that report from a few days ago." 
She flipped through the folder he had placed on the seat as if trying to get their focus back 
on business. She was very aware of him and for some reason she found this the most 
unnerving aspect of the entire investigation so far. She could not  help but laugh, talk 
about extreme possibilities. She also knew that he was even more aware of her. She had 
caught him on more than one occasion studying her, asessing her, in a way that made her 
uncomfortable. Even Mulder had sensed his interest in her and Mulder seldomed sensed 
anything except extrateresterials and biological entities.

Gates parked the car off to the side of what Scully was sure to be a cliff. She leaned over 
and looked down. It dropped off to forever. She asked, "You sure the car's okay here. I 
don't want to be stranded out here." He nodded and held out his arm, "It will be fine. we 
need to follow this path up to the Callahan place." She looked towards the direction he 
indicated, "That's a path?" He laughed, "Yes, it is. The house should be about a half mile 
up there." She looked up towards the side of  the closest hill. She looked down to her 
skirt and shoes, "Great, let's get this over with." He waited for her at the side and led her 
into the thicket. They came to the shack at the end of a somewhat distinguishable trail. 
The house had once been white, but that was long ago. Presently it was a charred and 
weathered gray color produced by both age and neglect. There were boards missing here 
and there along the side of the house. Scully could actually see into the house; a brownish 
colored couch visible from her vantage point. The door at the front og the house hung 
loosely on its hinges. The surrounding yard,  or was it a field, was over grown with  weeds 
and brush that came up and over Scully's waist.  The area behind the house played host to 
a variety of sheds and barns, each one looking worse than the previous one. Off in the 
distance a couple a mangy brown mares and 3 cattle stood aimlessly about as if unsure 
where to begin grazing.  All around the Callahan place there were trees; everywhere she 
looked. They  were small and large with  fat trunks & thin ones. Some stood only as high 
as Scully while others seemed to reach into the heavens itself.

Gates yelled into the shack, but no one appeared and no one answered. He looked around 
the yard to discover two very distinct paths worn  into the ground, each one leading in 
different, nearly opposite directions. He motioned towards the paths, "What do you 
think?" She smiled and pointed to the one closest to her, "I'll take this one." He nodded 
and proceeded down the other path. He glanced sideways just as she disappeared from 
view into the forest. He removed the safety latch from his gun holster and proceeded into 
his own chosen thicket.

She had gone about a half mile into the forest when she saw the metal canisters with 
protruding springs up in the distance. They probably had been silver in color once, but 
from the looks of it now; that was a long time ago. She pulled her gun from the holster  
against her back and walked cautiously towards the still. She knew from the old storied 
she read as a teenager that to a moonshiner a man's still was as private a thing as his wife. 
She did not want to be guilty of any offense, intended or not. She had mad her way nearly 
to it when she heard a thud in the brush to her right. As she turned to look, almost 
instantly she was pushed to the ground by the weight of a full grown man. She kicked 
wildly at him, kneeing him at least once in the groin area. She struggled to free just one 
hand, her  fists already clenched for the encounter. The young man fought with her fiercely 
making snorting noises throughout the struggle.  It seemed that Scully might actually 
become the victor  until another figure joined in the fight and lessened the odds. It was 
now she could their faces clearly. They were in there early to mid  twenties with brown 
curly hair and freckles. They were shirtless with big overalls hanging loosley around there 
thin bodies. She made as if to scream, but the taller of the two clasped his dirty hand over 
her mouth and instructed, "Don't yell, we ain't gonna hurt you none." She stoppped 
struggling for the moment but continued to breathe heavily. The one who had thrown her 
on the ground loosened his grip on her wrists as if less threatened and moved his body 
directly off of her but remained laying close against her side. He looked up to his brother 
then surveyed her up and down intimately, "Willie," he stated, "She's purty, Uh?"  The 
other man nodded and took control of her wrists from the first, "Yeh, she is." He 
addressed Scully, "Who are you? What are you doing messing with Pa's still?" She replied 
between heavy breaths, still struggling to free her wrists, "I'm from the FBI. I need to 
speak with your father, that's all." She pulled her body away from the man, but he 
followed. She added, "I'm not interested in the still at all."  The man laying close to her 
cut her off, "Well he's not here right now." He pushed his face close to hers and looked 
down to her feet, concentrating heavily on her bare legs. He breathed hard against her 
cheek, "You're the prettiest thing I ever seen". He made as if to kiss her but she turned 
her head away to the other side away from him. Almost instantly he pulled himself quickly 
atop of her tearing at her jacket and blouse. She kicked him hard in the groin and he 
doubled up against her in pain. She got her legs up but the other brother was not affected 
and he held her fast against the ground. She did manage to provide him with 2 powerful 
punches to the face which resulted in a heavy stream of blood pouring from the other 
brother's nose. By this time Willie had regained his composure and was on the top again 
working diligently with her skirt. He looked up to his brother, "Harold, hold her still." 
Harold wiped the blood from his nose and pushed closer to help his brother. He was 
struggling again with her arms when he laughed aloud and replied, "Willie boy, looks like 
we got ourselves a little wildcat, here." Willie nodded and pushed his face close against 
her neck, kissing her roughly, "Yeah, Red hair - Spittin image of fire".  She continued to 
fight but she was tiring quickly and knew defeat was imminent. She decided fighting was 
useless, maybe reasoning with them was a better alternative. It was at this time that a 
gunshot made them all jump.  Scully looked away from the men to find an older man 
standing not 25 feet from them near the still. His rifle still aimed upward towards the sky. 
He had the same characteristics s the men on the ground with her. She knew exactly who 
this man was. He was Callahan. He was heavier than his sons, his face scarred many times 
by the life he had chosen.  His hair was much shorter than his sons, unevenly cut against 
his neck. However, he wore the same oversized overalls shirtless. He yelled out, "What 
are you boys doing?" They rose sheepishly, dragging Scully up by the arms and pushing 
her towards Callahan. Callahan glanced quickly at her observing closely the tip of her lace 
bra that was barely visible.  Willie pointed to her and announced, "She was messing with 
the still, Pa"  Scully jerked her wrists free and pulled her shirt together in front. She 
pulled 
out her FBI identification and exclaimed, "I'm from the FBI, Mr. Callahan. I wanted to 
ask you some questions about the UFO report you submitted a few days ago." She 
motioned towards the still, "I could care less about this." He smiled and pointed the rifle at 
her, "Come on in the house, then." The boys dropped their arms as if discouraged and the 
man added, `You boys get back to work."  She bent down to retrieve her gun, but he 
cocked the rifle and insisted, "Leave that, Missy. You won't need it." Their eyes locked, 
she replied, "Sir I remind you. I am a federal agent." He nodded, "I heard you the first 
time." He pointed the rifle at the house, "Now move!"  She made her way towards him as 
Willie warned, "Watch her, Pa! She may be small but she fights like a wildcat." Callahan 
nodded and replied, "What else would you expect with all  that red hair."  She made her 
way nearly beside him when suddenly she leaped forward into him and knocked him 
backwards over a stump and unto his buttocks. When he recovered back on his feet, she 
had disappeared into the thicket. He yelled to his sons and motioned the rifle toward the 
last place he'd seen her, "Willie, Harold, get after her!"  The boys looked to one another, 
then ran in the direction she had taken.

Scully ran as hard as she could through the underbrush, thorns and branches tearing at her 
arms, legs, and face. She wasn't even sure if she was headed in the right direction 
anymore. Infact she knew she was lost, she could be running right back to them at this 
point. She stopped and looked impatiently around for something that might look familiar, 
anything to get her back to where she needed to be. However, there was nothing that gave 
her any comfort. It all looked exactly the same, miles and miles of trees and rocks in every 
direction.  She heard a twig break behind her, she looked around frantically for someplace 
to hide. She discovered an appropriate area and moved quietly forward. It was then that 
someone placed a hand over her mouth and pulled her even deeper into the thicket.

Mulder walked quickly onto the factory grounds, as evident by the multitude of signs that 
warned trespassers of the consequences. As he walked up the concrete steps into the main 
building he couldn't help but notice that the pollution was even more devastating up close 
and personal. There must have been seven huge chimneys blasting smoke into the sky. The 
smoke was dark and heavy at first but it bellowed lighter and less dense as it reach heaven 
itself.  The cloud hovered stationary overhead of the entire complex in every direction. He 
went inside, checked in at the desk, and proceeded down the main hall to the office of the 
plant manager. He tapped at the door which read, "P. Watson. " Within a few minutes the 
door was answered by a rather young looking man. Mulder looked questionably at him, 
surprised that he was so young. P. Watson looked to be about Mulder's own age. It was 
assumed that a plant manager for a blue collar industry such as this would always be closer 
to the age of retirement, of so Mulder thought. The man looked questionably at Mulder, 
moved to the side so that he could enter, and announced, "You must be the FBI." Mulder 
flashed his badge and went inside, closing the door as he entered. Mulder offered his hand 
as he introduced himself. Phillip Watson was a nice looking man probably in his late 30's 
maybe early 40's. He was built similar to Mulder, about his height, but with an additional 
30 pounds of muscle. His hair was light brown, a woman would have considered it dark 
blonde. He wore a tight pair of levis, a blue shirt, and coordinated necktie. Watson offered 
Mulder a seat and asked, "What can I do for you, Mr Mulder?" Mulder opened his 
notebook and began taking notes. He asked casually, `First tell me how you knew that I 
was from the FBI?" Watson poured two cups of coffee, handed one to Mulder, and put 
the other cup atop his desk, "Small town, everybody knows everything about everybody." 
Mulder nodded, "Did you know the young man who was pulled from the river this 
month?" Watson took his seat behind the old tattered desk, "Michael Wilkes and my son, 
Timmy, played ball together." He hesitated for a second, then added, "Timmy was at the 
river that night." Mulder's expression turned eager, "Would it be possible to talk with 
your son about the drowning?" Watson moved his papers from side to side as if unsure, 
"He already gave a statement to the sheriff that night. I don't think it would help to have 
him go through it again." Mulder nodded and added, "You're welcome to be present, of 
course."  Watson shrugged his shoulders and nodded, "If you'd like. He's over at the field 
today. When you're down we can ride over to school. You can see him there." Mulder 
nodded, "Mr. Watson, I'm curious about the  environmental hazard the factory is 
responsible for producing." Watson closed the stack of papers and breathed a sigh of 
frustration, "Hazards? What are you talking about?" Mulder went on, `I have been told 
that the river transcends from water the color of blue to black to green, depending on 
what's going on here." Watson added, "Green river was named probably hundreds of 
years ago, long before the factory was built. It didn't get its name from us." Mulder went 
on, "So you think the factory pouring all that crap into the air and the water has nothing to 
do with the river or the air being degraded?" Watson answered frustratedly. "I don't 
know. I'm sure we are responsible for a large part of the pollution Mr. Mulder. But is it 
causing the river to up & die, is it responsible for the acid rain, I can't say for sure. I 
don't 
know." Mulder continued making notes, "Why not get some EPA agents down and 
evaluate your situation. Maybe some new equipment..." Watson cut him off, his face 
produced a beaten, exhausted expression as if tortured by some invisible force.   "Agent 
Mulder, I was born in this town. My farm was home to my parents and grandparents. 
There are four generations of Watson buried  at my place. It ain't much to look at, but it is 
mine just the same. Some day, God willing, it will be Timmy's. That truly is the greatest 
legacy I want to leave behind." Mulder made as if to apologize, he wasn't sure for what, 
but just the same he felt like he should apologize . Watson continued on, " You know 
Agent Mulder, if this factory were to shut down, this town and the other 4 counties 
surrounding her would die, dry up like those old ghosts town out west." Mulder shoved a 
seed into his mouth and listened as the man went on, "Yeah, I could call and report some 
of the violations that I know exist to the EPA. I can request some new, expensive piece of 
pipe or cleaning system to make the crap we shoot out more environmentally friendly." He 
rose and paced back & forth in front of his desk, "But you know what would happen. 
They would shut us down. I'm not talking about the EPA. I'm talking about the company. 
They would lock these doors in a second." His face turned to the wall and studied a photo 
prestigiously framed on his largest wall. He pointed to the photo, "Because they got a new 
plant in Mexico, it opened 8 months ago and when it did I gave 25% of my people, my 
friends, pink slips" He continued to glare at the photo like it were a brilliant reminder of 
the threat in his every day life.  He wadded a piece of paper and tossed it at the trash can, 
it fell short by about  3 inches and fell to the floor. He went on, "Funny thing is that even 
after making it over there in Mexico and shipping it here for us to change the labels, it is 
still more cost effective than the way it was before." He glanced to the photo again, 
"Agent Mulder,I know the score. Everyone is this town knows the score. We realize that 
every year, more and more of our neighbors seem to be getting cancers. But we don't 
have a choice, Mr. Mulder. We gotta feed our kids and farming alone just can't do it 
anymore. This town needs this factory, it lives and breathes around it. We live day by day 
here, nothing ever changes. We are born here and most of us die here. We have to take the 
life however it comes" Mulder nodded indicating that he understood, but it was painfully 
obvious that he didn't. It really wasn't his fault; he wasn't one of them. He would never be 
and therefore he couldn't not understand. He shook his head and looked once again to the 
photo on the wall of the Mexican plant. His gaze then drifted to the framed photograph on 
Watson's desk. Watson and his family made a handsome picture. The petite former 
homecoming queen her hand supportively laying across Watson shoulder. His two son's  
shared his rugged good looks, and his little daughter had her mother's crystal blue eyes. 
Mulder asked impatiently, "So, any changes in the policies or procedures over the last few 
months?" Watson hesitated as if recalling all activities that might have fit into Mulder's 
question. Mulder added, "What about chemicals? Any new ones?" Watson nodded, `We 
try new dyes and detergents all the time, but nothing is ever really that different. Usually 
we switch to the  most cost effective." Mulder added quickly, "Cheapest?" Watson 
nodded in an affirmative gesture. Mulder closed his notebook and motioned towards the 
door, "Can I get a list of the dyes & detergents you've used over the last 5 years?" 
Watson agreed, "Sure, you're welcome to whatever information you need, whatever I can 
provide." Mulder shook his hand again, "Could we go see Timmy now?" Watson nodded 
and opened the door for Mulder to exit. Mulder left the room and waited for Watson to 
lock up his office. As they walked down the hall, Mulder asked, "So Mr. Watson, you 
know a man named Harry Callahan?" Watson smiled, "That crazy bastard. Yeah, 
everybody knows Callahan. And those boys"

Watson climbed in the driver side of his blue Ford Ranger and went on, " He and his sons 
own a pretty good size farm up north toward the mountains. They live like hermits, no 
electricity, no running water, really weird people. Why do you thin they have something to 
do with that boy's drowning?"

Mulder shook his head,, "No, no. Callahan reported an unidentified light in the sky a few 
nights before the Wilkes drowning. I was just curious, that's all." Mulder added as a 
second thought, "My partner is interviewing him today." Watson added, "Those boys are 
as psychotic as the ole man. And none of them like strangers very much. I hope your 
partner's real observant" Mulder answered, "Yeah, she's very observant." However, 
Watson was sure he heard a uncertainty in Mulder's reply. The  blue ranger pulled into the 
2 lane road and towards the 4 story red brick building located directly across from the 
motel where the agents were staying.

At first Scully struggled to get free, then upon hearing  the familiar voice plead, "Scully, 
it's me. Don't be afraid." She relaxed as Gates removed his hand from her mouth and 
turned her around to face him. He whispered, "Are you Okay?" He inspected her quickly 
to make an assessment on his own, "Did they hurt you?" She indicated that she was not 
hurt as she pulled her blouse together in front and fastened the buttons that had come 
loose during  the struggle. She pointed to the empty holster resting at the base of her back, 
"They got my gun." He wiped the stream of blood that ran from her nose with his 
handkerchief, then handed the handkerchief to her.  He pulled her close toward him as if 
distracted by something off in the distant. He pulled her toward the right into the another 
cluster of trees,, "We gotta get back to the car, radio for some help." She shook her head 
negatively, "No, they have to have found the car by now. We're sure to get caught there." 
She ran her fingers through her auburn hair and added, "Our best bet is to keep moving. 
Try and find some help or another vehicle." Gates looked at her awkwardly, "Scully it 
took us 40 minutes to drive out here." She pulled her phone from the pocket of her jacket, 
hopefully  began to dial  his number, and frustratedly put it away when she realized it was 
dead. She replaced the phone and with much despair asked him, "Now what" Gate stook 
her arm and pulled her up from their refuge. He looked towards the sun, " Well just walk  
towards town, until help comes." She nodded and followed after him as he disappeared 
even deeper into the thicket.

Timmy Watson was a nice looking young man. Curly brown hair that hung loosely just 
above his neckline. His skin was tanned a golden brown from too many months of spring 
& summer harvesting. He tossed the football to the ground and ran in full team dress to 
meet his father and the stranger as they approached. Watson smiled as the boy 
approached, "Tim, this is special agent Fox Mulder. He's with the FBI." The young man's 
deep blue eyes looked Mulder over inquisitively. He smiled and his face took on a devilish 
expression, grinning as he nodded to the agent. The boy looked him over,, "You're a real 
G man ?" Mulder flinched at the salutation, remembering only too vividly the last person 
who had referred to him as G-man. Mulder shrugged the ghosts of Modell away, "What 
can you tell be about the night your friend Michael drowned?" The young man's 
handsome face saddened, "Damnedest thing, the way he died and all." Mulder waited for 
Timmy to finish the sentence. The boy hesitated, his mind recalling the tragic events of his 
friends death. He shifted his weight from side to side, " I was sure it was a gator or 
something" Mulder repeated, "An alligator?" Timmy nodded, "It was like something was 
pulling him down, fighting him." The boy rubbed his forehead, pushing the dark mass of 
curls straight upon his head. He carelessly spit off towards his right, "I just knew that 
there would be like these huge teeth marks and all when we finally pulled him out." 
Timmy's eyes met Mulder's with such intensity, "I just knew it was something." Mulder 
moved his hands to rest them on his hips, "Tim, did you know that Michael didn't have a 
scratch on him?" Timmy nodded that he knew, "Yeah, I heard there weren't no 
teethmarks or anything. Not even any blood. The whole thing is dam  strange!" Mulder 
nodded to the young man, "Thanks for your help, Tim." The boy nodded to his father and 
turned back to join his teammates on the field.  During the drive back, Mulder reviewed 
the folder the sheriff had dropped off. "Mr. Watson, How much did your son and his 
friends have to drink that night?" The man answered barely above a whisper, "Timmy says 
they each had about 4 beers". Mulder waited for him to continue, "I know, Agent Mulder, 
they're underage. But boys will be boys, you know?" Mulder nodded and asked if Watson 
would mind dropping him off at the motel. Watson indicated that it was no trouble, 
dropped him off at the motel, and headed back towards the factory.

The sun was setting now, it's reflection burning  bright against the green water of the river 
that bordered the path Scully and Gates were following. Scully looked anxiously to her 
watch,  surely Mulder would be worrying by now. He had to wonder what could be 
keeping them at Callahan's for such a long time.  She diligently followed after Gates, 
fatigue beginning to wear heavily on them both. Gates paused for a minute, looking back 
to make sure she was okay. The  heels of her shoes were ruined and it was evident her feet 
were hurting. However, he had to admit she was a trooper. She had not voiced one 
complaint or even echoed, "I'm tired," He glanced down to her legs again with a different 
agenda this time. There were many scratches and minor cuts from the constant struggle 
with the underbrush. Between heavy breaths she asked, "Would you mind not doing that!" 
He smiled, his face a reddish color, "Sorry, but you're bleeding" He pointed to one of the 
many abrasions on her legs. She dismissed his reply but looked down to investigate. She 
rubbed her hand down the largest laceration, "Just a scratch. Nothing you need to be 
concerned about." He nodded and looked around surveying the area, "How far do you 
think we have walked so far?" She closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and replied, 
"I don't know 10 miles?" He nodded, "Yeah, that's what I had figured, too." He 
unbuttoned the top 3 buttons of his shirt, fanning himself at the same time. She looked 
around, "We need to find some water we can drink. We have to be careful not to become 
dehydrated out here." He nodded and proceeded forward. They had gone probably 
another 2 miles when they spotted a stream with fresh water falling blatantly all about. 
Quickly they both dropped to there knees and drank selfishly of the stream. Occasionally 
stopping only to splash there faces and chest with the water. By this time the sun had set, 
Scully glanced at her watch again, "It's 7 o'clock now. I do not want to spend the night 
out here!" She pulled her phone from the pocket once again to no avail. Exhaustedly she 
sat down against a large series of rocks wishing she eaten a much larger breakfast.

Mulder waited impatiently for the sheriff to pick him up at the motel. Scully and Gates had 
been gone since 10 AM this morning and something was definitely wrong. She would have 
reported in by now, something had happened, again. He tried her cellular number but 
received the standard no service message and thrust the phone back into his pocket. His 
mind traced back to another time another place  when she'd been taken from him. The 
sound of the horn blowing made him jump and he was disappointed to discover that it was 
only the sheriff waiting outside in the motel parking lot. The sheriff waited until Mulder 
shut the car door, then headed the vehicle north towards Callahan's place. The sheriff 
looked curiously to Mulder, "You know, Agent Mulder, maybe your partner and that 
young FBI man went off for some private time alone." Mulder was about to reply but the 
sheriff added, "It's obvious that they have an attraction." He smiled and made as if he 
were inhaling all the air in the vehicle, "The honeysuckle is in bloom right now and some 
say the easiest way to get close to woman now is to take her walking near some 
honeysuckle." He smiled and looked to Mulder, "It melts its way right to the lady's heart. 
Yes sir, we call it the love song of the soul". Mulder finished of the last of his sunflower 
seeds and replied, "Don't think so sheriff. A trunk full of honeysuckle  couldn't do that, 
not with Scully." The sheriff smiled, "If you say so, she's your partner. I suppose you'd 
know." Mulder nodded, "Do you really think that Scully & Gates were attracted to each 
other?" The sheriff replied, "Plain as the nose on my face." The sheriff noticed Mulder's 
annoyed reaction and added, `Did I hit a nerve?" Mulder shook his head, "No, No , of 
course not. It isn't like Scully not to check in, for any reason. Something is wrong!"  The 
drive to Callahan's took about 40 minutes and when they arrived the darkness was sitting 
down heavily on the mountain.

The sheriff tapped lightly at the door with Mulder calmly at his side. Callahan came 
staggering to the door, his overalls hanging loosely around his waist. He maneuvered the 
big glass jar to his other hand and opened the screen door for the visitors. He groggily 
nodded to the sheriff, "Joe, what brings you here this time of the night?" The sheriff 
pointed to Mulder, "This is Agent Fox Mulder of the FBI. He's looking for his partner." 
The man staggered his weight to the other side, "I ain't seen her. No one's been around 
here for days, `cept the boys & me." Nervously he took a long drink, liquor falling 
aimlessly to his chin. Mulder and the sheriff exchanged glances, "How'd you know his 
partner's a woman?"  The man's eyes fell down towards the ground realizing he'd made a 
mistake. He replied, " I just figured.." Before he could finish Mulder snatched open the 
door and pulled him outside, "Yeah right, you just figured.". Mulder and the sheriff 
handcuffed him kicking & screaming all the way back to the police car. The sheriff pushed 
him angrily into the backseat, then stopped and looked around the yard. "Homer, where 
are the boys?" The man replied very matter of factly, "Hunting"

As darkness began to envelope Scully and Gates, they considered finding a place to setlle for 
the night. 
They had traveled maybe another 30 feet when Gates pointed to a nice flat area, dry and in the 
direct path 
of the moon's light. He spread his trenchcoat out against the ground and offered her a seat. 
She smiled 
and fell quickly down over to one side. He took the place next to her but not too close. She 
removed her 
own coat and folded it neatly into a bundle at their feet. She made one final attempt to use 
the cellular phone, but again  with no results. He relaxed back against a rock, "God, I am 
tired." She nodded in agreement and rubbed her neck, "I'm starving." He smiled and 
replied, "Try not to think about it." He looked curiously at her, "Scully, what's your first 
name?" She replied hesitantly, "Dana." He shook his head, "That's nice. How long you 
been with the FBI?" She answered slowly, "About 5 years." He pulled a handful of weeds 
from the ground and began toying with them as he spoke, "How'd you end up in the 
bureau?" She leaned back against whatever was behind her, closed her eyes, and replied, 
"In medical school. I was recruited in med school. I joined after I completed a residency in 
forensic pathology." She asked, "How about you?" He nodded, "Only child, my father's in 
this business. I never really had much choice." Quickly he added, "How long you been 
with Mulder?" She answered, "I was assigned to the X files & Agent Mulder 3 years ago". 
He pulled himself from the rock and slid farther down on the ground, "So what do you do 
for fun?" She shrugged uncomfortably, "Listen Gates, I know you're only trying to make 
the best of a bad situation. But can we just stick to business, Okay?" He nodded and 
grinned a devilish smile to her, "Okay, for now." She thanked him and looked away. She 
had to admit he was very nice looking. Silently she wondered how old he was, maybe his 
early to mid 30's. His dark hair and eyes gave him an even more mysterious persona. He 
had beautiful eyes, big searching eyes that seemed to seek answers to many more 
questions than those he asked. He smiled and laid down  against the ground, laughing 
aloud as if reading his thoughts, "Call me Chris, Okay?" She went on, "Gates, what do 
you say we get some rest so we'll be able to get rescued tomorrow." He nodded and 
indicated for her to select first choice for the sleeping preference. Reluctantly she relaxed 
down against his overcoat, noticing almost immediately his scent. Instantly she was 
annoyed with herself. Gate slid along side her, careful not to intrude into her "space". The 
moon allowed then an excellent source of light and Scully was amazed at how truly 
peaceful it was. Echoing throughout the forest crickets chanted rhythmically as if enticing 
her into her own circadian motion. She was not scared, of this she was sure. But for some 
unknown reason, her anxiety was peaking. He folded his arms up and under his head while 
crossing one of  his legs atop the other. "Dana," he asked, "Did you always want to be a 
doctor?" She answered very methodically, "No." She rolled over to face him but still 
keeping a safe distance on the farthest side of the coat. She asked, "You always want to 
be in the FBI?" He started shaking his head before she even finished asking the question," 
No I told you my Dad worked for the government. He and my grandfather both were in 
the CIA." He cleared his throat,, "I never really had a choice, not really. It was always 
assumed." She  yawned, enclosing her petite hand over lips a she did so, "You don't like 
you work?" He shrugged his shoulders and pulled his arms back down to his sides, 
"Sometimes I like it. Most times I don't. Sometimes I really hate it." She went on, "So get 
out." He answered, "Can't." She replied, "There are always other choices, other options." 
He smiled, "Not for me." She shook her head and cleared her throat, "We are much too 
serious here." He agreed, she added, "So what did little Chris Gates want to be as a boy?" 
He laughed, pleased that she'd used his first name, sort of. He was also confident she was 
beginning to weaken, relax a little, and more comfortable with him. He smiled and 
hesitated, "Promise you want laugh?" She made an imaginary girl scout salute into the 
night sky and replied quickly, "I promise."  He hesitated for a second, looking wishfully 
into star filled darkness, "I wanted to write. You know the great American author." Her 
eyes followed his up towards the heavens, "What did you want to write about?" He made 
an irritated gesture with his hands, " I never really got that far, you know. I was primed at 
an early age for the bureau."  She sat her face up against the palm of her hand propped up 
by her elbow, "So what would you write about?" He answered quickly, "I told you I 
haven't written anything. My father would not understand." She smiled reassuringly to 
him, "Your father's not here now. So what would you write about?" He sat up to face her, 
his eyes met hers and held her glance for a few minutes until she looked away. Anxiously 
she say up, pulling her legs up and over to lean comfortably against her side. He smiled, 
took her face in his hands, and pulled her face to his. The first kiss was quick, a mere 
brushing of the lips as if to "test" the waters. The second, however, was much more. He 
was surprised to feel her returning his kiss. He kissed her again, long and hard, bruising 
her lips with his own. His hand wrapped tightly behind her neck pushing her even closer 
against him as his kiss reached her neck. As he pushed against her closer, reality brought 
her around and she pushed him away from her. He whispered, "I'm sorry," and leaned 
back against the rock. She shook her head looking away from him in embarrassment, "No 
don't be sorry. It's my fault" He made as if to kiss her again but her hands went against his 
chest, "Chris, I'm sorry if I misled you. But this is not going to happen, Okay?" He smiled 
to her again and laid back down in his original place. She stretched back out on his coat 
and tried aimlessly to fall asleep.

"Listen Callahan, " Mulder was saying as he glanced at his watch, "It's 11PM. Do you 
want to spend all night here? Now where are they?" Callahan was weakening, Mulder 
knew it. Since his arrest nearly 4 hours ago, he'd smoked nearly 2 packs of cigarettes. 
Callahan took one final drag from the cigarette before smashing it out in the ashtray. 
Finally he spat, "Okay, I'll tell you, but you gotta promise to leave the boys alone."  
Mulder grabbed him by the straps of the overalls forcing the sheriff to intervene, "Agent 
Mulder, I know you are worried about the girl. But he's agreed to talk." Mulder stalked to 
the back of the room, "Well, he's not talking fast enough!!" The sheriff pulled a chair up 
next to Callahan, "Did Willie and Harold hurt them?" The man shook his head, "What's 
this them? There was only her, that red haired wildcat!" Mulder moved quickly towards 
them but the sheriff held his hand up, "Okay then. Did the boys hurt her?" Callahan shook 
his head, "Not really. They was just having some fun with her." Mulder moved closer, "Go 
on!" The man stammered anxiously, "That little spitfire kicked the shit outta my boys." He 
drank thirstily from the glass of water at his side, "She broke Harold's nose." Mulder 
returned back to the far side for fear he couldn't control himself, "What happened, 
Callahan?" Callahan went on as if ignoring Mulder, speaking directly to the sheriff, "Joe, 
they was just playing with her." Mulder thrust his hands into his pockets, "Did they hurt 
her?" Callahan voiced grew impatient, "I told you, NO. She whipped them boys good." 
Mulder went on, "They were trying to rape her?" Callahan interjected quickly, "that's such 
an ugly word. They just wanted her to be nice . That's all." Mulder nodded annoyed, "Is 
she hurt?" Callahan hesitated, "When I was young, women knew there place. They knew 
there duty. They didn't have guns, they didn't carry badges, and they didn't work for the 
FBI. That was a man's job." His cold eyes met Mulder's, "She didn't know her place. We 
was showin her."  Mulder grew angry, pulled Callahan up by the bib of the overalls, 
"Enough of this! Where is she?" he yelled. Callahan choked and answered between heavy 
breaths, "She knocked me down and took off into the woods." Mulder threw him against 
the chair, "Which way?" Callahan answered slowly, "South, into he woods." Mulder 
grabbed his coat and pulled it over his shoulders, "What about the other agent, the male 
agent." Callahan answered, "Told you! There weren't no one else. Just the girl." Mulder 
turned to leave and repeated, "South, you sure she was going South." Callahan nodded 
that he was sure. Mulder pushed Callahan towards the deputy, "Get him out of my sight." 
The young deputy led Callahan out of the cell and into the one across from the officers. 
He let the metal door slam loudly as it pulled shut. Mulder and the sheriff turned to leave 
when Callahan added, "My boys been looking for her all day." He paused, "Don't worry, 
they'll find her." 

Mulder hesitated for a minute then joined the sheriff in the hallway as he summoned all the 
deputies to the Callahan place. Mulder and the sheriff climbed into the patrol car and 
began the drive back to the Callahan farmhouse.

It was near 2AM when the sheriff's car pulled into the Callahan place. They made a quick 
inspection of the place, but found neither of the sons. Almost immediately they headed to 
the still. The sheriff noticed an area to the side where the brush had been disturbed, 
indicative of  the place where a struggle might have occurred. In the flashlight's beam they 
found pieces of tan silk and 2 medium size buttons. Mulder took the evidence from the 
sheriff and tossed it into his pocket. He replied, "Let's split up." The sheriff caught his 
arm, "You'll never find her in the dark. Let's wait till morning." Mulder shook his head 
and motioned in the direction Callahan stated she had taken, "She could be hurt. I'm going 
this way. I'll see you in the morning. Get an ambulance up here. They need to be prepared 
to spend the night." Mulder disappeared into the forest following the single beam of light 
from his hand held flashlight.

It was around 6AM when the sun's light shone in her face. She awoke startled, unsure of 
her surroundings. She surveyed quickly & found him lying protectively close, shielding her 
from the cool night air, his arm securely not threateningly around her waist. She lifted his 
arm up and slid out from under his embrace. The movement caused him to awaken and he 
moved cautiously also taking in his unfamiliar surroundings. He sat up and rubbed his 
eyes, smiling at her as he did so. She adjusted her skirt and shirt, then rose to stretch. 
Suddenly they heard a voice  almost directly above them on the ledge to the right. 
"Willie," the voice proclaimed, "do you see anything?" Instantly Gates pulled her toward 
him falling atop her as they fell to the ground under the ledge away from view. He looked 
quickly above and whispered, "Scully, I got an idea." She pushed him off and sat up, 
"What?' He looked ahead to the clearing in front of them  and then past to the forest some 
100 feet away. He whispered in her ear, his lips nearly touching her lobes, "I need you to 
run through the clearing so he'll see you. He will have to come by here to give chase. I'll 
take him out here." She nodded and jumped to her feet, he caught her arm and whispered 
again, "Head for that thicket over there. Wait for me in there, Okay?" She nodded but he 
restrained her once again, "Don't take any chances." He handed her his gun from his 
holster. She shook her head but he added, "In case we get separated." She argued, 
"Maybe you should keep it. I'm pretty sure they're armed." He nodded, "No, take it." She 
took the gun and placed it in her empty holster. He retrieved a medium sized branch and 
held it in his hands like it were a baseball bat. He took a few practice  swings into the air 
in 
front of him and nodded for her to go ahead. He added, "Scream or something before you 
run, OK?" She nodded and walked out from under the protection of the ledge. In her 
worst nightmares did she believe she could scream such a helpless and pathetic scream. 
However, she did. With images of Bambi, the roach doctor or Detective White, the hick 
cop, in her mind she screamed as loudly and as vulnerably as she could manage and ran 
visibly through the clearing and into the protection of the thicket. 

Only seconds had passed when Gates heard, the rumble of someone approaching quickly. 
He heard the crash of big clumsy feet down the side of the hill and waited until he was 
sure it would be productive. With perfect timing, he delivered a crushing blow to  the back 
of young Harold Callahan. The young man fell unconsciously to the ground.

Scully ran with all her might through the clearing taking refugee in the line of trees as 
instructed. She looked quickly behind her to see if the plan had worked or if one of the 
Callahans were close behind her. She hadn't gone far when she ran into someone, she 
began to struggle, then realized it was Mulder. She exclaimed as she embraced him, 
"Thank God, Mulder it's you!" She looked quickly behind her, "I thought it was him." 
Mulder comforted her, "It's okay, Scully, You're safe." He pulled her away, taking her 
arms, and forced her to face him, "Are you okay?" She nodded and began to reply when 
the sound of someone running towards them startled them both. She moved closer to 
Mulder as he pulled his gun, aiming it in the direction of the sound. They both froze when 
Gates came crashing thorough the brush with the club still in his hand. Mulder yelled, 
"Gates, you son of a bitch!" Scully grabbed Mulder's arm, "No Mulder, not him." Mulder 
reluctantly put his gun away with Gates standing perfectly still his hands still up in the air. 
Mulder wrapped his coat around Scully and led her back to the car with Gates tagging 
cautiously behind.

They walked for nearly an hour to the car and the waiting ambulance. As expected she 
refused to allow the paramedics to look at her. Insistently she told Mulder, "Nothing 
happened." Mulder nodded and embraced her once again, for his own piece of mind this 
time.  She was uncomfortable when the deputies brought Harold past her on the way to 
the waiting patrol car. She hardly looked at him at all. Gates approached her offering a 
plastic cup full of water. She smiled and accepted it. Mulder couldn't help but notice the 
way she had smiled to him. Maybe the sheriff had been right after all. Maybe Scully was 
attracted to this young Agent. Mulder led her to the sheriffs car and opened the back door 
allowing her to slid in first. He followed behind her, closing the door tightly. Gates took 
the seat up front next to the sheriff. She laid her head against the window and breathed a 
sigh of relief. Mulder sensing her emotional state, rested his hand reassuringly on her 
shoulder. He informed her, "We're taking you back to the motel first. We could all use a 
shower and some food." Gates and Scully replied almost concurrently, "I'm starving.

Back at the hotel each disappeared into their respective rooms. Mulder showered, shaved, 
and dressed in his usual blue suit and K mart tie. Gates, however, appeared in jeans and a 
gray polo shirt. Both men paced aimlessly outside her room, snacking on crackers and 
soda from the vending machines. Mulder's phone brought them both to a jump. He 
listened silently to the caller and said simply, "We're on our way." He replaced the phone 
in his pocket as Gates asked, "What's up? Where are we headed?" Mulder tapped lightly 
at her door as he answered Gates, "Another drowning. Same MO as before." He tapped 
again, Scully?" With no further hesitation, he pulled another key from his pocket , opened 
her door, and asked Gates to pick up some breakfast to go. Mulder entered quietly 
tapping loudly against the bathroom door, "Scully, you okay?" She answered as if 
annoyed by the interruption, "What is it Mulder? I just needed a few minutes." He replied 
in his matter of fact tone, "Gotta go. Another kid was just pulled from the river. Same as 
the otehrs." He heard the sound of moving water coming from the bathroom. She 
appeared at the door wrapped in a white bathrobe, "Give me a minute." He nodded and 
left her. She came from the room about 5 minutes later dressed in an off white pantsuit 
with a gray  button up sweater underneath.

They ate their breakfast during the drive to the most recent crime scene and Scully was 
grateful for the extra order of fruit salad that Gates had gotten for her. As she finished and 
tossed the empty container into a paper bag she asked, " Mulder, what's the story with 
this one?" Mulder shook his head, sipping coffee from the styrofoam cup, "I don't know, 
just another kid pulled from the river." He swallowed the last bite of breakfast and added, 
"Danny called yesterday with the results of that water sample you took from the river." 
She swallowed a drink of coffee, "And?" Mulder went on, "The concentration of 
environmental pollutants is 6 times what the EPA allows." Scully arched one of the copper 
colred eyebrows inquisitively, "Six times?" Mulder went on, "Danny faxed a summary yo 
you. He said to tell you that this one is on your tab, not mine." She smiled and replied, "I 
don't have an account with Danny." Mulder added quickly, "You do now." He quickly 
handed her a folded piece of papaer from his jacket pocket. Instantly she recognized the 
names of various chemical dyes and detergents. She exclaimed as she read down the list, 
"Mulder, any one of these agents can induce an anaphylactic reaction in hmans. Let alone 
the combinations!" Mulder glanced from the road back to Scully, "So, you think that's the 
solution then. These kids died as a result of some allergic reaction to the dyes in the 
water?" She nodded, "These kids drowned secondary to the allergic reaction to the agents 
in the water." He looked at her questionably, she added, "It makes more sense than the 
fact they were killed by some interplanetary blob." Mulder shook his head, "But why those 
kids? There were 5 other kids in the water with Michael Wilkes." She folded the paper and 
pushed it into the backseat towards Gates for his examination. She folded her arms 
confidnetly around her chest, "For the same reason, Mulder, that some patients will 
experience terrible allergic reactions to contrast dyes in radiological procedures. She 
smiled and added, "For the same reason my brother, Bill, can't take penicillin when he has 
the flu." Gates, who had sat quietly throughtout the conversation but continued to follow 
the discusiion  Mulder to Scully as if  he were observing a tennis match, finally interjected, 
How did you guys ever make it 3 years togther?" He rubbed his forehead, "I have a 
headache." He smiled to Scully as he said it. She did not reply. Mulder glanced sideways 
at her but said nothing. Finally she added, "Mulder, it's in the water." He nodded in 
agreement much to Gates amazement, "You're right, Scully. It is in the water. But it got 
there on that meteor." She began to repky but Mulder's hand went up as if signalling her 
to hold  her thoughts momentarily. "Callahan, " he went on, " said the meteor seemed to 
land right in the river. His report was confirmed by nearly a dozen other farmers in the 
area." She replied hesitantly, "Mulder, surely you don't consider him a credible witness?" 
Mulder answered, "Sorry, Scully, but what happened with you doesn't change what he 
reported nearly a month before you sjowed up at his still."  Mulder's tone quickened, his 
pulse and heart rate pushing to the lighest level. "And Scully," he added as if afraid to 
pause for even a minute tossing the police photos back to her, "Look at these photos in 
succession as they occurred." He pointed to the rash area in each picture, "First each rash 
appears on the victim just about at the water's level, regardless of how deep the water 
was." He pulled the Wilkes photo out and held it for her to observe, "Michael Wilkes was 
swimming in about chest deep  water. See, the rash is just about where the water level 
would have been." His attention then went to the picture of the farmer who had drowned. 
"See, the farler fell off of the tractor into the water. The area most affected on him was his 
face, chest, & arms." She nodded, "That's odd. I agree, but it doesn't prove that they 
were attacked by some alien blob." She handed him the photos back, "Besides, where is 
it? No one has reported any river creatures." She turned to face Agent Gates, "Have they? 
Any reports of a  Loch Ness monster, Big Blue, or anyhting else like that?" Gates nodded 
negatively to her but did not give a  verbal reply. Mulder went on, "I don't believe it 
possess that tyoe of bodily form." Scully asked, "What then?" Mulder answered matter of 
factly, " I think its more likely a liquid or gaseous form. I don't think it can possess solid 
definition." Mulder turned off  the main road and proceeded down a heavily overgrown 
trail. Scully asked, "So why do the drownings mysteriously stop. If it lives in the river, 
why don't the deaths occur continually?" Mulder answered, " Maybe it has a short life 
cycle, like 6 months." He pulled the car over next to where a number of police cars were 
parked hazzardly to the side of the road. Scully asked as they stepped from the car, "What 
makes you think that?" He answered, "Danny found that everytime these mysterious 
drownings occurred, a number of UFO reports were filed before the first victim drowned." 
She smiled, "Exactly how badly am I indebted to Danny, anyway?" He smiled, "Major 
debt." She shook her head, "How many did Danny uncover?" He answered quickly 
pausing for an extra dramatic effect, "Eight different series of drownings spanning some 
60 years. All in the farmbelt."  She  hesistated, "Unbelivable." He made as if to resume 
walking but she caught his arm, "And Mulder.." He waited for her to finish, "Stop 
soliciting me out to the highest bidder for information, Huh?"  He motioned as if he'd 
been wounded by the remark and smiled, "I hold you in the highest regard Scully. You 
know that."  She smiled to him and walked ahead of him.

She pointed to the officers up in the distance, "There they are." The agenst proceeded to 
where a young woman about 20 lay face down against the river rocks. She had probably 
been pretty before but it was hard to determine that now. Her skin was a bluish, pale 
color, her eyes cold blue, almost like ice. Mulder knelt down first and pulled up the 
blanket. She was naked, her hands palm down against the mud. Mulder looked up to the 
sherriff, "Anyone with her?" The sherriff nodded and pointe dtowards a young man sitting 
quietly against a large rock. "Her boyfriend, Alan Martin." Mulder looked towards the 
young man. He looked to be about the same age as the girl. He had short blonde hair and 
intensely blue eyes. He was bisibly shaken, tear stains dried around his eyes. He was 
wrapped in a blanket and dressed only in jeans. Scully stepped over to where the red and 
white checkered blanket was laid out against the river bank. A picnic basket filled with 
food and an empty bottle of wine was pushed hazzardly off to the side of the blanket. 
Scully pushed close to the young man. "Alan, can you tell us what happened?" The young 
man looked over at the river, hesitating as he answered, "I asked her to marry me last 
night." He smiled and wiped away the tear that was escaping from his eye and running 
down his cheek. He looked to the rumpled red & white  blanket on the ground. "We made 
love". He swallowed loudly, his voice growing shaky with each additional word. "She 
went for a swim afterwards. I fell asleep." He glanced back to the river, closing his eyes, 
then went on. "I heard her screaming. Suddenly, she was just floating." Scully held up the 
empty bottle, "How much did she drink?" he answered lowly, "We shared it. We were 
celebrating." His voice grew strained, "I don't know what happened."

Mulder returned to examine the body again. Near the center of her back, the bluish / 
greenish rash was clearly visible, although less intense than the previous victim. "Scully," 
he called, looking to where she and Gate still stood with Alan. She came to him quickly 
with Gates following. Mulder held the blanket up as if pondering something deep, very 
deep. Scully stopped at his side, "What?" He continued to stare as if deliberating hard on 
the issues. "Always perplexed me," he stated. She looked curiously to the body, "What 
does?' He answered confidently, "Why us guys always just drift off to sleep afterwards." 
She gave him one of her later looks and sighed heavily. Gates merely smiled to her. 
Mulder pointed towards the body indicating the rash, "Its here." She nodded, "But again 
not as dramatic." Mulder agreed, "I think it's dieing." She touched his arm, "Mulder, 
please not here." He began to reply but she went on, "Please let's not tell this young man 
that his fiancee was drowned by an extraterrestial blob." Mulder smiled, "Maybe you're 
right, Scully. Now isn't the time."

The sherriff and his men completed their investigation of the site with Mulder observing 
every aspect of theprocess. Once they were finished and had everything packed away, the 
sherriff made his way over to the agents, "We're done here. We're heading back to town." 
Mulder extended his hand, "My associates and I are going to nose around a few more 
minutes, then we'll be along." The sherriff looked back to the river hesitantly. Mulder 
added, "Please sherriff, you and your men go along. We'll be fine." The sherriff reluctantly 
instructed his deputies to head towards town.

Mulder, Scully, and Gates continued to observe rthe area for anothe hour, until Mulder 
was satisfied. Then decided to return as well. They hiked back to the car and proceeded in 
the direction of town. They had gone about 15 miles when Scully exclaimed, "Mulder, 
Look!" he slowed the car to observe that which she indicated. In the distance a number of 
teenagers splashed loudly in the river.Quickly Mulder parked the car. The doors opened 
simultaneously as the 3 agents ran from the rental car towards the river. There were about 
8 teenagers of varying ages of sexes all clad in shorts and bathing suits enjoying a brisk 
swim before dinner. They seemed to be divided into 3 very distinct groups and each agent 
went directly to one of the groups. Mulder was yelling, "Get out of the water!" They 
ignored him, however, pausing only long enough to inspect the intruders. This time it was 
Scully making the fuss. She pulled her badge out as she ran to the group that was the 
furthest away. She yelled, "FBI, get out of the water, Now!" Mulder had reached the 
shoreline by this time and his group was swimming reluctantly to the shore. Gates, too, 
was helping his group out of the water. Scully knelted down on the ledge of the rock and 
offered her hand to one of the 2 teenagers struggling to pull himself up. "Hurry," she 
pleaded as she pulled him up and onto the ledge beside of her. Her attention was then 
turned to the remaining one. She offered her hand again, but now the water from the first 
swimmer was all over the ledge. She tried to balance herself, but the water made traction 
with the slick rocks of the ledge and her heels very difficult. Before she even realized what 
was happening, she was pulled over the ledge and into the river almost atop the second 
teenager. 

The sound of the splashing water caused both Mulder and Gates to straigthen up and look 
in her direction. She came up from below the water's surface almost immediately. She 
repeatedly shook her head to push her bangs from blocking her view and quickly spat out 
the mouth full of water she had engulfed. She looked quickly around from side to side, 
treading water anxiously. The trenchcoat had entwined itself around her legs and made 
staying above water level nearly impossible. She watched as the second teenager made it 
safely to the ledge aided by the first one she'd rescued. 

Mulder's attention was focused on Scully as he pulled the last teenager from the river. 
Gates, attention, however, was turned elsewhere. He yelled to Mulder and pointed to an 
area just ahead of Scully. "Look!," he exclaimed. Mulder looked to where he indicated 
and ibserved the foamy bubble like mass forming about 50 feet from where Scully was still 
stuggling to tread water. Mulder yelled to her, "Scully, swim. Faster!" Both Mulder and 
Gates watched in amazement as the foam followed her path towards them. Infact due to 
the burden of the trenchcoat, the mass was making good time on her. Mulder threw off his 
trenchcoat, but Gates had jumped in before Mulder's coat even hit the ground. Gates 
swam with long steady strides to her. reluctantly she allowed him to lock his arms around 
her neck and pull her back to the river bank.

Mulder walked out into the river about knee deep and waited to meet Gtes with Scully. 
Quickly he grasped her around the waist and drug her towards the bank. Once safely on 
the ground he sat her down and asked, "You okay?" She nodded between heavy breaths 
and pushed her hair away from her face, "I'm fine" She pushed them both away and 
walked over to a large mass of rocks, pulling the coat off in the process. Gates rose to his 
feet and took in large amounts of oxygen. He smiled and said to Mulder, "All state 
regional  champ, 3 years in a row." Mulder nodded to him, smiled, and looked back to 
Scully, " Good to see it went for a worthwhile purpose."  Hesitantly they looked back to 
where she was rolling the trenchcoat up onto a ball/ She pulled off the tan suit jacket and 
laid it agianst the roack as well. Reluctantly Gates looked away from her and back to the 
river, "Where did it go?" Mulder joined in the scrutiny, "I don't know." He looked to 
Gates, then to Scully, then back to Gates, "Did it get to you?" Gates began to answer but 
Scully interruputed, "What are you two talking about?" She folded her arms across her 
wet sweater, "What it are you referring to?" Gates answered before Mulder could reply, 
"Didn't you see that thing? It was like a foam or something." Mulder added, "It swam 
right at you, Scully. Didn't you see it?" She replied, "All I saw was a lot of green water."  
She rubbed her arms, "Mulder, give me your coat?"  Embarrassedly he pulled off his coat 
and wrapped it around her arms.

He joined Gates back at the bank's edge, scanned the area, and asked 
anxiously,"Anything?" Gates nodded negatively. Mulder looked him up and down, then 
asked, "How do you feel? OK?" Gates shrugged his shoulders, "I don't feel any 
differently." Curiously Mulder hesitated, "Mind taking off your shirt?" Quickly Gates 
nodded and pulled his polo shirt up and over his head. He turned his back to Mulder, 
"Well? Is anything there?" Mulder hesitated before answering, surveying Gates back. He 
could dectect a faint image of what appeared to be the blue / green rash just below his 
shoulder blade. He touched the area and answered, "Here, hardly visible." Gates turned 
back to face Mulder. Mulder asked, "You sure you feel okay?" Again Gates nodded, 
"Really, I feel fine." Almost on cue their attention turned to Scully. She was still sitting on 
the largest of the rocks, wringing the suit jacket in her hands. They approached her 
quickly. "Scully," Mulder asked, "How do you feel? Feel okay?" She replied, "Wet, very 
wet." Mulder touched her shoulder and pulled her up to face them, "Besides wet, how do 
you feel?" She pushed him away, "Mulder, I'm fine...." Gates interrupted, "We need to 
check you out."  She inquired, "Excuse me." Gates touched the sweater material in the 
area of her shoulder. Scully pulled away, "Don't be ridiculous." Mulder motioned for 
Gates to let her go. "Scully, "he began, "We just want to look for the rash. Gates has it on 
his back and his chest." Her attention went quickly to Gates chest where the rash was 
barley detectable. Almost imediately she began unbuttoning the gray sweater. She pulled 
the sweater down letting it gather around her waist. Mulder took her shoulders and turned 
her back to them  and they inspected her quickly. Mulder pulled the white strap of her bra 
over about an inch and indicated to Gates, "Here." Gates nodded and acknowledged the 
faint blue green rash just visible on her left shoulder. Gates brushed her lower back with 
his hand and added, "Another one here."  She twinged nervously, "Is it there?" Mulder 
pulled her to face them and looked quickly at her chest and stomach. There was only a 
small area near her lower rib cage tarnished by the rash. Gates asked her again, "Scully, 
you sure you're okay." She rubbed her arms again, "I'm cold. That's all."  Mulder 
breathed a sigh of relief and handed his trenchcoat back to her. She quickly pulled it back 
on and buttoned it up before turning and heading towards the car.

The teenagers wandered off towards their homes, stillunsure of what had taken place. 
Mulder and Gates stared aimlessly at the water.

Back at the basement office Scully worked diligently on the field report for the "Blob" 
case as she had termed it. She typed quickly and efficiently, "Agent Mulder's claim in an 
unexplained alien lifeform inhabiting the Green River could not be substantiated or denied. 
However, to date there have been no other rported causes of unexpalined drownings in or 
near the area of Green River. The EPA suspended operations of the underwear plant 
pending the installation of a new enviromentally secure cleaning system. At this time X 
File # TK996 is closed. Agents of record Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, and Christopher 
Gates.

Agent Gates walked up the steps to the large brick amnsion with white posts aligning the 
front entrance. He appeared tired looking  with remnants of a five o clock shadow that 
erupted hours ago. He pulled anxiously at his tie that hung loosely around his collar. He 
opened the door with the key an dproceeded into the darkened foyer. The entire house 
appeared to be dark with the exception of one room directly straight ahead. He ventured 
inside the room, tossed his coat & briefcase into the nearest chair. From the other side of 
the room, a man was very visible through the smoke emitted from his cigarette. The man 
sat patiently behind his desk and swirled around in the chair upon the entry of Agent Gates 
into the room. The cigarette smoking man blows another mouthful of smoke into the air 
and asks, "Well, Did you make contact?" Gates smiled, slid down into the easy chair in 
front of the cigarette smoking man's desk, and answered, "Yes. Yes, I did, Father........"




The End  



1