From: shannara@pnx.com
Date: 11 Dec 1998 03:08:57 -0800
Subject: Hell Sheriff 1/1 PG -- by Lia Komilis


Hell Sheriff
by Lia Komilis
leone_m@yahoo.com

I wrote a story. Still I'm not fluent in english because I am from Greece.
The story has a "Reservoir Dogs" ending, completely stolen by Tarantino.
I'd love to hear any comments about it.

"Muuulder...I think I've...I've been sh...shot.."she stumbled.
He only had time to wrap his hands around her waist for support before she
passed out in his lap.
He didn't lose time. He picked her up and made an effort to the car.
When he got there, he threw Scully in the back seat as gently as the
circumstances allowed him, and started the engine.

*************************
Two days ago
Hoover building 
10:00 am

That morning agent Scully wasn't in the mood for hearing about aliens, nor
about government conspiracies. 
She was too tired for anything at all. 
"Morning Mulder" she said to her partner. He was sitting at his desk, files
spread all around him.
"Oh...morning Scully. Did you sleep well?"
No...actually she hadn't slept well .She had spent the whole night longing
for an  air conditioner. July was a really hot month. And it wasn't only
that. She hadn't been able to sleep for two days in a row.
"I'd rather not talk about it Mulder"
Mulder knew that sleeplessness wasn't such a funny thing , but he couldn't
help being amused by the look on Scully's face. 
"It's not funny Mulder "she said reacting to a faint smirk of his.
She threw herself on a chair and closed her eyes. She could feel Mulder
staring at her in an inspective but caring way. He would always worry about
her. That ,sometimes really pissed her off. Mulder had a tendency to be
overprotective. He always wanted to take the great risks, in fear that he
would lose her, or  put her life in peril, which was so precious to him, as
it was to her.
After a while Mulder broke the uneasy silence that was surrounding them.
"That bad...huh?"
"Yeah...that bad."
"Well..it gets worse."
"Where are we flying to this time Mulder?"
"How did you know that ?"
Now it was her turn to smile. "Lets say it was a wild guess. So...where are
we flying to?"
"Nevada"
"What's in Nevada?"
"A ghost village."
Scully had heard a lot of crazy things from Mulder during the five years
they had been working together, so this one didn't surprise her at all.
Mulder was just exaggerating as usual "...and besides, "I'm too old for
this shit" she said to herself.
"A ghost village?"
"It's name is Dreamville. It's not in the map...don't bother looking." 
Scully put down the map she was ready to jerk through.
"What happened in Dreamsville that drew your attention?...an alien park?"
Mulder was serious about the matter though.
"All the inhabitants of the village have vanished into thin air. The one
who found it out was the sheriff of Jacksonville, a nearby town. He had
gone to Dreamsville to check on a friend of his, but the village was
totally abandoned. Everyone had left without a single trace.
"Smells like government conspiracy" Scully joked .
"Well...lets find out if you are right." Mulder gave her a smile. "Go pack
and I'll pick you up in one hour."
Scully was too tired to move.
He observed his partner. She was so pretty, even when she was exhausted.
Everything about her had its own special beauty. Sometimes he thought that
he was in love with her. Who knows...maybe he was right...maybe something
happened between them one day...something more that a deep friendship....Up
to then though, she had to get some sleep.
"Lets make it two hours. Go get some sleep Scully. I don't think you 'll
even make it to the airport in that condition".
Scully may have not shown it to him, but she found his idea
brilliant...although she knew that her insomnia wouldn't allow her to
sleep.

**********************

After a long flight to Nevada, and three hours drive  afterwards, Mulder
and Scully finally reached Jacksoville. Mulder was tired, and he bet his
life that Scully would probably pass out soon-although she tried not to
show her tiredness- if she didn't rest.
She hadn't slept in the plane , nor in the car. She 'd been too engrossed
on reading the file of the case. He was almost sure now that she was
suffering from insomnia, but he wanted to ask her before drawing any
premature conclusions. Maybe later...
They reached the sheriff's office and got out of the car. The sheriff
approached them with a huge smile which was so fake, that Scully felt like
puking. 
"You must be agents Mulder and Scully. I'm sheriff Buck...we talked on the
phone."
They all shook hands and stood there silent.
"Nice to meet you sheriff" Mulder had broken an uneasy silence for the
second time today. 
"We need instructions to get to Dreamsville. Is it far from here?
"No, it's only a couple of miles away... and you won't need instructions
either. Just take this road." he showed them a road.  
"Where are you gonna spend the night?" he then asked with a fake interest.
"We thought that we could crash into one of the empty houses in
Dreamsville."
"That sounds like a great idea" the sheriff gave them one of his fake
smiles. 
"What a kissass " thought Scully.
Mulder turned and looked at her. " We 'd better be on out way now, we need
to get there before dark."
Scully nodded and smiled faintly.
"Lets get moved ."
They got into the car .
"What do you think happened to those people ,Mulder?" Scully asked in not a
very interested way. She was too tired to give a shit... she just wanted to
break the silence; it was more irritating than her insomnia.
"I think you already know my point of view, Scully" Mulder smiled at his
tired partner. 
" You know Mulder, when someone disappears , that doesn't instantly mean he
has been abducted by aliens..."
"No, it doesn't...but when all the population of a village just vanishes
into thin air, then I can tell that this is not a usual missing-person
case."
"No it isn't " Scully argued " but the fact that it is an unusual case
doesn't mean that it has to do with aliens."
"Well, lets find out if you are right..." Mulder answered in an obviously
amused voice.
Scully dropped the conversation.

***************************

After all, they had finally reached Dreamsville, and their half - closed
eyes were screaming for some sleep...although Scully was not very
optimistic about her sleeping...
They looked around. Dreamsville was a little village of at least thirty
houses in two rows. Between the rows was the one and only road.
 It was really a ghost town. It was totally and completely empty...It
reminded Mulder of some cowboy movies he had seen as a child. 
"I think we should choose a house to crash into tonight, and tomorrow we'll
do our investigation" concluded Mulder.
"Sounds great to me" was the answer of Scully. "Any preferences?" 
"What about that big house over there?" Mulder showed her a very attractive
house, which would - under normal circumstances- be her original choice,
but now she was too tired to think. 
"Seems OK to me."
They headed towards the big house and opened the door which revealed a cosy
and well-decorated hallway. 
"The bedrooms must be upstairs." said Mulder and headed towards the stairs.
Scully followed him. They chose their bedrooms and they both threw
themselves on the beds. Mulder could finally rest...and Scully could
finally TRY to rest.
She lay there on her bed, envying Mulder that had probably slept by now,
when the door opened and Mulder came in the room.
"I wanted to see if  you had slept after all."
She yawned. "Mulder, to be honest with you, I don't think i will ever be
able to sleep again. I've been trying to for days. It's no use."
Mulder smiled. "Have you tried to count sheep?"
"Yup"
"Have you counted to 1000 with your eyes closed?"
"Nope...I have counted to up to 3476 with my eyes closed but it didn't work
either."
"Tried a sleeping pill?"
"I don't take sleeping pills Mulder." Scully was almost crying "...I have
tried everything...and nothing worked."
Mulder hugged her tightly.
"It's not the end of the world Scully. listen what we are gonna do. You are
gonna lie on the bed, relax ,close your eyes and I will tell you a story
that is guaranteed to make you sleep.
Scully obeyed. She lay on the bed and closed her tired eyes. What would she
have done without Mulder? He always managed to give her courage.
Mulder told her a really nice story about aliens and monsters, but she
never got to hear its ending because she magically fell asleep.

*****************

When Mulder woke up next morning, Scully was sleeping like a baby next to
him. God she looked cute! He would let her sleep a little more...she needed
it. He got up from the bed and went down the wooden stairs. Then, he
decided to check on the house before doing anything else. After 10 minutes
of fooling around in the rooms, he had found out a couple of things about
it; it was the property of an old couple, Mr and Mrs Roth. They really
seemed like a nice old couple...he resolved from the pictures on the walls.
He exited the house and stood in the middle of the empty road. The sun had
already risen and it was lulling the houses with sweet morning rays and a
soft light. At the end of the village, there was a poppy valley. 
The most beautiful valley he had ever seen.
It was a sensational amalgam of colors; 
yellow from the sun
pure green from the grass
and red from the bleeding poppies.
The bleeding poppies... He had a hunch.
He ran in the empty road and towards the valley.
When he reached it, he stared at the ground. 
And then he knew.
He knew what had happened.
It was an extreme idea, and Scully would never believe him.
It was as if the soil was inviting him to dig.
He had to trust his hunch... after all it wasn't the first time this hunch
of his had led him to the truth.
He started hoeing the ground anxiously,
until he found the trap-door...
...he opened it.
Inside it was a pile of at least 35 corpses. ..women and children among the
dead.
The dead body of a nine year-old girl was lying at the top of that pile.
A bullet planted in her forehead.
Mulder couldn't handle it any more.
He saw his sister in the girl's dead eyes.
He fell on the ground and burst into endless sobs.

*********************

Scully was in a tropical beach and was hunting a pink flamingo towards the
water when she suddenly woke up. 
She had a bad feeling about Mulder. Where was he?
She descended the stairs and got out of the house in a quick pace.
She looked around.
Her eyes stopped at a poppy valley at the end of the village. 
And Mulder was in the middle of it......looking at something....she
couldn't make out what it was.
She walked towards him.
He was crying. No...he was sobbing over a hole filled with dead bodies. The
view of the corpses was horrible.She felt like fainting, but she got hold
of herself. Saying nothing at all, she hugged Mulder. She felt him shaking
in her arms from the sobs. 
She saw the body of the girl on the top of the pile, and she cried silently
too.
Now she knew what had upset her partner so much.
The memory of her.
...the memory of Samantha.

*****************

" I see you found my trophies..." Mulder felt a gun stuck on his back. He
turned around and saw sheriff  Buck looking at them with an evil smile.

*****************
15 minutes later, the two agents were tied up on chairs in one of the
houses.
"You are both gonna die you know....." sheriff Buck said and looked at them
with a look of absolute scowl.
"But first I'm gonna have some fun with you. I'm gonna turn you into
junkies. It will be fun, I promise you. I have always wanted to torture an
FBI agent, now it's my chance. When I'm done with you , you will be begging
me for more. And then, i'll kill you. He took out a syringe from his
pocket."
"Classic things" thought Scully. Sheriff Buck's way of speaking was really
funny. What he said, and the way he said it was too Hollywoodish   to be
scary.
"Wait! First answer us a few questions. We are gonna die anyway. I want to
know how you killed all those people. Why? "Mulder was trying to win
time...his restraints were loose enough for him to get free.
"I didn't kill them. They killed themselves. I just advised them to do
so...they believed in me you see...they believed in everything I told them.
They were my sheep.
I told them that they would all die in 364 days.
I told them that when we reached the year 2000, because of the computer
virus of that year, the nukes would go off and the earth would be
destoyed.....and they believed me.
I was their god you see. People can be so foolish sometimes. I took
advantage of their stupidity."
"Did that little girl believe you too?" Mulder was only minutes from
freeing his hands.
"No...she didn't. I had to kill that one myself."
"Why kill them?" It was Scully's turn to ask.
"I don't know. For the fun I guess....and now, it's time I stopped talking,
and started having some fun myself." he took the syringe in his hand and
looked at Scully.
"I think I'll start with you, agent Scully."
Mulder had almost managed to get his hands loose...almost....
Sheriff Buck pierced Scully's hand with the needle.
Mulder finally managed to free his hands. He leaped and threw Buck to the
floor .The two men started battling.
But Scully was too stoned to notice anything. The drugs had done their job.
She was watching two green men rolling in a tropical beach and pink
flamingos all around them.
She felt happy.
She had forgotten all her troubles and pain.
She didn't even notice that one of the green men had beaten the other and
was coming for her.
She was too stoned to bother.

*****************

Mulder finally managed to knock down sheriff Buck. He then ran for Scully. 
"Scully? You OK?"
"Mulder...ya green..." was the answer of a really stoned Scully.
He couldn't restrain a soft smile at her response.
He quickly untied her and turned around to check on the sheriff.
He wasn't there.
His smile vanished.
Mulder didn't even have a gun, nor a cell-phone.
He had to hurry. He helped Scully up and they made it to the exit. He had
to get them to the car before Buck had time to make a plan. If so...nobody
could save them.
Then, he saw him. He came out from the house in which they had slept the
night before.  His face was all red...he looked like the devil himself. 
"MULDER...SCULLY...where are you going? Do you think there is a way out? "
He hurled furiously.
They exited the house and started running, as fast as Scully's fumbling
allowed them to.
Mulder knew that Buck wouldn't just let them go, but he didn't see any
other solution.
He couldn't understand why Buck didn't knock him out when he had the
chance, but he preferred to pay a visit at the Roths' house instead .It
suddenly occured to him though. But of course! He wanted to take their
cell-phones in order to prevent them from calling the heavy horses.
Then Buck started shooting. Mulder and stoned Scully found cover behind a
wall.
They could see the car.
Mulder decided to take the risk.
He grabbed Scully's hand. They ducked their heads, trying to avoid being
hit and started running. Sheriff Buck was  after them. He was shooting at
them, and he was really furious with the two agents. Mulder and Scully
stood a very good chance to get to the car before they got killed.
But Scully was curious, and when the predator suddenly stopped shooting...
...she turned around to check out whether Buck  was still following them.
She heard the sound of the gun going out ...
...she only realized she had been shot when she saw the blood.
she froze.
Mulder felt the tug on his arm and turned to see what had happened to
Scully...why she had stopped. What he saw, made him lose his words. Scully
was standing there, hands on her belly -which was bleeding-with a blank
expression on her face.
"Muuulder...I think I've...I've been sh...shot.."she stumbled.
He only had time to wrap his hands around her waist for support before she
passed out in his lap.
He didn't lose time. He picked her up and made an effort to the car . He
was lucky. Buck's bullets had finished and he was reloading the gun. Mulder
managed to get to the car in a relative safety. He had parked in behind a
wall that was providing them shelter from Buck's bullets.
When he got there, he threw Scully in the back seat as gently as the
circumstances allowed him, and started the engine.

*******************
Mulder was driving like a maniac. He was terrified. He had to get Scully to
a hospital soon. Lying in the back seat of the car, Scully was 
moaning,
begging, 
sobbing, 
cursing everyone, including Mulder.
She wasn't stoned any more, although he wished she were.
"I don't want to die...I'm gonna die.....GOD *DAMMIT*  MULDER TAKE ME TO A
FUCKIN' HOSPITAL"she screamed for the tenth time.....then she started
sobbing.......
"Pleeaaaseee Mulder, it hurts bad....." She looked at her belly one more
time...It was bleeding like hell....."I'm gonna die...i know it" she
screamed again. "There's blood everywhere"
"Calm down Scully...you know that I won't let you die" Mulder was holding
her left hand for support, while driving the car as fast as it could go.
"You are going under shock. Try to relax. Breathe with me...One Two one
two."
"CUT THE SHRINK SHIT MULDER AND DO SOMETHING" was the answer of a panicked
Scully.
Then she started crying again.....she was desperate and didn't give a shit
about being a tough nut any more.
Mulder squeezed her hand. There were tears all over his face. He was more
in panic than Scully was. He couldn't afford losing her .She was his lucky
charm. Scully's screams were stabbing his heart...but there was nothing he
could do. She would have to hold on until they reached Jacksonville, where
there was a hospital. The most scary thing about the whole situation was
that he had never seen Scully crying like that before, or being so
horrified. She would always hide her feelings and fears. He wished she had
done the same thing this time, cause his heart was gonna break into very
small pieces , not because she was badly hurt, but because there was
nothing he could do to calm her down or encourage her. He suddenly felt
that all those years he had been studying psychiatry were a waste of time
since he was not able to use it when he actually needed to.
If Scully would scream one more time like she had done before, he was
afraid that he would lose his composure , stop the car, go to the back
seat, and wrap his hands around her, try to calm her down, give her
courage, ease her fear, support her like she had done many times for him...
but if he did that, he would risk jeopardising  her life...she had to go to
a hospital as soon as possible.

***************
Two days later
Jacksonville Hospital

Mulder walked down the hospital hallway and entered Scully's room. She said
nothing...she was too tired. 
He sat in a chair and stared at her.
She was alive.
The fact gave him absolute happiness.
Up to now he had thought that he didn't have the guts to tell her how he
felt about her.
Now, he needed her to know.
He sat on the bed and gave her his sweetest smile.
She smiled to him too.
He took a deep breath and....
"I love you..."he whispered. "Will you marry me?"