Date: Sat, 20 Sep 1997 09:57:17 -0700 (PDT) From: Breanna Davis Subject: THE LABYRINTH 1/5 LABYRINTH I (1/5) By BREE DAVIS breedavis@rocketmail.com Summary: A ten-year old girl with "special abilities" has disappeared from her foster home and Scully and Mulder investigate. Classification: XC Rated: PG-13 for Language Disclaimer: The X-Files, Dana Scully, and Fox Mulder belong to Chris Carter, Ten-Thirteen Productions, and the Fox Network. No copyright infringement intended. Note: Feedback is *greatly* appreciated. Just a few words...I read your story, it was (blank). Anything will do. Thanks! WARNING: This story is Part One of Two Parts. Part Two will be posted in approximately two weeks. This Part will be concluded in Part Two. If you do not want to read a story that is "to be continued" please wait until Part Two is posted in two weeks. HARRITY, OH October 7 12:10 PM Emily Wilhelm sat at her kitchen table melting in the heat of the uncharacteristically smoldering October day. Sweat dripped down her wrinkled cheeks, and she reached up weakly to wipe the wetness with handkerchief. Emily glanced at the clock: ten minutes past noon. Grace would be there any minute. Emily viewed Grace Parker as a life saver. Every day, Grace came by to make sure Emily was OK. She reminded Emily to take her medication, and she helped Emily with the various household chores that had become increasingly difficult for the 90-year old woman to tend to herself. But probably most importantly, Grace talked to Emily as if she really cared and had become like family. Grace was a lot like Emily's granddaughter; cheerful, outgoing, and beautiful. Having Grace around helped ease the pain of Darrian's absence. Although they were alike in many ways, Grace and Emily's granddaughter Darrian were also very different. Darrian was pretty and had a good personality, but she had many problems as well. Those problems resulted in the removal of Darrian's little girl from the family's home and lives. The problems caused Darrian to leave Harrity 27 months ago, never to contact Emily again. As if those losses weren't difficult enough to ponder, Emily had become a widow earlier in the year after 62 years of marriage. In the last four years, Emily lost the only family she had left. But Grace was like family now, and she gave Emily the love and supportand strength to go on. Grace's assistance kept Emily from having to go to a retirement home and allowed her to keep the house in which she hadlived for nearly 60 years. As Emily sat laboring to breath in the suffocating air, Grace arrived unnoticed and gently drew the elderly woman from her daydream. "Hello, Emily," Grace said softly, taking a seat at the table. She had Emily's mail and began sorting through it. "Your phone bill arrived, as well as an ad for the grocery store. Oh, and look Emmie, a postcard from Kaytren." Kaytren! Darrian's sweet, lovely, lost child. Emily's great-grandchild. For the first time in a long time, Grace saw Emily smile. "What does it look like?" "Well, there is a photo of the home where Kaytren is staying. Sibley House. Oh, her writing is getting better and better each time she sends you one of these, " Grace commented. "Every three months. Every three months, " Emily repeated. "It says: Sibley House, Gold Point Ohio, Home for Girls since 1962. And Kaytren writes: Dear Nanna, I miss you very much. I am now ten years old. I am very happy here. Please save the stamp on this postcard for Alfie's stamp collection. I will write again in three months. Love, Kaytren, " Grace finished, eyeing the stamp on the postcard. It was a traditional stamp decorated with a United States flag. Emily remained quiet for a few moments, pondering the words of her great-grandchild. "Who is Alfie?" she finally asked. "I'm not sure, " Grace answered. "She's never mentioned him before. Perhaps she had a neighborhood friend who collected stamps. Do you know any kids around here named Alfie?" "No, " Emily replied, "but my memory is not so good. We will save the stamp, and someday when Kaytren comes home she can give it to the little fella." Grace nodded, overcome with sympathy for the poor old woman. If Kaytren ever did return, it would probably be when she is of legal age. Would Emily even be alive then? You're so morbid, Grace told herself, walking to the stove and putting on a pan of water to boil. Minutes later, Grace worked carefully to steam the stamp from the postcard without ripping it. When she successfully removed the stamp, she put it away for safe keeping. As she moved to put the postcard in a shoebox where Emily kept all the postcards from Kaytren, Grace noticed there was small writing in the space where the stamp had been. "Emily, I think Kaytren left a message under the stamp, " Grace revealed, with a trace of confusion littering her voice. "What does it say?" "I don't know, " Grace answered, rummaging through a kitchen knick- knack drawer and coming upon Emily's magnifying glass that she used to use to read when she could still see pretty well. She sat down again next to Emily. "OK, it says: Nanna Please Help Me The Bad Man Is Hurting Me Help Me." Emily's eyes widened in shock and Grace reached over to put her hand on Emily's trembling shoulder. Grace stared at the tiny words in shock. LABYRINTH I (2/5) By BREE DAVIS breedavis@rocketmail.com Summary and disclaimer appear in Part One. OCTOBER 9 10:30 AM Mulder and Scully sat silently in their gray rental car, listening to weather reports marvelling over the surprising heat wave that was terrorizing the entire state of Ohio. Scully shifted uncomfortably in her dark blue suit before finally removing the jacket. Still, she remained stuck in a long-sleeve white blouse and sighed. "Mulder, I think we should turn around and exchange this car for one that has working air conditioning, " Scully suggested, almost whining. Mulder looked over at his sweaty partner, amused. "We've already gone fifty miles, Scully. If it was such a problem I think you should have mentioned it an hour ago." Scully took a deep breath. "I've been too busy melting over here to say anything, " she answered. "I'm melting, I'm melting!" Mulder teased, mimicking the Wicked Witch of the West. "At the next stop, I will pull over and you can find something in your suitcase more comfortable to change into." "Thank you, " Scully said. "OK, Mulder, do you have a few minutes to fill me in as to why we have ventured to Ohio's lovely 90 degree weather?" "Absolutely, " Mulder answered. "Up until four years ago, Kaytren Mackenzie lived in Harrity with her mother Darrian Mackenzie and great-grandparents the Wilhelms. Kaytren's mother was a known prostitute. One evening, the Wilhelms were gone at the hospital because of Mr. Wilhelm's frequent illnesses and Darrian decided to go out. She locked her four year old child in a closet and left. The house caught on fire and the child was just narrowly saved. The child was taken to live in Gold Point at a home called Sibley House, 250 miles from Harrity. "Two years ago, after many failed attempts at gaining visitation rights to her daughter, Darrian left to get the child. She never returned or got in touch with her grandmother again. Mrs. Wilhelm continued to receive four postcards a year from Kaytren, who wrote of being very happy. Until two days ago. Mrs. Wilhelm received a postcard with a hidden message from the child underneath the stamp. The child said the stamp was for Alfie's collection; apparently she was familiar with the story that during world war I, a soldier sent a postcard to his wife and urged her to save the stamp for Alfie's collection; underneath the stamp was a secret messsage from the soldier claiming that his arm had been removed. Needless to say, Emily Wilhelm is terrified about the well- being of her grand-child, " Mulder said. "How is this an X-File, Mulder?" "Nobody has any explanation that makes sense as to where Kaytren disappeared to. Sibley House claims the child was taken by her mother two years ago, but Emily Wilhelm insists Darrian would have contacted her if she had gotten Kaytren back. Plus, the house never informed authorities in Harrity to be on the look out for Darrian or Kaytren Mackenzie, " Mulder pointed out. "Plus, the postcards Emily Wilhelm has received over the years are postmarked from Gold Point, Ohio, and many don photos of Sibley House." Scully shrugged. "Perhaps Kaytren's mother returns there every few months to keep up the charade, sending the postcards from Gold Point then retreating to wherever she has Kaytren stashed away, " Scully suggested. "But why? Emily Wilhelm says that she and Darrian were on good terms and she supported Darrian's efforts to get Kaytren back. Why go through all that trouble just to keep Mrs. Wilhelm in the dark?" Mulder wondered. "Is there a better explanation?" Scully asked, looking at Mulder. "You don't think aliens..." "Scully, I don't know. It's unexplained, and baffling. Plus, there is a possibility that Kaytren Mackenzie had special abilities, " Mulder added. Scully paused. "Special abilities?" "Yes. The night of the fire, when she was locked in the closet and almost died, a police officer claims Darrian came to him as he slept and warned him that she was in danger. When Emily Wilhelm contacted him two days ago, the officer contacted me. He claims he has been having other visions over the past few years but assumed he was merely hallucinating because Emily Wilhelm was being contacted by the child regularly. Now he worries Kaytren was calling to him for help and he may have failed her, " Mulder explained. Mulder continued to stare forward, not bothering to catch the expression of his always skeptical Scully. He already knew her expression would be one of disbelief; and he was right. HARRITY POLICE DEPARTMENT 11:45 AM "I didn't know Kaytren well until the fire, " Detective Troy Howell explained to Mulder and Scully after leading them to a private room away from the rest of the police officers. "I had arrested her mother a couple of times for prostitution and took the child to temporary foster homes, but that was about it. I live three houses down from them. Anyway, the night of the fire I was lying in my bed half asleep when I smelled smoke. I opened my eyes and there she was, holding her arms out to me mouthing the word 'Help'. I wasn't sure whether to believe this, but I got out of bed and put on some jeans and went down to the house. The whole front was engulfed in flames but luckily there was a back staircase and I found her in time. I had to break the damn door down because it was locked." "She was found in a closet?" Scully asked. Detective Howell nodded, his face twisted as if he was disgusted. "Darrian nearly killed that child. She went to jail for nine months after that." "When was the last time you saw Darrian Mackenzie?" "A couple years ago she came to me and she wanted my help to get Kaytren back. I laughed in her face. Can you believe she came to me, expecting me to get that kid back into her clutches?" Troy asked. "She wanted help with legal measures because she couldn't afford any lawyer." "I take it you didn't help her?" "Hell no. I told her the girl was somewhere where she wouldn't have to be worried about being locked in closets and nearly burning to death, " Troy recalled. "She was angry because I wouldn't help her. She stormed out screaming obscenities." "Over the years did you stay in touch with Emily Wilhelm?" Scully asked. Troy nodded. "Yes, I feel sorry for her. She couldn't take Kaytren herself because at the time her husband was dying, and Darrian went to jail. But whenever she got one of them postcards she would call me over from my driveway to read it. I thought Kaytren was all right." "But now you are not so sure?" Mulder asked. Troy didn't answer so Mulder continued. "You said on the telephone you've been having dreams of Kaytren?" "I think of them as visitations, really. She is always standing there with her arms out, looking so sad, mouthing 'help' to me. She looks different each time too, like she's growing up or something, " Troy said, almost in a trance. "It hasn't happened much lately, not in the last year or so. That's what worries me the most." "Why do you think that if Kaytren is in trouble she would communicate with you as opposed to her grandmother or somebody else close to the family?" Mulder wondered. Troy shrugged. "I always had a little bit of psychic abilities since I was little. It could be that, or maybe she trusts me to be someone safe for her, to help her like I did the night of the fire. I'm not sure. All I'm sure of is that I worried I failed her and that now is too late to do anything to save her, " he said quietly, his voice trailing off. 12:45 PM "If Darrian stole Kaytren from Sibley House, she would have called me," Emily insisted to the two FBI agents who had been sent to her house to investigate Kaytren's disappearance. "I know Darrian doesn't have her. I think they are both vanished somewhere." "We understand your opinion that Darrian doesn't have your great- granddaughter, but could you please just tell us about Darrian's state of mind before she left the last time. It would really help, " Scully requested gently. Emily and Grace were seated side by side on the sofa. Grace had her arm around the woman, comforting her. Emily looked at Grace sadly. "They think Darrian took her. They think Darrian is hurting her. How can they think such a thing?" "It's OK, Emily, they are just doing their job, " Grace assured her. "Anything you say could help find your little great-granddaughter and Darrian." "It's all my fault, " Emily lamented. "I told the social workers I could not take care of Kaytren myself. How could I be so selfish? That's what Darrian said I was, selfish." "She was angry with you for not keeping Kaytren with you?" Scully asked. "I raised Darrian with my husband after her parents died. She didn't understand the difference between keeping her and keeping Kaytren. I tried to tell her the difference was 25 years, but she insisted I didn't want Kaytren because I thought of her as a bastard. But that just isn't true, "Emily said defensively. "Did you hear from Darrian after she left Harrity?" Emily nodded, piping up. "Yes, once from the hotel. She wasn't mad at me then, not at all. She was so excited. She had found Sibley House and was going back the next day to try to get a glimpse of Kaytren. That was the last I heard." "Have you seen or spoken to Kaytren since the time Sibley House says she was taken by your granddaughter?" "No. Just the postcards, " Emily replied. "Now I don't even know if she's been dead all this time. Maybe the bad man made her write years and years worth of postcards knowing I would speak up if I didn't hear from her. Maybe he kept them and has been sending them himself all these years. Dear God, my sweet little Kaytren could be dead!" SIBLEY HOUSE GOLD POINT, OH 7:30 PM The girls at Sibley House lived in a large Victorian home on the south edge of Gold Point, surrounded by a vast wooden area. From the home's outside appearance, it was not at all evident that close to fifty troubled girls were living there. During the four and a half hour drive from Harrity to Gold Point, Scully drove while Mulder skimmed through a packet of information about Sibley House that Troy Howell had compiled. The packet included data and statistics about the home dating back to when it opened 25 years ago. "Anything interesting?" Scully asked, noticing Mulder was being very quiet. Mulder glanced up and over at Scully for a split second, shrugging. "Not really, " he answered. "Although the runaway rate sure seems high. Between six and twelve a year run away, and between 25-50% of them are never heard from again." "Never heard from by the home or by their families?" "Doesn't specify. Never heard from officially, I suppose. Kaytren Mackenzie so far has been the youngest child to ever disappear from the home, "Mulder revealed. "Usually the girls are between 13-17 years old." "That makes sense, Mulder. I imagine most of these girls have been abused and neglected and have learned to fend for themselves over the years. Sudden structure after a lifetime of chaos can send a kid that age right out the door," Scully said. "We're here." She steered the car into the drive way of the home, and both agents noticed the home's meticulous appearance. Their arrival was unannounced, so if the operators of the home had anything to hide they would not be able to do so. Sam Fisher, the director of Sibley House, answered the door when Scully and Mulder rang the doorbell. He was a small man with little hair left; he wore wire-rimmed glasses and a navy blue business suit. "May I help you?" Sam Fisher asked, flashing a pleasant smile. "I'm Agent Scully and this is my partner Fox Mulder from the FBI, " Scully introduced as she and Mulder flashed their badges. "We are here to investigate the disappearance two years ago of Kaytren Mackenzie." If Sam Fisher was surprised by their presence he hid it very well. "Oh, hello, come on in out of that heat, " he urged, moving aside and Mulder and Scully accepted the invitation. Sam led them to his office, located next to a large staircase that led to the second floor of Sibley House. "It's a simple case of parent/child abduction, really, " Sam Fisher began. "The day before Kaytren disappeared, her mother showed up here ranting and raving and demanding to be alone with the child. Of course, we could not permit that. Miss Mackenzie had no visitation rights and, besides, we have a policy against unscheduled visits. It's very hard on the other children to see another child's parent make the effort to visit, and so we try to arrange something more private." "What did Miss Mackenzie explain as her intentions?" Mulder asked. "She said she would be taking Kaytren home, " Sam answered. "The child was positively terrified. It took two years of therapy for that child for her to realize that she could become attached to people who would not like her in a closet and leave her to die." "So Kaytren was aware of Darrian Mackenzie's presence?" Sam Fisher stiffened slightly, nodding. "Yyyes, " he replied reluctanly. "She knew of Miss Mackenzie's threats to take her and she was frightened." "With the threat of abduction, why did you not take special measures to ensure Darrian Mackenzie did not have access to the child?" Scully wondered. "We used all the precautions available to us. We are not able to have the security system we would like, but we are not running a prison here, " Sam reminded them. "Thus explaining the voluntary departures of between six to twelve girls every year?" Mulder suggested. Sam Fisher stared at Mulder. "Agent Mulder, these girls have all been traumatized in their lives. Some are hungry for the love and attention and therapy we offer here. Some reject it and choose to leave. I can tell you that I am 100% certain, though, that Kaytren Mackenzie did not choose to leave. Her mother kidnapped her, " he said sharply. "Why didn't you report this so called 'kidnapping' to the police?" Mulder asked. "I notified the social workers, and together we decided that Darrian Mackenzie, despite her choice to take Kaytren, would not be of harm to the child. We thought it would not be in Kaytren's best interests to pursue her and her mother like fugitives, " Sam explained. "Why wasn't Miss Mackenzie's grandmother contacted?" Sam smiled. "Well, we assumed Miss Mackenzie would take Kaytren home," he said. "I had no idea Mrs. Wilhelm was still receiving postcards under the guise the child was still here. It's all very baffling." Once Scully and Mulder finished questioning Sam Fisher, he offered to take them on a tour of the home to introduce them to a couple of the other employees and residents of Sibley House. Sam Fisher led them to the gameroom, located in the basement of the home. It was complete with a pool table, table tennis, and a variety of other games. There, they found two girls speaking with the home's social worker. "Jeff Colby, come here for a minute, " Sam summoned with a huge grin spread across his face. Jeff Colby was a young man, in his late twenties, with light blonde hair and a tall, thin frame. He returned Sam's smile as he approached Sam, Scully, and Mulder. "Yes?" Jeff asked, looking back and noticing the two girls had followed him. "We were just trying to decide on a Nintendo game." "Uhh, Jeff Colby has been our social worker here for the last year. He makes the decision of who comes, stays, or leaves. Jeff, Agents Scully and Mulder are here to investigate a missing child case," Sam filled him in. "A couple years ago a mother came and retrieved her child illegally, and the mother's family just recently learned of this." "Oh, " Jeff said, nodding. "That is terrible." "You're here about Kaytren?" the smaller of the two girls asked. "Yes, " Scully answered, "and who are you?" "I'm Marietta Stewart, " she replied, as Mulder and Scully noticed she was very pregnant. "I've been here for five years. I knew Kaytren." The second girl, whose hair was styled like a child's in long piggy tails, chimed in, "She was a very sweet little girl. I'm Natasha. I was here too with Kaytren." "Do you remember the events leading up to Kaytren's disappearance?" Mulder asked the girls, glancing over at Sam Fisher and for a brief second noticing the man looking panicked. Marietta shrugged. "Kinda. I remember we shared a room, and when we went to bed she was there, and when we woke up she was gone. It was freaky, " she added. "Do you remember the incident when her mother visited?" "It was a long time ago, " Marietta reminded them. "All I remember is everyone was talking about it. They felt sorry for her. She seemed very nice." "What about you? What do you remember?" Scully asked Natasha Gilson. "Not much. Kaytren was really little, you know. I didn't bother with her much. She called me her mommy. But, anyway, I wasn't around when her mom showed up. I had probably run off or something, " she said, flashing a defiant smile towards Jeff Colby. A third man entered the gameroom as Natasha finished. He was very serious and sullen. He walked over to Sam and said something inteligible to him before addressing the girls. "Natasha, Marietta, it's time for dinner, " he told them sternly. "Perhaps you and Mr. Colby can wait until later this evening for your game?" "Yeah, Bud, OK, Bud, " the girls both said, following the man out of the game room. They waved good-bye to Scully and Mulder as they disappeared into the hallway. Sam Fisher explained to Scully and Mulder that the man was Dr. Brian Dobbins, responsible for counseling the girls and trying to instill into them the concept of discipline. By the time Scully and Mulder left the home, darkness had set in around the eerily quiet Sibley House. They approached the car in silence. As they stepped to the opposite sides of the car, a woman walked up to them. "Hello, " she said. "Are you the FBI?" "Can we help you with something?" Mulder offered. "You're investigating this house, right?" the woman asked. "Well, you might not think anything suspicious after the little act they put on for you just now. But I am here to tell you that something is not right with this place. It might look beautiful and seem like the perfect dwelling for little girls, but it's not. It's a nightmare." Mulder and Scully exchanged glances, watching as the woman stared at them with determination that her story would be heard. LABYRINTH I (3/5) By BREE DAVIS breedavis@rocketmail.com Summary and disclaimer appear in Part One. TRUDIE'S RESTAURANT GOLD POINT, OH 8:30 PM After introducing herself as Susan Martinek, the woman who approached Mulder and Scully oustide Sibley House directed them to a small, family style restaurant on the edge of town. Mulder had a healthy appetite, while Scully focused on Kathy's claims about Sibley House. "My sister and our stepfather didn't get along, " Susan explained. "Kathy was four years older than I was. She was 15, I was 11. She hated our mother's husband they fought constantly. One night Kathy went after him with a butter knife. And they sent her here. My mom did all the hearings to make sure Kathy never came back. She was going to have to stay at Sibley House until she was 18." "Did you speak to Kathy about her experiences at Sibley House?" Scully wondered. The dark-haired woman nodded, sipping from her cup of coffee. "She called me alot. She wasn't supposed to but she always found a way. We were very close, " Susan recalled. "Anyway, she said the people were weird. She said her friend up and disappeared, and the home said she ran away. Kathy didn't believe that for a minute. She said she was going to keep on the people at the home unti lthey told her where the friend went to." "Do you remember the friend's name?" "Olivia something. It was June of 1981, " Susan said. Mulder took a break from his double cheeseburger and pulled out the packet which included the names of every girl that had been reported as a run away from the home since it's inception. He found the year 1981, and shook his head. "No, no Olivia here. What was your sister's name?" "You won't find it on that list, " Susan predicted. "Her name is Kathy Martinek. Those sons of bitches at the home don't even acknowledge she stayed there. They deny ever having a child named Olivia stay there in 1981 either." "Are you sure she wasn't sent to another home?" Scully asked. Susan sighed. "I am sure. I've been looking for her for eight years. Nobody knows where she was sent, officially. But I remember, Gold Point and Sibley House, " Susan emphasized. "There were four girls reported as runaways in 1981. All were seventeen." "Yes, almost old enough to be on their own. So why would the police or anyone panic? And who cares about a few missing throwaway girls? Apparently, nobody, because this has been going on for twenty five years and nobody has bothered to care, " Susan said bitterly. "What measures have you taken to find your sister?" "Every measure possible, legal and illegal. After the people at Sibley House had the nerve to tell me my sister was never there, I went to the media. There was a big article published last week in the local paper and it has caused quite a stir, " Susan said, looking pleased with herself before her face turned sullen. "But a few nights ago I got a phone call from someone who said if I didn't stop with the media attention I would be killed. He said to shut up and I would find out what happened to Kathy." "It may have been a prank call, Susan, " Scully suggested. "Believe it or not, there are a lot of sick people in the world." "He kept his word, though, " Susan revealed. "I refused an interview with a TV station and an 'anonymous tip' led me to Kathy." TREEMLEY MEDICAL INSTITUTION TREEMLEY, OHIO 8:45 AM "Up until two days ago, Kathy Martinek had been known as Jane Doe for nearly twelve years, " a nurse told Agents Scully and Mulder as she led them down the hallway to Kathy's room. "I was working here when they brought her, saying she had just appeared at a hospital in Columbus and nobody could explain who she was or how she had gotten there. It was all very mysterious." They reach the room and the nurse accompanies Scully and Mulder in. The woman lynig in the bed is moaning softly to herself, moving her body back and forth in a fetal position. She has a thumb in her mouth and her eyes, wide open, are aimlessly scouring the room. "What is her condition?" Scully asked. "Severe brain damage causing mental retardation. She does not speak or communicate. She hates to be touched, " the nurse replied. "Is there any explanation as to how she got in this condition?" "Doctors believe a bacterial infection had ravaged her brain by the time she was left at the hospital emergency room, " the nurse said. "There was nothing medically that could be done for her by the time she received medical attention." As Scully and Mulder stood there speaking with the nurse about Kathy's care, Susan arrived to join them. She looked tired. Susan took out a photograph of Kathy. "This was taken the summer before she went away, " Susan said, handing the picture of the beautiful smiling teenager to Mulder. "I am going to get the assholes that did this to her. Nothing is going to stop me." The nurse placed a hand on Susan's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Susan, " she said gently. Susan looked over at the two FBI agents, whose faces echoed the same sympathy she had seen a lot of since her sister had been found. She hoped Scully and Mulder's sympathy would turn into action, otherwise Susan would have failed her sister yet again. SIBLEY HOUSE 10:45 PM Natasha, one of the two girls Scully and Mulder had been introduced to earlier, sat in a car with her boyfriend in the alley behind Sibley House. They were kissing, and the boyfriend Paul was touching. "I've got to go, " Natasha said, moving Paul's hand from inbetween her legs. "Paul, I have to go. They check our beds at 11 PM sharp." Paul, who was breathing heavily, sat back in the driver's seat of the car. "So, we got 15 more minutes, baby. Come on, a lot can happen in 15 minutes." He reached for to pull her closer to him. "No, Paul, " Natasha argued. "Listen, after they check our beds maybe I'll come back out, OK? If I can slip past the guard dogs, OK?" "Yeah, good, that sounds good, " Paul said, smiling broadly. He grabbed Natasha and they kissed one last time as Natasha worked to get out of the passenger side of the car. Once outside the car, Natasha said, "I love you baby, " and closed the car door. It was a familiar drill for Natasha, who often snuck out of Sibley House at 10 PM each night to meet Paul for a "midnight snack". She crept in a window that led to the basement of the home, then slowly walked up the stairs. If she was going to get caught, it would be here, when she had to creep past Sam Fisher's office. Most of the time, however, Sam was already gone by the time Natasha returned to Sibley House. Occasionally, she would pass by, and catch a glimpse through the partially opened door to the office of Sam tending to paperwork. More than not Sam's head was down on his desk and he was fast asleep. Tonight, though, Natasha was surprised to hear voices coming from Sam's office. She walked up to the door, but stopped short of looking in. Men's voices, loud voices, arguing voices. This was not something Natasha was used to in Sibley House; but it was something she remembered well from the days long ago when she was still at home, when her father came home drunk, her mother picked a fight, her father knocked her mother out, then passed out himself. It was the type of fighting she had witnessed repeatedly; the loud, almost wild booming voices, uncontrollable anger. "You said she would be safe if I sent her here, damnit! I didn't agree to you taking her to the Facility!" an unfamiliar man said, his voice crazy with rage. "Keep it down, Detective, " Sam could be hear ordering. "There are children upstairs sleeping." "You promised she was safe! I will not keep it down! You told the FBI Darrian Mackenzie kidnapped her, yet you've been telling me for months she was still here, and doing well! And the pictures! You've sent me pictures of her!" the stranger yelled, his voice only slightly lower in volume. "But you took her to the Facility! What have you done to her? And her mother?" A third man said, "The answers are not your business, Detective. Kaytren Mackenzie is alive and well. She is just not here." "But you've taken her, haven't you, to study her? To experiment on her? Right? You can't do that! You made a deal!" "Kaytren's abilities exceeded our biggest expectations, Detective, almost to a fault. She knew things that she should not, could not have known. If she had ever left here with her mother, the Project would have been exposed, " the third man explained. "So we had a choice to make. Honor the deal with little you and lose 33 years of research, or move Kaytren to the facility. It was not a difficult choice." Natasha frowned, confused. Kaytren's mother had taken her, right? Or had she? Who was this man talking about the Project and the Facility? Natasha stepped closer to the doorway. The door was only cracked open an inch or so, and Natasha closed her left eye so that she could get a peak at the men fighting. Inside Sam Fisher's office stood Sam, Detective Troy Howell, and Dr. Dobbins. Dr. Dobbins was dressed from head to toe in black, and he looked...different. Almost mean. Troy Howell began to pace back and forth between Sam and Dr. Dobbins, as if to decide what he would do next. Finally, he stopped and walked right up to Dr. Dobbins, so their noses were practically close enough to touch. "We had a deal, " Troy repeated. "You broke your end. I break my end. The FBI are sure going to be interested in what I know, won't they?" "And taint your father's name, Detective? You seem to be forgetting his involvement in this, " Sam reminded. Troy turned to Sam. "My father is dead. None of this will hurt him. He died a sorry, regretful old man. If not for our deal I would have exposed you and your damn Project Goliath when he died two years ago. I have nothing to lose now." The detective looking was at Sam, away from Dr. Dobbins, and Troy didn't see the doctor coming at his neck with his strong, thick hands. Dr. Dobbins quickly grabbed Troy's thin neck and the man was disabled almost immediately. Troy's eyes met with Natasha's as Dr. Dobbins finished squeezing the life out of the detective. Her heart beating so loudly she thought for sure Dr. Dobbins or Sam would hear it, Natasha moved back against the wall and away from the doorway. It took every ounce of self-restraint the young girl possessed not to scream or sob or even gasp as she tiptoed back down to the basement. Once she was out of the basement window, she ran for her life, thankful to God for her horny boyfriend who was still waiting in his car in the alley. LORD'S INN 2 AM Scully was restless, tossing and turning in the lumpy and uncomfortable hotel bed. Something about the day's events wasn't sitting right with her, but what could it be? What was Susan implying about Sibley House in saying that some of the girls who mysteriously disappear do not leave voluntarily? If that was true, who took them, and for what reason? Meningitis. Kathy Martinek's condition had been caused by Meningitis. Untreated Meningitis. How did Kathy get Meningitis, Susan asked the two FBI agents. She wanted to leave it up to our imagination, Scully thought. Finally, realizing sleep would be a lost cause that night, Scully got out of the bed and walked into the bathroom. She ran cold water over a wash rag and wiped her face with it. She was sweating. The air conditioning system at the Lord's Inn was no match for the 98% humidity, 95 degree weather. Scully sighed and removed the wash rag, and returned to the bed. She sat on the edge, staring into space. A knock at the door interrupted her wandering thoughts. Scully, dressed in a T-shirt and sweats, answered the door. As she expected, it was Mulder. "Couldn't sleep either?" Scully asked her partner, who sported bags under his eyes. Mulder shook his head. "No. Actually I got a phone call from a hospital ten miles from here. They said a patient was transferred to their hospital last night, supposedly from Cleveland. But when the hospital called Cleveland for the patient's records, nobody could recall having such a patient in the hospital or arranging for such a patient to be transferred." "OK, " Scully said. "Well, the hospital ran the woman's finger prints and positively identified her as Darrian Mackenzie." "What? She just showed up, out of the blue?" Scully asked. Mulder nodded. "Apparently. With no answer as to where she came from. It reminds me of..." Mulder's voice trailed off. "It reminds you of when I was found, " Scully completed, grimly. LABYRINTH I (4/5) By BREE DAVIS breedavis@rocketmail.com Summary and disclaimer appear in Part One. ROBERT MEMORIAL CENTER FLEAHY, OH 2:30 AM "Why is it that two people connected to Sibley House who had disappeared have suddenly reemerged now?" Mulder asked Scully on their way up to ICU where Darrian Mackenzie was a patient. "I don't know Mulder. Kathy Martinek is not officially associated with Sibley House, " Scully reminded Mulder. "Can we really rely on the memory of someone who was a young teenager when she last saw her sister, who admittedly had serious problems?" Mulder shakes his head. "You actually believe it is just a coincidence, Scully? Susan Martinek goes to the media, which brings unwanted attention to Sibley House, and finds her sister. Emily Wilhelm goes to the FBI about her missing granddaughter and great-granddaughter, which again brings unwanted attention to Sibley House, and Darrian Mackenzie mysteriously appears at this hospital. Kathy Martinek is retarded and impaired for life. What should we expect to find here?" The elevator finally came to a stop on the 12th floor of the large medical center. Emily Wilhelm and her helper Grace had already arrived, along with a police officer Scully and Mulder had not seen before. "Agents Scully and Mulder, I presume?" the police officer said, extending his hand to the agents. "I am Officer Nick Jacobi. I accompanied Mrs. Wilhelm and her friend here from Harrity after Mrs. Wilhelm learned of her granddaughter's arrival here." "It's a pleasure to meet you, " Scully said, shaking Officer Jacobi's hand. "Has Detective Howell been notified that Darrian Mackenzie was found?" Officer Jacobi nodded. "I sent a colleague to his hotel. Detective Howell is in Gold Point this week on vacation." "Gold Point?" Mulder asked, exchanging glances with his equally suspicious partner. Emily Wilhelm is seating next to Grace, crying into a handkerchief. "My baby is braindead!" she cries. "Don't you even care about her? Don't you even care?" "Please, Emily, they do care, " Grace assured the woman. "That's why they're here. They want to find out what happened to her." To Officer Jacobi, Scully asked, "What is Miss Mackenzie's condition?" Officer Jacobi pulled Scully and Mulder aside, and said quietly enough so that Mrs. Wilhelm couldn't here, "She's braindead. She won't regain consciousness, and we won't learn where she has been or who is responsible for this. She arrived here dressed in a plain green hospital gown, covered by a plain white blanket, lying in a stretcher, by an ambulance that was identical to the ambulances used at Cleveland General. No evidence, no nothing." "And what caused brain death?" Scully asked. "Would it be a bout of Meningitis or other untreated infection?" Mulder added. The officer shook his head no. "Actually, it was head trauma. The X- Rays show she had a blunt force trauma that shattered her skull. Doctors say from the X-Rays that this happened over 2 years ago." "About the time that Darrian Mackenzie showed up at Sibley House demanding to see her daughter, " Mulder said. A cell phone ringing interrupted the conversation. Mulder reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. The ringing continued. "Oh, it's me, " Officer Jacobi said, taking his cell phone out. "Officer Jacobi. Yes, yes, OK. What? Oh my God. Where? OK, thank you." The officer, obviously dazed, puts his cell phone away. "That was my partner. He went to the hotel where Detective Howell was staying. And he found Detective Howell...dead." GOOD STAY MOTEL Gold Point, OH 3:00 AM By the time Mulder and Scully arrived at Troy Howell's motel, the body had already been moved by the medical examiner, who was preparing to take the body to the morgue for an autopsy. As it stood, the death was a suspected suicide by hanging, the ME explained to the agents before they walked into the room. Inside the room, Mulder and Scully were taken aback by the appearance. Photos of young Kaytren Mackenzie ranging from when she was a few months old up until photos that appeared to have been taken fairly recently covered the walls of the motel room. Magazines were spread across the bed and onto the floor. Scully bent over to pick up one of the magazines. She quickly thumbed through it before handing it to one of the investigators. "Kiddie porn, " she told Mulder, who had made his way into the bathroom where Detective Howell was found hanging. Mulder said nothing. "Mulder, there's a suicide note from Howell, too, " Scully revealed, accepting a clear zip loc bag that contained a note allegedly scrawled by Howell before his suicide. "He admits to kidnapping Kaytren and 'hurting' Darrian." "It doesn't seem right, " Mulder said. "Of course it's not right. Someone this child depended on and trusted was a child molester who took her from a healthy environment at Sibley House and shattered her mother's skull. It's not right at all, " Scully replied, shaking her head in dismay. Officer Jacobi, who arrived at the motel with the agents, walked up to Scully and Mulder and said, "Just wanted to let you know, we have a missing child report in from Sibley House. A girl is missing, and officials from Sibley House are adamant that she be found." The officer handed a faxed photo of young Natasha to Agent Scully. "We saw her at Sibley House yesterday, " Mulder remembered. "Listen, I know you don't know me from Adam, and you think Detective Howell was some sort of child abuser, but I knew the man for 15 years and he would never lay a hand on a child. Especially not HIS child." "Troy Howell was Kaytren's father?" Mulder asked, astonished. "He's dead now, so I can tell you this. I was a close personal friend of his, OK? And awhile back he was busted with a prostitute, Darrian. I didn't charge him, though, because I believed that he had not slept with her. But when Darrian left that child in the closet and that fire happened, I saw Troy's reaction to it. And I did the math, and I confronted him. He admitted it, that Kaytren was his. But he said Darrian warned him not to assert any of his rights on the girl or he would be exposed. He arranged for Kaytren to be sent to Sibley House, because years ago his father was on the Board of Directors to open the home, " Officer Jacobi explained. "This...this is not Troy. Not at all." "What do you think it is, then?" Mulder wondered. Officer Jacobi took in a deep breath. "Troy came to me last week, after he found out Kaytren was missing. He was hysterical. He said something about 'them' going back on the promise to keep his daughter safe and that he wanted to take this week off to set it straight. He was tired of being separated from his child. He was going to find her and bring her home. That's what he said. And now he's dead. And this girl, Natasha, is missing." "Do you think Natasha's disappearance is related to Troy Howell's death?" "I couldn't say. But it's awfully fishy to me. None of this makes any sense, " Officer Jacobi sighed. ROBERT MEMORIAL CENTER FLEAHY, OH 3 AM Emily Wilhelm felt as if she might collapse from exhaustion, but she simply could not bring herself to leave Darrian's side. It was good to see Darrian again, looking so calm and beautiful. She was not dead, not dead. No matter what those doctors said. The nerve of the doctors! To tell a grandmother that even though the child's heart was beating she should let them remove the respirator and let Darrian go in peace. How could she go in peace? Was it peaceful the way she ended up brain dead? No! So the doctors had left her with Darrian, who had been moved to a large room that held five other comatose and braindead victims. "I love you my dear, " Emily whispered, as a tear slipped down her cheek. Darrian's eyes open. She is gazing straight ahead. "Darrian, Darrian!" Emily repeated. "Oh my God! You are alive!" A nurse, Matilda Kramer, heard Emily's outburst and rushed into the room stopping dead in her tracks when she noticed Darrian Mackenzie's eyes were open. Finally, regaining herself, Matilda walked over to Emily. "Mrs. Wilhelm, I'm sorry. This must be involuntary movement of her muscles." Darrian lifted her left arm, then reached it to the side and found a pen on the tray without looking over at it. She labored to grip the pen, attempting to write something on the tray. She was unable to, and she dropped the pen, returned her arm to her side, and closed her eyes. "She's trying to tell us something!" Emily said. "Did you see that?" Matilda nodded, flabbergasted. A doctor hurried in, and Matilda stumbled over her words as she explained what she had just witnessed. The doctor spoke with Emily, explaining they would run tests to confirm brain activity as Matilda slipped from the room. Matilda went directly to the nurse's station where she picked up the phone. After looking around to make sure nobody was there, she quickly dialed a phone number. Seconds later, she said, "We have a problem with Darrian, " she spits out, disgusted. "She was awake and trying to communicate." SIBLEY HOUSE 3:15 AM Dr. Dobbins and Sam Fisher have just returned for setting up the scene in Detective Howell's motel room. They narrowly missed being caught, turning the corner as a uniformed police officer headed towards Detective Howell's motel room. Dr. Dobbins hung up the telephone. "Damnit! That was Matilda. She says Darrian was trying to communicate." "What? That's impossible. Darrian has been brain dead for over two years!" Sam said, his voice streaked with fear. "I know. It must be Kaytren. I gave Matilda the go ahead to order that Darrian be silenced for good. I'm going to have to have a talk with that child, " Dr. Dobbins said, angrily. Jeff Colby, the home's social worker, walked into the office at that moment. "I got here as soon as I could. Natasha is missing?" he asked, concerned. "Yes, and we have to find her immediately, " Dr. Dobbins answered. "Did she ever tell you if she was seeing anybody? Did she ever tell you about any friends she has outside Sibley House?" "Why? What's going on? What has Natasha done?" "We believe she might have witnessed an incident earlier this evening, then ran off. Another child looked out her window and reported seeing Natasha running to a car in the alley behind the house. If the time was correct, then we have a big problem, " Dr. Dobbins explained. "What did she witness?" Neither Sam nor Dobbins responded at first. Finally, Sam said, "She might have overheard a conversation with Troy Howell, and she might have seen the conversation culminate in Howell's death." "No! You didn't kill him!" Jeff said, astounded. "You didn't kill him here, when the children are asleep upstairs, did you?" "It was unavoidable, " Dobbins said. "But that is behind us. We have to concentrate now on finding our little eavesdropper." "And what do you think you are going to do to her if you do find her?" Jeff demanded. "It would be better if you didn't know the answer, since obviously you suddenly have a problem with our arrangement, " Dobbins said, staring Jeff Colby down. "I do what is necessary for the good of the Project." Jeff scowled and shook his head in disgust. "What's good for the Project? What about what's good for these children? Have you forgotten that these girls are healthy and they could grow to have perfectly normal lives if we didn't always act for the good of the Project? You are the worst monster imaginable, to take these healthy children and do what you do to them! Kill them slowly. For the good of the Project? Bull shit." "I will have you know that the Project has saved thousands of children's lives, damnit! Children who ARE loved and ARE wanted by their parents. Children who are normal, not little sluts to be like the girls who are sent here. Is it such an awful trade in? It makes these girls' lives WORTH something, that what we learn from them saves the lives of children whose parents would do anything to help them, " Dobbins rambled. "Who are you to judge that these girls should die in order for their lives to mean anything? That they should be sacrificed so the rich bastards can buy the lives of their kids, even if it means robbing other children of their lives? It's crazy. And I'm not about to be a part of it anymore, " Jeff said. Dobbins squinted his eyes and studied Jeff Colby. "Just what are you saying, Mr. Colby?" "I want out. I resign. I quit. I didn't take this job so that I could be a party to killing the children I thought I was hired to help, " Jeff said. "I won't let you kill another little girl." Dobbins shook his head, disappointed. "Two in one night. This is a record, don't you think Sammy boy?" he asked. Jeff looked back at Sam Fisher, who had been standing off in a corner while Jeff and Dobbins argued. As Jeff's gaze turned to fall on Sam, Dobbins took out a gun and fired at Jeff's head. A silencer on the weapon ensured nobody in the house would stir. Jeff fell to the ground, dead. ROBERT MEDICAL CENTER 4:30 AM Grace arrived at Young Rehab Center a little after two in the morning and successfully urged Emily to come home with her and get some sleep. Emily was still reeling from the incident with Darrian earlier but had been informed by doctors that the tests they performed showed no brain activity. Emily was shocked and angered by the claims, and threatened to have Darrian moved in the morning to a center interested in helping her recover. The doctors decided it was futile to argue with the old woman. Besides, they could not explain the events earlier and were interested now in keeping Darrian on life support so they could study her for further activity. Matilda kept watch over the nurse's station. It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop. Instead, Matilda heard the unmistakable sound of a bed being wheeled down the hallway towards her. Two men dressed in black slid past Matilda, who glanced up at them then back down at the magazine she was reading. They wheeled the bed into the room where Darrian and the six other patients were. Swiftly, they hurry to move Darrian's limp body to the bed they wheeled in. Her eyes flew open and her arms swing, causing the men to drop her back down on her hospital bed. They tied her wrists and ankles together and as she moved her body back and forth they transferred her to the mobile bed. She goes limp again, and the men smile at each other in satisfaction. They are unaware that the other patients around them have stirred. The three patients not connected to respirators sit up, swing their legs around to the ground, and stand on wobbly legs. Their beds are shadowed in darkness which the men cannot see inside of. The patients each lifted one of the various machines around them, exhibiting extraordinary strength. Without warning, they rushed up to the men and toss the machines into their heads. One of the men was immediately disabled, lying unconscious on the floor. The second man sat up, astounded, and reached for his gun but was thwarted by one of the patients, who grabbed the gun and shot a bullet into the man's head. At the nurse's station, Matilda heard the first shot, followed by a second and smiled. Outloud, she said, "Ah, they had to kill the little bitch." LABYRINTH I (5/5) By BREE DAVIS breedavis@rocketmail.com Summary and disclaimer appear in Part One. ROBERT MEMORIAL HOSPITAL 10:15 AM Mulder received a call at 10:00 AM that there had been a disturbance overnight in Darrian Mackenzie's hospital room. By that time, Scully had already left to aid in the autopsy of Troy Howell, so Mulder drove to Robert Memorial Hospital himself. When he arrived, three doctors were immersed in tense conversation over the happenings. Emily Wilhelm was there, too, and rushed up to Agent Mulder when he arrived. "Thank God you are here!" she said. "Darrian's trying to communicate again." The old woman took ahold of Mulder's arm and pulled him with her into the room where Darrian was staying. There were other patients in the room with her, in the same vegetative condition as Darrian. Except Darrian wasn't in a vegetative condition anymore. Although she didn't seem able to see, she mumbled and moaned. "What is she saying?" Mulder wondered. "I don't know. I can't understand her, " Emily said. "My hearing's not so good." A doctor walked in and answered, "She's saying 'Bud'." "Bud?" Mulder asked. "What could that possibly mean?" Emily smiled thinly and shook her head. "Even near death, and Darrian wants a beer." "I was told there were two deaths her last night, " Mulder told the doctor. "It wasn't my sweet Darrian, " Emily piped in. "No, it wasn't Darrian." "Yes, " the doctor said reluctantly. "It's quite perplexing if you ask me. From the way it looked here this morning, and from a nurse's account, these patients suddenly 'came to life', brutalized two trespassers who were attempting to remove Miss Mackenzie from the room, then shot the would-be kidnappers." "These patients?" Mulder asked, looking from bed to bed and the motionless patients. "Apparently, " the doctor replied. "As I said, it's perplexing." "Were the two dead men identified?" Mulder asked. The doctor shrugged. "I don't know, to tell you the truth. The police were here earlier asking if I knew where Nurse Matilda might have gone. I don't know if they think she was involved-" "She was the nurse on duty this morning?" "Yes. And now she's vanished, " the doctor said. "And this patient's brain activity continues to go back and forth from functioning to nothing. This is unheard of my field. I can't explain it." "Bud, Bud, Bud, BUD, BUD, BUD, BUD, BUD, " Darrian said, her voice growing from a whisper to a blood curdling scream before her body went limp. TREEMLEY MEDICAL INSTITUTION 10:45 AM "Mulder, it's me, " Scully said, clutching the receiver of the telephone that was sitting on the desk of the medical examiner. "The ME and I just finished the autopsy of Troy Howell." "And?" "And Officer Jacobi is right. Troy Howell did not kill himself. Actually, there are still hand print marks on his neck, " Scully explained. "He was strangled, " Mulder deduced. Scully nodded. "He sure was. By someone's bare hands." "Listen, Scully, I'm on my way to Sibley House. I think it's time Sam Fisher and I have another talk. A candid talk, " Mulder said. "Two men were murdered in Darrian Mackenzie's hospital room, and Darrian Mackenzie spoke." "She spoke? I thought she was brain dead, " Scully said. "Well, sometimes she is, sometimes she isn't, " Mulder replied. "Darrian keeps saying the word 'bud' over and over. And the nurse on duty last night is nowhere to be found." "Bud? Isn't that what the girls called Dr. Dobbins at Sibley House?" Scully asked, remembering the encounter at Sibley House. Mulder paused before saying, "You're right. That is what the girls called Dr. Dobbins. I guess I'll be paying both Sam Fisher and this Dr. Dobbins AKA Bud a visit." "OK. I'll see you later. I'm going to finish up here then I'll call to find out if either Dobbins or Fisher has anything new to say, " Scully said, putting the receiver down. Scully began to leave the office, and the phone rang. The ME's secretary answered. "Agent Scully! Wait!" the secretary said, extending the receiver to Scully. "It's for you." Scully took the phone from the secretary. "Scully, " she answered. "Agent Scully? This is Officer Jacobi. I'm at Gold Point PD, and a phone call just came in from a girl named Natasha who demands to speak with either you or Mulder. I think it's the missing girl from Sibley House, and maybe she knows something. I'm going to transfer the call to you there at the hospital." "OK." Scully waited a few seconds until the phone clicked and she could hear the faint sound of a girl sniffling. "Natasha, " Scully said softly. "Is that you?" "I can't talk to you now. I need to meet you, " Natasha said. "I need to meet you." "Are you all right, Natasha?" Scully asked. Natasha paused. "I'm OK, but I'm scared. They're going to kill me. I don't want to die." "Who's going to kill you?" "THEY are. They're going to kill me!" SIBLEY HOUSE NOON After Mulder arrived at Sibley House, he let himself in the unlocked home and made his way to Sam Fisher's office. Sam Fisher was sitting at his desk, frozen. When Mulder walked in, Sam barely glanced up. "Good afternoon, Mr. Fisher, " Mulder said. "Is it?" "We received word last night that yet another child has disappeared from here, last night, " Mulder said. Sam Fisher nodded. "It seems you were right on this girl's disappearance, calling the police just 15 minutes after you believe she left here, " Mulder said. "Yes, " Sam Fisher agreed. "Why?" "Why? Why anything anymore? It's all coming to an end, " Sam said, making eye contact with Mulder. "I might as well tell you about the Project." "The Project?" "Project Goliath, Agent Mulder. It began in 1967, when a group of his formed in hopes to cure our children of their allergies. That's all it was then, looking for a cure for allergies. My daughter was allergic to cats, and oh, how she wanted a cat. And there were others, like myself and my daughter, looking for a cure for these petty, oh how petty they were, allergies, " Sam explained. "So we formed Project Goliath and we built the Facility. A group of genius doctors formed, two men really, one of them Dr. Pedric Howell, father to the late Troy. They developed a vitamin. And it worked! Low and behold it worked! I got my daughter six cats for her 9th birthday. There were 18 girls in all, including my little girl. We began to sell the vitamin underground, and we made a huge sum of money. Then, we sponsored clinical trials of the vitamin. It never got approved by the FDA, though. In 1973, my daughter and three of the other original children, were diagnosed with leukemia. The other 14 girls were also diagnosed with the leukemia within months. "That is when the Project changed. We had to save our daughters! We had to do anything we could to save them! I founded this house in 1974 for the purpose of saving my daughter. I chose which girls to give to the Project, which girls to trade in effect for my daughter's life, and those girls were given leukemia. Our doctors came up with treatment after treatment, but nothing worked. Slowly, slowly, each of the 18 girls died. The last passed away in 1980." "But you continued with the Project?" "Of course! By that time we were a multi-million dollar organization. And we aren't the only out there, as horrible as it sounds. There is competition. The girls are taken from here, infected with every disease imaginable, and our team works on a cure. Sometimes we have developed wonderful treatments, for anything from AIDS to influenza. Other times, the girls have died within days, " Sam said. "What has happened to the girls who have lived?" Sam paused. "You saw Darrian Mackenzie, correct? She was successfully cured of herpes with a 10-day regimen of drugs developed at the Facility. Once she was cured, there was no further use for her." "So you shatter their skulls if your medicine is effective?" Mulder asked, astonished. "I don't. It is not up to me the outcome. I simply choose which child I think will not be missed, and off she goes forever. I am not involved in the rest of the process, " Sam explained. "Why Kaytren Mackenzie?" Mulder wondered. Sam shook his head. "She's a special girl. She and her father were special. They have abilities that I have never witnessed before. Brian Dobbins wanted to find out the extent of those abilities, so he took her." "Is she alive?" "I don't know, " Sam said. "IS SHE ALIVE?" "I said I don't know, damnit! I have nothing to lose now, Agent Mulder, " Sam reminded Mulder. He pulled out a thick folder that was sitting inside his desk and tossed it across the desk at Mulder. "This ought to tell you all you need to know." At that, Sam lifted his left hand which was holding a small revolver. He pointed it to his own head and just as Mulder realized what was happening, Sam Fisher pulled the trigger and ended his life. STREMBER BRIDGE GOLD POINT, OH 12:45 PM Scully glanced at her watch; 12:45. Natasha had told Scully to meet her at the bridge at 12:30 sharp, yet there was no sign of the girl. The bridge was relatively unused by traffic, located on the northern side of Gold Point, just three blocks away from the next bridge, which had been built 5 years earlier to handle the amount of traffic that usually was held back because Strember was only two lanes wide. All this was printed on a plaque that had been nailed into the bridge after it's replacement was finished, as a dedication so that in the future nobody would forget that Strember Bridge used to be such an important lifeline connecting Gold Point with Irving, Ohio. Scully was almost finished reading the huge plaque when she heard Natasha's voice. "Down here Agent Scully, " the girl called. Scully looked over the side of the bridge and saw a staircase leading to a path that enable people to cross the bridge without getting in the way of traffic. Scully walked to that end of the bridge and down the staircase to the dark underground path. She could see Natasha standing on the other end of the bridge, waiting. "Are you OK, Natasha?" Scully asked. Natasha didn't answer. She said, "Come on, Agent Scully, please hurry. I can't stay in one place too long." Scully stepped up her pace, hurrying through the path and to sunlight. As she walked into the open, she looked over and saw that Natasha wasn't alone. Standing beside her, holding a gun to the girls back, was Dr. Brian Dobbins. "Put down the gun, Dr. Dobbins, " Scully ordered, reaching for her own gun. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, " a woman from behind warned. Scully turned to find Matilda, with a gun pointed at Scully. Dr. Dobbins and Matilda ordered their captives to the top of the bridge. As Matilda continued to hold the gun to Scully, Dr. Dobbins lifted young Natasha and without warning tossed her into the bridge. Scully rushed to the side of the bridge instinctively, but was thwarted by a shot to her arm administered by Matilda. Scully quickly lost consciousness and collapsed. SIBLEY HOUSE 12:50 PM The file Sam Fisher gave to Mulder before the suicide contained over 1000 pages documenting each and every test subject of Project Goliath, starting at the most recent child and ending with the original children. Beside each child's name appeared her picture. The files contained information on the child's birth, the child's "illness" (and in some case illnesses, as some girls who were cured of one disease were then infected by another), the medication the illnesses were treated with and when, and lastly the date of the child's death. There was a page for Kaytren Mackenzie, which contained no date of death, as well as a page for Darrian; there was a page for Kathy Martinek, and Kathy's friend Olivia that Susan had spoken about. Many of the girls, now grown women, were not listed as dead. Instead, a note appeared at the bottom of her file indicating when and where she had been dumped and when was the last time her condition was checked. All of the girls were dumped at hospitals suffering from brain damage that would make it impossible for them to ever expose Project Goliath. As Mulder skimmed the pages, looking at the smiling faces of the innocent girls staring back at him frozen in time, a sickening feeling invaded his stomach. Over 85 girls had been lost to Project Goliath. He was almost ready to close the file and call for an ambulance when he reached the second to last page in the file. The girl's name was Cecily Ann Jacobsen. The page was missing many bits of information, such as the child's birthdate and date of death. What was missing from the page did not shake Mulder, as his concentration was on one part of the page and one part alone. The photograph. The face staring back at him, smiling and innocent, was not that of a stranger's lost child. The face staring back at him belonged to his sister. "Samantha, " Mulder gasped, his eyes wide, his hands shaking. "Samantha." -- End --