===================================
By L. Sumrall   sumrall@delphi.com
===================================

MULDER'S ISLAND
Somewhere in the Pacific, closer to the U.S., yet further from Death &
Mystery Island

Scully checked the water purification system & sadly shook her head. "We
can't last much longer, Mulder. Our system's about shot."
"I don't know what else we can cut back on," Mulder replied. "The sink is
overflowing with dirty dishes, we sit on the rim of the boat rather than
visit the head, we can't even take a shower."
"Yeah, and you're beginning to get pretty ripe."
"You're no primrose yourself, Scully. You should see your hair."
"I told you, leave my hair out of this! You're such a slob when it comes to
eating, the front of your shirt is encrusted with food. You disgust me!"
Mulder came over to Scully & wrapped her in his arms. "We've got to stop
this, Scully. We're both down to our last nerve & are saying things we
really don't mean. No one's to blame for us being in this predicament."
"Yes, there is." Scully's voice was muffled against his shoulder. "It's your
fault for not filling up the gas tank with enough fuel, to get us home."
Mulder roughly pushed her away from him. "That's it! I can't take any more.
I can't take *you* any more. I've gotta get off th boat!"
"Mulder, what are you---Mulder, come back here!" But it was too late, as
Mulder dashed up to the deck of the Spooky Speeder. Scully warunning after
him & got up top just in time to see him dive into the wer. "Mulder, come
back! There's no way you can swim all the way to the mainland!"
"Watch me!"
With no fuelo start the engines, Scully was foed to break out the oars &
slowly ddle in Mulder's wake. Her arms soon tired & she had to take a
break, even though her crazed partner kept on swimming. As she was wiping
the sat from her forehead, up ahead in the distance, something caught
Sculls eye. Could it be? It was! It was a small island, & whether by
designr pure coincidence, Mulder was heading straight for it. Remembering
the two previous islands they had been to, Scully hoped this one would be a
nice, deserted isle.
Mulder had already beaten her to the island as Scully paddled the Speeder
into a quiet lagoon. He was laying prostrate on the beach, panting for
breath. She dropped anchor, then leapt over the side to wade to shore. She
walked over to his side & knelt down. Fatigue seemed to have calmed Mulder
down some. "Scully, I--(pant pant) I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me.
I swear, I won't say anything negative to you again."
"And I promise to not continually throw up in your face the responsibility
of getting us into this predicament. I'll never again allude to your failing
to get us home." She looked around the grove surrounding the lagoon. "Now
that we're on land, let's go see if we can find a source of fresh water."
Mulder lazily waved his hand at that idea. "I'm--(pant pant) in no shape to
go exploring. You go on alone. I'll stay here & keep an eye on the Speeder."
"Go exploring alone? But what if I run into a dangerous animal, or a head
hunter?"
"Don't worry. With that hair of yours, no self respecting head hunter will
bother you."
Scully ve Mulder a quick kick in his shin, then dove into the brush. She
immediately found a worn path in the jungle floor leading to the lagoon. But
was it a path made by animals, or han beings? There was only one way to
find out. Silently Scully crept along the path. When she pushed aside two
large plant leaves, she was dumounded by what she saw before her.
There were four huts surrounding anpen compound. On one door was hung
life preserver with the words U.S.S. Minnow. Another hut had the womanly
touch of curtains hanging in the window. Out in the open was a long table
built of bamboo & woven palm fnds. Nearby was a large black kettle sitting
over a low buring fire, which meant that whoever lived here was still on the
island. USS Minnow. Why did that seem to ring a bell to ully?
She had to tell Mulder of what she found. Jogging back along theath to the
lagoon, Scully's blood froze when Muler was nowhere to be found, & there
were several footprints in the sand around where she had left him laying.
She went back to the boat to get sme supplies before she set out in search
of her missing partner.
First she grabbed a large rapid fire machine gun with built-in grenade
launcher, & with black tape, hooked a flame thrower on the side. She shoved
some ammo into a utility belt she wore. And finally she grabbed a motion
detector from the wall. Both she & Mulder had PDTs (Personal Data
Transmitter) implanted, so with the detector, she should be able to find him.
Standing on the beach, she swept the detector slowly around the perimeter.
It beeped when she pointed it in an easterly direction, about 50 yards away.
From her calculations, it came from the same locationhere Scully had found
the huts. The inhabitants of the island must have found Mulder & took him
back on an alternate route. She must have just missed them. Judging from the
detecr, there were at least 5 of them present. Now the question was, were
they friendly or hostile?

Taking the path she was more familiar with, Scully snuck up on the living
area. Already she could hear excited voices talking over each other.
"A boat! We're finally going to get off this island."
"You don't know how long we've been here."
"Are you part of a search part?"
"Wait, I have to tell you--" Scully sighed a breath of relief as she heard
Mulder explain to them, "We're marooned here as well. Our boat is out of
gas."
It was time to show herself. Scully stepped out of the jungle to see the 5
castaways standing around Mulder, who was resting on a stool. They were all
old & graying. A heavy set man wearing a captain's hat, another skinnier man
was wearing old-fashioned bell bottom pants & a red shirt. There was a woman
who at one time must have been attractive, but was now beginning to get what
Dana's mother called The Spread. A third man, stooped over, stood beside a
fourth who was holding a teddy ber & continually caressing the toy. A
strange group indeed!
Mulder was the first to spot her. "Scully! There she is, my partner I was
telling you about."
"Don't shoot!" the skinny man cried as he raised his arms above his head.
The captain took off his hat & whacked the skinny man on the head.
"Dot worry, she's not going to shoot anyone," Mulder assured them. He held
up a coconut shell. "Scully, water!"
She ran over to Mulder, grabbed the shell, & gulped down the refreshing
liquid. The sole woman of the group looked Scully up & down criticall "I
hope that's not how women are wearing their hair these days."
Mulder motioned for Scully to take a sto next to him. "They found me
moments after you left. Let me introduce everyone. This is the Skipper." The
fat man nodded to her. "He was the captain of the Minnow. This is his first
mate, Gilligan. And guess who this is!" he said, indicating the graying red
head. "Ginger Grant!"
"The movie star who disappeared all those ars ago?"
"That's right, honey." Ginger turned to Mulder with bedroom eyes (spoiled by
the fact she had become near sighted) & in a husky breath said, "Fox
recognized me right away."
"Sure did. My father was a big fan of yours, back when you were popular. We
used to watch your movies on tv together when I was a toddler."
Ginger frowned, & with a 'hmph', went to fiddle with what was cooking in the
pot.
"That's quite an interesting weapon you have there, Miss Scully. May I?" It
was the stooped man who was wanting to look at her gun. Scully carefully
handed it over.
"Oh yeah, this is the Professor."
The Professor squinted at what he held. "The army's gotten more dangerous
since we've been missing."
"Actually, we're with the FBI. Just how long have you been stranded here,"
Scully asked.
"Over 30 years. Thirty long years," the Professor answered as he handed the
gun back to her.
Mulder elbowed her & whispered, "And the guy sitting over there is none
other than Thurston Howell III."
"The millionaire!"
"Imagine, all these years he & his wife have been missing, & he was on this
island. That sure blows my theory of what happened to him."
"Let me guess, you thought he'd been abducted by aliens."
"No, I thought he been sucked through a trans-dimensional vortex."
Scully realized that as the millionaire stroked his teddy bear, he was
crooning to it, "We're rescued, Lovey. We'll be going home. What? Yes, I'll
remember to pack your mink coat. Can't leave that behind, Lovey."
Mulder & Scully exchanged significant glances. "You'll have to excuse Mr.
Howell," Gilligan explained in a hushed voice. "He's never recovered over
losing Mrs. Howell."
"What happened to her?" Mulder asked.
"She was...killed."
"Oh, I'm sor."
"Never mind that," Skipper interjected. "Now we have a chance to finally
make it home. We've got a seaworthy vessel, all we have to do now  make
some fuel for it."
"It's not that easy, Skipper," Mulder replied. "You can't just 'make' fuel."
"You don't know the Professor."
"Hmm, yes," the Professor nodded. "First, I'll need to get on the Spooky
Speeder to study it's engine." But at that moment there was a loud growling
from Mulder's stomach. "But that can wait. I'm sure you two are starving,
& Ginger's made some fresh fish stew. And for dessert, there's a coconut
cream pie."
"Coconut cream pie!" Gilligan wailed, then started to cry.
Skipper again took off his battered hat & whacked the first mate. "Stop
that, Gilligan."
"Hey, don't hit him when the man is obviously upset!" Scully came to
Gilligan's defense.
"That's okay," Gilligan sniffed, wiping the tears away. "I'm used to it. The
Professor's right, let's eat."
After feasting on fresh food after days of prepackaged dried concentrate,
Mulder was sated to a stupor. He went over to a palm tree, stretched out in
the shade, & promptly fell asleep. Scully tried to run her fingers through
her tangled hair. "Is there a place around here where I can take a bath?"
"There's a private pond we use for that. Come on, I'll show you," Ginger
offered. She showed Scully the pond, & the agent immediately sh her
clothes & jumped in with glee. Using a bar of coconut soap Ginger had
provided, Scully lathered up all over, luxuriating in the feeling of
cleanliness. As she was coming out of the water, she saw that her discarded
clothing had been taken away, & Ginger was standing with a change of outfit.
"Before you get too comfortable," Ginger started, "Don't expect me to be
your maid. I'm a movie sr, after all. I put your clothes in with the other
dirty ones that need to be washed. Here, you're about her size, so I brought
you some of MaryAnn's old things."
Scully changed into a pair of shorts & a plaid shirt that she tied at her
midriff. She so found two hair bows & tied her ort hair up into
pigtails. "MaryAnn? I didn't meet her. Where is she?"She's...dead. MaryAnn used to be the cook around here. She used to make
the best coconut cream pies. That's why Gilligan started crying when he
heard what was for dessert. He was always kind of sweet on her."
"I'm rry. Do you mind if I ask what happened to her?"
"I--I've got to get back to camp and--and wash the dishes," Ginger stuttered
out as she turned & practically ran away. Scully's senses were immediately
alert. First there was Gilligan's hesitant explanation of Mrs. Howell's
fate, & now here Ginger was also reluctant to mention the death of MaryAnn.
Both had been killed, indicating a violent end. Were they killed in the same
fashion? Did they die at the same time? Scully sense a mystery here.    

Mulder was hovering at that plateau right before waking. He knew something
had woken him up, but he wasn't sure what. It wasn't so much a sounas a
vibration. Yes, there it was again, the light shaking of the ground beneath
him. It wasn't a steady shaking, like a mini earthquake, but steady thump,
as if a giant was waing around.
Mulder yawned & stretcd, seeing the Professor sitting nearby quietly
waiting for him to wake up. "I didn't mean to sleep so long. I know you're
anxious to see the engines of the Speeder."
"That's all right. I could tell you were exhausted. Besides, it's too late
in the day to really do any work."
"Say, Professor. Just now I experienced the strangest sensation. The ground
was shaking. Not much, but enough for me to notice, like something big was
walking around nearby."
"That's--that's nothing. It's only--only the volcano. Yes, we have a volcano
here on the other side of the island. That's all you felt, the volcano
rumbling. Nothing more."
"Sure, Professor." But there was no mistaking the man getting upset at the
comparison Mulder had made of the shaking as something large treading the
earth. "Have you seen Scully?"
"I believe Ginger has her on wash detail. Over there."
Mulder walked behind one of the huts to find Scully on top of a strange
contraption. She was peddling a crude bicycle made out of bamboo poles. It
was connect to an old oil barrel full of sloshing soapy water & clothes.cully's peddling made the makeshift washer agitate.
"Hey, this is neat."
"I'm glad you like it." Scully hopped off. "Now it's your turn. In the words
of Ginger 'I'm A Movie Star' Grant, everyone pulls their weight around here."
Mulder started bicycling, giving Scully's new clothes the once over. "Well
now, don't you look like the down home farm girl. Rebec of Scullybrook
Farm."
"These beloed to another castaway, MaryAnn. S's dead; killed, as was
Mrs. Howell. Doesn't that make you wonder? Two women killed, & no one wants
to talabout it. They're reluctant to even mention them."
"But look at it this way, Scully. When someone is tragically absent, you
wouldn't want to continually bring up the fact. It would be painful. It's so
painful for Mr. Howell, that he's lost touch with reality. There's no
mystery here." The words were barely out of his mou when both agents heard
a far off cry. It didn't sound human, but neither was able to pinpoint what
kind of animal could have made such a sound.
"I wonder what that was," Scully sed.
Suddenly the camp was filled with castaways. Scully noticed they all seemed
pale & worried. "Time for bed!" the Skipper announced. "The sun's starting
to set. It'll be dark soon. Time to go to bed!"
"But we're not through washing yet," Mulder pointed out.
"Forget the clothes!" Ginger snapped (ha). She was visibly upset. "It's time
for bed!"
"Lovey! Lovey!" Mr. Howell moaned, clutching the teddy bear even tighter.
Gilligan spoke soothingly to the millionaire as he led him into a hut.
Scully & Mulder turned to the others.
"What's going on?"
"Simple basics we've learned over the years," the Professor said. "When the
sun goes down, the animals on the island become more active." There was
another strange cry, this time a bit closer. The Professor gulped. "Very
active. Believe me, it's safer for all of us to go to our huts. Miss Scully,
you'll stay with Ginger in the girl's hut."
"And we'll set up another hammock for you, Mr. Mulder," Skipper said, as he
basically pulled Mulder off the washinmachine & started dragging him to
the hut. Scully was similarly pushed towards a hut by Ginger. As Mulder
tered the shelter, he was surpriseto find that the hut was false. Inhe
middle of the floor was a hole g into the ground. It was a tunnel leading
to a deep hidden cavern beneath the surface, where they were toeally
sleep. Mulder assumed all thhuts had a similar cellar.
Mulder d to bend his tall frame over to kp his head from banging against
the roof as he helped Gilligan string up his bed. "I can understand digging
out a safe hole to stay in, if the animals are dangerous, but aren't there
any caves above ground you all could have perhaps stayed in?"
Gilligan shook his head. "No, not the caves. Stay away from the caves. Giant
spiders. HUGE spiders. Stay away from the caves."
"Then why the huts above?"
"We used to live in the huts, but that was before--"
Skipper smacked Gilligan with his hat. "Enough chattering, Gilligan. You'll
keep us all awake."
As Mulder laid there in the dark, his mind raced with questions. What were
the castaways afraid of? What kind of animals were on this island? What was
Gilligan saying, beside talking about humongous spiders, that the Skipper
swiftly hushed him? Maybe Scully was right. Maybe there was a mystery here.

Since he had taken that long nap in the afternoon, Mulder was far from
sleepy. Judging from the steady breathing & snores coming from the other 2,
they were well asleep. Carefully lowering himself outof the hammock, Mulder
silently felt his way to the opening of the tunnel, & back up to the
surface. The moon was almost full, & casting eugh light that he could walk
around. He left the hut & was standing at the table when he felt he was no
longer alone.
"Mulder," Scully whispered.
"You couldn't sleep either. You're right, Dana. Things are certainly not
right here." He told her what Gilligan had said. "I wonder if that's how
Mrs. Howell & MaryAnn were killed, by these animals everyone is so deathly
afraid of."
"But as you said Gilligan let slip, there was a time when they all lived
above ground & weren't afraid. Then something has been added only recently."
There was a beep. "What was that," Mulder asked.
"My motion detector. I forgot I left it on." She unsnapped it from her belt
& swept it slowly around them. "Mulder, there's somthing out there."
"Ohh, I've been saying that for years. What've you got?"
"There's seral of them, whatever they are. They're moving in groups in a
hunting formation, about 40 yards from here. They're big, about human size,
but moving fast. Shall we go investigate?"
"Uh, I'm not that curious."
"Her this should make you feel safer." She tossed him the
gun/flamethrower. "Let's go." Mulder followed close hind her as they
stealthily made their way towards the life forms detected. After several
minutes, Scully stopped. "Did you hear that? It sound like a pig."
"Wild pigs are indigenous to some of the islands in theacific."
"That's what's being hunted. Look." She showed him the small ad out of the
motion detector. Thearge, fast moving animals they had originally
detected, were starting  circle in on a slower moving blip that indicated
the wild pig. Suddenly there was a crashing sound up ahead of the pair, as
the air was rent with the squeals of the dying pig, along with almost bird-
like shrieks."
"You know, Scully, I always say: when on Gilligna's island, do as the
islanders. Let's get back to the safety of the holes."
"I'm with you, partner." Mulder covered their retreat as they made their way
back to camp. They both slipped back to their respected beds, both wondering
what was out there in the night.

The next morning, they found the washing machine had been demolished. Ginger
was crying over her ruined dress as the Professor was comforting her. "Here,
don't cry. It doesn't matter now. We'll be leaving the island soon, & you
can get all the new dresses you want."
"Get away from me, you old fart! This is all your fault!" Ginger stomped
away to be alone.
Scully picked up a ruined shirt. "Look at this. It's been shredded."
"Look at these prints in the sand," Mulder knelt down & pointed to. Both
were surprised when the Skipper brushed the prints away with his shoe.
"Like the Professor said, it doesn't matter. Speaking of which, the faster
he gets a look at your boat to get some idea of what kind of fuel he can
make, the faster we can get away."
"I'll take u, Professor," Scully offered. As she passed Mulder she
whispered, "Ta with these people. Find out what's going on. Concentrate on
Gilligan.e'll most likely be the one to let something slip." Mulder nodded.

"Oh my. Oh yes! Ingenious, simply ingeous," the ecstatic man enthused once
he got an eyeful of the Spooky Speeder.
"Not so ingenious that it coun't run out of gas," Scully laughed. "If
there is a way you can produce the fuel we can use, the Speeder will get us
back to the US in no time flat. I can tell you're anxious to get away from
the island you've beeniving on for 30 years."
The Professor rubbed his head. "You have no idea, Miss Scully."
"Please, call me Dana. Um, Professor, if you don't mind me asking, what
exactly did Ginger mean when she said this was 'all your fault'?"
"She only meant--it was my fault for leaving the washer out in the open.
Yes, I should have packed it away before it got so late."
"Then it's really our fault since it was our dirty clothes that were being
washed." 
"Don't blame yourself." The Professor heaved a sad sigh. "Ginger's right. It
is all my fault. If I hadn't had the hubris to..." but he didn't finish his
sentence. Shaking off his gloom, he enthusiastically announced, "I don't
think it will be any problem to manufacture a fuel for your Spooky Speeder."
"Really? But how is that? Do you have an oil well somewhere on the island?"
"Better than that. Coconuts."
"Coconuts?"
"Yes. You wouldn't believe all the things I've fashioned out of nothing but
coconuts, bamboo, sea shells, & palm fronds. After all, necessity is the
mother of invention." 

Back on shore, the Professor went to his workshop to start right away.
Gilligan was ordered to collect as many coconuts as hcould. Scully found
Mulder & told m the news. "What about you? Did y learn anything?"
"Did I! Scully, nothing about these people make sens They all say the
Minnow started off on a 3 hour tour, that's all, a 3 hour tour. Yet they
brought all these clothes along with them. At lest, the women & the Howells
did. From what I gathered, the Skipper, Gilligan, & the Professor have been
wearing the same clothes since they've been here, yet they haven't turned to
rags. And you would think after living with the same people for 30 years,
you'd learn their names. But Skipper has always been called the Skipper, as
well as Professor being called by his title; and I still have no idea
whether 'Gilligan' is his first name or last name. As for the Howells,
Thurston Howell has a trunk full of money. At least a million dollars! What
was he doing with all that hard cash on such a short cruise? They have
records, a vanity mirror, sheets for their beds, & a convenient kettle that
had been brought along. And Scully, no one on this island has had sex in the
past 30 years! At least, sex involving two or more people. This whole island
is an X File!"
"But did you learn anything about whatever it is out there the castaways are
afraid of?"
"All I could gather from Gilligan is that whatever happened was only within
the past year or s & that the Professor was behind it. He's the key to all
this."
"I sayif they're going to use our boat to get off this island, the least
thecould do is tell us the truth, & right now!" Scully started for the
Pressor's hut. They walked up to theoor & threw it open. "Professor,
it's time we talked!"
"Ah, Dana, Agent Mulder. You're just in time. I've t it." The man held up
a coconut sll filled with a milky liquid.
Mulder looked at it with amazement. "Th's it? That small amount is
supposed to get us to the mainland?"
"It'soncentrated, Mr. Mulder. Why, if I had a whole gallon of this stuff,
I think we could fly to the moon."
Before anyone could go on, there was a huge explosion outside. They all
rushed out of the hut, Mulder & Scully forgetting their demands for the
truth. Gilligan was running into the clearing, pointing over his shoulder.
"It's the volcano. It's erupting!"
"Oh my God," Professor murmured. "The volcano will drive them towards us."
"Them?" Mulder repeated. "Them who? Professor, we deserve to know."
"You're right. We should have told you from the beginning, but we were
afraid that if you knew, you wouldn't rescue us. It's all my fault. All I
was trying to do was invent a glow in the dark formula to signal passing
ships & planes in the night, when I stumbled upon it."
"Upon what?"
"The ability to clone dinosaur DNA from blood preserved in mosquitos frozen
in amber."
"Clone dinosaurs!" Scully & Mulder shouted together. "Do you mean that's
what was out there last night we were hiding from: dinosaurs?" Mulder asked.
"They were cute at first. So small, like pets. That's how we treated them.
Mrs. Howell especially liked her Tyrannosaur. She called it Foo Foo, which
sounded pretty silly as the thing grew bigger. Then one day--we just turned
around, and--and it ate her! Right in front  us, it gulped her down!" The
Professor was sobbing into his hand. "Lile MaryAnn was the next. She had
to visit the latrine one night. It waa flock of Raptors that got her. A
that remained of her the next morning was a single, bloodied hair bow."
"We've got to get off this island Skipper was shouting as he came running
up. "If the dinosaurs don't kill us, the volcano will!"
"Skipper's right," Mulder agreed. "No time toegret past actions. Let's get
the el back to the Speeder & get the hl out of here!"
The Professor, gingerly holding the coconut shell, started walking as fast
as he could, but his bones & joints were old & arthritic. "I'm afraid
someone else will have to carry the fuel."
"Here, I'll do it," Gilligan offered, taking the shell & sloshing some of
the precious fuel into the sand.
"Oh no you n't!" Skipper snatched the coconut shell away from the first
mate. "After living with you for 30 years, I know what would happen if left
to you. You'd trip over a vine & spill it all, & there's no time for the
Professor to make a new batch. I'll carry it."
"You're too fat & slow," Ginger barked, yanking the shell away. "I'll take
the fuel to the boat."
"Lovey, they're starting the Kentucky Derby early, don't you think?" Mr.
Howell asked his teddy bear, mistaking the volcanic explosions for a
starting pistol. Skipper & Gilligan each grabbed an arm of the millionaire &
hustled him to the lagoon.

"Leave me here," the Professor said. "I deserve to die this way for meddling
with nature. Maybe my death will atone for the deaths of Mrs. Howell &
MaryAnn."
"No time for that, Professor," Mulder said, as he heard the shrieking
similar to the sounds he & Scully had heard last night. Probably Raptors, &
they were coming this way. Mulder bent down & heaved the old man over his
shoulders in a fireman's carry.
"I'll cover our backs," Scully said as she switched off the safety of the
gun.
Professor, bouncing on the back of Mulder, cried out to her, "Your right!"
Scully whirled as the large head of a Raptor poked through the brush, it's
mouth filled with razor sharp teeth. Scully squeezed the trigger, letting
several rounds rip the dinosaur's throat open. The Raptors were trying to
encircle the humans, like they had the pig last night. Scully was firing
left & right, littering the path with bleeding bodies of once-extinct
animals, but for every one that fell, another seemed to take it's place.
Scully squeezed the trigger again, but there was no response. She spared a
second to glance down & see the counter at 00. "Damnit!" She then lit the
flame thrower & laid down a suppressing fire. The dry timber quickly spread
the flames. Thick black smoke filled their eyes, making visibility almost
nil, but they were at the lagoon. The others had already climbed aboard &
were urging the three on.
"C'mon, Scully!" Mulder shouted, shoving the Professor up to the arms of
Skipper & Gilligan. Scully was standing near the edge of the water, torching
the remaining jungle, when out of the dark clouds of smoke emerged the
nightmarish vision of a T. Rex. "Scully!"
The dinosaur had it's huge mouth open, coming down on where Scully was
standing. Scully pumped a grenade into the tube, & as the gaping maw came
closer, she launched the grenade at the back of the Rex's throat. The
dinosaur reared back, an almost comical expression on it's face as it
wondered what exactly it had swallowed. In the next moment, there was the
muffled sound of an explosion, as the Rex's stomach was violently expelled
out of it's body, all over Scully.
"Eww!"
"Scully, timber!" Mulder warned. Scully dropped her gun & dove into the
water, swimming to the boat as the gigantic corpse of the Rex slowly fell
over where she had been a second ago. The resounding splash washed her upon
the deck of the Speeder. "Are you all right?"
She wiped gunk from her eyes. "I'm covered with dinosaur guts!"
"That doesn't matter," he replied, as he covered her mouth with his own.
Scully stared at him. "Mulder, I never knew!"
"Don't be stupid, of course you knew. Now let's get this boat refueled."
They thundered down the stairs to the rear of the Speeder, where everyone
was gathered. Professor was standing with a funnel stuck in the gas tank,
holding the coconut shell at it's rim.
"Here goes nothing," he said, & poured the concoction in. There was an
immediate reaction, as they were all thrown violently down when the Speeder
roared to life & the bow of the boat lifted up out of the water as they
zoomed away from the exploding island.
As Mulder was helping Scully to her feet, he did a quick head count. "Wait a
minute, we're all down here. Who's driving the boat?"
"Lovey is," Howell explained. "Lovey always did love to drive our yacht."
Mulder & Scully looked at each other, then raced back up to the deck to find
the teddy bear propped on top of the wheel. "Well, at least Lovey guided us
out of the lagoon," Mulder commented, handing the bear to Scully.

All the castaways unashamedly cried as Mulder steered the Spooky Speeder
into the dock in Hawaii. "This is where it all started," Skipper said.
"And this is where it ends." Scully patted the big man on the shoulder.
"You're back to civilization. Back to inside plumbing, satellite tv,
telephones, computers,--"
"Women!" Gilligan shouted, pointing at some ladies in bikinis walking along
the dock.
"Hey," Ginger pouted. "What am I, chopped liver?"
Professor looked up & down Ginger's wide body, then back at the bathing
beauties. "Women!"
Mulder docked the boat, where they were met by the Coast Guard. They
welcomed the castaways to Hawaii, & took them off to the hospital so they
could all be checked out. Before the Professor got into the car, Mulder had
pulled him aside. "Professor, I think it might be a good idea if none of you
made mention of your experiment. There's no telling what would happen if
your knowledge fell into the wrong hands, say Steven Spielberg, for example."
Professor nodded. "You're absolutely right, Mr. Mulder."
"Call me Fox."
"Fox? I think I'll stick with Mr. Mulder."
Mulder & Scully waved them off. Scully sighed as Mulder rested his arm
around her shoulder. "It'll be so good to get back home. After all we've
been through, it's time for a vacation. Somewhere far away from the ocean.
How about skiing in the Rockies?"
"No time, Scully. One of the Coast Guard handed this to me when we docked.
It's an X File from Skinner."
"What is it?"
"There's a mysteriuos new beverage being sold to the unassuming public. Our
assignment is to find out just what this Zima stuff is. To the X Mobile!"
"We left the X Mobile in San Francisco."
"Oh. Well, to the Spooky Speeder to get to the X Mobile!"

The End