Date sent: Tue, 6 Jan 1998 18:23:55 -0500 From: Erin Carter Title: Prehistoric X-File Author: Kirsten Wahlquist E-mail: 74720.1275@compuserve.com Rating: PG Category: X Spoilers: none Keywords: Mulder/Scully UST Summary: Mulder and Scully are called in to investigate strange disappearances on a remote island. But can they survive? Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully are owned by Chris Carter, 1013 Productions, and Fox, yatta yatta yatta, whatever. Everyone else is a figment of my imagination. Prehistoric X-File By Kirsten Wahlquist Nathaniel Skinner climbed through the dense jungle. As he crept through the bushes, he kept his eyes open for any animals that happened to cross his path. It was in his biologist's nature. While he and his partner, Jonathan Hawke, were taking a helicopter out to a remote island, he had noticed a smaller one that wasn't on the map. Being the adventurous type, Nathaniel asked the pilot to drop them off there instead. The pilot had protested fiercely, warning them that it was an island of death. But he eventually obliged and set them down, then left. They was scheduled to be picked up the next day. Nathaniel stopped and took off his backpack, and Jonathan followed suit. The terrain was very hilly, and they stopped for several breaks. "Nat," Jonathan began. "How much farther are we going to go before we set up camp?" Nat looked around. "How about here?" "All right," Jonathan answered, glancing toward the slowly sinking sun. They began to unpack the tent and set it up. As they did so, Jonathan heard a low rumble. His head shot up and startled Nat. "What?" "Did you hear that?" "Hear what?" Nat was puzzled. "There was a low rumbling noise. Almost like a groan." Nat shook his head and they continued to work. A short time later, Nat and Jonathan were sitting beside a small fire. They ate quickly; all the bushwhacking had made them hungry. "What time are we being picked up tomorrow?" Jonathan questioned. "They'll pick us up at five P.M.," came the reply. Jonathan nodded, but kept quiet. "I think we'll head north in the morning and check out that river." "Yeah, who knows what interesting stuff there will be there." Jonathan wasn't quite as interested in fish. He enjoyed studying the carnivores. But Nat tended to look for the less fierce animals-deer, rabbits, birds. It was one of the few things they ever really argued about. From then on, they ate in silence. When it came time to go to sleep, Jonathan wandered into the jungle to go to the bathroom. Nat waited back at camp for him. After being gone fifteen minutes, Nat grew worried. He hadn't heard anything from Jonathan, and was curious as to where he had gone. Nat stood and went in the direction Jonathan had gone. "Jonathan," he called repeatedly. No answer. After five minutes of walking, Nat stopped and furrowed his brow. There was and awful stench. The stench of a body. He began his search again, fear racing throughout him. A rustling in the bushes stopped him in his tracks. "It's nothing," he whispered hopefully. But the rustling continued, frightening him. Nat looked toward the bushes slowly. He nearly screamed when he saw the eye glaring back at him. Nat bit his lower lip, resisting the urge to run. He heard another rustling in the foliage behind him. Nat whirled around to see a large figure leap from the underbrush. He lost all control, and let out a blood- curdling scream. Nat felt the razor-sharp claws dig into his gut. He was faintly aware of more creatures speeding toward him. A second animal bit into his head. That was the last thought he had. *** Mulder dropped the folder in front of his partner, Agent Dana Scully. She looked at it, then up at Mulder. "One month ago, two biologists, Nathaniel Skinner and his partner, Jonathan Hawke, disappeared while on a research trip. Apparently, they made an unscheduled stop at an island that wasn't on the map. They were supposed to be picked up the next day, but they never arrived at the rendez- vous point," Mulder explained. Scully glanced at the hand-drawn map. "Who made this?" she questioned. "The pilot had it. It was his map showing which island to avoid." "Avoid?" Scully was curious as to what was wrong with it. "According to the area's residents, the people who have gone to the island haven't come back. They think of it as a place of death," Mulder reiterated. "Are there any theories as to what may have happened to these biologists?" Scully queried. "Not so far," Mulder informed her. Scully eyeballed him. "This isn't something that seems like it would catch your eye, Mulder. What's so special about it?" Mulder let a lopsided smile creep across his face. "Let's just say it has it's paranormal aura about it." Scully raised an eyebrow. "We're being picked up tomorrow at eight A.M. to be taken to the island." Scully nodded, and Mulder picked up his coat and headed for the door. "See you in the morning," he called over his shoulder. *** The helicopter circled the island, and it gave Mulder an idea of it's terrain. "You're sure you want to do this?" the pilot asked cautiously. "You'll be killed for sure." Mulder nodded gravely. The pilot took the chopper down toward a large clearing. He landed, and Mulder and Scully picked up their backpacks and climbed out. "What time should I be back tomorrow?" the pilot yelled over the noise of the engine. "Four o'clock, before it gets dark," Mulder called back. The pilot nodded. Mulder and Scully backed up, and he lifted up and flew away. They were on their own. Scully glanced at her watch. It was two in the afternoon. They still had a few hours left before they were in the dark. Mulder pointed toward a beaten path through the undergrowth. "It looks like that's the way they went," he commented. "Let's go." The sun was well on it's descent in the western sky. In an hour or two, they would have to give up their search and hole up for the night. "Mulder, over there," Scully pointed out. Mulder jogged up beside her. Ahead was a tent, set up but unused. Mulder unzipped the tent and looked in. There was no one there. He shook his head. "There's ashes in this firepit," Scully announced. "Obviously they were here." Mulder looked around. "A path," he said, noticing the beaten down bushes. Scully crossed the campsite to the trail and began to follow it, and Mulder came after her. After a few minutes of walking, Scully stopped. She wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Do you smell that, Mulder?" she asked him. Mulder, too, wrinkled his nose at the scent. "It smells like a body," he said, stating the obvious. Scully nodded in agreement and began to look for the corpse. Mulder pulled back several bushes. He pulled back one branch and then leapt back. Scully came to his side. He pulled the limb back again, and Scully furrowed her eyebrows. Before them lay the body of one of the biologists. Or what was left of it. "He looks like he was attacked," Mulder observed. "Brutally," added Scully, stooping over the remains. "Whatever it was disemboweled him, then ate him." Mulder cringed at the thought. Mulder looked up and saw the rapidly sinking sun. "We'd better find a place to sleep, before we have no sunlight left," he advised. "Yeah," Scully said in agreement. She stood up, then followed Mulder as he led the way back to the biologists' camp. *** As Mulder and Scully sat around the fire, they discussed the case. "Well, we've found one of the biologists," Scully announced. "Yeah, but we still don't know what killed him. And the other may still be alive, we just don't know." Scully watched him intently as he spoke. "It seems apparent to me that he was attacked," she pointed out. "Oh, I think so too, don't get me wrong," Mulder agreed. "What I'm saying is we don't know *what* attacked him." Scully nodded, and Mulder paused. "I have a theory." At this, Scully rolled her eyes. "What if there's some species here that doesn't exist anywhere else? What if these biologists were attacked by this unknown animal?" "That's rather scientific, Mulder. It's unlike you," Scully said, smiling. Mulder grinned, and let out a nearly- silent laugh. "It's getting late. I'm going to go to bed," Mulder informed her. Scully looked at her watch. It was eleven P.M. Mulder stood and walked toward the tent. Scully decided she better get some sleep, too, and followed him. The sleeping bags were warm in comparison to the ever-cooling night. In an instant, they were both asleep. *** About one o'clock in the morning, Scully awoke with a start. She heard a deep booming noise, and felt slight tremors in the ground. She sat up and listened. The tremors and their accompanying noises continued. They became louder and louder, and Scully began to get nervous. As the noise became nearby, the moonlight created a great shadow on the tent. It was oddly-shaped. What Scully guessed to be a head lowered down to the tent and made sniffing noises. The sniffing roused Mulder from his sleep. He dimly saw Scully sitting up, stock straight, in her sleeping bag. "Scully?" whispered. She turned to face him, and held her index finger up to her mouth to quiet him. Scully silently pointed toward the tent's entrance, where the shadow played like a movie. Mulder saw this, and his jaw dropped in surprise. The creature let out a strong breath, and nudged the tent. Scully began to tremble ever-so-slightly. It then began to kick at the tent. Scully climbed out of her sleeping bag, as did Mulder. The tent pitched to the side, and tore open. Scully now had a clear view of what had attacked them. And it had a clear view of them. To Mulder, it looked like a dinosaur, a tyrannosaur. It was probably about twenty feet tall. The tyrannosaur put his head up and roared, and Mulder and Scully covered their ears. The tyrannosaur must have seen something, because it turned away to stare. Mulder crawled quickly toward Scully. She was visibly terrified. "Scully, we have to get out of here. Crawl as quietly as you can toward the trees, and wait there," he whispered. "What are you going to do?" she asked. He just shook his head. "Go," he whispered. Scully needed no further orders, and scrambled toward the trees. The tyrannosaur must have sensed her movement, because he whirled around. Scully froze, terrified. It took one giant step, then another. Scully didn't realize it, but she was trembling. Suddenly, she heard yelling. It was Mulder. "Hey! Over here!" They tyrannosaur turned to face Mulder. He had a flashlight, and had turned it on. He was waving it frantically in the air. "He's going to get himself killed!" Scully exclaimed under her breath. But Mulder threw the flashlight. As the tyrannosaur turned to follow it, it's tail knocked down a small tree-right onto Scully. Scully heard Mulder coming toward her, and she pulled herself out from under the fallen tree. Mulder grabbed her arm. "I'm fine," she told him, although she had a rather large wound on her forehead. They began to run as far as they could from the tent, But Mulder heard the tyrannosaur crashing after them. He pointed at a large tree nearby. Scully nodded, and they dashed for it. Upon reaching it, they climbed hastily. The tyrannosaur charged after them, but Mulder and Scully climbed faster. They were too high for it to reach. Scully breathed a sigh of relief as the immense dinosaur gave up and left. "I think we'd best spend the night here," Mulder advised. "You're right. I don't want to go through that again," Scully agreed. Mulder looked at the gash on her forehead. "You've stopped bleeding. Does it hurt?" "Not really," Scully said, unsure of herself. They stared at each other for a moment before Scully looked away. "As long as we're stuck up here, we might as well get some sleep." Mulder could see that Scully was tired. "What if it comes back?" Scully asked, nervous about what could happen. "I'll stay awake." Mulder was determined to let her rest. Scully smiled weakly, and Mulder put his arm around her. "You get some sleep." "If I can sleep," she said, grateful to have his arm around her. She laid her head on his shoulder, and promptly fell asleep. Mulder looked down at her, planted a small kiss on her forehead, and smiled. *** Scully awoke with a start. She looked up to see the sun rising slowly. Mulder had fallen asleep. Scully looked at her watch. It must have stopped as they had been attacked by the tyrannosaur, because it read 1:03 A.M. Mulder stirred next to her. He awoke slowly, saw her, and smiled. "You fell asleep. You said you wouldn't," Scully pointed out, half-joking. Mulder grinned in return. "Don't hold it against me, okay?" He began to climb down. Scully hesitated a moment, then climbed down after him. Mulder found a small creek nearby. He bent over and splashed some water on his face, as did Scully. "I guess we'd better go see what supplies we've got left," Scully decided aloud. "Yeah," Mulder agreed. He turned toward the place from which they had fled the night before, and Scully led the way. When they reached the tent, Scully saw that everything had gotten wet. She dug through the torn and fallen tent until she found her backpack. Scully looked through it. Luckily, it was unharmed. She slung it over her shoulder. Mulder found his, and did the same. "Does your watch work?" she asked. "No, it stopped," was the reply. "How are we going to know when to get to the meeting point for the helicopter?" Scully questioned. Mulder shook his head and shrugged. "We'll just have to guess," Mulder suggested. Scully raised her eyebrows. "Why don't we try and find the other body, as long as we're stuck here," continued Mulder. "Why not," Scully said, seeming not to care anymore. Together, they set off to search for a needle in a haystack. *** Around several hours later, Mulder and Scully found that needle. It was about a mile and a half from the previous body, and in the same condition. "Both dead, unknown cause," Scully commented. "We know what caused it. That... dinosaur," Mulder said, almost reluctantly. "Look at the body, Mulder," Scully commanded. "Do I have to?" Scully continued, unhindered. "That tyrannosaur that attacked us last night couldn't have done this. That cut," she said, pointing, "is small. What we were attacked by was too large to do something this minute." "Maybe he cut himself on a rock or something," Mulder argued. "It's a very deep cut," countered Scully. "So you're saying we have two things to run from, now?" Mulder asserted more than asked. "Yes, and just as dangerous." "Oh, fun." Mulder said sarcastically. "Where did these things come from in the first place?" he asked, changing the subject. "Well, if last night is any indication, this island was sheltered from whatever killed the dinosaurs. It seems like we've stumbled onto a living, prehistoric museum," Scully declared. "That doesn't sound like your type of explanation, Scully. It sounds like mine." Mulder grinned impishly. "When you're attacked by one of them, that doesn't leave you much choice." Scully didn't smile back. A low growling interrupted them. "Not again," Scully muttered. She looked at Mulder. "Run!" he commanded. They broke into an all out run. "Mulder! Head for the bluff! It seems to be around four o'clock," she called as she fled. "All right," he called back. Scully heard snarling behind her, and ran even faster. She got a stitch in her side, but ignored it and continued to run. It wasn't until five minutes later, Scully, still running, realized she had no clue where she was going. She and Mulder had been separated. The noise behind her had stopped, so Scully slowed to a walk. She looked around, wondering which way to go. A large tree stood nearby. She climbed it, hoping to see the bluff from the top. She got her wish, although it was quite a way off. Scully climbed back down and headed in the right direction, praying she'd get there in time. *** Scully burst out of the trees, only then realizing that she had a distinct limp. Across the field from her, the helicopter was landing, and Mulder was getting in. She grinned, and ran toward it. Suddenly, a large form burst from the bushes behind her. Scully dashed as fast as she could toward the helicopter. Mulder saw her and called out. "Scully!" She ran, but the creature was faster. It was catching up quickly. It was an exhilarating thing, knowing that she was about to die. Then, Scully saw that the helicopter was only ten yards away. Behind her, the animal leapt. Scully screamed. But at the same moment, she vaulted. Scully was finally in the helicopter, and Mulder slammed the door shut behind her as soon as she was inside. Just as he did so, the dinosaur slammed into the side of the chopper. To Mulder, it looked like a raptor. The pilot took off as soon as he could. Scully was trembling. Mulder saw this and put his arms around her. She put her head on his shoulder and took a deep breath. She always felt safe in his arms. Mulder kissed her gently on the top of her head. Scully smiled slightly. Breaking the silence, Mulder queried, "Are you okay?" Scully nodded. "Yeah," she half-whispered. They had survived the trip. They stared into each others eyes for a long moment. Then, slowly, Mulder opened his mouth and leaned towards her. Scully did the same, and they kissed for a very long time, only stopping when they needed to breathe. Everything had turned out perfect. THE END --Since I know someone's bound to ask, Nathaniel Skinner is no relation to A.D. Walter Skinner. I welcome all comments at 74720.1275@compuserve.com Please be gentle, I'm pretty new to this fanfic thing.