Hey there.  This is another old one that I finally decided to post. 
It's along the same feeling/setting as 'Ice' so, if it sounds a bit
like it, oh well.  It was the first of my stories to go past 40K
and I'm pretty proud of it because of that.  And I believe it's
well written, though that's just me, as the author, being arrogant. 
:)  Oh well, you can read and tell me.  The X-Files and its
characters belong to Chris Carter, 1013, and Fox.  Everyone else is
mine. :)

**********
Recalcitrant -  Mystic
Nalvarez@delphi.com
**********
EcoS Facility
Carter, Montana
Time Unknown
November 10


In the room the seven remaining gathered.  They were tired
and they were sweating.  Two of them were injured, but not
seriously.  Scout began to cry softly in a corner of the bed he was
sitting on with the two injured.  His mother, Helen Riker, stood in
the middle of the room thinking as Sammy Rizel sat tinkering with
the camera.  If he strung together the right wires they would be
able to send a message.  He jumped suddenly.

"Helen, I got it.  Just turn it on."  Sammy told her.  She
stood up and walked over to the camera.

"What do I say?"  She asked.  For the first time in her life
she was petrified.  She could not fit words to the situation they
were in.  How?  It was not something anyone had ever seen or heard
of.

"Give the information they need to get to us."  Lily Green
told her from the bed.  She was suffering from infection in her
right hand.  It had been bitten by one of them.

"Just tell them we need help."  Marcus Light said.

"Tell them anything, just tell them."  Micheal Luter
murmured from the bed.  He had a gash going down his left leg from
where one of them tried to get him.

"Do it now, we don't have much time."  Cory McMillis added.

Helen looked at the camera and then turned it on.  "EcoS
119384.  The water's contaminated with something unknown.  The crew
changed, those who drank, into beast-like creatures.  We need help
for the injured and immediate quarantine of the area."  She was cut
off by a bang.  Sammy screamed,

"They're bangin' again dammit!"

Helen grabbed a gun and switched off the camera.
********** 
FBI Building
12:00PM
November 14


FBI agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder sat in two chairs
waiting for Myles Foster to arrive.  He called Mulder an hour ago
and asked if they would help with bringing back a reconnaissance
team.  Mulder had asked why.  Myles replied that he would come by
with something that would make them beg to come. 

A knock made both of them stop talking about their lunch,
how bad it was, and look at the door.

"Come in."  Mulder said.

A man walked in the room.  Tall, with shaggy sandy-brown
hair that fell to his shoulders and partially covered his black
eyes.  He was dressed as they, in formal attire.  
"Scully and
Mulder I presume."  He said.

"You presume correctly."  Mulder said standing up.  He shook
Myles' hand as did Scully.  "So what's this information that's
supposed to make us jump out of our pants?"

The three of them sat back down and the man took a folder
from his briefcase.  He also took out a tape and placed in the VCR,
but didn't play it.

"Mr. Mulder, are you aware of the EcoS movement?"  Myles
asked.

"They're a group that tries to make the environment a safe
place for everyone and everything to live.  Yeah, they're all over
the place, are they holding someone hostage."

"Actually, they are the hostages?"

Scully moved forward in her chair and asked,  "Meaning?"    

"A month ago an EcoS team of twenty were sent to their lab
in Carter, Montana to examine the surroundings of a lake.  Near
this place, and their lab, is a laboratory called The Repro
Company, ever hear of it?"

"They're, supposedly, conducting genetic experiments, but no
one has been able to prove it."

"That's the one.  This EcoS group sent one transmission
every day for the first twenty four days and then nothing came for
a week.  This was their last transmission that twenty-fourth day." 
He pushed the tape in and turned on the TV.  

A large group of people were crowded into a room that could
barely hold them.  A woman sat in the center with a small boy in
her lap.  The woman had long brown hair swept back in a pony tail. 
She had large brown eyes and was dressed, as everyone else in the
room, jeans, Timberland shoes, a T-shirt and a large plaid flannel
shirt.

"EcoS group 119384 reporting."   She said in a stern voice. 
Sudden laughter erupted throughout the group.  "We have examined
the lakes surroundings and have found nothing to indicate that the
Repro Company has been spilling anything into the water that would
have effected any animals or vegetation in the encircling area." 
She looked down to the boy and whispered something in his ear.  He
smiled, his blue eyes squinting so small they were scarcely
visible.

"Abbadee, abbadee, abbadee, that's all folks."  The small
boy said.  The team began to laugh and the transmission stopped.

"Then four days ago, this came."

The three of them looked at the screen.  It was blank and
then a blue screen came on with the logo for the EcoS group. 
Sudden static sounded.  The woman was now standing very close to
the screen, her face smeared with dirt, blood and sweat.

"EcoS 119384... water contaminated... crew changed... beast-
like... need help... immediate quarantine of area..."  The message
she was attempting to relay was cut into segments.  A man screamed
behind her,

"They're bangin' again dammit!"

She swung her head around and muffled a curse before turning
the tape recorder off.  Static again filled the screen and then the
logo appeared.  Mulder and Scully looked from the screen to the
man.

"What happened up there?"  Scully asked.

"That's what we've been trying to find out for a week."  He
paused and paced the room.  "The day after we got this transmission
we sent a team of five to the station and they have not come back. 
It's like if they never got there, they vanished.  The area has
been circled by choppers, but there's nothing to see."

"Nothing to see?"  Mulder asked.

"No cars, no wreckage, nothing out of the ordinary, except
this video."  Myles took the EcoS transmission tape out of the VCR
and put another one in.  "Watch the screen."  He commanded.

The tape had been taken from the helicopter that flew over
the area.  The EcoS lab was clearly visible.  It was a dull
metallic color with the logo in big black letters on the front. 
There were three EcoS vans parked out in the front, presumable for
the members of the group.  Mulder examined the whole scene like a
machine, looking for anything and everything.  There was sudden
movement in the right corner of the screen.

"Whoa!"  Mulder said.  Myles backed it up and froze it.  

Mulder got up and looked at the screen.  Two men were paused
in mid-run.  They could scarcely be seen through the trees, but
what they had was clear.  Between the two of them they were
carrying a body.  It was covered in blood and seemed to be missing
a arm.  They looked at the two men and they noticed that they both
had blood streaming from their mouths.

"Why us?" Mulder asked.

"We know you have a certain expertise in the unexplainable. 
I consider this unexplainable, we want to know what happened to our
group."

"How soon can we be up there?"  Scully asked.
**********
EcoS Facility
November 14
6:23PM


They arrived at the site six hours later.  First they had
taken a plane to the airport in Carter, Montana.  Then they had to
be helicoptered directly to the scene because the roads there took
far more time, time that could not be wasted.  As they landed they
put there bags around their shoulders.  Mulder and Myles jumped off
the chopper first, then both helped Scully off.  They looked at the
door of the EcoS lab.  It was scratched and dented.  Mulder, Scully
and Myles turned their flashlights on.  Darkness was descending
upon them. 

They walked up to the door and all turned to see it fly
away.  In forty eight hours the helicopter would arrive and take
them home under any circumstances, but until then the three of them
were to go into the lab and find anything they could.  

Mulder put his hand on the door and was about to pull it
when a howl pierced the silence.  Scully turned to the forest and
flashed her beam around.  Myles jumped and dropping his flashlight.  

"You ok?"  Mulder asked him.

"Fine, just jumpy."  The man stammered.

Mulder smiled and turned back to the door. He turned the
handle and was surprised to find that it was open.  He walked into
the room and flashed a light on everything.  Myles came in behind
him and Scully behind him.  She closed the door and they all shined
their flashlights around the room.  Everything was thrown around. 
There were containers lying on the floor along with papers and
shreds of clothing, but what attracted their attention was the
small spots of blood that were all over the floor.

"Mulder, do you think they're dead?"  Scully asked him.

"It's possible.  What's your guess?"

"Judging by the amount of blood on the floor, it's feasible
that there are injured in their party as Helen stated in the video. 
I don't, however, think that they are dead.  Unless their bodies
have been transferred to another location, where it's possible they
are being stored."

"Stored for what?"  Myles asked.

"Whoever those men in the video were, they were taking a
body somewhere.  They could be taking the bodies and storing them,
then, when all the turmoil's over, they can take to disposing of
the bodies."

"But the rest of the group, if there is any, where would
they be?"  Mulder asked, directing the question to Myles.

"They might be anywhere.  If they are here and there is
someone trying to kill them we have to find them and get them out
of here.  It's most probable that they be..."  He was cut short by
a triple click.

"Move; die."  A woman said.  The three of them froze.  "Turn
around."  The voice commanded.  They all turned slowly to see Helen
Riker standing at least twenty feet away from them.  She was
smaller than Mulder had perceived.  He brown hair fell around her
shoulders wildly.  Her eyes were wide and tired.  

"Helen Riker?"  Mulder asked.

"Who are you?"  She asked, moving the gun from Myles to
Mulder.

"I'm agent Fox Mulder, my partner Dana Scully, FBI.  That
over there is Myles Foster.  We're here..."

"I don't care!"  She screamed.  "How do I know that you're
not one of them?"

Mulder took out his badge and threw it at her.  She caught
it in the air and looked at it.  Then she threw it back, smirking.  

"How do I know that you haven't already been transformed? 
Two in our group were like you and then suddenly," she snapped her
fingers, "they weren't."   

"We are who we say we are, Helen."  Scully told her being
reminded of another instance when she heard that phrase, a chill
ran down her spine.

"Prick your finger."  Helen told her suspiciously. 

Scully looked at her and then grabbed her bag from her
shoulder.  Inside were medical needle that were to be used to take
samples of blood for any purpose they might hold.  She bit the top
of the needle off and stuck her finger with it.  Her face unwincing
when it pierced the skin.  Scully took the needle out and put the
top back on in.

"Squeeze it."  Helen told her. 

Scully took her finger and squeezed it.  A small spot of red
blood formed on the tip of her finger.  "Is this a test?"  Scully
asked.

Helen smiled and said,  "Of humanity.  If you're not human
your blood is going to be an abnormal shade of red."  She paused
and took a knife out of her pocket.  She advanced towards Mulder. 
"Hold out your hand."  He did as instructed and she broke his skin
with her knife.  His face contracted with pain.

"There were other needles."  He said as she pricked Myles'
finger.

"This is faster."

Red blood came out of both wounds and Scully quickly wrapped
Mulder's hand with some gauze she had taken from her bag when Helen
nodded in approval.

"Follow me."  She commanded.  

Scully and Mulder followed behind her and Myles, looking at
his bleeding finger, followed behind them.  They walked with her to
the door between them and the rest of the compound.

"Take out your gun and be prepared."  Helen told them.  

She put her hand on the door, aimed her gun at it and pulled
it open quickly.  Scully and Mulder pointed their guns into the
darkness with their flashlights.  There was nothing in the hall. 
They proceeded to go down the hall and to the door of another room. 
There was the sudden sound of footsteps.  Helen knocked three times
quickly on the door, followed by two short knocks.  It was quickly
opened and Helen said,

"There are who they say they are.  The others are coming,
they've awakened."  
Scully, Mulder and Myles were shoved into the
room and three men moved a large trunk in front of the door after
closing and locking it.  After half a minute waiting in silence
there was a large thud on the door.  Then a woman said in a gravely
voice,

"Please let me in."  Helen looked at the door with no
emotion, although she knew it was her friend Lacy Martin.  She
looked to the floor and then ran to her son who had started to cry. 
Lacy had baby-sat for her and she was almost like an aunt to Scout.  

"Why won't you let her in?"  Mulder asked.

"She is not herself."  A man said, he extended his hand to
them.  "Marcus Light.  Most people call me Light."  It seemed an
ironic statement since he was a large dark man.  

After him, one by one, the rest of the group presented
themselves.  Lily Green, a woman whom looked as if she hadn't slept
in two days with light blond hair and pale blue eyes.  Micheal
Luter a big man who had his black hair styled short into a buzz
cut.  Both of which Scully treated immediately for their injuries. 
They were the most serious, the others had small cuts and bruises.

After them Sammy Rizel, a tall skinny man wearing glasses
over his brown eyes introduced himself.  He asked Scully if she had
scissors so he could cut the brown wavy hair that had grown past
his eyes.  Cory McMillis came to them and offered his services to
Scully, if needed.  Mulder was quick to jump in front of Scully to
shake his hand first, a shake that was harder than Cory had
expected, he knew what it meant.

"I get it buddy, don't worry.  Call me Cory."  The man wiped
his straight, thin blonde hair off his face revealing his light
blue eyes.  

Helen sighed with a hint of madness.  As soon as Daniel
Riker walked up to them Scully knew why.  The boy had the same
brilliant blue eyes and the same thin blond hair.  He walked past
his father and looked at Scully.  His face was smudged all over
with dirt and his hair was wet along the sides with sweat.  He was
no more than three and a half feet tall and was every bit as cute
as he had been when he was clean.

"Hi, my name's Daniel Riker, but everyone calls me Scout." 
He shook their hands and smiled warmly.  Then suddenly became
serious.  "Are you going to get us out of here?" 

"We'll do everything we can."  Mulder told the boy.

"You can't do anything, we're gonna die here and we all know
it.  Don't see why they sent anyone else down here in the first
place."

"Lily, shut up!"  Helen screamed.  "Scout, it's nightfall,
go to bed."  The boy nodded and obediently went to the bed.  All
the men of the group also lied down.

"Come here."  Helen told them.  Scully, Mulder and Myles
followed her and Sammy into the bathroom.  Helen closed the door.

"What exactly is going on here?"  Mulder asked.

"What do you think you can do, huh?  Do you think you can
come up here and be the hero?  You can't do anything for us!  And
you know what?  Now you are dead as the rest of us."

"What do you mean?"  Scully asked.

"I mean that as soon as we run out of food we have to make a
run for civilization and if we don't make it out of here before
nightfall they will come out and they will rip us apart and they
will love it!"

"Who's 'they'?"   Mulder asked.

"'They' are the rest of the EcoS group."

"Why are 'they' as they are?"  Scully asked.

"Two weeks ago we all declared this place safe, nothing
abnormal growing, nothing strange happening.  We were just going to
wait out the rest of the time and have a bit of fun, but fun is the
last thing we're having.  Kevin Niche our leader, above me that is,
he wanted to purify some more of the water and use it as drinking
water, so we would have more.  He started to purify the water, but
I had a bad feeling about it.  Ever have a bad feeling, right in
your gut, that you just have you just have to follow?"

"Yeah."  He paused.  "What happened, what was wrong with the
water?"  Mulder said.

"It was contaminated with something The Repro Company had
put in it.  We couldn't identify it because by the time we knew it
was there, they were already changed."

"Changed?"  Scully questioned.  

"They were beginning to show some strange characteristics a
few days after first drinking.  There were eight of us that never
did drink, because of my feeling, we though the aggressive behavior
was due to being out in the wilderness too long.  It happens
sometimes, someone will crack, but we began to worry when twelve of
them started to throw things around and argue with each other. 
They became recalcitrant in behavior."

"You said there were eight, but here there are seven." 
Myles pointed out.

"The eighth was taken by the others and I guess they ate
him."

"Ate him?"  Mulder asked.

"That's what they want to do now.  They wound you and then
they take you to eat you."  She half smiled.  "Guess they're
hungry."

"What happened to Lily and Micheal?"  Scully asked.

"The other's they were trying to take Scout the first day we
locked ourselves in here and they almost had him, but Micheal got
into a brawl with the three of them to get Scout back and they
scratched his leg before he could get away himself.  Lily was the
last one to come in one evening and they woke up a bit early and
grabbed her hand, bit it."

"Why are all the men sleeping?"  Myles asked, a bit tense.

"The women have first guard.  Men sleep first and then they
wake the women at twelve thirty in the morning so the men can take
watch.  Agent Mulder if I were you I would attempt to get as much
sleep as possible, because in the morning we have a lot of work to
do."

"What?"  He asked.

"We have been trying to repair one of the vans, but it's not
as easy as it seems.  They tore apart the engine."

"That's a two man job, what does everyone else do?"  Scully
said.

"Worry." 

Helen walked out of the room followed by the threesome. 
Mulder found a spot on the floor and went to sleep.  Scully sat in
a chair next to Helen.  After half an hour Scully grew wary of the
silence.

"Helen,"  The woman looked at her.  "Why did you divide the
sleeping hours like this?  There are only three women and one of
them is injured."

"I was wondering when you would ask."  She looked around. 
"Listen, what do you hear?"

"Nothing."

"Exactly.  While the women are on guard they don't do
anything, because this is their time to hunt.  They don't even try
to get into this door until one in the morning when they finished
trying to find food in the forest."

"So they try to get in here at one?"

"Yeah."

"But doesn't that wake you up?"

"Agent Scully, you're going to be so damned tired that if an
army of men were to fire rifles in your ear, you wouldn't move."
**********
**********
8:21AM


In the morning the group walked out of the building and into
the sunlight.  Scully leaned against the hood of one of the vans. 
They had tried to knock down the door three times after she had
gone to sleep.  All three times she had woken up only to have
Mulder come over and tell her,  "...sleep, don't worry about
anything else."  She was so tired that she wasn't even sure that's
what he had said.

Mulder walked to the van and looked under the hood.  The
engine had been partially repaired by Sammy and Marcus, but it
would still take at least two more days to fix completely.

"Need any help?"  He asked the two of them.

"We've got it pretty much covered.  You should go with
Helen.  She's been trying to find the food that they stole, at
least that's what she say's she's doing."  Marcus told him.

Mulder began to ask another question, but Sammy waved his
hand frantically in the air.  Mulder knew where he wasn't wanted so
he turned away.  He saw Scully leaning on the next van so he
decided it wouldn't bother anyone if he went over and talked to
her.  

He put his hand on her shoulder.  "Scully."  She whipped her
head around, her body following as if the two parts were trying to
catch up with each other.  "You ok.?"  He could see that she was
tired...

"Fine."

...but knew she wouldn't admit it.

"Well no help needed with the van."  He paused and looked at
the dots of sweat beginning to form on the skin above her lip. 
"Maybe you should take off the flannel."  He offered.

She quickly took the green and blue flannel off revealing a
short sleeved green shirt tucked neatly into her jeans.  She put
the shirt on the hood of the van and asked,

"What can we do?"

"Marcus says that Helen is going out to find food that was
stolen by 'them'."

"Yeah, she told me about it last night.  Seems 'they' took
some of it, but she says that they won't eat it."

"Why?"

"'Cause it's not raw meat, that's the only thing they want
to eat."

"Then what did they steal and why did they steal it?"

"The only reason they stole it was in hopes that, because of
the lack of food, the people here would have to abandon their
protective coverage and leave, into the forest.  Then they could
come out and eat them.  The food they took were vegetables, candy,
some..."  She was cut short by Helen.

"Hey!  You two- Scully, Mulder.  Come on, we don't have all
day."

Mulder and Scully turned and jogged to Helen, Scout, Lily
and Cory.  Helen handed them giant flashlights.

"Where's Myles?  I haven't seen him."  Scully asked.

Lily answered.  "He's inside with Micheal.  We don't want to
move him around too much, especially if they decide to come.  We
wouldn't be able to move him inside fast enough."

"You'll need the flashlights to see into the cave that we're
going to."  She looked at Mulder and Scully and added, to them, "If
you see one, don't hesitate to shoot, to kill."

"But don't you want to learn what caused this?"  Scully
asked.

"Lady, out here it's survival of the fittest- do or die." 
Cory said.

"Scout's just a boy."  Mulder pointed out.

"We need him.  If a hole's too small for us..."  Lily
started.

"Let's not worry."  Helen said grabbing Scout and starting
off into the woods.

After half an hour they came to the cave.  They all had
their flashlights on and focused them into the mouth.  Helen handed
Scout to Lily and walked into the cave.  After a minute or two her
head popped back up.

"Come on in.  The darkness is great!"  She said, faking
enthusiasm.

They all went slowly into the cave.  The light from their
beams illuminated the inside.  Helen put one finger over her mouth
and used the other hand to point to the air.  They looked up and
saw bats, hanging upside down, sleeping.

There was dead silence all around them in the cave.  The six
of them hadn't taken four more steps when they heard the ear
piercing scream.
**********
9:02AM


The bats above began to shriek and fly around inside the
cave.  Helen grabbed Scout, Lily (who had screamed) had her mouth
covered by Cory and was slammed to the floor.  Mulder quickly
turned to Scully, grabbed her waist and pulled her to a corner in
the cave.  He then pulled his giant dark blue flannel shirt open
and used it to tent her away from the bats.  It took five minutes
for the bats to find their way to the mouth and exit this section
of the cave, into another, quieter one.  Slowly the group got up. 
They were fine, except for Cory, who had a small stream of blood
running down the side of his neck.  Scully quickly went to him.

"I'm ok, stupid bat bit my ear."  He told her.  She nodded.

Helen looked at Lily.  "Are you freakin' nuts!  What the
hell were you screamin' at?"

Helen followed Lily's outstretched hand and gasped.  There
was a body in a corner of the cave.  The body was that of Kevin
Niche, the old leader of the group.

"I can't believe it!"  Helen said.

She took Scout and shoved him behind her.  Scully bent down
near Kevins' body and looked it over.  She had to cover her nose
because a foul smell was apparent, but only close to the body.

"Well, the amount of decomposer and rigamortis shows he's
been dead for a day or two.  Judging by the substantial amount of
blood on the floor and the way the body was desecrated, whatever
killed him was big, strong and..."  She stopped and looked up.

"What?"  Mulder asked.

"I don't think it's gone."

"What do you mean?"  Helen asked.

"There's a trail of blood going off into the deeper caves. 
I suggest we leave before whatever's down there come out."

There was a sudden eruption of growls from deep inside the
cave, where the trail of blood led.  Cory grabbed Scout and threw
him over his shoulder.  They could all hear the slow moving
footsteps getting closer.

"I think we should leave now."  Lily said nervously.

They all turned and made their way towards the mouth of the
cave.  Once outside of the a cave they made a mad dash to the lab. 
Behind then they heard them howl in pain from the sunlight.  As
they reached the lab they slowed.  Mulder asked,

"Why aren't we going into the lab?"

Cory answered,  "They, for some reason, cannot come out into
the sunlight, especially now.  They can only be out from dusk to
dawn.  That's it."

Mulder looked at the people and saw that most of them were
sitting around.  The only people who were standing now were himself
and the two working on the van.  He went to Scully, who was sitting
on a rock, leaning on the tree behind it, her eyes closed.  He sat
next to her and shook her gently.  She fell over on his shoulder. 
On impact her eyes flew open and she sat up.

"You ok.?"  He asked her.

"Yeah."  She paused.  "Mulder, what the hell is going on
here?"

He hesitated.

"Do you know something we all don't, 'cause if you do I'd
love to hear about it."

"Before we left, I looked into the Repro Company, via a disk
slipped under my door while I slept.  The disk contained all the
files of the company.  Now, there were rumorthat they had been
conducting genetic experiments, as well as their normal gene
mapping project."

"Yeah, you said that before, but..."  She looked from the
floor to him.  "What kinds of experiments are they doing now?"

"Apparently some big ones."  He nervously looked around. 
"There are some files on small experiments, the ones that all
biological scientists are working on.  There were a few gene mixing
projects.  No one knows, but they're the one's responsible for the
killer bees.  They are now trying to mix gene's from several
different animals to create hybrid animals that are more productive
or effective."

"But what does that have to do with what's happening here?"

"Scully, what would happen if we de-evolved humans?"

"In theory, they would be reduced to what they were before. 
Heightened aggression, greater hunting skills, brain capability
would decrease, you go far back enough and their backs would begin
to arch into the form of their ancestry such as A.Africanus." She
paused, "Mulder you don't think?"

"Yes I do.  I think the company, somehow, found a way to de-
evolve humans, maybe they found ways to do the same to some
animals.  I also think they found a way for the changes to occur
after digestion of some chemical.  Worst of all, I think they were
using the EcoS group as guinea pigs."

"You can't be serious!"

"Scully, it's like Pink Pharmaceutical.  They sent that
package with the parasite, F.Emasculata, to the prisoner so they
could use him as a test subject and forgo years of testing and
oposition from the FDA.  Then the evidence was easily irradicated."

"But Mulder, these people might be, as you suggested, de-
evolving."

"What if this is some sort of unexpected side-effect of some
mixed genes?  All I know is that the Repro Company had to be
informed at least a week in advance so they could 'prepare' so to
speak.  They usually use this time to clean up the area.  Now
according to the report we saw, this had been done, but what if it
was done on purpose so that the EcoS group would think everything
was ok."

"But how can they be so sure the EcoS group would drink the
water?"

A different voice answered,  "It's standard procedure."

Mulder and Scully turned to see Helen.

"What do you mean 'standard procedure'?"  Mulder asked her.

"With every trip, the leader of the group, in this case,
Kevin, is supposed to fill one glass full of water and drink it
after we had finished a full inspection of the vicinity to make
sure it was clean."

"Isn't that a health hazard?"  Scully asked.

"Not really.  We're only supposed to do it after we declare
the surroundings safe.  It was, so he did.  The worst we expected
was diarrhea."  She let out a small laugh.

"We're all definitely in deep..."  Mulder started.

"Mulder!"  Scully said quickly.

"...diarrhea."  He ended, smiling.
**********
12:25PM

  
After the conversation Mulder suggested Scully go inside and
sleep, but she was too wound up about the de-evolving theory.  She
wanted to look into it.

So she, Helen, Cory, Lily and himself went back to the cave
an hour later, after eating a small lunch of dried beef jerky and
some unknown brand of juice.  Scully had a medical bag ready to
examen the body.  Helen and Cory held small revolvers and they all
had flashlights.  They stood outside and listened for half an hour
before entering the cave. 

The bats had returned and were, once again, sleeping on the
roof of the cave.  It took them a few minutes to find the body
because they had moved it around.  Scully took a few blood samples,
which to her suprise, was blue and proceeded to do an autopsy.  She
began with the brain. 

Lily's curiosity was aroused.  She walked into the dark
cave, into deeper tunnels.  The smell of decay was so strong, she
had to fight waves of nausea with every step.  After ten minutes
she found a large open room.  She flashed her beam around and
almost dropped it. 

On the floor were the rest of the EcoS group, sleeping.  She
saw her boyfriend, Larry Jenkins, across the room.  He began to
stir and Lily held her breath.  He looked up at her and snarled. 
She began to make her way out of the room.  Then he spoke,

"Lily, why are you leaving?  Don't you want to stay here
with me?"

"Larry, you're not, you, I mean, um..."

"Lily, you know it's me, come here."  He commanded.

"You're not who you say you are."

He looked down to the floor, then back up at her and
charged.
**********
12:45PM


Near the mouth of the cave Scully had been examining the
brain when they heard the scream.  Scully threw her samples of
brain tissue into her medical bag and threw it over her shoulder. 
Helen looked around.

"Where's Lily?"  She asked.

"Who you think is screamin'?  Start moving back to camp." 
Cory answered.

They all grabbed their things and began to leave the site. 
Scully was the first one out of the cave, followed by Mulder, Helen
and Cory.  Suddenly Lily's head emerged from the mouth  She looked
at them one last time before bieng pulled into the cave.  The four
of them stood outside and listened to her scream once before taking
off back to the lab.  

Helen cried all the way back.  When they reached the lab
everyone looked at them.  Helen fell to the floor and began to let
out giant sobs.  Scout went up to her and asked,

"Mom, what's wrong?"

"Scout, leave your mother alone. Go play somewhere else." 
Cory told him.

"Why dad?"

"Just, please, give her some time."

He nodded and walked over to Mulder and Scully and sat on
the log next to her.  Mulder looked at the boy and then to Scully.  
She was breathing hard through her nose.

"Scully?"  Mulder asked.

"I'm ok."  She said quickly.

"This is like a ghost case.  The information is right in
front of you, but you can't quite see it."  He whispered to
himself.

"Ms. Scully, where's Lily?"  Scout asked suddenly.

Scully quickly looked at the boy.  "Scout, she didn't make
it back."

"She's dead?"  He asked pouting.

Scully nodded to the floor.  Scout pouted quietly for a
moment and then began to cry.  She embraced him.  He returned the
hug and cried in her arms for a full ten minutes.  Then as suddenly
as he began to cry, he stopped.  He stayed hugging her tightly,
staring off at nothing.  Scully looked at him and for a while was
afraid he had gone into shock, but after half an hour he let go and
went to his mother who had moved to the front seat of the second
van.

"You think they really killed her?"  Mulder asked Scully
after Scout had left.

"I think they did."

"How can you be so sure?"

"They killed their leader."  She stated simply.
**********
5:32PM


It was five thirty in the evening when Scully finished
running tests on the blood and brain samples.  On Mulder's request
she ran the blood through a test which would identify what animal
it was.  The results were a shock to her.  She walked out of the
lab and began to walk to were Mulder was, sitting on a rock staring
at the floor.  Scully looked at Scout, who had fallen asleep inside
the van.  He would be alright, she assured herself.  Helen was
inside the lab room with Micheal and Myles.

Before Scully could reach Mulder she saw Myles and Helen
come out of the laboratory.  Their faces were sullen and tired.

Scully went to Myles.  "You ok?"

"I'm fine, I need sunlight though."  He paused.  "I'm going
for a walk along the edge of the forest.  Scream if you need me." 
He said with a smile.

Scully smiled wanly at his pathetic joke as he walked off. 
Helen went to Sammy, Marcus and Cory to help with the van.  Scully
sat down next to Mulder.

"What'd you find?"  He asked.

"Well, scratch your de-evolving theory..."  Then she added
in a whisper,  "...even though it seemed more plausible than what's
actually happening."

Mulder's eyed widened a bit.  "Scully, what did you find?"

"Human, ape, wolf, owl, bat, cougar, panther, tiger, and
that's only what the test picked up.  There were several it
couldn't, for whatever reason.  It's amazing, it's... their... it's
like your de-evolving theory, except they're not de-evolving,
they're evolving, into some kind of superhuman.  This Repro Company
has probably perfected the gene mapping and they've used it to make
the ultimate killing machine."

"You actually believe this?"  He asked, lowering his brows.

"Mulder, I may not believe in ghosts, aliens or
psychokenisis, but gene manipulation is possible."

He was about to respond when Helen broke between the two. 
"Have you seen Myles?"  She asked.

Scully answered,  "He said he was going to take a walk along
the..."

The air was filled with a scream.
**********
**********

Helen jumped,  "They're awake."  She screamed.

Marcus, Sammy and Cory slammed down the hood of the van. 
Helen, Mulder and Scully all got up and started running towards the
lab.  No one was stopping to think.  The scream had erupted from
deep inside the forest so they had time, but they weren't about to
waste it.  

Suddenly Scully's foot caught a large rock and she fell
forward, hard, to the floor.  No one saw her, they continued to run
to the lab.

Inside the lab, Mulder had a bad feeling.  As they reached
the door to the room he stopped completely, as did Helen.  They
were in the front of the pack.  They looked at everyone else and
asked, simultaneously,

"Where's Scout?"

"Where's Scully?"

That's when they heard the scream.  First Scout, then
Scully.  Both of them let out one shriek in surprise. Then Helen
and Mulder screamed inside the lab and both had to be dragged into
the room by the others.  As soon as they had the trunk in front of
the door there was a loud thump, followed by scratching.

"You told her they didn't come until one!"  Mulder said.

He had been awake with his eyes closed when Scully had asked
Helen about the sleeping arrangements.  Now he glared at her as if
she were the sole one responsible for what was happening to Scully.

"That's how they've always come."  She managed through her
sobs.

Mulder held both hands in fists and bit his lips.  He was
not going to crack.  'Dana is a big girl.  She's smart... she's
fast... she can take care of herself.  Hell, she's Dana Scully.' 
He told himself.  A part of him believed this, and then there was
the part with the active imagination.

"Hey man, calm down or punch a wall."  Marcus suggested. 
"Live with it."  He muttered under his breath.

Mulder turned and swung his arm.  His clenched fist caught
Marcus square in the face.  The large man fell to the floor. 
Everyone looked from Marcus to Mulder.  No one had ever knocked
Marcus out, but he was lying now, out cold, on the floor.

"He's going to be pissed off when he wakes up."  Micheal
said.

"Not as pissed as I'm going to be if I find out Scully's not
ok."  Mulder said sternly.

For that reason the rest of the group backed away from him. 
All except Cory.  He came forward and grabbed Mulder by the arm and
swung him into the bathroom.  Cory locked the door and looked at
Mulder, who was sitting on the garbage can. 

"Look, I know you're upset, you obviously liked the lady,
but she's not the only one who was out there.  My son, my only
little boy, whom I can only see on weekends, was out there!  Now
I'll never be able to see him again!"  

And then they cried.
**********

Scully sat in the van taking heavy breaths.  She had never
ran so fast in her life.  She'd looked up to see everyone had
already made their way into the lab.  That's when Scout shrieked. 
He had been sleeping inside the van and had woken when his mother
screamed.  Scully had quickly glanced behind her and shrieked
herself when she saw how close 'they' were.  She'd ran to the van,
but not before she felt a claw dig into her ankle.

She was sitting, now, with Scout in her lap, in the front
seat of the van.  Both doors locked.  There was a metal wall
between them and the back of the van.  There were faint scratches
on the doors from them, but most of them went after the unchanged
group.

Scout clung to her tightly.  She could feel his heart
beating against her chest.  Scully pulled him off and looked at his
tiny face.  His eyes were wide and his forehead was streaming with
sweat.  He was breathing hard through his mouth.

"Scout."  She looked into the boys eyes.  "Scout, it's gonna
be alright."

He shook his head, no.

"Yes, there's nothing to be afraid..."

A large woman jumped on the hood of the van.  They both
screamed.  The woman banged on the window twice before it cracked. 
Then she looked at them.  Scout was crying and trying to burry
himself behind Scully.  The woman's aggressive face suddenly
changed.  She looked worried, and that's when Scully recognized
her.  It was Lily.

They hadn't eaten her.

They had changed her.  She screamed and grunted at the
others and got off the van.  Scully watched the entire group run
off into the forest.  She reached for the door handle and saw one
of 'them' sitting on the edge of the forest.  Scully know that if
she raced to the lab it would come and get her.

But if she could get Scout to the lab...

No, it was too risky.

She looked at Scout.  He was wrapped around her.  His legs
around her waist, his arms around her neck.  He was crying softly
on her shoulder.  Scully hugged him and then she cried herself. 
They sat in the van and cried themselves to sleep.
**********
9:31AM


Mulder sat awake all night.  He couldn't get to sleep after
he stopped crying.  The rest of the group took their normal shifts,
unemotionally.  Helen had been given a sedative that was found in
Scully's bag.  Mulder even thought about taking one himself, but
didn't.  Helen began to wake up.

Mulder checked his watch 9:33 am.  He hadn't eaten in so
long, but he wasn't hungry.  'They' didn't attack all night. 
Mulder almost punched Sammy when he pointed out that 'They had
already had someone to eat.'  He got up and everyone looked at him. 
He walked out of the door.  The rest of the group got up and
followed him.  He opened the main door and the sunlight stung his
eyes.

Then he saw it.

One of Scully's shoes, lying on the floor, covered in blood. 
He felt a wave of nausea come over him, but fought it.  Sammy and
Marcus began to walk over to the van they had been working on. 
They could see already that it had been torn apart again.  Then
suddenly they stopped short and started to laugh like wild men.

"Lucky SOB's!"  Was all Marcus said.

Sammy opened the door to the van and they saw Scout and
Scully lying in the seat.  As soon as the door opened Scully jumped
to the other side, pulling Scout with her.  Then she saw who it
was, she smiled warmly and shook Scout, who had wrapped himself
around her again.

Helen walked to the van with tears in her eyes, "Daniel?"

The boy immediately looked up and hopped across the van seat
yelling,  "Mommy!"

Helen and Cory fell to the ground hugging their son.  Scully
slowly approached the open door.  Her eyes shuddered at the
sunlight.  She managed to get out and stood on one foot against the
van.

Mulder had watched Scout crawl out of the van, he watched
him reunite with his parents.  He looked back at the van and saw a
hand grab the door for balance.  He walked to her.  She looked up
at him and he could see that she had been crying.  Her eyes were
swollen and her hair was matted to her head with sweat.

Scully let go of the van and let herself fall into Mulder's
arms.  They stood there, in each others arms, for minutes.  Then he
picked her up and carried her inside the lab.  The rest of the
group stayed outside with Scout.  Mulder sat Scully on a table and
looked at her foot.  Blood had soaked the sock she had wrapped
around it.  He slowly untied the knot and grabbed a disinfectant. 
He could see her gripping the table as he unscrewed the cap.  He
poured a substantial amount over her ankle.  She groaned in pain.

"Sorry."  He said. 

She nodded her head.  He wiped the wound and wrapped it
tightly with gauze.  She sat up straight and grabbed his shoulder. 
"Dizzy."  She muttered.  He carried her to a bed and laid her down. 
He started to pull the covers over her, but she stopped him, "It's
hot."

He felt her forehead.  It was feverish.  "What happened?" 
He asked her.

"I tripped on a rock and fell.  When I looked up you had
already gone inside and 'they' were already there.  Scout screamed
so I ran to the van."

"Is that a bite or a cut?"

"One of 'them' stuck it's nail in me."  She paused and then
added in a drowsy voice, "They didn't eat Lily.  I don't know why,
yet, but they didn't eat her.  They changed her into one of them."

And then she passed out.
**********
Lunchtime


Scully woke up and looked at her watch, 11:21.  This time
she didn't bother waiting the three seconds before it was 11:22. 
She got up and disinfected her foot again, then limped outside. 
Scout was playing some sort of war game with his father.  Marcus
and Sammy were still working on the van.  Mulder was talking with
Helen.  As soon as he saw her he got up and ran to her.

"Scully..."  He started.  Scully waved a hand.

"I know, I should be lying down, but I got hungry."

Mulder quickly brought her an apple and a drink.  She
thanked him and sat down next to Helen.  Helen immediately hugged
her.

"Why?"  Scully asked.

"You took care of my son."  Helen answered.

Scully smiled.  Mulder pulled her foot off the floor and
placed it in his lap.  He began to pull the bandage off of it.

"I already disinfected it, Mulder.  It's fine, don't forget,
I am a doctor."  

"What about Micheal?"  Helen asked.

"I put disinfectant of his leg.  He's unconscious.  It
doesn't look too good.  The wound is infected and the gangrene is
spreading, the only way to save him now is to operate to remove the
growing infection."

"Why won't you do it?"

"If I had the equipment I would have done it already.  It's
too risky to do it with what I have now."  She paused.  "Besides,
even if we did take the risk, there's not enough anesthesia left."

"There were only five to begin with."

"You asked me to put Micheal to sleep the other day.  You
used one and I know Mulder used half of one on me this morning."

"How did you..."  Mulder began.

She pulled up her right arm and showed him the small blood
dot.  "Remember, I am a doctor."  She repeated sternly.

"But, there's still two and a half left."  Helen pointed
out.

"Those are mild analgesics.  They'll put you to sleep for an
hour or so and your body sleeps naturally after than.  To perform
surgery on Micheal I'd need at least ten.  Three for surgery and
seven to keep him asleep until the helicopter comes."

"When the hell is the chopper coming anyway?"  Helen asked.

"They said they'd pick us up tonight."

"But if they come tonight, they won't reach us before
they're eaten."


"We just have to take the chance.  Besides, I don't think
they'll be eaten."

"Why not?"  Mulder asked.

"Well they might, but I..."  She stopped to regroup her
thoughts.  "Ok, you remember the book Lord of the Flies?"

"Rented the movie."  Mulder and Helen said simultaneously.

"Whatever."  Scully said rolling her eyes.  "You remember
they broke off into two groups and then the bigger group tortured
the smaller group to join them?"  She waited.

They nodded their heads.

"Last night, when Scout and I were in the van, we saw Lily. 
They didn't eat her, they tortured her into..."

Mulder finished,  "Joining their group."

"Right, and I think that's what they want us to do."

"Um, excuse me, but they ate their leader."  Helen offered.

"It's like animals, which is exactly what they are.  If
someone didn't like the authority they would challenge it.  Most
likely with a fight to the death."

"What would we have done without you?"  Mulder asked
smiling.

"You'd have figured it out in a day or two."  Scully told
him.  Then added, with a smile,  "If you were still alive."

"Well, what are we going to do?  Do we just sit here and
wait for the chopper?"  Helen asked.

"I guess."

Scully looked around.  It all seemed too quiet for her.  She
was used to the lively action of most of their cases.  She wanted
something to happen, anything that would make more noise than their
talking. 

"Scully?"  Mulder asked.

"What?"  She replied, sounding a bit angry.

"You ok?"

"I'm fine, I just have a bad feeling about all of this.  The
changed, the timing, us."

"You don't think they knew about all of this and they sent
us up here to die with the rest of the group, do you?

"Maybe.  They sent Myles to us without the usual red tape."

"What are you talking about?"  Helen asked.

Mulder replied,  "Our government thinks we know too much. 
They've been trying to kill us for some time now."

"You think they're trying to kill all of us, then cover it
up?"

"Only one way to know."  Scully paused.  "Wait."
**********

In the cave the twelve remaining now sat in a circle around
a small fire.  The smell of blood, sweat and urine filled the room,
but the inhabitants failed to notice.  Most had been changed so far
that the only thing they remember is the smell of their group.

"What... we... do..."  One asked.  Larry looked at him and
answered,

"Wait until dark, can't go out now."  He paused.  "Lily?"

"They have a chopper coming at dusk, we can attack them then
and get them all."

"But... how... kill..."

"We won't kill them all, the group, they live, all except
for Micheal, the injured man.  We kill the people who fly the
plane."

"Not... enough... food..."

"It's plenty."

"Why... listen... you..."

"You've got no one else to listen to."

They all murmured and spoke amongst themselves.  Some went
off into deeper caves to chew on the remains of other dead bodies,
some went off to mate.  Lily and Larry remained in the room.

"What think Lily?"

"I think it will be difficult."

"Why?"

"Because 'they' won't kill children, 'they' won't kill
women.  What if the pilots are women?"

"They will torture them."

"Why are they like this?"

"They are hunters."
**********

Micheal died in his sleep an hour after the surgery
conversation.  Now, again, only seven remained.  Sammy clipped
together the wires of the camera, but it didn't work.  Somehow
'they' had destroyed the satellite.  Scully was annoyed at first at
how intelligent they were for animals.  Then she saw that they had
destroyed the satellite in an attempt to get to a nest of birds. 
They had succeeded and the roof of the lab was covered in feathers
and blood.  Scully had climbed the roof against Mulder's orders. 
He was now standing on the edge of the building looking at her with
an annoyed face.

"Scully, I told you..."

"To rest, I know, but it bugs me to be lying down feeling
worthless."

She turned from him and he got up followed by Marcus and
Helen.  Scully pointed to a grate in the floor.  "Where does that
go?"

Marcus answered,  "Only one way to find out."  He turned. 
"Scout!"

"What!"  The boy yelled back.

"Come up here."

Scout immediately obeyed, running to the lab and up the
stairs.  Marcus had already propped open the grate and was looking
down.  He turned and went to the edge.

"Sammy throw me up the long rope."

Sammy threw the rope that had been sitting on the floor up
to Marcus.  Marcus tied the rope to Scout's waist and took him to
the opening.  He gave the boy a flashlight.

"Scout, you go down there and tell me where it goes.  If you
run into trouble yank the rope and scream."

Scout nodded and entered the hole.  Marcus let out rope and
more rope.  After five minutes Scully asked,

"How long is this rope?"

"Seventy-five feet."

Scully muttered under her breath,  "Now I know why you call
it the long rope."

When Marcus had two feet of rope in his hands the front door
to the lab opened. 

"Hey Light!  It goes through our room."  Scout screamed from
the open door.

Mulder and Helen ran to the edge and looked at him.  He went
down the stairs and took Scout back into the room.  Mulder gave him
a permanent marker.

"Scout, I want you to take this and, as Light pulls you up,
make a line all the way through, so later, if we needed to, we
could find our way out."  He paused.  "Do you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."  He hated being treated like a four year
old.  "Draw a line, like a maze."

Scout got up on the desk he had fallen on and Mulder pushed
him up through the hole.  Then Mulder went back outside on the roof
and told Marcus to begin retracting the rope, slowly.

"Mulder, what are you doing?"  Scully asked.

"Don't worry, I have an idea."  He responded.

Then he proceeded to tell them what he intended to do that
night when the helicopter arrived.
**********

Wind rustled the leaves outside of the cave.  Its
inhabitants murmured to themselves, almost hypnotically.

"Hunger..."

"Die..."

"Kill them..."

"Hungry..."

"Now..."

But they couldn't leave now, not yet.  There were still four
more hours until sundown.  Four long hours.

Only four more...
**********

Scully sat impatiently as Mulder examined her foot again. 
He poured the last of the disinfectant on her foot.  She didn't
even flinch.  Micheals body had been wrapped and put in the back of
one of the vans.  Everyone was doing anything to try to pass the
hours.  They all knew that they either give Mulder's idea a try or
they die, but at least they had an option. 

Every night 'they' destroyed the work that had been done on
the van, so Marcus and Sammy gave up.  They all agreed to Mulder's
plan and whatever happens, happens.

At least they had a plan.

It was a dangerous one though.  They would all risk being
captured, they were also risking the lives of the pilots.  But
Mulder had confidence that they would be smarter than to let savage
people into their helicopter.

Right?

He was beginning to doubt his plan would work, but he
couldn't admit it.  Every time he found a loophole he muffled a
curse which was immediately followed by a "It WILL work." from
Scully.  She, he thought, sometimes had too much confidence in him.

What if...

"Mulder, one more and I'll slap you."  Scully told him.

He knew better than to ignore her warning.  Mulder stood up
and started to pace the room.  Then he walked outside.  Scully got
up and, with Sammy's help, went outside also.  She sat on the rock.

"It's getting closer to the time."  Helen said.

At the moment everyone was outside.  Either pacing or
sitting or throwing rocks at the 'O' in the EcoS sign.

"Scout, stop it."  Helen told them.

"Why?"

"You'll break the sign."

Scout threw all the rocks on the floor and noticed that his
shadow ceased to be.  Then, he was the first to hear it.  The stead
whum-whum-whum of the helicopter blades.  The group stood slowly. 
Wide smiles across their faces as they saw the chopper appear.  It
began to land and the group began pointing to the roof.

The chopper continued it's descend to the ground.  The group
on land frantically waved their arms to the roof of the building. 
The smiles on their faces faded.  The chopper landed on the ground
and they all ran to it.

The sun set.

Sammy was the first to the helicopter.  He screamed to the
pilot, unauditable words.  As he put the first foot on the chopper
one of 'them' came out of nowhere, tackled him to the floor and
broke his neck.  Helen screamed and, along with the rest of the
group, made her way to the lab.  Half way to the door two of 'them'
came out of the forest and charged at them.  They split the group
in two.  Mulder, Helen, Scout and Cory ran into the door.  Scully
and Marcus ran to the van, Marcus carrying her.

Cory slammed the front door to the lab.  Mulder turned
around and looked at those who remained.  He screamed,

"Dammit!  Where's Scully?"

"She got split up when Jack and Arnold attacked."  Cory
answered.

"We have to go out and..."

"And what?!  Risk ourselves to try and save someone who's
probably already dead!"

Mulder looked to Cory as if to say 'Yes'.

"No way man."  He paused.  "We have to get to the roof and
try to flag down the pilot.  If he's still alive."
**********

As they reached the roof the helicopter flew to the air. 
It's flight pattern was a bit edgy, making them think that the
changed had somehow entered it and were now the ones flying. 
Mulder looked over the edge of the roof and saw 'them' on the
ground surrounding four bodies.  He could make out Sammy's body and
he could see Marcus's body.  The other two bodies had light blue
shirts on with navy blue pants.  The helicopter landed on the roof. 
Everyone tried to see through the windows.  They all stood around
it.  The door opened and Scully screamed,

"Coming?"

They all smiled and ran into the chopper just as 'they' were
coming over the edge of the roof.  Mulder was the last one to get
into the chopper.  Lily came at them at full speed.  Scully slapped
something into his lap.  Mulder fired the flare gun directly into
Lily's face.  Mulder slammed the door to the helicopter and Scully
took off.  Cory looked at her and said,

"Lady, you got more luck than a leprechaun."

Mulder thought to himself, 'More than you know.'  Scully
laughed.  Mulder jumped into the front seat next to her.  He
watched her maneuver the helicopter. 

"Scully?"  She nodded his way.  "When did you learn to fly a
helicopter?"

"My father knew how and he told me and my brothers."  She
paused.  "And, one too many video games."

She gave him a sardonic smile and flew off.
**********
FBI Building
10:27AM


Scully and Mulder entered Assistant Director Skinners'
office at 10:27 am three days later.  Scully was offered a chair
while Mulder stood with her crutches.

"You asked to see us, sir?"  Scully asked.

"I understand you intend to continue your investigation of
the EcoS case?"

"Yes, sir."  Mulder answered.

"Sorry to be the one to tell you.  The order came this
morning from the top.  You are prohibited from executing a full
investigation of the crime scene.  It has been properly quarantined
and any action to do so otherwise WILL result in a probation."

"May I ask, sir, who sent this order?"  Scully asked.

A voice from within the shadows of the office answered. 
"That is none of your concern agent Scully."

Both of them looked over to the cigarette smoke that rose
from the shadowy figure and knew that their investigation had been
terminated.  They stood up slowly and left the office.
**********