From: mulderxfi@aol.com (Mulder XFi)
Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative
Subject: NEW!! Vengeance 1/1
Date: 12 Jun 1996 20:10:34 -0400

Uploaded May 9, 1996.

    For all you lawyers out there: This story is based on characters
created by Chris Carter, the Fox Network, and Ten Thirteen Productions.
Which means, I am using this property without permission but no
copyright infringements are intended. The following work is for the
distribution and private use of EMXC members only. Any further
distribution without the author's consent is prohibited. (Which means if
you ask me before distributing, chances are I'll say okay (but please ask
first!)
    *PLEASE* e-mail me and let me know what you thought!!

Vengeance: an alternate ending to Apocrypha
by MulderXfi@aol.com or try me at maoyama@ucdavis.edu

Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. --Romans 12:19

Black Crow,
North Dakota

    The Ford Taurus rumbled down the twisting dirt road. Abandoned
missile silos dotted the barren midwestern landscape. Mulder drove
quickly. He knew exactly where he was going, silo 1013. In the seat next
to him, Scully looked out over the snow covered countryside. It was hard
to believe that at one time, below this peaceful landscape, there were
enough nuclear weapons to destroy entire countries. Recent peace treaties,
however, had removed the missiles and the silos now stood empty. Except
for one.
    "How do you know what's out here, Mulder," Scully asked.
    "I just know, Scully. They've hidden a UFO out here in one of these
silos. The same UFO that Krychek is trying to get back to."
    "Krychek," Scully said a bit exasperated, "right, Krychek's been
possessed by this alien and now he's trying to phone home."
    "There it is, up ahead, number 1013," Mulder said, ignoring
Scully's sarcastic remark.
    He pressed on the gas and the Taurus accelerated down the road.
Mulder unholstered his Smith and Wesson and checked the clip. He slid
the magazine back into the gun with a single click. Scully looked at her
partner, a bit worried. She was used to Mulder's far-fetched ideas and his
tunnel vision, but this time there was something different. This time he
had an air of desperation about him. This was as close to the truth as they
had ever been, and Mulder was so...Scully paused, searching for the right
word. So.....intense.
    The car slid to a stop in front of Silo 1013. Mulder and Scully
jumped out and tried the heavy door at its entrance. It was sealed shut
with a large padlock.
    "Look out, Scully," Mulder warned as he pulled his gun.
    The shot echoed across the snow covered plains, and the padlock fell
to the ground. With a grunt, Mulder shoved the door open and peered into
the silo's dark interior. They stepped inside as Scully flicked on her
flashlight. It's bright beam bounced off the slick metal walls.
    "This way," Mulder said. He started running down a long ramp that
descended into the silo's bowels.  "Mulder, wait," Scully yelled after him.
    It was too late. Mulder was already halfway down the ramp and
nothing was going to slow him down. Scully was uneasy but she shrugged
her shoulders and ran down the ramp after her partner. The silo's walls
were 10 feet thick. Made of concrete and steel, they were designed to
withstand a thermonuclear blast. Within these massive walls, there was no
way that Mulder or Scully could have heard the sound of an approaching
helicopter.
    Mulder was sweating when he reached the silo's lower level. The
crisp winter air at the silo's surface had given way to the dank and stifling
atmosphere here at the bottom floor. Mulder was feeling a bit
claustrophobic and he stopped to catch his breath. Scully came running
down the long ramp and stopped next to him, breathing hard as well.
Mulder looked around at the large central command room. The UFO
would be down here, locked safely away from any harm. Finally, after
years of searching, he was going to get the proof he needed--proof of
extraterrestrial life. Mulder hunted along one of the control panels in the
room's center. He found a small switch marked "Emer. Light". He flicked
it on, and room was bathed in a soft yellow glow from the emergency
lights along the walls.
    In the far corner of the room was a huge steel door. It had been
painted red, and above, in brilliant orange writing, was the number 1013.
Mulder walked slowly towards the door. He had only gone about 10 steps
when the first explosion shook the room. It knocked him off his feet and
he slammed into the hard metal floor, stunned. He sat up and shook his
head, trying to regain his bearings. He instinctively drew his gun.
    "C'mon Mulder!" Scully yelled at him, pulling him to his feet.
    Mulder looked back towards the ramp. Three men, clad in black,
were running towards them. They were carrying automatic weapons with
laser sights. Red beams of laser light crisscrossed the room, searching for
them. Then, a second explosion filled the room, and Scully grabbed onto
Mulder to keep from falling. The men were throwing concussion grenades.
The explosives were designed to knock their victims unconscious and
render them immobile. Mulder could hear the armed men shouting.
    "Freeze! You are trespassing on restricted military property! Stop
right there!"
    Mulder looked towards the steel door only 40 feet away. A small
rectangular window was set in the door, and he thought he could see the
dark silhouette of some sort of craft behind it. They were so close. If they
could just peer through that window. The armed men were fast
approaching. Mulder's and Scully's eyes met and they both knew what
they were going to do. They turned simultaneously and began running
towards the steel door.
    "Freeze!" the men shouted, "Stop or we'll shoot! Stop or we will
fire!"
    Mulder sprinted towards the door. Behind it lay a lifetime worth of
answers. Next to him, his partner matched him stride for stride. Suddenly,
Scully lurched forward as if she had tripped. Her arms flew forward to
brace her fall. A stream of blood gushed from her neck. She landed
awkwardly, her body twisted and crumpled on the floor.
    "Scully!!" Mulder shouted.
    He stopped and knelt beside her. She was laying on her side, a pool
of blood had already formed around her head. He pressed his hands over
her neck, trying to stop the torrent of blood. Scully's body began to
convulse horribly and Mulder held her down.
    "Scully, oh my god, Scully, lie still, it's alright, it's alright..."
    He looked up. The three men had stopped running. They were
kneeling with their guns raised towards him.
    "Christ, get some help, goddamnit!" he screamed at them.
    The three men did not move. A curl of blue smoke floated upwards
from the barrel of one of their guns. Mulder carefully picked up Scully's
head and held it in his lap. The metal floor around him was slick with her
blood. He rocked Scully gently. Her body shook as she took a deep
gasping breath. He held her tighter.
    "It's okay, Scully, its okay, just hang on."
    Mulder looked up again to yell for some help. He saw that another
man had entered the room. He was dressed in a dark navy suit, cigarette
in his hand. Cancerman. He was standing in front of the three armed men.
The smoke from his cigarette drifted slowly around him. He waved his
hand at the gunmen. They slowly backed away and lowered their weapons.
    "It's you! You fucking bastard," Mulder shouted at him, "get me
some help, goddamnit!"
    "Its too late, Mr. Mulder," Cancerman said evenly, "You were
warned to stop. You were warned that we would fire, and you did not
stop."
    "You didn't have to shoot her," Mulder yelled back at him.
    Scully coughed violently. Blood poured over Mulder's arms. It was
streaming from both her neck and mouth. She was so pale. Her breaths
were coming in short gasps. Her hands were on Mulder's arms, holding
him tightly. Cancerman walked over to Mulder and knelt down. He stared
at Scully, dying.
    The armed men had retreated from the room and it was just the three
of them. Cancerman hissed at Mulder, "Now, maybe you'll understand,
Mulder. This is my show and I call the shots. You were told to stop. You
didn't, and now this is the price you have to pay." He nodded towards
Scully.
    "Fuck you," Mulder spat back, "go to hell, you fucker."
    Mulder's gun was still drawn. It lay on the floor next to Scully. He
reached out with a bloody hand and picked it up. He pointed it at
Cancerman's head.
    "I should kill you," Mulder whispered.
    "You could, but then you'd never know the truth, would you?"
    Mulder's hand closed around the gun and he straightened his arm.
Scully's hold on him tightened. Mulder looked at her. She was looking up
at him, struggling to talk.
    "Mulder, don't...." she gasped, "....it's okay...".
    She was smiling ever so slightly at him. Then her grip on his arm
suddenly let go, and she was still. Mulder stared down at Scully's face,
her eyes were so blue and clear. He looked back up at Cancerman, and his
face was expressionless as he pulled the trigger.