AFTER TITLE SEQUENCE: Father and son are walking in the forest when they hear something strange ahead of them. The father tells his son to run home as he gets is rifle out. We hear two gun shots then it cuts to the next scene. Mulder and Scully are in a car with two unknown agents, we can tell that they do not like them very much. The Sheriff stops them and tells them there is a situation ahead. A woman runs to Mulder and asks him about what's happened to her husband. Mulder goes to find out and Scully follows. We cut to a police search were Mulder introduces himself to the lady incharge of the operation, she explains how it seems like an animal attack but they cannot determine what happened or where the man went. Mulder wants to miss the conference that they were on their way to and stay to find out what's going on. Lewis (the young boy who's father has just gone missing) thinks he's dad has gone forever but his mum tries to think posotive. Scully brings wine into Mulder's room and Mulder tells her that he thinks there is a new, unknown species of animal or creature on the loose in the forest and that's what has taken the three men. Mulder then leaves the room to do something, we don't know what. Lewis is at home in bed and the dog is barking his mother goes into the garden to see what's wrong but the dog carries on barking even after she comands it to be quiet and come inside. She goes back towards the house but she cannot open the door. The creature chases Lewis around the house until Mulder comes in. Lewis tellls him it's in the house. Scully's looking around to try and find out what it was in the house the previous night and Mulder is explaining how the door was found locked from the inside and the footprint found by door, not man and not animal is the same footprint as found in the forest.

Back in the forest everyone is searching for the creature. Mulder and Scully are part of search team. We watch as the day draws on. It's a bit strange how there is no wildlife around. We see that the creature is following them and taking away the markers so that they would get lost. they pick something up on their sensor but no one can see it in front of them they try and chase it using the sensors as a guide and they find two of them on the sensors, one of them is about fourty yards ahead of Mulder and a male officer and they still can't see it, Scully and Michelle are chasing the other one. Now it's disappeared off of the sensors. Mulder and Scully have split up now, we beleive they have been diliberateley seperated so that it is easier for the creature to capture one of them. The creature is seen following Scully and Michelle (the female police officer who is incharge of the case). Then all of a sudden Michelle is sucked into the ground leaving Scully screaming for help from Mulder. Mulder runs to find Scully and when he reaches her she explains how Michelle just disappeard but she can't figure out where she went. Mulder tries to persuade them all to stay and find Michelle but Scully and the officer (Jeoff) persuade him to go with them out of the forest incase they all disappear. They are seen trecking through the forest trying to find their way out when the officer (Jeoff) realizes they are off track and he can't find any of the markers that Michelle had put down to keep track of where they had been. Scully spots something following them and they all get their guns out. Then it all goes dead again. They pick it up on scensor about thirty yards ahead. Jeoff directs Mulder towards the creature using his scensor and creature disappears off of the screen again. Mulder chases the creature with his gun and tries shooting it. The creature then comes towards Scully. She shoots her gun about six or seven times and the creature is no longer seen. Then we see Jeoff running away and he gets taken by the creature. Then it comes and takes Mulder away. Scully is now on her own and she shoots her gun at the creature a few times to help Mulder break free. The creature runs away leaving Mulder badly injured. Mulder and Scully have now settled down for the night in the forest by a camp fire. Scully tries to get Mulder to cuddle up to her and he ays he don't want to wrestle. He asks her to sing to him and she sings "Jeremiah was a bullfrog." Now it's morning again and Mulder wakes up to find that Scully is not there Mulder locates her looking for breakfast. She's on her way back to him when we see her disappear into the ground. He runs towards her and finds her down a hole which she fell in by accident. In the hole they find all the injured people but she's not alone, the creature's in there with her. She has no weapon and Mulder drops his gun down the hole. Scully picks it up but Mulder gets pushed down the hole with her by a second creature which then disappears she shoots at the one in the hole and kills it. Then as they both look over it's dead body, it appears to be that of a tree but with a face. They look around all the injured people and manage to find all the missing ones.

FINAL SCENE: They're carrying all the people into ambulances and taking them away for treatment. Mulder explains how the creature has been living in the woods for over four hundred years and has adapted to the surrounds, He also describes how it would go after anyone who had been in the forest and interfered with it's life cycle. Then he realizes that Scully had gone back to the motel alone. Once again she's not alone, the creature has gone with her. Mulder races back to the motel and finds her in the motel room fine and unharmed not a trace of the creature, they leave the room and we see the creature under Scully's bed.

THE END

Quote of the episode Mulder: Try any of that tail hook crap on me Scully and I'll kick your arse!

Written By: Frank Spotnitz Directed : Brett Dowler

Rating : 7.5