Faith and
Superstition
“Agent
down!”
Scully
made the cry instinctively even though there was no one to hear her. They had come here alone on a weak
lead. Unfortunately it had proven to be
hot. The rapid gun fire seemed to come
from nowhere and everywhere all at once in the hollow echoing warehouse. Before they could even think of taking cover
Mulder fell backwards to the cold floor with a short exclamation of pain. The mysterious gunman had then fled.
Kneeling
down next to her fallen partner Scully pulled Mulder’s hands away from his stomach,
which he was clutching in obvious pain.
His white shirt revealed a small hole outlined in burnt cloth. She gently rolled him on his side to get a
look at his back. The damage was worse
than Scully had feared. Dark red blood
that bordered on black seeped out of the exit wound. The bullet had perforated all the way through and had smashed
through his liver on the way. The
blood-rich organ was probably hemorrhaging even worse inside his abdomen. The injury was beyond Scully’s skill.
“Help! Someone, please!” Scully pleaded to the empty room. “Anyone!”
It was
useless to call for assistance and Scully quickly came to realize this. If she didn’t do something drastic Mulder
was going to die on the concrete floor like a slaughtered lamb. Scully drew a deep breath and closed her
eyes which caused hot tears to spill.
She placed her hands gently on Mulder’s stomach.
“I’m
sorry, Mulder, I can’t protect you anymore.
Good bye.”
***********
“Agent
Mulder?”
The voice
was familiar, but Mulder was having trouble placing it. Mulder opened his eyes and found himself
staring up at the ceiling of a dank warehouse.
A fan high above lazily tried to stir the stagnant air.
With a
gasp Mulder recalled what had happened.
He instinctually grabbed at his side, but there was nothing there. No blood, no pain, nothing but his unmarked
shirt. Mulder struggled to get to his
feet and was instantly aided by a strong hand.
“Agent
Mulder? Are you okay?”
“Skinner?”
“That’s
right. Can you stand on your own?”
“What are
you doing here?” Mulder turned to face
the Assistant Director.
“I could
ask you the same thing. If you hadn’t
left this address on your desk we might never have found you. What happened?”
“What do
you mean?” Mulder was still very
disoriented.
“Don’t
you remember?” Skinner looked at Mulder with concern. “Agent Mulder, you and Agent Scully have been missing for two
days.”
“Missing?” Mulder slowly started to remember. “I... I got shot,” he said slowly rubbing
his side “and then..., no, that couldn’t have happened. Scully..., she..., she.” Mulder looked around with slightly unfocused
eyes. “Where is she? Where’s Scully?”
“I don’t
know. You’re the only one here. Are you sure you’re all right?”
Mulder
didn’t answer he was already running to the back door. He stepped out into an alleyway. The dirty street was deserted of life beyond
a few pigeons. Mulder looked down the
alley, not entirely sure what he was expecting to find. A stray breeze caught a large feather and
pushed it up against Mulder’s leg. He
absent mindedly picked it up and started at its blinding white color. The tip of the quill end was bloody. Mulder looked up again but nothing had
changed. He was alone.
“Scully?” Mulder asked the empty alley.
Something
was scratching at Mulder’s throat. He
reached up and found something thin wrapped around his neck. With a quick jerk he broke it. A delicate gold necklace with a tiny cross
dangled from his hand.
“What’s happening?”
************
A week
later Mulder sat at his desk fiddling with the feather he’d found in the
alleyway. He didn’t even know why he’d
kept it. After being found Mulder had
spend three days in a hospital under psychiatric care while the unsuccessful
hunt for his partner continued. He
still couldn’t piece together what had happened in the warehouse. However, he did manage to somehow convince
the hospital that they could release him.
As for
Scully she had simply vanished into extremely thin air. The only evidence of a struggle were shell
casings from when the gunman had shot at them.
At least that collaborated Mulder’s story somewhat. Other than that: nothing. This was maddening. The last time Scully had disappeared she had
been forcibly taken and he’d known that.
This time she seemed to have simply walked away.
Mulder
was getting frustrated and more desperate.
He had to help her, he felt instinctually that she was in trouble. She wouldn’t have just left him. Even if she did have a reason to do so. He was sure of this. The problem was he didn’t have any idea
where to start. There was a quick knock
at the door. Mulder looked up
expectantly.
“Hello,
Agent Mulder.”
It was
only Dr. Samuels.
“Hello,
Dr. Samuels. Thanks for coming down
here.”
“No
problem. What can I do for you?”
“I hear
you have a great interest in birds.”
“I do
tend to pride myself in that. Why?”
“I’m sure
it’s nothing, but I found this feather.”
Mulder handed the radiant feather over to the doctor. “I was hoping you could tell me what it is
from.”
“Where
did you find this?”
“In an
alley way.”
“It’s
spectacular! I’ve never seen anything
like it. It is too large to be anything
that would be living here in Washington.”
He turned the feather over in his hand.
“I’ve never seen a feather so white, it is almost Mother of Pearl. Beautiful.”
“Do you
have any idea what it could have come from?”
“No, I’m
sorry, I don’t. But I sure would love
to see whoever this came from.” Dr.
Samuels handed the feather back to Mulder.
“Okay,
thank you anyway.”
“Anytime.”
After the
doctor left Mulder prepared to leave as well.
He couldn’t just sit here. The
feather was still in his hand and he debated taking it with him. Mulder shook his head and dropped the
feather into the wastebasket. Except it
never made it. Mulder stared at the
avian object in disbelief.
The
feather was hanging stationary in mid air like a magician’s trick.
**************
It took a
few minutes for Mulder to even move. He
was having trouble thinking straight lately, mainly because he hadn’t slept or
eaten much since his release from the hospital. Now he was standing here with yet another phenomenon that he
could even begin to explain. Mulder did
not call Samuels back. He wasn’t even
sure he was seeing what he was seeing.
Slowly the feather finally started to fall.
Mulder
reached out and snatched it from the air before it could land in the
wastebasket. He held it gently by the
quill and tried to fan it through the air.
The feather stuck to the air like it was a solid for a moment before
sluggishly moving. Mulder felt that if
he had two of them he might actually be able to get himself off the ground.
The
seemingly magical feather managed to distract Mulder momentarily from the
problem at hand. Then he fought with
the idea that the feather might be somehow connect to Scully’s disappearance. However, even Mulder’s over active
imagination couldn’t find a link.
He sighed
and pocketed the feather once more.
Mulder
stepped out of FBI headquarters into a driving rain. It didn’t bother him as he walked calmly past the people
scurrying around trying to seek shelter.
Mulder kept walking with no true destination in mind. An hour later the rain hadn’t relented and
he was drenched to the skin. Finally
noticing the cold Mulder looked around for a place to dry off. In front of him were the soaring hights of
St. Mary’s Church of Mercy. Mulder felt
a bit of a chill that was not due to the rain.
He had ended up on the steps of the church Scully frequented.
Walking
up the red velvet carpeted isle Mulder didn’t even notice the trail of water he
was leaving. The mahogany pews had
ornately carved roses at their ends and a deep beautiful finish. The rain caused the stain glass windows to
look like they were slowly melting. The
sermon altar was in the shape of a giant eagle who’s outspread wings held an
enormous leather bound copy of the Bible.
Behind this was a statue of St. Mary gently holding the baby Jesus. Mulder stood before this, lost in a world
without thought.
“You look
lost, my son.”
Mulder
spun around only to find an elderly priest with a towel behind him. The priest held out the towel which Mulder
gladly accepted.
“Thank
you, Sir.”
“Please,
no ‘Sirs’” The priest smiled. “I’m Father Jonah. Can I help you, child.”
“Um,
I..., I’m not a man of faith.” Mulder
said apologetically. “I guess you could
even say I’m more of a man of superstition.”
“Ah,
Faith and Superstition, they go hand in hand you know.”
“In that
case I’ve lost my Faith. And I can’t
seem to find her.”
The
priest smiled at this, although he did not truly understand.
“Stay
here for a while, my son, maybe you’ll find it again. I will be in the back if you need me.”
The
kindly priest left Mulder standing in front of the statue. He stood there staring at the stone face
that somehow looked warm. Then he did something that he hadn’t done in more
years that he could count. Mulder took
out Scully’s necklace got down on his knees and said a silent prayer.
When
Mulder looked up the statue of Mary had dark red blood running down its
face. Mulder jerked in surprise and
fell back. The statue looked like it
was crying tears of blood! Stepping
over the brass bar that kept people from getting too close Mulder reached out
and touched the liquid. It was sticky
and warm to the touch. A hot drop of
blood fell on Mulder’s face mimicking the statue’s tears. Looking up Mulder found that the blood was
coming from a dripping stain in the ceiling.
“Father
Jonah!” Mulder cried.
A few
minutes later the old priest came to Mulder’s call. “Yes, my child, can I help you now?”
“Look!” Mulder pointed at the bloody statue.
“Yes, the
church has had that for many decades, it is a beautiful work. I often come to look upon the face of Mary.”
“No,
Father, the blood!”
“Blood?”
“You
can’t see it?” Mulder gazed wild-eyed
at the red running down the stone.
“Are you
all right, child?”
“Is there
an upstairs above here?”
“There is
an attic. But no one’s been up there in
years. We’ve lost the key to the door.”
“I have
to get up there.”
“Like I
said we’ve lost the key.”
“Then
we’ll use my shoulder.” Mulder noticed
the priest hesitant look. He drew out
his badge. “It’s okay, I’m Special
Agent Fox Mulder, FBI. The government
will pay for any damages. Please.”
“This
way, Agent.”
It only
took three tries for Mulder to break down the old wooden door. When he did a small dusty spiral stairwell
was revealed. As he started up it he
turned back.
“No one
is to come up here, unless I give the word.
Understood?”
“Yes, yes
of course.”
As Mulder
climbed the stairs his pulse quickened way beyond what was need for the
exercise. It didn’t look as if anyone
had been there in decades other than the spiders and church mice. Around the second bend Mulder came to a
familiar sight: a lone white feather.
He picked up the feather and found that it had the same qualities as the
one he’d found in the alley. Pocketing
the new treasure he made his way to the top of the stairs. An ornate wooden door bared his way, but he
found that this one was not locked. He
stepped inside the surprisingly spacious attic.
In front
of him lay a sight that stole Mulder’s breath and once again brought him to his
knees.
**************
Mulder
couldn’t seem to take in what he was witnessing in the old church attic. A shadowy figure knelt before a large dusty
cross. The shadows cast by the rain
through the cracked window played tricks on the profile of the individual’s
face, hiding the stream of tears.
However, what had caught Mulder’s breath was the staggering set of
radiant white wings that cloaked the stranger’s back in a cascade of
iridescence.
Suddenly
aware that he had been holding his breath Mulder drew in some much needed
air. The noise startled the winged one,
who turned to face the abrupt company.
A cold wind from an unseen open window blew a small blizzard of feathers
around the attic. The unnatural snow
storm went unnoticed by the attics only occupants. Of all the things he’d been through nothing could have ever
prepared Mulder for the scene that had just unfolded before him.
“Scully?”
“You
shouldn’t have come, Mulder.” Scully
said calmly. “You’re just making things
harder for me.”
“What are
you talking about? What happened?”
“I
failed.”
Keeping
one hand firmly on her side Scully rose from the floor. She spread her tattered wings to catch her
balance. More feathers fell to the
shabby floor like leaves falling off a tree in autumn. She was still wearing what Mulder had seen
her in last. The black suite with the
white blouse and short skirt look pitifully out of place on the Angle before
him.
When
Mulder approached her Scully stood her ground with seemingly no emotion on her
face other than the tear stains. Mulder
was looking past the wings at the moment.
His suddenly resurrected partner looked ill, deathly ill. He placed his hands on her shoulders for
support causing a few more feathers to shake loose.
“Are you
all right, Scully?”
Scully
managed a brief ironic laugh. “That’s just
like you, Mulder. You instantly believe
everything your eyes see.”
“My eyes
have being seeing a lot of things lately, that doesn’t mean I believe
them. I’m just learning to accept
them.”
“And these” Scully thrust open he abused wings “do you see them?”
“I do.”
“And do
you believe them?”
“I don’t
know. Scully...”
“Her name
isn’t ‘Scully’.” A voice from behind
interrupted. “It is Acacia, and I was
foolish to give her a second chance.”
“Father
Jonah, this isn’t...” Mulder tried to
explain but found that he didn’t know what was going on.
“I’m
sorry, Father, I... I..” Acacia
stuttered.
“I know
what happened!” The suddenly vigorous
old man snapped. “You deserve your
fate!”
“What is
going on?” Mulder asked desperately, he
was seriously beginning to doubt his sanity.
“Scully, please?”
“You
might as well explain it to this mortal for whom you’ve become an outcast. You are now twice a traitor! Then you had the audacity to hide here!”
Acacia
flinched at the harsh words. She
avoided Mulder’s confused eyes as she explained in a low tone. “I’m sure you’ve figured out by now that I’m
not what I’ve seemed. I’m, or was, a
Guardian, a Guardian of Humanity. Several decades ago I... I saved a child, I
saved a child against orders. That
child grew up to bring war and slaughtered millions. I was given a second chance.
I was given one mortal life time to make up for the crime that I
committed against the world. As a
Mortal Guardian it was my duty to save as many lives as I had doomed. So I became a doctor, thinking it would be
best. Soon I found that I couldn’t do
enough. So I entered the FBI to protect
a larger flock.
However,
I failed again. I got caught up in
saving one life. And when that one life
was about to be taken I acted against the Code once again.”
Acacia
removed her hand from her side revealing a small hole in the fabric of her
jacket. Mulder touched his own side in
memory. Without seeking permission he
opened the dark jacket and violently ripped open the intruding blouse. With horror Mulder gaped at the wound that
marred otherwise flawless skin. He
forced her around to see the back. The
bullet had done far more damage on the way out. Dark red blood oozed out of the devastating injury even after a
week.
When
Mulder was done Acacia buttoned her jacket closed. Mulder looked back and forth between the pair in search of an
answer.
“I became
so attached to that one life that when it was being taken I traded in my mortal
life for his. Yours. I traded it for your life, Mulder. In doing so I doomed all those whom I could
still have helped. No longer a mortal
and not fit to be a Guardian I’m stuck in this form until the flesh of it
finally fails, then I shall roam as a specter.”
“Scully,
no, I’m not worth...” Tears of
realization split from Mulder’s green eyes.
“I’d do
it again.” This was said defiantly to
Father Jonah.
Acacia
could no longer support herself. As she
started to fall Mulder caught her and helped her to the floor. Mulder held her as best he could with her
wing in the way. He didn’t know what to
do. Mulder frantically ran a shaky hand
through her crimson hair. She opened
her eyes and smiled sadly.
“I tried,
Mulder,” Acacia whispered weakly “I tried so hard not to love you.”
Mulder
simply couldn’t answer in words. He
leaned closer and kissed her salty, tear bathed lips. Acacia flashed a smiled which quickly faded as the pain from her
side racked her frame.
“Please! Father, help her!”
“The
Court has decided. There is only one
way I can help her now.” The priest
drew a sword with a blade of pure flame from the air. “Her soul has become forfeit.
She is only flesh now and she will suffer for eternity on Earth, neither
living nor dead, if you do not let me destroy her.”
“No!”
“Out of
the way mortal, this is none of your affair.
I only let you see her one last time out of mercy. Now stand back.”
“Never.” Mulder growled protecting the prone
Guardian.
“Then
you’ll lose your soul as well, the
Flame vanquishes all. Her sacrifice
will have been in vain.”
“I will
give you my soul, just please, save her, give her another chance!”
“You
would be willing to give up your immortal soul for this creature?”
“Yes.”
“So be
it.”
Father
Jonah raised the flaming sword above his head and brought it down hard.
*************
“I think
he’s coming to. Mulder? Can you hear me?”
Mulder
opened his eyes and quickly shut them against the harsh white light. His head was swimming like he’d drunk a keg
of vodka. There was a beeping sound
that was rapping a tattoo on his eardrums with annoying persistence. A light touch fell on his arm.
“Mulder?” A feminine voice asked quietly.
“Acacia?”
“No, no,
Mulder, it’s me. It’s Scully.”
“Scully?”
“Yes. And Assistant Skinner is here too.”
“Didn’t
think you were going to pull out of this one, Agent Mulder.”
Mulder
snapped his eyes back open. At first
all he could see was a tiled ceiling that held evil bright florescent
lights. Turning his head he saw Scully
standing next to him with her face full of concern.
“Scully!” Mulder tried to sit up and was rewarded with
a stabbing pain.
“No,
Mulder, stay down. You’ll burst your
stitches.”
“I’ll
leave you two. Good to see you awake
and fighting, Agent Mulder. I expect to
see you two both back at work soon.”
Skinner smiled benevolently and ducked out of the room.
“Scully,
thank God. I didn’t think you were
going to make it.”
“Me?” Scully raised an eyebrow. “I’m not the one who got a .9 mm through the
liver. You gave me quite a scare. Luckily the bullet only grazed your hepatic
vien. Otherwise, well, never mind about
the otherwise. As it is you’ve been
asleep for a week. Someone heard my
call for help and we were able to get you out of there.”
“Scully,
I don’t think I’ve ever told you this, but you are my Guardian Angle.”
Scully
smiled shyly. She bent down and kissed
Mulder’s brow. “Get some more rest,
Mulder, I can see in your eyes that you’re not all here yet.” Scully started to walk out. She stopped when she remembered
something. “By the way, we did catch
the shooter. Oddly enough it was a
woman.”
“A
woman?”
“Yes,
Angie. Angie Acacia.”
***************