Part 4 By Jen (JenR13@aol.com) "Mulder are you all right?" Scully asked, a look of concern in her eyes. Mulder stopped rubbing his eyes. "Guess that flight we had last night was bumpier than I thought." He turned back to the steering wheel. Scully thought, but decided not to press any further. They had a case to solve. She just hoped that Mulder wasn’t getting sick. Though he always tended to get sick on cases. Especially the really long ones. Mulder started the car again and drove on, still rubbing his forehead. They were nearing the motel when Mulder spotted two girls by the river. Even in his present state, he recognized one of the girls immediately. It was Lynn Johnson. He stopped the car abruptly, sending Scully forward in her seat. "Mulder, what the hell are you doing?" she said, gripping her seat. "Lynn Johnson is over there," he said, getting out of the car. Scully glanced toward his direction and spotted her. "Let’s do what we are paid for, Scully." He fumbled for his badge, hoping he won’t drop it. With his headache and the all together crapy feeling he had, he knew that was very possible. Scully reached the girls first. "Is one of you Lynn Johnson?’ she asked and they turned around. Mulder reached them then. "Who wants to know?" Lynn answered back, in a very unfriendly tone. "Guess she takes after her mother," Mulder muttered, more to himself than to anyone else. Scully ignored that remark and made a mental note to give Mulder a "look" later, and continued with her questioning. "I’m Agent Dana Scully and this is my partner, Agent Fox Mulder. We’re with the FBI. We’re investigating the death of Gary Reed. We’d like to ask you some questions." Lynn appeared annoyed. "I already told the police anything I know." Her friend remained silent but gave Mulder and Scully a vacant stare. "You sure you told them everything?" Mulder asked a hint of disbelief in his voice. "Yeah, I did." Lynn walked toward him. She was only about 5’1", but like Scully, she sure possessed a lot of authority. They weren’t getting anywhere. Mulder thought. Scully took charge then. "A witness to murder usually has more to say. Es- pecially when she IDs a dead guy." Lynn’s eyes narrowed at that statement, Scully seemed to have gotten though. "He may be dead, but that’s what I saw." Lynn said, softly at first, but her words grew with confidence with each syllable. "And I know what I saw." "But, how was Mr. Reed killed? If you were present, you should know." "I don’t know," Lynn said, but her voice seemed like she knew more. "I just saw him get thrown into the water. That’s it." Her friend nudged her. "I have to get going," Lynn started and ran down toward the river. Mulder started to run after her but he stopped after a couple hundred feet. He seemed to bend down, as if he was going to collapse. Scully rushed toward him. When she reached him, he looked pale and was completely out of breath. He wobbled a bit, but stayed standing. Scully steadied him. "Mulder?" She grabbed his wrist and took his pulse; it was racing. She reached to feel his forehead, but he batted her hand away. "I’m fine," Mulder mumbled, as he tried to stand up straight. "Like hell you are. Mulder, you look you are going to pass out. You should be checked out." Scully helped him stand up better and he could now stand up on his own again. "I’m fine, Scully," Mulder said again, this time more strongly. "Come on we have a case to solve." Mulder started off slowly to the car. Scully sighed. He could be such a pain in the ass sometimes. Scully caught up with Mulder. "Well, if you aren’t going to listen to me, at least let me drive." Mulder re- luctantly gave her the car keys. They reached the car and got in. On the Road 11:02 a.m. Scully tried to kept her eyes on the road as she drove on. The nice day they were having was disappearing before her very eyes. It had actually been sunny in winter, but now it looked overcast like it would rain. And with these dropping temperatures that rain would more likely be snow. Scully glanced over at her partner. He was still rubbing his forehead. She was very concerned. Maybe he would let her take a look at him. She had a small army of medical supplies with her. You never knew when it came to Mulder. She kept glancing at him. "Scully, I’m fine. Stop it," Mulder said, getting a bit annoyed. Truth was his headache had been joined by an all-over achy feeling and he felt like coughing. No way he would do that in front of Scully though. "So, what did you discover from the autopsy?" Mulder asked, changing the subject. "Not much," Scully answered, her eyes on the road. The motel was coming into view. "I was unable to determine the cause of death." "Unable?" Scully pulled the car into the parking lot. Scully parked and pulled the keys out of the ignition. "Yes," she admitted again. "He was dead before he hit the water, though. That I could determine." "We’re getting somewhere then." "Where, Mulder? We have an uncooperative girl, we seems like she’s knows more than she’s telling, a dead guy with no cause of death, and a possible murder suspect that’s been dead for 23 years. That’s not much." Scully got out of the car. "It’s better then nothing," Mulder said over the car. "Yeah whatever." Scully’s good mood was fading fast. Mulder shook his head as he watched Scully walk into her room. he thought as he walked into his room. Riverside Motel A non-descript town in the middle of Oregon 11:31 a.m. After another review of the notes, Scully felt ready to get back to investigating. She picked up her autopsy notes and knocked on the con-joining door. There was no answer. She knew he wasn’t feeling well and grew concerned. Finally she just opened the door. Mulder was lying on the bed, asleep in the middle of the day. That was not like him. She took this opportunity to feel his forehead. He was burning up! "Damn," Scully cursed under her breath. Mulder stirred then. "Scully?" Scully looked at him and he opened his eyes. "Mulder, don’t tell me you are fine because that’s bullshit. You need to get to a doctor." "No, Scully," he muttered, but knew she meant business because she didn’t curse that often. Scully ignored his protest and left the room. "Stay put," she called out as she left. Mulder thought. Scully reached the motel’s check-in area. "Excuse me, could you tell me where the nearest hospital is?" The clerk turned around. "Well, it’s about 2 towns over. In Westford." "How far is that?" "It’s about 45 miles. But I wouldn’t get on the road now if I were you. Some of those roads can be quite difficult and a storm is coming. Supposed to get a foot of snow at least. You won’t want to get stranded." Scully thought again. She looked out the window and saw a gray sky. She could feel the temperatures drop, even though she was inside. The snow looked like it was definitely coming. Part 4a By Lauren (JRDG1013@aol.com) Riverside Motel Lobby 11:47 a.m. Scully's gaze floated out the window. The sky was an angry shade of gray, one which she would not normally connect with 11:45 in the morning. She turned back to the manager. "Thank you," she muttered curtly and walked briskly out. The sidewalk was icy under her feet and when she walked back to the light of her motel room, she could see her shoes were close to ruined in a woolly coat of slush. The adjoining door between her and Mulder's room was still wide open. Knocking briefly on the doorframe, she stepped into his room. "Mulder?" The bed was empty, blankets twisted and strewn on the floor. "Mulder?" She looked into the bathroom. It was empty. She threw the shower curtain back, just to make sure (as a child, she had found her brothers hiding behind the shower curtain in Hide and Seek more times than she wanted to remember). Completely empty. Fear surged through her. He certainly wouldn't put up much fight in his current condition. Scully sat on the bed, still feeling his warmth on the cheap sheets, and stared at the empty room. Her eyes caught glance of a small yellow paper on the door. She hurriedly stepped across the room and pulled it off the door. A Post-it. Scully- I know where Lynn Johnson is. Am gonna corner her. I brought my gun in case her mother shows. Be back soon. M Scully dropped back onto the bed. she seethed. She stared out at the parking lot, noted the sleet falling slickly in the street light's glow. Then she n oticed Mulder had had the decency to leave her the car. 12:16 Basement in the former Y Mulder stepped into a large hallway. When Scully had stormed out of his bedroom in search for a hospital and hadn't come back after 15 minutes, he had been worried. Pulling his winter jacket over jeans and a T-shirt, he had stepped outside and immediately noticed the flyer. Meet- the abandoned Y building. Basement. Discussions on DOGR and even meet JW. Free refreshments to be served after. Call Lynn Johnson at 555-5389 if you have any questions. Now Mulder was starting to wish he had never found the flyer. Or at least had never followed it as a lead. Between the 20 minute ride in an unheated taxi (the town wasn't actually big enough to drive from one place to another in 20 minutes, it was a matter of the driver had a non-existent sense of direction and didn't speak much English on top of it), trying to find the abandoned YMCA in the dim light of the storm, and making his way down 6 flights of stairs to reach the basement and then finding it completely empty, Mulder was one miserable camper. And now he was waiting in a grimy basement for a discussion group led by Lynn Johnson. With nothing better to do than whine, and (fortunately) no one to hear him, Mulder leaned against the slick gym wall and slid down until he was sitting on the dusty floor. He reviewed his current situation. < I'm in the bowels of a building that is probably illegal to be in since it's been empty since 1984. It's cold down here since, evidently, someone stopped paying the oil bill after they abandoned the building. My hair is wet from walking in the snow since the damn taxi driver couldn't find the damn Y in a town 2 miles wide and I'm wearing nothing but jeans and a T-shirt under this jacket. Boy, that was a smart move, Mulder. And now my partner is most likely pissed 'cause I ran off without her.... ran off when she was about to doctor me, too. Well, guess she missed her chance at that.> The whole time, he had been attempting to brush the ice out of his hair. Freezing water poured down his face and he wiped it off with his T-shirt. "My life is a living hell," he announced to no one in particular. "I wanna go home," his voice caught. He hunched forward, forehead resting on his knees and a cough escaped him. Several other followed. "Oww.." he moaned, not caring how pitiful he sounded. There was no one to hear him anyway. This was pointless. They were never going to show.... the meeting was probably tomorrow with his luck, anyway. Clawing the wall for support, Mulder stood stiffly. He dug his cell phone out of his pocket and hesitated. Calling Scully would mean giving in. And he definitely didn't want to do that. Part 5 By Jen (JenR13@aol.com) Riverside Motel A non-descript town in the middle of Oregon 12:17 p.m. "Shit, shit," Scully mumbled as she searched Mulder’s room yet again for any sign of where he had gone. He had said he’d found Lynn. "Damnit," she swore again, getting fed up. Mulder was in no condition to go out searching a hunch. She hadn’t even gotten a chance to check him over. He could have pneumonia for all she knew. Scully sighed. She was getting nowhere. She’d have to track Mulder down herself. she hoped, but her hopes diminished as she saw the big fat snow flakes falling. The snow was falling fast. she thought, and at the last moment, grabbed her medical bag on her way out. < I have a feeling I’ll need it.> Basement in the former Y 1:30 p.m. Mulder had been sitting on the cold tile floor for the last hour. He had picked up his cell phone may times and had considered calling Scully, considered giving in. He shook his head. As if on cue, Mulder heard footsteps at that point. And voices. Two of them, feminine. "Thanks for getting me out of there before I said to much, Sarah," A voice said. Mulder recognized it as Lynn Johnson’s. "No problem. I don’t think you would have leaked about JW anyway. Not after all he has done for you," another girl answered. Mulder assumed her to be Sarah. "What time is he coming anyway?" "Any minute. The meeting is in the green room. This is going to be the most important meeting yet, Sarah." "Why’s that?" "JW has the plan set." Mulder was intrigued. Suddenly he heard the girls footsteps round the corner and come closer toward him. < I’ve got to hid but where?> Mulder’s eyes scanned the hallway and fell on a janitor’s closet. He summed all of his strength and got into it, just before Lynn and Sarah turned the bend. he thought. His thoughts turned back to the girls. < I knew she was hiding something!> He opened the door a crack and saw the girls go toward a room at the end of the hall. Just before they entered it, Sarah turned around. "Lynn, did you hear something?" Oh shit ran through Mulder’s head. Lynn shook her head. "No. Come on Sarah we have to set up the refreshments." "Is everyone coming?" "I sent a flier around to everyone in the group. They should all be here." Lynn walked into the room. "Good," Sarah said and followed her. Mulder wondered. Then he felt the urge to cough. He muffled his cough with his coat. < I really hope they didn’t hear that.> Mulder waited a few minutes. Nothing. They hadn’t heard. Good. Mulder creaked the door open again. He saw a line of people walking down the hallway. He quickly closed the door. he thought. He heard more voices. "Down the hall, in the green room," Lynn directed. "JW has arrived." Mulder wondered. He hadn’t heard any footsteps come down the hall before the arrival of the guests. "No, Lynn," a deep voice said. "We’ll have the refreshments in the green room. We’ll have the meeting in the hallway. I need the echo." It was a man’s voice. "As you all know, I’m John Weston, better know as JW. Welcome to our little meeting. I all know you have been wronged. It doesn’t matter by who, it just matters that you were hurt. Well this group is here to help you feel better. About yourself. We can make those troubles of yours go away. Just like that. I made my first trouble go away at 26. Of course sometimes, a fake death is all you need to start a new life. You can all start new lives." Mulder thought, "Gary Reed was a peer of mine in high school. Captain of the football team. His favorite hobby was making my life a living hell. Of course I got my payback." JW smiled happily. Mulder thought. Mulder’s vision started to blur. "You killed him??" someone in the crowd said uneasily. "Yep, had to if I wanted to move on. If you don’t get rid of them they will stay with you the rest of your life. A burden you can never dump. A constant reminder of your pain. Getting rid of them is just taking care of business. And, of course, dead men don’t do time." Mulder tried to grasp this. He shook his head. His head was really starting to hurt and his vision kept getting worse and worse. He blinked and saw two door knobs in front of him. he thought. "Why did Lynn finger you?" Another voice shouted and all of them looked at Lynn. "Relax, I told her to. I can’t be caught. I’m dead, remember? I’ll always be dead and alive at the same time," he added, smiling wickedly. Mulder felt like he was going to pass out any minute. He needed to steady himself. He leaned against what he thought was a wall. It wasn’t. It was a door. And it pushed open. Mulder felt himself fall, but was powerless to stop it. He stopped falling and opened his eyes and found himself looking up into the face of John Weston. was the last thing Mulder thought before he succumbed to the darkness. A non-descript town in the middle of Oregon On the Road 2:00 p.m. The snow was getting worse. Scully couldn’t see a foot past her windshield. "Damn Mulder," she muttered. She was getting more worried by the second. He was probably stuck in some ditch somewhere. . . Scully couldn’t take the road anymore. She had to stop. She parked in front of a small diner. Maybe they would know something about Lynn Johnson. No one else sure the hell knew. She calmed herself and got out of the car and walked toward the diner. Part 5a By Lauren (JRDG1013@aol.com) 2:01 p.m. On the sidewalk outside the former Y Rough ice grated his cheek. With a great amount of difficulty, Mulder pushed himself off the sidewalk, the ice scraping his palms. He briefly assessed his position. He had been lying on a sidewalk, and was now leaning against what felt like steps. Steps to the Y. He tried to remember how he had ended up lying on the street outside the Y but nothing came to him. His guess was John Weston had something to do with it. he figured, and crammed his hands in his pockets to attempt to keep them warm. He smiled a little despite himself. It felt like hours and hours ago. He didn't have the tolerance to the cold to pull his hand out of his pocket and glance at his wrist watch. But he was beginning to feel a little warmer, now that he wasn't lying on the wet sidewalk, but he was also becoming more aware. His brain informed him that he had to get back to the hotel or Scully was gonna be seriously perturbed. She probably was already... well, a warm hotel didn't seem like such a horrible thing to Mulder, anyway. Problem was, there wasn't a cab in sight. Or a car or a bicycle or even another living being. Raising his head to stare at the churning sky, he saw snow falling freely now, and when he gazed at the bank across the street, he could see a foot, respectively, of white piled on the slanted roof. He lowered his head again, snowflakes stinging his eyes, he licked the area around his mouth in an attempt to warm up a bit. He reached a hand up to steady himself on the slick railing and, with no little trouble, stood. His sneakers sank into the slush and cold seeped through his socks in a matter of seconds. Moving ahead, he spotted a sign; he squinted to see through the snow. "Riverside Motel, 2 miles --->" the sign announced proudly. His eyes followed the arrow and a spinning blizzard of snow greeted him. He took a deep breath, rubbing his chest against the pain and started off into the snow. 2:17 p.m. On the road in town Scully tried to keep her thoughts on the perilously icy road. She wasn't successful, she was too peeved at Mulder. She suddenly remembered the sight of him lying on the bed, fast asleep and her mood softened a bit. < If he's been out in this weather this whole time, he's bound to be sick... if he wasn't already before he left.> She drove down main street again and saw nothing. She had been throughout the whole town now, and not a trace of Mulder. She'd been driving for what seemed like forever. "Okaaay Mulder," she muttered to the still car. "If you beat me to the motel I'm gonna be really really mad, got that?" She shook her head and smiled as she headed back to the motel.