Thursday
7:42 PM

The search had continued that afternoon, with no success. Tom Foley was noticeably absent from the party. Sgt. Avery called the agents that night to say that it was being called off. No amount of arguing could persuade him.
Scully hung up the phone. "Well, that's it, then. It's over. They've given up."
Mulder gave her a quizzical look. "Scully, she's still out there. Maybe not in the forest, but she's out there."
"Mulder, I know you're trying to push your abduction theory, but do you really believe that. . ."
"That Hannah Banks was abducted, along with her horse, by entities unknown, who then returned the horse to the woods after testing him in every possible way, and that they still have Hannah? Yeah, I do."
Scully stared openmouthed at him.
"Oh, and what do you think those marks on the horse's neck are? An 'allergic reaction'? Come on, Scully! We've both seen this before. Or have you forgotten our wonderful first case together?"
"Believe me Mulder, I have not forgotten. And you know what the crazy thing is? For once in my life, I don't have another theory."
Mulder just smiled.

Mountain View Riding Stable
Friday
10:36 AM

Tom Foley was nowhere to be found.
Scully and Mulder had arrived at the stable in the morning. Tom was not there to meet them. In fact, they noticed none of the usual bustle surrounding the barn. There were no students, no boarders, and no stablehands. The horses were all in their stalls.
"Weird. I told Tom we'd meet him here this morning so he could answer some questions," Mulder looked down the aisles, searching.
A thought dawned on Scully. "Mulder, you don't think that he's taken Hawk to the auction?"
A quick look in the gelding's stall nixed that idea. "So where's Tom?"
Just then, a shot rang out through the barn, and as the agents ducked down behind hay bales, a bullet ricocheted off of Hawk's stall door. The gelding reared, throwing himself against the back of the stall, screaming. Scully could hear the nervous nickering of the other horses.
Mulder jumped up, gun in hand. "FBI! Show yourself!"
They crossed the aisle, and found no one. "Mulder, look."
Tom Foley's jacket lay in the aisleway, where it had not been before. "Tom Foley! Show yourself!"
The effort was fruitless. A complete search of the grounds revealed nothing, and Tom was nowhere to be found.
"What just happened here Mulder? Why the hell did he take a shot at us, and where is he now?"
"Scully, I swear, if I knew, I would tell you." With a determined look set on his rugged jaw, he turned back towards the stable.

"Mulder, what are you doing?"
"I'm going to attempt to interrogate our only witness. This horse was there when Hannah disappeared. Maybe if we took him back up the mountain, we could learn something."
"Mulder, he's not going to tell you anything. He's a horse, he is a dangerous animal, and you are not even qualified to handle him. You can't just take someone else's property and going gallivanting up a mountain with it!"
"Well, Tom isn't here, in fact, he's probably the one who just tried to kill us, and frankly, this is the only avenue left to us. Have a little horse sense, Scully."
He took Hawk's halter off the door and entered the stall. The gelding snorted, and turned his hindquarters toward Mulder. The agent kept approaching him, a movement just asking for a kick, but the horse let himself be haltered.
"Mulder, I can't validate these actions!"
"Okay Scully, but you'd better move," Mulder warned. He brought Hawk out at a trot; the gelding was anxious to be out of his stall, where he had been confined since he had been found. "You coming?"
Scully heaved a sigh of exasperation, and followed her partner through the barn door.

No one was around to notice as the agents took Hawk out of the stableyard. They had started out on the trail, the same trail up the hillside that Hannah Banks had used. Scully kept a wary eye on the large gelding as she followed at a safe distance. Occasionally, he would shy, and she was impressed at how Mulder handled him, soothing him before they continued. Two hours passed, and they reached a clearing near the one where Hawk had been found.
Suddenly the horse balked, planting his feet in the dirt and shaking his head. Mulder turned and tried to calm him, but the gelding bolted sideways, dragging Mulder along on the lead rope. He started backing, pulling Mulder along, who had a tight grip on the lead.
"Mulder, let go!" Scully ran up beside them. "Let him go!"
Hawk spun and reared, and Mulder was almost raised off the ground. The gelding's forefeet were waving dangerously around the agent's head, and the horse let out an ear-splitting scream. The eerie, inhuman sound made Scully shudder.
"Mulder, get out of there!"
Her partner held on, and suddenly, Hawk came down. He stood trembling - muscles taught, nostrils flaring, and the whites of his eyes showing as they rolled. Mulder kept a tight hold on the rope, and stood cautiously in front the terrified animal.
"Mulder, what the hell was that?"
"I don't know, but he's scared to death. Horses are prey animals, and they're prone to . . ." He scanned the sky, and glanced quickly at his watch. It was 2:43.
Suddenly Hawk spooked violently, taking Mulder by surprise and dragging the lead out of his hands. He had a split instant to wonder how such a large animal could move so fast, and then the gelding bolted sideways, throwing up clumps of sod with his hooves.
"Scully, get out of the way!" The horse plunged towards her, she didn't have time to move, and as Hawk turned, his hip slammed into Scully's face. She was knocked down hard between the horse's hooves, but somehow the gelding managed to avoid crushing her.
"Scully!" Mulder dove for his partner, landing partially on top of her as he dragged her out of harm's way. He felt the ground shake, and heard the hoofbeats of the terrified horse. Without warning, there was a bright flash. . .

Mulder found himself on top of his partner as they had landed. Scully groaned, and put her hand to her face.
"Ow."
Mulder gently fingered the cut on her cheekbone. It was bleeding a little, and the area around it was slowly turning black and blue. "You've got a nasty bruise there. You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little sore. . .you want to get off me?"
"Oh, right," Mulder rolled off to the side, and as he did so, he looked at his watch. It was 2:52. "Scully? You might not want to hear what I have to tell you."
"Oh, I've had a pretty eventful day, why don't you just top it off?"
"Nine minutes. I looked at my watch just before Hawk bolted. We lost nine minutes."
"Why does that not surprise me at this point?" She offered her hand, and Mulder gently pulled her up. She rubbed her back, " . . .Mulder, look."
The agent turned, and he saw Hawk, standing alone in the middle of the clearing. His head hung low, his lead rope dragging. There was a sheen of sweat over his painted coat, and with his dark chocolate eyes he stared back at the agents nonchalantly.
Mulder approached him, Scully following. "Be careful."
He walked slowly up to the horse, who lifted his head, unafraid. He took up the lead rope, and handed it to Scully. There was blood on the gelding's hip; he couldn't tell if it was Hawk's or Scully's. He wiped it off with the sleeve of his jacket.
"Mulder," Scully called him over. She lifted up the heavy black mane at the base of the horse's neck. Mulder felt the smooth coat.
"The bumps are gone." The gelding was calm, and accepting of the agents' actions. He showed nothing like malice towards them. "He's back to normal. This is how Tom had described him before."
Hawk turned his head, looking towards the edge of the clearing. He appeared interested, his ears pricked towards the tall grass.
Scully craned her neck. "There's something over there." She handed the lead back to Mulder, and ran towards the woods. Mulder and Hawk followed at a trot.

Scully was kneeling over a young girl, partially on her side, unconscious. She was wearing a polo shirt, breeches, and smudged black riding boots.
Hannah Banks.
"She seems to be okay. All her vital signs are normal."
"They brought her back." Mulder peered at the girl's back out of habit - there was nothing there. Scully stood up in disgust and disbelief, and pulled out her cell phone. Mulder stood in shock. He thought he had seen the end of this, and now, once again, he was right in the middle of it. What was he supposed to believe?
Scully interrupted his contemplation, "There's no signal, we'll have to take her down ourselves."
Mulder wordlessly handed her Hawk's lead rope, and bent to pick up Hannah Banks. He cradled her in his arms, and started back down the trail. Scully followed with the big horse, no longer afraid. The blue sky was clear, and the sunlight drifted through the treetops.

All feedback is welcome at doek@rpi.edu

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