| Mulder heard a noise on the main path. He picked up the young girl and carried her out of the woods. A woman was walking down the path. She was holding a golden pail, with the letters “Latrine Queen” on it. The woman stopped as Mulder laid the girl onto the road. “What happened here?’ The woman asked. She went to the girl and checked her pulse just like Mulder had done before. “I’m Agent Mulder with the FBI. I found the girl in the woods.” Mulder explained. He wasn’t sure who the woman was that he was talking to but she wore a purple tie around her neck so she must be a councilor. “I’m Gauze, the camp nurse. I’m going to bring Tiffany to the lodge.” She said. The woman scooped the girl in her arms, thankful that the girl was so small. She dropped the Latrine Queen bucket and was soon gone on the trail. Mulder walked back thought the woods to the clearing. He went towards the direction the girl, Tiffany, had come from. He saw a trail of blood and followed it to a young girl. The girl’s body was scratched just like Sandy’s. * * * * At the same time, Scully was still interviewing Trinity and Piper. They were sitting near the spicket on logs. There was no one around and the meadow seemed peaceful. “What happened when you found Sandy? Did you see anything out of the ordinary?” Scully asked. “No. When the car came down the road we backed up to the edge so we wouldn’t get hit.” Trinity explained. “Of course, clumsy me, tripped into a pile of leaves. The car stopped to make sure I was okay and when I said I was it left. When I stood up I noticed some blood on my fingers.” Piper said. “Then, we smelled something putrid and we looked down to the pile of leaves that Piper had fallen into. We saw a human hand popping out of the leaves.” Trinity said. “I told Trinity to go find some help while I stayed behind to make sure no one else accidentally stumbled upon the…thing.” Piper said. “What were you doing out there in the first place?” Scully asked. “We were doing latrine duty.” Trinity said disgusted. “Yea, it’s bad enough that they make us pee in a whole in the ground but they also make us clean it.” Piper said. “Actually, we volunteered to do it just so we could learn more about each other.” Trinity confessed. At that moment, Scully’s cell-phone rang. Piper jumped a little because she was nervous and scared. Scully pulled it out of her pocket and put it up to her ear. “Scully.” She answered it. “Scully, it’s me.” Mulder said on the other end. “Another girl was murdered in the same fashion.” “Where are you, Mulder?’ “I’m in the woods. I think you should bring Piper and Trinity down here to identify the body. I want you to look at it. You’ll have to do another autopsy.” “Where in the woods are you, Mulder?” "I’m near the other murder scene, but farther into the woods.” “We’re on our way.” Scully stood up. Neither Trinity nor Piper knew what was going on. They too stood up and followed Scully when she began to walk. They made it to the first crime scene, without speaking. Scully stopped at the edge of the woods before continuing in. She needed to prepare the girls for what they were about to see. “Girls, another girl was murdered.” She said softly trying not to frighten the poor girls. Trinity seemed to be taken aback but she regained her composure and tried to remain calm. Piper laid her hand on Trinity’s shoulder trying to comfort her, though she was just as frightened as Trinity was. “Who was it?” Piper finally asked. She swallowed a hard lump in her throat, not knowing if she wanted the answer. “We’re not sure but Agent Mulder and I would like you to identify the body. Do you think you could do that?” Scully asked. “We can try.” Trinity and Piper said in unison. Scully smiled knowing this would be hard for the young girls. She led them deeper into the woods, trying to find where Mulder was. Branches stuck into the girls and leaves got stuck in their hair. Piper brushed a bush of thorns away, pricking herself as she tried. A drop of blood dripped from her finger but she didn’t seem to care. What she was about to see was going to startle her more than any ordinary cut could. “Mulder.” Scully called, hoping she would be able to find where he was by hearing his voice. “I’m over here, Scully.” Mulder answered. Scully followed Mulder’s voice. She too came to the same clearing. She then followed the same blood trail, Mulder did. Trinity and Piper followed not saying anything. Piper realized how little they knew about each other. They had only met less than a week before and they had already seen more things together, than most people would see in a lifetime. Scully spotted something in the distance as she walked. Something purple was glaring through the woods. As she got closer, she recognized the small speck as Mulder’s camp tie. She followed her vision until she made it to where Mulder was hovering over the dead body. He looked up at Trinity and Piper as they came closer to identify the body. Trinity and Piper walked over to him. They were both shaking and scared. Mulder moved away from the pile, and Trinity and Piper gasped. Tears swelled in both of the girls’ eyes. This time it was Trinity who wrapped her arm around Piper’s shoulder. The girls embraced for a swift moment. Mulder tried to give them a minute alone but he needed to know who the dead girl was. “Do you know who that is?” Mulder asked. “That’s Heidi.” Trinity said. “She’s in our unit.” Piper continued between sobs. “She and Tiffany left a little before we did with Agent Scully. They were headed towards the lodge to return the milk slip and crate.” Trinity said. “How could this happen?” Piper whispered to herself. Heidi was one of the girls in Piper’s patrol. Though she wasn’t too friendly with the girl, Piper had nothing against her. Trinity looked around, searching for Scully. She finally spotted her walking away from the crime scene. Trinity noticed her talking on her cellular phone, probably with the coroner. Mulder put an arm around Piper and his other went around Trinity. Together, they walked out of the woods and onto the dirt path. “Why don’t you guys go back to Woodston and go on with your regular camp business. Agent Scully and I will take care of the body and notify you with the results of the autopsy.” Mulder explained. “You expect us to be able to bounce back? To go back to everyday life after what we’ve seen.” Piper said out loud. She was angry at herself for not paying more attention to Heidi, but she was also angry at Mulder and Scully for asking her to go back to her usual life. “We can’t keep this from the rest of the girls. They’re all asking questions and they all want to know what’s going on.” Trinity cried. “What are we supposed to tell them?” Scully thought for a second as she put her phone back into her pocket. “Tell them we’re inspectors looking over the camp.” She said. The girls will never by that, Trinity thought to herself but she dared not tell the agents. She tapped Piper’s shoulder and the two of them walked down the path towards their unit. Neither of them felt like talking, not even about Celine Dion. Mulder watched them go and then thought about what the girls were saying. Dead people never bothered him but he thought about all the campers whose lives were now in danger. What creature was lurking through the woods and who was killing off innocent children? “The morgue is on its way over.” Scully explained. “There was a witness.” Mulder mumbled. “Who?” Scully asked surprised. “The girl that Trinity mentioned. Her name was Tiffany.” Mulder responded. “Well, where is she?” “She stopped me on the road and told me someone had died but then she collapsed. The nurse happened to be walking down the path so she took her to the clinic. We’re going to have to see if we can get a statement from her.” Mulder said. Scully nodded in agreement. “Look, I’ll stay with the body to make sure no one stumbles on to it by accident. Why don’t you go down to the meadow and meet the coroner?” This time it was Mulder who nodded. He walked down the path, kicking a pebble as he went. Scully sensed that there was something wrong. Something wasn’t settling with him but she couldn’t be sure what it was. |