| “What if, what if the government is doing this to me because they think I’m, or we’re, too close to something. Something that they don’t want us to know. What if they’re doing this to my friends because they can’t kill me or else it would be too obvious that it was them doing the killings.” Piper stood up. “What if me having this poster.” Piper pointed to her I want to believe poster. It was the same one Mulder himself had in his own office. “…Is making them do this. They know I’ll do anything to believe in the paranoia. They think I care more about exposing the government than I do about my friends, but it’s all a lie!” In a way, Mulder wished Scully was there now. She could help him calm down Piper. She had that special touch that made Katie want to open up and tell her everything. “None of this is your fault and you can prove it by helping me.” “Helping you how?” Piper asked. “By telling me what happened today in school.” Erin and Piper sighed together. “Let’s start with what you guys were doing there in the first place?” “During homeroom, in the computer lab, we have the newspaper.” Erin explained. “Yea, the Gortonite.” Mulder said remembering what Piper had said before. “I work on it one morning a week since I have band the other four.” Piper said. “I was on it full time last year and I did the topics of Math and Music because I took band and my mom is a math teacher.” “I do various things. Whatever story needs to be done, I’m there to do it.” Erin explained. “Who runs it with you guys?” Mulder asked. “Mr. Almond is the teacher who’s in charge.” Piper said. “You see, there are two different things going on in the morning. They have the Gortonite and they have the computer team, or something like that.” Erin uttered. “It’s a group of the computer geeks who help out with fixing and updating the computers.” Piper exclaimed. “Okay, so now I know some background information, but what happened?” Mulder wondered. “Piper and I were sitting at our usual computers discussing a new singer, Bree Sharp. Jim was standing near us, next to a machine that cleans the earphones that attach to the computers.” Erin explained. “I got up to get an article I had just printed. All the computers connect to one main printer and it’s on the opposite side of the room.” Piper said. “Where was Mr. Almond through all of this?” Mulder questioned. “He was sitting on the bookshelf, reviewing Bryan’s article. He always reads them before we submit them to the paper.” Erin said. Mulder took a seat on the couch next to Erin. Piper threw her stuffed animal on the floor, realizing how stupid it was sound that an eighth grader ran to a stuffed animal for comfort. “Well, Erin then came over and joined me at the printer. I was becoming impatient because nothing was printing out.” “Then we realized it was out of paper. So, we asked Ian to load the paper for us, so we had to wait.” Erin explained. “We heard the bell ring, but we couldn’t just sit there and let our documents come out with no one there to get them. We knew Mr. Almond would give us a pass if we needed one, so we waited.” “Everyone else left the computer, except for Jim, who was waiting for the headphones to be ready to be taken out of the machine.” “Finally, Ian had loaded the paper so my document printed first.” Piper explained. “I hung around and waited for Erin.” “And that’s when we heard the scream. We both turned around and saw Jim on the floor with Mr. Almond hovering over him. That’s when Piper ran out into the hallway and got you.” Erin said. “Do you think Mr. Almond might have anything to do with this?” Mulder asked. Erin and Piper seemed to be taken aback. They had never even considered the thought before Mulder had brought it up. “I don’t see how he could. I’ve had him for English in seventh and eighth grade as well as knowing him from the Gortonite for two years, too. He may be weird but he’s definitely not a murderer.” Piper said. “Do you suspect him?” Erin asked. “It was just a thought.” Mulder said. He stood up and began walking up the stairs. “Oh, and Agent Mulder…” Piper began. Mulder stopped on the stairs and looked at the adolescent girl. “Meeting you and Scully was one of the best things that ever happened to me.” Mulder smiled and continued his way up the stairs. Erin and Piper were silent for a minute but then they began laughing hysterically. Erin knew she shouldn’t be so happy, and there was no reason for her to be, but something had enlightened the room. She wasn’t sure what it was but something made both her and Piper happy, something that didn’t happen to often after they witnessed a murder. “Erin, I think you should stay over tonight, again. We have lots of fun and your parents did tell you as long as I needed you, you could stay and now is a time that I definitely need you.” Piper said. The two girls embraced slightly and then Piper stood up to turn on the radio. Their favorite song filled the air. Piper quickly sat down and tucked her legs underneath her. Erin did the same on the other end of the couch. The song began with just music but then words were heard. “It’s Sunday night, I am curled up in my room…” Erin sang. “The TV light, fills my heart like a balloon.” “I hold it in as best I can, I know I’m just another fan, but I can’t help feeling I could love this secret agent man.” Piper stood up and started prancing around the room. The entire song was about a fan who was obsessed with an actor who portrayed a FBI agent. Piper thought it sounded a little like Mulder and Scully but she just laughed and sang along. Three hours later, Scully walked into Piper’s house. She dragged her feet, and Mulder knew she was tired. Scully walked into the living room and fell onto the couch. She kicked her shoes off and they thumped onto the ground. Mulder sat down on the couch next to Scully and laughed. “So how did James Guild die?” Mulder asked. “Mulder, I just spent the last four hours standing over a dead body. I’m tired, I’m hungry, and my feet are getting blisters.” Scully complained. Scully listened as she heard footsteps come up from downstairs. Piper and Erin emerged into the living room and took a seat on the floor. “So, what did you find?” Erin asked. “James Guild died in the same way that Nick Rosalini did. There was a total loss of blood throughout the entire body but there were no puncture wounds throughout the body.” Mulder looked over at Scully and glared. She seemed quite alert and eager to talk to Erin and Piper. She didn’t hesitate to tell them what she had found but she had complained when Mulder had asked. Scully smiled back at him, realizing how she had treated him before. “Now, what do we do?” Piper asked. “Well, I found another one of those claws.” Mulder said. “I think it was definitely left by the killer.” “And the killer would be…” Erin asked. “My guess.” Mulder began. “Maybe a student in the school or possibly a teacher.” “You know, I was thinking.” Scully began. “Have you girls ever gotten into trouble when playing manhunt?” “What kind of trouble?” Piper asked. She was afraid to tell Mulder and Scully the whole truth about the many manhunt nights, but she knew the truth would be revealed no matter what happened. “Maybe we should call Hannah, since it’s her neighborhood, I mean. She’s got to know more about what goes on than we do.” Erin said. Obviously she was trying to avoid the truth, as well. The two girls caught each other’s eyes, realizing what each other were trying to protect. Piper quickly stood up and picked up the phone. She dialed Hannah’s number from memory. Piper invited her to sleep over that night, as well as come over to talk to Mulder and Scully. Hannah came as soon as she could, after she realized the tension in Piper’s voice. “So, what’s going on?” Hannah asked walking down into Piper’s basement. By this time, Piper had moved the conversation downstairs. She felt more comfortable down there, and she felt more like talking. The three teenage girls sat on the couch while Mulder and Scully sat on a love seat couch, across from them. “So, before Piper decided to call you, heather, we were discussing if you guys had ever gotten into trouble when playing manhunt.” Scully said. She was growing impatient with the girls. She had a feeling that they weren’t telling her something that could prove valuable to the investigation. “What kind of trouble?” Hannah asked. “Well, have any neighbors ever asked you girls to stop playing or has the school said anything to you guys?” Scully asked. “How about the police? Has anyone ever called the cops on you guys?” Mulder asked. Scully was taken aback by the question. When the girls hesitated to answer, she knew something wad going on. Something that wasn’t right. “There has been about three times when the police were called on us.” Erin explained. “What did you guys do?” Mulder asked. |