| “So you came down anyway.” Piper said. “It’s our job, Piper.” Mulder responded. “Yeah, well your job must suck.” Max added in. “Look, I don’t want to argue.” Piper said. “The fact is that you’re here and that now you got what you wanted. Neither of us saw anything out of the ordinary and we don’t know what happened. Now please just take me home and go find out what killed that man.” Chapter 3 July 3, 2001 11:27 PM Alexander Residence Piper clutched the book with two hands. Her eyes skimmed the pages, absorbing the words into her brain. She was lying on her back on her bed. She was still reading the same book as the night before, hoping to finish it before midnight. She heard footsteps coming up the stairs and she stopped reading. She put a bookmark in her book and then put it down on the bed. She quietly slid off her bed and walked over to her door. She sat on the floor next to the door, listening. “So how do we know who strangled him?” Mulder asked. “We don’t.” Scully answered. “There were no fingerprints. We do know however that the subject was dead before he was hung.” “And what did the lab say about the rope?” “They found a small tooth embedded in a part of the rope that was still hanging from the tree. I had a Vet take a look at it. The tooth came from a squirrel.” “A squirrel?” Mulder questioned, surprised. Scully nodded. In her room, Piper was also taken aback by the mention of the squirrel though she really wasn’t sure why. Squirrels seemed to have a lot to do with what had happened. First Max began murmuring something about them and then Piper herself had followed one to the dead body. Nothing made sense but that was typical for the beginning of an X-File. “So what did Piper and Max have to say?” Scully asked. “Well, Max didn’t remember anything. She doesn’t know how she got into the woods. Piper said that when she found her she was in a trance. Piper said that once the body fell, Max snapped out of the trance and that was it.” Mulder explained. “So no one really saw anything?” Scully asked, not expecting an answer. “That figures.” “Hey Scully, you think that the squirrel could have gnawed through the rope and made the body fall?” “Well, it’s very unlikely but it’s not impossible. The rope was very thin. It could easily have been chewed through or it even could have just let go.” “Yeah, but what about the tooth?” “I dunno, Mulder. Maybe a squirrel was gnawing on it.” Scully sighed. “Look, there’s nothing else to do tonight. I’ll see you in the morning.” Scully walked off to Piper’s parent’s bedroom. “Goodnight, Mulder.” “Goodnight, Scully.” He said. He watched her walk away and then close the door behind her. He then retreated to Lynn’s room, Piper’s other sister. Piper stood up and crawled back to bed. She tried to pick up her book to begin to read but she knew that she wouldn’t be able to concentrate. She sighed before picking up the phone. Piper stood outside, wearing all black. She held a flashlight in her hand but she hadn’t turned it on. She stared down the road, hoping to see a car but there was none there. She shifted the backpack on her back slightly and wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. Come on, Max, she repeated to herself over and over. She turned back to her house, just to make sure that no one knew she was out there. The sound of a car made her turn back. It traveled down the road at a slow pace before stopping in front of Piper’s house. The car’s engine turned off and Max stepped out. She too was dressed all in black. “Finally.” Piper said. “It took you long enough.” “Yeah, well you try sneaking out of your house and stealing your parent’s car.” Max retorted somewhat angrily. “Sorry, I don’t drive.” Piper remarked. “Yeah, well if you remember correctly I don’t either.” Max said. Piper ignored her and opened the passenger door. She threw her bag into the backseat and got in the car, shutting the door behind her. Max rolled her eyes and got in the driver’s seat. “You know, I liked it a lot better when you didn’t like when I drove.” “Let’s just get out of here.” Piper said. “We’ll talk about you driving later.” Max sighed and buckled her seatbelt. She put the keys in the ignition and started the car. Not only did she not have her driver’s license but she also had never driven at night. Usually driving under any circumstance made her happy but at this particular time she was not happy. She wasn’t in the mood to catch a murderer. They drove to the park in silence. Max barely went over 15 miles per hour but neither of them were in a big hurry. They bypassed the sign at the entrance of the park that said ‘no vehicles after dusk’ and just went through anyway. Max parked in the entrance parking lot. “Your driving ain’t so bad.” Piper joked. She reached behind her and grabbed her backpack. “If my mom finds out that I took the car, I am so dead.” Max reminded her. “Well, we’ll try to make this short and sweet now, won’t we?” Piper said. “What’s in the backpack?” Max asked her. “Rope, food, water, a camera, a first aid kit, a flashlight, a cell-phone, matches, some fire starters…” “How long do you think we’re staying out here? What do you need all this stuff for?” “Well, Girl Scout motto…be prepared. Just in a case we get lost or something.” “I do not like the sound of that. And what do you need a camera for? I’m not really in the Kodak moment mood.” “Just in case we see something. Like the murderer or something. I want to be prepared.” “You said that already. Look, I agreed to help you out here. I did not agree to get killed.” Piper ignored her. “Come on.” Piper turned on her flashlight and began walking along towards the woods. The beam of the flashlight made the slightly wet grass shine. The air was humid but fortunately wasn’t unbearably hot. “Do you know where you’re going?” Max asked Piper as they reached the beginning of the woods. They both stopped walking. “No, not really. But I’m sure whatever I’m looking for, we’ll find somehow or another.” “Why does that not make me feel better?” “Have a little faith, Max.” “Sorry, that was lost the minute you IM’d me and asked me to steal my mom’s car.” Piper smiled as she peered through the woods, trying to use her flashlight to get a better view. “What is that?” She asked as she caught something shiny with the beam of her light. She walked into the woods. Max reluctantly followed. They stopped in front of a large, yellow piece of machinery. “It’s a caterpillar.” “A caterpillar?” Piper questioned. “Yeah, it’s one of those diggers that construction workers use. There’s really no better name besides the name of the company that makes them….caterpillar.” “Right. Glad you know a lot about machinery. They must have started the construction that Scully was talking about.” “What construction?” “I dunno, Scully said that they were going to be making more paths through the woods and putting up more concession stands and bathrooms and things.” Piper explained. “So basically they’re going to tear down all these woods for no apparent reason?” “Seems like it. And considering that this wasn’t here this morning, I’m thinking that they’re working pretty fast.” “Sure, they’ll work fast on cutting down trees and destroying the habitats of hundreds of animals but they’ll leave roads unpaved and dug up for weeks.” “Well, that’s one way to look at it. Maybe they’re just spooked about the dead body.” “That makes two of us.” Max said. They both continued to walk into the woods. Other types of machinery were around the woods. Piper and Max could tell where they had already started clearing trees and other types of plants to make a path. They continued walking for another fifteen minutes. Every sound made them jump. Even the feel of the wind sent chills down their spines. They were both scared to death and they weren’t afraid to admit it. Piper stopped as her flashlight flickered a few times and then went dead. “Uh-oh.” She said. “What do you mean, uh-oh?” Max asked. Without the flashlight they couldn’t even see each other. It was pitch black. Piper slammed the bottom of the flashlight with the palm of her hand. Still there was no reaction. “I mean that the flashlight is out of batteries.” |