| “Tell me that you have extra batteries in your backpack.” “Um…I guess I forgot those.” Piper admitted. Max slapped her forehead in desperation. “How could you forget those? What happened to be prepared?” “I’ve never done this before! How was I supposed to know I’d run out of batteries!?” Piper exclaimed. She threw the dead battery into her backpack when she noticed something hanging from the zipper of her backpack. It was a mini flashlight. Piper unhooked it from her backpack and turned it on. “What is that?” Max asked, noticing the small beam of light. “It was a little souvenir I picked up fro the zoo. A key chain flashlight in one. Told you I was always prepared.” “Piper, that light is tiny. You think it’s gonna get us anywhere?” “It’s better than nothing.” “Piper we are lost in the woods! It’s dark, I’m hungry…” “You’re always hungry.” Max ignored her. “We have no idea where we’re going! We’re out here looking for something that isn’t even here!” “Then why are you scared?” Piper retorted as she continued walking on. This time Max didn’t follow. “Give me a break, Piper! You’re scared, too and don’t even try to tell me that you’re not. Look, I’m tired, I want to go home. Piper, I want my warm bed, I want…” “Shut up! You didn’t have to come out here with me! You chose to!” “Piper, you told me to get in my car, drive down to your house, and help you.” “But you didn’t’ have to come!” “No, that’s where you’re wrong. I did. I did because you’re my friend and because you asked me to. I don’t believe in what we’re doing out here but I do believe that you believe and I’m just here to help. Now, I think I’ve been pretty cooperative but this is going too far. I admit it, I’m scared and I do want to go home. There’s nothing out here to find. There’s nothing…” Max said but then stopped. She looked towards the woods and stared. “Max?” “Snake.” She said strangely. “What?” Piper asked, looking out towards the woods as well. “Long live the snakes!” Max shouted as she ran off into the woods. “Max!” Piper shouted after her. Max kept running. Piper leaned over and picked up her backpack. She began running after Max screaming her name every so often. She ran through the brush trying to keep the foliage from scratching up her legs. She dropped the small flashlight but didn’t bother to stop and pick it up. It wasn’t doing her any good anyway. She stopped, realizing that she was truly lost. “Max? Max, where are you?” She wailed. She dropped to her hands and knees, running her hands over the cold, wet ground. She was searching for something, anything that would give her a hint that Max had been there. She was looking for a footprint or a ripped piece of clothing but she found nothing. As she was about to stand she felt something slither over her hand. She screamed and quickly scrambled to her feet. What the heck was that, she asked herself. A hissing sound filled the air. She felt something crawl around her feet. “Snake!” She screamed, though no one was around to hear. She began to run, not knowing where she was going. She could hear and feel the snakes all around her. It was as if they lined the path as she ran. She continued on until the hissing at stopped. She looked around but was unable to see anything through the darkness. She walked forward, slowly and cautiously keeping her arms out in front of her as if she was blind. She froze as she felt something in front of her. She scrambled through her backpack and pulled out one of her matches. She lit it and pushed it out in front of her. Max was standing there, completely still. “Max! What’s going on? What happened? Why’d you run off like that?” Piper rambled on but then she noticed she wasn’t getting a reaction. Max was just standing still, staring into the darkness. “No, don’t do this to me again. Don’t do this!” Piper tried to shake her but her body was solid. It wouldn’t move. She realized that the match was burning almost to her fingers so she blew it out. She was left in the darkness again. “No!” She screamed. Piper tried to think about what to do when she heard the hissing again. It got closer and louder with every passing second. Piper stepped backwards and felt something squish beneath her feet. She screamed again. She took out another match and lit it again with shaky hands. She bent over and looked at the ground. There were hundreds of snakes on top of each other. Piper backed up watching the snakes slither off one by one. Moments later, there was only a few left and Piper realized why it looked like there was so many of them. There was a body underneath. Piper watched the last snake crawl off as she heard Max moan. Piper scrambled over to her as Max just fell to the ground. “Max!” Piper exclaimed. Piper dug through her backpack and took out her first aid kit and another match. She looked over Max’s body and notice her leg was bleeding. “Oh my God. You were bit.” She said. Piper took out a wad of gauze and taped it to Max’s leg, hoping to control the bleeding. She wasn’t bleeding profusely but it was enough to scare Piper to death. “They need me Piper.” Max moaned. “No, just be quiet I’m gonna call for help.” Piper reached for the cell-phone that was in her bag. Max grabbed her arm. “They’re asking for my help.” Max said groggily. Her eyes were closed and her words were somewhat slurred. “Who’s asking?” Piper wondered. “The animals. They need someone. They need me to help them.” “Help them do what?” “They’re taking their home. Must…stop…stop….them.” “Max? Max!” Piper exclaimed. She turned on the cell-phone and dialed her own number. Chapter 4 Warren Park 6:23 AM Mulder kneeled down next to the body. He put on a pair of latex gloves and lifted the white sheet from the body. A camera flashed every so often, taking pictures of the crime scene. Scully walked over to him. “Where’s Piper?” Mulder asked her as he stood up. “She’s in Max’s car. I told her that you’d drive it to Piper’s house and that Max’s parents could pick it up there when they get the chance.” Scully explained. Mulder nodded. “I just talked to a snake specialist who just had a dozen men going over the entire area. They didn’t find any snakes.” “Scully, you saw the bite on Max’s leg. Are you trying to tell me that that wasn’t a snake bite?” “I don’t know what it was, Mulder but I’m having tests run on her blood to check for venom and…” “And look at this body.” Mulder said as he pointed. “Try to tell me that this man died from anything but snake bites.” “Well, I’m going to have to autopsy the body to be certain.” Mulder sighed. “What about Piper? What does she have to say?” “I haven’t taken her statement yet. I figured we’d take her home and talk to her there.” “What do the police think?” “They’re denying that snakes were ever here. They think it’s some kind of animal attack that has nothing to do with the other victim that was found.” “Yeah and that’s why the body was found only a few yards away.” “Well despite what the police think, an autopsy has to be performed. Why don’t you talk to Piper while I autopsy the body.” Scully began to walk away. “Hey Scully.” Mulder called after her. She turned and faced him. “I think we should meet at the hospital when you’re done. I want to talk to Max.” “Okay.” Scully said as she walked away. Mulder looked down at the body one last time before covering it completely and walking away. He found his way out of the woods, following the yellow police signs that marked the way. He made his way to the front parking lot and walked over to Max’s car. He noticed Piper sitting in the passenger seat, cuddled in a blanket. He opened the driver’s side door and slipped inside, closing the door behind him. “You okay?” Mulder asked. “As okay as I could be under the circumstances. I think we’re both still scared but if you could have hear her complain about the hospital and the paramedics and how her mom was gonna kill her, you’d think she was right as rain.” “Yeah, I heard her complaining before they loaded her into the ambulance.” Mulder said. Piper smiled slightly. “Piper, what made you…why did you come out here?” “I heard you and Agent Scully talking last night. Talking about how nothing was conclusive and I wanted to find out what was going on. Neither Max nor I could explain what happened to her and I wanted to see if there was something in the woods that could help us understand what was going on.” "ANd did it help?" |