| "And did it help?” “I think it posed more questions than answers.” “Well, why don’t you tell me what happened.” “After I heard you guys talking I snuck downstairs and I went online. I knew Max would be on. So, I IM’d her and I simply asked her to drive over here and come with me to the park.” “But Max doesn’t drive.” “Well, she doesn’t have her license or her permit but she’s driven before with her parents and John. And even though I didn’t really approve of her driving, I needed her help. So being the good friend that she is, she came down. I snuck around the house and got some supplies and then I met Max outside. We drove to the park and parked in this parking lot. We walked to the woods and saw the some of the construction equipment. We went in deeper and that’s when my flashlight ran out of batteries. I had a mini flashlight attached to my backpack so I took that out. We got into an argument and that’s when she just stopped, mid-sentence like before. She said ‘snake’ and then just became completely still. I tried to get a reaction from her but then she continued by saying ‘long live the snakes’ and she just ran off. “Just like before.” “Right, except this time it was snakes. And I followed her, I ran after her. I dropped my light but didn’t bother to pick it up and I just kept running. Finally I had to stop because I was lost. Because didn’t know what to do so I knelt down and started searching for anything that would give me a clue to where I was or whether or not Max had been there. And that’s when I heard a hissing and felt something at my feet.” “Do you think it was a snake?” “I know it was a snake. And that’s when I started running again. It was as if snakes were lining my path. I could hear them.” “But you couldn’t see them?” “No, it was too dark but I know they were there.” “So how did you find Max?” “I just kept running and then I realized that the hissing at stopped, so I stopped. Using my arms and hands I felt around in front of me. I knew something was there so I took a match out of my backpack and I lit it. Max was standing in front me in that same trance that she was in before. I tried to shake her but her body was so…stiff. That’s when I started hearing the hissing again. So, by that time my first match had burnt out so I lit another. I bent over and looked at the ground. There was a huge pile of snakes in front of me. They just kind of slithered off one by one and they revealed the body. And then Max snapped out of her trance and I realized she was cut. It didn’t really sink in that she was bit or I would have cut the skin in order to release the venom but anyway….she just kinda fell. I tied some gauze around her leg and she started murmuring something.” “What was she murmuring?” “Something about how the animals needed her to protect their homes or something.” “What do you think it means?” “I don’t think it means anything. I think she was just delusional and was just saying random things.” “But that didn’t happen last time, did it?” “No. Last time, after she came out of the trance she just was her normal self.” “And then what happened?” “Then I called you guys and just waited for someone to find us.” “Did she say anything after that?” “No, she was kinda out of it. I mean, she was breathing and she wasn’t in a coma or anything but it was as if she had suffered from a concussion or something. Her mom is going to be so pissed. She’ll probably never let her speak to me.” “Well, let’s first see if we can get her car to your house in one piece and then we’ll worry about her parents." Piper sat in a large chair next to Max’s bed. Max’s left leg was elevated and wrapped in gauze and bandages. From the window in the room, Piper could see Mulder sitting outside waiting for Scully. Max’s parents had recently left for home to take care of Max’s little brother. “So were they mad?” Piper asked Max. “Well, they were worried then angry then forgiving and then somewhat understanding.” “What do you mean, somewhat?” “Well, why do you think they’re letting me talk to you.” “Oh.” “Well, if they still feel the need to be angry at you, let them know that it’s my fault.” “Don’t worry, they already know that it was your fault. Now whether they let me get my real license any time soon is another story. I got an hour lecture about being responsible with the car and not driving at night and not driving without someone with me and so on and so forth.” “All the things that I had been telling your from day one.” “Yeah, but why would I ever listen to you? You never listen to me.” “True. So, how’s your leg?” “I think it would hurt but they’ve pumped so many drugs into me that I don’t really know if it’s in pain or not.” “Though I’m guessing that’s a good thing rather than bad.” “Yup.” Max paused and thought. “Hey Piper, Scully told me that you told Mulder that I told you something…” “Okay…hold it. Run that by me again.” “What did I say to you last night after you found the body?” “First of all, how did Scully know that I said that to Mulder?” “I’m assuming he called her.” “Well that little skunk.” “They’re partners, Piper. They share important facts like that. Now what did I say?” “You just mumbled something about wanting to save the animals of the forest and that they needed your help and things like that. It was crazy talk, Max. You weren’t making sense.” “No…no, I was making sense. Do you have a laptop, Piper?” “Yeah, why?” “Does it have Internet connection?” “Well, yeah but it has to be connected to the right wires. What does it matter?” “I want you to bring it to me. Do you have the wires that you would need?” “Well, yeah, my dad must but why do you need it?” “Just bring it.” “Max, I’m already in enough trouble with your parents. I don’t want to do anything else that would upset them.” “How would that upset them?” “I don’t know but I’m sure I could find some reason. I mean, what do you need a laptop for anyway?” “Just get it, please.” Max pleaded. “I trusted you when we went out to the woods and I stood by you. Now I need your help. I need you to trust me and to stand by me. Please.” Piper sighed. “Okay, I’ll get them for you but you have to give me a few hours.” “Thank you.” Outside, Mulder was sitting in a chair waiting for Scully. He was engrossed in a Teen Magazine. Scully walked up to him and laughed to herself as she saw what he was reading. She expected him to look up at him but he was too into the magazine to notice. “Interesting article, Mulder?” Scully asked. He looked up at her and dropped the magazine on the table next to him. It remained open to the page he was reading. “Oh and what is this?” He tried to grab the magazine away but she picked it up. “Flirting at work, how to clue your co-workers in. You trying to tell me something, Mulder?” “You can’t ignore the obvious, Scully.” “Yeah, well flirting aside, Mulder, would you like to know how Mr. Hank Adams died?” “Ah…so a name to this deceased man.” “Yeah, well, he was an architect. Supposedly he was the man who was designing the new paths and the concession stands for the park.” “So how did he die?” “We found snake bites all over his body. He died from the poisonous venoms from the snakes. Due to the high number of snake bites it’s impossible to tell exactly which poisons he died from.” “But they said that they didn’t find any snakes.” |