| “How is that funny?” Erin wondered. “You have to make sure it’s so perfect.” “Well, it has to be or it wouldn’t pass Girl Scout inspection.” Erin said. She thought about what she said and then laughed. Piper and Kyla walked down the stairs to the sound of Erin’s laughter. “What’s so funny?” Kyla asked as she sat down on the couch, which Candy had formerly occupied. Her blanket and pillow still lay there. “Nothing.” Erin swiftly answered. Kyla shrugged and picked up Candy’s stuffed squirrel. She began throwing it in the air and catching it playfully. “I’m guessing you guys had no luck.” Piper assumed. Max shook her head. Piper sat down on the bottom stair. “We didn’t either.” “Piper, did you start a garden?” Maxine asked. Piper looked at her strangely. “No…why do…” She began. She was cut off by the sound of Mulder walking up the stairs. He went into the room and looked at the girls sitting there. “No luck?” Mulder asked, hoping they had better news than he had. “Nope.” Max said. “Candy is gone.” Kyla added in. “We have no clue where she is.” Piper said. She put her head in her hands and sighed in despair. “Now what do we do?” Max asked. “I have no clue.” Mulder confessed. “That’s a good plan.” Kyla said sarcastically. Piper looked up, about to scold Kyla for being so sarcastic, when she gasped. She frantically glanced around the room. “Piper, what is it?” Mulder asked, noticing her feverish look. “Where’s Erin?” Piper said. Kyla, Max, and Mulder immediately turned. Erin wasn’t sitting where she had been previously sitting. “She was just here.” Max stuttered. “Yea, well she’s not here now.” Piper said. “Where could she have gone?” Kyla wondered out loud. “This isn’t making sense.” Piper said. “Nothing about today makes since.” Max reminded her. “People don’t just disappear!” Kyla yelled. She stood up, waving her arms for emphasis. “Look, everyone has to calm down. We need a plan.” Mulder said. Kyla crossed her arms across her chest and sat back down. “You’re last plan wasn’t so great.” Piper sighed. “Well, what do you propose we do?” She asked, somewhat sarcastically. “Maybe they’re pulling a prank on us. Maybe they’re staring at us, laughing. We should conduct another search, switch floors this time…” Mulder suggested. “No! They would not pull something like this.” Maxine protested. “Another search is not going to help us.” Piper said. “We have to figure something out, something logical.” “Piper, nothing about this day is logical. The electricity’s out, the phones don’t work, the doors and windows are stuck tight, and now two people have gone missing before our eyes!” Kyla rambled on. “I guess I didn’t mention the random flower that decided to spring up in Piper’s backyard.” Maxine added in. “Don’t forget about the computer turning on by itself.” Piper said. “The computer.” Mulder whispered. He walked into the computer room and sat down at the computer. Max, Piper, and Kyla followed. “It looks like a biography of some women.” Mulder scrawled down the page. “Looks like she was from the early sixties.” Max said as a picture of the women turned up on the screen. “She was a botanist.” Piper said as she read over Mulder’s shoulder. “Anyone know what kind of flower that is?” Mulder asked as he pointed to a picture of a flower on the screen. “Kyla knows a lot about flowers. What do you think, Ky?” Piper asked as she turned to face Kyla but no one was there. “You guys…” She stuttered. “Kyla’s gone.” Chapter 4 Alexander Residence 10:15 AM “Three people have gone missing and I haven’t even eaten breakfast yet.” Max said. “This is some day.” “This is nothing to joke about, Max!” Piper scolded. “Look, this is no time to get mad at one another. None of us can be alone at any time.” Mulder commanded. “It’s too dangerous.” The room grew silent. Max and Piper stared at the floor. Mulder looked from Max to Piper and then back at the computer again. “Max, you said something about a flower in the backyard, what did you mean by that?” Piper asked, breaking the silence. “When Erin and I were looking around for Candy, I noticed something outside. It was a flower…a rose…a carnation…I don’t know. It seemed like it randomly appeared. I didn’t think you had planted it and I was going to go out and check it out but Erin told me I was trying to find something that wasn’t there.” Max explained. “Show me.” Piper said. Max led her to the kitchen. Mulder sat at the computer, mesmerized by the biography that he was reading. Piper stared out the kitchen window. Her jaw dropped as she stared out at what was in her backyard. “I swear Piper that there was only one flower last time I checked.” Max said. Piper continued to gaze outside. Not only was the original flower there that Max saw but there were also two others. A large tree stood in the center with a large flower on the left and another on the right. “I definitely did not plant those there.” Piper stuttered. “Piper…that looks like a eucalyptus tree. Do you know where eucalyptus trees grow?” Maxine asked. “My guess would be somewhere with koala bears.” Piper guessed. As the two girls spoke, they didn’t take their eyes off the bay window. “That’s not funny.” Max scolded. Piper turned to her. “What am I supposed to do, Max? Randomly, three of my best friends disappear and now three random…plants pop up in my backyard. Does that tell you anything?” “It tells me that we need to go outside and check these plants out.” Max responded. “Maxine, in case you didn’t notice, neither the doors nor the windows will open. How do you propose we get outside?!” Piper shouted. “Piper, I don’t have all the answers but we can’t sit back and wait for another one of us to disappear while your G-Man friend sits at the computer reading about some old women’s life. What does that have to do with us being locked in a house?” Max yelled. “The computer might have more to do with this than you think. It’s the only thing that seems to be working electronically and…” “Piper! Maxine!” Mulder yelled from the other room. Piper looked to Maxine and then bolted off towards the computer room. She ran into the room and stood next to Mulder. His right hand was lying on the computer mouse while his eyes scanned the page. “What did you find?” Piper asked. Mulder looked at her and pointed to the screen. “This woman’s name was Anabelle Winters. She used to live in your house during the early fifties. She died under mysterious circumstances…” “Why does that not surprise me?” Piper mumbled. Mulder ignored her comment. “Like we said before, she was a botanist. When she died, her will stated that all of her money was to go to the University of Rhode Island’s botanical school.” “Something tells me the money never got there.” Piper said. “I guess she was somewhat of a legend. I was able to access the internet and I found some articles in the local paper about her supposedly being buried in your backyard.” “I knew there was a twist coming.” Piper commented. “In the legend it said that she had written a check to the University before her death but the check can’t be found and her will supposedly vanished.” “You’re not saying what I think you’re saying, are you?” Piper asked, afraid to know the answer. She jumped as she heard something loud clang through the house. “What was that?” Mulder asked. “I have no clue.” Piper answered honestly. She looked at Mulder who then stood and followed her through the house. She walked through her parlor, kitchen, and dining room and then into her sunroom. She gaped as she looked at the hole where the door used to be. |