Dreamcatcher 3
Ally

Brackenhurst Learning Facility for Extraordinary Children, Cleveland, Ohio. May 3rd 1999 8:05p.m.

Scully allowed her gaze to settle on the scenery that unfolded before her through the open side window of their standard Taurus rental. Even though dusk had settled over the school grounds, lending a muted grey to the lawns and flower beds that bordered the sweeping driveway, the beauty of the surroundings was not lost on her.

As far as the eye could see, the place was immaculate. From the manicured lawns and beds, to the imposing, well established redwoods, not a leaf or a blade out of place, and below them, the school itself loomed like a sentry.

More suited to an English estate, it was built to resemble an 18th century manor house, complete with stone turrets at each corner and leaded windows. A huge studded oak door completed the picture, and as they grew ever closer, Scully could just make out the gothic type bell pull situated just to the left of the door.

The whole place exuded wealth and privilege, a type of atmosphere usually reserved for the very best private schools in the country, and yet she knew this not to be the case here.

After hooking up her ever present laptop during their plane ride over, Scully had apprised Mulder of the school's history. Owned and operated by Julia Brackenhurst, it had been built a scant four years ago for the purpose of - as the literature on the internet had told her - to nurture, protect and develop the brightest stars in America.

The school boasted some of the finest facilities in the world, and was fast becoming renowned for its teaching abilities, and also its unique approach to the often perplexing problems that gifted children brought with them. Social standing, wealth or position were not listed amongst the criteria required to gain a place here. Children were accepted solely on their abilities.

No fees were required for admission, and Scully had learned that the school was funded by a group of unspecified benefactors and from Julia Brackenhurst's personal fortune.

In fact, it had seemed almost too good to be true.

One thing, though, had struck her as odd. The school accepted only girls. No boys were ever accepted, regardless of their abilities or gifts.

The teaching staff was made up exclusively of women, as was the ground staff, kitchen staff and housekeeping staff. When Scully had questioned this, Mulder had merely shrugged, though she could see that he was none the wiser as to why this would be the case.

She sighed and turned her attention back to her partner, who was gently drawing the car to a halt in front of the entrance to the school.

"Some place huh?" he commented idly. "Looks more like a hotel than a school."

Scully gathered together the loose papers on her lap and stuffed them back in to her briefcase. "What say we go check out the facilities?"

Together, they exited the car and walked without speaking up the wide stone steps that led to the door. Mulder eyed the tasseled bell pull suspiciously.

"Are we supposed to ring that or what?"

Scully glanced at the door's surface. Up close, she could fully appreciate the intricate carvings that were etched into the dark oak. Mostly Bible scenes and flowers, they were breathtaking in their beauty and awe-inspiring in their complexity, their surface unmarred by anything even vaguely resembling a door knob.

Scully raised her eyebrows and grasped the tasseled rope firmly in her small hand.

"I don't think we have much of a choice in the matter."

Far away, muffled through the thickness of wood, they heard the chiming of a bell which corresponded to Scully's release on the rope, and for a wild second Mulder braced himself for the door swinging open with a typical B movie creak, a disembodied head peering through the gap. Igor's voice...

{Come innnnnnnnnnnnn!}

And then, another image manifested itself in his mind.

The image of a smiling child. Blood, bone and tissue.

{Chewed up and spit out.}

The beginnings of a smile died abruptly on Mulder's face as he remembered their reasons for being here at all.

"Think they heard us?" he asked as seconds passed and the door remained firmly shut.

Scully shrugged and reached once more for the pull, but she dropped her hand back down to her side as they heard the sound of a bolt being shot back from its housing. The door opened a fraction, revealing the face of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed child. Not more than twelve years old, she smiled uncertainly.

"Yes? Can I help you?"

Scully brought her identification out of her jacket pocket and held it in front of the child.

"Agents Scully and Mulder. F.B.I. We're here to see..."

The child swung the door open wide, revealing herself fully for the first time, and finished Scully's sentence for her. "Miss Brackenhurst. She said you were coming. Please come in."

"Thank you."

The child held out a hand to Scully, who, after an uneasy glance toward her partner, took it uncertainly. "My name is Felicia Slabbert. I am head prefect here. I'm pleased to meet you, Agent Scully."

Scully smiled.

"How did you know I was Agent Scully?"

Felicia shrugged.

"Usually when people introduce themselves as a pair, they naturally precede their partner's name with that of their own. As humans we are naturally predisposed to regard ourselves as the Alpha in any relationship. You made the introduction and therefor you must be Agent Scully. And besides..."

Her eyes twinkled, and Scully saw the child that lurked beneath the intelligence.

"...I read your badge!"

Beside her Mulder snorted appreciatively, and Felicia turned her attention toward him. Knowing somehow that it was expected of him, he also held out a hand to the child in front of him. His large frame towered over her, but she seemed neither intimidated nor in any way embarrassed, allowing his huge hand to engulf her tiny one.

"Agent Mulder. It's a pleasure to know you too."

She locked eyes with him and gave him a stare that sent a bolt of energy through his body. It seemed like she was staring directly into his soul. He had always thought that Scully had the most expressive eyes he had ever seen, or at least when she allowed him to see that far, but the child below him radiated an energy he had rarely encountered. It was as though she had stripped away the layers within him to see through to his very core, weighing him up in her mind, evaluating him...liking what she saw.

{I'm imagining this. She's just a kid, for chrissake.}

And then, she dropped her hand from his and the connection was broken. Leaving a hollow feeling in his gut, a sense of un- fulfillment.

"Agent Mulder? Are you all right?"

Aware of Scully's eyes on him, Mulder forced a smile to his face.

"I'm fine. It was a long journey, that's all," he offered weakly.

Felicia nodded, all too aware of the effect she was having on him but choosing to ignore it. She'd have to be careful now. Feigning innocence, she directed the two agents toward a room set just off the imposing oak-paneled lobby.

"If you would like to make yourselves comfortable in the sitting room, Miss Brackenhurst will be along shortly. The room has a range of refreshments. Please help yourselves."

Mulder followed her with his eyes as she glided toward the curved staircase set in the center of the hardwood floor, watching her until she disappeared from view, unable to tear his gaze away until he felt Scully's hand on his arm, bringing him back.

"Mulder? What the hell was that all about?"

Her tone was hushed, and despite her words he could detect no hint of anger in her tone. Confusion yes, but no anger.

{She knew.}

"You saw it too, huh?"

Scully released her hold on him.

"Saw it? Mulder, she was practically undressing you with her eyes. It was bordering on pornographic."

He bit his lip thoughtfully as he tried to make sense of what they had both just witnessed. "Maybe you got your answer, Scully."

"Answer? To what?"

"As to why there are no boys here."

Scully regarded him thoughtfully, unsure as to whether he was expecting a response. If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would have chastised him for letting his overactive imagination get the better of him, but the fact remained that she had seen it. The way the girl...the child had gazed at her partner had shocked her to the core.

She sucked in her bottom lip, simultaneously pushing a strand of hair away from her face. Yes, the child's behavior had disturbed her on several levels...but there were more important things to focus on right now.

"C'mon, Mulder. We'd better do as directed."

Mulder followed her lead and together they entered the room that Felicia had described as a lounge.

He whistled softly as he took in the richness of the furnishings. From the velvet flock wall coverings to the fine crystal adorning polished mahogany occasional tables, nothing was out of place. It was as if the room had fallen straight out from between the pages of 'Country Life' magazine.

He couldn't help but compare the surroundings to those of his own recollections of childhood learning. Scuffed linoleum and battered Formica tables would have no place here. Scully looked almost as uncomfortable as he felt, but as was usually the case, she adapted much more quickly, and after allowing her eyes to roam the opulent surroundings, settled herself gracefully into the depths of an overstuffed damask covered sofa.

Mulder remained standing, uncomfortably aware of the fact that he lacked Scully's ability to simply blend in, and from his vantage point got the first view of Julia Brackenhurst as she entered the room.

From Scully's findings on the Internet, he had expected the proprietor of this unusual school to be a mature woman - aged even - small in stature with white hair piled atop her head, maybe even a dowagers' hump. It took less than a second for those images to be forever shattered into a million pieces.

Julia Brackenhurst, clad in black jeans and a soft, baby blue lambswool sweater, white blonde hair cascading unfettered to just below her shoulder blades, face as yet unlined by age, strode purposefully towards him and extended a hand.

"Agent Mulder, I presume."

Mulder nodded, and inclined his head toward Scully, who had risen to her feet as soon as the woman had entered.

"My partner, Agent Dana Scully."

Julia turned and smiled uncertainly. "Thank you for coming. Won't you please have a seat?"

She perched on the couch opposite Scully. Mulder took the chair from which he was able to see both women and beyond them through to the still open door, and crossed one long leg over his knee. For a few moments, no one spoke, and then Scully leaned in closer.

"Miss Brackenhurst, my partner and I were asked to come down here to assist in the investigation pertaining to the alleged abduction and murder of Elizabeth Armstrong. We haven't been given very much information as to why she might have been taken - or who would have motive to do such a thing. Were you here the night she was taken?"

Julia closed her eyes briefly, as though dispelling a particularly unpleasant memory.

"I already told the police. No, I wasn't. I was attending a seminar out of state. New York City to be exact. I received a call from Mary Price, the house mother, and returned immediately. To begin with, we simply thought that she'd run away."

Mulder's eyes widened slightly at her words.

"Run away?" he asked. "Why would you think that? Was she not happy here?"

"Lilly?" Julia laughed sadly. "Lilly wasn't what you would call a happy child, Agent Mulder. It was a part of the reason she was accepted here. As is often the case with gifted children she was misunderstood, frustrated, disruptive, and she used her intelligence to act out. A lot. She never felt a part of life here. She never felt a part of life at home. One of life's loners. When she went missing, the logical assumption was that she'd decided to see if she could find a place where she did belong..."

Her voice trembled. "Just look at what she found instead."

Scully softened her voice, all too aware, despite her obvious attempts to hide it, of the young woman's tenuous emotional state. "Before she disappeared, did you notice anyone or anything unusual? Did you experience anything, anything at all out of the ordinary around the building or the grounds that would give you cause to be suspicious?"

"No. No, I already told the police that too. Everything was normal...except with Lilly herself."

"Oh? In what way?"

Julia frowned. "As I said, she wasn't an easy child. But this was...this was different. We caught her a couple of times wandering the corridors at night. She would swear the next day that she had been sleepwalking, even when she knew that we couldn't possibly believe her. Denying things she had said or done when we confronted her during her little nocturnal escapades, refusing to back down. It settled down after a few nights and to be honest, we thought no more about it. Children of that age, especially those as gifted as Lilly, are prone to fabrication. We put it down to being an unfortunate phase she'd grown tired of..."

Mulder leaned forward as her voice trailed off, knowing that there was more to come.

"And?" he prompted.

"...and then the nightmares started. She would wake up screaming, screaming that 'He' was coming after her, that she'd been bad...that...oh, God!"

Scully's eyes flickered to connect with her partner's even as a shiver worked its way down her back. Julia Brackenhurst's tone had gone from coolly collected to verging on hysteria in a matter of seconds, and she gently placed a hand on the distraught woman's arm, attempting to calm her with her touch.

"It's OK. Take your time."

Mulder watched fascinated as his partner unleashed her magic. He had been on the receiving end of it too many times to not know what he was seeing. Scully had the unique ability to defuse the most inflammatory situations merely by dropping her tone of voice an octave and offering a simple touch.

In response, Julia's breathing slowed to a rate where she was able to force the rest of the sentence out.

"She knew that he was going to kill her. She knew that she was going to die...and she said that there'd be others."

Next