Dreamcatcher 5
Ally

Brackenhurst Cleveland. Ohio May 3rd 1999 8:57p.m.

The girls watched from their positions, half hidden behind the armoire which graced the corner of the building's vestibule, as the two agents descended the curved wooden stairway.

The older of the two girls narrowed her eyes at the sight of Mulder's hand resting against his partner's back. It seemed, to the casual observer, to be there simply to guide, to reassure her of his continued presence, but to her it seemed to suggest so much more. More a subconscious act of implicit protection that was both expected and enjoyed by his partner. She did not ask him for it, but didn't seek to push him away either.

"What do you see, Fliss?"

Felicia worked her pretty face up into a scowl and nudged her companion sharply in the ribs.

"Sshhhhh, stupid! They'll hear us. I'll tell you in a minute."

Beside her, the younger girl returned the scowl, rubbing her ribs exaggeratedly even as she craned her neck in an attempt to get a better view. For the time being, Felicia ignored the movement beside her, focusing her attention on the scene before her. From their vantage point it was difficult to see much of anything. Hearing was almost impossible. Murmured words from the two agents. Miss Brackenhurst's defeated posture as she showed them to the door. Felicia smirked.

{Stupid woman. She just doesn't *see* what's going on here.}

But the two agents with her? Felicia wasn't sure. The female agent *Scully* wasn't buying it. None of it. Felicia had sensed a certain measure of aloofness in the way the woman had looked at her earlier. A coldness that she wrapped around herself like a blanket, designed to keep everyone out, even the man beside her. She had immediately discarded her as a potential confidante.

But Mulder...now he was different all together. More willing to believe. More willing to submerge himself in the horror that nowplagued her young life. In the scant few moments he had allowed her to look deep inside him, he had told her all she needed to know. He reminded her in a lot of ways of her Father...the way he was...*before*...

{Flames, burning, forcing her back, gasping for air as his hand reached out toward her, pleading, beseeching her to not leave him in the hell they had created for themselves...and her voice rising in intensity until it was all she heard....Daddddeeeeeeee...}

"Fliss?"

Whispered.

No response.

The child tried again. More urgent this time. Hissed almost.

"*Fliss*."

Felicia forced her mind back to the present, feeling for the first time the urgent pull on her sleeve as her companion demanded attention.

"What?!...I told you to keep quiet, didn't I?"

"But Fliss, *look*. Look at what he has..."

The biting reproach died in Felicia's throat as she realized just what it was that Mulder held loosely in his hand. During his descent down the stairs his body had been half hidden by Julia, and Felicia had been too fixated on the position of his left hand to really take much notice of what the right one was doing, and suddenly a wave of nausea washed over her. The sudden rush of bile in the back of her throat prompted her to slam her fragile body back against the wall, no longer heeding potential discovery. She shook her head numbly.

{No, Daddy, no, please say it's no. Please don't let him *take* it. He can't take it. He can't. Tell me what to do.}

Tears had pooled from deep within her eyes, and were even now spilling down her pale cheeks, but she was unaware of anything other than the feel of the solid paneling against her shoulders as she silently twisted her head from side to side in an expression of anguished suffering.

{Why aren't you here for me, Daddy? Why did you leave me to face this on my own? I'm not strong enough or wise enough to do it. Tell me what to do. Please tell me what to do...}

She was dimly aware of a high-pitched scream, the sound coming from far away, reverberating around her head like an echo of things past, making her legs fold out from beneath her as the floor rushed up to meet her. Taking her once again into nothingness.

{To sleep, to sleep, perchance to dream...}

*********

"What the hell?"

Mulder spun around, his hand automatically reaching for the high-powered automatic weapon secured at his side, releasing it from its leather casing in one fluid, practiced movement.

Beside him, Scully mirrored his movements, her whole body tensing as she identified the sound of screaming. A *child* screaming. Close by.

The acoustics of the vestibule made it difficult to determine just what direction the sound was coming from, echoing and bouncing as it did off the bare flooring, and beside her Mulder closed his eyes for the merest of seconds to attune his senses more acutely. An old Academy trick. One that actually *worked.*

"Over there." His eyes snapped open and he gestured toward the far corner of the room.

Scully held up one hand, palm facing toward Julia Brackenhurst, a silent direction that she stay put. That they would handle this.

Attuned as they were to each other's methods of working meant they had no need of verbal communication as they separated, each taking a separate path toward the armoire that graced the dark corner. Halfway there the screaming stopped abruptly, only to be replaced with another sound. The unmistakable hitching of a child, trying desperately not to cry.

Mulder lowered his weapon and continued forward. Safe in the knowledge that Scully would cover him should the need arise, sending up a silent prayer as he did so that nothing lay in that dark corner that would plague his dreams for the next few nights. He didn't need help in that department. Not now. Not ever.

"F.B.I. Identify yourself." Even as he spoke the words he was aware that he would sound pretty stupid if the corner housed nothing more threatening than a frightened child. But then again...

{Chewed up and spit out.}

He thumbed the safety off the gun.

"Who's back there? Show yourself."

Still nothing. Mulder felt a tension knot give in the center of his shoulders. He could almost hear the crack, but still he remained focused, eyes never wavering, ever aware of the potential dangers.

"I will count to three. Now show yourself. One,...two,..."

"Mulder, look."

His eyes dropped to follow his partner's gaze, and then he saw it, almost hidden in the gloom: a child-sized hand, fingers curling cautiously around the side of the armoire. A hand that was followed moments later by a face, tear-streaked, eyes wide, terrified beyond belief. All of seven years old. Maybe younger.

"Don't shoot me."

Something way down in Mulder's heart cracked into a million pieces as the child's terrified, whispered plea reached his ears, and he traded horrified glances with his partner.

{Way to go, Mulder. You sure know how to act around kids.}

Julia rushed forward, almost pushing Scully out the way in her haste to reach the child.

"Gina honey what is it? Why are you hiding back there?"

She dropped to her knees and opened her arms as Gina bolted into them. The child's tears began afresh, and for a while there was nothing Julia could do but rock the child gently against her, waiting for Gina's violent trembling to subside enough for her to speak.

Mulder seemed to have lost the ability to move as he watched the scene unfold before him, the sight of the sobbing child transfixed him, and it was left to Scully to move forward to check the cramped space behind the armoire.

Nothing.

Meanwhile, Julia's soothing magic was having at least some small effect on the child, and she disentangled her from within the confines of her arms, gently pushing Gina back a step until the child was forced to meet her eyes.

"What's wrong, sweetie? Did something scare you? Is that why you screamed?"

A shake of a tousled head. "it wasn't me who screamed, Miss Brackenhurst...it wasn't...honest it wasn't."

"But Gina, honey, we heard you."

"NO!"

Gina stepped back from the woman who wasn't allowing her the time to say what she had to say and turned beseeching eyes toward Scully.

Julia stretched out a hand towards the child, forcing her to turn back to her. "Gina, honey, look at me. We *heard* ..."

"NO! It wasn't me. It was Fliss. She screamed and screamed and screamed..."

Mulder squatted on his haunches and regarded the child thoughtfully. "Why did Fliss scream, Gina? Can you tell me?"

His words were soft, almost indiscernible to Scully standing less than two feet away. The child's response, though, was completely different, as her high-pitched tones became an ear-splitting scream as she clenched her fists by her side.

"BECAUSE HE TOOK HER! HE TOOK HER AWAY! AND I TRIED TO STOP HIM AND I COULDN'T I COULDN'T I COULDN'T I COULDN'T..."

Mulder reached out then and clamped his hands around Gina's thin arms, pulling her towards him violently, allowing her to burrow her small face against his chest. Her screams became muffled as he wrapped his arms protectively around her, and while her words became indiscernible, the wailing did not.

Julia stumbled to her feet, her hand over her mouth in an unconscious reaction to the disintegrating child in front of her. She watched with wide, shocked eyes as Mulder raised his head slightly. His expression mirrored Scully's own.

{What the hell is going on here?}

Taking care to keep his tone absolutely neutral so as not to frighten the child even more, he spoke, directing his words to his partner.

"Call an ambulance. Call an ambulance right now. This child needs a hospital. She's in shock."

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