PART SEVEN
Disclaimer, yada, yada, yada, in part one
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Part Seven-Preparations for the battle between
good and evil
Saturday, September 26, 1998
5:00 a.m.
In the darkened hotel room Mulder twisted and
turned on the bed. He didn't notice it though, being
in a state of deep sleep. He was dreaming again.
He was on the hill again where the first dream
started. He wasn't three years old this time, he was
his regular age and dressed in a grey t-shirt and jeans.
He found himself walking up the hill slowly, not dodging
any wayward sheep.
When he crested the hill, the view was the same.
Ahead and to the right of him was the large stone house,
to the left, the towering cliffs. He stopped halfway in
between each, unsure of where to go next.
He heard a small sound behind him. He whipped
around, the wind tugging his hair in many directions.
His eyes lit on the stone wall bordering the land between
hill and cliff. They glided up the grassy hill, to come
to a stop right in front of him, looking down into the
hazel eyes of his younger self.
The boy and the man just stared at each other,
neither one daring to do anything more than breathe.
Suddenly the silence of sound and motion was broken by
another child seeming to come out of nowhere and stop
behind the boy. Mulder recognized her as Shannon,
dressed in a dark blue dress with bare feet.
She looked up at him, placing her hands on the
little boy's shoulders. "Tomorrow," she said with
confidence. Her wavy oak brown hair swirled around
her face.
Mulder cocked his head in a questioning manner.
Shannon nodded and smiled brightly. "Tomorrow.
Everything will be right tomorrow."
Without warning the wind picked up. Mulder
lifted his hand to his eyes to shield them as the
wind blew faster and faster. It reached a frightening
speed, when suddenly he felt himself falling back.
Back, back, back, until...
Mulder's eyes popped open. He was still in the
hotel room, tangled up in the sheets. He looked over
at the clock. It was only 5:10. He still had fifty
minutes until it was time to get up. But he knew there
was no chance in hell he'd be going back to sleep now.
He pulled himself out of bed, and regardless of
the fact he was only in boxers, opened the door
connecting his and Scully's room. To his surprise
she was already up. The light next to her bed was
on and she was reading a book. She put it down when
she saw him coming through the door. "What's up,
Mulder?" she asked.
He walked over and sat himself down on the bed
next to her. "Couldn't sleep either?"
She looked over at him. "I just got up about
ten minutes ago. I didn't think it was worth it to
go back to sleep. Your excuse?"
Mulder sighed. "Another dream. This time I was
in the same place as the first dream, the one with
the big hill and the cliff. I walked up the hill,
and stopped halfway between the house and the cliff.
Then I heard something behind me, so I turn around
and I see myself as three years old standing there.
We're just staring at each other. Then Shannon-"
"Your older sister from the dreams?" Scully
broke in with a question.
"Yeah. She suddenly appears behind the younger
me and says that tomorrow everything will be right.
Then there's a gust of wind and I woke up." He looked
over at her with puppy dog eyes. "What do you think
it means?"
Scully bit her lip, deep in thought, and Mulder
had to exercise extreme will power not to kiss her at
that moment. "Well," she said, "maybe it means you'll
find your real family soon." She looked over at Mulder
who was staring down at the comforter. She inaudibly
sighed, trying to figure out how she was going to tell
him her latest thoughts. "Hey, Mulder, did you notice
the other day that boy Alec?"
"The one that looks incredibly like me, you mean?"
his head turned back to look her in the eyes.
She shrugged. "Maybe he's a relative of yours. I
mean, aside from some slight differences and the
difference in height the two of you could be identical."
"Yeah, but what's the likelihood of that? Even
if we are related what's the chance of looking as
alike as that?"
Scully laughed. "I keep forgetting you haven't
met my family. Let me just say it is very possible
for family members to look that alike. One day, after
Christmas a few years back, my brother Charlie's sister
in law called him up and told him there was a picture of
him in the local paper returning gifts. That was
impossible because Charlie avoids malls like the
plague during return season. He went to check the
paper, and it turns out that it was another cousin
of ours, one of at least five who look incredibly
alike. So yes, Mulder it is possible for family
members to look that alike."
"I guess it's worth checking out after the case
is over," Mulder said hesitantly.
Scully smiled and interlaced his fingers with
hers. "Good. Now, we have to get up and get moving.
If we're going to get out this early you're treating
me to breakfast." She tossed back the covers and
moved to get out of bed. As she got out of the bed
she was jerked back upon it by her waist and fell on
top of Mulder, who was grinning at her.
"Breakfast? This early?" he mumbled while
kissing her neck. She gently pushed his head away
and turned around in his arms. She laid her forehead
against his and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I promise as soon as this case is over we take a
vacation. No FBI, no annoying older brothers, just
you and me," she whispered close against his lips.
"Okay," Mulder muttered. "I'll go get in the
shower, and then treat you to breakfast."
"Good," she smiled, and they both went to prepare
for the long day ahead.
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At the same time somewhere across town Shannon
Ramsay-Parker sat bolt upright in bed, startled awake
from a dream. In her dream she saw her brother Fox,
actually two versions of him. She herself was only
about ten years old, and she was standing behind the
little Fox. They were both staring at a man she just
knew was what Fox looked like now. From what she could
tell he'd grown up to be a good-looking man, even more
handsome than Colin, and she remembered he was such a
heartbreaker in school.
She also remembered herself telling him that
tomorrow everything would be right. Did that mean
that she would see him tomorrow? Shannon could only
hope that's what the dream meant.
Shannon felt a stirring in the bed next to her.
Her husband Johnathan sleepily opened his eyes and
stared at her. "What are you doing up at this hour?"
he asked in a barely awake voice.
She looked over at the clock. 5:15. Might as
well get up. "I've got to meet Alec, Robbie, and
Molly at the store. Remember? They're fighting the
Cader today."
"Oh, yeah," Johnathan muttered, propping himself
up on his elbows. "D'you need my help with anything?"
Shannon leaned down to brush a kiss on his lips.
"Nah, Molly's got the spells covered. Just watch Brian
and Juli today. And..." Shannon faltered, not sure of
what she should be saying, "just...just be prepared for
anything, okay?"
Johnathan wrinkled his forehead. "Why?"
"I've got a feeling, okay. Just be prepared,"
she smiled at him.
He let his elbows go out under him and flopped
back on the bed. "Sure. I was a Boy Scout. I can
do prepared..." He trailed off, quickly falling back
to sleep.
Shannon smiled and got out of bed. She pulled
on a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. She'd taken a shower
the night before so she could sleep later in the morning.
She did a quick once-over in the mirror, applied some
lipstick, quickly brushed out her hair, once again
mentally thanking the people at Manor Rd. Salon for
removing all traces of grey from her hair. She pulled
on a pair of boots and rushed down the stairs as quick
as possible without waking any of the sleeping inhabitants.
She opened the garage door and gasped at the
temperature. The warmth of the early fall day that
was yesterday had changed overnight into a biting cold
day. She pulled a heavy sweater out of the coat closet.
She opened the garage door and pulled her car out into
the early morning.
The car screeched to a halt in front of the
bookstore. Shannon unlocked the door and raced
through the bookstore to the stairwell in the back
room. She climbed the stairs past the second floor
meeting hall and up to the third floor library where
the Dragon and Witch's books were.
The library walls lined with shelves that held
all sorts of books of different colors and sizes.
On one wall, between the shelves was a fireplace and
on another a window. The three kids were already in
the room. Robynne sat at the table in there, tugging
at one of the two braids her hair was plaited into.
Molly was looking at the books, her still wet hair
pulled back into a ponytail and dripping down the
back of her sweater. Alec was pacing in front of
the window. All three had dressed for the colder
weather and the storm they could just tell was
brewing. At least according to the weather report
the night before.
Alec stopped pacing when he heard the door open
and saw Shannon enter. "Okay, what can we do?" he asked.
Shannon began walking over to the bookcase near
Molly. "Your job is going to be easy. Knock the thing
out. Disable it. Molly's going to have the hard job."
She pulled a selection off the shelves and dropped them
onto the table with a bang and a puff of dust. Robynne
jumped back slightly, waved a hand in front of her face
and coughed.
Molly dropped down into a chair along with
Shannon. Alec looked over Molly's shoulder. "So
what am I going to have to do?"
Shannon flipped open to a page in the first
book and turned it to Molly. "Here's the spell to
retrieve the souls of the others. It's a bit
complicated, so it would be best to have the thing
unconscious. Any disruptions would not help."
Molly's eyes scanned the page and sighed heavily.
"Oh, this is gonna be real fun," she muttered. She
looked up at Shannon. "What else is there?"
"If the time slip the Cader made is there, just
send him back through, and close it up." She picked
up another book and picked another page. Shannon's
photographic memory enhanced by supernatural talents
let her remember the content of every book stored in
the library. "This is the spell that'll close the
slip." She handed the book over, and Molly groaned
when she saw it.
"I'm going to need a three day nap to recover
from this," she whined. She looked up at Alec behind
her, then at Robynne, and then at Shannon, who sat
looking innocent. Too innocent. "There's more?!?"
she yelped.
"Only if the Cader closed the slip behind him.
Then you have to open it as well." She turned the
book in front of Molly one page back. She looked
at the page and slumped back in the chair. Alec
placed both hands on her shoulders and rubbed.
Molly's hands went up to cover his. Robynne shot
a knowing glance at Shannon, who rubbed a hand over
her face to hide a smile.
Molly leaned over and pulled a red, spiral
bound notebook out of her backpack. "Let me just
copy the spells down. I'm not lugging all those books
with me." She took out a special fountain pen she
used only for writing spells and began to copy them
down in the notebook in bright green ink.
When she was finished she slipped the book back
in her backpack, stood up, and shouldered it. "Well,
we better get going then, before too many people wake
up." Robynne stood up next and the three moved to the door.
"Good luck," Shannon called after them. When they
were gone she turned to the phone sitting on the
table. She punched in the familiar number and waited
for someone to pick up. "Hi," she said after two
rings. "Yeah, I know it's not even six yet, Mama,
but I have to tell you about this dream I had
last night..."
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6:45 a.m.
Mulder parked the rental car in the parking lot
for Sliver Lake park and the crossed the street to
the entrance on the base of the hill. As Mulder
unlocked the padlock on the small gate in the stone
wall Scully looked up through the forest. The sky
which should have been growing lighter was beginning
to brew with storm clouds. She could see the faint
outline of the back of the school through the leaves
still not changed from their summer green.
Suddenly the sound of the padlock shattered the
early morning stillness. Mulder pulled it open and
dusted his hands off on his jeans. "After you," he
said with a smile. Scully walked through and Mulder
followed, shutting the gate behind them. They began
to hike up the small paved path leading up the hill.
Scully pulled her jacket tighter around her in
the cold, early morning air. "Did we really have to
come out here this early?" she asked, trying to keep
the whine out of her voice. She felt Mulder's
comforting hand on her back.
"Yeah, I think we have to be out here." He looked
down at her, "I know it's early and it's cold, but it'll
be over soon, and then we can go home," he said, his
voice distant.
She looked up at the sudden hollowness of his
voice. She turned around and stopped in front of
him. "Are you okay?" she asked. He pulled his
steps up short.
"Yeah, I'm okay," He wrinkled his brow in
puzzlement. "Why?"
She shook her head. "You just seemed really
distant again." She rubbed a hand over her forehead.
"I'm sorry. I'm...I'm just tired. I need a good night's
sleep," she sighed, dismissing her actions. She wasn't
really tired, but that was the only was she could
explain the growing sense of apprehension in her stomach.
Mulder wrapped a sweater-clad arm around her
and they began walking up the path once more. "You
were right before. I think we both really need a
vacation." She let out a low laugh and he smiled at
her. "So where's the first site?" he asked.
Scully pulled a hand drawn map made by one of
the officers. "I think--" she broke off abruptly.
"Look at that," she said, pointing a hand into the
trees.
Mulder looked over her head and looked into
the forest. He didn't see anything out of place,
but then his eyes lit on a bright flash of red that
wasn't supposed to be there. Then he saw the shape
of three people. Two of them being Molly Addison and
Alec Ramsay. "Well, well, well, what have we here?
Think we ought to go find out what they're doing
here?" he asked, removing his arm from her shoulders,
becoming consummate professionals once more. They
began to move off the path and into the trees.
The three kids hadn't heard them coming, they
were still talking amongst themselves when Mulder
and Scully were only about five feet away from them.
"Fancy seeing you here," Mulder said calmly.
The three jumped around, Molly yelping in
surprise. "Wha-what are you doing here?" Robynne
managed to stutter out.
"The same could be asked of you," Scully said,
crossing her arms over her chest.
Molly looked at Alec. They hadn't expected any
intrusions or unexpected visitors so they didn't have
any prepared cover story. Alec's look told her that
she should take the lead. "Uh...I had lost a book out
here when I found Jenna so we were just out here
looking for it." She smiled her most winsome smile.
Mulder glanced down at his watch. "At five
to seven on a Saturday morning?"
Robynne broke in with the next lie. They couldn't
tell the agents why they were out there, they'd be
tossed in the loony bin for sure. "There's a field
hockey game later. We thought we'd get an early start."
Scully and Mulder looked at each other. Captain
Avery had told them that all school activities were
canceled over the weekend because of the stakeout.
"Nice try," he said and Robynne shrugged. "So what
exactly are you doing out here?" The three didn't
say a word but looked at the trees, ground, anywhere
but at them. Mulder sighed. He looked at Scully and
caught the meaning of her glance. "All right you
three, let's go."
"Go where?" Alec asked, a stubborn look on his
face. Scully thought that at that moment he looked
too much like Mulder.
"Up to the school," Mulder said. "We've got to
have a little chat." The boy and the man stood there,
both refusing to budge. Molly looked at Robynne, then
at Agent Scully, who she found had a look of amusement
of her face similar to the one that was on her own.
Molly rolled her eyes and Robynne looked skyward and
muttered something unintelligible. Something shiny
caught Robynne's eyes. Her head turned towards it,
but all she saw was more trees. But there was something
there. She was positive of it...
"Fine," Alec eventually said, clenching his teeth.
He turned around and began walking up the hill, Mulder
following closely. The three women hurried to catch
up with them.
Suddenly Robynne's eyes saw the shiny thing
again, a few feet ahead of Alec and Mulder. Before
she could shout out a warning the shiny thing flashed
and they all found themselves being pulled at, as if
they were in a giant wind tunnel.
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END PART SEVEN-Preparations for the battle between
good and evil
Note: that story Scully told about another family member
being mistaken for her brother really did happen, except
my Dad was in the brother's face. All the guys in my
family really do look that alike.
(
geocities.com/rhiaramsay)