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Vinnie couldn't believe his luck as he walked down the main street, strutting in the direction of the town bar where his date awaited. Helen Barker was the most unattainable girl in town, she always had been, ever since high school. But tonight was his night. He was going to meet Helen, he was going to take her home and sweet talk her all the way to his bedroom. He had the looks, he had the charm. This was his night.
All he had to do was reach the bar. It was easier said than done. A white flash in the sky made him turn, wondering if there was lightning on the way. No, the night was clear, stars shining in the sky. A large full moon cast light over the empty streets. Even a guy like Vinnie had to stop and appreciate the beauty of the night. And as he stood there, admiring the stars, something caught his attention. Not a light but rather a lack of it.
A cloud. A cloud that was getting closer. Vinnie could hear rain. At least it sounded like rain at first. But as it got closer it became clearer. Chattering. Animal sounds. Vinnie was transfixed as the cloud bore down on the city street, only thinking to run at the last moment. By then it was much to late. In second he was surrounded by the beating of leathery wings. He felt claws scratching at his skin. But it was only when he felt fangs pierce his skin that she screamed. The bats swarmed around him, puncturing his flesh, draining his blood.
Vinnie screamed, at least until the fangs pierced his throat. He fell to the ground the bats forming a moving shroud around him. 'It wasn't fair', his last thought was before fading out, 'it was supposed to be his night.' Half a minute later the first person arrived, a young woman who screamed at the sight of the body. His face was contorted into a scream of terror and his skin was faded, almost white in the moonlight.
*****
The woman who exited the rental car was not in a good mood. She had been woken at five am and told to get to the small town of Shady Crossroads. It was now 8.30 and she was dying for some answers. "Mulder, tell me why the hell we're here."
"We've found the motherload Scully."
"The motherload?"
"In the past forty eight hours there have been over two hundred sightings of the paranormal in this quiet little town."
"Two hundred?" Scully asked doubtfully.
"Thirty eight ghosts, Thirty four UFOs, Twenty eight bigfoots, Thirteen werewolves, Seven vampires, Three zombies and a partridge in a pair tree. Scully what does that say to you?"
"To me it says mass hysteria. Mulder, even you can't seriously be entertaining the possibility that these things are happening."
"Not all of them. But something has to be happening here."
"Why? What makes you think this isn't some form of mass hysteria."
"Funny you should mention that. Because one of the countries foremost experts on community psychosis lives here."
"And I imagine we'll be talking to him."
"Soon. He's had plenty of work lately. Firstly I'd like you to look at a body."
"There are casualties?"
"Two traffic accidents and one body apparently drained of blood."
"Drained of blood?" she asked skeptically.
"Having fun yet?"
*****
Maggie Thornton was hanging out the washing when she saw the figure. At first she thought it was merely someone watching her from the bushes. But then she noticed that it was more just a face. It was a face in the bush itself, branches and leaves formed into a face. She'd never noticed it before, an found that rather odd. It was such an unlikely arrangement.
Having hung out the last of her garments, curiosity overcame her and she crossed over to the bush. To her surpass, the face seemed just as real as it did from a distance. She reached out, feeling the twigs and leaves. Twigs and leaves and vines which lashed out about her wrist. Maggie pulled but the vines held tight, wrapping further around her arm. Panic filled her, tugging wildly at the bush. But the stronger she pulled, the more it drew her in. Soon the bush had engulfed her totally, twigs scratching at her sides, tearing at her clothes. She screamed in terror as thorns tore and ripped at her, drawing blood. She fought wildly, frantically, yet there was no escape. Her skin became more cut and shredded and more blood stained the leaves. And before long the bush was still, apart from the dripping of blood to the ground.
*****
When Scully met up with Mulder back in the main street, she was beginning to believe that something really was going on. Almost everybody she had met over the past hour had a story to tell, whether it be about aliens, werewolves or some other creature. And the autopsy itself had only served to raise more questions.
"Collected a few statements Mulder?"
"Dozens. Each as varied as the next. Vampire, werewolves aliens. Everything."
"I've heard much the same."
"Did you find anything odd about the body?"
"As a matter of fact yes. Mulder, that body wasn't drained of blood. But the blood was pooled away from the surface.
I've never seen anything like it."
"What could cause something like that?"
"Nothing as far as I know. I think we should talk to that doctor of yours."
"Doctor Maxwell Fuller. He lives in a cabin out of town."
"Have you called him?"
"I've tried. My mobile is down."
Scully lifted her phone, pressing a button only to discover it was down too. "There must be some sort of interference here."
"Try a ground line. Maybe there." He pointed to a small coffee shop.
"Worth a try." Scully sighed. "It's kind of odd you know." she commented as she walked to the store.
"It always is."
"I mean about the clues. Usually there are so few. Here we have too many."
"I see your point."
Scully pushed open the door of the coffee shop, finding it empty. "Excuse me," she called to the elderly man behind the counter, "is your phone working."
The man looked up and grumpily replied. "I told you before, the lines are down."
Scully paused for a second, confused. "I'm sorry, what do you mean before?"
"And people say my memory is bad. You were in here half an hour ago, asking to use the phone."
Scully turned to Mulder in confusion. "Mulder, half an hour ago I was in the morgue."
"Are you sure it was her?"
"Believe me, I don't forget a pretty face like yours."
"I'll take that as a complement. But I've never been in this shop before."
"And I'm telling you that you were here half an hour ago."
*****
"So now these manifestations are extending to us too. People are becoming sure they're seeing things that aren't there."
"Scully, what if it wasn't him that was wrong. What if you had been there?"
"Mulder, I was doing an autopsy half an hour ago. I have the records to prove it."
"Okay. I trust you. But there is something going on. Maybe we should just drive up to Fullers."
"In all honesty Mulder I don't think we should be leaving this town. I think one of us should stay here."
"I'd agree with that. You want to stay?"
"No. I'm the doctor. I'll go see him. I just hope the phone lines get fixed."
Scully headed towards the car. "Oh and Mulder?"
"Scully?"
"If you see any flying saucers, don't go chasing them."
*****
Two hours later, a frustrated Scully found herself returning to town with no more answers than before. Doctor Fuller had a number of possibilities as to the nature of town occurrences but none of them seemed concrete. One theory was that recent rains had contaminated the town water supply with some sort of mind altering drug. He suggested that she run tests on it, though his own supply was separate. He wasn't totally adverse to the prospect of government involvement either, though he claimed this was unlikely. The townsfolk had never shown any signs of odd behaviors before and it puzzled him as to why they were acting like this now.
While Fuller had been most easy to deal with, Scully felt that he had little to offer. She could only hope that Mulder had discovered something back in the town. She was only a few minutes out of town when her engine died. Scully turned the key again but there was nothing, not even a click. She sighed and leant back in her seat. This case was going nowhere.
Then the light appeared.
It surrounded the car in a halo of luminescence, blocking out the trees around her. Scully tried to move but found herself paralyzed. The light became more and more intense until tears formed in her eyes, frozen open. And in the light around her, Scully saw shapes, humanoid shapes, moving...
*****
Mulder never thought he'd be sick of hearing paranormal stories but right now he was. The people of this town were becoming more paranoid by the minute. At one point he'd even seen a man screaming and running down the street, pursued by some assailant visible only to him. Most of the townsfolk were becoming increasingly unable to communicate and the phone lines were still down too.
Mulder crossed the street, trying to contact Scully and failing yet again. Somehow he doubted that she would have any more answers than he had. He was almost into the hotel when he caught a fleeting glance of a figure disappearing behind a building. He hopped back down the steps. "Scully?"
There could be no mistaking the red hair of his partner. But she wasn't supposed to be in town, certainly not running around without him. He jogged over to the ally looking down into the dim light. "Scully? Are you down here?"
Cautiously Mulder stepped forward, hand ready to draw his gun if necessary. He passed a pile of cardboard boxes, almost moving on. But the edge of his hearing caught a sound, a slight shuffle. Spinning quickly he turned to the boxes, drawing his gun. "Come out now." he demanded.
Slowly the boxes slid aside to reveal a shaking woman. "Scully? What are you doing here?"
She looked at him in confusion. "David? What the hell is going on?"
*****
While consciousness had returned, movement had not. Scully lay on the table of the small room, hands at her sides and unable to move a muscle. Above her she saw a bright light, shapes moving around her. They were human and yet somehow distorted, different. She wanted to scream but discovered that she had been robbed of that ability too.
Lights flashed, scanning over her body. Her clothes had been removed, leaving her only in bra and panties. The room didn't seem cold or hot, rather a medium temperature, as neutral as the color. There were more bright flashes and she realized that her remaining garments were gone too. Above her, a humming started, becoming more intense. Scully watched, wide eyed as devices descended from the roof, reaching out for her helpless naked body..
*****
"Scully? It's me. Fox. What happened?"
"Fox? David what are you talking about? All I know is that I woke up this morning in a back ally and I've been surrounded by crazy people ever since. Phones are down and I can't call anybody. Do you have any idea where we even are?"
"Shady Crossroads. Scully you know that." Mulder wondered if his partner had been affected by whatever was affecting the townsfolk.
"Drop the role play David. This had better not be one giant prank because it isn't funny."
"Who do you think I am?" he asked the red head in front of him.
"You've got to be joking."
Mulder pulled out his badge and displayed it.
"Oh. So you're going to play the whole Agent Mulder thing? Jeez I though you waned out of the X - Files as much as I did."
"Out of the X - Files? Scully, since when did you want to quit?"
"Will you stop calling me Scully! It's Gillian damn it."
"Okay.. Gillian.. What are you doing here?"
"I told you. I have no idea. What are you doing here?"
"I'm investigating mass paranormal sightings by townsfolk. Though I'm putting more weight on mass hysteria right now. And I think you're affected."
"Me? You're the one running around living your character."
"My.. character?"
"You're not an FBI agent David, you just play one on TV."
"On TV?"
"Look I'm not going to stand playing games."
Scully/Gillian started to walk away but Mulder grabbed her arm. "Look, I'm being serious. I'm willing to listen to anything you might have to say. It might be the key to what's going on here."
"Convincing. Trying to win an Emmy?"
"You think I'm acting?"
"Of course."
"Listen to me. I am Special Agent Fox Mulder of the FBI. Who are you?"
"Gillian Anderson. Actress."
"Played any roles I'd know?"
"How about Dana Scully?"
Mulder sensed a dead seriousness in her voice. "Alright." he nodded. "I'm listening."
*****
Dana Scully had been helpless to prevent the machines from attaching to her body and now she was being manipulated by them. The cups that had engulfed her breasts now pumped up and down, sucking at her flesh repeatedly. The triangular cup that had lodged itself between her thighs, shuddered with the vibrations of the nodes inside, pressing against her flesh and reaching into the moistness within. The sterile, neutral smell of the room was gone now, replaced with that of her own sweat, her own sex. She was still unable to move, unable to break away from the relentless machines as they pleasured her body. And she was unable to close her eyes as the lights above her kept flashing over and over and over...
*****
"You're saying I'm a T.V character?" Mulder said incredulously, after the long pause of silence which had in turn followed Gillian’s explanation.
"That's right."
"But I can remember everything, all my childhood, all my life, every second, not just since I started working with you.. I mean with Scully."
"I can prove it.. maybe.. I know about the vampire thing when Scully was abducted. I know about the episode on the ship in the Bermuda triangle. With the nazis?"
"That.. was a dream. I never told anyone."
"Well you told all the viewers. So to speak."
"But how.. what about parallel worlds? What if this world and yours are close to each other and somehow you've crossed over."
"That sounds pretty far fetched don't you think?"
"Well this is the X files right?"
"Okay. Lets assume, for arguments sake, a Quantum Leap style logic. I help you solve this case and then I get home."
"It might work. But why should you be able to help me?"
"Perspective. I know how these plots work. So, mass hysteria. That could be.. Blood."
"What?"
"The episode.. the file with the paranoid people? The clock tower."
"Oh. Right."
"Or maybe the one with the TV images that sent Scully against you?"
"That one I remember. You think It could be one of those?"
"On the contrary. It's never the same thing. Not exactly. Where is Scully anyway?"
"She was supposed to be back from talking to Doctor Fuller but she never showed."
"Doctor Fuller?"
"A psychological specialist..."
"He's the guy." Gillian stood quickly.
"What? How do you know?"
"Any specialist in a small town always has something to hide. Trust me."
*****
Dana Scully had no idea where she was, though in truth she wasn't far off. He best guess was that she was on an alien ship, being probed by aliens beings. The truth was less complex, but no less sinister. Scully sat in the basement lab of Doctor Maxwell Fuller. She had come asking questions that might lead to answers he wouldn't be happy with. By the time she realized her coffee had been spiked it was much too late for her to escape. He had taken her down to his lab, hooked her up to the appropriate devices and driven into a deep hypnotic state.
As far as Scully knew, she had finished talking to him and driven back to town. There she encountered what he had discovered to be her worst fear, alien abduction. At least, so it seemed. In actuality, Scully was strapped to the reclined chair, bound at tightly and motionless. Her eyes were taped open, forcing her to watch the relentless hypnotic strobe that bored into her mind.
Electrodes on her bare breasts and a vibrator between her legs supplied all the sex she needed for the treatment.
Fullers methods combined deep trances with fear and pleasure, rendering his subjects most vulnerable to suggestion.
There was no way Scully could resist because she had no idea that she was even being brainwashed.
When she was finished, she would be obedient to him on command. In the ten years he'd been living here, Fuller had built himself a large research bade. The town belonged to him, subject to his word, his law. They had been the subjects for his greatest experiment, mind control on a grand scale. Almost every adult resident of the town had visited this basement, felt the effect of his unique drugs, and none of them even remembered.. But when he gave them their code words, they would respond to him. And as long as he alone knew those codes, no one was going to take that control away, not even the FBI.
Everything had gone fine until a day or so ago. Then all of a sudden people began going crazy. Their fears began to take over, manifesting in illusions. He would come up with a cure soon enough, just as soon as he had dealt with this particular problem. Fuller increased the strobe frequency and watched Scully shudder.
*****
"This is the place." Mulder pulled the rental car up in front of the house. "You want to go first?"
"You're the FBI agent." Gillian pointed out. "Besides, I think I'm better back up. "
"Fine. Just keep an eye out for anything odd."
"Sure.. Mulder." she said his name with a laugh. Somehow this all seemed utterly insane and yet there was nothing she could do to disprove it. If it was real then she had no choice but to play along. And even if it was a complex game then her best bet was still to play along. It wasn't a satisfying answer but it was an answer.
As soon as the alarm went off, Fuller looked up at his security monitor. A man stood at his door knocking. Fuller turned to the naked woman in front of him, her face staring blankly back. "Do you know him?"
"He's my partner." Scully replied emotionlessly.
"Alright then. I want you to go upstairs and shoot him. Understand?"
"Yes."
"And whatever happens, you are not to be hurt."
"Yes."
Scully nodded as Fuller handed her the gun from her holster. She turned and began to walk upstairs. Fuller turned back to the read outs on Scully and waited for the gun shot.
Mulder pushed the door open and stepped inside. "Doctor Fuller? Scully?" No reply came. He slipped in further, cautiously scanning the pristine lounge. He examined a wall covered with certificates and awards. One plaque caught his attention.
Movement.
Mulder dropped to the ground and rolled behind couch as a bullet fired into the wall. Even as he landed he drew his gun, peeking around. What he saw stunned him. Scully was walking towards him, blank faced, stark naked and ready to fire.
Mulder shook his head and ran for cover. Another shot rang out as he ran behind a counter. Scully kept walking.
"Scully!" he called out. "This isn't you!"
She offered no response to him. Then something happened that did stop her. Someone stepped in her path. Scully was faced with a mirror image of her own face. The entranced agent was bewildered.
"Scully." Gillian said evenly. "Put the gun down. You don't want to hurt me. You have to trust me. Someone has brainwashed you. But you can't kill me. Because you'd kill yourself. Put the gun down."
Scully didn't move, simply staring at Gillian. Then she began to shake, as if her mind was receiving contradictory signals.
The gun clattered to the ground and she fell forward, spasms ripping through her. Gillian grabbed her, lowering her to the ground as David emerged from behind the counter.
"What's happening to her?"
"I don't know." Gillian replied. "But there has to be a way to snap her out of it."
"Such as?"
"Given television, probably a key phrase."
"And how do we find that out?"
Fuller looked up from his desk to see Scully re-enter the room. She was holding the gun but was now dressed again.
"Is he dead?" Fuller asked casually.
"No."
"Well go and finish him off then."
"No."
"I order you to."
"No."
He looked up at her, realizing that she was no longer under his control. "Scully. Ahab and Queequeg."
She took a step closer. "Ahab and Queequeg."
"That's just what I wanted to hear."
Fuller lashed out with his arm and caught Gillian by surprise, the gun flying across the room. She countered with a punch but he pushed her back, knocking a tray of instruments to the floor. Her hit her again, knocking her to the ground and bearing down on her twisting her arms above her head. Fuller grasped his hands about her throat, choking her as Gillian tried to fight him off. Her blows seemed to have no effect and her legs were pinned. Desperately she reached out trying to find a weapon.
Her hand closed on and she rose it up, jabbing the hypodermic needle into his arm and pushing the plunger. Fuller roared in fury, tightening his grip as Gillian choked, stars forming before her eyes. Then the grip seemed to loosen until finally it was free. Gillian hefted him off, rising shakily to her feet. Fuller staggered back bumping into a cupboard. She didn't give him another look as she hurried back up the stairs. Bugs.
The room was filling up with bug, hundreds, thousands of them , crawling through all the spaces. Fuller struggled to stay calm, to tell himself that it wasn't real. There were no bugs. It was all just the result of his drug, bringing the fear foremost into his mind. But he could hear them skitter over the tiles, feel them crunching beneath his feet. The bugs kept flooding in, millions of feet all crawling and creeping towards him. They were already up to his ankles, a steady tide of the creatures pouring in. He could feel them crawling up his legs, their prickling feet on this skin. No. They weren't there. It was all a fantasy. There were no bugs, none at all. But they were up to his waist. He could feel them gnawing away at the flesh of his legs, running up to his head, through his hair. They weren't real. Gnawing a him. Just an illusion. Eating away at his body. Just a fear.
Boring into his brain.
"IT'S NOT REAL!" Fuller screamed as the agony consumed him and he was overwhelmed by a tide of bugs and beetles.
And he fell dead to the perfectly clean floor of his lab.
*****
"Shady Creek, File 13F86. Fox Mulder Reporting. The full extent of Doctor Maxwell Fullers manipulation of this town is still being uncovered. Fuller kept detailed files on all his subjects and they are being counseled on individual basis. What was the exact cause of the mass hysteria that occurred is still unknown. It may have been something in the town water or air that reacted with the drugs Fuller used. Shortly after I returned to the town with Agent Scully, the hysteria had died down and there have been no further relapses. Twelve individuals died in Shady Crossroads as a result of their delusions.
Agent Scully, while briefly affected by Fuller, has made a complete recovery and recalls nothing of the event that occurred. I was able to stop agent Scully and get the key word to save her from Fuller before he died as the result of his own drugs. It appears that Fuller, for a long time considered to be one of the countries experts on fear, died as the result of his own. There do not seem to be any further loose ends. I consider this case closed."
Mulder stopped the tape recorder and dropped it to the seat beside him. "If I know you're character, it's not like you to omit facts from a report."
Mulder turned to Gillian standing outside his car. Scully had gone home with a medical team and, seeing as she hadn't returned to wherever she came from, he had offered Gillian a lift to wherever it was she was going. "I decided not to mention it. It's too crazy even for me. My life is a T.V show? Not even the gunmen would buy it."
"And what do you think?" Gillian asked.
"Me? I believe that you're from another dimension and that in your world there is a show similar to the events of my life."
"Similar?"
"Yes. But not identical. Because this universe is more diverse than a simple T.V show. And because this changes everything."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, this can't be an episode can it?"
"I.. guess not." Gillian realized. "I think I can hitch from here."
"You're sure you'll be okay?"
"Well no one's going to recognize me as an actress."
"You're sure you don't want to go further?"
"I have a feeling I'd just complicate things further. Helping out once is enough. But I might reconsider another series now."
"You think you'll find a way back to your world?" Mulder asked as he started to pull away.
"Sure." Gillian nodded hopefully. "The truth is out there right?"
"Yeah." Mulder nodded. "I guess it is."
THE END??
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