Pray 
by Frances Hayman

E-Mail: FrankieH@aol.com
Date finished: 10-25-98
Summary: Mulder and Scully are called to rural west Kentucky to
investigate a series of unexplained deaths. Rumors of an invisible
demon bring the duo face to face with a motherly old woman, a
suspicious management executive, an ex-marine pastor, and
finally the demon itself.
Rating: PG
Classification: XA (Muldertorture and a little Scullytorture too!)
Spoilers: Revelations, All Souls, Folie A Deaux, and a small
ones for Detour and Anasazi
Distribution: OK to archive on Xemplary and anywhere else as long as my name stays with it.
Just drop me a note to let me know where it goes!
Disclaimer: Mulder, Scully, Skinner, and the X-Files belong to
Chris Carter, 1013, and Fox. No copyright infringement intended.
The only thing I'm getting out of this is the fun of playing with
these wonderful characters. Other characters are mine!
Author's Notes at the end. 
Pray by Frances Hayman
Part 1/5 
Hebron, Kentucky
Monday, 9:00pm 
The darkness had never held any fear for him, until now. He
knew the fear was irrational, but he felt it none the less. He
felt the eyes on his back, but refused to turn around. He knew
there was nothing to see. But he could feel it. It. Or maybe
Them. He could also feel his protector like a cloak. His
Protector was empowered only as long as he allowed it, though.
He had to keep his faith strong. He continued to walk in the
dark alley, straining to see the light of his destination. If he
could reach the haven unscathed, a small battle would be won, and
they needed all the victories they could muster. As if sensing
his resolve, the darkness thickened, challenging him. He
answered the challenge by lifting his chin and continuing his
journey. The fear, he decided, was not irrational. But he could
deal with it, as long as his Protector stood by him. And that
presence was a certainty. 
The little church stood strong in the darkness, waiting. The
church wasn't a building, but the people contained in the whiteframe structure topped by a steeple.
The people sat together in
a brightly lit room filled with pews, a pulpit, and a piano.
They sat together in silence, heads bowed, some with eyes closed,
some with eyes lifted up, some with tears streaming. They prayed.
The darkness was threatening, but this weapon would protect them.
These Prayer Warriors knew the Enemy they were facing was formidable,
but was no match for the Protector and His minions. A great war
was about to occur, and they had to be ready. 
A door opened, spilling light into the darkness outside, and the
man stepped in. He sighed and strode to the front of the room.
All heads had come up at his entrance and radiant smiles bathed
him as he walked past. He removed his coat and carefully laid it
on the front pew. Standing straight and tall he turned to face
the people. 
"Thank you for coming," he said. "I could feel your prayer
protection strengthening me. They can feel it too," he said,
inclining his head toward the door he had just come through. "I
don't need to tell you that we are all in danger, but together we
can stand firm. I believe God will send us help in this fight,
but it may take a form none of us expects. Those He sends may
not even be aware of His purpose." 
"Pastor?" asked a handsome young man with short dark hair and
sparkling green eyes. 
"Yes, Kenneth," answered the older, no less handsome man. He
ran a hand through his brown hair, just graying at the temples,
and turned his dark brown eyes to the young man. 
"Pastor Dysan, what did you find out?" 
"The darkness that threatens our town is strong. The men who
represent Its interests think they are invulnerable. Most of
them do not consider our small group a serious threat, but the
leader, Quentin Alvarado, is more attuned to the true purpose.
Many of the others think this is merely a business proposition,
can only see dollar signs." He paused and took a deep breath.
"They have no idea how they are being used. But Alvarado knows.
He is orchestrating everything, and he knows we are a threat to
Its purpose. We must stand strong, together. We have already
seen that any one of us, alone, is in extreme danger. Together,
we combine our strengths." 
"But Pastor Dysan, we can't stay holed up in here forever," said
a middle-aged balding man in a brown suit. 
"You're right, Dennis. We must go on about our daily lives, but
we must never stop praying. Our Guardian Angels, our Protectors,
need all the help we can give them." 
"Dennis," said an older, white haired woman, turning to face the man,
"we must 'pray without ceasing', just as the Lord tells us. It is
our Armor." 
"Mrs. Annie is right, people," said Pastor Dysan. "Our numbers
may be smaller now, but we are stronger than we have ever been.
Our Faith must be strong." He paused again, searching the faces
in front of him. "As most of you know, we are receiving prayer
support from sister churches all over the country, the world even.
But this is our fight. As I said, I believe God will send us help." 
"I hope it arrives soon," said Dennis. 
* * * * 
Hoover Building Basement
X-Files Office
Tuesday 2:00 pm 
Mulder pushed a file across his desk to his partner. 
"What's this?" she asked, picking up the folder. 
"Our next case, Agent Scully. There have been six unexplained
deaths in a small town in west Kentucky over the last four months." 
"Unexplained? You mean unsolved?" 
"No, I mean unexplained. Six different bodies have been found
with no identifiable cause of death. The victims range in age
from 17 to 75, two women, four men." 
"Do you have the autopsy data?" 
"It's in the file, Scully. I checked on the credentials of
the pathologist. He's good. He used to do autopsies in the
Big Apple, but got tired of the rat race, and I suppose all
the 'senseless death' in the big city, and moved to the safe
little town of Hebron, Kentucky. I bet he never counted on
something like this when he accepted the job as county coroner." 
Scully looked through the file. "It does seem like a pretty
thorough job, but I can't believe he found nothing at all.
Something had to kill these people." 
"Some 'Thing' is right, Scully. That is, if you believe the
rantings of the latest victim, prior to his death." 
"What 'Thing' would that be?" 
Mulder reached over and flipped the file to one of the last pages.
"It's all right there, Scully. Mr. Joseph Bond believed that
demons were ravaging his town." 
"Demons?" 
"Yeah, and he's apparently not the only one who believed that.
Several other victims told family members or co-workers that they
thought they were being stalked by demons. And before you say
anything, no, there is not a VinylRight or any other telemarketing
office in Hebron. I already checked. And no reports of zombies
or insectoid monsters." 
Scully smiled. "That's good to know. But I don't suppose they
gave any descriptions of these 'demons', did they?" 
"You mean like horns, forked tails, sulfurous breath kind of
demons from Hell? No, no descriptions. In fact, Mr. Bond told
the sheriff that they were invisible." 
"Invisible demons?" asked Scully, raising a skeptical eyebrow
in Mulder's direction. 
Mulder lifted his hands in defense. "Hey, he said it, not me!" 
"So, I guess we're headed out to Hebron, Kentucky, then?" 
"Yes, we are. Our flight leaves at 9am tomorrow. The closest
airport is about two hours away, so we'll have to do some driving." 
"And we'll have our usual four-star accommodations, I suppose." 
"Actually, there are no motels close enough to do us much good,
so we'll be staying at a 'quaint' bed and breakfast, run by a
'charming' lady named Annie Mayes." 
Scully gave him one of 'those' looks and he smiled. "I'm just
repeating what Skinner's assistant told me." 
"Skinner's assistant made the arrangements?" 
"Yep. It seems that someone in Hebron knows Skinner well
enough to request help from him directly." 
"The sheriff?" 
"No, the pastor of the local church, one Mr. Albert Dysan.
Seems he and Skinner served together in Vietnam." 
"And the sheriff doesn't mind that we're coming?" 
"No, in fact, he made the official request, but used Dysan's
contact with Skinner to make sure someone listened." 
"And Skinner assigned it to us?" 
"Yep," said Mulder, sitting back in his chair. "You have
to admit, this certainly classifies as an X-File. Invisible
demons aren't your usual suspects." 
"No, no they're not. But we both know that most of the time
these cases have a perfectly explainable cause, a very human
perpetrator." 
"But not always," said Mulder. "I'm willing to bet that Skinner
thinks that this may be one of those times. Why else would
he give us the case?" 
"I don't know, Mulder," said Scully as she closed the file.
"At any rate, we have a trip to prepare for. I'm going home
to pack. See you in the morning." 
* * * * 
Flight 1013, Coach section
Wednesday 9:45am 
Mulder sat in the window seat reading a book about angels.
Scully glanced up from her laptop. "Why are you reading a book
about angels, Mulder? I thought this case was about demons." 
"It is, Scully, but from what I've read, angels are the ones
that generally battle demons. I thought it might be a good
idea to know something about both sides." 
Scully gave him a "whatever" look and turned back to her laptop. 
"What's the matter, Scully? Don't you believe in angels?" 
"Do you?" 
"I asked you first." 
Scully sighed and took off her glasses. "Yes, Mulder, I do." 
"Really?" 
"Yes, really," she said. "I did have a somewhat religious
upbringing. I haven't forgotten what I learned, even if it
was a long time ago." 
"So then, do you just remember what you learned, or do you
really believe?" 
"I believe," she said quietly. "So, what about you, Mulder?
What do you believe? I mean besides conspiracies, mutants,
and you know, all the rest." 
He laughed and shook his head. "I guess I deserve that."
He paused and looked out the small plane window. "Maybe I'm
still trying to decide what I believe." 
* * * * 
Airport
Paducah, Kentucky
Wednesday 2:00pm 
Mulder and Scully rented a blue Explorer at the local Lariat
car rental, and set out for Hebron. The two hour trip was
uneventful and they arrived in Hebron late on Wednesday
afternoon. Their first stop was the sheriff's office. Mulder
opened the door for Scully, and followed her in, his hand on the
small of her back. Sheriff Wagner met them with his hand extended. 
"Agents Mulder and Scully?" When they nodded, he continued.
"I'm Ben Wagner, sheriff of this county. Pleased to meet you."
He shook hands with both of them. "I appreciate your coming all
the way out here to help us." 
"I hope we can be of help to you, Sheriff," said Scully. 
"Well, you come highly recommended." 
"Oh, really? Do you mind if I ask by whom?" asked Mulder. 
"Pastor Dysan's friend in the Bureau, ah, Skinner, I think he
said his name was. He promised that he'd send his best." 
Scully and Mulder exchanged glances. "We'll do our best to
help you clear this up, Sheriff Wagner," said Mulder. "We
got the file you sent, but we'll need access to any information
and evidence you've gathered." 
"Certainly. I'll show you what little we have. Just let me
know of anything else you need." 
"We'll also need to see the crime scenes, and interview the
people that found the bodies," said Scully. 
"No problem. I've got all that set up for tomorrow. Also
arranged for you to talk to Dr. Webber, the coroner, tomorrow." 
"Thank you, Sheriff," said Scully. "You certainly seem to have
things well in hand." 
"I just want to solve this and put it behind us," he said, then
paused and shook his head. "There haven't been this many murders
in this county in a very long time." 
"Do you mean that something like this has happened in the past?"
asked Mulder. 
"Not like this, but we did have a string of murders here back
in the '20's. My grandfather was a deputy back then, and he told
me about it. But I really don't think it has any bearing on
these murders." 
"Why do you say that?" asked Scully. 
"Those cases were solved. It turned out to be the work of
one deranged man. I believe he died in prison, or maybe some
mental institution years ago." 
"Do you think we could look at the files anyway, Sheriff?"
asked Mulder. 
Sheriff Wagner sighed. "Sure. It may take some time, though.
They're probably in the bottom of some box in the basement." 
Mulder smiled. "I appreciate your indulgence, Sheriff. I
really feel we can't afford to pass up any possible leads at
this point." 
"Glad to be of help, Agent Mulder," said the sheriff. "Now,
I'll get the case files from the present deaths, and show you
over to Mrs. Annie's place." 
The file-laden agents followed Sheriff Wagner to a large two
story farm house just outside of town. The light blue frame
house with white trim oozed home style comfort, even from the
road. Large green ferns and pots overflowing with flowers
adorned the eaves of the porch, while a swing moved slightly
in the gentle evening breeze. Sheriff Wagner helped Mulder
with the bags. 
"We don't get many visitors that aren't family in these parts.
Not exactly a touristy area, if you know what I mean. But
Mrs. Annie will have you feeling right at home in no time.
And I hope you brought your appetites, because she's one of
the best cooks in the county." 
Mulder smiled broadly. "I'm always ready for good food!" 
Scully glared at him, then turned to the sheriff. "Does she
have family of her own?" 
"Yes, two sons, one daughter, seven grandkids. Her husband,
Earl, died about twelve years ago. They had one of the biggest
farms in the area. Cows, soybeans, you know. But after he
died, she sold most of the farm property off. Couldn't bear to
part with the house though. Since it was more room than she
needed, her daughter convinced her to turn it into a bed and
breakfast." He stopped and laughed. "I don't think it turned
out quite as 'trendy' as Lisa, her daughter, had intended, but
it suits Mrs. Annie. She's doing what she's always done anyway
-- taking in people who need food and shelter. Just that now,
more of them pay her for it." He knocked on the front door.
"Mrs. Annie, it's Ben Wagner. I have a couple of guests for you." 
A stocky white haired woman answered the door, a friendly smile
adorning her face. She pushed open the screen door and hugged
the sheriff. "Ben, it's good to see you. Come in, come in."
She motioned them into the living room where they set down the
luggage. She looked at Mulder and Scully as though they were
long lost relatives. "And you must be the FBI agents Pastor Dysan
told us about." 
"Yes, ma'am, we are," said Mulder, smiling. Her good cheer was
infectious. "I'm Fox Mulder and this is my partner, Dana Scully." 
"It's so good to have you here. I know you'll be able to help
us get through these trying times." She took the hand of each
of the agents and held them for a moment, then looked over at
the sheriff. "Ben can you help me get them settled?" 
"Sure thing, Mrs. Annie." He picked up Scully's large bag. 
Mrs. Annie released Mulder's hand and he picked up his own bag.
She gave Scully's hand a gentle pat and released it too. They
followed her up the heavy wooden staircase, and down the hall.
She opened the dark wooden door into a large room with a four
poster bed topped with a quilt of intricate design. There wasalso a rocking chair, a cozy loveseat,
a small desk, and an
antique wooden dresser topped by an ornate mirror. Sheriff
Wagner placed Scully's bag on the bed. 
"Dana," said Mrs. Annie, "this will be your room." She moved
to her left and opened the closet. "You should have plenty of
room in here and in the dresser." She walked across the room to
another door, and opened it. "This is the bathroom, dear. I
hope the two of you don't mind, but you'll be sharing it.
Fox, your room opens into it from the other side." 
"That's fine," said Scully as she ran a hand over the
beautiful quilt.
Mrs. Annie motioned Mulder to follow her through the bathroom
to his room. He picked up his bag and went after her. "Fox,
I hope you find this comfortable." 
Mulder's room was similar to Scully's, but sported a sleigh bed
and a short couch. A small TV and VCR sat on a table across from
the bed. "I'm afraid we don't get many channels, and I just
haven't seen much use in getting one of those satellite things,
but I do have a pretty good selection of old movies." 
Mulder smiled again. "Thank you. It's great. More comfortable
than my apartment back in DC." 
Mrs. Annie returned his smile and patted his arm. "I'm glad you
like it. And I mean it about the movies. I've got everything from
John Wayne and Cary Grant to those old B grade science fiction
and horror things." She shook her head. "My Earl loved those
things." 
Mulder's eyes brightened. "You mean like 'The Day the Earth
Stood Still' and 'The Fly'?" 
Mrs. Annie laughed. "I knew I sensed a kindred soul in you.
Earl's not here to share his movies, but I'm sure he'd like you
to enjoy them. So just say the word if you want them. Okay?" 
Mulder nodded. 
"I'm sure both of you are ready for some supper. It'll be
ready in about 20 minutes. Just come on down when you get
settled." 
Mulder took five minutes to deposit his belongings, while
Scully spent the next half hour "nesting" in her room. He
brought over the files the sheriff had given them and spreadthem all over the desk, quickly looking
through them. 
"Anything in there, Mulder?" 
"Not that wasn't in the summary we were sent. We can go through
them better after supper. I know I'll work better on a full
stomach." Scully just gave him a look. "What? You're not
hungry, too?" 
Scully sighed, shook her head, and took a folder out of Mulder's
hand. "Come on. Let's not keep Mrs. Annie waiting." 
After a delicious supper of fried chicken, biscuits, rice and
gravy, and vegetables, the agents enjoyed hot apple pie and
vanilla ice cream. The dinner conversation had been light,
mostly consisting of Mrs. Annie's questions about them and
their work. They found themselves telling her things they
wouldn't usually tell complete strangers, and by the time coffee
was served, she knew sketchy histories on the both of them.
They moved to living room, and settled on the comfortable
furniture. 
"Mrs. Annie," said Mulder, "what do you think about these murders?" 
"Mulder!" said Scully. 
"It's okay, Dana," said Mrs. Annie. "I'll be happy to tell you
what I know." She paused and looked at them both carefully. "I
know I wasn't a witness to the murders, nor was I one of the
people who found the bodies, but I knew all of those people,
and I have some ideas about what's happening." 
Mulder sat straighter and leaned forward. "Tell us, Mrs. Annie." 
"Well, this might sound like lunatic ravings to you, but this is
what I think. No, what I know." She took a deep breath. "For
the last eight months, there has been a dark cloud over our town.
Not a literal one, but a spiritual one. Ever since that
management consulting company, Alvarado Enterprises, came here.
That man, Quentin Alvarado, has dark forces working through him.
I don't really know what he plans to do, but I do know it's the
Devil's work." 
Scully looked over at Mulder. Mrs. Annie caught the look.
"I know how it sounds, but I've been a God fearing believer
most of my life. You can feel the evil around that place, and
to be close to him --" she shivered. "Well, let's just say it's
not pleasant. There's something going on here that's more thanjust a business venture. Living out
here, I've never had to look
in the face of evil, until now." She took a long drink of her
coffee. "My Mama told me about another time, when a lot of
people died, that was like this." 
"Was that in the 20's?" asked Mulder. 
"Yes, it was. I don't remember a lot of what Mama said, just
that it was evil incarnate." 
"Sheriff Wagner mentioned something about that earlier,"
said Scully. 
"Do you think it's related?" asked Mulder. 
"I don't know," said Mrs. Annie. "But I think you'd do well
to speak to Pastor Dysan." 
"Why?" asked Scully. 
"All of the people who have died were members of our church,
so he knew them, too. And he's been looking into this company
as well." 
"Mrs. Annie, the last victim, Mr. Joseph Bond, reported
that he thought someone was stalking him," said Scully. 
"Not someone, Dana. Something." 
"What 'something' would that be?" asked Mulder. 
"A demon." 
* * * * 
Sheriff's Office
Thursday 8:00am 
The next morning Mulder and Scully entered the sheriff's
office, ready to really begin the investigation. They
approached the main desk, currently manned by a young deputy. 
"Deputy, ah, Fields," said Mulder looking at the name on
his uniform, "is Sheriff Wagner in?" 
"You two are the FBI agents aren't you?" Fields asked.
"Mulder and Scully?" 
"Yes, we are," said Scully, a little wary. 
"Sheriff Wagner isn't here. He's home, sick with some kindof stomach bug that's been going
around. But he told me to
help you with whatever you need." He paused and picked through
some papers on the desk. "Ah, here it is. He gave me a list
of the appointments he had set for you today. I can take you to
all the crime scenes and witness interviews." 
"Thank you, Deputy Fields," said Scully. 
"Call me Gary, please, Agent Scully. I feel like you're talking
to my Daddy." 
"Okay, Gary. I hope it's nothing serious with the Sheriff." 
"Nah, he should be back at least by tomorrow or the next day.
I had it a few days ago. Doesn't last long, but while it's
got ya'--" he stopped and shivered. "Well, let's just say, it
isn't pleasant." 
Mulder smiled. "Sounds like some of my Mondays in college." 
Gary laughed. "Come to think of it, it was kinda like a really
intense hangover, only there was no fun to be had first!" 
"Well, I hope he's feeling better soon," said Scully.
"What's first on your list, Gary?" 
"We'll start with the crime scenes, most recent back to the
first, then go talk to some people. And Agent Scully,
Dr. Webber can meet with you about 1:00 this afternoon." 
"Sounds like you've got everything lined up," said Scully. 
Gary smiled and picked up his hat. "We aim to please. Well,
then let's hit the road." 
A young dark haired woman at a desk near the back of the room
sat watching the trio. As they left, she picked up the phone
on her desk. After a moment, she began to speak quietly.
"It's me. You were right. He did call in the FBI. They
could be trouble. What do you want me to do?" She paused.
"Are you sure?" Another pause. "When?" She nodded.
"I understand." 
* * * * 
Sumpter Coal Mine 
Mulder tried to squelch a grin at the site of Scully's head
being swallowed by the large yellow hardhat. Scully attemptedto look up at him, but the front of
the hat, weighed down by
a light, fell into her eyes. Mulder could not contain the
laugh anymore. Scully pushed the hat out of her eyes and
glared at him. 
"Sorry, Agent Scully," said Gary with a rather amused grin of
his own. "They only have one size for visitors to the mine." 
"That's okay, Gary," said Scully. "I think I can manage." 
He nodded, sure that she could. "I hope you guys aren't
claustrophobic, 'cause the crime scene is pretty far down." 
"As long as you can assure me there won't be any cave-ins,
and that there will be plenty of air to breath, we'll be
just fine," said Mulder. 
Gary looked worriedly at Mulder. 
"He's kidding, Gary," said Scully. 
They made their way past workers covered in coal dust, who
waved and shouted greetings to Gary. They stopped at a fork
in the large passage and veered to the right. 
"We've still got this area closed off, and let me tell you, the
big bosses are chafing to get it going again." 
"Hopefully, we can give it back to them soon," said Scully. 
The passageway became smaller, until they could only walk
two abreast. Suddenly, they came upon the garish yellow of
the crime scene tape. 
Mulder pulled it up and walked into the middle of the
cordoned area. "You're sure no one has disturbed the area?" 
"No one's been down here 'cept Sheriff Wagner and me since the
body was pulled out." He turned his head back up the passageway.
"Between you and me, I think they're gonna be hard pressed to
find anybody in this mine that's gonna want to work down here
now." 
Mulder shown the flashlight he held on the walls and floor, looking.
"I know what you mean. It feels, I don't know, creepy, down here." 
Gary nodded. "And miners can be a superstitious lot." 
Scully pulled them back to the job. "And you found no evidence
that someone attacked Mr. Bond here?" 
"Well, there were lots of footprints, but this area was being
worked pretty heavily at the time." 
"How did he come to be down here alone?" asked Scully. 
"It was a shift change. He was a supervisor and was making sure
everyone was where they were supposed to be. When the next
shift came down, about 20-30 minutes later, they found him,
dead." Gary drew in a breath. "By the time we got here,
several people had walked through the area, but we tried to
preserve it as best we could. I assume you've seen the photos."
Mulder nodded, and Gary continued. "We found nothing. Nada.
It looked like he just fell down and died." Gary gulped and
closed his eyes. "But the look on his face, was of such,
horror." Gary shook his head as if to clear it. "Just like
all the others." 
Mulder looked carefully at the area, absorbing every detail.
He walked closer to the wall of the tunnel, squatted down and
brought the flashlight close to the wall. 
"Find something, Mulder?" asked Scully. 
"I don't know. Maybe." He scrutinized the site. "Come
here, Scully." 
Scully came and knelt beside him. "What are you looking at?" 
"Look right here." He pointed to a series of gashes on the
wall. Gary came up behind them. 
"That's just where equipment hits the walls, Agent Mulder.
Those scarred places are everywhere." 
"But look at this area," said Mulder, pointing to several
connected slashes. "Doesn't that look a bit more intentional?" 
Scully frowned. "Maybe. What do you think it is?" 
"It looks like a lightning bolt to me." 
Scully squinted. "I don't know, Mulder. Like Gary said, these
walls are full of marks." 
"Well, it's something we can look for at the other scenes."
He turned to Gary. "I think we've seen enough here." 
"Okay," said Gary, "I guess we can move on to the next,
or should I say, previous, crime scene. That one happenedseveral weeks ago, so there probably
won't be much to see
in the way of evidence." 
"Well, you never know," said Mulder. 
End part 1/5

Pray by Frances Hayman
Part 2/5 
Sumpter Coal Mine
Hebron, Kentucky 
They exited the mine, dusted themselves off, and headed for
the next scene. They drove about ten miles and stopped on the
side of the road. 
Gary turned to the two agents in his car. "We'll have to do
some more walking. David Melvin's body was found in his Daddy's
soybean field." 
"The report states that the boy's sister found him," said Scully. 
"Yeah, she was pretty torn up. Her mama sent her out to find
him when he didn't come in for supper. I guess she just figured
he was sitting out there with some friends. Sometimes the boys
do that." He paused and looked out the window. "I know I spent
my share of time sitting on a tractor, talking to my buddies
when I was growing up." He shook his head. "Anyway, guess we
better get going. Not that there'll be much to see." 
They got out of the car and began the trek through the beans.
There was no yellow crime scene tape to mark the spot here, but
a large beaten down area was just ahead of them. Mulder walked
ahead to the middle of the area, then stopped and turned
slowly around. Scully could see him placing things in his mind,
where the tractor had been, the position of the body, the path of
approach his sister had taken. Scully walked the perimeter,
careful not to disturb him. Deputy Gary must have sensed the
intensity of Mulder's scrutiny, because he, too, was silent. 
Suddenly, Mulder broke from his reverie with a question for Gary.
"Can we see the tractor?" 
"Um, sure. I think it's back in the barn. I'll need to get on
the horn and warn Mrs. Melvin we're coming." 
Mulder nodded and they walked back out of the field.
They arrived at the Melvin farm a few minutes later. A slimwoman dressed in jeans and a faded
denim shirt met them at
the barn door. Gary made the introductions. She seems genuinely
glad to meet the FBI agents and quickly led them to the
tractor. 
"We've just had it here in the barn ever since David died. My
husband hasn't moved it since they brought it back." She paused
and gave a short heartless laugh. "Good thing we've got other
tractors." 
"Did you notice anything different about it when it was brought
back?" asked Mulder. 
"No," she said. 
"Would you mind if I had a look?" 
"No, of course not," said Mrs. Melvin. "I'll leave you to it,
then. Just be sure to close the barn doors when you leave." 
"Thanks, Mrs. Melvin," said Gary. 
Mrs. Melvin left them in the barn and Mulder began his intense
perusal of the tractor. 
"What are you looking for Mulder?" asked Scully. 
"I'm not sure," said Mulder. He knelt down and began his
inspection with the wheels. Scully went to the other side
and began her own inspection. After a moment she turned her
attention to the panel gauges. The key was in the ignition and
all around it were scratches, as if someone had tried on many
occasions to place the key in the appropriate place but had
missed. She looked closer. 
"Hey, Mulder, come take a look at this," said Scully. 
"What did you find?" 
"I'm not sure, but it looks a bit like the marks you found on
the wall of the mine." 
Mulder looked where she indicated. "I think you're right, Scully." 
"It could just be a random pattern from where the key scratched all
around the ignition," said Scully. 
"I don't think so," said Mulder. "I think this means something." 
"What?" asked Gary. 
"I don't know yet," said Mulder. 
Further inspection revealed nothing else. As they headed back
to the car, Gary asked, "Where to now? Do you want to see more
of the scenes or move on to witness and family interviews?" 
"Do you think Mrs. Melvin would mind answering a few questions?"
asked Mulder. 
"We can ask," said Gary. He approached the house and knocked
tentatively on the front door. When Mrs. Melvin came to the
door, he made the request and she waved them in. 
"Can I get you something to drink?" she asked. 
Mulder smiled. "Nothing for me, thanks." Gary and Scully
echoed his statement. "We don't want to take up too much of
your time," he resumed. "I just wanted to know if you had ever
seen this," he said as he sketched out the lightning bolt he
had pointed out to Scully and Gary. 
Mrs. Melvin looked closely at it. "I don't think so. Why?
Do you think it has something to do with why David died?" 
"I don't know, Mrs. Melvin. We're just trying to follow all
possible leads." 
She looked at it again. "Wait, I think I have seen it, or
maybe something like it." She paused. "Let me think, where
was that?" She drummed her fingers on the table. "Gary," she
said, "doesn't this look sort of like part of the Alvarado
Enterprises logo?" 
Gary looked over her shoulder, frowning. "Hmm. You know,
I think you're right." 
Mulder's eyes lit up and he looked at Scully, both remembering
Mrs. Annie's words of warning about Alvarado. "Do you think
you could remember how it's like the logo?" asked Scully. 
"I've got yesterday's paper right here. I'm sure there was
an ad in the classifieds from that place." She got up to
retrieve the paper, opened it to the right section and brought
it to the table. 
Mulder and Scully looked intently at the paper. Right in the
middle of the logo was the lightning bolt. 
"Mrs. Melvin, did your son have any connection to this company?" 
"He interviewed for a job there when they first opened up, about
6 or 7 months ago, but he didn't take the job. Said the whole
place gave him the creeps or something. His friend Josh did
work there for a while, though." 
"What kind of job did he interview for?" asked Scully. 
"Um, I think it was a truck driver's job. Delivering their
stuff to the airport, post office, and such for shipment.
In fact, that's what Josh did." 
"He no longer works there?" 
Mrs. Melvin looked down at her hands. "No, Josh was killed in
an automobile accident. Driving one of those trucks. Hit by a
drunk driver, isn't that right, Gary?" 
"Yes, ma'am," said Gary. "He'd only been driving that truck
for about a month." 
"Thank you, Mrs. Melvin," said Mulder as he got up. 
"Agent Mulder, do you believe that Alvarado Enterprises had
anything do to with my son's death?" 
"I don't know," said Mulder. "As I said, we're just following
up all leads." 
They left the quiet kitchen and headed back to Gary's car.
"What are you thinking, Mulder?" asked Scully. 
"I'm thinking that the name Alvarado Enterprises keeps coming
up. I think we need to find out more about this company, and
look for any connections the victims may have had to it." He
opened the car door and got in. "Gary, what do you know about
Alvarado Enterprises." 
Gary got in, cranked the car, and turned to face Mulder. "Well,
they bought some reclaimed mine land about a year ago.
Built offices and a couple of warehouses." 
"What does this company do?" asked Scully. 
"Some kind of personnel management, motivational training
stuff, I think," said Gary. "This is the main office, where
the president, Quentin Alvarado's office is. He has some other
of his upper management here, too." 
"What are the warehouses for?" asked Mulder. 
"Storage of their books, videos, and such. This is one of
their shipment points. The stuff is produced elsewhere, and
stored here until some poor sucker orders it." 
"You don't sound like a big fan," said Scully. 
"Don't get me wrong," said Gary. "I've got nothing against
them. I just think some of the 'imaging' stuff and meditation
that they do is sort of hokey." 
"Do you think we could get some of the material?" asked Mulder. 
"I'm sure they'd be only too happy to give you their pitch,
Agent Mulder." He paused and laughed. "Just thinking about
landing an account with the FBI would probably set those guys'
mouths to watering." 
* * * * 
Sheriff's Office
12:45pm 
Scully pulled off her glasses, rubbed the bridge of her nose,
and looked over at Mulder. He sat with files open all around
him, looking at crime scene photos with a magnifying glass. 
"Find anything in those photos, Mulder?" 
"Not really, but I have some ideas on where we can look for
that symbol on artifacts from the other scenes." 
"Well, I have to meet the coroner in a few minutes," said Scully. 
Mulder looked at his watch. "Twelve forty-five already. No
wonder I'm hungry." 
Gary's head appeared in the doorway. "I was just about to call
in a lunch order to the little cafe across the street. Do you
want anything?" 
"Nothing for me, Gary," said Scully. "Mrs. Annie's breakfast is
a bit heavier than I'm used to. But Mulder was just saying how
hungry he was." 
Scully left the pair to discuss the merits of various
sandwich ingredients. 
She arrived at the local hospital a few minutes later and
headed for Dr. Webber's office. As she approached the door,she noticed it was open. She
knocked lightly on the half open
door and was rewarded with an invitation to come in. Dr. Webber
sat at an old wooden desk, glasses sliding down his nose,
totally engrossed in reading a file. He looked up quickly
to see who his guest was. 
"Can I help you?" he asked when he didn't recognize the face. 
"Dr. Webber," said Scully, "I'm Special Agent Dana Scully with
the FBI. I had an appointment to meet with you about the
autopsy results on the --" 
"Dr. Scully!" he said, and got up, hand out to Scully. "I'm
so sorry, I completely forgot. Please sit down, sit down."
He motioned her to a chair in front of his desk. 
"Quite all right," said Scully. "I know you're busy, so
shall we get right down to business?" 
"Yes, of course," he said. "I have the files right here."
He reached behind him to pick up a stack of files. "I suppose
you've already read the summaries." At Scully's nod, he
continued. "Not much to tell. Besides being dead, I could find
nothing wrong with any of these people." 
"Nothing at all?" 
"Nothing. Well, nothing that wasn't confirmed by their previous
medical histories, and none of that could have caused the deaths." 
Scully sat looking through Joseph Bond's autopsy report. "Tox
screens clean, no external or internal lesions that could be
identified." 
"Everything came up negative." Webber paused. "I wasn't too
concerned with that finding on the first victim, because she
was an older woman. You know as well as I do that a cause of
death cannot always be established." 
Scully nodded. "But with the techniques and testing available,
that's not common." 
"I couldn't agree more, Dr. Scully. But I didn't find anything.
And believe me, I looked." 
Scully smiled. "Your reports were exceptionally thorough,
Dr. Webber, but the fact still remains that we have six dead
people." She paused. "Would you mind if I hung on to these
for a while?" 
"No, in fact, I had those copies put together for you." He
shook his head. "If you can think of anything else for us to
do, let me know. We still have tissue samples we can run." 
"I will, Dr. Webber," said Scully, taking out one of her
business cards. "If you think of anything, please give
me a call." 
Webber took the offered card and looked at it closely. "I
certainly will, Dr. Scully." He shook his head again. "Ten
years in the New York medical examiner's office, and I never ran
across such a lack of, of, anything." 
Scully smiled. "It is aggravating, and believe me, you never
get used to it." She looked at her watch and rose to leave.
"I'll be in touch." 
Webber watched her leave, a quizzical expression on his face. 
* * * * 
Sheriff's Office
1:30pm 
Mulder sat at the small desk in the Sheriff's office intently
studying a yellowed file. He looked up as Deputy Fields set a
bag and a cup on the desk. 
"Lunch has arrived!" said Gary. "Sheila said to apologize to
you for the delay, but they were kind of busy." 
"Sheila?" 
"Yeah, she's our dispatcher, secretary, you know." Gary paused
and gave an exaggerated pouty look. "She never apologizes to me." 
"Umm," stammered Mulder as he picked up the bag. He glanced
around the room and noticed the dark haired young woman near
the back of the room, waving shyly at him. He nodded slightly
toward her. 
Gary grinned. "It's okay, Mulder. She just likes to flirt with
the new guys. After the new wears off you'll be invisible just
like the rest of us." 
Mulder shook his head, set the file aside, and looked in the bag.
"I hope I don't regret letting you talk me into this, but I do
love barbecue." 
Gary laughed. "Then you're gonna love this. But go easy on the
sauce if you're not used to hot stuff." 
Mulder picked up the small plastic container and opened it
carefully. He gingerly stuck a finger in its contents, then put
the finger in his mouth. He contemplated the sensations and
tastes that assaulted his tongue, then smiled at Gary. "This
is 'hellfire hot'?" 
"What? Not spicy enough for you?" 
Mulder grinned and poured the entire contents on his open
sandwich. Gary's eyes got wide. Mulder's smile broadened.
"I like to live dangerously." 
"So I see," said Gary. 
Mulder took a big bite, barbecue sauce dripping down his chin.
Gary looked at the pile of old files stacked beside him. "I
see they found those files from the twenties. Anything in them?" 
Mulder wiped his mouth and attempted to wipe at a drop of sauce
that had splattered on his colorful tie. "Lots of stuff. Don't
know if any of it is significant yet." 
Gary got up. "Well, I'll leave you to it." He started to walk
away. "We can go on to the other scenes whenever you're ready,
and I've got a roll of antacids in my desk when you need some
later." 
Mulder took another big bite and nodded as Gary left. He wiped
his hands again, and picked up an old file. He had meticulously
gone through the photos from the recent crime scenes, so he was
pretty sure where he'd find the lightning bolt. Now he turned
his attention to the 70 year old cases, hoping to find a clue
there. As he polished off the last of the sandwich, Scully
walked in. 
"Wow, that was fast," said Mulder. 
"Dr. Webber didn't have much to say," said Scully, "but he
did give me the complete files." She lay them on a corner of
the desk. "Find anything?" 
"The little cafe across the road has great barbecue." Scully
rolled her eyes. "And," said Mulder as he wadded up the remains
of his lunch and launched it into the garbage, "I think I know
where to look for that symbol at the other crime scenes." 
"Still no clue as to its significance?" 
Mulder shook his head. "No, but I keep coming back to Alvarado
Enterprises." 
"What, did you find connections to the victims?" 
He nodded and took a long drink of his tea. "All of the
victims had applied for a job there. Some worked there for a
short period of time. A couple, like David Melvin, never
took the jobs." 
"Where did you get that information?" 
"From a very helpful secretary at Alvarado. By the way, we
have an appointment with Mister Alvarado himself at four-thirty.
That should give us enough time to look at at least one more
scene, and talk to Albert Dysan." 
"I thought we were supposed to see Dysan tomorrow." 
Mulder shrugged. "He called and asked us to come over about
three." 
* * * * 
Jiffy Kwik Mart
2:15pm 
Mulder was out of the car almost before it stopped moving,
striding purposefully into the Jiffy Kwik Mart. Scully half
expected him to pick up a bag of sunflower seeds as he looked
carefully up and down the aisles. Deputy Fields moved past
him to speak to the woman at the register, explaining why they
were there, then went to a silver door near the restrooms. 
"Agent Mulder, it was back here." 
Mulder stood quietly looking around, then nodded and followed
Gary to the door. Scully watched his movements closely,
recognizing the signs of 'Mulder-on-the-scent'. 
Gary opened the door and motioned the agents into the dark
storeroom area of the convenience store. It was about a quarter
the size of the store itself and smelled musty. Boxes were
stacked everywhere. 
"Let me find the lights," said Gary, still holding the
door open. 
"No!" said Mulder, startling him. "Leave them off." He moved
slowly to stand near the back wall. "Is this where the body
was found?" 
"Yes," said Gary. "Andrew Burgess, the store manager, was
found by the cashier on the midnight shift, Beverly Hall." 
Mulder knelt down where the body had lain. He looked carefully
around the room then got up and moved to the back door. The
metal door was a mass of scratches and dents, but Mulder's
finger went immediately to scratches near the deadbolt lock. 
"Turn the light on please, Gary." 
Gary flipped the switch and the small room was suddenly bathed
in flickering fluorescent light. 
"Look, Scully," said Mulder, pointing to the door. 
Scully moved closer to inspect the battered metal door. She
squinted and looked where he indicated. 
"You think that this is the same as the symbols found at the
other sites?" 
"See for yourself, Scully. They are definitely the same." 
"What does it mean?" asked Gary. 
Mulder ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I don't know
yet, but I'm sure it's significant." 
Gary shrugged. "I'll take your word for it." 
Mulder and Scully continued to prowl the close, musty room for
another few minutes, then Mulder opened the door to the outside
and stepped into the short alley. He looked at the door from
the outside then walked along the back of the building, looking
carefully. 
"What are we looking for, Mulder?" asked Scully. 
"I don't know," said Mulder. 
Scully stopped and turned around. A wooden privacy fence was
hidden by small trees and unkempt bushes. She pushed her way
through to see that the wooden fence was covered in graffiti,
some of it quite artistic. She stepped up for a closer look,
then backed as far away as she could to get a more completeview. "Hey, Mulder," said Scully, "I
think I found something." 
Mulder walked around to where Scully was standing. His mouth
gaped as he moved to stand beside her. "I'd say you hit the
jackpot, Scully." 
The wooden fence was covered in a detailed drawing of a
demonic figure wielding a lightening bolt. 
"Gary, can we get some pictures of this?" asked Mulder. "And
is there any chance of finding out who did this?" 
"Pictures are no problem. As for the identity of the 'artist',
I can tell you right now who did that." 
Mulder turned quickly. "Who?" 
"Josh Stevens. The friend of David Melvin's that was killed
in an auto accident several months ago." 
Mulder's face fell. He chewed on his lower lip as he stepped
closer to the hellish image. "Did he have any brothers or
sisters?" 
Gary thought for a moment. "No. I believe he was an only
child." 
"Can you get me some family history?" 
"I think so, Mulder. But it would help if I knew what you were
looking for." 
"I'm not really sure, but this," he said pointing to the demon
on the wall, "is a big clue." 
* * * * 
State Road 84 
Mulder sat in silence in the car, quietly sketching the demon
on the fence. He frowned at the results, but decided they'd do
until they got the photos. They were on their way to the church
to talk with Albert Dysan, and Mulder wanted to ask him if he
recognized this particular demon. Scully looked over at him
from the driver's seat. They had retrieved their rental car
from the sheriff's office to free Gary up for the afternoon.
Mulder looked up. 
"Don't take this the wrong way, Mulder, but I don't think I'd
be booking galleries for your artistic endeavors anytime soon." 
Mulder frowned. "That bad?" 
"Well, not really," said Scully. "I mean, I can tell what it
is." She paused. "It is the demon on that fence, isn't it?" 
Mulder gave her a sarcastic look and put his sketch away.
Scully smiled. 
The church was a relatively small white frame building set among
graceful oak trees, surrounded by an immaculate lawn. They
parked in the small parking lot and headed toward the building. 
"Did he say where to meet him?" asked Scully. 
"Yeah, he said just to come in the side door, go to the end of
the hall and hang a right." 
They proceeded through the church on those directions and soon
heard things that sounded like they should be coming from a
gym and not a church. They looked at each other and went around
the corner. A door stood open revealing a group of people in
karate attire. A handsome man with brown hair, just graying at
the temples, and sporting a black belt, spotted them. After
excusing himself from the group, he came to the door. 
"Agents Mulder and Scully?" he asked. 
"Yes," said Mulder, as they pulled out their IDs. 
"I'm Albert Dysan," he said as he held out his hand to them.
"We're just about to finish up here. Do you have a few minutes?" 
"Sure," said Mulder. "We are a little early." 
"Thanks. I was just about to demonstrate a couple of self
defense moves for the group." 
Mulder and Scully looked at the group. It consisted of
children, teenagers, and adults of both sexes, as well as
a few senior citizens. Dysan introduced them to the group. 
"I don't suppose I could talk one of you into helping me
demonstrate, could I?" He looked from one to the other. 
"Sure," said Scully gamely. Mulder looked mildly surprised.
She took off her jacket and gun and handed them to him, then
kicked off her shoes and followed Dysan to a matted area.
Dysan picked up a wooden representation of a gun, that looked
to Mulder like it was supposed to be a sawed-off shotgun. 
"All right, Agent Scully, I'll be the aggressor. I'm sure
you've had a fair amount of training in disarming people, so
let's see if I'm prepared." 
Scully nodded. Dysan approached her with the fake gun pointed
toward her. She expertly pushed the muzzle of the gun away with
her forearm, and in the blink of an eye had Dysan on the ground.
Mulder stood to the side with his mouth slightly open. 
Dysan got up and addressed his class. "That, class, was the
Overholt disarmament maneuver, with an additional take down."
Scully raised her eyebrow at Dysan. He shrugged. "I've met the
brother of the guy that invented it. He taught it to me." He
turned to address the class again. "As you can see, it's very
effective. I'll show you how to do it slowly, and then leave
you to practice for a few minutes." He proceeded to explain
the moves in great detail, until everyone in the room was
practicing. Mulder still stood in the corner, watching as
Scully pitched in to help with the instruction. She approached
him with her hand out, silently asking for her things and
stepped back into her shoes. 
"Wow, Scully, I'm impressed." 
Scully shrugged. "You missed the last retraining session when
your shoulder was injured in Florida." 
"Oh, yeah. But you gotta show me that gun thing later." 
"Sure, Mulder." She straightened her jacket and ran a hand
over her hair. Satisfied that she looked reasonably presentable,
she turned back to the class. Dysan approached them. 
"Thank you, Agent Scully. I was hoping you knew that move." 
"Glad to help." 
"I've turned the class over to my assistant, so we can talk.
Pardon me for just a moment." He walked to an area of chairs,
picked up a small black bag, then turned to the wall and removed
his black belt. He put it in the bag, took out a pair of
running shoes, and put them on. He approached the agents,
bag in hand. 
"I'm sure you must find this," he said as he motioned to the
group, " a little unusual in a church." 
"Well, yes," said Mulder. 
Dysan motioned for them to follow. "I got my first taste of
martial arts in the military. I admire the discipline and the
value of knowing how to defend oneself, even if I don't
subscribe to Eastern religious beliefs." At Mulder's nod he
continued. "And so I decided to share my knowledge with my
friends here." He paused at a door with his name on it, found
keys in the bag and opened the door. "These people have been
especially eager to learn with all the recent deaths." He
waved them to chairs in front of his desk while he sat behind it. 
"I wanted to thank you personally for coming here," said Dysan.
"Walt's a good man, and I knew I could count on him to send
me his best." 
"Thank you for the vote of confidence," said Mulder, "but we've
still got a lot of work to do before we can explain these deaths." 
Dysan nodded. "I understand that. I just wanted you to know
your efforts are appreciated." 
Mulder and Scully exchanged looks of mild surprise. It wasn't
often that they heard these kinds of sentiments from anyone,
even when a case was solved. 
Mulder looked away, then fished the drawing out of his pocket,
holding it. "Um, Mr. Dysan, would you mind answering some
questions for me?" 
"Of course not," he said as he settled into his chair. 
Mulder laid the drawing on the desk. "Can you tell me anything
about this?" 
Dysan looked carefully at the drawing. He swallowed and his
face paled visibly. He looked up at Mulder. "You do know how
to get right to the heart of the matter, don't you, Agent
Mulder?" 
Mulder shrugged. 
Dysan picked up the paper and studied it more closely. "This
looks like what's painted on the fence behind the Jiffy Kwik." 
"Do you know what it means?" asked Mulder. 
Dysan sighed. "When I saw this for the first time, my first
thought was that the artist was quite talented." He paused.
"And he was. It wasn't until later that I learned what drovehim to express himself in this manner." 
"And what was that?" asked Scully. 
Dysan put the paper down and looked at the two agents.
"A demon." 
"A demon?" asked Scully, slightly incredulously. 
Dysan nodded. "And not just any demon. This is an old,
powerful one." 
"Why do you say that?" asked Mulder. 
Dysan sighed. "It's a rather long story, but I'll try to give
you the short version." He paused again, to gather his
thoughts. "The first appearance of the demon in this area was
back in the twenties --" 
"The group of murders that were blamed on a transient man?"
asked Mulder. 
"Yes, Mr. Mulder, those murders. From what I understand,
the man was definitely involved, but the demon was really
responsible. A pastor in the area at the time identified the
demon, and drove him out." 
"What connection does that have to these deaths?" asked Scully. 
"Everything," said Dysan. "The same demon is back." 
"How do you know?" asked Mulder. 
"I have the journal of Charlie Green, the pastor of this church
back then. He recorded some interesting details, including how
he planned to drive the demon out." 
"Then he wasn't successful?" asked Mulder. 
"Well, everyone thought he was until a few months ago, but the
journal ends just prior to the 'big showdown'." 
"Why?" asked Scully. 
"Green died during his confrontation in a mine tunnel collapse." 
"He was the last death," said Mulder quietly. 
Dysan nodded. "Then the sheriff pieced together enough evidence
to connect the transient man, Quince Alvers, to the deaths. He
was arrested, but was declared incompetent and never went totrial. He spent the remainder of his
days in the state mental
hospital." 
Mulder nodded. "I've read most of the files on the case.
Alvers died in 1958." 
Dysan sighed. "Seventy years of peace, and now it's back." 
"How do you know it's the same demon?" asked Mulder. 
Dysan opened a desk drawer and pulled out an old leather
bound book. He flipped through the pages and settled on one
before turning it to face the agents. "This is how I know." 
They looked closely at the drawing. It was the same as the
drawing on the fence. 
"Isn't it possible that the boy that painted the fence could
have seen a similar picture?" asked Scully. 
Dysan shook his head. "To my knowledge, this is the only
drawing of the previous demon, or this demon during his earlier
'visit'. And these journals have been closely guarded by all
the pastors of this church over the years. It's sort of been
like passing the torch to another bearer. The outgoing pastor
tells the story, then passes on the journals." He paused and
looked down at the book. "It was intended as a warning to
always be prepared to face evil in all of it's incarnations.
I honestly never dreamed it would help me fight in another war." 
"A war?" asked Scully. 
Dysan looked up. "THE war, Agent Scully. THE war of good
versus evil. Or maybe just a battle in the war, but an
important battle." 
The room fell silent for a moment. Mulder looked over at
Scully, then at Dysan. "Do you think Alvarado Enterprises is
involved in the deaths." 
Dysan nodded. "Yes. Quentin Alvarado is at the heart of this.
I believe he is responsible for the demon's presence." 
"How do you know?" asked Scully. 
Dysan sighed. "Agent Scully, in Charlie Green's journals, he
describes Quince Alvers. I've seen photos of the man. He could
be Alvarado's twin." 
"Or, his father," said Scully. 
Dysan nodded. "I would agree with you, except that in all the
information I've been able to turn up, Alvarado was born in
1960." 
"He could be related in another way," said Scully, "or the
records could have been falsified." 
"You're right," said Dysan. "But whatever the relationship is,
I do believe that Alvarado is involved." 
"Do you have any other reasons for believing that?" asked Mulder. 
"Yes, I do," said Dysan. He leaned back in his chair. "I've
only been the pastor here for about six months. The previous
pastor left six weeks after Alvarado Enterprises opened it's
doors. Before he left, he told me Green's story and gave me the
journal I've shown you. He told me to read it carefully, and
to prepare myself for a spiritual battle." He paused. "He
told me to watch and pray. Sound advice at any time. He said
that he didn't feel he was strong enough to withstand what was
about to come, and that he knew that, in me, God had sent a
stronger soldier to lead these people." He looked at the two
agents. "I had no idea what he was talking about at the time,
but as I read the journal, I began to understand, to see signs." 
"The lightning bolt," said Mulder. "Is that one of the signs?" 
Dysan smiled. "Yes, Agent Mulder, it is." 
"What does it mean?" 
"It is a symbol that this demon uses for itself." 
"And it's in Alvarado's logo," said Mulder. 
Dysan nodded. "And then there's the company and what it does." 
"I believe they deal with personnel management and motivation,"
said Scully. 
"Yes," said Dysan, "but the methods that they use are far from
conventional. In fact they use what some people would call
New Age mysticism. But there's nothing 'new' about it. It's
an age old mysticism. They couch it in 'meditation' and such,
but what it really is, is harnessing the powers of darkness for
success. The sad thing is that many, most even, of the people
who use these services have no idea, until it's almost toolate." 
"Almost?" asked Mulder. 
"It's a choice, Agent Mulder, to serve the powers of darkness
or the power of light. It's never too late to turn to the light." 
"Why are people dying?" asked Mulder. 
Dysan picked up the journal. "Green believed that this demon
was something of a rogue." He stopped and shrugged. "A strange
idea, I suppose, but he thought that it had it's own goals,
wanted to set up it's own little kingdom. He thought it was
trying to eliminate threats to it's plans by removing people
that could challenge it." 
"Then why didn't it go after Green initially, or you?"
asked Scully. 
"Perhaps it believes we are too strong in our faith to be easy
targets. By murdering our friends, the people in our church,
it is trying to weaken us, to make us doubt ourselves. And God." 
"Then why call for our help?" asked Scully. 
"There are some very human elements to this problem. Even
though they are being supported by this demon, they are still
quite human." He paused. "And from what Walt told me about
some of your cases, I thought the two of you would be much less
likely to dismiss the whole story out of hand. That would be
a very dangerous thing to do." 
End Part 2/5

Pray by Frances Hayman
Part 3/5 
State Road 84
Hebron, Kentucky 
Scully drove the car as Mulder sat in the passenger seat,
reading the journal of Charlie Green. 
"What do you think, Mulder?" asked Scully. 
Mulder looked up. "I'm not sure Scully. A rogue demon is a bit
of a stretch, even for me." He paused. "And to believe in the
darkness, you have to believe there is a light. I'm not sure
I can." 
They sat together in silence until the gates of the Alvarado
complex loomed in front of them. Scully pulled up to the gate
and rolled her window down as a security guard came out of his
booth. Scully showed her ID and they were directed to the main
office building. Mulder carefully placed the book inside his
coat. They soon found themselves in the office of Quentin
Alvarado. 
Quentin Alvarado was tall, well-built, with olive skin, black
hair, and eyes so dark they looked black as well. He smiled at
the two agents and extended his hand. But the smile was cold,
the gesture one of expected courtesy. 
"Mr. Alvarado," said Mulder, "I'm Special Agent Mulder of the
FBI, this is my partner, Special Agent Scully." 
Alvarado nodded and looked at the displayed IDs. He motioned
for them to be seated and perched on the edge of his desk.
"What can I do for you?" 
"We won't take much of your time, sir," said Scully. "We just
have a few questions." 
"Always happy to help," said Alvarado, the cold smile again.
"What do you want to know." 
"A number of previous employees of your company have been found
dead recently." 
"Yes, terrible, just terrible. But I don't see what I have to
do with it." 
"We're just doing some routine checking on the backgrounds of
the victims," said Mulder, "trying to find any connections they
may have had to each other in order to try to understand the
killer." 
"Ah, yes, I'd heard you were once a profiler, Agent Mulder.
A quite good one. I'm certainly glad to know you're on this
case. But we have a lot of employees. I don't know each one
personally. I'm not sure I understand what it is you want
from me." 
"Any information you can give us about these people while in
your employ would be greatly appreciated," said Scully. 
"Certainly. Just give my secretary a list of names and she
can pull the records." 
"I'd also like to ask you about Josh Stevens. I believe he was
a truck driver for you several months ago," said Mulder. 
A flash of emotions passed quickly over Alvarado's face.
Mulder couldn't decide if it was surprise, grief, or anger.
Or maybe all three. It was gone too quickly to be sure. 
"I don't usually have much contact with the drivers, Agent
Mulder. However, I did know Josh. He was quite a talented
artist. Such a pity he was killed before he ever had a chance
to explore it." 
"How did you know him?" asked Scully. 
"His uncle works for me as well. He's presently my executive
assistant. His office is right next door. Josh would come by
to see him sometimes." The phone buzzed and Alvarado punched
a button. "Yes?" 
"Mr. Alvarado, you have a call from the New York office on line
three." 
"I'm afraid I'll have to cut this short. I've been waiting for
this call," he said, dismissing the agents. "But, please, if
you need anything else, just let my secretary know." He picked
up the phone and began to talk. 
Mulder and Scully looked at each other and exited the office.
They paused long enough to give Alvarado's secretary the list of
people they needed information on. Neither agent spoke as they
walked out of the building. 
As they approached the car, Mulder leaned over to Scully. "Was
it just me, or did you get the impression that we weren't
welcome?" 
"He was just polite enough to be irritating," agreed Scully.
She walked around to open the car door. 
Mulder leaned against the car and rubbed his head. "All that
courtesy gave me a headache." 
They got in and Mulder leaned his head back, letting out a slow
breath. "Where to now?" 
Scully looked at him. "Back to the sheriff's office?" 
Mulder nodded. "We can go through some more of those old files,
and see what else we can dig up on the victims. And I'd like tocheck out Josh's uncle, too." 
* * * * 
Gates Accounting
Hebron, Kentucky 
Dennis Gates sat quietly at his desk, trying to calm himself.
He looked over his shoulder, again, and took a deep breath. He
tried to concentrate on the computer screen in front of him,
but the rows and columns of numbers did little to hold his
attention. He was a respected CPA, one of the best in this part
of the state, but this business with Alvarado had him on edge
constantly. He tried to keep Pastor Dysan's warnings in mind,
but it was becoming increasingly difficult. Suddenly the phone
rang. He jumped as if he had been hit with a cattle prod, then
took another deep breath and answered it. The light on the
panel showed it to be his secretary. 
"Yes, Joyce?" 
"Mr. Gates, I'm leaving for the day. My son has that
orthodontist's appointment this afternoon, so --" 
"Oh, yes, of course, Joyce." 
"Do you need anything before I go?" 
"No, I don't think so. In fact I'll probably call it quits
early today, myself." 
"See you tomorrow, Mr. Gates." 
"Thank you, Joyce." He hung up the phone, shook his head as
if to clear it, then settled in to work. He heard the front
door of his office shut as Joyce left. After about 45 minutes
of work, the numbers were running together, so Dennis decided
to go home. He shut down the computer and was gathering
paperwork to take home when he heard the front door open and
shut again. He got up to see who it was when suddenly the door
to his office swung open. He frowned when no one walked in. 
"Hello?" He stepped around the desk and cautiously walked to
the open door. He stopped short as a small table was
overturned, followed by a chair, then the lamp on his desk.
All color drained from his face and he began to shake. 
"No, no, no, no!" He backed away from the path of destruction
and tried to ease out the door, which slammed shut just aheadof him. He turned around to face
the room again, a look of
pure terror on his face. The papers on his desk blew to the
floor, then a sudden strong wind picked them up to swirl around
the frightened man. His eyes went wild as small objects in the
room joined the papers to form a tight cyclone around him. He
threw up his hands and began to yell again. 
"No, not me! I don't want to die!" He turned within the
confines of the swirling objects and screamed. Just as suddenly
as the wind began, it died down, dropping papers, staplers, and
the body of Dennis Gates to the floor. 
* * * *
Sheriff's Office
5:15pm 
Mulder and Scully sat at the cluttered desk, quietly going through files.
Mulder rubbed at his forehead, then across his stomach. He stood up,
stretched, then made his way over to Gary's desk. Gary looked up as
he approached. 
"Hey, Gary," said Mulder, " still got those antacid tablets?" 
Gary smiled broadly and opened his desk drawer. "Can't say I didn't
warn you." 
"Yeah, I know," said Mulder, taking the offered tablets. He chewed
them up, grimacing. "You'd think," he said with his mouth half full, "that
somebody would make these things taste better." Gary laughed and
nodded as Mulder walked back to the desk. 
Scully looked up as Mulder sat back down, still chewing. He took a drink
of lukewarm tea then let his head roll back. 
"You okay, Mulder?" asked Scully. 
"My lunch isn't sitting too well. Guess that's what I get for eating
'hellfire
hot' barbecue sauce." 
Suddenly Gary came up to the desk. "We've got another one." 
"What?" asked Scully. 
"Another body. Dennis Gates, CPA. His wife found him a few minutes
ago. Said he was supposed to come home early today, and when he
didn't, she called his office. When no one answered, she went to check
on him. Found him on the floor of his office, dead." 
"Let's go," said Mulder. 
* * * *
Gates Accounting 
Mulder and Scully stood in Gates' office as the scene was photographed
and catalogued. The room was littered with papers and various small office
objects. The furniture in front of the desk was overturned, but the desk
chair
was in place, as was the computer. Mulder sat down at the computer and
looked around. He concentrated on the computer screen, then asked for
fingerprint dust. Scully watched in silence as he dusted the face of the
computer screen. As he finished, the lightning bolt appeared. He looked
at Scully. 
"And here it is again," said Mulder. "See anything on the body?" 
"Not yet. No obvious external trauma, no signs of anything, except that
he was frightened." 
"Just like the others." 
Scully nodded. Mulder sat in the chair for a moment, then went outside.
Scully looked out the window to see him leaning against the car. She
excused herself and went outside. 
"Mulder, are you alright?" 
He didn't answer, but turned toward her, nodding 'no', a hand rubbing
his stomach. Then he lurched away from the car and vomited. He sank
to his hands and knees and continued to wretch. Scully knelt beside him.
When he sat back, he was pale and sweaty. He turned to Scully.
"Remind me never, never to eat barbecue again." 
Scully smiled and helped him up. He swayed against her. "Easy, Mulder,
just take it slow." They made it to the car, and he collapsed into the
passenger seat. 
Gary walked slowly to the car. "Mulder, are you okay?" 
Mulder shook his head. "Not really." 
Gary looked at Scully. "You don't think he could have that intestinal bug
that we've been passing around, do you?" 
Scully raised an eyebrow and looked at Mulder's pasty white face. "I
think that's a pretty good bet." 
"Nah, I think it was just what I had for lunch," said Mulder. "Just giveme a minute. I'll be okay."
Then he launched himself out of the car,
and was soon retching again. Scully and Gary guided him back to the car. 
"I think I'd better get him back to Mrs. Annie's," said Scully. "Could you
let Dr. Webber know that I'll be by to do the autopsy in the morning?" 
"Scully, I'm okay, really. Go ahead and do the autopsy." 
"Mulder, you're not okay, and it'll be hours before everything is done
here at the scene. I can do it early tomorrow morning." She shut the
door, and any chance of a reply from Mulder, and walked around the
car with a wave to Gary. 
"It's gonna be a long night," said Scully quietly. 
They got to Mrs. Annie's house with only two more stops for Mulder
to try to throw up. As Scully helped him out of the car, he was
trembling. Mrs. Annie met them at the door. 
"Oh my goodness. Fox, dear, what's the matter?" 
"I think he caught the intestinal virus that the Sheriff has," said Scully.
They helped him up the stairs and into the big bed before he finally
wilted into restless sleep. 
Scully shut his bedroom door and followed Mrs. Annie down the
stairs to the kitchen. She sat down at the kitchen table while Mrs. Annie
produced two mugs of coffee. 
"Thanks," said Scully. 
Mrs. Annie smiled. "I have a feeling it's going to be a long night for both
of you, dear." 
Scully nodded and took a drink of her coffee. "He's not the best patient.
He'll try to go on with the investigation before his body's ready, and he'll
end up sicker than he was before." 
Mrs. Annie chuckled quietly. "Why am I not surprised by that. I have a
feeling you're going to need some help with him, and I'll be glad to be that
help." 
"Thank you," said Scully, truly grateful. "I'll have to leave pretty early
in
the morning to do the autopsy --" she stopped when she realized she
probably shouldn't be telling Mrs. Annie this. 
"It's alright, dear. I know about Dennis." She looked deep into her mug.
"When will all this stop?" 
Scully sighed. "Hopefully soon. Perhaps I'll find something tomorrow
that will help us." 
"Dana," said Mrs. Annie, "I see that you wear a cross." 
Scully's hand went to the cross at her neck. "Yes, my mother gave it
to me a long time ago." 
"Is that why you wear it?" 
"Partly. It's also a reminder to me of the power of faith, and of God." 
Mrs. Annie sighed. "Thank the Good Lord. At least you'll be more
prepared." 
Scully frowned. "For what?" 
"For the demon, child," said Mrs. Annie. "You do believe in demons,
don't you?" 
"I believe that there are many things we don't understand." She paused.
"Mulder once asked me if I believed in miracles. I do believe that God's
hand can be witnessed. I guess I believe demons are possible." 
"But do you believe a demon is responsible for these deaths?" 
"I don't know, Mrs. Annie. As a scientist, and a trained investigator, I
need proof before I commit to anything. As yet, I haven't seen that proof." 
"You will," said Mrs. Annie. "And when you do, I hope you'll be able to
recognize it, and be strong enough to protect yourself," she paused and
looked out the door and up the stairway," and probably Fox, too." 
"Protect myself?" asked Scully. 
Mrs. Annie got up to retrieve a worn Bible from the counter. She sat next
to Scully and opened it. "Dana, I want to read you a few passages, Okay?" 
Scully nodded. 
Mrs Annie located the passage she wanted. "In Luke 9, Jesus called the
Twelve apostles together and 'He gave them power and authority to drive
out all demons.' And in Luke 10, when the seventy-two that He had sent
out returned, they said 'Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.
He replied, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you
authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the
power of the enemy, nothing will harm you.' But then in Matthew 17, the
disciples wanted to know why they could not drive out a demon that Jesus
did. He said, 'because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, ifyou
have faith as small as a mustard seed you can say to this mountain, Move
from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible.'" She
paused and looked carefully at Scully. "Dana, if there was ever going to
be a time in your life when faith in God was important, this is it. Hold
fast
to your faith." She patted Scully's hand left the kitchen. 
Scully sat, looking at the open Bible, her hand on her cross. 
* * * *
Mrs. Annie's house
Friday, 7:00am 
Scully looked at the rumpled form on the bed. Mulder lay under the
beautiful quilts, his pale, drawn face barely visible. It had been a long
night.
He'd tried the brightly colored sports drinks that Mrs. Annie had brought
up,
but had not been able to keep anything down. In the last couple of hours
he'd fallen into a sleep of exhaustion. Scully hoped that he'd sleep for a
while longer, but just about then he stirred, and groaned. 
"Scully, um--" he stopped, swallowing hard. 
She moved quickly to the bedside, plastic trash bin in hand. She'd hoped
he wouldn't be this weak. He finally stopped retching and sank back into
the bed. She wiped his face with a cool cloth. He didn't even open his
eyes. 
"Thanks," he croaked. 
"Mulder, I've got to go do that autopsy. Mrs. Annie's going to stay with
you. Okay?" 
He nodded. 
"I'm going to check with the ER and see if I can get you something to help
with the vomiting. And Mulder, if it doesn't help, you'll have to go in for
IV fluids." 
At this, he opened his eyes. "Aw, Scully. It's just a stupid virus. I'm
sure
I'll be fine by this afternoon." 
Scully shook her head. "Mulder, you're dehydrated now. Even if the
vomiting
does stop soon, it'll take you at least another day or so to get back on
yourfeet." Mulder started to protest again, then clamped his mouth shut.
Scully
brought the bin back just in time. 
"Maybe I'll just clean this out and leave it right here, okay?" 
Mulder nodded. "Thanks, Scully." He rubbed his hand over his face, then
scrubbed at his mouth. "You know, I don't ever remember throwing up so
much my mouth got numb." 
Scully looked over at him. "Your mouth is numb?" 
"Yeah. Feels kinda weird. Sort of like going to the dentist, but not quite
that bad." 
Scully frowned. "Your mouth shouldn't be numb from vomiting, Mulder." 
He shrugged. "Well, it is." He opened his eyes. "Don't you have an
autopsy to do?" 
Scully nodded, then went to clean out the bin and wet the cloth. When
she returned to the bed, he was asleep. She went into her room, changed,
and went downstairs. Mrs. Annie had coffee waiting for her. 
"Here you go, Dana," she said. "How is Fox?" 
Scully slumped into the chair. "About the same. He hasn't been able to
keep anything down. I'm worried about how dehydrated he's getting." 
"I'll sit with him while you're gone, dear. Just let me know anything else
you'd like me to do." 
"I guess, keep on trying small amounts of fluids. I'm going to try to get
something at the hospital to help with the vomiting." 
Scully went back upstairs to get her briefcase and check on Mulder one
more time before she left. He was asleep again, for the moment.
Mrs. Annie opened the door quietly. She looked at Mulder's pale face
and shook her head. Scully went out in the hall to join her. 
"Try not to worry too much about him, Dana. I'll look after him
while you're gone." 
Scully sighed. "Thank you." 
Mrs. Annie saw her out the door and went back to the kitchen.
She set out the ingredients she would need to make a pot of homemade
chicken soup. Chicken soup would be just the thing Fox would need when
he started to feel like eating. After she had the pot simmering, she went
back upstairs to check on her patient. 
Mulder looked up as the door to his room opened. He grinned weakly at
Mrs. Annie. 
"Fox, how are you feeling?" 
"Um, a little better, I think." 
Mrs. Annie frowned. "Fox, you shouldn't lie. You don't do it well." 
Mulder grinned again. It certainly hadn't taken her long to get his number. 
"Would you like to try something to drink?" 
"Not really." 
"Okay. But you need to try something in a little while. Doctor's orders.
Do you want anything else? The TV on maybe?" 
Mulder shook his head. "Not right now, thanks." He sat up in the bed,
pleased that it hadn't brought on dizziness or nausea.
"Mrs. Annie, can I ask you something?" 
"Of course, Fox." 
"You already told us that you believe a demon is responsible for the
deaths." Mrs. Annie nodded. "Why is it here?" 
Mrs. Annie sighed. "I don't really know, Fox. Maybe it's trying to
assert a foothold of some kind here in Hebron." 
Mulder rubbed at his mouth, trying to wipe away the strange sensation,
then continued. "If this demon were to come after you, do you think you
could protect yourself?" 
"I couldn't do it alone, Fox, but I think I could be protected." 
"How?" 
"I was just telling Dana, earlier, that faith is the key. The Lord gave his
disciples the ability to drive out demons, but they had to believe that it
was possible, through God's power." 
"Do you think you could drive it out?" 
"I don't know, Fox. I pray that the Lord would grant me the strength I
needed if I had to. Psalm 56:3 says it all, you know. 'What time I am
afraid, I will trust in Thee'." She paused. "No, I do know. I believe He
could work through me. I've seen miracles. I believe in the power of God
over Satan. I believe he sends his helpers to us when we need them." 
"Angels?" 
"Yes," said Mrs. Annie. "And believers empower them with prayer.
Prayer, after all, is an expression of faith." She chuckled. "That's what
Pastor Dysan calls us, you know." She looked at Mulder. "Prayer warriors." 
"Dysan said something like that earlier. That he was a soldier in the
ultimate battle of good and evil." 
Mrs. Annie patted his hand. "He is, Fox." 
Mulder shook his head. "I still don't understand why he wanted us here." 
"You two have a role to play in this, too, Fox." 
Mulder frowned and looked at his hands. "I wish I understood what it was." 
"You will," she said, and left him with his thoughts. 
* * * *
Hebron Hospital ER 
Scully walked through the doors into the ER. She stopped at the desk
to identify herself, and was soon pointed toward the doctor on duty. 
"Dr.Erikson?" she asked a tall blond man. He nodded. "I'm Special
Agent Dana Scully --" 
"The FBI pathologist." He stuck out his hand. "Pleased to meet you,
Dr. Scully. What can I do for you?" 
Scully shook his hand. "I understand there's something of an intestinal
bug going around." 
Erikson nodded. "Yes. I've seen a couple of the worst cases. Does this
have something to do with your investigation?" 
"Not really," said Scully. "It seems my partner has contracted it. I was
wondering if I could get him something for nausea after I do the autopsy." 
Erikson nodded again. "Sure. Compazine was pretty effective in the
cases I treated." 
"Dr. Erikson, did any of them complain of any numbness in the mouth area?" 
Dr. Erikson thought for a moment. "Come to think of it, one did. I think
it was Sheriff Wagner when his wife brought him in yesterday." 
"Did you find any reason for it?" 
"No, I didn't. Just gave him a shot of compazine, kept him for a few hoursto run some IV fluids,
and sent him home." 
Scully grimaced. "Mulder complained of the same thing this morning." 
"Do you think it's significant?" 
"I'm not sure. I'll check in with you after I finish the autopsy." 
She made her way to the morgue. Dr. Webber had the body out and
ready to go. 
"Dr. Scully," said Webber, "I hope you don't mind if I assist you." 
Scully smiled. "Of course not. I'd be grateful for your input." 
They set to work. Nothing of note was found on the external exam.
The abdominal cavity was unremarkable. When they got to the chest,
Scully was ready to concede that they might not find anything. She
carefully dissected the heart out and turned it gently in her hand. Just
as she was putting in on the scale, she noticed a small dark mark on
the surface of the left ventricle. She picked it up again and brought it to
a magnifying glass. 
"Dr. Webber, take a look at this." 
Webber looked over her shoulder. "It looks almost like a burn." 
"Yes, it does." 
"But the surrounding tissues, as well as the external tissues show no
evidence of burns or even punctures." 
"I know," said Scully. "Let's take a section of this area." 
Scully finished the autopsy, finding nothing else. Dr. Webber had been
called out shortly after finding the apparent burn mark on the heart.
Scully now sat, alone in the morgue, bent over a microscope looking at
a slide of the heart tissue. It showed all the characteristics of burned
muscle. How it got that way remained a mystery. They had detected
no other burns, but Scully now suspected that the burn may have been
caused by an electrical stimulus, which would certainly have stopped the
heart. She just couldn't figure out how the stimulus was introduced without
damaging any other tissue. She sat back from the microscope and rubbed
her eyes. Yet another question. 
The door opened and she looked up, expecting to see Dr. Webber. No one
was there. The door shut. She shook her head. Someone had probably
just opened the wrong door. As she looked back at the microscope, a small
table near the door fell over. Scully looked up again, a shiver runningthrough
her. She felt, something. As she eased toward her gun, stainless steel
pans
and trays started flying everywhere. A rush of air whipped past her and she
felt a presence, an evil presence. She held her breath and grabbed her
cross,
remembering Mrs. Annie's words to her that morning. Faith. The air rushed
by her again and she closed her eyes. She heard more things being knocked
over, then the door opened and it was quiet again. She opened her eyes.
The presence was gone. She took in a shuddering breath, still holding tight
to her cross. 
* * * *
Mrs. Annie's house
Mulder's room 
Mulder lay dozing in the big soft bed. He'd been able to go a whole hour
without throwing up, and he'd managed to drink some of the electric blue
stuff that Mrs. Annie had given him. She had left him a few minutes ago
to go outside for a while to wait for a young friend who was coming to help
her with some yard work. Kenneth was his name. 
He opened his eyes, looked through the bathroom door and saw, something
familiar. It looked like the living room of the summer house in
Quonochontaug.
He could see curtains moving, but could feel no breeze. Then he felt as if
someone were in the room with him, someone he didn't know. He tried to
move, but couldn't. A movement in the doorway caught his attention. It
seemed to be about five and half to six feet high, but it was just at the
edge
of his vision. He strained his neck and was able to move just enough to see
Green's journal hanging in the air. The curiosity he had been feeling
cranked
up a notch to concern. He'd had nightmares before, but they didn't usually
seem this real, and this was certainly a new one. He tried to get up again,
but couldn't. The closet door opened slowly, then shut with a bang. He
tried again to move, concern creeping into panic. His arm moved a couple
of inches, but it felt heavy and numb, like the rest of his body. Then he
felt
pressure on his shoulders, wrists, and ankles, as if unseen hands were
holding him down. The journal came into the room and floated over him,
and the closet door opened again. This time it didn't shut. One of his
shirts
drifted out and seemed to dance a sadistic, taunting dance. He heard
voices.
It was Mrs. Annie, talking to someone. He tried to shout, panic rising, butnothing would come
out. He shut his eyes and tried to think about what
Mrs. Annie had said. What was it, that verse in Psalms? What time I am
afraid -- boy was he afraid -- I will trust, trust. He could see Mrs. Annie
talking to a young man he'd never seen before. They were on the porch.
He tried to shout again, his heart beating loudly in his ears. He tried to
tell her he needed help. With his eyes closed he saw her turn and look
up, then take off into the house, Kenneth on her heels. He heard something
thud to the floor, opened his eyes, and saw the journal on the floor, right
beside his shirt. He took a deep breath, and found he could move again,
even though his arms and legs were tingling. He was panting, struggling
to sit up as Mrs. Annie and Kenneth burst into the room. 
"Fox, are you alright?" 
Mulder nodded. "I think so." He took a long breath, trying not to
hyperventilate. He turned to her. "It was here." 
End Part 3/5

Pray by Frances Hayman
Part 4/5 
Hebron Hospital Morgue
Friday, 11:00am 
Dr. Webber walked toward the morgue, irritated that he had been
called away from the autopsy for such a trivial thing. He'd forgotten
to sign some paperwork. Like it couldn't have waited. As he
approached the door, he noticed it was open. 
"Dr. Scully?" he called out as he walked into the room. He found
Scully perched behind the microscope, clutching the cross pendant
at her neck, white as a sheet. He rushed to her side. "Are you alright?"
Then he looked around and saw the scattered mess of furniture and
stainless steel. "What happened? Did someone hurt you?" 
Scully turned, seeming to focus on him with difficulty. "Um, Dr. Webber."
She let go of the cross and took a shaky breath. 
"Are you alright?" he repeated. 
"Yes," she said, putting her hand on the edge of the lab bench. 
"What happened? Who did this?" 
"I, I'm not sure," said Scully. 
"What do you mean? Were you here when this happened?" he
asked, motioning around the room. 
"Yes, I was here." Her head dropped and she rubbed her hand
across her forehead. "This is going to sound strange." She looked
up at him. "And Mulder wasn't even here to see it." She took a
deep breath and told him what had happened. 
Webber's scowl of disbelief turned to amazement as Scully
mentioned that it felt like there was a presence in the room. 
"And it felt evil, didn't it?" asked Webber. 
"Yes," said Scully, trying not to let the shock show in her voice. 
Webber sighed. "I've felt it too. But this," he gestured around
them, "has never happened. I just felt like someone was looking
over my shoulder." He looked at Scully. "I'm about ready to
believe in the invisible demon, now. What about you?" 
Scully grinned. "Something happened. I'm not sure what to
believe." She pushed herself away from the microscope and
motioned for Webber to look. "At any rate, the heart was
definitely burned, probably by an electrical stimulus of some kind." 
Webber looked into the microscope. "But how could it have
been introduced?" 
"I don't know." 
* * * *
Hebron Hospital parking lot 
Scully hauled her briefcase into the car. She had a Compazine
injection for Mulder, as well as supplies for getting blood samples
from him. The mouth numbness was still puzzling her, and she
wanted to run some bloodwork. She'd even arranged for a tox
screen to be done at the hospital as well as at the FBI lab in
Washington. She sat for a moment as the car roared to life.
She needed to talk to Mulder about her little 'experience'. She
hoped he was feeling up to it. 
As she approached Mrs. Annie's house, she noticed a strange
car parked out front. Mrs. Annie met her at the door. 
"Dana, are you alright?" she asked. 
Scully frowned. "Yes. Why?" 
"I just had a feeling you were in trouble, and Fox has been nearly
frantic to talk to you." 
"Why didn't he call my cell phone?" 
"He tried, dear, but couldn't get through." 
Scully pulled out her phone. The battery was dead. And it had
been fully charged when she left a few hours ago. 
"Is Mulder okay?" asked Scully. 
Mrs. Annie nodded. "Frightened, upset, and still sick, but
otherwise okay." 
Scully frowned. "What happened?" 
Mrs. Annie led her into the living room. "I think I'll let Fox
tell you." 
Mulder lay on the couch, the vivid colors of the quilts
making him look even more pale. He was trembling, but
seemed relieved to see her. "Scully, you're okay." 
Scully sat down on the couch beside him. "Mulder, what are
you doing out of bed?" 
"I, I had to get out of there for a while." 
Scully brushed errant strands of hair off his forehead. "What
happened, Mulder?" 
"It was here, Scully. The demon." He took in a shaky breath
and told her what had happened. 
"And you're sure it wasn't a dream?" 
Mulder shook his head. "It wasn't a dream. The journal and my
shirt were on the floor when Mrs. Annie came in." He paused.
"When I could breath again, all I could think of was you, Scully.
That it might come after you next." 
Scully looked down. 
"It did, didn't it?" asked Mulder. 
"I'm not sure what happened." 
"Tell me." 
And she did. Including her discovery of the burn mark on the
heart of Dennis Gates. 
Mulder sighed. "I think it was just trying to scare us. To getus to leave this alone." 
Scully grinned. "It doesn't know us very well, does it?" 
That brought a smile to Mulder's face. "I guess it doesn't." Then
he rubbed at his mouth again, closed his eyes, and swallowed hard. 
"Still queasy?" asked Scully. He nodded, not trying to speak.
"Your mouth still feel weird, numb?" He nodded again. Scully
got up to retrieve her briefcase, then removed the blood vials,
needles, and injection of antiemetic. 
Mulder took a long breath and opened his eyes, which got wider
when he saw what Scully was holding. "What's all that for?" 
"That numbness worries me, Mulder. I'm going to draw some
blood, and then I'm going to give you something for the nausea.
The ER doctor that I talked to said this worked well in the cases
he's seen in the last few days." 
Mulder sighed. He was all for not throwing up any more, but
injections were something he tried to avoid. But the look on
Scully's face left no room for argument, so he just stuck out
his arm. She had the blood drawn quickly, and placed a small
bandage on his arm. When he pushed his t-shirt sleeve up, in
preparation for the injection, Scully grinned and shook her head. 
"Ah, Scully, why can't you just give it in my arm?" 
"Because it will work better in a larger muscle. And you don't
want your gun arm sore, do you?" 
Mulder closed his eyes. He should know better than to argue
with Scully. He turned over and took the shot with only mumbled
complaints. Scully helped him get situated on the couch again
and sat with him as the medication started to calm his rolling
stomach and make him feel drowsy. 
She pushed hair out of his eyes again. "Just rest for a while, Mulder." 
When she was sure he was sleeping, she went into the kitchen,
carrying the blood samples. Mrs. Annie watched her label the
samples, boxing some of them up for shipment to the FBI lab.
She looked up. "I need to get these samples back to the
hospital, and this box shipped to Washington." 
"Kenneth can take them for you, dear." 
"Kenneth?" 
"Don't worry, Dana. You can trust him. That's his car you
saw out front," Mrs. Annie explained as Kenneth walked in
the back door. Mrs. Annie introduced them to each other,
and soon Kenneth was on his way. 
"Now, how about some lunch?" 
Scully started to decline the offer, when she realized she
really was hungry. "Thanks, that'd be great." 
Scully helped her set the table and they quickly sat down
to steaming bowls of chicken soup. "Mmm," said Scully.
"This is wonderful." 
"Thank you," said Mrs. Annie. "I thought if Fox was feeling
better later, he might like some." 
Scully nodded. "He'll love this." 
They ate in comfortable silence for a few moments, then
Mrs. Annie looked at Scully. "Dana, I heard some of what
you just told Fox. And I know what happened to him. Do
you understand now more about what you are up against?" 
"I think so, Mrs. Annie. I know what I felt in that room." 
* * * * 
Sheriff Wagner knocked on Mrs. Annie's door. She ushered
him into the living room where Scully sat going through some
files and Mulder lay on the couch, holding a file while he dozed. 
"Sheriff," said Scully. "I guess you're feeling better." 
"Yes, Agent Scully, I am. Thank you." He looked at Mulder
who was struggling to sit up. "No, stay where you are Agent
Mulder. I know EXACTLY how you feel. Take it easy while
you can. I just came by to drop off this information about
Alvarado's executive assistant, Jack Stevens." 
"He was Josh Stevens' uncle?" 
"Yes." 
Scully took the file. "Sheriff, do you know this man?" 
"Some. His daughter is our dispatcher." 
"Sheila?" asked Mulder. 
Sheriff Wagner smiled. "I see you've met her." 
"Sort of," said Mulder. "She got lunch for us yesterday." 
"She's a good kid. Her father has been working for Alvarado
since he opened up here. Before that he managed a
department store in, ah, Paducah I think." 
"So he's only been living in the area a few months?" asked Scully. 
"He grew up here, but moved away several years ago. He
moved back to take the job with Alvarado. His wife died about
five years ago in an accident. His brother and sister in law
were also killed. He took care of Josh after that." 
"Do you know how he got the job?" asked Mulder. 
"I assume he sent a resume when they were advertising,
interviewed and got the job." 
"So you know of no prior connection between Stevens and
Alvarado?" asked Mulder. 
"No. Do you think there is one?" 
"I don't know. Maybe." 
Scully's cell phone rang. She looked a little surprised. "The
battery was flat a little while ago," she said as she answered
it. "Scully." 
"You're sure? Could you check any of the other patients' blood
samples? Great. And could you contact Dr. Webber and have
him run tests specifically for that on any samples from the bodies?
Yeah, I know it should have shown up, but please have him check
it again. Thanks." 
"What is it, Scully?" 
"That was the hospital. Besides dehydration, your bloodwork
showed pyrethrin." 
"Isn't that an insecticide?" asked Mulder. 
"Yes, and very easy to get. Symptoms associated with toxic
levels of pyrethrin are headache, vomiting, and numbness
around the mouth." 
"Someone poisoned me," said Mulder. 
"And quite possibly Sheriff Wagner, and anyone else who's
been affected. The hospital is running tests on blood they
got from anyone who came in." 
"But who?" asked Wagner. 
"I don't know," said Scully. "Sheriff, would it be possible to
get a list of anyone in your office who's been affected by this?" 
"Sure." 
"So what do we do now?" asked Mulder. 
"You continue to rest. There's no specific antidote for this
toxin. You're probably through the worst of it, but it can take
days for the substance to be completely eliminated from the
blood, and can take as much as a month or more from tissues.
Fortunately, there are no lasting effects." 
"That's good to know," said Mulder, " but it doesn't help us much
right now. Maybe if we can figure out who's poisoning people, it'll
help with the case." 
"I don't know, Mulder," said Scully. "It could be totally unrelated." 
"Yeah, sure." 
* * * *
Alvarado Enterprises 
Sheila Stevens walked into Quentin Alvarado's office. 
"Well, Quentin, the FBI's out of your way for the day, anyway.
Will it be enough time?" 
Alvarado turned around in his chair to face Sheila. "It should
be, my dear. We are close." 
Sheila smiled and came closer to sit on the edge of the desk.
Alvarado reached out to hold her hand. 
"All that we've worked for, all that we've waited for, is about to
be realized, my dear." He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed
it. "All the sacrifices will be worth it. Power beyond imagining
is soon to be ours." 
They sat together, smiling. But the smiles were cold. The
darkness in the corners of the office seemed to move, to
coalesce into a shifting form. "Yesss," it hissed. 
* * * *
Sheila Stevens' home 
Scully left Mrs. Annie to deal with a complaining Mulder while
she and Sheriff Wagner went to talk to Sheila Stevens. The
hospital had confirmed the presence of pyrethrin in the blood
of all patients treated for acute onset vomiting in the last ten
days. After much brainstorming and interviewing of victims
of the "virus", which seemed to be limited to law enforcement,
she was the only link. The big question now, was why. 
She had left work early. They stood at the door of her house,
knocking, but no one answered. As they were about to leave,
Jack Stevens drove up. 
"Sheriff," said Jack. "What can I do for you?" 
"Actually, Jack, I was looking for Sheila. Have you seen her?" 
"No, not since this morning." He looked at Scully. "I'm afraid
we haven't met --" 
"Jack," said Wagner, "this is Agent Scully of the FBI. She's
here investigating all of the recent deaths." 
"Oh, yes, of course. I heard the FBI was involved now. Why
did you want to see Sheila?" 
"Just need to ask her some questions," said Wagner. "Do
you know when she'll be back?" 
"No, I'm sorry, I don't. But I'll tell her you're looking for her
when I see her." 
"Thanks, Jack," said Wagner. 
Jack Stevens closed the door and went into his house. After
he was sure that the unexpected visitors were gone, he picked
up the phone. "This is Jack Stevens. I need to talk to Mr. Alvarado.
It's urgent." 
* * * *
Mrs. Annie's kithchen 
Mulder sat at the kitchen table with the laptop computer. It had
occurred to him after Scully left that he was neglecting a line of
inquiry. He had established that a demonic presence was at the
heart of the problem here, but he wanted to know why here and
why now. He had called up a map that showed ley lines, linesof force believed by many to cross to
form energy focal points,
or power nodes. As he suspected, Hebron was near one of these
focal points. If his suspicions were correct, Alvarado's complex
was at the heart of it. Now he knew why this was happening here,
and probably why it had happened seventy years ago. The question
of timing probably had to do with astrological alignment. He had
e-mailed the Gunmen to do a search for him, but it might take a
while to get that information. He slumped back into the chair
and rubbed his eyes. He felt much better. He'd even been
able to eat some soup, but he was still tired. And he couldn't
shake the feeling that something major was about to happen.
He picked up his cell phone to call Scully. 
* * * *
Sheriff's Office 
Scully sat in the sheriff's office looking through the personnel
information on Sheila Stevens. It showed nothing really
remarkable, except that she had moved back to Hebron when
her father had taken the job at Alvarado Enterprises. Her previous
employment had been as a waitress in New York. She had
apparently lived there for a year after graduating from the University
of Kentucky with a degree in liberal arts. Scully made note of the
address. Alvarado's previous address had been in New York as
well, and she might be able to establish a connection. Her cell
phone interrupted her thoughts. 
"Scully," she answered it. 
"Hey, Scully, did you find Sheila Stevens?" asked Mulder. 
"No, not yet. Are you feeling better?" 
"Yeah, I am. Even managed to eat some soup. But that's not
why I called." 
"Why did you call?" 
"I was doing a little research, and apparently Hebron lies very
near a major focal point of energy. You know, kind of like
Comity was." 
"What are you talking about?" 
"Ley lines, Scully. They are lines of force in geographic
areas that may have something to do with electromagnetic forces." 
"And?" 
"And Alvarado Enterprises is most likely at the center of that
focal point of energy. I think that gives us the answer to the
'why here' question, now and seventy years ago. I'm still working
on the 'why now' question." 
"What do you think the answer is going to be?" 
"Probably some kind of astrological phenomenon, again, like in
Comity. I've got the Gunmen working on it now." 
"Oh, now, that's reassuring," said Scully. 
"Well, I wanted the information as soon as possible, so I asked
for some help. I just can't shake the feeling that something
really big is about to happen." 
"What?" 
"I don't know." 
"Well, what do you propose that we do now?" 
"I've been thinking about that. I think we should put some
surveillance on Alvarado." 
"The person or the place?" 
"Both. And as soon as possible." 
"I'll talk to Sheriff Wagner about it." 
"Scully if he can't do it, we'll have to --" 
"Mulder, you're in no condition to be on a stake out." 
"I'm feeling a lot better, really. And I don't think we have
much choice." 
Scully sighed. "Mulder, shut down the computer and go take
a nap. If I need you as back up later, I'd at least like you to be
able to stay awake for a while." 
"And what are you going to be doing?" 
"Trying to establish a link between Sheila Stevens and Quentin
Alvarado. They both previously lived in New York." 
"Scully that's going to take too long. I really think something
big is in the works. Do me a favor and go talk to Dysan again." 
"What about?" 
"Um, I don't really know. He just seems to know the most
about the demon. Maybe he can give us some more direction.
Better yet, come get me and we'll talk to him together." 
"No, Mulder. I just told you needed to rest." 
"Scully --" 
"No." Scully blew out a breath. "I'll see if he can come by a
little later, okay? Will that do?" 
"I guess. Just not too much later." 
"Deal. Now go to sleep." 
"Your wish is my command." 
Mulder heard the phone ring as he disconnected his call to
Scully. He yawned and shut the computer down. He heard
Mrs. Annie's voice in the other room. He really was pretty
tired again, but he was hesitant to interrupt her call. When
her voice sounded upset, he decided to go on into the living room. 
"Are you sure?" she said into the phone. She paused and
looked up as Mulder walked into the room. "Alright, Pastor,
but I'll be right here if you need me." Another pause. "Yes,
okay." She hung up the phone. She turned to face Mulder,
her face pale. 
"Mrs. Annie, are you alright?" asked Mulder. 
"Yes, dear. I'll be alright. But you look about ready to drop."
She moved to stand beside him. "You better lie back down.
Wouldn't want that partner of yours angry with either of us,
now, would you?" 
Mulder grinned and allowed himself to be led back to the
couch. "No Ma'am, we wouldn't." He sank onto the soft
couch and Mrs. Annie covered him with the quilt. "You
were talking to Pastor Dysan, weren't you?" 
"Yes, Fox, I was." 
"I didn't mean to eavesdrop," said Mulder, "but I get the
impression that he said something to upset you." 
"Yes, what he said was upsetting. Not unexpected, though.
I just wish we had more time." 
"Something's going to happen, isn't it?" 
Mrs. Annie sighed and nodded. "I believe so." 
Mulder's heart was pounding, and it was making his head hurt
again. He was right. Something was about to happen. "Um,
I need to call Scully back --" 
"I'll call her, Fox. Just rest. We're all going to need our
strength later." 
Mulder closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Despite
the pounding in his head, the fatigue took over and he soon
slipped into sleep. 
* * * *
Cavern under Alvarado Enterprises warehouses 
Quentin Alvarado sat crossed-legged on a colorful rug.
Around him stretched a dark, dank cavern, lit only by oil
lamps and torches. At the center of the cavern was a
bubbling pool of clear water. Alvarado sat with his eyes
closed, rocking slightly back and forth. The shadows cast
by the torches flickered and moved eerily. One such shadow
seemed to gather around him and settle, like a cloak. He
lifted his chin and took in a sharp breath as it seemed to
settle in him. He opened his eyes. The dark black was
replaced by a glowing red. And he smiled. It was cold. 
"We are ready," he said in a voice that sounded like many
voices. He stood and moved to a staircase and walked,
almost gliding up it, into a warehouse. He strode through
the boxes and machinery. As he neared the exit, the door
swung open. 
Sheila Stevens stood silhouetted in the doorway. "Quentin!
I think we may have a problem." 
He threw back his head and laughed, that multivocal sound
bouncing off the walls and boxes. "Problem? We are past
all problems now!" 
Sheila's eyes grew wide. "Quentin?" 
His hand brushed against her cheek. "He is here. So are
we all. The time has arrived, my dear." 
"But, Quentin, Dysan --" 
He jerked his hand away. "Dysan is a fool! He dares to think
his pathetic attempts will have an effect on what is to come.
He does not possess the strength to defeat us." He slid next
to her, walking slowly around her, his hands caressing her
shoulders, her neck. "What we offer is far more appealing.
He cannot win." 
Sheila closed her eyes and her head rolled on her shoulders.
Her breathing became shallow. Her mind, her body, and her
soul were being filled with images of pleasure, wanton abandon.
She sighed. 
"You will be rewarded, my dear," he said. "As will everyone who
becomes a subject of my realm. And those who oppose me will
be punished! They will beg for my forgiveness." He turned her
face toward him. "And I will NOT grant it!" he screamed.
"Dysan and his little band of warriors will FALL!" 
Sheila sagged against him, and he scooped her into his arms.
He turned and made his way back into the cavern to lay her
on the rug. He sat back and laughed. A hideous echoing laugh. 
End Part 4/5


Pray by Frances Hayman
Part 5/5 
Hebron Church 
Dysan stood in the front of the sanctuary of his church. The
pews were filled with the members, praying. He lifted his hands
in supplication. "Oh, Lord, our God. Hear our prayer. Send us
your Helpers to aid in this battle. Strengthen us. Make us one
in Your Name." He took a deep breath. "The enemy is strong,
but he doesn't realize the power you give your followers. Please
band us together. Make our faith strong. Strong enough to stand
up to this force of evil. To send it back to Hell!" Perspiration dotted
his brow, then rolled down his face. He fell to his knees. Breath
heaving, he opened his eyes and looked at the assembled group
in front of him. They looked back, their faces shining. A glow
surrounded the group. They began to look around, catching
glimpses of beings cloaked in pure light. 
Dysan stood again. "We are ready." 
* * * * 
Scully's cell phone rang. She struggled to get it out of herpocket without wrecking the car.
"Scully." 
"Dana, this is Annie Mayes." 
"Mrs. Annie, is Mulder alright?" 
"He's sleeping now. He wanted me to call you." 
"What about?" 
"Pastor Dysan called me a little while ago. He told me that
the time of confrontation is near. Very near." 
"Confrontation? What do you mean?" 
"The battle, Dana. It's about to begin in earnest." 
"I don't understand." 
"Dear, I think you should come back to be with Fox." 
"Mrs. Annie, what is Pastor Dysan going to do?" 
"Face the demon." 
"What?" The line went dead. Scully looked down at her phone.
It was dead again. She stopped and turned the car toward the
church. If Dysan was planning to make some kind of stand
against Alvarado, she didn't know what would happen, but she
was sure there would be trouble, and people would probably
get hurt. She was relatively sure the "confrontation" Mrs. Annie
had mentioned would not be a march with picket signs. And
she was also sure that somehow Mulder would end up in the
middle of it. And so would she. 
She arrived at the church, finding many cars in the parking lot.
She shook her head. Dysan certainly hadn't struck her as a
charismatic leader of a group of people bent on destruction.
But then again, she had been wrong about people before. She
opened the door to the sanctuary and found it empty of people.
She looked around seeing vacant pews, discarded jackets,
hymnals laid carelessly on the cushions. But it didn't feel
empty. She felt a reassuring warmth wash over her, and closed
her eyes, breathing deeply. When she opened her eyes, a
brightness shone before her that was frightening in its intensity.
She gasped, recalling another incident of a brightness that she
had thought was an angel, a seraphim. She didn't want to look
up, but she had to. What she saw was not the frightening,
turning, four-faced being she had seen before, but a gentle face,and outstretched hands. She shut
her eyes again, gripping
tight to the pew in front of her, then slowly opened her eyes
again. The light was gone. But the feeling wasn't. Her legs
gave way and she sat down heavily on a cushioned pew,
trying to catch her breath. She looked around again, thought
slowly returning. If the people were not here, where were they?
She got up, trembling slightly. She had to get back to Mulder.
If he had any idea what was going on, he'd try to get there. 
* * * * 
Scully burst in the front door of Mrs. Annie's house. She made
her way into the living room, and breathed a sigh of relief when
she saw Mulder snoring on the sofa, the ever present quilt tucked
carefully around him. She headed for the kitchen and saw Mrs. Annie
at the table, her Bible open, her head bowed. She did not look up. 
"Mrs. Annie!" said Scully. She sat down beside her and touched
her hands. 
Mrs. Annie opened her eyes. "Dana, dear." 
"Mrs. Annie," said Scully, a desperate edge creeping into her
voice, "tell me what's going on! Where is Dysan?" 
She patted Scully's hand. "I told you. He went to face the demon." 
"Did he take others with him?" 
She nodded. "Yes. He told me stay here with Fox, though. To
continue to provide prayer support." She looked closely at Scully.
"Dana, you've seen one, haven't you? Why, you're fairly glowing!" 
"Seen what? I don't understand." 
"An angel. Your angel." 
Scully shook her head. "Mrs. Annie, I need to know where they went." 
"To the demon's lair." 
"Alvarado Enterprises?" 
Mrs. Annie nodded again. 
Scully squeezed her hands, then went to the living room. She
shook Mulder's shoulder. "Wake up, Mulder! We have to go!" 
Mulder sat up, rubbing his eyes. "What's wrong, Scully?" 
"It's Dysan. He's on his way to Alvarado's, with most of the
members of his church." 
"To do what?" 
"Mrs. Annie says to face the demon. Mulder, we have to get
over there before someone gets hurt." 
He nodded, put on his shoes, and picked up his gun from the
side table. "What about the sheriff, Scully?" He looked up to
see Scully pick up the phone. She hung her head and replaced
it. "What?" asked Mulder. 
"It's dead, and so's my cell phone." 
Mulder picked up his cell phone, to find that it too, was dead.
"Come on, Scully," he said as he clipped the holster to his jeans. 
* * * *
Alvarado Enterprises Warehouse 
Pastor Albert Dysan stood in the doorway of a warehouse. It
looked like a warehouse, even smelled like a warehouse, but
it felt like a doorway into the pits of hell. Members of his
congregation stood behind him, shifting restlessly. He turned to
face them, then bowed his head. The group silently copied his
action, and the glow around them brightened. They raised their
heads together and filed into the warehouse. 
Quentin Alvarado sat on the rug in the cavern, caressing the face
of Sheila Stevens. Suddenly his head jerked up and his red eyes
widened. He left the girl lying alone and hurried up the stairs to
the warehouse above, a trail of darkness following him. He had
felt Dysan and his group when they entered the building -- his
building. He became angrier with each step and burst into the
cluttered space with a ferocious roar. 
The people stopped their advance into the warehouse and looked
to Dysan. Dysan stepped forward. 
"Why are you here, little man?" asked the beings that were
Alvarado. 
"We are here to send you back. We will not allow you to ravage
this town, our home." 
Alvarado laughed, the sound echoing throughout the building.
"And just how do you propose to do that?" 
"By the Power of God." 
It shook its head. "Someone like you tried this once. He was
not successful." 
"Then where have you been for the past seventy years?" 
He threw his head back and roared again. "Trapped!" he screamed.
"Trapped away from everything in a hole in the ground!" He moved
closer to Dysan. "But in that time, I gathered strength. And since
my servant released me from that prison, I have also gathered
followers of my own kind." Some of the people looked around,
noting the shifting shadows. "Yes," he hissed, "they are here
with me now. They long for power and freedom. I can give them
that, here." He took another step toward Dysan. "And you, and
your pathetic little band cannot, CANNOT stop me!" 
* * * * 
Scully drove the car toward Alvarado Enterprises. She looked quickly
at Mulder. He rubbed his hand over his face and shook his head. 
"You okay, Mulder?" 
"Yeah. I have to be." 
Scully chewed on her lower lip. He was right. "Any idea where on
the property they might be?" 
He shook his head. "Not yet. But it'll probably be a larger building." 
"That could be the main office building, or a warehouse. There
were a couple of warehouses that I recall." 
Mulder nodded. "If we don't find anything to point us in the right
direction, we'll try the warehouses first." 
Scully slowed the car as they approached the gate. It was open,
and there was no sign of a guard. "I don't like the look of this, Mulder." 
He looked around as they drove through the gate. "Definitely not
business as usual." He turned in his seat. "There, Scully!" he
said pointing to a warehouse. 
"What? Why there?" she asked, moving the car in that direction. 
"Look up, Scully, at the clouds." 
She leaned over the steering wheel to get a better look at the
sky. A large mass of dark clouds seemed to stand over thebuilding. "Mulder, what makes you so
sure? The clouds? Last
I checked a thunderhead didn't constitute probable cause." 
"What about an open door?" he asked. "Because I see one right
there." He had the car door open and was bounding out before
she stopped. 
"Mulder! Wait!" She threw it into park and moved to follow him.
She caught up to him at the open doorway. They drew their
guns and entered the building. A glow seemed to emanate from
further in the building. They moved toward it, slipping quietly
from obstacle to obstacle. 
A horrific roar split the air. They stopped and looked at each
other, wide eyed. 
"I don't think that was the Easter Bunny, Scully." 
They quickly moved to the sound and soon found themselves
standing in the back of a crowd of people. The glow seemed
to be around them, pushing back the shifting shadows. 
"Ah," said a loud, multiphasic voice. "I believe we have more
company! Agents of the government," it said disdainfully.
"These people are trespassing! Please arrest them." 
They pushed through the crowd to see Dysan facing Alvarado. 
"You are the trespasser!" said Dysan. "You do not belong here." 
It laughed, and the sound seemed to be picked up and amplified
by the shadows around the room. "Don't belong here? Don't
belong here? Why, this is precisely where I belong. Or rather,
this belongs to me. Me and mine. You, who oppose me, will
pay for this interference! You will be punished for eternity!" 
Dysan smiled. "No, I think that will be your privilege, Demon."
He raised his hands. The people behind him did the same.
"In the name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
I command you to leave this place!" 
Mulder and Scully stood, watching. Darkness seemed to gather
around Alvarado, while the glow around Dysan and the crowd
seemed to grow brighter. Mulder turned his head from side to
side, then stepped back a bit when he noticed that the glow
seemed to be encompassing Scully as well. 
Another roar turned his attention back to Alvarado. "I've already
told you, little man, you cannot trap me again!" 
"We do not seek to trap you. We seek to send you back to the
fiery pits of Hell," said Dysan calmly. And he stepped toward
Alvarado. 
Alvarado threw up his hands, and shadows seemed to leap out
of his fingers. They collided with light and dissipated. Alvarado's
roar split the air again. He gathered more shadows, that were
immediately dispatched by the light. He took a step back.
Then another. He gathered the shadows about him, and turned. 
Mulder blinked, and the red eyed man, or demon, or whatever
it was, was gone. Vanished. He looked around. The people
let out a collective sigh of relief. He heard soft voices saying
"It's gone," and "We are done". But he shook his head, recalling
something a wise Indian man had once told him. Nothing vanishes
without a trace. 
Dysan turned to face the group. "We are NOT done, people. It is
still here." He rushed further into the warehouse and found a door.
He pulled it open and started down the stairs. 
"Wait!" cried Scully. But he was already gone. Soon others were
pouring down the stairs as well. She looked to her side, to motion
Mulder to follow, but he wasn't there. She looked back to the
doorway, just in time to see him go through it. "Mulder!" She
pushed her way through the crowd to the door and turned.
"Please, people. Stay here!" They pushed around her, and
moved her down the stairs with them. 
She emerged into a dimly lit cavern and saw Alvarado standing
on a colorful rug, next to the prone form of a woman, Sheila Stevens.
Dysan stood a few feet away, with Mulder only steps behind.
Dysan raised his arms again and the room seemed to fill with
energy. Alvarado took a step back, as if he'd been struck, then
let out another roar. Dysan stood still, and closed his eyes.
Alvarado stumbled back again, a look of surprise on his face.
He stepped back, and back until Scully could see him nearing
a pool of water. 
The ground began to rumble under his feet, but Mulder couldn't
take his eyes from the scene in front of him. The pool of water
began to swirl, faster and faster. He felt someone stand close
behind him, and knew without looking that it was Scully. Then
another person stepped around him and moved to stand beside
Dysan. It was Mrs. Annie. Her gray hair was loosened from the
bun at her neck and swirled around her head. The glow around
Dysan intensified considerably. He looked at the old womanand smiled. She raised her hands. 
The demon tried to take a step forward, but was picked up off
its feet and propelled back, into the swirling water. The ground
shook more, and small pieces of rock began to break free from
the roof of the cavern, some of them hitting in the water as it
sucked Alvarado down. He seemed to go limp and a darkness
came out of him, trying to escape, but the light bore down on it,
and soon, it was sucked into the vortex of water. The rumbling
of the earth around them grew louder. 
Mrs. Annie turned slightly, so she could see Mulder and Scully.
"Take them," she said. "Get them out of here before it all comes
down! That is your job. Protect these people!" 
After a second's hesitation, Mulder and Scully turned and began
to push the people toward the stairs. They resisted until they
heard Dysan's voice yell "Go! Go now! Go with them to safety!" 
Scully busily pushed the people forward, urging them to hurry
as bits of rock and dirt rained down. She turned back to see
Alvarado's head, and the shadowy things that had gathered in
and around him, fighting the swirling water. Then she saw
Mulder dash to the edge of the pool, gather the woman who
had poisoned him into his arms. The ground before him
seemed to open up suddenly and the vortex of water sank
into the depths. He wavered slightly, then caught his balance
and hurried toward Scully. She was pushing the last person
up the stairs. They turned back to see Dysan fall to his knees. 
"Dana!" shouted Mrs. Annie. "Help him!" 
Dysan looked up at Mrs. Annie. "No, my place is here!" 
She smiled at him, arms still raised. "You've done your part.
Now let me do mine. Go!" She inclined her head toward Mulder
and Scully. "They won't leave without you!" 
Scully rushed forward and grabbed Dysan by the arm. "Come
on! This whole place is about to cave in!" He allowed himself
to be pulled to the stairway. They turned around to see the
edges of what had once been a calm pool of water, collapse
inward and tumble into the large hole. Larger pieces of rock
fell as the ground continued to shake. 
"Mrs. Annie!" yelled Mulder. He knew he couldn't get to her in time.
She turned around and faced them, a serene smile on her face.
Her hair still seemed to dance around her, the glow as intenseas it was when Dysan was beside
her. "It's done. Now go!"
She looked to her side. They followed her gaze and saw another
bright light, the center of which seemed to have outstretched arms.
She walked into the brightness. 
The ground bucked and heaved, reminding them to hurry. And they
did. Up the long stairway, back into the warehouse. They could
see people running for the exit and followed them. Mulder glanced
back and saw the ground collapsing behind them. 
"Faster, Scully! Faster!" 
They had nearly reached the doorway when the roof of the warehouse
came down. Scattered boxes kept it from crushing them, but they
were trapped under debris. Mulder reached for Scully's hand as
another rumble brought down more debris. And darkness. 
* * * *
Hebron Hospital 
Mulder slowly opened his eyes. He expected to see the remains
of the warehouse, but he realized that he was blinking into light.
And he heard a voice. A shadow fell over him. He thought
someone was standing over him. He blinked and his vision
cleared somewhat. He found himself looking into the face of
Assistant Director Skinner. 
"Agent Mulder?" he said. 
Mulder swallowed. "Sir?" 
"How are you feeling?" 
"Um, kind of fuzzy." He lifted his hand to his head, finding a
bandage on his forehead. 
"No wonder. Besides having been poisoned, you've got a
concussion, some bruised ribs, and assorted other injuries
I'll let the doctors detail for you." 
Mulder looked back up at Skinner, panic replacing the haziness.
"Scully! Where's Scully?" He tried to sit up, but Skinner's hands
pushed him back. 
"She's going to be fine, Mulder." 
"Where is she?" 
Skinner moved to the side and pushed a curtain back. 
Mulder let out the breath he'd been holding when he saw Scully
sleeping in the bed next to his. She was as bruised and
battered as he assumed he was, but she was there. 
"What happened Mulder?" 
"Dysan?" 
"He's down the hall. He hasn't regained consciousness yet.
Neither has Sheila Stevens. Scully was awake for a few
minutes earlier, but what she said didn't make much sense."
He looked closely at Mulder. "What happened?" 
Mulder took a careful breath, wincing slightly at the pain of his
bruised ribs. "There was a large cavern under the warehouse.
I guess the building collapsed into the cavern when it caved in."
He paused then looked back up. "Mrs. Annie. Did you find her?" 
Skinner shook his head. "No, Mulder. All that's left out there
now is a mass of collapsed buildings and a pretty good sized
hole. It's a wonder all of you weren't killed in the quake." 
"Quake?" asked Mulder. "An earthquake?" 
"Haven't you ever heard of the New Madrid fault, Mulder?" asked
a sleepy voice from the next bed. 
Mulder smiled at his partner. "Hey, Scully. You look terrible." 
"Thank you, Mulder. You look worse than I do." 
Mulder looked back to Skinner. "An earthquake?" 
Skinner nodded. "Not a big one as earthquakes go. I think it
was about 4.0, and the effects seemed to be pretty localized.
The only real property damage was Alvarado Enterprises, and
it's totally destroyed." 
"That's what caused the cavern to cave in?" 
"Yes. It seems most of the property was undermined, literally.
Old coal mine tunnels have been traced throughout the area.
It's a wonder the entire town didn't collapse into them." He
paused and looked at the two battered agents. "We haven't
found any bodies, but it seems Quentin Alvarado and Annie
Mayes are the only two who are missing." 
"You won't find Alvarado," said Mulder. 
Skinner looked to Scully for an explanation. "We saw him
fall into a rather large hole, sir." 
Skinner sighed. "Do you think these, ah, incidents are over?" 
"The unexplained deaths?" asked Mulder. 
"Yes," said Skinner. 
"I think so," said Mulder. Scully nodded in agreement when
Skinner looked over at her. 
Skinner looked at the floor for a moment, then continued.
"The background searches you requested on Alvarado and
the Stevens family came in. It seems that Alvarado inherited his
business from his father, whose father was named Quince Alvers." 
"The man connected to the deaths here in the twenties," said Scully. 
"Yes, Agent Scully. Apparently he told his son some wild story
about how a powerful being had offered him power beyond
imagining. The story got passed down to the grandson." 
"Who returned to the place where it had started, to free the
being who had made those promises," said Mulder. 
Skinner raised his eyebrows. "And we did connect Sheila Stevens
with Alvarado in New York. She probably convinced him to bring
her father, Jack, into the operation. And, she carelessly left a
container of concentrated pyrethrin in her car." 
"So she did poison me," said Mulder. 
"But why?" asked Scully. 
"To slow down the investigation until it was too late to stop
them," said Mulder. "Maybe it was planning to use the energy
released by the earthquake somehow." He sighed. "But they
didn't count on Dysan." He looked down at his hands.
"Or Mrs. Annie." 
* * * *
Hebron Church Cemetery 
Mulder looked at the headstone of Annie Mayes. Scully moved
to stand beside him. He didn't look up. "I should have gone
back for her." 
"Mulder, that wasn't what she wanted. Besides, if you had,you and Sheila Stevens would be dead
as well." 
Dysan walked to them. "I wanted to thank you again for your
help." 
"I'm not sure how much we really helped," said Mulder. 
Dysan put a hand on Mulder's arm. "More than you'll ever
know." He looked over at Scully. "Mrs. Annie's family would
like to meet both of you, if you don't mind." 
Mulder cast a look at Scully. She smiled and reached over to
squeeze his hand. They followed Dysan to a group of people.
A young woman emerged from the group and shook hands
with the pair. 
"I'm Lisa Edwards," she said. "She was my mother." She
sighed, and collected herself. "She thought both of you were
very special people and I wanted to thank you for being here,
for being with her." 
Mulder looked surprised. He'd really been expecting angry words
because he'd not pulled her out before everything collapsed. 
"I found a letter she left for me in her Bible. She must have written
it just before she left the house. She said that she wanted me to
be sure to introduce you to my son. My husband and I adopted
him about a year and a half ago." She smiled. "He used to stay
with Mama on weekends sometimes. They always seemed to
have a special connection." She turned and motioned for
someone to get out of a nearby car. 
The boy got out. As he turned toward them, Mulder heard
Scully gasp. He took a closer look, and nearly stopped breathing
himself. The boy walked directly to stand beside his adopted mother. 
"This is Kevin Kryder Edwards." 
Scully stood motionless, thoughts of a case in Ohio ripping through
her mind. Of a boy she had tried to protect, who had bled from his
hands, a stigmatic. 
Kevin moved toward Scully. "I told you that you'd see me again." 
THE END 
Author's Notes: Scully's demonic encounter was based on a dream
I once had, and Mulder's encounter was based on an experience
my brother had. Special thanks to him for sharing it with me insuch detail. It was pretty much
what happened to him, except the
place he saw through the door was our grandmother's porch, and
the people he saw/heard outside were his boss and a new
employee he'd never met. Oh, and the book was a plate and it
was not on the floor when he could finally move! 
Thanks also to Erin, my Mom, Robin, Mary, Tina, and Tad for their
input in the early stages of this story. And a big thank you to
Vickie Moseley for the final read through and lots of encouragement.