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Animal Products by Alien Girl
THE X-FILES
“Animal Products”
By Alien Girl
[email protected]
http://TheShrineOfTheFirebirds.homestead.com
Rating: PG
Classification: Case-file, uhh…a little weird
Disclaimer: Don’t own them. Because Fox sucks. And needs to die. But hey… I’ll be okay… as soon as I get ahold of a stealth bomber…
Summary: The disappearances of several government agents send Mulder and Scully “on all fours” looking for answers…
Author’s Notes: And here we go with yet another story for the Virtual Season! (www.angelfire.com/realm/xfvs/) Since this is looking to be my last one there, I hope y’all like it!
[See archivist’s notes on the main “Animal Products” page for more info.]
On with the show!
Animal Products
By Alien Girl
Ace: I’ll have you know that I have the reflexes of a cat and the speed of a mongoose. Throw it. I DARE YOU!
-Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls
(Needs date stamp)
Somewhere in the Arkansas woods
8:58 P.M.
The woods reverberated with a chorus of dire warnings, from the scratch of sticks against bark to the nervous twitter of the thrush. The trees swayed slightly, leaves rustling, as if anticipating the coming beast pounding its way through the defenseless forest. As the ground continued to rumble, the birds took flight and the small ground rodents ran for the safety of their holes.
The giant black bear tumbled through the undergrowth hurriedly, knocking aside small trees with its massive paws as if they were towers of plastic building blocks. The bear glanced back at the growth and trees it had destroyed and let out a moan, as if terrified of its own strength. It left a clear trail through the woods, having long since given up trying to be secretive. It only thought of someplace it could get away, someplace it could hide. But what place could possibly hide hundreds of pounds of pure muscle and bristling fur?
The bear listened to all the sounds of the forest echoing around him, warning him of the dangers that threatened to engulf him. He could hear the tiresome chorus of the spying sparrows scolding him for no reason. He ignored them and continued on his wild and reckless path. He could also smell something…something that sent fear stabbing into his heart, that motivated him to rampage through the woods. The other animals stood aside and watched, wondering what sort of creature could cause a large black bear to run in fear.
As the bear crashed through another grove of trees, he suddenly stopped, and stared at the creature in front of him.
It was a man. A Native American to be exact, one of the very few that still lived here. By the headdress and ornaments he wore, it was apparent that he was a chief. He carried with him only a knife and a bow with a quiver of arrows. The Cherokee Chief locked eyes with the bear.
The bear panicked. It had only to glance at the Chief before letting out a roar that was more like a cry of terror. It instantly switched direction and began to run away from the Chief, moving as fast as its massive bulk would allow. The Chief simply looked on and strung an arrow to his bow.
The bear charged back through the trees, knocking down plants left and right, panting like a racing dog. He turned around once to see if he was still being followed…
THWUNP!
The bear let out an ear-splitting roar as a single arrow buried into his shoulder. It stood up on its hind legs, waving and swatting at everything in a blind panic, still roaring. He stumbled forwards slightly before he heard the arrows again…
THWUNP! THWUNP!
These two arrows appeared out of the bear’s chest. The bear clutched at the arrows as if trying to pull them out of his chest, and only accomplished staining its claws with blood. The trees and sky twisted and swirled in his vision, and he moaned in sadness as he realized what was happening to him. The bear gave a final roar and then toppled over onto the ground. The forest remained silent long after the bear shuddered its last breath.
The silence was broken by the footsteps of the Cherokee Chief crunching leaves underfoot. He walked up and stared down at the creature he had just killed, deep in thought. He pulled the arrows out of the bear’s chest.
“You have lost again, white man.”
Queen: I’ve turned Prince Wendell into a dog.
Wolf: Oh…Good idea.
-The 10th Kingdom
(Date)
City Limits of Chum, Arkansas 5:20 P.M.
The spotless grass fields sped by without so much as a tree or bush to mark the distance traveled, making a mile last tenfold its original length. Scully had long since given up looking out the window for anything interesting, and instead concentrated her attention on the manila folders and files in her lap. There were three main packets…one for each missing federal agent.
“See anything interesting?” Mulder commented suddenly from the driver’s seat.
“Probably nothing more interesting than what you’re seeing,” She sighed, “Which isn’t saying much.” After flipping through a few pages once more, she leaned back in her seat and shot Mulder a frustrated look. “I don’t see how this is an X-File.”
“What do you mean, you don’t see?”
“It’s an odd case, but not really an X-File. Three federal agents…two from the Department of the Interior and other from…some smaller organization, I think a branch of the Interior, are given assignments to this one town and surrounding area, and never return.”
“Mysterious disappearances,” Mulder said matter-of-factly. “That’s not an X-File?”
“This isn’t a ‘mysterious disappearance’, Mulder…it’s just a missing persons case. There are no suspects in this case, no evidence of any kind, just the fact that they went and never returned. Any number of things could have happened to them…it could have been different problems for each person; they may not even be connected. I just don’t see the paranormal nature of it all.”
“You’re itching for the ‘paranormal nature’ that badly?” Mulder said with a grin.
“Well…in a way, yes. Just so…I don’t know. To prevent…”
“Boredom?” He suggested after a strange pause.
“Perhaps…” She quickly glanced at him, and then put her eyes back on the folders again. “It’s just that…after you’ve seen it all and done it all -which I would say we’re close to doing- what else is there?”
“Well, personally, I think there will never be a point where we have ‘done it all’…after all, nobody else has ever gotten to that point.”
“And with our luck, we’ll be the first ones to do it.”
Mulder had to grin at the thought, although inwardly his grin was not quite as strong. It was true, from the outside, this case did not seem to be the most ‘thrilling adventure’ they had embarked upon. But somehow, he had a sense that things like these, things that started small, always became larger later…
“Did you read over what these agents’ assignments were?” Scully interrupted his thoughts.
“The first two were together,” Mulder replied, his photographic memory instantly at the wheel. “They were assigned to do some negotiating with some Native American tribes in the area for possession of their land. They wanted to build some wildlife parks, or a new commercial center…they hadn’t decided yet. The third agent went to go inquire about the whereabouts of the first two, as well as try and do some more negotiating himself.”
“Native American?” Scully flipped back through the files. “I didn’t know there were any Indian reservations in this area.”
“Cherokees,” Mulder explained. “Very very small group. There’s hardly a reservation…they just live on the outskirts of the nearby town, Chum. And they just happen to be on the land that the government wants. Sound familiar?”
Scully nodded sadly. “Back in the Jacksonian Era, they were removed from their homeland so that white settlers could move in and strip-mine the place, to put it bluntly. And that started the Trail of Tears…wow, I didn’t think there’d be any tribes left around here after all that.”
“Probably wouldn’t be too thrilled with having history repeat itself and the government coming to kick them out again…”
Scully could see what Mulder was getting at. “It sounds like a plausible explanation, Mulder, but I don’t buy it. The Cherokees were and still are a very peaceful people; they practically never retaliate with violence even when faced with it. In fact, the only resisting they did before the Trail of Tears was purely diplomatic and very civil…a lot more civil than the people that forced them to migrate away from their home.”
“I studied my high school history as well as you did, Scully, but considering this is the only lead we have on this case, I suggest we take it.”
Scully didn’t argue with that, although she was still more than hesitant to place the blame on a small Cherokee tribe that had just as much right to be in their spot as a wildlife reservation or commercial center.
Just then, the flatline of fields was broken by a single sign, resting comfortably in the shade of the first tree they had seen in miles. The sign simply said CHUM CITY LIMITS, and didn’t bother to bore the driver with when the town was built or its current population. However, it also seemed to serve as a limit to the fields as well as the town, for very soon lots of trees were on either side of them, indicating that this was more a forest town than a farming one.
As they drove past the first buildings, Mulder gave a nod at the pile of folders in Scully’s lap. “You realize, of course, that we’re going to have to be suspicious of anything and everything in this town until we can figure out what the cause of these disappearances is. It could involve anything; we don’t know what. And whatever it is, it seems to have a grudge against federal agents in particular.”
Scully didn’t bother to tell Mulder that he was stating the obvious…she figured he was perhaps telling her this to make her feel less nervous. Or perhaps to make himself less nervous. Although why Mulder would in any way be concerned about a case like this, she didn’t know…
After passing through a good part of the town, they stopped in front of the city hall, which was little more than a two-story brick building without much decoration. As Scully stepped out of the car, she had to wonder what on earth could be so threatening or mysterious about this place. It didn’t seem to be unordinary in any way…it didn’t even give her the usual intuitive sense of something being amiss.
Clutching the files under her arm, she and Mulder entered the city hall, and were instantly met with a cheerful-looking secretary at the desk in the hall. “Agents Mulder and Scully?”
Mulder nodded.
“Oh good, you’re here…I’ll go inform Mayor Spruzzo, he’s been expecting you.”
The two of them were left standing in the hall while the secretary quickly disappeared. Within just a few moments, she returned with a heavyset man with slightly handsome features, whom they assumed to be Mayor Spruzzo.
“We’re so very glad you’re here,” He said, shaking Mulder’s hand before he even had a chance to open his mouth. “We need to get those negotiations over with quickly, so—”
“We’re not here to negotiate anything,” Mulder interrupted. “We’re here to investigate the disappearances of three agents from the Department of the Interior.”
“Oh…oh, of course,” He sounded slightly disappointed. “Please come into my office and I’ll answer any questions you have there.”
Mulder and Scully exchanged glances and then followed the mayor across the hall and into his less-than-roomy office. The mayor actually sat in front of his desk instead of behind, hinting to them that he didn’t have anything to hide. “So…what can I do for you?”
Scully opened the folders. “The three agents…Micah Sper, Joni Delano, and Josh Treblenn…they all came here about a week or two apart from each other, right?”
“About that, yeah.”
“And then their department reported that they never returned.”
“We never saw them since they went into the woods,” The Mayor shook his head. “All we found were their cars, along the side of the road. Nothing else.”
“You didn’t send out a search party?”
“Ma’am, we don’t have the manpower to search through those woods for them. And it might just as well be in vain. We’ve got some predators in these woods…bear, wolves. We called their department about it, and all they did was send more people solo, not an army.”
Mulder thought for a minute. “So what exactly were those agents doing out there in those woods?” Mulder already knew the answer to his own question, but he wanted to see how this man would respond.
“Trying to negotiate with the Cherokees that live out there. For their land.” He hesitated somewhat, as if slightly embarrassed. “You must understand, agents, that this town does not have the largest income in the state. We’ve needed some kind of money-producing institution around here, otherwise how are we going to improve what needs improving? We figured a small wildlife reserve could help us out quite a bit, considering all the animals we have hanging around here. The Cherokees say we can’t hunt, so it’s not like we can open the place up to hunters. A wildlife reserve would call for a relocation of one of their groups, but that’s all.”
This was what Mulder was interested in hearing. “Do you suppose the Cherokee tribe could have gotten very upset with people coming in and demanding the rights to their land? Enough to, say, make them ‘disappear’?”
The mayor seemed surprised. “The Cherokees? Murder somebody? That’s hard for me to believe, I must admit. We don’t see them much, but when they do come into town, they’re the friendliest and most considerate people you’d ever meet. Never heard of any hostility.”
“Either way, since the agents disappeared around where the tribe is, we’d better start out investigation there,” Mulder said, standing. “Do you know where they live?”
“Like I said, they’re kind of split into groups. The closest one is, I think, aways down the road that goes past the Welch’s farm. You’ll have to do a bit of walking to get there, too.”
“Thanks, I think we can find it.”
“Please tell me how things go as soon as you return!” The mayor called to them as they headed for the door. “The last thing I want on my hands is two FBI agents missing on top of those other three…”
“Trust me, sir, we know how to deal with these kinds of things.” Without another word, the two of them exited the mayor’s office, leaving him to wonder why federal agents seemed to have a habit of appearing and then disappearing again so quickly.
As they stepped from the small city hall to their car, Scully shot Mulder a “I-told-you-so” look, and Mulder shied away from it slightly. “You heard what that man said, Mulder…they’re not aggressive. There has to be a different explanation.”
“I’m not making any judgments until I see for myself,” He responded. “This is still our only lead, and we’ve got to follow it. You wanted to get this ‘uninteresting’ case over as quickly as possible, didn’t you?”
Scully sighed heavily, and simply ducked down into the passenger side of the car. “Well…let’s get going, then.”
The ride through the woods was not nearly as long as they had anticipated. It was only a 15-minute journey, and they were going slowly over the rough dirt road besides. They had hardly talked at all along the way there, as they had both been too busy studying the thriving woodlands that enclosed them. Scully had to admit…a place like this would make for a good wildlife reserve, and people would come to it.
The car stopped as the first huts of the Cherokee village came into view. From their position in the car, they could see a few of the Cherokees emerging from the trees, dressed in their traditional garb. It was intimidating, but at the same time fascinating.
“Don’t be too pushy, Mulder,” Scully leaned over and whispered to him. “Remember, they’re not suspects yet.”
Mulder gave her back a look that seemed to say he was slightly offended. The two of them exited the car just as two men and a woman came up to them.
“Are you men from the government?” One of them said in slightly rough English.
“FBI Agents Mulder and Scully,” Mulder introduced themselves.
“I am Delatadegi, head of this tribe, and this is my wife Mequidita, and my brother Udolanvsdi,” He replied. “What brings more of your kind of people to our woods?”
“Actually, we came here to find those other people.” Scully pulled photos of the missing agents out of the folder packet. “These three men disappeared somewhere in these woods…we were wondering if you knew anything as to where they could be.”
“Oh…” The woman, Mequidita, broke in suddenly. “I had heard that some government men came here and were missing. Two of them stopped by here, and talked to Delatadegi before they went on their way again. I thought they had been found.”
“Do you mind if we ask you a few questions about what might have happened to them?” Scully asked.
“Certainly. Please, come in and rest, and we’ll see if we can help you.”
The two agents accepted the invitation, and followed the three Cherokees into the very small gathering of huts. Everywhere there were Cherokees, most of them working outside, and with a few children playing in the grass. Everyone looked up in surprise as Mulder and Scully passed through…they were around white people all the time in the town or on the road and were used to it, but rarely did these people ever visit their village, and especially with such expensive-looking clothes.
Mulder and Scully were led inside the largest hut, which seemed well-built and kept up nicely. The Cherokee Chief offered them a seat, and they accepted it gratefully.
“You say you came here to look for missing government men?” Delatadegi asked.
“Yes…they came here because they wanted to negotiate with your people about buying your land. Did you talk with them about that?” Mulder questioned.
“Oh, no…they came here, but the didn’t ask to buy our land.”
Mulder and Scully exchanged confused glances. “They didn’t?”
“We are aware that they came to buy land, but it is not the land that we own. They wanted to buy some owned by a different tribe twenty minutes’ walk west from here.”
“A different tribe?”
“Well, in a way…we are all basically one tribe, but we are split into about three or four smaller groups. I am afraid that we have lost a sense of community in forming these groups…”
“So you sent them to talk with that tribe, and then they disappeared? Why do you suppose that would be?” Mulder said, hoping he was finally getting somewhere.
“Ugh…” The woman sounded disgusted. “The group they went to call themselves ‘Ganatlai Gadu’hvi’, and are not nice people. They udehohisdi the name of Cherokee.”
“Now Mequidita,” Delatadegi looked at her somewhat disapprovingly. “You mustn’t speak about our neighbors in that way. They are merely different than us.”
“Different! They are mean, lazy people…they hunt more than they farm, and sometimes even steal from the white mens’ farms. They are always whispering to each other with secret words. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were involved with dark magic!”
“Mequidita!”
“I am simply telling these people what I know,” She said. “They have asked, and they deserve and answer.”
“You are telling them wives’ gossip, and there is no true credibility to your claims. Even if it were true, it would be no business of ours how they spend their lives, so long as they do not harm another being.”
“It sounds like it could have some substantiality to it,” Mulder came into the conversation. “It’s worth investigating.”
“You are planning to go to the Ganatlai Gadu’hvi and talk to their people? I advise you to be careful, then,” Mequidita said.
“Must you be leaving now?” Udolanvsdi said sadly. “After just arriving? It is near twilight, it would be foolish to walk there, ask your questions and then walk back in the dark. I insist that you both stay the night, and then you shall start fresh in the morning.”
Mulder and Scully seemed reluctant to accept the offer. “Well, we probably should get going, actually, we don’t want to trouble you…”
“It is no trouble at all!” Delatadegi assured them. “We shall fix up beds for you both and a meal, for I fear we have already eaten as a group. Then in the morning you can leave whenever you wish.”
After a moment’s pause, Mulder smiled, and answered for both of them. “Alright…I guess we can stay for the night.”
Barf: I’m a mog: half man, half dog. I’m my own best friend!
-SpaceBalls
The next morning…
The sun was just beginning to get high above them when Mulder and Scully arrived at the second Cherokee village on the case. Although they had still been nervous being in a new and strange environment, they had slept well in the huts of the first village, and had gotten a good breakfast in the morning before heading back on their way. They now both had to admit, the Cherokees had been some of the most hospitable hosts they had encountered in a long time.
Feeling refreshed from the night’s stay and breakfast, they followed the directions of Delatadegi and walked through the woods until they spotted the first huts within the trees. The trek through the woodlands had been pleasant and calming for both of them, making them almost forget what their original mission was.
But as they approached the circle of huts, their feelings of calmness were swept away by an uneasy breeze. It appeared to be the same as the first village, but there seemed to be an air about it that made it seem slightly unpleasant.
“I wonder why there aren’t any children playing outside here,” Scully said quietly to Mulder as they approached.
“Maybe they’re all just inside.”
Scully shrugged slightly. It was not until they were fairly close to the first hut that the Cherokees appeared. Four men walked towards them with less-than-pleasant looks on their faces. They were dressed slightly differently than the first Cherokees, and didn’t seem as dark-skinned. Mulder was surprised that he could see such a difference between just ten minutes of walking.
One of the Cherokees suddenly barked something to them in their language, startling them both. Mulder swallowed nervously before answering, “We only speak English.”
“What is your business here?” The Cherokee repeated in English.
“We want to ask some questions. Can we talk to your leader?”
The Cherokee scowled, and grunted something that did not sound friendly before heading back into the circle of huts. Mulder and Scully simply stood there, staring quietly at the other three men and feeling extraordinarily awkward.
After a few moments of nervous glances and shuffling feet, the man returned with two more Cherokees following him. One of them was dressed more importantly than the others, with some kind of robe decorated with animal skins and feathers. He had a very angry look on his face, and Mulder and Scully couldn’t help feeling that they had done something wrong when all they did was walk up.
“I am Chief Kwandaioha, leader of this tribe, and this is my son ‘U-sti Towo’d. You white men have no right to trespass on our land!”
“Excuse us, sir, we didn’t mean to upset you,” Scully explained. “We’re federal agents, and…”
“Government men!” The Chief’s face turned a deeper shade of red. “You will not be having our land! We have suffered the oppression of your people for too long now, and we shall not…”
“Woah, woah, hold it!” Mulder interrupted as the Cherokee’s voice began to rise. “We’re not here to buy your land at all. We wanted to ask you some questions about other government men who went missing here.”
The Chief didn’t respond right away, and looked almost slightly confused. His son, ‘U-sti Towo’d, gave his father a questioning glance. The Chief caught the glance out of the corner of his eye, and his features hardened again.
“Come,” He beckoned for them to follow him into the village. Drawing closer to each other for protection, the two agents stepped through the trees and into the clearing crowded with huts.
There were no children playing outside…in fact, there was hardly anybody visible besides the five that were escorting them. There was perhaps one person skinning a rabbit and another attaching arrow points. Once they stopped outside the largest hut, the Chief turned to face them, and the other Cherokees surrounded them loosely.
“You government men should not have come here,” He said in a voice that made Mulder and Scully cringe. “Just as the others should not have. We of the Cherokee nation remember well the misery and torture endured by our ancestors do many years ago, torture caused by your kind of people. And now, it is happening again, as more and more men come to drive us away from our homeland. We must fight to protect ourselves from invaders by any means possible!”
“We already told you…we’re not taking your land, we came to ask about the other people that were here,” Mulder said quickly, before the Chief could continue on his rant. “But it sounds like you did have contact with the missing agents. Do you know what happened to them?”
The Chief pressed his lips and narrowed his eyes. “Three men came at different times…” He said slowly. “We told them what we are telling you now. And then they left.”
“Do you know what direction they went in?”
“Who can tell, in these wide woods?” He answered mysteriously. “I suggest that you leave our village immediately and go out to search for them. You will find nothing here.”
Mulder didn’t buy it at all. He could tell easily when any person was keeping a secret from him, and this Cherokee wasn’t much of a liar. Mulder faced the stern, intimidating man with a definite amount of courage and challenged, “I think you know where they are. You keep ranting on about facing torture and protecting your homeland…you killed them because they wanted to buy your land, is that it?”
The Chief did not say anything, but his face was warning Mulder that he should stop before he regretted something. But Mulder ignored the warning and continued on, “Because if that’s what happened, then all you needed to do was say no to them! You didn’t have to end their lives! People are smarter now, they’ll know to leave you alone…”
“I have seen no difference between the government men of today and those from a hundred, two hundred years ago,” The Cherokee said between his teeth.
Scully gripped Mulder’s arm tightly, telling him both that he should stop now and that she was beginning to get nervous. Mulder was beginning to feel a lump forming in his own throat as the Cherokees made the circle around them tighter.
“You’re going to have to let us search the village and the surrounding area, if you want us to prove that you are innocent,” Mulder said, still refusing to be intimidated.
The Chief’s scowl seemed to transform itself into a hidden smile, as if he were finally ready to carry out something he had been itching to do. “I’m afraid you can’t be allowed to do that.”
Before the two agents even realized what happened, the other four Cherokees that had been standing around them grabbed both their arms and held them behind their backs tightly, preventing them from moving or being able to run away.
“Hey! What are you—”
The Chief motioned for them to follow him, and Mulder and Scully were dragged forward by four pairs of very strong arms. They were too shocked by this sudden attack to protest verbally until they came to the entrance of a small hut next to the largest one. “What do you think you’re doing?!” Mulder cried, amazed that these Cherokees had taken such a bold front against them.
The two of them were quickly shoved inside the hut behind the Chief and his son, Towo’d, and then the warriors quickly left as if knowing they were forbidden to be here. The Chief came and closed a crude reed door, and bolting it so that they couldn’t get out easily.
Mulder and Scully stared around the hut with amazement and slight disgust…the small square room was completely covered with animal hides, bones, strings of feathers and other pieces of dead wildlife. There were also branches of strange herbs and dried fruits, large, polished stones with symbols carved into them propped up against the wall, and other unidentifiable tools, trinkets and charms. The hut smelled of different herbs and dried, salty blood, giving the atmosphere a sweet-pungent odor. In the center of the room there was also a small table covered with a deer’s hide, with various herbs, bones, feathers, and a small pot with bluish steam hissing from it. The entire place seemed to reek with dead mixtures, and made them both feel sick inside.
The Chief stood behind the table while Towo’d stood in the corner…he seemed to be very upset, and Mulder almost thought he was scowling at his father. Mulder wanted to say something, but he was so confused he couldn’t bring any words to his tongue.
“You government men shall learn once and for all what kind of forces you are dealing with…” The Chief said in a low, throaty voice. “This I do to avenge my ancestors, who were so horribly mistreated and made to journey across this same land. We are the last of the ones that began here, and we shall defend our home like wild beasts if we must. You could have left us alone and in peace, but you chose to persist in your wrongful behaviors. So now you must suffer the consequenses…wesa and tsula uwodige.”
“Wait, what did you…”
Mulder was stopped mid-sentence by the Chief’s much louder voice. He began to speak in his own language, or what they assumed to be so. His voice took on a sing-song chanting as he began to place different herbs and feathers into the steaming mixture in the pot. He stirred the mixture with the bone, and the bluish steam became thick and smoky until it almost shrouded the Chief completely. The chanting became louder until he was almost yelling.
Mulder reached around out somewhere in the mist for Scully, but he couldn’t find her. He could hardly move at all; he was mesmerized by the chanting, sounding like some eerie music, seeming to come from all around him. It made his head spin, and he blinked furiously as the smoke stung his eyes and nose.
Then, he cried out as he felt a stinging pain sear at his arm, as if thousands of tiny needles were pricking at his skin. He clutched at his arm to try and control the pain, but it just increased as it spread to his other arm and chest and legs.
Staring down at his arm, he nearly choked on his own startled breath. The dark hairs on his arm were suddenly turning a tawny-orange color from the roots up. There was more orangish hair sprouting all over his arm, thicker and thicker until his skin beneath almost disappeared completely. The hair snaked up his wrist and grew inbetween his fingers, even as he felt his palm begin to harden and his fingers grow stiff.
He was distracted from this unnerving sight by a buzzing in his head. He clutched at his forehead, gritting his teeth, feeling hair on his face. The buzzing turned into a miserable throbbing, which grew in intensity until he could stand it no more. He toppled to the ground, and was out cold before his face touched the dirt.
Seth Brundle: It wants to turn me into something. That’s not too terrible, is it? Most people would give anything to be turned into something else.
Veronica Quaffe: Turn into what?
Seth Brundle: Whaddya think, a fly? Am I becoming a hundred-and-eighty-five-pound fly? I may be becoming something that’s never existed before. I’m becoming…Brundlefly. Don’t you think that’s worth a Nobel Prize or two?
-The Fly
9:06 A.M.
Before Mulder even opened his eyes, he knew he was not going to feel good. His return to consciousness was painful in itself. He felt like someone had twisted his skeleton and muscles into some abstract sculpture, and he couldn’t move her was so misshapen. (I have to get up…) Mulder told himself furiously. (I have to get to Scully…)
As Mulder tried to move, he instantly realized that something was wrong. He felt…very different. He felt as if his legs had become longer and his arms had become shorter. When he attempted to stand, he felt like he was trying to balance himself on the balls of his feet and the tips of his fingers.
Before he had a change to open his eyes, his other senses kicked in, and shocked him with how well they kicked in. His ears felt like they had expanded to twice their original size, and he could hear everything…his own frantic breath, the wind breathing against the sticks of the hut, a million different bird voices from outside, the sound of a bug crawling along the wall, the shuffle of footsteps on the ground.
But all that was nothing compared to what he could smell. He found himself automatically identifying his surroundings based on nothing but their scent. He detected the dryness of the dirt on the ground, the kind of wood that the hut’s sticks were made of, each individual animal skin and herb in the hut, the smell of the Chief…
Mulder finally gathered up his strength and stood and opened his eyes. Now he definitely knew that something was wrong. He was next to colorblind, but he still felt that he could see more. He was standing on his hands and feet…(so why do I feel like I’m standing normally?)
Mulder stared down at his hands. Only much to his horror, he saw that he didn’t have hands…in their place he saw two small, blackish paws, complete with tiny claws. Mulder’s breath stopped for a minute as he stared down at his transformed hands, not comprehending what he was seeing. He lifted his right hand…or something…just to make sure what he was seeing was true. And the small, blackish paw on his right raised.
(What is going on?! This, this can’t…)
Mulder’s heartbeat doubled as the mere possibility of what could have happened entered his mind. But he refused to accept it. (There’s no way that could happen.) He tried to stand up on his own two feet, but he couldn’t keep his balance and he toppled back onto all fours.
he became frantic. He looked all around him for some kind of proof that he was okay, that he was not what he thought he was. He realized that he was not wearing any clothes…they were lying in a pile right beneath him. Yet even more strangely, he didn’t exactly feel naked. He felt incredibly small, yet strong for his size. Everything about him felt changed…the only thing he recognized was his own consciousness.
While still standing awkwardly on all fours, Mulder tried to look at his own body. By twisting around, he could see his legs…which were covered in coarse orangish fur, as was the rest of his body. He then realized something he hadn’t felt before…he had extra muscles at the tip of his spine. Mulder tested the unknown muscles…and nearly choked as he saw a thick, bushy tail right behind him swish back and forth in response.
(Oh no…)
(Scully! I need Scully!)
Mulder shouted aloud her name. Only her name didn’t come out. The word would not form on his tongue; he couldn’t get his teeth and lips to work properly. Instead, the only thing that came out of his mouth was a sharp YAP!
Mulder nearly fell over he was so shocked at his own voice. He tried to touch his mouth, but his hands were paws and he couldn’t feel anything, except the fact that his nose was wet. He tried to call out to Scully again. Even though he heard the words in his head, they could not be spoken, and in their place he heard only small barks and yaps.
Mulder turned all around the hut, looking for some sort of answer to what he was seeing and feeling. He finally saw something…one large stone in the corner near him had been polished so much that it acted as a mirror. He stared at his reflection…and his heart stopped.
In the stone he saw no trace of the normal Fox Mulder. Instead he saw nothing but the terrified face of an adult red fox.
(No no no no no no…)
He walked closer to the stone, thinking this must be some visual trick. But it was no illusion…the red fox in the reflection moved as he did and turned as he did.
(Ima…Ima fox!!)
Mulder backed away, his mind buzzing with all sorts of reactions. He tripped over his own legs, not knowing how to walk on all fours. He stumbled through his own clothes, and picked himself up, panting. (I’m a fox! The Chief’s chant, whatever he was doing…it turned me into a fox! I have to change back!…)
Mulder’s first instinct was to find Scully. She could help him, even if he was in this new form. But a quick glance nearby showed him this would be harder than he thought.
Scully was completely gone…all that was left of her was the pile of the clothes she had been wearing. Lying asleep amongst the clothes was a silver-gray cat.
Scully! Mulder mentally called to her, knowing that the only voice he had was a fox’s bark. Scully! Scully, help me!
The gray cat stirred, and stretched, extending its claws outwards. The cat opened its eyes, and Mulder instantly recognized Scully’s blue irises. (Oh, no…it happened to her, too…)
Scully in the cat form suddenly looked around and sprang up, face full of astonishment. Mulder watched in amazement as all of the hair on Scully’s back stood up and her tail poofed out.
Wh…wha?!… Mulder was shocked even more to hear Scully’s voice sound in his head. He walked up to her, and she turned and looked at him.
Scully’s expression of absolute terror matched his. She backed away from him, and meowed loudly. But as the same time she meowed, he heard her voice cry, Mulder!
Scully jumped at the cat’s voice coming out of her throat. She began to go through the same realizations that Mulder had…she looked down and saw paws instead of hands, she became aware of her advanced senses, she discovered her tail and found her pile of clothes. Scully then collapsed to the ground, completely overcome with shock and confusion.
What happened?! Scully cried, still trying to use her voice. Another meow caused her to jump and paw at her mouth, as if she were trying to rip it away and get to her real self underneath.
Scully… Mulder thought his words rather than spoke them, trying to keep himself calm. Scully, it’s me.
Scully looked up at him with frightened eyes. Mulder?… She meowed.
Don’t speak, just think. We…we got…
What happened to me? She wailed, staring down at her cat paws.
You’re a cat… Mulder thought slowly, trying to let the information sink into him as well. …And I’m a fox.
How can we talk to each other if we don’t?…
I don’t know.
But this can’t be! Scully protested, staring around at herself and Mulder. It’s impossible! How could this have happened? How could I be a…and you be a…
Whatever the Chief was chanting when he had us here…whatever it did, it must have somehow turned us into animals…
But that’s just not possible! Scully still refused to accept it. Nothing he could do could physically transform us into…
“Government men,” The Chief’s voice suddenly interrupted their mental conversation. “You will listen to me now.”
Mulder and Scully slowly turned and looked at the Chief, standing only a little ways from them. Both had to look up from their small heights just to see his face. His entire figure, from his scowling face to his gigantic height, sent a wave of fear through the two transformed agents, and they huddled together.
“You now understand what power I possess,” The Chief thundered. “A power which I will use to revenge my tortured ancestors. They were given no rights, driven from their homes by larger forces, and made to wander through brutal cold and heat and sickness and starvation…they were treated like animals. And so now it is YOU who is the animal, and shall therefore be treated like one.”
No, wait, listen to us! Mulder cried out, but his voice came out as a series of barks and yaps.
“It is useless to try and convince me of your innocence,” The Chief responded. “You men from the government are all the same. No one will listen to your pleas now, for they are nothing more than the animals’ simple means of creating noise.”
He stared down at them with contempt. “Inside every human being there is the spirit of one of the many wild creatures on this earth. This curse I have placed upon you has changed your bodies to be those of the animal spirit within you. Only I can lift the curse from you and restore you to your human form.”
…And you’re not going to do it. Mulder thought to the Chief, feeling his spirits sink even lower than they were before.
The Chief began to pace in front of them. “I will not lift the curse from you until you prove yourself worthy of such compassion. You will be released into the woods for a full two days. During that time you must be able to avoid my warriors and I finding you. If you are found, you will be killed. If you can avoid detection and return to this village at the end of two days, the curse shall be lifted from you and you shall be free to go.” He paused. “As of this time, no government man has ever returned to this village alive.”
Scully swallowed hard, and stared down with sadness at her grayish paws. She suddenly wanted to run, to get away from here as fast as she could; afraid that if she didn’t the Chief would just decide to kill them now.
“If you return to this village before the two days are up you will be killed as well,” The Chief looked down on them as he made his conclusion. “You will have two hours’ head start before we come after you…I suggest you use that time wisely.” He pointed to the door. “Now go! Run! Run out there, and see if you can survive in the wild like the animals you are!”
Mulder, Mulder come on! We have to get out of here! Scully thought to him, panicking.
No, we have to try and…
We have to run, we can’t stay here!! She insisted again, and tried desperately to use her legs to run towards the door. Mulder gave up on his idea to reason and followed her. The agents ran awkwardly on all fours out the door, hearts pounding, minds racing. They ran through clusters of small huts until they reached the trees, and disappeared into the woods.
After they had gone, the Chief stared out the door after them, deep in thought. “And so it begins,” He said in his native tongue. “The government was smarter this time to send a pair. But they will not last. Those men are all the same.”
Towo’d came up behind him, his expression unhappy. “Father…I think you should reconsider.”
The Chief turned to face his son. “What do you mean?”
Towo’d paused a minute before answering. “They are not the same. Did you not hear what they said? They came here to search for their missing friends, not demand the rights to our land.”
“I am protecting our land from those who want to steal it from us,” The Chief said, giving his son the same angry expression he had given the animal agents. “And I am treating these white government men as they did our ancestors. Are you suggesting that the terrible suffering of our ancestors was all for naught?”
“Of course not!” Towo’d protested. “But you forget that our ancestors never used this magic or trickery on others when they were threatened. They protested peacefully, and tried to compromise! Doing this to these people doesn’t seem right to me.”
The Chief gave an angry grunt. “All that accomplished nothing. It is long past the time when these actions should have been carried out…these government men have gotten what they deserved.”
“No, they have not,” Towo’d said in a loud voice. “You shouldn’t have done it. Not to them.”
“I am tired of arguing with you, ‘U-sti Towo’d,” The Chief growled. “It is too late for them, and I will not be swayed by your sorry excuses. You have yet to learn what is just in this world.” The Chief headed for the door of the hut. “I am calling my
warriors together for the hunt. I will do what I must to avenge our ancestors, and you will not interfere.”
Towo’d remained in the hut after the Chief stormed out, thinking of what he should do next.
Queen: Is there something you wanted to get off your chest?
Prince Wendell: I refuse to be a man. I insist on being a dog.
-The 10th Kingdom
Mulder and Scully ran through the trees without stopping for breath, their pace erratic as they stumbled over rocks and shrubs. The did not know how long they ran or where they were going, they only wanted to get as far away from the village as possible.
After they had traveled deep into the forest, Mulder suddenly sprinted in front of Scully. Wait, Scully, stop!
Scully skidded to a halt, her tiny chest heaving. Mulder, what are you doing? We have to run or they’ll catch us!
That’s just it! We can’t run…we have to stop and think about this; have to figure it out…
What’s there to think about?! Scully told him in a voice that sounded like she was near tears. I’m a cat! There is no sense in this! I don’t know what to do…
Mulder touched her with his paw. Yes, we don’t know how to behave as we are. And if we don’t stop and think, we’ll be caught…
Mulder, no… Scully looked like she was about to run off without him.
Look, Scully! Mulder stood in front of her firmly. What is the biggest thing that separates humans from animals?
Mulder…
Just answer me!
Scully stopped and thought. I, uh…our emotions, our superior intelligence, our…
Yes! Mulder broke in. Our intelligence! This is the main difference…humans make decisions based on their intelligence and reasoning. Animals do the opposite, they make decisions based on their instincts.
So what are you saying?
I’m saying that we’re running and afraid because we don’t know how to act. If we were completely human, our intelligence would dictate our decisions. If we were completely animal, then our instincts would. But we’re neither completely human nor animal. We have the minds of humans in the bodies of animals. This means we have a choice.
A choice? Scully asked.
Yes. We can chose to either follow our human intelligence or our animal instincts. And what we’ve got to do is to use our intelligence, not our instincts.
Why is that?
Because we’re not animals! We don’t know how to survive in the woods as animals. I’ll bet you anything the reason those other agents were killed was because they relied chiefly on their instinct. Instinct revolves around fear, hunger, desire, anger, all emotions that can easily get you hurt if you don’t know what you’re doing. If we’re dealing with humans, we have to think like humans. Do you understand?
Scully sighed. Yes, I understand. I’m just…really scared.
So am I. It’s strange enough I’m talking to you without making a sound…but I feel wrong, and I don’t know how I’m handling it.
There was a pause. Mulder and Scully stood silent for awhile, soaking in the millions of things the forest was telling them. With their enhanced senses they found themselves recognizing things they had never noticed before, and were awed at how much they could see, hear, smell and feel. They felt more like they were a part of the forest instead of just passing through it.
So what do we do now? Scully ended the pause. If we’ve decided that we’re going to rely on our intelligence, what do we do next?
We have to go somewhere, Mulder said after thinking for awhile. We need to run this race on our own turf. We have to get back to town.
To town? Why?
They’re more likely to find us in the woods than in town. They know this forest better than we do, and they’ll know how to track us. We have to get someplace that we know our way around, and the closest place we can do that in is the town.
That makes sense… Scully answered. But how are we ever going to find our way back there?
We need to find the road, Mulder said, looking around at all the trees. If we can find the road, we can get back to town.
And how do you suggest we do that?
Well… Mulder paused, thinking for a minute. Our car’s at the end of the road, right?
Yes…
We can smell for it! Mulder put his nose to the air. The car smells like oil and metal…it will stand out from the rest of the forest.
So I guess you’re saying I should follow my nose…
I always knew Toucan Sam was a good role model.
Mulder, who had a more acute sense of smell than Scully, went to work right away. He found it very strange to be trying to determine something’s location by its smell…he almost felt like he was trying to walk around blindfolded. But smell proved to be just as useful a guide as sight, and before long Mulder caught the faintest wisps of motor oil.
Do you smell it, Scully?
Just barely…
Then let’s go to it! Mulder trotted off into the trees, and Scully followed close behind him.
Neither of them were sure how long they ran through the trees, darting from one direction to another as the scent grew stronger and more clear. As Mulder led the way with his nose, Scully kept a sharp lookout for any sign of the village or its Cherokee inhabitants. She knew they were circling back to the village, and she did not want them to be caught within less than an hour of being released. At one point, she thought that she smelled the village nearby, but then the scent grew fainter, and Scully assumed they had finally passed it.
Look! Mulder exclaimed after ten more minutes of walking. There it is!
Indeed, as Mulder and Scully stepped to where the oil smelled the strongest, the trees parted away and revealed their rental car waiting patiently for them on the dirt road. When they walked up to it, they suddenly got a sense of just how small they were…Mulder was no taller than one of the car’s tires. The huge machine now seemed cold and threatening, instead of providing the familiar comfort that came from its fast and reliable transportation. Mulder stared sadly at it, and balanced up on his hind legs, trying to see if he could reach the door handle.
Forget it, Mulder… Scully sighed matter-of-factly. Even if we could somehow get the door open and figure out how to drive the thing back down the road, we don’t have the keys to start it. They’re back with our clothes.
The statement reminded Mulder of the fact that neither he nor Scully were actually wearing any clothes. He still did not exactly feel naked…it seemed as if the fur on his body was an extra layer the covered the real skin. But it was still funny to think that he and Scully were walking around like a pair of nudists.
We’ll, we’ve found the road… Scully gazed at the dirt path that stretched before them. We’d better get following it, before those insane Cherokees start following us.
Mulder couldn’t agree more. Giving one last glance at their car, he turned and followed Scully as they started down the woodland road.
Merlin: No, no, I’m not a boy, I’m a squirrel…no! I mean, I’m not a squirrel, I’m a boy….
-The Sword in the Stone
It was approaching twilight, and the early evening moon blazed down through the tree branches at a fox and a cat walking side by side just beyond the edge of the road. They were just beginning to approach exhaustion, as they had been walking non-stop through the woods since the early morning. There had been some problems along the way…at one point they had to cross a stream, and Scully had immense trouble in getting herself to even touch the cold water.
Several times Mulder would smell something interesting and go off to look for it, or Scully would hear something else and want to go chase it, and then they would have to remind each other not to become distracted.
Now, they were very tired from the long walk, and were beginning to plod along at a much slower pace. This tiredness was beginning to manifest itself into open irritation.
Mulder, put your tongue back in your mouth! Scully snapped at him. You look ridiculous with it hanging out of the side of your mouth.
Mulder did not appreciate the comment. Well, at least I’m going fast enough to pant…you’re going so slow, we’ll never be able to reach the town in time!
Scully halted momentarily, and indignantly licked the dirt off her paw. Well, perhaps we could get to town sometime soon if a certain somebody wasn’t stopping to mark his territory every five minutes…
What exactly are you saying? Mulder demanded as he lifted his leg beside another tree.
Scully groaned. Oh…we need to stop this. We’re not getting anywhere just bickering. But please…next time you have to pee, please tell me so I can look away quickly.
Mulder shot a glance at the tree he had just marked, and sighed as well. He was not consciously meaning to take on fox behaviors; it just sort of happened. They started back down the path, and didn’t say anything for awhile.
Then Mulder suddenly said, You know what this whole thing reminds me of? It reminds me of that one movie I used to watch when I was little…‘The Adventures of Milo and Otis.’
What?
Didn’t you ever see that movie? Mulder said in a voice that sounded like he was grinning cheekily. These two animals leave their farm home and go out on this journey, and then they want to go home. Milo was the cat, but Otis was a pug, not a fox.
Mulder, all I can say is that I am eternally grateful that you didn’t turn into a pug.
And they met all kinds of other animals, too…the pug had to ride on the back of a sea turtle, and a deer taught the cat how to frolic…
So tell me, Mulder, how does one frolic?
Well, you…hey! Mulder stopped himself as he heard Scully snickering mentally.
Mulder the frolicking fox… Scully mused. Now there’s a frightening thought.
Fox… Mulder looked down at his paws sadly. I always knew that name would get me into trouble some day. I just didn’t imagine that it would go past the extent of bullies teasing me at school.
You were teased at school for being called Fox?
Mm-hmm…I used to imagine that I was a bear or tiger, so that I could rip their limbs off and smash their heads…
Do you suppose that the only animals that the Chief turns people into are small ones? I mean, what if someone became a bear or a tiger? They would definitely be able to take on the Chief, and force him to change them back.
I don’t know…in a moment of panic, a large animal can do some pretty stupid things. You remember how we reacted when we woke up as animals…and we’re used to strange things happening to us.
Scully felt that ‘strange things’ was hardly appropriate for this situation. We knew that the Chief turned the other agents into animals…but what do you suppose they turned into?
Mulder thought for a minute. I don’t know. I think we’re pretty lucky…we got to stay as mammals. Supposing you turned into a different type of creature entirely, like a reptile or a bird?
I actually wouldn’t mind being a bird… She said contentedly. Imagine being able to fly…see the whole world…and it would be next to impossible for the Chief and his warriors to find you.
No, I think the hardest animal to find would be some kind of insect. Heck, you could just stay in the corner of that hut all day and they wouldn’t find you.
An insect is the last thing I would want to be…not to mention it would be the most dangerous form of all. You’d be at the bottom of the food chain; anything could kill you.
Yeah, I suppose… Mulder turned another thought over in his head. What if one of the agents had turned into a type of fish? Would the Chief have put him in a body of water so that he had a fighting chance, of would they have left him to die out on land?
Knowing that man… Scully didn’t finish her sentence. She was still very afraid of the Cherokee and what he had done to her, but this fear was finally beginning to turn into anger at being forced into this strange situation. She growled low in her throat at the thought of that wild man and his blue smoke curse that had left her on all fours. If we ever do get out of this…I’m going to make sure that him and his entire tribe get what they deserve! It’s not enough that they killed those other three agents…we didn’t do anything to them at all, and he had to go and turn us into animals!
Yeah, don’t you hate it when people do that?
Scully rolled her eyes at Mulder. As they continued to walk along, Scully thought that she picked up a faint sound, just barely
whispering through the trees. I think I hear car motors…
Mulder looked up. Me too! We must be finally getting close.
The moon rose higher into the sky as they went on, and the woods grew darker as night settled in. Strangely enough, neither of them felt the usual unsettlement that came from being in the forest at night…it was as if they were at home in this environment. Scully became very adjusted to the darkness, and discovered that she could actually see just as well at night as she could during the day. Any strange sounds or smells that before easily spooked them were now easily identifiable. It was almost comforting to be journeying through the darkened trees, for they knew that the ones looking for them did not have the same advantages that they did.
The sounds of the moving cars became increasingly louder, but they were still soft enough to indicate that they still had aways to go before they reached the town. Looking up at Mulder, Scully could tell that he had caught some kind of scent again. He kept glancing off in one direction and perking up his ears, as if expecting to hear something.
Mulder stopped suddenly, and he perked up as if he were trying to smile. Hey…you smell that?
Scully gave him a tired look. Smell what?
That! Mulder looked as if he were enjoying himself. Come on, follow me!
Before Scully could protest, he sprinted off through the trees. She was tired, and the last thing she wanted to do was follow Mulder off on whatever new trail he caught wind of. He could sometimes catch the scent of something interesting and went off to follow it, and it would take all of her persuading to remind him of their purpose and direction.
Mulder stopped at the top of the large, wooded hill. The hill sloped down to a small house, lighted warmly inside, and with a barn attached. On one side of the house there was a small pen surrounded by chicken wire, containing half a dozen fat hens.
Look! He thought with excitement. Chickens!
Yeah, they probably belong to that farmer down there, She replied. So?
They’re chickens, Mulder repeated, staring at the bawking hens with intensity. Scully noticed it…a hungry gleam in his eye, a hunter’s instinct filling his legs.
Mulder…you’re not thinking of…
Just one or two! We’re both really hungry, and we have good food right here. Why not?
Which reason would you like? She said with a glare. I really don’t feel like chicken right now…the chickens are still alive…or the fact that they AREN’T OURS?
If you didn’t want any, you could have just told me, He huffed. And I’m sure whoever has them won’t miss one. I’m starving…I gotta have some chicken!
Mulder, don’t even think about it! What about all the things you said about using human intelligence instead of…
But Mulder wasn’t listening. He was sneaking quickly down the hill, his eyes fixed on the chicken coop. In just a minute or two, he was down the hill without a sound. MULDER, DON’T! Scully cried to him mentally. Mulder threw her a look and then went back to his hunting. Scully groaned, and watched him nervously. She knew that this couldn’t turn out good…
Mulder snuck through the grass smoothly, his paws making no noise on the soft ground. He was not entirely sure how he was supposed to catch and kill and chicken in the first place, but he decided he would figure that out later. Right now, he was just thinking about the hens in front of him, and how much he was starving, and how good a couple of drumsticks would taste…
As he approached the pen, the chickens sensed his presence and began strutting back and forth nervously. A few of the smarter ones ran for the safety of the hen house. Mulder sniffed around the fence, trying to find a way he could get inside. The wire was too high for him to climb or jump over, and there were no holes big enough for him to squeeze through. There was, however, a spot of loose earth under the corner of the fence, and Mulder got an idea.
The chickens began to bawk loudly and throw a fit as Mulder dug at the loose earth fiercely. He found his paws to be very well suited for shifting dirt, and he flung earth aside with amazing ease. In no time at all, he had a hole just big enough for him to slip through.
Allllright, chickens…Fox Mulder’s here with a fox’s appetite…
The chickens scattered, throwing up a huge ruckus, and somewhat startling Mulder with their defensive ferocity. He attempted a clumsy pounce, but his prey easily evaded him. He kept trying however, kicking up dust, hay, chicken feed and feathers. The more he chased the chickens, the more they scrambled away and the louder they bawked. You stupid birds, hold still! he exclaimed.
A noise from inside the farmhouse suddenly reached Mulder’s ears, and a light was turned on somewhere. It was then that Mulder seemed to snap out of his fox mindset and realize the bad situation he had put himself in.
Mulder! Scully’s voice came from the faraway hill. Mulder, get out of there!
He decided it was a good idea to take her advice. Abandoning the idea of satisfying his appetite, he frantically tried to escape from the pen, getting a little stuck as he squeezed through his self-made hole. He was back outside the fence the moment the farmer emerged from his home.
The big, gray-haired man saw what was going on in an instant, and didn’t waste a second. He cursed, gave a quick glance around him to see if his shotgun was nearby; and seeing that it wasn’t, pulled out his handgun instead. He aimed at the escaping Mulder, hoping that he wouldn’t miss in the dark…
BLAM!
MULDER!
Mulder’s only answer came in the form of a painful bark that was suddenly cut short. Scully wanted to scream, but her cat voice prevented her from doing so, and her horror manifested itself in the erect hairs on her back. The farmer grinned, and went up to retrieve the fox lying on his side in the blood-stained grass.
Noelle: What is this? Is this cat hair?
Dr. Abby Barnes: I’m shedding. I’m extremely nervous.
-The Truth About Cats and Dogs
The woods stood quiet and still, as if standing at attention in the presence of a demanding general. The sound of leaves crunching underfoot signaled the approach of two men, dressed in animal skins and other woven garments. One of them was dressed with extra skins and feathers, and watched the woods with the intensity of a bird of prey. The other Cherokee, wanting to speak, remained silent…he knew his Chief was listening to what the woods were telling him.
“You found something.” Chief Kwandaioha knew exactly what his warrior wanted.
“In the mud to your left,” came the reply. The Chief turned to the left and took a few steps forward. Bending down, he saw what he wanted to see…a few paw tracks side by side lay glaring brilliantly in the dirt. One of the tracks was larger than the other, and had the imprints of claws that couldn’t retract. He smelled around the mud carefully…there was the definite scent of cat hair, and of where a male fox had been busy marking his territory.
The Chief smiled to himself and stood. “They may be animals, but they will always be clumsy with nature,” He said. He turned back to his best warrior, who had already drawn his bow and strung an arrow. He was ready to do his job.
“They cannot be far, the tracks are a few hours fresh. Be patient, Wadaduga…we shall find them all in good time.”
The Two Cherokees nodded their approval of each other, and then continued onwards through the woods, following the small animal tracks on their previous trek.
Peasant: Well, she turned me into a newt!
Benevere: A newt?
Peasant: ……I got better……
-Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail
10:14 P.M.
Scully watched the scene before her with frozen terror, not knowing whether to run to Mulder or stay where she was, whether to meow to him or keep her mouth shut. She only saw the blood on the grass around him, and the fact that he wasn’t moving or speaking. Mulder…please get up… She whispered in a shaky mental voice.
The farmer, meanwhile, was beginning to move towards Mulder, intending to shoot him again if he was still alive and then get rid of the body. He was stopped by a voice in the doorway behind him.
“Ralph! What on earth were you shooting at?”
He turned to see his wife and 14-year-old daughter standing in the door with worried looks. He gave them a tired half-smile. “Nothin’, honey…just some dumb fox trying to make off with a chicken.”
The girl gasped. “You didn’t shoot him, did you dad?” She said,
horrified.
“Yeah, I got the li’l bastard…”
“Oh, how could you!” She scolded, and then rushed past her father to where Mulder lay on the edge of the hill. She fell to her knees beside him, gazing sadly at the still animal.
“Jordan, don’t you go near that thing!” Her mother warned. “It’s a wild animal, you don’t know where it’s been. It could have rabies!”
“Oh, mom, he doesn’t have rabies!” She said, rolling her eyes. “The poor thing was probably just hungry. You didn’t have to shoot him!”
Scully kept herself hidden from the human family, wanting to interfere but afraid of what might happen if she did. Then she suddenly heard Mulder’s mental groan, and saw him twitch a paw. He heart leaped with excitement and hope, filling her body from whiskers to tail with relieved energy.
“Oh look, he’s still alive!” The girl cried. “You only hit him in the back leg. Did you mean to just cripple him, or what?”
The farmer came up to his daughter, and looked down in slight disgust. “No…I just couldn’t see in the dark.”
Scully… Mulder called to her painfully. Scully…help me…
Mulder, don’t worry! She called back, thankful to hear his voice in her head. I’ll…
“Can I fix him up?” Jordan suddenly cried, her voice excited. “I’ve been studying woodland mammals, I bet I could do as good a job as Kate Thurlow! Can I please?”
The farmer looked disapprovingly at Jordan. “I know how much you want to become a vet, dear, but I don’t want that dirty thing in the house! Especially after it tried to steal a chicken.”
“I could give a million reasons why a fox is cleaner than a chicken,” She protested. “I’ll keep him in my room, and if he messes it up then I’ll clean it up. Once I fix him, I’ll let him free and he’ll never come near those stinky ol’ chickens again!”
Scully! Mulder was just beginning to get over his shock, and he tried to lift his head in her direction. Where are you, I need help…
Scully didn’t answer him. She listened to the arguments the girl gave to her father, and hoped that she would be allowed to heal Mulder’s wound. She knew that this would probably be the only way Mulder could get treatment.
“Fine…” the farmer shook his head, not believing he was doing this. “Fine, you can fix him up, or whatever. But it doesn’t leave your room, and if it ever goes near the chickens again I’ll shoot it for good!”
“Oh, thank you, dad!” Jordan exclaimed with a broad smile. “I’ll take care of him…I’ll work on him all night, and he’ll be better in the morning!”
The two parents went to go back in the house. The mother turned around and added, “But you better be extremely careful! If that thing scratches or bites you, I’ll insist you get rid of it immediately!”
“You won’t bite, will you?” She cooed to Mulder.
I’ll bite you if you talk to me like a baby! He warned back, looking back up at the girl with frightened eyes.
Mulder, she’ll help you! Scully called from the trees. You have to get that wound healed! Just go with it, I’ll be right by you!
That guy shot me… He groaned, as if he could hardly believe it himself.
Just…don’t get excited, don’t struggle. Show her you’re tame, you’re safe, and you’ll be alright…
Mulder tried to listen to Scully’s distant instructions, although his instincts were telling him to run and kick and bite and defend himself from this being that might hurt him more. The girl carefully wrapped her jacket around Mulder and lifted him from the ground. In doing so, she twisted his shot leg slightly, and he yelped in pain. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you,” She apologized.
Then watch what you’re doing!
Mulder felt himself rise suddenly, and he was surprised by how high he felt even though he was no higher than the girl. She cradled him while at the same time keeping a safe distance from him, and Mulder could only hope that she knew what she was doing, and he could get out of this with all four legs in tact…
As the girl went back to her house, continuously babying Mulder with soothing words, Scully followed not far behind. She knew that she couldn’t follow into the house, but she could wait outside and watch what happened, as long as the girl’s room had a window.
Mulder kept as still as he could, and held his breath as he entered the house. He didn’t have time to observe his surroundings though, as he was whisked away to Jordan’s bedroom and locked inside.
Scully reached the house and peered through the window into Jordan’s bedroom, balancing herself on a barrel against the side of the house. Still wrapped in the jacket, Mulder was set down on a large, somewhat half-cluttered table. He whimpered a little, letting his nose tell him what was in the room.
Jordan brought forth a plate with some food on it. “I have some leftovers from dinner…we had pork chops and potatoes and some other vegetable stuff. But I bet you just want the pork chops.”
Food?! I don’t care what it is, lay it on me!
Jordan set the plate of leftovers in front of him, and Mulder immediately dug in, almost forgetting about his broken leg. Scully watched, and feeling the grumble in her own belly, felt a little bit jealous that Mulder was getting a meal. However, she knew that he would need the food more than she did, and she decided not to torture herself with the situation.
In five minutes flat, Mulder had licked the plate clean. He had a little trouble figuring out how to eat at first, since he couldn’t use his paws, and his mouth and teeth were shaped differently. His hunger drove him to figure out this problem, however, and he was very satisfied.
“Weird…I didn’t think you’d like the veggies…” Jordan mused. She retrieved a large box and a book from under her bed, and Mulder became nervous again. “Alright…sorry I don’t have a sedative, little guy, but you’ll have to be strapped down. It may hurt, and if you bite me mom said I had to kick you out, and we can’t have that.”
Hey, wait, strapped down?! No, I won’t bite or scratch, I’ll sit very still if you just fix my leg and don’t treat me like an animal!
But Mulder’s pleas were in vain, and he inwardly knew that as long as he looked like a fox he was going to be treated like one. He let out a sad sigh and put his head between his paws. Just deal with it, Mulder…as long as you get your leg fixed, it’ll be alright… He told himself.
Scully watched Mulder being treated inside, and she sighed as well. She decided that she should try and get some sleep as well…she wasn’t going to be much of a help to Mulder sitting up watching him on the “operating table.” If Mulder made any noise, she could wake up instantly and figure out what was going on. She curled herself into a ball on top of the barrel, and set her head down on top of her tail.
Scully reflected over the oddity of having this tail in the first place…the strangeness of the whole situation. It was amazing how quickly she had gotten used to being in a cat’s body. She had to admit, there were many advantages…she was much more powerful, flexible, agile, and able to perform physical feats that would shame the best acrobats. Her heightened senses made her more aware of everything around her, from her whiskers to her hearing to her eyesight. It was wonderful to be able to see in the dark, identify something just by smell, and hear the sound of insects landing on the grass. She had to admit, she enjoyed having this tail, too. But she would trade all these advantages for opposable thumbs and the ability to speak any day.
If we ever get out of this…I’ll never take thumbs for granted again…
Ginger: You mean you weren’t the pilot?
Fowler: Good heavens, no! I’m a chicken! The Royal Air Force doesn’t allow chickens behind the controls of complex aircraft!
-Chicken Run
The next morning….
Scully woke feeling less than rested. She had slept, but not well…she kept waking up in the middle of the night at the slightest noise, and when she was awake she felt bounding with energy. She wanted to hunt, to run, to explore, to meow at the top of her voice. About halfway into it all she realized what her problem was…cats were most active at night; they were practically nocturnal. This had definitely been a setback, for she realized that she was going to want to sleep for the rest of the day, and she needed to be awake and alert.
Peering in through the window, she saw Mulder was up and about as well. Apparently, the farmer’s daughter made a pretty good vet. Mulder was walking fine on all four legs, and he had nothing but a bandage on. He was busy exploring Jordan’s room now, and Jordan was watching him and talking to him. The strange thing was that she seemed to be talking to him differently…
“I told you I’d fix your leg up! Don’t worry about dad, he just likes to shoot stuff. If he really cared about those chickens he’d feed them more often.”
Mulder responded with a single yap. Then he tried to lick at the bandage on his leg.
“Now, don’t go biting that thing off, it’s supposed to stay on for awhile. Maybe a day or so.”
At that moment, there was a knock on the bedroom door. Mulder perked up his ears and then jumped onto the table so it looked like he was being a good fox.
Jordan’s mother stepped into the room and gave her daughter a smile. “At least your room hasn’t turned into a pigpen overnight. How is your little patient doing?”
“Oh, he’s doing fine. It wasn’t as bad as I thought; dad didn’t even break the bone. He probably reacted so strongly because it shocked him.”
“Have you thought of a name for him yet?”
“Yeah…his name is Mulder.”
Her mother raised her eyebrows. This title was coming from the same person who named her rabbits ‘Fluffy’ and her birds ‘Chirpy.’ “Mulder? Where on earth did you get a name like that?”
“He told me that was his name.”
Jordan’s mother choked on her surprise. She got over it quickly and laughed, hoping her daughter didn’t think she actually fell for that joke. “Really? How did he tell you that?”
“See, look,” Jordan turned to the computer on her desk. Mulder watched her from his own position as she opened a word-processing document. On the document were written three lines:
im not a fox
im an fbi agent
my name is mulder
“He typed that,” Jordan said, “And I’m waiting for him to get around to typing more.”
Her mother was not impressed. “Very funny, Jordan. Now tell me, seriously, how did you think of that name?”
“I am being serious! She protested. “Why would I make it up?”
“See here, what’s all the commotion?” The farmer himself entered the bedroom alongside his wife.
When Mulder saw the farmer, his attitude changed and his body became tighter. He marched over to the computer and began to type once again. He did so very carefully, by pressing his claws against one key at a time. The two adults were completely speechless as Mulder angrily typed:
you can be arrested for shooting an agent
Their reaction to his message was less than helpful. Both parents began yelling at Jordan and to each other, and Mulder realized that he had done something very wrong.
“How…how did he do that?! He…”
“Quickly, catch him, we have to contain him…”
“No don’t touchit, it could be dangerous!…”
“Dangerous, the fox knows English! He could make us some money!”
“But how can…that’s not possible, I mean…”
The farmer made a desperate lunge, and Mulder leaped away just in time. Then Mulder was running, darting between the legs of the three people in the room that were all trying to get their hands on him. The bedroom was turned into a hurricane, with people yelling, scrambling, and Mulder barking.
The farmer barely got ahold of Mulder’s tail at one moment, be he was just able to get out before the man got more of a grip. Scrambling desperately, Mulder headed out the open bedroom door. Spotting an open window, Mulder leaped through, finding himself outside the house. As he regained himself, he saw Scully running towards him from the other side of the house.
Scully, come on, we have to get out of here!
Mulder…
Come on, just run!
Mulder sprinted for the woods, and Scully groaned and followed. Desperate to get away from the farmhouse, Mulder ran for a good couple of minutes before he finally slowed down and let Scully catch up to him.
Scully sucked in breath and glared at her partner. Mulder, what on earth do you think you were doing?!
I was trying to get away before they did something to me…
No, I mean what were you doing in there! Trying to type out words to them…you were just asking for trouble with that.
Mulder answered sadly, I was just trying to communicate with them…they could have let us stay in their house, and we would have been safe from the Chief’s warriors for the rest of the day.
Not likely! And supposing those warriors tracked us to that house? Then we’d be endangering that family as well as ourselves.
Mulder was quiet for awhile. He started to walk forward again, and Scully trotted along beside him. She wasn’t through with her scolding yet. And then in the first place, when you were trying to catch a chicken…you weren’t listening to your human “intelligence” at all! You nearly got yourself killed, and then had me waiting outside the whole night worried sick about you…
Just…forget about it, Mulder said, not wanting to admit that Scully was right. At least we got out alright.
And we have one more day left of this nightmare…too long for me, Scully sighed. But please…no matter what else happens, stick to the philosophy that you first told me.
We both need to, you realize, Mulder responded. We’re both susceptible to these lapses of…of whatever that was.
Animal instinct.
Mulder did not respond. He gave one last glance in the direction of the farmhouse, considering all that had gone on. His leg did feel much better…he wished that he could thank the girl for her kindness towards him. It was the first time in a long time he had seen any.
Henry Limpet: What if I told you I used to be a human being?
Ladyfish: I don’t care how terrible your past was, Limpet.
-The Incredible Mr. Limpet
Why do you suppose this town isn’t a coastal town?
Why on earth would you ask a question like that?
Because this town has the same name as shark bait, so you’d figure it’d be a coastal town…
Mulder, first of all, I’m sure whoever named this town didn’t have “shark bait” in mind. And secondly, “chum” doesn’t just mean shark bait; it’s the fish itself. Also, it can mean “friend.”
But that’s British, like “old chum.” This isn’t a British town.
Mulder, who cares if it’s a fish or shark bait or British? It’s just a name!
Perhaps it’s British shark bait…
Scully groaned mentally, but she knew why Mulder was trying to keep a conversation going, no matter how pointless it was. They were both rather nervous, and needed something to distract themselves from their anxiety. After another hour or so of walking, they had finally arrived back at the town of Chum, with its large buildings, busy streets and working people. All of which seemed large and dangerous to Mulder and Scully. Scully also realized a new problem…she herself could blend in fine with the city, and be passed off as a stray cat. But Mulder was not a domestic animal, and people would pay attention to him if he were spotted. Which meant they had to make sure that practically no one saw them.
So they were keeping to the backs of buildings and alleys for protection. This might have been useful if Chum had been a larger city with more alleys and passages, but the town was fairly small, so there weren’t many places to hide.
They turned into a small passage inbetween two unknown buildings, and could see just beyond it the hot pavement of the street. Scully stopped and began to instinctively lick her shoulder. It’s the street again…we can’t keep going like this. We’re either going to have to cross the street or go back the way we came.
Neither of those options seemed acceptable to the two animal agents. They stood in the middle of the alley, neither of them communicating. Then Mulder turned his nose towards the sky, as if smelling something on the air. Perhaps if we tried the rooftops…
Huh?
If we can find a way to get up to the roof-top, we can stay up there for practically the rest of the day. Nobody will see us up there, and the Chief’s warriors will probably be unable to catch us.
The idea seemed logical, but somehow Scully still didn’t like it. She wasn’t exactly sure why…she figured a fox would have more problems with heights than a cat. Perhaps it was because the buildings were so much larger when she was at this height. But she did not want to climb up to the rooftop of any building.
Mulder, I…
What, don’t you think it’s a good idea?
Yes, I do…I just don’t know if I can deal with getting up there.
Mulder understood. Look, we’ll go find a spot that will somehow get us to the roof, and I’ll go up first. If I can do it then so can you; you’re more agile than I am.
No, ummm…don’t worry about that. Just look around for any place we can get up. I’ll stay here, and you can come back and get me when you find it.
You sure you want to stay here by yourself?
Yeah, I’ll be fine…I just need to rest for awhile, I’m really tired.
Mulder seemed hesitant to leave her alone, but he finally complied with her wishes. Oh…fine. I won’t be gone very long; even if I don’t find anything I’ll be back soon. Mulder left the alley and trotted off behind the building they had just passed.
Scully sighed, and began to lick herself vigorously. Even though she was telling herself it was disgusting, she could hardly stop herself, the desire to clean was so strong. She was so intent on making her fur spotless that she didn’t even detect another presence in front of her until she was staring it in the face.
It was another cat. A big, black-and-brown male cat with yellow eyes and a tail that twitched nervously. Scully just stared back, completely startled at this creature’s sudden appearance. The cat sniffed at her, investigating her with curiosity. Scully decided to try and communicate…it would be interesting to have a conversation with an actual cat. She gave a meow that mentally meant “hello.”
The cat sat up straight, as if startled by the declaration she had made. Then he gave another meow…only it didn’t register as words in Scully’s mind. It was more of an emotion felt in her head and her chest, and whatever this cat had said to her suddenly made her very afraid…
A sound to her left made her spin in surprise. She saw two more cats, both of them male, appear from behind a pile of boxes and trash cans. They were scrawny and ragged, and definitely didn’t look like your friendly housecats. She was just beginning to wonder why she hadn’t heard or smelled these animals before when even more cats appeared on all sides of her.
And suddenly, Scully found herself surrounded by almost nine big, male, alley cats. She stood perfectly still as the cats moved in towards her with intentions that made her heart thunder. She could feel the hair on her back stand up in an unconscious effort to make herself look bigger. Leave me alone! She meowed nervously.
A low growl came from the biggest cat’s throat, causing Scully to back away. She jumped again as another cat behind her swiped at her tail with his claws. She began to dodge back and forth as alley cats everywhere swiped and hissed at her, all the while making the circle tighter.
Mulder! Scully cried mentally. Mulder, I need help!
A cat pounced in front of her, growling low, and Scully hissed back. She felt her entire body turn to steel, ready to fight off all nine of these things if she had to use all nine of her lives. However, she also felt a great fear building up in her. Mulder!!
Suddenly, another cat from behind jumped onto her back and hooked his arms around her body. Scully felt her gut spark with shock, and she reacted violently. Letting out an angry yowl, she spun around fast and raked her claws across the male’s face.
The cat leaped off her, pawing at the blood that spouted from its nose. Scully growled at the cat, but her growl was reduced to a whimper as the other alley cats showed their teeth and claws, ready to settle the score.
Suddenly there came another low growling, but it was too loud and deep to have come from a cat. The entire party of animals turned to the sound, and found themselves looking at a very angry Fox Mulder. Even Scully was frightened by her appearance, with his lip curled back and his very sharp teeth showing. The gang of cats all froze in surprise, knowing that they were facing a bigger predator now.
Mulder began barking furiously and charged into the group, scattering them in all directions. With just a few more yaps and snarls, all the alley cats disappeared into whatever hideaways they had come from, too cowardly to stand up to just one fox.
When Mulder quit his barking, he came up to Scully, who remained rooted to the ground, shaking. Scully, are you alright? I’m sorry I left, I…
Scully was still trying to get over the shock of nearly being gang-raped by a bunch of cats. She hardly even noticed Mulder’s presence, although she was eternally grateful for it. They… She whispered hoarsely, sucking in breath.
It’s okay, they’re gone… Mulder comforted her, putting his head on her shoulder.
The realization of what had just happened finally hit Scully, and she plunged into a frenzy. No, I gotta get outta here, they could come back…
It’s okay, Scully, just settle down…
No, we have to leave! She cried again. In a burst of energy, Scully leaped away from Mulder and sprinted from the alley. Her paws barely touched the ground as she ran across the street, her mind whirling.
SCULLY!!!
Scully heard the truck before she saw it. An ear-splitting sound that she vaguely remembered as a car horn echoed in her large ears, and caused her mind to come to a screeching halt. She twisted her head and caught a glimpse of the hot, black, rubber wall of a tire hurtling towards her at 40 mph. Her entire world consisted of sounds…the honk of the horn, the tires burning away the hot asphalt, Mulder’s voice ringing between her ears…
Scully was not entirely sure what happened next. The sensation of sound turned into hot, black hardness on all sides, pressing her against the asphalt, churning her insides with their ferocity. She was trapped within this angry world for only a moment, still feeling herself running, as if she were unable to put on the brakes herself. Then she was spinning in harsh light again, bouncing as if someone had kicked her forcefully. She felt her body land with her back on the asphalt and her feet in the air.
She didn’t dare to move, or even open her eyes. She was certain that truck had run over her, and that every bone in her body had been crushed, and that if she dared to move she’d give up her last breath.
Instead, she just breathed, and listened to the sounds around her. She heard the truck screech to a halt, and then the doors slam as whoever had been driving got out. Then she could make out two voices, both of them men’s….
“Why weren’t you watching the road, Carl?!”
“Look, stop barking, it’s alive, okay?”
“Well then, hurry up and get the net!”
“Aw, not this again…”
“Just do it!”
Scully moaned slightly. She was not yet over her shock, but she was beginning to get a sense that she was indeed still alive and her body was still in tact. She listened for Mulder’s voice in her head, but she couldn’t seem to hear him…
When suddenly, she became alive again as she felt something swish down over her body and wrap itself around her. Her heart leaped with panic as some thin, wiry mesh covered her face and then yanked her from the ground forcefully. She clawed at the mesh fiercely, but only managed to tangle herself more. Within moments she was completely wrapped within a thin-wire net and dangling precariously in the air. The net turned, and she saw the face of a man dressed in a green-blue uniform, smiling at her as if he were her best friend. “Don’t worry, kitty…” He said in a soothing tone. “We’re going to find you a good home.”
Scully panicked. She wriggled fiercely writhing the net, knowing that her efforts were futile and that she was only tangling herself more. No wait, I’m not a cat! I’m a human being, I’m an FBI agent! Please, just let me out, I’m not a cat! She exclaimed her protests in her head, but they came out of her mouth as sad meows.
“Poor thing’s frightened to death…let’s hurry back.”
“I’m telling you, Kelly is going to chew us out big time for this…”
Scully felt herself glide along in the air in the net, and was suddenly plunged from the brilliant outside sunlight to a dark, musty, confining room. The entire room smelled completely of animal fur and sweat and cold metal. Before she had a chance to get her bearings and figure out where she was, the net was jerked and twisted against something hard. Somehow, Scully fell loose of the tangles and landed on a solid, mesh surface that hurt her paws. When she looked up again, she saw herself surrounded by the angry, thin wires of a cage.
Please don’t do this, I’m not a cat! Mulder! Please tell them…
The men secured her inside the cage, ignoring her pleading meows, and finally shut the door of the truck behind him. The room was dark except for a single bulb which gave off a weak, dirty light. Through the bars Scully could see more cages, most of them empty. But there were a few with a small cat or dog inside. These animals hardly seemed to notice her, and if they did look at her it was only with vacant stares.
As she stared at the wire-mesh bars of this cage she had been placed in, Scully felt the first pieces of her humanity whither away.
Mulder watched the entire event from the end of the alley…from Scully nearly being run over by the truck to the two men who had come out and picked her up. He was at first too shocked at Scully’s near-death to react, but he was galvanized into action the moment he read the words on the side of the truck:
CITY OF CHUM ANIMAL SHELTER
Ooooooh damn…
The two men got back into the front of the truck and started the engine up. Mulder’s mind raced, trying to think of a way to stop the vehicle before it left, but by then it was too late. The animal shelter truck slid down the street, away from Mulder.
But he wasn’t going to give up that easily. He raced out of the alley and followed the truck as it sped down the street. He used all four legs vigorously, taking full advantage of his advanced muscles, and thanked heaven that foxes were excellent runners. He followed the vehicle as best as he could, at least not letting the truck out of his sight, and prayed that he would be able to hold out running until they reached the animal shelter…..
Izma: What? A llama?! He’s supposed to be dead!!
Kronk: Yeah….weird….
-The Emperor’s New Groove
15 minutes later…
Scully was having difficulty keeping herself calm. Her heart was skipping like a stone in her chest and her ears were filled with the sounds all around her. Primarily there were just barking dogs, something that automatically made her want to run herself up the nearest tree.
But what frightened her the most were the voices of the uniformed men that were carrying her down this corridor of cages…they sounded argumentative, and one sounded annoyed.
“If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times, Williams…don’t bring strays into the shelter! Kittens are okay, but not adult cats!”
“Sir, I nearly ran over the poor thing with my truck!”
“I know, but that still doesn’t excuse it. The fact of the matter is, it’s an adult cat. Kittens are okay because they can be adopted and easily adjust to home life. Cats that have grown up on the streets are already adjusted to living that way; they wouldn’t do well in a home with a family. We’ll have to give this thing all its shots, completely scan and clean for disease, injuries and worms, and then it’s difficult to spay or neuter an adult…
Spay or neuter?!!?!
“And supposing this cat is pregnant? Then we’ve got even more problems.”
“So what are you saying, sir?”
“We’ve got two choices here. We can either go through the shots and scans and operations and then put the thing up for adoption, or…we’ll have to put it to sleep.”
What?!!
“Sir, is that choice really necessary?”
“I’m afraid so. This shelter can barely accommodate more animals as it is, and the streets are too full of stray cats and dogs to have one more rummaging through someone’s trash.”
Don’t do that! Scully meowed. What do I have to do to show you that I’m human?!
“Can’t we at least talk this over before we make any hasty decisions?…”
The worker’s boss seemed irritated. “We’ll see.”
The man who had been holding Scully suddenly stooped down, and she saw that they had stopped in front of one of the cages. Inside was one adult cat and three kittens. They regarded her with only slight interest.
The cage door was opened, and Scully was gently thrown inside. She looked back at the worker who had caught her with pleading sadness, and he looked back at her with sympathy. Then the door was closed and the men left, leaving her alone somewhere in the depths of the Chum Animal Shelter.
Scully paced back and forth from one end of the cage to the other, kicking the wooden shavings aside with her paws. She absolutely abhorred the feeling of being in a cage…she felt closed, hated, completely dehumanized. She didn’t have the freedom to go where she wished when she wished; she was confined to these four dirty walls. She felt like a criminal, like she was being jailed for a crime she didn’t commit.
Mulder…wherever you are, at least you’re not here…
Pretty soon, Scully became tired of pacing, and she sat down and stared through the bars blankly. She wondered how long she would have to stay here before she lost her humanity completely…
A smell and a feeling at her side caused her to turn suddenly. She found one of the kittens sniffing at her side curiously. It was an orange tabby with big turquoise eyes, and Scully couldn’t help but think that it looked cute.
Hey kitten, She said mentally. She didn’t dare to use her cat voice now after what had happened before. The kitten seemed to grin at her and nuzzled its cheek against her side.
Nice to meet you, too. You should go play with your friends now.
But the kitten wouldn’t leave her alone. It purred and continued to cuddle against her, trying to be as loving as possible. Scully tried to scoot away from the kitten, but it followed her still. Scully could hardly tear herself away from those big turquoise eyes anyway. Look, I’m not your mother! I’m not even a cat, I’m a human being! Why are you so interested in me?
The kitten answered with even stronger purrs.
Scully stopped a moment, and then sighed. Well…at least you’re happy that I’m here… She laid herself down and put her head between her paws, tired and frustrated. The kitten snuggled down next to her contentedly. Scully had to smile inwardly…there was nothing like resting cuddled up with a kitten to make you feel better.
But not that much better.
Mulder stared up at the solid gray wall before him wearily, his tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. He was not sure how far or how long he had chased the truck, but he did know that he was on the edge of exhaustion. The truck had gone around to the back of the shelter, so Mulder figured he’d better head that way as well. The building itself didn’t seem that friendly at all. It was unpainted concrete with practically no windows, oddly dissimilar from the rest of the buildings of Chum. The slate-gray door in front of him was very intimidating, and Mulder hated feeling so small and helpless against something so common. Inside he could hear all kinds of strange animal sounds, including some that he couldn’t quite identify as dog or cat.
I’ve got to go in there…as long as Scully is in there, I have to go.
Luckily for Mulder, the door was not as big as a problem as he first perceived – it had been left open slightly. It was enough for him to fit his nose through, and with that he was able to squeeze through his head and then the rest of his body.
Inside, it was much too cold and bright for his liking. the floor felt cold and bad against his paws, and even worse, they caused his claws to produce a loud clicking noise. So much for sneaking in as quietly as possible…
And the noise was about to become much louder. As he stepped a few steps down the hallway, he suddenly met with the first row of cages. And every single dog, small and large, young and old, spotted Mulder and began barking their heads off.
Mulder flattened his ears against his head and cringed at the avalanche of barks, growls and howls that reached him. He showed his teeth angrily at the cages and snarled, You stupid dogs, shut up! The men will come!
But the dogs just became even louder. Mulder walked around in circles, suddenly confused by the encircling echoes of barking and scratching. He was angry, tired, frustrated and just wanting to find Scully…
“HEY!”
A human voice raised up above the clamor, and Mulder froze as a uniformed worker stood tall and menacing before him. For a moment, Mulder was too shocked to run away from the man moving towards him quickly. Then he turned tail and darted back down the hall, sliding and clicking on the smooth floor.
“Hey, stop!” The worker called ot him as he skidded around a corner.
That’s the last thing I’m planning on doing… He thought. Mulder was just barely able to keep ahead of the worker as he dashed past cages with barking dogs, all the while scanning them for a familiar gray cat. The man chasing him kept shouting at nobody in particular to stop that fox, but nobody seemed to be listening to him. Mulder was just about beginning to think that he might actually be caught when he spied a door that was cracked open. He squeezed himself inside, hoping that there would be someplace he could hide…
…When he suddenly found himself face-to-face with a huge, snarling, gray-and-brown wolf.
Mulder yelped and leaped backwards in surprise, instinctively turning his head so that he wouldn’t be looking into the eyes of the wolf. A few moments and quick sniffs told him that no hot blood flowed through this creature’s body…the wolf was dead.
At first Mulder was puzzled as to why a dead wolf would appear so lifelike. Then, as he looked closer, he noticed an odd glaze over the wolf’s eyes and glue-like stiffness in its body. The thing was stuffed.
Mulder felt his blood run cold. The entire room he had just entered was filled with stuffed and mounted animals…racoons, deer, pheasants, hawks, weasels, armadillos and various birds, lizards and rodents. The thing that really caught Mulder’s attention was the female fox on the table above him, cut open and half-stuffed.
What the hell is a taxonomy center doing in an animal shelter?!!
Mulder twisted his head as he heard the door open behind him. He was frantic for a moment…and then an idea leaped into his head.
Scully watched the worker and his boss walk towards her cage, although she could only see their shoes. She shivered, and huddled closer to the orange tabby kitten that had adopted her as its mother. She knew that whatever fate they had decided for her would be the end of her completely…either to die now or spend the rest of her life as somebody’s pet cat. And neither choice sounded too appealing.
“Sir, I still strongly disagree with you on this…” the worker said in a sad voice.
“I’m tired of debating this with you Williams…let’s just get this over with.”
Oh no…
“I wish you wouldn’t put it like that…”
The kitten suddenly woke up and scrambled away as the men approached, sensing impending danger. Scully felt her hair rising again, and she curled herself into a ball in the corner of the cage, shivering.
The worker bent down, and she met him eye to eye. His face was sad, sympathetic, and somewhat angry. “Here, kitty kitty kitty…come on, we’re just going to get a little shot, it won’t hurt…”
Scully hissed dangerously as the worker’s hands moved towards her, and barred her claws. The man paused, but under the glare of his employer, started to move forward again. You keep away from me! Scully warned, swiping her claws at the worker. In a quick thrust, the hand shot out and grabbed Scully by the scruff of her neck. She fought back with all of her might…she hissed and bit and scratched and spit, but all her struggling didn’t seem to be doing any good. You can’t do this to me! Just give me a computer, a piece of paper, anything, so I can show you I’m human! Don’t do this to me!!
Without a word, the worker and boss started back down the hall, passing rows and rows of cages, all of them filled with dogs and cats and sometimes rodents. Scully glanced behind at the cage she had just left, and saw the orange tabby kitten watching her go with a tearful look. Scully herself was pressed tightly against the man’s chest, held by the neck and body so that she couldn’t get away. She could feel her own heart thundering away in her chest, as if it was at least trying to escape from what was coming.
“Poor thing…it feels like this cat is about to have a heart attack.”
“It’s just a cat. It doesn’t know what we’re doing.”
You mean I wish I didn’t know what you were doing! Scully wailed miserably. What did I do to deserve this? Just by being a cat it’s okay to kill me?!
She wished desperately that these people could understand what she was saying, but there was no hope in getting out of this with her thoughts alone. So she continued to try and struggled against them, squirming and scratching.
She fought all the way to the end of the hall, where the worker and the employer entered into another room. Inside there were two more men, and a table with a few frightening-looking tools. To Scully, it reminded her of her own autopsy bays. Only this time she was the one on the table.
Of all the ways I thought it could end…this certainly never came to mind…
“Quick shot and this will be over with,” The head man said. “We’ve got other things to do today.”
Scully watched as the men filled a syringe with a clearish liquid from a small bottle, and tap the syringe to get out the air bubbles. She wanted desperately to scream, to cry, but she couldn’t get tears to form under her eyes. She was forced down onto the table, and held by two pairs of arms so that she couldn’t squirm. Another person pulled back the gray fur on her neck, exposing bare skin. Scully shut her eyes tightly, anticipating the horrid needle that was coming to pierce her skin…
“Wait!” The worker’s voice suddenly halted the torture she was suspended in. She felt herself lifted from the table and squeezed against the man’s chest. Her heartbeat tripled and yet slowed as he stroked her furiously. “We can’t do this!”
“Williams, you can’t…”
“Look sir, I cam to work at this shelter to help animals, not to kill them!” The worker protested, scratching behind Scully’s ears. Although she wanted to escape, she was completely entranced by this wonderfully soothing feeling of being stroked… And of being alive…
“There’s no reason for us to kill this creature. If you don’t think anyone else will adopt it, then I will!”
“Williams!…”
“I’ll even pay for the shots and the operations. Just don’t kill it now.”
Scully was loving what she was hearing, and thanked her lucky stars that this man had saved her from lethal injection. As he continued to stroke her, his grip on her loosened a little, allowing her a bit more room to twist and squirm. Before the man even realized what was happening, she leaped from his grip and landed smoothly on the floor, only to proceed to sprint out of the room as fast as her legs could carry her.
“Stop her!”
But Scully was free, and faster than the human eye, and nobody could stop her now. She was so happy to be alive she thought she could burst, and she wanted to run forever. As she ran, she picked up the sound of lots of dogs barking, making her feel slightly nervous…
When she rounded a corner, and found herself face to face with a familiar red fox.
Mulder!
Scully!
The reunited agents said each others’ names at the same time, and nuzzled noses against each other in some attempt to hug.
You have no idea what almost happened to me…
I think I do!
The sound of running footsteps echoed within the barking and howling, and they turned to see all of the workers scrambling towards them. Let’s get out of here.
Scully couldn’t have agreed more. She and Mulder ran past the forest of cages and doors all the way to the exit in the back, and squeezed outside the building. The workers chasing them never had a chance.
Scully laughed and sighed at the same time the moment they were outdoors. She was free from her cage and her treatment as an animal…and she understood how freedom was such a wonderful feeling, no matter what kind of creature you were. The two of them gave a final backwards glance at the animal shelter before running back into the depths of the town.
Once they were a safe distance from the shelter, they slowed and then stopped to catch her breath. Mulder sighed heavily and panted, glad to be able to rest after running for what seemed like years.
Well…I guess it’s just one thing after another when you’re an animal.
How did you know where to find me? Scully asked.
I followed the truck all the way to the shelter. Really wore me out. But when I got there, I went looking for you, and this guy started chasing me. He chased me into this taxonomy center…
Taxonomy center?!
Don’t ask. Anyway, I thought he had me cornered, but I pretended I was stuffed and mounted, like this. Mulder paused, and put one paw in the air and stiffened his tail as if he were a frozen statue. Scully laughed somewhat. And the guy never even noticed me! I guess he thought that a fox wouldn’t be smart enough to do that…but I outfoxed him!
Ha ha, very funny.
Are you alright? I mean, I saw them put you in the van, and then I don’t know what they did to you…
Scully took a deep breath. They…tried to kill me. But one of the workers stopped them, and I barely escaped…
Mulder’s hair bristled. Kill you! Why?
I don’t know! Just because…I wasn’t wanted.
Mulder nuzzled her again. I’d say you’re worlds more than “not wanted.” If they had killed you…I don’t know what…
Let’s just leave, Scully said. Let’s go hide somewhere for awhile, and rest. I’m so tired, we’ve done nothing but run and fight and run all day.
Alright…we’ll go find someplace, and we’ll stay for awhile.
The two began walking down the street again, along the side of the road. They no longer cared if somebody saw them; if they were spotted they could always resume running. They were now in an unfamiliar part of the town, with nowhere to go and no concept of how far away they were from their original position. They had nothing to do except wander aimlessly, glancing up at the cold buildings with their nondescript smells.
Hey, look, Mulder nodded over in the direction of one old house that stood squeezed inbetween the video store and the liquor store. It looked like it had been one of the older buildings of the town, and had simply been left as some forgotten relic. The thing that caught Mulder’s attention, however, was the cave-like area under the house, from where part of the foundation had collapsed. I bet it’s really cool under there, and we’ll be well hidden.
Sure… Scully said wearily. The two of them trotted slowly towards the house. At least the Chief’s warriors haven’t caught us yet…and soon the day will be over, and we can go back to the village and become human again!
Then after we rest, we’d better start back soon, if we want to get back by nightfall.
Scully was quiet for a minute. Mulder could feel a tenseness flowing through her nerves. He turned to look at her worriedly. Scully?…
Mulder, what if they intercept us on the way back? Scully blurted out. What if this entire past two days they’ve just been circling the village, and catch us as we go in? I’m so afraid there’s been a catch to this entire “curse” thing…what if this is it? This could be a no-win situation for us.
We have to at least try to get back, Mulder responded. You don’t want to stay a cat for the rest of your life, do you?
Scully didn’t answer. She just walked slowly with Mulder underneath the floor of the house. Underneath it was very cool and pleasant, and the dirt felt soft against their paws. Completely exhausted, Scully collapsed onto the soft dirt and curled herself into a ball. Mulder laid down beside her, putting his head next to hers and snuggling as close to her as possible.
Just a little longer… He said quietly, breathing into her hair. Just a little longer, and everything will be fixed.
Scully still didn’t answer. Her face looked sad to Mulder, or as sad as a cat’s face could look. Yet at the same time, he felt a soft rumbling coming from somewhere around her stomach, vibrating ever so slightly against his own side. He looked confusedly at where the rumbling was coming from, and then back at her. Scully…are you purring?
Hmmm? Oh… Scully seemed surprised, and then suddenly realized the buzzing sound she was producing. It didn’t even realize I was doing it. Amazing…
It feels nice… Mulder said contentedly.
Mulder, I… Scully’s voice sounded like she was on the verge of tears.
What’s the matter?
I…Mulder, I don’t feel human anymore.
Well of course you don’t, you’re…
No, I mean…when I first woke up as a cat, I still felt like I was human. That was why I was so disoriented, I couldn’t function in an animal’s body. But now I’ve become used to it… too used to it. I’m starting to forget… how to be human.
Mulder didn’t answer.
I can hardly remember anything, now that I think about it…how to walk on two legs, how to write or read, where I used to live…I can’t even remember my parent’s names! She said, sounding like she was starting to cry. I feel like I’ve been a cat whole life…my parents were cats, my brothers, sister kittens…
Scully, you’re skipping words, Mulder interrupted. You forgot say…
It’s happening! Scully wailed. It happening to both of us! I can’t speak right! We losing our minds, Mulder…you remember about before you were a fox?
Mulder shut his eyes tight, as if in pain. No…can’t remember. Can’t remember anything from before. Not wanted to tell you, not wanted to scare you…
This is the catch, Mulder… She said sorrowfully. What if other agents never returned to village because they not remember they were human? Their animal minds took over before second night came, and same thing is happening to us…we’re turning all animal.
That can’t happen, not now…
It is. Scully stretched her limbs with tense sadness. I can feel it happening now. It all going away, can’t remember anything…Mulder, I not want to live life as cat! I’d rather die!
Don’t say that…we think of something…
How can we do that, when we are animals? If we can’t remember, we’ll never go back, and never be human again.
Then we leave now, Mulder said, standing up and shaking the dust off of his fur. Even if we back before nighttime. We start walking to the village, and just think think think the entire time to not stop and go straight until we get there. We must try.
Scully hesitated, and then stood slowly, as if afraid to face the reality of the situation. She and Mulder crept out from their safehaven and back into the bright sunlight and hot pavement. As they stepped out, Scully felt like she had become a different creature from when she first went in. The world was different, because for some reason she was beginning to perceive it differently.
It happened so fast… She said as she and Mulder started walking down the street again. One minute we talk like human, the next we becoming animal.
It been happening since Chief first turned us into animals… Mulder responded bitterly. It just now affecting our speech.
We must stay together… Scully gave Mulder a pleading look. If we become all animal, I start thinking cat thoughts and you start thinking fox thoughts, we go our separate ways. We must decide to stay together, no matter what.
I may become all fox and you may become all cat, but we never separate. Mulder said in a determined voice. Even if we never get back to the village, we hunt together, sleep together, be together always.
Even as Mulder was saying these words, Scully wasn’t believing them. She knew if they became completely animal, the wouldn’t remember who the other was, and therefore have no reason to remain together. It was a horrible idea, and Scully didn’t want to think of it right now.
For a long time, they didn’t say anything to each other, and simply walked side by side. They were almost afraid to speak, because they feared if they thought any words they would be completely jumpy and nonsensical. They knew their speech was only going to get worse as time went on, and the only thing they concentrated on was getting all the way out of town, through the woods and back to the village before it was too late. The buildings sped by them one after the other, but it still seemed too slow, too far to go and not enough time to do it.
After a long period of walking, they finally came back to the
alley where Scully had first been taken by the animal shelter truck. Scully gazed wearily into the alley, afraid that those horrible alley cats would come back to harass her again. When suddenly, Mulder stopped in his tracks and put his nose to the air. Scully…I smell Cherokee!
Where? She could smell it as well, but she couldn’t tell where it was coming from.
Run, run, there’s a Cherokee near, he’ll…
Run, but where is he?
He’s close, but—
WHUMPH.
The two of them had just started to move their legs when something thick and heavy came crashing down on both of them, knocking them both off their feet and sending them colliding into each other. Before they had a chance to so much as blink, they were lifted from the ground forcefully and closed tightly within this semi-dark envelopment. Mulder fell all the way down until he was lying on his back, twisted into an uncomfortable position. Scully landed on top of him, and Mulder yelped as she accidentally flung her limbs into his face.
Get your tail out of my mouth! He sputtered, struggling uselessly.
What happened? Where are we?!
Whatever they were in was secured at the top so that there was enough room for air to come in but not nearly enough room for Scully to get a paw out. Then they moved around again, feeling like they were tied to the end of some huge pendulum. The confinement bumped against some other object, and they began to move forward again.
For a moment, neither of the two of them could speak, and they simply lay still and caught their breath. Mulder had a little more trouble doing so, however, since Scully was laying on top of his chest.
Where we? He gasped finally, after it became relatively quiet outside.
Scully gazed up around them, and saw they they were enveloped in some kind of rough, loose-stitched material that scratched at her fur. I think…I think in a bag. A bu…bur…bu-ur…
Bur…lap?
Yes.
The smell of Cherokee Indian was extraordinarily strong to them, and Mulder could even detect some smells of the Chief. As they continued to hover forward, occasionally bumping against something, the realization of what had happened dawned on them. It took awhile for either of them to admit it in words.
They got us, Scully.
Scully suddenly became frantic. Ignoring Mulder’s protests from below, she scratched at the bag and bit and kicked and yowled loudly. But all her scratching and thumping wouldn’t rip the bag open, and Mulder had to endure several more minutes of being kicked in the face before she finally stopped. They lay on top of each other, just breathing, admitting the hopelessness of the situation.
Claws no rip bag, Mulder… Scully whimpered.
Speech worse… He gasped. You speech more bad.
You talk also bad. Forget all words…
No help it! No remember talk right.
Change mind, Mulder! She wailed. No want die. Better be cat than dead! Better be cat alone than be dead.
No alone, Mulder corrected. Never. Better be dead than alone.
She didn’t answer him…she wanted to think about it. But she couldn’t think about what he said because his words evaporated in her ears. She was incredibly saddened…she was more sorrowful that she was losing her intelligence than the knowledge that she was going to die. Miles and miles of human words were being erased from her mind, and she couldn’t stop it. However, there was one word she was determined to remember even if everything else was gone. She repeated it to herself over and over, even as she felt herself dropping into a painful sleep…
Mulder…Mulder…Mulder…Mulder…
When she awoke again, she detected the smell of Cherokee and the feel of being wrapped in burlap and fur. She was still trapped in this airless confinement. She could feel her body churning with nocturnal energy…it had to be approaching twilight. Twisting around, she saw the tired face of the red fox she was sprawled across.
Mulder. She said the name like a habit, remembering that was the name assigned to this creature.
But she could say nothing more. She was surprised she could think of the sounds that formed anyway. While she slept she had lost her human vocabulary. She couldn’t even remember her own name. All she knew was she was a cat, and had always been a cat, and would be a cat until she died. She remembered having a very close relationship with the fox, which was strange because he was a fox, not a cat. She didn’t mind much, though…she was glad to have some form of company, instead of being trapped here alone.
The fox beneath her whimpered slightly. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she thought she heard a familiar voice trying to form words…sounding like Sk…Sku…Skul…, but then the voice kind of died as if it was giving up its own existence. In its place was just the sad whimpering of the fox, and she was sad for it and herself.
There was nothing to do in this bag, lying on top of the fox, so she quickly lost interest in staying awake. She ignored her instincts to become alive at night and listened instead to the tiredness she felt in her nerves. After just a few minutes of soaking in the smells and sounds of both the inside and out, she returned back to her former sleep…..
Scully was jolted awake again as she felt the world bump and move, much more than it had been doing so before. She grunted in protest, and then howled as she was flipped upside down and shaken free from the folds of the bag. She landed smoothly on her feet on the ground, while the fox tumbled out beside her in a less graceful manner.
She yawned, and stretched her body and claws, glad to finally be free of that suspended prison. As she set the work cleaning the dust off of her shoulders, she smelled her surroundings. There were a million different smells here, and it seemed to her that she recognized this place…
Looking up, she saw an inside place filled with all kinds of different skins, feathers, plants and stones. She also saw a human towering over her, putting different objects on the table over her head. After waiting for him to pet her or feed her, she decided that he wasn’t worth the interest and went back to her grooming. The fox was busy poking his nose around the hut, probably looking for something to eat.
When suddenly, she detected an odd scent in the air. She couldn’t quite identify it, but whatever it was, it was coming from the table along with some thick bluish smoke. The smoke billowed out from above until it began to fill the room, and she couldn’t help but breathe it in. The stuff made her eyes and throat sting, and she coughed on it unpleasantly.
And then her head began to throb…she winced at the horrible pain in her skull and threw herself against the ground in hopes that it would go away. Meowing painfully, she rolled around and kicked at nothing in particular, until she happened to glance down at her paw. To her complete amazement, she found that it was changing. The fur that covered her was beginning to shrivel away into nothing, exposing bare skin. Her pads became thin and soft, and her claws became small and dull, and the fingers on her paw began to grow longer and had their own joints. Even her dewclaw began to grow longer and more flexible.
And then the entire world began to pulsate with pain…she could feel her entire body squeezing and stretching and shifting as it rearranged itself into something foreign. She felt colder as the hair on her body evaporated away, slower and weaker as the power drained from her muscles, and she became nearly blind, deaf and numb without her whiskers. At the same time, she felt herself becoming immensely larger, until she was certain she would take up the entire room.
But all these changes were almost unnoticeable compared to the sudden wave of electric thought that came rushing into her brain, and memories began processing themselves faster than a computer… (My name is Dana Katherine Scully I am 38 years old I was born on February 23rd in the United States of America I have two brothers and one sister I have a small height I have red hair and blue eyes I work with Fox William Mulder at the Federal Bureau of Investigation….)
The world sped up faster and faster until something flashed brightly in her head, she felt herself lying on the ground, curled into a ball. For a moment all she could do was breathe, feeling painfully dizzy and disoriented. After awhile, however, she dared to venture out of her fetal position and open one eye.
The first thing she saw was a long strand of red, human hair hanging in her face. It took her a minute, but when she finally realized what she was seeing, she quickly brushed aside her hair and looked again. Staring down, she saw that she no longer had paws, but her own familiar human hands! She flexed her fingers in wonderment, and felt a huge smile spread across her face.
Carefully attempting to use her wobbly knees, she stood…on two legs! She gazed down at the ground far below her, and at the rest of her furless body. She could feel the wonderful sensation of vocal chords in her throat, and for the first time in two days, she used her voice. “Mulder!”
And then she saw him. He was standing beside her on two legs, his normal six-foot height, with his head of dark hair and hazel eyes that she loved so much. He looked back at her, and grinned from ear to ear.
They embraced each other tightly, and something like a laugh escaped from Scully’s throat as she pressed his skin to hers. Mulder pulled her away again, just so he could look into her face. “Look at us! We’re human again!” He exclaimed.
“How did we…”
“I don’t know, I just…”
Overcome with happiness, they embraced again. They began shouting thrilled exclamations to each other, loving the feeling of being able to use their voices once again.
“Um…excuse me…”
They were stopped mid-celebration by another voice in the room. Turning around, they saw the Chief’s son Towo’d, looking both relieved and very embarrassed. “Did you change us back?” Mulder asked excitedly.
“Yes I did, but…you might want to put some clothes on…”
Mulder and Scully froze. They looked at each other, and then down at themselves…and for the first time realized that they were both completely naked.
“Why did you come and find us, just to make us human again?” Mulder asked Towo’d as he fitted on his last shoe. By now both he and Scully were almost completely redressed in the clothes they had lost two days ago.
“I…” Towo’d searched the hut walls for a good answer. “I didn’t think it was right. My father using the curse on you…why, I didn’t like it when he did it to the other government men. I tried to talk him out of it this time, but he still wouldn’t listen to me. So I decided to…do something about it.” He motioned to the steaming mixture on the table. “I’ve been watching my father use his magicks for awhile now, and I’ve picked up a few things. I was afraid that when I was using the counterspell it wouldn’t work, and that I would just make things worse…I’m just glad that you’re okay.”
“Towo’d, it was a very courageous thing to go out and find us and then fix the curse…I think we owe you a lot more than gratitude,” Scully said.
“I appreciate your thankfulness, but you really mustn’t stay!” He said, suddenly becoming very anxious. “It is near the late night, and my father and his warriors will be returning whether or not they caught you! If they find you here with me, I…”
“Don’t worry, we’ll leave,” Mulder assured him. The last thing he wanted was to go back to four legs, whiskers and a tail. “But we must warn you…once we go back, we’ll have to get more people and come and arrest the village. We’ll make sure that you get out alright. I’m sorry, but we can’t let these crimes go unpunished.”
“No, please, just leave our village in peace, and do not bring more men here!” Towo’d pleaded. “There is no telling how my father will react if the forces of many white men come to try and take him away from his home…”
Their conversation was cut short by the sound of several footsteps approaching the hut. Mulder and Scully were immediately drawn to each other, fearing what they knew was going to come marching through the door…
The Chief and two of his warriors entered through the door looking very pleased. They soon saw why…one was holding a male fox and the other was holding a gray cat. They both looked similar to the animals Mulder and Scully had been, and they were both dead. Scully cringed at the sight of the sorry dead animals.
The Chief stopped cold. He instantly saw the two human agents standing revealed, and his son next to the table with the different pieces of the reverse potion, and knew that the animals he had caught were he wrong ones. The two warriors instantly left, knowing that they did not want to be around when the Chief released the full extent of his fury.
“What are these government men DOING HERE?!” He said in a growling voice, his face beginning to change color.
Mulder was prepared to speak in their own defense, but instead Towo’d came up and faced his father. “It was my doing…I couldn’t let you kill them, I just couldn’t.”
“Don’t you realize what you’ve DONE?” The furious Cherokee thundered. “Now our village is done forever…they will tell all the government what has happened, and then they will crush us!”
“No, we must ask for their forgiveness, and then we can simply leave each other alone, in peace…”
“You are a traitor to the Cherokee nation!” The response roared back. “You have betrayed our ancestors’ misery and suffering…you have destroyed their memory!”
“It is you who has destroyed their memory!” Towo’d cried back, tears springing to his eyes. “All this magic and hunting and killing…I can’t stand it! It has to end!”
“You shall not stop me now…you ungrateful beast!”
Towo’d did not respond right away. He clenched his teeth together, and narrowed his eyes at his father, feeling angry energy build up inside his chest. The entire hut held its breath, waiting for his reply.
When he answered, he began to say something in the Cherokee language. He said it in a flat voice, and with an almost calm look on his face. The Chief’s expression, however, changed from anger to fear. His eyes widened, and he backed away from his son as if in disbelief. “What are you doing…no…”
Towo’d continued to speak, squeezing his eyes shut and clenching
his fists tightly. And then, Mulder and Scully watched in amazement as both the Cherokees began to change. Towo’d’s arms became long and thin, and small, thin bones grew from his skin and bloomed into gray and black plumage. His nose became long and hard and larger until it covered his face almost, and he sprouted a tail made of wet, reddish feathers. The toes on his feet grew longer and became tipped with dangerous-looking claws.
The Chief, however, was even worse off. His arms and legs shrank and shrank until they no longer existed, and instead his spine grew longer and his body became thinner. His skin became thick, hard, and blackened as if it were burnt. Before five minutes had passed, a small hawk and a hissing, black cobra had replaced ‘U-sti Towo’d and Chief Kwandaioha completely.
Mulder and Scully watched, speechless, as the hawk screeched at the cobra. The snake hissed back, bearing its fangs, and then slithered out the hut door. The hawk followed, beating up the dust with its wings. Mulder and Scully stared at each other for a minute, and then raced outside.
The tiny village had erupted into chaos. Everywhere there were animals barking, braying, hissing, chirping and croaking. They narrowly missed being trampled over by a wild horse, and watched as a frog, a badger and a swan came charging out of a hut. There was a mouse, a turtle, a panther, a salamander, a dragonfly…even a caribou.
“What happened here?!” Scully cried out above the clamor.
“They’re all animals…” Mulder said in amazement. “Whatever Towo’d said, it did it to all of them…”
The transformed tribe of Cherokees did not stick around long to figure out what had happened to them. Before long, all of the animals had run off and disappeared somewhere into the trees…not a single person was left.
For a moment, Mulder and Scully just stood in the middle of the abandoned village, not speaking or moving. The only sound they heard was something that sounded like a person hitting a wet rag against the ground. They turned and saw that it was a single, sad fish, flopping uselessly in the dirt.
Sir John Talbot: Even a man who is pure in heart and says his prayers by night, may become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms. And the autumn moon is bright.
-The Wolf Man
Two hours later…
Mulder stared up at the night sky tiredly, and chewed thoughtfully. The town of Chum was relatively quiet now, with just a few lights signifying the presence of some life. The main lights he could see were the ones that illuminated the words CITY OF CHUM ANIMAL SHELTER on the concrete wall. It was hard to believe that he had visited this place just earlier today as a fox. It seemed as if their time as animals had been an entirely different lifetime; some bizarre dream that they had just now woken up from. He was beginning to wonder himself if it had all been just a dream.
He looked up suddenly as he watched Scully exit the animal shelter…only she was carrying something in her hand. It looked like a small box with holes in the sides. (Oh, no…she didn’t…)
“Alright, I’m ready to go,” She said to him as she approached the car.
“Scully, what is that you’re carrying?” Mulder said incredulously, raising his eyebrows and biting on another drumstick.
Scully grinned to him. She opened the box, and pulled out a small orange tabby kitten with turquoise eyes…the same kitten that had befriended her when she had been in the animal shelter. “Look at him! Isn’t he the cutest thing you’ve ever seen? And he likes me so much!” She laughed as the kitten snuggled up against her and purred loudly.
“Why’d you get him?” Mulder asked, somewhat confused. “I’d figure after all that’s happened to us you’d want to distance yourself from cats and that animal shelter as much as possible.”
“Well, he’s one creature that I can save from that horrible place, and I intend to give him a good home,” She said, scratching behind its ears. “And it’s not as if you’re trying to ‘distance yourself’ from that experience, either…” She added, nodding at the bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken he was devouring.
Mulder glanced down at the chicken. “Firstly…I bought this stuff; secondly, it’s dead, cooked and smothered in honey-barbecue sauce; and thirdly, people eat chicken, too!”
“Sure, whatever,” Scully sighed as she put the kitten back into the carrying case. “You’ll never guess who I saw while I was in the animal shelter.”
“Who?”
“That farmer’s daughter who fixed up your leg,” she nodded at the spot below his left knee where there was still a scar. “She was asking if the shelter had picked up any talking foxes, and the people there just sort of looked at her funny. I think she’s been searching for you all day, Mulder.”
Mulder just nodded slightly, and looked at the ground. After a moment’s pause, he said, “It’s late…I want to get out of here as quickly as possible.”
Scully heartily agreed. She climbed into the car alongside Mulder, clutching the box carefully. They started the car up, and sped down the road towards the end of Chum, leaving the dirty concrete building with its weak lights behind them.
Guard: Um, hey, I’ve been turned into a cow. Can I leave?
Izma: You’re excused. Anyone else?
Other Guards: No no, we’re good, we’re cool.
-The Emperor’s New Groove
24 hours later…
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
“Come in!”
The door clicked open, and Mulder stepped inside with a packet of folders under one arm. He saw Scully holding a bowl of water, and the tabby kitten following eagerly behind.
He nodded at the kitten. “Have you thought of a name for him yet?”
Scully smiled. “Yeah…his name is Ishmael. I think if Queegueg was still here they would have been good friends.” She set the bowl of water down, and Ishmael went for it immediately. “So…how did the report go?”
Mulder sighed, and waved the pile of papers tiredly. “Well…obviously the Department of the Interior was pleased that the Cherokee village had been mysteriously abandoned so they could begin construction. However, I think Skinner was not so pleased that we were gone for four days when we said we’d be back in two, and that we didn’t bring back any good explanation as to the whereabouts of the missing agents.”
“Did you tell him anything about that curse, those animals?…”
“Do you think he would have believed me?” Mulder asked. “We’ve told him strange things before, but I think he’d have quite a fit if I said we couldn’t check in because we were turned into a fox and a cat.”
“So what did you tell him?”
“Nothing…” He grinned slightly. “I guess he’s just going to have to imagine what happened himself.”
Scully didn’t answer, she just looked at the floor. She could tell that Mulder was feeling just as awkward as she was…they both felt strange trying to immediately fall back into the human being routine. Being animals for two days and having lost their human minds for at least a few hours had definitely changed them, and it was somewhat disheartening to know they could never try and make sense of the experience by sharing it with someone other than themselves.
“I wish that…” Scully paused. “I wish that we could have done something to help those Cherokees who were turned into animals. Somehow I don’t think they all were involved in what the Chief was doing, and they didn’t deserve that punishment…”
“I think that was what Towo’d wanted for them all,” Mulder answered. “To show them what they had been doing to others…what they had been doing to themselves. Turning themselves from men to animals.”
“But this is an eternal punishment. They have no way to become human again,” Scully said, picking up Ishmael and stroking him.
“It’s pretty easy to go from man to animal…” Mulder said, running his own fingers along the kitten’s fur. “I think it’s harder to go back from animal to man.”
THE END
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