The X-Files: The Truth Revealed

Chapter 34

Spaceship 

Scully and Grant continued in a slow, methodical descent. Both were exhausted. On more than one occasion, they were forced to stop and catch their breath. Scully's patience was wearing thin. She wanted nothing more than to curl up in a corner and sleep for as long as her body could stand, but she knew that wasn't an option. They had to keep moving if they were ever going to escape. 

*** 

Mulder winced at the stiffness that had settled in his back and ribs. He'd stopped briefly, crouching down, believing he'd heard voices somewhere below him. Could it be the aliens or someone else?  

Knowing that sooner or later, he would meet up with the alien that was hunting him, he searched for a weapon. A section of loose metal railing was all he could find. Swinging the two foot section of pipe, he acknowledged it wasn't much, but it would have to do. 

*** 

Scully assessed they had approximately ten levels to go before they reached ground level for the second time. That very thought kept her moving as she tried to ignore the fatigue that had made itself at home within her. Following Grant a step at a time, she continually fell behind because of her shorter stride. Several times over the course of the past two hours, she had to double-time to catch up with him, but she no longer had the energy to do that. A story from somewhere in her childhood kept repeating itself in her head. Slow and steady wins the race. 

As they came upon the next walkway, Grant passed by without incident, but as Scully approached it, an alien stepped out of the shadow, separating them. God help us was all she had time to think as the alien came at her full force. She tried to dodge it, moving quickly to her right but instead, she slipped on the wet walkway and found herself falling headlong over the railing. 

"Mulder!" she screamed, her hand barely catching hold of the vertical post - her body suspended towards the darkness below. 

Why had she called for Mulder when she knew he was nowhere in the vicinity? Was it out of habit from years of working side-by-side with a man who'd grown to be more than her FBI partner? Perhaps it was a final plea to the man she loved, hoping that somehow, he would rescue her just as he'd always rescued her before? Or was it the final name she wanted on her lips before she fell to her death in this cold, lifeless ship? 

As soon as Grant heard her cry out, he turned and watched helplessly as Scully disappeared over the railing. With the alien's attention on him, there was no way he could help Dana. 

*** 

Mulder watched the alien from behind. Everything about its mannerism told him it had set its sights on something but what, he had no idea. When his name echoed through the chamber, he was certain his mind was playing tricks on him. 

The alien launched forward, out of view from where Mulder stood but within seconds, it was back and heading in the opposite direction, passing by him. Taking advantage of the situation, Mulder bolted, catching the alien by surprise from behind. It stumbled awkwardly from Mulder's blow but quickly regained its balance. Caught between two humans, its large dark eyes shot back and forth, from one man to the other. Mulder felt its probing mind, seeking out the weaker of the two. It chose the one without a weapon. 

To his right, Mulder caught sight of fingers slipping from the bottom of a metal post. To his left, a soldier stood facing the alien. But something nagged at him, and he looked back at the fingers struggling to retain a failing grip. Relinquishing his weapon, he tossed the pipe to the soldier as the fingers started out sight. He dove headlong towards them. 

Scully had resigned herself to her death. She could no longer hold on. The surface of the post was icy and cold, and each time she tried to regain her hold, her fingers slipped further from a secure hold. She knew they were failing her - knew there was no way Grant could fight the alien and save her. She didn't want him to try and help her. If only one of them was to survive, he being the stronger of the two had a better chance of getting out. 

"Mulder," she whispered and closed her eyes, praying and submitting to the thoughts she'd wrapped herself in, accepting the inevitable. 

"Scully!" 

Desperately, Mulder clung to Scully's wrist. Securing his hold as tightly as he could, he rose to his knees and stretched over the top railing grabbing the back of her shirt, pulling her up. 

Ten feet away, Grant fell when the alien plowed into him. He was dazed and dropped the pipe. His vision blurred and although he tried to stand, he found himself wavering back and forth on his knees, his head momentarily rattled. 

Mulder had just made it to his feet when the alien's claws raked his back. Caught by surprise, he dropped to his knees, narrowly catching his chin on the metal railing. As quickly as he'd dropped, he rose again, pulling Scully to safety. Stepping towards the alien, he placed himself between it and Scully. He'd protect her at all cost. 

Renewed by a power unleashed, Grant grabbed the pipe, gaining control of the fight. Blow after blow, he landed it upon the stunned alien. Sensing the shift in power and realizing its defeat, the alien leapt over the railing, preferring death on its terms. 

As soon as Mulder turned to face Scully, she locked onto him, pushing him back against the far wall. Her lips found his before he even had the chance to speak her name, and he reveled in the heat of the moment, forgetting the pain, forgetting the exhaustion and drowning in the love of the woman he thought he'd lost.