The X-Files: The Truth Revealed

Chapter 48

Five Miles from the Underground Facility - Atlantic Ocean 

A team of Navy Seals in sturdy rafts maneuvered several crafts under the moonlit sky. Not half a mile in the distance, low light from the Atlantis came into view. It would hold position there, feigning research in a non-threatening manner amid very dangerous waters. 

With her heart pounding rapidly in her chest, Scully was certain it could be heard for miles on end, giving away their position like a beacon in the dark. The cold spray hit her in the face, but she didn't mind. She needed to feel it, not to stay awake, for there wasn't a chance in hell she'd fall asleep. No, she needed it to feel alive - a physical reminder of what life felt like when death was stalking. She shivered from the cold but embraced it all the same. 

Already, she felt the gloom of despair, believing there was no way for them to sneak up on this monster. The fear she was feeling was the same fear she'd felt years back when she'd been kidnapped by Donnie Pfaster. Strange that she would recall him now when he had no bearing on what they faced - no bearing with one exception. She was convinced that the fight before them had been birthed from the same evil. 

Reaching over, she grabbed Mulder's hand and squeezed it tight, finding tremendous comfort in his strong hold. In protest, her other hand twitched as if it too wanted to be held. She curled her fingers into a fist, focusing on a stronger eternal power that held her free hand. A calming peace embraced her. 

As the rafts neared the Atlantis, Scully wondered how the others were feeling. Were they regretting their decision to get involved? Were they thinking about what they were risking? Were they really as willing to go through with this as she and Mulder were? William wasn't their son. He wasn't a part of them that they needed to risk their lives. Still, they climbed down off the Vincent and into the rafts, not one of them hesitating or looking back. Was it as simple a thing as the seals that now bonded them on a level they couldn't comprehend? So many questions flooded her mind. Would there be time enough to answer them? Would God even choose to answer? 

The peace she'd felt, grew into concern as Mulder squeezed her hand. She looked over at him, wondering what caused him to tighten his hold. Even in the low light of the moon, she saw his eyes were closed, his jaw clenched tight. A pained expression had taken control of him. 

"Mulder, what is it? What's wrong?" she scooted closer to him and brought her arm around behind him, pulling his body against her own, feeling the extent of what was happening to him as his body shook against hers. 

He didn't respond. That's when Scully realized it wasn't that he didn't want to answer her. He couldn't. The reason eluded her only briefly until it finally dawned on her. They were nearing the spaceship, and Mulder was reacting to it like so many times before. 

"Scully..." he said through clenched teeth. "Help me," he whispered, grabbing his head and leaning forward as if he were going to be sick. 

"Is he okay?" the man seated on the bench seat in front of them turned around to ask. 

Scully didn't know how to answer. 

"Mulder," she leaned into to him. "What do I do? How did you stop it when you were on the ship? Mulder? Talk to me," she pleaded. 

Behind them in another raft, Gibson heard Mulder's plea for help. 

"Don't fight it, Mulder," he said aloud to his friend while speaking the same words telepathically. "Embrace it." 

"How?" Mulder questioned 

"Believe. Look within. It's the only place you'll find peace... the only place you'll find the truth." 

Concentrating as hard as he could, Gibson's palms turned upwards as if he were holding a child in them. Skinner who was seated next to him, looked over, wondering what was happening. Seeing Gibson's intense concentration, Skinner looked towards Mulder. He was no more than a dark shadow, half hidden by the boat's pilot, but he could tell that both Mulder and Scully were leaned forward on their seat. 

The seal on Skinner's chest burned to life, and he suddenly realized what was happening. He reached over and placed a hand on Gibson's shoulder. Immediately, he was drawn into his thoughts as Gibson urged Mulder to move deeper within himself. He felt both Scully's peace and concern, felt her embrace wrapped around Mulder, supporting him on a level no other could reach. 

At first, Mulder's mind fled, struggling against itself and against the light that had exploded inside his head. But feeling the presence and strength of the others reassured him that he was not alone in this struggle. Urged on by Gibson, he moved deeper within himself to a place he'd never touched upon before - a place where the truth was his. 

The light intensified in his head. His initial response was to push away from it as he'd always done in the past but he suddenly stopped, realizing that was why he'd always failed. The light wasn't something to fear, nor was it there to harm him. It was there to embrace him, to make him a part of it and a part of the power that only it possessed. 

Once the realization hit him, he was engulfed by it, no longer needing the direction of the others. Feeling like a child in the security of a parent's loving hold, his spirit delighted in the light, embraced it fully, welcomed it to be a part of him and allowed it to lead him. And at last, directly before him stood the truth revealed. 

At that very moment of understanding, he sat straight up, the seal on his chest sending a wave of acceptance throughout his body. 

"Mulder? Are you okay?" 

He looked at her and shivered briefly. Taking her face in his hands, he sat there in awe of her. 

"Mulder," she felt his forehead. "Talk to me." 

"The road to Damascus," he said with a puzzled look on his face. "Is it seeing the truth for the first time?" 

"Yes." 

"The light..." he hesitated. "It was..." he failed to speak who he sensed it was. 

Scully smiled and nodded her understanding. 

He touched her neck, feeling for the cross before remembering he'd given it to William. What could he say to describe what he was feeling? There were no words that could grasp the experience he'd just had. He settled upon embracing Scully, hugging her and feeling her very breath within his heart. 

In the boat to their rear, Gibson smiled and looked over at Skinner who sat dumbfounded at what had just taken place. Slowly, removing his hand from Gibson's shoulder and bringing it to the seal, Skinner sat in silence, awed by the moment that he too caught a glimpse of who was in the light. 

*** 

The rafts slowed alongside the Atlantis. The larger boat, although nowhere near as large as the carrier, was still enormous in comparison to the small rafts. It easily blocked out the moonlit reflection off the water for nearly three hundred feet. Like the ark, it waited for the new arrivals to climb aboard. Here they would stay with the crew until the shape-shifters made their move. How long before that would happen, no one knew. 

Aboard the Atlantis, Scully administered a dose of her blood to each of the sealed. They'd been told of her findings, and not one of them refused to believe her theory that her blood would offer them some form of protection from the alien virus. Only Mulder went without. 

As they stood on deck looking out over the water, their brief wait came to an end. A short distance from where the Atlantis rested, the ocean started to bubble and churn. It was beginning, and there was no turning back.