Shorts

Te Duem Part 3

Continuation of Te Duem

Mulder pov

May 30th, 1998, 5:21 p.m. Lansing, Michigan

The burn mark. The exact same burn mark that was currently residing on Fox Mulder’s back was on this child's back.

The air suddenly felt thick as though there was not enough oxygen for everyone in the room, but only Mulder was suffering. His chest tightened in horror as he stared at the small child in front of him.

Surely the pain he had endured to receive the burn had been the same for this child.

Scully shot Mulder a nervous glance, but he didn't notice. He was far too busy gaping at the gagging child in front of him. Blonde hair and very small; she couldn't possibly have been more than five years old.

"S-Sir. . ." Mulder croaked as the child ceased to vomit, wiping her mouth on her arm. "Sir. . ." His voice was a barely audible, forced whisper.

Scully helped the man clean up his daughter, wiping the girl's chubby cheeks with a wet paper towel. The man looked up to Mulder briefly, worriedly, as he flushed the toilet, closed the lid, and sat his daughter down.

"What is it?" the man asked, brushing his tiny daughter's blonde wisps out of her brown eyes.

"The. . . The burn on your daughter's back," Mulder spluttered, unsure of how to bring the topic up. "If you don't mind me asking, how did she get it?"

The man glared at Mulder wide-eyed. "Are you suggesting that I am abusing my daughter?" he inquired angrily. "Because I can assure you I'm not."

"No, no I never assumed you were abusing your daughter," Mulder said quickly, diffusing the tension wafting around the room. Scully washed her hands, hoping to stay out of things. Mulder cleared his throat and said, "I was just curious as to how she received the mark." An uneasy silence filled the room.

The man chuckled half-heartedly and shook his head. "If I told you, you'd never believe me."

Scully snorted through her nose as Mulder laughed inwardly. "You'd be surprised," Scully said.

The man sighed deeply, glancing down to the dirty linoleum and back up to Mulder and Scully, as if deciding whether or not he was willing to discuss this with the two of them "It was. . . inexplicable, to say the least," he said hesitantly, then paused. "Oh you know. . . Nevermind," he said, waving his hand dismissively. "I was just seeing things. And it sounds so stupid."

"No, really," Scully interjected. "Please."

The man pressed his lips into a thin line. "Well. . . it was like she was violently attacked but. . . but that's impossible," the man said.

Mulder chewed on his lip, waiting for the man to say more. But he did not. "Because you couldn't see what was attacking her," Mulder stated definitively in a low voice, finishing the man's sentence.

The man's eyes grew even wider. "How. . . How did you-"

"I have the exact same mark on my back as well, sir," Mulder said. "The same thing happened to me not five miles away from here. I was attacked by something I couldn't even see." Scully shot Mulder a warning glance, as though he had revealed far too much information.

The man was at a loss for words. Then, he squinted at the agents and shook his head. "Well, what was it? And who are you, anyway?" the man said, holding his daughter's hand as she clawed at his arm.