"Ok, Mulder, let's have it. Why did you drag me out to some park on the outskirts of town in the middle of the night?"
"C'mon, Scully, you know you have nothing better to do than creep around in the dark of night with yours truly," he said with a smirk as he handed her a cup of coffee.
"Uh, let's see, I could be reading or catching up on my email or...sleeping!" she said sarcastically as she took a sip.
Mulder also sipped his coffee as he stared out into the park and towards the woods. Their rental car was parked about 30 yards from the playground equipment and picnic tables that lined the wooded area.
Scully recognized that glint of hunger in his eye and reverted back to questioning him. "Seriously, why are we out here?"
"Well, I was talking to a local detective...."
Scully cut him off. "Uh oh."
"What?"
"You don't think we have enough work to do on the case that we're here to investigate? You have to go searching the local police departments for more?"
"Do you want to know why you're out here or not?" he asked with a smile, raising one eyebrow to taunt her.
Scully looked down and pursed her lips. Taking a deep breath in, she finally looked back up at him and answered, "Yes...please."
"Okay, so when I was at the precinct this morning questioning that perp, I started talking to this detective. He told me about a case that he was assigned to recently involving the rapes of several women in this park across town."
"Ahhh, so am I to assume that this is the park in question?"
"Can't get anything past you, can I, Scully?" Mulder said as he flashed a wicked grin.
"So, what's the case about?" she asked, unaffected by his adorable grin.
"Seven women...all raped here, in this very park. The rapes have occurred on July 29th every year for the last seven years in a row."
"Why didn't they tie the cases together before now?"
"Detective Wagenbach mentioned something about 'misplaced' evidence that 'accidentally' resurfaced recently. He wasn't terribly forthcoming with all the details."
"Well, those are some very odd coincidences, but I've got to ask: how is this an X-File?"
"How did I know you were going to ask that?"
"I'm predictable?"
Mulder couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Well, you see Scully, some of the evidence that was 'misplaced' included the DNA samples from the rape kits taken from each victim."
"Okay...and?"
"And, the DNA was finally processed...the results came in yesterday."
"Andddd?"
"Andddd...it's not human DNA."
"What do you mean it's not human DNA? What kind of DNA is it?"
"Unknown. It can't be matched to any identified DNA...neither plant nor animal."
"Don't you think we should be concentrating on the case at hand, though? We were supposed to get up early and go over to the Coroner's office."
"Scully! Don't you see how huge this could be?! You and I may be on the verge of discovering a new species!"
"Mulder, you're getting a little ahead of yourself, don't you think? There could have been a mix-up at the lab or the hospital might've made an error when the samples were taken. Not to mention, it's been seven years since the first sample was taken...."
"A mix-up with ALL seven samples? Seven errors at the hospital?"
"It's possible. And besides, why would a nonhuman, nonplant sub-species want to rape women once a year on July 29th? For what purpose? And where are these women that get raped? I wouldn't think there'd be too many women out running around a park in the middle of the night."
"Well, I guess we'll find out in a couple of hours."
"A couple of hours?"
"What's today's date, Scully?" he asked, without answering her question nor missing a beat.
Scully looked down at her watch. The hour hand had ticked past the one and the minute hand was on the four. The tiny little date box showed a 29. "It appears to now be the 29th of July."
"Exactly," he said, sipping his coffee. "Today's the day."
"Mulder, you really expect to sit out here all night and wait for some unidentified creature to rape someone in this park?"
"Well, if the past seven years in a row are any indication, then yeah, that's exactly what will happen."
"Mulder, I don't think...."
He cut her off, continuing with his own thoughts as usual. "The rapes didn't occur until after 2 a.m. each year."
"Then what are we doing here so early?!"
"To do some preliminary investigations, of course! C'mon, Scully, let's go check out the area before the 'monster' shows up," he said with a wink as he exited the car.
"Mulder!" she called after him, but it was too late. He'd already shut the door of the Toyota Camry they'd rented when they arrived in town, and was now moving swiftly across the dimly lit street, heading towards the equally as dim park. Scully had little choice but to follow.
She ran across the empty street, following him as he crouched down and headed towards the woodline. Scully hunched down too, following Mulder's example, and treaded as lightly as she could across the grass. It had rained recently, so her heels kept sinking into the mud. Nonetheless, like a trooper, she followed him towards the woods for a preliminary investigation she really didn't want to take part in. She doubted this was even an X-File, but she knew Mulder wouldn't be satisfied until he figured that out for himself.
Finally, she reached the woodline where Mulder was already down on his knees, looking through the brush with a flashlight. "Mulder! What do you think you're going to find?" she asked in a loud whisper.
"Probably nothing," he answered nonchalantly.
Scully looked around and let out a big sigh that could've almost been construed as a huff. Since she was already there, though, she figured she might as well do some investigating of her own. The faster she could disprove his theory, then the faster she'd be back at the hotel in a warm bed. "Do you know exactly where the rapes took place?"
"About one mile in on that trail there," he said, pointing to a place about two yards away where the woods parted and a trail had apparently been formed.
"I thought they took place here in this park!"
"They did...in the woods...about one mile in. There's supposedly a clearing with a large concrete slab in the center. All seven rapes occurred there."
"But what were seven women doing one mile into the woods at 2 a.m. every July 29th for the last seven years in a row?"
"That's what we're about to find out," Mulder answered as he got up off the ground, entered the trail, and headed into the woods. This time Scully did huff, but she knew she had to follow him. Even though she wasn't totally convinced this case was X-File material, she had to admit even she was a little curious at this point.
The agents trudged through the woods together led only by Mulder's small pocket flashlight. The woods were eerily quiet...there were no birds singing, no frogs croaking, no crickets chirping - nothing. The only sound was the rustling of the leaves under their feet as they walked along the trail.
Mulder walked swiftly...he was clearly a man on a mission. Scully, meanwhile, was less at ease. Not only did she find the walk a bit difficult given that her footwear kept sinking into the damp ground, but she kept looking over her shoulder. Of course there was nothing there that she could see, but she kept getting the sense that they were being followed. Both the playground area and the street where they'd parked had been completely vacant, though, so she knew that it wasn't likely someone was behind them. Still, she couldn't seem to shake her uneasiness. Finally, she had no choice but to dismiss it as the usual human anxiety of being in the woods in the middle of the night.
After a 45-minute hike along the trail, they arrived at the clearing that Mulder had read about in the reports. It was a huge circular clearing with a large, seemingly useless concrete slab in the center, just as all the women had described. On the opposite side of the circle from which they entered, there was a small area where trees parted and it appeared that the trail continued further into the woods. The trees above them also parted and had somehow been cleared of overgrowth...the moon shone brightly down upon the concrete, lighting up the entire area with a bluish glow.
"What do you think this is?" Scully whispered.
"It looks like some sort of ritual ground."
"A ritual that takes place every July 29th, perhaps?"
"Perhaps," Mulder answered as he circled the concrete slab looking for clues.
"Well, if that's the case, Mulder, then we should find somewhere to hide. The 'monster' should be here any minute...it's after 2 a.m."
"Just a minute, Scully," he said, bending down on one knee and shining his flashlight on a spot towards the bottom of the slab.
"Did you find something?" Scully asked as she crouched behind him to see what he was looking at.
Mulder's light shone on a few simple scratches in the concrete. There were four scratches with a line through them diagonally, then two more scratches that followed to the right. "What's that look like to you?"
"It looks like someone's keeping score."