11 May 1999



Spoilers: up to Field Trip





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Excerpts from the journal of Walter S. Skinner





Fox and Dana were investigating the mysterious appearance of two

skeletons on Brown Mountain.  It was nothing unusual--at least not for

them.  Why, then, was I so uneasy?



Why did I cancel all my appointments and fly to North Carolina?



It turns out it was a good thing I did, but that doesn't explain how or

why it happened.



It doesn't explain how I knew.



I was sitting in my office, reviewing some paperwork, when suddenly I

needed to be with them.



It was a like a panic attack: fear compressed my chest, and I...I

slammed the door of my office open and told Kim to book me on the next

flight and cancel all my appointments, and to do it now.



Now.



Now.



Now wasn't soon enough.



I fell asleep on the plane and dreamed.  Dana was saying something

about digestive juices and mushrooms.



As soon as we landed I tried to call them.  No answer on either

cellphone.  I cursed softly and called the medical examiner's.



They'd both gone missing, just a few hours ago.



I closed my eyes.  Dana said something about mushrooms.  There was a

report, in front of my eyes.  I could read it; I could smell her perfume 

and his aftershave.



I could hear the report of a gun and Mulder screaming that it wasn't

real.



"Get a search and rescue team out.  No dogs.  Make sure everyone wears

breath filters.  And tell me how to get to where they were."



I met the team next to the SUV Fox had rented and grabbed a spare mask.

"They're underground.  There are mushrooms around with powerful

hallucinogen in their spores--the masks will keep it out.  We need to

find where underground they are, and get them out."



They looked at me like I was insane, and I wondered: is this how Fox

feels everyday?



"Get to it," I growled, and they scattered.



I closed my eyes and tried to still the panic.



Something had told me they were in trouble.



Something had told me why.



Maybe something would tell me where.



I walked over the ground, my eyes still closed, feeling my way up the

hill.



And I knew.



They were underneath me.  I opened my eyes and stared at the soft turf.

I fell to my knees and began to dig, my fingers scrabbling madly at the

dirt and grass, pulling it up and throwing it to the side.  "They're

here!"  I called, through my mask, just as I found Fox's hand.



I felt the pulse beat strongly, though slowly, under my fingers.  Still

alive.  Oh God, still alive.



When they were safe in the ambulance, I turned to the medical examiner,

standing by my side.  "That stuff--"



"Not too strong.  It...takes a while to get through the skin.  The

tissue underneath has less protection--gets eaten away quickly.  After

all--" He picked up my hand, which was covered in the stuff.  "Barely

even stings, right?  Not even as bad as heartburn."



"Right," I said, "Thanks."  I headed for my car to follow them to the

hospital. 



They're both sleeping now, my lovers, their skin reddened and marked by

the slime, but otherwise unhurt.



And I'm left wondering if I am an X-File, now.  



Because I have no idea how I knew.



How I could know.



I hope Fox never asks how I knew they needed me.



I'm terrified of what the answer might be.



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