THE X-FILES "AROUND THE WORLD IN TWELVE MONTHS" Part two: 'AN ADVENTURE IN THE AMAZON' By Alien Girl comixgirl@juno.com Rating: PG Classification: Adventure, Mulder/Scully Romance Spoilers: None *DISCLAIMER FOR PART ONE APPLIES TO PART TWO AS WELL* Song Disclaimer: This part's intro song is 'Stand By Me', which is by John Lennon, whom I am sure you are all familiar with. Look for it in the story again! Summary: As the cruise continues, 'The Believer' takes a wrong turn and ends up stuck in the Amazon River..... Author's Notes: This is part two of a twelve part series I am writing, which is the sequel to "Accumulation", a previous five-part series written by Riva and me. If you are reading this first, you should go back and read "Accumulation" and 'A Day With Dolphins' before going on to this. Hope y'all like this one...it's a jungle out there!! And now...on with the show!! -------------------------------------------------------- ***********"Around the World in Twelve Months"********** ...............'An Adventure in the Amazon'............. --------------------By Alien Girl----------------------- -------------------------------------------------------- "Stand By Me" When the night has come, and the land is dark, And the moon is the only light we'll see, No, I won't be afraid, no I, I won't be afraid, Just as long as you stand, stand by me. (Chorus) And darlin', darlin', Stand by me, stand by me, Stand by me, stand by me. If the sky that we look upon, should tumble and fall, And the mountains should crumble to the sea, I won't cry, I won't cry, no I, I won't shed a tear, Just as long as you stand, stand by me. (Chorus) Whenever you're in trouble won't you... (Chorus 2x) -------------------------------------------------------- 11:21 A.M. Saturday, July 31st, 1999 Atlantic Ocean "I still don't see it!!" The wind played with Troi's brown-gold hair as she bellowed down from the small crow's nest atop 'The Believer'. The hot air surrounding the boat and the fierce noon sun beating down from above made it difficult for Troi to enjoy her newfound job of searching out the port they were supposed to stop at, but she looked anyway. After recieving a nod of acknowledgement from Scully on the deck below, she lifted her eyes back to the horizon to scan the coastline once again. 'The Believer' had been at sea for a little over a week or so, moving along steadily, and thankfully, without any weather difficulties. The large houseboat hugged the nearby shore of South America as it had been doing for a day or two now, chugging along at a good pace. Several of the people on board had been given the somewhat monotonous duty of staying up in the crow's nest in the heat of the sun to scan the nearby shore for a large cove that would take them to where they would stop and get supplies for later; a city the map called Bele'm. But the city was quite far inwards in a large cove, and the thick, untamed jungle that bordered the Atlantic made it difficult to spot any civilization, especially since there was little in this part of South America. Despite the heat, and the monototy of the job, Troi enjoyed being on top of the ship and looking at the wild jungle just beyond their reach, wondering what or who could be hidden within it. Scully watched as Troi continued her search for the cove and the port, smiling inwardly. She was secretly thankful that it wasn't her turn; the heat had grown quite intense as they kept traveling southward. With her head still turned upwards, she began to walk away, and ran straight into Mulder. He grinned as her head bumped into his chest. "Watch where you're going, or you'll walk right over the rail." She grinned back. "I wouldn't mind a dip in the ocean, what with this heat and all." Mulder groaned in agreement. "The sooner we get to that port city, the better." "Mulder, this is South America. I kind of doubt that they have air conditioning." "Well, in that case, I'm going to go sit back in my room. At least *there* I have a fan." "Actually, Samantha took it." "What?! Why?!!" "Well, gee, Mulder, I don't know. Maybe because she was hot?" "Stop talking about me!" A voice sounded from below deck. Mulder groaned and rolled his eyes. He was about to answer when another voice came from above him: "Dana, Mulder, Maggie!! Hey, look! I found the cove, I found the cove!!" "What?!" Troi was pointing ahead at a large place where the jungle gave way to an enormous opening in the sea, much larger than she expected, in fact. This had to be the cove that they had told her to watch out for. She couldn't see any town or city, but she figured it must be somewhere further inland. She called out again, "See, it's right ahead! Turn to the right, that huge open area, right there!!" Margaret, having heard Troi's cry, turned the wheel to the right sharply, and the ship began a slow yet steady turn into the long, blue cove that loomed ahead of them. A large, jungle-covered island stood in the middle of the ocean. The cove and the island itself was large enough to support a major port and cities, but there didn't appear to be any civilization. Everyone went to the edge of the boat to search for where they were stopping as the boat went deeper into the cove and away from the open ocean. "So where's Bele'm?" Scully questioned. "All I see is a small village over to the left, and no place to dock the boat. Weren't we supposed to be arriving at a large port city?" "Yes, but it's pretty far inland on the map. Maybe we need to go further inland to find it," Margaret suggested. And they kept going. But still there was no sign of any port city. Every once in a while they would pass a small village or town, but they never had any place for a huge houseboat to dock, or showed any signs of the big city they were looking for. After a while, they noticed that the cove had begun to narrow, and the usual blue tinge of the ocean had melted into a dark blue-green. The normal rhythm of waves had slowed considerably, too. Mulder stared down into the green-blue waters below with puzzlement. He stole a glance at Margaret. "Are you sure you didn't make a wrong turn back there somewhere?" "Wrong turn? Mulder, you don't make a *wrong turn* when it comes to sailing!" Scully retorted. "Well, it's just that I don't see any big port city, and I think we've gone farther inland than were supposed to have. Haven't you noticed how the water's gotten more green?" "Mulder, the water is naturally green when you go close to shore. It's not anything significant." "What if Bele'm was back on that island that we passed but we missed it?" "Mulder, there was no..." "Island?" Scully's mother interrupted. "What island?" "That really big one that was in the middle of the cove when we entered. We passed it about 20 minutes ago," Troi answered. "But there's no island in the cove where Bele'm is!" "What do you mean, there's no island?!" "I mean that in the cove that goes inland to Bele'm there is no island. In fact, we should have gone *past* several islands before turning in to Bele'm," Margaret replied. "Didn't anyone tell the lookout to watch and make sure we passed Ilha De Marajo' *before* turning to go to Bele'm?" Troi looked at the deck guiltily as all eyes turned to her as if to say, 'Well??'. She looked thoughtfully at the approaching jungle. "So...it will take us a little longer to get to Bele'm, that's all. We can just turn around, right?" "Well, if we're not in the cove where Bele'm is, then where are we?" Mulder quired. At that moment, the ship gave a sudden lurch. Then the already-narrowing sea gave way to a long, narrow tunnel of jungle that lay ahead. The salt water swirled away in a rush of waves, and the ship moved from a blue-green street into a green alley. When they looked back up, they found that the ocean was gone, and now replaced with a green, tropical, rapidly-flowing river. "My guess," Scully moaned with a sigh, "Would be that we just took a wrong turn onto the Amazon River." There was silence for a moment as the houseboat sailed on, leaving the comfort of the open sea behind and drifting into the dark alleyway rivers of the enormous Amazon. The water below was a deep green from the vegetation and foam, and the shores beyond were filled with nothing but trees, trees, and more trees. The roar of the ocean's waves was left behind, and now replaced with the thick churn of the river's flowing waters, and the murmur of bird calls and rumbles from within the surrounding jungle, filling the air with a wild, slightly nervous feeling. "Alright!" Troi's voice broke the tense silence. "I knew I was bound to do something right sooner or later!" "I take it you *wanted* to go on the Amazon River, Troi," Scully said, staring down, (or rather, up,) at the teen. "You bet! Just think, here we are, a gang of adventurers, cruising down the Amazon in search of some new species or something!" "Troi, you *do* realize that there is little, if any, civilization on the Amazon River. We're not going to get to stay in that nice hotel or do those other things we were planning to do if we take a rather dangerous detour." "Lighten up, Scully," Mulder answered. "We've made good time since Cuba, we've got a week or two to spare. Let's forget about civilization for a while and experience a little adventure!" Scully gave Mulder a nervous glance. He had that familiar mischevious twinkle in his eye, the one that meant that he was ready to try something daring, and that no one was going to stop him. Troi looked at Mulder, then hopefully at Scully. Scully rolled her eyes despairingly and looked to her mother for her opinion. She shrugged. "I have no objections personally, but there's a few things I am worried about. This is a rather large boat, even for this big a river, the boat is meant more for the open sea. The ship could easily run aground and become stuck in shallow water, or the river could become so narrow that there wouldn't be any room to turn around, which is what we're going to have to do eventually..." "But that just makes the trip even more exciting," Troi replied. "Oh please, can we go down the river, just for a little bit? We could see so many interesting things!!" Scully looked at Mulder and Troi, who were standing side by side with almost identical oh-please-just-let-us-this-once-and-we'll-never-ask-again looks. She sighed. It was practically useless to resist when those two stuck together with what *they* believed was a good idea. "Oh....why not. I guess we could learn something from this..." "Alright!!" Troi whooped. "But if the river shows any signs of becoming too narrow or too shallow, we're turning around right then, you understand?" "Of course we do!" 'Liars', Scully thought to herself. Margaret shrugged and went back to the captain's quarters to mark out their new course, Tina went below deck to do something else, Samantha ran to get her SamCam, and Mulder and Troi were content to stand at the rail and watch the river for activity. Scully hesitated a moment, then sighed and decided to join them. "...Do you think there are any alligators down there?" Troi was asking Mulder. "Probably, there's all kinds of things living in this jungle. But the boat's way to strong and large for alligators, and I doubt we'll be going ashore." "Darn, I would've really liked to see the jungle," Troi sighed. "Maybe not," Scully added. "Untamed jungles are for the animals that live in them, not invading humans. It could be extremely dangerous. Not just from predators, but other things, too. There's who-knows-how-many posionous plants that have probably never even been identified, not to mention bogs and quicksand and insects..." "Exactly! We could go and find some new bug or plant and name it after ourselves!" Mulder gave a disgusted look. "Who'd want to name a bug a Foxinus Mulderous? It sounds like some kind of disease..." Scully grinned. "Well, why not bugs, Mulder, since they probably are naming every other new high school after us..." "'Fox Mulder High'. Ugh, that's even worse." "Don't some kind of dolphins live in the Amazon River?" Troi quiered, staring down at the deep emerald water. "I'd rather not know." "How come the water's not blue like the ocean if it empties into the ocean?" "I think it's because all this vegetation above and below the water makes it that color. Alge, or some other such thing," Scully asked. As Troi stared down at the water, Mulder glanced up into the sky. The sky was a perfect, cloudless blue, untinged by the grey, smoky residue of civilization. A few colorful birds flew by in the air, swaying on the wind. "Hey, what kind of birds are those?" Mulder questioned, pointing to the creatures as they flew by. Scully studied them. "I'm not sure..." "Those are some kind of cockatoos, maybe sulfur-crested cockatoos, can't tell from this distance..." Troi interrupted. Scully gave Troi a confused look. "How do you know all this?" "Well, you know how I was supposed to be studying my calculus?..." "Never mind, don't answer that." "If we go ashore, I bet I could name all the birds and animals you could point out to me," Troi boasted. "I doubt that. There's so many birds, animals and insects in the Amazon jungles that there's practically thousands of species that haven't even been discovered yet. There's an even larger variety of plants and trees," Scully said. "Then how come all the trees look the same?" Troi asked, turning to Mulder. "I don't know, ask a botanist," Mulder answered. "Do you *ever* run out of questions, Troi?" "That's one I've been pondering over for years," She joked back teasingly. Tina, Samantha and Margaret were up in the captain's quarters at the front of the ship, studying the supposed route the ship would have to take through the river and glancing out the glass-pane front at the emerald street ahead of them. Margaret tapped a few keys on the keyboard of the ship's navagational computer. "I'll have to stay at the helm for a good bit of the time," She commented. "The river's so full of twists and curves that the computer's navigational system may crash us into the nearest shore without a second thought." "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Tina questioned nervously. "I think it would be best if we went straight to Bele'm. There's practically no civilization around here..." "Who needs civilization when you've got a whole jungle ahead of you?" Samantha replied, clearly excited about the entire trip. "Just think of what I could catch on film! I could film the things that you only see on National Geographic! And boy, what I could do with some exotic fruits in the kitchen..." "Sam, although we are going down the river for aways, we're not going ashore, it's too dangerous. We'll stay on the boat until we get to Bele'm." "Oh, Bele'm can wait," Samantha said with a grin. "I'm going to get my camera and film something interesting." She turned and exited the captain's quarters. Margaret gave Tina a familiar smile. "You have a quite a daughter there, Mrs. Mulder." "As do you." "Let's just hope that we're not throwing ourselves into a quicksand pit with this little venture our daughters have thrust on us...if you'll pardon the expression." 3:03 P.M. Monday, August 2nd, 1999 Amazon River, Brazil The tropical heat of the Amazon jungle was like a warm, wet blanket that covered the entire area and refused to be removed. 'The Believer' moved upstream with little, if any effort, and it's passengers did their best to contend with the extreme heat. The day before the entire jungle had suddenly become enveloped in an unexpected downpour, drenching everything in sight with heavy, warm rain, including the people who had accidentally been caught in it. 'The Believer' had been on the Amazon for about two or three days now, and had so far not crossed paths with any other vessels on the river. The group soon discovered that sudden, unexpected downpours were quite common in the Amazon, and learned to take cover at the slightest sign of massing clouds. The tropical rain forest loomed on either side of the green-colored river, showing little, if any, small shores for rocks or sand. Most of the trees grew right up to the edge of the river, some were practically even growing out of it. Although the Amazon had so far been an amazing experience, there were a few things that all the travelers soon learned they had to contend with. One thing was the heat. It was hot and humid from dawn till dusk and dusk till dawn without ant signs of cooler weather. Rainstorms and downpours seemed to come out of a seemingly cloudless sky every couple of hours. Someone had to constantly be at the wheel of 'The Believer' because the river was so curvy. The mosquitoes and other biting bugs were downright vicious, and practically immune to any known bug spray, and the roaring, squawking and cawing of birds and animals from the shores on either side of the river was each person's music for the night. Scully was in her room below deck in order to avoid mosquito attacks, her head thrust forward into the welcome breeze of a small fan resting on her desk. She stared out the window at the passing jungle and sighed with content as she felt the cool air blow through her hair. From noon to about five it was always the hottest, so Scully tried to avoid going up on deck during those times, even if it meant sitting alone in her room. 'Any port will do in a storm,' She thought absent-mindedly. 'Especially a tropical rainforest storm.' Her thoughts were interrupted by three quick taps at her door, and a familiar voice saying, "Knock, knock." "Who's there?" Scully answered. "Tom Cruise." Scully grinned. "Wouldn't Nicole be a bit upset with me if I let you in?" "I don't know. Why don't we find out?" Scully allowed herself to pull away from the fan's breeze to open the door and let Mulder in. He walked right past her and sat down in front of her fan where she had just been sitting, grinning as the cool breeze blew his hair back. Scully glowered at him. "Excuse me, but I believe that was *my* spot you just took." Mulder didn't look up at her as he answered. "Samantha stole my fan again. If you want your spot back, you'll have to get through me, first." "Then that's what I'm gonna do," Scully replied, and she walked over and tried to push Mulder out of the fan's breeze area. It wasn't working, and he smiled as she tried to shift his considerable weight. "Aww, Scully, you're not being very nice. We can both *share* the fan, and then we'll *both* be cooled off," He said in a mocking tone. She glowered at him again and pressed the side of her face against his, attempting to regain the comfortable feeling of cool air blowing through her hair. Mulder pushed back, and they found themselves pressed against each other's cheek, their hair getting strewn about from the blowing fan, happy, childish grins on both their faces. "See Scully, it's good to share things." He said, his voice garbled by the fan's wind. "Oh, and where did you learn this?" She countered in a similar garbled voice. "From that 'All I Need to Know About Life I Learned in Kindergarten' poster I saw in some guy's office one time." "And I guess that's where you also learned to waaaa-!" KRA-BOOM!! Mulder and Scully were thrown backwards as the ship suddenly lurched forward, launching Scully onto her bed and Mulder, unfortunately, onto the hard wood floor. 'The Believer' groaned and creaked for a second, then stopped. Mulder and Scully picked themselves up out of the confusion. They stared at each other for two seconds, then picked themselves up and rushed up onto deck. Troi, Samantha, Tina and Margaret were already there, with Scully's mother shaking her head with worry. Scully was the first to notice that the ship had stopped moving; the usual tapestry of jungle life was no longer drifting by. "What happened?" Troi asked anxiously. Margaret shook her head. "We came up on an unexpected shallow part in the river. The ship's plowed completely into the soft mud and stopped. The reversal engines won't cooperate, there's too much muck clumped onto them. We're stuck." "What do you *mean*, we're stuck?!" Scully cried, rushing to the edge of the ship. "I mean that the ship's not going anywhere. I tried reversing the engines, they won't budge an inch. We've stopped completely," Her mother answered. Scully and Mulder looked over the edge of the rail. It was true, the ship had stopped completely in its tracks. The emerald river flowed on by without a care, but the ship was not racing along with its rapidly-flowing waters. Scully could barely make out the bottom of the shallow part of the river; an enormous mudbank. They were stuck fast. "So what's it going to take to move this thing?" Margaret thought for a moment before answering again. "If the propeller engines won't work now, they're probably not going to any time later. I don't think it would do much good to try and plow through the mudbank either, it's too thick. What I think might work is if we got a bunch of good, well-built boats to perhaps tow the ship backwards and then we can turn around..." "A bunch of boats?!" Scully almost yelled. "We're smack in the middle of the Amazon River! There isn't a spark of electricity or a drop of gasoline for miles and miles! Where are we going to get *boats*?!?!" "Actually, there's a city called Manaus that's aways down the river that you guys can reach. It's a very large city, in fact, one of the most populated in all of Brazil. I'm sure they'll have plenty of boats and people that can help tow the boat back out. The place is practically as big as Bele'm." "Well, how far away is it?" "Last time I checked the map, it was about 170 miles..." Mulder and Scully exchanged glances. "Uh, Mrs. Scully...how do you expect us to get to a city 170 miles down the river if our only transportation is stuck like a hippo in a drainpipe?" Samantha suddenly brightened. "Hey...I know what we can use!" "What?" "Come on...follow me!" Troi had rarely ever gone to the bottom level of the boat, maybe once or twice, counting the time she had first explored 'The Believer'. Aside from the one living room with the steelglass-bottom floor, there was nothing to see. It was mostly just for storage of food and supplies and fuel, along with various other things. The engine room was also down here, and the ususal hissing and chugging of the huge machines was now silent. Troi didn't exactly like it down here, it was cold, dark and usually very lonely. And there wasn't anything to see through the glass-bottom floor except mud, anyway. Samantha opened another large metal door that stood before them, and the group of six found themselves in another storage room. Samantha sighed and pulled out another key for the door ahead of them. "What exactly are you looking for, Samantha?" Tina quiered curiously. "It's somewhere back here, I know..." Samantha muttered to herself, fumbling around with the keys to the next door. She unlocked it quickly, and the door creaked open. The other five stepped inside cautiously. "Oh, here it is!" They all squinted briefly as a sudden, bright light flooded the room, due to Samantha flicking on several large overhead lights. The lights made a dull clicking noise as they switched on, revealing what lay within the room. It was a speedboat. A small black and white speedboat, large enough to fit eight or more people. It looked brand-new, the paint was still fresh, but it appeared to have been gathering dust for some time now. The speedboat was equiped with a considerably good steering system, complete with an automatic motor, speed control and a navigational computer similar to the one on the houseboat itself; all state-of-the-art equipment. 'The Skeptic' was painted on either side of the boat in small black letters. "I completely forgot this was down here," Samantha said. "But one of the people who we got 'The Believer' from said this came with the boat. Pretty handy, don't you think?" Scully's eyebrows raised as she read the boat's name. "Samantha, about the name..." "Well hey, Scully, I'm the big boat..." Mulder joked. "...And I'm the miniature size. I get it, I get it," Scully said with a groan. "I named it," Samantha added. "Yeah, I would've figured." "Hey, I get it..." Troi said. "We can take this boat out onto the river to go and get help from Manaus! Wow, this is great!" "Sure thing. All this thing needs is a little hosing down to get the dust off, a little gasoline and a few supplies for a day or two's journey and we can put her out on the water!" Samantha exclaimed. "She's good as new, ready to use." "Are you sure that's a good idea, Sam?..." Tina questioned. "I don't think we have much of a choice at this point," Scully answered. "If what mom says about the engines is true, then the only way we'll be able to get back out is to get help from someone in Manaus. Someone will have to go." "Samantha, Scully and I can go, and the rest of you can stay behind and guard the fort," Mulder suggested. Troi glared irritably. "What about me? You're not going to leave me here to rot on the boat, are you?" Scully gave Troi a look. "Troi, it's far too dangerous..." "Yeah, that's what they all say," Troi countered rolling her eyes. "I didn't see *your* mom telling you 'Dana, it's far too dangerous' when you were going to go into Base 3 to find the killswitch and all that..." "...And as I recall, Troi, you snuck in when we *told* you to stay put." "So you can avoid that this time and just have me come along in the first place!" Mulder gave Scully a knowing glance. "Oh, Scully, I'm sure one extra person wouldn't hurt. In fact, it'd probably be more of a help..." Scully held up her hands in defeat. "Fine, Mulder, you always side with Troi, anyway...she can come." "Woohoo!" "I just *know* I'm going to regret this..." 5:19 P.M. Monday, August 2nd, 1999 Amazon River 'The Skeptic' stood on the docking platform inside 'The Believer', it's white paint now sparkling new without the dust of the weeks it had stayed inside. Troi clambered inside the speedboat to inspect it's conditions. Even though it was fairly large, it still wouldn't be that comfortable. Margaret threw one last bag into the storage area at the back of the boat and went over her list of materials out loud. "I've packed enough food for two week's journey, though I'm hoping you will be back in less than a week; 'The Skeptic's almost as fast as 'The Believer'. There's also two full tanks of gasoline should you run out. And in there's tents, sleeping bags and other provisions for making a campground and spending the night..." "You mean we're going to have to go to shore and spend the night?" Scully cried, surprised. "Of course, Dana. The trip's too long to make in one day, even in the speedboat, and there just isn't enough room for anyone to sleep on the boat. Sleeping in a small speedboat is a bad idea, anyway. You'll have to make a camp in the jungle for the nights close to the shore." "This is sounding better by the minute!" Troi exclaimed, finding her seat amongst the ones on the boat. Scully sighed. "Well, the sooner we get going, the sooner we can get back and shift this thing out of this mudhole." Dressed in appropriate clothes for the climate and terrain, Mulder, Scully, Troi and Samantha climbed aboard 'The Skeptic' and took their seats on the boat. Margaret flicked some switches at a control pannel in the room, and two large, double doors opened slowly with a dull drone, revealing the bright sunlight and dark green water beyond the boat. Then another lever began pulling 'The Skeptic' away from the room it sat in, backing it out into the river beyond. There was a dull 'thump' as the speedboat touched water, wetting its hull for the first time. The four passengers turned and waved to the two women still on 'The Believer', and watched as the double doors slowly closed again. Within minutes, they were alone on the river. "Alright, let's see what this baby can do," Mulder said sarcastically, flicking the key that started the engine. A dull, reassuring hum came from beneath the craft, and 'The Skeptic' pitched forward in the water. Mulder pulled at the steering wheel sharply to the left, and the vessel turned to go back around the front of the ship and start back down the Amazon. For a few minutes, they sat and watched the gigantic, black and white hull of 'The Believer' pass by on their left, and then they passed the prow and shot out into the emerald alley. Scully glanced back at their beloved houseboat as they began to move forward. "I hope we get back alright. Mom was right, 'The Believer' got stuck on a pretty shallow mudbank. It'll take a lot of boatpower to shift this thing!" "Speaking of boatpower, let's rock and roll!" Mulder cried, increasing the speed of 'The Skeptic'. The speedboat accelerated and shot down the Amazon with an exciting roar of engine blades churning the foamy water. Looking back, they all waved at Tina and Margaret standing on the prow; Troi giving them a thumbs-up. They went forward aways, then turned a sharp corner in the river and were lost in the deep, untamed jungle. All four fell quiet as the sounds closed in around them. They suddenly reasized that they were very alone in a wild jungle, and it awed them into silence. All that could be heard was the steady drone of 'The Skeptic's motor, the rapid rushing of the Amazon and the neverending sounds of birds and animals from within the jungle. It was an amazing variety of noises, from high-pitched bird shrieks to the deep grumbling of water rushing over rocks. Scully stood at the prow and kept a lookout for rocks, alligators, plants or shallow mudbanks, but the speedboat was small enough to avoid most obstacles. Mulder sat at the small control center in the center of the boat, keeping an eye on their speed and direction. Samantha and Troi just sat quietly and watched the jungle pass by. After what seemed like an eternity, a voice broke the noisy silence. "Are we there yet?" 8:10 P.M. Monday, August 2nd, 1999 Amazon River "This looks like a good place to stop." The others followed Scully's motion as she pointed to a small dirt bank on the corner of the river just ahead of them. Mulder turned the wheel, and they headed in that direction. It had been a long, hot afternoon on the Amazon, and the passing river had seemed to make the heat even more unbearable. The river had so many curves and turns that Mulder almost couldn't take his hands off the wheel. They had seen several interesting birds flying by, and once spotted a striped, pig-like animal coming to the river to drink, but little else. The group had been lucky enough to not encounter any obstacles, whether animal, plant or mineral, but they had been looking all evening for a place for them to dock 'The Skeptic'. The bank that Scully had just noticed seemed suitible enough. Mulder directed the speedboat almost directly onto the land before cutting the engine. He stood up, dropped the anchor, and gazed around at the jungle. "I guess you're right, Scully. If we stay close to the river and watch our backs, we should get off in the morning without a hitch." Scully got out of the boat and stretched. It felt good to 1have her feet on solid ground again. She also observed the scene. "See, there's even a little path right here." "Path?" Troi questioned. "It could be a gametrail. If it is, we shouldn't camp here, predators hang around gametrails." "But I don't see any animal footprints. I think this is just a natural thing, no plants decided to grow here or something." Samantha suggested. Troi looked doubtful, but shrugged and helped to unpack their equipment to make camp. Samantha went through a list of their suppiles. "There's two tents, one for Fox and Dana, and one for me and Troi. They're waterproof, fireproof, airproof, bugproof, rainproof...heck, they have enough proofs to expose three government conspiracies. It's a good thing we have the protection, it'll keep out bugs and other critters, both the annoying kind and the poisonous kind. Real easy to set up, too. Then we've also got some food for dinner, although I am against us starting a campfire. Fire in a tropical jungle is never a good idea. There's sleeping bags and lanterns, plus appropriate clothing for sleeping in the jungle." Mulder, Scully and Troi looked at Samantha anxiously, as if she were forgetting the most important thing of all. She smiled. "Oh, yes...and enough hand fans to satisfy an army." This was followed by a trio of heavy sighs of relief. About an hour later, the sun had gone down completely, shrouding the jungle in dark velvet. Two everything-proof tents sat facing each other in a small clearing in the surrounding trees, sitting silently as if they had always been there. None of the animals living nearby took notice, especially since the tents were black and dark green for camaflouge. Scully took a big swig of her water and sprinkled some over her red hair, then proceeded to blow the small hand fan into her face in the effort of creating a comfortably cool breeze. She was dressed in as little clothing as possible, considering that she was in a sealed tent in the middle of a tropical jungle...in the same tent as Mulder. He himself had stripped himself of his shirt and lay on top of his sleeping bag in his shorts, also putting his hand fan to good use. "One thing I know I miss...it's that ocean breeze we always felt every night before bed," Scully said, breaking the brief silence. "I thought it was a bad idea to go down the Amazon without a care in the world..." "But did you enjoy it, Scully?" Mulder asked. "Are you glad that we decided to take this crazy detour? You don't regret it, do you?" "No, of course I don't. I think it's amazing that we got to see all that we saw while on the river; it's a once in a lifetime experience. I just wish that we had planned things out a little more, that's all." "Not all things have to be planned out. Some of the best things come about unexpectedly, without any foreplanning," Mulder mused to himself. He turned to Scully. "What do you think? Do you think life is just chance, that it just comes as it is? ...Or is it planned out for you, is it destiny? Do you think some things are just meant to be?" Scully sighed heavily and shook some remaining water droplets from her hair. "I don't know...I used to think that life was all chance, that nothing was ever meant to be. But now....I'm not so sure." "What made you change your mind?" "I don't know that, either. It's like one day I wake up and I think, I'll just take whatever comes at me, then the next, it's like I suddenly realize that some things in life are destined for me, that I can't avoid them no matter how hard I try." "Like what?" "Us..." She said slowly. "Us together." Mulder lay silent for a minute. "Sometimes, out of the blue, I'll wonder about that." "About what?" "Those last months...if what happened was because fate was being defied. That something had to be done to make sure we reached our destiny. That if what you did...what I did...was because we somehow knew that we couldn't have it any other way." "You think it was destiny that brought us back together?" "I...think so." "But why?" Scully pondered. "We're the two most unlikely people in the world to have a relationship. I'm a dedicated, sensible scientist, and you're an emotional, passionate believer. We've argued more than Saddam Hussein and the US weapons inspectors. Why us?" Mulder looked into her eyes. "Do you believe in soulmates, Scully?" Scully stopped, momentairily lost for an answer. This wasn't a sarcastic joke, he really meant it. Looking back at him, she suddenly didn't know what to say. Her mind and heart battled for the appropriate answer.... but which one was she supposed to believe? "Yes," She said slowly. "I guess I do." Mulder smiled broadly. "Is that a scientific enough explanation enough for you, Dr. Scully?" She rolled her eyes. "Good night, Mulder. It's late. We've got a full day of river driving ahead, and you'll be at the wheel again." Mulder smiled again, and rolled over to get comfortable on top of his sleeping bag. "Good night, Scully. Don't let the poisonous Amazonian mosquitoes bite." Despite the continuous chorus of bugs, birds, rain and rivers, both Mulder and Scully found themselves almost instantly in a peaceful, pleasant sleep. 8:44 A.M. Tuesday, August 3rd, 1999 Amazon Jungle The sun had long since risen over the tropical rainforest before Scully even considered coming out of her peaceful slumber. She blinked her eyes lazily and glanced over to her right. Mulder was still there, and still fast asleep. She smiled with contentment and settled back into onto her sleeping bag. They had plenty of time, there wasn't any hurry... "Fox, Dana, get up!!" A familiar, urgent voice interrupted Scully's sleepy thoughts and caused her to blink into wakefulness. She glanced up and saw Samantha's sillouette outside the tent. Scully groaned and put her head back down on the pillow, not wanting to get up and strain her aching bones. "Samantha, go away...." Bright sunlight burst on her vision as Samantha unzipped the tent door and thrust her head inside, red-brown hair strewn about. She glared at the tent's two sleepy occupants. "Dana, Fox, I'm serious! Get up and get dressed now!" Mulder slowly awoke, stared at his little sister's form, and coughed lightly. "What is it?" "You have to go out and help me now. Troi's missing!" "*What*?!!" Scully suddenly sprang up, fully awake and filled with renewed, anxious energy. "What do you mean, *missing*?!?" "I mean that I woke up this morning and she wasn't in the tent. I went outside to look around and called her name, but she wasn't there, either. And then I checked down to see if she was at 'The Skeptic', but she wasn't there, or on the path, and I looked all around, but I couldn't find her!" Mulder and Scully both rushed out of the small tent in a fury, despite the lack of proper clothes. A few glances around the campsite proved Samantha's words true: Troi was nowhere in sight. "Where could she possibly have gone?" Scully cried, trying to hide the anxiety in her voice." "I don't care, but wherever she is, we're going to find her," Mulder said determedly. He charged back into his tent, threw on a shirt and a jacket, threw an extra shirt at Scully and grabbed up three water bottles for them all. "I'm not wasting a minute. Throw on some shoes and get whatever else you'll need. We're going after her, and we're going to find her." 15 minutes later, the colorful tropical birds that resided in the high treetops of the jungle watched three lone humans pass by on the small trail, their heads darting left in right as if in a desperate search. Mulder stood at the front with a large mache'te, hacking away at any plants that stood in their path. They were surrounded on all sides by enormous ferns, untouched tree trunks, colorful tropical flowers and other various exotic flora. Although no creatures appeared before them, all three got the obvious sensation that they were being watched...and followed. Sweat poured off of Mulder's forehead and down his back as he tromped forwards through the foliage without thought or direction, hacking merciessly away at the ferns and roots ahead, his heart thundering loudly in his chest. Somewhere in this maze of tree trunks and ferns, Troi was lost....but not if he could help it. There was no talking between the three as they trekked deeper into the jungle. The only thing on their minds at the moment was the safety of Troi, as well as her whereabouts. Samantha's neck was getting sore from darting it left and right, and Scully's throat was dry from calling her name over and over again. 'We've got to find her fast,' She thought. 'there's no telling why she might have left and where she went...or what Mulder will do to find her. If there's one thing he won't accept, it's losing her again...' Scully almost bumped right into Mulder's back as he stopped abruptly. She was about to question his reason for an uncalled halt, but then noticed why: the trail had ended. The small dirt path that they had been treading on stopped suddenly right up to a huge, moss-covered boulder. Rocks in this part of the jungle were very rare, so the boulder came as a surprise. There was nothing else for them to follow; just trees, plants and ferns. Mulder glanced around him in all directions. He wiped hot sweat from his forehead and bit his lip anxiously. Finally, he turned to his two companions. "We're going to have to split up. There's nothing else for us to follow, and it may take twice as long to find Troi if we stay together." Samantha and Scully eyed him nervously. "Fox...maybe we should stick together." Samantha suggested. "No, we have to find her as quickly as possible. You all have a gun or weapon of some sort; you can defend yourself against any predators. We meet back here in an hour, with or without Troi. It should be easy to find this spot with the boulder again." Scully and Samantha stared at each other, then nodded to Mulder in acknowledgement. With that, Mulder stormed off into the trees, leaving Scully and Samantha to find their own routes. Mulder chopped and hacked at every branch that stood in his path as if it were an enemy in a battle, hewing great green arms lifeless to the jungle floor. Birds, insects and small mammals darted out of the way at the sound of his footsteps thundering through the tree trunks, not wanting to be caught in the path of this treacherous stranger. Mulder paid no attention to where he was going, paid no attention to the hot sweat that practically flowed out of his skin, but kept pressing onward, too desperate to even shout out Troi's name. 'This is all my fault. I shouldn't have encouraged Troi to come with us, it was far too dangerous. She could be hurt or... killed now because of me. I shouldn't have told Scully and Samantha to split up, either, they could be seriously hurt, too. This is all an account of my stupidity, I've got to find her, got to fix it....' His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a strange feeling. He suddenly felt much heavier, and slower. His boots were squishing and squelching with the sound of mud between the treads. Regardless of the squishy terrain, he plunged into the jungle further until the mud became so thick and so heavy that he could barely lift his feet. Mulder struggled to take another step through the squelchy, unpleasant mud. To his utter terror, he discovered that he couldn't lift his feet. His boot remained planted squarely on the ground. And now that he glanced around, he found that there were no plants or trees growing anywhere within five feet of him. He looked down at his feet and groaned aloud. "I should've expected this....it always happens in the movies." Within seconds, Mulder found himself up to his ankles in thick, black quicksand. Mulder felt panic build up inside him as he slowly began to sink. He twisted around, trying to see if there was anything that he could grab onto. There was nothing all around him but that horrible black sand that was slowly, slowly, sucking him down. 'Alright, Mulder, don't panic. Think.' He told himself. The first thing he did was stop struggling; he knew that doing that would only make him sink faster. But despite this, he still continued to drop lower into the unstable ground. After looking around him once again for something to get him out, he decided that there was only one option left: "SCULLY!!!" No one answered except the birds, frogs and insects. Mulder tried again. "SCULLY! SOMEBODY, HELP!!!" Still no answer. The panic began to build up to the point of insanity inside Mulder as he sank deeper. The quicksand hole was like some sinsiter monster devouring him hungrily, slowly swallowing him whole. Although good sense told him not to, he struggled against the sand, trying to work his way back out. This only enlarged the quicksand's appetite, and he sank even deeper. Within what seemed like no time at all, he was up to his waist in the wet, sticky, black goop; all hope of him getting out on his own was lost. The quicksand bubbled and frothed around him eagerly, causing his panic and terror to double in size. "SCULLY!!! OVER HERE, HELP ME!!!" Scully was working her foot out of a twisted tree root somewhere within the gigantic trees that surrounded her. She had been marching through this city of rainforest trees for the last 20 minutes, shouting Troi's name over and over again, but her efforts were fruitless. Despite her sense of despair and horror, she tried to keep herself calm and make a sensible path through the forest. Once she had encountered a dangerous-looking snake wrapped around the tree, but the reptile hadn't even noticed her. She was beginning to wonder if they would ever find Troi, or if they would ever get out of this steamy greenhouse, when an echoing yell echoing through the trees reached her ears: "SCULLY, SAMANTHA, SOMEBODY! HELP!!" She recognized that voice anywhere. Freeing her foot, she took off into the jungle at a desperate sprint, shouting in the direction that she had heard Mulder's voice. "Mulder, where are you?!!" "SCULLY, OVER HERE, HURRY!!" "KEEP SHOUTING!" "HURRY UP, SCULLY!!" Scully ran through the trees as fast as her boots and gear and the surrounding trees would allow in the direction that the shouts were coming from. The urgency of Mulder's voice pressed her onwards, regardless of fern leaves and vines whipping in her face. Her heart drummed in her chest like a hammer on an anvil, her breath came in short, ragged gasps. "MULDER, WHERE ARE YOU?!?!" She felt her shoes suddenly becoming enveloped in mud. Ignoring the squishy feeling underfoot, she darted through the trees before suddenly skidding to a halt. Mulder was stuck in the middle of a black, oozing pool of quicksand, a look of terror and dismay written all over his face. And it was no wonder... he had sunken in quicksand up to his chest and was going even deeper. "What took you so long?!!" Scully bit her lip and shook hair out of her face, the urgency of the situation washing over her like a tidal wave. "Hang on, Mulder. I'll get you out of there!" The question was, *how*?! She searched around her for anything long that she could use to haul him back out. She grabbed at the first thing she saw; a large, rotting stick. Scully scrambled to the edge of the quicksand pit and extended the stick in Mulder's direction. He stretched his arm forwards and reached for it, but the stick was still about three feet from his fingertips. "It's too short!" Scully cried with dismay. "Grow!" Mulder shouted in a heroic voice. "Grow now!" "*Excuse me*??!" "Sorry. It worked on that one show 'Merlin'." 'Only Mulder would be quoting TV specials while sinking in a pit of quicksand,' Scully thought to herself as she searched the leafy grounds around her for a longer projectile. She picked up and tossed aside several sticks that were still too short, sweat pouring off her body, all the while listening to that horrible gurguling and groaning of sand that was Mulder slowly being sucked to his death. Finally, Scully came across an old moss-covered log embedded into the earth. She dug at the ground around the wood to lift it out, hands raw and bleeding. After what seemed like an eternity of shifting the soft earth, she hauled the log out of its resting place and dragged it over to the quicksand pit. "Mulder, I've got it!" She yelled aloud. And not a moment too soon. The quicksand was up to his neck and pulling him down with a vengance. The only thing that remained visible of Mulder now was his head and two arms grasping desperately for the log that Scully began to position towards him. "Mulder, hang on!" "I'd love to, but I'm kinda stuck here," He groaned. Scully rolled the log widthways into the quicksand, extending it right to Mulder's reach. He grasped out desperately and grabbed and the damp wood, getting as good a grip as possible. Then, his hand began to slip. "Scul--" Scully extended her arm desperately as the sand covered his mouth, drowning out his words. He held onto the mossy log with both arms while Scully began to pull him back, even as the log itself began to sink. Straining with all her muscles, she pulled insanely. Slowly, slowly yet surely, Mulder's head rose back out of the sand. He latched his fingernails into the damp wood and pulled his body weight out of the thick grey muck as the quicksand continued to try and swallow him. Scully found herself in a tug-o-war battle against the horrible mudhole, with Mulder as the rope. "Almost there...." "Welcome to another episode of the SamCam..." Mulder and Scully were both so surprised that they nearly let go of the log. They stared at each other for a minute before turning their heads to where the voice had come from. "...August 3rd, 1999. In a life-or-death struggle against the hungry forces of nature, the brave Dana Scully attempts to save her partner from this pit of doom by dragging him out of the sands with nothing but her strength and a wooden board! Will our heroic Fox make it out of this deadly black hole of des-" "If you're so interested in making this a Kodak moment, Sam, why don't you come over here and give us a hand!!" Scully yelled with enough irritation to send a tree sloth *running* for cover. "But this is *so* Indiana Jones!" Samantha protested. The looks on the faces of her two friends sent Samantha scrambling to the edge of the pit, video camera and all. Together, she and Scully hauled a wet, sticky, gasping Mulder back onto firm ground, where all three of them lay panting. After a few minutes, they stood up to try and get their wits about them. Samantha took one look at Mulder and began laughing hilariously. "What's so dang funny?!!" Mulder sputtered. "You...you look like a regular muck man from the landfill!! Ha-ha-haa!" Mulder glanced down and groaned. It was true...he was covered from chin to toes in a layer of thick, gray, sticky mud, which had seemed to dry and harden in a matter of seconds. He tried to brush the mud off of him, but it stuck to him like a bad habit, and Samantha couldn't get enough of it. "Mulder..." Scully groaned, "How on earth could you possibly get yourself into such a mess?" Mulder sighed heavily. "I got so angry at myself, I wasn't watching where I was going...." He stopped and winced. "And where have I gotten us now? Absolutely nowhere closer to finding Troi than when we started." Scully detected that familiar tone in his voice. "Mulder...please don't start..." Before any of them could say another word, a sound vibrated through the treetops and reached their ears. At first it sounded like a dull rumble, a low drone, like a million bees buzzing. But then it gradually became louder and louder. The sound of ferns and tree branches being torn aside was heard, causing the trio to back up wearily. Birds began to schreech from all above the trees and took off flying in various directions above the jungle. The rumbling grew louder and more audible, and the snapping and crushing of vegetation was so close it seemed like-- A muddy, panicked, insane-looking Troi burst through the foliage ahead of them and ran straight into Mulder. Troi took one look at Mulder and screamed aloud. Mulder grabbed at Troi's arms, and she struggled to break free, opening her mouth to scream again. "Whoa, hey, Troi, it's me! Where in God's name have you been?!?!..." Troi stopped her struggling and stared at Mulder with wide eyes. "What the heck happened to *you*?!!" "Don't ask." A few quick glances revealed to Troi that she had found her friends. She let out a long, heavy sigh of relief, but then tensed again as the panic returned. "Come on, we have to get out of here!!" She yelled, grabbing Mulder by the arm. "Wha-what's going on? Troi, how did you-" "There's no time to explain!" She shouted, towing them out of the cover of the trees. "We've gotta run to 'The Skeptic'!" The three tried to ask more questions, but were unable to because of Troi's neverending urging for them to hurry and go faster. The steady rumbling that had been coming from behind Troi was increasing greatly in volume, until it became clear that it was actually the pounding footsteps of many feet. The four dashed headlong through the trees for several long minutes before they suddenly burst through the ferns and back on to the path, right where the gigantic boulder was. 'We must have been going in circles if we were this close to the path,' Scully thought to herself. The footsteps were very close now, and the sound of plants, leaves and branches being torn from their roots returned, only much louder than Troi's sudden appearance. "Run for it!!" Troi shouted aloud. Not bothering to ask questions, they dashed back down the path. The surrounding jungle suddenly erupted in dozens of animals running aimlessly through the trees, and they ran onto the trail behind and ahead and on all sides of the group. Giant Anteaters and Armadilloes, striped Capybaras, spotted Ocellots, some strange deer-like animals and an untold number of exotic, colorful, howling and screeching monkeys and birds raced along the path and jungle as if trying to escape an atom bomb. "WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS?!!" Mulder yelled at the top of his lungs as some strange green-and-yellow bird got in his face, getting feathers in his hair. "Just run!!" Was the only response he recieved, not counting the snorts and squeaks and squeals and schreeches of every animal imaginable on all sides of them. They sprinted down the trail without stopping for what seemed like forever, completely ignoring the sweat on their backs or their pounding hearts or the squeals of the Capybaras that they seemed to trip over every two seconds. Finally, they could stand it no longer. Their pace was reduced to half of their original run, and they dashed down the dirt trail onwards without stopping. Even most of the animals began to get tired and slow; most of them were built for camaflouging themselves, not running. The Anteaters and Armadilloes and Capybaras and Ocellots and deer and monkeys and birds began to diminish, each going off on a seperate path into the endless maze of trees. Finally, after an eternity of running, the trees broke way to reveal their campsite, just the way they had left it....except for one thing. Several of the animals that had followed the trail all the way to the river stopped abruptly and turned around to head back into the jungle. But only because they could see the long row of spikes and two twin eyes sticking up out of the shallow water that signaled the presence of alligators in the river. One rather stupid Capybara ran straight to the waters edge in an effort to get away from the invisible enemy. One of the still rows of spikes and eyes shot up like a thunderbolt, white teeth flashing with river water, and grabbed the striped pig-like mammal by the neck. There was a quick squeal and splash as the Capybara was dragged under, never to be seen again. The four stopped by their tents, panting for breath, throats dry from the lack of water. Mulder, Scully and Samantha all looked at Troi for a number of important explanations, but she ignored their tried and angry faces and made her prediction. "I think we're safe now...I think they've gone," She panted. "Who?!" "I'll explain later. It's still not safe to stay on land anymore. We need to get this stuff packed up as fast as possible, get in the boat, and get back on the river. We need to do it *fast*." "Troi..." "I'll tell you everything once we're safe on the river!" She exclaimed. "Come on, help me get these tents back up!" Without another word of explanation, Troi began to vigorously tear down the tents, yanking the poles out of their holders and the pegs out of the ground. The other three stared at each other for a moment, then began to help. They tore down the tents in half the time it would have normally taken them, and began to pack up all of their supplies. "We've gotta hurry...the predators will be here any minute for the kills, and we don't want to be here when they do," Troi stuttered, throwing some cooking utensils into a bag and tying it tightly. "What is this all about?" Scully protested as she threw another tent bag into 'The Skeptic'. The alligators watched with interest, but didn't move. "You disappear during the night, worry us out of our right minds as to where you are, and then suddenly appear out of nowhere and tell us to start running, and then we find ourselves in the middle of an exotic pig stampede! What exactly is going on here?!" Troi was about to answer again, but then stopped. She glanced around at the surrounding jungle, eyes searching. Then here eyes drew up to the treetops above them. A low rumble sounded from above. Not like the stampede, but more like a purring... "Go, hurry up!" She shouted suddenly. "Get in the boat, we gotta get outta here!!" Mulder, Scully and Samantha decided not to argue. They threw the rest of their supplies into the boat regardless of the need to be stored properly. Scully prepared to climb into the boat, but stopped abruptly as an alligator's head lifted out of the shallow water right in front of her, mouth open in an evil grin. Mulder rushed over to Scully without hesitating, picked her up by the waist, and threw her almost effortlessly into the speedboat right over the alligator's head. The alligator snorted in anger and began to climb up onto shore even as Mulder grabbed Samantha and launched her into the boat as well. Mulder backed away as two hungry alligators rose slowly out of the water, finally realizing that these creatures were smarter than to run into the water without a second thought. Adrenalin coursing through him, Mulder heaved Troi into the boat next to Scully and Samantha, despite her surprised protests. Then Mulder began to back away as the two alligators advanced from the river. And right at that moment, two large, furry, spotted Jaguars dropped effortlessly from the branches above. Growling and purring dangerously, they also began to move towards him, teeth and claws bared. "Why does everything have to happen to me?!" Mulder wailed aloud as the two pairs of predators moved towards him on all sides on him. Scully scrambled into the driver's seat of 'The Skeptic' and twisted the ignition key. The engine of the speedboat grumbled and hummed to life, twisting the propellers into action. "Mulder, run! Try and get into the boat!" She shouted aloud. Mulder glanced to his left. Two spiked alligators were coming. He looked to his right. Two spotted jaguars were coming. Left, right. Alligators, jaguars. Neither looked like a very pleasant way to go. Letting out a shout, he leaped aside as alligator and jaguar pounced at once, bumping heads. The two animals roared and snorted in anger and began to fight each other, teeth and claws clashing. Meanwhile, the remaining alligator and jaguar started after Mulder as he began to sprint down the banks of the river after 'The Skeptic'. "Hurry up!" Scully yelled. "Keep the boat slow and I might!" He countered back. The alligator tried to catch Mulder, but it was clear that the big, bulky animal was not built for speed on land, and it stopped not long after it gave chase. The jaguar, however, was the real problem. The big, spotted cat was racing along behind Mulder at a breakneck speed, teeth and claws ready to use. Scully kept the boat going, but tried to go slow enough so that Mulder could catch up. But it was clear that the jaguar was much faster than Mulder. With each pace Mulder made, the jaguar made a leap twice as long. He could practically feel the animal breathing on his back, claws ready to throw him to the ground and teeth ready to do their dirty work on his limbs, which were growing weaker with each pace. "Mulder, GO!!!" With 'The Skeptic' practically right next to the jungle's edge, Mulder took a flying leap to one side with a yell, just as the jaguar pounced upon him. He landed on his chest on the hard wood floor of the boat with a groan of pain. A splash and roar from behind told that the jaguar's leap had landed it straight into the river. The big cat clawed its way back to land and shook water from its whiskers, glaring as the speedboat tore its way down the Amazon, away from the echoing jungle. 10:19 A.M. Tuesday, August 3rd, 1999 Amazon River The noise of the jungle and the river died away as 'The Skeptic' stood at a halt in the middle of the Amazon, content to simply drift along with the rapid flow of the liquid emerald. The calls and cries of birds from above continued on as if nothing had ever happened. The flow of the river and the passing of the trees went on and on in an endless tapestry of regained peace. Mulder sat glaring furiously at nothing in particular as Scully applied another bandage on his arm. They had finally managed to scrape the mud off of his clothes and skin, and Scully was now setting to work caring for his injuries. Fortunately, he had not suffered anything serious except for scratches, bruises and cuts from their exhausting journey. "Do you find it ironic that this is the second time that you have treated me for an injury regarding an insane animal since we started this trip?" Mulder moaned, wincing as Scully applied some stinging disinfectant. "Of course not," She sighed jokingly. Then her expression grew serious as she turned back to Troi. "Now...you had better start explaining yourself, young lady. You got yourself, Mulder, and all of us into some pretty deep trouble running off like that. What on earth did you think you were doing?" Troi took a large gulp from her water bottle and wiped off the bit that had dripped onto her chin. She sighed heavily and looked at the deck. "Well?" "I...couldn't sleep." "Troi, do you honestly think that I would except an answer like that?" "But you have to understand...It was so horrible..." "Then tell us what it is!" Troi swallowed hard before starting. "I....had another dream." There was silence from the other people. They stared at her expectantly. "Don't look at me like that. I dreamed there was...a storm. This huge, horrible storm. Continuous lightning and thunder, and rain...there was so much rain it seemed like all the water in the world was pouring down. And there was so much wind... And I saw...our boat, the houseboat...it was caught in the storm. It was like we were all trying to keep it steady, but the storm was too big, and it was tearing everything apart, and Dana, Dana......." She stopped, unable to go on. Mulder was about to question further, but Scully halted him. "It's okay, Troi. I don't want you to fret over any dream anymore. But that still doesn't explain why you suddenly decided to run off by yourself." Troi looked back up after swallowing several times. "I woke up from the dream, and I had a splitting headache, and my back hurt, too..." Scully started, feeling a twinge of anxiety within her. Troi had often been complaining about waking up with bad headaches, which eventually just went away, but this was the first time she had mentioned her back hurting... "I went otuside for some fresh air, and I saw this dead Capybara lying at the edge of the camp. I went over to it and I noticed that it had died from a gunshot wound, which I thought was rather weird. Just then, I heard this noise from above, so I got out of the way and this Jaguar dropped out of the trees, picked up the Capybara and ran off. I was kind of confused, but then I remembered that gunshot wound...." "If the Capybara had been shot, that means there must have been someone nearby with a gun, and possibly a boat!" Samantha exclaimed, finding the connection. "That's what I thought, too. I threw on some clothes and other things without waking up Sam and followed that trail all the way to the big boulder and then past it. And *then* I finally found this village, this tribe. A tribe of Native South Americans..." "A Native South American tribe? You mean like the kind you read about in National Geographic, that have customs hundreds of years old, that haven't been touched by civilization? How cool!" Samantha exclaimed. "Not exactly. I noticed that several of the people were wearing civilian clothes, and quite a few of them had these big guns, like the kind big gamers use. I'm not entirely sure of this, it's just my guess, but I think that what happened was that a group of big-game hunters found the tribe and tried to teach them the ways of hunting for sport. And unlike most native people, these people took the ideas to heart. I know, I watched the whole thing...I watched them go out with the guns, and start shooting every animal in sight. All of the animals took off running, onto another one of those game trails, until they dispersed like what happened with us. But there were several of the animals shot, and they were just left there to die. Almost as soon as the tribe left, all the predators, like the jaguars and alligators, came out and began feasting on all the dead animals. I didn't really want to see much more. It was like some horrible game, and it was all caused by some influence from our modern society...I decided that I had to get back to the camp so we could get out of here. I guess I got lost for several hours. Before I knew it, it was daytime..." "...And we were out looking for you, worried half to death," Scully glowered. "Dana, I'm sorry...I kept trying to find my way back, I hadn't meant to stay away so long. But it was well into the morning, I think, when I heard those gunshots again, and heard that gang of animals running. I just ran like heck until I ran into Mulder, and...well, you know the rest." "Yes, thanks for the warm reception," Mulder said sarcastically. "I'm sorry...but I'm running for my life through this wild jungle with a bunch of crazy natives and wild animals on my tail, and suddenly run into this huge, gray, slimy monster that's trying to grab me. You see what I mean?!" "I've been called lots of things, but a 'huge, gray, slimy monster' is definitely a new one," Mulder sighed. "What happened to you, anyway?" "Three words...unstable ground happens." "And I got Dana rescuing him on tape, too!" Samantha added. "Can I see?" Troi asked. Both Mulder and Scully answered unaminously with a firm NO. Troi slouched back in her chair and sighed. "I'm really tired. Let's just get to Manaus and get 'The Believer' back at sea. I've had just about all I can stand of the exotic Amazon." "I couldn't agree more," Scully said. 'The Skeptic's engine started up again, and the speedboat raced back down the Amazon, once again on the journey. 10:13 A.M. Sunday, August 15th, 1999 Amazon River Margaret Scully stood at the prow of 'The Believer', staring uselessly out at the river as it passed by lazily. A red macaw flew overhead, breaking the still blueness of the sky for only a few seconds. Maggie sighed and turned back to Tina, who was also looking over the rail, although in a different direction. "I can't help but feel worried," Tina sighed. "I know Fox and Dana and Sam can take care of themselves, but they've been gone for so long, I can't help but feel that something's happened to them." Maggie sighed again in agreement. "It does little good just standing here worrying about it. I've tried to engines over and over again so many times it's practically become a bad habit. There's no way we're going to move this thing unless we tow it back out, which is what Fox and Dana went to go get help for." "But you said that they would be back within less than a week. It's been almost two weeks since we last saw them. What if...." A sound from upriver interrupted their conversation. Both women turned their heads towards the sound. It was like a steady rumbling, slowly growing louder and louder... From around the bend in the river, half a dozen small boats suddenly appeared, all heading in the direction of 'The Believer'. And leading the posse' was 'The Skpetic', with Mulder, Scully, Samantha and Troi all at the front, waving and grinning like maniacs. "Now *that* is a sight for sore eyes!" Maggie said, grinning and waving back. Later that afternoon, 'The Believer' was back on the river, heading downstream, back out to the Atlantic Ocean. It had actually only taken about half an hour to move the houseboat out of the mudbank. All seven of the boats, including 'The Skeptic', helped to tow the boat out of the mudbank by way of ropes attached to the hull and the top. With much encouraging of boats and engine power, 'The Believer' was slowly yet surely pulled back out of the mudbank and into the free water. A few experienced divers went underneath to help clean the mud and muck from the propellers, which had prevented the ship from going in reverse. Mulder, Scully, Samantha and Troi had reached Manaus sometime the previous Sunday, the 8th. After finally searching out a large boatingcompany that was only too willing to help the "infamous-FBI-agents-who saved-the-world", and then spending a night or two in someplace comfortable, they had gotten back on the river and made it back to 'The Believer' with proper equipment and boatpower necessary to move the huge houseboat. Once 'The Believer' was back on the river, Margaret, or course, invited everyone who had helped out to a late lunch. Samantha eagerly cooked up one of the fastest banquets yet, enough to serve herself, her five friends, and the 20 boat-owners and divers who had helped. Of course, everyone had enjoyed it. And finally, after it's long and adventurous detour, 'The Believer' was finally back out on the river, going straight for the open sea. They were back on track. 8:17 P.M. Wednesday, September 1st, 1999 Atlantic Ocean Mulder and Scully lay out on the deck of 'The Believer' in large lounge chairs, both gazing up at the star-filled sky as it slowly passed by. There was a radio on the table in between them, and was playing another oldies song: When the night has come, and the land is dark, And the moon is the only light we'll see, No, I won't be afraid, no, I, I won't be afraid, Just as long as you stand, stand by me. "Ships sail best when steered by the stars," Scully mused to herself quietly, lost in thought. "I guess that explains why we couldn't see any stars when we were on the Amazon," Mulder joked. Scully sighed. "I'd rather not think about it. The Amazon was great, and I'm really glad we got to go, but I'm also glad that we're finally back at sea. I prefer the ocean to the jungle any day." "Your mom tells me that we're heading to Africa next." "Yes, that's probably what'll happen. This is the best place for us to start across the Atlantic Ocean. It'll be a long journey." She stopped and grinned at Mulder. "But at least we won't starve to death. Your mom brought enough food to feed the entire Air Force for a month." And darlin', darlin', Stand by me, stand by me, Stand by me, stand by me. "You know how my mom is." Mulder responded. "And my mom...she's really hyped over getting a transmission radio installed into 'The Believer' at Fortaleza. So she swears up and down that the houseboat will never get stuck anywhere without contact to civilization." They were silent for a minute. "Think Troi and Sam liked Fortaleza?" Scully asked. "Who can tell? Sometimes I think they would actually prefer sleeping in a tent in a tropical rain forest." "She certainly didn't seem to mind spending weeks in hotels with me every day..." She stopped and looked at Mulder. He was staring up at the stars as if trying to become deaf to her words, not wanting the memories to come back. If the sky that we look upon, should tumble and fall, And the mountains should crumble to the sea, I won't cry, I won't cry, no I, I won't shed a tear, Just as long as you stand, stand by me. "Hey Mulder," Scully nudged him gently. "No one's around. Want to try and dance again?" He turned to her, his original smile once again returning. "Sure thing ...partner." Scully got up off the lounge chair and helped Mulder to his feet. Thy danced together alone on the deck just as beautifully as before, the stars and ocean beyond forming the perfect backdrop, the music playing in the background... Whenever you're in trouble won't you Stand by me, stand by me, Oh, stand by me, stand by me, stand by me..... The storm began that night. ----------------------------------------------------- THE END OF PART TWO ----------------------------------------------------- Author's Notes: And there you have it once again!! Sorry to leave you hanging with an ending like that, but you know how it is.... gotta balance the romance and the suspenseful stuff!! So.....PLEASE, OH PRETTY PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE WITH A CHERRY ON TOP tell me what you thought of this story! Was it better than the first part? Worse? Same? Indifferent?! All feedback is treasured forever, please send it quickly! Don't worry, part three will be here soon!! (Okay, so you can worry a little bit....) -Alien Girl