NEW:"Affreux" (1/2)

[KeagenJXF]

Title: Affreux
Category: X/A
Rating: PG-13 for some violence
Spoilers: Squeeze and Tooms
Summary: Tooms isn't quite dead yet... He has one more victim. Are the agents
in peril? Join us- same bat time, same bat-
channel for "Dead Mutants Don't Tell Tales" -or- "Liver Soup With A *Squeeze*
of Lemon."
By: Cancergir1 and Bradford

Authors' Note: I think you need at least an understanding of the plotlines of
Squeeze and Tooms to appreciate this story.
For those not fortunate enough to have seen it, it's probably available at your
local Blockbuster.

Got an opinion? I'd love to hear it! Likes, dislikes, problems with my
grammar? Please E-Mail Yuppi...@aol.com
(and yes, that's G-I-R-ONE).

Disclaimer: Mulder, Scully, and Tooms belong to 1013 Productions and Chris
Carter. I don't own them or claim to, and
no profit is intended. The *other* character is mine, but it's not as if I'm
going to make a profit with that, either <g>.
Oh yeah, and Ziploc and Blockbuster are registered trademarks of someone, I'm
sure.

Sub-Disclaimer: The last two scenes of Tooms HAVE BEEN POSTPONED until *after*
the episode. You call it cheap.
I call it exerting my artistic license. ;)

P.S. - The story takes off at the end of Tooms. The setting, to refresh your
memory, is in a shopping center, at night.
Mulder has nearly been killed by Tooms, barley escaping an involuntary
liver-ectomy. Tooms has apparently just been
crushed under an escalator...

AFFREUX
By Cancergir1 and Bradford
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MARCH 20
66 EXETER STREET

You could hear the dull hum of the motor that powered the escalator from
across the lobby of the shopping center. A stream of blood was carried farther
up with each new step. Underneath the growling machinery, Eugene Victor Tooms
clutched the side of his head in pain. He could feel his wet, warm blood under
his hand. He gingerly felt his injuries. His left ear was torn to shreds. He
could feel a deep gash running down the side of his face. His legs and back
were scraped and burned from being dragged by the gears of the escalator.
Tooms knew they would be back, those FBI agents that had followed him here.

Tooms half staggered, half crawled through the narrow bile-covered tunnel
leading back to his nest and curled up in the corner, his blood still trickling
down his head. He lay there, shivering from the cold wetness.

* * * * * * *

Scully sat by Mulder's side, holding his hand as he lay on the tile floor,
waiting for an ambulance. Finally, they had ended this Tooms case. It was
over. Mulder was covered in stinking yellow bile. He was still in shock. He
had nearly been killed, going in after Tooms alone. Scully had saved his life.
They heard sirens in the distance and the worried look in Scully's eyes
softened a little. She was sure Tooms was dead, or at least injured enough to
be incapacitated. Mulder did what needed to be done.

The ambulances arrived with a few police cars. As Mulder was attended to by
the EMTs, the officers surrounded the hole in the floor directly in front of
the escalator. They looked down apprehensively. "The escalator dragged him
back," Mulder called as strongly as he could.

* * * * * * *

Tooms sat in his nest, uncrumpling a wad of his clothing. He pulled on a
bile-covered shirt and a pair of pants, his animal control uniform. He crawled
out of his nest, grimacing with every movement. He knew he didn't have much
time. He ducked into a tunnel leading the opposite direction of the first one,
out of the building.

* * * * * * *

One officer took off his hat and cautiously lowered himself into the hole. He
crouched down into the blackness, turning on his flash light. He looked
around. "I don't see him!" he called. "I'm going further in." The officer
crawled through the narrow passageway, towards a pile of soggy newspapers,
searching for any sign of Eugene Victor Tooms. "I don't see him!" he
repeated. "I don't see him anywhere!"

Mulder stood up, and limped towards the officers. "What?" he asked. "What do
you mean?"

Scully stood up and joined him. "He was there. There's no way he could have
possibly-" She broke off, giving Mulder a confused look. The officer climbed
back out of the hole, his black uniform covered in yellow bile. Mulder stepped
forward. "May I?" he said gesturing towards the hole and reaching for the
flashlight. Mulder stepped into the shaft, carefully taking in all the
details. "There's a surprising amount of blood on the floor and especially on
the gears, and- " Mulder stopped, reaching for something caught between the
gears. It was a piece of human flesh. He dropped it quickly. "-he's
obviously suffered some damage, but Scully, he's gone." Mulder climbed back
out of the crevice in the floor, and walked over to his partner.

"Search the building!" Scully cried to the police officers standing by.
"Check outside! We have to find him!"

* * * * * * *

Eugene Tooms staggered through the sewer systems under Arlington, Virginia.
He had been walking for miles. He had to keep going. The blood from his
injuries had soaked through his uniform. His pace faltered, and he caught
himself against the brick sewer wall. He put his head down and breathed
heavily.

Tooms took three more reeling steps forward, then fell to his knees, then to
his face, hitting the side of his head against the brick floor.

* * * * * * *

A little girl sat on a bench on the side of a rural road, waiting for the bus.
She looked expectantly up at the horizon, squinting into the sun. With both
small hands she gripped a black vinyl satchel. Her dark brown hair hung down
past her shoulders, and her legs that hung off the bench didn't touch the
ground. She saw a blue and gray bus slowing as it approached the bench. She
slid off and got in line to board.

The little girl cautiously made her way down the aisle inside the bus, tightly
clutching her bag. A hand shot out into the aisle, trying to wrench the bag
from her hand. An adolescent male voice taunted her, "What'cha got in the bag,
little girl?". She clenched her teeth, and turned away. Her eyes started to
glow yellow. Still gripping her bag with one hand, she let go with the other
and raised a well-manicured hand, ready to gouge out his...

"Now, come on dear." The girl felt a hand on her back, pushing her gently
forward and retrieving her satchel from the antagonist. The girl's eyes cooled
back to a dark brown, and she accepted her pouch from the old woman, settling
into a seat.

* * * * * * *

Mulder stormed up the street. He was getting extremely frustrated. His
flashlight beam bobbed over the ground, sweeping from one side of the street to
the other. He took long, quick, deliberate strides as his shorter partner
struggled to keep up with him.

"Mulder!" she said breathlessly. "Slow down!"

Mulder stopped and turned to her. "We're going to lose him, Scully. He'll go
back into hibernation. He's just looking for a place. We have to catch him
now if we're going to catch him at all." There was a sound on the side of the
road and Mulder ran towards it.

Scully stood in the middle of the dark street looking helplessly at her
partner. He was doing it again. Shifting all the blame on himself. Mulder
had nearly been killed. But after having escaped with his life, all he could
think about is how they didn't get Tooms. Scully was about to follow her
partner when her cellular phone rang.

"Scully," she answered it. "Yes....Uh-huh..." Scully's brow creased as she
slowly nodded her head listening to her phone. "I'll tell him...Yes...Thank
you." She hung up her cell phone just as Mulder emerged from the shadows on
the side of the street.

Mulder threw his hands up in disgust. "Nothing." His flash light fell to the
pavement. It bounced once and the light flickered and went out. Mulder
clenched his teeth as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Mulder. Calm down. You're stressed out, and you need to get some rest. We
have over a hundred officers looking for Tooms. Let them search tonight. We
can start again tomorrow, if they haven't already found him by then."

"Tomorrow it will be too late. He'll have found a spot somewhere, and he'll
disappear off the face of the planet for thirty more years. He has all five
livers, Scully. We have to find him tonight."

"Mulder," Scully said in her most calming tone. "I just got off the phone
with the Baltimore PD. They found Monte's liver. Two blocks from his house,
in a garbage can. Only one bite was taken from it."

Mulder looked at her, his brow furrowed. "But why...?"

"Monte was suffering from a liver disorder. On his medical records it showed
he had liver cancer, due to bacterial infection, and Hepatitis C. He was on a
waiting list for a liver transplant, but wasn't in dire need of one..."

"So Tooms found he couldn't use the liver, and threw it out," Mulder finished
for her. "So he still has another liver to go. There will be another murder.
Scully, we *had* him! I-"

"Mulder," she stopped him, "we have time. Tooms is most likely very weak
right now. He's definitely injured. He'll need time to rest. He won't kill
anyone tonight. Go home Mulder, get some sleep. Change your clothes. Take a
shower."

Mulder looked down at his stained and rumpled ensemble. He reeked of drying
bile. "Guess I am a little messy." He looked up at Scully with a sheepish
grin.

She smiled. "We'll continue the search tomorrow," Scully said as she paced
past him, back to the car.

Mulder nodded and picked up the flashlight he had dropped, fiddling with it as
he followed Scully. "Scully," he started slowly, "would you mind if I stayed
at your place tonight?"

She smirked. "Why, Mulder? Afraid of the boogey man?" She asked as she got
into the driver's seat.

"No, just a hundred-year-old-yellow-eyed-liver-eating-mutant." He said as he
climbed in beside her. He looked up from the flashlight and she saw real
concern in his eyes. "Seriously. We know Tooms went after you once, and now
that he's on the loose again..."

"Not to mention the fact that he went after *you*." She added. "Yeah, all
right." Scully shifted the car into drive and they left the dark street.

* * * * * * *

The sound of the bus's engine died as it pulled to a stop at the side of the
road. The doors opened and the little dark-haired girl stepped deliberately
down the stairs. She turned back to watch the bus depart. The light from its
headlights reflected off the water droplets hanging in the air of the misty
night. When the bus was out of sight, the little girl stepped out onto the
quiet, desolate street. She stooped down in the middle of the road, prying
open the manhole cover, sliding it aside. With her bag slung over her
shoulder, she climbed down the ladder to the sewer, pausing to pull the cover
back in place.

She walked carefully in on the brick floor of the sewer, her steps echoing in
the small space. She walked a few paces, then turned the corner. Directly
ahead; illuminated by the streetlight's glow falling through the sewer grate;
was a still, motionless body. She approached the prone figure almost
reverently. The little girl stooped down beside him, placing her hand on his
head. She sat, and ran her fingers through his dark, thick hair.

Eugene Tooms stirred. He looked up at the small girl touching him and faintly
smiled. He laid his head back down on the ground.

The girl opened her satchel, drawing out a Ziploc bag, and retrieving its
contents. She held the slimy, dead liver out to Eugene.

Tooms tried pushing himself up, attempting to sit up. The girl reached over
to steady him. He shakily accepted her offering and brought it to his mouth,
taking a large bite. The child opened her bag again, and brought out another
victual.

After consuming the first liver, Tooms hungrily accepted the other. He could
feel his energy returning, even if these organs were dead. He would soon be
able to acquire his last victim, then go into hibernation.

Tooms stood, and the girl reached to brace him. Slowly, he staggered as she
led him through the sewer.

* * * * * * *

Mulder stood in the hallway as Scully fished for her keys. She unlocked and
opened the door to her apartment, then stepped inside. Mulder followed,
setting down his bag.

"The bathroom is right down the hall, and there are towels in the cupboard on
the left," she said, obviously implying what the first matter of business was.

Mulder looked where she was pointing. "That's the bathroom Tooms attacked you
in, isn't it?" he asked seriously.

She nodded, recalling the scene. Tooms would've killed her if Mulder hadn't
come in when he did. And now that Tooms was out again, Scully was rather
grateful to have Mulder here.

Mulder picked up his things and headed to the bathroom. "Oh," he turned back.
"I brought some videos for later."

Scully raised an eyebrow suggestively.

He shook his head and grinned. "Planet of the Apes, The Blob, and Attack of
the Killer Tomatoes." Mulder went into the bathroom, and shut the door.

Half an hour later, Scully was sitting at her kitchen table, with the
newspaper and a bowl of cereal when Mulder emerged from the bathroom. He was
dressed in blue jeans and a worn, blue, sleeveless New York Knicks T-shirt. He
sat down at the table running an off-white towel through his wet hair.

Scully looked up at him. She noticed a dark red scratch on his upper arm.
"Are you okay?" she asked, gesturing to his arm.

"Yeah. It's just a surface wound. It must have happened when Tooms attacked
me under the escalator." He paused. A look of frustration crossed his face as
he spoke. "We almost had him, Scully." Mulder clenched his fist as he
continued. "We had him there, at the shopping center, but all I could do was
run away from him. If I hadn't-"

"Mulder, you were almost killed," Scully cut him off. "From what we know,
Tooms is a seasoned murderer. You were lucky to get out of there alive." She
gently placed her hand on his forearm.

Mulder relented, taking a deep breath. "I guess we should turn in for the
night," he said, glancing at the clock on the microwave. It read 3:04.

Scully checked the time also. "I don't think I can sleep tonight, Mulder."

Mulder smiled and reached into his bag, pulling out three video cassettes.
"Take your pick."

Scully opened her eyes and blinked. She had fallen asleep. She squinted
blearily at he clock on her VCR. It said 4:18. The TV showed a mob of people
running from a giant piece of produce. The sound was muted, but she could
imagine their petrified screams.

Scully looked over to her right. Mulder was resting his head on the armrest of
her couch, breathing regularly.

Scully drowsily pushed herself up off the couch and stepped over to the VCR,
stopping the tape, then turning off the TV. She got a blanket for Mulder from
her linen closet, and spread it over his still form. Scully paused a moment,
then awkwardly lifted his feet up onto the couch, pulling the blanket over his
legs. She retired to her room and fell asleep in her queen-sized bed.

* * * * * * *

Tooms lay wearily on a bed in a run-down motel. It had been excruciatingly
painful walking the short distance to the motel. It had sapped nearly all his
energy. His breathing was ragged. His eyes barley hung open. The little girl
was in the room's small bathroom.

She came out into the dirty, dimly lit, stale smelling room holding a wet
cloth. She carefully sat down beside him on the bed. Slowly, she pressed the
cloth to the gash on the side of Eugene's face. He cringed and drew a sharp
breath through clenched teeth. The girl reached over, and placed a tiny hand
on his forearm. Tooms's expression softened.

The child stood up and stepped back from the bed. She stripped a tattered
blanket from the other bed, and spread it over Tooms. Eugene forced his eyes
open as he visually followed the little girl to the door. With one last look
back, the girl opened the door of the motel room, stepped out, and locked it
behind her.