Date: Thu, 1 Jan 1998 11:49:47 +0000 From: Heather Markham Subject: Aliquantum Salio - Chapter 31 "ALIQUANTUM SALIO" by Heather Markham CHAPTER THIRTY ONE Dana was still searching the sky for signs of Sam's return, she shivered. Al felt her tremble, he tried to lighten the tense situation, ""Ya know Dana, this is the first time in my life I've spent hours alone with a beautiful woman and didn't do anything other than put my arms around her. I must be losing my touch! When Sam comes back, he's never going to believe I didn't make a pass at you." Dana turned to look at him, she forced a smile, "No, you could never lose your touch....you've been wonderful. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been here with me. Ohh, Al, I hope he's alright. I'd never forgive myself for telling him to come out here if something terrible happens to him. I just wish they'd come back. We don't even know who they are. They could be doing anything to him. I should never have interfered, I should have stopped him from coming out here, not urged him to come." "No, no...you mustn't torture yourself with thoughts like that. You mustn't blame yourself. If Sam hadn't rescued Langly, there's no telling what might have become of him. Fate could still have snatched him away. Sam's got a terrific sense of self preservation. He's a fighter, he's been in some pretty tough situations before and he's always managed to come through them. Wherever he is, whatever's happening, he'll be okay.....I'm sure he'll be okay. He's some terrific guy, ya know." he cuddled Dana closer to him. "Thank's Al, your a pretty terrific guy yourself." Al smiled at her. He patted and searched his pockets for another cigar, they were empty. He'd smoked the last of them an hour ago. He silently cursed, he really needed something to calm his nerves. He checked his watch again, the hours were dragging by. Suddenly, the handlink squealed noisily, Al jumped with surprise. He picked it up and read the data string. "Dana, Ziggy's picking something up, She's not sure what it is but whatever it is, it has a strong power source. It's showing on her security scanners. Dana sat forward and stared up at the bright sky, she pointed to something. "Look...... look over there, to the west." The sun glinted off of a silver dot in the sky. It streaked across from the western horizon and disappeared, "Al, Did you see it? It was up there.....there was something up there." Dana quickly scrambled from her seat and stood in front of the vehicle, searching the sky, her hands raised to shield her eyes from the intense glare of the sun. Al hurried to join her. She suddenly pointed up at a spot high above the hollow where they found Langly, the place where Sam had been abducted. "Look" she shouted, "Look, do you see it? They're back!" she started to laugh with relief. Al craned his neck back to stare upwards. The strange craft had winked back into view, it's shape growing as it descended from the sky. A beam of multi-coloured lights shot out from beneath it forming the same circle of light on the dusty desert floor that they had seen before. A momentary high pitched scream filled the air, then silence. They could just make out the figure of a man emerging from beneath the hull of the craft, he was high up, held in the force of the beam. The figure hovered there, then slowly, slowly began to drift towards the ground. Dana ran towards the pulsating coloured beam. Al ran to catch up with her. She glanced at him quickly, laughter, hysteria filling her voice, "Look, they've brought him back, he's alive, he's okay." Sam awoke with a start, for a moment he couldn't think where he was, where he'd been. A high pitched whine momentarily filled his ears. Time slowed down for him, he was hanging in the air above ground in a static force beam, he hung there for what seemed an eternity, gradually he began to descend. He looked down at the ground, he was slowly sliding back to earth on a beam of multi-coloured, pulsating light. He could see the desert, it was daylight. Through the distortion of the light, he could just make out Al's flash car in the distance. He could see Dana and Al running towards him. The air around him began to clear. The lights stopped whirling and softened to an eerie blue, he looked up at the craft above him, blue lightening snaked and arced across its belly, enveloped it, sparked around its surface, it crackled around him. His body tingled and shook as he was gently set on the ground. Dana and Al stood there within feet of the strange light, shielding their eyes from the brilliance. Then suddenly the craft vanished, pulled through time and space in a field of blue quantum fire. The desert was silent, the air swirled in clouds of dust around their ankles. Dana and Al watched in expectation as Mulder staggered towards them from where the beam had held him. He stretched out his arms towards Dana, his face was pale and drawn. She ran to him, flung her arms around him and hugged him tightly. She was laughing and crying, "Sam, oh Sam, they brought you back! Are you okay.....What happened....Sam..." He stood for a moment, holding onto her for support, then he looked at her, searched her face, her expression. He looked across at Al, He looked totally bewildered, lost and puzzled. "Scully.......Scully, where am I?" Dana gasped, and stepped back, searching his face, "Mulder? Mulder is that you?" Al flinched, turned away and swore. "Who else were you expecting? Who else would I be?" Dana's emotions were confused, tears of loss for Sam mingled with tears of relief at the return of Mulder. The tears streamed from her eyes and down her cheeks. Mulder was back but Sam had gone forever. She had lost him. ******************************** Sam's body tingled, a blue light crackled and flashed around him as he leaped. He opened his eyes and blinked, he was staring intently down a long dark tunnel at some hideous, crawling mass of worms. He recoiled back in horror and disgust. The microscope he'd been peering down toppled over. His sudden movement sent his seat careering backwards on its casters, it collided with someone behind him. Something crashed, his chair overbalanced and sent him sprawling to the floor in a very undignified heap. The heavily built figure of a man dressed in a white lab coat looked down at the mess and swore. "Oh Damn....Pendrell...there goes another piece of evidence from the Mandon case. Well, you can explain this to Skinner this time!" Sam surveyed the damage he'd caused, the broken remains of glass test tubes lay amongst puddles of blood and other suspicious looking substances. He looked down at himself, he was wearing a man's dark coloured suit, over that was a white lab coat, it too, was spattered with blood and something he didn't care to think about too deeply. He looked up at the big man......."Ohhhh, boy, what a doof!" The End Or is it just another beginning? * * * * * * * * * * * * To be continued........... The next story is written around the F.B.I's Special Agent Pendrell, known fondly by his fans as `The Doof' Acknowledgements:- With thanks to my son Scott for all his help, ideas and "X-Files" technical advice. Also a very big thank you to my friend Joan Jobson, whithout whose support and encouragement this story might never have been started, let alone finished. Thanks Joan. ;-) -- Heather Markham