Fic: AU Crossover: "The Second Coming" Chapter Eight
Crossover: The X-Files/House M.D.(mainly Cuddy)
Rating/Warning: PG-13. Strong violence. Character death. Destruction.
Summary: It's 2012. The takeover. The world as we knew it is over. It's not chance, it's fate. Your integrity is challenged and you will learn who you are.
Catch up: Chapter One. Chapter Two. Chapter Three. Chapter Four. Chapter Five. Chapter Six. Chapter Seven.
VIII. Fight or flight, live or die. It became a conscious choice somewhere along the way.
“Okay, Lisa,” Mulder began as he sat beside her on the cot. “We need you to start from the beginning.”
“There isn’t enough time,” she said. “If they come in here and see you-”
“Then make it quick,” he cut her off.
“They captured me,” Cuddy told them. “They killed... a friend of mine right in front of me and then took me. I blacked out or something and when I awoke, I was in a room with William. They told me to look after him.”
“Was he hurt?” Scully asked, standing a few feet away, arms folded over her chest.
“No,” Cuddy answered with a shake of her head. “After maybe a day, they brought us here. They have this voice, this person or something. He... it... talks to you. In your head. It told me that William had power and once he showed it to me, I was to report it to one of them so they could use that information against him. In return, I would be granted safety.”
“How could he have power?” Scully thought aloud. “When he was a baby, that power was supposedly stripped from him.”
“William said they did something to him,” Cuddy responded. “Something that made him different. We decided to hide him for a few days and make it look like he escaped. Then we would get him out for real.”
Scully stepped closer to the cots. “Where is he?”
“I...” Cuddy drew back slightly. “Don’t feel comfortable saying. But we were planning the escape for tonight. If you can meet us...”
“Where?” Mulder gently placed a hand on her arm.
“At the outhouses.” Cuddy looked from his hand to his face. “Late tonight. There’s a cosmic sound, a ringing-”
“Hissing, metallic sound.” Mulder nodded. “We heard it while hiding.”
“About an hour after that sound goes off, meet at the outhouses,” Cuddy told him. “If you don’t show, we have to go without you. There’s no time to stall.”
“We’ll be there,” Scully assured her.
“Okay,” Cuddy agreed.
Mulder stood from the cot. “See you tonight.”
Cuddy watched as they left the barrack, leaving her alone. She breathed out and hoped they would all safely make it tonight.
The door slammed closed, startling her awake. A hand was around her wrist, pulling her from the cot and to feet.
“What happened to the door?”
A super-soldier was staring down at her, twisting her arm, hurting her. Cuddy stared up at him.
“What?”
“You broke the handle,” he said.
“What are you talking about,” she went on, trying to keep her facial expression blank.
“That’s what I’m talking about.”
He whipped her around as he pointed to the partially open door, where she could clearly make out the broken handle.
“I don’t know how that happened,” she lied. “I was asleep. I didn’t hear anything.”
The super-soldier slapped her, knocking her to the floor. Cuddy placed a hand to the burning at her cheek. She breathed in, watching his boots as he approached.
“We have yet to find the boy,” he spoke. “You know where he is.”
Cuddy lifted her head, her eyes meeting his. “I told you I don’t. I was just as shocked that he was gone. If I knew-”
“You wouldn’t tell us,” the soldier concluded for her sharply.
“If knowing where he is keeps me alive, I would tell you in an instant,” she spat back.
The soldier held her eye contact for a brief moment before turning and leaving her. The door slammed closed behind him.
“They know we don’t belong in here,” Scully whispered to him, eyes scanning over the faces of the prisoners.
They were stared at by the others and so they found themselves in the corner of the cramped barrack, trying not to draw any more attention.
“It’s not like they’re going to rat us out,” Mulder replied.
“You don’t know that,” she said.
He fell silent for a few moments before speaking again. “We should probably separate. If the super-soldiers keep seeing us together and we want to go to the outhouses around the same time, they won’t let us go.”
“That’s if they notice,” she responded.
“I’m sure they do,” Mulder told her.
“Okay. I’ll head over there.” She nodded to a spot across the room.
“You know the plan?” Mulder asked her as she rose to her feet.
“Yes,” she answered.
“See you in a while, Scully.”
He watched as she weaved around the others and settled against the wall between two other women.
Cuddy walked quickly toward the outhouses. She found the escape from the barrack fairly easy since they hadn’t yet replaced the door handle. She figured they thought beating her was enough to keep her there.
It wasn’t.
She picked up her pace. Her stomach was turning on her, tying itself in a little ball of emptiness and pain. She was scared. If they caught her, they’d kill her.
Cuddy saw the woman, whose blonde hair had begun to show her natural red at the roots. She entered into the first door on the outhouse. Cuddy went into the one beside it and knocked on the wall, signaling to Scully that she was there.
Scully knocked back from her stall. She drew in a breath, trying to ignore the smell. Mulder needed to get there fast. She was worried they’d refuse him from using the outhouse if she was already out.
Counting the seconds, Cuddy shifted her weight. They needed to go. William was waiting and he would be wondering where she was. Then there was the knock from her right. She knocked back and then knocked on the other wall, telling Scully that Mulder had arrived.
Once Scully, relieved, returned the knock, Cuddy opened her stall door and stepped out. She glanced around for guards before darting to the back of the outhouse. There wasn’t much room between the fence and the building, but she could slip in between without feeling the electrical current of the fence.
She waited as Scully joined her, then Mulder. They remained silent as Cuddy led them down the row, pressed against the wood of the outhouse. She stopped halfway down and gave a quick rap on the wood.
Scully and Mulder focused on the thuds behind the wood as Cuddy kept her eyes peeled for any of the super-soldiers. A section of wood popped off and a boy climbed out from the hollow space between two of the stalls.
When he stood erect, he froze at the sight of Scully and Mulder.
“It’s all right,” Cuddy whispered. “They’re with me.”
“William,” Scully breathed out.
“We can’t talk now,” Cuddy told her. “We need to get out.”
“How?” Mulder asked. “You never explained.”
“We’re jumping the fence,” William said.
“That fence?” Mulder stared up at the structure, his gaze lingering on the blue white current on top.
“We were going to go under a weak spot in the fence, but when they thought William escaped from there, they made sure no one else could,” Cuddy explained. “That caused the current down here to weaken. Climb up the fence until you can get on the roof of the outhouse. Make sure you aren’t seen. Take a running start and jump.”
“We’ll break something on the landing,” Scully replied. “That’s if we make it over.”
“They burn clothes on the opposite side,” Cuddy went on. “There’s fabric and ash over there. Should soften the blow. Hopefully.”
“I’ll go first,” William announce and reached for the fence.
“No,” Mulder interrupted. “Let me. To make sure it’s safe.”
The boy stepped back and Mulder began to climb.
Chapter Nine.
Rating/Warning: PG-13. Strong violence. Character death. Destruction.
Summary: It's 2012. The takeover. The world as we knew it is over. It's not chance, it's fate. Your integrity is challenged and you will learn who you are.
Catch up: Chapter One. Chapter Two. Chapter Three. Chapter Four. Chapter Five. Chapter Six. Chapter Seven.
VIII. Fight or flight, live or die. It became a conscious choice somewhere along the way.
“Okay, Lisa,” Mulder began as he sat beside her on the cot. “We need you to start from the beginning.”
“There isn’t enough time,” she said. “If they come in here and see you-”
“Then make it quick,” he cut her off.
“They captured me,” Cuddy told them. “They killed... a friend of mine right in front of me and then took me. I blacked out or something and when I awoke, I was in a room with William. They told me to look after him.”
“Was he hurt?” Scully asked, standing a few feet away, arms folded over her chest.
“No,” Cuddy answered with a shake of her head. “After maybe a day, they brought us here. They have this voice, this person or something. He... it... talks to you. In your head. It told me that William had power and once he showed it to me, I was to report it to one of them so they could use that information against him. In return, I would be granted safety.”
“How could he have power?” Scully thought aloud. “When he was a baby, that power was supposedly stripped from him.”
“William said they did something to him,” Cuddy responded. “Something that made him different. We decided to hide him for a few days and make it look like he escaped. Then we would get him out for real.”
Scully stepped closer to the cots. “Where is he?”
“I...” Cuddy drew back slightly. “Don’t feel comfortable saying. But we were planning the escape for tonight. If you can meet us...”
“Where?” Mulder gently placed a hand on her arm.
“At the outhouses.” Cuddy looked from his hand to his face. “Late tonight. There’s a cosmic sound, a ringing-”
“Hissing, metallic sound.” Mulder nodded. “We heard it while hiding.”
“About an hour after that sound goes off, meet at the outhouses,” Cuddy told him. “If you don’t show, we have to go without you. There’s no time to stall.”
“We’ll be there,” Scully assured her.
“Okay,” Cuddy agreed.
Mulder stood from the cot. “See you tonight.”
Cuddy watched as they left the barrack, leaving her alone. She breathed out and hoped they would all safely make it tonight.
The door slammed closed, startling her awake. A hand was around her wrist, pulling her from the cot and to feet.
“What happened to the door?”
A super-soldier was staring down at her, twisting her arm, hurting her. Cuddy stared up at him.
“What?”
“You broke the handle,” he said.
“What are you talking about,” she went on, trying to keep her facial expression blank.
“That’s what I’m talking about.”
He whipped her around as he pointed to the partially open door, where she could clearly make out the broken handle.
“I don’t know how that happened,” she lied. “I was asleep. I didn’t hear anything.”
The super-soldier slapped her, knocking her to the floor. Cuddy placed a hand to the burning at her cheek. She breathed in, watching his boots as he approached.
“We have yet to find the boy,” he spoke. “You know where he is.”
Cuddy lifted her head, her eyes meeting his. “I told you I don’t. I was just as shocked that he was gone. If I knew-”
“You wouldn’t tell us,” the soldier concluded for her sharply.
“If knowing where he is keeps me alive, I would tell you in an instant,” she spat back.
The soldier held her eye contact for a brief moment before turning and leaving her. The door slammed closed behind him.
“They know we don’t belong in here,” Scully whispered to him, eyes scanning over the faces of the prisoners.
They were stared at by the others and so they found themselves in the corner of the cramped barrack, trying not to draw any more attention.
“It’s not like they’re going to rat us out,” Mulder replied.
“You don’t know that,” she said.
He fell silent for a few moments before speaking again. “We should probably separate. If the super-soldiers keep seeing us together and we want to go to the outhouses around the same time, they won’t let us go.”
“That’s if they notice,” she responded.
“I’m sure they do,” Mulder told her.
“Okay. I’ll head over there.” She nodded to a spot across the room.
“You know the plan?” Mulder asked her as she rose to her feet.
“Yes,” she answered.
“See you in a while, Scully.”
He watched as she weaved around the others and settled against the wall between two other women.
Cuddy walked quickly toward the outhouses. She found the escape from the barrack fairly easy since they hadn’t yet replaced the door handle. She figured they thought beating her was enough to keep her there.
It wasn’t.
She picked up her pace. Her stomach was turning on her, tying itself in a little ball of emptiness and pain. She was scared. If they caught her, they’d kill her.
Cuddy saw the woman, whose blonde hair had begun to show her natural red at the roots. She entered into the first door on the outhouse. Cuddy went into the one beside it and knocked on the wall, signaling to Scully that she was there.
Scully knocked back from her stall. She drew in a breath, trying to ignore the smell. Mulder needed to get there fast. She was worried they’d refuse him from using the outhouse if she was already out.
Counting the seconds, Cuddy shifted her weight. They needed to go. William was waiting and he would be wondering where she was. Then there was the knock from her right. She knocked back and then knocked on the other wall, telling Scully that Mulder had arrived.
Once Scully, relieved, returned the knock, Cuddy opened her stall door and stepped out. She glanced around for guards before darting to the back of the outhouse. There wasn’t much room between the fence and the building, but she could slip in between without feeling the electrical current of the fence.
She waited as Scully joined her, then Mulder. They remained silent as Cuddy led them down the row, pressed against the wood of the outhouse. She stopped halfway down and gave a quick rap on the wood.
Scully and Mulder focused on the thuds behind the wood as Cuddy kept her eyes peeled for any of the super-soldiers. A section of wood popped off and a boy climbed out from the hollow space between two of the stalls.
When he stood erect, he froze at the sight of Scully and Mulder.
“It’s all right,” Cuddy whispered. “They’re with me.”
“William,” Scully breathed out.
“We can’t talk now,” Cuddy told her. “We need to get out.”
“How?” Mulder asked. “You never explained.”
“We’re jumping the fence,” William said.
“That fence?” Mulder stared up at the structure, his gaze lingering on the blue white current on top.
“We were going to go under a weak spot in the fence, but when they thought William escaped from there, they made sure no one else could,” Cuddy explained. “That caused the current down here to weaken. Climb up the fence until you can get on the roof of the outhouse. Make sure you aren’t seen. Take a running start and jump.”
“We’ll break something on the landing,” Scully replied. “That’s if we make it over.”
“They burn clothes on the opposite side,” Cuddy went on. “There’s fabric and ash over there. Should soften the blow. Hopefully.”
“I’ll go first,” William announce and reached for the fence.
“No,” Mulder interrupted. “Let me. To make sure it’s safe.”
The boy stepped back and Mulder began to climb.
Chapter Nine.