T H E X -F I L E S KEVIN J. ANDERSON Based on the characters created by Chris Carter To all the agents, investigators, scientists, and other employees of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In conjunction with my writing research, I have met several agents and seen the Bureau at work on real cases. These people aren’t all like Mulder and Scully, but they are all proud of the professionalism and dedication they bring to their jobs. Contents One Late on a night filled with cold mist and still… 1 Two The bear stood huge, five times the size of an… 10 Three As Mulder led her out of the Hoover Building, Scully… 14 Four The dog stopped in the middle of the road, distracted… 21 Five The middle of morning on a gray day. Early mist… 28 Six The house looked like most of the others on the… 33 Seven No one would ever find them in this cabin, isolated… 38 Eight Even through the thick fabric of her clumsy gloves, she… 43 Nine Dr. Elliott Hughart was torn between intentionally putting the mangled… 48 Ten Not long before sunset, a patch of bright blue sky… 55 Eleven He tried to hide and he tried to sleep—but nothing… 60 Twelve Mulder didn’t feel at all nondescript or unnoticeable as he… 66 Thirteen In a nondescript office with few furnishings, Adam Lentz sat… 74 Fourteen The midday sunlight dappled the patches in the Oregon hills… 83 Fifteen As they approached the veterinary clinic in the sleepy coastal… 89 Sixteen Some people might have thought being alone in a morgue… 96 Seventeen The bridge spread out into the early morning fog. Its… 103 Eighteen Mulder pulled up to the Mini Serve pump in the… 107 Nineteen “We’re federal agents,” Mulder announced. “I’m going to reach for… 113 Twenty On hearing Jody’s cry, Patrice awoke from a restless sleep. 121 Twenty-One Edmund was amazed at how fast the officials arrived, considering… 126 Twenty-Two The ocean crashed against the black cliffs with a hollow… 129 Twenty-Three The cold rain sheeted down, drenching him and the roadside… 134 Twenty-Four Scully was already tired of driving and glad for the… 140 Twenty-Five Outside the cabin, Vader barked. He stood up on the… 145 Twenty-Six “Patrice!” Dorman called in a hoarse voice, then walked toward… 149 Twenty-Seven The dense trees clawed at him. Their branches scratched his… 156 Twenty-Eight The logging truck sat half off the road in a… 162 Twenty-Nine Scully became disoriented on the winding dirt logging roads, but… 170 Thirty No matter how far Jody ran, Dorman followed. The only… 174 Thirty-One The sudden carnage astonished Scully, and time seemed to stop… 181 ThirtyTwo The phone rang in Adam Lentz’s plain government office, and… 186 Thirty-Three The red pickup truck Mulder had commandeered handled surprisingly well. 189 Thirty-Four Fifty miles at least to the nearest hospital, along tangled… 192 Thirty-Five The wounds in Jeremy Dorman’s throat had sealed, and a… 198 Thirty-Six To Adam Lentz and his crew of professionals, the fugitives… 205 Thirty-Seven With a brief sigh from the backseat, Jody woke up… 209 Thirty-Eight As the pickup truck droned on and the darkness deepened,… 213 Thirty-Nine As the two vehicles toiled down the muddy rutted drive,… 216 Forty Scully’s cellular phone rang in the quiet darkness of the… 219 Forty-One Satellite dishes mounted atop the van tilted at different azimuths… 224 Forty-Two Back to the haunted house, Scully thought as she drove… 228 Forty-Three The hail of small-caliber bullets struck Jeremy Dorman, and he… 234 Forty-Four As soon as Lentz and his team conveniently appeared, Mulder… 238 Forty-Five The trap had sprung. Not as neatly as Adam Lentz… 242 Forty-Six The shock wave toppled some of the remaining girders and… 246