"Ice" begun 2/11/96 and finished 3/5/96 by JBeanfest@aol.com
see disclaimers part 1

Part 2

     Matt Kramer was standing in the road in front of my cabin, and
frankly, it made me nervous. He was the one I thought was much more likely
to have murdered Dave and Jim than any alien. I watched him through the
blinds in the bathroom. I knew I was being ridiculously paranoid, but who
can blame me, after all that had gone on-- that was still going on? My
heart leapt as I realized he was heading towards me. I didn't want to talk
to him. I didn't want to be dissected by him either. I really did not want
to share in Jim and Dave's ignominious ends. I felt panic start kicking me
in the chest. I didn't know what to do. I guess it was the same streak of
stupidity that made me stay that let me open the door to him. 
     "Hey, Kim. How are you doin'?" He asked in a soft voice. I stared at
him for a second, taking his looks in. He didn't look like a killer, per
se. He had sandy brown hair, light hazel eyes, he was clean-cut. Wearing
comfortable, yet not terribly worn-out weekend clothes. No visible tattoos
of Satan, no half-crazed gleam in his eyes. I watched as he stepped inside. 
     "I'm alright," I said, "how about you?" 
     "I don't know." I bit my bottom lip and waited for him to say
something more. Guess I wasn't in the mood to keep a conversation going
between us. 
     "Well," he said, "I came over to ask you something."
     "No, I haven't seen any UFOs or little green men," I said quickly.
Matt laughed at me. 
     "How'd you know what I was going to ask?"
     "I'm a mind reader, I guess." I closed the door but stayed near it. I
wanted Matt to know I wasn't about to sit down and chat the day away with
him. 
     "Okay. I'm sorry to bother you. I guess I just wanted to know if
you'd seen anything while you were outside last night," I guess he saw the
horrified look on my face as the word *stalker* flashed across my mind.
"Oh, Fat Jim and I saw you. We also saw something flash across the sky,
and I was just wondering if you'd seen it." Now this guy was giving me the
creeps. 
     "I saw a falling star, that's all."
     "You're sure?" 
     Deja vu.
     "Yes, I'm sure. Matt, I don't know where you got the idea that UFO
people are doing this," a visible chill jarred me. A tear was finding it's
way into my eye, thinking about what I'd seen. "But it's just crazy." Matt
shook his head.
     "If I were crazy, those two FBI agents would not be here. Believe it
or not, they work for a part of the Bureau that specializes in things like
this. They've dealt with aliens before." Oh, God, he really was crazy. I
knew I was next. Matt's dual personality, the little big-eyed green alien
would jump out and saw me apart with a steak knife. I shivered again.
     "Where did you hear that?" I asked, keeping my voice neutral. If he
said they were real-live government alien-chasers, I was going to agree,
to save my ass.
     "Stevens," he stated. That's all. Stevens. Hadn't he said there were
no UFOs?
     "Oh,"
     "Really." He was then silent. I guess he'd got all he wanted out of
me. He stepped closer and I involuntarily took a step back. "Well, it's
too bad you didn't see."
     "Yeah,"
     "I'll leave you alone now. Stay safe, Kim."
     "You too." I opened the door for him. My whole body went lax with
relief as I closed it behind him. I then realized what he said about the
feds almost made sense. At least if it were true, it would explain Agent
Mulder. Maybe Matt was right. I looked out the window to the sky. Clouds
and a bird but no UFOs. Not yet, at least.

ten after midnight, that night

     I sat in front of the picture window and stared out at the vast black
sky. Clouds covered pretty much everything, so there were no stars tonight.
I was mildly disappointed. I've always liked the presence of the stars, and
the way the moon is reflected as a wavy white orb on the restless water.
The UFO hadn't made any show either. I decided I'd been sitting in front
of the window for too long. It was time to go out. It was another
beautiful warm spring night. I tucked my gun back into my waistband,
pulled my jacket on and headed outside. 
     I leaned up on the railing and looked out to the lake. The ice was
very loud tonight. The fall and crash was ceaseless, a neverending drone
of noise. It seemed a little strange even. I briefly wondered if some kind
of craft had landed and was now falling through. That's when the screams
started. 
     Actually, they were more like yells. Definitely male, definitely in
trouble, coming from my left-- the opposite direction from Jim's place. My
stomach became heavy and dropped to my ankles, slowly, dragging the rest of
my insides with it. A heavy chill ripped through me. I had to get back
inside. If I had a phone, I would have called the cops, but I didn't, so I
had to settle for saving myself. Before I totally chickened out, I strained
to see down that way. All I could make out were shadows, moving violently
down against the white of the ice. I could not tell if there were more
than one entity. I turned to back inside, and the yelling stopped. Just
like that. Silence overtook the starless night for a moment, before the
ice stepped in with it's moaning and cracking. I took a very unsteady
breath and turned towards the yard. I had to drive to a phone and get out.
I may have witnessed the next killing. 

     I was halfway across the darkness-shrouded lawn when I noticed the
car coming down the road *fast.* I stood and watched it veer into the
yard, stunned like a deer before headlights. The occupant slammed on the
brakes, digging nice muddy holes in the moist spring earth. I watched
breathlessly as the redheaded driver jumped out the driver' side door
almost before the car had stopped. It took me a long squinted look into
the late evening shade to see who she was. It was the FBI woman, Scully.
She looked worried, and I found myself frozen with disbelief. That
entrance, that was from some kind of action movie.
     "Has Agent Mulder come by here?" She asked, voice strangely calm. Her
driving had been pretty wild, yet to me, she was without worry. I wondered
what had happened before her arrival, but somehow knew I'd never know.
     "I haven't seen him," I said, and she turned and headed towards the
shore immediately.
      "Wait," I called after her. She stopped and turned back to face me,
her trenchcoat getting caught up behind her in the steady breeze. "I heard
screams coming from down there just a few moments ago," I pointed into the
dark. She drew her gun smoothly from her shoulder holster.
     "Stay here," she ordered. I nodded absently, staring off towards the
rocks. For Scully's sake, I hoped Mulder, or whoever had yelled, was
alright. I watched her move towards the shore with careful ease, gun held
out before her in one hand, flashlight in the other. I was floating out of
my body with excitement. As Scully faded into the black, I stepped forward,
straining to see what would happen next. I watched her shadow, like a ghost
in the wind drift along the ice, her movements smooth and practiced. The
world seemed to reduce itself to the scene I watched apprehensively from
the yard. I walked slowly on the soft ground, keeping my distance. I
wanted to see what was going on, but I didn't want to put myself or Agent
Scully in any danger. 
     My eyes were now well adapted to the absence of light. I slowly
drifted into a safe position, behind one of the big trees in the side
yard. My hands felt for the BB pistol, and found it there in my waistband.
Scully stopped. I squinted to see the ice piled high above her. A fast sigh
wandered past my lips, as I saw nothing but clear whiteness. I waited,
motionless, for the agent to continue her careful search. I was at a loss.
I thought for a moment, that I should be getting help, but I couldn't force
myself to leave. I put one hand on the tree and looked behind me, at my
waiting car. The closest phone was in the resort down the road; it would
not take five minutes. Yet, I couldn't move. My face turned back to the
action, the smell of the wet tree bark filling my nostrils. Agent Scully
had not moved.
     I edged past the tree, knocking bits off old bark off it with my
trailing hand. My fingers were stiff and reluctant to leave the shelter of
the tree. Although Scully had stopped, and her body relaxed a little, she
had not put her gun away. I don't know why I even thought to go closer.
The danger was still there, a current in the air brushing against me and
prickling my skin. Scully moved forward, stepping gingerly onto the rocks.
My teeth clenched and I stopped. Her balance was a little shaky on the
slippery, unstable rocks. I wasn't really afraid for her, she was capable
of keeping her balance. My sudden hesitation was brought on by the
realization that there was something down there. I blinked away at the
darkness and saw her holster the gun before moving on. Was it too late
once again? The wind suddenly seemed to pick up, and a faint memory of my
nightmare flashed across my conscious. I backed away, starting for the
shadows, to slip away and hear about the latest victim in the  morning, on
my way out of this place. It then occurred to me that if I slipped away,
just disappeared, that it would seem like I had something to hide. Maybe
it was my paranoia, but I felt it just the same. I swallowed to get rid of
the dryness in my throat and started again towards the shore. Light, slow
sprinkles of cold rain began falling. Finally, the threatening skies
decide to take action. I looked up briefly, feeling a tiny droplet spatter
on my lip. Scully looked back and saw me. She disregarded me and reached
into her coat and withdrew something. Following her motions carefully, I
could tell it was a phone. She had it to her ear, and had not yet spoken
when the ice gave way before her. 
     I had never imagined the ice could move with such speed. The sheet
behind the white ice mountain range thrust forward, riding up the slick
backside of the drifts with frightening force. It ascended the peak and
fell down the opposite side of the range. As the ice started this sudden
violent assault, Agent Scully whipped around. I did not need to feel the
pent-up rage of the frozen water, or smell the danger on the wind from the
lake to know disaster was imminent. The terrifying clarity of slow-motion
played out before me as I watched the crystal falling down. It did not
simply crumble, it leapt from the peak, pouncing in large blocks,
ravenously devouring the shore. My legs began to move me towards it
involuntarily as I watched in awestruck horror. The thunder of the ice
sent Scully towards solid ground. She leaned forward to start away. The
rocks were slippery with a thin coat of water, and in many places, a glaze
of ice. Her feet jumped from under her as if she'd been pushed from behind.
The phone flew out of her hands as she fell hard on the craggy rocks. Her
long coat trailing behind her like a cape in the wind was the last I saw
before the mountains behind her lurched once more, and fell forward. Just
before the big avalanche reduced the mount to a crystal plateau along the
rocks, I heard the sound of her body hitting the rocks. It grabbed my
stomach and twisted. I could not tell if the <crack> I heard was plastic
of the cellular phone, or delicate bone. I was close enough to see the
frozen water fall forward, but that is all. I could not see Scully or the
rocks. The ice tumbled down, clear teeth catching the dim remnants of
light and gleaming hungrily. The avalanche didn't move straight down, as I
expected, but moved out, lunged for the shore. The movement was fast, it
happened before I could even open my mouth and release a scream.
     Although the initial, powerful avalanche was over, the movement did
not cease. I stood, staring, legs wobbling beneath me, slowly moving
toward the rocks. I listened to the gasping crunches as more ice shifted
and wondered if the FBI woman was under there, struggling in the dark for
breath and escape as cold, sharp icicles bit into her flesh. And what of
the FBI man, Mulder? Was his body now buried beneath the innocent-looking
white as well?  What fisherman would come across his body, cold and blue,
being washed by the ebbing waves? 
     I edged closer, my whole body tingling with nausea. A soft moan from
the shore froze me for a moment. I could imagine the short redhead
struggling in the frigid cocoon, afraid, suffocating, reduced to nothing
but a mass of deafening pain. There was another gentle moan, this one
softer, restrained. Shuddering, I approached the rockline. 
     She was not buried deep as I feared. I sighed, relief coming over me
as a towering wave of cold water. Scully was slowly getting to her feet. I
carefully stepped onto the rocks to help her, but she waved me away.
     "Get back," she ordered. I looked to the ice to see what had been
there, but if anything had been there before, it was buried now. The ice
had come but inches from where the FBI woman lay. As she stood, she shook
bits of it from her clothes and hair. 
     "Are you alright?" I asked, a little dismayed at hearing how my voice
shook. 
     "Yes," she said, voice breathy with adrenaline. She looked back to
the ice, wide-eyed. I knew there had been something there, and now, it was
buried. Whether it had been the FBI man or an alien, or anything else, I
did not know. She looked after it as if whatever it had been would rise
up, back out of the ice. A chill roared down my back. I bit my tongue at
the thought of the G-man under there, torn apart by whatever had brought
Dave and Jim to death's door. Scully looked back at me, mouth open to say
something. She was stopped dead by a yell to our left. I froze. Before I
could even realize fully what was going on, she had her gun in front of
her as she edged towards the source of the yell. I followed Scully as
close as I dare. It happened again, the same male voice as before. 
     "Mulder," she whispered, trying the word on her lips once before
calling to her partner intensely. "MULDER!" 
     She was answered with only the sounds of the ice and the lake and the
rain in their quiet harmony. 
     "MULDER!" She mounted the rocks again, more careful, keeping her
movements slow and deliberate, listening for any sign of life beyond the
drifts. I followed close, hand on the BB gun, hardly aware of myself. It
was as if I were watching a scene on TV. 
     There was a small splash followed by a gasping choke from beyond the
white mountains. The FBI woman thrust her gun back at her side and looked
around, like a rabbit looking for escape from a fox. I was powerless,
afraid. 
     "Get a rope!" She growled back at me, eyes burning. I turned and
started toward the cabin, out of the corner of my eye I saw her kick at
and try the solidity of the ice. I bit my tongue in mid stride, but it was
for nothing, because she was smart enough to stay clear of the deadly white
mountains. 
     I ran to the shed, feet slipping periodically in the soft spring mud.
I fished my keys from my pocket as fast as I could with my trembling hands.
Behind me, I heard Scully calling to her partner, and receiving no answers.
I made myself go faster. I slipped the key in the padlock, turned it, and
whipped the lock to the ground. The door swung away quickly, rusty hinges
moaning. Light inside the small, cold shed was very scarce without the
moon. I searched quickly with my hands across the floor, hoping that I
would not run into anything gigantic with eight legs. My fingers rolled
across fishing poles, a croquet ball, spider webs, but no rope. Frantic, I
jumped further in, where I was completely without light. I cursed silently
when my knee hit the banana-seat of an old bike. But as I felt along the
smooth chrome curve of the handlebars, I hit paydirt. I snatched the rough
rope between my fingers and bolted the other way. 
     I don't think I've ever run that fast before. Agent Scully was
standing as close as she could get to the water, still calling to him in a
slightly-annoyed voice spiked with fear. Yet in talking to me, she kept her
voice firm and in-control. 
     "Is there anything on shore we can tie this to? She demanded. I
glanced around quickly. In summer, there'd be boats and docks out this
close to the shore, but not now. Scully ran her flashlight across the ice
again, looking for a thin spot where she could get closer to where her
partner was. I judged the length of the rope, and decided it would fit
around a small tree. I didn't get the chance to do any more.
     "Scully?" His voice wavered between the chatter of his teeth. I stood
tall, to see over the peaks, to locate him. Scully flicked the flashlight
beam to the direction of his voice and illuminated a pair of shoulders and
a head. I sighed with relief. I really did not want to see any more dead
bodies, not tonight, not ever. 
     "Mulder, are you alright?"
     "I fell in," was his cold, half-lucid response. I don't have to be
anyone special to know that man was in some kind of hypothermic shock. 
     "Mulder, we're going to throw you a rope, okay? I want you to hold on
and try to climb over these drifts."
     "Alright," he said. She looked at me and I threw the rope. I couldn't
help wondering  how the hell he got over there. If he'd fallen through from
our side, under the ice and into the water, and climbed his way out, it
would be a miracle. At that time I didn't doubt anything. It was the most
unusual thing that had ever happened to me. I could not believe what was
going on. Scully joined me at the rope, stepping ahead of me, taking
charge and setting herself solidly to hold her partner's weight. 
     "Mulder, do you see the rope?" Scully asked. 
     "Yeah," he grumbled. Immediately, we felt a weight at the other end.
This guy may have been tall and skinny, but he weighed more than a goddamn
elephant. Not only that, but he kept slipping, losing his footing on the
side of the cliff. The ice kept sliding away from under him, crumbling,
shying away from the touch of his feet. Even though it was  a struggle, I
grit my teeth and told myself I could not let go, no matter what. 
     He got over the peak and tumbled down our side. His hair and clothes
were plastered to his body with icy water. His face stood out as pale and
blue as Dave's arm had been, lying on the ice. 
     "Mulder, what the hell were you doing out there?" She asked him in a
low hiss. I was not meant to hear. Then again, I don't think it mattered
much to either one of them, because I, by some modern miracle, became
suddenly invisible. 
     "Taking a dip, Scully. Problem is, I forgot my Speedos."
     Speedos? 
     She led him off in the direction of my cabin. He was wracked with
shudders so hard, they came close several times to bringing him to the
ground. I floated around behind them, half in awe. This was like Rescue
911 right in my backyard. I fished my keys back out of my pocket again and
increased my pace, to get up in front of them. I opened the door, and they
tumbled in after me, Scully leading Mulder right to my couch. Immediately,
she began stripping him of his wet clothes. As she wrestled with his soaked
overcoat-- it must have weighed fifty pounds full of water-- a mischievous
grin spread across his face. 
     "Scully, somehow I always knew you wanted to tear my clothes off," he
said, raising his frozen eyebrows.  The comment didn't phase her.  She
didn't even hesitate for a moment in tearing the coat off his back.  After
she had it on the floor-- there goes the rug-- she dug around in it for a
little bit.
     "Kim," she called after a second. She remembered my name. I wondered
if I was a suspect.
     "Yeah?" She tossed me a dripping cellphone. 
     "Call some paramedics,"
     "I'm fine, Scully," Mulder chattered. She didn't dignify that one
with a comment either, just kept stripping him of his clothes. I tried the
cellphone. Somehow, by some act of God, it worked. The connection was
fuzzier than hell, but I got my call through to the Isle Fire Department,
the closest thing to anything rescue squad up here. Finished with that, I
ran to the bedroom and grabbed all the loose blankets I could find. No FBI
man was going to die on my couch. 
     When I got back, blankets enveloped in my arms, little space heater's
handle clenched tightly in my hand, he was almost naked. Silently, I set
the blankets down next to Scully. Somehow, I thought, if I had said
anything, anything at all, neither one would  really hear me. They only
knew eachother, the rest of the world wasn't there. So, I plugged in the
heater, set it on full blast and aimed it at the blue G-man. Scully
wrapped her partner in the blankets as I watched, helpless. It was as if I
were watching a movie, a silent bystander, an extra. I watched, him lying
there, trying not to shiver, her trying not to touch him too much. Then I
realized they were holding back, because of me. So my presence was felt. I
shrugged and left, silently again, knowing they were deaf to me anyway. I
headed to the kitchen to put the BB gun away. 
     Their voices were quiet, and now I *knew* this was top secret
government stuff I wasn't supposed to hear. So, I decided to eavesdrop.
Instead of going back into the livingroom, I swung around back to the
bedroom. From here, with the door to the livingroom open, I could hear
very well. I pressed up flat against the wall and slowed my breath to a
gentle whisper. I wanted to know what was going on.

     "You ditched me *again,* Mulder," she said quietly.
     "You wouldn't have come if I asked," he spat. I was so close, I heard
her sigh.
     "If I knew what you were up to, you wouldn't have gone either.
Mulder, what possessed you to go out on that ice?"
     "I thought. . ." His voice shivered, "I thought for a minute that the
truth could be out there." There was a long period of quiet. I wondered if
he'd lapsed into oblivion, or if they were on to my eavesdropping. I
jumped when I heard her voice.
     "There was another body on the shore. Did you see anything?"
     "Not what I expected." I peeked around the corner a little, feeling
more and more like a little kid. She wiped the wet hair off his forehead
with a gentle hand.
     "Disappointed?"
     "No, not at all. Seems this is an X-File after all, even if the alien
theory was a little off." he paused again, to let a massive shiver run the
length of his body. She began rubbing his shoulder, to generate a little
more heat.
     "It was the ice all along, Scully. That's why the bodies were so
mutilated. The ice literally tore them apart."
     "But three deaths in less than a week? Mulder, that's more than
coincidence."
     "There's no such thing as coincidence," he said, and smiled.
"Remember the X-File? Fifty years ago, five miles north of here, the same
story?" She stiffened as she began to get his idea. I still had not a clue
to what he was hinting at, but she read him loud and clear. 
     "This is just ice. Frozen h-two-oh."
     "There has to be some reason. There has to be some local legend, some
old folklore, maybe Native American, that tells of killer ice. Maybe it has
something to do with the stars--"
     "Not *that* again,"
     "We've only just begun here."
     "Shhh, Mulder, let's talk about it later," she said, petting him. She
thought he was having delusions or something.
     *But it attacked you,* I thought at her. I remembered the ferocity of
the ice as it towered over her and pounced. In my mind, I saw how close it
had come to her prone body, and the glittering pieces of it she shook from
her hair. Then I remembered back to  the huge chunk falling at the precise
moment to crush the stray dog. My stomach tightened and threatened
rebellion against me. I tore my thoughts away from the past and looked
back to the agents. The way she touched him, so *warmly* sent a wave of
nauseous jealousy over me. I had known of these people for fewer than
twenty-four hours, and already I could sense the strong feelings between
them. They just sat, without words, without me in the background, without
anything, not moving until the approaching sirens were screaming right
outside. 

Wednesday morning, 9:58

     With the last of my crap tucked away in the trunk of my car, I was
ready to hit the road. My car keys jingled anxiously in my hand as I
looked out to the lake. There had been a small team of cops next door
earlier, digging through the collapsed drift, looking for Matt. Now all
that remained of the police was a strip of yellow writhing in the wind. I
sighed. Three men were dead, one was really cold, and I was changed
forever. I could not remember who I was before this all happened. I felt
new. Maybe I lost my innocence, maybe I realized just how short life is,
maybe I was just perplexed and jealous of the bond between the G-people. 
     I followed the red-breasted robin as it descended from the branch it
was sitting on. It landed on a high rock, close to the ice, I held my
breath. It seemed early for robins. For this one, it would soon be too
late.
     I let my breath out quickly as the little bird flew away without
harm. As soon as it left its perch, however, the ice tumbled down after
it.  
     I laughed at myself. The only thing that had changed within me was my
willingness to believe. I'd been hanging around the local loonies far too
long. And I knew I was going to miss them. 

The End!

"Yo, man, let's get outta here. Word to your mother. Ice, Ice baby, too
cold. . ." Vanilla Ice, "Ice Ice Baby"

 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

< Thus ends our little tale. It didn't really end like I thought it would.
<sigh> Oh well. I'm sorry our favorite government employees didn't show up
for a while. Thanks for sticking with me through all this, hope you didn't
get too bored. Now come on and get some gasoline and your flame-thrower
out! (Gotta melt this Ice.) Confused, confounded, concerned? Questions,
comments, complaints? I'm ready and waiting for them all at
JBeanfest@aol.com.>

P.S. I apologize for the line,  * "I thought. . ." His voice shivered, "I
thought for a minute that the truth could be out there." *  I know how
damn cheesy it is, I just couldn't bring myself to strike it for some
reason. 

truth one is not truth two