CENE 3

(X-Files office. Mulder is eating sunflower seeds and watching television. Lots of groaning and moaning from a male and a female voice. Empty video cassette box on MULDER'S desk reads "Alien Probe." Phone rings.)

MULDER: (on phone) Mulder.

SCULLY: (on phone, voice) Mulder, it's me.

MULDER: (on phone) I thought you said you were on vacation.

SCULLY: (on phone, voice) I am. I'm up in Maine.

MULDER: (on phone) I thought you said you didn't want to be disturbed. You wanted to get out of your head for a few days.

SCULLY: (on phone, voice) I don't ... I mean, I do. I ... (moaning from TV is loud) What are you watching, Mulder?

MULDER: (on phone) It's the World's Deadliest Swarms. (Fumbles with remote to stop the tape.) Um .. you said you were going to be unreachable. What's going on?

SCULLY: (on phone) I, uh ... I'm at a market here. I'm just trying to give the local PD a handle here.

MULDER: (on phone, voice) A handle on what?

(SCULLY is in store office watching security tape footage of people clawing at their eyes.)

SCULLY: (on phone) Well, I'm not quite sure how to describe it, Mulder. I didn't witness it my-self but there seems to be some kind of an outbreak of people acting in a violent, involuntary way.

MULDER: (on phone) Towards who?

(MULDER switches off TV, which now shows man being attacked by bugs. Remember, tape has already been stopped.)

SCULLY: (on phone, voice) Toward themselves.

MULDER: (on phone) Themselves?

SCULLY: (on phone) Yeah. Beating at their faces, clawing at

their eyes. One man is dead.

MULDER: (on phone, voice) Dead? How?

SCULLY: (on phone) Self-inflicted, it appears.

MULDER: (on phone) Huh ... it sounds to me like that's witchcraft

or maybe some sorcery that you're looking for there.

(Local PD Captain, JACK BONSAINT watches SCULLY strangely throughout conversation with MULDER.)

SCULLY: (on phone) No, I don't think it's witchcraft, Mulder, or sorcery. I've had a look around and I don't see any evidence that warrants that kind of suspicion.

MULDER: (on phone) Maybe you don't know what you're looking for.

SCULLY: (on phone) Like evidence of conjury or the black arts or shamanism, divination, Wicca or any kind of pagan or neo-Pagan practice. Charms, cards ....

(MULDER is listening, spellbound.)

SCULLY: (on phone) ... familiars, bloodstones, or hex signs or any of the ritual tableaux asso-ciated with the occult, Santeria, Voudoun, Macumba, or any high or low magic?

MULDER: (on phone) Scully ...

SCULLY: (on phone) Yes?

MULDER: (on phone) Marry me.

SCULLY: (on phone) I was hoping for something a little more

helpful.

MULDER: (on phone) Well, you know, short of looking for a lady wearing a pointy hat riding a broomstick, I think you pretty much got it covered there.

SCULLY: (on phone) Thanks anyway. (hangs up, looks at tape again) (to OFFICER BUDDY RIGGS) Who's that woman right there?

BUDDY: Melissa Turner.

SCULLY: She's the only one I've seen who looks unaffected.

BUDDY: What's your point?

SCULLY: You might want to talk to her.

(SCULLY leaves the store office.

Captain JACK BONSAINT follows her.)

BONSAINT: (smiling, very friendly) Ms. Scully ... you staying in town?

SCULLY: Yes. I'm on vacation. Why?

BONSAINT: Well, what you said back there about Melissa Turner kind of put a spin on this whole business here today.

SCULLY: How's that?

BONSAINT: Well, Melissa's caused some stir. People here say she's a witch.

SCULLY: Well, that's not the first time for that accusation in these parts.

BONSAINT: Ayuh.

SCULLY: Look, to be honest with you, Captain Bonsaint, um,

I'm not much of a believer in witchcraft.

BONSAINT: Well, you know, I'm not either. I used to just think it's 'cause Melissa was pretty and single. Threatening, you know?

SCULLY: But now you're not convinced?

BONSAINT: Well, you know, I appreciate the trouble you went to,

and I sure do hope there's a reasonable explanation like you said �C just this one thing going to make it hard to persuade folks to your thinking.

SCULLY: What one thing is that?

BONSAINT: Who she's been carrying on with.

SCULLY: Who she's been carrying on with?

BONSAINT: Ayuh. With Dave, the butcher.