CENE 8

SHOODIC LAKE RANGER'S STATION

11:06 PM

(MELISSA drives up to the ranger's station. POLLY is asleep beside her. RANGER comes out to greet them.)

MELISSA: Hi.

RANGER: Where are you headed this time of night?

MELISSA: We were invited up to a place near the lake.

RANGER: Uh-huh.

MELISSA: A friend gave us the key.

RANGER: You got gear? Food and water?

MELISSA: We'll be all right.

RANGER: I just want to make sure of that, ma'am. Winter's in full force up there. Power's iffy. Just you and the little one?

MELISSA: For now.

POLLY: I want to go home, Mommy.

MELISSA: We're going to go camping, Polly.

POLLY: I want my bed! I want my records!

(Doll's eyes open.)

DOLL: Let's have fun.

RANGER: I'll just take your license number, then.

(RANGER walks around back. MELISSA looks at rear window and sees reflection of JANE FROE-LICH, throat slit.)

JANE'S IMAGE: Help me .....

(MELISSA accelerates quickly, forcing RANGER to jump out of the way, then she speeds back the way she came.)

SCENE 9

(JANE FROELICH'S house. Hokey Pokey is playing. JANE is dressed in bathrobe. She turns on light and starts down hall toward sound of the music.)

JANE: Hello?

(She enters living room.)

JANE: Who's there? Is there anyone there?

(Light switch doesn't work. 45s are spread around the floor next to an old record player. JANE raises plastic covering the record player and lifts needle off the record. Music stops. Shadow moves behind JANE.)

DOLL'S VOICE: I want to play.

(JANE drops needle and music starts again. JANE'S hand begins to shake. She bends down and picks up a broken record that she just stepped on. Hokey Pokey begins skipping - "That's what it's all about" over and over. JANE holds broken record in front of her.)

JANE: I'm not afraid of you.

(She tries to resist, but brings the broken record to her neck. Camera pans away just before she cuts herself. We hear her gurgle in pain. Hokey Pokey stops skipping and finishes the song.)

(Commercial 2.)

SCENE 10

(SCULLY'S hotel room. Classical music. SCULLY is in a bubble bath, very relaxed. Hotel phone rings. SCULLY opens one eye, sighs, then reaches a bubbly leg out of the tub to slam the bathroom door. Camera pans across room showing used room service tray and CD boom box playing the clas-sical music. SCULLY comes out of the bathroom wearing a black velour lounging outfit and a towel around her head. She turns down the CD player. Beside the phone is a copy of Affirmations for Women Who Do Too Much. The message light on the phone is blinking. SCULLY sighs, probably thinking "Mulder," and ignores the flashing light. She goes to the window and flings open the curtain obviously expecting sunshine and escapism.. Outside, CAPTAIN JACK BONSAINT gets out of his pa-trol car and smiles and waves at her. SCULLY smiles tightly, then heads for the door with a resigned expression.)

SCENE 11

(Coroners wheel JANE'S body out of her house. BONSAINT and SCULLY drive up and enter the house.)

BONSAINT: Looks like she died by her own hand. A big slice under the chin opened up the ar-tery.

SCULLY: With what?

BONSAINT: Buddy, show her the thing.

(A cell phone begins ringing.)

(OFFICER BUDDY RIGGS shows her a bloody broken record in an evidence bag.)

BONSAINT: (on phone) Jack Bonsaint.... Ayuh. ... Who? ... Oh, okay. Put him through. (to SCULLY) It's for you.

(SCULLY is surprised.)

SCULLY: (on phone) Hello?

MULDER: (on phone, voice) Hey, morning, sunshine.

(There is a repetitive banging sound from MULDER'S end.

He speaks loudly to compensate.)

SCULLY: (on phone) Mulder?

MULDER: (on phone, voice) Yeah. I was a little worried about you.

I was wondering if you needed my help up there.

SCULLY: (on phone) Needed your help on what?

MULDER: (on phone, voice) I left you a message at the motel.

You didn't get it?

SCULLY: (on phone) I was up and out this morning. Mulder?

MULDER: (on phone, voice) Yeah?

SCULLY: (on phone) What's that noise? Where are you?

MULDER: (on phone) I'm at home. They're doing construction

right out the window. Hold on a second. (to imaginary construction workers) Hey fellas! Can you just keep it down for a second, maybe? (He bounces his basketball twice more and tosses it away from him. It crashes into some piece of furniture. MULDER pauses then picks up phone again.) Thank you. (to SCULLY) Yeah, hey. I was - I was thinking about this case. You know, maybe it's not witchcraft after all. Maybe there's a scientific explanation.

SCULLY: (on phone) A scientific explanation?

MULDER: (on phone) Yeah, a medical cause. Something called

chorea.

SCULLY: (on phone) Dancing sickness.

MULDER: (on phone) Yeah, St. Vitus's dance.

(MULDER opens his refrigerator. It contains absolutely nothing besides a jug of orange juice.)

MULDER: (on phone) It affect groups of people causing unexplained outbursts of uncontrolla-ble jerks and spasms.

(MULDER takes a swig of the juice straight from the bottle. )

SCULLY: (on phone) Yeah, and hasn't been diagnosed since the Middle Ages.

(MULDER makes a face at the taste of the juice and looks at the date on the bottle. OCT. 97)

MULDER: (on phone) Oh. (Spits juice back into bottle.)

You're obviously not a fan of American Bandstand, Scully.

SCULLY: (on phone) Mulder?

MULDER: (on phone) Yeah?

SCULLY: (on phone) Thanks for the help. (Hangs up.)

MULDER: (on phone) Hello?

BONSAINT: That your partner?

SCULLY: Yep.

BONSAINT: I'm sorry for eavesdropping but has he maybe got some

insight on this?

SCULLY: (definitive) No.

BONSAINT: I see.

(OFFICER RIGGS plays the record that was on the player - Hokey Pokey. Privately, RIGGS seems to remember it was playing in the background when he last spoke on the phone to MELISSA. He turns it off.)

SCULLY: You know, Chief Bonsaint �C Jack �C can I call you Jack? I've been thinking that maybe ... maybe we need to explore other possibilities.

BONSAINT: I'm not sure I understand.

SCULLY: Well, maybe we need to keep our minds open to ...

extreme possibilities.

BONSAINT: Okay, but aren't you on vacation?

(SCULLY sort of nods, then looks away.)