Sixty-six Exeter Street was an old, red-brick building, whose windowswere boarded up . Scully stared up at the building. If Mulder and Briggswere right, this was where Eugene Victor Tooms had lived in 1903. And in1963. Was he here now?
They stepped inside the building, drew their weapons and switched ontheir flashlights. Scully led the way down the hallway to the apartmentwhere Eugene Tooms had lived, and pushed open the door. The room wasempty except for some garbage on the floor.
A thin trickle of light filtered through the rotting wood.
Nothing in Scully's scientific training had prepared her for this. This wasnot the sort of phenomenon she normally believed in: that you could goinside an empty room and reel something awful, like a memory trapped inthe walls, in the air. Something horrible had happened there. And the feel ofit was still present.
Scully played the beam or her light along the walls. She wanted to focusOil the physical. She wanted evidence she could touch, proof that wouldhold up in court.
She realised that the brick outer wall showed through the tornplasterboard. The paint peeled from the walls. A stained mattress leanedagainst a wall. But there was no sign of Tooms. Clearly it had been agessince anyone had lived in the apartment.
"There's nothing here," Scully said to Mulder.
But the old mattress caught Mulder's attention. He shone his flashlightbehind it. "Check this out," he said.
Scully saw what had drawn his attention: a hole about four feet high,cut straight through the plasterboard. Big enough, Scully thought, for a manto fit through.
She sent the beam of her flashlight straight down and saw a ladderdropping into the darkness.
"What's down there?" Mulder asked.
"I don't know," Scully answered. "Let's find out."Without hesitating, Scully lowered herself onto the metal ladder. Thependant on her necklace swung out as she started to climb down.
Mulder was right behind her.
When they reached the bottom, they were in a very dark area. Scullyshone her light overhead. Heavy pipes crossed low ceiling joists. Theywere definitely in the basement of the building.
It was chilly and damp. And it felt even worse than it had in theapartment. Scully fought back a shiver.
The two agents began to check out the dark basement. Finally Scullyshook her head. "Nothing," she said, disappointed. "It's just an old coalcellar.""What's that?" Mulder asked. He aimed his flashlight straight ahead.
Something reflected the light to him.
He walked towards the shiny object. "Somebody having a garage sale?"he said.
On a wooden crate sat a collection of objects: a pipe, a coffee mug, aglass cigarette lighter and other things.
Scully nodded, thinking of what Briggs had told them about Tooms.
"Briggs said he kept trophies." Mulder picked up the cigarette lighter. "Thisis the shape that was on Werner's mantel""Does Tooms live in here?" Mulder asked himself aloud.
He sent the beam of his light across the coal cellar. The far wall was damp.
"It looks like the wall's deteriorating , "Scully said.
"No," Mulder said. "Somebody made it that way."Before Scully could ask him what he meant, Mulder went over to examinethe wall. Seconds later she was at his side. He was right, she saw. Someonehad plastered a strange assortment of things against the wall. Greasyrags, torn strips of newspaper, and trash were all stuck together to form alarge mound. It extended from ceiling to floor and wall to wall.
"It's a nest," Mulder said in wonder.
Scully saw that the nest had been stuck together with a greenish-yellowsubstance. In the very centre of the mound was a hole. "Look," she said,"this must be the opening. Do you think there's anything inside?"Mulder reached inside the hole and touched it.
Scully was about to do the same and then she realized what the substancewas.
"Oh, my God, Mulder." She tried not to gag , but she felt sick to herstomach. "It smells like ... I think it's bile. Tooms must have taken it fromhis victims' livers.""I think this is where Tooms ... hibernates." "Hibernates ?" echoed Scully.
"What if some genetic mutation could allow a man to awaken every thirtyyears?" said Mulder, excited by his idea. "What if the five livers couldprovide sustenance for that period; allowing him to regenerate the cells inhis body so that he never aged?"Scully didn't find this wild theory possible. She and Mulder hadsomething more serious to worry about.
"Tooms isn't here now. But he's going to come back." Mulder nodded,"We're going to need a surveillance team."The two agents started out of the coal cellar. This time Mulder was inthe lead. Scully suddenly stopped, with a sharp intake of breath. "Wait,"she called. "I-"Mulder spun around. "What is it?""I-I think I'm entangled in something," Scully said. She twisted a bit.
Whatever had been caught was abruptly set free. ''It's okay," she called.
''I'm fine."She followed Mulder up the ladder and out of the coal cellar.
The coal cellar's ceiling was topped with pipes. If Scully had shone herflashlight right above her, she might have seen a hand tightened the pipes. Ahand that now held her necklace.
If she'd shone her light even higher, she would have seen the fire-red eyesof Eugene Tooms. He'd been there all the time. Now his eyes followed theagents as they left the cellar. His hand tightened on Scully's necklace. Atrophy for each victim. He'd just found number five.
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