Chapter 1 Working Late
    At seven thirty p.m. the Baltimore sky was striped with a bloodred sunset.
　　Hundreds of workers crowded the streets, hurrying to get home.
　　On the contrary George Usher, a middle-aged businessman, was returningto his office for a long evening of work.
　　When Usher left the elevator on the fifteenth floor of his office building,he looked at the long, silent hallways, lit with Exit signs that shone in thedark.
　　The office felt different at night. Usher reminded himself, Nobody can getin unless they work here.
　　He walked into his office, turned on the light, and dialled a number on hisphone. An answering machine clicked on and his wife's voice asked callersto leave a message after the beep.
　　"Hello, darling," he said. "It's about seven thirty and it looks like. I'll behere for a while. Call me back. I love you. Bye."After hanging up, Usher looked at the dark hallway outside his office.
　　Suddenly he felt an odd tremor: it was fear!
　　He thought that a cup of coffee would help him, so he headed for  thecoffee machine.
　　A tiny noise broke the silence the moment he left his office. High on thewall, the cover of an air vent  began to move slowly. The two screwsholding the vent in place started to turn. First the right. Then the left. Then,very slowly, long, skinny  fingertips  came out from inside the vent,pushing the cover to one side.
　　When Usher came back with his coffee, he stopped outside his office door;he was sure that he'd left the light on inside. He went in and tried to switchon the lamp on his desk. Then, all of a sudden, the door slammed shut withan unearthly  force. And Usher suddenly realised that he wasn't alone.
　　Frantically  he reached for the door. He got hold of the knob and triedto open it. But someone or something had hold of him.
　　Usher fought in the stranger's grasp and slipped free. He rolled acrossthe desk only to feel powerful hands lock around his throat. He couldn'tbreathe. He couldn't make a sound as his body was raised into the air withinhuman strength.
　　For a moment the hands left his throat and his desperate scream rangthrough the office as his body slammed into the door with enough force tosplinter it.
　　And then there was only silence.
　　An hour later Usher's office was a mess and the carpet was drenchedwith blood.
　　Directly above Usher's body, one of the screws in the cover of the air ventbegan to turn. Something inside the vent was screwing the cover back intothe wall. Slowly. Victoriously.
Chapter 2 The Fingerprint
    Scully was having lunch with Tom Colton, an old friend from the F.B.I.
　　training academy, who worked for the Violent Crimes Section. He wastelling her about a strange case: three murders over the last six weeksvictims varying in age, gender  and race, and no known connections toeach other. The only thing in common was the lack of entry.
　　"One victim," Colton said, "was a college girl. She was killed in her roomand when she was found, the windows wore locked and the door waschained  from the inside. The last incident was two days ago in a highsecurityoffice building. It was evening and everybody had gone home. Theguy parked in the garage and took the elevator to the fifteenth floor. No oneelse came into the building. The guy never came out.""Could they be suicides?" asked Scully.
　　Colton shook his head and handed Scully a photograph. "All the victims'
　　livers have been removed - without tools.""This sounds like an X-file," said Scully. An "X-file" was what the F.B.I.
　　called a case that involved strange happenings and unexplained phenomena.
　　"Well, I don't know about that but I'd like you to look at the case historiesand see the crime scene."When Scully went to Usher's office, Mulder was already there. The officewas a mess and blood was splattered  everywhere.
　　"Morning," Mulder said to Scully.
　　Fox Mulder looked incredibly young for an agent with so muchexperience. He was a tall, thin man who wore his hair unusually long for anF.B.I. agent. Scully thought there was something a little deceptive  aboutMulder's appearance. He appeared so innocent, almost boyish, until youlooked into his clear hazel  eyes. That was when you realised that FoxMulder had seen more than most people. And it had cost him.
　　Mulder was concentrating on something shining on the carpet: herecognised some tiny metal filings .
　　Using tweezers , Mulder lifted a filing and thought for a second, thenlooked up. High above on the wall was the metal grille that covered theoffice's air vent.
　　He stood up and went to his forensic kit. He took the fingerprintpowder, tape and brush. Then he began to powder the area surrounding thevent.
　　A long, thin print was emerging, bit by bit. It had some of the qualities ofa human fingerprint, but it was certainly not human.
　　Mulder was sure that he'd seen those prints before.
　　Some time later, in the basement of F.B.I. headquarters, Scully focusedher attention on some slides that Mulder was showing her. There were sixand each of them showed an elongated fingerprint. The prints were toolong and thin to be human.
　　Mulder pointed to one of the slides. "This is the print I took yesterdayfrom Usher's office," he said. "All the others are from the X-files.""How many murders are we talking about?" Scully asked.
　　"Eleven, counting Usher," Mulder replied.
　　"Ten murders before him. All in the Baltimore area. No point of entrancein any of them. Each victim was murdered the same way. These prints arefrom five of those other ten crime scenes.""Ten other murders?" Scully still couldn't believe it.
　　Then Mulder pointed to three of the slides. "These three prints were liftedin 1963, and these two were taken in 1933."Scully's eyes widened . "You're saying the same murderer was fit' workthirty years ago and sixty years ago?""And ninety," Mulder said. "Unfortunately, we don't have prints for thatone. Fingerprinting wasn't too common in 1903. And police records weren'tvery complete. But there was at least one similar murder at that time.""Of course," Scully said sarcastically . She thought, If you leave it toMulder, he'll come up with an absolutely unbelievable case history.
　　Mulder ignored her tone and added: "Five murders, every thirty years.
　　Thatmeans he's got two more to go this year."Scully stood up and turned away from her partner.
　　There must be a more rational explanation, she told herself. She was ascientist, a doctor. There was no way she could believe I his.
Chapter 3 A Profile of the Killer
   At 10:00 p.m. Scully was in her apartment with her eyes fixed on thecomputer screen. Her notes from the case were on her desk. She'd readthrough Mulder's X-files and now she was writing a profile of the killer.
　　Once again she carefully thought about Mulder's theory. And then shewent ahead with her own.
　　"After a careful review of the violent nature of these murders," she wrote,"I believe the killer to be a male, twenty-five to thirty¬ five years old.
　　He has above-average intelligence. His method of entry has so far beenundetermined. This may be due to his great knowledge of the internalstructure of buildings and ducts ."Scully studied the slide of the elongated fingerprint. Then she put it down,feeling puzzled .She couldn't explain the odd print; instead, she dealt withanother aspect of themurder.
　　"The removal of the liver is the most important detail of these crimes. Theliver possesses restorative  qualities. It purifies  the blood."The next morning Scully presented her report to Colton and other agentsat the Violent Crimes Section.
　　"The taking of the liver may allow the killer to believe he's cleaninghimself of his own impurities," she said. "I think he's acting under the classicform of obsessive-compulsive behavior.""since the victims are unrelated," she continued, "we can't predict whowill be next. But we can use the fact that when serial killers don't succeed infinding a victim, they sometimes return to the site of the previous murder torecapture the emotional high . So I think we should target  those siteswhere he's already killed."The stakeouts  of the murder sites began that night.
　　Three days later Scully parked her car in the garage below George Usher'soffice building. Mulder was already there. He was examining the ductsystem because he had heard some banging sounds.
　　Mulder shone his light around the area and realised that the gate wassufficiently open for someone to slip through. He paced through the opengate. The ventilation duct flexed  from the inside, almost as if it werebreathing.
　　Something was scaling the duct from inside.
　　"Scully!" he shouted, racing towards her car. "Call for backup and getover here!"Scully made a call on the radio and went up to him. "In there," saidMulder pointing towards the ducts.
　　Scully drew her gun. "Federal agent!" she shouted. "Don't move! I'marmed!"She could just distinguish a man in the darkness of the opening. Hehesitated  beyond the glare  of the agents' flashlights .Then he crawledout feet first .
　　He looked about twenty. He had a childlike face with a high forehead. Hewore a tan uniform with an emblem that read ANIMAL CONTROL.
　　His face glistened with sweat. He raised his hands over his head, lookingscared to death, like a rabbit caught in handcuffed.
　　The agents handcuffed him. "you are under arrest, you have the right toremain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a courtof law... "
Chapter 4 The Lie-Detector Test
    The following day Scully was sitting behind a two-way mirror in theBaltimore Police headquarters. Mulder and Colton were with her. A womanwith short blonde hair was getting ready to give a lie-detector test to thesuspect.
　　The suspect wore fluorescent  orange prison overalls . He was sitting ina chair, facing the two-way mirror. Scully knew that though they could seehim, he couldn't see them.
　　One of the suspect's arms was tied with a blood-pressure cuff . Wiresconnected the machine to sensors on his fingertips.
　　Scully knew that his blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing-rate weregoing to be measured. A change In anyone of them might testify that he waslying.
　　The woman calibrated the machine so that the ink ran through thestylus and the graph paper moved, then she started the test.
　　"Is your full name Eugene Victor Tooms?" she asked.
　　"Yes," the suspect answered. "Do you live in the state of Maryland?”
　　"Yes," Tooms said.
　　"Are you employed by Baltimore Municipal Animal Control?""Yes," he answered again.
　　The examiner observed the graph paper and marked "7+" next to theresponse. So far, Scully knew, the suspect was telling the truth.
　　"Eugene, is it your intention to lie to me about anything here today?" thewoman asked.
　　"No," Tooms answered. He spoke in a monotone, and his eyes seemedglazed, as if he were in a trance ."Were you ever enrolled in college?""Yes.""Were you ever enrolled in medical school?""No.""Have you ever removed a liver from a human being?""No," rooms answered. "Have you ever killed a living creature?""Yes."Like his voice, rooms's face was absolutely neutral, empty of all emotion.
　　"Have you ever killed a human being?""No," he replied.
　　"Have you ever been in George Usher's office?""No," rooms answered.
　　"Did you kill George Usher?" "No," he replied again.
　　"Are you over one hundred years old?"Tooms hesitated, looking astonished by the question. Then he answered,"No.""Have you ever been to Powhatan Mill?" asked the examiner .
　　"Yes," answered Tooms.
　　"In 1933?"Again the suspect hesitated before saying, "No."Some time later the examiner reached Scully and Mulder and said: "As faras I'm concerned, the subject did not kill those people. ""Tooms lied on questions twelve and fourteen," said Mulder pointing tothe graph paper. "He's our guy."Colt on stood up and went to the door. Scully could see that he didn'tbelieve Mlilder. "Well, even if he is, I'm letting him go!” The door slammedbehind him.
　　The next day Scully sat with Mulder at a computer puter in the Baltimorepolice station. Mulder had called up Eugene rooms's arrest report.
　　"Here," Mulder said, "are Tooms's fingerprints. And here is an elongatedprint taken from Usher's office. It matches the old ones from the X-files.
　　This print is from the 1933 murder at Powhatan Mill"Scully looked at Mulder and shrugged , "There's no match.""No," admitted Mulder, "but what if..."He punched in  a command and the computer stretched Tooms'sfingerprint until it was as long and narrow as the one taken from Usher'soffice. "Just look," Mulder said while running the mouse across its pad. Thetwo images moved towards the centre of the screen until they overlappedand the computer beeped.
　　"Match 100%," it read.
　　Scully asked: "How could Tooms's print be exactly the same as a printtaken from a murder committed over sixty years ago?""The only thing I know for sure," said Mulder, "is that they let him go."
Chapter 5 Another Victim
    It was dark when Thomas Werner drove into his driveway . He openedthe car door. He stopped. Something was different tonight. It was so quietthat Werner could hear the wind in the trees and the sound of his ownheartbeat. He stepped out of his car and the sensor security light at the sideof the house flashed on as he approached. Werner looked around tryingto get rid of the strange idea that something was wrong.
　　Evelything's fine, Werner told himself. You're imagining things.
　　Tooms crouched  in the hedges  on the other side of the street -watching, waiting. When Werner had gone inside the house, Tooms stood upand moved swiftly across the street like an animal following a scent .Hestepped in front of the sensor light but it didn't turn on.
　　Werner hadn't been imagining things. Something was wrong- terriblywrong.
　　Tooms began to search for his point of entry. Before him, going up theside of the house was a brick chimney. He'd found his way in. He startedto pull himself up like a lizard scaling a wall, and with incredible strengthlifted himself up onto the roof.
　　Werner was reading his mail in the kitchen when he heard a noise - like aman grunting with effort. No, he told himself, It's impossible. He began tomake himself a drink.
　　Tooms stuck one arm deep into the chimney and stretched and stretched.
　　He stretched until his hand reached down three floors, until his hand reachedthe bricks at the bottom of the flue. Carefully Tooms lowered his head intothe chimney. With a sickening dull pop, he dislocated first his left shoulderfrom the socket  and then the right. He could smell Thomas Werner's sweatand feel the heat of the blood in his veins.
　　Slowly he began to squeeze himself down the narrow chimney.
　　In the living room Werner decided to light a fire. He took a log and lit thekindling . A bright fire began to flicker . But suddenly the fire died.
　　Werner wondered if something was blocking the flue and stood up to go andget more matches from the kitchen. Werner never even had a chance Inscream. His attacker threw him to the floor with unbelievable force and hewas unconscious when Eugene Tooms took what he'd come for.
　　The next day Werner's house was filled with people. Mulder stoodwatching the police take measurements. His eyes widened as he sawsomething the police had missed - a smudge  of ash above the hearth.
　　And there was something disturbingly familiar in its long narrow shape.
　　Mulder knelt and examined the mark more carefully. It wasn't very clear butthe resemblance to the other prints was strong. He noticed another smudgeof ash leading up to themantel. The mantel was bare, covered with a finelayer of dust, but in the middle there was a perfectly clean ring.
　　Mulder turned to Scully, "It was Tooms, and he took something from themantel."Mulder was sitting in front of a microfiche  machine. The screendisplayed a taped form. The first line read, "1903 Census". The census,Mulder knew, would tell him precisely who had been living in Baltimore atthat time.
　　Mulder advanced the screen through a few more pages. He bent forwardas he found what he was looking for. This copy of the census form had beenfilled out by hand. The old-fashioned writing read, "Eugene Victor Tooms."Mulder smiled. Finally the pieces of the puzzle were starting to fit together.
　　"I found him," he said.
　　Scully gave her partner a questioning look.
　　"How do we learn about the present?" Mulder asked. "We look to the past.
　　That's where it all started - in 1903 on Exeter Street."He pointed to the screen.
　　Scully began to read the census form aloud. "Residence: apartment 103,Sixty-six Exeter Street, Baltimore, Maryland. Occupation: Dogcatcher." Aprofession similar to that of the current Tooms, she thought.
　　The following day Scully and Mulder decided to pay a visit to FrankBriggs, the man who had investigated the murders in 1933. So they drove toBaltimore's Lynne Acres Retirement Home where man was living.
　　Briggs was sitting in a wheelchair' in his room and seemed to be waitingfor them. He told them that he had left the police in 1968, after 45 years as acop.
　　"Could you tell us about the 1933 murders?" Mulder asked.
　　Briggs nodded. "I was a sheriff then ... " he began. His voice trailed a wayas if I he subject was difficult for him to talk about.
　　"They were like nothing else. I’d seen my share of murders. But I couldi1ways go home, play with my kid and forget about them. You've got to beable to do that when you're a cop, otherwise you'd go crazy. But thosemurders in Powha tan Mill ... " Briggs continued. "When I walked into thatroom, my heart went cold. I could feel it. "He took a deep breath and went on. "That's why I've been waiting foryou," he said. "Because I knew it was never going to go away. And I've beenwaiting for it to come back." His eyes searched Mulder's face. "It's killedagain, hasn't it?""Four times so far," Mulder told him.
　　Briggs pointed to a trunk  in the corner near his bed. "There's a box inthe trunk there," he said. "Would you please get it for me?" Mulderdragged  the trunk towards the man and opened it. He took out an oldcardboard box and put it down on the bed. The retired police officerremoved the lid, and Scully saw that the box was filled with thick folders.
　　"I knew the five murders in 1963 were committed by the same person,"Briggs said, "The same one who'd killed in thirty-three. But by then thesheriff said I was too old. Wouldn't let me near the case. But I kept my ownkind of tabs  on things anyway. I knew that some day there'd be someonewho could use what I found." Scully pulled a glass jar  out of the box.
　　Inside it was a clear liquid that was probably formaldehyde. A chunk ofred tissue noated in the liquid.
　　"A piece of a removed liver?" she guessed.
　　Briggs nodded, "Yes! And livers weren't the only trophies  he took.""What do you mean?" Mulder asked. "In each case, family membersreported small personal effects  missing," Briggs answered. "A hairbrushfrom the WaIters murder. coffee mug from the Taylor murder."Mulder's eyes met Scully's. They were both thinking of the object missingfrom Werner's mantel.
　　"Have you ever heard the name Eugene Victor Tooms?" asked Mulder.
　　The old man looked through a pile of black and white glossy photographs.
　　He handed a grainy  one to Mulder. "That's Tooms. Thirty years ago."A chill  went through Scully as she realised that in 1963 Tooms hadlooked exactly the way he did thirty years later. He hadn't grown old.
　　"Where did Tooms live?" Mulder asked. "Sixty-six Exeter Street?""That's it," Briggs said, looking satisfied. "Right there."Mulder held out the photograph to Scully and she inspected it moreclosely. The photograph showed a tall brick building, like a warehouse, ona narrow street. A sign on it read PIERRE PARIS & SONS.
　　Mulder held his hand out to Frank Briggs. "Thank you," he said. "You'vebeen a tremendous help." He turned to Scully and said, "I think it's timeyou and I checked out Sixty-six Exeter Street."Scully nodded and felt something tightening in the pit of her stomach .
　　They were getting closer to Tooms and she couldn't help feeling afraid ofwhat they would find.
Chapter 6 The Nest
    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.
Chapter 7 Scully in Danger
    Scully was distracted  as she drove home. Her thoughts went back toBriggs. She remembered his talking about how he could usually forget acase when he went home. How that was essential if you were going to dopolice work and not go mad. Tonight, though, that was impossible. This casestayed with her every second of the day.
　　Scully parked in front of her building and walked towards the lit entryway.
　　What she couldn't know was that this case had come home with her.
　　Eugene Tooms hid behind the car that was parked in front of hers,watching her every movement.
　　Darkness covered the city. Rush hour  was almost over. The downtownsidewalks  were empty. Mulder found himself returning to 66 Exeter Street.
　　He'd been nervous all day. He hadn't been able to eat or sleep.
　　Scully went into her apartment and resolved to take a hot bath. Shewent into the bathroom and turned on the hot and cold taps, adjusting themuntil the water was the right temperature. She wished Mulder would callback. She couldn't really relax until she talked to him.
　　She was about to pin up her hair when she realized that her hairbrush wasin her purse. And her purse was in her bedroom. She went into thebedroom to get the brush. That was why she didn't see the outline of aman's body pressed against her bathroom window.
　　At Sixty-six Exeter Street Mulder pushed through the broken door ofapartment 103. As soon as he entered the apartment his heart began to race .
　　He had never been so sure that Evil was a living, breathing presence. Therewas no doubt in his mind. Tooms had been back.
　　The old mattress was precisely  where he and Scully had left it. He wentthrough the hole in the wall. He then climbed down the ladder into the coalcellar.
　　He cast  the beam  of his flashlight onto the wooden crate. Tooms'strophies shone back at him. Mulder recognized the pipe and cigarette lighter.
　　But this time there was a new trophy too. One that sent ice throughMulder's veins. Hanging from the trophy crate was Scully's necklace.
　　Scully stood in her bedroom, facing her mirror. She was pinning up herhair for her bath. Her mind was still on the case. She knew they'd got closerto finding Tooms. And what they'd found made her agitated. Could Mulderpossibly be right? she wondered. Is Tooms some kind of mutant whohibernates for thirty years and then keeps himself alive by murdering peopleand eating their livers? Has he really been alive since the beginning of thecentury?
　　Scully shook her head. Until she saw medical tests that proved otherwise,she'd deal with Tooms as a human. A very dangerous human.
　　She went back into the bathroom just in time to shut off the water. The tubwas nearly full. She reached over to one of the shelves and chose a bottle ofblue bath oil, and then she poured it into the steaming  tub. The smell ofrosemary filled the room.
　　She started to undress, but she stopped as she realised she'd forgotten tobring in her robe  from the bedroom. The case definitely had her distracted,she told herself. She returned to the bedroom.
　　That was when she felt it. Something damp on her wrist . She held it upto the light and saw two drops of clear greenish-yellow liquid.
　　It doesn't make sense, she thought. The bath oil was blue. Andfurthermore, she hadn't spilled  any. She thought for a second. The buildingwas an old one. Maybe there was a leak in the ceiling from the apartmentabove her.
　　She looked up at the ceiling and felt the muscles in her chest tightenwith fear. Right above her was a heating grate. A thick greenish-yellowliquid was pooling in the corner of the grate.
　　No, Scully thought. She fought down a surge of panic. She lifted herhand and smelt the fluid on her wrist. Her body froze with terror as sherecognised the smell.
　　She was suddenly horribly aware of how alone she was. and of how manyhiding places there were in her apartment.
　　Especially for someone who could squeeze himself inside a pipe. Orunder a counter. Or into the air vent above her.
　　She touched the greenish-yellow substance. She had to be sure. And shewas. There was no mistaking it. It could only be bile from a human liver.
　　“Oh, my god ,”she said quietly.
Chapter 8 The Hunt
    Mulder was already sitting in his car, driving speedily to Scully'sapartment.
　　All he could think about was what he'd found in the basement of Sixty-sixExeter Street. Tooms has Scully's necklace. That could mean only one thing:
　　Scully was going to be the fifth victim.
　　Mulder reached for his cellular phone  and dialed Scully's number.
　　Scully's phone rang and rang and rang. "Come on, Scully," he muttered .
　　"Answer!"But all he heard was the sound of her phone ringing endlessly. Somehowthis alarmed him even more than seeing Scully's necklace in Tooms'sapartment.
　　Mulder tried Scully's number again, and then he threw down the phoneand hit the gas pedal hard . He hoped he wasn't too late.
　　There was, in fact, a reason why Scully wasn't answering. She didn'tanswer because her phone never rang: someone had cut the wires to herphone.
　　For a second, panic froze every muscle in Scully's body. I'm alone in theapartment with Tooms. Her heart hammered  a rhythm of terror throughher veins. Tooms is hunting me.
　　She ordered herself to take a deep breath. The panic broke and instincttook over. She raced for the bedroom. She had to get her gun.
　　She'd left only one light on in the room. The rest of the bedroom was dark.
　　Tooms could be anywhere. In her closet. Under the bed. Crouching in theshadows. Please, she thought, don't let him be in here.
　　Frantically she looked for the gun. She forced herself to think calmly.
　　Where had she left it? She knew she'd brought the gun home from work. Inher bag. The gun was still in her bag. And the bag was on the bed.
　　She ran across the room. She reached for her bag and opened it. Her heartslowed as her fingers closed on the familiar metal barrel .
　　Now she was the hunter.
　　She braced  the gun with both hands straight in front of her. Slowly shebegan to move through the apartment, searching for Tooms.
　　She looked under the bed, in the closet, under the desk, anywhere hemight be. But she was the only one in the bedroom. Tooms was still in theapartment, she was sure of it. And he was hiding.
　　She went back to the bathroom, moving slowly, silently. She looked up atan air vent in the hall ceiling. Nothing. She whirled  as she thought sheheard a noise behind her. She trained  her weapon on a heating grille justabove the floor. Nothing again.
　　She didn't see the cover of the heating grille opening. She only heard acrack as it flew off the wall and hit the hardwood floor.
　　Instantly Tooms's hand shot out of the vent and locked around her leg,pulling it out from under her.
　　Scully hit the floor hard. The gun fell from her hand. Terror paralysedher as she stared at Tooms. The rectangular air vent framed his face. Heno longer looked fearful and innocent. He looked like a vicious  predatorabout to devour  its prey .
　　For a long moment Scully and Tooms locked stares. Then a low, animalgrowl filled the apartment. And Tooms, using unbelievable strength,began to pull her towards him.
　　Scully knew that she'd never been up against anything like Tooms. Thatthis would be the hardest fight of her life. And that if she didn't win, it wouldbe the last.
Chapter 9 The Fight
    Mulder's car screeched to a halt  outside Scully's apartment building. Hegot out of the car and stood for a moment. His eyes scrutinised  the fourthfloorwindows. There was a light on in Scully's apartment. She was there, allright. And he was sure that Tooms was there with her.
　　Mulder rushed into the entrance of the building and ran upstairs. In a shorttime he was at Scully's door.
　　"Scully!" He banged on the door. There was no answer.
　　"Scully!"Still no answer. He tried the knob. Scully had been careful, as usual. Thedoor was tightly locked.
　　Mulder put his ear to the door. There were sounds coming from inside theapartment, as though some sort of fight was going on.
　　At least she's still alive, Mulder told himself. But he knew that unless hegot in there fast, Scully had only a few minutes left to live.
　　Scully knew she had to get out of  Tooms's hold. And she had to get hergun back. Frantically she got hold of the bathroom door frame. Using all herstrength, she pulled herself towards it. At the same time she kicked violentlyat the arm that held her ankle . She kicked again. This time she managed towrestle free of Tooms's grip.
　　Still on her back, she slid away from the duct and into the bathroom.
　　She paused for a second, terrified and breathless. Then she watched indisbelief as Tooms's body stretched impossibly long and narrow and shotout of the air duct.
　　Scully never even had time to shout. One second he was in the air. Thenext he'd landed on top of her, pinning  her to the ground.
　　Scully struggled to escape, but Tooms was too powerful for her. He heldher down with the strength of ten. He stank  of sweat and bile.
　　Scully wrenched  her body to the side, trying to throw him off her.
　　Tooms grabbed her chin with one hand. Then he lifted his other hand. Sheknew what he was planning. He was going to hit her and knock her out sothat he could take what he wanted without a fight.
　　Scully didn't know if she had enough strength to escape him. But shecertainly had enough to make things difficult. Before he could hit her, shelanded a hard uppercut on his jaw. Tooms's head snapped back, andScully felt a flash of hope. At least he could be hurt.
　　Tooms drew back his arm again. This time Scully reached up with bothhands. Like a cat, she went for his eyes with her nails, scratching. If shecould blind him, she'd have a chance.
　　With a cry of rage, Tooms seized her wrists. She gasped as he slammedthem to the floor above her head. With one hand he pinned them there.
　　And with the other he reached for her right side. His eyes burned fire redwith hunger.
　　Scully's heart was beating so fast she thought it would explode. Terrorflashed through her. This was it. She knew exactly what was going tohappen. The same thing that had happened to the other victims. Tooms wasgoing to kill her so that he could live and kill again.
　　And she was helpless to stop him.
　　Mulder kicked open Scully's door and rushed to the bathroom. He entered.
　　For a second he didn't even notice Tooms. All he saw was that Scully wasstill alive.
　　Then Mulder's brain quickly made sense of the scene. Tooms had releasedher. He stood with his face to the bathroom window. A shattering soundfilled the room as Tooms's bare fist  smashed through the frosted glass .
　　With inhuman strength, Tooms stretched his hand up and began to lifthimself towards the opening in the glass.
　　But Scully was up. And she wasn't about to let Tooms escape. Shegrabbed his legs.
　　"Freeze !" Mulder shouted. But he couldn't shoot. Scully was in the way.
　　Mulder's heart sank as Tooms turned on Scully.
　　He grabbed her throat and pushed her backwards. Mulder had a good ideahow strong Tooms was. Scully was about two seconds away from having herneck snapped.
　　Quickly Mulder opened his handcuffs and went after Tooms.
　　He seized Tooms's arm, but he wasn't fast enough to cuff him.
　　Tooms let go of Scully and whirled to face Mulder. Like an angered bull,Tooms charged , knocking Mulder to the floor.
　　Mulder rolled, then kicked at Tooms. It didn't stop Tooms, but it boughtMulder a little time and distance. He knew that if Tooms actually got hold ofhim, he wouldn't have a chance.
　　Tooms stood over him now, roaring like a hurt animal.
　　Scully caught Tooms's other arm. She snapped Mulder's open handcuffaround Tooms's wrist and fastened the other cuff to the bathtub faucet .
　　Instantly Mulder was up, his automatic trained on Tooms. Tooms jerkedat the metal cuff. He twisted and pulled. But the old fixtures  were strong.
　　And gradually Tooms settled down. This time he couldn't escape.
　　With his gun on Tooms, Mulder glanced at Scully. She was leaningagainst the wall, still breathing hard. "Are you all right?" Mulder asked her.
　　Scully nodded. She was trembling and she looked exhausted.
　　Mulder glanced back at their prisoner. "Well, at least he's not going to getthis year's quota."Scully smiled, for the first time all day.
Chapter 10 Squeeze
    In a tiny cell  in the Maryland State psychiatric ward , Eugene Toomssat on the narrow prison bed. He was holding a newspaper. He began to ripthe paper into long, narrow strips.
　　Tooms lifted one of the strips and ran his tongue across it. He crumpledthe slimy paper in his hand. Then he tossed it at the wall in the corner ofhis cell. It slid to the floor at the base of a growing mound of shreddedpapers. Tooms picked up another strip of paper and ran it along his tongue.
　　He gazed at the corner with contentment. It looked a lot like the wall in thebasement of Sixty-six Exeter Street.
　　Mulder stood outside the door to Tooms's cell and stared through thesmall circular observation window. He knew that the door was made of steel.
　　And that the barred cell was fortified by a strong chain link. Tooms wassafely imprisoned. So why did he still seem so scary11?
　　Mulder watched as Tooms methodically shredded12 the newspaper andadded the pieces to the pile on the wall. Mulder didn't look away even whenhe heard Scully's footsteps coming towards him from the other end of thecorridor.
　　"Look at him," Mulder said in a troubled voice. "He's building anothernest."Just the sight of Tooms made Scully's skin crawl . His building a newnest was not a good sign. Still, he was finally in custody . Scully put a handon Mulder's shoulder. "Come on. It's time to go," she said gently.
　　Eugene Tooms tore another strip of paper, wet it with saliva , and addedit to his nest.
　　A narrow slot  II in the door opened. A guard slid a food tray into theslot, leaving it open so that Tooms could put the tray back when he hadfinished.
　　Tooms's eyes glowed red as he gazed at the light pouring through thenarrow opening on the cell's door. A smile crossed his face. It was a verynarrow slot. Maybe only six inches high and nine inches wide. But thatactually wasn't a problem if you knew how to squeeze...
 
The End