(The Reverend Findley is delivering a sermon.)

REVEREND FINDLEY: God tests our faith so that we may not take it for granted. I once gave counsel to a little girl. She was very distraught because her older brother had told her that Moses hadn't really parted the Red Sea. He said that high winds and strong ocean currents had been responsible. In hearing this, the faith of this child had been severely shaken. In order to restore her credence, she had but one question for me. She asked, "Reverend, is there really such a thing as a miracle? Or are the stories in the Bible just make-believe, fairy tales." I assured her that yes, miracles really do happen. Most people today tend to vest themselves in science and cynicism. They expect proof for all that they see, but miracles are wonders by nature. They need no rationale, no justification. You must witness the miracles of the Lord without question.

(Reverend Findley raises his fists to shoulder level and clenches them. Streams of blood trickle between his fingers. The congregation reacts in wonder.)

REVEREND FINDLEY: My blood flows as a test of your faith. Open your souls to the divine possibilities. It is then, and only then, that you will truly understand the awesome powers of the almighty Lord.

(After the sermon, Reverend Findley is seated at a mirror in his dressing room. In the mirror, he sees the reflection of Gates, who was in the congregation.)

REVEREND FINDLEY: Yes?

GATES: I was impressed with your sermon, Reverend.

REVEREND FINDLEY: Thank you.

GATES: I just want to tell you that some of us do believe.

REVEREND FINDLEY: I appreciate that. It always does my heart good to know that I've touched at least one person.

GATES: Oh, I think you had quite an effect on a lot of people. Me, most of all.

(Gates places his hand on Findley's shoulder, then spins him around, grabs his throat and lifts him off the floor, holding him against the wall.)

REVEREND FINDLEY: Oh! Uh! Oh my God. No!

(Blood is seen dripping onto Reverend Findley's shoes.)

(Scully is examining the body of Reverend Findley.)

SCULLY: These ligature marks on his neck are consistent with rope or fabric burns - strongly suggesting that he was strangled, but there seems to be an awful lot of blood loss here.

MULDER: His parishioners said the Reverend Finley was bleeding from his hands like the wounds of the crucifixion.

SCULLY: Stigmata?

MULDER: The sign bestowed by God upon the righteous.

(Scully checks his hands, which show no signs of any bleeding.)

SCULLY: I don't see any wounds here on his hands or wrists or otherwise.

MULDER: No, I think this is a case of too much faith. (He dabs his finger into some "blood" next to the body and tastes it) And too much sugar.

SCULLY: What are you doing?

MULDER: It's fake. Just like the others.

(He opens Reverend Findley's shirt to show tubes and a reservoir of red liquid.)

SCULLY: Others?

MULDER: I've been tracking a series of international religiously motivated murders. All of the victims have been so-called stigmatics and all of them have been frauds, like the Reverend here.

SCULLY: According to certain religious lore, at any given time there are twelve stigmatics in the world, representing the twelve apostles.

MULDER: It's a claim that's wholly unsubstantiated, though there have been many pretenders, eleven of whom have been murdered in the past three years.

SCULLY: Eleven? Any clue as to the motivation?

MULDER: Either we're dealing with a psychotic religious fanatic who's hell-bent on exposing these kind of frauds, or a less programmatic psycho who harbors a murderous resentment towards the church, or maybe it's just a very disgruntled altar boy.

SCULLY: Well, that narrows down the field.

MULDER: Anyway, it's safe to say this guy carries a grudge, and if I'm right about one thing, the killer is here and he's looking for victim number twelve.

(A school bell rings, and Mrs. Tynes calls her class to order.)

MRS. TYNES: All right, let's sit down. I trust everyone has studied his or her flash cards for today's quiz.

(The kids all groan.)

MRS. TYNES: All right, let's settle down.

(One of the students, Kevin Kryder, shoots a spitball at a young girl.)

YOUNG GIRL: Geek!

(Mrs. Tynes notices the incident.)

MRS. TYNES: Kevin Kryder. I assume, Kevin, that in the last twenty-four hours, you've become quite the math wizard. Why don't you come on up to the board and share with us your gift of numbers?

(The other kids laugh.)

MRS. TYNES: Let's try some division. You do know the division sign, don't you, Kevin? Let's divide 11 into 170.

(Kevin picks up a piece of chalk and starts to write on the blackboard. As he writes, blood appears on his fingertips. He drops the chalk, which has blood on it. Confused, Kevin looks at his hands and then shows his bloody palms to Mrs. Tynes. The other kids in the class react.)

VARIOUS KIDS: Ewww! Blood!

MRS. TYNES: Oh, my God!

KID: What happened to him?

(Later, Mulder and Scully meet Carina Maywald, from the local social services office, at the school infirmary.)

MULDER: Thank you for contacting us so quickly.

CARINA MAYWALD: When I read the FBI's alert, I thought immediately of Kevin.

SCULLY: You said on the phone that there had been a previous incident.

CARINA MAYWALD: Last year. Kevin arrived at school with bleeding wounds on his hands and feet. Our first concern is always an abusive parent.

SCULLY: Was that the case?

CARINA MAYWALD: Well, it appeared so. Kevin's father was arrested, and we took the boy as a ward of the court. But the state dropped charges for lack of evidence. The mother sued and won custody. Mr. Kryder was institutionalized soon after.

MULDER: Institutionalized for what?

CARINA MAYWALD: When he was released from jail, he locked himself and Kevin in the house. Made all the papers. He was waving a gun at the police, saying he had to protect the boy, that Kevin was chosen by God.

MULDER: Let me talk to you for a minute here ...

(Mulder takes Carina Maywald aside, while Scully enters the infirmary, where a nurse is applying a gauze bandage to Kevin's bleeding palms.)

SCULLY: How's he doing?

NURSE: Fine.

SCULLY: Hi, Kevin. My name is Dana Scully. Can I talk to you a minute?

KEVIN: Am I going back to the shelter?

SCULLY: We don't know just yet. Right now, we have to find out what happened. Can you tell me how you got those cuts on your hands?

KEVIN: No.

SCULLY: No, you can't tell me, or no, you don't know?

KEVIN: You want me to say my Dad did it.

SCULLY: I don't want you to say anything that isn't true.

KEVIN: I don't feel that good.

(Scully places her hand against Kevin's forehead.)

SCULLY: He feels a bit feverish. Did you take his temperature?

NURSE: No, I didn't. Open.

(The nurse puts a thermometer in Kevin's mouth.)

SCULLY: You're a very brave boy, Kevin. You have nothing to be afraid of.

(Out in the hall, Mrs. Kryder approaches Carina Maywald.)

MRS. KRYDER: Where's Kevin? Is he all right?

CARINA MAYWALD: He's doing just fine. The nurse is just changing his bandages.

MRS. KRYDER: Oh my God! I thought this was all over.

MULDER: Mrs. Kryder? My name is Fox Mulder. I'm with the FBI.

MRS. KRYDER: The FBI? Who called the FBI?

MULDER: We're here because we have reason to believe that Kevin may be in some danger.

MRS. KRYDER: In danger from what?

MULDER: As strange as it might sound, someone may be targeting people like Kevin.

MRS. KRYDER: What do you mean, people like Kevin?

MULDER: People exhibiting wounds that might be interpreted as having religious significance.

(Back in the infirmary, the mercury in the thermometer rapidly moves past the 103 degree mark. As the nurse is handing Scully a cup of water, the end of the thermometer pops off.)

NURSE: What was that?

SCULLY: I don't know.

KEVIN: I didn't do anything. It just broke.

(In the hall, Mrs. Kryder continues to talk to Mulder and Carina Maywald.)

MRS. KRYDER: Kevin's just a normal kid. He probably just hurt himself out on the playground.

MULDER: I'm sure there's an explanation, Mrs. Kryder, but right now everybody's primary concern should be for Kevin's safety.

CARINA MAYWALD: I'd like to put him back into the shelter until we can sort this out.

MRS. KRYDER: You don't think I did this to Kevin. You think I'm the one who cut his hands?

CARINA MAYWALD: We don't know how he got the cuts, but we'd like some time to evaluate his case, Mrs. Kryder.

MRS. KRYDER: I would never hurt my own child. Do you hear me? Now, I have fought a battle over my son before that tore my family apart. And I'm not gonna to fight it again.

(Mrs. Kryder leaves.)

CARINA MAYWALD: I love my job.

(Carina enters the infirmary, just as Scully is walking out. Scully and Mulder start down the hall.)

MULDER: Let's get out of here, Scully.

SCULLY: The kid's hands were definitely cut, Mulder.

MULDER: They've taken him into custody. We've warned them about his safety. I don't know what else we can do.

SCULLY: Have you determined how his hands were cut?

MULDER: No, not yet, but my guess is that the kid did it to himself. The boy has his father taken away. He hurts himself to relieve his dad of guilt and to get him back.

SCULLY: Maybe we should talk to his father.

MULDER: He's in an institution.

SCULLY: His father said that he needed to be protected. Maybe he knows from whom.

(Mulder and Scully are talking to Kevin's father, who speaks very calmly.)

MR. KRYDER: He's bleeding again, isn't he?

SCULLY: Yes. How did you know that?

MR. KRYDER: Because the faithful know.

MULDER: Mr. Kryder, the claims you've made for your son may have put him in danger. Do you know that?

MR. KRYDER: The child was in danger long before I ever made the claims. Since the day he was born, they've been watching him.

MULDER: They?

MR. KRYDER: The forces of darkness. They will come in the form of a powerful and respected man.

MULDER: These forces. What do they want?

MR. KRYDER: To claim all souls. You must understand, this is the great war between good and evil.

SCULLY: Armageddon?

MR. KRYDER: God will find someone to stop it. Someone who is strong enough to make the sacrifice.

MULDER: He's chosen you?

MR. KRYDER: I'm merely a messenger.

MULDER: Let's go.

MR. KRYDER: (to Scully, as she turns to leave) You must come full circle to find the truth.

MULDER: Excuse me?

SCULLY: Full circle to find the truth? I don't know what that means.

MR. KRYDER: (to Scully) You will.

(At night, Kevin is telling a story to a group of kids.)

KEVIN: The two kids are running down this long hallway. But all the doors are locked. There's nowhere to go. Soon both will be toast. They can hear his bloody leg dragging on the floor. The mutant is on their trail, hungry for the taste of young meat.

KID: What's it look like?

(As Kevin begins to answer, a large man opens the doors in a hallway at the shelter.)

KEVIN: You really want to know? It looks like the devil. And he's bald, because all his hair has burned off in hell. And his fingers are like pitchforks - little barbs on the end. So all he has to do is point at you, and you can't get away. With each step, he gets closer. Step by step by step by step. He's so close now that even the furniture starts to shake. Step by step by step by step.

(The man approaches the room. The door opens, and the large man, who is bald and has an oddly shaped head, enters the room. The other children see him and flee. Kevin remains in his chair.)

KID: Let's get out of here!

(The menacing man approaches Kevin. Kevin extends his hands, palm up, showing him the blood-stained bandages.)

(The following morning, Mulder and a police sketch artist is working with the kids.)

MULDER: What color hair did he have? Was it brown, or blonde, or ...

FIRST KID: He was bald. He didn't have no hair.

SECOND KID: 'Cause it all burned off in hell.

MULDER: How tall was he? (he stands) Was he about my height? Taller, shorter?

FIRST KID: Taller.

MULDER: About 6-2, 6-3?

FIRST KID: Yeah, maybe even bigger. And he was dressed all in black.

(Mulder nods at a shelter employee, and the staff clears the kids out of the room. Scully notices a bloody palm print on a piece of fabric in the room. Mrs. Kryder enters.)

MRS. KRYDER: What happened to Kevin? Where is he?

SCULLY: Kevin was abducted from this room. Several of the children witnessed it. We're getting a description of the man who took him.

MRS. KRYDER: But you were supposed to protect him. You said he would be safe.

MULDER: We're sorry, Mrs. Kryder. We're doing everything we can. Scully ...

(Scully and Mulder move aside.)

SCULLY: Did you get a composite?

MULDER: Yeah, looks like Kevin was abducted by Homer Simpson's evil twin.

(He shows Scully the police sketch, which matches the unusual appearance of the man.)

SCULLY: This isn't the killer, Mulder.

MULDER: I think that's a safe assumption.

SCULLY: No, I mean it doesn't match the MO. None of the previous victims were ever abducted.

MULDER: None of the previous victims were ten year old boys.

(Mrs. Kryder approaches them.)

MRS. KRYDER: Is this the man that took Kevin?

MULDER: Yeah. We're not sure how accurate that is.

MRS. KRYDER: It's Owen.

SCULLY: You know this man?

MRS. KRYDER: Yeah, it's Owen Jarvis. When my husband left, we hired him to do yard work.

(Owen Jarvis is showing Kevin a small carving of a bird, along with other carvings of animals.)

OWEN JARVIS: I carved all the animals myself. It's the ark. Do you like it?

KEVIN: So when are you gonna take me home, Owen?

OWEN JARVIS: There's no reason to be afraid. I'm not gonna hurt you. I've been watching you, Kevin. You're a very special boy. You know that, don't you?

KEVIN: I want to go home.

OWEN JARVIS: You can't do that. I can't let you.

KEVIN: Why not?

OWEN JARVIS: (agitated) 'Cause it's not safe! (calmly) I'm your friend Kevin. You have to trust me. Just think of me as ... your guardian angel. (they hear a car pulling up outside) Shhh!

(Jarvis looks out the window to see the car.)

OWEN JARVIS: Don't say a word! Stay here. Don't move.

(Jarvis grabs a shotgun. Jarvis goes down the stairs. As he runs from his kitchen toward the front of the house, Mulder and Scully burst in through the front door, weapons raised.)

MULDER: Federal agents! Put down your weapon! Put it down right here! Down, now! Put it down! (Jarvis complies) Where's the boy? Where's the boy?

(Jarvis doesn't answer. Scully goes around him to search through the house.)

OWEN JARVIS: (to Scully as she passes) Don't hurt him. Please?

(Scully sees the rope for the door to the attic. She lowers the ladder and starts up.)

SCULLY: Kevin?

(Kevin is not in the attic. Shortly after, Mulder and Scully question Jarvis in the attic. Mulder has handcuffed Jarvis' wrists behind him in a chair.)

MULDER: Where's the boy? What have you done with Kevin?

OWEN JARVIS: He can't go home. It's not safe there. I told him that.

(Mulder picks up and shoves a blood-stained towel in Jarvis' face.)

MULDER: Is this Kevin Kryder's blood?

OWEN JARVIS: Yes.

MULDER: Did you hurt him?

OWEN JARVIS: No. I'm not the one that wants to hurt him.

SCULLY: If it's not you, then who is it?

OWEN JARVIS: I was only asked to protect the boy.

MULDER: By who? Who asked you to protect him?

OWEN JARVIS: God.

MULDER: God! That's quite a long distance call, isn't it?

OWEN JARVIS: You don't understand, unless someone protects Kevin ...

MULDER: It's the end of the world as we know it, right?

OWEN JARVIS: He who has ears, let him hear.

MULDER: (angrily) And he that has a tongue, let him speak. Now tell me where he is!

OWEN JARVIS: (to Scully) You believe me, don't you? I mean, you must wear that as a reminder.

(Jarvis looks at the cross on Scully's necklace.)

SCULLY: Mr. Jarvis, my religious convictions are hardly the issue here.

OWEN JARVIS: But they are. How can you help Kevin, if you don't believe? Even the killer, he believes.

MULDER: And townsfolk wonder why I sleep in on Sunday.

OWEN JARVIS: Mass on Christmas, fish on Friday. You think that makes you a good Christian. Just because you don't understand the sacrifice, because you're unwilling, don't think for a moment that you set the rules for me. I don't question His word. Whatever He asks of me, I'll do.

(Jarvis stands up, his hands still bound behind him in the chair.)

MULDER: Sit down, Mr. Jarvis.

OWEN JARVIS: I just want to go to heaven.

(Jarvis, despite having to bend over because of his bonds, runs toward the window.)

MULDER: Hey!

SCULLY: Don't!

(Jarvis throws himself through the window. Mulder goes down the stairs, while Scully runs to the window and looks out. On the ground below, Jarvis struggles to his feet and breaks the handcuffs. His head cut from the broken glass, he runs away. Mulder emerges from the house but sees no sign of him.)

(It is dark outside, and Kevin enters through the front door.)

KEVIN: Mom! Mom! Are you home?

(Kevin moves through the house, but there is no answer. The doorbell rings, startling him. Kevin walks to a window and peers out, seeing a man outside. He moves back into the house. At the front door, there is a scraping sound, and the doorknob falls to the floor inside the house. The tip of the doorknob glows red for a second, then smolders on the carpet. The door opens and Gates appears.)

GATES: Kevin? (Gates goes up the stairs) Kevin? I know you're here, son.

(Gates opens the door to an upstairs room. He looks at a family photo, then toward a closet in the room. He opens the closet door and turns on an overhead light. He looks around, then notices a large wicker basket. Kevin is in the basket, his hands against the wicker. Gates sees a thin trail of blood on the outside of the basket. He opens the basket and Kevin looks up at him. As Gates reaches for Kevin, Jarvis appears and grabs Gates. They fall to the floor.

OWEN JARVIS: (to Kevin, who has scrambled out of the basket) Run, Kevin! Run!

(Kevin eludes Gates's attempt to grab him. Gates and Jarvis continue to struggle, and Gates clutches Jarvis around the throat. There is smoke around Jarvis's throat and he gasps. Meanwhile, Kevin runs down the stairs and toward the front door. As he nears the door, he runs into Mulder and Scully, who are just arriving.)

MULDER: Kevin, what is it?

KEVIN: (breathing heavily) Upstairs.

(Mulder heads upstairs, while Scully stays with Kevin.)

SCULLY: You'll be OK. You'll be OK.

(Mulder finds Jarvis dead on the floor upstairs. Meanwhile, Scully notices that there are blood stains on the bandages on the back side of Kevin's hands.)

KEVIN: (to Scully) Are you the one who was sent to protect me?

SCULLY: Owen Lee Jarvis, adult caucasion male. 42 years of age. Cause of death is strangulation, consistent with previous victims, as suggested by burn marks around his neck. Except ... (she examines an area with a magnifying glass) There appears to be some kind of a pattern just to the right of his windpipe, possibly a hand print. Note to the lab to check further. It is now 14 hours after the time of death, but so far his body hasn't even begun to break down. (She examines his hand) Rigor mortis has yet to set in. His core body temperature remains at 98 degrees. His skin color, lividity is healthy. (she holds his hand close to her nose) There seems to be some ...

(Mulder enters through the morgue door.)

MULDER: Any revelations?

SCULLY: (slightly strained voice) Mulder, would you do me a favor? Would you smell Mr. Jarvis?

(Mulder stares at Scully for a couple of seconds.)

MULDER: You want me to smell him? (he moves around the table with a slight smile, then complies) What am I supposed to be smelling?

SCULLY: You don't detect a faint floral odor?

(Mulder stares at Scully who, flustered, backs away from the table.)

SCULLY: Mulder, this man's body is in no way decomposing normally. In catechism, we learned of instances like this - so-called "incorruptibles", whose bodies wouldn't decay and who emitted a smell of flowers.

MULDER: You're serious?

SCULLY: St. Cecilia, St. Francis ...

MULDER: (smiling) And now you're suggesting that this is St. Owen?

SCULLY: I don't know.

MULDER: Scully, those stories you're referring to are mostly regarded as hagiographic fabrications, not historical truths, just like the occurrence of the stigmata.

SCULLY: Well, what do you think this is?

MULDER: This man? He was rather abnormal in life, maybe he's decomposing abnormally.

SCULLY: Well, isn't a saint or a holy person just another term for someone who's abnormal?

MULDER: Do you really believe that?

SCULLY: I ... believe in the idea that God's hand can be witnessed. I believe He can create miracles, yes.

MULDER: Even if science can't explain them?

SCULLY: Maybe that's just what faith is.

MULDER: Well, I wouldn't let faith overwhelm your judgement here. These people are simply fanatics behaving fanatically using religion as a justification. They give bona fide paranoiacs like myself a bad name. They're no more divine or holy than that ketchup we saw on the murdered preacher. And I think once you've finished your autopsy, you'll come to the same conclusion. St. Owen.

(He leaves, and Scully glances upward for a moment.)

(Mulder is reviewing a report while Scully enters.)

SCULLY: Got your message. What did you turn up?

MULDER: It's what you turned up.

SCULLY: What?

MULDER: Those burn marks and impressions on Jarvis's neck. They pulled a pair of prints. Take a look at this. A partial index and a full oblique, burned right onto the skin.

SCULLY: Any evidence as to how the killer managed to do that?

MULDER: No, not yet. But I cross-checked the prints in the NCIC database. They belong to a businessman named Simon Gates. He's the CEO of a company based in Atlanta. He's one of the wealthiest men in the south.

SCULLY: A powerful and respected man.

MULDER: He was arrested three few years ago on a DUI - left a young boy paralyzed. He received a suspended sentence, then he left the country. Went to Israel.

SCULLY: Israel?

MULDER: Have you heard of Jerusalem Syndrome?

SCULLY: Yeah, it's when people who visit the Holy Land suffer religious delusions induced by the journey.

MULDER: Yeah, they return home convinced they're the Messiah, Moses, the Virgin Mary, even the Devil himself. Well, if that's what Simon Gates believes, he's just as delusional as Michael Kryder, only a lot more dangerous.

SCULLY: Yeah, but it still doesn't explain how he was able to burn his fingerprints into Owen Jarvis' flesh.

(Mulder's cel phone rings.)

MULDER: (on phone) Mulder. What? Well, how is that possible?

SCULLY: It's Kevin, isn't it?

MULDER: (on phone) Hold on. (to Scully) Yeah, a social worker took Kevin out to lunch at 1 o'clock supposedly, but witnesses claim they saw him outside the facility with his mother at the exact same time.

(Mrs. Kryder has the hood up on her car, with steam and smoke rising around her. The horn blares.)

MRS. KRYDER: Kevin! Lay off the horn. (she tries to touch the radiator cap) Damn!

(Another car pulls over, and a man gets out and approaches Mrs. Kryder. Kevin can't see the man's face because the hood is in the way.)

GATES: Looks like you're having a little trouble. Can I give you a hand?

MRS. KRYDER: Oh, no. It's ... it's fine. It does this all the time. I just have to wait for it to cool down.

GATES: At least, let me take the cap off for you. That should get things started.

MRS. KRYDER: No, I'm fine.

GATES: Really. It's no trouble at all.

(Gates moves around the car, and Kevin sees his face. Gates opens the cap bare-handed, and steam sprays out of the radiator, directly on his hand. Mrs. Kryder looks at him suspiciously.)

GATES: In the old days, people used to stop to help. Now they just drive on by. (Mrs. Kryder stares at him) People also used to say thank you.

MRS. KRYDER: What do you want?

GATES: I think you know.

(Kevin suddenly appears on the grass, some distance from the car.)

KEVIN: Hey, mister!

MRS. KRYDER: Kevin, run! (Gates starts after Kevin, but Mrs. Kryder grabs him) No!

(Gates shoves her down to the pavement and chases after Kevin across a field.)

(A second "Kevin" emerges from the car and goes to his fallen mother.)

KEVIN: Hey mom, get up please! Mom, come on! Mom!

MRS. KRYDER: uh ...

(Gates continues to pursue the first "Kevin", who ducks around a hedge. Gates follows but sees no sign of them. Suddenly, Mrs. Kryder's car appears and hits Gates squarely. Gates hits the hood and windshield and then falls to the ground. The car continues on, back onto the road. Mrs. Kryder is driving but is still groggy from her earlier fall.)

KEVIN: Mom! Are you ok? (the car is swerving) Come on, mom, don't fall asleep! Come on, mom, wake up! Come on!

(As they approach a curve, Kevin tries to grab the wheel to turn it, but the car goes off the road and into a ditch.)

(Some time later, the police, fire department and paramedics are on the scene, along with Mulder and Scully. An ambulance pulls off. Kevin, unhurt, is wrapped in a blanket and sitting in the back seat of their car. The door is open, and Scully is crouching on the pavement beside him.)

KEVIN: She died because of me.

SCULLY: It was an accident, Kevin. Your mother was only trying to protect you.

KEVIN: Why does he want to hurt me?

SCULLY: I don't know. But I won't let him hurt you. I promise.

KEVIN: It's because I'm different, isn't it? Why can't I just be like everybody else?

SCULLY: How are you different, Kevin? (he doesn't answer) Kevin?

KEVIN: I just am.

SCULLY: Agent Mulder and I are gonna take you back to the shelter. There'll be a doctor to take a look at you there.

KEVIN: Do I have to go back there?

SCULLY: No ... No, you don't. Why don't you duck back inside.

MULDER: Is he ready to go?

SCULLY: I want to keep him with us, Mulder, until Gates is apprehended. (Mulder stares at her) Look, I know about getting personally involved and I'm not.

MULDER: Did he ID Gates?

SCULLY: Yes.

MULDER: That'll help. A man fitting Gates' description rented a car, under the name Forau. That's one of the Devil's disciples.

(A short distance down the road, Gates crouches next to a branch and observes the scene.)

(Scully is running a bath for Kevin. As he slips his shirt off, Scully notices a prominent, fresh scar on the right side of his chest.)

SCULLY: I'll wait right outside.

(She exits and closes the bathroom door. Mulder is sitting on the bed reviewing the case file.)

MULDER: You never draw my bath.

SCULLY: Kevin has a cut under his ribs.

MULDER: He was in an accident.

SCULLY: No, I ... I was with the paramedics when they were looking at him. It wasn't there.

MULDER: Maybe you missed it.

SCULLY: No, Mulder, I was paying close attention.

MULDER: What do you think it is?

SCULLY: Yesterday, I saw Kevin's hands. They were bleeding from identical wounds on the top as on the bottom ... just like in the crucifixion.

MULDER: Scully ...

SCULLY: There have been other signs. I haven't said anything until now, because I haven't been sure ... and I'm still not sure.

MULDER: Sure of what exactly?

SCULLY: How Kevin was able to be in two places at once ... just like St. Ignatius was able to do in the Bible.

MULDER: That was in the Bible. It's a parable, it's a metaphor for the truth, not the truth itself. Why didn't Kevin conveniently bi-locate when Owen Jarvis abducted him from the shelter.

SCULLY: How is it that you're able to go out on a limb whenever you see a light in the sky, but you're unwilling to accept the possibility of a miracle? Even when it's right in front of you.

MULDER: I wait for a miracle every day. But what I've seen here has only tested my patience, not my faith.

SCULLY: Well, what about what I've seen?

(In the bathroom, a figure appears at the window. There is a thumping noise. Scully walks toward the bathroom door.)

SCULLY: Kevin? You OK? (she tries the door but it's locked) (to Mulder) I didn't lock it.

(Mulder breaks open the door. Kevin is gone and the window is broken. The bars on the outside of the window are bent and glowing red.)

MULDER: I'll call the police.

MULDER: They put up a cordon in a ten-mile radius. No sign of them. Best I can figure is they must have had an acetylene torch in the back of the truck. I don't know how else they could have done it.

SCULLY: I wasn't out of that room for more than two minutes, Mulder. Come on, there's someone I want to talk to again.

MULDER: Who?

SCULLY: Kevin's father.

MULDER: Why?

SCULLY: He knew that Kevin was in danger. He warned us about a powerful and respected man.

MULDER: The man's a nut case, Scully.

SCULLY: Maybe he is.

MULDER: But if Kevin is in immediate danger, even if his father has anything to say about Gates, it doesn't help us right now.

SCULLY: Well, it's not doing us a lot of good standing around here.

(Mr. Kryder is looking at a portrait of Gates.)

MR. KRYDER: So this is the man who took my son.

SCULLY: You've never seen him before?

MR. KRYDER: No. Why would anyone want to hurt Kevin? What does he want?

SCULLY: You really don't know?

MR. KRYDER: I ... I'm ... I'm sorry. I'm just a little foggy right now.

MULDER: Scully?

(Mulder shows Scully the log of medications that Mr. Kryder has been receiving.)

SCULLY: Haloperidol. It's a powerful anti-psychotic. They've increased his dosage. Mr. Kryder? You said something before about coming full circle to find the truth. What does it mean? Full circle to find the truth?

MR. KRYDER: I don't know. I just can't remember.

(Mulder's cel phone rings. Scully walks out into the hallway while Mulder lags behind to take the call. He hangs up and runs to catch up with her.)

MULDER: Scully. They had a sighting of Gates. He tried to rent another car at the airport, under the name Forau again. Did you hear what I said?

(Scully is looking past him at a waste container against the wall. The container has a recycling symbol on it.)

SCULLY: Mulder, look. Arrows that form a circle. Full circle to find the truth. Gates' company owns a recycling plant near here. That's where he's taken Kevin.

MULDER: Scully, the man is at the airport. If he hasn't already killed Kevin, he's trying to get as far away as he can.

SCULLY: I don't think so, Mulder.

MULDER: You think it's you, don't you? You think you're the one who's been chosen to protect Kevin.

SCULLY: I don't know. Look, if I'm wrong, I'll meet you out at the airport. OK?

(Inside the plant are Gates and Kevin.)

GATES: The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon will turn to blood, because of you, son.

KEVIN: Is that why you want to hurt me?

GATES: It's not a question of wanting. You have to die, Kevin. For everyone. For the new age to come. You understand that, don't you?

(Gates sees drops of blood on the floor and checks Kevin's hands. They are bleeding through the bandages.)

GATES: The others were all false prophets. You are the only true one among the twelve.

(As Gates reaches for Kevin's throat, Scully appears, aiming her weapon at Gates.)

SCULLY: Stop! Federal agent, I'm armed! Let him go! Let him go and we'll talk about it!

(Gates pulls Kevin in front of him and they back away.)

GATES: There's nothing to talk about. I was called upon.

(He and Kevin slip behind some stacks of recycled trash. Scully pursues, but Gates pushes a stack over, blocking her way. He then carries Kevin up the stairs to the top of a shredding machine, while Scully struggles to get around the obstacles.)

KEVIN: No! Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!

(Gates starts the shredding machine. He lifts Kevin up as if to throw him into the machine just as Scully reaches the bottom of the stairs. Both Gates and Kevin disappear over the edge.)

SCULLY: No!

(Scully rushes up the stairs and sees blood in the blades of the shredder. Leaning forward, she sees Kevin hanging to a ledge.)

SCULLY: Kevin! Hold on! Hold on!

(She reaches down and grabs Kevin's hand and pulls him up onto the platform grating. They embrace.)

KEVIN: I knew you'd come.

(Kevin and Scully are in one of the shelter bedrooms. Kevin has just finished packing his belongings.)

SCULLY: You all set?

KEVIN: (smiling) Thanks.

(He reaches out to shake hands with Scully. She turns his hand over and sees no sign of a wound on his palm, then shakes it. Kevin starts to leave.)

SCULLY: Maybe I'll see you again sometime.

KEVIN: (looking back) You will.

CARINA MAYWALD: (unseen, from the hall) You all ready, Kevin?

KEVIN: Yeah.

(Kevin leaves. Scully turns away from the door and looks down as Mulder enters. She brings a hand to her eyes to wipe away a tear, as Mulder picks up her coat and helps her into it.)

MULDER: You OK?

SCULLY: Yeah, I think so.

MULDER: We have a couple of hours before our flight. I told the sheriff we'd go down and make a formal statement about Gates' death.

SCULLY: I'd appreciate it if you'd handle that alone, Mulder. I have an errand I need to run.

MULDER: OK.

SCULLY: I'll see you at the airport.

SCULLY: Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been six years since my last confession, and since then I've drifted away from the church. I'm not sure why exactly.

PRIEST: Have you come to confess?

SCULLY: No, um, there's a man that I work with - a friend - and usually I'm able to discuss these things with him ... but not this. Father, do you believe in miracles?

PRIEST: Of course, I see them every day ... the rising sun, the birth of a child ...

SCULLY: No, I'm talking about events that defy explanation. Things that ... I believe helped me to save a young boy's life. But now I wonder if I saw them at all. If I didn't just imagine them.

PRIEST: Why do you doubt yourself?

SCULLY: Because my partner didn't see them. He didn't ... he didn't believe them. And usually he ... he believes without question.

PRIEST: Maybe they weren't meant for him to see. Maybe they were only meant for you.

SCULLY: Is that possible?

PRIEST: With the Lord, anything is possible. Perhaps you saw these things because you needed to.

SCULLY: To find my way back?

PRIEST: Sometimes we must come full circle to find the truth. (Scully looks up at the priest) Why does that surprise you?

SCULLY: Mostly, it just makes me afraid.

PRIEST: Afraid?

SCULLY: Afraid that God is speaking ... but that no one's listening.

[THE END]