(Inside the church.)

TERRANCE PRUIT: I always said there's three kinds of people in the world: Them who make things happen, them who watch things happen and them who wonder what happened. I made things happen. The wrong things. I caused pain to anyone who came near me.

(TERRANCE PRUIT glances down at a large tattoo on his upper left bicep: "Hellbound".)

TERRANCE PRUIT: This tattoo used to be my badge of honor. I'm a different man since I've joined group. A better man. I never thought words like that would come out of my mouth. It's all because of the help and the love that I found in this room.

(In the back room of a small church, a group meeting is being held for rehabilitated ex-cons. A group of about a half dozen men is being led by a lone female doctor. She glances over at a man who isn't paying much attention to what's being said.)

DR. HOLLAND: You're new here. Is it Ed?

ED KELSO: Yeah, I'm new to this B.S.

DR. HOLLAND: Why do you think it's B.S.?

TERRANCE PRUIT: I mean, listen, man, I turned my life around. A lot of us here have.

ED KELSO: Our kind of lives go one way. You can't change any more than you can undo the crimes you've done.

TERRANCE PRUIT: Well, I feel sorry for you, man.

ED KELSO: Don't feel sorry. You going to hell just like I am, brother.

DR. HOLLAND: Why are you here, Ed?

ED KELSO: I drove Victor. He knows I'm right.

DR. HOLLAND: Victor's been doing good.

ED KELSO: Oh, yeah ... just look at him.

(VICTOR is sitting next to ED KELSO. He's a nervous man who keeps is eyes averted downward. He lights up a cigarette.)

DR. HOLLAND: Victor, you want to talk about it?

VICTOR DALE POTTS: I've just been having bad dreams. Really bad dreams.

DR. HOLLAND: What kind of dreams?

VICTOR DALE POTTS: Oh... seeing people skinned alive.

(ED KELSO is silent. DR. HOLLAND says nothing. TERRANCE PRUIT leans forward.)

TERRANCE: It's a hard road, Victor. It's a shock to the system: Changing the way we think taking charge of our lives. We're all afraid. And that fear preys on us night and day, brother. In our minds and in our dreams.

(VICTOR nods his head, never once looking at anyone. He goes back to smoking his cigarette.)

(After group and still at the church.)

ED KELSO: You ever get enough of that crap? "A shock to the system" crap? "This fear preying on us night and day" crap? Those boys in there are afraid of one thing: Themselves... their true nature. You know what I'm saying, Victor?

VICTOR: Sort of.

ED KELSO: What do you mean, "sort of"? Don't tell me that bull does you any good. And don't tell me you feel any better about yourself coming here ... that it makes these nightmares go away.

VICTOR: No ... it don't.

(VICTOR looks at his friend ED KELSO and sees a skinned man.)

(REYES is looking at a file of VICTOR DALE POTTS. The following information can be seen from the file:

[name] POTTS, VICTOR DALE,
[alias] none,
[address] #4 327 Lamer Rd., Novi, VA,
[number] R-7432 a,
[operator's license number] VA c54683 n,
[race] White,
[date of birth] March 8, 1960,
[place of birth] Parsons, VA,
[age] 41, single / male / height=75" )

(On the right side of the file are two pictures of VICTOR DALE POTTS. The right front view and the left side view pictures are labeled "Potts, V.D. R-7432 a".)

(The elevator door rings, the door opens and DOGGETT walks out. He's dressed casually in jeans, t-shirt and a leather jacket. He looks like he just got out of bed.)

DOGGETT: Hey.

REYES: Hi. Thanks for coming. Sorry about the hour.

DOGGETT: The way you sounded seemed like something that couldn't wait.

REYES: No. I need another set of eyes on it. I called Scully in, too.

DOGGETT: A little late to be looking for a sitter. What's so pressing? (She hands him a file.) "Victor Dale Potts." Ex-con, three-time loser, career criminal.

REYES: He was murdered five days ago. Scully's got the crime report.

DOGGETT: I'm sorry, what am I missing?

REYES: It's the way he was killed.

(REYES walks away. DOGGETT follows. They both enter the autopsy area where SCULLY’S waiting.)

SCULLY: Agent Doggett.

DOGGETT: Agent Scully.

REYES: I'd like him to see the body.

(SCULLY lifts the sheet and whether it's the smell or the horror of the body itself, DOGGETT glances at it and turns away.)

DOGGETT: Damn. I've seen a bunch of these when I was a cop. It's a favourite of some of the pan-Asian gangs.

(The body has no skin.)

REYES: The difference is Victor Potts had a premonition of his death.

DOGGETT: And?

SCULLY: That was my question.

REYES: What I'm saying is, this man was skinned alive just hours after describing it in exact detail.

DOGGETT: Maybe he could describe it because maybe somebody threatened him.

REYES: He said it came in a dream, or a vision according to the woman who last spoke to him.

DOGGETT: Who's that?

REYES: Dr. Lisa Holland. She's a therapist who runs an anger management group for ex-cons.

DOGGETT: Lifelong criminal's bound to have some bad enemies. People capable of this very thing. I mean, unless there's something here that I'm just not seeing.

SCULLY: Well, from what I could see from my visual exam the skin was removed with considerable skill by someone using a hunting-type knife. Arteries and veins were left intact so as to prolong the period that the victim would suffer.

DOGGETT: Terrible way to die, for sure.

REYES: I know.

(At REYES' whispered words, both DOGGETT and SCULLY turn to look at her.)

SCULLY: Is there anything else ... Agent Reyes? Something special that brought this case to your attention as a possible X-File?

REYES: No. I just know I need to solve this and I'd appreciate your help.

(A car stops in front of the First Calvary Church. The large sign in front of the church quotes Jesus: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." ~Luke 5:32-KJV. DOGGETT and REYES exit the car. They walk toward the lone law officer leaning against his car. Can't tell for sure, but those look like California license plates "BU-235B".)

VAN ALLEN (to DOGGETT): You Reyes?

DOGGETT: I'm Doggett. She's Reyes.

REYES: Detective Van Allen?

VAN ALLEN: That's right.

REYES: I appreciate your help on this.

VAN ALLEN: What help is that?

REYES: On this investigation.

VAN ALLEN: There isn't a lot to investigate. I mean, Victor Potts wasn't exactly one of the FBI's ten most wanted.

DOGGETT: I think she means your insight into the way he died, Detective.

VAN ALLEN: Don't have any. But I'm sure you'd rather talk to somebody who actually gives a damn, right?

(VAN ALLEN leaves the agents and heads toward the church entrance.)

DOGGETT: Hate to say it but, he probably sums up most people's feelings.

(The two agents follow.)

(Inside the First Calvary Church.)

DR. HOLLAND: It's hard for the Victor Pottses of the world. Nobody cares much about them in life or in death.

REYES: Victor told the group a story about a dream he'd had.

DR. HOLLAND: These men are haunted by their pasts. That's why they're here.

REYES: But this dream came true.

DR. HOLLAND: Sometimes the past they want to escape won't let them. There was a man: Ed. He drove Victor to group that night. He was all over Victor's case.

DOGGETT: You think he could have killed him?

DR. HOLLAND: I try to help these men. Some have been violent, some still are. It's not my place to judge them.

DOGGETT: Dr. Holland there's justice to be served here. You can't forget that.

DR. HOLLAND: I'm sure Agent Reyes won't let me. Probably won't let anybody.

(REYES stands and offers her hand to DR. HOLLAND.)

REYES: Thank you for your help.

(REYES leaves the room. DOGGETT starts to follow, then pauses as something occurs to him.)

DOGGETT: She contacted you with this case?

DR. HOLLAND: I think the police would have given up on who murdered Victor Potts if it wasn't for her.

(outside the church.)

(REYES walks out of the church and heads toward the parked car. She is interrupted by DET. VAN ALLEN who is leaning against the church wall in the shadows.

VAN ALLEN: You know something, Agent Reyes? You seem real familiar to me.

REYES: Excuse me?

VAN ALLEN: You ever visited Novi before?

REYES: No, I never have.

(VAN ALLEN smiles and nods his head at her. He seems smug and pleased as if he had just gotten away with something. REYES continues to walk toward the parked car. VAN ALLEN watches her.)

(A large skinning knife cuts through the tough pink skin of a pig, slicing away the exterior leaving tender meat behind. ED KELSO is busy at work skinning the dead pig. He is a lone worker on a solitary worktable in the entire room. There are dozens of dead pigs hanging for him to work on. His work apron is bloodied. He concentrates on the job at hand.)

(TERRANCE PRUIT makes his way intently toward ED KELSO's work table. KELSO notices PRUIT approaching and gets defensive.)

ED KELSO: You eyeballing me? You got some kind of problem or something?

TERRANCE PRUIT: Problem? Your friend is dead.

ED KELSO: Yeah, I guess the good news is I get to move up the ladder here now.

TERRANCE PRUIT: You know how it happened.

(Holding the knife out, ED KELSO walks around the work table toward PRUIT. PRUIT takes a step back.)

ED KELSO: Now, why don't you just back off.

TERRANCE PRUIT: FBI wants to talk to me now because of the way he died. Going to want to talk to you, too.

ED KELSO: I got nothing to tell nobody.

TERRANCE PRUIT: You were messing with his head.

ED KELSO: I'd watch what you go saying.

TERRANCE PRUIT: Or what? You going to do me, too?

(A loud buzzer blares overhead. KELSO notes the signal to mark the end of his work day. He smiles at PRUIT, his knife still pointed at him.)

ED KELSO: I got a ride to catch.

(KELSO pockets the knife in the metal sheath he wears around his waist and walks away.)

TERRANCE PRUIT: Yeah, that's right; walk away. But just like you said you can't run from what you are.

(KELSO turns around.)

ED KELSO: Yeah, and I'll see you in hell.

(KELSO leaves. PRUIT follows, walking parallel to KELSO amidst the hanging pigs as he makes his way out. The look on PRUIT's face is one of startled fright as we notice that PRUIT sees a walking KELSO skinned. PRUIT follows KELSO out of the building. He bursts out into the stark daylight. A car starts. KELSO's in the car. He glares at PRUIT as he leaves. PRUIT stares at KELSO speechless.)

(Back at Quantico, an FBI Cadet places a stack of old file folders on SCULLY's desk. This is the same FBI Cadet who heckled SCULLY back in the beginning of class in *DAEMONICUS.)

FBI CADET: Here you go, Dr. Scully. Everything you ever wanted to know about skinning people but were afraid to ask. This is every case of removal of the human dermis I could find within the last dozen years.

SCULLY: Most of these are post-mortem skinnings.

FBI CADET: That's all I could find. And most of it's Asian gang-related like you mentioned.

SCULLY: Wait a minute. What's this?

(SCULLY opens a file folder from HAYWOOD COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT. It's for a John Doe: [age] 40's; [sex] male; [colour] white; [height] 5'10"; [date of death] 03/08/60; [viewable:] no; [body condition:] skin stripped from body; etc. The accompanying discoloured picture of the body looks like its in the same condition as the body that SCULLY showed DOGGETT earlier.)

FBI CADET: I'm sorry I probably shouldn't have included that one because it's pretty much ancient history.

SCULLY: It's just ... there's a pattern. There's a pattern ... the way the skin's been stripped off. A match?

FBI CADET: No, but how could it be? Did you notice a date?

(The file reads “Date of Death”: 03_08_60.)

SCULLY: 1960.

(SCULLY ponders a possible X-Files connection ... )

(SCULLY carries the file folder and makes her way down a hallway. An old woman with a walker passes her by. SCULLY walks toward the open door to room #109. A television can be heard from inside the room. As usual, what's heard on the television is pertinent to the theme of the episode.)

[Television playing]: ... Inca and Mayan peoples. However, the priest thought the souls survived on earth as a little shrub, tree or other foliage, and ...

(SCULLY knocks softly on the door.)

SCULLY: Excuse me. Dr. Mueller?

(Music on TV plays )

SCULLY: Dr. Bertram Mueller?

(The man turns around.

DR. MUELLER: Yes?

SCULLY: My name is Dana Scully. I'm with the FBI. I want to ask you some questions about a John Doe you did an autopsy on in 1960.

DR. MUELLER: You honestly expect me to recall some case from way back when? I'm 84 years old.

SCULLY: Sir, this particular victim was skinned alive.

[CLOSED CAPTION SAYS: Will you button your blouse?]

(DR. MUELLER is quiet as he stares at SCULLY. It's obvious that he remembers the case.)

CUT TO:

(DR. MUELLER looks at both set of autopsy photos and through the casefile SCULLY brought with her.)

DR. MUELLER: In all my days, I never saw anything as inhuman as this.

SCULLY: Sir, I haven't located police records from the investigation. Was there ever a suspect who was charged or arrested in this case as far as you know?

DR. MUELLER: No suspects, no investigation for that matter.

SCULLY: I don't understand.

DR. MUELLER: The victim was a John Doe -- a nobody. Carl Hobart, the county sheriff, figured he was a drifter. Hobart said he didn't want to stir up the community.

SCULLY: And no one called him on that?

DR. MUELLER: I tried ... the sheriff had other things on his mind, I suppose.

SCULLY: Why do you say that?

DR. MUELLER: Well, it wasn't long after that he put a bullet through his head. What are you thinking, doctor? This is some copycat murder 40-odd years later?

SCULLY: If so, it's the most perfectly executed that I've ever seen. And why copy an obscure murder that nobody's ever even heard of?

DR. MUELLER: A string of murders.

SCULLY: I'm sorry?

DR. MUELLER: I thought you knew. John Doe was only the first.

(It's dark, the plant is closed and TERRANCE PRUIT is alone watering down and cleaning the floor. He washes the day's blood down the open drain. It is no different than what he's done every other night. Only this night, the lights go out. He is not amused.)

TERRANCE PRUIT (into the darkness): Hey, I'm working in here.

(He listens for the sounds of anyone else in the building. He hears nothing. He makes his way to the nearest light switch and flips it several times. The lights don't work. He turns around as he hears the menacing crescendo of Mark Snow's awesome music fill the night air. Oh, okay. He hears footsteps in the distance signaling that he is not alone in the building after all. He sees the shadow of a figure in the room. Not to be intimidated, PRUIT pulls out his own skinning knife. He thinks that ED KELSO's returned for him.)

TERRANCE PRUIT: Is that you, Ed? Come see what I got for you.

(PRUIT hears footsteps in the distance and makes his way to the next room. He sees the hanging pig in front of the plastic room divider swaying to and fro. Someone's been here. Not to be frightened off easily, he pursues the intruder with the knife in his hand. He looks around and doesn't see anyone, but he knows that someone's there.)

TERRANCE PRUIT: Tell you what. You best clear the hell out, whoever you are!

(He sees a figure run across the room through the hanging pigs and takes off in pursuit of the intruder.)

TERRANCE PRUIT: Hey!

(He reaches the spot where he saw the figure and finds nothing. Thinking that he might get a better glimpse of the person's feet, he slowly lowers himself to the floor. As he looks around, he sees nothing. Behind him the shadowy figure dressed in a worker's apron and wielding his own skinning knife makes his way around PRUIT's blind side. He knocks PRUIT out.)

CUT TO:

(Someone has tied TERRANCE PRUIT to the hog hanging wrack. He is bound by his feet, hanging upside down and unclothed. The assailant is pulling the man up. TERRANCE PRUIT is hanging there -- his body no different than the other hanging pigs in the meat packing plant. Slowly, he regains consciousness. He sees his killer holding the skinning knife. He realizes what's about to happen.)

TERRANCE PRUIT: Oh, god! Oh, god, no! Let me go! Let me go!

(He screams in pain. Blood streams down TERRANCE PRUIT'S face. The man's continuous screams of pain echoes in the empty plant. Blood splatters down the drain in the floor.)

(Back at the church.)

(It is dark. A light fog shrouds the stone walls of the First Calvary Church. REYES drives up to the church and exits the car. She enters the church looking for Dr. Holland. It's strange because there's light coming through the stained glass windows of the church as if it were daylight outside.)

REYES: Dr. Holland? Lisa?

(She walks further into the church. The church door behind her suddenly slams shut; its finality echoes throughout the empty church. REYES turns around.)

REYES: Dr. Holland?

(REYES makes her way back toward the closed door. She reaches the closed church door and opens it. A skinned figure stands outside.)

(REYES wakes up. She's been dreaming. DOGGETT opens her bedroom door.)

DOGGETT: Monica?

(DOGGETT is standing by REYES' room door. He's in a white t-shirt and concerned.)

DOGGETT: What the hell are you dreaming about.

(REYES is still disoriented.)

REYES: Nothing. It was a nightmare. How did you know to come in here?

DOGGETT: I was on the phone. I could hear you through the wall calling out.

(REYES glances at the clock. It reads 2:09 AM.)

REYES: Who were you on the phone to?

DOGGETT: Dr. Lisa Holland. That anger-management group she runs, it's getting smaller.

(REYES gets out of bed.)

(Inside the Meat Packing Plant amidst the hanging pigs, VAN ALLEN stands near the skinned body of TERRANCE PRUIT. PRUIT is still hanging upside down. He glances over and sees one of his men talking to REYES and DOGGETT who are trying to get into the crime scene area.)

VAN ALLEN: It's okay. Let 'em through.

(He waves to DOGGETT and REYES.)

REYES: What happened to the lights?

VAN ALLEN: Somebody cut 'em. Might want to watch your step. We got some blood on the floor. Not as much as you'd expect.

(VAN ALLEN shines the light on the floor to indicate the blood he was talking about. He moves his flashlight from the floor to the roof and down the body to show the agents the body. When the light shines on the perfectly skinned body of TERRANCE PRUIT, REYES realizes that she's looking at the body she saw in her dream.)

REYES: Oh, my god!

(She turns to run outside for some air. DOGGETT tries to stops her; he is concerned for her.)

DOGGETT: Hey, you okay? Monica?

(REYES rushes past DOGGETT and outside where she catches her breath and ponders what's going on. Just what is her connection to all of this? She is clearly upset. Outside, police lights flash. Officers come and go all around her. A car pulls up and SCULLY exits the vehicle.)

SCULLY: Agent Reyes, I got a call from Agent Doggett. He said there's another victim. (SCULLY notices that REYES is distressed.) Monica, you okay?

REYES: I'm just catching my breath.

SCULLY: Well, if you're up for it, I've got something to show you. Case files from crimes back in 1960.

REYES: What are they?

SCULLY: More skinned bodies ... cut with the same precision as the body I examined.

(Inside the meat-packing plant.)

(DOGGETT is kneeling on the floor looking closely at the body still hanging from the ceiling. He's staring at PRUIT's skinned face trying to discern what's going on. He looks closer and closer and he finally notices something.)

DOGGETT: Can I see the light a second?

(DOGGETT moves in closer to the skinned man's face. Holding the flashlight in one hand, he lifts a gloved finger and pokes the man's cheek. The man moves. DOGGETT is horrified as he registers that PRUIT is not dead. Not yet.)

DOGGETT: Holy God, he's still alive! Somebody get in here and get him down! We need a medic in here! (to PRUIT) Can you hear me? Do you understand? Who did this to you? Do you know who did this to you?

(PRUIT tries to speak. All we hear is the vowel sound "eeehhahh" ... interpret that as you want.)

(ED KELSO is desperately packing. He's putting his meagre possessions in a carry suitcase. He's packing away his knives, more knives, even more knives and a shirt. He's got more knives than underwear. His girlfriend ROXANNE is in bed. She's wearing a skimpy tank top.)

ROXANNE: Are we going somewhere, baby?

ED KELSO: You're not. Get out.

ROXANNE: Eddie?

ED KELSO: What'd I just say?!

ROXANNE: But I'm not even dressed.

ED KELSO: What else is new? Get out!

(ED KELSO tosses some clothes to ROXANNE. She angrily gets out of bed and gets dressed. She hurries past him and out the door.)

ROXANNE: Why are you such a jerk?

(ED looks downright scared. ROXANNE leaves the room. ED takes a second to listen to her leave, then continues to pack. As she clears the door, she is grabbed from behind by DOGGETT who is standing right outside with VAN ALLEN and police backup. He signals her to be silent. She gets the message and makes her way silently out of the danger to come. DOGGETT signals the police officers to wait. He pulls his gun and bursts through the door. The living room is empty. He slowly makes his way through the living room and checks the open dining room. That's empty, too. From the bedroom, ED KELSO walks out. He spots DOGGETT.)

DOGGETT: FBI! Stop right there!

(KELSO runs. DOGGETT chases him out of the house and through the back yard. KELSO barely gets across the yard when DOGGETT tackles him.)

DOGGETT: What part of "stop right there" did you not understand?

(With KELSO on the ground, DOGGETT handcuffs his hands behind him.)

(ED KELSO sits in the interrogation room. DR. LISA HOLLAND is with him while REYES and DOGGETT watch outside. DR. HOLLAND exits the room and stands in front of DOGGETT. She looks tired, sad and worn.)

DOGGETT: So, what? He's just waiting for his lawyer? That's what he's doing?

DR. HOLLAND: He's in a bad place. I've been there myself once or twice sitting right where he is now, not thinking you have a chance.

DOGGETT: Yeah? You ever murdered two men?

DR. HOLLAND: He's four years out of prison holding down a job, showing up to work sober. Why do it? Kill a friend and a co-worker?

(REYES looks through the glass over at KELSO who seems more scared than anything.)

DOGGETT: You're the one that said he was a hothead, right? Why run if you're not guilty? Bag packed to hit the road ... packed with knives?

REYES (thoughtful): I don't think we're going to find the murder weapon on him.

DOGGETT: What makes you say that?

REYES: Because I think this man here is running from something else. I want to talk to him.

(REYES enters the interrogation room. KELSO watches her enter. REYES sits down.)

REYES: Hi. My name is Monica. I know what you're thinking, that I must be the good cop.

ED KELSO: No such thing.

REYES: You didn't do it, did you? (Tears run down KELSO's face.) Your friend, Victor, he said he had bad dreams seeing things. I think you're seeing them now.

ED KELSO: How would you know?

REYES: Maybe I see them, too.

(KELSO looks up at REYES. She meets his gaze, her own eyes filled with unshed tears. For a moment, she's connecting with KELSO. DOGGETT opens the door to interrupt the questioning.)

DOGGETT: Can I talk to you for a second?

(REYES walks about of the room.)

DOGGETT: You want to explain to me what you're doing in there Agent Reyes?

REYES: I'm trying to make a connection.

DOGGETT: Hell of a way to do it. I can see this guy's defence already. "Your honor, I was having bad dreams ... seeing things. Ask Agent Reyes, she's seeing 'em, too." Something you're not telling me?

(REYES looks as if she wants to share something with DOGGETT when they are both interrupted by VAN ALLEN who confidently, almost insolently, makes his way to the interrogation room.)

VAN ALLEN: You two about finished?

DOGGETT: With what?

VAN ALLEN: The suspect. He's not our man.

DOGGETT: What are you talking about?

VAN ALLEN: Girlfriend vouched for him. Said they were getting hammered down at the bent oak from 6:00 till closing. Bartender confirms it.

(VAN ALLEN enters the room where KELSO is and tells KELSO the good news. DOGGETT watches KELSO. REYES looks at DR. HOLLAND. They wait as KELSO exits the room.)

DOGGETT: I know where you live, partner.

DR. HOLLAND: You're always welcome at group.

(KELSO lifts his eyes hesitantly at DR. HOLLAND and we see that he sees her skinless. He quickly averts his eyes and walks out. A cell phone rings.)

REYES: Agent Reyes.

SCULLY: I need you to come to Quantico right away, Monica.

[CLOSED CAPTION READS: SCULLY: What's your connection to this case, Monica?]

REYES: Why?

SCULLY: I have something to show you.

(Back at Quantico.)

(SCULLY is dressed in her scrubs in the autopsy bay looking down at something. When REYES enters the room, she looks up, but doesn't move from her position behind the skeletal remains.)

REYES: Agent Scully?

SCULLY: Agent Reyes.

REYES: What are these?

SCULLY: I showed you files of men killed in 1960 skinned alive like the current victims. Well, I had two of those bodies exhumed looking for crossover forensic details.

REYES: Are there any?

SCULLY: Yes, there are cuts in the bone ... on the tibias and on the shoulder girdles that matched the cutting pattern that I found on Victor Potts ... using the exact same knife which left a signature pattern of grooves.

REYES: Same knife, same killer that's what you're saying, right?

SCULLY: Well, it's even weirder than that. (Both women leave the autopsy bay area and enter SCULLY's office. On her desk are various open old file folders.) I ran bios and backgrounds from the victims from 1960.

REYES: They're both ex-convicts like the current victims?

SCULLY: Mm-hmm. But look at the date that they died.

REYES: March eighth, 1960. June 21st, 1960.

(The date of death for the two 1960's cases were March 8, 1960 [Lipson-age 41] and June 21, 1960 [Dooley-age 39]. Scully then uses Lipson and Dooley to compare with Victor Potts and Pruit's birthdays.)

(File folder information are as follows: Potts is 41 years old. Same file information mentioned earlier plus the following: [weight] 185, [build] med, [hair] brown.)

(Terrance Pruit's file: [alias] none; [address] 188 Weaver Ct. Novi, VA, [number] R-7436 a; [operator's license number] VA c54663 n; [race] white; [dob] June 21, 1960; [pob] Craigsville, VA; [age] 41; [weight] 175; [build] med.)

SCULLY: Birth dates of Victor Potts and Terry Pruit. Potts and Pruit were born on the same dates that the previous victims died. You knew that we'd find something like this didn't you, Agent Reyes? How?

(REYES looks at SCULLY. She doesn't know.)

(Outside Ed Kelso's Residence.)

(DOGGETT stops outside ED KELSO's house. He glances over at the darkened house. Something doesn't feel right. The police surveillance he ordered for KELSO is nowhere to be seen. His cell phone rings interrupting his thoughts.)

DOGGETT: John Doggett.

REYES: Where are you?

DOGGETT: Sitting outside the suspect's house wondering where the surveillance is I ordered.

REYES: I need a birthdate on him.

DOGGETT: Who?

REYES: The suspect, Ed Kelso. It's important. He may be in danger.

DOGGETT: He may be gone. I'll call you.

(DOGGETT hangs up and exits the car. He quickly and quietly makes his way to the house. He suspects that KELSO may have ran while no one was looking. DOGGETT's on the cell phone.)

DOGGETT: Yeah, this is John Doggett. I need to speak with Detective Van Allen. I'll hang on. Just get him.

(DOGGETT knocks on KELSO's front door. There's no answer.)

DOGGETT: No, I'm still holding.

(DOGGETT peers in through the residence side window and sees something that horrifies him. He breaks the door down and enters the premises. He hasn’t drawn his weapon. DOGGETT finds ED KELSO on the table in the middle of the room, skinned. There's a blue cloth stuffed inside his mouth. The blood is still fresh as it glistens and drips off KELSO's newly skinned fingers.)

(Ed Kelso's Residence.)

(REYES drives toward the house. She's carrying the files given to her by SCULLY. DOGGETT is angry and disgusted with VAN ALLEN who doesn't seem to care two bits about the case at all.)

DOGGETT: I said this house was supposed to be under a 24-hour watch.

VAN ALLEN: Patrolman says he wasn't gone more than five minutes.

DOGGETT (angry): You see that man in there? You think it takes five minutes to do that to somebody, detective?

VAN ALLEN (doesn’t care): I don't know how long it takes, Agent Doggett. Only know you said watch him so he don't run.

(VAN ALLEN walks away. DOGGETT moves to continue to argument, but REYES stops him.)

REYES: Agent Doggett ...

(DOGGETT sighs and turns his attention to REYES.)

REYES: I have something to tell you.

(The both turn back toward the house.)

(Inside Ed Kelso's House.)

(REYES is standing near the door. DOGGETT is on the other side of the room studying the files that REYES gave him; the covered body of ED KELSO still on the table lies between them. The cloth covering the body is soaked with blood. I guess this time they made sure the body was dead.)

DOGGETT: This thing with the birthdays is weird, no doubt about it. Looks to me like we're dealing with a real sick puppy here.

REYES: I don't think so.

DOGGETT: Choosing your victims because of their damn birth dates it's the very definition of a serial killer. I think we should get the boys from behavioural science out on this.

REYES: No. (DOGGETT stops at the finality in her voice.) That's not what's happening here.

DOGGETT: It's the only thing that makes sense.

REYES: To you.

(DOGGETT sighs. He prepares himself to listen to REYES' explanation.)

DOGGETT: Okay, what do you think it is?

REYES: He knew he was going to die. He had a premonition of his death. Just like the first victim did.

DOGGETT: So how do you figure that?

REYES: I'm involved in this some way. I have some kind of memory of it. It's all happened before and now it's happening again.

DOGGETT: You mean that it's a copycat and you have some kind of recall.

REYES: These men were born to die this way. The same way they died before.

DOGGETT: The same way they died before?

REYES: Not the men ... but their souls. Their souls are murdered over and over again from one lifetime to the next. By someone who won't let them rest.

DOGGETT: So how's this happening ... their souls coming back? [It's] Reincarnation?

REYES: It doesn't strike you that these men were all born on the dates of the previous victims' deaths?

DOGGETT: Yeah, it strikes me. It strikes me that the killer is clever.

(REYES wants to prove to DOGGETT that she's right. She needs to. She stares at KELSO's cloth-covered body.)

REYES: A rag is stuffed in his mouth. A dirty rag. Black with soot.

(DOGGETT stares at REYES as her words register. How does she know this information? The body has been covered all this time. He saw the cloth. She didn't. REYES lifts the cloth to reveal that her words are true.)

REYES: Coal dust ... from a coal mine.

DOGGETT: How the hell did you know that?

REYES: I don't know.

(Outside the old mines, DOGGETT and REYES park their car. The old wooden sign in front reads: “K. FITZGERALD MINING COMPANY – 1868”. Both agents exit the car, their huge flashlights already shining thick beams into the cold night air. They make their way toward the mine shed. DOGGETT must have been convinced by REYES' mind-reading performance because he is strangely/silently cooperative.)

DOGGETT: So what are we looking for?

REYES: I don't know exactly. But if the old files are correct there's going to be a fourth victim.

(They peel the plyboards blocking the old mine shed and peer inside. There's old metal furniture, cobwebs, dust and lots of junk.)

DOGGETT: It looks like housekeeping hasn't been here in awhile.

REYES: You or me?

(They look at each other coming quickly to a silent agreement. DOGGETT continues to peel the plyboards away while REYES continues on further outside.)

REYES: I'll check out the mine.

(REYES approaches the entrance to the old mine. With little effort, she pulls the lock away from the door. The mine is old, dusty and covered with cobwebs. Going deeper into the mine, REYES approaches a wall covered with various old newspaper clippings and photographs. She takes a moment to study the display.)

ARTICLE 1: "Skinned Body Still Unidentified" (I'm presuming that this was the John Doe in 1960).

ARTICLE 2: "Sheriff Carl Hobart Victim of Suicide" photograph shows the Sheriff with a bullet wound in his head.

(In the accompanying search, DOGGETT finds an old skeleton in a sitting position leaning against the wall of the hut. He doesn't look thrilled at the find. The bodies keep piling up. He moves in for a closer examination of the skeleton.)

(REYES continues to read:)

ARTICLE 3: "Fourth Skinned Body Found - Authorities Without Suspect"

ARTICLE 4: (dated Monday, September 27, 1909) "Lawman Disappears After Failing to Catch Killer" -- "The body of local drifter, *** ***, was found yesterday ... ". The accompanying photograph shows a well-dressed man with a derby hat, tie, pin-striped suit and a sheriff's badge on his lapel.

(DOGGETT, meanwhile, notices the sheriff's badge on the scrap of cloth on his skeleton. The skull has a bullet hole on the upper left forehead. An old six-shooter is next to the skeleton's right hand. DOGGETT picks it up and studies it closely. This body is probably the 1909 Lawman mentioned in ARTICLE #4.)

(REYES continues to read:)

ARTICLE 5: "Prospector Slain in Mining Claim Dispute" "The body of local prospector, *** ***, was found ... "

ARTICLE 6: (dated Tuesday, November 3, 1868) "Murderers Acquitted: Prosecutor Says Justice Not Served"

.. and finally, a photograph: four men standing at the mouth of a mine around a skinned body.

(REYES studies the photograph closely. She is interrupted by a rustling sound from behind her. REYES moves deeper into the mine and finds a hanging wall of plastic separating the outer mine from the inner mine. She moves past the plastic and finds, hanging one by one against it's own plastic backing, the skin shells of the men who were murdered. Rows of them, one after the other. REYES walks in further to the final bloodied three hanging in the back: VICTOR DALE POTTS, ED KELSO and finally, TERRANCE PRUIT with his faint but distinctive tattoo: "Hellbound". Paydirt.)

(REYES is startled by a faint rustling noise behind her. Through the plastic she sees the outline of a man.)

MAN (with a raspy voice): You shouldn't have come here.

(REYES pulls out her gun at the shadowy figure beyond the plastic sheeting.)

REYES: I'm a federal agent. I'm armed.

(REYES makes slowly advances toward the shadowy figure. She makes her way through the plastic sheeting and advances toward the mouth of the mine. No one is there. She passes THE MAN without noticing him hiding in the shadows. He comes up behind her and holds a skinning knife to her neck.)

MAN (with the raspy voice): Let go of the gun now.

(REYES complies and drops her gun.)

MAN (with the raspy voice): You can't stop it. You never do. (The man moves closer to her. His face clear in the light cast by the flashlight. It's VAN ALLEN.) You always fail. It's your lot.

(Back at the Fitzgerald Mining Company.)

(DOGGETT opens the door to the mine. He enters looking for REYES.)

DOGGETT: Agent Reyes. Monica!

(REYES is on the floor on her hands and knees. She's coughing, gasping for air. DOGGETT rushes to her side.)

DOGGETT: Agent Reyes. Are you hurt? Talk to me.

REYES: He was here.

DOGGETT: Who?

REYES: Van Allen. He's who's killing these men.

DOGGETT: Van Allen?

REYES: He was skinned himself. Back in 1868 by four men in a mining dispute. His killers were never punished. Now he's born to keep avenging that injustice. Again and again.

DOGGETT: Van Allen's the cop here.

REYES: That's why these cases never get solved. Every time, four murders. Every time, four bodies. Then he takes his own life so he can just start it up all over again. There's still a fourth victim, and I think I know who it is.

(REYES stands up and heads out the mine.)

[Transcriber's note: Just to be clear on this, the four victims are: (1) VICTOR DALE POTTS, (2) TERRANCE PRUIT, (3) ED KELSO, and (4) DR. LISA HOLLAND (non victim).]

(First Calvary Church.)

(A phone rings. The Group is breaking up. DR. HOLLAND answers her ringing cell phone.)

DR. HOLLAND: Lisa Holland.

REYES: Dr. Holland, it's Monica Reyes. You've seen the visions, haven't you? Just like the others in your group. Visions of people skinned alive. It's true, isn't it?

DR. HOLLAND: How did you know?

REYES: Where are you now?

DR. HOLLAND: I'm just finishing a session.

(The last person closes the door behind him.)

REYES: Is there anybody with you?

DR. HOLLAND: No, they've all left. Why? What's this about?

REYES: Get out of there. You're in danger. It's Detective Van Allen. He's coming after you.

(DR. HOLLAND hears footsteps approaching the closed door. Through the opaque glass, she sees a male arm reaching for the doorknob.)

REYES: Dr. Holland? Dr. Holland.

(VAN ALLEN enters the church back room. He's looking for DR. HOLLAND. A skinning knife in his hand.)

VAN ALLEN: Time's come! You're the last.

(VAN ALLEN cautiously makes his way through the back room and heads toward the back door. DR. HOLLAND waits till he passes her and ducks into the back room to check it out before she makes her break out of the session room and into the church. VAN ALLEN hears her and quickly pursues her.)

VAN ALLEN (running after her): No use running. It always ends the same.

(DR. HOLLAND runs clear through the church and out the door which slams shut behind her. VAN ALLEN reaches the door. He pulls it open and finds himself staring down the barrel of REYES' FBI-issued gun. DR. HOLLAND in safe in DOGGETT's arms. VAN ALLEN hesitates for a moment before he moves toward REYES with his skinning knife. REYES fires. VAN ALLEN falls to the floor barely alive.)

REYES: Get the paramedics out here.

VAN ALLEN (choking): You ... always fail.

(REYES grabs VAN ALLEN'S shirt. She's agitated by his words.)

REYES: You're not dying on me. Not until you tell me what you mean!

(DOGGETT grabs REYES and pulls her off of VAN ALLEN. REYES is upset. They're both staring at the man who has all the answers.)

Inside a hospital ICU.)

(The ICU heart monitor attached to VAN ALLEN steadily beeps. REYES stands nearby watching VAN ALLEN through the glass window. DOGGETT approaches REYES from behind. He stops when he reaches her. MONICA hasn't taken her eyes off of VAN ALLEN to acknowledge DOGGETT's presence. He's concerned for her.)

DOGGETT: Doc says it's going to be touch-and-go tonight ... that we should go home. Go on, Monica. Go on home. There's nothing you're going to learn here now.

(REYES looks at DOGGETT.)

REYES: You still won't believe it, will you? My connection to this man.

DOGGETT: However you did it ... however you knew what you know what matters here is you saved a woman's life.

(He places a comforting hand on her shoulder and leaves. SCULLY approaches.)

SCULLY: He's trying. We all are. It's just a long way to go from this... (holding the photograph) ... to this ... (indicating VAN ALLEN on life support beyond the glass window.)

REYES: Do you believe in second chances, Dana? A chance to correct the mistakes we make in our lives?

SCULLY: You mean in a future life?

REYES: That's what these people were trying to do. All the victims ... trying to atone for their sins from what happened in that photo. Only this man wouldn't let them.

[photo caption reads: "Four men stand over a skinned body at Fitzgerald mining camp. c. 1868. ... " and " ... killed in a claim dispute by the men standing over his corpse. No persons ... " ]

SCULLY: And Lisa Holland? What about her?

REYES: She was one of them. One of the men you see standing there.

SCULLY: And you?

REYES: Whoever I was, I failed. In 1868. In 1909. In 1960, I failed. I was always there, but I couldn't stop the killings. And he knew that. Just like he knows I'm here right now. He feels me -- the way I felt him when I saw that picture of the first victim. And somehow he knows my deepest fear that I'll fail.

SCULLY: Well, maybe in this life you succeed.

REYES: Maybe.

(REYES doesn't look convinced.)

(VAN ALLEN begins to go code. He flatlines. REYES watches in horror as the workers attempt to resuscitate him and fail. VAN ALLEN dies.)

(Somewhere, a baby boy cries in a hospital nursery.)

[THE END]