Along the way of each door, they tried the doorknobs for entrance and peaked into the windows for any sign of townsfolk to speak to. All their attempts at finding such citizens proved to be for naught.
Besides the employees of the diner, it was now a literal ghost town.
And it seemed as though the number had dropped even lower just that morning, as there were many who were spotted by the team the night before. This gave the group of sleuths an unsettling feeling of dread. It was not yet known how these people were vanishing. What was causing them to disappear. On top of this, they were uncertain if even the survivors would remain at the end of the day.
This truly was a race against time.
What worried them most was the children. Mabel, Dipper and Eleven were all that was left.
Young Mabel, unable to stop talking the whole time they were all together, held onto Mulder's long coat as instructed to her by the peculiar agent while they walked .
Every few minutes, she would marvel at what she saw in the windows of the shops they passed.
Daphne would join her girly musings and they would gush about the glamorous items they saw.
This attempt on Daphne's part was largely to keep the young girl's mind off of the unfortunate happenings of the town, but also because, well..Daphne always had an eye for fashion.
And having a like minded team mate was a breath of fresh air for her.
Fred shook his head with a soft smile. "They'll be at this all day..."
The tall blonde teenager then decided to take this opportunity to approach Mulder from the side and truly assert himself as the appointed leader of the Scooby gang.
"Hey Mr. Fox...I'm a little concerned about something.."
Mulder didn't bother looking at him, not even to glare behind his sunglasses, but merely kept his full attention on the area ahead as he tried to keep a comfortable pace for Mabel to stick with.
"It's just Mulder..I don't ever use Fox, and mister makes me feel like a senior citizen..but go ahead."
Fred rubbed the back of his neck. "Uhh, sorry...well..I was just thinking..we all had the same dream of that clown guy, but he did different stuff to us. Why would he show himself last night and not attack us out in the open today? The same goes for those shadows, too. And the other monsters. And now everyone keeps disappearing without a trace. There's no sign of them or anybody besides a few people. And even they are probably going to vanish...what if those creeps actually have us in some kind of..illusion? And are just toying with us?"
Mulder paused a moment, causing Mabel and Daphne to halt their conversation and look to see what was wrong. Agent Mulder was very stern in the way he now looked at Fred.
"..You're suggesting we're still in a dream? Or they've gotten inside our heads to see what they want us to see?"
Fred shrugged, shaking his head in confusion. "Could it be possible?"
Mulder looked away, now questioning even his own existence.
Daphne pressed her fingers against her lips in worry. "This whole thing is so bizarre..what if we're going right where they want us to? And we think it's our own ideas??"
Mabel's eyes widened. "What if they're using us to lead them to the rest of the people?!"
The group twitched in alarm.
Fred held his forehead. "That would explain why more and more people have disappeared! Oh no!"
"Everyone we've come across has been taken and it's all our fault!"
Daphne covered her mouth, feeling immense guilt.
"Now hold on, guys, calm down a second..we still don't know if that's true. It's a good theory, though..." Mulder rubbed his chin in thought, as he scanned the area around him.
"Something we all need to keep in mind.."
He then got out his walkie and put it up to his lips.
-
Elsewhere, Scully, Dipper and Eleven wandered aimlessly around the neighborhood close to where the haunted house was..the three had zero luck in finding anyone outside of the parents of the three missing children and the lowlife who worked with the monsters.
Scully sighed tiredly as she held the kids' hands and crossed to the next street.
Dipper rolled his shoulders as Eleven's eyes surveyed everything around her in a paranoid fashion.
"I'm so hungry, man...we should head back to the hotel or the diner and grab a bite to eat."
Eleven glanced at him, but said nothing.
Scully only groaned softly. "Soon, kids..soon..we just have to check out a few more houses."
Eleven breathed. "..There's no one."
Scully and Dipper flashed their gaze upon her. "What?"
Eleven paused. She looked almost guilty for saying it.
But Dana stopped in her tracks and looked to the girl with wonder.
"How do you know this, Eleven? Can you..."
She seemed reluctant to even say, but given their circumstance, she might just start giving the whole supernatural thing a shot. "..Can you sense them?"
Eleven looked up at her, with saddened eyes and a gulping throat.
"..They're all gone. There's no one..they were..taken."
Scully didn't bother letting that sink in. "Taken where?"
Eleven looked to Dipper, whose eyes grew. "..A bad place."
Dana got down to Eleven's level and took hold of her shoulders. Causing the girl to meet her gaze.
"When did this happen? Last night?"
But the girl slowly shook her head. "..Not now...not here..."
Confusion rested on Scully and Dipper's faces as they tried to decipher the cryptic girl's words.
Words which brought chills down their spines.
Not now..not here...to a bad place...
Dana slowly rose back up, staring at Eleven with shock.
what was going on?
In that same second, a voice suddenly spoke from the walkie on Dana's hip.
"Scully?"
She jolted and quickly grabbed it. "Mulder?"
"Scully..where are you?" "We're in the neighborhood, trying to find people, but..there's no one. Mulder, it's as if everyone has just vanished."
"I know, same here...we're a little unsettled right now. Something isn't right about all this. It almost feels like.." "Something is watching us." Dipper finished. Scully looked down at the boy.
He shuddered. "..I can feel it...we're walking into a trap."
Dana looked away. "...We should get the kids to safety. It's not safe for them out here, even with us."
"I agree..we should all rendezvous back to the hotel and get them inside that box of Sarah's. Whatever they want the kids for..they're coming for them."
"HELP! SOMEONE HELP!"
The two parties jerked.
It was Velma.
Scully hurriedly tuned in. "Velma, what's wrong?!"
"It's Moriarty!!" She exclaimed. "Something's taken him!!"
-
"WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT MY FAVORITE LEPRECHAUN?!"
Demens shouted into her device.
Her and her companions were hurriedly jogging in the direction of the school.
Master turned his head to her, "Oh your favorite, is he?!"
She scowled at him, "Shuttup!"
Her focus went back on the walkie. "Dinkley, talk, what happened to Jim?!"
"We were at this house, it's rumored to be haunted and he tried getting in and then something grabbed him and pulled him in! It won't let us into the house!!"
Sarah skid to a stop. "Say WHAT?!"
"Oh beautiful, good riddance!" Joker mused. But Sarah only smacked him without giving his view a single glance. "Wait there, I'm coming!"
"Sarah!! We can't risk those other kids' safety, even for your friend!" Dipper exclaimed from the walkie.
"He's right, leave 'im!" Master agreed, but Sarah glowered at him.
The Timelord lifted his hands up. "What?! You know he wouldn't do the same for you!"
Her hands went for her sides. "I don't CARE if he'd do the same for me; he's in trouble and needs my help!" "I'LL go back for him."
Demens jerked her head in Takeo's direction. The handsome sword wielder started to back away.
"You keep going..I'll find him."
Sarah hesitated. "Bu--" "It's alright. The children don't need me..they need you."
He nodded. "Go."
Master and Joker groaned at the heroic atmosphere that Gavin Takeo had just brought.
But Demens was filled with more admiration for her new companion than she had ever felt for anyone. "..Thank you."
He smiled softly at her before nodding once and rushing the opposite direction for the house.
Demens turned back. The school was just ahead.
"...We need to hurry.."
She quickened her pace, the boys in tow.
"They're picking us off now."
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