Épisode La Morsure du Mal S07E09 - X-Files Saison 7

La morsure du mal

UNE GRANDE MAISON ISOLEE, UN SOIR D’ORAGE

Un jeune homme, Jared Chirp lit une dernière fois un compte rendu de test de paternité avant de le déchirer. Il fait sa valise en hâte tout en récitant des prières comme s’il voulait se protéger d’un danger immédiat. Dans le tiroir d’un meuble il sort une bible dans laquelle la photo d’une jeune fille a été glissée. A la fenêtre un homme l’observe discrètement. Jared boucle sa valise, prend son arme quand il entend comme un bruit de serpent à sonnette.

Effrayé, il prie Dieu encore plus et sort de la maison pour monter en voiture. Il laisse le arme à feu à portée de main sur le siège passager. Dans la hâte il laisse tomber ses clefs de voiture par terre. Quand il se penche en avant pour les ramasser, il découvre qu’il est literralement cerné par des serpents ! Il ne peut même plus prendre son arme. Dans un dernier élan de courage il prend son revolver et tire plusieurs coups pour tuer les serpents. Il prie une nouvelle Dieu de lui venir en aide….en vain.

Dans son bureau du FBI, l’agent Mulder regarde sur son ordinateur un documentaire sur les serpents tout en étant au téléphone avec un spécialiste. L’agent Scully entre dans la pièce. Mulder lui tend le dossier de l’affaire contenant les photos de Jared Chirp, complètement défiguré par les morsures de serpents. 116 traces de morsures ont été recensées provenant de plus de 50 crotales différents. Mulder raconte à sa coéquipière que l’on a retrouvé son corps dans sa voiture, portes et vitres verrouillées de l’intérieur. Des traces de balles ont également été retrouvées sur le piège passager et le tableau de bord. Personne ne sait comment les serpents ont pu entrer dans la voiture et surtout Mulder a appris par le docteur à qui il téléphonait qu’à cette période de l’année les crotales étaient en hibernation. Il s’agirait d’un homicide mais ils n’ont aucun indice ni même aucune empreinte. L’agent Scully pense que le choix du serpent pour tuer quelqu’un relève du symbolique. Le serpent représente la tentation d’Eve, l’allié et le serviteur du Mal Absolu. Les deux agents sont d’accord pour dire que ce crime a un lien avec la religion.


EGLISE DE LA GRACE
BLESSING, TENESSE

Quelques personnes sont venues se recueillir auprès du cercueil de Jared. Parmi elles se trouve Gracie, la jeune fille qui était sur la photo. Elle est enceinte. Iris Finster, une femme plus âgée, est avec elle et la soutient. Le Révérend Mackey s’approche lui aussi pour la consoler. Les deux agents du FBI attendent le Révérend à la sortie de l’Eglise. Ils voudraient qu’il leur parle de la mort mystérieuse de Jared Chirp. Le Révérend Mackey, bien qu’embarrassé, révèle qu’avant de rejoindre son Eglise Jared fréquentait les Fondamentalistes, l’Eglise des manifestations merveilleuses de Dieu : ses adeptes confient leur vie à la volonté de Dieu et son même prêts à avaler du poison en signe de foi. Il a quitté cette Eglise sur l’initiative de sa petite amie Gracie. Jared et Gracie furent persécutés par les membres de leur ancienne communauté qui obéissaient aux ordres du Révérend O Connor.

Mulder et Scully décident donc de se rendre à l’Eglise des manifestations merveilleuses de Dieu. La porte de l’église est ouverte et ils entrent dans une pièce sombre, sans électricité. Ils inspectent les lieux sans remarquer les quelques serpents qui rodent tout autour d’eux. Mulder découvre un cage à serpent mais elle est…vide. Tout à coup, ils entendent un bruit de serpent à sonnette. Les deux agents sont cernés par les crotales quand le Révérend O Connor arrive. Mulder lui demande de bien vouloir les débarrasser de ces créatures. Scully commence aussi à lui poser quelques questions au sujet de Jared Chirp. O Connor répond qu’il a quitté le droit chemin pour choisir celui des ténèbres. Selon le Révérend, Jared serait mort après avoir subi l’épreuve de Satan : il ne savait pas de quel coté il était, sa foi était ébranlable. Scully le provoque encore un peu mais O Connor n’est pas impressionné. Il lui dit qu’elle aussi ne sait pas de quel coté elle est. O Connor ramasse ses serpents et leur demande de quitter les lieux sur le champs.

Une fois sortis, Scully confie à Mulder qu’elle voudrait arrêter O Connor au plus vite pour repartir d’ici rapidement. Le problème c’est que ce dernier a un très bon alibi : il était au Kentucky la nuit du meurtre de Jared.


EGLISE DE LA GRACE
19H03

Plusieurs fidèles sont venus se réunir, avec parmi eux Gracie qui reste seule et silencieuse. Iris lui amène une boisson chaude pour la réconforter quand le Révérend Mackey entre dans la pièce. Iris demande à lui parler en privé du fait que Jared l’ait appelée la nuit de sa mort, il voulait parler à Gracie. Iris confie au Révérend qu’il lui avait semblé ivre et qu’il lui a dit qu’il devait rencontrer le Diable pour payer pour tous ses pêchés. Iris se sent coupable de ne pas en avoir parlé à Gracie. Le Révérend tente de la rassurer quand Gracie entre dans la pièce pour prévenir le Révérend que tout le monde est prêt pour la cérémonie religieuse.


EGLISE DES MANIFESTATIONS MERVEILLEUSES DE DIEU
19H09

Le Révérend O Connor anime une messe. Ses fidèles l’écoutent comme hypnotisés. De son côté , Le Révérend Mackey a lui aussi commencé sa «messe. Leurs paroles, à l’image de leurs convictions, s’opposent complètement. Pendant l’office, Iris se trouve dans une pièce annexe et agrafe des feuilles entre elles. O’Connor entre en transe et conduit ses condisciples à en faire de même. Il loue le pouvoir des serpents et les sortent de leurs cages.

A l’Eglise de la Grace, Iris est alors mordue par l’ote-agraphe qui, le temps d’une seconde est devenu un serpent. Iris ne comprend pas ce qu’il vient de lui arriver et se lève pour aller laver sa blessure dans la salle de bain quand un autre serpent sort du lavabo et l’attaque.

Mulder et Scully sont déjà sur place quand on évacue le corps de la pauvre femme. Le Révérend Mackey dit qu’il n’y comprend rien et que personne n’a rien entendu. Il confie ensuite à l’agent Mulder qu’Iris était venue lui parler de Jared quelques minutes plus tôt et notamment du fait qu’il lui avait dit qu’il devait payer pour tous ses pêchés. L’agent Scully est auprès de Gracie. Elle est bouleversée. Scully lui dit qu’ils enquêtent sur le Révérend O’Connor. Gracie réagit et dit à Scully qu’il n’a rien à voir là dedans ; que le seul responsable est Satan lui même.
Gracie refuse de croire que le Révérend O Connor puisse être impliqué. Mulder comprend à ce moment là que Gracie est la fille d’O Connor qu’il l’a mise à la porte, elle et Jared, quand il a appris qu’elle était enceinte. Le Révérend Mackey les a alors recueillis.

Les deux agents retournent chez O’Connor. Scully décide de passer par l’arrière de l’Eglise pendant que Mulder inspecte la pièce. Dans l’obscurité il réussit à distinguer sur l’un des murs de la pièce les portraits de Gracie, Jared et d’Alice O’Connor, la mère de Gracie. De son coté, Scully découvre un genre de débarras rempli de cages à serpents et de souris. Elle n’a pas entendu arriver O Connor qui l’attaque et plaque sa tête contre l’une des cages, tout proche d’un serpent. Le Révérend veut mettre sa foi à l’épreuve. Il ouvre la cage et y glisse la main de Scully. Elle est complètement terrifiée et n’arrive pas à se dégager pour pouvoir se défendre. O Connor dit qu’il veut qu’elle subisse le jugement de Dieu. Mulder arrive juste à temps et braque son arme sur O Connor en lui ordonnant de relâcher sa coéquipière.


BUREAU DU SHERIF
COMTE DE MC NIM
23H22

L’agent Mulder interroge le Révérend O’Connor et lui demande si ce qu’il a fait subir à Scully est aussi ce qui est arrivé en Juin 1994 quand son épouse, Alice, est morte de plusieurs morsures de serpents. L’affaire a été classée mais Mulder pense qu’O Connor est le seul coupable du meurtre de sa femme. Le Révérend n’avoue rien et dit à Mulder qu’il est lui aussi guidé par Satan. Mulder enchaîne alors sur Gracie. O Connor dit alors qu’elle est perdue et qu’il ne peut que prier pour son âme. Sa fille serait victime du Diable.

L’agent Scully est encore avec Gracie. Cette dernière refuse de revoir son père mais continue de penser qu’il est innocent.
Un peu plus tard, O’Connor dort dans sa cellule quand il se réveille comme guidé par une puissance supérieure. Des serpents rodent tout autour de lui. L’homme commence à prier Dieu alors qu’il se retrouve complètement cerné par les serpents.
O’Connor est à l’hôpital, entre la vie et la mort suite aux nombreuses morsures de serpents qu’il a reçues. L’agent Scully rejoint Mulder qui est déjà sur place. Ce dernier le soupçonne de s’être infligé cela lui-même pour mettre sa propre foi à l’épreuve. Scully lui apprend qu’il a moins d’une chance sur deux de pouvoir survivre surtout vu que Gracie a refusé que les médecins lui injectent un sérum anti-venin. Scully va même jusqu’à soupçonner Gracie d’avoir voulue se venger de son père. Mais cela n’expliquerait pas les autres victimes.

Les deux agents du FBI se rendent chez Jared Chirp. Par terre, Mulder ramasse le rapport médical stipulant que Jared était stérile. Jared savait donc qu’il ne pouvait être le père de l’enfant que portait Gracie. Il se serait enfui car il connaissait la vérité et quelqu’un l’a tué pour cela.
A l’hôpital, le Révérend Mackey a rejoint Gracie, restée au chevet de son père. Il tente de raisonner Gracie pour qu’elle accepte que les médecins soignent O’Connor. Mais Gracie refuse une nouvelle fois. Elle pense que le sort de son père est entre les mains de Dieu. A son tour, l’agent Mulder essaie de l’inciter à laisser les médecins injecter un sérum anti-venin. Gracie accepte enfin. Mulder sort de la chambre pour prévenir le staff médical quand l’électrocardiogramme d’O’Connor s’emballe. Gracie s’approche et découvre que les larves de serpents sortent de ses blessures. O’Connor se réveille d’un coup et attrape la main de sa fille. Lorsque les agents Mulder et Scully arrivent, le Révérend Mackey est complètement paniqué. O’Connor est parti en emmenant Gracie mais l’agent Scully ne comprend pas pourquoi il aurait fait une telle chose. Mackey est alors bien obligé de leur avouer que c’est O’Connor lui même le père du bébé de Gracie et que c’est pour cette raison qu’elle voulait s’enfuir.
O’Connor emmène Gracie à son Eglise. Tous les fidèles du Révérend l’attendent. Gracie tente de se débattre et implore son père de la laisser partir. O’Connor commence une séance d’exorcisme sur elle pour faire sortir le Mal qu’elle porte en elle. La jeune fille est retenue par les disciples de son père et tente de se débattre. O’Connor prie Jésus de la sauver. Avec l’aide d’une femme il veut s’emparer de l’enfant que porte Gracie. Mais cette dernière hurle et le supplie de la laisser. Gracie pleure et accouche non pas d’un enfant de serpents !
Plus tard, Mulder et Scully arrivent à l’Eglise des Manifestations Merveilleuses de Dieu. Les secours sont arrivés, Gracie a perdu beaucoup de sang et doit être emmenée à l’hôpital.

Mulder inspecte rapidement la pièce et remarque les traces laissées par les serpents là où Gracie a accouché.
Dans son église, le Révérend Mackey prépare sa prochaine messe quand O’Connor arrive et l’accuse de lui avoir volé Gracie. O’Connor tente de tuer Mackey avec un couteau mais Mulder arrive à temps et lui tire une balle dans l’épaule.
Scully accompagne Gracie dans l’ambulance qui la conduit à l’hôpital. La jeune fille réclame son père et raconte à Scully qu’il lui a sauvé la vie.

A l’Eglise de la Grâce, Mulder soigne la blessure d’O’ Connor, aidé par Mackey. Une fois que ce dernier s’éloigne pour prévenir les secours, O’Connor tente d’expliquer à l’agent Mulder qu’il fait fausse route. Mulder pointe alors son arme sur Mackey. Il vient de comprendre que ce n’était pas O’Connor mais lui qui a tué Jared et qu’il était le père du bébé de Gracie. Il a tué Iris Finster car le coup de fil qu’elle avait reçu de Jared la tracassait. Mackey voulait à tout prix se débarrasser d’O’Connor.
Mackey l’écoute et lui demande ensuite s’il se considère vertueux avant de le soumettre à l’épreuve.

Les portes de l’église se referment d’un seul coup et des serpents apparaissent un peu partout. L’arme de Mulder se change en serpent, un autre sort de la jambe de son pantalon. Mulder est terrifié, il est cerné par les crotales et tombe à terre.
Scully, elle aussi a tout compris et se précipite dans l’église où elle retrouve O’Connor. Elle lui demande où est Mulder quand elle l’entend appeler à l’aide.

Scully essaie d’entrer dans la pièce où se trouvent Mulder et Mackey mais elle n’arrive pas à ouvrir les portes. O’Connor dit à Scully que la survie de son partenaire ne tient qu’à lui même. Mulder est à terre, cerné par les serpents quand l’un d’eux le mord à la gorge. Quand Scully réussit enfin entrer tous les serpents ont disparu. Un seul, probablement Mackey lui même, s’enfuit par une petite porte.

Quelques jours plus tard, Scully rend visite à Mulder à l’hôpital. Il se porte bien. Elle lui annonce qu’ils n’ont toujours pas retrouvé Mackey. Mulder n’est pas étonné et pense qu’ils ne le retrouveront jamais. Il était le Diable en personne. Quant à Mulder, sa survie signifie qu’il a surmonté l’épreuve de vertu.


HAMOLEN, CONNECTICUT

Macley a retrouvé une autre église. Une femme vient le féliciter pour son sermon et lui souhaite la bienvenue. Après son départ, Mackey s’installe à son bureau et sort une petite souris d’un tiroir. Il ouvre la bouche et laisse sortir le serpent qui vit en lui pour manger la souris….



Source : LVEI.net

Signs & Wonders

SCENE 1
BLESSING, TENNESSEE
(Stormy, rainy night. Bedroom of a large old house. Close-up of the rattle (not still attached) from a rattlesnake's tail lying on the dresser. A young man, JARED CHIRP, is packing a suitcase. He is very nervous. He looks at a piece of paper with medical lab test results. In disgust and anger he tears it in half and throws it toward the wastebasket and misses. He continues to pack.)

JARED CHIRP: (under his breath) Holy Ghost, come to me. Praise God. Praise God. Move up on me, Holy Ghost. Praise God.

(He removes a Bible from a drawer and holds it reverently.)

JARED CHIRP: This here sinner repents. Holy Ghost, move up on me.

(He takes a picture of a young blonde woman from the Bible and looks at it.)

JARED CHIRP: Protect me and mine with your quickening power.

(Flash of lightening outside allows us to see the outline of a man standing among the trees. In the next flash, he is gone. JARED CHIRP packs the Bible and the picture. He gets a gun from another drawer and checks the clip. It's loaded with six bullets. As he does, he hears the sound of a snake rattling. He looks over at the rattle on the dresser as it moves on its own. He gets even more nervous.)

JARED CHIRP: Holy Ghost, come to me.

(He tucks the gun into his pants, picks up the suitcase and goes outside into the rainy night and gets into his car. We see someone close by watching him. Their hands is resting on a tree. JARED CHIRP locks the car doors and places the gun on top of the suitcase next to him on the passenger side of the car. When he pulls out his keys, his hands are shaking so badly that he drops them onto the floor board. As he reaches down for them he hears the rattling again and a hiss. A large rattlesnake slides from under the car seat toward the keys. Trembling in fear, JARED CHIRP reaches for the gun. Another rattler slides up and onto the suitcase, slithering over the gun. He frantically tries to open the door, but it does not unlock.)

JARED CHIRP: Oh, help me, Jesus! Oh, help me, Jesus! Help me, Jesus!

(The car is now full of snakes. He pulls the gun from under the snakes on the suitcase. Exterior shot of the car shows it shaking as he fires the gun several times. He begins screaming.)





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SCENE 2
(X-Files office. MULDER's computer display shows a video of some evil looking hissing rattlesnake from some animal fact-type website. He is on the phone as SCULLY enters.)

MULDER: (on phone) Not as far as you know? ... Not this time of year? ... All right. Thank you, Doctor. Good-bye.

(SCULLY looks at the computer screen he turns to her as MULDER hangs up.)

SCULLY: Snakes.

MULDER: Lots and lots of snakes. Very pissed off ones, from the look of it.

(MULDER hands her a folder. SCULLY opens it and reacts to the image of JARED CHIRP's bloated and discolored corpse.)

MULDER: That's the former Mr. Jared Chirp of McMinn County, Tennessee.

SCULLY: Oh, my God.

MULDER: 116 separate bite marks. Judging from the wound measurements there were 50 different snakes involved-- mostly copperheads and rattlers.

SCULLY: But it says here that he was found dead in his car.

MULDER: Yeah, with a pistol in his hand. He fired six shots, into the floorboards, into the passenger seat, even into his own right kneecap, and the windows were shut and the doors were locked.

SCULLY: But, uh, what happened to all the snakes?

MULDER: No one seems to know that. There was not a scale found. I just got off the phone with a herpetologist at the Smithsonian, and he's stumped - especially because these rattlesnakes tend to hibernate in winter.

SCULLY: So you think that, uh... Mr. Chirp was murdered?

MULDER: Well, it certainly would appear that way but the question is "how?" There's no physical evidence at all-- no tire tracks, no footprints. I can't see how anyone could have accomplished this. And then you got to ask yourself "why?" Why would anybody use poisonous snakes as a murder weapon?

SCULLY: Maybe it's symbolic. I mean, serpents and religion have gone hand in hand. They've represented the temptation of Eve-- Original Sin. They've been feared and hated throughout history as they've been thought to embody Satan-- to serve Evil itself.

MULDER: Maybe these ones actually do.

SCULLY: These particular serpents actually were serving Evil? ("looks" at him) Are you going to type that on our travel request?

MULDER: (with a smile) Mmm ... No. But at the very least this case does seem to center around religion ... and you're not the only one to think that by the way.

(SCULLY looks at him questioningly.)





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SCENE 3
BLESSING COMMUNITY CHURCH
BLESSING, TENNESSEE
(Small town church. Stained-glass windows, nice pews. After a funeral. A young blonde woman, the same as in the picture that JARED CHIRP was looking at in the teaser, is crying. She is GRACIE, very pregnant, and sitting with an older woman, IRIS FINSTER. IRIS has ... interesting hair. At least three cans of hairspray were needed to achieve the look. GRACIE clutches a tissue and has been crying for a while. REVEREND SAMUEL MACKEY, a gentle looking minister, comes up to them.)

REVEREND MACKEY: (comforting) Jared is in a better place now, Gracie. He's at peace.

(GRACIE, with IRIS' arm around her shoulder, walks to the coffin and tenderly fingers the flowers on top.)

IRIS FINSTER: You know, Reverend Mackey's right, honey. He is in a better place.

(GRACIE touches the coffin sadly and they go out of the church. A Ford Taurus is parked in front, MULDER and SCULLY walk over to them. MULDER is very casual, dark shirt, no tie. Okay, he's a good-looking man. SCULLY, of course, is stunning as always. They hold out their badges.)

MULDER: Reverend Samuel Mackey? My name is Fox Mulder. This is Dana Scully. We're with the FBI. May be speak with you, sir?

(SCULLY looks up to see IRIS FINSTER and GRACIE on the church steps.)

IRIS FINSTER: Come on, Gracie. Let's get you home.

(IRIS FINSTER leads GRACIE away to a car.)

MULDER: We apologize for our timing. We'd like to ask you a few questions about Jared Chirp.

REVEREND MACKEY: I've already spoken to the Sheriff about it... though I'm not sure that was a good idea.

MULDER: Specifically, you had suspicions about the manner in which he died?

REVEREND MACKEY: (sighs) I should be the last one to point a finger or say a harsh word. Our church is founded on acceptance and tolerance of all people, all beliefs...

SCULLY: But...?

REVEREND MACKEY: Before Jared joined us he belonged to a fundamentalist congregation outside of town-- the Church of God with Signs and Wonders. It practices snake handling.

MULDER: As a sign of faith, worshipers handle deadly snakes or drink poison.

REVEREND MACKEY: They believe that the Holy Spirit protects the righteous. Jared grew up in that church but it is very difficult to walk away from a belief system that one is raised in. It takes great courage.

(SCULLY reacts to that one.)

MULDER: Why did he walk away?

REVEREND MACKEY: He and Gracie, his girlfriend, left it together. They found that a rigid interpretation of the Bible was not for them, especially when it involves risking life and limb in the act of worship, but again it is not for me to judge. I will say, however, that both Jared and Gracie were persecuted by the members of their former church. All this animus... stems from their church leader-- Enoch O'Connor.

SCULLY: Animus enough to motivate a murder?

(REVEREND MACKEY looks at them.)





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SCENE 4
(Later, MULDER and SCULLY pull up in front of the Church of God With Signs and Wonders. It is a small run down building. Hand painted sign outside the church:

"LOOK UNTO ME AND BE SAVED:
ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH;
FOR I AM GOD, AND THERE IS NONE OTHER:
ISAIAH 45:22"

All the windows are shaded. MULDER and SCULLY walk up the steps onto the porch.)

SCULLY: Snake handling. I didn't learn that in catechism class.

MULDER: That's funny. I knew a couple of Catholic schoolgirls who were expert at it.

(SCULLY gives him a look. They enter the dark church.)

MULDER: Enoch O'Connor? Federal Agents. (to SCULLY) Where's the light switch?

SCULLY: The nearest one? Probably ten miles from here.

(MULDER chuckles. The door won't stay open and swings shut. They pull out their small flashlights. SCULLY looks at a hand painted picture on the wall.)

SCULLY: Rattlesnakes and medieval visions of damnation. Well, I for one, feel a whole lot closer to God.

MULDER: I don't know, Scully. When you... when you get right down to it is snake handling any harder to buy into than communion wafers or transubstantiation...?

SCULLY: Or believing in flying saucers, for that matter.

MULDER: I'm just saying that-that your faith and O'Connor's seem to be based on the same book.

(As they look around, SCULLY walks past a snake that seems very interested in her feet. She doesn't notice it. MULDER finds a hinged box with a wire mesh screen.)

MULDER: Uh-oh, Scully. What do you think O'Connor keeps in here?

SCULLY: Something slithery?

MULDER: (shaking the box) It's all right. It's empty.

SCULLY: Why is it empty?

(Sound of loud rattling. MULDER and SCULLY both whip around and pull out their guns. Snakes begin slithering out of corners and from under pews. A man, REVEREND ENOCH REVEREND O'CONNOR enters the church. He has a thick [yet accurate, thank you] East Tennessee accent.)

REVEREND O'CONNOR: By what right are you here?

SCULLY: (nervously, holding out her badge, not taking her eyes off the snakes) Reverend Enoch O'Connor, we're Federal Agents. We're, uh... with the FBI.

MULDER: Reverend, do something about these snakes, please.

REVEREND O'CONNOR: You got nothing to fear if you're righteous people.

MULDER: (very nervous) Just in case we're not, we could use a little righteous help here.

REVEREND O'CONNOR: What do you want?

(REVEREND O'CONNOR begins confidently picking up the snakes and putting them into a burlap bag.)

SCULLY: (still nervous) We're here to ask you questions about a former member of your church-- Jared Chirp.

REVEREND O'CONNOR: That boy strayed from the path and was lost to the dark one. I'm sorry for his soul. There ain't much else to say.

MULDER: He died from multiple snakebites. We thought maybe you'd have a special insight into that.

REVEREND O'CONNOR: (picking up another snake) I do. It was a test.

SCULLY: A test? What do you mean?

REVEREND O'CONNOR: A test of faith. A test of righteousness. When the Devil aims to test you, you'd best be ready and you sure better know which side you're on.

(Rattling stops. The snakes are now all in the bag.)

SCULLY: Are you speaking about the Devil's test or your test?

REVEREND O'CONNOR: (to SCULLY) I don't think you people realize which side you're on. I do. You can leave now.

(SCULLY glances at MULDER. Then they holster their guns and walk out of the church and head for their car.)

SCULLY: Tennessee. Snakes. Thank you, Mulder. Thank you so much. I say we arrest him and catch the first flight out of here.

MULDER: He does seem like a likely suspect only the local sheriff's office ruled him out. Apparently, he was in Kentucky the night Jared Chirp died.

SCULLY: Well, Mulder, there are other people in his congregation.

MULDER: Jared Chirp died with a packed suitcase by his side. There's got to be somebody that knows where he was headed.

(They get into the car.)





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SCENE 5
BLESSING COMMUNITY CHURCH
7:03 PM
(REVEREND MACKEY's church. Several people, including GRACIE and IRIS FINSTER are getting ready for an evening Bible study class. IRIS FINSTER hands a cup of tea or coffee to GRACIE.)

IRIS FINSTER: Here you go, honey.

(REVEREND MACKEY enters. IRIS FINSTER is nervous. She goes up to REVEREND MACKEY and speaks to him privately.)

IRIS FINSTER: Reverend Mackey? This might not be the best time but can I speak to you?

REVEREND MACKEY: Of course.

IRIS FINSTER: Jared called the boardinghouse late the night he died. He wanted to talk to Gracie. I didn't let him. It was after 2:00. She was sound asleep and it sounded to me like the boy had been drinking. He just wasn't making any sense. He was ranting about seeing the Devil and paying for his sins.

REVEREND MACKEY: Iris, why didn't you tell the police?

IRIS FINSTER: Well, I don't know how to tell Gracie. I kept her from speaking to Jared his last night on Earth. I couldn't have known, though. I couldn't have...

REVEREND MACKEY: No, no. You couldn't have known. I can help you talk to Gracie.

GRACIE: Reverend Mackey? Everybody's here.

REVEREND MACKEY: Thank you, Gracie. (to IRIS FINSTER) You and I will see this through, Iris, right after study group.

IRIS FINSTER: (grateful) Thank you.

CUT TO:

CHURCH OF GOD WITH SIGNS AND WONDERS 7:09 PM

(REVEREND O'CONNOR's church. Service is beginning. Pick-up trucks are parked outside. The room is full of men, women and children. No one looks overly wealthy. REVEREND O'CONNOR preaches in a passionate sing-song evangelical style. Several people have musical instruments. Others are clapping to the music.)

REVEREND O'CONNOR: (voice) Our God is a fearsome God.

MAN: (voice) Amen!

REVEREND O'CONNOR: (voice) He demands our very lives!

(Inside the church, REVEREND O'CONNOR is reading from the Bible.)

REVEREND O'CONNOR: Revelations Three, the 16th verse. "'Tis better to be hot or cold than lukewarm."

(Congregation shouts affirmation.)

REVEREND O'CONNOR: (laughing with joy) God says, if you're lukewarm He will vomit you out of His mouth.

CONGREGATION: Praise God!

REVEREND O'CONNOR: Yes! Did you hear what I said?!

CONGREGATION: Praise God! Yes!

REVEREND O'CONNOR: God hates the lukewarm!

CUT TO:

(REVEREND MACKEY's Bible study class. They are sitting in a nice calm circle.)

REVEREND MACKEY: (reading from another, more "modern" version of the Bible) "So, because you are lukewarm I am about to spit you out of my mouth." Now, that could sound pretty harsh, couldn't it? I mean, depending on how one reads it. But if we put this verse in a historical context I think we'll see that John was specifically addressing the problems of the Church at Laodicea.

(In the office in the next room, IRIS FINSTER is collating and stapling together the church bulletin.)

CUT TO:

(REVEREND O'CONNOR's church. The congregation is getting ecstatic.)

REVEREND O'CONNOR: God wants you hot! God wants you on fire!

(The REVEREND places his hand on a woman's head then continues walking around the room.)

MAN: Praise Jesus.

(People with musical instruments continue playing.)

REVEREND O'CONNOR: (slapping his hand on the Bible) God wants you to put your money where your mouth is!

CONGREGATION: Amen! Hallelujah! Praise Jesus! Praise the Lord!

(Sound of rattling as REVEREND O'CONNOR places his Bible on one of the snake cages and carries it to a table.)

CONGREGATION: Amen! Yes, amen!

REVEREND O'CONNOR: People ask me why I handle snakes.

CONGREGATION: Praise the lord! Hallelujah!

REVEREND O'CONNOR: I tell 'em it's 'cause the scripture tells me to.

CONGREGATION: Praise God!

(REVEREND O'CONNOR begins shaking in ecstasy.)

CUT TO:

(REVEREND MACKEY's church. IRIS FINSTER is still stapling. She is now using a staple remover to take out previous staples so she can add another page, then re-staple. Her hands are shaking. We hear REVEREND MACKEY in the other room.)

REVEREND MACKEY: (voice) ...he offers to Jesus to come into our lives and dine with us if only we'd open the door.

CUT TO:

(REVEREND O'CONNOR's church. He and others are now holding the snakes who are hissing and rattling.)

REVEREND O'CONNOR AND CONGREGATION: Praise God! Hallelujah! Praise God! Hallelujah!

(Camera close-up of a snake's fangs as it hisses with its mouth open ...

CUT TO:

... a close-up of the "fangs" on IRIS FINSTER's staple remover back in REVEREND MACKEY's church. In VOICE-OVER we hear REVEREND MACKEY's Bible study class.)

REVEREND MACKEY: ...the manner in which John ends this chapter. His emphasis is on teaching the Church at Laodicea perseverance. He uses the word "overcome" not once, but twice. I think he's also trying to...

(IRIS FINSTER continues to remove staples. Suddenly, the staple remover morphs into a rattlesnake and it bites her between the thumb and the forefinger. She gasps. It morphs back to a staple remover. Blood pours from the wound.)

CUT TO:

(REVEREND O'CONNOR's church. Lots of snakes, lots of convulsing, lots of music and sweating.)

CONGREGATION (singing) Dear Lord, come take me
I'm coming through the fire
Dear Lord, come take me
I'm coming through the fire
Dear Lord, come take me
I'm coming through the fire
Won't you please come and take us away
Dear Lord, I love you, I love, love you, God
Dear Lord, I love you...

REVEREND O'CONNOR: Witness the power! Witness the awesome power of God as He blesses His people and destroys His enemies! Thank you, God!

(Camera goes into slow-motion on REVEREND O'CONNOR, no audio as he praises God. The scene changes to a bright light which ... )

CUTS TO:

(... washroom light in bathroom. IRIS FINSTER is rinsing her bloody hand in the sink. She blots it dry then gets a box of band-aids out of the medicine cabinet. She hears a hissing, then gasps and drops the box as a snake rears up out of the sink drain. More snakes come out from under the bathroom stalls. IRIS FINSTER is frozen in terror as one of them strikes.)





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SCENE 6
(REVEREND MACKEY's church, later. Crime scene. With REVEREND MACKEY, MULDER watches as IRIS FINSTER's dead snake-bitten body is wheeled out of the bathroom by the EMTs.)

REVEREND MACKEY: I don't understand it. None of us saw or heard anything. Just her scream. When we ran in, she was lying on the floor. I cleared everybody out of the building once I saw the bite marks, but...

MULDER: Reverend, how close was Iris to Jared Chirp?

REVEREND MACKEY: Not ... particularly close but I'd spoken with her not 15 minutes earlier about him.

MULDER: What'd you talk about?

REVEREND MACKEY: She was upset. Something about Jared calling her the night he died looking for Gracie. Something about him... paying for his sins. Well, I don't know. We didn't get to finish our conversation.

MULDER: Maybe that was the point.

(MULDER and REVEREND MACKEY look at each other, then enter another room where SCULLY is with GRACIE who is crying.)

GRACIE: Why Iris? Why is this happening?

(REVEREND MACKEY sits down next to her. MULDER stands behind SCULLY.)

SCULLY: (gently) Gracie we're investigating the leader of your former church, Enoch O'Connor. We believe that he may have had something to do with what happened here tonight.

(GRACIE looks hurt and surprised. She shares a glance with the REVEREND.)

MULDER: We would appreciate anything you could tell us about him.

GRACIE: No, he didn't do this. No. He didn't do this. This... this is Satan's work, not man's.

SCULLY: Gracie, that sounds like something that Reverend O'Connor might say. Now, you're not a member of that congregation anymore. And I understand that's because you're someone who thinks for herself.

MULDER: Keeping an open mind, Gracie, is it conceivable that O'Connor could have done any of this?

GRACIE: No! Don't you think I would know, me, of all people? He couldn't have done this. He just cou....

(She cries some more.)

REVEREND MACKEY: (softly) Gracie might be biased.

MULDER: (realizing) O'Connor is your father.

(SCULLY sighs.)

REVEREND MACKEY: When Gracie got pregnant...

MULDER: O'Connor barred her from his church. She and Jared Chirp.

REVEREND MACKEY: His church and his home.





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SCENE 7
10:06 PM
(MULDER and SCULLY are once again at REVEREND O'CONNOR's church. MULDER opens the door and steps in. SCULLY hangs back, clearly nervous. MULDER looks back at her.)

MULDER: You coming?

SCULLY: I think I'll check around back.

(SCULLY goes back off the porch. MULDER looks around inside the church. He sees a wall of pictures. Lettering above them says: "We pray for the souls of our brothers and sisters ... some passed, others lost to us.")

MULDER: "Pray for the souls ... lost to us."

(Among the pictures he sees GRACIE, JARED CHIRP, and a woman named ALICE O'CONNOR.)

(SCULLY finds a trailer behind the church. She pulls out her gun, enters the trailer and finds a cage of white mice and lots and lots of boxes of snakes. Some of them are rattling their tails. SCULLY turns to leave and is grabbed by REVEREND O'CONNOR.)

SCULLY: Oh!!

(Sound of rattling and hissing gets louder. SCULLY's gun is knocked from her hand.)

REVEREND O'CONNOR: You must be judged.

(He holds her head against the wire screen of one of the big rattlers. She is terrified. He grabs her hand and shoves it inside the cage with the rattling snake and holds it there.)

REVEREND O'CONNOR: Repent! Pray for the Lord's quickening power. Into the hands of God.

(MULDER enters the trailer and points his gun at REVEREND O'CONNOR.)

MULDER: Let her go!

(REVEREND O'CONNOR doesn't let go of SCULLY. MULDER cocks gun and gives his "I'm not kidding around here" look. REVEREND O'CONNOR lets SCULLY go. She jerks her hand out of the box.)





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SCENE 8
MCMINN COUNTY SHERIFF'S STATION
11:22 PM
(Interrogation room. MULDER is interviewing REVEREND O'CONNOR.)

REVEREND O'CONNOR: Your FBI partner could've learned something about herself if you hadn't stopped me. Some powerful good news, maybe.

MULDER: I'd say it's good news for you that she's not here right now ... considering what you tried to do to her. Is that what you did to your wife?

(MULDER sets down the picture of ALICE O'CONNOR that was on the wall of the church.)

MULDER: Alice O'Connor... succumbed to multiple snakebites in June, 1994. It happened during a church service or at least that's what you told local police. You got away with it... almost. What was, uh... the problem with your wife? Was she not... righteous enough for you? Just like your daughter's boyfriend ... or Iris Finster?

REVEREND O'CONNOR: (looking at MULDER) Educated man... too smart to know any better.

MULDER: Smart enough to know you're a murderer.

REVEREND O'CONNOR: Satan is near, and you don't even have eyes. You're just proud and fancy free.

MULDER: No one quite passes muster with you, huh? You feel the need to exact some kind of Old Testament revenge? What about your daughter? What were your plans for her?

REVEREND O'CONNOR: I pray for her soul. I pray and I pray because she's lost.

MULDER: Because she no longer believes as you do?

REVEREND O'CONNOR: You think because you're educated you're better than most? You ain't. (He points to his heart.) Unless you're smart down here the Devil's going to make a fool of you and you ain't even going to know it.

(Outside the interrogation room. GRACIE is waiting with SCULLY.)

GRACIE: I changed my mind. I don't... I don't want to see him. Besides, I won't do any better than you people in getting him to talk.

(GRACIE starts to walk away, stops when SCULLY addresses her.)

SCULLY: Gracie. You still don't believe your father did it?

GRACIE: It don't matter what I believe. He'll be judged as he deserves. Can't nobody avoid it.

(SCULLY watches her go.)

(Later, REVEREND O'CONNOR is resting in a jail cell. He is awakened by the sound of rattling. Nervously he stands. The rattling gets louder. He sinks to his knees and begins praying under his breath as snakes begin sliding through the bars of the cell. One final overhead shot shows him completely surrounded by snakes.)





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SCENE 9
(Hospital room. I.C.U.1 REVEREND O'CONNOR is unconscious. SCULLY enters and joins MULDER who is looking at REVEREND O'CONNOR's bruised, bitten, and bloated body.)

MULDER: Deputy found him about an hour ago. There's no telling when he was attacked.

SCULLY: I guess it's looking less and less like he's a suspect.

MULDER: Unless he somehow managed to do this to himself ... (SCULLY looks at him) ... as a test of his own righteousness.

SCULLY: Well, if so, Mulder, the jury's still out. I just spoke to his doctors. It's a toss-up as to whether he's going to pull through this.

MULDER: What about antivenin treatment?

SCULLY: He's not receiving it.

MULDER: Why not?

SCULLY: Gracie stepped in. She's trying to forbid treatment on religious grounds. It's not clear whether she has a legal claim to do it, but she says that it's up to God as to whether he lives or dies.

MULDER: And you're thinking that her actions may not be entirely motivated by concern for her father's eternal soul?

SCULLY: (she nods slightly) Well, more to the point, Mulder, what if she did this? She told me that her father would be judged as he deserves.

MULDER: Do you think this is what she meant?

SCULLY: Well, she grew up around snakes, Mulder. Who's to say she isn't every bit as adept at handling them as he is?

MULDER: I can see her being angry enough at her father to attack him, but... what about the others?

(SCULLY has no answer.)





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SCENE 10
JARED CHIRP RESIDENCE
10:58 PM
(MULDER and SCULLY are looking around JARED CHIRP's bedroom.)

MULDER: He left in a hurry. Packed one suitcase and a gun. Earlier that night he calls Gracie. Gets Iris instead. Starts rambling about paying for his sins. He's frightened... wants to leave town, presumably with Gracie.

SCULLY: So, what's he scared of?

(MULDER looks in another drawer.)

SCULLY: Though I don't understand it, O'Connor's church exerts a strong pull on these people.

MULDER: (shaking the snake's rattle that he finds on the dresser) It's not so hard to understand. It's a culture with a very well-defined set of rules.

SCULLY: It's an intolerant culture, Mulder.

MULDER: I don't know, Scully. Sometimes a little intolerance can be a welcome thing. Clear-cut right and wrong, black and white, no shades of gray. You know, in a society where hard and fast rules are harder and harder to come by, I think some people would appreciate that.

SCULLY: You're saying that you, Fox Mulder, would welcome someone telling you what to believe?

MULDER: I'm just saying that somebody offering you all the answers... could be a very powerful thing.

(MULDER finds a crumpled paper on the floor. It is the lab result sheet that JARED CHIRP looked at in the teaser.)

MULDER: Oh, it's lab results. Am I reading this right? That Jared Chirp had himself tested for sterility?

(Camera shows some of the writing on the paper:

"Patient is infertile due to insufficient ...
No medical recommendation to ...
Condition considered permanent.")

SCULLY: Which turns out to be more or less the case. Based on this, that means that Jared can't be the father of Gracie's baby.

MULDER: It's dated the day he died.

SCULLY: So maybe he was killed because he discovered the truth.





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SCENE 11
(Hospital. GRACIE is standing in her father's room watching him sadly. REVEREND MACKEY enters.)

REVEREND MACKEY: Gracie, I'd like to ask you to reconsider.

GRACIE: No. This is what he'd want.

REVEREND MACKEY: He may die without medical treatment.

GRACIE: I've seen him bit a dozen times. He always said that it was up to God whether he lives or dies. Said it was a worse sin not to trust God.

REVEREND MACKEY: There are many ways to trust God, Gracie. One of them is to trust in the miracles of doctors and medicine. Or... in your heart do you really not want him to get better?

GRACIE: It ain't for me. I can't risk his soul.

REVEREND MACKEY: And when you first came to me you said that you wanted to think for yourself. To live your life as you saw fit. If you stand here and let your father die, whose beliefs are you living? Yours? Or his?

(GRACIE looks at her father sadly and nods. It is very difficult.)

REVEREND MACKEY: You're doing the right thing. I'll go tell the doctor, okay?

(She nods again mutely as he leaves. The beeping on REVEREND O'CONNOR's monitor speeds up. Concerned, she goes to him. Pus begins seeping out of REVEREND O'CONNOR's discolored and swollen skin. Really nasty. His eyes open and he grabs GRACIE's arm. She gasps in fear.)

(Short time later, MULDER and SCULLY enter the hospital. REVEREND MACKEY is upset. He turns from the nurses.)

REVEREND MACKEY: Agents, Enoch O'Connor is gone. I was away for five minutes. His bed's empty. Gracie is gone, too.

SCULLY: How could Gracie have possibly gotten him out of here?

MULDER: Maybe he took her.

SCULLY: Mulder, he was on his deathbed; that's impossible. And besides, what's his motivation?

REVEREND MACKEY: I may be able to answer that. Jared Chirp wasn't the father of Gracie's child.

MULDER: We know that. What about it?

SCULLY: (shocked, but understanding) Enoch O'Connor is.

REVEREND MACKEY: That's why she wanted to get away from him and his church as fast as she could. And I tried to teach her to forgive him.





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SCENE 12
(REVEREND O'CONNOR's church. REVEREND O'CONNOR drags GRACIE in. The congregation is standing silently, many holding candles. GRACIE struggles.)

GRACIE: Daddy, please...!

(She whimpers as he drags her to a tub of water.)

REVEREND O'CONNOR: I'm bringing you home.

GRACIE: (sobbing) Somebody help me!

REVEREND O'CONNOR: In the name of our Holy and most fearsome God...

CONGREGATION: Hallelujah!

(GRACIE shrieks. REVEREND O'CONNOR plunges her into a baptizing tub)

REVEREND O'CONNOR: Resist the devil and he will flee. Resist him!

GRACIE: Something's wrong... Something's wrong with my baby. Oh!

(REVEREND O'CONNOR pulls her to a table and pushes her onto it.)

REVEREND O'CONNOR: Jesus, put your hands on this one. You can heal her. Oh, yes, God is... Yes... Jesus...

(GRACIE is crying in pain and fear as the CONGREGATION watches.)

REVEREND O'CONNOR: Oh, Lord... Jesus. Dear Lord... Jesus, deliver this woman. Jesus, Jesus...

(Congregation is mumbling. One woman comes forward and stands at the foot of the table while others hold GRACIE down.)

REVEREND O'CONNOR: Yes, Lord. Yes, Jesus. Oh, yes. Jesus. Jesus.

GRACIE: Oh, no! Don't, don't!

REVEREND O'CONNOR: Dear God, dear heavenly Father, deliver this woman. Jesus.

GRACIE: No, please...

REVEREND O'CONNOR: Lay your hands on this woman. God! Yes!

GRACIE: No... Don't! Don't!

REVEREND O'CONNOR: Hallelujah, praise the lord!

(REVEREND O'CONNOR exposes GRACIE's belly. Under the skin, we see shapes writhing. She is crying out.)

REVEREND O'CONNOR: Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

(GRACIE is gasping and crying in pain.)

(Everyone gasps as snakes begin falling to the floor in a bloody puddle from between GRACIE's legs.)

REVEREND O'CONNOR: Dear Jesus. Dear Jesus! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Dear Jesus! Hallelujah! Hallelujah





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SCENE 13
(Next morning. MULDER and SCULLY arrive at REVEREND O'CONNOR's church. EMTs are attending to an unconscious GRACIE. A COP is talking to the WOMAN and another man. Other members of the church are standing around silently.)

SCULLY: How is she?

EMT: Deep shock. Some loss of blood.

SCULLY: (to the COP) What happened here? Where's the baby?

COP: These folks aren't talking.

MULDER: Scully. Take a look at this.

(SCULLY kneels down and looks at the bloody puddle on the floor at the foot of the table. Several wiggly trails lead away.)

SCULLY: Snakes. (to WOMAN) She gave birth to snakes.

WOMAN: The devil has been cast out.

MULDER: (getting up and leaving) Stay with her.

SCULLY: Where are you going?

MULDER: To find her father. He's going to want to tie up some loose ends.





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SCENE 14
(REVEREND MACKEY's church. He is alone, getting the church ready for a service. REVEREND O'CONNOR enters.)

REVEREND O'CONNOR: You stole what was most precious to me.

REVEREND MACKEY: Gracie? She came to me on her own. She wanted to escape a life of fear and judgment. Of intolerance.

(REVEREND O'CONNOR begins advancing, his lips moving silently.)

REVEREND MACKEY: She fled a harsh and vengeful God. And you.

(REVEREND O'CONNOR pulls out a large knife and grabs REVEREND MACKEY by the throat. MULDER enters the church and pulls out his gun.)

MULDER: Drop the knife!

(REVEREND O'CONNOR moves to cut REVEREND MACKEY's throat and MULDER shoots him in the shoulder. REVEREND O'CONNOR falls and MULDER crosses to REVEREND MACKEY.)

MULDER: You all right?

(REVEREND MACKEY nods and sighs in relief.)

CUT TO:

(Moving ambulance. SCULLY is with GRACIE. GRACIE wakes up, disoriented.)

GRACIE: Daddy. Daddy?

SCULLY: Gracie, it's Agent Scully. We're taking you to the doctor right now, okay?

GRACIE: No. I... got to...

SCULLY: Can you tell me what happened, Gracie?

GRACIE: (hand on her face) Where's my Daddy?

SCULLY: You're safe, Gracie. My partner's gone after him. Gracie, you're going to be okay. He can't hurt you anymore.

GRACIE: You don't understand. He saved me.

CUT TO:

(Church. REVEREND MACKEY brings a clean towel which MULDER holds against REVEREND O'CONNOR's gunshot wound.)

REVEREND MACKEY: I'll call for an ambulance.

(REVEREND MACKEY leaves the room.)

MULDER: Relax. Help's on the way.

REVEREND O'CONNOR: No, it's not. I told you, boy. You still don't know which side you're on. Be smart down here.

(REVEREND O'CONNOR touches MULDER's chest. MULDER stares at him.)

(In his office, REVEREND MACKEY is on the phone when MULDER enters.)

REVEREND MACKEY: (on phone) Yes, please hurry. (hangs up) They're on their way.

(MULDER points his gun at REVEREND MACKEY.)

REVEREND MACKEY: (confused) Agent.

MULDER: It wasn't O'Connor. It was you. You killed Jared Chirp.

REVEREND MACKEY: You're joking.

MULDER: No, I'm just beginning to see it now. Jared must have come to understand that he wasn't the father of Gracie's baby... that you were. Did he confront you earlier that night only to see you for who you really are?

REVEREND MACKEY: Just who is it you think I am?

MULDER: Is that what happened with Iris Finster? Was she beginning to catch on? Is that why you killed her? Or was it just to further frame Enoch O'Connor? Is that what this is really about? Ruining O'Connor? Seducing his daughter? Destroying him by any conceivable means?

(REVEREND MACKEY draws himself up and looks intently at MULDER.)

REVEREND MACKEY: Are you a righteous man, Agent Mulder?

MULDER: Stay where you are.

REVEREND MACKEY: It's just a simple question. Most people believe they're on the side of angels. But are they?

(MULDER is startled as the doors to the office slam shut. MULDER is nervous.)

REVEREND MACKEY: If you were put to the test... how would you do?

(A snake has appeared wrapped around MULDER's gun. MULDER gasps, drops the gun and begins tearing off his leather jacket. More snakes are coming out of his pants and are all over his chest. He is, to put it mildly, freaking.)

(SCULLY enters the church and finds REVEREND O'CONNOR holding the towel to his wound.)

SCULLY: Where's Mulder?

(She hears him scream from the other room.)

MULDER: Help!

(SCULLY rises, but REVEREND O'CONNOR grabs her arm.)

REVEREND O'CONNOR: (grabbing her) You can't help him. This is his alone.

(SCULLY gives him a look that says, "I don't think so, buddy" and runs to the office.)

SCULLY: Mulder?!

(SCULLY begins kicking at the locked door. Inside the office, MULDER has been bitten several times. He is lying on the floor staring at a large rattlesnake inches from his face. The snake strikes his cheek. He screams. SCULLY kicks the door open and rushes to MULDER just as the last snake slides out another door. She begins frantically unbuttoning his shirt and looks at REVEREND O'CONNOR who is leaning against the door frame.)





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SCENE 15
(Days later. MULDER's hospital room. His bites are healing. SCULLY enters and sits on the edge of his bed.)

MULDER: Mackey?

SCULLY: Still no trace... even though every law enforcement agency in Tennessee's out looking for him.

MULDER: They won't find him. People think the devil has horns and a tail. They're not used to looking for some kindly man who tells you what you want to hear.

SCULLY: He's just a man, Mulder. Just like O'Connor.

MULDER: Not like O'Connor. If this was some kind of test looks like I failed.

SCULLY: I'd say if it was, you passed with flying colors. You're alive, aren't you?

MULDER: (smiling at her) Proud and fancy-free.

(She smiles warmly back at him.)





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SCENE 16
HAMDEN, CONNECTICUT
(Small church office. A WOMAN is talking to the minister.)

WOMAN: Reverend Wells, it's a real joy to have a man in the pulpit who has such an open and modern way of looking at God.

(The minister is REVEREND MACKEY.)

REVEREND MACKEY: Bless you for saying so.

WOMAN: Well, I won't keep you. I just wanted to welcome you to Hamden.

REVEREND MACKEY: Thank you. I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

WOMAN: Thank you.

(The WOMAN leaves. REVEREND MACKEY sits for a moment, then removes a cardboard box from one of the desk drawers. He takes a squirming white mouse out of the box and holds it up high by it's tail. He opens his mouth wide and a snake pushes out of his throat, grabs the mouse, then sinks back down inside the man. REVEREND MACKEY adjusts his throat and tie, then returns the box to the drawer.)