Tigers By RocketMan ===== Disclaimer: FM and DS belong to CC, 1013, and FOX. The excerpt comes from 'Les Miserables' - "I Dreamed A Dream" which is sung by, on this CD, Debbie Bryne, playing Fantine. Rating: P, friendship S. Maybe MSR if you're inclined to seeing it that way. ;-) Author's Notes: This is sort of a companion to A Flower, since they are both dreaming along the same lines. ===== "I dreamed a dream in time gone by When hope was high And life worth living I dreamed that love would never die I dreamed that God would be forgiving Then I was young and unafraid And dreams were made and used And wasted There was no ransom to be paid No song unsung No wine untasted But the tigers come at night With their voices soft as thunder As they tear your hope apart As they turn your dream to shame" ===== What was that? She could hear a faint scratching, as if a cat was begging to be let in. She turned in her sleep and sighed, as heat and warmth enveloped her. Where was she? She could see the heat rising from the ground in waves, rippling the images before her and causing her to squint in their glare. She turned and saw endless white beach, stretching before her like time when one was born. She saw two figures prowling far down, a mile or more, there animal like bodies wavering in the heat. She sighed and felt her body struggle to keep control as the relentless heat battered on her. The beach was oceanless, if that were possible and she saw nothing to relieve the expanse of white. She felt herself being prodded, a hand that seemed to rest on her back and nudge her forward. She began to walk down the beach, drawing closer to the animals on down, seeing scenes of her life play in the white grains. The sand under her feet was soft in the beginning, letting her move with ease and still cool enough not sting her bare feet. As she drew near the catlike animals, the heat came in undulating waves, like the surf of the ocean but with heat washing over her and a tide of weariness drowning her. Then the walk was harder and she tried to hide her eyes as scene after scene of horror played out along the beach. There was her father, rebuking her, turning from her in shame as she told him she had joined the FBI. Then his face again, reluctantly greeting her for Easter and their fight afterwards. It left a feeling of acidic terror in her gut and she wanted to throw up. And then the sand was burning, her feet were being scorched and scalded and she sat in th sand, not wanting to go on. But a hand pulled her up and carried her to a cooler place. She was set down on a grassy area, where it looked as if water had been discovered and she rested and slaked her thirst for a time. Then she began paying attention to the scenes flashed before her. There she was entering the basement for the first time and trying so hard not to be frightened. Scully smiled and stood, and then began to walk again. The patches were rough in some places and green in others, and she enjoyed watching the scenes before her so much that she didn't realize she hadn't gotten so close until she heard the growl. She froze and her heart skipped, her breath came after a second of blind intense fear. She looked up. Tigers. A dozen, a hundred, a thousand, waiting for her. She had walked right into them, she was so preoccupied with what had been happening in the pictures. She had forgotten the danger. One circled in closer, moving with a morbidly graceful flow of muscle and tendon. She stayed absolutely still, thinking that if she just stopped walking they would leave her alone. They circled closer, until she could see the yellow eyes and hear the throaty purr. The boldest of the thousand came so close she could have reached out and petted him. She started to tremble and one of the brighter, more livid tigers came close enough for her to feel his breath puffing out of his nostrils. She shut her eyes and waited for the teeth. A lick down her arm made her start and she opened her eyes to see yellow staring at her. She gasped and the tiger, the brave one, came and nuzzled her. She backed away and bumped into another tiger. It snarled and lunged, but the brave one jumped and knocked it away. She realized it was trying to protect her. The tiger was trying to protect her. She walked closely beside it, one hand clutching his silky fur the other clecnhed in fear and uncontrolled panic. And then the attack came. Half of the thousand sprung at once, throwing her away from her protector and they savagely ripped into the brave tiger. She heard his growl of painand watched as he fought with every bit of strength in him, tearing and clawing and hissing. But as one of the cats got a chunk of his neck, shaking, Scully looked into the tiger's eyes and saw something, someone. Mulder. She ran into the midst and shoved at the furry bodies, ignoring the musky scent of death and the occasional snaps of jaws. She heard bones crunch and sobbed, kneeling beside the battered body of her protector. The tigers circled at a distance, like jackals. She pulled his head into her lap and looked hesitantly in the eyes. There was nothing. Dana Scully gasped and woke to find herself sitting up, sweat and the smell of fear heavy in her room. She blinked and caught her breath. Tigers, something about tigers. She closed her eyes and laid back. Just as she did she thought she saw a light. Her eyes opened and she saw yellow slits in her face, staring back. Dana jumped and they were gone. Tigers, something about tigers. ===== end, adios RocketMan