Out Of This World (X-Files/Twin Peaks AU)

8. The Log

It was a beautifully crisp day signifying the end of the summer heat and the beginning of autumn. After the incident with the owl, Sandra had an eerie feeling throughout the day. Something seemed off despite the weather.

Mulder met her in the parking lot after Sandra decided on opaque tights to hide the remaining few bandages, a lavender blouse, and black pencil skirt, which she hated to admit took her longer than it should have to pick out. She blamed the odd feeling from the dream. "Don't you look nice," Mulder said with a bright grin as Sandra exited the door of the hotel. Ever the gentleman, he held the car door open for her as she climbed into the sedan.

The small town hospital was near abandoned aside from a few nurses and doctors. Mulder and Sandra were led by a nurse to James Hurley's room. He was laid on the little stark white bed staring out the window. He turned when he heard Sandra's heels slowly approach. "Good morning, Mr. Hurley." She said as she stood by the bed. He greeted her. "We're from the FBI. My name is Agent Sandra Flynn, and this is my partner Agent Mulder." They flashed their badges. "We wanted to ask you a few questions if you're feeling up to it." James Hurley licked his dry lips and nodded.

"I need to tell you," he started as he grasped Sandra's arm and pulled her to him. His voice was no more than a whisper. "I don't remember a lot." Sandra could tell it was difficult for him to speak. She leaned in close so he wouldn't have to strain. Mulder did the same.

"Anything you can remember will help." Sandra held onto his hand in reassurance. Mulder found himself smiling at her care of the boy. "Now, you took your motorcycle out for a ride, right?" James nodded his head looking like a hurt puppy. "What happened when you got onto the dirt trail?"

James looked down searching through his memory. "I missed Laura." He said. "I wanted to go somewhere I could be with her, in a way. We would always drive down that trail. It's where we buried the gold necklace." James let out a happy chuckle as he reminisced. But his expression turned sour. "I was just sitting there, talking to her like she was there. And then there was this light." James's grip on Sandra's hand tightened. "The light got brighter and brighter. And when I woke up, I was in here."

"Do you remember being in the field, or in the van we brought you here in?" Mulder asked. James only shook his head.

BAM!

Just as before, an owl slammed itself into the window of the hospital. James whimpered like a hurt animal and grasped onto Sandra's blouse, hiding his face like a scared child. Mulder turned to look out the glass. Before their eyes, dark clouds began to encompass the sky, and in mere moments the clear day turned to a downpour. "It wasn't supposed to rain until the end of the week." Mulder commented.

Sandra was thrust back into the dream. She remembered the words of the giant: Speak to the woman and her log. She wasn't sure what it meant, but she knew someone who would. "Mulder, we need to go now. James, thank you for speaking to us." Sandra turned to leave, but James pulled her back to him.

"I remember something else." Sandra crouched closer to hear his nearly inaudible words. "There was a man."

"A man?"

"He had gray hair, and he smelled like nothing I ever smelled before." Sandra's eyes grew wide as she recalled the dirty stranger from her dreams since she crossed the threshold to Twin Peaks.

---

Sandra screeched the tires into an empty spot at the police station and exited the car, getting soaked to the bone in the process. She burst into the police station. Lucy must have just gotten in as well because she looked like a drowned rat, pouting as she stood. Her usually voluminous blonde hair hung around her face in wet clumps. Andy stood behind her with a tiny towel trying to dry her off. "Cooper?" Sandra asked. They both pointed toward the conference room. Mulder came in behind her.

"Slow down!" He protested. Sandra ignored him and rushed to the conference room. She pushed open the door. Harry sat at the head of the table with Cooper hunched over one shoulder and Hawk on the other. The three of them looked up to see her.

"I need to speak to a log." It was more like a question than a statement. Cooper looked amused as he nodded to her.

Mulder came into the room after her, hands on his hips. "What is going on?"

---

The rain seemed to pound down harder by the minute. Cooper, Mulder, Hawk, Harry, and Sandra drove through the winding tree-lined roads to the near outskirts of the town. Sandra was squished in the backseat between Mulder and Coop. Harry drove and Hawk rode in the passenger seat. The ride was silent. As they turned onto a dirt driveway and the little cozy cabin came into view, Sandra felt that eerie feeling again. Involuntarily, she reached to hold each of the men's hands. Standing on the porch, as if she already knew despite not being called, Margaret Lanterman stood clutching her log. They parked, and they all ran into the house, Margaret holding the door open for them. Sandra made eye contact as she passed her, and Margaret nodded.

Mulder, Harry, Coop, and Hawk sat at a circular table, each of them waiting patiently for Margaret. Sandra stood at the window next to the front door, biting on her thumbnail. Mulder got up and made his way to stand behind his partner. He placed his hands on her shoulders, taking her out of her nervous trance. "You going to tell me why we're here?" She turned to look him in the eye.

"Mulder, there is something wrong with Twin Peaks." She whispered to him.

"No duh, Flynn. We just rescued a boy from a possible spaceship because some nut job agent told us to throw a dart. Of course there's something wrong here." His lightheartedness allowed Sandra to loosen herself. Cooper was about to get up, but Margaret came into the dining room with a large tray of tea and cookies, carefully balancing her log in the crook of her arm. Sandra and Mulder sat at the table. Cooper went to grab one of the cookies, but Margaret swatted at his hand.

Margaret turned toward Hawk first. "She is very special, isn't she?" Hawk almost seemed to blush as he looked from the Log Lady to Sandra. "My log doesn't judge." She also stated.

The Log Lady asked Harry to pour each of them tea and she placed a singular cookie on each little plate and handed them to everyone. She then brought the log to her ear and listened, then turned toward Sandra. "My log has a message for you." Sandra nodded, eager. "You have a gift."

"A gift?" Margaret smiled at her question. Suddenly, it sounded like Sandra heard a whisper. She looked around but no one was whispering.

"My log also wants you know something, but I cannot say. It wants to tell you itself." She reached across the table, handing the log to Sandra. She was confused, but accepted the log. A hush fell over the group. Sandra began to slowly lean into the log.

CRASH!

Thunder roared outside as the lights began to flicker. Sandra's eyes grew wide and she instinctively threw the log onto the table, clambering to stand she knocked the chair over. Both Cooper and Mulder stood to help her. The lights in the cabin dimmed, as if the energy of the light were being drained. Finally, the lights were completely out. "Must be the storm." Harry said from the darkness.

Sandra stood shaking, questioning her sanity. Mulder grabbed onto her hand and guided her through the darkness onto the couch. He sat next to her, and Coop sat across from her on the coffee table with one hand on her knee.

"I heard it." She finally said.

"What did it say, Sandra?" Cooper asked.

"Bob."