"Man #1 :" "You're supposed to be in charge here, Perkins." "Man #2:" "I am in charge." "Man #1 :" "These men want answers." "Theywant to know whatyour plan is." "This thing could kill us all." "Man #2:" "We should have left two days ago." "No one would listen to me." "Man #1 :" "Nobody knew what it was two days ago." "Nobody knows now." "Somebody has to go for help." "What are the rest ofus supposed to do?" "Wait for help?" "Someone has to chance it... and hike out." "That person might not make the road before nightfall." "Then what?" "I saywe run for it." "Split up, take our chances." "It's suicide, Dyer." "Fine." "You stay here." "Tell us how it turns out." "(Panting)" "(Grunting)" "(Labored Breathing)" "I think it's broken." "You got to get up." "I can't make it." "(Groaning)" "We got to keep moving." "(Grunting)" "We're not going to make it." "(Distant Humming)" "(Humming Growing Louder)" "(Dyer Screaming)" "Take a good look, Scully." "What am I looking at?" "30 loggers working a clear-cutting contract... in Washington State-- rugged, manly men... in the full bloom oftheir manhood." "What am I looking for?" "Anything strange, unexplainable, unlikely, boyfriend" "I don't know." "I give up, Mulder." "Funny." "That's what the Federal Forest Service... has done as well." "Why?" "What happened to them?" "In a word, theyvanished." "Or so it would appear." "This is Doug Spinney and Steven Teague." "They call themselves "monkeywrenchers."" "They drive spikes into trees... sabotage logging equipment, and make life miserable... for lumberjacks and lumber mills." "Ecoterrorists-- militant environmentalists." "Right." "Two weeks ago... the loggers radioed a message... that Spinney and Teague had gone on a spree... sabotaging equipment, causing general mischief." "One week later... all radio communication was cut off." "Do they know why?" "No." "The lumber company... asked the Federal Forest Service to look into it." "Two officials went in last week." "No one has heard from them." "It appears as if these monkeywrenchers... are doing more than mischiefmaking." "That's what the lumber company and forest service are accusing." "They've asked the FBI to investigate." "I had to pull strings to get the case." "An ecoterrorism case?" "Do I dare askwhy?" "In 1 934, long before anyone knew what an ecoterrorist was... a WPA crew... working that same area vanished without a trace." "None ofthose men was ever found or heard from again." "And you suspect what, Bigfoot?" "Not likely." "That's a lot offannel to be choking down... even for Bigfoot." "Come on." "It will be a nice trip to the forest." "Hi." "Fox Mulder, Dana Scully." "We're with the fbi." "Larry Moore, Federal Forest Service." "You can putyour gear in the truck." "Must be pretty rugged where we're going." "Yeah." "Is that a bullet hole in yourwindshield?" ".22 caliber." "Somebody shot atyou?" "There's not much to hunt around here... with that ammo except Freddies." "" Freddies"?" "Employees of the Federal Forest Service." "It's what ecoterrorists call us." "Is that whoyou think shot atyou?" "Let me get this out ofthe way." "I have no quarrel with ecoterrorists in principle." "I'm as concerned for this forest... and the environment as anybody." "It's their methods I can't condone." "Doyou think they'd kill a man?" "There's 30 men up there unaccounted for... each with survival experience." "Something happened to them." "Sorry I'm late." "I was down talking to Bob Perkins' wife." "He's one ofour missing loggers." "Hey, Larry." "Steve Humphreys, head ofsecurity... for Schiff-lmmergut Lumber." "Mulder." "Scully." "We've got a four-hour drive ahead ofus" "Plenty oftime to get acquainted." "Get the impression... we've walked into the middle ofa war... that's already started?" "Why do these men... work so far up in the wilderness?" "That's where the trees are." "You're kidding, right?" "No." "Environmentalists have made sure... that all the land here is untouchable." "We take our timber where we can get it." "Even then, we plant saplings for every tree we take." "So why do ecoterrorists targetyou?" "Tree huggers are like the boys... who went up to Canada during the Vietnam War." "They're cowardly, and so are their tactics." "Damn it." "Homemade tire spike." "Clear through the sidewall." "It's unfixable." "You got a spare?" "Humphreys:" "Right tire's history too." "Monkeywrenchers call it a caltrop." "Roads back here are littered with them." "Indiscriminate terrorism." "Can you imagine somebody... spiking the roads ofWashington, D.C.?" "How much sympathy would they get?" "So how are we going to get to the camp?" "We're going to have to hike." "Anybody here?" "Someone forgot to clean their plate." "Scully:" "Looks like they left in a hurry too." "They forgot to pack." "Find anything?" "Party favors." "Vehicles have all been monkeywrenched." "Power generator's busted." "Somebody really turned this place upside down." "Whoever did it didn't want the fact broadcast, either." "Radiators are all full ofrice." "Looks like sugar or sand in all the crankcases." "They really did a number here." "The sun's going down in an hour and a half." "Better look around before it gets dark." "I'll see ifl can get that generatorworking." "You were right about one thing." "What's that?" "Definitelywasn't Bigfoot." "Look at that." "Scully:" "What is it?" "Moore:" "It looks like a hive." "Maybe a cocoon ofsome kind." "Made bywhat?" "I don't know." "I've never seen anything like it." "Got it." "Can you cut it down?" "Yeah, I think so." "You all right, Scully?" "Scully:" "Oh, God." "It feels, uh... it feels desiccated, hard and dry... almost preserved." "Like it's been embalmed." "No, more like the fuids have been bled... from its body." "Almost like it's been cured." "I think... it's a male." "Barely." "I'd say it's some kind ofspider's nest... or insect cocoon." "What kind ofinsect could have gotten a man... all the way up into that tree?" "Itsy-bitsy spider." "(Creaking)" "(Clanking)" "Don't move." "Who areyou?" "Doug Spinney." "I ought to shootyou." "Might as well shootyourselftoo." "You're in a spot to be testing me." "What happened to my men?" "What men?" "The men who were working this camp." "I don't know." "Probably the same thing... will happen to us when the sun goes down." "What areyou doing?" "This animal's Doug Spinney." "He's responsible for all the monkeywrenching." "He's probably a murderer." "I'm no murderer." "You're a liar." "Let's hear him out." "Ifwe stand around, there will be nothing left to say." "Think about getting that generator started." "Darkness is our enemy." "What's he talking about?" "Someone want to give me a hand?" "Now he's giving orders?" "I'm the one... who fixed the damn thing." "Mulder:" "It's all right." "Why did you say that darkness was our enemy?" "That's when they come." "When who comes?" "I don't know what it is." "They come from the sky, take a man right offhis feet... and devour him alive." "I saw it happen." "Happen to who?" "(Engine Sputtering)" "(ldling Smoothly)" "I need to eat." "I haven't eaten in three days." "What kind of B.S. story is that, huh?" "You believe that?" "We found something in the forest." "What?" "A man caught in some kind... ofinsect cocoon." "What happened here?" "We camped two valleys over, four ofus." "Three now." "More rats in the woodpile." "Our truck has a dead battery." "We drew straws to see who would make the hike... to steal one from the loggers." "Why notjust hike out?" "It's over a day's hike." "No waywe wanted to be caught in the forest after dark... not after what happened to Teague." "That's the man you said was devoured alive?" "Yeah." "Why areyou out here?" "Camping." "The kind ofcamping you do is a federal offense." "just hold offa second, okay?" "No, he's right." "This man is an admitted felon." "He could be arrested." "What aboutyour offense, my friend, huh?" "What aboutyour offense against nature?" "We operate within the law." "We pay for the right to take those trees." "Well, your logging crew is taking trees... that are marked and protected... so don't talk to me about breaking the law... sir." "They've taken marked trees?" "Yes, sir, marked in orange." "Old growth trees?" "You know anything about that, Steve?" "No." "You going to take this man's word... over mine?" "You don't want to go out in the night." "Take myword on that." "It's out there." "Ifl go out that door... something's going to eat me and spin me in its web?" "Yes." "It's too polite to come in here... and get me?" "For some reason, it's, uh, afraid ofthe light." "It's afraid ofthe light." "There may be something to what he's saying, Steve." "He's a murderer, clever enough to make up a story like that... even whip up that cocoon to save a few trees... and I'm going to prove I'm right." "This is ridiculous." "Where is it, Spinney?" "I thought it was going to come and devour me." "Humphreys:" "Here I am!" "(Zapping)" "Come out, come out, whereveryou are." "Aw, don't be shy." "Come on." "Huh?" "It'sjust like I told you." "There's nothing out here but a bunch oftrees... that this man values more than human life." "I'm going to see him tried on murder charges." "What doyou think?" "I think I'm going to suggest... that we sleep with the lights on." "(Sighs)" "(Zapping)" "You see this Douglas fir?" "It's been standing here since before time... and your men cut it down." "Scully:" "Who marks these trees?" "Federal Forest Service." "You're only supposed to cut trees... with a blue X." "Mulder:" "It must be hundreds ofyears old." "Scully:" "Must get a lot oflumber from a tree like this." "Thousands ofboard feet." "Hell ofa lot easier... than taking a lot ofsmaller, younger trees." "Monkeywrenchers like Spinney here... are not above marking trees... with their own paint." "This tree's 500 years old ifit's a day." "Mulder:" "Look at this." "What would this represent?" "I don't know." "I've never seen a ring like that before." "Those center rings are older rings, right?" "Yeah." "Every ring represents a season ofgrowth." "And you see these?" "These are 500, 600 years old." "They're a recorded history ofrainfall and climate." "But this one, I don't know." "I should take a core sample." "We finished with this nature walk?" "What happened to those loggers?" "We're determining that." "Don'tyou think... you should be interrogating this man?" "I don't think he did it." "I want him arrested." "He's not leaving." "No, not with a gun on him." "What happens ifhis three buddies show up... and do toyou what they did... to those two federal forest officials?" "I just want to take a core sample." "I got families who want some answers about loved ones... answers not found in that tree." "The only crime is the death ofthat tree." "Yeah, well, we'll see about that." "Whereyou going?" "I'm hiking down toyour truck... and get some people up here... who will take action." "Steve!" "Let him go." "Let him find out for himself." "This is odd." "This yellow ring's got something living in it... some kind of... tiny bug." "It doesn't make sense." "Why not?" "Well, parasites attack a tree in a variety ofways... but they always attack the living parts:" "the leaves, the roots, the new growth rings." "Even ifthey're borers ofsome kind... theywouldn't be working so deep in the tree." "Maybe the wood in this ring is different." "They seem to be feeding on it." "Can you identify them?" "It's a wood mite ofsome kind." "Could they have been living in that tree for hundreds ofyears?" "No." "Inner rings are dead wood." "The tree's vascular system... is limited to the outer few rings." "They need water to survive." "They appear to be hatching out ofthe wood." "Maybe when you drew out this core... you tapped into a larger nest." "Spinney:" "Can they build a cocoon?" "Right after that tree was cut down is when Teague died." "It's about the same time that the loggers disappeared too." "You think these mites killed the men?" "Maybe they been dormant for hundreds ofyears." "Maybe theywoke up hungry." "Damn it!" "(Sighs)" "(Humming)" "All right, you monkeywrenchers... come on out now." "I know whatyou're up to!" "(Humming)" "(Horn Honks)" "(Grunting)" "(Screaming)" "(ldling Smoothly)" "Humphreys should have been back by now." "These bugs aren't moving anymore." "They're either dead, or they're asleep." "It's the light." "They don't like the light." "Scully:" "Usually, bugs are attracted to light." "Spinney:" "These obviously are notyour ordinary bugs... to say the least." "Doyou know insects, Scully?" "Uh,just what I learned in my biology courses." "They're the foundation ofour ecosystem." "There are lots ofthem, something like... 200 million per person." "They've been around a long time?" "Yeah, something like 600 million years-- before the dinosaurs." "Why?" "This tree is what, 600, 700 years old?" "Yeah." "These rings represent a history ofclimatic changes... which means that, in this year in the life ofthe tree... there was some strange event that produced an abnormal ring." "Like what, exactly?" "A volcanic eruption." "This whole chain ofmountains... running from Washington to Oregon is active." "Remember Mount St. Helens?" "Yeah." "How does that explain the bugs?" "After Mount St. Helens erupted, there was radiation unleashed... from inside the Earth." "Strange things started to grow." "There's this lake where they discovered an amoeba... that sucks a man's brains out." "Oh, a brain-sucking amoeba." "It's true." "Spirit Lake." "There's documented cases... ofinfected swimmers." "But an amoeba is... a single-celled organism that can be mutated." "An insect is a complex animal." "A mutation would takeyears to evolve." "Maybe what we're dealing with isn't a mutation at all." "What ifit's some kind ofextinct insect larvae... in that ring-- deposited during volcanic activity... brought up through the tree's root system." "Ancient insect eggs... thousands, maybe millions ofyears old..." "lying dormant" "Until those loggers cut down that tree." "That would be rather poeticjustice, don'tyou think... unleashing the very thing that would end up killing them... and your friend Humphreys?" "And who knows?" "Maybe us." "Sweet dreams." "Humphreys might havejust hiked out ofhere." "We don't know that he didn't." "Maybe we're letting ourselves get carried away... with this bug story." "Yeah, maybe." "(ldling Smoothly)" "Mulder:" "Going somewhere?" "No, I was" "Doing auto repair?" "You're planning on cutting out." "My friends only had enough gas... to keep their generator running 20 hours." "They'll die ifl don't get back." "Why sneak around?" "The forest service guy wouldn't go for it." "He'd never trust me." "He's got no reason to." "Neither do I." "I can save us all." "We've got aJeep." "It'sjust two valleys over." "It needs a battery." "I can be back in the morning." "We can all drive out tomorrow." "You got to trust me, man." "Mulder:" "Radio's back up." "It's working?" "I'm not getting any reception... so the receiver could be trashed." "What about transmissions?" "Can you send a message?" "I could try." "This is a call for help." "Is there anyone at this frequency?" "This is Special Agent Mulder ofthe fbi." "We have an emergency and a possible quarantine." "Our position is" "(Generator Dies)" "What happened to the generator?" "I turned it off." "Turn it back on." "The radio's working." "Where's the gas can?" "Spinney took it." "He took it?" "You mean he's gone?" "He left earlier." "He took a battery and gas." "He's coming back." "He gave his personal guarantee?" "He gave me his word, yeah." "The man who gaveyou his word has made an art out ofsabotage... and defying authority, and is probably the man... who put that bullet through mywindshield." "What would you have done?" "We've got one chance, which is one more than we had." "Or one less." "What doyou mean?" "He let Spinney take the last ofthe gas." "This generator's got about a quarter tank left." "What about the trucks?" "The tanks have been ruptured or filled with sugar." "By the man we are trusting to come back for us." "We got to get on the radio and send a Mayday." "Every drop offuel... is going to keep this gennie powered tonight." "I don't want to wait... hoping somebody heard that transmission... when this thing quits running about 2:00 in the morning." "Doyou?" "(Sighs)" "(Groans)" "Mulder" "It's done." "I shouldn't have let him go." "Let'sjust move past it, okay?" "Fine." "What doyou suggest?" "I don't know." "We'll think ofsomething." "I thinkwe both have a good idea... ofwhat happened to those loggers... and what happened to the group in 1 934." "They only found one cocoon." "It's a big forest." "What would you have done?" "Would I have made a decision myself that affected us all?" "Cut the sanctimonious crap." "What doyou want me to say?" "We might die up here." "Ifwe're lucky, they'll find our bodies spun up in a tree... or they may not find us at all!" "You're right, and we're wasting time arguing about it." "What areyou going to do?" "Button this place up." "Ifwe got to spend the night in here... we got to do everything we can... to make sure the bugs stay out there." "I'd be careful with that." "It's the only bulb that works." "(ldling Roughly)" "I can see them." "You guys, look at this." "Look." "They're coming through the wall... down where it's dark." "You see them?" "(Gasps Softly)" "They're on me!" "Mulder:" "It's all right." "Scully, Scully" "Get them offme!" "Whoa!" "Watch it!" "Stand still!" "Stop it!" "Can you see them?" "Get them off!" "." "They're notjust on you." "They're everywhere." "That's what that residue is over everything." "I thought we were safe in the light!" "We are!" "I think the light keeps them from swarming." "We'll be safe as long as we stay in the light." "(ldling Smoothly)" "Howyou feeling?" "I'm okay." "They're oxidizing enzymes... just like firefies." "Maybe that's why they cocoon their prey-- so that they can oxidize the proteins... taken from the fuids in the body." "What ifthe generator goes?" "Will they swarm in here and drain the life out ofus?" "We got an hour and a half till sunrise." "Then what?" "It's over a day's hike out ofhere." "We won't make it on foot by nightfall." "Maybe somebody heard our transmission." "Help could be on the way." "You sent that call hours ago." "I mean, help would have been here by now." "Well, I'm not going to give up on Spinney." "He gave me his word he'd come back to get us." "And ifhe doesn't?" "We'll think ofsomething." "(ldling Roughly)" "(Generator Sputtering)" "(Sputtering increases)" "(Generator Dies)" "You got a patch kit in your truck?" "Yeah." "Maybe we can patch this or get it to hold air." "With the truck's spare, maybe we can limp down the mountain." "Ifnot, we can get on the radio and warn them what's out here." "(Thunder Rumbling)" "Moore:" "See it?" "Mulder:" "Yeah." "(Low Humming)" "Listen." "You hear that?" "Moore:" "It's a car." "No." "It's aJeep." "We got to move." "Let's go!" "Let's go!" "Wait!" "What about the body-- Humphreys' body?" "Leave it." "I've radioed for help." "Where areyour friends?" "They didn't make it." "We won't either... unless we haul ass." "Let's go." "Come on." "Spinney:" "Oh!" "Damn it!" "Moore:" "I don't believe it." "You talk about shooting yourselfin the foot." "(Yelling)" "Get out ofthere!" "Get in the car!" "(Yelling)" "(Groaning)" "(Screaming)" "We have an emergency evacuation situation." "Requesting quarantine facility for two... possibly three victims... with undiagnosed infection or exposure... to unknown biological vectors." "Repeat, that's an emergency evacuation situation." "Two, possibly three victims" "How areyou feeling?" "Better." "How did the tests come back?" "Your respiratory charts were good." "We were concerned... about the damage due to inhalation." "There were large concentrations... ofthe chemical we determined was luciferin." "Which is what?" "The same enzyme we find in firefies... and other bioluminescent insects." "Our entomologists are still trying to determine... the specific epithet... ofthe insects you encountered." "Scully?" "How's she doing?" "She's still not out of the woods, so to speak." "She lost a lot offuids." "Two or three more hours ofexposure... she might not have made it." "I told her it was going to be a nice trip to the forest." "Howyou going to contain it to the forest?" "What ifthe swarm migrates?" "The government has initiated eradication procedures." "They're quite certain that, by using a combination ofcontrolled burns and pesticides... theywill be successful." "And ifthey're not?" "That is not an option, Mr. Mulder." "Imade this!"