"God tests our faith so that we may not take it for granted." "I once gave counsel to a little girl." "She was very distraught because her older brother had told her that Moses hadn't really parted the Red Sea." "He said that high winds and strong ocean currents had been responsible." "In hearing this, the faith of this child had been severely shaken." "In order to restore her credence, she had but one question for me." "She asked \x22Reverend, is there really such a thing as a miracle, or are the stories in the Bible just make-believe, fairy tales?" "\x22" "I assured her \x22Yes, miracles really do happen.\x22" "Most people today tend to vest themselves in science and cynicism." "They expect proof for all that they see." "But miracles are wondrous by nature." "They need no rationale." "No justification." "You must witness the miracles of the Lord without question." "My blood flows as a test of your faith." "Open your souls to the divine possibilities." "It is then and only then that you will truly understand the awesome powers of the almighty Lord." "Yes?" "I was impressed with your sermon, Reverend." "Thank you." "I just wanna tell you that some of us do believe." "I appreciate that." "It always does my heart good to know that I've touched at least one person." "Oh, I think you had quite an effect on a lot of people." "Me, most of all." "Oh, my God!" "No!" "These ligature marks on his neck are consistent with rope or fabric burns, strongly suggesting that he was strangled." "But there seems to be an awful lot of blood loss here." "His parishioners said he was bleeding from his hands, like the wounds of the Crucifixion." "Stigmata?" "A sign bestowed by God upon the righteous." "I don't see any wounds here on his hands or wrists or otherwise." "No." "I think this is a case of too much faith." " And too much sugar." " What are you doing?" "It's fake." " Just like the others." " Others?" "I've been tracking a series of religiously motivated murders." "All the victims have been so-called stigmatics, and frauds, like the reverend here." "According to religious lore, at any given time there are 12 stigmatics in the world, representing the 12 Apostles." "The claim is unsubstantiated, but there have been many pretenders." "11 have been murdered in the past three years." "11?" "Any clue as to the motivation?" "Either it's a psychotic religious fanatic who's hellbent on exposing these frauds or a less programmatic psycho with a murderous resentment towards the Church." "Or maybe it's just a very disgruntled altar boy." "Well, that narrows down the field." "It's safe to say this guy carries a grudge." "If I'm right about one thing, the killer is here." "And he's looking for victim number 12." "All right, let's sit down." "I trust everyone has studied his or her flashcards for today's quiz?" "All right, let's settle down." "Geek!" "Kevin Kryder?" "I assume, Kevin, that in the last 24 hours you've become quite the math wizard." "Why don't you come on up to the board and share with us your gift of numbers?" "Let's try some division." "You do know the division sign, don't you, Kevin?" "Let's divide 11... into 170." "Ooh!" "Blood!" "Oh, my God!" " Thank you for contacting us." " When I read the FBI's alert," " I thought immediately of Kevin." " You said there had been a previous incident." "Last year." "Kevin arrived at school with bleeding wounds on his hands and feet." "Our first concern is always an abusive parent." " Was that the case?" " Well, it appeared so." "His father was arrested and we took the boy as a ward of the court." "But the state dropped charges for lack of evidence." "The mother sued and won custody." "Mr Kryder was institutionalized soon after." " Institutionalized for what?" " When he leftjail, he locked himself and Kevin in the house." "It made all the papers." "He was waving a gun at the police, saying he had to protect the boy." "That Kevin was chosen by God." "Can I talk to you for a minute?" " How's he doing?" " Fine." "Hi, Kevin." "My name is Dana Scully." "Can I talk to you a minute?" "Am I going back to the shelter?" "We don't know just yet." "Right now we have to find out what happened." "Can you tell me how you got those cuts on your hands?" " No." " No, you can't tell me or no, you don't know?" "You want me to say my dad did it!" "I don't want you to say anything that isn't true." "I don't feel that good." "He feels a bit feverish." "Did you take his temperature?" "No, I didn't." "Open." "You're a very brave boy, Kevin." "You have nothing to be afraid of." " Where's Kevin?" "Is he all right?" " He's doing fine." "The nurse is just changing his bandages." "Oh, my God." "I thought this was all over." "Mrs Kryder?" "My name is Fox Mulder." "I'm with the FBI." "The FBI?" "Who called the FBI?" "We have reason to believe that Kevin may be in some danger." "From what?" "Strange as it sounds, someone may be targeting people like Kevin." "What do you mean, people like Kevin?" "People exhibiting wounds that might be interpreted as having religious significance." " What was that?" " I don't know." "I didn't do anything." "Itjust broke!" "Kevin's just a normal kid." "He probably hurt himself out on the playground." "I'm sure there's an explanation, but our primary concern should be for Kevin's safety." "I'd like to put him into the shelter until we can sort this out." "You don't think I did this to Kevin?" " You think I cut his hands?" " We don't know how he got the cuts, but we'd like some time to evaluate his case, Mrs Kryder." "I would never hurt my own child." "Do you hear me?" "I have fought a battle over my son before that tore my family apart." "And I'm not gonna fight it again." "I love my job." " Let's go, Scully." " The kid's hands were definitely cut, Mulder." "They're takin' him into custody." "We've warned them about his safety." "Do you know how his hands were cut?" "Not yet." "My guess is that the kid did it to himself." "His father is taken away." "He hurts himself to relieve his dad of guilt and to get him back." " Maybe we should talk to his father." " He's in an institution." "His father said that he needed to be protected." "Maybe he knows from whom." "He's bleeding again, isn't he?" " Yes." "How did you know that?" " Because the faithful know." "Mr Kryder, the claims you've made for your son may have put him in danger." "The child was in danger long before I ever made the claims." "Since the day he was born, they've been watching him." " They?" " The forces of darkness." "They will come in the form..." "of a powerful and respected man." "These forces, what do they want?" "To claim all souls." "You must understand this is the great war between good and evil." "Armageddon?" "But God will find someone to stop it." "Someone who is strong enough to make the sacrifice." "He's chosen you?" "I'm merely a messenger." "Let's go." "You must come full circle to find the truth." "Excuse me?" "Full circle to find the truth?" "I don't know what that means." "You will." "The two kids are running down this long hallway." "But all the doors are locked." "There's nowhere to go." "Soon they'll both be toast." "They can hear his bloody leg dragging on the floor." "The mutant is on their trail, hungry for the taste of young meat." " What's it look like?" " Yeah, what?" "Do you really wanna know?" "It looks like the Devil." "And he's bald because all his hair has burned off in hell." "And his fingers are like pitchforks, with little barbs on the end, so all he has to do is point at you and you can't get away." "With each step he gets closer." "Step... by step... by step... by step." "He's so close now that even the furniture starts to shake." "Step... by step... by step... by step." "Guys, let's get outta here!" "Come on!" "What color hair did he have?" "Was it brown or blond...?" "He was bald." "He didn't have no hair." "Cos it all burned off in hell." "How tall was he?" "Was he about my height?" "Taller?" "Shorter?" " Taller." " About six two, six three?" "Yeah." "Maybe even bigger." "And he was dressed all in black." "All right." " What's gonna happen to Kevin?" " All right, kids." "What happened to Kevin?" "Where is he?" "Kevin was abducted from this room." "Several children witnessed it." "We're getting a description of the man." "But you were supposed to protect him." "You said he would be safe." "We're sorry, Mrs Kryder." "We're doing everything we can." " Scully..." " Did you get a composite?" "Yeah." "Looks like Kevin was abducted by Homer Simpson's evil twin." " This isn't the killer, Mulder." " That's a safe assumption." "I mean it doesn't match the MO." "None of the previous victims were abducted." "None of the previous victims were ten-year-old boys." " Is this the man that took Kevin?" " Yeah." "We're not sure how accurate that is." " It's Owen." " You know this man?" "Yeah." "It's Owen Jarvis." "When my husband left, we hired him to do yard work." "I carved all the animals myself." "It's the ark." "Do you like it?" "So when are you gonna take me home, Owen?" "There's no reason to be afraid." "I'm not gonna hurt you." "I've been watching you, Kevin." "You're a very special boy." "You know that, don't you?" " I wanna go home." " You can't do that." "I can't let you." " Why not?" " Because it's not safe!" "I'm your friend, Kevin." "You have to trust me." "Just think of me as... your guardian angel." "Don't say a word." "Stay here." "Don't move." "Federal agents!" "Put down your weapon." "Put it down right here." "Down!" "Now!" "Put it down!" "Where's the boy?" "Where's the boy?" "Don't hurt him." "Please?" "Kevin?" "Where's the boy?" "What have you done with Kevin?" "He can't go home." "It's not safe there." "I told him that." " Is this Kevin Kryder's blood?" " Yes." " Did you hurt him?" " No." "I'm not the one that wants to hurt him." "If it's not you, then who is it?" " I was only asked to protect the boy." " By who?" "Who asked you to protect him?" "God." " That's quite a long-distance call." " Unless someone protects Kevin..." "It's the end of the world as we know it, right?" "He who has ears, let him hear." "And he that has a tongue, let him speak." "Now tell me where he is." "You believe me, don't you?" "I mean, you must wear that as a reminder." "Mr Jarvis, my religious convictions are hardly the issue here." "But they are." "How can you help Kevin if you don't believe?" "Even the killer, he believes." "And townsfolk wonder why I sleep in on Sunday." "Mass on Christmas, fish on Friday." "You think that makes you a good Christian?" "Just because you don't understand sacrifice, because you're unwilling, don't think for a moment that you set the rules for me." "I don't question his word." "Whatever he asks of me, I'll do." " Sit down, Mr Jarvis." " I just want to go to heaven." " Hey!" " Don't!" "Mom!" "Mom!" "Are you home?" "Kevin?" "Kevin?" "I know you're here, son." "Run, Kevin!" "Run!" "Kevin, what is it?" "Upstairs!" "You'll be OK." "You'll be OK." "Are you the one that was sent to protect me?" "Owen Lee Jarvis." "Adult Caucasian male." "42 years of age." "Cause of death is strangulation, consistent with previous victims, as suggested by burn marks around his neck." "Except..." "There appears to some kind of a pattern just to the right of his windpipe." "Possibly a handprint." "Note to the lab to check further." "It is now 14 hours after the time of death." "But so far his body hasn't even begun to break down." "Rigor mortis has yet to set in." "His core body temperature remains at 98º." "His skin color, lividity, is healthy." "There seems to be some..." "Any revelations?" "Mulder, would you do me a favor?" "Would you smell Mr Jarvis?" "You want me to smell him?" "What am I supposed to be smelling?" "You don't detect a faint floral odor?" "Mulder, this man's body is in no way decomposing normally." "In catechism we learned of instances like this." "So-called incorruptibles whose bodies wouldn't decay and who emitted a smell of flowers." " You're serious?" " Saint Cecilia, Saint Francis..." " And you're suggesting this is Saint Owen?" " I don't know." "Scully, those stories are mostly regarded as hagiographic fabrications, not historical truths." "Just like the stigmata." " Well, what do you think this is?" " This man?" "He was abnormal in life." "Maybe he's decomposing abnormally." "Well, isn't a saint or a holy person another term for someone who's abnormal?" "Do you believe that?" "I believe in the idea that God's hand can be witnessed." "I believe he can create miracles." "Yes." "Even if science can't explain them?" "Maybe that's just what faith is." "Well, I wouldn't let faith overwhelm yourjudgment here." "These people are simply fanatics behaving fanatically, using religion as ajustification." "They give bona fide paranoiacs like myself a bad name." "They're no more divine or holy than that ketchup we saw on the murdered preacher." "I think once you've finished your autopsy you'll come to the same conclusion." "Saint Owen." " I got your message." "What did you turn up?" " It's what you turned up." "Those burn marks on Jarvis's neck?" "They pulled a pair of prints." "Take a look at this." "A partial index and a full oblique burned right onto the skin." "Any evidence as to how the killer did that?" "No, not yet." "But I cross-checked the prints in the NCIC database." "They belong to a businessman named Simon Gates." "He's the CEO of a company based in Atlanta." "He's one of the wealthiest men in the South." "A powerful and respected man." "He was arrested three years ago on a DUI." "Left a young boy paralyzed." "He received a suspended sentence and then left the country." "Went to Israel." " Israel?" " Have you heard of Jerusalem Syndrome?" "Yeah." "It's when people who visit the Holy Land suffer religious delusions." "Yeah." "They're convinced they're the Messiah, Moses, the Virgin Mary, even the Devil." "In that case, Simon Gates is as delusional as Mr Kryder, only a lot more dangerous." "It still doesn't explain how he was able to burn his fingerprints into Owen Jarvis's flesh." "Mulder." "What?" " Well, how's that possible?" " It's Kevin, isn't it?" "Hold on." "A social worker took Kevin out to lunch supposedly, but witnesses claim they saw him outside with his mother at the exact same time." "Kevin!" "Lay off the horn." "Looks like you're having a little trouble." "Can I give you a hand?" "No, it's fine." "It does this all the time." "I just have to wait for it to cool down." "At least let me take the cap off." "That should get things started." " No, I'm fine." " Really, it's no trouble at all." "In the old days, people used to stop to help." "Now they just drive on by." "People also used to say thank you." "What do you want?" "I think you know." " Hey, mister!" " Kevin, run!" "No!" "Hey, Mom!" "Get up!" "Please, Mom!" "Come on!" "Mom?" "Mom, are you OK?" "Come on, Mom!" "Don't fall asleep!" "Wake up!" "Come on!" " She died because of me." " It was an accident, Kevin." "Your mother was only trying to protect you." " Why does he wanna hurt me?" " I don't know." "But I won't let him hurt you." "I promise." "It's because I'm different, isn't it?" "Why can't I just be like everybody else?" "How are you different, Kevin?" "Kevin?" "I just am." "Agent Mulder and I are gonna take you back to the shelter." "There'll be a doctor to take a look at you there." "Do I have to go back there?" "No." "No, you don't." "Why don't you duck back inside?" "Is he ready to go?" "I want to keep him with us until Gates is apprehended." "Look, I know about getting personally involved, and I'm not." " Did he ID Gates?" " Yes." "That'll help." "A man fitting Gates's description rented the car under the name Forau." "That's one of the Devil's disciples." "I'll wait right outside." "You never draw my bath." "Kevin has a cut under his ribs." "He was in an accident." "No." "I was with the paramedics when they were looking at him." " It wasn't there." " Maybe you missed it." " No, Mulder." "I was paying close attention." " What do you think it is?" "Yesterday I saw Kevin's hands." "They were bleeding from wounds on the top and on the bottom." "Like in the Crucifixion." " Scully..." " There have been other signs." "I haven't said anything until now because I haven't been sure." " And I'm still not sure." " Sure of what exactly?" "How Kevin was able to be in two places at once." "Just like Saint Ignatius was able to in the Bible." "That was in the Bible." "It's a parable." "It's a metaphor for the truth, not the truth itself." "Why didn't Kevin conveniently bilocate when Owen Jarvis abducted him?" "How is it that you can go out on a limb when you see a light in the sky, but you're unwilling to accept the possibility of a miracle?" "Even when it's in front of you!" "I wait for a miracle every day." "But what I've seen has tested my patience, not my faith." "Well, what about what I've seen?" "Kevin?" "You OK?" "I didn't lock it." "I'll call the police." "They put up a cordon in a ten-mile radius." "No sign of them." "I figure they had an acetylene torch in a truck." "I don't see how else they could have done it." "I wasn't out of that room for more than two minutes, Mulder." "There's someone I wanna talk to again." " Who?" " Kevin's father." "Why?" "He knew Kevin was in danger." "He warned us about a powerful and respected man." " The man's a nut case." " Maybe he is." "If Kevin is in danger, even if his father knows anything about Gates, it doesn't help us now." "Well, it's not doing us a lot of good standing around here." "So this is the man who took my son." "You've never seen him before?" "No." "Why would anyone want to hurt Kevin?" "What does he want?" "You really don't know?" "I..." "I'm sorry." "I'm just a little foggy right now." "Scully." "Haloperidol." "It's a powerful antipsychotic." "They've increased his dosage." "Mr Kryder, you said something before about coming full circle to find the truth." "What does it mean?" "Full circle to find the truth." "I don't know." "I just can't remember." "Scully!" "They had a sighting of Gates." "He tried to rent another car at the airport under the name of Forau again." " Did you hear what I said?" " Mulder, look." "Arrows that form a circle." "Full circle to find the truth." "Gates's company owns a recycling plant near here." " He's taken Kevin there." " He's at the airport." "If he hasn't killed Kevin, he's getting as far away as he can." "I don't think so, Mulder." "You think it's you, don't you?" "You think you've been chosen to protect Kevin." "I don't know." "Look, if I'm wrong, I'll meet you out at the airport, OK?" "The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon will turn to blood... because of you, son." "Is that why you wanna hurt me?" "It's not a question of wanting." "You have to die, Kevin." "For everyone." "For the new age to come." "You understand that, don't you?" "The others were all false prophets." "You are the only true one among the 12." "Stop!" "Federal agent!" "I'm armed!" "Let him go!" "Let him go and we'll talk about it." "There's nothing to talk about." "I was called upon!" "No!" "Let me go!" "Let me go!" "Let me go!" "No!" "Kevin." "Come on." "Pull up." "I knew you'd come." "You all set?" "Thanks." "Maybe I'll see you again sometime." "You will." " You all ready, Kevin?" " Yeah." " You OK?" " Yeah, I think so." "We got two hours before our flight." "I said we'd make a statement about Gates's death." "I'd appreciate it if you'd handle that alone, Mulder." "I have an errand I need to run." "OK." "I'll see you at the airport." "Bless me, Father, for I have sinned." "It has been six years since my last confession." "And... since then I have drifted away from the Church." "I'm not sure why exactly." "Have you come to confess?" "No." "There's a man that I work with, a friend, and usually I'm able to discuss these things with him." "But not this." "Father, do you believe in miracles?" "Of course." "I see them every day." "The rising sun, the birth of a child..." "No, I'm..." "I'm talking about events that defy explanation." "Things that..." "I believe helped me to save a young boy's life." "But now I wonder if I saw them at all, if I didn'tjust imagine them." "Why do you doubt yourself?" "Because my partner didn't see them." "He didn't... he didn't believe them." "And usually he..." "he believes without question." "Maybe they weren't meant for him to see." "Maybe they were only meant for you." "Is that possible?" "With the Lord, anything is possible." "Perhaps you saw these things because you needed to." "To find my way back?" "Sometimes we must come full circle to find the truth." "Why does that surprise you?" "Mostly itjust makes me afraid." "Afraid?" "Afraid that God is speaking," "but that no one's listening."