The X-Files - 2.

2.21 The Calusari

[Transcriber's note: This episode contains some dialogue and chanting in Rumanian, but there are no subtitles. In some cases, the closed-captioning provides the Rumanian words, but they don't always seem to match the dialogue. Since I don't speak Rumanian, I've included them anyway. The closed-captioning also translates a few phrases, and I've enclosed those in brackets. For the other cases, I simply show it as "(Rumanian)."]

< LINCOLN PARK, MURRAY, VIRGINIA >

(The Holvey family is enjoying an afternoon in the park. A miniature train chugs by and young Charlie Holvey watches from a railing, holding a balloon on a string. His mother, Maggie, is a short distance away with Charlie's younger brother, two-year-old Teddy, while his father, Steve, approaches with four ice cream cones.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Charlie! Come on, Charlie. (to Teddy, handing him a balloon) Here you go, sweetie.

STEVE HOLVEY: Charlie, hey! Ice cream! (kneeling and offering a cone to Teddy) Hey buddy, you want some ice cream? Huh? (to Charlie) Here, Charlie. Here you go.

(Charlie takes the ice cream but doesn't seem very happy about it. As young Teddy holds his ice cream cone, he lets go of the balloon and it drifts up and away.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Look. There it goes.

STEVE HOLVEY: There goes your balloon.

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Going to balloon land. Go bye-bye. (Teddy falls, dropping his ice cream, and starts to cry) Oh, sweetie. Don't cry.

(Maggie picks Teddy up. Steve offers one of the other ice cream cones to him.)

STEVE HOLVEY: Hey, look! Here's some ice cream! Here's some ice cream! Want some ice cream? Look.

(Teddy continues to cry, so Steve takes Charlie's balloon and offers it to Teddy. Charlie does not look pleased.)

STEVE HOLVEY: Teddy. Teddy. Here's your balloon. Look at that.

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Shhh! Oh, such a mess. We gotta clean you up.

STEVE HOLVEY: Charlie and I will wait for you.

MAGGIE HOLVEY: (to Teddy) You're amazing.

(Maggie heads off with Teddy. Steve remains with Charlie.)

CHARLIE: That was my balloon.

STEVE HOLVEY: Eat your ice cream before it melts.

CHARLIE: I don't want any ice cream. I want my balloon.

STEVE HOLVEY: (slightly annoyed) We'll get you a balloon, OK?

CHARLIE: No, I want my balloon.

STEVE HOLVEY: (more annoyed) Fine. (takes Charlie's ice cream cone) We'll get you another balloon. (to himself) That was a waste of good money.

(Steve puts all of the ice cream cones into a trash can. In the restroom, Maggie wipes the ice cream from Teddy's face.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: There we go. Yes. Yes.

(She picks him up and puts him in front of the sink, attaching his his halter to one of the sink supports.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: There we go. That's a boy. Good boy. OK. OK, Teddy. I'll be right back, OK?

(She goes into one of the stalls and closes the door. She sings to Teddy to keep his attention.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: (singing) There were six in a bed and the little one said "Roll over! Roll over!" So they all rolled over and one fell out. Five in the bed and the little one said "Roll over! Roll over!" ...

(Teddy has let go of his balloon again and watches it float up to the ceiling.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: ... And they all rolled over and one fell out. Four in the bed and the little one said, "Roll over! Roll over!" ...

(The balloon has mysteriously moved across the ceiling, then down a foot and out through the gap at the top of the restroom door. Maggie leans down and looks under the stall door to check on him. She sees Teddy's legs.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: ... So they all rolled over and one fell out. Three in the bed and the little one said, "Roll over! Roll over!" So they all rolled over and one fell out. Two in the bed and the little one said "Roll ... "

(Maggie finishes up and opens the door to the stall, only to see Teddy's empty halter on the floor and no sign of Teddy.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Teddy? Teddy?! (she runs outside) Teddy?! Teddy?! Teddy?!

(Teddy is following the balloon, which is leading him down an embankment and out of Maggie's sight. Rather than flying up and away, the balloon behaves as if the string is being held by an invisible entity. Charlie watches from a distance.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: (still not seeing him) Teddy?! Teddy?!

(The balloon leads Teddy down to the railroad tracks. Nearby, a family poses as the father takes their picture. Beyond them, the man sees Teddy near the tracks. The train whistle sounds.)

MAN: There's a kid on the track!

STEVE HOLVEY: (seeing him) Oh my God! Teddy! Teddy! Get away from there!

(Steve runs toward him, while Charlie stands impassively. Maggie hears Steve's shouts and runs toward Teddy as well. The balloon has led Teddy onto the tracks, where Teddy is now holding it by the string.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Teddy!

STEVE HOLVEY: Come here!

(The train rounds the curve and the engineer sees Teddy ahead. He tries to stop the train but it doesn't respond. He sounds his whistle repeatedly. Charlie continues to watch from a distance, showing no emotion.)

STEVE HOLVEY: Teddy!

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Teddy, get off of the tracks!

(As his parents run toward him, Teddy continues to hold the balloon, not hearing the warnings. Steve reaches the fence beside the tracks just as the train goes by.)

STEVE HOLVEY: No!!!

(The balloon drifts away. Maggie and Steve wait for the train to pass, then rush out onto the tracks.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Oh my God!!!

(They kneel, crying. Steve hugs Maggie.)

STEVE HOLVEY: Maggie ... Teddy ...

(Charlie has walked a ways toward the tracks but stands there, still showing no emotion. The balloon comes down just behind him.)

ACT I

< DR. CHARLES BURKS' LAB, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK >

(Mulder has the photo taken by the man at the park projected on a screen and is pointing out details to Scully.)

MULDER: This photo was taken at an amusement park three months ago. The young boy in the background is Teddy Holvey, aged two. (he points out Teddy, who is at the gate in the fence next to the tracks) He was killed just seconds after this was taken.

SCULLY: How?

MULDER: According to the police report, he wandered onto the tracks of the park's miniature train. The conductor was unable to stop due to a malfunction in the braking system. Teddy's father works for the State Department, so a coroner's inquest was held due to the unusual circumstances surrounding the accident.

SCULLY: And did the inquest come up with anything unusual?

MULDER: No. No, but the County Medical Examiner called me afterwards. He was disturbed by this case and by this photograph, and I think with good reason. You see, this is a helium balloon here, and the one thing I did learn in kindergarten is when you let them go, they float up, up and away, but you see this is moving away from him, horizontally.

SCULLY: Did you learn about wind in kindergarten?

MULDER: Well, I called the National Weather Service and they said on the day that Teddy died the wind was blowing north. But you see, the balloon is moving south, as if it's being pulled against the wind.

SCULLY: Pulled? By whom?

MULDER: I don't know. That's why I came to Chuck, the king of digital imaging. Chuck can extract incredibly small details from a simple photographic print.

(Dr. Chuck Burk is sitting in front of a large computer monitor. Mulder and Scully come around behind him. Chuck is a somewhat pompous fellow.)

DR. BURK: Not details - information. Watch the monitor. We have limitations on how much information the eye can perceive unaided, but with this special software - which I designed - we can, uh, depict hidden information. (he displays the image on the monitor and enhances the contrast) We can manipulate it. Enhance it. Now watch right here. There it is.

(After several passes, the image shows a light, human-like outline of a person holding the balloon string.)

DR. BURK: (pointing to the outline) There's clearly a concentration of electromagnetic energy.

SCULLY: So you're saying that, uh, a ghost killed Teddy Holvey. (Mulder nods and points to the screen as Burk smirks) Has anyone checked the camera that took this photo - the lens or the pressure plate?

MULDER: It all checked out, Scully. (hands her the camera) I think from the information here, this is clearly some kind of poltergeist activity.

SCULLY: Mulder, this information is the same reason why you'll see a newspaper photo with Jesus' face appearing in the, in the foliage of an elm tree. It's a chance occurrence of light and shadow.

(Burk leans back in his chair, still smirking.)

MULDER: (reaching for an evidence bag) In order to get on those tracks, Teddy Holvey had to escape this child-proof halter that his mother had tied to a bathroom sink.

SCULLY: I've seen some pretty slippery two-year-olds.

MULDER: So the C.M.E. took it home and put it on his own two-year-old and found it was physically impossible for the kid to reach around and free himself, so unless Teddy Holvey was the reincarnation of Houdini - and that would be an X-file in itself ...

(Burk arches his eyebrows at Scully.)

< HOLVEY RESIDENCE, ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA >

(It is night, and Mulder and Scully pull up in front of the house. As they approach the door, an old woman in a black shawl watches them warily from an upstairs window. The window has a small stained glass hanging in front of it, with a reverse swastika.)

(Mulder and Scully are with Maggie and Steve in their living room. There is a fire in the fireplace.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: I don't understand. There's already been a formal inquest.

MULDER: We're here apart from that investigation. We have reason to believe something may have been overlooked.

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Like what?

MULDER: The possibility Teddy may have been helped onto the tracks.

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Oh my God.

STEVE HOLVEY: There were over a hundred witnesses. We saw Teddy ourselves. (the fire in the fireplace suddenly flares up) He was chasing a balloon. There was no one else around ...

(Mulder and Scully notice Charlie standing in the doorway.)

STEVE HOLVEY: ... It was an awful accident. But that's all it was - an accident.

(Charlie looks up and to his left, then runs away as if called by someone. Scully wanders over to the door.)

MULDER: Do you have any reason to suspect someone may have wanted to hurt Teddy?

MAGGIE HOLVEY: He was just a baby. Why would anybody want to hurt him?

STEVE HOLVEY: Look, I don't know what you're getting at. We loved Teddy. If you're suggesting that this is anything like that woman who drowned her kids in the lake, you're way out of line.

(Scully sees that Charlie has gone to the old woman, Golda, who is on a landing midway up the stairs. She is drawing a symbol on the back of Charlie's hand - a reverse swastika with four dots around it.)

MULDER: Mrs. Holvey, did you hear anything in the bathroom right before Teddy disappeared?

MAGGIE HOLVEY: I already told the inquest. I heard nothing.

(Scully has returned to the others.)

SCULLY: Mrs. Holvey, at the time of the accident, did you have any hired help?

MAGGIE HOLVEY: No. My mother came to live with us once Teddy was born.

MULDER: Around the time of Teddy's death, had you noticed anything strange happening around the house, uh, things moved, odd objects appearing, anything like that?

(A loud, shrill alarm sounds.)

STEVE HOLVEY: It's that damn smoke detector. I'll be right back.

(He walks out. As he exits, the lights go out.)

MULDER: Ah ... does this happen often?

MAGGIE HOLVEY: It's an old house. We have a problem with the wiring.

(The lights come back on and Golda is standing in the doorway with Charlie.)

GOLDA: Diavol lol ... diavol lol ... nu ieste el cauza.

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Mother!

GOLDA: Diavol lol.

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Mother, it was just a false alarm.

GOLDA: No. Asea este problema ta baiatul este blestemat. [We must perform the ritual or the killings will continue.]

(Mulder notices the reverse swastika on the back of Charlie's hand and a red string tied around his wrist.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Mother.

GOLDA: (shouting) Ye dracul!

MAGGIE HOLVEY: (also shouting) Stop it!

SCULLY: What is she saying?

STEVE HOLVEY: (returning) Maggie!

GOLDA: You marry a devil. You have devil child!

(Golda leaves, pushing Charlie in front of her.)

STEVE HOLVEY: I'm sorry.

(The next morning, Mulder studies a reverse swastika in a book as Scully enters with a file.)

MULDER: You recognize this?

SCULLY: Sure, it's a swastika.

MULDER: It's also known as a gammadion or a fylfot. It's an ancient symbol used for protection or good luck. It's been used by various cultures since the middle ages. The Holvey's child had one on the back of his hand last night. My guess it was drawn there by the old lady, to protect the boy.

SCULLY: You're right. I saw her drawing it.

MULDER: And you didn't think that was strange?

SCULLY: Well, I think this boy needs as much protection as he can get - but just not from ghosties or beasties. Take a look at this. (hands him a folder) Have you ever heard of Munchausen by Proxy?

MULDER: Yeah, my grandfather used to take that for his stomach.

SCULLY: It's when a parent or caretaker brings harm to a child by inducing medical symptoms, usually as a way of getting attention or status. If you take a look at Teddy Holvey's medical history, you'll see that he was admitted to various hospitals ten times during the two years that he was alive. That's once every three months.

MULDER: (reading the file) Projectile vomiting at three months. Diarrhea at four months. Vomiting ... diarrhea ... diarrhea.

SCULLY: Each time they were unable to determine the cause of the illness.

MULDER: And no one questioned this?

SCULLY: Well, the family moved around a lot because of Steve's job, and records take time to transfer from hospital to hospital. But this kind of abuse is not limited to just one child, so I checked out Charlie's history as well.

(She hands him a second folder.)

MULDER: Charlie had medical problems, too?

SCULLY: Since his brother was born, which is right when Holvey's mother-in-law moved in. Often the perpetrator of Munchausen by Proxy will view the child as evil. The old woman would be a likely candidate, but it could be any family member.

MULDER: Do you feel like taking a walk over to the State Department, Scully? (she nods)

< STATE DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D.C. >

(Mulder and Scully are in Steve Holvey's office.)

STEVE HOLVEY: Things have been strained since Golda - my mother-in-law - moved in with us. I met Maggie in Romania in 1984. Golda forbade our marriage - said I was the devil. After I transferred back to the U.S., things got somewhat better, until Teddy was born and she came to live with us. That's when the strangeness really started.

MULDER: What kind of strangeness?

STEVE HOLVEY: Superstitions rule Golda's life. She'll spit when anyone compliments the kids. Once she moved in with us, she started pouring hot water over the threshold to ward off demons, tying red strings around the kids' wrists. One day I caught her throwing chicken guts on the roof. Then Teddy and Charlie started getting sick - a lot.

SCULLY: And you suspect Golda?

STEVE HOLVEY: She'll call Charlie evil right to his face. But at the same time, she dotes on him like she's afraid of him.

MULDER: Afraid of him or for him?

STEVE HOLVEY: I just don't know.

SCULLY: Are you familiar with Munchausen by Proxy?

STEVE HOLVEY: Are you accusing us of child abuse?

SCULLY: Teddy's medical records have raised some questions.

STEVE HOLVEY: I can never say this to Maggie, but I've wondered if it wasn't Golda who snuck in and let Teddy out of the bathroom that day.

SCULLY: I'd like to interview your son Charlie, Mr. Holvey, but with a professional counsellor.

(She hands him a card on which is printed "Karen F. Kosseff, L.C.S.W., Psychiatric Social Worker, FBI ...")

STEVE HOLVEY: Oh boy. This is gonna be hard.

(At the Holvey house, Maggie and Steve are arguing in the next room, while Mulder and Scully are with Charlie, who sits at the kitchen table. Golda is at the kitchen stove, cooking something in a pot.)

STEVE HOLVEY: Maggie!

MAGGIE HOLVEY: What do they want? To take Charlie away from here?

STEVE HOLVEY: They just want him to talk to the social worker. She's expecting him.

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Social worker? You know them. They'll put lies into Charlie's head.

STEVE HOLVEY: You're being unreasonable.

MAGGIE HOLVEY: You want to take him away from me. You blame me for Teddy, and now you want to take him away from me.

STEVE HOLVEY: I'm not gonna listen to this. This is ridiculous. If you want to come, you can, but I'm taking Charlie now.

(Golda discreetly sprinkles a powder into the pot, taken from a yellow envelope that she took from her apron pocket. Scully sees her.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: No, Steven. He's my son, too.

(As Golda brings the pot to serve Charlie, Scully steps forward.)

SCULLY: What was that?

STEVE HOLVEY: There's nothing more to say.

GOLDA: (to Scully) (Rumanian)

STEVE HOLVEY: (entering the kitchen with Maggie) Come on, Charlie. Let's get your coat.

GOLDA: (under her breath) (Rumanian)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: You have no right to do this!

STEVE HOLVEY: Maggie. (to Charlie) Come on. (to Mulder and Scully) We'll meet you out front.

(Maggie walks out. Scully eyes Golda suspiciously, then leaves.)

(Steve and Charlie enter the garage and get into the car.)

STEVE HOLVEY: OK. You buckled in there?

CHARLIE: Yeah.

STEVE HOLVEY: Good. (he tries the automatic garage door button mounted on the visor, but the garage door doesn't open) Damn it.

(He gets out of the car.)

(Mulder and Scully bring their car to the front of the house.)

(Steve gets a stepladder and climbs up to the garage door opener, throwing his tie over his shoulder. He tries the manual button on the opener a couple of times, but nothing happens. Below, the car doors lock shut mysteriously. The chain on the garage door opener suddenly starts, catching Steve's tie. It pulls him into it, and the ladder falls out from under him as Charlie screams.)

CHARLIE: No! No! Daddy! No! No!

(As Steve chokes and struggles, he kicks in the rear windshield of the car.)

CHARLIE: Daddy! No! Daddy! No!

(The garage door opens, and from out front Scully sees Steve hanging from the garage ceiling.)

SCULLY: Mulder!

(They get out of the car and run to the garage. Mulder grabs Steve's legs but it's too late.)

CHARLIE: Daddy! No! Daddy! No! Daddy! Daddy!

ACT II

(That night, still at the Holvey house, Scully closes the door to Maggie's bedroom as she sleeps on the bed with a doctor nearby. She approaches two policemen standing down the hall.)

POLICEMAN: See this?

(He opens the door to a room and Scully enters. There are many candles in the room. A table in the center of the room has two dead roosters on it as well as candles and other trinkets. She also sees the small stained glass with the reverse swastika. Through the window, Scully sees Golda standing next to a car as three men emerge, all dressed in black coats and wearing black hats. They converse briefly in Rumanian and Golda points toward the garage.)

(Scully enters the garage, where Mulder is on the stepladder collecting evidence from the garage door mechanism.)

SCULLY: Find anything?

MULDER: Yeah, maybe.

(He climbs down and hands her a plastic packet containing a black powder.)

SCULLY: Looks like ash.

MULDER: Yeah. It's everywhere. Look at this.

(He scrapes some from the top of the car.)

SCULLY: The Holveys said earlier that they had some problems with the wiring of the house. It could be from the motor shorted out ...

MULDER: No, I checked the motor. It's working fine.

SCULLY: Well, what do you think it is?

MULDER: I don't know, but I'm gonna have this analyzed.

SCULLY: Well, before we do anything, I think we should get Charlie out of this house. I just put a call into a social worker who's gonna come down and make a report.

MULDER: Uh, the courts are reluctant to intervene in these matters.

SCULLY: Not when a child is in danger ... and not after they see two dead roosters in the old woman's bedroom.

MULDER: Really? You still think this is Munchausen by Proxy, Scully?

SCULLY: Without a doubt. (the garage door starts to open) What did you do?

MULDER: I didn't do anything.

(As the door rises, on the other side they see Charlie, with Golda behind him and the three men next to her.)

GOLDA: Stay away from our house!

(She takes Charlie into the house.)

(Scully is in the office as Mulder enters with a piece of paper.)

MULDER: Hey. You want to see something weird?

SCULLY: What?

MULDER: Chem-lab analysis of the ash from the Holvey's house. (he hands her a graph with a flat horizontal line) No trace of any metal, no carbon, no oxygen, no nothing.

SCULLY: What do you mean?

MULDER: It contains nothing organic or inorganic. In fact, according to the technicians, this ash doesn't exist. (grabs his coat) Come on.

SCULLY: Where are we going?

MULDER: To get a second opinion.

< UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK >

(Back in Burk's office, he examines the powder.)

DR. BURK: Oh, wow. Haven't seen this for a while. Not since India, 1979.

SCULLY: India?

MULDER: Before Chuck succumbed to the glamours of academia, he did a tour of duty on the old hippie trail.

DR. BURK: It's called vibuti - holy ash. Technically, it's known as an apport - something that materializes out of thin air.

SCULLY: Wait a second. Nothing just materializes out of thin air.

DR. BURK: You've read the Bible? You remember the story about Jesus creating the loaves and the fishes?

SCULLY: Yeah, but that was a parable.

DR. BURK: In 1979, I witnessed a guru named Sai Baba create an entire feast out of thin air.

SCULLY: Too bad you didn't take a picture. You could have run it through your computer and seen the entire Last Supper.

(Mulder smiles broadly in reaction to Scully's joke.)

DR. BURK: Vibuti is, uh, created during the presence of spirit beings, or during bilocation, which is, uh, a phenomenon where a person's energy is transported to a different location.

MULDER: That energy could have been what set off the garage door opener.

DR. BURK: Yeah.

SCULLY: Yeah, that or somebody activated the remote control.

MULDER: Well, who are you suggesting did that?

SCULLY: Well, who was standing outside when the garage door opened unexpectedly on us yesterday?

MULDER: The old lady ... and Charlie.

(At the Holvey house, Charlie eavesdrops against the door to Golda's room. Inside, Golda and the three men chant in Rumanian. They stand around the table with the dead roosters and light matches, tossing them into a pot of reddish liquid in the center of the table. Golda pours a liquid into the pot, and smoke rises from it. In the smoke appears an image of Charlie, which yells in Rumanian at Golda and the men.)

(Maggie answers the front door to find Karen Kosseff.)

KAREN KOSSEFF: Mrs. Holvey? My name is Karen Kosseff. I'm a social worker with the FBI. I've been instructed to file a report for the court. May I come in?

MAGGIE HOLVEY: (shaking her head) No. Please, I've already had enough trouble.

KAREN KOSSEFF: I understand, Mrs. Holvey, but if you won't talk to me, I'm going to have to put that in the report and it could very well complicate your situation.

(Maggie reluctantly lets Kosseff in.)

CHARLIE: (from upstairs, sounding frightened) Mommy!

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Charlie?

(They run upstairs, finding Charlie on the floor in front of Golda's door.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Oh my God! Charlie? It's OK, Charlie. (she takes him in her arms) It's OK. It's OK, Charlie. It's OK. (Kosseff catches up) He's been sick. My mother was supposed to be looking after him.

(They hear the chanting from Golda's room and see lights and smoke coming from underneath the door.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Mother! Mother!

(She throws open the door and sees Golda and the men, still performing their ritual.)

GOLDA: (to Maggie) (Rumanian)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Get out of my house.

GOLDA: (to Maggie) (Rumanian)

FIRST MAN: (also to Maggie) (Rumanian)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: (hugging Charlie protectively) Get out!

(The men look at each other and at Golda. Golda nods and they leave.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: (to Golda, still in the room) I have had enough, Mother. I want you out of my house.

GOLDA: [The boy's blood must be cleansed. It is the only way.]

(She grabs Charlie and pulls him into the room, closing and locking the door. Maggie pounds on the door.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: (yelling) No! Mother! Mother!

(Inside, Golda picks up a large knife and pulls Charlie's hand to her. Charlie looks frightened.)

GOLDA: [We must finish this.]

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Mother!

(Kosseff has run outside as Mulder and Scully pull up in their car.)

KAREN KOSSEFF: Agent Scully. The grandmother's taken the child. She's locked him in the room with her. She may have a knife. I've called 9-1-1.

(They all run toward the house.)

MULDER: What happened?

KAREN KOSSEFF: There were three strange men. They were performing some kind of ritual.

(They hear Charlie yelling from upstairs.)

CHARLIE: No! No, Nana!

(Inside, Golda moves the knife toward Charlie's palm. Suddenly the candles all go out. Golda clutches Charlie to her and waves the knife at an unseen enemy and screams. She stops and hugs the boy.)

GOLDA: Mihai! Mihai! Mihai! It is the only way.

(She puts the knife to Charlie's palm again, but he screams and runs to the corner of the room and cowers. A table suddenly flies across the room, striking Golda. She falls.)

(Outside, Mulder and Scully reach Maggie, who is still pounding on the door. Mulder draws his gun.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Mama!

(Inside, Golda regains her senses to see Charlie standing over her, holding the two dead roosters.)

CHARLIE: Esiti din mina trup periti.

(He drops the roosters onto her and they suddenly become alive, squawking and pecking at her. Golda screams as she bleeds from the roosters' attack.)

(Mulder breaks in the door to find the room quiet and Charlie standing calmly next to the table. Maggie and Scully run to Golda, who lies dead on the floor. Two dead roosters are next to her.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: (crying) Oh my God! Mama! Mama!

(Mulder stares at Charlie, who looks back at him impassively.)

ACT III

(Mulder and several policemen are collecting evidence in Golda's room. Mulder sniffs the contents of a glass container on the table. Scully enters.)

MULDER: Did you talk to Charlie?

SCULLY: He says he doesn't remember anything. Now, the coroner's preliminary report states that she died of a heart attack ... but those wounds, Mulder, I'd swear it looked like her eyes were pecked out.

MULDER: Well, there was more ash on the floor under the old woman's body, and look at this. (hands her the glass container)

SCULLY: What is it?

MULDER: It's mugwort. I think it's a ceremonial herb.

SCULLY: You think this was a ritual killing?

MULDER: No. The reverse swastika on the window and the red string around Charlie's wrist - those are protective devices.

SCULLY: Protection against what?

MULDER: I don't know, but I think the old woman knew the family was in trouble, and those men were here doing a ritual to help her.

(They hear Maggie yelling and head out to see what's going on.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: I told you before. Get out of my house!

(Maggie is downstairs with the men.)

FIRST MAN: (Rumanian)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: I am not interested in your superstition. Now get out. Now!!!

(The men go out the front door as Mulder and Scully come down the stairs.)

SCULLY: Mrs. Holvey?

MAGGIE HOLVEY: It's all right.

MULDER: Who are they?

MAGGIE HOLVEY: They are the Calusari. In Romania, they are responsible for the correct observance of sacred rites.

SCULLY: What did he say?

MAGGIE HOLVEY: He said it's not over. The evil is still here.

MULDER: Excuse me.

(Mulder goes out the front door and runs to catch up with the Calusari. He speaks to the first man, who is the head Calusari.)

MULDER: Sir? Can I have a word with you? Sir, I'm with the FBI. I'd like to ask you some questions.

(He flashes his badge but the Calusari continue to walk toward their car.)

MULDER: You were trying to protect the family, weren't you? You said there was still evil here. Sir? (grabs the head Calusari by the arm as he reaches the car) I can arrest you if I have to.

HEAD CALUSARI: The evil that is here has always been. It has gone by different names through history - Cain, Lucifer, Hitler. It does not care if it kills one boy or a million men. If you try to stop us, the blood will be on your hands.

(He gets in the car along with the other men and they pull off.)

(Later, Maggie Holvey stands at the mantlepiece, looking sadly at pictures of her family. Mulder and Scully enter.)

MULDER: Mrs. Holvey? I know this is a difficult time, but there are some questions that need to be answered.

MAGGIE HOLVEY: My mother used to say that evil follows evil. Once someone suffers a misfortune, they'll always have bad luck. I used to think that was just a superstition. Now I don't know what to believe. I blamed her, you know. for all that's happened. I thought maybe she was putting a curse on us to punish me.

SCULLY: Punish you for what?

MAGGIE HOLVEY: For abandoning the old ways. I was raised to believe as she did, in spirits, the unseen world. When I married Steve and came to this country, I left all that behind.

MULDER: Do you know what kind of ceremony she was performing upstairs?

MAGGIE HOLVEY: (nods) She was trying to cleanse the house of evil. She thought Charlie was responsible somehow. (near tears) How could he be responsible for all this horror? He's just a little boy.

SCULLY: I think we should talk to Charlie and find out what happened in your mother's bedroom.

(Maggie nods.)

< ST. MATTHEW'S MEDICAL CENTER, ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA >

(Karen Kosseff is talking to Charlie in a playroom in the center. Charlie sits quietly, playing with an Etch-a-Sketch. Mulder, Scully and Maggie are in an adjoining room, watching and listening.)

KAREN KOSSEFF: Charlie? I was told they found you in your grandmother's room yesterday. Can you tell me about it? (he shakes his head) Do you remember how you got there?

CHARLIE: No.

KAREN KOSSEFF: Your mother said you were there. Don't you remember?

CHARLIE: (sharply) I wasn't there.

(He gets up and walks away.)

KAREN KOSSEFF: Many people saw you in the room.

CHARLIE: It wasn't me! I wasn't there! It wasn't me!

(He kicks some toys across the room.)

KAREN KOSSEFF: Who was in the room?

CHARLIE: No!

KAREN KOSSEFF: Was there someone else in the room?

CHARLIE: No! I didn't hurt her!

KAREN KOSSEFF: Charlie? Charlie? Who hurt your grand ... Charlie?

CHARLIE: It was him!

KAREN KOSSEFF: Who? Charlie, who?

CHARLIE: It was Michael! Michael! Michael!

(Mrs. Holvey gasps and turns away from the window.)

SCULLY: Mrs. Holvey?

MAGGIE HOLVEY: We never told him. It was agreed upon. It was our secret.

MULDER: What secret, Mrs. Holvey? What are you talking about?

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Michael. He was Charlie's twin. He was stillborn. Steven and I agreed never to tell Charlie about it. My mother, she wanted to perform a ritual of separation when she heard of Michael's death, to divide their souls. She said if we didn't, the world of the dead would follow Charlie. But it was just a superstition.

(Inside, Charlie is on the floor and Kosseff is trying to help him.)

KAREN KOSSEFF: Charlie? (to the others) Help! I need your help!

(They rush into the playroom.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Charlie?

KAREN KOSSEFF: He's having some kind of siezure.

SCULLY: Don't restrain him. Let's turn him on his side so he doesn't aspirate. Charlie, you're going to be OK.

(Later, Scully walks up stairs toward Mulder, who is standing on a landing beside a window. It is dark outside.)

MULDER: How's Charlie?

SCULLY: He's resting. How's Mrs. Holvey?

MULDER: I'm amazed she hasn't broken down completely. She's in the waiting room, trying to get some sleep.

SCULLY: The doctor said that Charlie had some kind of a siezure, but they've been unable to determine a cause.

(Charlie is lying in a hospital bed. A nurse pulls aside the dividing curtain, startling him.)

NURSE CASTOR: Oh, I'm sorry Charlie, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm Nurse Castor. Now, I'm just gonna give you a little something to help you sleep.

CHARLIE: No, I don't want a shot.

(She rubs antiseptic on his arm for the shot. Charlie struggles against her.)

NURSE CASTOR: I know, but that's what happens when you spit out your medicine. We have to give it to you some other way.

CHARLIE: No!

NURSE CASTOR: Now, Charlie, I just want you to relax. It's not gonna hurt, and afterwards I'll give you a sucker.

CHARLIE: Leave me alone!

NURSE CASTOR: Charlie, it'll just be a little pinch. Now, I want you to relax.

CHARLIE: Stop it!

NURSE CASTOR: Charlie, now, I want you to behave.

CHARLIE: Leave me alone.

(Across the room, "Michael", Charlie's twin, appears behind the door. Charlie sees him, but the nurse's back is to the door.)

NURSE CASTOR: Charlie, I want you to behave. Just relax.

CHARLIE: No! Don't do it! Don't do it!

("Michael" is approaching the nurse, carrying a metal medical stand.)

NURSE CASTOR: Charlie ...

CHARLIE: No, Michael! Michael, don't!

(Nurse Castor looks over her shoulder just as "Michael" hits her with the stand.)

ACT IV

(Still at the hospital, Maggie is sleeping on a sofa in the waiting room. She is awakened by Charlie.)

CHARLIE: Mommy? I want to go home now.

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Charlie? What are you doing up? Why are you dressed?

CHARLIE: They said I could go home now.

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Who said that?

CHARLIE: The doctors. They said I could leave.

MAGGIE HOLVEY: All right, then. Let's just get your coat and we'll talk to the doctors.

(She gets up.)

CHARLIE: No, Mommy. Let's just go home - (firmly) now.

MAGGIE HOLVEY: OK, Charlie. We'll go straight home.

(She takes his hand and they walk out of the waiting room.)

(Mulder walks up the stairs to Scully, who is on the same stairway landing as earlier. Something out the window catches her attention.)

MULDER: What are you looking at?

SCULLY: Is that Mrs. Holvey?

MULDER: Where?

SCULLY: There. I think she's got Charlie with her.

(Down below, Mrs. Holvey is getting into her car. Charlie is in the front seat as well.)

(Mulder and Scully pull the curtain in Charlie's room to see that Charlie is still in his bed. They hear Nurse Castor, who is lying on the floor in the corner of the room.)

NURSE CASTOR: Uhhh ...

(Scully steps out into the hall to summon help while Mulder helps her up.)

SCULLY: (calling down the hall) Nurse!

MULDER: Are you all right?

NURSE CASTOR: He hit me.

SCULLY: Who? Charlie?

NURSE CASTOR: No ... not him, the other one. There were two of them, two boys.

(Another nurse arrives to help Nurse Castor. Mulder and Scully walk out and down the hallway.)

MULDER: You gotta get to Mrs. Holvey's house.

SCULLY: Why?

MULDER: That boy you saw leaving with Mrs. Holvey - that wasn't Charlie.

SCULLY: You're saying Mrs. Holvey left here with a ghost?

MULDER: A spirit, a ghost - I'm not sure but it's what we saw in the photograph. It's what the old woman was trying to protect the family from.

SCULLY: But, Mulder ...

MULDER: Whatever it is, it's killed three people, and you've got to get to Mrs. Holvey's before it happens again.

(Scully gets on the elevator.)

SCULLY: What are you gonna do?

MULDER: Get help.

(Maggie is in her kitchen with who she thinks is Charlie, but is actually Michael. She puts some food in front of him.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: There you go, Charlie.

MICHAEL: Aren't you going to have some?

MAGGIE HOLVEY: No, dear. I'm not hungry.

MICHAEL: Tomorrow we can go to the park.

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Yes. Sure.

MICHAEL: Can I have a balloon?

(Maggie starts to look very uneasy.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Uh-huh.

MICHAEL: Can we ride the train, Mommy?

(Maggie looks very uneasy, as she has figured out something's wrong. She fumbles through a kitchen drawer to find some matches.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Now you finish up and mommy will be right back, OK?

(Maggie is now in Golda's room. It is dark, and she lights a number of candles.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: (chant in Rumanian)

(She now lights three matches and drops them into a bowl of liquid. They extinguish as they hit the liquid and float on the surface.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Please, God. Don't let it be true.

(One by one, the matches sink. She gasps when the last one sinks.)

MICHAEL: What are you doing, Mommy?

(She turns to see Michael standing in the doorway. There is a wind blowing in his hair.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: (chants in Rumanian)

(She picks up a knife and holds it over her head, approaching Michael. The wind continues.)

MICHAEL: Mommy?

MAGGIE HOLVEY: (continues to chant in Rumanian)

(Mulder waits in the hallway outside Charlie's room. Four Calusari enter the hall and walk toward him. He motions toward Charlie's room and they enter the room. Mulder follows.)

HEAD CALUSARI: (to Mulder) Guard the door.

(Mulder closes the door.)

(Scully enters the Holvey's house. It is dark.)

SCULLY: Mrs. Holvey?

(She steps in, turning on a flashlight. She tries the light switch but the lights don't come on. She walks into the foyer and hears a noise from upstairs.)

SCULLY: Hello?

(Back at the hospital, the Calusari surround Charlie's bed and chant in Rumanian and pray. The head Calusari tears open Charlie's pajama shirt. Charlie seems to be asleep. As they continue to chant, one of the Calusari sprinkles a powder on Charlie's chest, and he awakens suddenly and hisses at them. The Calusari restrain him, two holding his arms while a third holds his head. The fourth, the head Calusari, sprinkles a herb into a bowl of liquid and it bubbles. Charlie continues to hiss and starts to thrash on the bed.)

CHARLIE: (loudly) Fie newt, avet a plaratariat. New potex ... new potex ... new potex. Suffragettes agitaball. Pulley tot allso puritay from freeditay. Suffragette a agitaball. Ohh saaa ... pu chette ... agitaball ... boy gotz.

(The head Calusari adds a red powder to the bowl of liquid. The liquid turns red and bubbles more violently, emitting smoke. Charlie continues to thrash about, while the other Calusari continue to chant.)

HEAD CALUSARI: (turning and gesturing to Mulder) Come. Hold him down.

(Mulder comes to the foot of the bed and holds Charlie's feet. Charlie continues to struggle, growls and gives Mulder an evil stare.)

HEAD CALUSARI: (to Mulder) Don't look at him. Look away, or it will recognize you.

(Mulder turns his head, seeing an orange liquid now covering the walls.)

(Back at the Holvey's, Scully opens the door to Golda's bedroom. The stained glass with the reverse swastika shakes, and both windows then blow in. Scully steps back and shields her eyes, then enters. A strong wind howls through the windows. She enters and pans the room with her flashlight. A glass object breaks at her feet. She hears faint chanting in Rumanian, and as she walks along the wall, her head is suddenly touched by a pair of feet. Startled, she spins away and looks up, seeing Maggie pinned against the ceiling by an unseen force. Maggie is chanting. Scully sees a shadow move across the wall and turns quickly back toward the window, but she sees no one. The door to the room suddenly slams shut. She gasps and turns toward the door.)

SCULLY: Charlie?

CHARLIE'S voice coming from MAGGIE: Mommy?

(Scully shines her flashlight up at Maggie, who resumes chanting in Rumanian. Scully is picked up by an unseen force and slammed into the corner of the room, next to the window. She falls to the floor, and is then slid, along with some furniture, into the other corner.)

(Back at the hospital, the head Calusari unsheathes a large knife over the bowl of bubbling red liquid. Charlie now screams at them in Rumanian. Mulder continues to hold his feet. The bed starts to shake and rises several feet off the floor.)

CHARLIE: (screaming) It hurts!

(Mulder, responding to Charlie's cry, lets go of his feet.)

HEAD CALUSARI: (to Mulder) Do not let go. He tricks you.

(Mulder grabs Charlie's feet again. One of the Calusari squeezes a liquid into a small cup and hands it to the head Calusari. He adds the contents to the other bowl of liquid and picks up a white feather. As Charlie continues to scream, the head Calusari dips the feather into the red liquid and starts to paint a reverse swastika on Charlie's chest. He continues to scream, as the Calusari continue to chant.)

(At the Holvey's, Michael also screams and picks up the large knife from the floor. He advances toward Scully, the knife held high over his head. Scully shields her head with her arm and tries to twist away.)

(At the hospital, the head Calusari completes the reverse swastika on Charlie's chest. Charlie's body relaxes and the bed falls back to the floor.)

(At the Holvey's, the knife falls harmlessly to the floor next to Scully. The wind stops. Maggie falls to the floor as well. Scully goes to Maggie's aid.)

SCULLY: Are you all right?

MAGGIE HOLVEY: Charlie?

(They look across the room but no one else is there. There is gray ash on the floor and a small wisp of smoke drifting across the floor.)

(At the hospital, Charlie lies quietly on the bed with his eyes closed. He is covered with perspiration, as well as the reverse swastika painted on his chest in red.)

HEAD CALUSARI: Let the boy rest. We must find the mother. The boy needs her.

(The Calusari step away from the bed, leaving Mulder staring at Charlie.)

(Later, Mulder stands in the hallway outside Charlie's room. Scully and Maggie come off the elevator and run toward him.)

MULDER: Scully, you all right?

SCULLY: We're OK. How's Charlie?

(Maggie runs past him and enters Charlie's room, brushing past the head Calusari. It is now daylight outside.)

MAGGIE HOLVEY: (Romanian) Charlie! It's OK! Charlie!

(She runs to his bedside. Charlie is still sleeping but seems OK.)

HEAD CALUSARI: (to Mulder) It is over, for now. But you must be careful. It knows you.

(The head Calusari closes the door. Mulder and Scully stare at each other for a moment, then walk slowly down the hallway.)

MULDER: (voiceover) The strange case of Charlie Holvey and the deaths that occurred during his possession by a dark and malevolent force are unsolved ...

(Maggie sits on the bed beside the sleeping Charlie as the Calusari stand around the bed and chant.)

MULDER: (voiceover) ... The boy, who will celebrate his tenth birthday next month, remains under the watchful care of his mother. And though I believe him innocent of the crimes, I am disturbed by the warnings of the Calusari that neither innocence nor vigilance may be protection against the howling heart of evil.

THE END