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BOSTON, MASSACHUSSETTS Heidi Blair unlocked the door to her two-story Victorian home and entered wearily. Her day had taken a toll on her; the life of a busy legal assistant was a strain. She walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, looking for a soda. Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her and she whirled around to find her husband, Glenn, in the room. "Honey," she said with a sigh, "you startled me! What are you doing home so early? I thought you said you were working late at the hospital tonight?" "I came home," he responded almost without emotion, "I've had a hard day, Heidi. I think I'm gonna go to bed." Heidi paused for a moment, taken aback by the strange behavior of her usual, work-aholic husband. "Okay," she finally said, "I'll be up in a minute." Glenn then turned and walked to the stairs. He hesitated for a moment, and then advanced onto the second floor. She returned the soda to the refrigerator shelf, thinking to herself about her husband's demeanor. Maybe the long hours of work had finally began to take their toll on him? She closed the door to the fridge and began her ascent up the stairs. "Glenn?" she called out as she entered their bedroom. She heard the sink running in the bathroom, and figured that he was shaving. Well, he's going to have a surprise waiting for him when he comes to bed, she thought to herself. She took her clothes off as quickly as possible, revealing her attractive, naked body. She turned out the overhead light and jumped on the bed, ready to make Glenn remember why he had married her in the first place. Unbeknownst to her, a strange glow began to emanate from underneath the bed, faintly giving off a reddish light. "Glenn? Are you almost done?" she asked, trying to hold in her giggling. "Almost," he responded as the sink stopped running. Heidi began to prepare herself for Glenn's reaction to her. She hadn't done anything like this in a long time, at least as far back as she could remember. Suddenly, she noticed the red light from under the bed rapidly growing brighter. Then, a low, menacing growl was heard. "Glenn!" Heidi screamed. She jumped out of the bed, but as soon as her foot hit the floor a hand was outstretched to catch it. She was pulled underneath the hellish-colored bed in the blink of an eye, her screams piercing the room. "Heidi?!?" Glenn yelled as he ran out of the bathroom. He stood in shock of what he saw. The bed was thrashing up and down, and the red light was glowing so bright it was blinding. He could barely make out Heidi's form being pulled underneath. The red light then pulsed, momentarily blinding Glenn. He rubbed the spots out of his eyes, and saw that the bed was back the way it should be. He ran to the bed, getting on all fours in a frantic search for Heidi. Under the bed, there was...nothing. She was gone, no where to be seen. Glenn pushed the bed out of the way, and made a shocking discovery. Underneath was a stain covering the entire space of the bed. A design made in blood. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS "So what's this about, Mulder?" Scully asked as she walked up the Blair's driveway with her partner. The two had taken separate flights to Boston, and Mulder had arrived before her. "It's a murder-slash-kidnapping case," Mulder replied as he flashed his badge at an approaching police officer. The officer recognized the FBI insignia, and quickly backed off. "Heidi Blair disappeared from her home around 10 PM last night. According to her husband, Glenn, she was pulled under her bed by some kind of monster. When he attempted to save her, she was gone." "You're not serious?" She asked. Mulder shot her a look of disbelief, and she rolled her eyes. "You are serious." "Glenn Blair was placed in police custody, as the prime suspect in his wife's death. He's being held in the Boston city lock-up," He stated as the two walked inside the house. "Obviously," Scully replied. "So, if he's already being charged, then why are we here?" "Because," Mulder said as he advanced up the staircase toward the bedroom, "Heidi's body has yet to be found." "So he hid it somewhere, probably buried in the backyard," Scully stated. The two walked down the hallway, until Mulder stopped them at the door to the bedroom. "Scully, there's something in here that could suggest another possible scenario for Heidi Blair's disappearance." "Monsters under the bed..." "Take a look," Mulder told her as he opened the door to the bedroom. The bed had been removed, which left the giant bloodstain open for observation. The two agents walked around the room, staring at the stain for several, silent moments. "Scully, does this make a pattern or am I just seeing things?" Mulder asked, breaking the silence. "A pattern? Not any that I can see. Blood stains are blood stains, Mulder." "No, it makes something," Mulder stated as he crouched down to examine it further. "It's a face!" he exclaimed. "What?" "You don't see some sort of face in that, Scully? Deformed, almost demonic?" "Mulder, I think you're seeing what you WANT to see in it." "No, no, Scully. It's definitely a face." "Mulder, do you know what pareidolia is? It's a phenomenon in which the brain attempts to make sense of a random pattern. The human brain feels the need to make sense of anything and everything, including things that make no sense at all. Things like this blood splatter." "I know what pareidolia is, Scully. That's not what this is." "Mulder, once someone makes a pareidolic interpretation of something, it's hard to let go of. You're seeing that pattern because your brain is making you see it." "Regardless, I want these stains photographed and analyzed." "Mulder, this is the same thing that Rorschach tests are based on. Abstract ink blots that the human mind forms into pictures." "Maybe that has something to do with this case. The Rorschach tests." "How so?" "Glenn Blair is one of the finest psychologists in the city. He's a person that would have intimate knowledge of Rorschach tests and pareidolia. Maybe this is something that needs to be followed up on." Scully turned and walked out of the room, leaving Mulder alone and staring at the bloodstains.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS "Agent Mulder," Glenn Blair said while handcuffed to the interrogation table, "I didn't kill my wife." "Well, Mr. Blair," Mulder said while sitting across the table from him, "a lot of people seem to think you did." Scully stood in the back of the room, watching her partner question him. "But I didn't!" Blair stated strongly, fighting back tears, "I loved Heidi, I would never hurt her." "Tell us again what happened," Mulder said. "I was in the bathroom, getting ready to go to bed. She was in the adjoining bedroom, waiting on me. I heard her screams, and I came running out. There was a red light coming from under the bed, so bright I could barely see her. She was thrashing around underneath the bed, almost like she was being mauled by an animal. Then, the light suddenly turned off, and Heidi was gone." "Do you know what this means?" Mulder asked, pushing a picture of the bloodstain toward him. "It was under the bed," he said softly, "made in blood." "Glenn, I'm going to try and help you. We need to know where Heidi's body is at, without a body there is a chance of her still being alive." "I wish I knew, God I wish I knew." "Okay," Mulder said while standing up, "We'll get back to you with whatever we find." He turned and walked out the door, but Scully hesitated for a moment. She shot Glenn a look of suspicion, and then followed her partner into the hallway. "Mulder, that man is guilty of something. Even if he didn't kill her, he knows exactly where her body is at." "Scully, that man is scared. Did you see how he couldn't stop shaking?" "I saw it," she replied. "I'm going to follow up the only lead we seem to have, the patterns in that blood stain." "Mulder..." "I'll be back later," he told her. He then began to walk down the hallway toward the exit. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS Glenn sat in his cell, staring at the floor. He had already attempted to cry himself to sleep, but he found himself running out of tears. As he sat and thought to himself, one of the guards approached the cell door. "Mr. Blair?" he asked, "You got a visitor. He says he's your nephew, and that he wants to talk to you about his therapy," "Nephew?" Glenn asked with a confused tone, "I don't even have any siblings, let along a nephew." "Well, he's pretty insistent on seeing you tonight. Do you want to talk to him?" Blair thought for a second. He had no idea who the person could be, and at that point he didn't really want to find out. "No, tell him to come back tomorrow." The guard nodded his head and walked back toward the admittance office. Glenn tried to listen for the visitor's voice, but it was too far down the hall. Later that night, Glenn lay in bed still unable to sleep. He caught the sight of a person in the corner of his eye, and he shot up from his bed. Could that have been who he thought? He rubbed his eyes and blinked, and caught a clearer picture of the man walking away from his cell. It was the guard, not the man Glenn believed he had seen. Glenn sat back down on his bed, and began to shiver with fear. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS "Blair had a visitor last night," Scully told Mulder as he approached her in the jail hallway. "Really? Who?" he answered. He was carrying a piece of paper in his hands. "The name he gave was false, but we managed to track him down via the security monitor. His name is Alexander Perrin, one of Blair's patients," "But none of Blair's patients know he's here, Scully." "I know, that's why I thought we might want to question him," she replied. She then noticed the paper in Mulder's hands, "What's that?" "What I spent last night researching on," he told her as he let her see the paper. On it was an inkblot of the same blood pattern under Blair's bed. "This is one of the standard designs used in the Rorschach Tests. It's the same design as the blood pattern, Scully!" Scully let out a deep sigh, "You know, Mulder, there are times when a person's brain is unable to give up the search for meaning and patterns. It's called a "belief engine," and I think yours is running at full power right now." "How can you stand there and say those patterns don't match, Scully? Maybe you're too unwilling to believe?" "Let's discuss this on the road, Mulder. Perrin is being held at the Boston Helm Mental Hospital, I suggest us talking with him as soon as possible." BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS Mulder and Scully sat at the visitors' table, waiting for the hospital staff to bring their suspect in. The door opened, and Alexander Perrin was brought in by two rather large orderlies. They sat him down in the chair, and took positions behind him. Perrin was a small, thin man. His head had been crudely shaved, and an unemotional expression stayed across his face. "Mr. Perrin?" Mulder began, "I'm Agent Mulder with the FBI. This is Agent Scully. We would like to ask you a few questions, is that okay?" Perrin nodded his head slowly, showing nothing but the blank expression on his face. "Mr. Perrin, do you know Dr. Glenn Blair?" Perrin again nodded his head yes. "He's your doctor, right? Is he the reason you're here now, at the hospital?" Perrin's eyes finally met with Mulder's, and a frustrated expression became more apparent in his face. "Yes," Perrin said with a deep voice. "Why did he commit you here?" "Dr. Blair thinks I'm crazy," Perrin replied. "Are you?" Mulder asked softly. Perrin leaned over to Mulder and whispered, "I wish I was." "Mr. Perrin, did you visit Dr. Blair in jail last night?" Scully chimed in. "How could I? I've been here, strapped to my damn bed, for a week straight," Perrin responded with agitation in his voice. "Well, Mr. Perrin, what about these surviellence photos that show you at the jail pretending to be Dr. Blair's cousin?" she asked while pushing the pictures toward him. "It's not me," Perrin responded without even glancing at the pictures. "He's telling the truth," one of the orderlies spoke up and said, "He's locked and strapped to his bed every night, and under constant supervision during the day." "Thank you," Mulder said as he stood up, "could we get a look in his room?" The first orderly opened the door and exited, with Mulder and Scully following behind. The second orderly stayed behind with Perrin, whose cries of protest were heard down the hallways. The three got to room 232, and the orderly unlocked the door. Mulder and Scully walked into the room, which was about the size of a jail cell. Paintings and drawings hung from the walls, paintings of a familiar design. "Look familiar?" Mulder asked as he pointed out a painting that was identical to the Rorschach design. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS "What does this mean?" Mulder demanded as he threw the design from Perrin's wall onto the table in front of Blair. "I see you found Alexander Perrin," Glenn stated as he picked up the painting and looked at it. "It's the same design as the blood pattern under your bed," Mulder said, "doesn't that seem a little more than coincidental to you?" "I thought about that, believe me. Alexander has deep psychological problems. I had used the Rorschach tests in his therapy, and he began to fixate on it. It was then that I decided to have him commited, for his saftey mostly." "He came and visited you last night," Scully told him, "his face is on the surviellence camera." Glenn's face had a look of surprise on it. "How did he get out of the hospital?" "We don't know," Mulder replied. "I wish I could help you out more, Agents. But even in this position, I am bound by the doctor-patient relationship. I can't tell you anything anyway, because I don't know anything about Perrin's activities inside the hospital." "I find that hard to believe," Mulder said to him. "Agent Mulder, do you know what Rorschach tests involve? The results are strictly based on the patient's interpretation of them. They don't mean anything other than that. They are simply inkblots on cards. There is nothing else I can tell you about them." "Then we'll have to find out on our own," Scully said as the Agents turned and walked out of the room. "That man infuriates me," Scully said to her partner as they walked down the hallway. "How much do you think he knows and isn't telling us?" Mulder asked. "He knows that Perrin is involved, I can tell you that much." "But how did he get out of a locked hospital room that's under guard?" "I don't know, Mulder. But that's what we're here to find out, isn't it?" BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS Glenn had finally fallen asleep, for the first time in two days. Exhaustion had finally overtaken him, and he gave in to his body's need for rest. As he slept on the cell's cot, a faint light began to flow from underneath the bed. Glenn woke up in a cold sweat, and immediately noticed the eerie glow. Suddenly, he heard a voice. "Glenn Blair..." the voice said in an unhuman tone, "Listen to me." Glenn was scared out of his mind, unable to comprehend what was happening. "Listen to me..." the voice continued, "I can give you a way out. I can give you the answers that you seek." "H...h...how?" Glenn replied. "Simply say 'yes'." Glenn sat on his bed as the light grew brighter, considering the possibilities of his answer. Mulder was awakened by a phone call, and his hand fumbled around for the receiver. "Mulder," he said groggily. "Agent Mulder? This is Officer Donwaite at the jail. I'm calling to inform you that Glenn Blair has disappeared from his cell." "What?" Mulder asked, suddenly wide-awake, "My partner and I will be right there." He hung up the phone and started to put his suit back on, realizing that perhaps Blair and Perrin knew more about the situation than he had realized. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS "How?" Scully asked dumbfounded. The agents looked through Blair's cell, attempting to find any sign or clue that would suggest how he escaped. "Do you really want me to say, Scully?" Mulder asked as he sat down on the cell bed. "I'm all ears, Mulder," Scully said with a sigh. "Keep in mind that this is just a theory before you shoot it down," Mulder stated with a slight laugh. "Just throw it out," Scully told him. "What if it's inter-dimensional teleportation?" "Seriously?" "Think of it like this, Scully," he said while she rolled her eyes in disbelief, "Perhaps Blair has been able to tap into a region of his brain that controls perception and depth. He's a trained psychologist of many years, maybe he just kind of picked this trick up during his studies." "Okay, but how does that explain anything other than his escape tonight?" "Maybe he taught this psychic trick to Perrin? Blair probably realized that he couldn't kill his wife himself, so he manipulated his deeply disturbed patient to do it for him. Who wouldn't believe that Perrin killed her over her own husband?" "But, Mulder, if this was true then wouldn't Blair have pointed Perrin out to us instead of keeping him secret?" "Like I said, Scully, it's just a theory," he said with a smile, "And I'm not through yet. The design found on Blair's bedroom floor, I think it could signify the doorway that Perrin used to "dimension-jump" from place to place." "Then where is the design now? If that theory held any water, then wouldn't we have found blood stains under the bed?" Mulder got off the bed and put his body on the floor. He took his penlight and shined it under the prison cot. "Look at this," he said. Scully got down on the floor with him and looked under the bed. The Rorschach design was scorched onto the bottom of the bed's fabric. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS APRIL 19, 2000 RESIDENCE OF GLENN AND HEIDI BLAIR 12:11 AM Glenn's eyes shot open with a start, and he began to flail his arms around wildly. After a moment of disorientation, he looked to his sides. He was lying on his back, underneath a bed. He lifted his arms and realized that he was lying in a pool of blood. He slid himself out from under the bed as quickly as he could. He stood up, and saw that the bed he was under was his own. Somehow, he had returned to his house! After letting the revelation sink in for a moment, he began to stagger toward the bathroom. He vomited into the toilet, and when done went to his closet and found himself a change of clothes. Blair changed clothes and searched his dresser for the spare key to his car. After finding it he rushed to his garage and sped into the night. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS "We're sorry to have to ask you these questions at such a late hour, Mr. Perrin," Mulder told the man, "but it's very important that you answer them truthfully." He then pulled out a stack of cards from a bag. "I'm going to give you a test, Alex, is that okay?" Mulder asked him. Perrin nodded his head in approval. Mulder slid the first Rorschach test in front of him, but Perrin gave little reaction. "If you recognize any of these, Alex, I want you to tell us," Mulder told him as he slid the second card in front of the patient. Again, no reaction. Mulder shot Scully a look, turned back to Perrin, and slid the third card in front of him. This card, however, displayed the design found at the crime scenes. "AAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!" Perrin screamed as he jumped out of his seat and threw himself against the wall, "Monster! Monster!!!" "Alex, calm down," Mulder told him as he got out of his chair. The orderlies rushed in, quickly subduing Perrin and taking him out of the room. "What did I tell you, Scully?" Mulder asked her. "And what did I tell you?" she responded. "It's pareidolia, Mulder." "Yeah, but now I'm not the only one to see the monster," The two agents walked out of the room, watching the orderlies lock Perrin into a confinement room until he calmed down. They turned and advanced toward the patient's room, hoping to find any more clues that could lead them to answers. "You know, Scully, all this about 'monsters under the bed' makes me curious as to what's under Mr. Perrin's," Mulder stated as he crouched down. "Oh god, Scully," Mulder said as he looked under the bed. Scully got down beside him and made a startling discovery. Heidi Blair's mangled body laid under the bed. The agents shot back up and rushed out of the room toward Perrin's confinement chamber. They grabbed the nearest orderly, and ordered him to unlock Perrin's door. The orderly responded, and had the door unlocked within seconds. But, when they opened the door, Perrin was gone. Vanished without a trace. Mulder and Scully shot each other confused looks, and stood in silence until they heard voices at the end of the hall. Glenn Blair burst through the hospital door, demanding to speak to Perrin. Mulder and Scully unholstered their guns and advanced on Blair, stopping him halfway down the hall. "Stop right there, Blair!" Scully demanded. "What the hell is going on, Glenn?" Mulder asked. "Put your guns down, Agents," Blair pleaded, "I'm no threat to you. I'm here to help you. Let me explain what I know." After a moment, the agents let their guns drop. "Let's hear it," Scully said to him. "Perrin was my patient, I'm the one who committed him. He had been in my care for about 3 weeks. He told me that he had been having dreams, dreams where a 'monster' of some kind had been talking to him in his sleep. These delusions are the main reason why I had committed him, he had became irrational and paranoid. This angered him greatly, and he kept telling me that this 'monster' was teaching him to do 'special things'." "What kind of special things?" Mulder asked. "I don't know," Blair responded. "Come with us, we've got something to show you," Scully said as she turned back toward Perrin's cell. The three walked into the cell, and the agents showed Blair the mangled body of his wife. Blair sat down on the bed in shock, and tears began to stream down his face. He then lifted his head, and pointed at the Rorschach designs painted on Perrin's wall. "That was the face of Perrin's 'monster'." Blair stated. Suddenly, Blair was jerked under the bed by his leg at lightning speed, with a bright flash of light following. Before the agents could react, blood exploded from under the bed. Mulder pulled his gun and looked under the bed. The only thing remaining was Blair's severed head. The agents again rushed out of the room, and saw a figure standing at the end of the hall. It was Perrin, and he had the Rorschach design painted on his face...in blood. "Freeze!" Mulder yelled as he and Scully pulled their guns. "The monster is here!" Perrin screamed. "He's going to kill us all!! Run while you can!" With that, Perrin ducked down another hallway at a fast speed. Mulder and Scully took off after him, seeing him enter a room at the end of the hall. They reached the room, and opened the door. Once again, Perrin was nowhere to be seen, and the room had no other means of exit. The room was small, apparently another cell/bedroom. Mulder got down on his knees to look under the bed, better safe than sorry. He looked underneath, and two piercing red eyes peered back at him. Mulder pushed back from the bed and fired his gun under the bed, emptying his clip. He sat against the wall farthest from the bed and waited for the smoke to clear. When it finally did, there was nothing there. Scully helped her partner up, who was still in shock from the sight. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS The police were searching the hospital for any signs of Perrin, but so far they hadn't turned up anything. Scully approached Mulder, who was sitting in the cafeteria. "Mulder, they still haven't found him," she told him. "And they probably won't," he responded. "Mulder, things still aren't clear. If Perrin was the one doing the killings, then why would he release Blair from jail only to later kill him? It doesn't make any sense." "I think I was wrong before, Scully. What if it wasn't Perrin at all?" Scully shot her partner a confused look, but the two were interrupted by an approaching officer. "Agents? We found Alexander Perrin's body. It was stuffed under a cot in a small basement room. It looks like he wasn't our suspect after all." Officer Donwaite stated. He then turned and walked away. Scully looked at Mulder who simply stared at the floor. End Notes by Agent Fox Mulder
Alexander Perrin had claimed that an inner demon was controlling his life. Perhaps Perrin's demon became a reality? Perrin's treatment for his psychosis may have focused his illness into another faction of his personality. A faction that took the persona of a murdering demon. Glenn Blair was attempting to help him exorcise this demon, and perhaps Perrin's other personality retaliated in the only way it could. If Perrin's psychosis could have created this demonic persona, could it have also given it the means to kill? This knowledge died with Alexander Perrin, and the Blair's were merely victims of a disturbed mind. It saddens this investigator to think that they were killed simply because they tried to help a tortured man.
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