Fic: Trust No One. 1/1 X-files/House M.D.
Title: Trust No One. Author: Lopaka Tanu Disclaimer: I do not own House M.D. or X-Files. Characters: Chase, Mulder Words: 1013 Prompt: 4 Mulder/Chase Fandom: X-Files/House M.D. Pairing: Fox Mulder/Robert Chase Rating: Adult Warnings: Language, Violence Summary: Imprisoned in the gulag, he fights to survive the testing. Author's Note: Tunguska. ______________________________________
The cell was cool and dark, he remembered from his arrival. He wouldn't have known it now, given the fact he was currently burning up from the inside out. Shaking, he curled on to his side. The contraction of his muscles eased a little, but the pain continued. It would for hours, and when it eased, he would be taken back to the testing room again.
His life now consisted of only four rooms, the testing room, the waste room, the eating room, and his cell. They gave him barely enough time to use the second and third before marching him and others back to one and four. He hated the testing room, they strapped him down with chick wire and applied the alien oil.
He knew it was alien because he sensed it when it infested him.
He supposed he was lucky. There were others who weren't so fortunate. Having been deemed a successful testing, they now worked the mining operation or fields. There were those who had failed completely in the testing. They ended up something else. He never knew what the oil did because the guards took failures away, never to be heard from again. That is, unless you ignored the shots from the firing squad.
The sound of the cell door opening made him risk more pain by moving. He hadn't recovered yet, they hadn't given him enough time! Another round so soon would kill him. Despite the quaking of his hands, he used them to lift his body so he could see the door. Before he saw, the door to his cell had closed again.
Relieved, he slowly curled back up upon himself and closed his eyes. It would take several minutes before the pain would be back to tolerable levels. He began to idly wonder why they had opened the door until he heard someone else move. They had placed someone else in his cell.
A moment later, cool fingers slid over his forehead and he moaned from the sheer pleasure of their temperature. He began to pant and pressed his skin further in to the hand. If he died now, he would be eternally grateful to whoever this person was.
"What the hell is going on here? You're burning up and yet they leave you. So much for the newer, friendly face of Russian democracy." Snorting, the stranger pushed the bangs from his forehead. "Looks like we're now in the same boat. Whatever they've been doing to you, I'm not far behind."
In spite of himself, Chase rolled over in to the strangers lap to take in his appearance. "You're American."
"Hello." Pleasantly surprised, he used the sleeve of his shirt to wipe away grime from Chase's face. "I'm Special Agent Fox Mulder, FBI. Can you tell me what is going on here? How long have you been here?"
"Robert Chase, Medical Student, M.D." Smirking, he gasped from a wave of pain that shot up his spine. "I don't know how long I've been here, but the weather hasn't changed yet. They've only got two types in Tunguska, cold and frozen." He tried to make it a joke, but the reality behind the words made him want to cry. "You're in hell, Special Agent Fox Mulder."
"So I gathered." Looking around the dark cell, Mulder frowned at the condition of the place. "What did you do to be sentenced to time in a gulag?"
"Noth..." He was cut off mid word by a coughing fit. It was one of the first signs that the infection had been stopped. The alien would not spread further, but it wasn't gone, either. "I did nothing. My cousin and I, he suggested we go back packing through the Urals for the summer. One night we settled down to sleep, the next day I woke up here. I think he sold me to whoever runs this place, the guards have made reference to it several times in their jokes."
"I know the feeling." Frown morphing to a scowl, Mulder eased Chase further in to his lap. Running his hands along the younger man's sides, he gently tried to ease the aches. "So, tell me, what can I expect from this place? Hard labor, cold meals, die early?"
"If you're lucky." Chase felt himself drifting off to sleep, Mulder's actions seeming to do the trick. A quick shake had him blinking awake again. "What? I'm awake, I'm awake!"
"Hey, settle down. I just want to know what's going on." Sorry for having disturbed the man, Mulder ran his fingers through his hair absently.
"Experimenting, they have some life form. They use a drug, injected in to the arm." He scrabbled at his left arm sleeve until Mulder pulled it up for him. "It tries to invade the mind, but it's inert. Almost like it's crippled. Whatever the thing is, they are trying to kill it with the drug. All I know is that it's not from our world." Chase started to drift off again.
Shaking the younger man again, this time Mulder did it softly so he didn't hurt him. "Stay with me here. I need you to listen, it's very important. Have they found a cure?"
Blinking rapidly to ease his burning eyes, Chase couldn't focus on the dark blobs in his vision. "No. At least, not one that works on me. If it works on you, they'll put you to work. Doesn't matter, though." Eyes watering, Chase was suddenly cold. The fever had broken. "There's no escape. I'm sorry. We're going to die here, Mulder. I'm sorry."
"Shh. This isn't your fault." Leaning down, Mulder pressed his lips to Chase's forehead. He hoped it comforted Chase. He didn't seem to have much else to offer.
"I know." Curling in the warmth of Mulder's body, Chase ignored whatever the man had to say and gave in to sleep.
Watching him, Mulder remembered what he had seen of the camp earlier. No matter what else, he had to tell get out of there so he could tell Scully. There was a cure.