Silhouettes stood still in the glowing white room. The only things clear enough to make out were a group of white robed people of all ages and sizes. A woman stepped forward, her white gown practically camouflaged in the blank and drab surrounding. Her brown hair hung lifeless and limp about her shoulders.
    “Come closer,” one of the silhouettes commanded.
    The woman walked forward and kneeled before them.
    “Thus begins your mission. This will decide if you are worthy to carry your name. Before you are dismissed, do you have any questions?”
    “Yes, masters, I do. Will I ever see my family again?”
    “Perhaps, child, perhaps. Leave us now, Slave Maiden.”
    “Yes, my masters.” As she turned to walk away, a single tear fell down her cheek and landed on a golden locket hanging on a chain around her neck. On the front of the locket were engraved the letters “S M”. She held it tightly.
    “One day,” she whispered. “One day I will return home. One day…”

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    Dana Scully, typing a case report on her laptop, sat in the office she shared with her partner, Fox Mulder. She paused for a moment and began to wonder where she went wrong in life to end up with the X-Files. She didn't believe in aliens, ghosts, mind control, or any of the insane things that were included in these cases. Her mind wandered. She's lost so much in these past 4 years working with Mulder. Her father, her sister, her health. She sighed. Why was she regretting the things that have happened to her? The truth was, she was never more satisfied with her life than she was now.
    Just then, Mulder came in, grinning from ear to ear. He walked to his desk and sat back in his chair. Oh no, she thought apprehensively. He's found another case with "proof" of the existence of extraterrestrials…Then again, all the X-Files are like that. She sighed again.
    “Are you going to tell me what's going on? Or do I have to ask?” Scully said.
    Mulder blinked, seeming to realize that there is a reality. "Have you ever heard of a place called 'Alien's Landing?'"
    "Can't say I have." She already had a bad feeling about this.
    "It's one of the most renowned places for UFO sightings and landings. It's actually a clearing in Kansas near a small town called Maplesville. It's said that there are more UFOs there than strippers in the President's bed."
    Scully smiled. "Hmm. That's quite a bit."
    "In Maplesville alone, there have been 12 abductions in the past 6 months."
    "Supposedly."
    He paused. "Well?"
    "Well what?"
    "Wanna check it out?"
    "Um… Mulder? Aren't you forgetting something?"
    "Like what?"
    Despite an urge to grab him by the collar and shake him, Scully kept her composure.  “The case. Or are we going for the sole reason of hoping to catch aliens?”
    “We're investigating the disappearances of 12 people, Doctor Scully. In all 12 cases, the last place they were seen was that clearing, there were no signs of a struggle anywhere, no one saw or heard anything that might suggest that these people were kidnapped or ran away. The initial investigation came up empty: no leads, no suspects, nothing. They just vanished.”
    “People don't 'just vanish,' Mulder. They're probably all runaways.”
    “One of the 12 was a 65-year-old woman. Do you think she ran away?”
    Scully hesitated. "It's possible that the woman had some sort of disorder. Alzheimer's Disease, maybe? Or maybe she was running from something."
    He grinned. "Her husband was with her in the family camper when she disappeared. In fact, they were sitting down, having a conversation. He said that he turned to take a sip of water, saw a bright flash come from outside, turned back to talk to his wife some more and she was gone. He couldn't have looked away for more than 3 seconds. He wrote the whole story down for the local newspaper." He tossed her a file. The old man's article was on top.