Scully walked back from the car rental office to where Mulder stood. She noticed that he was eating sunflower seeds again. She fought back a smile. Where does he get them? she wondered. I never see him buy any. Mulder tossed a shell away. He most likely has a whole package of sunflower seeds in his trenchcoat.
    "Where are we going first?" she inquired.
    Mulder tossed another shell to the ground. "First, we'll go to the clearing and check it out. Next, I want to have a talk to one of the abductees, Mercy Phelps. We'll want to check the authenticity of these stories."
    Were any of the abduction stories really authentic? Scully chose to keep her mouth shut for a moment and simply nodded. She really didn't feel like getting into a debate with him right now. She handed him the keys and climbed in the rental car. Mulder stared thoughtfully at the sky just before getting in and starting the car.
    At "Alien's Landing," Mulder and Scully milled around, looking for any significant abnormalities. Scully was just beginning to get a little angry and frustrated, when she came across a ring burnt into the surrounding grass. She looked up. The ring had approximately a 100-foot diameter. Also burnt in the grass were 4 large blocks and a line on the outside of it.
    "Mulder!" she called back to him. "Take a look at this."
    He walked over to where she was standing. He crouched over to study it more closely. Scrutinizing every last ash, he picked up the remains of the grass, rubbed it between his fingertips, then brushed his hands together until all of the ash was gone.
    "Hmm, " he said, as if he were expecting it all along. "Yeah, I also noticed that the few trees growing here were burnt on top, like most of the other abduction cases… Lake Okibogee had the same thing." He paused thoughtfully and walked off.
    "Where are you going?" She quickly took a sample of the ash and hurried to catch up with him.
    "Mercy Phelps' house."
    "So we're through here?"
    "For now."
    Scully sighed inwardly. She hated it when he seemed know more than she did and wouldn't tell her very much. Working with Mulder could be tiresome. One moment, information would come pouring out of him as if a dam had broken, while other times, getting answers would be like pulling teeth.

    Mulder and Scully walked up the pathway to the Phelps’ residence. It was a small house, painted beige and with an inordinate amount of flowers and shrubbery, as if in a futile attempt to cover up the relative ugliness of the house. Mulder rang the doorbell.
    The door opened and a woman in her early forties peeked out. “Yes?”
    “Good afternoon. We’re from the FBI.” He pulled out his badge and showed it to her. “I’m Agent Mulder and this is Agent Scully. We’d like to speak to a Mercy Phelps, please.”
    “Um, sure. Please, come in.”
    “Thank you.”
    Mulder and Scully walked in. The house was barely decorated. A picture here, some wilting flowers there, and some lacey curtains, but overall, a boringly average place.
    The woman turned around and looked at them. “You’re not going to arrest her, are you?”
    Mulder and Scully glanced at each other. “No, ma’am,” Scully answered. “We’re not. Why?”
    “Uh… Nothing. It’s just that… she’s a bit of a troublemaker.” She dismissed the thought with a wave of her hand. “Never mind. She’s out back. I’ll go get her. You can look around if you like.” The woman scurried away.
    Mulder began casually looking at pictures, small objects, and other seemingly unimportant things. He then spotted an open door in the hallway, walked over, and peeked inside. He motioned for Scully to take a look.