We don't have to be out here, you know.
It's not like you're still in high school.
We can go to the motel.
Mm-mm.
I wouldn't want anyone to see us.
No one would see us.
It's a small town.
George...
Come on, George.
Why'd y'all change your mind anyway?
I don't know.
You were pretty persistent, I guess.
Squeaky wheel gets the oil, right?
I guess so.
What's wrong with right here?
I can just set the blanket down and...
Not yet.
Why not?
Because...
you have to catch me first.
Aw, come on, now.
You don't want me to chase after you, do you?
Paula!
Paula?
Where are you?
Son of a bitch!
I don't know, Scully. The man's vanished.
He hasn't been seen or heard from in ten weeks.
Come on, Mulder, don't you see what they're doing here?
They're wasting our time.
They're sending us on some kind of a wild goose chase.
Chicken chase.
George Kearns was a federal poultry inspector
assigned to Dudley, Arkansas, home of Chaco Chicken.
I'm not questioning the legitimacy of the case,
just their motives in assigning it to us.
I mean, doesn't it bother you at all
that they're trying to undermine your work?
Oh, they may think they are,
but on the night that George Kearns disappeared,
a woman on the I-10 saw a strange fire
in an adjacent field.
Yes, I read that report.
She claims that she saw some kind of a foxfire spirit.
I'm surprised she didn't call Oprah
as soon as she got off the phone with the police.
Folktales dating back to the 19th century from the Ozarks
describe people being taken away by fireballs.
It's supposed to be the spirits of massacred Indians.
Those are only legends, Mulder.
Well, most legends don't leave behind 12-foot burn marks.
That photo was taken by state police in the field
where the woman claims to have seen foxfire.
This could have been made by anything-- a bonfire.
I thought so, too.
Until I remembered this.
It's a documentary I saw when I was in college
about an insane asylum.
Gave me nightmares.
I didn't think anything gave you nightmares.
I was young.
No...
they, uh... see, th-they took...
they, uh...
they took me away...
they took me away, this-- the fire demons.
The fire demons...
the fire demons wanted their pound of flesh,
but, uh...
I'm too fast for them.
They cannot kill you.
See, you can't let them kill you.
Oh, no.
No, don't let them kill you, don't let them kill you.
That's no way to get to heaven.
No, sir. No, sir.
That is... that is no way to get to heaven.
His name was Creighton Jones.
He pulled off the road on May 17, 1961
to take a nap.
They found him three days later,
so deranged by what he'd encountered
that he had to be committed.
The state police found his car on the I-10,
right in the middle of Dudley, Arkansas,
home of Chaco Chicken.
What's this, Mulder?
That's a witch's peg.
Staking it into the ground
is supposed to ward off evil spirits.
Can I help you folks?
I'm, uh, Sheriff Arens.
I saw you back at the turnoff.
We're with the FBI.
I'm Special Agent Mulder.
This is Agent Scully.
Were investigating the disappearance of George Kearns.
Oh, well, I'm happy to help you with whatever I can,
but I'm not sure how much there is to investigate.
Well, Sheriff, a man is missing.
Well, we didn't find any evidence of criminal activity,
and since no body turned up,
we just went ahead and filed a missing persons report.
Why didn't you mention this witch's peg in your report?
Because these fields are filled with witch's pegs.
Lot of these old hill people
cling tight to their superstitions.
What about the scorched area?
Illegal trash burning.
I keep handing out the citations,
they keep doing it anyway.
It's cheaper to pay the fine than haul it to the dump.
So you don't believe it's foxfire?
Sir, foxfire's nothing more than a ghost story about swamp gas.
Listen, I don't know what y'all are thinking,
but George Kearns
was passing through town
ever since he got here six months ago.
- How do you mean? - Never did fit in--
not at the plant, not even at his own home.
It's no big secret that Kearns stepped out on his wife
every chance he got.
Did he have many chances?
Let's just say George is the type of man
you'd expect to go chasing some sweet young thing
out of town.
Is that what his wife thinks happened?
Push comes to shove, I'm sure she does.
But you're welcome to ask her yourself.
My husband had a character
that leaves something out.
I always knew that about him,
but I didn't have the sense to do anything about it.
I guess he saved me the trouble.
So you're fairly certain
that he left you for somebody else.
George left me a long time ago.
Right around the time I turned 40.
Leaving town was just a formality.
Do you have any idea who he might be with now?
No.
And I don't want to know, either.
This inspection report--
your husband was about to file it with
the Department of Agriculture the day before he disappeared.
I don't know anything about that.
He never discussed his work with you?
He never told me, and I never asked.
Well, he cited several major health violations.
He was going to recommend that the plant be shut down.
I told you, I don't know a thing
about what went on in that plant.
Did your husband ever receive
any threatening phone calls or anything unusual in the mail?
Sure, there were hang-ups.
But I always thought it was one of his girlfriends.
I'm going to give you my phone number.
If your husband tries to contact you,
I want you to get in touch with me.
Or if you can think of anything else.
Come on, Paula, let's go!
This is, uh, Jess Harold.
He's the floor manager here.
Jess, these people are with the FBI.
Oh, you're here about George Kearns, right?
Well, there's a possibility that his disappearance may have
something to do with a report he was about to file
with the Department of Agriculture.
You got to understand
that ever since he got here,
George has been trying to shut us down.
Well, he cited
multiple violations.
I know he did, believe me.
I had to answer to every one.
Was there any merit to his claims?
Let me show you something.
Paula, you okay?
This is where George worked.
Not a chicken leaves this plant
without first passing through the inspector's station.
We've been operating here for 50 years
without any trouble with the USDA until George came along.
So he really did threaten to shut the plant down.
Oh, he tried, but we got three other inspectors here
who consistently give us top marks.
Here, see for yourself.
No, the only problem this plant ever had was George.
Problem enough to do something about?
If you're suggesting any kind of unsavoriness,
I guess anything's possible.
But you got to understand about George, he had
a bone to pick with everyone, even the federal government.
What are you talking about?
Well, he filed a big worker's compensation suit--
claimed he was getting terrible headaches from his job.
"Line hypnosis" his lawyers called it.
Yeah, I read about that.
It's caused by high-speed repetitive activity.
Well, we'll not deny that a lot of chickens
go through here every day,
but we've always operated well within federal guidelines.
What happened to his lawsuit?
Well, it was dismissed
just a few weeks before he disappeared.
What's that?
Oh, that... feed grinder.
Chops up bone and tissue.
See, any part of the bird we can't package,
we process, use as feed.
Chickens feed on chickens?
I know it doesn't sound too appetizing,
but it is nutritious, and it cuts down on costs.
The meat is cooked and mixed with grain.
No reason to let all that protein go to waste.
You'll have to excuse me. I got a shift change.
Hi, Sheriff!
Logan.
So, Mulder, are you ready to admit
they sent us on a fool's errand?
If the fool would persist in his folly,
he would become wise, Scully.
Well, whether George Kearns skipped town
or somebody killed him, this case could've been handled
by any agent under the Kansas City office.
I'm not so sure about that.
Paula!
Let him go.
We're federal agents.
Everyone stay calm.
Don't hurt him.
Just tell us what you want.
Don't get excited.
Just calm down.
Stay calm.
We don't want anyone to get hurt.
We can talk this thing out.
Why don't you give me the knife.
You okay?
Do you have any idea
what might have prompted her attack?
None at all.
No recent complaints or strange behavior?
Paula has always been one of our best employees--
stable, well-liked...
I can't even begin to imagine what brought this on.
What about you, Dr. Randolph?
Do you have any ideas?
If you're done with me, I got work to do.
Come by tomorrow, let me take a look.
Make sure it's not infected.
Sure.
Uh, Paula came by last week
complaining of persistent headaches.
She'd suddenly started getting... irritable,
unable to sleep.
Were you able to determine the cause?
No, I'm just the staff physician here.
I don't usually treat anything more difficult
than a hand injury, so I'm a little out of my depth
when it comes to psychiatric matters.
You didn't find anything physically wrong with her?
Sent her to County
for a brain scan and an EEG.
Both came back normal,
so I just assumed that her condition was stress-related.
Could it have been line hypnosis?
Like I said, I'm not qualified to make that diagnosis.
But you can tell us whether George Kearns
came to you with any similar complaints.
They presented similar symptoms, yeah.
How did you treat them?
I treated them both with pain medication-- codeine.
Well, I think an autopsy on Paula Gray
would clarify things.
I'm afraid I can't authorize that.
You'd have to speak with Mr. Chaco.
Why? You're a physician.
Yeah, but Mr. Chaco was Paula Gray's grandfather
and her legal guardian.
Mr. Chaco?
Feeding these chickens
helps me clear my mind.
They're perfect creatures, you know.
We eat their meat, their eggs.
Sleep on pillows
stuffed with their feathers.
Not many people I know are as useful as these chickens.
I'm sorry to disturb you, sir.
We realize this is a difficult time for you.
You want to conduct an autopsy on my granddaughter.
Why?
You think Paula had some kind of disease
that made her act that way?
That's what we're hoping a postmortem will determine.
Thought your business here was George Kearns' disappearance.
It is, but we suspect that might have something to do
with what happened to your granddaughter.
How?
We're not sure yet,
but it's possible they may have both suffered
from the same neurological disorder.
You know,
when I came here after the war,
Dudley was just a patch of dirt.
I built that plant
and put my whole family to work there.
We made this town one of the biggest
chicken processors in the nation.
We couldn't have done that with troublemakers and layabouts.
I assume you're talking about George Kearns.
Men like George Kearns don't build things.
They tend to tear them down.
Then you're aware of his recommendation
to close down your plant.
You know, living a long life
is a mixed blessing.
You spend your youth
trying to build something for yourself
and your family and your community,
only to watch it all taken away from you
at your old age.
Still... I'm not ready to die just yet.
You go do your autopsy on Paula.
I want to know what happened to my granddaughter.
I think we've got something here, Mulder.
Take a look at this.
What am I looking at?
It's a specimen from Paula Gray's brain.
She suffered from a rare degenerative disorder
called Creutzfeldt- Jakob disease.
It's characterized by the formation
of sponge-like holes in the brain tissue.
Why didn't this show up on any of her charts?
Well, short of an autopsy,
it's a very difficult disease to diagnose.
Outside of a textbook, I've only seen infected tissue once,
and that was back in medical school.
Could this be the reason she attacked Jess Harold?
Absolutely. Victims of Creutzfeldt-Jakob
suffer from progressive dementia, severe seizures...
Is it fatal?
This girl would have been dead in a matter of months.
Except that Paula Gray was no girl.
This is her personnel file, Scully. Check it out.
Says here that Paula Gray
was born in 1948, which means
that this woman-- Chaco's granddaughter--
was 47 years old.
There's got to be some kind of a mistake.
Let's find out.
Her birth certificate should be on file
at the Seth County courthouse.
Who knows, Scully?
This could turn out to be even more interesting than foxfire.
The odds that Paula Gray and George Kearns
had the same disease are practically nonexistent.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob can be hereditary,
but it's not communicable.
That two unrelated people in the same small town
would contract the same rare disease is...
A lot more likely than Paula Gray
being three years shy of her 50th birthday.
Mulder, look out!
Call an ambulance.
I'll try to get the driver out.
This is Federal Agent Scully.
I'd like to report an accident on County A-7.
I just got off the phone with Dr. Randolph.
He said this driver had the same symptoms
as Paula Gray and George Kearns.
You're saying this is a third victim
of Creutzfeldt-Jakob?
You just got through telling me
that two cases would be statistically impossible.
Well, they would be.
I just came up with a sick theory, Mulder.
Ooh, I'm listening.
You saw the feed grinders at the plant.
What if somebody put George Kearns's body in there?
Creutzfeldt-Jakob is a prion disease,
which means it could have been passed on to the chickens
and, in turn, anyone who consumed them.
So anyone eating chickens out of Dudley
- would be at risk? - Well, it's possible.
You know, sometimes in England, they'll incinerate cattle
to keep them from passing mad cow disease on to people.
Yeah, but chickens from Dudley
are shipped all over the country.
If what you're saying were true, we'd be seeing an epidemic,
not just a few local cases.
Sheriff?
What's wrong with this water?
Runoff from the plant.
Chicken litter, mostly.
Some blood and parts from the birds.
Was this river searched after Kearns disappeared?
Are you kidding? Talk about a needle in a haystack.
Well, I'd like it dragged as soon as possible.
Why would you want to do that?
See what's in there.
Well, listen, that's a filthy job,
and I don't particularly want to do it
unless I know what it is you're looking for.
Hopefully nothing.
Look, Sheriff, if you don't want to do it,
I can get some of my men down here to do it.
I'll do it.
Mulder...
Oh, it's just a hunch.
I mean, if George Kearns didn't just run off,
if he was murdered for that inspection report,
then his body's got to be somewhere.
We closed the spillway, and the water level dropped.
They came up with it almost immediately.
Did you find Kearns?
Maybe you better see for yourself.
Sheriff Arens is outside.
They're still pulling bones from the river.
Well, so far, I've been able to isolate
nine distinct skeletons.
This one belonged to the late George Kearns.
How do you know?
The pin in his femur.
According to his medical file,
Kearns broke his right leg four years ago.
What about the others?
Well, I'll need
more sophisticated equipment to be certain,
but I estimate that some of these bones
are as much as 20 or 30 years old.
All of them share one strange detail, though.
Well, they seem to have lost their heads.
Well, besides that.
The older bones show signs of decay
and surface abrasion, just like you'd expect,
but for some reason all of them, even Kearns's,
are smooth and buffed
at the ends.
It's almost like they've been polished.
Well, it could just be from the erosion from the water, but...
No, that water had hardly any current,
and this level of erosion wouldn't be confined
to just the ends of the bones.
Any theories?
Maybe.
Sheriff?
Doris.
Is it true?
Just tell me.
Doris, I want you to listen to me.
They found him, didn't they?
Well, we brought up quite a few remains
at the river this afternoon,
and George's were among them.
I'm sorry.
Listen, I'm really sorry.
- It's going to be all right. - No... no!
Don't worry, Doris, we'll take care of you.
Doris?
Hey, got a new schedule?
Mm-hmm. Yep.
Let me see.
Why do I get the feeling you're not here
to check up on my neck?
They found bones in the river.
I know. I heard.
Did you also hear that Clayton Walsh
came down with the symptoms?
That's four.
It's getting worse with every day that goes by.
Someone has to tell Mr. Chaco.
He knows what's happening.
He's just not doing anything about it.
Maybe I should talk to him.
You can try.
I will talk to him.
He'll listen to me.
And if he doesn't?
I had Danny run a check on all missing persons
last seen within a 200- mile radius of Dudley.
In the last 50 years,
87 people have disappeared near here.
And judging from the forensic evidence,
I'd say the same person or persons was responsible.
Then it may have been
the work of some kind of a cult.
Scully, I think that the good people of Dudley
have been eating more than just chicken.
You think these people were eaten?
Look at these bones.
They've been polished at both ends,
suggesting they were boiled in a pot.
Anthropologists have used similar evidence
to prove cannibalism among the Anasazi tribe of New Mexico.
Well, then Paula Gray may have contracted Creutzfeldt-Jakob
by eating George Kearns.
That could begin to explain her youthful appearance.
What are you talking about?
Some cannibalistic rituals are enacted
with the belief that they can prolong life.
Cannibalism is one thing,
but increasing longevity by eating human flesh...
Well, think about it, Scully.
From vampirism to Catholicism,
whether literally or symbolically,
the reward for eating flesh is eternal life.
I don't claim to know how it works,
but we both saw Paula Gray.
We never confirmed the date of birth on her personnel file.
Maybe the records at the courthouse
will tell us how old she really is
and if anybody else in Dudley is lying about their age.
You coming?
You got to do something
about what's happening, Mr. Chaco.
People are getting scared.
They don't know what to make of things.
They're losing their faith is what it sounds like.
It's getting hard to hold on to,
the way things are going.
Three more have gotten sick since yesterday.
I lost my granddaughter in this, Jess,
so don't tell me what we're up against.
Now, I said I'll handle it.
I know you...
Yes?
I need to see Mr. Chaco.
Oh, Doris?
I... I can't do this anymore, Mr. Chaco.
I can't keep lying.
It's all right.
Jess told me what happened.
You have nothing to worry about.
They're going to think I did it.
No, they won't think any such thing.
But I did.
No.
I helped.
He was no good, Doris.
He had no values.
He didn't fit in here.
But he was my husband.
That was a price you had to pay.
Now, you knew that from the beginning.
But those FBI agents...
Ah-ah.
This town wasn't built in a day.
It's not about to fall apart in a day.
Now, you're a part of us now,
and we're going to take good care of you.
Now, I want you to go home, get some rest.
You've got a funeral to go to.
This whole thing will blow over soon enough,
and you'll wonder what all the fuss is about.
I'm sorry.
That's all right.
We all understand, Doris.
Good night.
She'll be fine.
She's not stable.
She's one of us now, part of our town.
Unless we do something about her,
there won't be any town left to speak of.
No!
No, once we start turning on ourselves,
we're no better than the animals.
It's the FBI we should be worried about.
They're the real problem.
Someone's been playing with matches.
Smells like a recent fire.
I bet it's no coincidence it only hit the birth records.
You think someone was expecting us?
Mulder.
It's Doris Kearns.
I'm in my house.
I need to speak with you right away.
Are you all right?
I'm afraid for my life.
I'm afraid he'll kill me.
Who?
Mr. Chaco.
All right, Mrs. Kearns, I want you to stay in the house
and lock the door, and don't answer the door
until Agent Scully gets there.
Where are you going?
Take Chaco into custody.
No.
Mrs. Kearns?
Is Mr. Chaco in?
I'll see if he's still awake.
I'm sorry,
but Mr. Chaco is unable to see you now.
Do you know what's in here?
I wouldn't know.
Can you open it?
I don't have the key.
What do you think you're doing?!
Scully.
Scully, Chaco's not here.
Yeah.
Mrs. Kearns is missing, too, Mulder.
I think someone's been here.
The power's been cut and the back door was wide open
when I got here, but her car is still out back.
Chaco must have taken her.
Scully? Scully?!
Scully, what happened?
Scully, you there?
You all right?
Scully!
Answer me!
Scully!
What have you done here?!
I warned you!
I said not to touch her!
Doris Kearns was one of us!
Who's behind this?
Why didn't you listen to me?
It's the outsiders we have to deal with,
not one of our own.
We'll deal with them all.
Look at yourselves!
Look at what you've become!
This isn't faith anymore.
It's just fear.
They've turned us into an abomination.
You brought in the outsider who made us all sick.
Once you turn on yourselves, it's over.
How long before it's any one of us?
Any one of you?
That's not your problem anymore, Mr. Chaco.
No.
Kill me...
...and you kill us all.
Latch it.
Bring her over.
Are you hurt?
Mm-mm.
You all right?
Listen up, people!
Stand away from your workstations!
Let's go! We're moving it out!
Pending further review,
the Chaco processing plant has been closed by the USDA.
So far, no evidence of contaminated chicken
has been discovered.
Though it remains unknown how many citizens participated
in the ritual activity,
27 have become fatally ill with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
What is known is that a transport plane
carrying Walter Chaco was shot down
in 1944 over New Guinea.
Chaco was the only survivor of that crash.
According to Naval records,
he spent six months with the Jale--
a tribe whose cannibalistic practices
have long been suspected but never proven.
Naval records also show that Walter Chaco
was born in 1902,
making him 93 years old at the time of his death.
As of this date,
his remains have yet to be found.
I made this!