Read Ground Zero (The X-Files) for Free Online

the respirator mask. The dual air-filtering cartridges hung heavily from her face, like insectoid mandibles. She wore goggles as well, to keep any of the cadaver’s fluids from spraying into her eyes. She had been assured that this simple protective clothing would be sufficient against the low radiation levels in Dr. Gregory’s body, but she thought she could feel invisible contamination like gnats on her skin. She wanted to hurry and get this over with, but she was having a hard time getting started.
    Scully inspected the surgical implements on the tray next to her autopsy table, but it was merely a 31
    THE X-FILES
    stalling tactic. She chided herself for avoiding the corpse. After all, she thought, the sooner she got to it, the sooner she could be finished and out of there. At the moment, though, she would much rather have been with Mulder interviewing some of Dr. Gregory’s fellow scientists—but this was her job, her specialty. She switched on the tape recorder, wondering if the radiation seeping out of the body might affect the magnetic tape. She hoped not.
    “Subject: Emil Gregory. Male Caucasian, seventy-two years of age,” she dictated. Curved mirrors reflected the harsh white fluorescents overhead down onto the table. These, along with the surgical lamps, washed away all shadows, allowing no secrets to be hidden.
    Gregory’s skin was blackened and peeling, his face shriveled to a burned mask over his skull. White teeth poked through the split and charred lips. His arms and legs had been drawn up, folded together as his muscles contracted with the heat. She touched him with one heavily gloved finger. Flakes of burnt flesh fell off. She swallowed.
    “Apparent cause of death is sudden exposure to extreme heat. However, other than the several external layers of complete charring…” she nudged the burnt layers that peeled away, revealing red, wet tissues underneath “…the musculature and internal organs appear relatively intact.
    “There are some indications of the damage normally seen when a victim dies in a fire, but other indicators are missing. In a normal fire, body temperature rises throughout, causing extreme damage to internal organs, massive trauma to the entire bodily structure, rupture of soft tissues. However, in this case it appears that the heat was so intense and so brief that it incinerated the subject’s exterior, but dissipated 32
    GROUND ZERO
    before it had time to penetrate more deeply into his body structure.”
    After finishing with her preliminary summary, Scully inspected the tray and took a large scalpel, holding it clumsily in her gloved hands. When she cut into Dr. Gregory’s body cavity, the sensation was like sawing through a well-done steak.
    In the background the Geiger counters clicked with stray bursts of background radiation, sounding like sharp fingernails tapping on a window pane. Scully froze, waiting until the counts died down.
    She adjusted the lamp overhead and went back to work, probing in detail for any clues the old man’s body had left for her to find. She dictated copious notes, removing the intact organs, weighing each one, giving her impression of their condition—but as she proceeded, it became clear to her that something was terribly wrong.
    Finally, still wearing her gloves, she went over to the intercom mounted on the wall, glancing back over her shoulder at the remains of Gregory’s body. She punched in the extension for the Oncology Department.
    “This is Special Agent Dana Scully,” she said, “in Autopsy Room…” she glanced up at the door, “2112. I need an oncology expert to suit up and come down here briefly for a second opinion. I’ve found something I’d like to have verified.” Though Scully had requested consultation with a specialist, she was already virtually certain as to what they would find.
    The voice on the other end of the line reluctantly acknowledged. Scully wondered how many of the specialists would suddenly disappear for