The X-files

The Walk
Episode: 3X07
First aired:11/10/95
Written by: Stephen Mark
Directed by: Rob Bowman

Talking to a doctor in a military hospital about his three suicide attempts, Lt. Colonel Stans explains obliquely, 'He won't let me die.' Alone, Stans heads to the hydrotherapy room, bolts the door and leaps into scalding hot water. The bolts, however, fly open, allowing Stans to be saved despite being burned horribly.

Mulder and Scully talk to Stans. He says he saw the presence looking like a soldier that killed his family and continues to torment him. They are interrupted by Captain Janet Draper, the aid to General Callahan, who asks to suspend the investigation.

Down the hall, amputees meet in a therapy group. One of them, Rappo, who was wounded in the Gulf War, gets angry exclaiming that the therapist can never know how he feels. The orderly, Roach, takes Rappo back to his room saying he is worried about the FBI.

Mulder and Scully meet with General Callahan who is hostile to them. Scully says he is protecting his men and himself. Mulder can't understand why Stans would try to commit suicide and leave the only door unlocked.

When alone, the general hears the voice that spoke to Stans. It says "your time has come, killer."

Captain Draper takes a swim but an unseen presence grabs her and hold her underwater. She is found dead with bruises on her neck and shoulders. Mulder warns the General that his family may be in danger.

The general's son, Trevor, sees the shadow. Scully sees a figure running through the yard but the can't find anyone. At the hospital, Roach tells Rappo that he won't help him anymore. The FBI finds Roach's fingerprints on mail addressed to each of the victims and he is arrested.

Trevor plays in the sandbox and an unseen presence buries the boy underneath. Roach says he didn't kill anyone and is just the mailman. He tells them to talk to Rappo, a quadruple amputee.

Roach begins to panic and they find him dead in his cell, a bed sheet stuffed down his throat. Mulder believes that Rappo is practicing some form of astral projection and using Roach to kill. They question Rappo but he laughs off the charge. Later, the general sees an image of Rappo and follows a trail of blood and finds his wife dead.

The general goes to Stans and agrees that the tormentor will not leave them alone. Stans says he knows who it is. The general goes to Rappo who admits in killing his wife. The agents find Rappo in a trance like seizure while the general takes the elevator to the basement. Jets of steam fill the room, revealing a human shape that throws him against the wall. Mulder follows but is thrown across the room by the same presence.

Meanwhile, Stans locks himself in the room with Rappo and pushes a pillow on the man's face. As Rappo dies, the presence disappears.

Important Quotes:
Mulder -- "No, what I can't figure out is why a man who's so deliberately and methodically set out to commit suicide would leave the one entrance to the room unsecured. But then again I obviously have a feeble grasp of army protocol and procedure."

Scully -- "Find anything?"
Mulder -- "No, but I'm really beginning to like the tune..."

Mulder -- "Sometimes the only sane response to an insane world is insanity."

Back to The X-files: Season 3

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