CHAPTER 10
An in depth examination of Dean told the alchemist all he needed to know. The poison that he had created for John was now raging inside of this young man. He turned quickly to the other two.
"He has been poisoned! Quickly, an antidote must be created if he is to live!" The alchemist snapped.
"Poisoned? By who?" Geoff stated, then his eyes narrowed. "Lord Rockwell!" Geoff jumped to the conclusion, recalling that the man on the bed had only fallen ill after his last encounter with John.
The alchemist said nothing, but a glance toward Geoff told him all he needed to know. Anger boiled inside of him and he clenched his fists. John Rockwell would pay for this, he'd see to it.
"Can you create an antidote?" The doctor asked.
"I know what type of poison has been used, so yes, I can create an antidote. It will take time, but if I get started on it right away, it will be completed with time to spare." The alchemist replied.
"How did he come into contact with the poison?" The doctor questioned, now understanding that this was the alchemist's area of expertise.
"One of two ways. The poison I was forced to create was a liquid, inhaling it would have no effect and so it would have to go into the person. Whether it be by an open wound or through ingestion and since I found no open wounds anywhere on young William's body, the only other option is ingestion." The alchemist spoke and before anyone had the time to respond, the old man was hurrying from the room to devise an antidote. "Doctor Grayson, would you accompany me please? You know William's medical history, you can guide me so I do not put anything in the antidote that may cause an allergic reaction." The alchemist called back. The doctor got to his feet and followed the man out of the room, once again leaving only Dean, Sam and Geoff.
"He's been poisoned?" Sam replied, bursting out from behind the curtains.
"It would seem so." Geoff stated.
"For what?" Sam asked angrily.
"There has been bad blood between Lord Rockwell and Lord McMor...I mean, Dean for as long as I can recall. They both arrived here around the same time and they have never been able to get along." Geoff stated.
"Why not?" Sam asked, his eyes drifting to his brother.
"Lord Rockwell fears that he will lose Adrienne to this man." Geoff replied, refraining from using the one of the two names that caused confusion amongst himself and Sam.
"So, you're telling me that my brother might die because of jealousy? Lord Rockwell is jealous of my brother?" Sam asked.
"That is essentially what I am saying, yes." Geoff responded, not liking the stormy expression that was flashing across Sam's face.
"This is ridiculous!" Sam suddenly exploded, his emotions getting the best of him. Geoff took an alarmed step back, out of striking distance.
"Yes, it does seem childish, does it not?" Geoff asked cautiously.
"Damn right it does! We never should've gotten involved with this case!" Sam snapped.
"Case?" Geoff asked curiously.
"Yes, case! This whole thing, you, this castle, this... bed!" Sam yelled, striking the bedpost nearest to him. "None of it is real! Not in the sense that I'm real...or...or that Dean's real, it's just a legend!" Sam shouted, the room dipping around him.
"Please, keep your voice down." Geoff hissed anxiously.
"Keep my voice down? You know damn well how this is all going to turn out, how it's supposed to turn out! You live it continuously once every five years, you're trapped, aren't you? No way out, doomed to repeat this over and over again for eternity!" Sam shouted, eyes blazing.
"Trapped? No I am not trapped, I am free to come and go as I please, but I will be dead if you do not quiet yourself!" Geoff returned, clearly clueless as to what Sam was ranting about.
Sam started to respond, but was taken by surprise when the room did a complete somersault around him. He fell to his knees, eyes clenched shut to avoid the spinning of the room caused by his fevered mind and his illness.
"Damn it!" Sam shouted as his body exploded into a fit of coughing that left him gagging and nauseous.
"Here, drink this and calm yourself." Geoff replied, pushing a glass of water into Sam's hands.
"Calm myself? How the hell do you expect me to calm myself when my brother is dying?" Sam yelled.
"Shh! Please!" Geoff pleaded with the young man.
"Why can't things ever go as planned? We did our research, we knew what to expect, but the thought never crossed our mind that one of us would be taken in by this...curse. One man goes missing every five years, he never returns, rumor has it that he is lured to a castle where he becomes trapped in a story that took place back in the sixteen hundreds. The man is taken hostage, wiped of his memory and killed by an angry spirit, or so the legend goes, but the cause of death is not known, it never has been because no man has ever returned after going missing!" Sam replied quickly, running through the facts of the story aloud as they flew through his head in a blur.
"Sam, what are you talking about?" Geoff asked, genuinely worried.
"Legend has it that there are two ghosts year round, trapped between worlds. People have seen them a man and a woman, but once every five years, the forest seems to be crawling with ghosts and people are advised not to travel the road when the strange lights are seen through the trees, because it is thought that death will come to all who are chased by the lights...I was chased by the lights...Dean must've been chased by the lights too. But we thought the victim had already been taken, there was a report of a missing man in the papers last week, but if the man was not brought here, then it makes sense that Dean or myself would have been the victim. Damn it, it was a fifty- fifty chance, why Dean?" Sam hissed.
"Sam, you are unwell, you need time to rest and recover." Geoff replied.
"He needs a doctor." Came a weak voice from the bed and the men on the floor looked up to see Dean peering worriedly over the edge of the bed.
"Lord McMorrows!" Geoff replied suddenly.
"His name is Dean!" Sam shouted and pulled himself to his knees.
"Dean, c'mon man, you have to remember, this isn't who you are!" Sam begged, but Dean showed no sign of comprehension.
"Your name is Dean Winchester, you're my brother, we took Oldsdowne road into the forest. There was a car accident, the Impala flipped, when I woke up you were gone. You were lured here where you were wiped of your memory and forced to play this damn twisted game. You're going to die if we don't hunt down and destroy the things that control this illusion! C'mon man, you have to remember!" Sam pleaded. As he spoke the colour slowly drained from his face and he broke off into another violent bout of coughing.
"Get him the doctor... Now." Dean replied as he saw Sam's head drop to his chest in exhaustion and heard the wheezing coming from the young man's lungs.
"But, I will be sentenced to death if anyone finds out he is here." Geoff replied.
"That guard...he's gonna wake up sometime...and the word's gonna get out...Geoff...people are gonna find out anyway... what... difference does it make?" Dean spoke, gasping for breath as pain rolled in waves throughout his body.
Geoff's eyes darted between the two men, but he didn't move.
"Then I will be killed either way." Geoff concluded sadly.
"I'm...sorry." Dean replied.
"I will go and fetch the doctor." Geoff replied quietly and got shakily to his feet to move slowly out of the room.