Disclaimer: I still don't own Supernatural or its characters and am not making any money on this…I'm still just having fun!

Dean's Song

Chapter 31– Cursed

Sam's eyes rolled up into his head and the voices were quiet…

Dean shook Sam's shoulder. "Sammy…Sam!"

Sam groaned and opened his eyes, but this time there was no recognition in their depths. No words were escaping his lips, even though Dean could see them moving. For the first time that night, Dean was afraid they might be losing the battle for his brother. "Dad…help me, we have to get him back into the bed now!" Dean cried as he saw his brother's body begin to shake.

Sam wasn't aware of his surroundings. He was trapped by the sensations that were bombarding his mind. He heard the screams of the spirits and now he was beginning to feel their agony. In his mind, he saw a vision of a young man, a gun shot wound to his head, apparently self inflicted. He felt the pain of the wound and the agony of the soul that had been driven to suicide. A soldier appeared, his leg ending in a bloody stump; a young man taken before he was ready. Once again Sam felt the pain from the wound as well as the anger from the young man for the senseless loss. The parade of souls continued through Sam's mind until he thought he would go insane from the overwhelming pain and feelings that were coursing through him.

Sam's body suddenly went rigid and a cry of pure agony was torn from his lips. "NO…NO MORE!" Sam grabbed at his head as a white hot pain sliced through his brain.

"Incoming…Duck!" John yelled as a lamp flew past his head. He had joined Dean and was trying to help him get Sam back into the protected area in the bedroom. Before John and Dean could do anything, they were both thrown across the room away from Sam. Once again the objects in the room whirled around as if a tornado had entered the room. "Dean…try to talk to your brother…you have to reach him!" John yelled as he ducked another flying object.

Matthew had pulled Missouri down behind the kitchen counter and was shielding her with his body. Dean stood on unsteady legs and tried once more to reach his brother. "Sammy…can you hear me…come on Sam, just like before…try to concentrate on my voice…argh!" Dean winced as a heavy candlestick hit him in his sore arm.

It wasn't long before the sound of shattered glass filled the room. One of the windows in the great room had been broken by a stray object. "John, catch!" Matthew tossed a gun at John.

"Dean, grab the salt and fix the ring by the window quickly before we have company!" Matthew yelled. Dean grabbed the salt from his bag on the floor and headed towards the window, but before he could reach it he felt a cold breeze as a number of ghostly apparitions flowed through the window.

Matthew and John began shooting at the apparitions as Dean hurried to get the salt ring repaired…all the while dodging flying objects. Dean turned and pulled his own gun, intending to help get rid of the spirits that had entered the cabin. He almost laughed as he saw Missouri standing by the fireplace, iron poker in her hand ready to dispel any spirits that came in her direction.

While all this commotion was going on, Sam sat where he had fallen. No one noticed one of the spirits approaching the young hunter. "Why have you called me? I don't want to be here, let me go or I will do what I must to be free!" The spirit kept trying to circle away from Sam, but an invisible force continued to drag it towards Sam.

Dean heard the eerie voice and looked towards Sam; his blood ran cold. "Not again!" he yelled as he rushed towards Sam. Dean did the only thing he could think of to stop what was happening. "Sorry bro', but it's the only way!" Dean said as he hit Sam hard enough to knock him out.

As the flying objects fell to the floor, Missouri quickly made her way to the front door and erased a small portion of the salt ring. "Come on you poor souls…get out of here while you can!" The others watched at the ghosts who had entered quickly left the cabin. Missouri completed the circle of salt again before sighing with relief.

"I can't believe they just left…jeez Missouri, why didn't you tell us you could herd ghosts?" Matthew asked as he put the gun back into his shoulder holster.

"They were just poor souls who were drawn here against their will…not all spirits are out to do harm…many just want to be left alone. We're just plain lucky that a nasty one hasn't shown up so far!" Missouri started to clean up some of the debris.

"So what do you call that demon dog earlier?" Matthew asked as he too started to help clean up the mess. He laughed when he felt Missouri punch him in the arm as she went by.

Meanwhile, Dean and John both grabbed Sam and got him back into the bedroom. They carefully placed Sam on the bed. Sam was still moaning softly, tossing his head from side to side as tears continued to course down his cheeks. Dean and John exchanged a worried look as they watched the torment of the young hunter continue, even in an unconscious state.

"Dad, we have to do something…I don't think Sammy can take much more of this." Dean said as he smoothed the hair from Sam's eyes.

"I know son, but until we know what we are dealing with, there isn't much more we can do."

"Dad, I almost forgot, with everything that happened…Sam told me that the Siren was cursed; I wonder if the curse was somehow transferred to Sam?"

John looked down at his youngest son, wishing he could take away the pain. "I don't know son, it could be…we should run it by Missouri and Matthew. Don't worry Dean, we will figure it out…Sam will be just fine." John stood and walked into the other room, he had to believe that his youngest son would be fine…for John there was no other option.

Dean sat on Sam's bed, allowing his frustration and fear for his brother to surface for a brief moment. "Sammy…I know you can hear me, you need to hang on for me, don't give up. I'll find a way to fix this." Dean watched as Sam's movements calmed down. He hoped that meant that his brother had heard him. Rising slowly from the bed, Dean turned to follow his father into the other room.

Missouri and Matthew had most of the mess cleaned up by the time Dean entered the room. He noticed that his father was sitting at the table, using Sam's computer. The shutters had been closed on the shattered window. Dean shook his head, they had been lucky this time.

"So, how is Sam, Dean?" Missouri asked gently, she could feel the despair radiating off the young man.

"Not Good, I'm not sure how much more he can take." Dean winced as he tried to place his wounded arm back into the sling.

"Here, let me take a look at that…and don't bother telling me it's fine Dean Winchester!" Dean sat at the table while Missouri went to get the first aid supplies.

"Missouri, what do you know about curses?" Dean asked as he watched her checking his stitches.

"Why?"

"Well, I'm not sure, but Sammy told me that Alex was cursed. A witch placed a curse on her to prevent her from getting what she wanted most in the world—to have her love returned by her true love. "

Dean jumped when he heard Matthew exclaim. "Of course! We assumed that the spell that bound her to the house was the only curse that had been placed on the Siren. Why didn't I think of it before, the witch must have placed a spell on both the house and the Siren. We removed the binding spell on the house, but didn't remove the curse on the Siren. Oh man, that means that when we released her spirit, the curse remained behind. God John, I'm so sorry…I just never thought…" Matthew sat down heavily, the guilt on his face easy for all to see.

Dean continued the train of thought. "And since Sammy allowed the Siren into his mind; the curse was left behind in him! Great, just fucking great!" Dean slammed his fist on the table. "Sammy already had enough on his plate. I never should have let Sam trap the Siren. I should have found another way."

"Look Matthew and Dean, you couldn't know what would happen…hell, if anyone is to blame it should be me…I'm the one who pushed Dean and Sam into this life." John added as he rubbed his face,

Missouri shook her head as she listen to the men around her. "I 'spose you all are responsible for the sun not shining and the rain not falling too! I swear you all are a sorry lot…now we can all sit here blaming ourselves for things that no one could have prevented…or we can try to figure out how to help Sam. I don't know 'bout you all, but I'm going to do whatever it takes to help that boy!"

"So how do we remove this curse?" Dean asked, trying to hide his amused grin, his head was still sore from the last round of slaps from Missouri.

"I don't know for shore, but between all of us here—we should be able to figure it out!"

"Right, Dean you get over here and see what you can find out about the Siren and the curse on the computer. Matthew I noticed you had a great collection of books, why don't you see if you and Missouri can find anything there. I'll make a few phone calls." John took charge again as each of the group were given their tasks. Next to hunting, John knew how to get answers…this time would be no different. He would not fail his son.

TBC

Raven524: Thanks to everyone who has taken time to review this rather long story. I really appreciate it! If you haven't sent a review…well, then no cookies for you! Just kidding…I hope you all like the newest installment---enjoy!