“How could you hope to heal your son with some half-formed potion? Do you even know what you were trying to dabble in? Of course not. It wasn’t enough for you to simply enjoy what time you had with your son. Now, you’ve destroyed his mind and you leave him in some hellish asylum where the nurses treat him like some form of entertainment,” she began, her hand tensing on his shoulder. “He’s being mistreated, you realize? You ruined his life, and then you abandoned him. I can’t imagine what was going through your mind when you admitted him to the most poorly run health facility in the state, but obviously your son wasn’t the only one who utterly lost his mind,” Agnes continued in a hiss.
“I wanted my son back!” The man cried out, his voice broken with anguish. I looked between the two of them, waiting for the brawl that seemed invariable at that point. It was clear that Agnes held some deep rooted anger for this man, to an extent that even I couldn’t understand. I mean, he just wanted to heal his son, didn’t he? He had made his mistakes after things went wrong, but he had made an effort. He had done his best... hadn’t he?
I didn’t realize I had been thinking aloud until Agnes leveled me with a sour glare. I clapped my hands over my mouth, trying to make myself as small as possible. She only considered me for a brief moment before turning her attention to the scientist once more.
“She understands. Why can’t you understand? I didn’t want to lose my son. I did what any father would do,” the man asserted, rising on shaky legs once more and bracing himself against the desk.
“That’s all well and good, sir, but there is a fatal flaw in your logic. You didn’t lose your son, you abandoned him. He’s alive and while he’s not entirely well, I can’t imagine he would be awfully upset to see his father in that terrible place. You could spend the rest of your days together, and it may not be perfect by any means, but your son could be happy. Do you really think the underpaid nurses at some asylum can treat him better than you could? You’ve wasted years, sir, years! The fact that you wanted to help him could perhaps be forgiven if you did not forsake your duties as a father after the fact. He needs you. He needs his father,” Agnes began quietly, her voice rising in pitch and vitriol until she was nearly screaming in the man’s face. His face was pale, paler than it had been even when we’d first stepped into the room, and he took a hesitant step forward, grabbing his lab coat and draping it over his shoulders.
“It’s too late. You have to understand. The only way I can possibly begin to make this up to him is finding the rest of these pages... the rest of the formula. I could heal him—I could—,” he began to ramble, but I stepped forward and cut him off.
“It’s not too late, though. Your son, the young man you tried so hard to forge a good life for is still alive. You could be with him. You could be seeing that he gets the care he deserves. Why waste your life away up here, trying to solve a puzzle that’s not yours to figure out? You can’t make someone live forever. You just have to enjoy the time you have,” I said firmly, thinking of the boy back in the asylum. He had seemed so pained, so weary. I had no way of knowing, not really, but there was a feeling deep inside of me that somehow, in some way, he would be better off with his father at his side.
“No one can live forever,” Agnes reasserted, though her voice was somewhat strained. I glanced towards her, sensing a great grief ebbing from her in waves. I could only wonder what was going through her mind that had pressed her to the edge so quickly, but as I rested a hand on her shoulder, she relaxed a bit.
“You actually think he would be happy to see me?” The old scientist asked in a soft grumble, brushing what little remained of his hair back.
“If you dress in something besides your crusty knickers and lab coat, I’m sure,” Agnes said coolly. The man hesitated a moment longer before nodding, pushing away from the desk and towards the door.
“I should still have some clothes that fit... that will at least do in a pinch,” he murmured. He glanced towards Agnes and myself, a sad glimmer in his eye. “Will you join me? I’m afraid of going to face him alone, after all he’s been through. He deserved so much better,” the man sighed, lingering near the doorway. I agreed before Agnes could offer any sort of argument, smiling sweetly at the woman in spite of the scathing look she sent in my direction. The man beamed cheerfully, striding into the hallway presumably heading towards his bedroom. Agnes shuffled through the papers on his desk, pointedly refusing to look at me in spite of my attempts to catch her attention.
“We couldn’t just leave him to his own devices. He probably wouldn’t have gone on his own,” I huffed, stepping up beside her and considering the papers spread across the desk. The older woman only seemed vaguely interested in the selection, flipping through a few pages and making a face.
“Idiot. We should have left him to his own devices, if not for his son,” Agnes grunted.
“Is the rest of the journal there?” I inquired, staring at the stack of papers. Surely there had to be at least three or four pages here, if not the whole thing.
“There’s only one. Actually, only half of one. I can’t imagine where the other half is, but I have a bad feeling about it,” Agnes said sourly. The man returned to the room looking as presentable as he could, considering the circumstances, and Agnes thrust the paper in his face once more. “Where did you find this? Who gave you this?” She hissed. He flinched, awkwardly averting his eyes as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“I purchased it from a man who claimed it could solve all of my problems. I didn’t expect my life to be turned completely upside down. I didn’t notice that it was only half of a formula until after I’d gotten home, and I couldn’t find the man again. I didn’t think he would put lives in direct risk, but... well,” he trailed off, eyes glistening with tears.
“Do you know this man’s name?” I asked gently, soothingly rubbing his back. He chuckled bitterly, looking between the two of us.
“The sad thing is, I do. I just have no idea where he disappeared off to after selling me the fragment. His name was Martin Wellsworth. I was able to track him to an extent, but then he simply fell off of the map. The people I’d sent to seek him out returned... different. As if they’d been exposed to something strange, themselves. More easily driven to anger, and... I had to let most of my crew go,” he continued, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Agnes was staring at him through wide eyes. She looked at me desperately, mouth working quietly as she made an attempt to voice the question I knew she would ask.
“Did this... Martin fellow, did he have any other papers with him? Other pages of the journal, perhaps?” I inquired, my hand resting on his shoulder. He shuddered, and I blanched at the thought that he might be enjoying my comforting touch a bit too much. I drew away, folding my hands a reasonable distance away.
“S-sorry,” he muttered, seeming to sense my unease. At least he could still pick up on some social cues. “He had this half page, and when I asked about any other pages, he expected a much heftier price for them. He assured me that this was all I’d need, but, well. You see how that turned out. I would guess he has two pages, plus the other half of this one,” he explained, shrugging a bit. “I doubt they would be of any more use than this formula. He told me it could cure any disease that ails you, and it worked, at the price of my son’s sanity. Physically, he’s never been healthier. It’s his mind that’s slipped away,” he muttered, staring at the page in Agnes’ hands. “I performed initial testing on my rodent companion here,” he paused, gesturing to the rat that continued to race in circles before launching itself towards his ankles. He kicked it aside, eyed narrowed contemptuously. “The initial tests were passed with flying colors. I gave the formula to my son, and the rat began to exhibit side effects some time later. I hoped it would work differently on a human, but...,” he trailed off, his face twisting in anguish. “I tossed the remains of the formula in the lake nearby,” he finished, looking defeated. I glanced towards Agnes, wondering if this was the solution to our mystery. She nodded almost im
perceptibly, folding the paper and tucking it in her pocket.
“I presume it would be fine for me to keep this, then?” She phrased as a question, though it was obvious that the man would not be getting the formula back.
“I’ve no need for it. I can recite it in my sleep, for what good it’s done. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemies, except Martin himself, maybe,” he mumbled. Agnes nodded, guiding the man towards the door. I trailed behind them, musing over what Agnes would need such a formula for. Did she have some disease that was slowly eating away at her? Did that explain the urgency with which she sought these papers? I couldn’t imagine Agnes showing any sign of weakness, and she’d not seemed sickly by any means, but I was also well aware that she could lie to a nun with a straight face if it came to it.
“Agnes, what would Martin need something like that for?” I asked gently, although my question was more to do with what value it held to Agnes herself. She scoffed dismissively, guiding the former scientist into the front seat of my car before circling around to the driver’s seat. I might have been upset about being banished to the back seat, but it was something of a relief not to be sitting directly beside the strange man. He had done a lot to save his son, granted, but I had a hard time believing he was all there anymore. He had gone the way of his son in the process of trying to save the young man, it seemed.
“What would anyone need such a terrible elixir for? I can only imagine it’s part of some bigger picture, but I can’t imagine what it could be tied into. Some sort of poison? A torture device in the works?” He growled, glancing at Agnes from the corner of his eye. She scoffed again, waving a hand carelessly as we navigated the roads.
“Nothing so nefarious. Even if it were, you wouldn’t have to be concerned with it being in my possession,” Agnes explained casually.
“Then what? What does it do?” I continued to nag, all too aware of how annoying I was being.
“Let’s simply say that if the entire formula was intact, the young man might have been healed after all,” she muttered. The father sat upright a bit, scrutinizing the woman in the driver’s seat.
“So it’s a form of medicine? Is that what you’re saying? Will this be shared with the scientific community when it’s discovered?” He demanded, reaching out to grab Agnes by the shoulder. She shrugged him off, leveling a glare at him when we came to the final red light before the asylum.
“Don’t touch me. There will have to be extensive testing performed, and that’s even assuming I find the remaining pages. This is too dangerous for just anyone to have their way with. You should know that better than anyone else,” she bit out. The man flinched away, and in spite of agreeing with Agnes, I almost felt sorry for him. Finally, the sign to the asylum came into view, and the man’s eyes widened in a mixture of fear and excitement. At least he looked a good bit more thrilled to see the place than Izzie had. “Wait. We should come back later,” Agnes said urgently, trying to shift back into gear.
“What!? No! Don’t be ridiculous, I’m going to see my son,” the man blurted, tumbling out of the car and rushing towards the facility. I glanced inquisitively at Agnes, and she gestured to another, familiar car in the parking lot. Dear God, it was Robert’s car. That meant...
Izzie was here.
CHAPTER TEN
Agnes and I raced down the halls of the asylum, giving chase after the former scientist who had caused so much trouble for everyone involved. It wasn’t as if I could blame him in that moment, he was just determined to see the son he had abandoned—we had nurtured that desire, pushing him hard to come to this very place. I just never expected Robert and Izzie to make such a swift return, especially after how things had gone last time. I had no doubt that the dark haired woman would want to strike the scientist with her walking stick, and I could only hope we got there in time to stop her from beating him half to death. Agnes bolted ahead even faster than I could run and as usual, I was surprised at how quickly a woman of her age could move. Maybe I was more out of shape than I thought... not that it was the time to be thinking about that! We turned the corner, all but diving into the boy’s room and taking in the scene that lay before us. Izzie sat on the bed with the boy, half of a chocolate chip cookie dangling from her mouth while the boy seemed oblivious that anything was amiss. He only munched on a chocolate brownie, humming with delight while his father stared at him from a safe distance. Safe distance meaning, far enough that the third of our trio couldn’t strike out at him. There was a dangerous glint in her eyes, and the fury she felt was absolutely pulsing through her room.
“Excuse me,” the scientist muttered, taking a step forward. Izzie growled—literally growled, and rose to her feet. Most of the pressure was being placed on her good leg, and her walking stick was brandished in her hands like a weapon. The boy looked up from his place on the bed, a vaguely confused expression crossing his features before recognition dawned in his eyes.
“There is no excuse for people like you,” Izzie bit out, taking a step towards the older man. The scientist hesitated a moment before squaring up, seeming intent upon squaring off with the utterly furious woman. I could tell immediately that it was a bad idea, but I wasn’t about to get between the two of them. Unlike the scientist, I actually valued my life. Agnes, however, seemed just as willing to risk hers as she placed herself between Izzie and the man. She cupped Izzie’s cheek in her hand, and there was a flash of sorrow in my friend’s eyes before she tore away from the woman she considered a mother figure. “What is he doing here? I have a feeling you two had something to do with it. Seems a bit too little a bit too late, doesn’t it?” Isabella scowled.
“You have no idea what sort of relationship my son and I share. You know nothing about my life, and you know nothing about the pain I’ve gone through with him stuck in this place,” the scientist shouted, and Agnes exchanged a worried look with Robert who shuffled over to place a hand on Isabella’s shoulder. They were doing everything in their power to soothe the woman, but she was like a beast unleashed, looming over the scientist as he tried to remain brave in the face of her fury.
“I know nothing about your pain, huh?” She prompted icily, twisting her walking stick in her hands. “That’s rich. That’s rich, you piece of garbage. Ethan wasn’t stuck here. You abandoned him, and for what? To come back years later in hopes of making amends? You left him for dead! You left your son wondering what he’d done wrong to deserve the treatment he received in this place... have you seen this place!?” She spat, lurching forward just as Agnes pushed back against her. The two women wrestled for a moment, and though Agnes was clearly reluctant, she drew her hand back and slapped Isabella across the face.
“His life has no bearing on your own, Isabella. Be objective,” Agnes said, her voice wavering. It was obvious that she was having difficulty following her own advice, but that was to be expected when it came to the two of them.
“Rot in hell,” Izzie hissed, her eyes fixed on the scientist. The man stared down at her, his gaze unblinking.
“The sentiment is mutual, young lady,” he said coolly, approaching his son with a hesitant smile. Ethan was frozen, his expression torn between excitement and panic. He glanced towards Izzie, where she lay on the ground, offering his hand to her. Agnes frowned, but helped the young woman to her feet where she could properly remain at Ethan’s side.
“Am I hallucinating? Is he really here?” He asked nervously, his voice hoarse and broken from the screaming he did for the majority of his stay in the asylum.
“He’s here,” Isabella said as calmly as she could manage, and the boy tightened his grip on her hand, his eyes nearly bulging from his head. “I can get him to leave, if you’d like,” she offered soothingly, but the young man shook his head slowly, leaning closer to get a look at the older man.
“Dad... it’s really you?” He pressed, seeming caught off guard by the whole situation. The scientist nodded, stepping forward and taking one of his son’s hands between both of his own. The elder man’s
hands were small and thin, little more than skin stretched tight across the bones of his fingers. Ethan stared down at their joined hands before looking up to catch his father’s gaze. The scientist’s eyes watered, but he managed to refrain from erupting in outright sobs. He drew Ethan in closer, and the son made no attempt to fight back, simply going limp in his father’s grip. “It’s been so long...,” he whispered.
“I know. It’s been far too long. I’m so sorry,” the older man said in hushed tones. As much as I wanted to blurt how much I agreed with the sentiment, instead I drifted towards where Agnes was holding Agnes in a gentle embrace. The dark haired woman’s body was stiff, and much to my surprise, tears were slowly rolling down her cheeks once more.
“Why did you leave me? I understand why I’m here, it’s... it’s because I’m sick. But you’re practically a doctor! You could have taken care of me better than any of the nurses in this place. Do you know how they treat me? They act like I’m some sort of freak show... heh, maybe I am,” Ethan chuckled, his voice hitching a bit.
“No. You’re not a freak, Ethan, never a freak. All that’s happened to you has been my fault, and... I should have taken responsibility instead of pawning you off on the nearest asylum that could take you,” the scientist whispered, brushing a hand through Ethan’s hair. “I used to visit. Daily. But then your periods of lucidity became so few and far between, and I couldn’t bear... I couldn’t bear to see it. I couldn’t stand to see your brain disintegrate, all because of me,” he choked out.
“So... the formula is what caused this. I had a feeling, but...,” Ethan paused, glancing towards Agnes and Isabella. “You’re here to find out about the formula too, aren’t you? It... it’s a terrible thing. I’ve never felt as terrible as I’ve felt since that elixir slipped past my lips. It burned all the way down, and I can still feel it burning to this day. Sometimes it feels like my insides are being charred to nothing, like I’m burning alive from the inside out. It’s all I can do to scream those days. Those are the days I want to just sleep. That’s how you found me when you first came to see me, Isabella. You held me until the burning stopped,” he murmured. Isabella nodded quietly, seeming unable to form words. “I don’t know why you would do something like that for a stranger, but... you’re a very kind person. It takes a special sort to deal with someone like me... someone as sick and damaged,” he muttered.
The Peculiar Case of the Red Tide Page 7