Prodigy Case (Criminal Minds Fanfiction) [UNDER EDITING]

Chapter 16

~ Spencer's P.O.V.~

The doctors and nurses may not have noticed this, but I kept slipping in and out of consciousness, each time shorter than the last. Each time I remember that the taste of blood and vomit intensified in my mouth. Each time I remember feeling weaker than the last time. I felt an excruciating sting in my torso, with the pain worsening each time. But I was too weak, my body felt so numb, so limp. I couldn't express the pain. Even wincing at the pain was impossible. There was a possibility that my body was experiencing paralysis, but it still could have been the cause of lack of control over my body at the moment. Yes, I do realize that it still sounds like paralysis, it's just hard to explain it.

And yes, I know that my mind is still functioning while I am in this state. Even I can't explain it. But it'll have to pass for now.

The last time I slipped into consciousness, I remember seeing a familiar face among the group of people. A certain female, with dark skin and light brown eyes. She was looking at me worried. She may have noticed my open eyes, because her own widened and she rushed to me.

The last thing I remember was hearing her voice. "Spencer..." before I once again slipped into unconsciousness.

This time, my unconscious vision was different. I was in a room that was all a blinding white. I was wearing a suit without a tie, and black leather shoes. My hair was neatly combed and slicked back. I looked around and nothing happened for a full minute. Then, the scene changed. My eyes widened at the sight before me, and I gasped.

I was in a room that looked like the living room of a log cabin. There was a stone fireplace that provided the warmth and light of fire. There were pictures of the team dotting the maroon colored walls. All of the team smiling, laughing, together.

But that was not what had caught my sight. Between me and the fireplace, there were two sofas facing each other. Between the sofas was a table with a chess board, set up with all of the chess pieces. In one of the sofas, was sitting...

My mind was swarming with questions, comments, emotions. But my mouth didn't move. I only felt my eyes brim with tears. Tears? Yes, tears.

He was there, sitting right there, looking into the fireplace, his hands folded, his legs crossed. It was a play of my imagination, but it seemed so real. He was so close that I could touch him. But I was scared to do so, scared to speak, to blink, to breathe. All in fear of losing the sight of...Jason Gideon.

But he looked away from the fire and turned his attention to me. Immediately, his face that held a neutral expression changed into a bright smiling one. "Dr. Reid..." he chuckled. "I do recall you saying that you wished to play one last game of chess with me. And so..." he extended his arms and motioned to the board. "Here it is. One last game with yours truly."

He was right. It was what I had wanted. The one game of chess that I thought I would never fulfill. The one game that I had always envisioned. The one game I had always planned out. It's happening, right here, right now. Not literally, but it's...happening.

I couldn't find the will to speak, or move, so I just stood there, my mouth agape.

Gideon gave me a weird expression, then it turned to one of understanding. "I know, the walls are a hideous shade of red. I was really going for a pumpkin orange. What do you think?"

I broke into a smile and chuckled. "That's your decision, sir, not mine." His smile widened. But then it turned into a frown as he thought carefully of what his next words would be. 

"Reid, you're not only here because of this game. I have a few things to talk to you about. Please, take a seat," he said, motioning to the couch opposite him. I obliged.

"You go first, Reid." I nodded and my hand hovered over the first row, full of pawns. I chose the one that was in front of one of my bishops. Gideon chose the pawn in front of his queen. I could've easily captured that pawn, but he could've easily captured my bishop with his king or queen, so I let it slide and moved up my pawn that was in front of my queen.

"You're in a situation, Reid. A bad one, too. You've been shot by a bullet with some unknown chemical, and you've got some pretty serious side effects."

I looked away from the game and up at Gideon. "Unknown chemical? Onodera's not a chemist, or any type of scientist for that matter. Does he have any relations to scientists?"

"Actually, he lives two lives. One is Hikaru Onodera, the former Japanese teacher. The other is Shima Ijuuin, a chemist and alchemist for..." he drew in a breath of doubt before he spoke again "his own little made up secret society."

At this point, I had completely forgotten about the chess game. So had Gideon. His eyes were trained on me, analyzing my every movement and reaction. I had come to a state of complete confusion. "Excuse me...?"

"He has some strange ideas of his own fantasy world and made his own...secret society."

I rested my elbows on my thighs and my chin in my knuckles thinking deeply. "And you say he performs alchemy and chemistry? Where does he do it? Does anybody know about it?"

"He has his research and testing done in...a certain underground chamber. Nobody knows, but soon everybody in the hospital will." 

I narrow my eyes at him. "What do you mean, everyone in the hospital?"

Gideon sighed before he spoke. "The chamber is underneath this hospital, the one you're being treated in." I felt my body go numb.

"A-and..." I stuttered, waiting for him to say more. 

"And...he created his own bomb which he is going to explode. Don't ask about the chamber. He already packed his things and relocated..."

"Where?!" I jumped out of my seat and paced around the room. "How was he so professional at this? How did he get all this right after escaping prison? Where is Leah? Why is he doing this?..." I ran a hand through my hair and drew in a deep breath. Why was this case so difficult? I'm on the verge of death, our victim is kidnapped by a psychotic, yet extremely intelligent escaped convict all from a stupid case! God, Buddha, Yahweh, Allah, anybody, please just send us something that will stop this endless hell!

"That's not all I have to say," I heard Gideon say. I stopped in my tracks, mid-breath, fingers still entangled in my hair. That was it. That's why Gideon is here. Gradually, my eyes fell on the extremely esteemed gentleman on the sofa opposite mine. My shoulders dropped and relaxed, the sensation of tenseness fading from them. I sat back down in my sofa and drew in a breath. 

"I need to know everything you know...now."