In The Fog of London

The Confession

Kathrine had reached out to stop him, but moments after ingesting the frothing tincture, Hyde had doubled over in pain, falling to his knees before a horrific scene unfolded. Kathrine gasped as she watched in abject terror, backing into the door while the man writhed and howled in agony, his bones shifting beneath his skin as the surface of it seemed to boil and melt and fold into itself in some abhorrent metamorphosis. His nails dug into the wooden floor as the clothes he wore grew tighter and his hair shifted to dusty brown with stripes of white and grey behind his ears. His back arched and the man on the floor wheezed and sucked in air desperately as if starved for it, and as suddenly as the change had begun, the curled figure shivering on the floor at Kathrine's feet was no longer Edward Hyde. The pale, dainty hand of the man before her shakily snaked across the wood floor to weakly grasp at Kathrine's shoe. She recognized the manicured nails and slender fingers immediately and was struck with a second wave of consternation. Any words she might have wanted to speak were caught in her throat. The figure turned his face, only able to rest his cheek on the floor as the rest of his body unfurled and splayed out behind him. Henry lay there, eyes reddened, face sallow, taking quick, shuddering breaths. "Lynnie..." He whimpered, not looking her in the face, but instead trying to focus his blurry vision on her shoe. He knew she would be shocked and most likely filled with repulsion for him. He knew the risk he faced in doing this, but he couldn't keep trying to tell her without showing her. "I'm... So sorry.." He choked, drawing his other hand to her shoe as well, pulling himself slightly forward and propping his upper body on his elbows. He hadn't the strength, emotional or otherwise, to look up at her. "Oh God, please.. J-just say something... I can't stand the silence." Henry's voice cracked as he swallowed the lump in his throat, pressing his forehead against the cold floor for momentary relief from the intense heat within himself. Kathrine, on the other hand, was still white as a sheet, her hands were shaking as she gently clawed at her face. The fabric of her reality had been torn into unrecognizable pieces. She never thought such unholy evils could leave the confines of hell and wind up crumpled and squirming on her floor like some insect or serpent, now clutching at her feet as if expecting words when she was so utterly drained of all logical thought and so wracked with shock and some manifestation of grief or betrayal that she could not muster a sound. She looked down at him, slowly, and slid with her back on the door, down until her knees pressed against her chest. She became aware of her mouth open in a silent scream and her eyes, so wide that she feared they may fall completely out of her head. "Henry.." She breathed, just barely able to even mouth his name. She couldn't stand to see him just laying there in a pile, shuddering like a stray dog in the cold rain. She lowered her hands and placed them on his head, entwining her fingers in his hair. "What.. Have you done..?" She cried softly, shutting her eyes tight when she felt him move again. Henry lifted his head to look at her, before struggling to get into a sitting position. "Please," He began, "I am in a very difficult position, but I had to tell you the truth... Please understand.." He rasped. "What is there to understand..?" Kathrine replied, now opening her eyes, her voice still no more than a whisper. "Is this... A means of telling me that you and the cruel man who has tormented me for months, Edward Hyde, are one in the same?" Henry finally looked her in the face. "In some cruel aspect... Yes." He murmured, ashamedly. "Oh God.. Oh God, Henry..! You're a murderer! A-a-and you've altered your form, oh-..!" She exclaimed gutturally, almost choking on her perturbation and disbelief. "You knew then..? You knew all this time how I felt?" She continued, her hands shaking, "... Yes." Henry spoke very softly, trying to get near to Kathrine again. "And what do you expect me to do now? To think now..?" She hissed, shrinking away from him, her lip trembling. Henry felt a sharp pang in his chest, as if he were a pincushion being stuck with a needle. "I don't expect you to do anything.. I thought.. Perhaps it would be better if you didn't know, until my absence started to upset you.. I-I'm a different man in the form of Hyde, but, I'm also the same.. So, I've been with you the whole time, If that's any consolation!" He whispered hastily, trying to explain himself. Kathrine cried out and covered her face. "I'm so confused!! My head, my heart, oh you-! You! Why??" She started sobbing and collapsed into the doctor, who took Lynn up in his arms and cradled her. He thought he'd feel better holding her, but felt even more needles piercing his heart. I should have sheltered her from my other self. How could I have been blinded by my selfishness? Were my desires just that destructive? Dear God, what am I to do now..?

Kathrine's cries slowly subsided and she was reduced to a sniffling, shuddering ball. Henry had scooted up against the door and was gently caressing her hair. "... I started an experiment months and months ago. It began as research, people-watching, observations in man's behavior." He began hoarsely, "My self reflection led me down a rabbit hole and into the tests that ended with... This." Kathrine listened, not making a sound. "At first, I had control over myself in the form of Hyde. We had memory in common and it was easy to influence him myself, as if I had him on a leash. As the experiments continued, however, I lost more and more of myself. He gained a mind and a consciousness of his own, and I could only watch in horror as he committed that murder the entirety of London was shouting about... I haven't any idea how long I will last as Jekyll. Hyde has started to escape on his own accord, changing my body and mind without the use of the drugs I would usually compound. He used my last dose to bring me back to you, but I fear he also used the last of it with malicious intent.." After he finished, there was a long silence between them before Kathrine spoke. "So.. You both are two halves of a whole. And.. H-Hyde has his own consciousness apart from yours. But I won't have you with me for long..?" She mewled, lifting a hand to his face as she met his eyes. Henry noticed a lock of her hair, just behind her left temple, had gone white. The shock of the transformation had effected her. Jekyll felt a chill run up his spine with the thought. "Th-that's correct," He replied, his voice shaking, "will you be alright?" Kathrine nodded slowly and solemnly, staring through him in a thoughtful daze. "He kissed me." She breathed, bringing her fingers to her lips. "Wouldn't that mean... He was enacting some deep, suppressed desire of yours?" She asked, focusing her eyes on Henry again. He looked away, a blush spreading through his cheeks. "I-I suppose. You're very intelligent and beautiful. It's clear he would have no problem chasing your heels. I just didn't expect you to feel the way that you do about me. Not to mention your reciprocation of.. Hyde's feelings." He mumbled, causing Kathrine to look away sheepishly. "I thought neither of you would notice.." She hissed before turning his face toward herself. "Y-you flatter me so.. But I could hardly stand not to notice you at Lanyon's little party, alone and brooding by the fire. You say those sweet things about me without recognizing your own handsomeness and wit. I just... Wish this hadn't happened. My view of both of your halves is so.. Altered." She sighed with a hint of melancholy, "I felt satisfied knowing the two of you were separate. You seemed.. Safe. And after Hyde's appeal to me, I felt as if I'd done so much to assist him already, there was no point in denying him then. I'm still entrapped by my involvement, but the concept of deception being the core fault in all of this, and beyond that, your wicked intention... My head feels full of a whirling tempest of thoughts." She looked away from him and covered her face with her hands again, hiding her mental anguish and perplexity. "I can't force myself to be upset with you, I don't know why... I've not the slightest clue what to do. Without you, I'll be forced to continue living with your altered self, missing you all the while. But with you here, I fear that your transformations and the pain that comes with them will drain you of all life and spirit.." Kathrine added, looking back up at him and holding his face in both of her hands this time around. "Oh, Kathrine.. Within my unfortunate ego still lies a sliver of myself. My memory and my influence still remain even though his consciousness may now be separate from my own. I feel, whether he wants to admit it or not, he appreciates your mercy.. Even if his hatred for his situation continues, he knows that your assistance has saved him and that he is known in far too many places to flee anywhere else." Jekyll reassured. "Rest easy.. And know that you've already survived some time with that beast who plagues us both. In the meantime, I am here. And I'll try to stay here until I cannot bear to any longer."