Jekyll & Hyde

Chapter Three - The Start of Something Glorious

He walked into his large home slowly, his wife waiting for him, her blonde hair a contrast to his brown hair, her green eyes as beautiful as his blue eyes. He put his box of research down on the marble ground as she ran to him. He picked her up gently, her weight nothing as he cuddled her, holding her in his arms gently.

"I missed you" he whispered softly in her ear.

She blushed a little, her hair as golden as ash as his fingers made their way through what felt like each and every individual strand of silk. Her eyes a perfect forest green, soft and gentle with a soft, sweet look on her face, a face that would make any woman turn their head in envy.

Together since they were sixteen, two girls and a son together, happily married for what seemed like a lifetime, a lifetime he welcomed as he held her hands.

"You always miss me so why not invite me along?" she joked. He had forgotten to inform her of the situation, she just knew he'd gone to London at the request of Dr Jekyll's lawyer, Mr Gabriel Utterson.

"You would not have wanted to see it... such a sight, it never leaves you" he whispered cryptically.

"Why, is Dr Jekyll ill? You should have stayed longer, I would have understood"

"If only he were ill, my love. Dr Jekyll... it appears he... took his own life"

"What? He killed himself, but why?"

"Hyde... that monster stained Jekyll's reputation, ruined him. I suppose in the end, Jekyll could not handle the shame of it all"

"I am so sorry" she whispered as she let go of one his hands. The large box sat in the doorway caught her attention as she asked "what is in the box? Is that Jekyll's things?"

"I brought some of his research at the auction. If anyone was meant to have it, it would have been me". He watched the displeasure on her face creeping in. He just lifted it and rolled his eyes, letting slip his dislike "to think I moved us down here so we could have a better life"

"We do have a better life; I just do not want you going the same way as Dr Jekyll"

"He was a good man" Jonathan replied defensively.

"Is that not my point? A good man can be... corrupted by the forces of darkness. Look at Dr Jekyll and... that man. I do not want the next suicide to be my husband's suicide" she whispered tearfully as she grabbed his arms.

It broke his heart, seeing her like that, almost crying with fear... pain. The idea of losing him, it must have seemed like it was almost too much to bear. He held her in her in his arms, his fingers through her hair as he whispered "you will not lose me, not to any darkness, I promise"

"You cannot promise that unless you... abandon that research. No one knows what goes on behind closed doors, not a soul does know and I fear for you, I fear for my husband. I do not want you to end up like Dr Jekyll. No one knew what he got up to when he closed his door, I do not want to face the same thing!" 

"I will not have to have someone else in the house, a madman like Hyde. I will do the research myself and conduct the experiment on myself. You will have a better husband once I am done, one free from temptations of any kind. Is that not what any wife desires?"

He won her over in the next few days, spent a good few more going through Dr Jekyll's notes. Every note he had written and every formula he had come up with. It was as if he was looking into a mind of a genius, every note led to a discovery deeper than Jonathan could have ever imagined or seen. The things Jekyll worked on, the things he was so close to discovering was remarkable. Dr Jekyll was in his fifties and a genius, a true genius.

The works he did, they were brilliant and a true mark of brilliance that would last throughout the ages. If he could take away the temptations and desires, he could save the world, stop the world from giving into their animalistic natures, being controlled by that which they have no control over and yet knowledge of. Every man, woman and child had temptations, even rats had temptations. Dr Jekyll wanted to remove those temptations, create a perfect world where there were no cruel intentions, no fear or need for fear... there would be no temptation to do evil deeds.

He began mixing every formula Jekyll had come up with, every serum he came up with to create his much needed effect, to destroy the very temptation he had, that everyone had. He had the temptations to take what he wanted, to drink and gamble but for his wife, Viola, he stopped himself. The serum Jekyll was working on, it could cure him of that side, meaning he would never again have to fight temptation.

There would be no need to fight it off; there would be no fighting it off. The temptation would die; become nothing more than a horrific memory for all who wanted it to be. No more temptation, no more robberies or murders. It sounded like the perfect world, picture perfect but he should have guessed at even perfection had its own heavy price.

Wanting to change the world was not always a good thing but it didn't stop Jonathan, didn't stop him wanting to change the world, save it. There was the chance, a chance for him to be normal, to be human without the urges. His mental choice separated him from his humanity, he had to choose between being good or being evil and all he wanted was to know good, was to do good and be free, for as long as he had, for as long as anyone in the world had.