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With a silent gasp, Helena St.
Just fled from the darkened room, leaving Edward Hyde lying haphazardly
on the bed. The door slammed with
a creek and what sounded like a chuckle from within, and she fled to
the sitting room where she had become accustomed to catching what little
sleep
she could manage. When she got there, however, she did not even attempt
to sleep. She collapsed on the couch with a swish of her skirts and began
to
cry.
How on earth could she have let
that happen? Her plight to save Dr. Jekyll from his mad inhabitant grew
more and more impossible with each
new day! The drugs were iffy and highly unpredictable, Henry missed
his darling fiancee terribly and craved her comfort, as she did his...and
now
_this_. From the moment she set eyes on that bastard Hyde- no, more
accurately, from the moment he had set eyes on _her_-she had done her best
to
quell the feelings of desire she felt. _She did not love him!_ She
did not even like him; she _despised_ him, yet the feelings would not lessen.
He had
ruined Henry's life, tortured Emma's soul, and yet still she could
not bring herself to tear her eyes away from his when he spoke. He had
nearly raped
her in a violent frenzy in Henry's own laboratory, yet his touch still
excited and thrilled her. _I DO NOT BELIEVE HIM! _ Her mind screamed,
casting away the memory of his tongue lingering on her skin, his hands
exploring her body. She clenched her hands into fists, calling on her strength,
praying to God with all her might that she may save Henry's soul with
no further distractions...temptations from Hyde.
Then a new thought occurred to
her. _Am I evil? Is this how it begins, with sinful thoughts...Hyde is
Henry, Henry is Hyde...where is _my_
Hyde? If I was the one who so selflessly drank that formula, who would
I be now? NO ONE IS SAFE...Hyde will always be free--_
"Do not be afraid of me." A soft
voice spoke from inside the room, a voice whose master was utterly clear
to her. She lifted her head from her
lap to see Mr. Hyde standing before her. He still wore his nightshirt,
but he seemed to be standing much taller now...until he fell upon his knees
in
front of her.
"Mr. Hyde..." She spoke shakily,
yet her insides were strangely calm, as though his closeness was the most
natural thing in the world. He
leaned closer to her, his rough hand, the hand remarkably _unlike_
Henry Jekyll's, reaching up to cup her cheek. He gazed into her eyes, yet
she was
unable to see anything but herself in their brilliant reflection.
"Come out, come out wherever you
are..." he sang softly, just above a whisper, studying her face with such
childlike wonder, she found
herself wanting to smile. His other hand moved up her arm, tracing
gently, to her cheek. His fingers touching her forehead, nose, eyelids
as she
slowly, almost drunkenly shut them. His fingers were like embers against
her skin, and the feelings she had been pushing away only minutes ago were
back, full force. She shook her head weakly, side to side in protest,
and he only smiled again, leaning in to kiss the corner of her mouth, her
cheek, her
neck, her ear, whispering again... "Come out, come out, wherever you
are..." And as his hot breath began to scour her throat she let out a moan,
and
collapsed forward into his arms-
Helena awoke with a jolt, hitting
her forehead on the cold wooden floor of the hallway. And with a like jolt
she shot upright again, listening
for any sound in the deserted corridor. She sighed loudly, for her
own benefit, and slumped back against the wall she had fallen asleep against
God
knows how long ago. To her right was the door the Dr. Jekyll's room,
still completely shut, reassuring her common sense that no one had left
the
room since her hasty exit earlier. She had fought the urge to flee
the entire _house_ when she had slammed that door earlier, yet she knew
the Dr.
Jekyll would soon be returning, and would need her help when he did,
for his body- as well as Hyde's- was sprawled at the bottom of the bed.
She
sighed again, running her hands through her wild locks, tired and confused,
but most of all _afraid_ in this pitch-black hallway. Emma, she was sure,
had made her way to bed a long time ago, and now she was most likely
the only wakeful person in the entire estate.
She could hardly remember the dream
that had scared her so, causing her to fall forward in her slumber, but
remnants of it still flitted through
her mind. She could recall herself crying, and a warm pressure gently
caressing her eyelids, and most clearly she recollected the phrase: "Come
out,
come out wherever you are...Helena..." She paused, wracking her thoughts
for the incongruity she sensed in this memory. Surely that was the chant
that had wafted through her dreams. _"Come out, come out wherever you
are..."_ Yes, that was it, but what on earth had made her think her name
had
been-
"...Helena..." She froze in terror
as she heard it again, the soft, distant noise that had melded so well
with her memory. It was such a weak,
raspy, _disturbing_ sound she felt paralyzed in her place on the floor.
Yet it was much closer than from inside Henry's room, it sounded almost
as if
were in the hall with her. She waited in silence, but the sound did
not come, and just as she was certain her overactive imagination had gotten
the better
of her a sharp rattling sound pierced through the quiet. She jumped
to her feet, her well-adjusted eyes searching the now somewhat penetrable
darkness, and the sound came again, from Dr. Jekyll's bedroom door!
She found herself backing away from the doorway, bumping her shoulder
harshly on the wall opposite the room. Again the doorknob jiggled,
the rattling sound giving way to a soft creak, and as the door swung slowly
open
she felt herself screaming blindly: "MR. HYDE, YOU STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!"
Then, through the darkness came
a hurdling figure, propelling itself at her with reckless speed. He crashed
into her, leaning all his weight on
her, and as she fell to the ground with a thud, so did he. She was
all but ready to struggle when she realized that Hyde was not grabbing
at her as she
had suspected, instead, the prone man in her lap was coughing violently,
trembling with fear and exertion.
"...Helena...help me..."
"Oh God, Henry!!! Why did you...how
can you...Oh you poor thing! Are you all right?!" She asked, frightened,
straightening him in her lap
as best she could. He nodded weakly, still catching his breath.
"You thought...I was...he told
you...I _know_ what he...God, there's no time..." He said with a tearful
voice between gasps for air, slowly
he rolled off her legs and onto the floor, raising himself up with
trembling arms.
"Henry, slow yourself...please, relax, let me help you..."
"I had to come find you..."
"Henry, why? You could have called me, I was right he-"
"We have to stop him, now...tonight...he's ready...I have no time..."
"Henry, please...try to calm down!"
"He _knows_ now, he's sure of it...we
have to stop him before it's to late..." He continued to struggle, her
arms helping him to lift his
weight, and supporting him once he was upright.
"He knows, what, Henry?! What is he sure of?!"
"He's sure...you'll..._give in_..."