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To believe...
The next morning, Dr. Slusar entered Henry's room to find him sitting in the exact same place he was the night before....
"Have you slept at all?"
"I've told you, it's no use sleeping. I'll only awake within minutes.."
"You realize that you have to go before the governors today."
"Why should this be any different from any of our other meetings..."
"You're the one they're questioning..it's different now. I should tell you this one thing, though I'm sure you already know. It wouldn't be very wise of you to tell them of your supposed schizophrenic nature..."
"And how else would I explain my tantrum last night? I have to tell the truth, no matter how insane I may seem." Dr. Slusar touched his shoulder...
"They won't believe you, Henry, you know that..."
"Yes, I know, but I have to do it. There's no turning back."
"You realize that you may end up in this place for the rest of your life, don't you?"
"My father won't be alone anymore."
"You have a chance to save yourself today..."
"Lying wouldn't save me...I've lied enough. To so many people...to John, to Lucy, to you...to Emma. Emma. What am I going to tell her?"
"Tell her whatever you wish." he seemed to have brushed HenryÕs question aside...
"You think I've lost my mind, don't you."
"You've disappeared from everyone. It's been months since I've seen you in this place...and suddenly, you appear in the doorway at the side of a policeman, Henry...I think you need to pull yourself away from this ridiculous dream that you can help your father...that you can save mankind with your theories and medications. You've become so lost in this dream world you've created that you are no longer familiar with actual reality...and now you claim to have an alternate personality who takes you over...who lives through your body..."
"Maybe I am insane."
"You can be helped..."
"I can never be helped...and you will never understand."
"You're expected before them in an hour. Good luck, Henry." as he spoke those last words, he disappeared down the hall. The moment Henry thought he was alone...
"Dr. Jekyll!! Look where we are now...in the looney bin...how appropriate."
"Oh, but you also realize that this means you are stuck inside...can't get out..."
"Ooo, Henry!! Getting feisty. I like that!! But you're wrong, I won't
show my sweet little face...this moment to torture you is just to wonderful
to pass up."
Eight o'clock...Henry was brought before the board of governors. Ever since the gruesome murders, there had been new additions and Henry hoped and prayed that they their hearts were not made of stone like the ones who ranked before them. The first man he came in contact with was a frantic Sir Danvers, who was waiting for him outside the room...
"Henry, dear God, what the hell is this all about? No one has heard from you in over a month then I'm awakened early this morning with news of your arrest? I hope you can offer some form of explanation, doctor, for I know not how to inform my daughter that her fiancee has been locked up in a mental institution."
"Sir Danvers, I can explain..although I'm warning you, my explanation will probably seem quite outrageous."
"Anything is better than nothing. Please, for your own sake, remain calm and respectful in front of these people. Aside from this unbelievable news of your disturbing tantrum, they have also been informed of your medical ventures and past encounters with the board...I can tell you now that the odds are not in your favor."
"Is is possible for so many people to be so cold?"
"They are not cold, Henry. They are merely skeptical of your...theories." Henry tried his best not to hear Sir Danver's harsh tone yet soaked up his advice...
"Is John here?"
"Yes, John is here."
"How is he..."
"Disgusted...and worried about you..." he placed his arm around him, "as am I." He escorted him inside. John stood before them in the doorway, his upper lip severely swollen..he had a bandage over his left eye and a bruise on his right. He held his hand out..
"Henry."
"John..." he mumbled, taking John's hand, "I'm so sorry..."
"I know you are," he whispered, "but you have something more important to worry about."
"Yes, I know."
Sir Danvers introduced him to the board members one by one and asked everyone to be seated. The first gentleman to speak was Robert Harrison, a distinguished lawyer and old friend of Sir Danvers...
"So, Dr. Jekyll. I'm terribly sorry to have this first meeting under these circumstances. If you please, sir...what exactly happened last night?"
"It's a pleasure, Mr. Harrison...I too, am sorry to have to start out this way."
"Indeed...please, I'm quite curious to know what brought about last night's occurance." Henry took in a deep breath before beginning his confession...
"As you've been told, my father has been in this hospital for quite some time..."
"Are you aware of the sickness?" Sophia Watkins, an older woman who widowed one of the original founders of St. Jude's hospital. She spoke with a sweet tone and a gentle smile...
"Yes, he has fallen into the final stages of a rare disease which destroys brain cells and causes abnormality in the brain functionings. The few times it's been found has been in ages ranging from sixty five and older."
"Your father is relatively young, is he not?"
"He's 56, madam."
"I see...so this truly is a rare case."
"Very rare....at first, the disease begins to erase one's memory...making it difficult to recall the name's of loved ones as well as your own, the afflicted is unable perform simple tasks such as feeding oneself. This goes on for a relatively long period of time until the patient is completely incoherent...then finally slips into a catatonic sleep."
"Forgive me, Dr. Jekyll, but what does this have to do with your behavior last night?" Richard Morran spoke up at that point. A new member of the board, he was also member of one of the most wealthy families in all of England...
"Kind sir, I'm about to tell you."
"Well, by all means, do so."
"This may seem childish to you, but my theory is that...the true cause of this horrible sickness stems from one's darker side." Mr. Morran seemed confused...
"Darker side?"
"Yes. We all have two sides to us, sir. Good and evil. The evil can overcome the good at times. In order to prove my theory I developed a serum which I call HJ7. It is a combination of rare drugs which original purpose was to separate the two forces and ultimately destroy the evil all together." A faint chuckle escaped from Mr. Harrison...
"You're serious?"
"This is no laughing matter, sir. To see if my guesses were correct, I needed to perform the experiment on a human being...which I was denied by the previous members of this board for they felt that my intentions, as well as my theories, were ludicrous. In a desperate moment, I decided to use myself as the 'rat', so to speak." Sophie smiled...
"And then what happened, Henry?"
"God bless this woman", he thought. "One night I injected myself with the formula with hopes that it would work. Well, something did happen...however it was not what I'd expected. Instead of destroying the darkness, it brought it to the surface. I experienced such alterations that...I...became someone else." John and Sir Danvers sat across from him watching his face as he poured his heart out. John had seen with his own two eyes the beast known as Mr. Edward Hyde. Sir Danvers, however, could not believe what he was hearing...
"Henry, how is that possible?"
"It was an unexpected side effect!! All it took was one dosage to bring out this darker being. He is everything that I, Henry Jekyll, am not..spiteful, full of rage, abusive...dangerous. His hold on me is so strong...I cannot break free of it. It bounds me like a million chains..."
"What are you saying Henry...that there are two separate forms of...you?"
"I don't know if you can understand what I'm saying. He is a man all his own. But he stems from the depths of my soul. My eyes grow dark and fierce, my strength grows to such astronomical heights that I feel as though I could defeat a thousand men with one hand, my heart turns to stone..."
"You say, 'I', doctor...does this mean that--" before he knew it, he was out of his seat and shouting...
"Goddamnit!!! You do not seem to understand!! I become someone else!! He calls himself Edward Hyde. He goes about murdering and ruining so many innocent lives. He is all the evil that I possess deep inside. He lives through my body. We are one in the same!!!" The governors sat there in sheer disbelief. Mr. Harrison rose from his chair fiercely...
"You must be crazy, man!! There is no way in hell that this could ever happen!!!"
"Don't you see??? That is what happened last night! He had taken control of me..."
"Darling child...then...might I suggest no longer taking this drug?"
"Madam, the drug is no longer needed. He comes and goes whenever the hell he feels like it and I can do nothing to control it. When John found me last night, I was in my other form...he enraged Hyde and this was the result!!," he shouted pointing at John's face, "Next thing I knew, I was being led away bound at the wrists for throwing a tantrum in the street. I had transformed back to my own self in front of all those people..."
"You are speaking in riddles now. I don't understand you."
"I knew this would happen." Sir Danvers interrupted...
"Henry, are you sure that you're not suffering from a--"
"No...I know what I am...I know what I've seen and I know what he's done."
"Oh, this should be interesting..." laughed Mr. Morran.
"Since you find this so funny, maybe I should tell you now that it was Edward Hyde who murdered Lady Beconsfield...it was he who beat and burned Bishop Basingstoke...and he killed the remainder of the board just as he killed them!!" A sudden blanket of silence fell over the room. They all looked at one another in shock and then over to the doctor, who had fallen to his knees in tears. "I know...I know I must seem crazy...but all that I've told you is true. You have to try your best to believe that all I've confessed is in no way some fantasy that I've created in my own mind."
"Dr. Jekyll, I have to say, this is hard to believe. Never in a million years have I ever expected to hear such a story. Two different personalities in one man brought about by some stupid little drug."
"Mr. Harrison...please..."
"Sophie, darling...let me finish. This man is obviously disturbed in some way. No man in his right mind would walk into a room full of people who hold his fate in their hands, ramble off such a far-fetched story and actually expect them to fall for it. You must think we're blind, Dr. Jekyll."
"I knew you'd never understand..."
"We do understand, Henry!! You need psychiatric treatment!! I have to say that I'm not sure I believe that there ever was a drug...this whole fiasco is just your mind playing ridiculous games with you."
"There is a drug..."
"Oh is there, really?"
"John, please...help me..."
"Governors, I have seen with my own two eyes this creature known as Edward Hyde..."
"Oh don't tell me that you're falling for this, John, are you?"
"Robert, he does exist..."
"I don't believe what I'm hearing. Both of you have completely gone insane!! Alright, explain something to me, doctor. Where is he now, hm? This alter ego of yours? Why doesn't he show his face in front of us?"
"He won't do it now because he knows I need him..."
"Now you seek help from a murderer. This is ridiculous."
"Mr. Morran, let the man speak..."
"Sophie...always out to save the world..."
"I think we should listen to him. I'll admit, this story is a tad strange, but maybe there is some truth..."
"I think you need to pay more attention and stop trying to play the fairy godmother."
"I'm merely trying to give the man a fair chance."
"He had his fair chance and he throws this at us. I've heard just about enough of this nonsense. It's obvious we're dealing with a madman...he's derranged..."
"You're going to put me away."
"Henry...please, stop this for a moment and try to think clearly. How can you expect us to believe such a story?" Sir Danvers knelt down in front of him and caught him as he collapsed forward...
"I can't take this anymore..."
"You have to get control of yourself," he whispered, "you're only making things worse. Henry...please...you have taken innocent lives yet you expect them to let you go free? You had to know this would happen...I did...you have become so lost in this dream of yours to cure your father that you've lost your mind. You need help. Perhaps, this is the best thing." He looked up at him...his eyes flooded with tears...
"I guess I have no choice then...do I?"
"What a sweet picture, Sir Danvers. We've come to a decision..."
"Already, Mr. Harrison? You don't waste any time, now do you."
"In addition to spending an indefinite amount of time in the psychiatric ward of St. Jude's, I think we should try the good doctor's little antecdote on his father. After all, if it does exist, perhaps it would be sensible to use it for it's intended purpose." Henry stood up and glared at him...
"You make this out to be a joke...but you soon shall see that I am not crazy."
"Very well then. Send an officer to the doctor's laboratory to find this formula. I want it brought to the hospital immediately and administered...immediately. Dr. Slusar is a personal friend of yours, Dr. Jekyll?"
"Yes, he's been looking in on my father when I have been unable to. Why?"
"I want him to inject the man with the drug."
"Wait..." he stood up and walked over to Mr. Harris, placing his hands on the desk in front of him, "There is a possiblity that this may kill him...I don't know--"
"Maybe you should've thought of this before you got yourself into this mess..."
"I've already told you, this was not expected...that's why they call it an 'experiment'."
"Doctor, this 'experiment' has cost very dear friends of mine, as well as others, their lives and for absolutely no apparent reason. I've heard just about enough from you this morning. Bring him back to the hospital now and make sure that he's present for the injection."
Mr. Harrison and Mr. Morran fled from the room, leaving Sophie, Sir Danvers and John alone with him. Sophie stood up from her chair and walked around the table to Henry's side. She touched his face gently and smiled...
"Don't you worry, Henry. Everything will be alright. I believe you."
"Wasn't there anything you could do to help me?"
"They don't want an old ladies' opinion. They think I'm crazy, myself. Though it may seem as though I am against you Dr. Jekyll, that is not what I feel in my heart."
"Thank you, Madam Watkins...I appreciate it greatly." She patted his shoulder and left the room. "ÒWell, John, it looks as though I've lost again."
"This is not over yet, Henry. We will find someway to help you...somehow."
"I truly hope so. I've lost all faith in everything. In the world around me...in this Goddamn drug...in myself." Sir Danvers stood in the doorway looking as though his world had crashed downaround him. Some time between the end of the meeting and that moment he was struck with a sudden realization, "Ifhe claims to be Edward Hyde...then it was he who did this to Emma..."
"Henry, we should go." he whispered. He ran to his side and placed his hands on his shoulders..
"You mustn't tell Emma that it was I who--"
"I hadn't planned on telling her, but she's bound to hear from someone."
"I couldn't stop it.."
"Please. No more of this." He left while Henry and John slowly followed.