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I don't scare easily, but I was terrified. Too terrified to scream or
move or think. I just sat, motionless, my mouth open slightly, as Hyde
stared at me
with a curiously amused expression on his face.
"Were you looking for someone?" Hyde asked, his lips curling slowly into a wicked smile.
I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry. "Jekyll. I came looking for Henry Jekyll."
Hyde stood up suddenly, stretching, then glaring down at me. "And I suppose you found him."
"Sort of." Taking a deep breath, I stood as well, trying hard to regain
some composure. After a silent moment, I had calmed myself sufficiently
to think
clearly. Hoping he didn't see my fear, I smiled cheekily at Hyde. "Jekyll
in a slightly...altered form. Nice drugs, those. Didn't your mother ever
tell
you to "Just Say No'?"
He blinked, looking slightly surprised; I don't think anyone had ever
addressed him like this before. But he recovered quickly. "You're the one
from
the Red Rat last night, aren't you." It was not a question.
"You owe me a vodka, dearie. By the way," I said, "I don't believe we've
been properly introduced. The name is Anna Collins. And you are Edward
Hyde, correct?" Polite introductions to a manifestation of evil? By
this point, even I didn't know what the hell I was doing. I was simply
acting on the
vague feeling that if I kept him talking long enough, I'd eventually
some up with an idea on how to get out of this intact.
"It's nice to know my name and infamy has spread so thouroghly," he replied, looking as though he, too, was trying to decide just what to do next.
"You have no idea." I glanced longingly at the table. If only I could
get under there and find some way back to New York...I shook myself slightly
and
turned back to the matter at hand.
The matter at hand already had his big-ass butcher knife out, and was staring at me the way a lion might stare at an antelope.
I took a step backwards. "You know, I've never been a big fan of violence..."
"No? What a pity." He stepped forward and raised the knife. "You're
extremely entertaining, but I don't have time for women with big mouths
who
know the good doctor's dirty little secret."
Taking another step back, I felt behind me for something to throw. Nada. "If it's any comfort, I knew all about your secret even before now..."
"Did you. Well then--"
"Henry?" A high-pitched, crystal clear voice was calling, as a hesitant knock sounded on the door. "Henry, are you in there?"
Before I had a chance to call back, Hyde leapt forward and grabbed me
by the hair, pulling me quickly back into the shadows. "Don't say a word,"
he
hissed, holding me tightly against him. He pressed the knife into my
throat meaningfully. I got the idea.
The door squeaked open, and a picturesque woman stepped in. Actually,
"girl" was a more appropriate term; despite a blue dress that displayed
a curve
or two, her entire demenor held a naive innocence that I at once both
scorned and admired.
It had to be that Emma fiance person.
Emma proceeded cautiously, squinting in the dim light. "Henry? Are you
hiding from me?" Walking over to the table, she glanced left and right,
then
opened Jekyll's journal, bent over, and began reading.
Hyde's grip on me loosened slightly. It didn't take a genius to figure
out what had distracted him; Emma's dress was a bit low-cut, and with her
bending over, she provided a nice view for members of the male gender.
Seizing the opportunity, I bit the hand at my neck as hard as I could.
As Hyde
involuntarily dropped the knife, I threw myself forward.
Emma gave a small scream as I crashed into her. I grabbed the table to regain my balence as she straightened herself. "Who in heaven's name are you?"
"I'm...ah..." I could almost feel Hyde debating whether to continue
hiding, or to leap out and kill us both where we stood. If I could just
get us out...
"I'm Anna Collins. I'm...Jekyll's new lab assistant. You must be Emma."
"I am." Emma frowned. "I wasn't aware Henry had hired an assistant..."
"Well, Henry does a lot of things you aren't aware of. Can we continue
this in the study?" I glanced nervously over my shoulder into the darkness
where I knew Hyde was still lurking. I toyed with the idea of just
ducking under the table right now, but there were a few problems with that.
First of
all, I still didn't know if it would even work. I might just end up
sitting under the table, feeling like an idiot for the few minutes before
my death. But
more importantly, even if it did work, I couldn't bring myself to leave
Emma to her fate. Hyde would certainly come out and carve her to pieces
the
second I was gone. So it seemed that I was stuck in London for awhile
longer.
"Wait. Where is Henry?"
Well Emma, he's hiding in the shadows over there, with a big-ass knife...
"He..." I glanced around the room, and saw for the first time a small
window in the corner. The curtains were drawn tightly across it, but
it was there nonetheless. "He went out the window."
"What? Why would he do that?" she said skeptically, raising an eyebrow.
"Well...he didn't want to run into Poole, who's been giving him a hard time about not getting enough sleep."
"Oh."
"Yep, just hopped right out the window. In fact," I said, raising my
voice, "if he was still here, I bet he would still go out the window,
because no
one would see him!" Get the hint, Hyde, get the damn hint...
Emma looked at me curiously. "Why are you speaking so loudly?"
"Never mind. Let's just...take a walk. It's a lovely day outside, and
I would enjoy talking to you a bit more about our dear Dr. Jekyll." I pushed
Emma
towards the exit.
"Yes, Henry is a fascinating man."
"You don't know the half of it."
We proceeded to the door, and were nearly out, when Emma turned around. "But when will Henry be back?" I fought the urge to scream.
"I really have no idea."
"Well, perhaps we should wait here for him."
"No!" I yelled. As Emma shot me a surprised look, I cleared my
throat. "Ahem. He could be gone a very long time. And, after all, he might
not like it
if you stay in his laboratory. Dr. Jekyll's a very private person."
Dammit, just cooperate and let me save our skins...
Emma sighed prettily. "Yes, I suppose you are right. Come, let us take that walk, so that we may speak more."
"Joy." I closed the door behind me, giving a sigh of relief. Almost
as soon as I did, there was a loud crash and a splintering of glass from
the lab,
almost as if someone had hurled a beaker against the wall in frustration...
"What was that?" Emma asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Nothing, nothing at all. The, uh, lab rat must've knocked something
over. She does that sometimes. Nothing to worry about. Let's go take that
walk."