two in one day wow

That was the last night of restful sleep I had for weeks. After waking and bandaging my injured leg, I set off for the city library, checking out a stack of books on the mind and chemistry. Most were books I had already read, but I needed all the refreshers and information I could get. I had no plan, nothing to go on, but I had a need.

I needed to be rid of Hyde, once and for all.

I had thought I was rid of him all those years ago, with our confrontation in the London that never was. I had thought I eliminated him, erased him from existence, as easily as the destruction he had wrought was erased. But apparently I had failed, as he was back and tormenting me once again.

He didn't show up again in the weeks of research I did, but the fear that he was just around the corner kept me up at night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his horrifying, grinning face, and I knew that if I slipped up, he would be there to take control of me and make me commit horrors beyond imagining. So I stayed up, instead, reading and re-reading and taking note of everything I read, everything I knew, in the hopes that something would come to me, some solution to end this problem once and for all.

But nothing came, and as the days turned into weeks turned into a month of isolation, my friends began to worry. First Mr. Utterson, dear man, tried to pass a message along to Poole that they were beginning to feel concern for my wellbeing. I sent message back that all was well, I had just hit a moment of inspiration and was working, and not to worry. He did not return message, though I feel he did not believe me.

Next came Dr. Lanyon, directly to my abode. I had Poole turn him away at the door the first few times, with note that I was busy and was to have no visitors, but it only worked so many times before he demanded to see me. I sighed when Poole brought the news to my door, but allowed Lanyon to come to my laboratory, if only to speak through the door.

"And why can't I see you?" Lanyon demanded, as soon as he came to the door. I stood on the other side, my head leaning against the wood, trying not to fall asleep where I stood. I had gone so long with so little sleep, it was to be expected.

"I do not look the part of a good doctor right now," I explained. "I do not wish you to see me in this state."

"Is it Hyde?" Lanyon asked.

I chuckled softly. "Ever to the point you are, dear Hastie."

"Henry, if Hyde is bothering you again after so long being dormant, we need to do something about it," he insisted. "We can't have a repeat of last time."

I laughed aloud this time, as he had no idea how extensive the damage from last time was. But I kept my mouth shut, instead saying "That is what I am trying to do, but I cannot for the life of me figure out what to do. Everything I try is without results, and nothing about the human mind I can discover is any help at all. It is beyond frustrating, not knowing how to get rid of this demon inside me, not knowing how to tear him out in such a way he can never return."

There was silence from the other side of the door. I slid down, sitting on the ground, leaning against it, the energy in me keeping me up now gone. I wiped away frustrated tears that had began to form, and waited.

"What if you're going about this wrong," came a whisper from behind the door.

I sat up, confused. "How do you mean?"

"You speak of how every man has both good and evil inside him," Lanyon said, seeming to hesitate with every phrase, as if he didn't like what he was saying but it needed to be said. "You go on and on about the fundamental parts of our beings, yet you try to be rid of one of yours. No matter how unpleasant it is having Hyde as part of you, what if that is how it must be?"

"What?" I asked, though I was beginning to see the picture. I wasn't liking it.

"What if… What if you must embrace Hyde as part of you, to have him stop tormenting you?" Lanyon guessed. "What if this constant struggling to remove a part of you is what made him malevolent in the first place?"

"And by accepting him, I can be rid of his overbearing presence?" I finished. "It makes sense, but how would I go about that? His every wish is to harm me, to 'put me in my place', as it were, and take over control of my body to make it do horrors unimaginable."

"I would feel the same if you had been trying to dispose of me for many a year," Lanyon admitted. "Perhaps he is just responding to your animosity, your distaste of him with his own."

"Perhaps…" I rested my head against the door, thinking. "Thank you, dear friend. You have been most helpful."

"Does this mean you'll be rejoining society?" Lanyon asked.

"Not yet, but soon."

He huffed, but took it as all he was getting. "Very well. Good day, Henry."

"And you, Hastie."

As soon as I heard his footsteps fade, I pushed myself to my feet and went to the chemistry table strewn with supplies. I cleaned it off quietly, still deep in thought. Mixing together a concoction of different chemicals, I held it up to the light and watched as the rich amber liquid inside swirled around, changing before my eyes to a pale grey.

I carried it with me to the small cot set up in the corner of the cabinet and sat down. I watched the liquid, still thinking, still debating, and closed my eyes.

I downed the liquid and laid down, waiting for sleep to claim me again.