Disclaimer: 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' movie is copyright of 20th Century Fox. No infringement is intended.
PICKING UP THE PIECES
By Etcetera Kit
Chapter Two: Of Nighttime Lights
The stars sparkled overhead as the Nautilus sailed smoothly across the deep blue night waters of the ocean. Dr. Henry Jekyll leaned over the railing, taking in the cool wind. Never before had he felt such freedom. First, it was the inherited family fortune and medical school, trying to study and make a name for himself. Then, it was the demands of society and his close friends, Dr. Lanyon and Mr. Utterman. And finally and most recently, it had been the obsession with separating the good side of a man from the evil side. Perhaps, he had finally conquered Hyde or had accepted him.
But he knew that Hyde was a hidden part of himself and needed to be reintegrated if he ever wanted to be truly whole again. He was afraid of Hyde and, even though Hyde had helped the League, he still wanted to be rid of him. There had been times when he would go to sleep as Jekyll and wake up Hyde, without ever taking the elixir. He sincerely hoped those times were over and he could control when Hyde did and did not appear. He knew what Hyde had done and what ashamed of it. He knew what Hyde had done to him.
And Mina… she was a new factor in his life. It had been some time since he allowed himself to become besotted with anyone. After what happened the last time and after what Hyde had done to it, he shuddered, afraid to embrace his true feelings for Mina, afraid that Hyde would end it violently as he did the last time. Imagine, Edward Hyde, a strong, fearsome character being jealous of him, Henry Jekyll, a quiet mild-mannered doctor who had very little female attention and very little experience in that realm. And, like himself, he knew that the true Wilhelmina Harker dwelt somewhere under the sensual vampire that she was most of the time. He meant to find that Mina and love her.
The ship continued to sail along. They were going wherever the wind would take them, to see the world. Right now, the destination was Egypt. Nemo had some friends who plundered the tombs and pyramids and would be able to give them a better tour than any tour guide they could ever hire. It would be interesting to see the ancient wonders of the world and the archaic but romantic land that everyone imagined when he or she thought of Egypt. They would be lodging for a few days at a prestigious hotel in Cairo where the manager was known for giving luxurious accommodations to wealthy pirates and thieves. They were making Mediterranean stops and would make the rounds of Greece, Italy, France and end up in Spain where they would next decide where to go.
The cabin door opened and closed.
"The stars are truly beautiful on the open ocean."
Henry turned to see Captain Nemo coming onto the deck. The captain came to stand next to him on the edge of the deck.
"They are," Henry agreed. "You don't see stars like that in London."
"In a city as grimy and sooty as that? Never! But the stars are something to see in the deserts of Egypt."
Henry smiled. "I'd imagine."
Nemo gave him a sidelong glance. "Your past haunts you."
"My past will always haunt me."
"Just try to live in the now."
He shook his head. "It's not that easy. I wish it were though. You don't know what it's like to go to sleep one person and wake up an entirely different person without ever having taken the formula. I never knew when that was going to happen and it's terrifying when it does. I went through months of never trying to go to sleep, staying awake, afraid of what would happen if the sleep came."
"Can it still happen?"
"I don't know. I honestly don't know."
Nemo gently put a hand on Henry's arm. "You must be willing to face whatever haunts you. Only then, will it truly leave you."
"How?" He turned his anguished blue eyes to the steady and warm brown eyes of Nemo. "How do I face Hyde when he is stronger than me and can kill me?"
"He cannot kill you. To kill you, would be to kill himself and the brute is too selfish for that. Remember, he is a part of you and a part of you cannot be stronger than the entire self."
"It's just so overwhelming."
Nemo smiled. "Some things have to be believed to be seen."
Henry returned the smile that Nemo offered. For someone the world had considered to be a common pirate, the man was true gentleman and full of wisdom and insight that most men only hope to achieve. He turned his gaze back to the water and the white reflection that the side of the ship made when the moon was high and bright. Yes, this was the first time in many years he had felt free.
"Get down!"
He did not have time to think as Nemo forced him down onto the deck. Something zoomed past them overhead, nearly touching them. A wave of heat, as if from a gas lamp, felt as though it had burned a hole through the back of his jacket or at least had come close to.
"What was that?" Henry hissed.
Nemo slowly stood up and watched the sky. What appeared to be a retreating ball of fire was barreling over the ocean. The captain shook his head slowly. "I don't know. I have never seen anything behave in that manner."
"Balls of fire?"
"Aurora borealis."
"What?"
"It is a phenomenon I have never seen before, only heard rumors of it from colleagues." Nemo's ever watchful eyes followed the diminishing unknown. Henry stood up and straightened his jacket.
"Colleagues, where?"
"In America. Lights that seem to follow the person and at the last minute, turn away. But the light never tried to attack as they did just now."
"What does it mean?"
"I am not sure. But I believe we will be safer inside the ship tonight. I will send word that no one is to be on the deck until sunrise." Nemo paused. "In the mean time, I shall wire a colleague in America and search the library."
"Do you need any help with it?"
Nemo slowly shook his head. "No. I suggest you retire for the evening."
Henry nodded his consent and walked back into the ship. It was only in the cool, dim corridors of the Nautilus that it occurred to him to feel panicked and shaky.
Henry sat at the small desk in his room some time later, trying to compose a letter. Sleep would not come to him as it rarely did unless it was forced by some drug. The letter in question was to be to a dear friend of his in London, if he could ever decide how to start it. The man had seen Hyde and that was when Jekyll panicked. Hyde had begun to slowly tear apart Henry's personal life and sever all his friends. It almost made him glad that his family was dead. First Emmaline and then Lanyon… Jekyll knew it was only a matter of time before Hyde closed in on Gabriel Utterson and destroyed him too. So he fled to France. If he was not in London, then Hyde was not and no harm would come to Gabriel.
But how to start a letter to explain that he was safe with a pirate on a ship that could sail under the water? And expand upon that to say that he was touring the world with an invisible man, a vampire and an American spy and then to say that he was absolutely smitten with the vampire in question. That was not exactly the kind of letter an old friend wanted to get; especially not an old friend who had been present for Emmaline's and Lanyon's funerals. And yet, some part of him wanted to let Gabriel know that he was safe and well and that Hyde was no longer terrorizing people.
He dipped the pen in the inkwell and wrote:
August 3, 1899
Dear Utterson,
And then he stopped. That was as far as he had gotten in his thoughts. How in the world was he going to speak of the Nautilus and Nemo and all the help the League had given him without betraying the confidence of his friends? He thought and then continued:
I am well. I am currently staying aboard a ship with a recent friend of mine.
Henry sighed and scratched out the line. The term of 'a recent friend' would certainly remind Gabriel of the way in which he had referred to Hyde at first. He did not want his old friend to think that Hyde was once more controlling him. The truth would be best, he thought. He would then have to make sure that someone trustworthy delivered the letter, but that would wait. For now, he needed to write the letter.
I know I frightened you when you witnessed my change from Hyde to myself and I sincerely apologize for it. Knowing that Hyde would turn on you next, as he turned on Lanyon and my dear Emmaline, I fled the country to France, Paris specifically. I had not been in Paris long when I was recruited for a League. A hunter by the name of Alan Quartermain tracked down and captured Hyde. Our adventures afterward were varied, but I have learned how to control Hyde to a degree.
Quartermain died during one of the aforementioned adventures. The remaining members of the League and myself are taking a world tour on a quite splendid ship called the Nautilus. The captain is an Indian gentleman who goes by the name of Nemo. He invented the ship himself- the Nautilus sails on the ocean like a ship but can also sail beneath the waters. I know it sounds incredible but some things have to be believed to be seen. The others from the League with us are a Mr. Rodney Skinner, Mrs. Wilhelmina Harker and Mr. Tom Sawyer, the latter most being an American and a member of the American secret service. Mr. Skinner, let me suffice to say, had an unfortunate incident with chemicals that permanently altered his appearance. Mrs. Harker is a chemist and fought a dangerous evil in Transylvania.
Our next stop is to be in Egypt. Nemo has some connections there that will allow us to spend a few days in one of the more luxurious hotels and see some of the sights. One of the gentlemen has already promised us a tour of the pyramids.
You may ask why I remain here and do not return home. There are issues I must deal with before I can return to London. I know how to be rid of Hyde once and for all, but I am afraid I do not have the strength to do it. There are also other, much more personal matters that must be dealt with and I will speak of them to you when I see you next. But know that I am well and no harm will come to me when I am on this ship. Please extend my love to Emmaline's family for I know they are still grieving.
Your friend,
Henry Jekyll
The letter was superficial and sentimental but it would have to do. There was no way to contain their fantastic adventures on a piece of paper. He quickly stuffed the letter in an envelope and sealed it.
"You still up?"
Henry looked to the door, which he had left ajar. Tom Sawyer was standing in the doorway, hands in his pockets.
"I can't sleep," he replied, stuffing the letter in a desk drawer.
"Can't sleep or don't sleep?" Sawyer questioned.
"Afraid to sleep," Henry countered.
Sawyer nodded. "I see." He paused. "Can I come in?"
"Yes." Henry motioned to the small tray set up in the corner of his room. His room was one of the smaller ones on the ship, but he did not mind. A small sitting area, like in all the other rooms, had been added as an afterthought and after he already occupied the room. The sitting area was two small armchairs and a tiny round table that was low on the ground. The tray was in the corner beyond and held a small decanter of brandy and some glasses.
Sawyer walked over to the tray and poured himself a glass of the brandy. He looked to Jekyll. "Brandy?"
"Please."
Henry crossed the room and sat down in one of the armchairs, taking the glass from Sawyer as he offered it. Sawyer sat down in the other chair. The young man, who only a few weeks ago looked cocky, now held a haunted, frightened look in his eyes. The dark circles under his eyes were testimony to the fact that, as of late, Sawyer had not slept any better than Jekyll did under normal circumstances.
"So why are you afraid to sleep, if you don't mind me asking?" Tom asked as he took a sip of his brandy.
Henry shrugged. "There were times when I would go to sleep as myself and wake up as Hyde. It has not happened in a long time."
Sawyer whistled softly. "I wouldn't sleep either, no matter how long it had been."
"So why aren't you sleeping?"
To his surprise, Tom laughed. "Skinner decided it would be amusing to booby trap my room last night."
"I'm amazed he's moving well enough to do that." He paused. "But, since he is a thief, I'm guessing he did an admirable job."
"If you call ending up with a bucket of water dumped on your head and very sore knees, admirable." Sawyer took another sip of brandy. "Oh and then the butler tried to skin me alive for getting the floor in my room all wet."
Henry smiled, imagining the short Indian chap that was the butler on the Nautilus chasing down Sawyer with a rolling pin or frying pan from the kitchen. "How did he think all the water got in your room?"
"He might have thought that I don't know how to control myself." Henry laughed as Sawyer paused. "But I think he did know Skinner was behind it and Skinner isn't stupid enough to be caught wearing clothes that close to the scene of the crime."
Jekyll studied Sawyer. He had a suspicion that his current edginess had nothing to do with Skinner's pranks. There something deeper wrong with the lad. Sure, he and Skinner would terrorize everyone during the day. But just as often as he spent time with Skinner, he spent time locked up in his room, doing God only knows what.
"Can things ever go back to the way they were?" Sawyer asked softly. "To before Quartermain died… before all of this happened."
So that was the problem. "The wounds need to heal. It's only been two weeks since Alan died, Tom. No one can expect things to right themselves in that amount of time."
Sawyer's dark brown eyes fixed on a spot on the floor while he absently brushed his blonde hair out of his eyes with his free hand. "I just feel responsible for it. M wouldn't have been able to stab him if that damn invisible guard hadn't caught me off my guard."
"You were worried about Skinner," Henry replied in what he hoped was a soothing voice. "Anyone would have been caught off their guard."
"I lost him," Sawyer said in a deathly quiet voice.
"Tom, do you really think he would have wanted the scores reversed? Do you really think he wanted another repeat of what happened to his son?" Unshed tears were forming in Tom's eyes. "Do you think he wanted you to die in his arms?"
"I… don't know!" Tom choked out. "I felt like his son!"
And then the younger man could no longer hold back his tears. The brandy glass slipped out of his hand and fell to the floor with a dull crash, as Tom slid out of the chair, his arms wrapped around his chest. The tears flowed down his cheeks as the silent sobs shook his shoulders. Henry slowly crouched on the floor next to him and pried him out of the semi-fetal position he was in. Tom looked at him briefly before clinging to him with such force that Henry was nearly knocked backwards. The only thing Henry could think to do was to hold the younger man while he cried.
And for the first time in his life, Henry Jekyll felt like a father instead of a blundering middle-aged man.To Be Continued...
