Chapter 10
Watson
I would be a liar if I said that I was not terrified by Daniel's tale. But somewhere deep in my soul I found the fount of courage that allowed England to become a mighty Empire and suppressed my fear. The days went by, I would care for Daniel and Samantha's wounds and take care of their other needs and they would tell me of their life before we met. They had experienced the most fantastic adventures that I had ever heard, Holmes' and my cases paled in comparison to: battling a ghostly prince, being turned into a dragon, battling against one's own future, a future in which one became a monster, such amazing stories! And the day-to-day details of the future, horseless carriages, flying machines, devices that allowed one access to unlimited information, it made mine, Mary, and Holmes's heads spin in wonder, and therein was our mistake. We had become far too careless.
A week to the day since I had found Daniel and Samantha, Holmes was called away to a case on the East End. He had asked me to accompany him, and I did, much to my later regret. We were led outside of a butcher's shop. The butcher was a large, stout, swarthy man with a massive beard. He was pale as a sheet when we arrived, and the police did not look much better. At last the policemen parted and we saw it: at first I had no idea what 'it' was, it looked like clothes at first, then I noticed all the blood around it. "Heavenly Father have mercy on us all," I at last said when I realized that it was a human corpse, and its skeleton had been removed! "Watson! Steel yourself man, I need your help!" Holmes yelled. I said a silent prayer as Holmes inspected the body.
Holmes had me move the body so he could inspect it. It was cold, and was nauseatingly soft as I moved it so Holmes could inspect it better. I could feel the organs inside move, freed from a skeletal structure and now moving freely. "There's no cuts, or tears, or wounds of any kind," Holmes observed. I barely kept myself from vomiting as we moved back from the deboned corpse and Holmes inspected the surrounding area. After an hour he ceased and looked at me, and Inspector Lestrade walked up to us, looking the worse for wear. "What in God's Name did this?" he asked Holmes. "I don't know, Lestrade," Holmes gravely said, and we left, leaving the terrified Inspector behind us. "It was that creature, Orion, it must have been," I said, silently praying Holmes would tell me I was wrong.
Holmes then stopped and went back to the police and said, "Cover this body and do not move it! I am going to bring someone here to inspect the body." Inspector Lestrade looked at him and said, "Can he help us?" "I hope he can. I shall return as soon as possible, in the meantime, follow my instructions," Holmes ordered and Inspector Lestrade nodded. Holmes nearly ran and I followed him closely as he hailed a cart and ordered the man to head for our old flat at 221B Baker Street. Once we reached our destination Holmes ordered the driver to wait and he ran into the flat, emerging five minutes later with a bundle of clothes. "I hope these will fit Daniel," Holmes said as he ordered the driver to head for my house. The horses seemed particularly excited and the driver had to yell to get them to stop.
I paid the driver and we headed straight for my bedroom. Samantha was reading and Daniel was sleeping when Holmes went up and shook him. "Wake up!" Holmes ordered. "What's happening?" Samantha asked. "There's been a murder, we need Daniel now," Holmes informed her as Daniel woke up. "Huh, wha-" "Get dressed," Holmes ordered him, "Your assistance is required now." I ushered Samantha out of the room while Daniel was dressed in Holmes's clothes. "What happened, tell me everything," Samantha demanded. "A body was discovered on the East End, in front of a butcher's shop. The body's skeleton was removed," I informed her making a dry swallow to keep myself from vomiting at the memory. "It was Orion, it has to have been," Samantha said. Finally Holmes and Daniel walked down. Daniel was dressed in Holmes's black pants and leather shoes and black vest with white undershirt. The clothes strained under Daniel's larger physique, but he was mobile at least. I loaned him my spare bowler and the three of us went out.
I hailed a hansom and ordered the driver to drive for the East End, back to the crime scene. We arrived to see police still standing around, the body covered with a white sheet. Inspector Lestrade walked up to us and looked at Daniel. "This is who will help you?" the incredulous Inspector said. "He has experience in such matters," Holmes assured him, and we made our way to the body. Holmes removed the sheet to show the body, looking like a human jellyfish just as we left it. Holmes quietly asked Daniel, "Could a ghost remove a person's skeleton like this?" Daniel grimly nodded, "It's possible. Ghosts can phase through solid objects, and make things we touch intangible too; I've done it a lot of times to save people. But this," Daniel slowly bent down and inspected the body, and poked at it with his right hand.
"He's starting, and I'm in no shape to fight him, yet," Daniel quietly hissed. "Careful lad, don't strain your ribs," I warned him as I helped him stand back up. "We have no choice, we need to start looking for Orion regardless, before more are killed," Holmes said as we returned to the hansom.