The Museum

 Into the pouring rain did Dorian and Henry venture, the darkness surrounding them as the thunder roared furiously in the sky.
The rain was coming down so hard, it almost felt like hail;
The two gentlemen kept their eyes to the ground, navigating under small edges of buildings to stay out of the water as much as possible.
'Twas treacherous business, trying to withstand the storm, with such a long distance to go. But they persevered.
Despite the strange looks they received from the Londoners, they kept going.

Their small venture wasn't in vain; they finally arrived at their destination.
The Museum.
The two men stopped in front of the building and gazed up at it wondrously.
Dorian was quite impressed, while Henry was thrilled to see something other than the inside of his home.
"Marvelous! Just look at it, old boy!" Gray rubbed his chin, in sudden deep thought.
"Dare I say, I might be old enough to be displayed in this place.."
"I'm certainly strange enough to be put here.."
Dorian grinned at Henry. "I believe we both are.."
Henry chuckled. "Well then..we might as well proceed onward or else this trip has been for nothing." "Quite right."
Dorian threw his cane up and caught it in mid-air.
"Let's away, my fine friend!"
He ran ahead, making Dr. Jekyll shake his head and sigh before slowly following after him.

The two walked around the building, searching for the right entrance.
First, they naturally tried the front door, but to be expected, it was locked tight.
They next tried the back entrance; same result.
"Well.." Dorian muttered. He stepped back and examined the door with a finger on his mouth.
"I took it you intended on breaking in when you mentioned coming here.."
Jekyll glanced at him. "Or was I mistaken for assuming so?"
"You were not, sir. I do intend on breaking in. BUT..we need to be sure to avoid creating a fuss over it. We can't make it look..well..too obvious."
He then began to sift through his jacket pockets. "These things, after all, need to be handled with care and patience.."
Jekyll leaned his head against the wall, "That hasn't really been Hyde's field.."
"I imagine so. Your boy is a bit..sloppy."
Jekyll's eyes moved from the ground to Dorian's puzzling young, slender face.
"Please insure that this doesn't get out of hand..I can't...I can't risk drawing him out."
"Don't worry yourself, Henry. I have things completely under control."

Dorian drew out a pouch from his pocket, then took an oddly shaped key from it, proceeding to insert it into the keyhole.
Within a few seconds, he turned the knob and the door swung open.
Henry's brows lifted in surprise.
Dorian put the pouch away and looked at Henry, gesturing with his hand.
"Like so."
Dr. Jekyll glanced at the mysterious gentleman. "Impressive..I feel there's more to you than meets the eye, Mr. Gray."
Dorian chuckled. "Shall we?"
- - -
The two men proceeded through the museum, slowly traversing through the darkened inside.
There were many exhibits, therefore many obstacles, which both men felt mutually obliged to respectfully avoid touching.
"So much history.." Henry whispered.
"It's beautiful.." Dorian added.
"No matter how many wars, plagues, disasters that this world experiences..we still piece everything together and memorialize it..preserving it."
"Only sadly.." Henry's eyes peered more intensely through the darker areas.
"..The people we only memorialize if they do something..significant. Many wonderful individuals that have done incredible things all too
often go forgotten due to not doing just the right thing, according to the world's standards..if it doesn't serve them a purpose."
His head turned to Dorian. "Men such as me? We..build our machines, our medicines, our concoctions, designs, to make this world 'better'.
To remember us..and we only turn into monsters..our own ultimate destruction. And we bring the world down with us."

Dorian shook his head, sighing. "You can't belittle yourself, Henry..you're a good man..who made mistakes."
"Mistakes that still haunt me, I'm afraid. And can still endanger the lives of others...as they did before."
Dorian pat his shoulder. "But here you are..proving to yourself that there is so much more. And it is not too late for you.
That you can correct those mistakes and bury Hyde where he belongs. The world is still in great need of you, Jekyll..you just need to keep holding on for that day."

Dorian's words of encouragement softened Henry's mood, but did not change his mind. In his eyes..he was entirely a monster and nothing could alter that truth.

The two men stopped.
A dark hall beckoned them to enter. One that led to a seemingly special room. They glanced at one another, Henry swallowing, Dorian grinning.
"Dare we peek?"
Henry took a deep breath. "I'm starting to regret this...."
But he was met with only a mocking laugh from Mr. Gray, as the gentleman changed course to enter it.
"Come now, where's your sense of adventure, Jekyll?!"
"I have none." Henry bitterly replied, while reluctantly changing course with Gray.
Henry then took a whiff of the air as they walked further into the room. "It smells musty in here.."
He bumped into Dorian.
Dorian had stopped in front of something. Jekyll peeked, but soon gawked.
Small lights were shining against a particular exhibit. One of ancient design. Golden and meticulous with every inch.
It left both men in dazzled wonder.
The thing before them was a sarcophagus, Egyptian in origin. Their eyes scanned the object to inspect the quality and state of it.
It was perfect in every way. The coffin had been polished, shining against the light, with no traces of dirt or wear.
"How they managed to make it look this untouched is beyond me.." Dorian got closer to it, gazing at every single part of it.
"It looks like NEW."
"But that's impossible. Surely it has to be what..several thousands of years old?"
"Unless the Egyptians placed it in a tomb of the utmost protection. Preserving it with the finest magical methods..which I highly doubt.
Someone went through a lot of trouble to clean this up."

Henry peered at the inscriptions embedded on the surface. "There's something written on it."
Dorian put a puzzled finger on his lips as he stared at it, as well.
"I'm afraid I'm not familiar with ancient Egyptian."
"Sadly, neither am I." Henry said with a sag.
"That's alright.." Dorian pointed. "What does the plaque say?"
Henry drew close to the plaque to inspect the words, but he suddenly gasped. Gray gave him a quizzical expression.
"What?"
Jekyll gave the object a stuttered and greatly shocked reaction. "I-it--it's b-been chiseled off."
Dorian jumped. "What has?!" He rushed and pushed Henry out of the way, inspecting the object himself.
His fingers gently touched the surface. "The words have been removed...."
He lifted his gaze back at the sarcophagus. "Someone..or something removed it."
Jekyll started to back away. "I don't like this thing, Dorian. It's giving me a horrid feeling.."
He held his stomach. "I feel ill."
"Calm down, Jekyll, keep your nerve."
Dorian approached the coffin once more and started to touch it.
"What are you doing, Gray, leave it alone!!"
"Come now, Henry, we came this far and now things are looking precisely--"
He stopped and stared at the edge of it.

Henry leaned in. "What???"
Gray gently shook his head and reached in..he then pulled the edge and began removing the lid.
"WHAT are you doing?!" Jekyll protested. But Dorian ignored him.
He soon had it completely removed. He stepped back in shock, as Henry's face dropped in horror.
"..Now things are looking precisely as I imagined." Gray finished.
The body inside the sarcophagus was gone.

The doctor had enough.
He immediately ran the other way.
Dorian swung around, "Henry, where are you going?!"
"I am not risking certain death from whatever it is that escaped that coffin!!!"
Jekyll ran out of the room and started to navigate through the darkness as he was fully prepared to escape.
That's when he suddenly collapsed, falling to his knees, as a ferocious pain seared through his mind.
Gray exited the room and hurried to the doctor as he held his head, crying out in despair.
"No...no!!"
Jekyll grit his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut, as the pain only worsened at every passing second.
"Jekyll, what's going-" "STAY BACK, DORIAN!!" Henry yelled, his voice becoming something of rage.
Gray swallowed as he stood in panic, watching his new friend curl into a ball, tightening his fists around his skull.
"Get.....get out!! NOW!!" Henry thrashed his head, gasping and yelling in unimaginable suffering.
"Please...hurry...I can't.....control.....HIM!!!!"
Right before Dorian's eyes, the good doctor began to change.

His jacket busted at the seams as he grew grizzly muscles. His skin became blotched and a mix of red and green in complexion.
His hair began to blacken and stick out, his throat tightening as he seemingly was choking.
His gnarled hands covered his face as his body pivoted around. In that second, he removed them, facing the horrified Dorian.
The gentleman was now met with a fiercely grotesque face, his skin just as scarred and blotched as the rest of his skin, almost resembling burns.
His features became more prominent and exaggerated, his lips blackened, his teeth now chiseled-looking fangs.
And his eyes..well..they were completely glazed over, with a deathly grey tone.

This was no longer Dr. Henry Jekyll.
This was Mr. Edward Hyde.

And with a wicked grin..a chilling cockney accent..
"'Ello, Mista Gray."

CONTINUE TO..
Nowhere To Hyde