{"sf1_id":839300,"sf2_id":null,"title":"The Strange Case of Jekyll and Hyde","author":"StGeorgesHorse","words":4354,"posted_at":"2015-03-27T17:47:00.000Z","tags":["Human","Jekyll and Hyde","Plot Development","Story Progression","Transformation","Werewolf","back story","london"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/839300-the-strange-case-of-jekyll-and-hyde","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/839300","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=839300\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"#97 of The Moonrise Chronicles","content":"                It was\nmovie worthy, and likely more than the original book ever let onto. However,\nunlike some depictions of similar characters on television and in the movies,\nhe was standing there stark naked. Clothing was designed to fit a certain\nframe, and his suit was, by all appearances, custom crafted for his slight\nstature. It seemed a shame that he was so quick to trash it.\n                Having\nnothing from his former body to judge this one by, except for the bare\nessentials, it was hard to say if he had grown in all proportions or not. He\nwas certainly well endowed from the oversized muscles on his upper arms to the\nrather impressive organ between his legs.  If had had been carrying the latter in his\npants prior to the transformation, he would have had to have had it folded\nthree times.\n                \"Whoa!\"\n                Edward\nshook his head. It was indeed an impressive sight, though not equal to his best\nform. Something told him to keep that a secret for now. Maybe it was simply the\nexaggerated Hollywood persona that Hyde had been given, for certainly the movie\nThe League of Extraordinary Gentleman\nhad taken him to his fullest potential and beyond. This was right up there with\nthe latter, if not quite so overblown.\n                \"I echo\nMaggie's sentiments. That is very impressive. And I see nothing of the werewolf\nfeatures showing up.\"\n                \"A poor\ntrade off in the long run. The side effects have proven troublesome over the\nyears. Had I known the results of my experimentation would have led me to where\nI am today, I would never have done it. During some moments of great despair I remember\nthe day of my purported death, and wish it had been real.\"\n                \"But\nwhy? All that life and you regret living it?\"\n                He\nlooked at Edward instead of to Maggie. \"You are older. Do you understand?\"\n                Edward\nshrugged. \"I haven't been in the position to make experienced judgments like\nthat for as long as you might think. My transformation was retarded by the\npresence of silver in my body from an accident when I was little. Maggie has\nbeen able to change for longer than I have, so even together we have no basis\nnor time span to make any rogue judgments on you or what you have done.\"\n                \"I see.\nYou are honest; a rare trait today. Lies are easier to slip out, but harder to\nswallow when the time comes to reclaim them.\"\n                \"Yes, I\nthink that is true.\"\n                \"You\nsee, it's foreseeable that I could live forever like this. It has become a slow\ndeath for me. \"\n                Maggie's\neyebrows furrowed. \"A long life can be looked at as a slow death, but it seems\na bit morbid to me.\"\n                \"You\nare young yet and full of life. Even your relatives, being old and yet not as\nold as I, seem to have a certain spark left in their existence. What you see\nhere before you is nothing more than a parlor trick. While I have my routines,\nthey too have grown moldy and bland. I long for the days when this body could tear\nand rend to its heart's content.\"\n                His\nmanner of speech was fairly normal, but his eyes were wild and his muscles\nrippled like pythons under his skin. It was obvious that the body and the mind\nwere running on two separate circuits.  And despite his advanced age in his normal\nbody, this one appeared to be much younger, albeit larger and more twisted.\nBoth of the weres were thinking the same thought and that was how much damage\nhe could still do in that modified werewolf body. \n                \"Yeah,\nbut you look like you're pretty spry yourself!\" she said, hoping to humor him\nwith some flattery.\n                \"In\nthis form, most definitely. But that is a potential problem you see. This form\nand my normal form are linked, just as they are within you. But my forms have\ndivided more strongly, and it has taken me decades to perfect control over this\none. \"\n                \"And\nthat's a problem how?\"\n                He\nsmiled; a horrendous expression on a horrendous face. \"Because this one has\nstopped aging. When my other body dies, if it dies, then I will revert to this\nform permanently.\"\n                \"Oh. I\ncan see where that might be a problem.\"\n                \"Do\nyou? I hardly think so. I am very much afraid that when my human self dies, my\nmind will do with it, leaving behind the instinctive emotions for this form to\noperate with. \"\n                Maggie\nnudged Edward. \"Why do I get the feeling this is some freakish Hulk episode?\"\n                \"Shhh!\nBe respectful. He has done nothing to deserve derision,\" he said quietly.\n                \"And\nthis form has excellent hearing, as I 'm sure you are aware. There is no need,\nnay, no point in whispering. I am what I am; the product of stupid tinkering\nwith something I did not understand.\"\n                \"So\nwhat do you do now?\"\n                \"Do\nyoung lady? I get up in the morning, go about my routine and in the evening\nreturn to bed. It is the routine of nightly nightmares that keep me sane, for\nthey remind me of all of the horrible things I have done in the past. Things I\nhave no desire to repeat.\"\n                \"Could\nyou tell us about some of them?\"\n                \"They\nare not tales fit for young ears such as you have sitting on the side of your\nhead.\"\n                Maggie\nwas used to the derision she received from her looks. \"Look mister, I've been\nraped, nearly murdered, I've chased this lunk cross country in Russia, been\nthrough gun fights with silver bullets, and I've seen as much in the past few\nmonths to match whatever you have seen on a reduced but equal scale. So don't\ntell me what my ears have or have not heard!\"\n                 Stevenson looked to Edward who merely nodded.\nThe hulking beast twisted up his mouth in a sick grin. \n                \"All\nthat in one so young,\" he said admiringly. \"There are many tales you can tell\nme I see, so we must go about having some time together. \"\n                \"Well,\nwe are only here by accident, and we are without passports. The sooner we leave\nthe country the better off we will be.\"\n                \"Nonsense,\"\nhis deep voice boomed. \"No one comes here to my home so no one will ever know\nof your presence, and it's not illegal until someone actually finds out. What\nbetter place to stay than here with me?\"\n                Edward\ncould think of quite a few places really.\n                Maggie\nwas all for it. \"Could we really? This place looks pretty neat with all the old\nstuff you've got laying about. I think I could get into staying with you for a\nlittle while.\" She looked to Edward for verification.\n                \"I\nthought we were heading for a wedding. Are you sure you want to delay that?\"\n                \"Will\nyou still marry me in three or four days hence?\"\n                \"Yes.\"\n                \"Then a\nlittle delay will hardly matter, now will it?\"\n                \"As you\nwish.\"\n                She\ngave him the eye. \"Don't pull that Princess Bride shit on me. If you want to\nleave on schedule, just say so.\"\n                \"No. I\nam curious as you are. And the fact is, we are here now, so what better time is\nthere?\"\n                \"That's\nwhat I was thinking too. Everyone else can have their hotel rooms. I'd much\nrather take up our counterpart up on his offer.\"\n                \"So is\nit settled then?\" asked their host.\n                \"I\nguess so. I am with Maggie on this, but I still have some reservations.\"\n                \"You\nwould be foolish if you didn't. Shall I show you to your room?\"\n                \"Uh,\njust like you are?\"\n                He\nlooked down and sneered. \"Do you have qualms about nudity, or is it just my\nless than subtle form and the blatant display of it.\"\n                \"A\nlittle of the latter.\"\n                In\nresponse, the body contorted until it had reduced itself to sixth of its mass,\nleaving a small nude old man standing there, a little disoriented. \"Sorry, I\nhaven't done a full change in a long time. I never want to push my luck. Allow\nme a moment to pull out some new clothing, and I'll make tea. I'm afraid I\ndon't have much to eat, but I could break into the box of pastries I bought\nearlier. On the other hand, there is a quiet little restaurant down the street.\nIt isn't fancy but the food is acceptable.\"\n                \"No\nworries. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.\"\n                \"Excellent!\nI shall return in a few moments.\" He strode from the room, his narrow shrunken\nbutt a humorous sight after their recent dealings with his alter ego. \n                \"He\nlooks like a balloon someone let the air out of after a week of being\ninflated.\"\n                \"Shh!\nMags, you are incorrigible!\"\n                She was\ngiggling. \"It's true and you know it.\"\n                \"Maybe,\nbut it doesn't need to be said. And remember, he can probably still hear us, so\nkeep your thoughts to yourself!\"\n                She put\nher hand on his arm. He heard her voice in his head. \"Is this better?\"\n                \"Yes. But let's not make a habit of this.\nConsider it to be the emergency channel for necessary usage only.\"\n                \"Got it. If things get crazy we'll have a way\nof communicating incognito.\"\n                Their\nhost entered the room fully dressed, if more simply than before. \"Thank you for\nwaiting. I don't often act so wantonly, but I haven't had a chance to show off\nin so long I couldn't resist in just letting loose a little bit.\"\n                \"Understandable,\"\nsaid Maggie. \"I like to cut loose whenever I can.\"\n                \"Do it\nwhile you can fully enjoy my dear. A time will come when it won't have the same\nsatisfaction it once did.\"\n                Edward\nwas fighting down his curiosity. It was getting the better of him. \"What sort\nof things did you do in your heyday?\"\n                \"Glorious\nthings my boy! Terrible things! Things so bad that I left jolly old England for\nyears.\"\n                \"And\nwent where?\"\n                \"Does\nno one pay attention to their history anymore? \nI went to your country. I had met this wonderful woman; married with\nchildren, but I found that those little details didn't dissuade me. I arrived\nin your New York City and traveled across the country to San Francisco.\"\n                \"That's\nquite the distance.\"\n                \"It\nwas. I made sure to allude to the fact that I was quite ill on that trip, and\nthat I arrived at my destination weakened and decrepit. Of course the latter\nwas a real ailment, as you will see.\"\n                Maggie\ntilted her head, catching that what was said was not necessarily what had been\ngoing on. \"But?\"\n                \"It was\nonly a cover. The fact was, my transformations took a lot out of my normal\nform. Feeding the alter-ego version of me became a gruesome chore. I took;\nrather, he took to murdering, and then raping, and on a few occasions the\nwholesale slaughtering of innocent people. I had fought down those urges for\nthe most part when I was my unaltered self; but Hyde, if you'd like to call him\nthat; he was totally without remorse.\"\n                \"So you\nmade it look like you were too frail and weak to have committed murder. From\nthe difference in body size and strength, I could see that being a convincing\nact.\"\n                \"It\nwasn't anything that required any thespian skills. Mentally I was sick, and\nphysically I was nauseated from the things I knew he had done. I looked\nterrible.\"\n                \"So\nwhat kinds of things did you do?\"\n                \"You\nare a morbid little thing, aren't you?\"\n                \"Sure!\nI have a fascination for the finer...details of a story.\"\n                Stevenson\nlooked to Edward. \"Would such things be appropriate?\"\n                \"Do as\nyou see fit. Maggie is answering honestly when she says she has been through a\nlot. She is no coward, and we have been through hell and back already. A little\nstory telling will hardly scandalize us.\"\n                \"As you\nwish. But since I have so many, and many of them are blurry in my head, I will\nregale you with just one. It is not nice, but it will give you some insight\ninto what I had created.\"\n                \"You\nare aware, of course, of your American Indians. They were not liked by the new\nowners of your country, much like my people were despised by the British. I'm\nafraid that made them easy targets for me. After all, unless the red men took\nvengeance on their own, who was going to come to their defense?\"\n                Edward\nshifted nervously in his chair. He didn't like hurting people unless they went\nout of their way to make themselves a potential threat. He certainly didn't\ncondone hurting innocents.\n                When no\none replied their host continued. \"I slipped off the train during one of its\nstops to shoot the great herds of your buffalo. Wouldn't it have been a sight\nfor me to wade through those great beasts and hurdle them through the air? I\nmight have too, if I had wanted to risk losing my secret to that train full of\nobnoxious twits. I instead made off to the north, assuming I would find a\nvillage somewhere near this extensive source of food. Of course, for me, I had\ndifferent tastes at the time, and they were far from pleasant.\" \nHis face was a sad frown.\n                \"I\nfound what I was looking for within a few miles of walking; a loose encampment\nof Indians going about their business. Back then, you see, the transformation\nhad to be anger induced. All that talk of taking a potion every time I wanted\nto change is poppycock. But I did need to have a spark to set off the\ntransformation. Much like this Hulk character someone dreamed up and that you\nhave already alluded to, there needed to be a catalyst to motivate the change.\"\n                \"At\nfirst the Indians just sort of stared at me like I was crazy. I was hot and\ndusty, skinny and white. I don't know if they were torn between pity and hatred\nor simply thought I had lost my mind. One of the warriors however, felt that my\npresence was uncalled for, so he knocked an arrow to his bow and fired off a\nshot. It never touched my skin. My alter ego was holding it in his hamhand,\nsnapping it between his fingers like it was a splinter.\"\n                The\nIndians went from mild amusement and irritation to immediate panic. In a split\nsecond their intruder had gone from a wimpy white man to a hulking creature\nstraight from the pits of hell. It was where I learned my first Indian word; atahsaia.\nI found out later that this term originated with different native peoples from\nfarther south, but that the tales still lived on in other tribes.\"\n                Edward\nran the word over his tongue. \"Atahsaia. I can't say that I've ever heard of it.\"\n                \"Oh,\nit's an apt description, once I arrived in San Francisco and could find someone to\ntell me its meaning. Atahsaia was an old legendary demon that killed and ate\npeople. It makes you wonder, doesn't it; how far back in time our kind go?\"\n                \"So\nthink this creature they thought you were was something more than a legend?\"\n                \"Legends\nmust start with some kernel of truth my friend. To them, and maybe even to this\nday, that legend came to life. I don't think anyone survived to tell the story,\nbut I was a little more reckless back then. I might have left a survivor or\ntwo. Certainly I alone, in all my magnificence, would have been fine material for such a legend, don't you\nthink?\"\n                \"Indeed,\nthough I think that your normal werewolf form would have been sufficient.\"\n                \"Perhaps,\nperhaps. I think that my present form is much more suitable for instilling fear\nin others. For one, it feeds off of fear.  But emotion alone cannot power it. It must\nkill and maim and destroy. What better way than to generate everything you need\n by being as terrible as you can possibly\nbe? Make them run - flee - scatter!\"\n                Maggie\nwas looking a little nervous right about now. \"So then, do you or do you not\ncontrol it?\"\n                \"I\nthought I made that clear. I control it only so long as I live. When I die, I\nfear it will resurrect and take over in that form. If it does, then I feel that\nhumanity is doomed.\"\n                \"I\ncould see where that might be a bad thing.\"\n                \"I\nhardly think you do child. I killed indiscriminately in that form. My book did\nlittle justice to my bad side, for while your audiences of today are sick and\njaded, my people were still somewhat refined. To go into the horrible details\nwould have gotten me banished.  It was in\npart the reason I left my home. The woman I followed was as good an excuse as\nany for leaving. I could hardly tell anyone the truth. Here in the America's I\nhad the opportunity to exercise my Hyde-side with virtual impunity. It wasn't a\ngood choice, in retrospect, though I hardly know what else I could have done.\nYou see in feeding him, it made me weaker. I had literally separated our two\nhalfs into different beings. I assume you have some small idea of how that\nworks.\"\n                \"Yes, I\nthink we do. I still have a bullet in my brain that caused a lot of damage and\nmade me do the same.\"\n                \"Silver?\"\n                \"Yes.\"\n                \"Extraordinary.\nThose rings have more power than I was led to believe.\"\n                Maggie was\ngoing to blurt out about the metal powder but Edward touched her hand and she\nheard his admonition. \"Don't say a thing\nplease.\"\n                \"They\nhave unique abilities, that much is true,\" he answered.\n                \"Yes,\nthey do.  It is a wonder that they have\nno effect of regular humans.  But then,\nwhat makes us different is what makes us powerful. \"\n                Maggie growled\na little. \"Bullshit. What makes anyone special is what is inside. I would have\nthought you would have realized that from the effort you have put into taming\nyour savage side.\"\n                \"Wise\nwords young lady, but not what I meant. I was referring to the physical\nstructure of our makeup. We have something extraordinary inside us that other\nfolks do not have. Why do you think that some many werewolves have ruled,\ntaught, sculpted, invented and created? We are smarter, wiser, stronger...\"\n                \"More\negotistical?\"\n                He\nturned a little sour. \"I say. That's a bit uncalled for, don't you think? Do\nyou not feel it inside you?\"\n                \"I know\nthat I'm special. But I know that there are two things that support that; who I\nam inside and this man right here, who makes up my other half. I like being what\nI am, don't get me wrong, but when I was able to give up murdering just to eat,\nI was so terribly happy there are o words to describe it. Does that mean I won't\nkill again? Of course not, for we have this bad habit of running into people\nwho need a little killing. But for me to have my life simply revolving around just\nthat? No. That would be criminally negligent. At some point I do want to be\nnormal. I want to live, just like you do, in peace and quiet away from trouble.\"\n                \"Well\nsaid, well said. But maybe we are not so dissimilar. After all, you may\nre-evaluate your words in another hundred or so years and see if they still\nring true.\"\n                \"OK,\nfine. You have age where I don't. But I still think I'm right.\"\n                \"Then\ndo your best to follow such a path. Mine led me astray on more than one occasion.\nLike those poor Indians.  Tearing and\nrending them was such joy. As horrible as it sounds, such a feeling cannot and\nhas never been reproduced within this body. To hold so much anger and feel so\nmuch joy at destruction is not something the average person could ever weather in\ntheir puny, toneless forms. The disparity alone is enough to tear your soul\napart, and yet here I am.\"\n                \"Those\npoor natives didn't have a chance. The braves came at me and I waded into the\nfray like a farmer reaping wheat for harvest. I enjoyed the battle very much,\nthough it was over far too quickly for my tastes. Those who still lived would\nremain where they were until their injuries sapped the life from them. That\nleft the women and the children. \"\n                There\nwas a slight leer on his face.\n                \"My\nalter ego had an affinity for torture. There is something satisfying about\ntormenting the weak and the innocent. The fear literally oozes from their\npores. And when you shred their simple garments and your next move is quite obvious,\nyou can imagine the looks on their faces. Ramming my...\"\n                Edward\ncut him off. \"I think we get the idea. I know of those urges all too well. They\nare not something to be proud of.\"\n                \"Not be\nproud of? Suit yourself. I may not be proud of what I did, but the ecstasy of\nthat thrill is a feeling that matches only the high from injecting drugs. It is\nsomething you want more and more of. And because I knew where that would lead\nme, I resisted. But know full well that I did it because I know better. But\nthat feeling is far more interesting that going about everyday like a little\nold man stuck in his routines.\"\n                Maggie was\na little irritated. \"I have never engaged in the wholesale slaughter of\nanyone. I killed criminals; those who stalked me to hurt me. We have killed freaks and\nmurderers, and even then I am not always comfortable looking back on it all. But\nI do what I do to survive, not to get my jollies killing and molesting people\nwho did me no harm. Your alter ego is bad Mr. Stevenson. I will not say evil,\nfor I don't think such a thing exists. But what you did so long ago loosed\nsomething terrible; more terrible than it ever was to begin with.\"\n                \"Mags!\"\n                \"No, it's\nfine. She is only saying the same things I have argued with myself over the\nyears. I cannot undo what I did so long ago. I have just tried my best to be\nbetter. Can a man do any more than that?\"\n                \"I\nsuppose you've done what you can. But what about when you die? Have you made\nany preparations for that eventuality?\"\n                \"Like\nwhat my dear? I merely hope that my mind goes completely, for I could not live trapped\ninside that body when it is consumed by rage and lust. Despite my fond remembrances,\nand the thrill they give me, think of it as one of your roller-coasters. It\nmight have been fun when you were young , and equally fond to look back on, but\nnot something you would want to do in your decrepitude.\" There were a few tears escaping his eyes.\n                Maggie started\nto throw out another retort. Edward squeezed her arm. \"He's getting emotional. Let it drop. I don't think we need him changing\nback. I prefer him just the way he is.\"\n                \"Alright. But I'm not sure I\nlike him anymore.\"\n                \"What? He has been polite and\nopen with us. So far we haven't told him a damn thing about ourselves. So I say you just hush\nand quit being judgmental. You know how much you hate that in others.\"\n                She clammed up. He was right\nand she hated to admit it. But he leaned over and kissed her, and for some\nreason that made it all better.\n                \"Thanks!\"\n                \"You're\nwelcome. I think maybe you need a little stress relief yourself.\"\n                She gripped\nhis hand tightly and thought of what she believed would help. He felt a rise in\nhis pants that he fought down. He pushed back with his own ideas. Their mingling ideas\nmet somewhere in the middle. They both seemed happy with the possibilities. Edward smiled and thought back to her.\n  \"Later.\"\n                He received\na sigh for an answer.\n                All the\nwhile their host was looking at them oddly. \"I say, you do both look a little,\nuhh, how do I say this? There seems to be a distinct age difference between\nyou. Would you care to explain a few of my nagging questions?\"\n                Maggie\ncuddled up to her future husband. \"Ask away. It looks like we have plenty of\ntime.\"\n                The old\nman frowned sadly. \"Speak for yourself. I have less time than I once did.\"\n                So the\ntwo went into the task of answering his questions, such as they were, which at\ntimes seemed very insightful, and other times merely prying. Hey answered them\nto the best of their ability, but always with their hands locked together. Neither\none wished to slip out something important, just in case that information were\nto prove to be their undoing. Friendly or not, this man had shown that he was\ndangerous. There was no need to make the matter any worse than it might already\nbecome."}