-From the private journal of Dr. Henry Jekyll-
July 11th, 188X
Still nauseated after taking the emergency dose of the formula. I had woken up this morning to discover that, unfortunately, I had changed into Hyde in my sleep. This is what I believe to be the second time this had happened (The first time was at least 2 years ago, when I was still in London, before the Carew incident), and I am beginning to see a pattern in the unexpected transformations. Perhaps, by some strange circumstance, turning into Hyde is replacing my body’s natural fight-or-flight instinct. Excessive amounts of stress seems to trigger the reaction.
If my theory is correct, then what would have caused it? It can’t be work related, the hospital seems to have settled down after Wright’s cocaine incident. And while I am deeply concerned for Beryl’s investigation and Hyde’s involvement in it, that worries me more than it triggers anything. I also faintly remember a dream…
Yes, I had a most peculiar dream last night. It began with a semi-normal scene in which I was sitting on a bench in Regent’s park, arguing with my shadow. All at once, a particularly large raven perched on the back of the bench next to me and began to lightly peck my shoulder. The creature stared at me, staring with those brown, beady eyes. I could not help but maintain eye contact as the raven underwent a disquieting metamorphosis.
The next thing I knew, this raven had become a pale woman, dressed in black furs, and had taken a seat next to me on the bench. She introduced herself as Merletta, and began to warn me of some “dark forces moving in the city.” I asked her to explain; Hyde had come out of the shadows to do the same. Unfortunately, the poor woman seemed to be having trouble holding a human form due to the psychological damage that created Hyde, but she did manage to give one clue.
“Look for the darkness in the light,” she told me, “It may grow and spread. If left unchecked, the light may be blotted out entirely.” Then she was forced to resume her avian form and fly away. Hyde recalls calling after the bird as the dream ended. He thinks that might have had something to do with this morning’s mishap.
However, now that I have written it down, I have started to become concerned about the dream itself. About a year ago, I would have felt silly for admitting that, but New Babbage seems to attract strange things. The people I have met, as both Hyde and myself, can testify to this truth, and I have found myself keeping more terrible secrets than I would ever have imagined. I sometimes wonder if I am going mad, or if the city is filled with mad people and I have chosen to go among them. I know people who not only claim, but have proven that they could enter dreams of their own free will…
Perhaps I should go see Professor Vartanian about that dream I had. I know he distrusts ravens and crows, but he could probably find more meaning in it than I could.
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