Preys and Predators 1 of Part 4

 

4              The Researcher

 

Doctor Jekyll heard the mention of the doctor, and he turned his focus towards the direction. He caught the eyes of another. He recognized the identity of the person.

Sherlock Holmes.

It was a rarity to recognize the detective, but some prints had his sketch on them. It was not difficult to not match the real person to the sketch with the hat and coat, with the hawkish eyes and hooked nose. He had known some detectives in his works and readings; the more poignant ones were dressed in the fine tweeds and pompous attitude. Their mastery of these detectives was demure or aristocratic in the description, like Holmes; they worked on eliminating the clues. It was unlike the more adventurous detectives from the other western continent called the Pinkerton, or the Secret Services; the hunt and the shoot-out.

Doctor Jekyll then turned to leave the place. He hails a passing coach and boarded it in haste. When on the coach, he turned and saw the detective standing on the street. He turned his attention to the murder.

Two hours ago, Doctor Jekyll was nearby to meet an associate he met from the southern continent to discuss matters that were of interest. He was there three months ago, and the guest was back in the city. It was time to meet again.

Their last meet was eventful.

“You must try these flowers to extract the ingredients. It is practice there among the natives to pound the flowers to get the juices. It was supposed to make them invincible, but the correct amount to be administered to avoid any complications.” The guest was seated at the café table laid out on the pavement, serving tea and scones.

“What complications, Edward?” Doctor Jekyll leaned towards the adventurer he had befriended. He had known Professor Edward Challenger, who held beliefs in his works; the other was also embroiled in controversial issues like his discovery of the Lost World. He was rebuked as a mad explorer or delusional in his works, a reflection of the other doctor’s work.

“How could I explain it? I was there at one of the sessions, and the ‘Sangoma’; they are the traditional healers as we recognised them as such, but their actual contributions are somewhat difficult to categorise.” Professor Challenger, as he preferred to be named for the public, or the ones who saw him as the brawn among them.

“Come on, Edward. Please skip the trivialities and tell me about the real effects.” Doctor Jekyll pressed on.

“Henry, I was to tell. Please hold your patience.” The guest smiled, but his expression was hidden by the thick beard. “The session I was in was attended by three young warriors. They were there to undertake their next adulthood challenges. These were not the typical adulthood challenges: to be a warrior there, to bring back the feed, and to protect the tribe. This new level of challenge was to be the ultimate warrior—one that can defend from any adversaries. The issue was not all adversaries were of the physical realm.”

“Edward, I can sit through the night listening to your adventure, but can we skip the narratives...”

“Henry, I will be brief. The results were... crazy. Of the three warriors, two of them slipped into a... trance will be word.” The professor frowned on his eye brows.

“Trance? Come on, Edward. We have seen the effect of that. Tell me more.”

“There was more to the trance. The warriors I mentioned went into a frenzy and then the transformation. Their body frame expanded…”

“Please, Edward. It is impossible for the...” Doctor Jekyll felt his excitement dwindle there.

“Seriously, Henry. The body frame doubled in size, and their strength tripled.”

“Were you hallucinating, Edward?”

“No! I was sober. I had no whiskey that day. The session became intense, and one of them managed to pull the tree trunk from the ground. It was a huge tree.”

“It cannot be.” Doctor Jekyll shook his head. “I am...”

“Unsure? Seriously, Henry. You asked me, and I told you. I brought you the flowers here.” Professor Challenger pushed the bag he had on him. “It is the flower, or ‘impi isopoki’ by the natives. It's rare, and only the brave can find it or ever bring it back.”

“Are you sure this is not a hoax?” Doctor Jekyll looked at his friend.

“I am to leave now, Henry. My ship awaits me for another discovery.” Professor Challenger stood up. “I will be back in three months. Share with me the results.”

Professor Challenger knew that Doctor Jekyll was looking for a solution to enhance the body from pain. He had brought the flowers for him to try.

Doctor Jekyll did that, and the result was amazing. He developed a fear for it but found himself drawn to improve more on it, to the extent he had lost his mind over it.

Obsession.

Doctor Jekyll was obsessed with it, having experimented with other chemicals, and made starling results. He was still doing the random testing and made some extras of it into the vials he had locked in his lab.

The results were baffling.

He came to look for Professor Challenger. He was not sure of the flowers although he had extracted the juice. It was left in some vials when he had other important matters to handle. It was already three months since he met the Professor. He needed mor clarification before he tests the flower’s juice/

He had a fear to check with the professor.

The recent murders were one reason. It was claimed to be done by a monster.

Could the extracts make a monster?

Like a vampire.

Or a deranged warrior.