Hi $userName! So nice to meet you. My name is Elizabeth Lavenza, but you can call me Lizzie. I just turned thirteen! To wish me a happy birthday, my Aunt Caroline inisted that she make a cake and wouldn't let the servants near the kitchen. Uncle Alfonse supervised the work and tasted it, then supervised some more. He loves extra vanilla.
I've been living with them in Geneva ever since my mother died a few years ago. I love them all so much. I'm so very grateful. I don't know what my life would have been like if they hadn't taken me in. My father didn't really want to take care of me, and he wanted to marry someone new right away. He shipped me off with a pile of money and I haven't seen him since.
I help take care of my cousins William, Ernest, and Victor. Well, I don't actually take care of Victor because he's older than I, but we have a special bond. The other day, Victor shared with me that he's become fascinated with the writings of Cornelius Agrippa, Albert Magnus, and Paracelsus.
I have no idea who they are, but I heard Uncle Alfonse call their writings "sad trash." Uncle Alfonse can have some pretty strong opinions.
I wonder. Should I [[read up on Agrippa]]? Or should I just [[take my uncle's word for it]] and not get involved?I am suprised to find out that Cornelius Agrippa lived from 1486-1535, which is a super long time ago. He was from Germany, but also lived in Paris. I would love to maybe live in Paris someday. Wouldn't you?
Anyway, Agrippa was a "natural philosopher," which was what we would call a scientist now. But I think Alfonse doesn't like him because he believed in different types of magic. Magic!
He wrote this book called //De Occulta Philosophia// and even started a secret society in Paris devoted to astrology, magic, and Kabbalah. In his book, Agrippa talks about natural, celestial, and ceremonial magic.
Agrippa says, "Magick is a faculty of wonderful virtue, full of most high mysteries, containing the most profound Contemplation of most secret things..."
I think I'm going to read more! I don't know if I believe in it, but it's fun to think about. In the meantime, I need to get back to [[spending time with my beautiful family! | Scarlet Fever]]
(set: $readAgrippa to true) I'll take my uncle's word for it. The subject sounds boring, and kind of like a //man thing// anyway. I hear a name like Paracelsus and think //It's all GREEK to me!// Get it? I mean, if Julius Caesar can't be bothered with Greek writing, why should I?
I'm sure that if it's important to Victor, he'll share it with me. We share everything. It may sound weird, us being cousins and all, but I kind of have a crush on him. Do //''not''// tell him! I would literally //''DIE''//. I'm exagerrating for comic effect. So...
Did you laugh?
[[Yes, you're very funny.]]
[[No, but I smiled.]]
By the way, I know that it's actually metaphorically and not literally. That I would die, I mean.It's the strangest thing. I'm having tea and sandwiches with my family, and we're all having a good conversation (avoiding Agrippa, by the way, ha ha). Uncle Alfonse and Aunt Caroline are talking about going on a hike, and William wants to go, Earnest doesn't, and Victor is indifferent. You know, typical family stuff where we're enjoying each other's company but can't get on the same page.
Anyway, midway through my sandwich, I start getting a //pretty// serious headache. And then chills. Aunt Caroline puts her wrist to my forehead and says I'm burning up. She looks worried.
They tell me to lie down. Victor offers me a hand-mirror and I can see my face is red. My throat is sore too, so I look at my tongue. It looks a lot like a strawberry. In a bad way.
Am I going to be ok? Will I live through this?
[[Yes, of course!]]
[[No, you're not going to make it.]]
Of course you're right, $userName. You're so smart. I knew I liked you right from the start. But guess what I've got?
I've got scarlet fever. Scarlet fever?!? Aunt Caroline has really been beside herself with worry about me.
Uncle Alfonse insists that she //''not''// come near me, because scarlet fever is crazy contagious, but Aunt Caroline goes and does it anyway! She's acting like she has to prove how much she loves me or something, but I already know that she loves me. And now this. This is shocking to everyone.
All this is happening right as Victor is supposed to leave for college. He's going to Ingolstadt. Well, he has to delay his departure now.
Even though I'm okay, it seems that Aunt Caroline has indeed caught scarlet fever too. Everyone is worried about Aunt Caroline. Will she make it?
[[Yes, Aunt Caroline will be okay.]]
[[No, I'm afraid not.]]
I have scarlet fever.
But I find your lack of faith //d i s t u r b i n g ...//
I'm Lizzie Lavenza and I'm stronger than that!
Or am I? *(-cough-)*
Why would you think I'm not going to make it? *(-cough-)*
Is it because people die from scarlet fever all the time? I know some families where all the children died in a matter of a week or two.
Ugh. A week has passed and the infection is spreading... both to my pharynx... *(-cough-)* and to my family.
My Aunt Caroline has it too. And now little William. Dear God.
Pray for Victor, Earnest, and uncle Alfonse. Please. *(-cough-)*
Take care, $userName.
THE END
[[Return to beginning|Title Page]]I wish it were so. But, I'm afraid you're wrong about this. My grief and my guilt are overwhelming. I can't stop crying.
Before she dies, though, Aunt Caroline asks everyone else but me to leave the room for a few minutes. Then, she asks me for two things:
First, she asks me to devote myself to raising little William and Earnest as if they were my own sons.
Second, she asks me to promise to marry Victor someday.
I am ''floored.'' Those are both big requests and big responsibilities. I know I'm mature, but this is frightening. I do admit that I love Victor. But should I make that promise?
[[Yes, promise to marry Victor.]]
[[No, you need to make your own choices.]]I'm afraid you're right about this. My grief and my guilt are overwhelming. I can't stop crying.
Before she died, though, aunt Caroline asked everyone else but me to leave the room for a few minutes. Then, she asked me for two things:
First, she asked me to devote myself to raising little William and Earnest as if they were my own sons.
Second, she asked me to promise to marry Victor someday.
$userName, I was floored. Those are both big requests and big responsibilities. I know I'm mature, but this is frightening. I do admit that I love Victor. But should I make that promise?
[[Yes, promise to marry Victor.]]
[[No, you need to make your own choices.]]I promise to marry Victor. I love him dearly, so the choice is easy.
Victor can go off to Ingolstadt for his studies, and I will faithfully hold down the fort here. I will happily honor my Aunt Caroline's wishes and devote myself to the care of William and Earnest.
Wish us luck! I can't wait for Victor to [[return home]] from school! You are so right. Thank you for saying so. I am too young to commit to marrying Victor. Victor or anyone else.
I love my Aunt Caroline, but she can't live my life for me. It's my life to live, and my choices must be my own. I will determine for myself whom I should marry, when I should marry, or even if I ever want to marry anyone!
I tell her that I love Victor, and that I will consider it, but I'm too young to know how my heart will feel when it's time to marry. I will save myself for him. //''For now.''// But I do promise to look after William and Earnest, though. They are darling and beautiful and it is an honor.
As for a wedding, it may be a moot point anyway, since Victor is about to [[leave for Ingolstadt soon enough.->return home]] Who knows how going away to school will change him? Fredric Chopin’s Etude Opus 10 No 3 in E Major [Recorded by T. Erez]. (n.d.). On WSR327 Piano Forte [MP3]. Westar Music Publishing (SOCAN). Retrieved June 12, 2019, from https://westarmusic.sourceaudio.com/#!details?id=6851365.
Book, Turn Three Pages [MP3]. (2014). Sound Ideas. Retrieved June 12, 2019, from https://soundideas.sourceaudio.com/#!details?id=7618850.
Female: Medium Cough. (2016, August 23). On HUMAN-COUGH-GEN-HDF-14906 [MP3]. Sound Ideas. Retrieved June 12, 2019, from https://soundideas.sourceaudio.com/#!details?id=15713663.
Agrippa, H. C. (n.d.). Pentagram and human body (Agrippa) [Digital image]. Retrieved June 12, 2019, from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Pentagram_and_human_body_(Agrippa).jpg
Fischer, L. (n.d.). Image from page 683 of "Diseases of infancy and childhood" (1914) [Digital image]. Retrieved June 12, 2019, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/internetarchivebookimages/14791911643/in/photostream/
Strawberry Tongue in Scarlet Fever. Painted from a case in the RiversideHospital. The body rash is shown in the Frontispiece. (Original.)
[Bride with flowers and train]. (n.d.). Retrieved June 12, 2019, from https://pixabay.com/vectors/bride-bridal-marriage-celebration-41207/
Free for commercial use. No attribution required.
Back to the [[Intro]]
So, Victor leaves for Ingolstadt, and falls immediately into hard work towards his studies. He has two main professors, a generalist named Krempe, and a chemistry professor named Walden. Victor writes that Professor Krempe is short, fat, and ugly, and that he talks and acts like he looks.
I think Krempe just rubs Victor the wrong way. Krempe sounds worse than Uncle Alfonse with his opinions. When they first meet, Victor mentions he's read Agrippa, Magnus, and Paracelsus, and Krempe tells Victor that "every instant that you have wasted on those books is utterly and entirely lost."
By contrast, Professor Waldman sounds inspiring. He says, "The modern masters promise very little; they know that metals cannot be transmuted and that the elixir of life is a chimera but these philosophers, whose hands seem only made to dabble in dirt, and their eyes to pore over the microscope or crucible, have indeed performed miracles. They penetrate into the recesses of nature and show how she works in her hiding-places. They ascend into the heavens; they have discovered how the blood circulates, and the nature of the air we breathe. They have acquired new and almost unlimited powers; they can command the thunders of heaven, mimic the earthquake, and even mock the invisible world with its own shadows."
In any case, Victor's professors come to praise his efforts long enough and hard enough that Victor dives into his studies with full force. Or so it seems. He's been gone for four years already. And recently, his letters have crawled to a halt. I wonder what's going on there.
What should I make of this? Do you think [[he's fallen in love with someone else?]] Or has he just become [[absorbed with his studies?]] Thanks, $userName. I think so too.
Anyway, it's [[time for lunch! | Scarlet Fever]]Okay, I'll take it.
In the meantime, it's [[time for lunch! | Scarlet Fever]]Who knows with men? You're probably right. I should probably confront him about this. I've been here worrying about him while taking care of his brothers. The least he can do is stay in contact. I will not be taken for granted.
Do you think I should go to Ingolstadt to discover for myself what's going on?
[[Yes, take action!]]
[[No, be patient.->absorbed with his studies?]]You're probably right. I'm sure that because I'm still here in Geneva taking care of William and Earnest, I have so much time on my hands that I imagine the worst possibilities.
I do miss him. I hope he's okay.
I heard through the grapevine that Henry Clerval is going to Ingolstadt to study too. Henry is Victor's best friend. He's so different from Victor but equally smart. He loves language and lingusitics. I wonder how Henry finally convinced his businessman father to let him go study something other than business. Maybe Henry convinced his Dad that actually mastering Persian, Arabic, and Hebrew, on top of the Greek and Latin he already knows might become useful in commerce.
I will tell Henry before he leaves to get Victor's head out of his books long enough to redevelop the habit of communication he used to have. I won't tell Henry just how much Victor's letters mean to me, how I sniff each page in search of a hint of Victor's scent, and press the pages to my cheek in an effort to feel as connected to him as I feel when he's here at home with us all.
I do so wonder what [[Henry will find in Ingolstadt.]]Thank you for the encouragement and your faith in me! I don't want them to know what I'm doing, so I tell the family that I am taking a week at a spa in the countryside. I don't like being dishonest, but I don't want to share my alarm, either. I leave William and Earnest in Uncle Alfonse's care. He also has a nanny now, Justine Moritz, so they will all be fine.
They all accompany me to the Genève-Cornavin rail station and hug me, kiss me, and wish me a safe trip as I board the train. When it's time, I transfer routes to Bavaria, where the university at Ingolstadt is. On the train, as I watch the mountains drift slowly past, I wonder what I will say when I see Victor.
I decide that it doesn't matter.
When I arrive, it is already very late. It's raining and cold, and a chill settles in my bones. I can't warm up. I find my way to Victor's apartment, dreaming of a hot cup of tea along the way, but he's not there.
Not sure what to do, I decide to find my way to Victor's lab. When I arrive, there is a great crack of lightning and [[I can't believe what I'm seeing]] through the lab windows with my own eyes.Henry finds nothing too alarming in Ingolstadt. Victor is overworked and overwrought, and so Henry does what Henry does best: he gets Victor out of his own head and brings him back to himself a bit.
I love this about Henry. He has the ability to help Victor feel grounded. I have this ability too, but it's difficult to have that effect from a distance.
Henry and Victor both write that they're okay and Victor seems to return to himself. Communication from Victor resumes while Henry enters his own course of study. They basically study and party for another two years.
In the meantime, another tragedy strikes our little family. Our family has gotten tragically smaller. Little William has been //murdered.// We are all devastated. Who could murder a child? What's worse is that he appears to have been strangled. Adding insult to that injury, it is none other than our own Justine Moritz who has been accused of committing the crime.
I think there is [[no way that Justine could have done this.]] There is already a trial scheduled. I will speak in her defense. I have to. We have to figure out [[who else could have done this.]]
This happens just as Victor is coming home to Geneva. He doesn't know yet. This will crush him.I see Victor standing over the body of what must be an enormous man lying on a lab table. The body is draped in a sheet, but must be at least 8 feet long. It is still. It looks dead to me. What is Victor doing?
Victor's back is to me, so I can't see what he is doing to the body on the table.
But it must //not// be dead, because suddenly, the body ''jerks.'' And it looks at Victor, then at //me.// Its eyes are a color I've never seen before. They're dull and watery and yellowish. Its teeth are whiter than the whites of its eyes, and it has a long mane of lustrous, flowing black hair. Its lips are straight and as black as its hair.
To my surprise, Victor runs from the room. The creature wacthes him go. I stand there in the rain and the cold, dumbstruck by the scene. The creature lurches off the table and looks at me.
I have as much instinct to run away as I do curiosity about what is happening here. I'm not sure which impulse to give in to.
$userName, should I [[run back to Geneva]] right now?
Or should I [[enter the lab?]]I go back to Geneva and don't say a word to Uncle Alfonse or anyone else about what I saw there. Rather, I talk about what a wonderful spa trip I had.
In the meantime, I learn that Victor's best friend in Geneva, Henry Clerval is going to Ingolstadt to study too. He's so different from Victor but equally smart. He loves language and lingusitics. I wonder how Henry finally convinced his businessman father to let him go study something other than business. Maybe Henry convinced his Dad that actually mastering Persian, Arabic, and Hebrew, on top of the Greek and Latin he already knows might become useful in commerce.
Henry Clerval and Victor both write that they're okay and Victor seems to return to himself. He doesn't mention anything about bringing monstrous creatures to life.
In the meantime, another tragedy strikes our little family. Our family has gotten tragically smaller. Little William has been //murdered.// We are all devastated. Who could murder a child? What's worse is that he appears to have been strangled. Adding insult to that injury, it is none other than our own Justine Moritz who has been accused of committing the crime.
I think that [[Justine must be innocent.]] There is already a trial scheduled. I can hardly believe it. I will speak in her defense. After what I saw in Ingolstadt, I have to believe that [[anything is possible in this case.]]I enter the lab. I'm terrified that I have made a stupid choice, and that I will draw my last breath tonight. I call out to Victor, but get no reply.
But the monster on the table murmurs and looks at me as he slides one leg off the table. When he slides the other leg off too, he immediately crumples to the floor in a heap, his legs akimbo.
I'm struck by the notion that his behavior reminds me of an infant. I piece together what Victor has done here. I'm profoundly moved by Victor's genius. This is an accomplishment like no other. He has created life in a way that has never been done before, by God or by nature, whatever your beliefs.
The creature is hideous in his appearance but beautiful in concept. I'm awestruck. I know that I can't leave him here like this. I'm not sure if I should [[stay here in the lab]] with him, or if I should [[take him to the university,]] or [[someplace else?]] Trust is everything, and I trust Justine completely. I thought it would be simple, that there was no real evidence against Justine. All they had was the fact William had been wearing a locket with a photo of the poor boy's mother, my sweet Aunt Caroline, God rest her soul.
It was clear that William had the locket in his possession when he'd left the house. How it turned up in Justine's pocket is anyone's guess. But I know that someone must have planted it there.
I speak up in Justine's defense at the trial. To my shock and chagrin, I'm the only one. This seems impossble to me.
In any case, Justine is convicted.
I visit Justine with Victor after the trial, and we stay several hours with her. It was so hard to tear myself away. “I wish,” I said, “that I could die with you; this awful world is no place for good people.”
Justine, sweet to the end, works to cheer me up. She says, her voice choking with tears, “My sweetest and best friend Elizabeth, my only champion to the end; I will hold a space for you in heaven. Until then, honor me by living a long and happy life and spreading that joy to others just as you made my life immeasurably better.”
And on the next day, Justine had her life taken from her, executed in a gross miscarriage of justice. It's awful. Awful.
Victor and Henry decide to [[go to England]] afterwards.Since Victor returned from Ingolstadt he has isolated himself. He isn't talking much. He's lost weight. He doesn't seem himself. I wonder if he knows or suspects something that he's not sharing.
No, that can't be, can it? Justine's life is on the line. Victor comes with me to the prison to visit Justine after the trial. He seems as upset as I am about Justine, and of course he is also out of sorts because of the murder of his brother.
In any case, Justine is convicted, then executed in a gross miscarriage of justice. It's awful. Awful. And whoever did commit the murder of an innocent child is an absolute and total //''monster.''//
Victor and Henry decide to [[go to England]] afterwards.Trust is everything, and I trust Justine completely. I thought it would be simple, that there was no real evidence against Justine. All they had was the fact William had been wearing a locket with a photo of the poor boy's mother, my sweet Aunt Caroline, God rest her soul.
It was clear that William had the locket in his possession when he'd left the house. How it turned up in Justine's pocket is anyone's guess. But I know that someone must have planted it there.
I speak up in Justine's defense at the trial. To my shock and chagrin, I'm the only one. This seems impossble to me.
In the meantime, Victor has returned from Ingolstadt and is heartbroken about William. He agrees with me about Justine's innocence. In any case, Justine is convicted, then executed in a gross miscarriage of justice. It's awful. Awful.
I can ''not'' rest about this. Victor has said nothing about the creature I saw. I don't know if I can trust him anymore. Should I [[confront him?]] Or should I [[follow him?]]Since Victor returned from Ingolstadt he has isolated himself. He isn't talking much. He's lost weight. He doesn't seem himself. I wonder if he knows or suspects something that he's not sharing.
No, that can't be, can it? Justine's life is on the line. Victor comes with me to the prison to visit Justine after the trial. He seems as upset as I am about Justine, and of course he is also out of sorts because of the murder of his brother.
But I can't get out of my mind the creature that I saw in Victor's lab, and I can't get out of my mind the fact that Victor has //''not once''// mentioned it to me. Not once!
In any case, Justine is convicted, then executed in a gross miscarriage of justice. I can't believe that Victor would withhold information that would save Justine. He would not do that. It's awful. Awful. And whoever did commit the murder of an innocent child is an absolute and total //''monster.''//
I know that I myself have hidden a truth from Victor, that I spied on him in his lab; that I went to Ingolstadt in the first place. [[Should I tell Victor that I saw the creature in Ingolstadt?|confront him?]] Or should I [[keep my eye on Victor?|follow him?]] Perhaps, if I bide my time, I may discover that Victor reveals something about the creature's nature on his own.
Sophocles said, //"Do nothing secretly; for Time sees and hears all things, and discloses all."//
So, off they go, and the pattern from before repeats. I hear very little from either one of them for a long time. Then, disaster strikes. AGAIN!
This time, it's Henry himself that's been murdered, and this time, Victor stands accused of the murder. This is outrageous.
According to Uncle Alfonse, Henry and Victor parted company in Scotland, where Henry spent time with other friends and Victor left for the Orkney Islands. Days later, both Henry's strangled corpse washes up and Victor's boat comes ashore in the same vicinity of some tiny Irish hamlet. To make matters worse, Victor is in some crazed state, where he himself claims to have murdered Henry.
Unlike Justine, Victor is acquitted of all charges and is on his way back to Geneva.
I have to know what is going on with Victor. Could he be [[guilty of the murder?]] Or if he's innocent, which I suspect is the case, could this whole trip to England and Scotland be an elaborate way for him to [[avoid fulfilling his mother's dying wish]] that he and I get married? I decide to stay in the lab with him. He looks at me like a child, and murmurs softly. I stroke his hair, which feels luxurious and soft. He falls asleep with his head in my lap.
The next morning, we're woken up by four lab technicians. They immediately panic when they see the creature and attack him viciously, as if a wild animal had come into their lab and they were fighting for their very lives. I tried to stop them, to explain in seconds the inexplicable, but it was no use.
The creature burst through the main lab window and ran incredibly fast away from the scene of his attack. I'm not sure if I should [[look for him]] or [[go home.]]I decide to take him to the university. I lead him through the dark streets of Ingolstadt. We rest the remainder of the night in a grassy, tree-lined square on the edge of campus.
In the dark, he looks like an anxious child, and he murmurs softly. I stroke his hair, which feels luxurious and soft. He falls asleep with his head in my lap.
The next morning, we're woken up by six young men who must be students on their way to an early class. They immediately panic when they see the creature and attack him viciously, as if a wild animal had come onto their campus and they were fighting for their very lives. I tried to stop them, to explain in seconds the inexplicable, but it was no use.
The creature bursts into a shockingly fast run and rapidly disappears from view. I'm not sure if I should [[look for him]] or [[go home.]]I help the creature to his feet. He is actually pathetic to me. He looks forlorn and confused. He clearly has no ability to speak, but I can see in his disturbing eyes that he wants to. I lead him out of the lab and onto the street. It is cold and desolate. I don't know where to take him, so I head to Victor's apartment.
On the way there, we are spotted by a group of young, drunken men, who immediately take the creature to be a menace to me and attack him viciously. The creature breaks into a run and I run after him, callig out to him to wait for me.
We eventually come to a wooded area. I decide we should spend the night in the cold, as uncomfortable as that is. The creature indicates to me that I should sleep curled up beside him, his enormous arms draped across me for warmth.
I remember my mother once mentioning that she had distant relatives in Strasbourg, France, which is about four hundred kilometers away. I resolve to get us there. It is clearly not safe for him to be in public. We will have to get there [[by stealth.]] I fall asleep.I wake up early in the morning. The creature hasn't moved. It is touching how protective he seems of me. I have to communicate with him what my intentions are. I look at the arc the sun is following. I point at it.
"Sun," I say. He looks at it for some time. He registers the word, closes his eyes, and smiles for the first time. It is grotesque and precious all at once. I trace the arc it makes with my finger.
"The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. We," I say, pointing to him and then to myself, "We need to go west. To France."
He looks at me for some time. I trust him.
"Do you understand?" I ask him. He moves in the direction I had pointed and he moves with a sense of purpose. He also is swifter and more graceful than I could ever have imagined a newborn creature his size could possibly be.
I wonder what routes we can take, ways to avoid bringing him into too much human contact. We find our way to a forest and I breathe a sigh of relief. So does he.
Next stop, France.
THE END.
[[Return to beginning|Title Page]]I agree, $userName, I should look for him. How hard can it be to find a child-like, eight-feet tall, black-lipped, yellow-eyed man in a city like Ingolstadt?
I've never tried to track a person before. He has no name, no address, no friends, no history.
Where do you think I should start? Should I find Victor and wait for a clue to surface in the [[newspapers?]] Should I go to the [[police?]] Where could he hide? Should I look in the [[catacombs?]]
I go back to Geneva and don't say a word to Uncle Alfonse or anyone else about what I saw there.
In time, life seems to return to normal. Victor never mentions what I know I saw in his letters, and I don't bring it up in mine. Yes, the flow of letters has become unstuck. In part, it's because shortly after my own escapade, Victor's best friend, Henry Clerval went to Ingolstadt to study too. He's so different from Victor but equally smart. He loves language and lingusitics. I wonder how Henry finally convinced his businessman father to let him go study something other than business. Maybe Henry convinced his Dad that actually mastering Persian, Arabic, and Hebrew, on top of the Greek and Latin he already knows might become useful in commerce.
In the meantime, another tragedy strikes our little family. Our family has gotten tragically smaller. Little William has been //murdered.// We are all devastated. Who could murder a child? What's worse is that he appears to have been strangled. Adding insult to that injury, it is none other than our own Justine Moritz who has been accused of committing the crime.
I think that [[Justine must be innocent.]] There is already a trial scheduled. I can hardly believe it. I will speak in her defense. After what I saw in Ingolstadt, I have to believe that [[anything is possible in this case.]]Lizzie Lavenza - By Charlie Griffin
Based on the character from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818 version)
Would you kindly tell me your name before we begin?
Your Name:
<input type="text" data-varname="userName">\
<script>processInputElements();</script>
[[Begin|Intro]]
I'm not sure what exactly to look for, but I go to a local bakery for breakfast and buy a newspaper along the way. It's been a long night and I need to collect my thoughts.
I order a coffee and a croissant and sit down at a table near the window.
I pop open the newspaper and begin scanning the headlines. Nothing seems unusual, until I glance up and notice a woman standing in the window, studying me. I am supremely uncomfortable, so I try to ignore her. I refocus my attention on the newspaper. I look up again and she is gone.
I hear a woman clear her throat behind me. Startled, I spin around in my seat and see the woman from outside now looking down at me.
"May I join you?" She asks.
I consider her question. [[What could she possibly have to say to me?]] Perhaps I should tell her that [[I am about to leave]] and that she can have the table to herself.
(set: $metMina to true)I walk to the Police Station. When I walk in I feel immediately ridiculous. I'm about to ask if they've come across a newly born, eight foot tall man.
I look around a little first, and see nothing unusual. I decide on a sideways approach when an officer behind a desk looks at me expectantly.
I smile brightly and say, "I am looking for my cousin. He's from out of town and he went out drinking last night but hasn't come back home. He's ''very'' tall but not very bright. He has long black hair. Any chance you've picked up someone fitting that description?"
"Not yet, but what's your address? I can have him brought over if he shows up."
I'm flustered by the question but keep my composure. I calmly give him the address for Victor's apartment, thank him, and leave quickly.
I decide to try the [[catacombs next|catacombs?]].
Can he be guilty? Everyone is capable of keeping secrets, I suppose. I have known Victor almost my entire life. I can't allow myself to believe that the young man that I have loved so well and so much for so long is capable of taking a life, much less the life of his best friend.
I also suppose that many murderers grow up with someone who loves them and believes them incapable of such foul acts.
In any case, I love him, and will lead with that. [[I have to reach out to him.|avoid fulfilling his mother's dying wish]]I decide to write Victor a long letter. Here is part of what I write to him:
//You well know, Victor, that our wedding has been the favorite plan of your parents ever since we were little. We have been best friends forever. I have a question that, relying on our true friendship, I want you answer completely truthfully: Do you love someone else?
You have travelled; you have spent several years of your life at Ingolstadt; and I confess that when I saw you last autumn so unhappy, so self-isolated, I could not help but wonder if you might regret our connection and believe yourself honor-bound to fulfill the wishes of your parents, even if you secretly feel otherwise. For my part, I love you and my dreams of my future always include you as my constant friend and companion in all things. But your happiness means everything to me, so our marriage would make me eternally miserable if it were not completely your own free choice. Even now I cry to think that, with all the loss you've suffered, that you would, for the sake of honor, ruin your own future hopes for love and happiness. I would never stand in the way of that, because I love you too much. If this is indeed the case, trust that I will be most happy to see you fulfilled.
Love, Lizzie//
He writes back to me. What do you think he said, $userName? Do you think [[may actually be in love with someone else?]] Or do you think he writes back to say that [[he absolutely loves me and is ready to get married right away?]] I go home and consider my options for confrontation, and decide to not delay. That same evening, I look for an opportunity for discussion to arise. Sometime after dinner, I notice that Victor has taken leave of the house and is taking a path toward the back garden.
I silently slip out the door and approach Victor from behind, when I hear him crying and muttering to himself. I lose courage and decide that it needs to wait. He's grieving, after all.
Maybe the best thing to do is [[follow him|follow him?]] and see if I can learn something that way.It doesn't take long for an opportunity to follow him to arise. Victor announces that he's going for a hike, alone. Of course, he may very well just want to be alone with his thoughts. In any case, I keep a safe distance behind him and off we go.
He crosses the bridge of Pélissier over the ravine formed by the river, and begins to ascend the mountain that overhangs it. Soon after, we enter the valley of Chamounix, framed by high and snowy mountains and immense glaciers disturbed only by tiny roads or footpaths carved into them. The gargantuan Mont Blanc looks over all of it. After some time, we arrive at the village of Chamounix.
I hope Victor is exhausted because I certainly am. I can't hear my breathing over the noisy rushing of the river Arve. I am relieved when he checks into a small inn, and I find a vacant room across the way, one that has a window view to the street.
I don't sleep well over the distressing thought that I might lose his whereabouts by morning, but the worry is for nothing. Fortunately, some of his routines are predictable, especially his waking and breakfasting. He is out the door and on his way at precisely 7AM.
We spend the day roaming the valley. Despite my misgivings, the snowy mountain tops, the pine woods, and eagles soaring amidst the gathered clouds all encourage a feeling of peace to settle within me. I begin to question my decision to surveil my own fiancé when he begins another ascent.
The ascent is not in fact as discouraging as it first seems. It's quite manageable. Victor summits around noon. I have to be careful now because his only way down is by passing me. I am shrouded in mist and clouds for the time being. The sun and breeze may soon evaporate my secrecy.
I find a nearby recess in the rock to squirrel myself, when I realize that there is someone else on the trail. At some distance I see a figure of a man advancing toward Victor at superhuman speed.
I recognize [[the creature from Ingolstadt,]] now two years ago, immediately. It's Victor's creation.Victor writes back to me:
//So much loss and death has left little hope for me of complete happiness, but what happiness I do see for myself involves you completely. Don't worry about the poossibility that I love someone else. ''You'' are the one love of my life, Lizzie.//
//I have one secret, though, Lizzie, an awful one; when I reveal it to you, it will give you chills of horror, and you will finally understand how much harder my life has been than you now know. I should have confided this to you sooner, but will finally tell you everything on our honeymoon. I will never allow a secret to rise between us ever again. We must have total trust. But until then, I beg you, do not mention it in any way.//
Victor arrives from Ireland, looking tired but with a smile on his face.
"[[Let's plan that wedding,]]" he says.I invite her to sit. She looks at me as if she knows who I am.
"Do I know you from somewhere, miss?" I ask.
"No, but I saw you last night. I know what you saw."
I'm stunned. I'm at a loss for words. I finally stammer, "How? Who are you? And what did you see?"
"My name is Mina Harker. Pleased to meet you." Mina offers me her hand. I take it, and she pumps my hand with a firm grip. "I saw a young man named Victor Frankenstein reanimate dead tissue last night, and I saw you at the window."
The world suddenly feels like a foreign place to me, and I can't process her directness.
"I don't understand how we're even having this conversation, Mina," I said.
"[[Please help me understand.]]"I leave the table in a hurry and don't look back. The street is bustling now with people on their way to work. I must look a terrible mess.
I wonder where I should go from here. I find a bench and thumb through the newspaper headlines. Nothing suggests that an impossibly dead, eight-feet tall creature was brought to life last night by fiancé. Just listen to how that sounds, $userName. I know it sounds ridiculous.
Where else can I look? [[The police station?|police?]] The [[catacombs?]] "Gladly," Mina said. "But while I know Victor Frankestein, I don't know your name, miss..."
"I'm so sorry. It's Lavenza. Call me Lizzie. How do you know Victor?"
"I don't know Victor, but I've been watching him. He came to my attention because of his recent behavior."
"What behavior?"
"Lizzie, he started digging up corpses around Ingolstadt three months ago. He used their parts to create the creature we both saw last night."
I don't know what to say or think. But it certainly fits and has the ring of truth, as unbelievable as I would have found it only twenty-four hours ago.
"I still don't understand why you're here. You said that Victor //'came to your attention.'// [[Why?]]"If you're right, I hope he will admit so. I honestly will be first to queue up in support of his love with another if that's what will make him happy.
In any case, [[I do get a letter back from him.|he absolutely loves me and is ready to get married right away?]] It's a sparkling, clear, blue June morning. It feels celebratory, inevitable, and poignant all at the same time. Placed on the altar are portraits of Aunt Caroline, little William, Justine, and Henry, in the order of when we lost them. Friends, family, and well-wishers line the aisles.
I wear a flowing white dress with a fitted bodice and a full skirt made of the finest organdy. My veil is a gauzy linen, complemented by a tiara of orange blossoms. Gloves of the softest, most luxurious silk match my embroidered stockings, and shoes are adorned with bows and ribbons on the instep that match the style of my tiara.
I touch Aunt Caroline's pearl necklace as I start my procession down the aisle, my arm held fast by Uncle Alfonse. I feel glorious and happy, and Victor's true shock when he sees me also chokes him up, and I know that I'm with my perfect mate.
He is refined in his mulberry frock coat and perfectly white waistcoat, and he looks devilishly handsome with his sable-black top hat. I can not stop from smiling throughout the ceremony.
If there is one small fly in the ointment, it's the knowledge in the back of both our minds that Victor has promised me that once the wedding was done he would reveal the source of his accumulated troubles for these several years. It is in his face, his worry, amidst the joy.
Our reception is a lavish breakfast of fresh breads, marmalades, ham and eggs, venison pie, Easterhedge pudding (have you had it, $userName? It's //lovely//! It's a concoction of sorrel, nettles and barley mixed with eggs and butter), with wine, mead, or hot chocolate to drink. Once the cake is cut and served, Victor and I head out for our honeymoon!
Can you guess where we will spend our honeymoon? Is it at the [[Villa Lavenza]] or [[Lake Como, Italy?|Villa Lavenza]]
It's a trick question! They're one and the same. I don't know exactly how Uncle Alfonse does it (and I have no idea that it's even happening!), but at some point before the wedding, he petitions the Austrian government for the restoration of part of my inheritance that I don't even know that I'm entitled to: a small inn that belonged to my mother on Lake Como in Italy.
Victor and I head there by ferry. The sun is hot, but we shelter from its rays beneath a canopy and enjoy the serene beauty of the scene. We pass Mont Salêve, Montalègre, and at a distance, towering above it all, the always astonishingly beautiful Mont Blanc. Eventually we take the river Drance, where the Alps close in, and at sunset a light breeze ruffles the water's surface and the surrounding trees alike. We smell flowers and hay as we finally touch the shore. It is still dusk, and we walk arm in arm, taking in what we can still see of our natural surroundings.
Our things are brought to the inn, and the concierge promises to bring tea to our room shortly. I decide to unpack as Victor leaves for a stroll around the grounds. It begins to rain, lightly at first, and then becomes a heavy storm.
I hear someone out in the hallway right now.
It must be [[Victor|neither]] or the [[concierge|neither]]. I go to open the door.As my hand turns the doorlatch, the door bursts open and I let out a reflexive scream. Two massive hands are instantly around my throat. I'm confused at first.
The hands belong to a monstrous creature. He has watery, whitish-yellow eyes, black lips twisted into a grimace. He must be eight feet tall, and he's stronger than that sounds. The pressure is enormous. I hear something in my throat crack. I can neither breathe nor swallow.
I know immediately that this is the secret, which is confirmed by the creature. He stares deeply into my eyes and says, "Victor did this to you."
I feel a wave of pity for this creature and for Victor, clearly both of them bound together in whatever this sad thing is that I'm now swept up in.
Knowing full well that I can not reply, the creature longs to mock me with the question, "Do you love him now?"
I'm grateful for the question. It helps me forget the absence of breath in me, the pressure crushing my throat, the involuntary tears, the burning in my face, the dizziness overcoming me. I lock eyes with the monster. I nod my head.
I lead with love. I will leave with love.
THE END
[[Return to beginning|Title Page]]First, I'm stunned, because Victor attacks the creature immediately upon seeing him. It is, of course, completely ineffectual. The creature merely replies, "I expected this from you."
I listen from my hiding spot as the creature goes on to tell Victor how he spent the last two years hiding in a shack and clandestinely learning language from a small French family occupying a nearby farmhouse. His tale is pathetic in the extreme. He has survived in hiding, yearning the whole while to devise circumstanceas in which he might be invited into the family, only to be chased away by the very people for whom he harbored the most profound feelings of love. It is heartbreaking.
Not once does Victor apologize for abandoning his own creation, hideous though he may be. I am ashamed for him.
Then, to my shock, the creature reveals his part in the murder of William. He did it! He also is the one that framed Justine! He says that he'd found Victor's progress notes in his lab coat that he'd taken before he fled the scene. On the heels of this revelation, he makes a demand: "You must create a female for me with whom I can have the companionship I need to survive this heartless world. This you alone can do, and I demand it of you as a right which you must not refuse to concede.”
When Victor then denies the creature's one request, I can stay hidden no longer.
Do you think [[Victor is right to deny the request?]] Or is it [[the least he can do]] to ameliorate the suffering of this creature?I step out from where I've been hidden during Victor and the creature's exchange. Victor is startled to see me. The creature looks at me and I see a flash of recognition in his eyes.
"I remember you," the creature says to me.
Victor is confused. "What? How is that possible?"
"She was at the window of your laboratory when I was born," the creature tells him. Victor is stunned silent.
"It's true, Victor. I was there."
"I'm not sure if I should be angry or impressed," Victor finally says.
"I'm sorry for the secrecy. I had to know what was going on with you."
"Touching," the creature says.
"Monster," Victor says, his fury is rising, "I will never make a companion for a murderer."
"Then //''I''// will do it\," I say.
Victor scoffs. [["How will //''you''// do it?"]]I step out from where I've been hidden during Victor and the creature's exchange. Victor is startled to see me. The creature looks at me and I see a flash of recognition in his eyes.
"I remember you," the creature says to me.
Victor is confused. "What? How is that possible?"
"She was at the window of your laboratory when I was born," the creature tells him. Victor is stunned silent.
"It's true, Victor. I was there."
"I'm not sure if I should be angry or impressed," Victor finally says.
"I'm sorry for the secrecy. I had to know what was going on with you."
"Touching," the creature says.
"Monster," Victor says, his fury rising, "how can I make a companion for a murderer?"
"William and Justine did not deserve to die, of course, Victor." I look directly at the creature. "I am furious with you, and if there's a hell, you will surely burn there for it," I said. I look at Victor again, and say, "But some of the debt to repay here is yours, Victor. Let's please grant your creation his only wish."
Victor looks at us both in turn. "[[I agree to your demand,]] on your promise to leave Europe forever, and every other place where innocent people live, as soon as I create for you a female who will accompany you in your exile.”
“I swear,” the creature says. (if: $readAgrippa is true)["How will //''I''// do it, Victor? The creature has your notes and I have the writings of Agrippa to guide me, thanks to you. Guide ''us'', actually. I don't need you to do the right thing. Your creation will help me." I surprise myself with my own rebelliousness.
Victor is stunned. I look at the creature. "You will assist me, yes?"
He doesn't hesitate. "Without fail."
"Then it's settled."
Victor doesn't seem to want to leave. I am annoyed by his indecision.
"Are you [[in this with us|I agree to your demand,]] or [[not]]?" I demand.]\
(else:)["How will //''I''// do it, Victor? The creature has your notes! And it may take me some time, but I am smart enough to retrace your path. Perhaps I'll start with some of the writings you mentioned before you left for Ingolstadt. I remember the names of the authors, because of how affected you were by Uncle Alfonse's reproach of them."
I can see from Victor's face that I am not wrong. I surprise myself with my own rebelliousness.
"I'll start with Agrippa. You see, Victor, I don't need you to do the right thing. Your creation will help me."
Victor is stunned. I look at the creature. "You will assist me, yes?"
He doesn't hesitate. "Without fail."
"Then it's settled."
Victor doesn't seem to want to leave. I am annoyed by his indecision.
"Are you [[in this with us|I agree to your demand,]] or [[not]]?" I demand.]I ask the creature, "How will we contact you to let you know when we've fulfilled our promise?"
"It is simple. I will be watching, I will know."
"That sounds like a threat," Victor says.
"It is. But I'd rather it not be. Please just keep your promise."
We all three exchange uneasy glances. The creature then locks eyes with mine and adds, "Thank you."
On our way back home, Victor and I confer on a plan to make the creature's companion. Alfonse will never let us travel together alone just the two of us, and Victor tries to convince me that he can honor his promise single-handedly. However, I am convinced that he will need me at his side to shepherd the process along. I assert that we are safer together than apart, an undeniable logic to which Victor can scarcely object.
Victor finds a suitably isolated space on the outskirts of Geneva in which to establish a small laboratory. It has the added benefit of being nearby a graveyard. I help him set up. We procure the required tubes, slides, pipettes, scopes, electrodes, and a microsedimentometer, in addition to other tools and furniture.
Victor does the more [[gruesome work in the graveyard.]] It's not long before Victor has assembled enough body parts to complete the creature's companion. I do the grisly work of stitching them all together. It takes months. Despite the depressing and solemn nature of the work we're doing, it seems to bring Victor and I closer. I feel the prescence of the creature in the background at all times, though I never see him once.
The rainy season is upon us, anticipating summer. We decide to push through one final stormy evening to get this done. The companion is as magnificent and as hideous as the creature. She has one black eye and one green of unequal size, a stubby nose, purplish lips, an unruly mane of grey hair, and a belly that evinces the likelihood of having housed multiple offspring.
There is electricity in the air, literally and figuratively. Lightning flashes across the window and I see an image burn into my retinas of the smiling creature keeping watch outside. I immediately recall being in the creature's position back in Ingolstadt.
We harness the electricity from the storm and incant around the body according to Agrippa, and soon enough it is done. The companion gurgles on the table before it opens its eyes, and I suddenly feel a revulsion well up within me. I surprise myself by vomiting on the floor on my way to the door. I open it to allow the creature inside.
He does not hesitate, and again I am taken aback by his graceful speed. he scoops up his companion in his arms, nods to us, and leaves with her.
Victor says to me, "I hope we did the right thing."
I say, "Are you ready to marry me now?"
He replies, "[[May?]] Or [[June?]]"It's a sparkling, clear, blue May morning. It feels celebratory, inevitable, and poignant all at the same time. Placed on the altar are portraits of Aunt Caroline, little William, Justine, and Henry, in the order of when we lost them. Friends, family, and well-wishers line the aisles.
I wear a flowing white dress with a fitted bodice and a full skirt made of the finest organdy. My veil is a gauzy linen, complemented by a tiara of orange blossoms. Gloves of the softest, most luxurious silk match my embroidered stockings, and shoes are adorned with bows and ribbons on the instep that match the style of my tiara.
I touch Aunt Caroline's pearl necklace as I start my procession down the aisle, my arm held fast by Uncle Alfonse. I feel glorious and happy, and Victor's true shock when he sees me also chokes him up, and I know that I'm with my perfect mate.
He is refined in his mulberry frock coat and perfectly white waistcoat, and he looks devilishly handsome with his sable-black top hat. I can not stop myself from smiling throughout the ceremony.
Our reception is a lavish breakfast of fresh breads, marmalades, ham and eggs, venison pie, Easterhedge pudding (have you had it, $userName? It's //lovely//! It's a concoction of sorrel, nettles and barley mixed with eggs and butter), with wine, mead, or hot chocolate to drink. Once the cake is cut and served, Victor and I head out for our honeymoon!
THE END
[[Return to beginning|Title Page]]It's a sparkling, clear, blue June morning. It feels celebratory, inevitable, and poignant all at the same time. Placed on the altar are portraits of Aunt Caroline, little William, Justine, and Henry, in the order of when we lost them. Friends, family, and well-wishers line the aisles.
I wear a flowing white dress with a fitted bodice and a full skirt made of the finest organdy. My veil is a gauzy linen, complemented by a tiara of orange blossoms. Gloves of the softest, most luxurious silk match my embroidered stockings, and shoes are adorned with bows and ribbons on the instep that match the style of my tiara.
I touch Aunt Caroline's pearl necklace as I start my procession down the aisle, my arm held fast by Uncle Alfonse. I feel glorious and happy, and Victor's true shock when he sees me also chokes him up, and I know that I'm with my perfect mate.
He is refined in his mulberry frock coat and perfectly white waistcoat, and he looks devilishly handsome with his sable-black top hat. I can not stop myself from smiling throughout the ceremony.
Our reception is a lavish breakfast of fresh breads, marmalades, ham and eggs, venison pie, Easterhedge pudding (have you had it, $userName? It's //lovely//! It's a concoction of sorrel, nettles and barley mixed with eggs and butter), with wine, mead, or hot chocolate to drink. Once the cake is cut and served, Victor and I head out for our honeymoon!
THE END
[[Return to beginning|Title Page]]I find a chandler's shop and purchase a candle and a small box of matches. I ask the shopkeeper for directions to the Glacis Catacombs. He draws for me a crude map that includes several access points. I eventually find my way to an entrance. I pause to brace myself for what I may encounter below.
I light my candle and begin the descent. The temperature drops quickly. After some minutes of wandering, I hear a murmuring voice, like someone muttering to himself, but can't tell how far away it is or if it belongs to the creature.
I don't know if I'm more terrified to discover someone who isn't the creature or to actually find my target.
Do you think [[I should call out?]] Or am I in over my head and should [[return to the street?]]I call out, "Hello! Please, show yourself! I'm here to help you!"
The catacombs become shockingly silent. I hear only my own quick and shallow breathing, the sound of the flame burning the wick on the candle in my hand, and the condensation on the wall dripping to the floor, once near to me and another at some distance.
Then the tunnel fills with the sound of footfalls, rising rapidly in volume as what I am now confident is the creature closing the gap between us. A monstrous shadow flies across the wall as I'm suddenly confronted by the creature.
Here, surrounded by earth and by the dead, seeing this unnatural being emerge from the shadows, I momentarily forget the infant-like state in which I'd seen him the night before, and the pain and confusion he must be experiencing. I let out an involuntary cry.
The creature recoils from the sound as if in pain. He immediately turns and begins to run from me, but I regain myself and shout, "Wait, please! I'm sorry!"
He pauses, but does not return to me. He's waiting.
"I think I may know a place where you can be safe," I say, and I close the distance between us. He doesn't understand, but I can see by the way he cocks his head just slightly, almost puppy-like, that he wants to. I take his hand gently in mine and I see his shoulders relax in the dark.
I shine the light on the little map and consider where we must be relative to the surface. We find our way through the catacombs to an access point where I suspect we will be met with very few people. I don't want to risk another attack on the poor creature.
We emerge near the [[edge of the city.]]I walk briskly back, retracing my steps, and ascend to the street, breathing heavily. I squint my eyes to readjust to the sunlight.
(if: $metMina is true)[When I finally regain my composure, I realize that the same woman I fled from at the bakery is standing before me. I wonder if it's possible for her to appear coincidentally this way twice and decide that it's not. Besides, she looks at me as if she knows who I am.
"Do I know you from somewhere, miss?" I ask.
"No, but I saw you last night. I know what you saw."
I'm stunned. I'm at a loss for words. I finally stammer, "How? Who are you? And what did you see?"
"My name is Mina Harker. Pleased to meet you." Mina offers me her hand. I take it, and she pumps my hand with a firm grip. "I saw a young man named Victor Frankenstein reanimate dead tissue last night, and I saw you at the window."
The world suddenly feels like a foreign place to me, and I can't process her directness.
"I don't understand how we're even having this conversation, Mina," I said. "[[Please help me understand.]]"]\
(else:)[A strange woman is looking at me. I fully expect her to move along but she doesn't. She's waiting for me to say something. So I do.
"Do I know you from somewhere, miss?" I ask.
"No, but I saw you last night. I know what you saw."
I'm stunned. I'm at a loss for words. I finally stammer, "How? Who are you? And what did you see?"
"My name is Mina Harker. Pleased to meet you." Mina offers me her hand. I take it, and she pumps my hand with a firm grip. "I saw a young man named Victor Frankenstein reanimate dead tissue last night, and I saw you at the window."
The world suddenly feels like a foreign place to me, and I can't process her directness.
"I don't understand how we're even having this conversation, Mina," I said. "[[Please help me understand.]]"]Victor makes his choice by looking down at his shoes.
"Please tell Uncle Alfonse and Earnest that I will be gone for a while."
Victor doesn't move.
"Please go," I say. He does.
I tell the creature, "I will need your assistance and your patience."
"It is yours," he says.
"I don't forgive you for William and Justine," I add.
"I understand."
I admire the creature's willingness to accept the truth of his situation, so unlike Victor.
On our way back to Geneva, I ask the creature, "Do you have a name?"
"No."
"Do you want one?"
"No."
We confer on a plan to make the creature's companion. I find a suitably isolated space on the outskirts of Geneva in which to establish a small laboratory. It has the added benefit of being nearby a graveyard. He helps me set up. We procure the required tubes, slides, pipettes, scopes, electrodes, and a microsedimentometer, in addition to other tools and furniture.
The creature does the more gruesome [[work in the graveyard.]] In the meantime, I pore over Victor's laboratory notes and Agrippa's writings.
It's not long before the creature has assembled enough body parts to complete his companion. I do the grisly work of stitching them all together. It takes months. Despite the depressing and solemn nature of the work we're doing, I come to enjoy the creature's company and conversation.
The rainy season is upon us, anticipating summer. We decide to push through one final stormy evening to get this done. The companion is as magnificent and as hideous as the creature. She has one black eye and one green of unequal size, a stubby nose, purplish lips, an unruly mane of grey hair, and a belly that evinces the likelihood of having housed multiple offspring.
There is electricity in the air, literally and figuratively. Lightning flashes across the window and in the candlelit darkness I notice the creature is smiling. I immediately recall being in the creature's position back in Ingolstadt.
We harness the electricity from the storm and incant around the body according to Agrippa, and soon enough it is done. The companion gurgles on the table before it opens its eyes, and I suddenly feel a revulsion well up within me. I surprise myself by vomiting on the floor.
The creature does not hesitate, and again I am taken aback by his graceful speed. he scoops up his companion in his arms.
He turns to me and says, "Thank you for doing what my creator would not. I apologize for the suffering I have caused you."
"Go," I say, and reach up to touch his massive shoulder. This is the first and last time I ever make physical contact with the creature. He is surprised by my gesture. A small rivulet slides down his cheek. "Please find peace together."
He nods and leaves with her. I stand for some time watching the rain fall outside the open door.
THE END
[[Return to beginning|Title Page]]Mina says, "I have some experience with the supernatural of my own. My husband Jonathan and I both do."
She searches my face for a reaction and apparently finds only skepticism.
"Do you know what a vampire is, Lizzie?"
"I've only read about them in fictional stories and some poetry. You don't really believe they exist, do you?"
"They are absolutely real. I myself was bitten by one."
"This is some strange joke," I say, and move to leave. Mina gently but firmly takes my wrist in her hand.
"Lizzie, I wish it were. Please, let me explain. I was bitten by a vampire, a rich Count named Dracula, from Transylvania, who was in the process of creating more creatures like himself and expanding his territory. He had amazing powers. He had the strength of twenty men and could withstand most assaults. He was a shapeshifter; he could turn himself into a bat or a dog or a wolf, or even into mist. He had some telepathic abilities, too."
"My God."
"God has nothing to do with it. Do you want to [[hear more]], or do you want me to [[get to the point]]?" "It is a sad tale. He was very dangerous, Lizzie. I was bitten by him but the process of turning me into a vampire was not completed, thankfully. However, I was still linked to him telepathically, and I have some similar powers to a vampire."
"Like what?"
"I am very strong. And I admit, I love how strong I am. I can jump onto a roof from the street and bend iron bars with my bare hands. I also have some ability to sense other vampires in the vicinity."
"Amazing."
"Dracula had weaknesses too, and those weaknesses seem to transfer to whatever vampires he created. We also don't know how many vampires exist, or whether or not he was the only one capable of creating them. Which [[brings me to my point for being here|get to the point]].""My husband Jonathan and I work with another man, Dr. Van Helsing," Mina continues. "We have dedicated ourselves to ridding humanity of this vamire pestilence, and to monitoring supernatural phenomena generally."
"Thank you, I suppose I should say. But what does any of this have to do with me?" I ask.
"You have already established a bond with the creature created by Victor last night."
"I'm not sure about that. He ran from me."
"He ran because he was attacked. We were just about to introduce ourselves to you when the attack occurred."
"I see," I said.
"Jonathan is out looking for the creature right now. We want to train him and have him join us in our small operation, such as it is. By the way, I have not revealed the existence of our team before, and trust in your utmost discretion."
"Who would believe me anyhow if I did?" I ask.
Mina chuckles for the first time. "Indeed," she says. She becomes momentarily pensive, then asks, "How about you?"
"What //about// me?"
"Would you like to [[join our team]]? Or, would you like to [[return to your normal life]] despite the knowledge you now possess?"(if: $metJ is true)[I look to the creature. He's watching me carefully. I gesture for him to come closer. He leaves the shade of the tree and ambles over. He looks suspiciously at Mina and Jonathan. I take his two hands in mine and look at him directly. I have never had to look so high to address a person.
In a soothing voice I say, "I'm Lizzie. I want you to meet Mina."
She rubs his arm and simply says, "Hello."
"And this," I continue, "is Jonathan."
Jonathan says to him, "We will never harm you."
The creature's eyes and entire demeanor demonstrate relief and contentment. I'm already getting accustomed to reading his expressions.
Still, I need to make sure that he is protected from the general public.
I ask, "Where do we go from here?"
Mina and Jonathan glance at each other and then turn to me.
Mina says, simply, "Budapest."
I smile.]\
(else:)[I look closely at Mina. I want to gauge her sincerity. I detect no cause for alarm.
"We still need to find the creature," I say.
"He is already found. Jonathan is tracking him right now. The creature is resting. All we have to do is join them."
"How do you know this?"
"I forgot to mention that when I was bitten I acquired some telepathic abilities. I can read Jonathan's thoughts from a reasonable distance, and he has trained himself to send clear mental pictures to me, to assist in the process. It takes less concentration with practice."
"Fascinating," I say. "What are we waiting for?"]
THE END.
[[Return to beginning|Title Page]]$userName, we both know that this really isn't an option anymore, don't we? I have to join these good people.
There's only one thing that would make the choice perfect. I hope you know what it is. It's //''you''//, of course.
[[Are you with us?|join our team]](if: $metMina is true)[No sooner than it takes for our eyes to adjust to the daylight do I hear a man clear his throat behind us. I jump a little in surprise.
"Excuse me," he says, his hands raised in a gesture of harmlessness, "but I believe you may have come across my wife earlier."
I am confused; Is he referring to the woman at the bakery?
He continues, "And this gentleman with you -- he is the creation of Victor Frankenstein."
I'm uneasy now, and reflexively stand nearer to the creature.
"Please don't be alarmed, miss. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jonathan Harker. I mean neither you nor your outsized friend any harm, I swear."
I relax a little, and say, "Alright. Thank you. Would you mind telling me, though, just what is your intention?"
He answers, "If it's alright with you, would you mind waiting for my wife Mina to arrive? She is on her way here right now."
"How do you know that?" I ask.
"It will be easier if you [[let her explain.]] ]\
(else:)[No sooner than it takes for our eyes to adjust to the daylight do I hear a man clear his throat behind us. I jump a little in surprise.
"Excuse me," he says, his hands raised in a gesture of harmlessness, "but I believe this gentleman with you -- he is the creation of Victor Frankenstein, yes?"
I'm uneasy now, and reflexively stand nearer to the creature.
"Please don't be alarmed, miss. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jonathan Harker. I mean neither you nor your outsized friend any harm, I swear."
I relax a little, and say, "Alright. Thank you. Would you mind telling me, though, just what is your intention?"
He answers, "If it's alright with you, would you mind waiting for my wife Mina to arrive? She is on her way here right now."
"How do you know that?" I ask.
"It will be easier if you [[let her explain.]] ]
(set: $metJ to true)The three of us exchange uneasy glances as we await the mysterious Mina Harker. He clears his throat and asks for my name.
"Lavenza. Elizabeth Lavenza. Please call me Lizzie."
"Pleased to meet you."
The creature sits in the shade of nearby tree and watches us surreptitiously. When Mina arrives at last she gives Jonathan a peck on the cheek and looks at me and then the creature.
"He is even more impressive up close," she says, and Jonathan nods in agreement.
"This is Lizzie Lavenza," he says to Mina, who smiles widely at me.
"I'm Mina." She takes my hand and pumps it three times. She has a firm grip.
"Mina, how do you know Victor?"
"I don't know Victor, but we've been watching him. He came to our attention because of his recent behavior."
"What behavior?"
"Lizzie, he started digging up corpses around Ingolstadt three months ago. He used their parts to create the creature we both saw last night."
"You were there?" I don't know what to say or think. But it certainly fits and has the ring of truth, as unbelievable as I would have found it only twenty-four hours ago. I continue, "I still don't understand why you're here. You said that Victor //'came to your attention.'// Why?"
Mina says, "I have some experience with the supernatural of my own. My husband Jonathan and I both do."
She searches my face for a reaction and apparently finds only skepticism.
"Do you know what a [[vampire]] is, Lizzie?""Do I know what a vampire is? I've only read about them in fictional stories and some poetry. You don't really believe they exist, do you?"
"They are absolutely real. I myself was bitten by one," Mina says.
"This is some strange joke," I say, and move to leave. Mina gently but firmly takes my wrist in her hand. The creature is watching carefully now.
"Lizzie, I wish it were. Please, let me explain. I was bitten by a vampire, a rich Count named Dracula, from Transylvania, who was in the process of creating more creatures like himself and expanding his territory. He had amazing powers. He had the strength of twenty men and could withstand most assaults. He was a shapeshifter; he could turn himself into a bat or a dog or a wolf, or even into mist. He had some telepathic abilities, too."
"My God."
"God has nothing to do with it. Jonathan and I work with another man, Dr. Van Helsing," Mina continues. "We have dedicated ourselves to ridding humanity of this vamire pestilence, and to monitoring supernatural phenomena generally."
Jonathan continues, "To get to the point, we want to train the creature and have him join us in our small operation, such as it is. We would take better care of him than anyone else would, like family. His strength and speed would be a tremendous asset."
"You have already established a bond with the creature," Mina adds. She becomes momentarily pensive, then asks, "How about you?"
"What about me?"
"Would you like to [[join our team]]? Or, would you like to [[return to your normal life]] despite the knowledge you now possess?"