Chapter 5

It was a seriously gloomy November night when I finally saw what I’d been working towards. My anxiety was almost unbearable - I gathered everything I needed to bring life into this... thing lying at my feet. It was already past one in the morning.

Rain was drumming against the windows, and my candle was burning low. By the flickering light, I saw the creature’s dull yellow eye open. It gasped for air, and its limbs jerked. How do I even describe what I felt then? It was a disaster, honestly.

Look at what I’d poured so much effort into creating! His body was proportioned right, and I’d picked out what I thought were good features. Beautiful! Seriously? His skin was yellowish, barely covering the muscles and arteries underneath. His hair was a shiny black, flowing everywhere.

His teeth were pearly white, but that just made the whole thing even creepier. His eyes were watery and the same color as the pale sockets they were in. His complexion was pale and his lips were straight and black.

Life’s twists and turns don’t change human feelings as much as you’ve probably noticed. I’d been grinding for almost two years, totally focused on bringing something to life - a real body. For that, I'd sacrificed sleep and my health. I wanted it bad, like, way past reasonable.

But now that I was done, the whole dream just...poof. Pure dread and disgust hit me. I couldn't even look at what I’d made, so I bolted from the room and wandered around my chamber for ages, unable to calm down.

Eventually, exhaustion finally took over, and I crashed onto the bed, still wearing my clothes, just hoping for a little escape. No luck. I did sleep, but it was the wildest, craziest dream. I saw Elizabeth, totally vibrant, walking the streets of Ingolstadt.

I was so happy and surprised, I ran to her. But as I leaned in to kiss her, her lips turned gray, like death. Her face changed, and I thought I was holding my dead mom in my arms. A shroud covered her, and I saw those gross grave worms wriggling in the fabric. I woke up in a total panic.

A cold sweat soaked my forehead, my teeth were chattering, and my whole body was shaking. Then, by the faint, yellow moonlight coming through the shutters, I saw it - the thing, the miserable monster I’d created.

It pulled back the bed curtain, and those...eyes - if you could call them that - were staring right at me.

His mouth dropped open, and he mumbled something I couldn't make out. A grin stretched across his cheeks. He might have said something, but I didn't hear. One hand reached out, like he was trying to stop me, but I bolted and ran downstairs.

I found a spot in the courtyard of the house I was staying in. I stayed there for the rest of the night, pacing back and forth, totally freaked out. I listened to every sound, jumping at each one, convinced it meant that creepy, reanimated body I'd made was coming for me.

Seriously, no one could handle that face. A reanimated mummy wouldn’t even be this scary. I’m talking about that guy. I’d seen him before, when he was still a work in progress; he was ugly then, but when his muscles and joints started moving, it was something even Dante couldn’t have imagined.

I had a rough night, honestly. Sometimes my heart was pounding so fast and hard I could feel it throbbing in every vein. Other times, I felt so weak I almost collapsed. And on top of the horror, I was totally bummed out.

My dreams - the stuff that used to be my comfort and rest - were now a total nightmare. The shift was so fast, the whole thing just flipped upside down! Morning finally arrived, gloomy and wet.

I opened my eyes, aching and exhausted, and saw the church of Ingolstadt, its white steeple and clock showing six o’clock.

The porter opened the court gates - my refuge for the night - and I headed out into the streets, walking fast, like I was trying to dodge that guy I was terrified of seeing around every corner.

I couldn’t even bring myself to go back to my place, but I felt like I had to keep moving, even though the rain was pouring down from a seriously depressing sky. I kept walking like that for a while, trying to shake off what was stressing me out with some exercise.

I wandered around without really knowing where I was going or what I was doing. My heart was racing with fear, and I was practically sprinting, not even daring to look around.

It was like: Like someone, walking alone, Totally freaked out and scared, Turns around once, then just keeps going, Never looks back again; 'Cause they know a terrifying monster Is right behind them, creeping up. [Coleridge’s "Ancient Mariner."]

I finally got to the inn where the coaches and carriages usually stopped. I just stopped there, I don’t know why, but I stared at a coach coming down the street. As it got closer, I realized it was the Swiss diligence.

It stopped right where I was standing, and when the door opened, I saw Henry Clerval. He totally jumped out when he saw me. "My dear Frankenstein," he said, "I’m so stoked to see you! It ’s so lucky you’re here just as I’m getting off! Seeing Clerval was amazing.

It made me think of my dad, Elizabeth, and all those scenes from home that I loved so much. I grabbed his hand, and suddenly, for the first time in months, I felt calm and happy. I welcomed my friend, and we headed toward my college.

Clerval talked for a while about our friends and how lucky he was to come to Ingolstadt. You can imagine, he said, how hard it was to convince my dad that you can’t learn everything from bookkeeping!

Seriously, I think he still wasn’t sure, because he kept saying the same thing my dad said: ‘I make ten thousand florins a year without Greek, I eat heartily without Greek. But he loves me, so he let me go on this journey to learn new things. "It’s so awesome to see you!

"But tell me, how are my dad, my brothers, and Elizabeth?"

"That’s great, and I’m really glad to hear from you, though I’m a little bummed you don’t reach out more often. Speaking of which, I’m gonna have to give you a piece of my mind about that, too."

"But, my dear Frankenstein," he went on, stopping abruptly and looking right at me, "I didn’t realize how rough you look. You’re so thin and pale; you look like you’ve been up all night."

"You’re spot on; I’ve been totally absorbed in something lately and haven’t gotten nearly enough sleep, as you can see. But I really hope, I genuinely hope, that it’s all over now and I’m finally free."

I was shaking like crazy; I couldn’t even think about, let alone mention, what happened last night. I practically sprinted, and we got to my college pretty quickly. Then it hit me, and I got chills thinking about it: the thing I left in my room could still be there, alive and roaming around.

I was terrified to see that monster, but even more worried that Henry would see it. So, I begged him to hang out at the bottom of the stairs for a sec, and I bolted up towards my room. My hand was already on the doorknob before I even realized it. Then I froze, and a wave of cold washed over me.

I flung the door open like you see kids do when they expect a ghost to be waiting for them; but nothing was there. I tiptoed in: the apartment was empty, and my bedroom was finally rid of that awful thing.

I could hardly believe how lucky I was, but once I was sure my enemy had actually run off, I clapped my hands in excitement and ran down to Clerval.

We headed up to my room, and the servant soon brought breakfast, but I couldn’t chill. It wasnn't just happiness - I felt like my skin was buzzing, and my heart was racing. I couldn't stay put for a second; I bounced around the chairs, clapped my hands, and just burst out laughing.

Clerval at first thought I was just stoked to see him, but then he really looked at me and saw this crazy look in my eyes, and my loud, over-the-top laughter freaked him out. "My dude, Victor," he said, "what’s going on? Seriously, stop laughing like that. You look awful. What’s up?"

"Don’t ask," I yelled, putting my hands over my eyes, because I thought I saw that creepy monster slide into the room. "He can tell. Oh, save me! Save me! I pictured the monster grabbing me, and I fought like crazy before collapsing. Poor Clerval! He must have been so bummed.

A reunion he’d been looking forward to turned into a total downer. But I was out of it, totally spaced, and didn’t come to for a long, long time. That was the start of a serious nervous fever that kept me down for months. Henry was my only nurse the whole time.

Later, I found out that, knowing my dad was old and wouldn’t be up for a long trip, and how much my sickness would upset Elizabeth, he kept the extent of my condition under wraps.

He figured he’d be a better nurse than anyone else, and, hopeful that I’d get better, he thought he was doing the kindest thing he could.

I was seriously ill, though. Honestly, my friend’s constant care probably saved my life. The monster I’d brought into the world was always on my mind, and I just kept ranting about him. Henry was probably shocked.

At first, he thought I was just having a weird dream, but the fact that I kept bringing it up made him realize something seriously messed up had happened. I got better, really slowly, and with a few setbacks that worried and bummed out Henry.

I remember the first time I actually enjoyed seeing things again. The leaves were gone, and new buds were popping out on the trees outside my window. It was a beautiful spring, and it really helped me heal.

I started feeling good again, too; my sadness faded, and I was as cheerful as I’d been before I got sick. Clerval, you’re so sweet, so good to me, I said. Instead of studying like we planned, this whole winter has been spent here, sick. How can I ever thank you?

"I feel terrible about letting you down, but you’ll forgive me, right? "Just get better, that’s all I want. And since you seem so happy, can I talk to you about something?" he asked. I got chills. One subject? What could it be? Was he talking about him - the thing I didn't even dare to think about?

"Pull yourself together," said Clerval, noticing my face. "I won’t bring it up if it’s stressing you out. But your dad and cousin would be stoked to get a letter from you, written by you. They have no idea how rough you’ve been and are worried about you being so quiet for so long."

"That’s it, Henry? Seriously? How could you think I wouldn’t be thinking about those amazing friends I love and who totally deserve my love? "If you’re feeling like this, you might want to check out a letter that’s been sitting here for a few days. It's from your cousin, I think."