Frankenstein

CHAPTER 18: The Monster's Revenge

Night had begun to fall when we arrived at our inn. We took a short walk around Evian and ate our first meal as a family in our room. We were to travel to Italy first thing in the next morning.

Suddenly, a rainstorm started. The water hit the windows with such power that we were both a bit frightened. As soon as it became dark, my calm, happy mood disappeared. After Elizabeth went to bed, a thousand fears rose in my mind. I was nervous and watchful. Every sound terrified me. But I didn't move. I stood guard with all the strength I could muster.

I walked up and dơn the hallways of the inn searching for the monster. I looked in every corner, in every open room. There was no sign of him. For a moment I thought everything was going to be okay. Then I heard her scream.

I raced up stairs and into our room. Elizabeth lay there on our bed. Oh, the monster had his revenge! My dear, sweet Elizabeth, who had never hurt a soul in her life, was gone. The monster had kept his word and given me a life like his own. I was doomed to spend the rest of my days miserable and alone, just like the horrible creature I had created.

I rushed to open the window to see if I could catch him. The air was cold and the rain blew inside the room. I saw the monster standing on the ground outside the window.

"Stop!" I shouted. "You villain! You killed my wife!" My shouting brought a crowd of people into my room. "That man just murdered my wife!" I yelled. "Quickly, we must try to catch him!"

The men raced outside with me while the women stayed behind to tend to Elizabeth's body. We tried to follow the monster's tracks, but it was no use. We couldn't find him. It was all too mush for me and I fainted. The knid townspeople brought me back to theroom an dput me to bed. But I could not rest. Not when he was still out there. Not after he had ruined my only chance at happiness. I threw off the sheets and went into the next room to take a last look at my one true love.

"Oh, dear Elizabeth," I cried. "I am so sorry. I loved you so much my darling." I took her in my arms and kissed her goodbye. The innkeeper and his wife were very kind to me. They said they would make sure Elizabeth arrived back home safely. I wrote me father a quick letter. I told him that I going to find the man who caused all our heartache.

I rushed out into the night to find the monster. I didn't know where he went or where he was going, but that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was finding him.

I knew I would never go home again. This thought made me very sad. I knew my father would be very unhappy, too. But i didn't want to cause him any more pain. He and Ernest would find it hard enough to go on after the death of  Elizabeth. The only honor in my actions would be to finish what I had started.

I raced out of the inn. I could hear an echo far off in the distance. It was coming from the lake itself. It was a loud and evil laugh.

"That's him!" I cried. "He's on the lake."

I jumped into a boat and started to row with all of my strength. Thus, the long journey began. I've chased him for many months now. From the shores of Switzerland to the cold, icy fields of Russia, he ran and I ran after him.

My life was miserable. There was no comforts of home, no friends to cheer me up, and no family to love. But I knew I would not find peace until I found and destroyed him.

When I reached St.Petersburgh, the monster had left me a note: "You are still alive, Frankenstein. But I know you are unhappy. Follow me now to the icy kingdom of Arctic. You will feel the misery of the cold and the frost. If you want to catch me, you must do what I say."

I would never give up the search. I started off for the Arctic in my sled. The dogs drove north. The cold was almost too much to bear. He left me clues along the way, short note that I was going in the right direction. The colder it got, the harder I pushed. The only thing driving me forward was the thought of finally meeting the monster and ending everthing for good.

The dogs were very fast. They allowed me to catch up to him as I had never been able to before. I came into a small village and asked the people there if they had seen anything.

One man told me that he had seen a terribly ugly man srive through on his own sled for hours before I arrived. The monster had stolen some food and taken off after scaring most of the people in town. To the horror of these men and women, he took off in the direction of no man's land.

"No one can survive out there," he said to me. "He will either be frozen to death or be stuck on the ice floes. Either way, he will never be seen again."

I thanked him for his information, and then bought some supplies for the long journey ahead. The land thundered underneath me. The ice cracked and water leaked through. The cold bit at my nose, my ears, my fingers, and my toes. But I didn't stop. And then at last, I saw him! He was just a mile in front of me, so I pressed on.

The sind rose and the sea roared. With a mighty shock like an earthquake, the ice split wide open. I was stuck on a piece of floe. All hope of ever catching the monster was gone, and I floated out to sea. I would certainly not survice the ight trapped on one small piece of ice.

Hour after hour went by. The ice slowly melted underneath me. I almost gave up all hope. My life would end in this frozen, barren land. I would be unable to finish what I had started.