Disclaimer: I own no rights whatsoever to the titles and trademarks herein.
Sawyer Fan – Thank you for being such a faithful reader and reviewer. I apologize for neglecting Sawyer for the last couple of chapters. I shall soon make amends for that.
LotRseer3350 – And, of course, thanks to you, my most loyal reviewer. I'm glad that last cliffhanger kept you in suspense, but now the wait is over.
Mina Harker was hungry.
She lifted her head and looked around her dank, tiny cell. Her arms and shoulders were sore, but she willed herself not to feel the pain. She willed herself to focus on her present situation.
She had been well provided for, as she assumed Captain Nemo had been. Daily the hideous creatures that had captured her and her companion would come into her cell and release her from her shackles. They would then leave her alone to eat the hot meals they allowed her and to stretch and walk around her prison.
The food wasn't good enough. She still hungered a primitive, murderous hunger.
Mina didn't merely hunger. She lusted. She lusted for blood.
She had once found what she thought would make an appropriate meal. The monsters had unshackled her and left her alone. While stretching and walking, she had found something in a corner of her cell. Something living.
A rat. A nice, juicy rat.
Greedily she had drilled two tiny holes into the rat's body with her sharp teeth. Then, something of the old spendthrift returned to her. She took only a small sip of the rat's blood and then returned it to its corner.
Each time she was unshackled, she would sip a little more from the rat's carcass.
But now the rat had gone completely dry. And it had only whetted Mina's blood lust.
As Mina stood there in her shackles, her toes barely touching the ground, her arms aching miserably, she realized she needed something else to invest her lust in.
She began to think of her dead husband.
That hadn't been lust. That had been love. True love. He had treated Mina the way no man had since. Others had tried, but they couldn't arouse the same feelings in her that Jonathan Harker had.
Some of the others that had tried were other members of the League. Sometimes, Mina cursed the vampire bite she had received just for making her eligible for membership as an "extraordinary gentleman." She wasn't even a man at all!
Mina was proud of being a member of the League. It cheered her that her powers, powers which were of themselves evil, were being used to help the poor and defenseless. But it made her uncomfortable to work so closely with men she knew were in love with her.
She liked those men. She liked Henry Jekyll. She liked Tom Sawyer. They were sweet. They treated her like a lady, even if sometimes that meant patronizing her. Sometimes, Mina even felt guilty about the power she had over them. She wished she could love at least one of them back, the way they loved her.
The only member of the League she had loved was Mr. Dorian Gray. He had betrayed her. He had turned out to be a fake, as ugly within as he was handsome without. After that, she knew she could never love anyone else again.
But she had loved her husband. She knew she had loved her husband.
She willed herself to focus no longer.
> > > > > >
Meanwhile, Tom Sawyer thought about Mina. He thought about her long, exotic hair. He thought about her vivid eyes. He thought about her extraordinary curves. He, like Mina, lusted.
He knew Mina didn't have the same feelings for him that he had for her, but he couldn't help hoping she would change her mind. Besides, right now it seemed indulging himself in fantasies was the only way he could escape the pain of his present reality.
Sawyer snapped out of the fantasy. He was filled with shame. That was lust. Nothing but savage, animal lust. He felt especially guilty knowing his lustful thoughts were about someone he worked so closely with.
With Becky, it hadn't been lust. It had been love. He was sure of it.
"If I ever get out of this," he said to himself again, "I'm going to find Becky and tell her I love her."
All of a sudden, Sawyer stopped thinking about his women. He saw the smiling face of Allan Quatermain.
Where was Quatermain? He had become like a father to Tom. He was Tom's friend and mentor. Once Quatermain had even taken a knife for Tom.
Was he still in the jungle somewhere? Or was he in a cell nearby? Had he been captured and taken here as well? Was he hurt?
Fear caused Saywer's body to go cold and numb. The pain and anxiety, once again, caused Sawyer to fall unconscious.
> > > > > >
Dr. Jekyll and Captain Nemo sat silent on their hard seats as they looked at the young Frankenstein, who was pacing back and forth in front of them and grinning smugly.
Finally, Dr. Jekyll broke the silence.
"You fiend!" he cried. "You murderer!"
Frankenstein's fists fell hard on the table, causing Jekyll and Nemo both to jump.
"You have no right to judge me!" he screamed. "You have no idea where I've been!"
Frankenstein took several deep breaths. His chest heaved as Jekyll had seen the creatures on the slabs.
"Let me tell you my story," said Frankenstein, now calm. "I had a mother once. I loved her very much. And she loved me. She was the only woman to ever love me. She died, much too soon.
"I was devastated. From that moment on, I realized my life had one purpose. To fight death. To stop people from dying. I decided that day that I would study to become a doctor. But as I studied, I found I was learning more from my own research than from my professors. I began to study the theories of the early alchemists. Though they were considered heretics, they believed it was possible to bring life from death.
"Of course, that old fool Watson advised me to pay no mind to the theories. Dr. Watson was a good friend and mentor, but in this case he was clearly wrong. I had theories of my own, and none of my teachers or classmates at the university showed proper respect for them. I needed to find a remote place for my research. I had heard legends of this island, and I knew if I came here no one would dare come after me."
Frankenstein paused. He took another deep breath. Again, his chest heaved.
"I had a theory that life came from electricity. I just needed electricity and a body to bring life to. I made a visit to the mainland and to the morgue one midnight to select my test subject."
"This is insane," said Nemo.
"But it worked, my dear captain," said Frankenstein. "It worked. Only, one body was not enough. I had to select multiple parts from multiple bodies to create the perfect experiment. Multiple visits to morgues and cemeteries were necessary. At last, my experiment was ready to be performed."
"But you weren't satisfied with only one experiment," said Jekyll.
"Not at all," said Frankenstein. "In fact, I was quite horrified. The creature I brought life to was far from a superhuman. It was an animal. And uncontrollable monster. I was forced to destroy it. Of course, then I had to find what I had done wrong and try again.
"The second experiment went much better than the first. Of course, the experiment was far from perfect. But at least this one was willing to take orders. I instructed it on how to collect more material for my experiments."
"By materials you mean more disturbed bodies," said Nemo.
"You make it sound so crude," said Frankenstein. "I was now doing my best to keep the bodies as close as possible to the condition they were found in. No more searching for perfect specimens. Not after the failure of my first experiment.
"The more experiments that were successful, the more helpers I gained. I taught them how to use row boats. I sent them out on missions to bring back as many bodies as possible. Soon, I had enough willing helpers to build this beautiful laboratory."
Frankenstein swung out his wide arms, indicating the immense stone castle around him.
"Is that how you justify murder?" said Nemo.
"Of course not," said Frankenstein. "That was the fault of those idiot policemen. Officers Guhber and Olaf were hiding in a morgue. They startled one of my experiments. If I had been there, I would have never allowed it to do what it did. But apparently, the flawed instincts of the experiment caused it to strangle both of the poor men.
"My experiments now knew how to murder. How to take lives. I didn't condone it, but it was necessary. It was part of learning to bring back life. I would personally give life back to all the men the experiments killed."
"And women and children!" said Jekyll. "You murderer! You monster!"
"And what of the murder of Zachary Schultz?" queried Nemo.
"He was trespassing on this island," said Frankenstein. "Several others had tried at others times as well."
"So you had them killed?" demanded Jekyll.
"I did nothing," insisted Frankenstein. "It was the monsters that felt threatened. They acted out of their own instinct."
"Murderer! Monster!" repeated Jekyll.
"I'm not a monster," said Frankenstein. "I'm just misunderstood. Don't you see? I'm trying to bring immortality to men. I am working on finding a flawless way to resurrect the dead."
"By turning them into monsters?" spat Jekyll. "That's your flawless plan?"
"The experiments are still flawed," said Frankenstein. "A project like this demands endless experimentation. Each experiment is more whole, more human than the last. My latest experiments can even speak like normal men do. Soon, I will have found the way to restore all dead to their former state.
"I need more helpers, though. The experiments are not yet sophisticated to perform the functions I need."
"What about your other helper?" demanded Nemo.
"Quasimodo?" asked Frankenstein. "He is my adopted ward. I took him when no one else would. His disfigurement had him labeled unholy from birth. No one else would take him but me. But Quasimodo is impaired as well. He can only do so much. That is why I require your assistance.
"Captain Nemo, with your craft I will be able to gather all of the materials I need from the mainland. I only have so many rowboats in my dock behind the castle. With your magnificent invention, I will be able to transport all of my experiments to the mainland and they will be able to collect all of the materials I need and bring them back here. I will finally have enough materials to experiment on to ensure that I am finally able to complete this project."
"Never!" cried Nemo, rising boldly to his feet. "I will never allow the Nautilus to be used to transport those murderers!"
"They're not murderers!" cried Frankenstein. "They were once human beings. As human as us three!
"After the new materials arrive here, I will require Dr. Jekyll's assistance. Dr. Jekyll, your theories are closer to those of the early alchemists than those of any other scientist I have yet met. With your help, surely we can restore humanity to my experiments."
"Never!" cried Jekyll. "We will never help you! You… You… QUACK!"
The last word thundered from the voice of Edward Hyde, accompanied by a thick tidal wave of saliva.
Frankenstein's calm demeanor was shattered as the heavy drool rolled off of his face.
"YOU WILL HELP ME!" he cried, his thundering voice mimicking that of Hyde's. "You have no choice. Don't forget that I have your friends in captivity. They serve no useful purpose here. They are being kept alive and comfortable only due to my decency as a human being. But if you do not comply with my requests, they will be severely harmed. Tom Sawyer will be severely maimed." Frankenstein paused. He looked deep into the eyes of Jekyll, which were now filling with red blood. "And, more importantly, Ms. Harker will be utterly destroyed."
"NOOO!" cried Jekyll. His muscles began to bulge. His flesh began to change its tone.
"Take them away," said Frankenstein, turning to his experiments. "Lock Jekyll into his cell until the beast within him is thoroughly worn out. Take the other and beat him severely."
As the creatures followed his instructions, Frankenstein continued to look the opposite way. His chest began to heave once again.