He watched her from the back of the cave, trying to be as quiet as possible. He stood up & leaned against the cold wall of the cave, watching her as she just stood there, peeking behind herself every now & then, folding her arms over her chest at the sudden cold that the rain brought.
He wondered... maybe she was an outcast, too. Maybe people were afraid of her as they were him. He waved this thought away - she was far too beautiful to be treated as he was. He became saddened when he finally realized that it was raining, for it meant she only needed a place to stay until the rain went away. Then she'd return to her normal life, with normal people who loved her...
He was so lost in thought that he didn't even notice the hungry wolf stalking its way closer to the girl. She let out a scream & stumbled backwards a little, not knowing what to do. He didn't think, only acted. He ran up to the wolf, fists clenched, daring the wolf to make a move.
The wolf was desperate for food & didn't care where it got it from. The size of the Creature didn't matter to it. Just more meat. The wolf pounced, trying to aim for the Creature's eyes, but they were too high. Instead the wolf was met with the strange being's enormous outstretched right hand. He threw the wolf a couple feet away, harder than he really inteded to. Needless to say, the wolf took off, tail between its legs.
After he was done, he breathed in quietly, turning around towards the girl. She already looked faint, frozen in place, but when their eyes met, she fell to the ground, unconcious.
He frowned slowly, making his way over to her. He stood over her frail figure, admiring her features for a moment before he knelt down, gently lifted her up & took her into the back of the cave.
---- ---- ---- ----
Emily woke up, her eyes halfway closed. Her body was slightly numbed & tired... shaky. She looked around the cave as she sat up from the strange material she was laying on. Upon closer observation, she noticed that it was a large coat.
What happened? She wondered, mind groggy & confused. She couldn't quite remember what happened... she saw something, then... darkness.
Emily heard heavy footsteps & was suddenly more alert. Her eyes darted, squinting in the dim light, then she noticed where the footsteps were coming from: Someone or something, ungodly tall, carrying a torch. Emily couldn't see his face very well at all, but never the less, she felt a great swelling of nervousness as it neared.
She crouched slightly, moving back towards the wall of the cave as quietly as her panicked & fatigued body could. It knelt down a few feet away from her, leading the torch to the ground.
It's going to set the inside of the cave on fire! Emily thought, her eyes widening as the closeness of the torch brought out his horrible facial, & some of his bodily features.
Then suddenly, Emily saw what he was really doing. There was a large bundle of sticks, surrounded by large rocks in front of him. He was starting a fire to warm the cave.
As the fire caught, Emily's memory started to recover. He was the reason that she passed out... because of his appearance. But... he was doing something before she passed out. Yes, something... something that helped her. Suddenly, it hit Emily: This creature had saved her from a wild animal. A very hungry wild animal. Even so, this didn't make her much less nervous - anything that could take down a wolf, even a hungry one, wasn't someone that she wanted to accidently offend.
"You can stay for as long as you need to," He said, taking a seat on a large, flattened rock slab in front of the fire. He noticed her hesitation as he stared at her & motioned for the other rock slab opposite him. She crept over to it & sat, staring him up & down.
She finally noticed that she had been staring & closed her eyes for a moment, looking off to the side slightly. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare..." He stayed silent as he stared at her face. So youthful & lovely. Her features so perfect & chiseled, eyes so loving. Almost seeming to be made of smooth stone. "... this cave is a lot bigger than I thought it would be..." Emily went on, desperate for conversation.
He still just sat there, staring at Emily as if she were the only person he had ever seen. She studied his face. His skin appeared almost yellow &... dare she even think it: dead.
"My name's Emily. What's your name?" She asked, getting uncomfortable at the silence.
He looked down slightly, as if he were ashamed. "My creator didn't give me a name,"
Creator? Emily thought. "You were... made?"
He nodded. "Yes..."
"By who? Where is your creator?"
"Victor Frankenstein... he became so apalled at my appearance that he left as soon as he brought me to life." He looked down, his long, thick black hair spilling over both of his shoulders.
Emily felt as though he'd cry at any moment. She thought of how to cheer him up. She did, after all, owe him her life. Emily breathed in deeply & slowly, gathering her strength & courage, & walked over to him, kneeled & put a hand on his knee. He didn't look at her, eyes still fixed on his lap, but jerked slightly at her touch, as if he were surprised that someone would touch him.
"And you've been alone this whole time?" She asked, talking as she would to a child.
He nodded & sniffed a little, still looking down. "Yes..."
Emily frowned & put a hand up to his chin, lightly pulling his head up to look at her. She sincerely felt bad for him now. She, too, knew how it felt to be all alone. Almost uncounciously, she slumped forward, hugging him lightly around the waist. He gently put his hand on her shoulder blades.
Emily looked up at the creature, folding her arms on his lap. She wiped a tear away from his face, slipped away from his arm & made her way to the exit. She looked out & saw that the weather was clearing up. She ran back to him.
"The weather has improved." Emily said.
The Creature looked down a little again.
"What's wrong?" Emily asked, walking closer to him.
"You're leaving... aren't you?" He asked.
"Well... I do have to get back to my family." Emily said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Of course..." He sighed, waiting for her to leave. She just couldn't bring herself to do it. He was so wretched that Emily highly doubted he'd be greated with much kindness for a long while & he couldn't be all bad. After all, he was much bigger & stronger than she was, so Emily guessed that if he wanted to cause any harm to her, he would have by now.
The Creature looked over to her, wondering why she hadn't left. Instead, she took a few steps towards him.
"We... do have a lot of space at our new house..." Emily said.
The Creatures' eyes lit up with a little bit of hope. He picked Emily up & put her in his trench coat to sheild her from the cold that the rain had brought on & she directed him which way to go.
