3. Of Resurrection

See warning and disclaimer attached to Chapter 1. Things are looking darker, but there's no actual violence in this chapter...

They were standing on a cobblestone street lined with old-fashioned buildings. It was late at night, and a cloud was covering the sliver of moon in the sky, creating long, dark shadows all along the road. It felt like they had stepped into a black-and-white horror movie, except that everything was in colour.

"So, still think this is 'sheer genius,' Danny?" asked Sam.

"Of course."

"Really?"

"Pretty much. It's nothing ghost powers can't handle."

"How about you don't just start randomly attacking monsters from now on? Let the characters handle it."

"Okay. So, any clue where we are this time?"

"Nope. But I like it a lot!"

"You would."

A man wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a travelling cloak bumped into them at that moment, muttered an apology, and continued hurriedly forward. He froze and turned around slowly.

"Children? You should know better than to be outside at this hour. Where are your parents?" The man sounded nervous and worried, and had a slight European accent. This time it was Danny who answered.

"We're lost?"

The man smiled softly.

"Well, we shall just have to find you again, then. Why not you come back to my home and wait out the night there. I am certain your parents will not mind you staying with me. My family has a good reputation in Geneva."

Sam stiffened a little at the mention of their location, but regained her composure.

"Thank you very much for your offer. We are glad of your hospitality." She motioned for Danny and Tucker to follow her. The four of them walked in silence for about ten minutes, with the man glancing over his shoulder and into shadows the entire time. Eventually they came to a house out of which spilled warm light. Once inside, the man motioned them up into a parlour and told a servant to fetch drinks for his guests. He cleared his throat.

"I'm terribly sorry. I don't believe I've introduced myself. My name is Victor Frankenstein. And you would be...?"

"Danny...erm, Daniel... Fenton." Frankenstein, as in the big lumbering monster?

"Samantha Manson." Yep, thought it was him. Man, the guy's more paranoid than I thought.

"Tucker Foley. Why are you so nervous, sir? Is someone after you? Ow, Sam!" Why are those two so nervous all of a sudden? Wait a minute, he didn't just say Frankenstein, did he?

"As a matter of fact, yes, but I would rather not talk about it. Especially to people of such tender age as you three."

"That's all right, sir," piped up Sam, with a show of eagerness, "Danny's parents are interested in ghosts. Not much could be scarier than that!"

Tucker coughed violently.

"Sorry. Choked?"

"Ghosts? I hope you have not met any?"

"No bad ones, sir."

"I am glad to hear it. Well, I suppose with that background, you ought to be able to handle my story. Ah, good, here are the drinks." He handed mugs of warm milk to the three teens, then settle back into a high-backed leather-covered armchair.

"I am a scientist by nature and by profession, specializing in natural philosophy."

"Biology," Sam translated for Danny.

"I learned of an old theory regarding the reanimation of living tissue while studying in Ingolstadt, and became obsessed with testing it. I am ashamed to say that I resorted to looting graves for the, er, materials I needed. I didn't eat, I didn't sleep, and I neglected all other studies. One night, this would have been about ten years ago, I succeeded in animating what I had hoped would be the perfect being. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a horrible monster, and I fled. I doubt you can blame me."

The three teenagers shook their heads violently.

"I saw neither hide nor hair of the creature for about five years. Then I was called home by my brother's murder, and realized that the Monster had done it. I fled to the Alps to find peace again, but was chased to the top of Mount Blanc by my creation, who then demanded that I make him a bride. In my terror, I agreed, and spent a year in England working on her.

"Just before I finished, I realized that this new creature would have the same destructive force as the old one. I could not in good conscience unleash her on the world, and so I stopped the project. The Monster did not understand my reasons for this, unfortunately, and swore revenge. Thinking he aimed to kill me, I returned here to marry my childhood sweetheart before I lost the chance. She knew the risks." Frankenstein stopped, his voice tense, trying to hold back tears.

"On my wedding night, I heard a noise outside, and, concluding it was the Monster, prepared to face my death. However, he had climbed through the window while I was out of the room and killed Elizabeth instead." He dissolved into tears. The loss had obviously hurt him hard. Amid sobs, he continued.

"Elizabeth had been very close to my family, and her death killed my father. I had lost too many people in my life, and swore a revenge of my own. I leave in a few days to track him down. I cannot let him continue this slaughter any longer. I must undo my own work." Frankenstein's final words were tinged with hate and anger.

"I'm sorry," said Danny, trying to ease the man's pain. "I can't imagine losing everyone I care about like that. It must be awful."

Frankenstein nodded, dabbing his eyes with a handkerchief.

"It is because of the Monster that you should be indoors at this time of night. There is no knowing what he would do if he saw you." He rang a bell above the fireplace.

And so you bring us into the home of his sworn enemy. Great idea, dude. Danny was starting to get relatively nervous. He doubted even ghost powers would work on what was basically a zombie.

"Hans, thank you, would you be so good as to prepare beds for our guests?" The man who had just appeared in the doorway bowed and left.

Frankenstein asked Danny several questions about ghosts before they parted ways for the night. Once they were in their room, Danny sighed.

"That wasn't scary. That was just really really depressing."

"I always thought he was supposed to be some mad scientist. And I thought the Monster was called Frankenstein, not the dude."

"That's just the movies, Tucker. It's scarier that way."

"Oh."

"We should probably try to get some sleep, guys. I have plans for tomorrow, if the Ghost Writer doesn't pull us out of the story."

"What sort of plans?" The way Sam had made the announcement had made Tucker very nervous. Whatever was going to happen was not going to turn out well. He could tell.

"Just wait and see."

"Sam!"

"Nighty-night!"

---

The next morning they took their leave of Victor Frankenstein, explaining that their parents did not live that far away, and that they had simply gotten disoriented last night. As they were heading down the cobbled street, Tucker started showing his nerves again.

"So, what are these plans?"

"We're going to find the Monster."

"WHAT!" shouted Danny and Tucker in unison. "ARE YOU CRAZY!"

"Hello? Goth!" Sam pointed as herself. "You just have to know how to handle him. From the book, I think he's actually a pretty nice guy."

"Who kills people," muttered Tucker.

They found the Monster's tracks in a forest at the edge of the city. By then, they had been walking for several hours, and were getting tired. Sam urged the boys forward, reminding them that this was a valuable opportunity that could be interrupted by the Ghost Writer at any moment. Suddenly Danny stopped dead.

"Guys? I just realized we're probably not going to be able to track him down like this. He'll see us, and just run away. We're going invisible." Danny grabbed their wrists and used the power. They continued forward, following the broad path the Monster had left behind him. Tucker was getting steadily more nervous, and had pulled out a PDA to calm his nerves. Suddenly it fell to the ground with a clatter.

"I-I-I think we f-found him..."

A large-boned man lay in a ticket about ten feet in front of them. His clothes were in rags and practically hung off his body in strips. His skin had a sickly greenish-yellow tinge to it, as if it had been decomposing before coming to life. The man's body appeared to be made entirely of muscle, and his feet were bare. At the sound of Tucker's voice, he stirred. Then he stood up. He was at least seven feet tall, maybe more.

He looks a lot like Skulker, thought Danny.

"Who goes there? What do you want of me?"

Danny had let go of his friends, letting them become visible again. He stepped forward.

"We are friends. We do not wish to harm you."

"Lies! There is no one who does not wish to harm me. I have been pursued for years. The only person who hasn't chased me yet is the coward, Frankenstein."

"We are unarmed, sir. We come merely to hear your story. Who are you? Where are you from?"

"You wish to hear of my excuse for a life? Very well, since I have not spoken to friends for many years, and I do not expect anyone to attack me for a few more days, once they have the weapons." The Monster sat against a tree trunk and gestured to his guests to do the same. They did, and he began.

"The first thing I remember is pain, and a curious sensation of awakening from a great rest. I was strapped to a table in an attic room, and a man was in front of me, his face illuminated in the moonlight. I made a motion to loosen the straps, and he ran. I did not understand why. When I managed to free myself, I left the building and wandered aimlessly for many days, seeking friends. I lived on what I could catch and eat, and lived exposed to the elements. It was a hard life. The few people I encountered ran off or attacked me. I was not aware that my appearance was hideous. The fear they showed hurt me.

"I eventually came to a small cottage in a meadow. I made myself a home in the shed there, and listened to the pleasant, happy family who owned it. I learned to speak, I learned to read, and I learned of the world. I realized that I was different from these people, not only in my appearance, but also in the manner of my birth and in my isolation. I began to consider them my friends, though I had never met them. After several years, I felt prepared to introduce myself. When I did, they were as afraid of me as everyone else, and I began to blame my creator for my existence.

"I tracked Frankenstein to Geneva, where I met a boy in forest near here. I hoped to take him with me for companionship, but found an opportunity when I learned that he was the brother to my creator. I killed him to avenge my life. I found a locket on him, with the portrait of a beautiful woman, and I took it when I left. Soon after, I found a young woman in a glade, and left it with her, as a token of her beauty. I later learned that it was taken as proof that she killed the boy, and that she was executed. I remained in the forest, hiding.

"Several weeks later, Frankenstein appeared and I confronted him. He fled from me, and I left the area as well. I encountered him again in a few weeks' time on a glacier in the Alps, and told him of my life to that point. I explained my loneliness and told him that I would forgo my revenge on him in return for a companion like myself. He agreed, and began his work. The hypocrite broke his promise to me at the last moment, and destroyed my bride. In turn, I vowed to take my revenge at his wedding night, then killed a close friend of his who I meet in Scotland. Then I followed Frankenstein to Geneva.

"I waited patiently until the night of his wedding. I crept up the side of the building he and his wife were staying in and into their room. The woman saw me, but before she could scream, I had my hands around her throat. I left when she stopped moving. That was six months ago now. I left here for a while, but my journeys have brought me back.

"And there you have my tale of loneliness and hatred. I will have my revenge on Frankenstein, even if I have to chase him to the ends of the Earth. His irresponsibility has ruined what chance I had of happiness and normalcy, and he will pay for it." The last few words came out in the growl. The three teenagers, who had been amazed by the calm and well-spoken demeanour of the Monster, began to feel nervous again. They began to talk over each other in an effort to calm him down again.

"He really shouldn't have done that to you."

"Imagine running away from you. Unthinkable!"

"You seem like a very nice Mon- person."

When they had stopped, Sam cleared her throat and stood up.

"Thank you for your time, sir. Your life story is very tragic and I know you will get revenge some day. You might like to know that we overheard Mr. Frankenstein mention the other day that he had sworn revenge upon you as well, and that he will be leaving any day now to pursue you."

"That is glad news, child. The coward is finally coming to face me. Well, I shall be ready. Thank you for the companionship. It was very welcome."

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Danny, Sam, and Tucker left the clearing and began to head back towards Geneva. After they had walked for a while, the air of gloom that had come over them while listening to the Monster began to lift, and they spoke again.

"Why didn't he have knobs on his neck like in the movies? I thought he was brought to life by lightning."

"It never says how he came to life in the book. I guess it must have been something else."

"Like what?"

"Beats me. Bet Vlad knows."

"Y'know, this story's more of a tragedy than a horror story, isn't it? His life is just as pathetic as Frankenstein's."

"On the outside, yeah, it is. But when you think about it, bringing people back to life and then having them kill people, that's pretty creepy."

"I guess so."

They had reached the edges of the forest. A man was gathering wood ahead of him. He turned towards them, and they saw the face of the Ghost Writer again.

"Time to go..."

They were surrounded by a purple haze.

If you think there's a lot of summary as dialogue in this chapter, try reading the book. The Monster's story, for instance, goes on for several chapters, in pretty explicit detail. Frankenstein himself, of course, takes up most of the book with a lot of angsty melodrama and description of nature. Think I did rather well, all things considered. Please review.