Chapter Five

The Bride Escapes

Dan was on the phone with Meg, knowing how late it was but had to tell her before Herbert and Lily came back. And obviously enough, she was upset and made it clear she wanted to kill Jake as much as he did. "He thinks he can stick his wiener where it doesn't belong -" He cut her off with a sharp bark of laugher at the use of language for that part of the male anatomy. "What? You know I'm serious."

"I know you are," Dan answered, still laughing. "What would you love to do to that?" Getting the answer, no matter the desired treatment, would still hurt his own section at the image he would bring up in his head.

"Take a knife to it like the actual sausage itself."

Well, it actually made him feel a lot better thinking about Jake getting it instead of himself, but he was still a man, and that was part of the masculine system. "Yeah, well, Lily won't let me kill him, so could you do it for me?"

"You bet I will, baby, and I'll also pack a gun, pepper spray and any other weapon so that an offender won't come on." He could just hear her grinning; this was one of the things he loved about her. She might drive him crazy, but his mother drove his father crazy, and that was enough to tell him that was how women were. He loved Meg for making him feel like he had the will to live through anything, and her inability to take nonsense. And for that, that was why he'd been waiting for a certain something he'd purchased days before.

And then the doorbell rang. Must be it. Dan grinned triumphantly. "Sweetheart, I'll have to let you go now. You get some sleep, and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Kiss Lily for me," was her answer before a smooch was heard on the mouth of the phone, and he returned it before letting the lady hang up first. He then went to the door - the time was almost nine - and opened it to see a small brown package waiting for him to open. And when he did, he beamed and could already picture Meg's expression when he showed it to her.

~o~

She tried to sleep that night, but the more she tried, the harder it was to keep thoughts of Jake out of her mind. Lily slept in the only guest room Dan had in his house, tossing and turning despite the warm comfortable bed and her favorite lilac pajamas with the silhouette of a bird perched on a snow-covered branch against the tee's background. The house was quiet - too quiet, but that was how she loved it - if not for the fact that the beautiful silence she savored but was deprived of because of Jake's constant sleep-snores...this silence was intruded this time by the sudden burst of cries that should have come from dreaming. Except it was proved that she hadn't been dreaming, because she heard them for a second time. Leaping out of the bed, Lily decided to investigate.

Why did being afraid in her own cousin's house freak her out so much? Was it because of the secret life he and his housemate were living? Or the fact that the cries came from somewhere in the house? Did Dan hear anything? Or was he sleeping like a log than she did?

The sound of the opening of his door to her right startled her. He blinked twice. "Lily, what are you doing up?"

"I heard noises," she replied. "Someone...crying."

He frowned, looking like he was about to say something when there was once again the sound of another door opening to the far end. On the left side of the back door was a familiar dark head poking out, spotting them right away. "Herbert, what was that?"

He quickly stepped out of the doorway and closed it behind him. "What was what?" The question/response was innocent, but Lily wasn't buying it. She knew she heard cries - now she knew by listening closer that they belonged to a woman - and then they were heard again...and upon stretching out her senses, they came from behind Herbert, behind that door.

"You're lying. Did you bring another person back?"

He looked her straight without a flinch of reaction. "I...I did, technically. But this one is..." He stopped speaking; from the way his eyes were rotated, Dan was looking at him with a look that silently warned him to keep his mouth shut. Okay, now what was this? Did this have to do with what he'd said earlier? About something she shouldn't see? "Well, let's just say she's not in excellent condition."

There was a knock on the door then. Except it was too forced to be a knock. Herbert quickly spun around and turned the knob, sticking his head in and saying something to the "thing" she couldn't see. She could only make out words like "we have a guest who can't see you yet." Wait, he actually talked to it?

Dan had his hands on her arms and turned to guide her back to her room. "Come on."

She pulled her arms free. "No, I deserve to see it. Whatever is behind that door."

"No, Lily!" Herbert shouted, but she shoved him aside - maybe the hormones got the best of her curiosity - and opened the door in time to see a horrid sight before her eyes right there at the top of the stairs that led to the basement.

Lily started from the bottom: the whole body was actually very human and very female if not for the fact she was abnormally tall enough to reach Dan's six feet. But the thing that offended her was the exposed red muscle sections of the ankles to the knees and tops of the thighs to the wrists and chest area, and the neck. Living people never had those features displayed ever. Every part of the woman's body was the perfect model type if not for the fact the exposed genital area was covered with what looked like narrow blue tape in a very slim thong form, looking very much disfigured from her own if anyone were to fully see it. The flowy white dress garment was sheer enough to show all of her body, even the breasts.

But most of all, she recognized the face of a certain patient who died in the hospital and Dan failed to save. Lily gasped and stepped back. "Gloria..."

Gloria Webber, a terminally ill patient she'd met on her first day at Miskatonic University Hospital, had succumbed to pancreatic cancer which she, Dan and Herbert failed to save, leaving her poor cousin in despair. He'd lost patients before; he just loved people so much he hated losing them. Even Gloria would have lived longer, gotten married and had children if she didn't die so soon. And now Lily was looking at her face in this...monstrosity.

The woman-thing stared down at her for a moment, taking a step forward at the same time as she stepped back. But Lily shrieked; what had they done? This was way beyond what she'd expected of today. Injecting the re-agent into a whole person was one thing, but to...use body parts was a different story altogether. "What did you two do here?!" she demanded angrily. "This - this -"

"She's magnificent," Herbert breathed, going to stand beside her, taking one of her hands and holding it out. Lily cringed and stepped into Daniel further. "She's going to stun the whole world once we show her."

"She's going to make them scream! What did you DO?!"

His face changed then; the woman's face was doing the same, only tripling as she came to realize that this strange female in the house of her creators wasn't a favorite. "Daniel and I created her. Dead pieces of castaways of a meaningless existence. With my hands." He held them both up proudly. "I did what God failed to do. I took remnants of his failures and made them anew again. This is something he could never achieve for himself."

Lily felt her heart pick up at this...blasphemy before GOD. The one and only God who had the power to create life and to take it away. "You're going to hell," she stated. "For this. You're intent on conquering death, to save millions of lives, but instead, you made a monster! A thing that does not belong in this world!"

Herbert's eyes flared with the fires of the previously mentioned hell. "A thing that once belonged in this world as more than one being who was so undeservingly taken away. Look..." He started from the bottom and worked his way to the top. "The feet of a suicidal ballet dancer after she failed miserably...the legs of a hooker murdered by her pimp in the ER after she tried to save herself from the miserable existence on the streets...the womb of a virgin raped and abused without actually enjoying the pleasure, without the chance of enduring a happy marriage and a child of her own - unlike you - and eventually murdered before she could escape with her life...the upper torso of a young model killed in a plane crash...the arms of a waitress...and look at these delicate hands." He held them both up in his hands with an open-mouthed smile that made her shiver and step away from Dan finally.

The way he was describing this grotesque mistake of a woman, combined with parts of women who suffered tragedy - excusable, but not was the fact that this man she, for a second, had entrusted with her secrets regarding her once-loving husband - and made into something that God only had in his own hands, not man...it made her want to vomit. He was sick. And by the looks of Dan's face, he thought so, too.

"These were once a seamstress'. Delicate and efficient, but stronger than they look. And oh, how beautiful is this face." He turned his back to her to cup "Gloria's" face in his hands. "She was - is - special."

Lily knew she was making a grave error, but it had to be done. "Herbert, this was all a mistake. You've been desecrating body parts for something that is out of your hands. We can't remake a human being on our own. Not like when it comes to man and woman making life as we talked about." He turned his attention back to her, his eyes wide. "Yes, you know I'm right. Get rid of this monstrosity and return to the real work with Dan and I." She motioned to the woman-demon, whose face suddenly became a mask of utter rage and rejection before she did the unthinkable but expected thing next.

She uttered an animalistic growl like a wild she-cat and shoved Herbert aside, charging for Lily and then pushing Dan aside so she could get her target. She picked up Lily by the throat and threw her across the hall. Lily sailed in the air, but she didn't land on her stomach, thank God - rather on her back, but still, what the hell had she done? She not only put herself in trouble, but also the child in her womb. What was she going to do now?

The best thing she could do was pick herself up and run for her life into the kitchen for a knife or something to defend herself. When she finally found one, the woman caught on to her and charged, but Lily already raised the knife and swung, cutting one of the tender fleshy parts of her right arm, ready to grab her again. She howled and drew back, holding her wrist as she staggered back. Lily saw this as her chance to run past her to where Dan had come around the corner with Herbert behind him. She ran into her cousin's safe and strong arms while Herbert hurried around them and moved for his mildly injured creation, shouting at her. "Bad girl! Bad girl, don't hurt the guest!"

She glared down at him and screamed as she raised that same hand and struck him hard so he fell to the kitchen floor. Then she zoomed past Dan and Lily, making way for the front door, which she successfully got opened - damn, how did she know that when, for all this time, Herbert had her locked in the basement? - and vanished out. Dan abandoned Lily and hurried after her, not bothering to grab some weapon with him as he hunted down their escaped trophy.

Lily looked down to where Herbert was sitting up, rubbing his face and blinking, flinching. She walked up to the sink to wet the towel and hand it to him for his burning face. "You okay?"

"Mm, I will be," was all he said as he removed his glasses and wiped his beet-red complexion. That was sure to leave a bruise. "You were right, Lily. It was a mistake."

~o~

The phone rang as soon as Lily vanished back into her room for the rest of the long night. Dan nearly jumped out of his skin, but Herbert glared at it on the kitchen counter. Who in bloody hell could be calling at this hour of the night? Dan was the first to make a move, walking over and taking it off the receiver. "Hello?"

Pause. "Oh, Jake, hi." Herbert seethed; what was the drunk dog doing calling at this time of night? He had to have awakened out of his stupor only to find his wife missing after running out on him. "What are you doing getting a hold of me this late?" Dan asked, trying to sound as ignorant and frustrated as possible. Another pause. "Uh, no, I haven't seen her." Herbert grinned; Dan was one great actor. How would it have been if they were both actors today instead of doctors and scientists? "But if I do, I'll call you. I promise." After that, he put the phone down and exhaled sharply, shoulders tensing back.

"You suppose he could come here?" Herbert asked. There was the possibility of an unfaithful, impending abusive husband coming to the house in search of his wife who had caught him having sex with another woman on their couch. If he came, then Herbert was more than prepared for anything.

Dan turned around then. "I don't think he will. It's way too late. He said that she didn't come home from work at all." He scoffed. "He's lying, obviously."

"Of course he is," Herbert agreed. "He just doesn't know that we do know. Which can't change at all."

"No, it can't. But I still have to keep them apart until we figure out how to get her fully away from him." Dan walked over and sat at the table, head in his hands. "God, I don't want her living in fear by running away, and other things."

"Raising her child alone and away from the man who put it inside her," Herbert stated, reaching up to fix his tie. "The child growing up not knowing who its male maker was. It'll be a pain for her to try and find someone who is willing enough to help her raise a baby."

"Would it be you?" Dan challenged, half offending him. "You're not going to be spending the rest of your life alone before we accomplished our goal. And you know I won't be around forever; I have a life with someone I love."

Herbert snorted and folded his arms across his chest. "Oh, yes, and we know how that will end if one of you dies before I finish my part." His partner threw his hands up in the air with heavy irritation, then came back to rest in his hair again.

"Please, enough for one day. Lily's right; too much in one day. I have a date with Meg tomorrow, so don't bother me with anything. I'm sure Lily will be willing to help you out instead of me."

Herbert lowered his eyes; he felt more alone than he did in his life. Yes, Daniel was still on the same page of conquering death, but he was too focused on life instead of the dead. They were just two different people in that direction. Herbert knew there would never be another like him, and that was why he didn't get too close to people anymore. And that included what happened between him and Hill in Switzerland.

~o~

There was still a lot about Herbert West she still wanted to know, but she couldn't do it in broad daylight for risk of discovery of privacy invasion. However, if there was a way she could sneak his file from the dean's office...

"Oh, Dr. Stevens." Just perfect, Dean Eliza Richmond herself. She was barely reaching middle years, blonde hair pulled into a smooth bun atop her head, and she wore a flattering purple tiered-sleeve skirt suit, and she was extremely beautiful despite her age, married - her rings flashed with a gorgeous green emerald sparkling around with brilliant round and baguette diamonds - with two grown up children, one in college and the other just reaching the real world. "Just the woman I wanted to see. How are you doing since yesterday's incident?" she asked kindly, taking Lily's hand into hers. It was one of the reasons she loved her employer so much.

"Oh, I'll be better," she answered. "How's...Mrs. Chapham doing?"

Richmond frowned, her delicately penciled brows furrowing. "Oh, nastier than I'd ever seen a crazy person. And it doesn't make any sense to me because - well, she was dead..." she said hesitantly, and they were now walking in the direction of her office. "And my God, there's no such things as zombies," she added with a laugh. Lily joined it in, but inside, she was shaking from every organ in her body. Getting closer to bringing up Herbert...

"Dr. Richmond. Dr. Stevens."

Both women stopped at the mention of their names and the sight of the man before them. He was near elder years, face sallow and unflattered by his professional suit that did little to attempt and do the same to his flabby abdomen and everything else. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a badge. Shit, Arkham Police Department, Lily realized, also glimpsing the name of this man: Lieutenant Leslie Chapham. "Oh, what can we do for you, Lieutenant?" Richmond asked pleasantly, Lily struggling to keep a straight face.

He gave them both a pleasant smile, but she could see it was far from that. "I only just saw...my wife." His voice faltered, holding a soft tone of sadness, but Lily knew better than that. He was faking it; he beat his own wife to death, and he was doing all he could to cover it up himself. "She's never done anything like that before, and she was dead. I can't even figure out myself how this happened."

She made a habit of looking down at her watch without trying to look suspicious; it was nearing her lunch break, and it was when she would meet with Dan and Herbert, but the latter never seemed to eat much of anything. "Dr. Stevens, I understand she tried to attack you and Dr. West," Chapham said, his eyes drilling into her and trying to probe as deeply as he could. "You didn't see how it happened?"

"No, sir," she answered "honestly". "I only walked in after a short coffee break and found her trying to kill Dr. West, my colleague."

"Hmm, I see." He nodded and pulled out his notepad. "Whom I understand has some...radical ideas about..." He looked down. "...the re-animation of dead tissue."

"Lieutenant, that is something you have to discuss with him about, because I do not know much about that," she said, suddenly feeling the need to get away from this nosy man and go to lunch. It seemed the file from Dean Richmond's office would have to wait. "Forgive me for being rude, but my lunch break is now calling to me."

"Oh, certainly, you may leave." Eliza nodded. "Unless you have any more questions for her, Lieutenant."

"Not any more right now. But would you please get back to me if you do?" His face had twisted at some point; it was one of the ugliest looks Lily had ever seen. She smiled politely, then moved away from him and down the other end. She could still feel his eyes on her as she escaped down the hall where the cafeteria was. She had to tell Dan and Herbert soon.

~o~

Herbert truly hated cafeteria food; in fact, he didn't eat much in general anymore besides water, coffee and sandwiches. It had always been his choice. He took to making his own lunch to bring with him, and so did Dan, who actually picked up a Deli on the way to work. And there was Lily, coming to join them now with a worried expression she had bottled up until she met up with them. Dan noticed, too, her pale face framed by her soft red hair loose and layered. Herbert had never essentially been fond of...blondes, mostly because of Megan, and his late mother had been blonde. Her death had affected him terribly at the time, and he hadn't liked Meg from the start.

But Lily, with her fiery red locks and green eyes vivid as the re-agent - only near enough to match a rich emerald - was nowhere near that description. He found himself getting a bit warmer towards her despite her hatred for his creation last night and her fear of the deep waters she was now in.

"Lil, what's the matter?" Dan asked when she sat down.

"I was cornered by Leslie Chapham," she answered softly, voice warbling.

Herbert stiffened. Oh, the fat man! The nerve to corner her! "What did he want?"

"Just asked me the usual, if I knew what happened before I walked in," she answered, voice steadier than before but still full of anxiety. That would not be good for her child to be that scared. "And then he mentioned your...theory," she added in a hushed undertone so no one else would hear. Herbert hissed angrily and dropped his sandwich back into its plastic wrapping. Damn the fool! Now there were two men who were thorns in his side. One for snooping into business he shouldn't, the other for Lily's heart and the well-being of her baby.

"And I told the police when I was in medical school, I might have had time to discuss it," he stated. "Not anymore."

"But I think he's catching up," she whispered frightfully, and then her eyes adverted upwards upon hearing something he wasn't paying attention to, and she gasped. "Oh, God, look, you guys."

Herbert turned around the same time as Dan did, and both saw the news headline at the bottom of the cafeteria TV screen: MYSTERIOUS FEMALE FIEND FOUND WANDERING ARKHAM. "Oh, no," he heard Dan moan.

The reporter herself was speaking. "Arkham citizens, just this morning, a grisly discovery was seen wandering the town streets: a young woman somewhere in mid to late twenties, but it appears that she had been in an accident because of her state of being covered in an amount of gore that no words do it justice. Three people or so tried speaking to her to which this unidentified woman has reacted violently and escaped; no person was harmed in the process, but she has not been seen again since. So, be aware: should anyone come into contact with this mysterious figure - she is described to stand about six feet, blood-covered, and wears a revealing dress which shows her body almost transparently - please go to the police right away."

"Damn, our girl," Herbert fumed. "We need to find her and soon." He turned back to Dan and Lily, all three of them leaning in to form an extremely private circle. "We can't have Chapham finding out."

"But what if he does?" Lily asked fearfully.

Oh, he knew what he would do, but he wouldn't answer that right now. Even Dan knew the answer; the warning look in his eyes was living proof.