Frankenstein Theory (12 page)

Igor brought the wheel up to speed. The laboratory once again brimmed and beamed with energy.

I placed the paddles against the copper bolts on the man’s head. His body immediately began death’s dance anew.

“
Doctor,” Igor cried out.

“
That is only reflexive movement. The elixir has yet to command the muscles into a state of living.”

Igor returned to his work at the wheel and fell silent.

The corpse struggled against the thick leather straps, his body desperate to snap free so that it could curl into death’s fetus.

In that moment, I realized there was no way of knowing when to stop the flow of energy. Too much, and I could cook the man from within. Too little, and the elixir would have been wasted. I hadn’t a free hand to check for a pulse, and placing my ear against the man’s chest would send the current directly into my own gray matter.

“
Stop!” I shouted.

The instant Igor ceased cranking, a peaceful stillness overcame the corpse. I was about to lean into the man to check for a pulse, when a masterful spark of lightning connected with the rods above to send a wave of electricity crashing into the system. I returned the paddles to the sides of the corpse’s head and waited.

The crash-down was instant. With a show of great effort, the creature broke free of the straps and violently jerked into a seated position. The movement so frightened me that I stumbled backward and collided with a surgical cart. Stainless steel instruments clanged and clattered to the stone floor. I dropped to the ground, careful not to pull my sight from the seated man.

Without warning or the slightest sound, he dropped back to the table.

I cautiously stood, aware that every second played a crucial part in this tragedy of errors.

Both myself and Igor slowly inched toward the motionless man.

“
Is it…alive?” Igor asked, his voice a stuttering whisper.

“
Of that, I am unsure.”

With an out-of-place reverence, I reached out to take the man’s wrist in my hand and check for a pulse. The second my fingers wrapped around the man’s cooling flesh, his eyelids fluttered.

“
Igor,” I said under my breath. “Did you…”

“
I did, Doctor. I did!” Igor’s excitement was childish…nonetheless, endearing.

We continued staring…and waiting.

After a drawn-out moment of breathless silence, the eyelids fluttered a second time. Nervous tension danced just under the surface of my overly calm and proud exterior. I was about to come unglued with excitement.

Igor pointed, his eyes bulging from their sockets. When he finally spoke, his voice was an exaggerated whisper. “Look.”

The creature’s eyes opened slowly, but fully. He turned his head to the right and then to the left. When his eyes caught sight of me, the creature unleashed an inhuman and unholy wail. The sound was relentless against my ears and the nearby glass implements. The second the creature shouted his breath down to nothing, he inhaled
for another round.

I had to stop the thing from drawing unwanted attention from above. Should Elizabeth or Mother bring prying eyes into my laboratory, I would be disowned and displaced.

Without hesitation, I snatched up a thick pad of muslin and shoved it deep within the well of the creature’s mouth. Once gagged, the pathetic cries would no longer carry into the kitchen.

Speech impaired, the creature lashed out with his arms. A flailing windmill of chaos rose from the surgical table. The creature’s movement was erratic, unpredictable. Unwittingly, the reanimated man planted a foot to the floor in a sloppy pool of cold blood, causing his leg to slip from beneath his weight. He dropped with a hollow thud.

“
Grab him, Igor,” I shouted, and reached for one of the straps.

Igor did his best to contain the monster, but his strength was no match. The frail, sinewy creature was surprisingly powerful. He tossed Igor aside and turned his attention toward me, his maddening, ice-blue eyes rimmed and riddled with blood from ruptured vessels. He tried to scream against the gauze and shook his head with such abandon, I thought certainly his neck wouldn’t withstand the stress and strain.

“
Doctor,” Igor addressed me from behind. “What did we do wrong?”

I answered in a peaceful whisper. “Nothing whatsoever, my good man. We’ve succeeded.”

“
But why is he behaving with such animalistic compulsion?”

I held an open palm to the creature, hoping he’d understand the meaning of the gesture. When I replied to Igor, my voice remained passive. “His mind is still caught between the living and the dead. I would imagine the poor man is unsure which plane he exists upon. Imagine dwelling within two realms at complete odds with one another.”

The creature lunged at me. I sidestepped the attack and parried by wrapping him up in the leather strap. He struggled against me, but I managed to wrestle him to the ground. “Sedative, Igor.”

Igor snatched up the correct vial and, within seconds, had the needle plunged deep into the flesh of the thing’s arm. In a matter of moments, I felt the man go slack.

“
Help me return him to the table.”

Igor grabbed his legs, and together we hefted him back onto the slab.

This time, instead of using only leather bindings, I grabbed lengths of the thickest rope available and laced it around man and table. I tested the knots and lashings before finally collapsing onto the floor.

“
It’s alive, Doctor Frankenstein. It’s alive,” Igor whispered.

I returned with an awkward laugh and said, “That it is, Mr. Fishka. That it is.”

F I F T E E N

I sat at the breakfast table, unable to stop my mind from returning to the previous night’s success. Elizabeth and I shared a repast of breakfast delights. She gracefully plucked an oversized plum from the table, and I a bread and jam.

“
What time did you come to bed last night, Victor? You look as if you haven’t slept in a week.”

I lied. “Shortly after you drifted off into slumber, my love.”

“
I do wish you’d forgo an evening’s work and join me in bed. I have grown so lonely over the last few weeks. I feel as if we’ve grown apart.”

I cupped Elizabeth’s cherub cheeks in the palms of my hands. “My darling, I promise you that once the work is complete, I will be all yours.”

She drew in breath as if to speak. I prevented her from uttering that first word with a kiss to her lips.

“
All yours, my love.”

Four simple words satisfied her whim, and she returned to the fruit on her plate.

“
Victor,” Elizabeth’s voice danced on a sing-song melody. “Would you take me to the symphony tonight?”

I furrowed my brow and pursed my lips. “Sweetest,” I feigned a hint of remorse. “You know that, until I have completed the research, my life belongs to the university.”

“
Pish posh,” Elizabeth huffed. “You are my husband, Victor. I should take precedence over your work.”

I brought my hand down gently onto hers. “And most always that is the case. I promise you, Elizabeth, this is only a temporary situation. Once the work is complete, I will be all yours…morning, noon, and night.”

“
That sounds simply divine, my pet.” She forked a small bit of fruit into her mouth. After swallowing, she returned to the conversation at hand. “You must promise me I will have your undivided attention once that question mark of a man has returned himself to the university.”

I kissed Elizabeth’s hand. “You mean Igor?”

She nodded.

“
He’s harmless.”

She winced. “And atrocious.”

“
The man is brilliant with tubes and wires.”

“
And what of me? What am I brilliant with?”

I offered a great grin and a wink. Elizabeth blushed and flicked her fingers my way. “How daring of you to say, Victor.”

“
I could have said simply that you were brilliant with matters of the heart, but wouldn’t you think that cliché, my dear?”

A smile graced her lips and she leaned in to kiss my cheek.

Such an oddity, that woman.
The thought raced across my mind before I could prevent its birth. Guilt followed shortly after. I stood and turned to Elizabeth, placing my hands to her shoulders.

I rubbed.

She melted.

“
Oh, Victor, you certainly know how to bring my knots and issues to a victorious stand-still.”

“
I am your servant, Elizabeth.”

In a moment of absolute synchronicity, the head of the kitchen staff entered…perfect timing to witness my transgression against an uptight propriety. She looked at me with her nose and eyes raised heavenward and mumbled under her breath. She made her way to the cupboard and then retrieved a platter of cheese and crackers. She stared me down as she exited.

“
What was that all about?” Elizabeth wore her shock on her sleeve, but eased my concerns with an explosion of laughter. “Certainly you don’t think she felt you were mocking her station, do you?”

“
By massaging my wife’s shoulders? I would hope not. How in the world would she construe…”

Elizabeth patted my hand. “You know how we women can take the most innocent moment and twist it into utter madness.”

Elizabeth finished the last bite of her plum. “See to it that you smooth everything over. The last thing we need is to lose the help.”

I leaned down and kissed my dear wife on the top of her precious head. “Fret not, my darling. Once I return from the laboratory, I will endeavor to soothe whatever it is that ails the woman.”

I made to exit the breakfast room.

“
How long will you be below ground today, Victor?”

I turned and caught a glimpse of disappointment in the loving eyes of my wife. In a moment of weakness, I capitulated to her earlier request.

“
Only long enough so that we may arrive at the symphony on time.”

Immediately, her eyes and smile brightened. She clapped her hands and spoke with controlled excitement. “Oh, Victor, a thousand thank yous.”

I left Elizabeth to her joy and sped off to my study and into the secret passageway to the laboratory.

What had the night wrought for my creature? Had the temperament of his savage beast been soothed? Or had the nightmarish landscape within his mind flourished?

The second my feet touched down on the stone stairwell, a soft moan rose to greet my ears. I stopped the descent to take in the sights. In the center of the lab, the creature awaited, tied tightly to the surgical table. Golden daylight drifted down in brilliant beams to cut across his pale flesh.

Next to the man, Igor sat, a pad of paper in one hand and a pencil in the other. When I reached the floor and made my way to the table, I peered over my assistant’s shoulder to see a perfect rendering of the subject.

“
I had no idea you were so talented, Igor.” My voice was but a mere whisper.

Igor turned to me and smiled. “What, this?” He held the paper aloft. “Just something I do to pass the time. I’ve been drawing since I was a wee boy…at least, when I could snatch a scrap of paper and a bit of lead. Would you like it?”

Igor offered the drawing to me. I gladly accepted the proffered gift.

“
I’m touched.”

“
So am I.” Igor tapped his forehead, winked, and stood from the chair. “What do you have planned for today?”

I set the drawing on my desk, donned my lab coat, and turned to face the table. “Today, we will remove the gag and see if this man retained the ability to communicate.”

“
Brilliant!” Igor shouted. “What do you think his first words will be?”

“
Let’s just hope it’s not Papa,” I answered.

“
Or Mama,” Igor joked.

I approached the table and stared down at the creature. His lips were dry and cracked; his eyes still grossly bloodshot and saturated with fear. Streaking down his temples were the remnants of tears. I held up my hands and spoke softly. “Good morning. My name is Victor Frankenstein. I am your doctor. You were in a horrible accident, and we went to great pains to bring you back from near death. You’ve been in mental shock since last night. I will now remove the gag so you may speak.”

Without awaiting a reply, I cautiously reached down and pulled the cloth from his mouth. The very second his lips and tongue were freed, he croaked and moaned loud and deep enough to resonate off the walls. Instinctively, I replaced the gag.

“
Doctor, how are we to move forward with this if he cannot communicate?”

I turned to Igor. “Where did you find this man? Was he capable of communicating before you sent him into a drug-induced stupor?”