Frankenstein Theory (7 page)

xXx

“
Frankenstein!” Professor Waldman shouted, shocking me awake. My heart raced an irregular tempo, worsened by rage fueled from Waldman’s voice.

I stood to a rigid attention. “Yes, Professor?”

“
Approach the table.”

I looked around the lecture hall. In each chair sat a cadaver, opened from neck to navel. A sinister display of organs splayed over the desks. Intestines draped over railing to form a macabre bunting.

“
What are you waiting for, Frankenstein? Your father to rise from the grave and escort you?”

A wave of strangely out-of-tune laughter rose from the seated corpses as I made my way to the center of the room.

On the table was a body, covered in the finest silk. The body was clearly female. A sense of foreboding washed up on the shores of my gut. Under the cloth, either my past or future awaited.

“
Remove the drape, Frankenstein.” Waldman commanded.

“
I can’t, sir.”

An atonal moaning poured from the grave-robbed audience.

“
Do as he says, my darling boy.” The sound of my mother’s voice rose from the table. My legs immediately gave out beneath me, and I landed hard on my knees. The moaning from the audience rose and fell in an odd three-four rhythm. As the sound continued, it metamorphosed into a waltz I remembered from my youth.

“
Dance with me, dear.”

From behind, the voice shocked my heart into arrhythmia. I turned to see my naked mother, split open, hollowed out, and festooned with crimson and brown offal. She raised her arms to accept me into the embrace for dance. I stepped up to her and placed a gentle arm around her waist. The damned chorus led us in a waltz around the room. My mother smiled as if we were celebrating my christening or marriage. Her lips parted, and a flood of thick scarlet poured forth. “I’m so proud of you, Victor,” Mother’s voice burbled through her own blood.

“
Frankenstein,” Waldman shouted. “Remove the heart.”

Within the blink of an eye, Mother was on the surgical table, her chest laid bare, her organs returned, and her heart stilled by death’s cold hand.

“
I cannot,” I sobbed.

“
Victor,” my mother whispered. “Let me help you.”

From the table, Mother pilfered the scalpel from my grip and proceeded to dissect herself. With a few efficient nicks of the blade, she’d successfully unchained her heart from the system within. She reached into her chest cavity, wrapped her fingers carefully around her still-beating heart, and held it aloft for all to see.

The moaning from the dead audience ceased.

“
My heart is yours, Victor. Do with it what you will.”

The seated cadavers began chanting my name, their voices an unreal mockery of humanity. The voices shifted from many to one—a much more familiar tone.

“
Victor, wake up, my love,” Elizabeth called out from the ether.

I snapped to, the nightmare immediately fading into lost memory. Beneath me, the familiar touch of cooling sweat helped to bring me back into reality. When I blinked away the fog of sleep, the amber glow of a candle lit Elizabeth’s angelic face to breathtaking delight. I reached up and placed my palm on her soft chin.

“
My salvation,” I said softly.

“
Your nightmares are becoming more frequent. Is this cause to be alarmed?”

I offered a reassuring smile. “No, dear Elizabeth. I’m certain it is just the pressure of my assignment from school. Once the work is complete, this will pass. Until then, I must carry on.”

Elizabeth leaned down and covered my mouth with her soft lips. I pulled her to me and returned the gesture of passion.

xXx

Morning arrived with little pomp. The golden light of the sun slashed through the room, landing squarely across my eyes. When I managed to rise, Elizabeth’s absence was the first thing to be noted. Her day rarely, if ever, began before mine.

I dressed and stepped from the room as the intoxicating smell of breakfast greeted my nostrils. I picked up my pace and went directly to the kitchen. The cook was dancing about like a dervish to get the meal prepared. Before I stepped from the room, I snatched a strip of crisp ham and took it whole into my mouth. The savory taste nearly brought tears to my eyes.

At the dining table, I greeted Elizabeth with a kiss on the head and my mother with a kiss to the hand. “Good morning, my lovely ladies. And how did you sleep?”

Both smiled and nodded.

“
I hate to be antisocial at the moment, but I must retire to the laboratory and begin my work. I hope you’ll understand.”

“
Of course, Victor,” Elizabeth sang out.

“
If you must. But I do grow weary of seeing you as little as I have. When will this work be complete?” Mother asked.

I faced my mother and offered a slight bow. “I can honestly say the work will be done when the work is finished and no sooner.” I bowed. “And now, if you’ll pardon my rude exit, I must retire to my laboratory.”

“
Will you at least join us for luncheon, Victor?” Elizabeth asked, hope welling in her eyes.

I offered a wink and said, “I shall endeavor to do my best, Elizabeth.”

The slightest of nods was all Elizabeth offered. I knew she was weary of my constant absence from her life. Regardless of what the work was, she knew I had no choice.

xXx

I am, among many things, a Frankenstein. With the simple victory of lineage comes many spoils. One, in particular, had become precious cargo to me: curiosity. No one knew that particular gift better than my father—the Baron von Frankenstein. His very nature led him to unravel many mysteries surrounding life and death. Each of those mysteries were elegantly and explicitly documented within a single tome—aptly named
Frankenstein Theory
. Tucked between the cracked leather covers was what most would consider the diary of a madman. Among the notes, drawings, and cryptic messages, one particular chapter made mention of the
elixir of life
. I had to comb through the manuscript in its entirety to finally uncover its meaning…something that would change my life and the course of science forever.

I pulled the book from my father’s safe and ceremoniously placed it on the surgical table. Carefully, I opened the cover and thumbed through the pages until I reached the paragon of my father’s research. A single paragraph, hidden between the lines of text in such a way that only my father would ever have known. Had I not stumbled upon the cipher for his maddening code, the words would have gone forever unseen. I read aloud.

“
What I have discovered will change the course of history. In my quest to realize the process of reanimation, I have uncovered God’s greatest secret. During death’s assault on the human body, the brain secretes a chemical with a singular, majestic purpose—to keep its vessel alive. I am certain it is that chemical which holds the power to bring life to the dead.”

I’d read the passage countless times since decrypting the words and meaning. This was my grail, my purpose. Now that I had perfected the ability to send bioelectric current into dead tissue, I was certain I could use that process to reanimate a corpse.

I closed my father’s journal and returned it to the safe.

My greatest hurdle stood before me—the extraction of the elixir. Thus far, I’d only worked with corpses and cadavers. There would be no turning back from the next step—not for my mind, heart, or soul.

From above, a piercing scream rang out. The voice was Elizabeth’s. I tossed aside caution and took the stone steps two at a time. When I reached the exit, I flung it open and raced down the narrow passageway. Through my study and into the grand foyer, where I finally spotted Elizabeth splayed out on the floor. The entrance to the castle hung ajar, and Igor stood within the frame. His head shook back and forth and he wrung his hands as if to rip them from his arms.

“
What have you done?” I whispered to my assistant as I knelt by Elizabeth’s side.

“
I only meant to give you news, Doctor.”

“
How many times have I instructed you to never use this entrance? Elizabeth and my mother are not to lay eyes on your hideous countenance.” I gently stroked Elizabeth’s cheek, then lifted her in my arms, her skirts trailing nearly to my ankles. I settled her onto the carved oak bench which stood to the left of the entryway before rounding on my assistant again.

Igor bowed his head like a frightened child. “Yes, sir. I’m terribly sorry, Doctor.”

“
Begone, Mr. Fishka. You are only to come and go in the darkest of night. Should this ever recur, the consequences will be most dire.”

“
But, Doctor Frankenstein, I come bearing good news.”

“
For the love of God, Igor, I said…”

My assistant cut over my verbal assault, his voice a sharp hiss. “I will have a living specimen to you tonight. Meet me here at midnight. But I’ll need coin.”

I stole a glance at Elizabeth, but she hadn’t stirred, her cheeks still pale and her breath shallow. All thought and rage immediately vanished. This vile man who stood before me, evoking a flood of bile to the upper limits of my esophagus, had come through time and again. For his latest foray, I nearly invited him into the castle. When Elizabeth’s eyelids began to flutter, I drew the man out of doors.

I glanced about, checking for passersby. When I was certain we two were alone in the area, I pulled out a handful of coins and slipped them to Igor. I met his pinprick gaze. “Tonight at midnight?”

The putrescent man nodded, turned, and sped off. The velvety darkness of night wrapped gently around my shoulders. I took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly against the chilled air.

I returned indoors to Elizabeth’s side, and cupped her cheek in my hand. She awoke. Her eyelids batted several times to reveal her perfect amber eyes. I placed my lips to her forehead. “Are you all right, my love?”

Elizabeth sat up with a start. “Where did that wretched creature go? He was hideous.” She buried her face into my chest. “Oh, Victor…I don’t believe I’ll ever sleep again.”

Instinctively, my body rocked Elizabeth slowly. “Come now, my darling. You’ll sleep…that I promise.”

She gazed up at me with eyes that would melt the heart of Judas. “Who was that man?”

I took in a deep breath to prepare the lie. “I believe you just met my assistant, sent to me from university. The dean of the program felt so guilty for stealing Henry from under me that he decided to send Mr. Fishka. According to the dean, that toad of a man is the most brilliant mind in his field.”

“
Which is?” Elizabeth opted to test my story against all that served as logic.

“
Bioelectricity and its effect upon the human body.”

With much care, I managed to help Elizabeth to her feet. She wavered once, before I slipped a hand around her waist to steady her stance.

“
And that little man will be entering and exiting my home—pardon me,
our
home?”

I nodded. “With your blessing, of course.”

Elizabeth huffed. “Victor…how am I to give my blessing for something so wretched? I am not the Pope.”

“
My darling Elizabeth, the vitriol you spout for that man is out of character. In all the years I have known you, your heart has always been centered around a Christian ethic. Love thy neighbor, if you will.”

Elizabeth’s eyes fluttered and her cheeks reddened. “I should be ashamed, my love. I was out of sorts, and unkind in my thoughts. Would you please be so kind as to extend my deepest apologies to your assistant?”

“
Worry not your beautiful heart.” I placed a simple kiss on the top of Elizabeth’s head—a vain attempt to ply her with affection. “Igor will receive your apology with a welcome soul. You shouldn’t have to concern yourself with another incident, as I have instructed Igor only to come and go in the middle of the night. His stealth will catch you by surprise…or not, as it were.”

Elizabeth pouted at me. “Promise me, Victor.”

I nodded once and then smiled. “You will never lay eyes on my hunchbacked servant again.”

“
Thank you, my love.”

With a kiss, Elizabeth disappeared into her boudoir and I to my study.

Seated behind my desk, I couldn’t stop wondering how Igor intended to succeed with my request. If, however, he did…I would toss myself from the precipice and extract the
elixir of life
from our next body…regardless the consequence to my soul.

T E N

Shadows cast monstrous shapes from floor to ceiling. The distant flicker of lightning gave the ghost-like form a life it would otherwise never have possessed.