The fire had spread to engulf the surrounding buildings as I stumbled down the green to the gates of Ingolstadt University. Walton was waiting for me, his face unreadable.

“Did you succeed, Ernest?”

“Yes. It was surprisingly easier than I anticipated. I think the creatures were human enough to recognize their situation, whatever Curwen bestowed on them you cannot call life.”

Walton sighed with relief. “May they rest in peace, the poor souls! On my end, it took a bit of convincing, but Curwen’s Wanted name coupled with my documentation of your brother won the townsfolk over. They retreated to protect their homes. Napoleon’s war has taken enough from them to risk losing any more.”

“That leaves Victor,” I said.

“Here he comes,” Walton angled his head at Victor’s shape hobbling down the green toward us.

“Something is wrong,” I choked, watching each pained step. “Victor!”

I rushed over just as Victor collapsed on his side. The half-formed ribcage heaved next to chemical burns stretching across large portions of his body.

“Oh God, hang on, Victor!” I gasped, “I will help you. Walton, what do you do for these burns?”

Victor yipped weakly, shaking his head. Though his eyes were not human, I recognized that distinct look of self-hating failure I had seen in the aftermath of my incident and Mama’s death.

“You failed,” I breathed as ember’s fell onto the grass around us. “Curwen escaped?”

Victor moaned from his place on the grass. I fought against the intense throbbing in my skull. Curwen was still out there, free to pursue his wicked work on an even grander scale! Maybe we had set him back, but a man of Curwen’s wealth would have no trouble replacing his instruments.

“You had one job, Victor,” Walton sighed.

“He is wounded, Walton, find some cloth! We must staunch this bleeding.” My hand wiped blackish liquid off a patch of Victor’s half-formed scales. “Rest Victor, and then we will pursue Curwen together!”

“Ernest,” Walton knelt beside me. “You know that cannot happen.”

“Nonsense!”

“His looks would turn even the bravest man insane, and that stench would never pass in the society of men,” Walton paused. “His spirit may be here, but he belongs to the dead, Ernest. You said so yourself, you cannot call his present condition life. It is a mockery of that!”

I turned to the wounded creature slumped before me. The eyes had that same sadden look of acceptance I had seen in the others.

“But I just got you back,” I whimpered, pleading with the truth. “Your appearance is not terribly abhorrent, and I can handle the smell! We can hide out in the woodlands. We can still be a family, Victor! You do not have to leave again.”

Victor shook his head, and with a shaking claw etched C-U-R-W-E-N into the dirt before slashing it with his quickly draining strength.

“We must stop him, Ernest,” Walton said for them both.

I closed my eyes. So this was the end? My sunlit fantasy of my family and I living together was never to be. They would stay dead, while I was left alone. Even if he was just a remnant, I could not lose Victor!

I. Me. Such selfish pronouns! I knew Victor was suffering in his detestable state, and I had learned from the best to not tamper with life to suit my own desires. I would have to let him go.

“Ok,” I whispered to the wind. My arms embraced Victor’s cold, sticky flesh. “I will free you from his horrible condition, then thwart Curwen’s plans once and for all! I promise you that, Victor.”

Victor’s claws timidly cupped over my stump-of-a-wrist.

“This injury is nothing,” I patted his paw. “I shall say I lost my hand in the war, fighting like a true soldier!”

“Your brother will be well cared for,” Walton smiled sadly. “You saved my life on the ice, Victor. Preserving your brothers is the least I can do.”

Victor glanced back to me.

“I will get by,” My hand left his to wipe my eyes. “Maybe the name Frankenstein will always be linked to you, but that is fine. I have never wished for fame or glory, but purpose. A reason for a puny ant like me to exist in this vast world, and thanks to you, I now have perhaps the most important mission of all. A mission I know I am more than capable of completing! You can rest in peace.”

Victor’s paws flexed. A sad smile spread across his face as he settled more comfortably in the grass. His eyes closed, waiting patiently. Looking at his battered frame, I knew I had made the right choice, for him.

My voice cracked as I read those infamous lines for dispersal—a farewell to both Victor and the flaming wreckage of the university that had smoldered him so long ago. Then it was over, and a gust of wind blew his ashes away. My knees hit the grass, and I watched the distant flames for a long, long time.

“Ernest, you did right by your brother,” Walton at last broke the silence.

“Do you still have your ship, Walton?” I asked dully.

Walton blinked, surprised by this question. “Yes, it waits on the docks.”

“Curwen’s escapades will make any progress for him in Europe near impossible,” I said slowly. “I doubt such negative rapport will reach across the ocean to his native America.”

“Not unless we let it,” Walton smiled. “Shall we set sail?”

“We have not a moment to lose,” I got to my feet. Purpose was filling me, urging me forward with a strength I had not felt before. Perhaps Button Boy was not so wrong about the family taint, maybe the madness that had fueled Victor lingered within me too? I welcomed the unrelenting determination and fearlessness to overcome the impossible, I would need every bit of it to bring down Curwen.

“Hopefully New England boasts a calmer climate than the chaos of Napoleon’s war,” I said. “I noticed it has weighed heavily on you.”

Walton chuckled nervously, stroking his matted beard. “I have seen greater evils than the squabbles of man. Curwen’s monstrosities were not my first encounter with such cosmic abominations. After I returned from my failed Arctic exploration, thanks to Victor’s persuading, I regrouped and set out again with much greater caution and experience,” Walton frowned. “A foolish plan, I succeeded.”

So Walton’s shriveled state was not a result of the war?

“You really made it to Antarctica?” I asked. “I must admit that I heard no mention of it.”

“It is better left unspoken,” Walton shuttered. “I dare not speak of those Mountains of Madness.”

The unnamable smell that had hung over Ingolstadt since my arrival was fading from the green. Together, Walton and I left the gates behind for the docks.

“Try me,” I said with a smile. “I know a thing or two of madness.”

/END