The torment flaming in Victor’s eyes was shining bright from the second I saw him at Ingolstadt. Even through his joy at seeing me there, I could tell that he had been through some sort of hell. I had arrived at Ingolstadt to study, and learn the wonders of the world, but my plans shifted when I saw Victor standing there, pale white and shaking like a flake of dead skin. I had to fix him, to uproot the cause of his torment. I had to restore him, the friend I once loved so much, to who he had been before he left.

More cracks in Victors demeanor started spreading as he brought me back to his home. He had violent laughing outbursts, and cried uncontrollably when I tried to console him. He soon became violently ill with a fever, leaving me to take care of him. I did so with happiness, as any good friend would. I took care of him as if he were my own child. I sat by his bed day and night, watching him drift in and out of sleep. I heard him shriek and cry out for salvation in the dead of night. I soothed him by telling him stories of our journeys as younger men. With great care and affection I nursed him back to health. Seeing him at his weakest and most vulnerable instilled a sense of motherly care over him. I had saved him, and now it was my responsibility to ensure his wellbeing. I vowed never to leave Victor.

During Victor’s bedridden state, I did my best to figure out what terrible thing was plaguing his conscious. It wasn’t that hard to get some clues. In one room in Victor’s house, I found something so terrible I can still hardly believe it. There was some sort of laboratory, filled with all sorts of scientific instruments. It was poorly lit, and the first thing that hit me was the smell. It was thick, and noxious, completely overwhelming my senses. I had to stumble out and get something to cover my face. I came back with a candle, and the light showed me more than I wanted to see. Along with the vials and test tubes, there were stray limbs strewn about carelessly. I still hardly know what to make of this scene. I guessed that Victor had taken his scientific pursuits to far, but I had no idea what that meant, or what he had done.

Two days ago Victor received a letter from his father telling him of a terrible tragedy. His brother, William, had been murdered. Victor was torn apart by this news. All the work I had done in the previous months was undone. I was also distraught by the news, and I wished to accompany him back to Geneva. But before we left I had to ask him about the laboratory, and why he was so haunted.

I confronted him the day before we were set to leave. He stared at me for a few seconds with disbelief, as if he couldn’t understand how I had seen through his disguise, as if he didn’t have a lab filled with body parts in his apartment. Finally he spoke.

“Henry, what I have done here is my burden alone to bear. It is too horrible for your beautiful ears to hear. You must stay here and continue your studies. Don’t follow me to hell. Make the world a better place. I love you.”

That was it. He left for Geneva that night before I could do anything. What could I have done? I was afraid, he looked possess when he told me to stay. So now here I am, alone in Ingolstadt, without my best friend.

 

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