The Disaster Writer

You were no stranger to your father’s way of conduct. He had always been hardheaded and stubborn, passionate, ambitious, brilliant— but most of all he was completely and utterly self involved. 

His work always came first. It came before eating, breathing and sleeping. It came before his brother, his marriage, and even his own daughter. 

You knew this and resented him for it for years and yet you were always the first to come to his defense regardless of how he acted. You didn’t know why you did it, you knew he didn’t deserve it, but perhaps you were always just going to be that little girl vying for her fathers attention.

But what he had done to the creature was indefensible— unforgivable.

“I don’t understand why he has to stay under the tower in shackles!” You shouted at your father, standing over him while he sat at his desk, writing something or other in one of his many notebooks.

”I told you,” your father said sternly, “They’re precautions. It could be dangerous, we don’t know what the creature is capable of.”

”But you made him! How could you not know after working your entire life for this moment.” You spoke in exasperation, “Besides he hasn’t hurt either of us! He hadn’t even fought his chains!”

He said your name, trying to gain your attention in vain.

”You call him an it and abandon him, treating him as nothing more than an animal. Where is the humanity in that father, have you become so obsessed with death you’ve forgotten how to care for life—“

“Enough,” Victor hissed, hand hitting his desk, making you flinch from the sound. “Leave me. I need to work. And if I find you going to see the creature then I’ll have no choice but to lock you away in your room as well.”

Your jaw set. A wave of frustration crashed over you, forcing you to choke back the urge to cry

”Like when I was a little girl and you couldn’t bare to lay eyes on me after mother died—“

Victor stood up from his seat, marching towards you and gripping you painfully by the arm. “I don’t want to hear another word,” he said, dragging you towards the door to the lab and throwing you out. 

Hardly sparing you a glance, he slammed the door shut.

Your shoulders rose and fell shakily with every breath as you stared at the door in anger.

You believe you knew your father well enough to understand that he had a terrible habit of never facing any of his problems head on, instead he preferred to pretend they didn’t exist until they went away.

You heard the scrape of metal against stone echoing up the tower from deep within. 

You hated to think he was already doing just that to the creature.

____________

The days following the argument had been tense within the tower. As if a dissonant chord had been struck over and over again without any resolution.

You refused to speak to your father, you couldn’t even look at him. Not that he even seemed to care at all, he was too preoccupied with work to even spare you a thought. 

Meaning… not much has changed on his part—well, maybe except for one thing.

Victor had always been a madman, laughing in the face of God. But ever since his breakthrough, something was different about him. He had achieved everything he had wanted. You had always believed that if he had actually managed to do what he had set out to, he could finally put all this to rest. 

But that wasn’t what had happened.

He had become a man without a purpose. A ghost in these walls. He continued to study the creature but not out of any real curiosity, it was just what felt right to do as a man of medical science.

And while your father had now been grappling with what comes next he had put an innocent being who hadn’t asked for a second chance at life into what must have felt like purgatory.

You found yourself longing to see the creature.

You wondered if he remembered you— if being the first person he had found after his creation meant anything.

But you had never disobeyed your father.

So when you found yourself standing outside the door to the deepest chambers of the tower in the middle of the night, you couldn’t help the crippling guilt and the tremendous fear of getting caught weighing on you. 

However the call to see the creature still felt stronger and so, you opened the door as quiet as a mouse, candles blowing with every movement.

Upon stepping inside you were immediately greeted by the musty smell of the chamber and a chill from the airs cool bite.

You shut the door quietly behind you before making your way in deeper. You stepped carefully on the moist tiles, making sure not to accidentally slip. 

Then you found him.

Sleeping on top of the stone slab he was chained to. His large body curled up, wearing nothing but the bandages you had originally met him in.

Your heart broke at the sight.

Under any other circumstances you wouldn’t have dared to wake another person from their sleep, but you weren’t sure as to how many chances you’d have to see  him.

And so you walked closer, placing your candlestick down onto the ground and next to one of the many pillars in the chamber. 

You then made your way to the creature, kneeling down next to the stone slab.

You raised a hand, gently placing it upon his scarred bicep and softly stroking his arm, hopefully as to not startle him awake. “Hello?” you cooed softly.

It hardly took even a second as he was roused from his sleep. 

“V-Victor,” seemed to instinctively fall from his lips. His eyes upon opening seemed to flick from what you assumed was shock to curiosity as he came to quickly understand that it was not Victor who had awoken him.

His lips parted. You believed he was trying to form a word before another, less shocked and softer “Victor,” escaped him. He sat up and you leaned back to allow him the space.

”No not Victor,” you smiled up at him, placing a hand on your chest, “(Y/N).”

”…Victor.”

You giggled softly and a smile pulled at the creatures lips, “That’s okay, maybe another time.” 

You stood, seating yourself onto the stone slab, moisture soaked into your nightgown but you paid it no mind.

”I apologize for not trying to come see you sooner,” you apologized, gazing at him sadly, “Father and I got into this fight and he forbade me from coming down to see you. I tried to listen, but it hurt my heart to know you were down here all by yourself this past week. So I thought maybe I could keep you some company until he wakes up. Would you like that?” You asked.

He grunted softly, gazing at you with eyes you hadn’t realized you missed as much as you had. He looked to you as if you were the only person in the world— and you supposed you kind of were, other than Victor of course. 

“My father used to lock me away too,” you murmured, casting your eyes onto his wrists, and the heavy shackles that kept him in place, “Though, not the way he’s done to you.” Gently and curiously, you reached for his hand and he allowed you to grasp it. You shifted the shackle upward to find his wrists rubbed raw from the metal.

you softly brushed a thumb over the marks.

”After mother died he had retreated further into his work… I was just a little girl and he wasn’t prepared to give me the same attention she had.” You had looked back up, finding the creature hanging onto every word though you doubted he understood completely. “So he locked me in my room. I was allowed to come out for meals and school but the rest of the time I was in that little room. Said he had to focus on work.” You scoffed softly. “I know how lonely it can be being by yourself for so long, I couldn’t let my father do that to you as well.”

Looking back down you had found the creature had slipped his hand into yours. With a soft smile you gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

After that initial visit you had gone back to see him every night. 

You had long figured out your fathers sleep patterns.

From 2-7am he was usually asleep, maybe not until 3 if he was particularly troubled with work, and sometimes he would be up by 6. So to be safe you had gotten into the habit of going to see the creature at 4 every morning, you would stay with him until 5:30 when you would make your way back up to your room.

It had worked flawlessly for a time.

You found yourself sharing stories from your childhood with the creature, you had even begun drawing him, taking up a hobby you hadn’t touched since arriving at the tower. Though you believed your favorite thing was to read to him.

You liked to think he had found comfort in your voice and presence, and it didn’t take a genius to see how he craved the touch of another being. And so, before long, you had begun reading to the creature with him curled up beside you, heavy head resting upon your lap. 

He reminded you of a cat in these instances.

You often brushed your fingers through the short hairs that sprouted from his scalp, and fascinatingly, he’d mimic a purring sound. 

All this had carried on for about two weeks before it would come crashing down.

_________

You sat upon the stone slab, careful eyes studying the curvature of his face and a steady hand sketched the planes of his face on paper.

”You can have the charcoal pressed into sticks,” you rambled, gazing back up to his face. He had been going through previous drawings you had made long before meeting him. He accidentally tore a couple but you weren’t too bothered by it. “However I prefer the vines. I like how powdery they are and they cover more area, though I still use the sticks every once in a—“

You were cut off by a soft grunt.

You peered up curiously, finding the creature puzzled over a drawing you had done. You leaned over to get a look at it.

It was a sketch you had made a very long time ago. It was a close up of a couple kissing. 

“Ah— I‘ve almost forgotten this one,” you murmured to yourself. You placed your current drawing down and moved to sit beside him, legs hanging over the stone slab next to his. You leaned against him, the warmth of your body seeping into the coolness of his skin. “It’s a little embarrassing but when I was younger I used to dream of romance— I think everyone does at some point. I still do from time to time but I’ve found myself craving it slightly less these days.” You looked up to him, finding him peering down at your face already, “You see, I should be married at my age. But father, he…” you tore your gaze away from his and back down to the drawing, “I don’t think he wants me married… I don’t know why, I always thought it should be a welcomed option to finally have me out of his home but he’s always turned down every suitor I’ve ever had.” You sighed softly, thumb brushing over the corner of the page, remembering all those times you stared out your bedroom window longing for a romance just like your books had told of. “They’re in love,” you explained, “And so they kiss. I wouldn’t know what it’s like though,” you smiled wryly to yourself, shaking your head at the memory of all the fantasies you used to have. You peered back up at the creature, “I suppose you wouldn’t know either.” 

Your eyes searched his for some semblance of understanding in them. The amount of confusion in them had changed just slightly over the weeks you had been visiting him but the reverency held in them for you never did. 

You lit up with a thought, “There’s other types of kissing as well,” you quickly stood up, moving to stand across his seated form, “Here’s a lesson in etiquette.” You said, grasping his hand in yours and holding it up between yourselves. “In polite society, it’s proper etiquette for a man to kiss the back of a Lady’s hand with a bow in greeting. Like this,” you had lifted his hand, and dipped your head, brushing your lips against the back of the creature’s hand. “And then I would say, ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you’. Here, now you try.” You then switched your hands, so he was now holding yours, the back of your hand facing up.

It was quiet as he stared at you, he shifted and swayed in the way you had grown accustomed to, as if he still had yet to gain control of his new body. 

You decided to help him along, pushing your hands forwards ever so slightly. “Go ahead. Like this,” you raised your other hand up and kissed the back of it. 

There were a few more beats of silence before the creature then leaned forward, his eyes never leaving yours as he pressed his lips to the back of your hand. Not exactly a kiss, it was more so the simple pressure of his lips against your hand. 

Then he leaned back and said something you haven’t heard before.

He said your name, it was slow, raspy, and broken down slowly by each syllable… but he said your name.

You stared at him in utter shock

”You just—“

”What is going on here?” 

You reared back, turning on your heel to find your father making his way towards the two of you.

From behind you now, the creature pushed himself backwards, further onto the stone slab and brought his legs and arms in as if to shield himself from Victor’s wrath.

”Father I—“

”I explicitly told you I didn’t want you coming down here and you blatantly disobeyed me,” he lashed, standing before you now, “I thought you were asleep, instead I find you down here curled up with the monster as if you are lovers—“

You nearly saw white, “Lovers!?” You all but shrieked, “How could you even insinuate such a thing—“

”How!?” He stepped forward towards the stone slab, making the creature move farther from him, as Victor snatched the drawing of the couple kissing, “Then what’s this? What ideas are you trying to put in its head?”

”He’s not an it! And I’m not—“

”But it is. It isn’t human. Whatever relationship you think you have with this creature is not natural and ends here,” he yelled, grabbing your arm tightly and causing you to yelp in pain. He had begun pulling you along with him when there was a sudden echoing of chains scraping against metal.

Victors eyes widened and just as you were about turn and look, he had shoved you roughly behind him and backed up.

The hard shove while on the smooth, slick tile caused you to fall with a painful thud.

There was a loud grunt of your name and chains scraping. You looked up in a frenzy to find the creature struggling against his chains, fighting against them, with his eyes on you.

It would have been a frightening display if you hadn’t have known him.

”Get up,” your father said sharply, in clear awe and fear of the monster. “We need to leave.”

The creature called your name again.

He was scared for you.

But your father was scared of him.

Victor bent down and grasped your arm once again, yanking you up. Your feet fought for stability as he began pulling you toward the exit.

All the while screams of your name became more and more desperate, and the echoing of chains was deafening.

You only were able to throw in one last thing before your father closed the door to the chamber on you forever. 

“I promise I’ll come back!”

-

You never were able to fulfill your promise, because later that night after spending all day crying until you fell asleep…

You found your door locked. 

————————————————————————

The gasp that jolted you awake was a roll of thunder. 

And the scream that flew past your lips was the strike of lightning.

Out of pure instinctual fear you found yourself shambling backwards, curling in on yourself as you huddled against the head board.

 You couldn’t make heads or tails of what you were seeing in the shadows. It was tall and sinewy, and wrapped in bandages. It loomed over the foot of your bed as if it were death himself, ready to whisk you away from the realm of the living.

The light that caught the figures face gave way to a prominent brow bone, one that shielded its eyes, appearing to you as hollow sockets. Perhaps you would have even believed it had no eyes if it wasn’t for the one glowing iris that stared back at you.

It was horrifying.

And yet… 

It dared not move from where it stood. 

It did not leap or lurch at you. It did not do any of those things you believed would happen if what you assumed to be a man or beast would do to a young woman such as yourself at this hour. 

Instead he stood and stared.

And just like the strike of a whip to your hand, it came flooding back.

You released a shaky sigh as your eyes now lit up in wonder at the being.

”Y-you—“ you cleared your throat, “You’re him— the man father’s been working on.”

As your eyes adjusted to the dark and whatever sunlight there was that seeped through your curtains, you took him in. 

He was dressed immodestly, only standing in the bandages your father had wrapped him in. It maybe would have made you blush if you weren’t already stunned by this new revelation.

You swung your legs to the side of your bed and bounded towards the curtains of your room, eagerly opening them to allow the sunlight to flood in.

A loud, fearful whimper escaped the creature as he turned away from the light. 

Immediately you began to hush him.

”No, shh, it’s just sunlight,” you cooed, boldly placing a reassuring hand on his back and another on his arm to pull him back towards the light. “Sunlights good, see?” You turned, releasing him, standing now with your arms outstretched to embrace the warm rays.

He had sighed, imitating your movements, embracing the sun himself.

You turned once more, eyes alight as you were now able to properly gaze upon him.

”You’re amazing,” you grinned, eyes following the winding path of scars across his body before finding the bandages that obscured his face. “Oh— here, allow me…” you stepped forward, undoing his bandages and revealing the face of the new man beneath. “Extraordinary.” You sighed, smile softening at the way he gazed upon you. His eyes were soft, his blinks even softer, looking to you as a lifeline. It was clear you were the only person he had found after he had been given life.

You discarded the bandages to the foot of your bed.

”Can you speak?” You asked, only for his gaze to shift, favoring confusion. “I’m (Y/N),” you tried. “It’s okay if you can’t speak. I think you can learn.”

You reached an open palm towards him, giggling as he hadn’t hesitated to grab it. Now staring at your hand as he fiddled with your fingers curiously.

“You’re gentle, aren’t you?” You asked, absolutely delighted with the carefulness of his trembling hands. “I suppose you haven’t met father yet,” you hummed, captivated by his eyes and the newfound wonder in them, “He won’t know what to do with himself once he sees you. Perhaps we’ll finally be able to return home after seeing his success.” He then turned your hand over, grasping at the sleeve of your nightgown and pushing up to reveal more skin. 

“It’s been awfully lonely in this tower,” you continued to ramble, “I’d hate for you to have to endure it as well— I don’t have many friends back home though, father thinks friends are a waste of time but I think it should be good to be around others regardless.” A thought dawned on you, making your grin split in two. “We shall be friends,” his eyes found their way back to yours, “I don’t think father should mind if I tried teaching you, that way we’ll spend time together and get to know one another as friends do.”

His eyes held no understanding of what you said but you didn’t mind. You couldn’t mind with the way he continued to look at you. At this moment you were all that he knew and a quite large part of you was thankful that he was met by your presence rather than you fathers. For years you were under the impression that he cared more for his creations than his own flesh and blood daughter. You resented him for that if you were being true to yourself, though in this moment you prayed he would be more caring for this man. This poor man who had woken up barely clothed and all alone, who had to search the tower for some sign of life to know he wasn’t truly all by himself.

But he wasn’t, and you’d make sure of that. Even if it was partially selfish on your part and a way to remedy your own loneliness. 

Your free hand traced the scars on his chest before you took a step forward and gently placed your ear against his chest.

The heartbeat was unmistakable.

”Extraordinary,” you breathed once more, breath suddenly hitching as the creatures arms wrapped around your body in a hug.

You had the thought to pull away but again, selfishly, you embraced him back. If for nothing more than to feel arms wrapped around you and to feel someone else in your own. To be embraced in a world as lonely as this was a balm, one you hadn’t felt since your mother passed all those years ago. 

There was a sudden crash upstairs in what you had assumed to be the laboratory. 

The sound frightened the creature and he pulled away.

”Sh, that’s alright.” You soothed him once more, “That’s just father. I suppose now is the time to introduce you two.” You said, offering him a smile, one he wasn’t able to read with how many secrets— with how many wounds were held behind it.

Instead he imitated the smile, offering a small one back.

”Come,” you grasped his hand, “We shall see father.”

His trusting hand squeezed back.

____________________________________________