And then, one night, there it was! Another horrible Thing on the table! I tried not to think about it. Only a little more to do, and it would be alive.

Soon he would come for her. And they would go away together. No one would ever hear from them again. Everyone would be safe!

But then I thought, What if he was lying to me? And what if they have children? More Monsters! More killers! Together they could destroy the world!

Just then, I heard a scratching sound. It was the Monster at my window! He was looking at his bride-to-be. He was waiting. I couldn’t stand it any longer. Not one more minute! I ran to the table … and tore the Thing on it to pieces! Then I threw the pieces of his wife at the window!

The Monster opened his mouth and howled. It was a sound that seemed to come out of the bottom of the earth. I thought he would break the wall and kill me at once. But no, he dashed down to the sea. He climbed into a boat and soon was gone.

I ran out after him and screamed, “I am not afraid of you! Come for me now!”

“Not yet!” came a voice from across the waves. “But I will be with you on your wedding night! …”

Chapter 8

I had to find some way to get rid of the Monster. To kill him before he killed me.

I decided to find my friend Clerval. The time had come to return home with him and marry Elizabeth. So the Monster had promised to kill me on my wedding night? Then let him come, I told myself. This time, I will be ready for him!

That night, I left the island in a sailboat. I had a basket with me. As soon as I could, I threw the basket into the ocean. Must you really know what was in it? They were the filthy pieces of the wife of the Frankenstein Monster.

How glad I was to be rid of them! I had not slept for days and days. Now I could not keep my eyes open. I fell asleep.

I must have slept for a long time. When I awoke, my boat was touching the English shore. There were people standing around me. I did not like the way they were looking at me.

“What’s the matter?” I asked. “Why are you angry with me?”

“You’ll find out soon enough!” said a man.

The people grabbed me and took me to a house. Many others were inside. One of them was a judge. He told me that a man had been found dead on the shore.