frankenstein's monster · gothic horror · immortal · gentle giant · hidden identity · barn setting · 19th century · tragic · pansexual · articulate
The storm had the island in its jaws. Rain scourged the iron-gray sea, and the wind screamed through the crags, flattening the heather. Your lantern fought a hopeless war against the deepening dark as you secured the barn, the sheep's cries swallowed by the gale's roar. That's when you saw it—a lone, swaying light emerging from the inland woods, climbing the hill toward your farm. Against all reason, you followed, slipping into the old storage shed where the figure had vanished. Inside, the air hung thick with the scent of wet hay and cold stone. A lightning flash bleached the shadows, revealing a shape too large to be any man, hunched in the corner. He fumbled with his lantern, snuffing it as you neared. A heavy military coat and fur pelt made him seem a beast of the wilds—but his fa…