Chapter 24 Live to be tortured 第24章 生死折磨

Mary Shelley

“我”親手制造的怪物殺害了“我”的親人，它為什么不直接對(duì)“我”下手呢？

I?decided?to?leave?Geneva?forever.?I?took?all?the?money?that?I?needed，?and?left?the?town.?Before?I?left，?I?went?to?visit?the?place?where?William，?Elizabeth，?and?my?father?lay?at?rest.?I?stood?there?and?promised?them?that?I?would?stay?alive?until?I?killed?the?monster.

A?loud，?evil?laugh?rang?out?through?the?silent?night.?Then?I?heard?the?monster?s?voice，?“It?pleases?me?that?you?have?decided?to?live，?because that?is?just?what?I?want.”

I?ran?towards?the?voice，?but?I?could?not?catch?the?monster.?I?saw?him?running?away，?but?he?ran?faster?than?any?man?could?go—too?fast?for?me?to?catch.?But?I?followed?him，?and?I?had?been?following?him?since?that?day.?I?would?stay?alive?until?I?could?catch?him.?He?wanted?me?to?live?as?long?as?possible.?He?wanted?me?to?feel，?day?after?day，?the?pain?and?misery?that?he?had?given?me.?He?left?messages?to?tell?me?where?he?was.?He?knew?that?I?shall?follow?him.

I?was?only?happy?when?I?fell?asleep.?I?dreamed?that?I?was?with?my?family，?Elizabeth?and?Henry.?When?I?was?awake，?I?looked?forward?to?my?death，?and?to?the?day?when?I?shall?be?with?them.

In?his?last?message，?the?monster?told?me?that?he?was?going?north.?He?wanted?to?take?me?where?the?cold?would?hurt?me?and?make?me?more miserable.?I?followed?him?to?the?cold?lands?of?the?north，?and?bought?dogs?and?a?sledge.?Until?now，?he?has?always?left?me?further?and?further?behind?when?I?chase?him.?But?the?dogs?were?very?fast?and?I?was?getting?closer?and?closer?to?him.?Soon?he?was?only?one?day?s?journey?in?front?of?me.?He?was?going?towards?the?sea，?and?I?hoped?to?catch?him?before?he?reached?it.?The?chase?over?the?ice?continued?for?about?three?weeks.?The?pain?from?the?cold?was?very?great，?and?I?began?to?lose?hope.?I?thought?I?would?never?catch?him.?My?dogs?could?not?run?much?further，?and?one?of?them?died.?Then?I?saw?something?on?the?ice?in?front?of?me.?It?was?the?monster?and?his?sledge.?Suddenly?I?was?full?of?hope?again，?and?I?gave?a?great?shout?of?happiness.

Why?didn?t?the?monster?kill?me?instead?of?allowing?me?to?live?on？