HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA BELONGS TO SONY PICTURES ANIMATION

THE INVISIBLE MAN IS A NOVEL BY H. G. WELLS

Iping, 1887

I knew things had gone really, really wrong as soon as I saw the gleaming of the torches from the window. My head was spinning…I was confused, frightened…and very mad. Nevertheless, I gathered my little strength remaining to pack my things quickly. It was quite useless, because everything fell from my hands because of my nervousness.

The innkeeper kept screaming like a madwoman downstairs, explaining in screams and crying all she had just seen, and I wanted to kill her so that she would stop torturing me with that. Not only had she uncovered me, she had also told everybody and now they were coming to finish me.

After a bunch of footsteps up the stairs which sounded like a stampede, ferocious bumps knocked the door. Before I could move, they tore it down with farming tools and their own hands. I am pretty sure every man in the town came inside.

"There he is!"

"The monster!"

"He's invisible! She told the truth!"

"Get him!"

I drew back a little. My legs shook when I saw those pitchforks and scythes they carried. But I managed to raise my voice somehow.

"Please…You're making a terrible mistake…I didn't hurt anybody…I stole nothing either…I just…"

"Don't listen to him!"

"Kill him!"

"Kill that monster!"

Monster? That was how they saw me?

The most amazing scientific discovery of our century….And that was what I got in exchange?

I tried to soothe them again but I found no reply to those words.

I drew back so much that I back hit the window. The townspeople got closer slowly, like the one who corners a wild animal. In a way, that was how I felt.

I looked at the people's faces, but they couldn't see that I was scared; there was only a suit floating magically in the air in front of them. They wouldn't have pity on me. Then, I was sure I had seen a familiar face among the crowd. Could it be…?

Yes, it was him! Kemp! Doctor Kemp! My old college partner!

"Kemp!" I called him.

Kemp kept looking at me with disgust.

"Kemp! It's me, Griffin! Your friend! Kemp! Tell them, Kemp! Tell them I did nothing wrong! Please, Kemp! Kemp!"

After hearing that, Kemp reacted but not the way I expected. He pounced on me with a poker.

There was no possible dialogue. I had to flee if I didn't want to die in a horrible way. And since the only escape I had was behind me, I had no choice to do it…With the suitcase still in my hand, I rushed to open the window and I jumped through it.

Still to this day I don't know how I survived that. I fell on some barrels, breaking them with my back. It hurt so bad I would forget it in a long time, but the urgency of the moment gave me the forces needed to stand up, grab my suitcase and run down the lane. Well, not run…Wobble, that is.

But I kept hearing screams, people were still able to see my clothes moving without a body inside of them. If I wanted to survive, I would have to get rid of it. So I did it. In the first alley I found, I removed my attire and tossed it. That way, only the sound of my footsteps and my gasps betrayed my presence. However, I still carried my suitcase with me, and I didn't want to get rid of it. I heard the mob approaching and it was difficult to think being naked in plain Autumn and in that state of distress.

My salvation passed right in front of me, like a divine sign. It was the scarp dealer's cart, who had just finished his daily search around the streets. He was singing out loud, staring at his front. It was my last chance to get out of that situation. Taking advantage that he was incapable of seeing what happened behind him in the cart, I tossed my suitcase before jumping in. Just in time before the furious mob came. But they couldn't see me sat inside the cart and they didn't see the suitcase by my side. They inspected the street, opened doors, looked in every corner, pierced the hay in the stables with their pitchforks, until they were convinced that I was not there and walked away. I had travelled a good distance by then.

I curled up between a crippled chair and a wall clock to keep myself warm. I was cold, very cold. And I was still trembling with fear.

There was no place in the world for me anymore. If those peasants had tried to kill me in that way when they saw me, what would the rest of men do to me? If somebody else found me, they might kill me for good. Or use me as a freak show. Or dissect me.

One thing was clear: I had to flee immediately. Escape. Far, far away from there.

…But let us be honest: who would have accepted an invisible man like me?

Once again, the answer appeared right in front of me. The cart passed by the dock.

I watched the water with my eyes wide open. As soon as I took a good breath, I knew that maybe that was my salvation. I have never been quite fond of the sea. Just studying it made me feel sick. But it was better to throw up than being lynched. So I grabbed my suitcase, I jumped out of the cart and wandered the dock looking for a new refuge.

It was late and all sailors were off the taverns to eat, drink and have a good time with streetwalkers. I walked for half an hour and I found nothing. Right when I was convincing myself that I would have to sleep in the street, I saw one single ship about to leave. The crew was releasing the ropes and moving the last barrels on board. I couldn't help letting out a relieved sigh.

I waited till the way was free and, when the last sailor remaining outside was busy checking everything, I passed behind him and snuck in.

I wouldn't find much comfort in there. It smelt like a revolting mixture of onion and vomit, and sweating men walked here and there, but if I could bear it and be unseen, I would be alive for some more time. Not that it was a palace, but it had just what I needed.

I wandered the ship for some time, careful not to bump into anyone or making any noise. The creaks of my footsteps were covered among the constant noises from the ship itself, luckily. And I was careful to toss my suitcase to some corner every time someone came. Finally, I found the warehouse, where I decided to settle. I would have plenty of food and drinks there, I could warm myself with some old candles they stored in there and no one would bother me.

Right after settling myself in the warehouse I went to the provisions and took an apple. I sat to observe how the pieces I devoured went down my oesophagus and dissolved inside my stomach. I had nothing better to do and, frankly, it was a sinister but interesting sight. After that, I checked my suitcase. The bottles were intact, in spite of all the shakes it had received and the ones from the ship fighting against the waves.

I sighed. I could do nothing then except for waiting till we got to land. I did not know where we were going, really. India? Denmark? America? Africa? I had no idea. I didn't care, honestly. I just wanted to escape from my country, where I clearly wouldn't survive a single week. So I laid down, I covered myself with some sails in such a way the form of my body wouldn't be easily seen and I closed my eyes. I was exhausted.

When I closed my eyes, I only got to have one thought before sleeping: "There goes the Chemistry award".