The Isle of Man and Beast feature
#Sci-Fi/Fantasy #Horror
By
Tim
Mihocik
A rescued stowaway finds herself trapped on the only island in the world where beasts become men and men become Gods.
Awards
Approved
Summary
0 Reviews |
98 pages |
1 year ago
|
Draft 1
On a cargo ship headed for somewhere in the South Pacific in the year 1840, a young stowaway named Bethany fights for her life when the vessel’s shady and lawless crew discovers her hidden amongst their cargo. Savagely beaten and about to be raped, fellow passengers Thomas Montgomery and his brutish-looking manservant, M’ling, intervene and have her spared. After they tend to her wounds – and give her a strange injection to help with infection – Montgomery reveals to her that they are headed to an uncharted island where he conducts medical research with his mentor and asks her if she would like to stay with him. Bethany declines his offer and stays on the ship after they land while Montgomery and M’ling help the island’s natives – bizarre crosses of man and wolf – offload their cargo. They are joined by their mentor Dr. Moreau, the cold and calculating scientist who owns the island. When they are finished, Bethany says her goodbyes and the cargo ship sets sail. Still within view of the beach, the ship’s crew attacks Bethany once more. Left with no choice and no other means of escape, Bethany throws herself overboard where the natives rescue her and take her to Dr. Moreau’s compound to rest.
Later, Bethany wakes from her nap to the sound of an animal in extreme pain and goes to investigate. She follows the screams to Moreau’s laboratory but before she can learn more, she notices that she is watched by a young ape-girl, who runs off into the jungle when she is spotted. Bethany gives chase only to run across a terrifying Leopard-Man, who spots Bethany and immediately begins to stalk her. Before he can do anything, Montgomery arrives with the wolf-natives and the Leopard-Man flees. The next morning, Bethany wakes to animalistic screams and once more goes to investigate. This time, she sneaks into the laboratory and finds that it is not an animal Moreau has been working on but, a human.
Terrified, Bethany decides to run away and takes off into the jungle where she is found by the young ape-girl from before, named Dulu, who then takes Bethany to her home by a beautiful waterfall where she and a colony of other beast-folk live, lead by a massive elephant-man they call the Sayer of the Law. Before she can speak to him, the men and the wolf-natives arrive and chase Bethany to the top of the waterfall where she threatens to jump and kill herself so that she cannot become one of Moreau’s experiments. Amused, Moreau convinces her that he has no interest in her at all and Bethany reluctantly allows them to take her back to the compound where Moreau explains to her that he has been surgically grafting animal limbs and organs to mortally ill human beings in order to cure them of their illnesses. Bethany accepts this explanation and begins her life on the island.
A short time passes and once again, Bethany finds herself alone in the jungle. This time though, she comes back from a day of conversation with the Sayer, whom she has taken a liking to due to his surprisingly civil nature. As she walks back to the compound, with night falling quickly, she is stalked by the Leopard-Man, who chases/leads her to the body of another beast-person, half eaten by him. Horrified, Bethany tells Montgomery and Moreau, and the men decide it is time to bring in the Leopard-Man. Along with M’ling and the wolf-natives, they track the Leopard-Man in the jungle where they eventually capture him and take him back to the compound.
The next day, they hold trial over the poor creature and Moreau subjects him to a brutal beating in front of the other beast-people to serve as a warning to any that might think to follow his actions. As she watches, Bethany finds herself overcome with compassion for the beast and visits him that night to learn why he chased and stalked her but never hurt her even though he had the chance. Barely conscious, the beast tells her it was because she was like him, a predator. An animal. Shocked by his implications, Bethany decides to honor his last request and kills him so he wouldn’t have to go back to Moreau’s laboratory. She goes back to her room to clean the blood off only to discover minute changes are beginning to occur on her body, proof that she is indeed turning like the Leopard-Man and the others. Montgomery then enters - having found the dead Leopard-Man - and, after confronting him about her body, that Bethany learns the truth: Montgomery injected her with a new serum on the ship that allowed her body to change on a cellular level rather than the primitive methods that Dr. Moreau still uses.
Devastated by his betrayal, she realizes that there is no going back now and decides to end Moreau’s experimenting for good. When night falls, she sneaks back to the compound and into the laboratory where she plans to release the human Moreau has been experimenting on. She reaches the man only to find that she is too late: Moreau has already altered his features to that of a tiger. Before she can free him, she is caught by Moreau, who straps her to his operating table and begins to torture her. As she screams, neither notice the Tiger-Man escape from his bonds until Moreau is attacked and savagely mauled to death. The Tiger-Man then frees Bethany and takes off as Montgomery arrives, drawn by Bethany’s screams. Montgomery sees Moreau dead and reveals that Moreau was not just his mentor, but his father, and vows revenge on the Tiger-Man.
After the funeral, in which all beast-folk attend, Montgomery gets quite drunk and travels to the beast-peoples’ home by the waterfall where he shoots the Sayer in a drunken rage. This proves to be a fatal mistake as the beast-people then attack Montgomery, leaving him for dead. Alone in the laboratory, Bethany frees the remaining animals from their cages and, in doing so, discovers Moreau’s private medical journal. After she reads it, a dark thought crosses her mind and she brings Montgomery - still alive - to the laboratory where she turns him into a grotesque Hyena-Man as punishment for his crimes. She then realizes her place on the island and accepts her new role as leader of the beast-people
Later, Bethany wakes from her nap to the sound of an animal in extreme pain and goes to investigate. She follows the screams to Moreau’s laboratory but before she can learn more, she notices that she is watched by a young ape-girl, who runs off into the jungle when she is spotted. Bethany gives chase only to run across a terrifying Leopard-Man, who spots Bethany and immediately begins to stalk her. Before he can do anything, Montgomery arrives with the wolf-natives and the Leopard-Man flees. The next morning, Bethany wakes to animalistic screams and once more goes to investigate. This time, she sneaks into the laboratory and finds that it is not an animal Moreau has been working on but, a human.
Terrified, Bethany decides to run away and takes off into the jungle where she is found by the young ape-girl from before, named Dulu, who then takes Bethany to her home by a beautiful waterfall where she and a colony of other beast-folk live, lead by a massive elephant-man they call the Sayer of the Law. Before she can speak to him, the men and the wolf-natives arrive and chase Bethany to the top of the waterfall where she threatens to jump and kill herself so that she cannot become one of Moreau’s experiments. Amused, Moreau convinces her that he has no interest in her at all and Bethany reluctantly allows them to take her back to the compound where Moreau explains to her that he has been surgically grafting animal limbs and organs to mortally ill human beings in order to cure them of their illnesses. Bethany accepts this explanation and begins her life on the island.
A short time passes and once again, Bethany finds herself alone in the jungle. This time though, she comes back from a day of conversation with the Sayer, whom she has taken a liking to due to his surprisingly civil nature. As she walks back to the compound, with night falling quickly, she is stalked by the Leopard-Man, who chases/leads her to the body of another beast-person, half eaten by him. Horrified, Bethany tells Montgomery and Moreau, and the men decide it is time to bring in the Leopard-Man. Along with M’ling and the wolf-natives, they track the Leopard-Man in the jungle where they eventually capture him and take him back to the compound.
The next day, they hold trial over the poor creature and Moreau subjects him to a brutal beating in front of the other beast-people to serve as a warning to any that might think to follow his actions. As she watches, Bethany finds herself overcome with compassion for the beast and visits him that night to learn why he chased and stalked her but never hurt her even though he had the chance. Barely conscious, the beast tells her it was because she was like him, a predator. An animal. Shocked by his implications, Bethany decides to honor his last request and kills him so he wouldn’t have to go back to Moreau’s laboratory. She goes back to her room to clean the blood off only to discover minute changes are beginning to occur on her body, proof that she is indeed turning like the Leopard-Man and the others. Montgomery then enters - having found the dead Leopard-Man - and, after confronting him about her body, that Bethany learns the truth: Montgomery injected her with a new serum on the ship that allowed her body to change on a cellular level rather than the primitive methods that Dr. Moreau still uses.
Devastated by his betrayal, she realizes that there is no going back now and decides to end Moreau’s experimenting for good. When night falls, she sneaks back to the compound and into the laboratory where she plans to release the human Moreau has been experimenting on. She reaches the man only to find that she is too late: Moreau has already altered his features to that of a tiger. Before she can free him, she is caught by Moreau, who straps her to his operating table and begins to torture her. As she screams, neither notice the Tiger-Man escape from his bonds until Moreau is attacked and savagely mauled to death. The Tiger-Man then frees Bethany and takes off as Montgomery arrives, drawn by Bethany’s screams. Montgomery sees Moreau dead and reveals that Moreau was not just his mentor, but his father, and vows revenge on the Tiger-Man.
After the funeral, in which all beast-folk attend, Montgomery gets quite drunk and travels to the beast-peoples’ home by the waterfall where he shoots the Sayer in a drunken rage. This proves to be a fatal mistake as the beast-people then attack Montgomery, leaving him for dead. Alone in the laboratory, Bethany frees the remaining animals from their cages and, in doing so, discovers Moreau’s private medical journal. After she reads it, a dark thought crosses her mind and she brings Montgomery - still alive - to the laboratory where she turns him into a grotesque Hyena-Man as punishment for his crimes. She then realizes her place on the island and accepts her new role as leader of the beast-people
