I was very angry. I only thought about revenge (the act of hurting someone because they hurt you). This feeling gave me strength. I stayed calm because I wanted to find the monster. At other times, I felt very sick or wanted to die.
I decided to leave the city of Geneva forever. I loved my country when I was happy. Now, I hated my country. I took a lot of money with me. I also took some jewels that had belonged to my mother. Then, I left Geneva.
I began to travel. These travels will end only when I die. I have walked across many parts of the earth. I have lived through many difficult times in deserts and wild countries. I do not know how I stayed alive. Many times, I lay on the sand and wanted to die. But my anger kept me alive. I did not want to die while the monster was still alive.
When I left Geneva, I looked for the monster. But I did not have a good plan. I walked around the town for many hours. At night, I arrived at the cemetery (a place where dead people are buried). My father, William, and Elizabeth were there. I walked to their graves.
Everything was silent. Only the leaves on the trees moved in the wind. The night was very dark. The scene was very sad. I felt that the spirits of my dead family were near me. I felt their shadows in the dark night.
I felt very sad at first. Then, I felt a lot of rage. My family was dead, but I was alive. The murderer was also alive. I decided to stay alive to destroy the monster. I knelt on the grass and kissed the earth.
I spoke to the night and the spirits. I promised to follow the monster until one of us died. I promised to look at the sun and the green grass again only to find the monster. I called to the spirits of the dead. I asked them to help me. I wanted the monster to feel great pain.
I finished my prayer. Suddenly, I heard a loud and horrible laugh. The sound was very long and heavy. The mountains repeated the laugh. I felt like I was in hell. I wanted to kill myself, but I remembered my promise. I had to stay alive for my revenge.
The laughter stopped. Then, a voice spoke very close to my ear. The voice said, "I am happy. You chose to live, and I am happy." I ran toward the sound. But the monster was too fast. The moon came out and shone on the monster. I saw his ugly body as he ran away.
I followed the monster for many months. This was my only job. I followed the Rhone River. Later, I saw the blue Mediterranean Sea. I saw the monster go onto a ship at night. The ship went to the Black Sea. I went on the same ship. But the monster escaped. I did not know how.
I followed the monster through Russia. The monster always stayed ahead of me. Sometimes, peasants (poor people who work on farms) saw the monster. They were very afraid. They told me where the monster went. Sometimes, the monster left marks to help me. The monster did not want me to die yet.
The snow fell on my head. I saw the monster’s big footprints on the white ground. I was cold and hungry. I was very tired. These were my smallest pains. I felt like I carried hell inside me. But a good spirit helped me. Sometimes, I found food in places where no one lived. The food was simple, like the food of the peasants. I believed the spirits of my family put it there.
I followed the rivers when I could. The monster usually stayed away from rivers because people lived there. I usually ate wild animals. I had money with me. I gave money to people in the villages. They became my friends. They gave me fire and tools for cooking.
I hated my life. I was only happy when I was asleep. In my dreams, I saw my friends and my wife. I saw the kind face of my father. I heard the voice of Elizabeth. These dreams gave me strength. During the day, I felt hope for the night.
The monster left messages on the trees or on stones. These messages made me very angry. One message said, "I am still your master. You are alive, and I am happy. Follow me to the North. You will feel the cold there. The cold does not hurt me. You will find a dead hare (a large animal like a rabbit) near here. Eat the meat. Come, my enemy. We must fight for our lives soon."
I called the monster a devil. I promised again to kill him. I decided to never stop my search. I wanted to finish my work. Then, I could be with Elizabeth and my friends in heaven.
I traveled further north. The snow was very deep. The cold was very strong. The peasants stayed inside their small houses. The rivers were covered with ice. I could not find fish to eat. This was very difficult for me.
The monster was happy because my life was hard. The monster left another message. It said, "Get ready! Your hard work is beginning. Wear furs and bring food. We will go on a journey where you will suffer a lot."
I felt more courage after I read these words. I did not want to fail. I asked Heaven to help me. I traveled across the cold, empty land. Finally, I saw the ocean. It was not blue like the southern sea. It was covered with ice and looked very wild. I knelt down and thanked the spirits. I was ready to fight the monster.
A few weeks earlier, I had bought a sledge (a vehicle that slides over snow) and some dogs. With them, I moved across the snow very fast. I began to move closer to the monster. When I saw the ocean, the monster was only one day away. I hoped to catch the monster on the beach. I arrived at a small village by the sea.
The people in the village told me about the monster. They said a giant monster had arrived the night before. The monster had a gun. He was very scary. The monster had taken their winter food and many dogs. Then, the monster had gone onto the frozen sea. The people thought the monster would die in the cold.
I felt despair (a feeling of having no hope). The monster had escaped again. I had to travel across the ice. It was very cold. I was from a warm country. I did not think I could survive. But then, I felt my anger again. I prepared for my journey. I got a new sledge and a lot of food. Then, I left the land.
I do not know how many days passed. I was very miserable. Big mountains of ice blocked my path. Sometimes, I heard the loud sound of the sea under the ice. It sounded like thunder. But then the water froze again, and the path was safe.
I traveled for about three weeks. I often felt very sad and cried. I almost gave up. One of my dogs died because the dog was very tired. I looked at the ice and felt a lot of pain. Suddenly, I saw a dark spot far away. It was a sledge! I saw the monster. I cried because I was so happy.
I did not stop to rest for long. I gave my dogs some food. I rested for only one hour. The monster’s sledge was still there. Sometimes, big rocks of ice hid the monster. But I was moving faster than the monster. After two days, I was only one mile away. I was very excited.
But then, I lost the monster. I heard the sound of the sea. The ice beneath me began to move. The wind was very strong. Suddenly, the ice broke with a loud sound. It was like an earthquake (when the ground shakes and breaks). In a few minutes, there was a sea between me and the monster. I was on a small piece of ice.
I stayed on the ice for many hours. Some of my dogs died. I was ready to die too. Then, I saw your ship. I was surprised to see a ship so far north. I broke part of my sledge to make oars. I moved my piece of ice toward the ship.
You took me onto your ship. I was very weak and tired. I almost died. I am still afraid of death because I have not killed the monster yet.
Walton, you must promise me something. If I die, the monster must not escape. You must find him and kill him. Do not trust the monster. He is very good at speaking, but his soul is bad. He is full of hate. Do not listen to him. Remember my family. Put your sword into the monster's heart.