"D-Daddy?" Victor whimpered, gingerly reaching for the figure.
A hand shot out from under the blanket, discolored and covered in sores. It gripped Victor's wrist, making the child cry out in pain.
"My word," Matthew breathed, his face turning ashen, "He did it."
"I did it," Victor repeated, hysteria quaking through his chest, "He's alive. He's alive!"
A low groan rumbled from the table. Slowly, the creature rose, the blanket falling away and revealing Victor's grisly work.
It's skin was dark brown, but blotches of bruised yellow and purple smeared the lifeless flesh. It's eyes were mismatched and asymmetrical, the blind film of cataracts masking any sign of humanity Matthew tried to find. It was alive, in name only.
It turned its neck, a jerky, eerie motion. The creature breathed through its mouth, its dry gasps for breath rattling in its chest.
"Can you hear me, dad?" Victor's voice was weak.
It blinked, one eye at a time. It parted its chapped lips, a bloated tongue running over yellow teeth.
"Victor, get away from it," Matthew whispered, digging his nails into the palm of his hand. From beside him, Aunora reached into her coat.
"No!" Victor screamed, grabbing the creature by the hand and shaking it, "Don't you hear me? Please! I need you!"
The creature was dead silent, as if it could not see or hear Victor.
Victor broke out into a sob, a strangled cry escaping from his lips. "Daddy please!" He threw his arms around the monster, burying his head in its uneven chest.
The creature's eyes suddenly went wide, startled by the intense contact. It grabbed Victor by the scruff of the neck, violently flinging him to the floor. Victor rolled across the stone, holding his knees against his chest.
"I'm getting sick of all this creepy bullcrap," Aunora hissed, pulling out a knife, "This thing's going down."
The creature whined in confusion, an animalistic, guttural noise. It snorted at Aunora, stumbling back.
"Please don't be afraid, um, er," Victor paused, wracking his brain, "Umbra! That's your name! Just come here, Umbra, and we'll go to my study! I'll read to you!"
"Master!" Seraph exclaimed, standing between Victor and Umbra, "This is dangerous! I cannot allow you to do this!"
Umbra seemed to finally become aware of its surroundings, sinking his head to glare at Seraph. With one solid swoop, he crashed his hand onto the child's neck, snapping it. Seraph crumpled to the ground, eyes glazed over in death.
"You monster!" Aunora snarled, lunging at Umbra. She thrust her blade into its stomach, but Umbra didn't seem perturbed. It cast its eyes upward, soulless pupils cold as ice.
Emotionlessly, Umbra slung at Aunora, the sound of ribs cracking echoing in Victor's ears. Aunora stumbled back, hugging her chest and gasping for breath. Umbra strangled the knife from her hands and systematically plunged it into her throat.
Umbra let the knife clatter to the floor, and began to trudge across the laboratory. Matthew knelt beside Victor, holding him by the shoulders.
Matthew had Victor in a vicegrip, the boy struggling and squirming within his arms to try to reach Umbra.
"He's going to the top of the tower," Victor said despondently, looking to the sky, "He'll fall."
Matthew let his gaze wonder, falling across the bodies of Aunora and Seraph. He would have to mourn later.
Right now, this creature had to be abolished.
