But you'll have to remain quiet, Gaddon, and be
patient a moment...."

The creature stopped its advance upon Fenwick then. And a growl rumbled
in Gaddon's animal throat. Then Fred watched as the doctor stepped swiftly to a table with
instruments and hurriedly began to prepare a hypodermic. "I'll give you a special extract injection to start...." Fenwick
explained as he worked. And Trent knew that the doctor was preparing an injection that would
subdue the monster. That would enable them to call the police....

And the eyes of Gaddon watched the fingers of the surgeon prepare the
hypodermic. And for a single moment the human part of Gaddon's monster
mind relaxed its tenacious hold. *       *       *       *       *

There was a rumble of raging thought deep within his twisted brain. It
swept up, gripped the human element, and enveloped it. A hoarse mewing
sound left the twisted lips as the mind became a single, bestial thing. And now it thought with a viciousness. It knew now that it was finally
in control. That the full change had been completed. And it knew
suddenly what it wanted. Its animal eyes stared at the three humans. And it felt a hatred for the
men who did not understand it. And it felt a desire for the woman who
feared it. A desire that crept out of the primeval jungles. That swept
through it to find one of its kind. And there was the vague instinct
that was Gaddon, who told it how to fulfill that desire. Gaddon, who
knew where the secret lay. And then there was the driving urge that swept up from the animal ages. The urge to kill, to destroy what was hated. And the eyes of the monster
fastened on the figure of Fenwick as the doctor turned from the table,
the hypodermic in his hand. "All right, Gaddon ..."

The voice of Fenwick trailed off. And Fred Trent stared at the face of
the monster. What he saw there brought a chill to his being. And he
heard the girl gasp from the far corner of the room, as her eyes too saw
the change that had spread over the face of the creature. For there was no longer any vestige of human recognition in that face. There was no longer any trace of the man who had been Gaddon. There was
only the monster now. The twisted, leering lips of an animal mind. A harsh growl left those lips then and the creature moved forward toward
the surgeon. Trent knew what was happening, and he knew what he must do. There was
death on that bestial face. Death that was reaching out ... He heard the dim baying of the Great Dane from the rear of the house as
he leaped forward. Then his fist lashed out and caught the animal face in a lashing blow. His knuckles felt numb as he screamed:

"The hypodermic--doctor--quick!" Then the creature turned on him and a long arm shot out. Trent felt a
claw rake across his face and felt the burning bite of that claw sink
into his flesh. Then, as he tried to dodge away from the beast and bring
his fist up again, the monster leaped at him and Trent felt a powerful
blow crash against his chin. He spun back, falling to the floor, his head hitting the edge of an
examining table. His senses reeled and he felt the blood running down
his cheek, a warm, sticky stream that dripped to the floor. He fought to keep his consciousness as he saw the beast turn away from
him, satisfied that he was out of the way. Then he saw it leap at the
stunned figure of Fenwick. He heard the girl scream in terror and he saw Fenwick's arm come up with
the hypodermic. He saw the doctor try to bring the needle down in a jab,
but the monster's arm swept the needle aside and then a claw-like hand
gripped Fenwick's throat. There was a gasp of terror from Fenwick's lips as those fingers closed
around his neck. Then the hypodermic fell from his nerveless hand and he
fought to break away. A deep rumbling growl spat from the lips of the monster as it closed
with the struggling figure of Fenwick. Then the claws that were its
hands raked the surgeon's throat in a feline rage. Trent watched with numbed eyes, fighting back the wave of blackness that
threatened to overcome him, and he saw the figure of Fenwick suddenly go
limp in the grip of the monster. He saw a spurt of blood burst from the man's torn throat, and then the
creature dropped the limp body. It fell to the floor, and a wave of red washed across the floor from the
mangled throat. The monster stood over the lifeless body, a triumphant
sound issuing from its twisted lips. Then it turned toward the girl. Trent tried to move. He tried to push back the weakness that numbed his
body. But he couldn't. His head swam with the pain of the blow he had
received, and he could only watch through half-closed eyes as the
monster reached out for the girl. Joan Drake screamed once as the long arms reached out for her. Then her
voice ended abruptly as she fell to the floor in a faint. The monster stood over her for a moment, then it reached down and picked
up her body in its blood splattered-arms. It turned for a moment, holding the girl, and shot a hate-filled glance
at Trent's limp figure. Then it moved swiftly across the room and out into the hall. And the baying of the Great Dane sounded angrily in Fred Trent's ears ...

       *       *       *       *       *

With a superhuman effort Fred Trent forced the numbness from his body
and moved slowly to his feet. A horror gripped him that brought a new
strength to his body, flooded it. He stepped over the body of Fenwick, forcing his eyes away from the
grisly sight of it as he dashed to the hallway. "Joan--_Joan_!" The girl's name came hoarsely from his lips as he ran into the hall and
stared at the open door of the house. He ran to the door and out into
the night. His eyes stared wildly into the darkness, searching the street. But he
saw nothing but his parked car at the curb. The monster had vanished. And with him, the unconscious girl. A hopeless despair welled up inside Trent at that moment. For he knew he
could never hope to find the creature now. And by the time help came it
would be too late. They would find Joan's mangled body ... The baying of the Great Dane rang in his ears then. The huge dog's howls
of rage thundered in his ears and he heard the hound crash its great
body against the closed door at the end of the hall, striving to get
through. And then a cry of hope left Trent's lips. He turned and ran back into
the house. He grabbed the long leash from its wall hook beside the rear
door and then he swung the door partway open. "Brutus! Quiet, Brutus!" The head of the Great Dane struggled through the partly opened door, a
snarl of rage welling from the huge dog's mouth as Trent shouted at it. Then he slipped the leash into its metal ring around the neck of the dog
and pulled the door open. The animal rushed into the hall, nearly tearing the leash from Fred
Trent's hands as it lunged forward. The dog paused beside the open door of the consultation room where the
body of Fenwick lay dead and still on the floor. The animal lifted its
muzzle and sniffed the air.