We read the book for our English class and this came out of it. The thought wouldn't leave my mind and nagged at me like an obsession, so here you are. Please review if you have the time, I put quite some thought into how this should be done.
He was walking along a darkened path, it was a clear and wonderfully cold night, quiet with only the slightest whispers carried through the wind. The summer had bid it's goodbyes and made it's retreat for the small rural land, a small town with a few cottages here and there in the surrounding area. The young man had no idea really as to where he was going, just that he simply was.
He needed a rest from the circus, he had earned and stolen enough to last him a few weeks of sweet solitude, no one to scream at him or be sickeningly fascinated by his hideous face. Just the peace that only loneliness could bring him, no one to call him by the only titles he knew, the Living Corpse or Death's Child. It was these moments that allowed him to breathe freely, without the constrictions of his mask.
The young man was continuing his walk when he heard a scream pierce the air. A woman. He stopped for a moment, trying to place where the noise was coming from, fearing he had been seen. No, the sound wasn't that close. He skimmed his eyes through an area of trees, till he saw billows of smoke rising. He considered to not see what was wrong, to leave whatever woman to her troubles. He thought about it- till another shriek nearly made him jump, this woman was in pain. Immense pain.
While running he opened a satchel he was carrying and ripped out his mask, donning his "normal" life once more. He increased his pace to a full sprint when he heard the woman again, her voice starting to become hoarse. He finally found the home hidden by the trees, a tiny home made of brick, lanterns shining near the windows. Forgetting about his own life for a moment, not thinking about what dangers he might be putting himself in, he broke one of the windows and jumped through.
The sight that met him was horrific.
A woman that looked to be in her thirties was bleeding, profusely, from her lower regions. She was on the floor cradling her swollen stomach, rolling from side to side. She again screeched and held to herself even tighter while sobbing, pleading with her own body to stop.
The young man dashed to her side and took hold of her, trying to get her to stop flailing, lest she wished to have more damage done to her. Her eyes widened when she saw the man grabbing her and gasped.
"Madame please, I only want to help you." He said softly, anything to calm her.
"Doctor…. half mi…there….." She said tiredly, lifting one incredibly shaking arm and pointing at a door, before another jolt of pain caused her to scream again. The man couldn't simply leave her like this, but he needed to get her help as soon as possible. He picked her up into his arms, she seemed much more light than she should have been, and carried her into a bedroom. He quickly laid her down and headed back for the door, and out the way she pointed.
Ten minutes later, completely winded and his sides screaming, he reached the home. A plain white sign hung outside with blue letters saying "Doctor Honore Poole". The man banged on the door with the last bit of energy that remained, hoping this doctor was not gone. The door was opened not a minute later by an man in his early fifties, wide eyed and hair ruffled. He looked seriously at the masked person before him.
"What is the matter? Why are you here?"
"Please monsieur, there is a woman, she's bleeding and needs you!" He cried out.
"What! Lynette was not due for another month and a half, we must hurry! You run out to the back and get my horses! Don't bother with the carriage!" He yelled slamming the door. The young man did as he was told and went behind the house where he found a small stable with a carriage next to it. He ran into the stable where there were two brown stallions, ears perked at this new visitor. He tethered the horses and brought them out of the stable just as the doctor came rushing out of his home, carrying a large medical bag. They both jumped up onto a horse and rode off in the direction of Lynette's home.
"What were you doing in her home? Who are you?" The doctor yelled as the stallions galloped with all their force. It would not be long before they reached her. The younger man looked to the doctor as the horse ran, it clearly knew the path being taken.
"I was passing by when I heard her screaming, so I broke in to help, what's wrong with her?"
"She's been very ill during her pregnancy, I was praying this wouldn't happen. There's her home, where is she now?"
"I laid her in the bedroom."
They jumped off the horses, the doctor instantly rushed into the house while the other tied them up outside. So she was ill and having a child. He had heard women die when birthing, but he had never seen it. He looked at the house, thinking on whether he should reenter or simply leave.
Another scream and a shout from the doctor answered his question. He dashed back in and went to the bedroom. The woman was still bleeding and could not control her body's shaking. The doctor looked up for a moment. "Hold her while I inject this!" he yelled holding a syringe, a clear liquid inside. The man went to the woman's side and grabbed hold of her arms while the doctor pierced her skin with the sharp point. She screamed once more until she became eerily quiet, though her breathing still seemed labored. The doctor looked up again. "Leave the room for now, if you're needed I'll call, but she must deliver this child."
The young man nodded and left the bedroom, shutting the door behind him. He took in what he couldn't before when he found her. There was a trail of blood from a stove over to a table, he could see the whole scene played out in his head. She had been standing at the stove when she went into labor, from there she tried to reach the door until her legs had given out, that must have been about the time he heard her. He looked down his own clothes and felt sickened, her blood was all over his front, already drying. No wonder the doctor looked the way he did!
He tore off his coat, with only an undershirt to keep him covered, but he couldn't bear to have the blood on him any longer, especially a woman's. A strangled cry again came from the woman's room mixed with the doctor pushing her on. How she was still going he didn't know. The young man finally went outside to sit in the dark, the cold air helping to clear his mind and senses. He leaned his body against the brick before sleep over came him, pulling him from this nightmare so dreamless sleep, where he could be alone.
"Young man, wake up, it's morning now,"
He shook his head to a jerking in his shoulder, the doctor leaning over him. The old man was also now covered in blood and looked as if he had not earned any sleep at all, eyes drooped and bloodshot.
"The woman, how is she? What of her babe?"
The doctor shook his head. "I'm afraid her son did not make it, and Lynette has lost so much blood…" he drifted off. The young man looked sympathetically at the doctor.
"She doesn't have much time left, does she?"
Again, the doctor shook his head, lifting himself from the ground and offering the masked boy a hand.
"No. She wishes to see you though, to thank you."
The young man ignored the doctor's help and picked himself up, and walking toward the door. He looked one last time to the doctor. "Does she know? About her boy?" The doctor looked away, and sighed avoiding his eyes. "She has only just awoken, she asked for you first." The younger looked to the old, "Then I shall tell her."
He walked back into the home and through to the bedroom door. Lynette was lying in bed, her eyes closed and breathing slow, looking as if she had aged twenty years in that one night, her skin now so deathly pale, light red hair limp. He simply bent down beside her and took hold of her hand. Not knowing what to say to her, he could only wait till she spoke. He heard her take a weak breath.
"My child?" she asked tiredly, her eyes still shut. He looked over her for a moment.
"A boy, but he-"
"I know, I did not expect it,"
"Madame, I'm sorry, perhaps if I had been faster…"
She shook her head slowly and finally opened her eyes, looking straight into the eyes of the man that helped her. "Do not be silly, and do not blame yourself, you did everything that was needed." She started coughing harshly, and took hold of the covers over her, more blood coming from her mouth.
"Madame!" The young man cried, this pain she was going through, he didn't want her to suffer anymore.
"No, it's all right, I know I shall leave soon, but first, I wish to know the name of who saved me," She looked gently at him, her eyes glazing, her vision already leaving her "and I wish to know my savior's face."
His breathing became labored as well, he would not have her suffer his looks right before she passed. "Madame, please do not ask to see my face, it will only frighten you." But she lifted her hand to the mask and began to pry it away.
"No one would ever deny a dying wish, remember that." She said softly and let the mask fall to the floor. She could make out red and black shapes, but that was all, she was not able to see what he was so scared of. "Now then, your name, so that I can thank you."
"I'm sorry Madame, but I have none." He answered hoarsely, his only barrier gone, but he realized this time there was no worry, she would not scream again.
"Erik."
He leaned in as she tightened her hold on his hand a little. "What?"
"Erik. It was to be the name for my son, you shall be Erik."
He could not believe this, she wanted to give a monster like him the name of her precious babe? "Please tell me you'll accept it?" she asked him.
"I.. Yes Madame, my name is Erik." he nodded to her.
"Then Erik, thank you for what you did, may you be blessed…" She whispered, her eyes dropping, and her hand loosening in his.
"Madame please, you need to rest."
"Yes Erik, I do believe I shall rest now, goodbye Erik."
"Goodbye, Madame."
Lynette closed her eyes, her breath slowing down till it was finally none at all. Her hand became entirely limp and cold. The man took a cloth and wiped her mouth of the blood and pulled her covers over her. He reached to the floor and replaced his mask before he left the room again. The doctor was waiting outside, patting one of his horses, he turned when he heard the boy clear his throat.
"She has gone now, and I feel I must take my leave as well, I am no longer needed here." he said picking up his satchel and putting it back over his shoulder. He began to walk off when the doctor called out to him.
"You did a good thing, remember that, Monsieur-?"
He turned and looked warily at the doctor for a moment then spoke. "Erik, my name is Erik."