Disclaimer: I don't own POTO or Evita.
The Stories Proved To Be True
I did not want to turn around after hearing that voice. Oh my gosh, I'm under the Opera House, in a dark tunnel with some strange man. I really should have just stayed in bed! I almost jumped when I heard his voice again.
"Did you not hear me, or should I speak more slowly? And another good question while we're at it would be to ask why you are even down here." I gulped and closed my eyes.
"Come now, turn around!" Seeing that I wasn't going to, he gripped my shoulder and roughly turned me to face him. I gasped at what I saw. He was probably around my age, or maybe a few years older, with jet black hair and piercing blue eyes. That wasn't the shocking part, though. The part that really bothered me was that this strange man wore a mask! It looked almost identical to the phantom's mask in Phantom of the Opera! Not the white porcelain one, but the black one that went across his face like in Don Juan.
He continued to stare at me, as I at him. I could hear my ragged breathing and the beating of my heart in my ears. I felt as though I would pass out cold on the damp ground. All of those stupid stories weren't so stupid after all, I suppose. He gave a bitter laugh and jerked his hand away from my shoulder.
"Remind you of someone? Yes, the ever popular Phantom of the Opera. So, pray tell, what those stories about that boy are about? Hmm, I bet I know already. There once was a boy that sang in the Paris Opera House. All of a sudden, some mysterious accident occurred and no one ever saw or heard of him again. Rumor has it that he mimicked the phantom and lives under the Opera House, terrorizing those above." His tone had become bitter with every word he had said. He shook his head and sneered. "Am I right?"
I dumbly nodded my head, still too overcome with shock to utter a single word. He frowned.
"Why are you even down here? How did you get down here!" He began shouting. His voice ran off of the walls, making it sound as if there were a million of him talking at once. I opened my mouth, hoping something would come out.
"I-I saw a s-shadow in the hall outside my room. I f-followed it and found some cloth stuck inside the wall. I pulled on it and the wall fell open. I came down here w-where you have now found me." He seemed to enjoy that I was terrified.
He reached over and felt of his cape (yes, he's even wearing a black cape...oh my gosh!) and studied a small tear in it.
"I suppose it got stuck when I was returning down here." He looked back up at me. "And you just happen to be the lucky soul who found it." He laughed bitterly. I cringed inside.
"Well, um, I should probably be going," I said. I quickly made a dash for the stairs leading back up to freedom, but he was too fast for me. He grabbed my arm and pulled me up against him. I stood face to face with the man whom I had been hearing about all day from Amber. Well, even though he appears insane, he is quite handsome. I nearly gasped at my thought. Serafina, are you just as insane? The man is looney in every possible way there is. And he looks dangerous.
"And just where do you think you're going?" He glared down at me. He was a good seven inches taller, and I was tall enough as it was. My voice shook as I responded.
"I-I'm going back to bed in my room. I'm s-sorry to have disturbed you." I tried to pull away, but his grip just tightened. He laughed bitterly once again.
"Do you think I am stupid? You cannot go back up there. You will surely tell everyone about me and they will want to come down here and gaze upon my face, as you were doing just moments ago. They'll want to send me to some asylum. A place where I'll be surrounded by walls that are cushioned. No, my dear, you must stay down here." He leaned down farther and whispered, "Forever!" Okay, this is really getting creepy! I am alone with a psychotic freak! No one will hear my screams if he tries to murder me. I'm dead meat for sure.
"I promise not to say anything to anyone. Just please, let me go!"
"Do you really think I'm that big of a fool? People talk about the 'missing boy' all the time and how they wonder if he's really living under the Opera House. Well, I know that you'll just let it slip about how you've seen him with your own eyes, and you know how to find his home. Then you will be so popular, because you solved the big mystery that everyone's talking about constantly. After all, you said yourself that you wanted to be the best you could be while you're here."
"Wait a minute, how did you know I said that?" Panic welled up inside me.
"I see and hear many things, my dear." Now I was starting to get mad.
"You know what you are? Some crazy person who really does need to be locked up! You think you're the phantom, for crying out loud! How more weird can you get! And besides, I never believed those stupid stories anyway. I still don't know if I'm dreaming or awake. I really hope I am dreaming. Oh, and don't call me dear!" I wrestled out of his grasp and ran up the stairs. I could hear his feet right behind mine, hot on my heels. I had almost made my escape, but at the last minute, he grabbed me around my waist and hauled me backwards.
"Stop it! Let me go! I'll scream, I swear I will!" He laughed.
"Scream all you want. Even though we're close to the secret door, no one would be able to hear you anyway. This walls are too thick." He tossed me over his shoulder like I was some rag doll and carried me back down the stairs. Tears welled up in my eyes as I thought of how my first day had gone from being wonderful to being so terrible.
Author's note: Okay, I would really appreciate more reviews and readers! PLEASE! Enlighten the birthday girl, please! Yes, it's my birthday, and I want nothing more than some reviews. Oh, and in case you don't know what Evita is about, here is a summary-
Evita is based on the life and times of Eva Perón, the second wife of Argentine dictator Juan Perón. It chronicles her life as Argentina's most complex and powerful figure, against a backdrop of political unrest, until her tragic death of cancer in 1952.