Chapter 11
Through our lookout I watched as the three people in the room adjacent to us argue amongst themselves in harsh tones. The Managers started to yell at each other and blamed the other for this happening. Carlotta was fuming as she listened to the two men fight like children. She stared at the ceiling and raised her arms up into the air. "Come on out you coward! You care of nothing of other people's lives. Tormenting us for your amusement, you heartless ghost. Show yourself; I'm not afraid of you!"
"Boo!" Erik's voice said right behind Carlotta's left ear. She screamed bloody murder and Erik laughed his mechanical laughter throughout the space. "You should be!"
Carlotta let out a cry of fear and ran out of the office in a burst of tears. The maid tried to comfort her by putting an arm around the large woman but Carlotta shook her off angrily. The managers also tried to reassure her but she still ran. The door slammed behind the two women that left the two men alone. They didn't show that they were nervous but the look in their eyes was a different story. There was fear deep in their eyes, a fear that men show rarely to the outside world. It is a look of fear that is usually appears when a father hides from his family to keep them from worrying. Or a young boy who doesn't want to show his buddies that he is too chicken. It is even found when parents mask terrible events that have occurred from their children. The two men exchanged the same fearful glance.
Firmin walked to the desk placing a hand on the polished wood and read the notes again. Andre began to pace across the room urgently. He grumbled to himself as he went. Both men were stressed about their situation. Neither one looked at each other for awhile or talked. They stood there thinking to themselves in silence of what immediately happened.
"Firmin I don't think we should do this, do you my friend?" Andre asked doubtfully to his partner. He shifted his weight toward the other man.
"I do not think we should but what I do know is that we have to run this Opera like there is nothing is wrong." Firmin told Andre. "We have to show we are unafraid for the employees."
"But the Phantom—" When Andre said ghost Erik instinctively touched his midnight black mask. Erik didn't notice that I was watching him at the same exact time Andre said Phantom. When Erik realized what he was doing his hand dropped down to his side. He clenched his fist as he continued to watch.
"Andre There is no such thing as a ghost, only thieves. I don't believe in ghosts."
As soon as the last sentence was uttered by our dear Firmin a statue toppled over and smashed on the floor with the head severed from the body. Both men jumped and yelled in fright. I was startled at the sudden movement I looked up to the ceiling and the alcove the bust had sat. I saw a vent like the one I was looking at arm distance away from where the bust was. Quick flash of motion in the vent caught my eye. So, that's where Marco went.
"What was that?" Andre mumbled. He brushed his hair back. The head of the statue was looking up at the ceiling above it. With a horrid look on its plastered white face no wonder it was the one to have fell on the floor. It was creepy all on its own accord.
"I do not know." Firmin responded quietly.
Andre shoot Firmin a nervous look as they inspected the shattered statue. His colleague reached a hand to touch the head of the statue. The head abruptly turned to face the two panicked managers. They screamed clutching each other.
If I was not afraid or concern at that moment in time I would have been in peals of laughter. If I was back in our quiet city in Washington it would have been different. Lauren, Melanie, Abby and I had played this same trick on our history teacher that we had back in 9th in one of his annoyingly long lectures. Then we would be rolling on the floor with tears coming out of our eyes. We would have needed to leave the room just to be able to have been able to breathe again. Then we would have gotten in trouble but we still would laugh about it when we would bring it up in conversations later. If Mason concocted this prank on my rude cousin Janie at our family reunion a couple months back then Mason would be snorting in a fit of laughter. I would have been laughing at his dorky laugh. And even when mom was scolding him we would both had shared a secret smile together.
I would have laughed in both of those situations. But I was not in those circumstances. I was here at this time where I was miles, decades even, away from home and no guarantee that I would go back home. I would have laughed at the incident with Carlotta but it wouldn't come out now. Sorry if I sound melodramatic but laughter was not coming out of me. I wished I laughed then. I did try and contain it so it wouldn't have blown our cover. But I didn't even need to try to now. I was too busy debating escaping.
If I ran could I out run him? Where would I run to? I didn't realize I had stood up and was taking a few steps backward. I started to count the steps in my head. Three feet away. Five feet away. Seven feet away. I couldn't stop staring at Erik who seemed to be only aware of what was happening through the vents then next to him. He wasn't paying any attention of me. I was going to run I was ready to turn and run.
It was only seconds after I had started to walk away and the two managers screaming like little girls that I heard Eric start laughing. I felt my blood turn ice cold when I heard that horrifying laugh that I even made me stop my escape. It wasn't like his regular laugh which made the room light. Not the laugh that made me feel all warm inside. it was a forced sinister laugh that I have never heard. He kept laughing that awful laugh as I heard the door slam in the other room. When the door closed this wicked laugh transformed back into his laugh.
"They are fools to believe actual ghosts are real. If they knew their job then they would have known that was mere theatrical tricks that their own performers do. What fools!" Erik stated, laughing between sentences. The familiar warmth circled me when he laughed. I even felt a smile tug on the corners of my lips. But it never became even a tiny smile.
No! Get out! This is my body, get out! A woman shouted in my head. I covered my ears as she continued to rant. Her voice was so familiar that I recognized it from my dream I had. It returned every night over and over again. I said get out now!
Then I felt like I had been hit in the chest tremendously hard. I tried to breathe but the air never made it to my lungs. The air couldn't make it to my lungs. I choked trying breathe under what felt like enormous pressure on my chest that kept on hitting me and hitting me. My lungs felt as if they were being squeezed by a boa constrictor. My hand clutched my heart. I shut my eyes tightly trying to make this uneasiness go away. It didn't go away. The pain soon became unbearable. I felt like the room was spinning around me fast. I sank to my knees, hitting the ground in desperation for air. Why can't the pain just go away? Please make it go away. I couldn't see the reason why I couldn't breathe.
Get out, get out, get out!
Blackness should have come by then because I had not been breathing for a long time however it didn't. That was the scariest thing of all. Not being unable to breathe. Not the pain that was inside my chest. It was that it was the feeling of my body being controlled and I had to feel the pain. Something inside me was doing this. It didn't let me black out and escape the pain. It wanted me to feel this awful pain. Whatever was screaming in my head was doing this to me. And it didn't like me.
I said get out!
Now it was not only hurting in my chest but now my hands and arms. A tingling sensation shot through them. Then I had no feeling in them. I couldn't move my body anymore. My hand dropped to my side. I could feel all of my energy drain out of me. Then I fell to the floor. I just laid there, unmoving but the pain still didn't stop.
You are in my body and I want it back. Just go back from where you came from.
Stop. Stop it! Help! Erik! Erik Help!
"Roxanne? Roxanne?!" Erik's voice shouted frantically almost to answer my silent cry. My mind went completely blank. I could not remember anything at all; it was like my mind was a slate and it was wiped clean of any marks.
I heard his footsteps come closer to me rapidly as I continued to struggle. His icy hands held me sending a wave mixed of cold and heat through my body. A jolt of energy zapped through my whole body in an instant. Then air started to flood into my lungs. I felt it come fill my body raising me off the floor. I felt like I was flying. I swayed so gently that the movement began to heal my hurt body. I couldn't remember what happened after that but I remember after a while I started to become conscious of what was happening to me.
Feeling started to come into my body once more and I could feel a breeze blow against my cheek. I tried to raise my hand to brush my face but I was incapable of that action. My eyelids were functioning properly so I opened them to know where I was. The blurry image of the stone hallway flashed in front of me. It seemed to go on forever. Where ever I was heading I was heading there quickly. I started to recognize where I was. It was behind the stage up in the rafters.
Why would I be here?
I was able to turn my head to the side; to my delight Erik's face stared back at me. It was kind of reassuring to see his face after the attack. He looked into my eyes almost telling me to relax. I could see the familiar glow of his brown eyes which I hadn't seen for a long time. Oh, then he smiled at me. He smiled so kindly to me that I almost just relaxed right where I was. My hand rested on his frozen cheek that made him stop dead in his tracks. I could hear his rapid heartbeat as his chest raised and fell in a rhythmic way.
I choked a scream as I stared at it horrified. Erik's face was twisted and looked like a skeleton.
My hand dropped from his face and rested on his chest. He looked down at them then looked into my eyes.
"Damn you! You little viper! You backstabber! After all I have done for you!? After helping you! This is how you repay me?! Damn you! Damn you to hell Roxanne! Is this what you wanted to see?! A monster?"
Anger rose in me from the pit of my stomach. I felt as if fire was coming out of my eyes as I glared at my hands.
"I will give some time to think about what happened."
Strength came back into my arms. As soon as I felt the strength I pushed away from Erik. He dropped me instinctively and I fell to the stiff floor. Before I hit the ground I braced myself to land on my feet. When I hit the ground I shot back up and started to run as fast as I could. I saw a ladder to my right and I bolted for it. Climbing up the splintering ladder I reached the scaffolding that over looked the stage below. Hearing his footsteps behind me I climbed another ladder where ropes with sand bags hung like vines in a jungle. I intended to run so quickly that no one could catch me but then I felt Erik's cold hand as he caught my arm.
"Will you stop running so I can explain?" Erik demanded.
"No!" I tried to yank my arm out of his grasp but his grip tightened around my arm. I struggled to break free.
"If you don't stop I'll—"
"You'll what? You'll scare me with parlor tricks oh scary Phantom of the opera. Or will lock me up in a cellar for Christ's sake? Is that what you'll do?" I could see the hurt emanating from his eyes but I didn't stop. "And what was that about back there? When did you write those letters for your dear Christine? Did you have just in case someone might get the spotlight instead of her just to scare them away so you could be the Angel of Music Prince for her?"
"Stop for a moment and listen to me for a second."
"Why should I listen to you? You were the one who locked me up for two whole weeks without letting me see the light of day!"
"It was the only way to keep you from running away."
I finally yanked my arm free. Glaring at him with heated anger I shouted at him. "Bullshit Erik! There are other ways to keep me from running away like hmm I don't know like asking me!"
He gave a small humph at me. "You wouldn't have listened to me! I could tell you were too frightened!"
"Stop making assertions about what I would have done back then. Yes I was frightened of your face but I was even more frightened what came after that! You shouldn't have thrown me in that cell!"
"Well you shouldn't have taken my mask off. What did you think I was going to look like Roxanne; Some Prince Charming under a curse that if you pulled off the mask he would look handsome, at least normal?! There are no fairy Godmothers or magic wands to make me look like a normal man. So you might as well grow up and face the facts because they are staring at you in the face. I'm sorry but I hate to tell you this Princess that this is not a fairytale!"
"I know this isn't a Fairytale already!" I cried. Hot tears ran down my face. I tried to wipe away the tears but I couldn't. Erik watched me as I broke down "I know that I'm a long way from home and have no idea on how to get back. I'm being mistaken as Christine Daae and have to pretend that I am her without anyone finding out I am fraud."
"It's alright Roxanne I'm here." He took a step closer.
"Thank you Erik, I know you're here and you're reminding me that I'm in a storybook with a lunatic syco killer! And to top off this nightmarish sundae that has been made of my life this past month; I just was attacked by something inside me. I know I'm not in Kansas anymore or that I'm not somewhere over there rainbow. So I you have anything that you would like to add mister ghost than please do so at this time before I go completely insane. I just want to go home and be with my mom, dad and Mason. That is all I want to do!"
Before I could brace myself Erik held me tightly in an embrace. I couldn't react; I only stood there stunned at his immediate action. He seemed rigid and unsure on how to comfort me. His heart was racing as fast as mine. I guess I was unsure myself on how I should react. But my hands found a place to rest on his back and with that I didn't hold anything back. Even if I tried I couldn't be able to. The tears spilled out of my eyes kept streaming down my face then melting into the floorboards underneath our feet. My cries were muffled by Erik's shoulder so that we were the only ones that could hear my wails. I tried listen to the melody Erik was singing to me. It was as quiet as a whisper but I could hear it in my soul as well with my ears.
"Night time sharpens, heightens each sensation. Darkness stirs and wakes imagination. Silently the senses abandon their defenses. Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor. Grasp it; sense it, tremulous and tender. Turn your face away from the garish light of day. Turn your thoughts away from cold unfeeling light and listen to the music of the night" He sang softly in my ear. I smiled a tiny bit as he sang the whole song. My crying seemed to stop at his hypnotic voice that rang in my body. My heart seemed to be all a flutter. I felt the orchestra play around us as Erik sang to me.
"Let your mind start a journey to a strange new world. Leave all thoughts of the life you knew before. Let your soul take you where you long to be! Only then can you belong to me."
I felt his hand on my head as he stroked it tenderly. I look up at him for a moment and he froze. I stared into his dark eyes. He raised one of his hands and caressed my cheek. As I leaned into his cold hand a wave of energy washed over me then his hand dropped and he reached for my hand.
"Floating, falling, sweet intoxication;" Erik looked at me questioningly but all I did was smile and put my head back to where it was. He took my hand and held it to his heart. I could feel too rapid rhythmic beat that made me shiver. "Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation. Let the dream begin; let your darker side give in, to the power of the music that I write. The power of the music of the night
"You alone can make my song take flight. Help me make the music of the night."
My body seemed to sing as he finished. I felt a warmness that I had been missing in his embrace that I longed for. I felt like I was feeling the same way as Eponine had when Marius held her as she died as she sang to him her last words. That feeling could never be washed away by the destruction of reality when this was over. It was a burst of light that streamed in hitting my face and warming my center. Erik could be one of the only people that I knew that could make me feel that way.
My legs gave out from under me and I sank to my knees. He released me to go down onto one knee and bend his head down to be at eye level to me. He held with one hand both of my hand in his icy grasp. With the other he brushed my hair away from my eyes as he spoke to me so softly as if he were talking to a small child. "It's ok Roxanne. Everything will be alright. I promise you that I will make sure you will return to your Mason if that is what you wish."
I looked at him confused at first then I gave a laugh at what he was saying. "I'm not in love with Mason. Mason is my brother."
"You don't love anyone?" Erik asked extremely confused. "What I meant to say was: You don't have any admirers"
"No, I might have liked this one boy but I don't think I do anymore. As for admirers I don't think anyone thinks I'm beautiful girl they would want to date." I sighed. It stung when I said those words but I only inferred that they were true because of the lack of boys chasing after me. Translation: there are none.
"You are beautiful." Erik said in almost a whisper. What? Had I heard him correctly? I couldn't believe what he said. Not that what was said but who it came from. My heart skipped a beat and now was pounding so hard Erik probably could hear. Why I wish it would shut up because this isn't possible, this can't be happening. But it is im not in some fantasy or PhanFic. Erik… No this has to be a dream.
However, any thought that I had in my head that said that this was a dream had vanished in the scene that happened next for me. What I am about to tell you will is gruesome beyond imagination because it is too horrifying to even tell you. For what happened next was a woman's scream that echoed through the walls. Her screams would go quiet for a moment then seem twice as loud as they were before. They seemed to go on forever as she screamed for help desperately. Erik shot up at the same time as I did.
"Stay here!" He pointed at me. The he dashed to where the sound had come from. I didn't listen to him at all. I raced after him to catch him. We raced through the maze of scaffolding. Then we heard an eerie sound of something breaking. The screaming had ceased. With alarming speed Erik sprinted center stage and I had finally caught up to him. He searched looking around for something. He looked at me distressed.
"I saw someone run this way." Erik explained to me. His attention turned down stage right where the scenery of a graveyard ended. Erik started to run to the door. "They had to have gone out the backstage door. Stay right where you are."
I instinctively scanned the stage top to bottom but it was when I looked up towards upstage at the rafters. There was something dangling; it was almost swaying weirdly. It looked rather large to be a sand bag and it was too far towards the stage. Then I saw something dripping out of it. Walking over to where a puddle seemed to form I reached down to touch the strange liquid. The substance smeared on, almost staining, my finger tips as I tried to get it off. Then I walked over to grab a candle from the prop table. Lighting it I looked at my hand and my eyes widened. I quickly walked back to the puddle to confirm my reorganization of the bright red color blood immediately. Blood? Slowly I took a few steps backward to look at the hanging phenomenon again more closely. I stifled a scream as my eyes adjusted and I could easily recognized the woman's face. She had two deep letters carved in her chest spelling OG in which blood was dripping out of and on to the floor.
"Erik!" I called frightened. My voice sounded weak and the call was more of cry. I started to shake as I put my hand to my mouth to keep me from screaming. In the next moment he was in front of me and held onto my arms.
"Roxanne what's wrong? Tell me." Erik asked frantically but I couldn't speak anymore. My voice seemed to be hiding somewhere safe where it didn't have to be there. I couldn't move because I was frozen in fear. I only could stare horrified at the gruesome picture that was laid before me. Erik followed my gaze and turned his head to where I was looking at. We saw there, hanging by a thick red rope, Madame Giry.
Disclaimer: I do not own Phantom of the opera.
Ba. dadadadadaa. dada... I have now given you a twist of the most amiable nature. Sorry for grossing you completely out. I hope you like it because I was in bed on night and started thinking about the story. A gruesome thought came to mind; how about we kill Madame Giry? It was a good idea at the time that I was actually giddy about writing it. This also has shown you that I can be extremely evil to my characters and I kinda have a dark heart beating in my chest.
On to a happier note (laugh) grapejuice101 has graciously made me a (I believe I might have a right to call it this) A Fanart poster of what my characters look like in real life and it rocks out! If you want to see it there is a link on my profile page or grapejuice101. It should be the First Phantom of the Opera if you scroll down (first peter pan one is a poster for my other fanfic of Peter Pan). Please review the picture on this chapter to tell me about it or PM me and I shall answer. Thank you again. bye.
Those who don't review of what they read
find,too late, that prudent silence is bad.
dear readers, don't hold your tongue -
Or Erik will burn you with the heat of his eyes!
ps And you thought that the first sentance would play off the musicals song. (sarcasm Intended in a friendly way) seriously though, BYE!
