Chapter 8.5: Escape

Disclaimer: Erik, as always, is not mine. Rhapsody is and the as for the world that this is written in...? That's debatable. ;)

This is the second (slightly belated) half of chapter 8 of Prayer for Your Lonliness. Please enjoy.

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The light chime of the door bell rang once, then twice, the light cheerful tones clashing with the atmosphere which had grown in the room in a way which caused Rhapsody's stomach to knot tightly in dread. The doorbell now abandoned, three heavy knocks fell on the wooden door.

"Come on" said Rhapsody insistantly, taking Erik by the hand without thinking and heading out of the room and down the hallway. The back door resisted the key initially but gave after a few forced turns, opening heavily into the room. Heavy rain whipped into their faces and Rhapsody raised her arm in front of her face as she walked out into it. Erik followed after her silently, his masked face raised into the elements, taking in the trees that bordered the garden and the rushing of the river at it's far end. They moved off into the darkness that spread at the bottom of the trees and scaled the wall into the forest that lay behind and to the sides of the house.

-

A distance behind them, two suited figures stepped over the splintered door into the still warm hallway. They exchanged glances, turning in silence to face the coatrack where hung a damp black cloak. With a gloved hand one reached out and lifted it. It might well have been of the lightest silk rather than a good few stone of drenched material for all the strain he showed.

"Ah" he spoke now for the first time since entering the house and his identical companion turned to watch the slight movement of his colourless lips "They have not been careful enough". Each syllable was carefully and accentlessly formed. It would have sounded artificial if not for the underlying tone of triumph- the sort of subtle lift that even the most sentient beings would not have the wit to use. Cloak swung over one shoulder, the man nodded to his counterpart and the two departed in the direction of their car. If one hadn't known it was there it would have appeared as insubstantial as did the men who walked toward it.

-

In the forest, Erik showed unexpected prowess when it came to traversing the fallen branches and shadow-strewn undergrowth. Rhapsody however was not faring quite so well. Mud stained and increasingly damp, she pulled her bag back over her shoulder and then pulled herself over a mossy branch.

"Who were those men?" Erik asked a whisper when Rhapsody caught up with him. She leant on a nearby tree, still relatively deep in the forest and watched in silence until the car had pulled out of the street and eventually out of sight.

"Don't ask me" she retorted. Mud was creeping in through the knees of her trousers.

"I do. I do ask you. Do not presume that I had not noticed- it was you they came to in order to find me. It was you, too whom I have met at every turn and I am beginning to suspect" he turned now to face her, his black mask seeming suddenly incredibly accusing "that there is more afoot here than I am aware of. You are no spirit, are you, in truth?"

Rhapsody attempted to answer and found her breath catching nervously in her throat. And what if her answer displeased him? There was a fine line, easier to cross than any she'd met yet. Would he, she wondered, kill her for her lies whatever the reasoning behind them, and willingly lose his only guide in this world?

"No" she said, eyes fixed on the black bracken. Her voice seemed much smaller than usual, higher. Weaker. She tensed, expecting a rataliation of sorts. When she finally dared to look up again, she found Erik staring into the empty road and at the lights of the houses in the distance. "Aren't you angry?" she asked, surprising herself with the audacity of the question. But then, she supposed, if he killed her then that would be that and if he didn't and he left now the result would be equally grim if they returned, and she thought with terrible certainty that they would. Erik let a sigh escape him. The sound was light and spoke of incredible sadness. Momentarily he seemed faithless, slouched.

"I will grant you the chance to explain" he told her, regaining a little of his composure. His disappointment was written in his posture. "Did you not think that I would grant you even that much?"

Rhapsody thought it wise not to answer and instead leant fully against the tree at her back, turning her eyes again to the ground.In the time during the telling of her story, Rhapsody watched, wracked with guilt as Erik remained conspicuously unemotional, nodding at times and giving the occassional remark in French. His black-gloved hands were folded over one another, long fingered and still when he nodded for the final time and fixed his eyes on her. Rhapsody felt compelled to shy away from his gaze, penetrative as it was, but forced herself to hold it, blinking more than she usually would have. What felt like a painfully long time passed before Erik laid his hand on her shoulder, reaching out across the gap between them.

"I do not blame you," he told her, a softness coming into his voice "After all, you are still yourself and you are only young. You have a value for life that is unique to those so young. In the old it is merely selfish denial." He paused and considered "Rhapsody" he said to her and there was that softness and familiarity again. It took her back to a time they'd sat together and they'd embraced... though that had been just before- Rhapsody squeezed her eyes shut, forcing back the memory and the resulting guilt. "Ah, Rhapsody. Perhaps you have done me good? After all, what could I ever have achieved in that stagnant, lifeless place?" Erik squeezed her shoulder and then released her grip. There had been no warmth in the flesh of his hand. "Now I have seen another world, another time and perhaps there is hope for me yet? Is your world very different from the way mine was?"

The decision had been made not to take the car so as to be as inconspicuous as possible. Rhapsody doubted that they would be able to ellude their pursuers for very long but at least, this way, they would be able to buy sufficient time to formulate some sort of plan. The walk to the train station, albeit a short one, left them both sodden from their exposure to the rain and Rhapsody's hands were shivering when she pressed her money into the ticket machine. Erik, standing by her side somehow managed to fade almost completely into the darkness and Rhapsody found that when her attention had been distracted for the smallest of moments she had to focus hard to find him again. On the journey she had told him of the accomplishments made since his time, of breakthroughs for the slaves and women and the legalisation gay marriage. This had shocked him slightly but he had replied in an accepting manner that it was good that in this world a man could love who he wished and freely. Even more intriguing seemed the mention of plastic surgery and the fact that here, deformation was not something to hide- it was often treatable and if not, at least accepted by the community. Such things as freak shows had long ago been outlawed.

"Your world is a just one" Erik commented from his place at Rhapsody's side "I would never have thought that such things would have been possible"

"It has its flaws" Rhapsody collected the tickets from the depository as she spoke and took the opportunity to wring some of the water from her hair. In her explanation, little room had been left to detail any of the grimmer events. "Society may have improved in ways" she said and Erik regarded her dismissal of ideas which had thought to be revolutionary with a cold silence "but at this rate, it may well be killing the world. It wasn't easy for the world, you know, getting to this stage." Her mind turned to the genocides which she had skimmed over in her haste, acts of alleged 'terrorism' and the apparent threat of global warming. She would explain these later, she decided at a time when Erik understood more of the world as it currently was.

-

The corridor down which the two men walked was silent save for their footsteps which cracked and echoed on the white surface. No conversation passed between them, similar as they were and when they moved past another pair, identical to themselves and through the heavy metal door they executed relfected bows to the figure at the other end of the room. Unlike the rest of the compound, this particular room was draped in reds and mirrored with surprising accuracy considering its location, a study in an old manor. The yellow light sitting on the desk illuminated the room with a warm glow in which the angular, large men looked distinctly out of place. The one which had carried the cloak moved forward, bowed once more and lay it upon the desk. After a short moment the figure behind it extended one hand and pressed its fingertips into the fabric, turning it about to reveal the rose clasp at the neck.

"He won't be pleased to have lost this" observed the figure in a voice which despite its softness filled the room with its authority "Did she leave by car?"

"No, she could not have done. The car remained when the house was yet empty" the one who had borne the cloak in spoke.

"Then scour the country for her. Keep your eyes on everything, Malachi. Once you find her, he shall be within our reach. I trust that you will not fail me"

Thank you again for reading. :) Please do leave a little review if you've read. It's appreciated as always and reciprocated when I've the time.

-Kaya x