Erik's POV

I never felt so hurt in all my life. I had been beaten, raped, called horrible names and turned away from the world, but nothing hurt worse than when Christine saw me. Her eyes went wide like everyone else that ever saw me, and then, she turned away as if she had seen the most horrifying thing in all the world. Who knew, maybe I was the most disgusting thing she had ever seen. I covered my face with my bloody hands, not caring that the blood was burning it. Why was it that everyone feared me? Why was it that no one could look into my eyes and smile?

"So run," I cried. "Run away like all the others. Run and leave me here to die. It wouldn't surprise me one bit."

The girl did not run like I expected her to do. No, she closed her eyes for a second and shakily knelt down beside my body.

"Y…You're hurt."

Indeed I was, and I knew if I didn't get help soon, I was going to die. Feeling weak, I fell back against the cold ground, causing the girl to gasp and place my head into her lap.

"We have to get you back upstairs." She replied. "You need to be in bed. I could get Nadir, he could help you."

"We…We can't go up there…"

From what I could see, the girl had her eyes closed. She was terrified, I could tell… Who wouldn't be terrified by my appearance? But she wasn't running away… Why wasn't she running away? I was about to open my mouth again, when I heard footsteps in my room…lots and lots of footsteps. If I was found, there would be no more me. And if they found Christine beside me, there would be no future for her either.

Nadir's POV

I wasn't sure what kind of trouble Erik had gotten himself into now, but whatever it was, was turning out to be extremely dangerous. I followed the stagehand and the other opera house staff up to Erik's room. I prayed that this wasn't happening, but as each moment passed it was becoming clearer. I warned Erik time and time again about staying out of everyone's sight, but it all had gone in one ear and out the other, for he had been discovered.

"In here!" the man cried. "This is where he lives. He has a bedroom and everything."

Oh, I had to think of something, for if this man went in Erik's room and revealed him to all the opera house staff, Erik would be no more!

"In here?" I questioned, stepping in front of the closed door that led to Erik's domain. "In here? You fool, he couldn't possible live here."

"And why not?" he cried. "There is a kitchen and a bedroom in there! He was there, I saw him with my own two eyes. I cut him with his own dishes!"

"This is the guest quarters," I lied.

Everyone looked at me as if I had two heads. I knew they would, for there was no guest quarters. This was something I made up to keep everyone from entering.

"The guest quarters are for rich patrons who travel long distances to see the operas. I let them stay the night so they don't have to travel home at such a late hour. I never told anyone about it because it didn't seem important."

"But he was in there!" the stagehand argued.

"Well then, let's just go inside," Carlotta began. "And see if he is actually there. I want his head for what he did to me!"

I prayed that the door would be locked, but it wasn't, for the opera house staff walked right on in. The home was in complete darkness, and there was indeed a mess, for there was glass and a trail of blood all over the floor. Oh, Erik, what have you gotten yourself into now?! Needing to keep them away from the trap door in the bedroom, I ran ahead and placed the rug back over it before anyone noticed. They were too busy searching the kitchen for him.

"Well?!" Carlotta cried. "Where is he? You said he was here?"

"Ah…." The stagehand looked around and shrugged his shoulders. "He was here… There's blood! There's glass all over the floor. The evidence is there!"

"And where is the body?" she growled. "There is no blood in the halls, making it quite clear that he didn't leave."

"And how do you know?" I intervened. "He could have wrapped his wound in something and escaped. We were all downstairs. He had plenty of time to escape."

Carlotta approached Erik's work desk and came back carrying his white mask.

"Look at zis! His mask! He was here! The Phantom was here!"

Oh, she was taking his mask with her.

"I want every guard searching the opera house for zis phantom! Get a dog if we must to sniff him out. I want him found! He needs to confess to his crimes!"

I knew this wasn't over… This was far from over, but for now, at least I stalled them. When everyone finally left, I went with them to make it seem as though I didn't have any idea on what was going on. Yes, I desperately wanted to go down below the opera house to check on him, but I couldn't, not while Carlotta was ranting about. No, I would have to wait a few hours.

Christine's POV

We had been down below the opera house for hours now. Erik was becoming weaker, and it was getting damper. Sooner or later, I knew I was going to have to drag him back up into his home.

"Monsieur, we need to go back upstairs. You're freezing, as am I…"

"We can't," he moaned. "Not tonight. Th…They will be looking for me."

"Who? What are you talking about?"

But the man didn't say a word. Well, we couldn't continue to sit down here in the dark.

"Come…"

The man struggled to his feet and began to stumble towards the gondola that was sitting in the water. Oh, not this boat again. I wasn't sure what he was up to, but he motioned me to get into the boat. I was so afraid that he was going to fall over, but he leaned against the pole as he pushed us out into the middle of the underground lake.

"What is this place, monsieur? I don't understand…."

"M…My home away from home."

The current soon took hold of the boat and pulled us to another part of the opera house I hadn't thought existed. There were candles all around, lighting the catacombs and creating a beautiful gold light upon the walls. We soon came to a steel gate that was sticking up out of the water. It was locked, but Erik reached into his pocket and produced a key. But why did he have this gate locked? Who would come down this far? Especially without a boat.

When the gate opened, Erik steered us inside and closed it behind us…And what I saw took my breath away. There, before me, was an underground lair. A home! There was a small kitchen, an organ sitting in the center of the home, and a bedroom that was cut off by a privacy drape. Never had I ever seen anything more beautiful before in my entire life. Erik docked the gondola and grasped his wrist in pain. The cloth I had wrapped his arm in was dripping with blood, and I knew I needed to help him.

"Monsieur, I can help you, but you need to tell me where you keep your medical supplies down here."

"T…There are none."

Knowing I would have to improvise, I helped him to the bedroom and sat him down on the pile of pillows that were covered with a huge red blanket. He was beginning to look as though he were going to pass out, and I knew if I didn't do something, he was going to do just that.

In the corner of his room, I found a basin, one that I knew I could fill with water. I approached the end of the lake and knelt down to fill it with the water. It didn't look clear like water should, but what else could I do to help?

"Christine, what are you doing?"

I gasped and looked up to find Nadir standing beside me. I was relieved, but at the same time, curious as to how he found his way down here?

"Monsieur Khan, how did you get down here?"

"That's not important," he replied. "What is important is Erik. Where is he? How is he?"

I stood to my feet and shook my head.

"I don't know what happened. I came to his room to offer him some dinner and I saw blood everywhere. I followed it down here and found him lying on the ground. His wrist is cut…really deep. He doesn't have anything to clean it with."

"So you were going to use the water?"

I nodded. "Yes, why?"

Nadir took the basin and dumped the filthy water back into the lake.

"What are you doing?!" I cried. "I was going to use that."

"It's filthy, Christine. Never drink or use this water for anything. Erik got critically ill one time after drinking it. I soon found out that Paris's sewage gets dumped down here."

"Than what am I to use?"

Nadir brought a small bottle of alcohol out of the lapel of his jacket.

"I brought it down just in case. Come, take me to him…"

I took Nadir back to Erik's room, only to find him lying sprawled out on his bed. Nadir rushed to his side and shook the man's shoulder to wake him.

"Erik, Erik, open your eyes. Come now, I know you can hear me."

Erik's eyes cracked open just enough to look at him. But what I found strange was that Nadir didn't turn away from his disfigured face. Even I was attempting to look away, for it was something extremely hard to stomach.

"Carlotta stole his mask," Nadir replied. "I had no control over it."

Erik didn't say a word…No, he simply blacked out from the pain.

"I'll stitch his wounds and do my best, Christine. Just go out into the kitchen and wait for me."

I was glad, for I didn't want to look at his face another moment. How was it possible for someone to even live with a face like that? There were so many arteries and veins showing that I didn't think it was possible to live like that. I found some tea and decided to make Nadir and I a cup. There were so many questions I wanted to ask him, so many answers I needed to know. When the man emerged, he seemed exhausted. He walked over to another part of the lake and bent down to wash the blood away from his hands.

"I thought you said never to use the water." I replied.

"Erik is such a smart man," he slowly began. "After he fell ill from the water, he made himself a small pond to purify some water for himself. Yes, it needs to be boiled before drinking, but it was ingenious of him."

"How is he?"

"He will live. Those monsters in the opera house have discovered him, and now I fear that he will never be able to go back above ground again."

"Monsieur Khan, why?" I cried. "Why does everyone want to hurt Erik? They know about him, do they not?"

The man shook his head. "No, Christine, they don't…"

"But why doesn't he come out of his room? Why doesn't he confront them? If he let everyone know that he existed, perhaps they would leave him alone…"

"He can't Christine."

"But why? Yes, his face is hard to look at, but with the mask…."

"Because, Christine," Nadir cried. "Erik is the Phantom of the Opera…"

Lets see how she takes that news... Please review!