A/N: Hey dudes!
Sooo, we've reached chapter 21, and there aren't many more to go!
This is a short chapter because I've been on the cider and it's all I can physically manage xD
I promise for the next one I'll be completely sober though!
ANYWHOO, enjoy =)
Chapter Twenty-one: I Am Not Your Son
Gustave struggled angrily against Arnaud's grasp. He had to escape; his father was down in that cellar and Gustave did not know how badly he was hurt. He continued to kick and punch the tall, skinny man, who struggled to drag the boy along the hallway. Arnaud buckled and doubled over as Gustave's fist powered straight into his groin. He gasped, releasing the struggling boy, who turned around and threw his knee into the same spot. Arnaud fell to the floor, wincing and groaning in agony.
Gustave took the opportunity to run down the hallway. He reached the front door undiscovered, and he slipped through, sprinting off down the driveway. He climbed the vast gate with ease, hopping down the other side. He then took off into the dark Parisian streets.
He ran deeper and deeper into the town. He knew that any second, Raoul would discover his absence, and then who knew what would happen? It's not that he feared for his own safety, but his mother and father were also in danger. He couldn't believe that he had once called that man his father. But then again, Raoul had changed in the past few months. He had never been a particularly good father; he went out drinking and gambling a lot, and he didn't treat his wife very well. But only recently had Gustave realised how dangerous he could be. He had lost his mind in America, and now nobody could tell how far he would go to get revenge.
The more he thought about Raoul, the more urgent it seemed that he find help. He darted down street after street, stopping only when he came to the police station. It was the same gendarmerie that Raoul had taken Gustave to the night they returned to Paris.
He dashed inside and ran straight up to the main desk, where a policeman sat reading a newspaper. He looked up as Gustave approached.
"Are you alright, son? Look like you've run a marathon," he chuckled.
"You have to help me," he cried breathlessly, "My mother and father have been captured by my old father! He's keeping them in the cellar and father is hurt!"
"Slow down, slow down," the man at the desk frowned, "aren't you the De Chagny boy?"
"No! Well, yes, but he isn't my real father. He's keeping my real father in the cellar!" Gustave tried to explain.
"So who's your real father?" he asked patronisingly, clearly not believing a word the boy said.
"The man you were looking for to come over from America. My old father calls him 'the monster'."
The policeman at the desk snorted in amusement.
"Well you're wrong there then, boy. We captured that man in Calais this morning," he shook his head.
"No you can't have. I swear, he is in the cellar at my house!" Gustave cried.
"Does your father know you're here?" the man asked Gustave.
"He's not my father! And no, he doesn't."
"We'd better get you home then. I'm sure he's worried about you," the policeman smiled at the boy, shouting behind him for backup.
"You don't believe me, do you?" Gustave realised, close to tears.
The policeman laughed at the boy, but did not answer him. Three gendarmes appeared from a room behind the desk. The policeman at the desk told them what Gustave had said. They all burst out laughing, before one took hold of the boy and walked out of the station, followed by the other two men.
"You have to believe me!" Gustave begged the men as they bustled him into a carriage.
"Why's that?" one of them asked.
"Because I'm telling the truth! My father is hurt and in danger and you don't even care!"
"Of course we care," the policeman laughed, "We care about getting you back home so we can carry on with our card game back at the station."
The other men laughed and Gustave felt helpless. These men were the only ones who could help him rescue his parents, and they thought this was all a joke. And now he would be taken back to Raoul, who would find out what he had tried to do. Then no doubt he was in for a beating.
When the carriage had pulled up outside the gates of the De Chagny mansion, Gustave was bundled out. He was dragged in silence up to the front door, escorted by all three gendarmes. He stood still, staring at the floor, as one of the men knocked on the door. It was answered quickly, and Raoul stood before them in the doorway. First, Gustave saw fury on his features, but he quickly disguised it with false worry.
"There you are, son! I was getting worried," Raoul feigned relief.
"I am not your son," Gustave growled. Raoul glared at the boy briefly before turning his attention to the police officers.
"I must thank you, gentlemen, for bringing him home," Raoul said politely.
"No problem, Monsieur, but I feel I should tell you; the boy has been making claims that you are keeping people in your cellar, specifically his mother and a man who is his father, but is not you."
"Oh, of course. It's only to be expected for him to say such a thing, after what he has been through. He must have just had another nightmare," Raoul frowned.
"A nightmare, Monsieur?" the gendarme questioned.
"Indeed," Raoul nodded, "The boy has been having frequent nightmares since we returned from America, one being that a man who pretended to be his father is hiding in our cellar. Of course, it's only to be expected that he would act irrationally, you understand it must be quite frightening for him."
"Of course, Monsieur. We did not take anything he said to be true, you understand," the gendarme assured.
"Thank you once again for returning him. He will not run away again," Raoul smiled, throwing a threatening glance at the boy.
The head policeman smiled, before bowing politely at the Vicomte. He pushed Gustave lightly towards Raoul, before saying goodbye and turning on his heel.
Raoul was about to close the front door, when Frank stumbled in clumsily from the hallway.
"Master, the girl's making a fuss. She's trying to untie the men's bonds. Should I tie her up too?" he asked.
Raoul felt as though his heart stopped beating. He turned to see the policemen eyeing him suspiciously. He swallowed as they turned and began to walk back up to the house. Gustave jumped at the opportunity.
"See, see!" he cried, "My mother is in the cellar!"
The gendarmes looked at each other warily. Raoul stood completely still, cursing Frank under his breath.
"Perhaps we should just take a look in the cellar, Monsieur," the policeman said.
"Oh really, that won't be necessary; Frank has been reading too many mystery novels," Raoul chuckled nervously.
"No, he's lying!" Gustave cried, "He's lying!"
The boy lunged at Raoul, pushing him backwards and out of the doorway. The gendarmes thundered in, demanding that Frank show them to the cellar. He looked at his master in confusion, before showing them out into the hallway.
Raoul threw the boy away from him, running after the policemen.
Frank opened the door of the cellar, and the lead policeman walked down the steps as he saw the figures crouched on the floor.
"Jesus, the boy was right," he whispered under his breath.
Raoul appeared in the doorway, closely followed by Gustave.
"Arrest him!" the policeman ordered to his colleagues. They nodded and both made to grab hold of the Vicomte, but before they could get a grip, he took a step backwards, pulling Gustave to his chest. Christine made to run up the steps, but stopped suddenly as he pulled a gun from his pocket and held it to the boy's head threateningly.
"Come any closer and I'll shoot," Raoul growled. The policemen halted their advance, and Christine stood rooted to the spot, staring in fear. Erik tried to stand, but the pain in his head and body meant that he could not get to his feet. His lungs hurt so much that he couldn't even speak, so he stayed crouched on the floor, glaring menacingly at the Vicomte.
"You would hurt your own son?" the head gendarme asked in disbelief.
"This little wretch is not my son," Raoul spat, "he is the child of that demon down there!" he gestured to Erik briefly with the gun, before returning it to Gustave's temple.
"Raoul, let him go," Christine begged.
"Why should I?" he asked, "If I let him go, they'll arrest me."
"He doesn't deserve this," she reasoned, "He's just a boy."
Raoul considered this.
"You're right," he said, nodding, "he doesn't deserve this. But you do!"
He pushed the boy away from him, quickly turning the gun on Christine. Gustave fell to the floor a few feet away from Raoul.
"Just think about what you're doing. This isn't you," Christine cried.
"But this is me. This is what you made me; you destroyed me, Christine."
"You destroyed yourself," she shook her head.
"No, he destroyed me! That monster, that hell-spawned demon!" he yelled.
"Don't call my father a monster!" Gustave cried. He lunged at Raoul. Christine cried out, also running forward. The gendarmes leapt into action, also bolting forward towards the Vicomte.
Suddenly, the crack of a gunshot filled the air, and a body fell to the floor with a thud.