Gustave's POV

Waiting for my father to arrive was like waiting for a death sentence. Zeus, Marius and I sat behind bars in the holding cell, waiting for our parents to arrive. Perhaps Mr. Squelch would go easy on Zeus, but I knew deep down that my father was going to murder me for what I had done. When the front door to the station opened, we all looked up, our hearts racing within our chests. But I was glad when I found that coming through the door was not my father, but the owner of Luna Park. Oh, he looked angry… He didn't even talk to the officers, no, he came rushing right to the cell we were in.

"You children of those freaks will pay dearly!" he snapped. "This is what happens when freaks are allowed to enter Ellis Island! Boatloads of your kind have done nothing but give Coney Island a bad name."

Zeus was about to stand up and confront the owner, but I pulled him back into his seat by his shirt. The last thing that we needed was more trouble. We were all in deep enough water already. When the door opened again, Mr. Squelch came hurrying through with Dr. Gangle. They didn't look one bit happy and approached the cell. An officer that was standing by, opened the cell and Mr. Squelch grabbed Zeus by the ear, pulling him right out of his seat.

"Owww…Dad, stop."

"Is that all you have to say, young man?" Mr. Squelch snapped.

I'm sure being pulled up by your ear hurt, but with how strong Mr. Squelch was, I bet it hurt ten times worse. When Dr. Gangle entered the cell, he grabbed Marius up by his hair.

"Stupid boy!" he growled. "What were you thinking?!"

"Papa, I didn't mean for this to happen…"

"The hell you didn't…"

Once Dr. Gangle and Marius were at the opening of the cell, Dr. Gangle slapped Marius in the back of the head before turning to me.

"Boy, I fear for you more than anything in the world. When Mister Y is angry, there isn't a stone left unturned."

I groaned and buried my head into my knees, knowing that Dr. Gangle was right. Oh, I was surely dead. Since my papa wasn't here, the police officer closed and locked the cell once again. I was left alone, alone and frightened more than anything in the world. I knew once my papa arrived that I would most likely be dead. I wasn't sure how long it had been since Dr. Gangle and Mr. Squelch had left with their boys, but it felt like an eternity. When the doors finally opened, I heard the familiar, yet dark footsteps of my father. My body began to quiver with fear the moment I heard his velvety voice speaking sarcastically to one of the officers.

"So," he began. "This is the boy that broke the law."

"Indeed, he did."

When I dared to look up, I spotted the owner of Luna Park coming at my papa like a bat out of hell. My papa stood there with his hands folded behind his back, never seeming frightened over the man. Though I already knew that he came from riches, for he dressed differently than my papa did. His suit was more expensive and made of finer fabric. Mister Y often called those kinds of men too good for their own liking.

"Mister Y, your son is just as despicable as you are."

"Mr. Tilyou, what Gustave did was very wrong, but never call him despicable. I don't find myself to be despicable either…"

"Hideous… You and your island of freaks are nothing but a bunch of hoodlums. The nerve of you to bust windows and destroy my park! Opening day is upon me, you ignorant fool! Do you know what this will do to my business?!"

"Now, you hold up right there, Mr. Tilyou," my papa snapped. "Gustave is a boy, just like the other two who have done damage to your park. Children do stupid things sometimes. What child is perfect? Now, I have done a lot of things that I have regretted when I was his age, just as you most likely did as well. Let's be reasonable here. I'm sure Gustave and the other two boys had a reason for what they did tonight. Perhaps that reason isn't a very good one, but they are children."

"I'll kill you for this, you monster! Do you hear me?! Your boy is just as disgusting as you are… All of your freaks working for you are disgusting! If I had the option, I would have sent you sailing across the sea on a leaky boat! You don't deserve to live freely like any other human being. You're all nothing but a batch of monsters. It should be against the rules to let deformed beings such as yourself live past being born! You should all be terminated!"

"Terminated?" My papa sarcastically chuckled. "What are we? Insects? What makes us any different that you, sir? We all have the same blood running through our veins. One cannot help the way he or she is born appearance wise… No, that is in god's hands and believe it or not, sir, god does not make mistakes. At least that's what my wife used to say…"

"I want my park fixed!"

"And you will have it. It is the law to pay off the damages that are caused by one's self, is it not? Now, you go throughout your park tomorrow and estimate a price on everything that was damaged and then, send one of your men to come speak with me. I'll give you the amount that you so deserve… That, and a written apology by all three boys that were involved tonight. You can see to it that it will happen."

Mr. Tilyou didn't say another word as he left the station. My papa turned to me now, his eyes burning into my skull with a look of pure rage.

"If it were up to me, I'd have you sitting in here all night to think about your actions, young man!" he growled. "But, since the county of Coney Island does not allow minors to sit in a holding cell all night, I shall bring you home."

If there was anything I wish I could have done, it was to sit in that cell all night. I'd rather sit in jail than to go home with my papa. For I knew once I arrived there, I would most likely end up with a sore bottom in my room. There were times in the past where the man has raised a hand to me, but never had I ever done something as horrible as this. The moment I stepped out of the cell, his boney hand grabbed a hold of my shirt and dragged me outside. He never let up for a single second, not even on the walk home. Well, my walk wasn't really a walk at all seeing that he was dragging me along. Once we were back inside our home, he threw me into the hallway and slammed the front door closed behind him. I hated when he did this, for when my papa slammed the door closed, I knew his hands were only moments away from striking me. I pressed my eyes closed and prayed that my mother would look over me during the next few moments because I knew they would be anything but pleasant. When I heard his footsteps getting closer to me, I braced myself for what was to come-which was his hand grabbing a hold of my hair. He violently pulled me to my feet and threw me into his office. My body hit the couch with a sickening thud and he slammed the office door behind him.

Whenever Mister Y threw me into his office, I knew there would not only be a good spanking close by, but also a lecture. Mister Y was good for those. If there was one thing the man could do without error, it was lecture me about right and wrong. Though, I knew tonight's lecture would be much more than a speech about what was right in this world.

"Oh, boy," he growled, approaching me slowly with his hands folded behind his back. "You disappoint me."

That fast, he pounced on me like a wild animal, his boney hands grasping hold of my shoulders tightly. His fingers dug into my shirt as I was brought close to his hideous face. I was frightened now, so frightened that I felt like wetting myself. My papa never did speak about his past often, and most things were left unsaid. But deep down in my heart, I knew whatever he did in the past most likely didn't revolve around people. I often believe that he was law enforcement in a different country…Perhaps Persia? He was most certainly frightening when he wanted to be. If he were the officer where I lived, I would never commit a crime ever again.

"What were you thinking!?" he growled. "Do you know how much damage you caused tonight, Gustave?! This is all going to be in the papers tomorrow morning and somehow, it's going to make me look bad."

"Y…You had nothing to do with what happened," I quivered. "Why would it make you look bad?"

"Because you are my son! How could you do this, Gustave?! How?!"

"Papa, I'm sorry…"

"You're not sorry!" his hand came fast across my face, striking me in the cheek. Tears were rushing to my eyes as I sat there looking at my papa. "If you were sorry, you wouldn't have done it in the first place!"

"Mr. Tilyou treats his employees with disrespects," I cried. "He tortures his freaks. Something had to be done."

"Everyone has a choice in this world, Gustave! Everyone! If he treats his employees terribly, then they have a choice to stay or quit. They could come and work for me if they wished to, but they must obviously like something about Luna Park, or else they wouldn't be there, now would they?"

"It's still wrong…Zeus wanted me to help him."

"So you went? Oh, boy, you need to be a leader, not a follower. Mr. Squelch and Dr. Gangle may be my most trusted employees, but their children will lead you nowhere. You've seen where they led you tonight. To jail! Next time, you'll be booked and sentenced!"

"They were only doing what's right, papa…"

Once more, his hand struck me in the face.

"Right?! Right?! You believe that was right? Destroying another man's property?! An eye for an eye? You have no right to go around doing things like that. I'm losing enough money with Luna Park being open, Gustave. You know this, and now, because of that little stunt you pulled tonight, I am going to have to pay Mr. Tilyou a large sum of money…"

"If mama were here," I bravely began. "She would have been on my side."

"Well she's not here, is she?! She's dead!"

Tears rushed to my eyes as I listened to my papa yell at me.

"Don't talk about mama that way…"

"And don't assume what she would do if she were here!"

My papa was so cross with me, that he pulled me up by my hair and dragged me to my bedroom.

"You're grounded, young man. And you will be working off the amount of money you owe Mr. Tilyou. All three of you will be working for me to pay off your debt!"

"Papa…"

"Don't papa me! You can sit in here and think about what you've done!"

And with that, he slammed my door closed and left me alone…Oh, what have I done?

Erik's POV

Oh, I was furious! My child, my own child…a fugitive! I stormed up to my room and slammed the door closed, taking a seat at my desk.

"A fugitive…" I murmured.

"Well, he does take after his father."

I groaned and pressed my eyes closed, knowing that Christine was standing behind me.

"Erik, he's a child."

"A child…A child," I mimicked. "He should have known better! I have raised him for the past few years, lecturing him on right and wrong, and tonight, he does this! Destroys an entire park! Oh, Christine, I've worked hard to keep up with Luna Park these past few years, and now, not only am I going to have my named poisoned, but also a wad of money shall go missing."

"Erik, our child is only still young. Don't you remember how many mistakes I made when I was his age?"

"Such as what?"

"Well," Christine placed her hands around my shoulders and pressed a kiss to my neck. "I remember when I removed your mask. You were angry at me…"

"Oh, come on, Christine. Yes, that was a mistake, but it was nothing compared to this. Oh, you know this, woman."

"Well, how about the time I stole your scores?"

I rolled my eyes. "And who would have cared, Christine?"

"Me, Erik… I cared. If there was one thing I always admired, it was your music."

Tears rushed to my eyes as she said those exact words. Oh, how I missed her more than anything in the world. She was always there for me, even over the past few years when I had a weak heart. Christine has watched over me through all the times I was ill in bed.

"Christine, I thought I raised the boy well."

"You have, Erik… Children make mistakes and you handled it well."

"If you say so… I don't like being the monster in the situation, but sometimes I have to be… I don't like slapping the boy… I don't like making him cry. But tonight, I did just that."

"Erik, when Gustave was smaller, even I had to raise my hand to him every once in a while. It's life, ange…"

"Perhaps, but for the record, Gustave said something tonight."

"What?"

"He said if you were here, you would have been on his side. Well, would you have been on his side, Christine?"

Christine paused. "Erik, you know what Gustave did was wrong. I would never approve of him destroying somebody else's property, no matter the reason. But, what Mr. Tilyou has been doing to his employees is wrong, Erik, and he shouldn't be abusing them."

"I agree, Christine. But still, the child shouldn't have destroyed his park… Just tell me what to do with him…"

Christine pressed another kiss to my lips and pulled me out of my seat.

"Erik, I love you and I know that you will do the right thing. You're making him work in your park, and that should be enough punishment…"

"Truly?" I questioned, raising a brow.

Christine pressed another kiss to my lips and smiled a seductive smile.

"Well, banning him from reading scary stories for a month wouldn't hurt either…"

I smiled the same, devilish smile. "No, it wouldn't…"

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