Oh come on people!! Not every chapter can be filled with excitement! Although you are right that it does lead up to so much more! *smiles*. But be happy! My writer's block has disappeared!! *listens for cheers, but only hears crickets chirping* I can now write! *more crickets*.
Christian sighed as he stepped up to the train station doors. He was hesitant to go in, but knew he must meet his brother, or else risk losing any respect he may have ever gained. He looked around once before stepping through the doors.
There were many people gathered in the train station today. About a thousand, from Christian's guess. It wasn't the same station he had come to Paris through, it was a more luxurious one. Christian sighed. Michael wouldn't be one to miss out on a chance to show off how rich he is, Christian thought to himself as he struggled to get past the mobs of people. Quite a few beggars came up to him, asking for francs. He hadn't brought any with him, and felt sorry for the poor people, one of which he recognized as a former Moulin Rouge actor.
Christian finally found the area where his brother's train would be coming in, and stood right by the tracks. It was a small area in the back, where only one side was open for passengers to exit. The opposite side was a brick wall, where someone had scribbled words of warning in French.
"Beware to all those who carry evil in their hearts. Punishment will come to thee. An eye for an eye," Christian read to himself, translating the words. He raised an eyebrow. Who would write such words at a train station? he wondered.
He turned his head as another beggar came his way. "Please, good sir!" the crippled man said. "Please could you spare some francs?"
Christian frowned. "I'm very sorry. I don't have any with me."
The man stared at him with sad eyes. "They all say that, you know. But you, I believe." He smiled sadly, then hobbled off to beg a man who had just stepped off the train. Christian glanced at his watch, then he heard a familiar voice shouting across the station.
"Christian! Christian, where are you at?" It was Satine. He turned and saw her making her way through the crowd, ignoring the men who stopped to stare and smile. He waved his arms in the air, and she finally saw him. She rushed into his arms.
He frowned. "Satine? Is something wrong?"
She looked up at him. "No. No, nothing's wrong. I just wanted to be here when you see your brother. It's only fitting." She turned her head, and Christian did likewise. Ryan was pushing people, to the best of his ability, out of his way so he could reach his parents. He was dressed in his best suit, and somehow Satine must have gotten him to brush his unruly hair.
He stepped up to them. "Why do people always have to push me around?'
Christian smiled sadly. "They believe that you are lower than them. So they think that they can do what they want with you." He leaned over so he could look into his son's eyes. "They have money. But you have something that most of them don't."
Ryan looked up. "What?"
Christian tapped Ryan's head. "Your brain. And your heart. You know what is right and what is wrong. Most of them do not."
Ryan looked thoughtful for a moment, then he smiled. "Right. I have my mind. And I know what is right and wrong because I have been the target of some of the mean things they do. So I know how others feel."
For a moment, Christian and Satine could only stare at their philosopher of a son. Then Satine smiled. "And you have quite a mind. Must have gotten it from your father." She looked up at Christian and they both smiled.
Ryan looked around for a moment, then pulled on the sleeve of his mother's dress. She looked down at him and he pointed to a small cafe inside the station. "I'm hungry. Can we get something there?"
Satine looked up at Christian, who shrugged. "I didn't bring any money."
Satine smiled. "I'm not worried about that. I have money. I was just wondering if we should wait until your brother's train gets here."
Christian thought for a moment, then shook his head. "You should get Ryan something to eat. I can meet my brother alone. In fact, it might be best that way."
Satine frowned. "Unsolved arguments?"
"Something like that."
Satine nodded, then turned to Ryan. "Alright then. We'll get you something to eat, then you'll meet your uncle." She turned to Christian and kissed his cheek. "We'll be back." Then she motioned to Ryan, and giving Christian one last glance, took off towards the cafe.
Christian watched them disappear into the crowd, a sick foreboding feeling growing in his stomach. He tried to ignore it, but it wouldn't go away. He glanced at his watch; his brother's train would be here any minute from now. He stuck his hands in his pockets, then felt someone tug at the back of his coat. He turned expecting to see another beggar, but it wasn't. It was the Duke.
Christian's heart fell and his mouth went dry. His fear was evident as he looked at the Duke. And the past two meetings with the Duke were burned into Christian's mind. He had never wanted to see the Duke again.
The Duke smiled, almost as if they were old friends. "Well, I see your still alive. My little solution didn't solve the problem."
Christian lifted up his chin. "You can't keep coming after me, Duke. You can't keep trying to kill me."
"And why not? Afraid that one day it might work? Like today?"
Christian started to reply, but then he caught sight of Satine and Ryan who were making their way back to Christian. The Duke followed Christian's wide-eyed gaze, and smiled. "So, they are both here." He turned back to Christian, the corners of his mouth twitching. "Now they shall see what happens when you cross me!"
Christian saw the Duke reach into his coat pocket, but wasn't about to give him time to pull out the deadly weapon. Christian reached forward and grasped he Duke's arm, wrenching it away from the gun that was hidden. The Duke snarled almost like an animal, then used his free hand to hit Christian right in the face. Stunned, Christian almost fell onto the tracks, but caught himself just at the edge. The crowd had noticed the fight, and was rapidly moving away from it.
Christian tried to shake his head clear, but the Duke was a more powerful man than anyone could have thought. The Duke reached forward and grabbed and handful of Christian's dark hair.
"What do you have that I don't?" he sneered into Christian's ear.
Christian gritted his teeth. "Good looks, a heart, and a voice that doesn't drive dogs crazy every time I speak."
The Duke glared at him, and began to reach into his pocket again, and Christian grabbed his arm again. The Duke struggled to point the gun in the direction of the other man, and managed to do so. He fired, but a last-second struggle from Christian caused the bullet to miss. It whizzed past Christian's ear, and the ear-splitting sound of the gunshot at so close burst his eardrums. Christian cried out in pain and clamped his hands to his ears. Then he fell to his knees.
The Duke, along with many other people, had also suffered from the deafening sound of the gunshot. The Duke was confused; he'd never known that the gun could be that loud, but then again it had been only mere inches from his and Christian's head.
He faintly heard the sound of a train whistle coming from down the tracks. He smiled maliciously and jerked Christian up by his hair. "This is how your story ends, boy," he said as he turned the young writer so he could see the approaching train. Christian's eyes went wide and he felt the Duke tense up.
Pushing Christian by the head, the Duke shoved Christian onto the track. Christian kicked out as his feet left the ground, catching the Duke in the leg. This caused the Duke to also fall onto the track. The Duke grunted as he hit the ground, and caught a glimpse of Christian rolling towards the wall. Then he looked up. All he could see were the lights of the train, the wheels bearing down on him, then he saw nothing.
Satine had been going back to Christian to meet his brother, despite his insistence, when she saw the fight begin. She had begun to walk faster after seeing that, then started running as fast as she could past people when she heard the gunshot. She saw Christian fall, saw the Duke shove Christian onto the train tracks, then saw the Duke fall right afterwards.
She screamed when the train ran over where the two men had fallen, and Ryan could only watch as he heard a thud from beneath the train as it hit something. Someone.