Thankyou for the kind reviews! I hope you're all still with me.

I also hope that cliff-hanger on the chapter before actually did something..?

Please continue…

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(This story may have to change location… see bottom of page for details)

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Chapter 5:

COLD AND MONUMENTAL

"Kari?" Monique whimpered. As Monique had expected, there was no reply. Moniques heart beat raced, and her breathing became laboured. She was hyping herself into a nearly full blown panic attack. She was so scared, the darkness seemed to be finding it's way inside her mind. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to fight the paralysing fear, forcing herself to move. First thing was to find the torch, and then work out what had happened to Kari; she didn't really know where to begin with that, but she knew she wasn't anywhere in the walkway with her. Slowly, gingerly she crouched towards the ground, reaching her hands out before her, searching the cold, rocky surface for the torch. She pulled one hand close to her face, even a few centimetres from her eyes she couldn't make out it's shape. She sighed and resumed her search of the ground, crawling forwards slowly, wincing as her knees became scratched from the uneven surface and her hands swinging wide arcs before her, searching blindly. Her already sore hand (from the door incident) smacked against the wall in her haste, she swore bitterly to herself, then let her hand slide down the wall, and there she felt it. The reassuring feel of plastic. She nearly screamed for joy, as she shuffled closer and wrapped her hand around it. In that moment she loved the torch so much, she clung to it like the safety line it was. She gave a smile as a beam of light broke the darkness, and got to her feet, sweeping the torch around her. There was absolutely no sign of life, just endless stone. Sadly she headed back towards where she thought she had been when Kari had suddenly been ripped from her. She eyed the high walls, searching out the ceilings, but they were too high to be seen. The place was grand, a feat of design – but was to cold and monumental to be inviting. Suddenly a thought popped into her mind, and she directed the torch downward, scanning it across the ground before her, leaning closer so she could study it better. She frowned painfully, then took a gasp of breath and held it, she closed her eyes pointlessly in the inky blackness, and gripped the torch tighter. Without a second thought she leant her weight onto the bricks before her, and as she had expected - they gave way beneath her and she was falling.

Despite consciously deciding to hold her breath, she let it out, gave a scream and then in a split second held it once more. Within an instant she was entirely consumed, the icy bitterness of water not exposed to sunlight bubbled around her as she struggled to breach it's murky surface. She gasped for air, gasping and spluttering and pushing her hair from her eyes with one hand as she bobbed at the surface, her legs working hard beneath her. "WHERE WERE YOU!" a hysterical voice screamed behind her. Despite not being able to see Monique turned around towards the direction the voice had come from, "KARI! Are you okay?" she started an odd doggy-paddle towards her disembodied voice. "I guess." She replied, hardly committed to her reply.

Monique lifted the torch from the water and pushed it on once more, it flickered sadly, then resumed it's job of lighting the way. Kari looked like a startled deer in the headlights, she was against one wall, hanging on to some form of grill-like gate, that descended into the water, It wasn't a flood gate as it had a trellis formation, and Karis hands were holding onto it tightly; a lot of her body was out of the water, obviously she was standing on something too. Monique swam for her, then grabbed the gate in her free hand, "What the hell happened?" Monique breathed hard.
"One minute I was walking, next minute the ground gave out beneath me." Her voice quivered, they were both amped with adrenaline flowing through their bodies. "This gate doesn't go down that far, when I was just floating here my feet were beyond the bottom of it, so I pulled myself to stand up on it."
Monique nodded, and pulled herself a little closer and upward, her feet searching for holes to slip into. She found them and was now only in the water up to her waist, which wasn't so frightening as being up to her neck.

"It's a trapdoor. This is one of his traps! To keep the prying eyes of the cruel world away from his sanctum!" Kari suddenly said excitedly.
Monique looked at her curiously, despite their tragic predicament, the shock, the cold and the not knowing what they were going to do – she was excited! She seemed optimistic. Monique couldn't believe it. She was so lucky she had Kari here, otherwise she would have cracked into madness.

Before Monique could respond Kari grabbed the torch from her hand, shining it across the water, up to the ceiling which wasn't so far away, with a gate, identical to the one they were standing on balanced ominously above their heads. They both knew what that was for, so Kari moved the torch light off it quickly. "God, I hope that doesn't come down." Monique whispered in morbid horror. Kari didn't respond, instead she continued to search the walls with the pale amber torchlight. Monique released her left hand from the gate, it throbbed with a low, deep, dull ache to it's bones from the door, the wall and the drama of falling to the murky water she was now waist deep in. "My hand-"

"Look!" Kari suddenly interjected.

Monique looked at what the torch was illuminating, some form of metallic handles protruding from the stone on the furtherest wall of their watery jail, Monique tilted her head and it clicked. They weren't bizarre handles, they were rungs of a ladder. A ladder that would lead them out of there.

"Go." Monique gestured with her head, and Kari bravely, without hesitation pushed off from the gate and breast stroked towards the wall. Monique waited for her to get close to wall before following suit.

Kari grabbed one metal rung, and by kicking against the wall found a lower one to place her feet on. She began a slow descent up the 'ladder', water raining down from her clothes and hair as she climbed. As soon as there was space Monique began her climb, she hated being in the murky water alone, not knowing what could possibly be beneath her. Monique stared intently at the rungs as she climbed, then took a glance upward. Kari was gone. Just as Monique was about to click into panic mode, the torchlight and Karis face appeared down at her, she was leaning over an edge. Hurriedly Monique climbed and pulled herself up over the stone ledge, scratching her raw knees once more. This was turning out to be more than just exploring, it was a full on test of courage, strength and ability to withstand detriments to the body.
Kari shone the torchlight around their new surroundings, back on dry stone once more. More corridors, alcoves and cellars stretched before them, Kari sighed at the enormity of the task. They two girls pulled themselves to their feet, their clothes completely sodden. Monique reached up and grabbed her long ponytail of golden hair, she wrung it out, sending more water to the floor, Kari passed her the torch and wrung out her own long rope of curly chocolate hair. Monique shone the torch around some more, searching for inspiration, hoping for insight. She studied their surroundings in the dim light, which was proving to be a reasonably hard task, each time she moved the torch away from an area she'd swear she saw some movement – but of course, upon returning the light to the area, there was nothing. 'Where would it make sense to go?' Monique wondered to herself, then stopped. 'This is a labyrinth, it's not supposed to make sense. So, then, where would it not make sense to go?' she thought, sweeping the torch light around as they began to walk, following the 'path' forward, where it soon met an intersection of other paths. Monique turned her thoughts over in her head, digging beneath them for inspiration. Then she spotted it. A crumbling stair case against a far wall… that lead nowhere. The staircase just stopped. It didn't reach another floor… there was no platform. Just a staircase with one edge running up against the wall, so that upon reaching the top one could fall right over the edge into nothingness. It made absolutely no sense. "This way." Monique cried, and walked faster towards the architectural oddity.
"What? That!" she gestured towards the staircase. Monique nodded and began to climb. Her footing slipped a few times, "Be careful some of the stones are really loose." She called behind her as she made her way carefully towards the top.

Kari fumbled along behind her, "So… whats the brainwave here?" she sounded somewhat mocking.
"I'm going for another trapdoor… or a… long fall to the bottom…" she threw back.

"Ahh, nice." Kari replied.

Monique reached the second most upper step and stopped. Gingerly she reached out with one foot and placed it lightly on top of the slight widening at the top. She dragged her foot around across the surface applying pressure, she moved it around in circles. Nothing. She sighed with frustration, then funnelled her frustration into her foot and pushed harder. And then she felt the floor give. "Oh, yes. Another trap door." She grinned.
Kari laughed behind her, "Watch out dear Erik, we're onto you." She murmured.
Monique moved her foot from the trap, then turned and sat on the very edge of the step, she swivelled so her legs were directly above the moveable portion and pushed them downward, displacing the trapdoor. It moved inward allowing her legs entrance into whatever lay below. She inched herself forward, bracing herself with her arms she gently lowered herself down through the hole.
Kari suddenly had a horrible thought – what if there was no floor close below her? What if she fell… and fell to her death?
She was just about to vocalise a warning when Monique disappeared. There was a slight shriek and an 'ooomph' a long pause and finally, "I'm okay. It's just a little bit of a drop, can you chuck down the torch?" she called up. Kari inched forward and placed one arm deep though the trapdoor, angling the torch down she let it go. Monique caught it and angled it upward so Kari could have light for her descent.

Soon too, she dropped through without drama and they were together once more. It was now even cooler in their new surroundings. Monique wondered how far below the opera house they were, it scared her to imagine all those floors of heavy finery above them.

Monique shone the torch in front of them, revealing what looked like a 'window' in the stone wall of the relatively small niche they had descended into. She passed the torch to Kari, and took a running leap at the wall, using one foot to launch herself further up and grabbed the bottom of the 'window'. With help from Kari below her she hoisted herself up through the gap and onto a stone ledge. The torch afforded her the view of a wide stone passageway, the lead downward. She placed the torch on the ledge, "I'll help you up." She called down to Kari.

Kari ran at the wall too, and her hands appeared in the 'window sill', Monique grabbed one hand and started to pull. With her help Kari made it onto the ledge safely. When Kari glimpsed downward sloping aisle, she got up excitedly, "Come on." She grabbed the torch and climbed a couple of steps up into the passageway. Monique followed her, and they began an easy descent following the passageway that began to spiral. They walked silently for a few minutes, going ever downward, Monique reached out and took Karis hand once more. This time it was less for fear, and more for excitement. Suddenly the aisle narrowed dramatically, it was a stone bridge, only wide enough for one person to walk along, it appeared to be nearly 20 feet long. Kari took the lead, still holding Moniques hand behind her, and lead them across the bridge slowly, their shoes were still damp and slippery, and the rocks were uneven and unpredictable. The bridge widened out once more to continue it's downward spiralling passageway, their pace quickened once more, rounding bend after bend. And then, after rounding another seemingly endless bend, the slope steepened for about 10 feet, then gradually levelled off… meeting the water. Kari was walking so fast she was almost jogging at this point, the torchlight bounced up and down with their momentum as they got closer to the water.

Kari shone the torch around the waters edge. "Oh.." she muttered, dropping Moniques hand.
Monique knew what that 'oh' was about, when she got to the waters edge. There was no boat.

The beam of light climbed the arch way over the waters edge, then stopped about halfway up the wall – a large ornate brass hook protruded from a large stone. Moniques jaw slackened and she reached out and touched it's smooth cold surface, "…Ohh.." she breathed, marvelling at it.

"That's what I think it is… isn't it?" Kari spoke lowly.
Monique nodded absently.
"For anchoring the boat too." Kari added unnecessarily, and Monique nodded once more unnecessarily.

"Keen for a swim?" Monique quipped, letting her hand fall from the brass hook.
"Why not?" Kari shrugged, smiling. The torch light flickered, and disappeared. Before the girls could react it flickered to life once more, but seemed even fainter now.
"Let's hurry." Monique stepped toward the water, swallowing her fear of the black water she let it encompass her ankles for a second, then, grabbing Karis hand once more, they began to walk forward, the cool black water climbing high on their legs, then gradually reaching their waists, and further up to their chests – and it seemed it would continue to climb. Their toes could barely touch the floor, so they let go of each others hands and began to swim breast stroke.
"Don't swallow the water." Monique suddenly warned.
"Not that I want to, but why?" Kari asked.
Monique tilted her head as if shrugging, "Who knows where it's source is, technically it could be a bacteria haven." She responded.
"Thanks. I'm so glad you told me that." Kari responded sarcastically.

The torch continued to work faintly beneath the water, giving them a beacon to follow. Monique wondered how deep the water was, as they passed along the very tops of stone arches, barricaded by more grille style gates – they had to be in significantly deep water. The thought of what else may be in the water, what lay beneath them and any potential obstacles in the water filled her with a squeamish fear, so she swam faster, desperate to find land once more. They stroked along the murky canal, for sometime, heading the only way the canal lead, by now they were becoming short of breath as they worked hard beneath the water. They had no option, and no heart for anything other then to push on. The walls seemed to get over onward, and they swam for sometime – until finally they saw a wall up ahead. Had they reached a dead end?

Kari stole a glance at Monique, "Dunno." Monique, already knowing what Kari would ask. They swam on, it was slow progress having to swim the canal rather then taking a punt. The dead end grew closer, and closer. Monique whimpered pitifully, imagining have to swim back to where they'd come from, but then the wall to their left broke – and they swam beneath a much higher arch, where the passageway suddenly opened up into a huge wide expanse.

Monique gasped, without thinking and sucked some water into her mouth. She spluttered, coughed and gasped some more as she tried to rid the foul liquid from her lips.

Kari stopped swimming, and bobbed in the water, her eyes staring straight ahead.
"Oh my god." She murmured.

Ahead of them a huge grille gate covered the large expansive stone arch way that lead further into a darkened vault. With renewed vigour they swam forward, increasing their pace now. Monique reached the gate a few moments before Kari and grabbed onto it, holding herself up. Kari grabbed onto it also with one hand, she shone the torch forward, but it's light was so weak it didn't penetrate the darkness enough to afford them a view of what lay ahead. She reached forward with her feet to find a gap to put her feet into to hold herself up, but found none. She pulled herself upward with her arms, and continued searching for a foot hold. Her feet met nothing.
"This gate doesn't go down very far! We can get underneath it!" She called excitedly.
Monique grimaced, that meant they'd have to dive into the canals hidden depths. She pressed her body towards the gate, it stopped just below her hips. "Yeah it finishes about a metre below the surface." Monique replied. Kari shone the torch on the area of water on the other side of the gate in front of Monique, "You go."

Monique grimaced in the darkness, then thought of what lay beyond the gate. Why would she let fear hold her back, why had she let fear slow her down. This could be it. This could be his lair.

Excitement replaced the fear in her veins and she took a deep breath, and grabbed the gate firmly then used it to push herself downward in the water. She used her hands along the gate to 'climb' her way down in the water. When she reached the bottom of the gate, she felt her shoe touch against stone. The floor lay approximately 2 metres below the surface. She pulled herself under the gate then kicked upward and broke the surface into the small yellow glow of the torch.
She grabbed onto the gate, and took the torch from Kari, "the ground is about 2 metres below us." She commented, then Kari disappeared beneath the water, she surfaced a few moments later beside her.
They held onto the gate a moment and caught their breath, then using the gate as a wall pushed off from it and began swimming in earnest, the small beam of the torch guiding them once more.

They swam with vivacity, remaining side by side, but egging each other on to go faster. "Oh.." Kari exclaimed as her foot struck the ground beneath her, she swam forward with just her arms, and soon her feet touched the ground.
Monique joined her, shining the weak torch ahead of them as they walked laboriously through the water, which began to unveil their tired bodies, from waist height, then to around the thighs. The water stayed approximately thigh height for a few metres as they battled through the water, occasionally slipping on the stone beneath their feet, probably covered in algae. They trudged on, and soon the water began to descend down their legs once more, it finally reached knee height and then they clambered out of it's slimy murkiness. Monique leaned over her legs, taking deep breaths to fill her lungs and return her heart to a more normal heart rate. Kari grabbed Moniques arm, lifting it to lift the beam of the torch, and they both gasped. The torch only gave enough light to give an effect of twilight, perhaps making the surroundings even more awe causing. Just a couple of feet in front of them, lay a long line of grande, extravagantly designed candelabras, stretching as far as they could see along a small ledge of stone, that was draped with a thick luxurious looking fabric. There was a small break in the line of candelabras (that actually appeared more to be forming a circle around some sort of altar), it was a couple of bare stone steps, lined by more candelabras bearing long slender candles. The torch light wavered as Moniques body swayed in shock a moment. She forced herself to think straight, "OH MY GOD!" she shrieked and ran for the stairs, jumping up two at a time. "OH MY GOD!" she shrieked once more, as Kari followed behind her, seeing the torch light faintly framing Moniques body from in front of her. Monique was frozen, her head seemingly bowed in reverence. A wave of fear washed over Kari, as she imagined what Monique was staring at. She hurried up beside her, "Oh my god…" she breathed, her eyes gazing downward, the expression on her face was almost of pain. There before them, surrounded by more breath-takingly ornate candelabras was an organ. And on it's right corner, was a stone sculpture of a man from his shoulders upward, a black sheath of material tied across his forehead. And there, beneath the sheath… a white mask.

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Thankyou for reading! Sorry if it seems to have taken so long to get down to the lair, but I really wanted to take you all on the journey down there.
Please review and let me know what you think. : )

PLEASE NOTE – I AM MOVING THIS STORY TO THE BOOK SECTION.

From the main page – select BOOK, and there is a category for PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. I think this story should best live there – where there is actually a category and dedicated readers and writers to this specific type of phanphiction. Please stay with me and visit at the book section! (If you wish put me on your alert list to be notified of updates)