Ch.10: Outfoxed

Chris stared at the faded paintings on the wall in front of him, idly chipping paint from their dusty splendor. He was wearing a peasant costume for tonight's production of Anna Karena, and this was doing nothing for his nerves. It was an unforgettable fact that the phantom could easily overpower him, despite her small stature and could probably outsmart the entire police brigade with little effort. He had been recruited to star in the performance after both he and Riley and returned from Perros and she explained her plan to snare the feigned apparition. For the past few weeks, every body had been quiet around him, for they too knew what fate could possibly await him below the ground. It was best not to think about it.

As Chris sulked, mind ripe with worry, Meg entered the chapel and sat down next to him. Her face held an expression of deep concern for her friend as she searched for the right reassurances to say. " Don't fret. Chris," she soothed, stroking his shaking hand, " You'll be fine. She can't harm you, not in front of so many people." It was a rather weak guarantee, but the young man seemed to appreciate it all the same. " Thank you, Meg, but I'm sure something will be done." At this, Meg was at a loss for words, for she too had heard of what might lie ahead of him.

Erika danced excitedly in front of her mirror when she glanced at the clock. It was time. Quickly, she slapped on her mask and stowed a mysterious bottle in her red cloak. She never thought that she would have to resort to brute force with the man she loved, but here they all were expecting a tremendous struggle above all else. It was best to give the people what they wanted.

Above her lair, Erika could hear everybody preparing for the show. Now only minutes stood between her and the destiny that awaited them both. Cackling evilly, she dashed off to join the pandemonium.

" Move it, get on the stage!" the hands behind the curtain hissed at the actors who were lazing about, absently smoothing their costumes. The stragglers dashed onstage, brandishing their props and such. People in the audience looked surprised by the drastic chance of song and tempo, for they shook their head disapprovingly like parents reprimanding a naughty child. Chris was gently pushed along the flow of individuals backstage until he was at the edge of the curtain awaiting his cue for entrance. It came, and he nervously slipped on his black mask. Stepping into the nearly blinding limelight, he began his much anticipated solo:

She took away my thoughts of pain and woe And replaced them with sweet thoughts of love!

A dozen or so ballerinas then leapt onstage and began picking out the steps to their ridiculously complicated dance. Only one of them seemed to get the entire thing flawlessly, and she was the head ballerina. Chris removed his cape, for he was supposed to dance a dance with the leader. He took her hand and led her to the rapid notes floating from the orchestra pit before he realized that she wasn't who she was supposed to be. Although she wore the same black tutu and strange cloth mask, but he could tell whom it truly was from the pair of jade green eyes gazing at him from behind the concealing scrap of mask. It was she; onstage, dancing to her own opera in front of thousands of people and half of Paris's police squadron. What's more, she looked like she was actually enjoying it.

When the time came, both rushed back to the side stage to retrieve their cloaks. The phantom came back with a red one, and Chris a black one. Chris looked into Riley's box and made a small motion toward the advancing girl. She immediately stood up in horror hands over her mouth. Although it was scandal happening right before the eyes of the crème de la crème, it was still a show and you couldn't stop the show for any reason. Chris gathered his scattered wits and sang:

Why do we fool ourselves into running away?

For the fire in our souls is here to stay!

The phantom girl unfolded her arms and looked out towards the audience, eyes blazing.

With the scandal in the streets

And all eyes set directly on us

We cannot rest right here and now

So flee we must!

When she had finished her solo, Erika stole up behind Chris and kissed him in a complicated lock. Riley looked upon the scene with disgust, but Chris did not hasten to end the embrace. His feelings on the matter were nothing short of problematical. Before she could stop him, Chris pulled off her flimsy mask, revealing the monster beneath to everybody. She gave a pained howl and snatched the mask back. Forcing it over her ears, she turned and faced the audience and winked, the lights going to coinciding with the gesture. The audience panicked and began screaming shrilly. The illumination returned moments later, and Erika and Chris were gone, vanished into thin air! An ear-splitting shriek caught everybody's attention, and all turned to see the tortured figure of Riley collapse in misery.

Some people made a motion to comfort her, but abruptly froze and then sprinted away when the chandelier began to quiver dangerously. All hell broke loose when the monolithic lighting fixture plummeted to earth, killing at least five unlucky people. Andre stood up and cried, " Damn you, phantom!" and leapt off the balcony to help those trapped beneath the chandelier. If everybody heard correctly, a gruesome cackle sounded throughout the theater, mocking all who were lost and those who had everything to find.