"Seems like just yesterday, you were a part of me
I used to stand so tall; I used to be so strong
Your arms around me tight; everything, it felt so right
Unbreakable, like nothing could go wrong
Now I can't breathe; no, I can't sleep
I'm barely hanging on"
-Kelly Clarkson, "Behind These Hazel Eyes"
He saw them all. Every man he ever killed. They surrounded him, waiting to take their rightful revenge. And he was scared. Maybe it was because he was vulnerable, he didn't know for sure. All he knew was he was scared like he had never been before, so he did the logical thing to do. He ran. It wasn't like him at all. He never ran from anything, he faced his fears. Yet fear was an emotion that Erik did not know well. He thought about it and decided that now he had nothing left to live for, he had no reason not to give in. The pain and the fear had always been easily accepted before...but now? Somehow he just couldn't face it. So he ran. He ran down a path that had no end. Nowhere to run, but yet he just couldn't bring himself to stop running. Was it his imagination, or were the walls closing in on him. He sank to his knees in desperate defeat. Turned around...and there they were. All the ghosts of his past. Not just people this time; feelings and emotions that he let die long ago. Maybe his sanity was among them. He cried out for help, but none came.
He woke up screaming. A dream, he thought. It was just a dream. But it still made him shake with fear. It seemed so real. And in this darkness, who could tell the difference between reality and a dream. For all he knew, he could still be dreaming. But somehow, he didn't think so. He was finding it rather difficult placing where he was though. Even Erik's expertly trained eyes could not see in the pitch-black darkness that surrounded him.
Then it all started coming back to him slowly. Feeling the chains around his ankles, he realized that he was in the prison on the far side of Paris. He had been sentenced to death. He was to be hanged. Very soon, he thought. Within a few days. He couldn't recall the exact date though. But why should he care? Death was death. And I deserve it too, he thought, after everything I've done.
Christine, Erik suddenly remembered, feeling a tight pain in his chest. He had fallen in love with her...her beauty, her dancing, her voice. Everything about her, he loved. She rejected him, ruined his life, and got him this death sentence, and yet he still loved her. Nothing in the world could change that. He hated her for what she did to him. The pain she made him feel. He hated her for that. But he knew that he could never be angry at her, maybe just disappointed. And still he loved her. Such a conflict. To love and hate a person at the same time.
He wondered if she knew of his sentence. Would she care? Or would she laugh about it...with Raoul? He would probably deserve that too. But there was only so much he could do to make up for the horrible crimes he committed. He could see pretty-boy Raoul now... 'Darling Lotte, I just read in the paper that the mad old Phantom has finally been captured and sentenced to his just death, to be hanged.' And innocent little Christine, 'Oh, how lovely, dear. Hold me Raoul, for I fear I may lose consciousness just at the thought of that dreadful man.' No, Erik thought, she wouldn't be concerned. He would depart this life alone, just as he always thought he would.
Little did he know that Christine was just a few minutes away from the jail, drowning her anguish for him with a bottle of whiskey.
He looked down to the ground, surprised to see a flash of white. He reached down and was even more astonished to find that the white he saw was, in fact, his mask. He forgot that he discarded it when he first was brought to this gloomy prison. He had just thrown it in the corner. What did it matter who saw his visage now?
He picked it up and ran his fingers over the soft leather. Then he brought his hand up to his face, afraid to touch his distorted face. Then anger once again swept over him. He furiously hurled the mask to the far side of the small cell. He didn't need to hide anymore. The world should accept him as he is. And if they don't, well, it's not like he had that much longer to live anyhow.
Well, there's Chapter 2. I hope you all like it. I was going to try to get it written and posted earlier but I had my little 12-year-old friend over and I had to entertain her until like 11:00. But we had a lot of fun. Anyway, thanks a bunch for the reviews:) I guess I don't suck at writing that much. lol. Anyway, please tell me if you like it. REVIEW PLEASE.