Chapter Two The Lost Child

Erik tore blindly through the cemetery until he had reached its exit, not heeding the flow of hot tears that were running down his face. "Christine . . . Christine . . . " he whispered repeatedly as he wept. Suddenly his anguished flight was broken as he collided with a person who happened to be walking by.

"I am sorry, monsieur! Are you all right?" asked the old grey-haired woman that he had run into.

Erik raised his head, tears still streaming down his face. For a moment, he stared at her, uncomprehending. Then the realization of who she was hit him. "Madame Giry?"

The woman, who was indeed Madame Giry, taking in the white mask that covered his face. Suddenly she remembered who he was and gasped. "Can it be? Are you really the Phantom of the Opera?"

"It is. It is I." he replied.

A smile came onto her face, then it quickly vanished. "Then you must have heard, for why else would you have returned to Paris. Christine de Chagny is -," she stopped suddenly as he interrupted her.

"Please do not mention her name." A look of sorrow came onto Erik's face as he looked away from Madame Giry.

"I understand, Phantom."

"My name is Erik!" he shouted, suddenly and inexplicably incensed, causing bystanders to look askance at him.

Suddenly from all around them, whispers broke out. "Did you hear? She called him Phantom!"

"The Phantom of the Opera has returned!"

"He's here! He's here! Call the police!"

Erik looked around in fear; he was completely surrounded. In desperation, he shouted, "Madame Giry! Help me!"

But she could do nothing. In moments, the police had arrived and quickly apprehended Erik, who, because he was surrounded, could not escape. They dragged him away, in spite of his frantic and wild struggles. As he was taken, Madame Giry heard his anguished cry, "Madame Giry, please help me!" Then, she became aware of the townspeople that were still surrounding her.

"How do you know the Phantom?"

"Are you his friend?"

"Do you not know that he is a murderer?"

"Are you his accomplice?"

The flood of questions overwhelming her, Madame Giry screamed out, "Leave me alone!", and ran away as fast as an old woman could. Finally, once she was far away from that place, she looked down sadly, and whispered, "Erik, forgive me. I am sorry."

When the police had captured Erik, they brought him to the local jailhouse and locked him in a cell, without bothering to question him. He sat alone in his cell, shaking slightly. His cell was just like the cage he had been imprisoned in when he was young. He half-expected a scoffing, mocking crowd to come and make fun of him again. Overcome by his dark fears and grief, Erik buried his face in his hands and let the tears come again. "Christine, help me . . . I'm so afraid." he whispered as he cried, looking to all the world like a lost and abandoned child. Later that night, Erik was sleeping fitfully, mumbling disjointedly, when his cell door slammed open, causing him to jerk awake. Outside stood two guards, both of them leering scornfully at him.

"Get up!" barked one of them, a tall young man with a callous gleam in his icy blue eyes.

Erik stood hesitantly up, trying to shake off sleep. He stared anxiously at them, unsure of what they wanted.

The second guard, who was rather corpulent and red-faced, grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away, all the while grunting and wheezing ominously. He pushed him into a room that had a door marked "Interrogation Room," and roughly shoved him into a chair. "Answer our questions or face a beating." growled the man.

The indifferent young man then took over the questioning. Abruptly yanking Erik's mask from his face, he barked loudly, "Who was the woman that we found you with?"

Erik, though his hands were shaking uncontrollably, said nothing, not wanting to put Madame Giry in danger.

Suddenly, the second guard ruthlessly jammed his nightstick into Erik's stomach. "Answer!" he demanded.

Erik doubled over in pain with a weak gasp. Tears came uncalled for to his eyes as he fought off unconsciousness that threatened to overwhelm him. He knew that he had little chance of lasting if his tormentors continued to torture him, but he also knew that he did not want to cause Madame Giry or anyone harm. As he continued musing despite his anguish, the second guard, tiring of the rather one-sided interrogation, brought down the butt of his nightstick onto Erik's head, sending him falling into darkness.

At that same time, away from the jail, Madame Giry was standing outside Raoul's house, frantically pounding on his door and pleading, "Monsieur de Chagny! Open up, please!"

Hearing the noise, Raoul went to the door, and opening it, saw a nearly hysterical Madame Giry standing there. "Madame Giry! What is the matter?"

"Monsieur, the police . . . The police have taken Erik!"

"What? They captured the Phantom?"

"Some townspeople spotted him talking with me, and they summoned the police! He's been arrested! Please, monsieur, do something to get him out!"

Raoul stared at the distraught woman, and asked, "Why are you so concerned about his fate?"

"Please, monsieur!" cried out Madame Giry, who was by now practically begging.

"But why?" Raoul was not trying to cause his friend any unneeded grief, he just was not sure why she wanted to help Erik.

Deciding that Raoul was not going to help her, she exclaimed, "Very well, monsieur! If you will do nothing, then I will go and help him!"

"No, madame, wait! Just tell me why you are so worried, and I will go to the jailhouse."

Madame Giry sighed heavily, and tried to calm herself. She decided to explain her reasoning to him, though she would make it very brief. "Do you remember how Erik came to live at the Opera Populaire?"

"Yes."

"Well, monsieur, I care for him! He deserves a much better life than the one he's known. Does he deserve to be in prison?"

"Well, he's murdered and committed arson."

"He has been made this way by cold and heartless people who beat him and tortured him, monsieur. How he acts is not wholly his fault. Please, monsieur, I am begging you, help him!"

"Very well, madame. I will see what I can do."

"Thank you, monsieur! Thank you!" cried Madame Giry as Raoul walked away. She sighed again, very much relieved.

Early the next morning, Raoul went over to the jailhouse. When he arrived, he took in his surroundings; there were several guards lounging around with sneers on their faces, and the whole area reeked of blood, stale sweat, and alcohol. The ground was littered with stained rags and foul-smelling garbage. The walls were literally caked with excrement, and the spots that weren't were splattered with bloodstains. It took Raoul just one glance to know that the prison was in no better condition than an old, broken-down shack would be. Carefully stepping around the refuse that was on the ground, Raoul approached one of the leering guards. "Good morning. I wish to see the prisoner known as the Phantom."

"No one is allowed to see him." came the terse reply.

Raoul held a purse full of coins out to him. "You will let me see him."

Snatching the purse away, the guard reluctantly motioned for Raoul to follow him. He led him back to where the cells were, and stopped at the very last one. "Take as long as you want." said the guard, carelessly.

"Thank you, I shall." replied Raoul.

The guard rolled his eyes in disgust, then walked away, leaving Raoul alone.

Raoul looked into the cell, and started with surprise. Erik sat thee, with bloodstains on his face and clothes. "What on earth happened to you, Erik?" he asked, quite shocked.

"Raoul?" asked Erik. "Is that you?"

"Erik, what did they do to you?"

"They interrogated me."

"And beat you, from the looks of it." A look of hatred crossed Raoul's face. "They had no right to do that to you."

Then, something inside Erik seemed to snap. He shouted, "What does it matter what they did to me? I am nothing!"

Suddenly, Raoul felt the urge to grab Erik and throttle him, which was impossible because he was behind bars. The reason for his sudden anger became apparent when he said, "Erik, were you nothing to Madame Giry? She begged me to come free you! And what of Christine? She cared for you, Phantom!"

Erik's abrupt outburst subsided, and he looked down at his hands, ashamed at how he had acted. He stood up, grasped the bars of his cell, and asked, "Raoul, will you do what Madame Giry wanted? Will you get me out?"

"That's why I came." Raoul smiled reassuringly at him. "Wait here, I will come back." He turned, and walked back to the main part of the jail.

"So, what did that filthy murderer say to you?" asked one of the guards, still with a glower on his face.

Not even bothering to satisfy him with an answer, Raoul handed him two more bags of coins. "Let him go."

"Give me two more, and I will."

Raoul scowled impatiently at him. "Take them before I change my mind and break him out myself."

"Fine. Take him and get out." said the disgruntled guard. "Here are the keys to his cell."

Raoul turned at went to get Erik. Using the keys, he unlocked the door and beckoned Erik to come out. "You are free now, Erik."

Erik started to leave, but suddenly he stopped. "I cannot go out there like this."

"Of course you cannot. That is why I brought this for you." said Raoul, handing something to him. It was a mask.

"Thank you.", said Erik, fastening the mask onto his face, overcome with surprise at the kindness Raoul was showing him.

"Now then, shall we go?" Raoul and Erik left the jailhouse behind, and boarded a waiting carriage.

As they rode along, Erik looked out the window at the passing scenery. Then he caught sight of his reflection. His face and clothes were still stained heavily with blood from the brutal beating that he had endured. "Raoul, tell me something. Did I deserve this?" he asked, gesturing to his face.

"Erik, I told you already. You did nothing to deserve such cruel treatment." However, something on Raoul's face told Erik that he was not telling him the whole truth.

"So, I did not deserve to be beaten, but I deserved to be cast into prison, is that it?"

Raoul started to say something, but Erik cut him off. "You are just like all the rest! You pretend to care for me, but in the end you fear and loath me! Stop the carriage!" Erik flung open the door, jumped out, and shouted, "You will never see me again! Do not try to come after me!" With that, he began running down the road.

Stunned by Erik's sudden departure, Raoul stared up at the sky, and spoke, "Christine, I just wnated to help him. But it seems that he is better off alone." It seemed that Erik was destined to live out his days isolated from the world, with none to comfort or care for him. Raoul sighed heavily as he continued the journey home.

Far away from where he had run away from Raoul, Erik stood alone on an empty street, unsure of here he should go. "Maybe Madame Giry will help me." he thought. "No! I don't need her! I do not need anyone! I will just go away and never return." He turned and walked off alone.

From across that street stood the very person Erik was talking about. Madame Giry had been going for a walk, when she saw him running blindly down the road. She heard all of what he had been saying, and her heart ached for him. But she knew that he, after being alone for so long, could never be truly happy living among people. Tears came to her eyes, as she thought of Erik, going through life alone and never having people to love and care for him. She wished with all of her heart that she could do something to help him, knowing that she could do nothing. By now, Erik was a mere spot in the distance; Madame Giry could hardly distinguish him from the surroundings. It seemed that he would always be alone, wandering forever, lost and lonely.