K2hotmail.cI love all of you wonderful people! Thank you all so much for the encouraging comments that have given me even more ideas for this. I still need a Beta Reader, so please, anyone willing to volunteer, please let me know. Lady Vladislaus xxx
Meg Giry kissed the top of the Phantom's disfigured face and held his body to hers closely, sharing her body warmth with the Ghost that had terrorized the Opera Populaire for at least 10 years. She studied his unconscious face carefully.
If it wasn't for the…she didn't quite know what to call it. It looked like a burn, but the skin wasn't rough, like a burn was. It was silky smooth, just red and angry looking. She stroked it gently, not wanting to cause him any further pain.
He would have been quite handsome if it wasn't for his face. He had a well-proportioned frame. Thick strong shoulders that indicated he was an active man, a flat stomach, and clearly defined leg muscles. Meg brushed a strand out of his face, and instantly covered his upper body with her own, as a sudden sort of explosion shook the entire sewer. Small shards of the ceiling fell from the roof and hit Meg squarely in the back. She stifled a scream as one of the sharper pieces embedded itself in her back. She felt something slither across her back, but she didn't dare look. She swallowed deeply and glanced backwards, her eyes connecting with the small drops of blood that was rapidly becoming a puddle on the floor.
She became nauseas, and her head fell down on to the Phantom's chest. She gasped for air, and she felt an additional explosion rock the sewer once more. Bigger bricks fell from the ceiling, and she felt the Phantom move. Shielding his head and chest with her own weakened body, she found his hand within hers and clenched it tightly, crying as more and more bricks hit the small of her back.
The Phantom on the other hand was trying his very best to change positions with Meg. He had no idea why she was protecting him from the rocks, but he did not care. She was the first person to protect him in his entire life, and without reason he just didn't want nothing to happen to her. Meg screamed in pain above him, and he flipped her out of the way, as he saw half of the ceiling collapse above her. She winced and gasped in shock as she saw the ceiling falling towards her. The Phantom rolled them both out of the way and saved them both from being crushed by the weight of the rocks.
Meg's eyes became dim and bleary once more. She felt the pressure of the phantom shielding her from the onslaught that raged above. But she was not afraid. She felt a cloying sweetness, almost like an unbearable lightness of being. She closed her eyes and fell forward, the Phantom catching her head before it hit the ground. Little Meg knew no more after that.
(((This is the Phantom having an internal battle with the voice in his head. The "Voice" is in italics, the actual Phantom reasoning is in Bold)))
Brilliant. Just bloody perfect! Not only have you got to save yourself from this horrific mess, Erik, You HAVE TO SAVE HER AS WELL! You bloody idiot. Now what are you going to do? Leave her here, no one need ever know…
I can't.
You Can. You must. How can you save yourself if you are carrying a ballerina over your shoulders?
I cant just leave her here. That would be murder.
When did that ever stop you before?
I don't want to be like that anymore. I can change. Get out of my head. Leave me alone!
Awwww, poor little Erik-the-Phantom, attached to a little ballerina, in the form of Little Meg Giry. Antoinette's daughter. Moreover, you like her don't you.
I don't want her to die.
YOU DO! You like the Prima Ballerina, oh this is just priceless! You like her! And even so short a time after Christine Daae! Hah!
No! You don't know me anymore. Im not like that! I have changed! Leave me ALONE!
It was at that precise moment that another part of the ceiling collapsed and landed into the murky waters that surrounded them. Meg stirred as the water sloshed over the sides of the tunnel and headed towards them.
No, don't, please, allow her this chance at life! Don't be so cruel as to let her live this long and then take her life away!
But his silent plea was heard by no one. He watched in frozen terror as the water rose higher and higher over the bulkheads, then with a deafening splash, raced towards the frozen bodies of Meg and the Phantom.
At that moment, the Phantom had a sort of epiphany. His purpose became shockingly clear to him. He had to save Meg, regardless of his own fate. He could not, and would not, leave her to die alone in this god awful place. He looked at the water once more racing towards him, and as though in slow-motion, he scooped the Prima Ballerina into his arms, and ran for it.
His arms and legs were screaming with the effort, and splashes of water licked at his heels, but her kept going. Up ahead, he knew, there was a small tunnel that led further underneath the city of Paris. It was a long shot, but if he could make it through there, perhaps he would stand a chance of getting the Little Giry a physician to check her over and make her strong once more.
It was there, he could see the turn-off! Now all he had to do was to reach it…
He threw his body forward with all the speed he could muster. He barely managed to get to the alcove in the wall before he collapsed himself on to the floor. The wound in his chest was killing him: he had fallen onto an exposed spike in the water and sliced his stomach open. He had had enough practice to realise that it was merely skin deep, and would cause him no long-term damage.
Ignoring the searing pain in his limbs, he checked on his unconscious captive. She was showing signs of waking. He had better make her comfortable before she did so.
Wincing, he dragged himself and Meg to her feet, and half carried her and half dragged her further down the tunnel. He had another smaller lair a bit further down. He could settle them both there.