Forty-Three

Life and Death

Three bullets.

The next few moments went by in horrible slow motion and before it was over not one person in that room would ever be the same. Leroy had seen Raoul raise the gun at the last moment and he turned his gun and pointed it at Chagny, both men firing at the other. The sound of two bullets hitting flesh caused Sienna to scream in fear. Leroy looked down at his chest in disbelief where his wound was and slowly he dropped to the floor. His eyes flickered for several moments, trying desperately to stay open but slowly they closed...forever.

Anthony shouted in disbelief when Raoul slumped against the wall behind him, clutching his shoulder, his face a mask of pain. Anthony ran to his friend and put his arm around him, supporting him against his body. Both men looked around themselves frantically, they had heard a third bullet, they were sure of it. Michael Delauney stood in the doorway, a pistol in his hands as he stared at the sight of his son in front of him, dead...just like the first.

The next sound they heard was something none of them would ever forget. That one sound carried all of the heartache and disbelief any of them had ever heard in their lives...it was almost inhuman...and it had erupted from Christine's throat in a gut retching scream. Her eyes were staring in disbelief at the blood that was slowly staining Erik's chest.

He had groaned softly in pain when the bullet struck him from behind and he, too, looked down at it in disbelief. Christine had been pressed against Erik's chest when all of the bullets had gone off and the one that hit her husband barely missed herself. Painfully Erik's eyes rose to meet Christine's and she began shaking her head, another scream erupting from her throat.

"No! Erik...God, no, please!" she cried. The sound of her voice caused Michael to come out of his trancelike state and he ran, Anthony taking off after him. Sienna helped support Raoul and they both looked on helplessly as Christine pressed frantic hands to Erik's chest, trying to stop the blood that seeped through her fingers. Erik said nothing, trying to keep himself upright against the pain. The look in Christine's tear filled eyes was breaking his heart.

"Erik...please make it stop!" Christine pleaded, her voice beginning to shake. Erik knew it was no use. He took Christine hands in his own and forced her to meet his eyes.

"I would always give you anything, my love...I cannot give you this," he whispered.

"Make it stop!" she whimpered, trying once more to stop the blood that was now covering her own body.

"I love you," he whispered.

"No, don't say that! This is not goodbye! I refuse for this to be goodbye!" she sobbed. He leaned forward and with what remaining strength he had he leaned forward and kissed her, her lips trembling against his. Erik cursed God then, for taking him away from the only person he had ever truly loved like he loved her. His hands came down and rested on her stomach. A wracking sob shook Christine's entire form. Sienna and Raoul glanced at each other questioningly.

"He will love you...tell him about me...the bad and the good...I want him to know who I was," he whispered. Christine pressed her hands against his, trying to will some of the life she and the baby had into him, anything to make him stay with her. If he left her she could not promise that she would not follow him soon. She could never raise this baby on her own...she would not survive.

"You are going to be alright, Erik! You have to be alright!" she sobbed. He smiled and pushed a curl away from her face.

"The time I had with you was the kind of life I had always wanted to live...you gave me everything...and no matter what happens I will always love you, spit-fire," he whispered.

"ERIK!"

He collapsed, his eyes closing in pain, the blood now staining a good portion of his shirt. Christine got up on her knees and tried once more to stop the blood. He could not leave her! She could never survive without him! He was the only thing in her life that she had that made her get up every morning. There time together had been to short...far to short.

"ERIK! ERIK...please...please, God! You cannot have him! You cannot have him, you hear me! He belongs to me! I cannot live without him!" Christine screamed heavenward. Anthony came bursting into the room, trying desperately not to look at Erik. This was all his fault. He should have watched over Sienna better, that was his duty to the woman he loved, and he should never have dragged Erik into what was not his business and because of it a good man was dying.

"Anthony! Anthony, help me! We must get him to a doctor! Hurry!" Christine cried when she laid eyes on her brother. Erik had grown far too still for Christine's peace of mind.

"We have to get out of here, Christine!" he said, breathless. Christine's head snapped up to look at him.

"I know that! Help me!" she said, trying to raise Erik on her own. Anthony shook his head.

"It is too late, Sister! Michael went to get more men! We need to get out of here before he comes back or we are all going to die!" Anthony said. Christine could not believe he was telling her it was too late. She could not help but scream at him.

"I will die without him!"

She once more tried to stop the blood, talking to Erik even when they all knew he could not hear her. Anthony grabbed his sister from behind and pulled her away from her unmoving husband. Christine fought, kicking and screaming.

"Let me go! Erik! Please! Erik! Let me go!"

With Sienna's help Raoul managed to go out into the hallway. Christine was screaming and pleading, her eyes never leaving the sight of Erik lying on that floor, covered in his own blood.

"ERIK! Please! I love you! I will never talk back again! Just please do not leave me!" she screamed. Anthony knew she was beyond hysterical and tears came to his own eyes as he dragged his sister away from the man she loved. He could hear the guards Michael had went to get and Christine was slowing them down, and her screams would get them all killed. He would never forgive himself for hitting her, causing her to become limp in his arms. But her life and Sienna's were all that mattered to him and he would do anything to make sure they were safe. The last thing Christine said before she was surrounded in darkness echoed throughout the hall.

"ERIK!"

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Michael and his men rushed into the room, only to find the body of Leroy and Erik on the floor, everyone else have fled in obvious fear. He would kill all the ones there that night for what they had done to his only remaining son.

"After them!"

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A Persian slipped into the room in the far to quiet Delauney manor. He had followed Christine when he had heard her leave the manor and he had known all to well that she gone after her husband. He admired the girls love and loyalty to Erik and knew the masked man deserved more happiness then he had ever been given. He was the one to find Erik's body on the cold floor in one of the man bedrooms.

He was still...

But he was still breathing...

A/N: Runs from angry mob! I am sure you all hate me! I am sorry it is such a short chapter and I am sorry that it is another cliffie, I just love writing them, it makes you want to read more! And do not worry! I still have a few tricks up my sleeve! DonJuanTriumphs