Chapter Fifteen

Jessalyn had to find some way to distract Daniel from investigating the awful cry they had heard on the stage. It had been a large effort on her part to pull her friend away, for he wanted nothing more than to stay and look for where the voice was coming from. She somehow managed to get him to come back to her room while still keeping a sharp eye out for Erik, fearful he would somehow be there behind every corner they turned. Tony was already in the room, looking over the computer. He looked at them and they stumbled in puzzled. "God you look like you've seen a ghost!" He exclaimed.

Daniel shook off a shiver. "Perhaps heard one would be more accurate." He lead Jess to a chair more or lest commanding her to have a seat. Tony got out of his chair and walked toward them, realization dawning on his face. "We were on the stage and then there was this god awful scream all around us." Dan said scratching his head, ruffling his sandy curls. "I don't know who caused it. Maybe someone stubbed their toe." He joked. But Tony was far from amused. Instead he knelt down to Jessalyn's level, forcing her to try and look him in the eye.

"My God . . . " he whispered, putting his hands over hers on her lap. "Jess you're trembling." He pointed out. He gave a harsh look up at Dan, which annoyed him. "Damn it, can't you see it Dan? She frighten." He turned back to her. "Jess, tell me what's wrong, please." Jess could tell by the look in Tony's eyes that he was in no mood for nonsense. She had to think up of another lie and fast.

She attempted a weak smile. "Nothing. I was just startled. And I guess running through the opera house at night liked a scared fool made me . . . a bit jumpy. That's all." She explained, trying to shake off Tony's grip. "Don't worry about me." She got up out of her seat. "So what where you planning to do for the rest of the night?" She asked the two of them. Daniel gave another glance to the door, and Jess knew that he wanted desperately to run out and investigate the strange scream.

"Well Tony and I were going to go over some other plans and options. Make a new strategy for when we are going back down in the cellars tomorrow." He said. Jess suppressed an unpleasant gasp.

"Were going back down again . . . tomorrow?"

"Yes is there a problem?" Jess thought. She couldn't stop Tony and Dan from continuing their expedition into the depths of the opera unless she told them the real reason she was so frighten. And she couldn't stop Erik from harming either of them if they went without her. Perhaps their only hope, small as it was, would be if Jess traveled with her friends staying by them at all times. Maybe if she was with them, Erik would have second thoughts of making any attack in her presence. Of course she was also dealing with the wrath of a man whose bitterness had ruled his life for over a century. There was no way she could be certain for her safety.

So she tried her distraction."Well we have a long night of planning ahead of us. Let's get cracking." She offered. Dan smiled in approval.

"Good." He turned to Tony. "Have you been able to locate evidence of a double caisson in the cellars yet?" He asked.

Tony laughed. "Yeah right, not with the blue prints I've been able to get. I would have to have Garnier's original plans, if those even exist." He noted. Jess shook her head in confusion.

"Okay, hold it. What are you to talking about?" she demanded. Dan chuckled, picking up a book from under his desk.

"We are going to try and find another route into the cellars. There is a possibility that the house on the lake has been covered up, or something built around it after years of renovation. So we are looking for clues to hint us where the location of the house may be. Leroux noted in the Persian's narrative about certain unique designs in the foundation and that the architect needed to build a double caisson around the cistern to protect building from the dampers and other elements. They use caissons in most structures that have supports underwater, like the lake in the cellars." He explained. Jess tried patiently to understand everything he was saying. "Well this structure to about another year to build. Now if we go on the theory that Erik, the Phantom was actually part or closely attached to the work crew during the building, he may have found some way to build his home inside that double caisson. It's quite possible, and if the clues are correct there was plenty of room and apparently plenty of time to have it constructed in secret."

He chuckled and tossed the book at her. "You should do more reading." He suggested. Jess looked at the book and saw that it was one of Dan's many copies of The Phantom of the Opera. Jess remembered that Dan had once shown her his collection back at school. He had over a dozen copies, some for collecting only, others for his massive amounts of notes. Notes on literary style, historical context, architectural key points and his favorite passages. She obviously held a copy for notes on the architecture notes for the first half of the book was clean and empty, but toward the end, the pages were a mass of words in the margins, and paragraphs underlined in pencil.

So the boys stayed up into the small hours of the morning, discussing plans about traveling into the cellars once more, crossing the lake and taking a detailed look at each wall to see if something laid behind it. Jess sat and read the last chapters of the book over and over again. She understood that her friends were trying to find a more effective way of conducting their study and thought about the secret way she had discovered into Erik's home. The room of immense heat must have been the same "torture chamber" that Raoul de Changy and the Persian had discovered. Perhaps there she could help find more answers for her friends. But she didn't want to risk it and the thought of traveling down there once more, seeing the hidden passages Erik had lead her down and that painting she had discovered, made her skin crawl.

It seems her life was now nothing but taking risks.

As she pushed her oar through the murky water, Jess still couldn't believe she was doing this. They each had their own raft and pushed their way through the water. Going back down into the catacombs had been like reliving a horrible nightmare. She stayed behind, not letting either Dan or Tony see how nervous she was. Dan conducted out his plan, just as he described it last night. They started at one corner of the lake, stopping at each of the rotting walls and inspecting it. Daniel pushed his hands into wilting mortar and brushing aside flecks of dust, trying to find evidence in the wear and tear of the wall. Tony had a small tool kit, containing what looked to Jess like small hammers, as he carefully tapped certain areas in the walls and listened to see if there was any echo on the other side. As Jess watched them, she remembered that night she thought had been a dream, the night in Erik's lair. From the elaborate design of the grotto, she couldn't conceive that it could have been built between a double caisson as Daniel had suggested. Her eyes and flashlight turned to the other side of the lake, making out the dim outline of the island they had found before. It remained bare and empty, not like she had seen it, when Erik had seemed to open walls before her to step out onto the shores of the lake.

Jess shuddered to think of how much Erik had trusted her that night, how much she had seen that she should not have noticed. She knew she could find the way into Erik's house if she only tried. But she would have to go alone. She knew too much for her own good perhaps. But as she gazed longingly at the lake shore, she thought of all questions that were still unanswered.

She stood like a guard in her little boat as her friends worked. She was thankful that they had decided not to go into the water by foot again. Tony gave a frustrated sigh as he pushed himself away from the wall they were currently working on. He picked up his paddle. "Nothing here." He announced. "We could be at this for hours."

"Hours" Jess muttered in boring despair. She couldn't think of spending another minute in this place, not while an unseen threat loomed in the air like a dark cloud. Fearful of what could happen now that they had trespassed into his domain for a second time. Jess kept her eyes on the bare platform protruding from the water. The place she was certain she had emerged from the Phantom's lair. But she thought of what Daniel had said, about the lake being usually flooded to the ceiling. That meant there had to be another way into Erik's house, that was not the secret way he had lead her through, or the passages into the torture chamber she had discovered, for there was clearly no way out of that room from the inside. She started to row her raft toward the center of the lake, leaving her friends behind. She was certain there had to be another entrance. But where?

She sat her paddle down across her legs, and drifted along of the water's own accord. For a still current of a man-made lake, it strangely seemed to pull her along closer to the ominously stark isle and farther away from her friends. But there was something else, soft like an echo was calling her. She gazed at the almost too quite water, where the sound seemed to be coming from. She was certain now it was music, a light airy melody that seemed to float both above and beneath her. The sound was hallow and Jess tried her hardest to determine what instrument it was. Perhaps an oboe or the woodwinds stop on an organ being played with feathery grace. She starred down at her reflection, not pleased with the stupid bewildered look on her face. Jess listened closely.

Until she reasoned that it was no musical instrument behind the tune, but instead a voice. An androgynous voice hovering above the water. It could have been a boy soprano or a lyric tenor in a high range for all she could tell. The song seemed to mush and mesh itself in the air around her, like a thick humidity covering her face. She took a deep breath, savoring the music she heard as if it were a sensual caress. She dipped her hand into the water that seemed to be relaxing and cool now.

Perhaps there was nothing to fear at all?

The soft splashes of a paddle against the lake surface invade her trance, along with Daniel's voice of concern. "Jess, are you okay over there?"

But she only heard him vaguely. The shimmering reflection of the lake held all of her attention captive at the moment. The song continued, lulling her closer and closer to the edge.

Then the silence of the grotto and her mind was broken by a cold deafening splash!

Tony jerked to attention at the sound and looked over to where Dan had gone to. In horror he saw one of the yellow rafts without an owner. But it wasn't Jessalyn's.

It was Daniel's!

His raft was half way filled with water, his paddle abandoned. Jess, who a moment ago had been drifting about in a daze was now screaming in panic. Tony stood up and held out a hand in warning.

"Stay right there!" He commanded, fearful Jess might try to rescue Dan herself. And without another word, he dived down into the murky lake. Of course he could not see anything due to the darkness of the grotto, so he had to trust his instincts and guess from the movements of his legs of how far he had propelled himself through the water. It was difficult swimming blindly but then also having water pushing up his nostrils made him extremely uncomfortable. But still he pushed on. He could feel Daniel's raft floating on the surface brush against his head. He frantically waved his arms back and forth but felt nothing else.

Tony pushed his head to the surface and took a large gasp of air, before submerging once more. He pushed himself to swim to the bottom. It wasn't too deep, perhaps Dan was down there. He reached the lake floor. His hands came in contact with large bricks lining the foundation, clumps of mildew and mud scattered occasionally in the texture. Tony crawled on his hands and knees trying desperately not to have his legs float upward and carry him along with them. He had to be firm as a lead weight.

He crawled onward, wondering how long he could hold his breath. Water filled his ears and nose. He tried to snort it out, but was only greeted by another blast of foul liquid. He estimated how far he had traveled by the length of the bricks, which were almost a foot long, and how many hands had touched. He reached out his right hand to find the next stone. But it came in contact with nothing. There were no more stones as Tony grasped about for something. There was nothing in front of him, but he discovered there was plenty of room for his hand to move down. Endless room.

There was a hole in the floor. And he did not want to guess or find out how deep it went.

Tony surfaced almost directly under Jessalyn's raft and she had to avoid almost striking his back with her oar. She had tried to follow his underwater movements, but had lost track of him after only a few moments. "Where's Dan?" she asked

Tony coughed trying to get fresh air in his lungs. "I don't know! I couldn't find him. There is a huge hole down there. I don't know if he fell in!" He said exasperated. Jessalyn shined her flashlight down into the water seeing only her reflection and the beam showing back at her.

"Damn." She cursed. Dan had disappeared under the water more than two minutes ago. But then something, an impulse told her to turn around. She flashed her light over in the direction of the isle . . . and saw a motion, something pushed against the water's surface from beneath. She turned to Tony who was still treading water. "Follow me." She instructed, jumping out of her raft into the water feet first.

The water engulfed her, as if her body were between two giant hands trying to crush her. She wasn't sure if it was the temperature, or just her fear and tension that made the water feel icy cold against her skin. Frantically she kicked her legs, pushing herself through. She could only see a few inches in front of her face, which was nothing more than murky puddles of green and black. She felt a current brush up against her side and knew that Tony was now there, swimming beside her.

And then a splash of color in the darkness. Bright canary yellow, the same color of the polo shirt Dan had been wearing. She charged forward even though with each stroke she took, that hint of brightness seemed to slip farther away from her. Jessalyn pounded at the water with her feet, driving on at a maddening pace until the color grew bolder and took the shape of a shirt. She could now tell it was Daniel floating in the water. But when she got close enough to see him, she stopped in horror.

Her friend's limp body hovered before her, his mouth open and his head pulled back. One black gloved hand clutched his forearm, while another held a tight death grip over his throat. Jess moved her arms to her sides, but touched nothing. Tony wasn't next to her anymore. He must have fallen behind. She tried to stretch her feet down to touch the floor, but discovered she could not reach the bottom here. From behind Daniel's unconscious form, a pair of golden eyes glared at her.

She couldn't panic. Jessalyn instead threw both her arms around Dan's torso, embracing him. If Erik was going to hurt Dan, he would have to take her first. Desperately, she clawed at the two hands holding him, in an attempt to free him. Still, no sign of Tony anywhere. She wanted to cry out, but couldn't. The golden eyes flashed in and out of view. Keeping one arm holding her friend, she lashed out with her fist into the darkness in sheer anger. How dare he do this? But she struck nothing. Jessalyn's lungs were pleading for air and she was not certain how long she would last.

The eyes shone once more.

And then Dan's body fell into her awaiting arms, free of the grip that held him. Jess felt something tug on her foot, and seeing that it was Tony, she passed Dan off to him as he kicked their way to the surface. Relived for a moment, she turned her face upward.

A boney hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her back. She jerked in surprise. Tony was no where in sight by now. She turned to see what held her. Erik's face floated in the water next to her, only a few feet away. She wriggled like a fish on a hook, but to no avail. There was something strange, she noticed in the blackness of the silhouette he cast. But she couldn't, nor did see desire to get any closer to him. Her torso squeezed in on itself in a plead for oxygen. Since she couldn't speak, she had to communicate with her eyes.

Please, let me go . . .

He realized something was wrong in the way she looked at him. She saw one of his hands cover his face, and his eyes turned from anger to shock. He let go of her hand and turned away, fading into the abyss in seconds. Startled, she watched until she was sure he was gone, than paddled her way upward to the surface.

A large gasp from her throat echoed through the grotto as her head emerged from underneath. She saw Tony and Daniel already in her raft as Tony gestured frantically for her to come. She swam the few yards to reach them and Tony jumped out with caution as she approached. He helped her in as she slid next to Dan's fallen body. "I don't think the raft can hold all of us." Tony said grabbing one of the sides. "I think I'm tall enough that I can pull you both to shore." He started his heavy trudge through the lake.

Jess bent down to Dan's side, snaking a hand up his shirt, his chest already feeling cold and stiff. Thankfully she found a heart beat, though it was slow. But an examination near his face quickly told her, he wasn't breathing. Jess gave a cry and pushed down on his chest. Some water poured out of his mouth. She tilted his chin in the correct position, thankful that all the CPR classes she took in high school were finally going to pay off. She pressed her lips against his, pushing her air into his empty mouth. His thin lips were cold and wet, and she cried at the touch of them in spite of herself. Again and again, praying against hope she could revive him. Tony keep asking what was happening, but Jess had no time to answer. After five times, she hadn't gotten him to breathe on his own.

She knew that Tony was pushing his hardest against the flow, and that he to was aware of the threats that loomed beneath them. But she couldn't help herself. "Hurry Tony, please!" she begged. She kept her hands over Dan's cheeks and she pushed air into his mouth over and over, checking his pulse, which seemed to be slowing down every time.

"Please Dan, don't die!"

A/N: dun dun dun . . . (It seems to be a popular phrase all the sudden)

Okay new chapter and cliffhanger. Shame on me. Okay let me settle your fears with a SPOILER! I'm not going to kill off Dan. What kind of monster do you think I am? The story would be over. (Well it would be rather boring . . . just angst between Jess and Erik as Tony wanders around clueless) I actually got finished reading a book on how to write good suspense fiction so I'm polishing up my skills on character viewpoints and such to make it interesting for all you readers out there. I'm so happy I have more reviews now than I have pages. Thank you to everyone.

-Punjabchild