Close Encounters of the Fictional Kind

Chapter 34: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra

As the Eurostar train slowed to a stop, Elise and Marie made ready to exit the train at Paris Nord. It was still morning, so they couldn't check into their hotel yet. That wasn't too big of a deal though since they only had backpacks. Rather large packs, but still easier to manage than giant suitcases.

Elise had been to Paris a couple of times before, so she led the way out onto the street and selected one of the taxis that lined the curb. Twenty five minutes later, they were taking seats at Café de Flore with an order of coffee and croissants on the way. "So, we should be able to check into the hotel by the time we're done here," Marie commented as she adjusted her pack sitting between her feet. The tables were so crammed together that leaving anything lying next to the chair was quite unwise.

"Yeah, we can pass by Notre Dame on the way if you want? It isn't too far from here and we can take the metro from there."

"Great!" Marie smiled as a waiter dropped off their order.

"Merci!" Elise thanked him.

"Bien sûr, mademoiselle!" he said as he departed.

"What was that?" Marie asked after he'd left.

"Of course, miss," Elise translated. "Honestly, I don't know why it's so hard for you to learn languages, Marie."

"Probably because languages are hard to learn, Elise," the younger girl fired back. "They just don't click."

Elise rolled her eyes, but didn't argue. "Right, so Notre Dame on the way to the hotel, then check-in, then catacombs?"

"Yes!" Marie nodded enthusiastically.

So after their small breakfast, they hiked the mile to Notre Dame where the day's tourist crowd was just starting to get busy. They got in line to see the inside of the cathedral just in time before the droves of tourist busses arrived. After the cathedral they walked down to the east end of Île de la Cité to see the holocaust victim memorial before headed out to their hotel. Eventually they were checked-in and rested for a bit before headed back out to visit the catacombs. The day had turned sunny and the two girls had perched stylish sunglasses on their noses before exiting their hotel room.

Their tour through the catacombs was dark and fascinating. Both girls were interested in the history behind it, but Marie was much more amazed by the walls of bones than Elise was. Eventually the came back up to the surface of Paris, blinking as their eyes adjusted to the light again. Elise flipped her sunglasses back down, and turned to see that Marie's were missing. "Where'd your sunglasses go?" she asked.

Marie blushed a bit. "Um, they may have been stolen… by one of the skulls." She used finger quotes when saying 'stolen'.

"Are you serious?! Oh my god," Elise shook her head, but was smiling as she led the way towards the street to hail a taxi. "When did you even do that? And did you get a picture?"

"Of course!" Marie grinned.

"Excellent. It's going on the blog!" Elise chuckled as she climbed in the back of the taxi cab. The girls took the taxi back to the hotel where they had dinner and changed into something more formal for their next event.

"Do we have to?" Marie complained as she set down the curling iron.

"Yes," Elise replied before pressing a dusty rose lip color to her bottom lip. "It'll be fun!"

Marie rolled her eyes, but didn't complain more as she knew that her friend really wanted to visit the famous Paris Opera House. In reality, the younger girl was curious herself. Especially where the infamous underground passages were concerned. At a quarter to six, the girls headed out in their fancy dresses, sparkly costume jewelry, and low heels. They were headed out to see Le Cid, a musical about love and honor.

Everything was fantastic! The backdrops, the sword fights, the struggle between the two lovers! Everything! Until the very end… "What kind of ending is that?!" Marie exclaimed throwing her hands in the air.

A few people around them gave them curious looks, but ignored them. "It's a tragedy, Marie."

"But… it pretty much stopped in the middle! For god's sake Rodrigue and Chimène aren't even really together at the end!"

"No, but there's hope for their future if they can get over the ghosts of their pasts."

"That's bull," Marie muttered, but let it drop.

The girls made their way out to the main entrance where the grand staircase sat waiting to take visitor's breaths away. They had signed up for an after dark tour that had just been added on to their ticket prices. Given that the Opéra Garnier was famous (or infamous) for playing host to the Phantom of the Opera, the managers had decided to capitalize off of the myth.

The tour started at the main entrance once everyone had arrived. They'd deliberately chosen an English-speaking tour guide. The tour started shortly and went over many of the basics such as architecture, dates, fun facts, and what kind of events the Opéra Garnier hosted. About thirty minutes into the tour they passed by one of the entrances to the basement of the opera house. Elise and Marie had drifted to the back of the group as they admired the architecture.

As the rest of the group rounded a corner, Elise felt a tug at her sleeve. She stopped and glanced back to find Marie gesturing for her to follow her into the basement entrance. "Marie!" she hissed at the younger girl. "We're not supposed to go down there!"

"And? That's never stopped us before!" Marie grinned. "Come on! You want to find out what's down here too!"

"Yeah, but…"

"So come on!" Marie pulled on Elise's chiffon sleeve again and led the way down the spiraling stairs. The dank brick work surrounding them reminded Elise of an over-size silo except more humid.

"If we find ourselves at the end of a rope I'm blaming you," Elise muttered.

"What?"

"It's how the Phantom kills his victims, by hanging them," Elise sighed.

Marie scoffed. "The Phantom is just a myth, Elise."

"Yeah… and Doctor Who is just a TV series, Harry Potter is just a book, and Ezio Auditore is just a video game character."

Marie paused for a moment and glanced back at her friend. "Point taken." They proceeded on with a bit more caution then, glancing above them occasionally.

Eventually, the two girls reached the bottom of the winding stairs to find a wide tunnel that looked like an underground moat stretching into the darkness. "Maybe we should go back?" Elise wavered.

"Come on! We'll be fine!"

Marie continued to lead the way along the walking path that ran alongside the moat of greenish tinged water. As she walked, she started to hum the song Hoist the Colors from Pirates of the Caribbean. Elise glanced at her with a small frown and wide eyes as she recognized the tune. She didn't comment though and just rolled her eyes as they continued down the path. The darkness closed in on them in between the safety lights that had been installed every fifty feet. They eventually came to an open room in the tunnel system where a large green lake spread out before them. More tunnels branched off and the girls looked around, confused about which way to go.

"Now can we go back?" Elise asked crossing her arms over her chest.

Marie turned to respond, but halted as she spotted a shadow cross over the wall. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

"There was a shadow. There must be someone else down here. HELLO!?" Marie called out, her voice echoing on the damp walls.

A low chuckle echoed around them. In the dark damp tunnels it sounded sinister and eerie. "It's the Phantom!" Elise's eyes were wide and she was backing towards the entrance to one of the tunnels.

"They could be lost, Elise," Marie quieted her before shouting out again.

Another low chuckle followed her call along with the soft tinkle of a music box. "Okay, that's effin' creepy," Marie backed up a step towards her friend. Another shadow crossed over them and that was the final straw. "Let's get out of here!" Marie turned and ran blindly into another tunnel.

Elise spun on her toes and fled into the dark tunnel behind Marie. The soft tinkle of the music box, the low chuckles, and the shadows continued to chase them until they came to a more recently constructed part of the sewer system. "There!" Elise shouted and pointed towards a ladder leading up and out.

Marie didn't hesitate to splash through the couple inches of water on the floor of the tunnel as she darted toward the ladder. Elise caught up with her quickly as both girls climbed as fast as they could. A heavy metal manhole cover kept them from freedom, but with adrenaline coursing through Marie, she only had a little trouble shoving it out of the way. Both girls scurried out of the tunnel and hurried to put the cover back in place before anything could follow them out.

They're breaths came out in sharp pants as they slowly backed away from the manhole cover. They were wet and the chill from the night air was setting in now that they were out of the tunnel and the adrenaline was dying down. "Where are we?" Marie asked looking around.

"I don't know," Elise replied. "We ran quite a ways."

The two looked around for some indication of where they were, but all that surrounded them were tall beige buildings that were typical in central Paris. The narrow street ran in a gentle curve towards the right. A few feet away was the entrance to an alley. "Come on," Elise motioned for Marie to follow, and both girls began walking stiffly as their shoes squished with water.

The dark alley led out to a main road, but Elise still didn't know where they were. However she quickly spotted a couple slowly walking down the sidewalk. "Excusez moi?!" she called out to them. The short woman with blond curly hair and the tall man with auburn hair swept back turned to look at her.

The woman's eyes widened as she took in Elise and Marie's drenched looks and obviously chilled expressions. "Êtes-vous bien?" she asked with concern.

"Oui, nous sommes bien," Elise reassured. "Mai, pouvez-vous nous dire où nous en sommes?"

The blond gave the girls a critical look, but didn't comment on their wet dresses further. "Oui, le Jardin des Tuileries est juste lá, est la Louvre. Avez-vous besoin d'aide?"

"Non, vous avez eu beaucoup d'aide! Merci!"

Elise turned and headed back towards Marie. She could hear the couple talking to each other as she walked away. "Do you think we should help them, Raoul?" the woman asked in French.

"She said they'd be fine, Christine," the man replied.

"What did she say?" Marie asked as they continued walking.

Elise's eyes were wide and she whipped back to look at the couple one more time before they turned the corner. "I think I just asked Christine Daae and Raoul de Chagny for directions," she murmured faintly.

"That's nice. Did they tell you where we are?" Marie asked growing frustrated.

"Yeah, the Louvre is just down this way. But Marie! Christine Daae and Raoul de Chagny!" She gripped her friend's shoulders tightly.

"What about them? What is up with you, Elise!?" Marie shrugged out of her friend's grasp.

"But… the Phantom… opera…" Elise stuttered.

Marie let out an impatient sigh and led the way towards the Louvre, a some-what in shock Elise trailing behind her. The two girls eventually found the Metro entrance beneath the tall glass pyramid and caught the train back towards their hotel. Marie already had dibs on the first hot shower.

Authors' Notes: English Translations -

"Excuse me?"
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, we're fine. But can you tell us where we are?"
"Yes, the Tuileries Garden is just over there, and the Louvre. Do you need help?"
"No, You have been a lot of help! Thank you!"