Phantom belongs to Gaston Leroux and Andrew Lloyd Weber.
Ok, so this is a short one but the next one is going to be quite long. Such suspense! This is so much fun to write!
Thank you to my reviewers! :)
He awoke to Christine frantically whispering his name.
"Erik!"
"Mmm..."
"Erik! Wake up." She shook him.
"ERIK!" She whispered loudly to which he jumped awake and rubbed his eyes; momentarily forgetting where he was. "You fell asleep!"
"Oh. Oh no... my god. Christine. I'm so sorry, Christine!" He began shaking his head as the enormity of what he had done began to dawn on him. "I never sleep!"
He looked at her; his eyes anguished.
"I must have dozed off...I... I was so comfortable. I just... I'm so sorry." He began condemning himself and it seemed as though it might be a habit.
"Shh. Its alright."
"No. No its not. I may have damned us. I have failed you, Christine! All I had to do was stay awake!" He put his head in his hands.
"Its alright!" She soothed, placing a hand on his shoulder. She could see that she needed to stop this before he spiraled any further...
"What's the time?" He asked "How long did I sleep for? Do you know? Damn!" He cursed.
"I don't know..." She said in the calmest tone possible so as not to upset him further. "Down here, I can't tell. It didn't feel like we slept for long though."
He was silent for a few moments, his hand to his mouth.
Thinking?
"We should go." He stood up abruptly and smoothed back his hair which she suspected to be a nervous habit. He held his hand out to her.
"Wait... But you don't even know how long it has been. Has it been one hour or six?" In spite of herself she took his hand and stood up.
"We will proceed with caution." He said, looking towards the doorway. "Come."
Without releasing her hand he led her to the doorway; a doorway to what had become so much more than just a room. He turned to face her.
"Christine, please listen to me." He began in a calm voice. "If anything should go wrong when we leave this room..."
"I'm not leaving you." She interrupted."So don't even suggest it."
"If anything goes wrong, if anything happens, if... we see them..." He continued, obviously ignoring her protestation and attempt at a stern expression. He looked at her sincerely and held her shoulders gently. "I want you to tell them that I captured you."
"No! I..."
"And if that doesn't work, and there's a good chance that it won't because these probably aren't reasonable people, you run. Alright? As fast as you can. Your eyes have adjusted to the darkness while they still have to rely on their torches; that's an advantage."
"No! This isn't alright. What you've said isn't an option, Erik... It's no..."
"Christine please... try to understand. I will do my best to protect you; I would kill any man who tried to harm you but there may be a lot of them. I would say that the gendarmerie would have left by now and I don't know whether that's favorable for me or not. I don't know what to expect." At this point he was thinking aloud.
Erik hated nothing more than to be unprepared.
"You're speaking as if we should prepare for the worst?" She asked.
"We should. It's hard to know what could happen." He looked down at her; a sweet yet broken smile playing on his lips, tears forming in his eyes.
The expression on his face made her want to break down in tears but she had to be strong; now more than ever. This wasn't fair! She had finally made the right choice... but she could lose him... and to those savages.
"Erik, listen to me!" She began, grabbing the front of his shirt and slightly pulling at it in her desperation. "They won't just kill you. It would be much worse!"
"I know. That was always going to be a possibility for someone like me." He replied wistfully.
Christine stared at him for a moment before wrapping her arms around him and holding him. This time he actually returned the embrace and they stood together as if it were their last. He drew back and while shaking with nerves and emotion placed a small kiss on her forehead. Before she could react he was already on the move.
"Let's go." He said. He cautiously stuck his head out of the door way with Christine holding onto his arm and peering around him. He could see nothing but the two dark passage ways to his right and left.
Only one way to go.
He took her hand. "Do you want me to carry you?"
"No... I'm alright."
Seeing through her white lie and disregarding it, he whisked her up anyway as if it were nothing. They walked for a few minutes without speaking. Both were mentally preparing themselves for what lay ahead.
"Are you sure this is the only other way out?" She whispered after a few more minutes of tense silence.
He chuckled slightly. "I've lived here for a long time, Christine."
If only you knew.
As he walked she could feel the muscles in his chest move beneath her. She blushed as despite her fear she began wondering what it would look like. Of course he was strong; he had lifted the portcullis and had been carrying her without a complaint for as long as she could remember. She stopped herself and hoped dearly that his powers did not stretch as far as telepathy... Her thoughts then turned to guilt; why had she not taken notice of anything about him previous to tonight? She cursed her own selfishness and vowed that if they got out of these caverns, things would change. He deserved so much more than what she had given him; how she had treated him.
As Christine cursed herself for her past actions; Erik was deep in thought as well and his stream of consciousness did not differ all that much from hers. He kept replaying the events in his head; a night which seemed to have occurred weeks ago. No... It was only a few hours ago...
It was only a few hours ago when you murdered out of pure jealousy.
A few hours ago when you set the whole building ablaze; your home; your life's work.
A few hours ago when you dragged her down here with you.
A few hours ago when you tried to force her to marry you.
When you almost murdered her fiancé.
But you let her go.
You let her go and she came back.
She came back and she is risking her life to stay with you.
Suddenly he stopped in his tracks. His stomach dropped.
"Do you see that?" He whispered to the woman in his arms.
"What?"
"That faint glow ahead." He put her down and pointed in the direction he had referred to. It was a small glow of light In the distance.
"Oh no. Is it them?" She whispered to him frantically.
"I think so."
It couldn't be anyone else.
He grabbed her hand and they walked a little further.
"That's enough. You stay where you are." He told her, putting his hands on her shoulders. "I'm going to have a look" He began to walk away.
"No! Erik, don't leave me!" She begged quietly, refusing to release his hand.
"I'll be right back." He said, walking back to her. "But remember, if anything at all happens, run the other way or hide. Do you understand? You can't risk anything. You agreed, remember?"
She nodded sadly and looked into his eyes.
"I..." He began to speak but it seemed as if his breath caught in his throat. Christine looked up at him expectantly. "I... I'll be right back." He repeated. She could have sworn that he was about to say something else. Perhaps he wasn't going to risk saying those words again. Not yet. Not after the last time...
Do you blame him?
No...
He traced her cheek with his thumb and smiled; there was so much love in that small trace of affection that it was even harder to let him go.
"Come straight back." Was all she could muster.
He smiled at her again, and nodded. Although he knew deep down that there was a chance he might not be able to...
