Chapter five
Erik slipped the iron key back in his pocket and began to pull the heavy door open. It seemed to be stuck and would not open beyond an inch, he gave it another, rougher tug and it flew open with a force that was far beyond the pull he had given it. It swung round and smashed into Erik's elbow, leaving him slumped against the wall, clutching his arm and groaning in pain. He glanced up and was greatly shocked to see Meg Giry untying herself from the door handle, before he had a chance to stop her she had sprinted down the nearest hallway oblivious to Erik, who pursued her immediately.
Meg ran, her heart skipped with her step and the bottom seemed to drop out of her stomach when she heard heavy footsteps echoing hers only a few metres behind. Every time she lost her footing on the uneven stone floor she felt the distance between her and the phantom shrink. Then as she stumbled again she felt him catch up to her, and in a sweep of black coat she was pinned roughly against the wall. He held her to the wall with his uninjured arm, supporting her weight so that Meg's feet barely touched the floor. Meg squirmed like a rabbit in the jaws of a dog, but Erik had her pinned so harshly that she could feel the contours of the stone wall biting into her back and there was no room between them for her to move. Erik moved his face nearer to Meg, she tried to pull her face away from his hot breath but the stone wall caged her in. Erik lightened his breathing slightly, he had been issuing jagged breaths as a result of running after Meg.
"May I ask where exactly you think you're going?" Erik said slowly and deliberately putting a threatening edge on every word. Meg shied away from his voice, in his presence she seemed to have lost the power of speech, and also she failed to keep eye contact for more than a second. Meg believed that you could see into a person's soul through their eyes, she could not look into the Phantom's for fear of what she might see. When she looked for only a second, she just saw a hard, steely exterior that acted like a veil over a bride's face, it hid what was meant to be seen.
"Let me go!" Meg whimpered pathetically in protest. Erik threw his head back and gave a horrible laugh like a madman. Meg tried to struggle but Erik increased his vice-like grip on her shoulders and she felt his fingers bruising into her skin. She studied Erik's crazed expression but suddenly it changed. He stood back slightly (although not letting go of Meg), his eyes softened and he swallowed as if something in the room made him nervous. Meg followed his gaze and spotted what it was that caused Erik's rock hard exterior to soften. Christine stood in the doorway of a nearby room, her eyes as soft and startled as a doe's. She stood there, in her night clothes, her rich hair tumbling over her pale shoulder and a couple of stands gracing her face. Meg was pretty…but Christine was beautiful. Erik absorbed her beauty with his eyes, her porcelain skin and perfect lips and her long willowy legs that were hidden mostly by her white skirt, but a slit up one side gave a slight suggestion. Her face was contorted with shock though. Christine heard sounds in the hall and had come upon the scene of Erik pushing Meg against the wall, his face not even an inch from hers and a look of pure horror and disgust was easily seen on Meg's face.
"Let her go!" Christine cried out, rushing towards Erik and laying a hand on his injured arm. Erik winced and violently wrenched his arm out of Christine's light grip, cursing the pain under his breath. Christine backed away quickly and frowned deeply at Erik's temper. "Leave her alone, she hasn't done anything to you!" Christine commanded, but her voice was edging on pleading. Her fear was increased even more when Erik burst into a maniacal fit of laughter, and with another rough push on Meg's shoulder he began to rant.
"She hasn't done anything to me? I could write a book on what this rat has done to me! First she intruded on my property, then she immediately assumed I was a murderer, she then tried to run away to tell everyone where I live and consequently ruin my life, then she tried to disturb my only guest, shortly after than she bit me, then she took advantage of my generosity and hospitality, then she swung a heavy wooden door into me which I think has thoroughly shattered my elbow and finally she had made a repeat attempt at the 3rd thing on my list." Erik gave a sigh of exhaustion after finishing his speech and looked expectantly at Christine, waiting patiently for her argument.
"I don't care what she's done to you Erik! You're holding an innocent girl prisoner, not just any girl but the daughter of your oldest friend…"
"Second oldest" Erik corrected her.
"And now you're pinning her against a wall and no doubt hurting her, you should be ashamed of yourself!" Christine lectured Erik, he gave a snarl and reluctantly moved away from Meg, releasing her shoulder. He watched as Christine leapt forward and embraced Meg, questioning her well being and examining the growing bruise that stained her pale shoulder. It was a perfect imprint of Erik's hand, etched into her skin in deep purple like paint on a clean canvas.
"I still can't let her go you know." Erik said, disturbing the calm that flooded the girl's minds. Christine looked up to him and openly pleaded with him.
"Oh please let her go, if she promises to make up a story of where she has been and tells no one!" Erik looked down at Christine. She was kneeling at his feet, looking up to him with her pleading eyes and desperate words escaping her lips like kisses. Erik sighed and, leering at Meg, granted Christine's request. She sprung up from where she was sitting and threw her arms around his neck in gratitude, he was greatly tempted to pull her body closer to his but Meg's eyes were watching him carefully and it was not the time for taking risks.
- - - - -
Meg walked along, a few metres behind Christine, rubbing the bruise on her shoulder. She laid her own fingers where Erik's had been and marvelled on the difference in size between them, the mark lay way beyond Meg's pale hands. She turned her gaze back to where Christine was headed and discovered that in her thoughts, she had lost her. Meg sighed and began to walk quicker in order to catch up to her friend, with a groan she realised that Christine had been holding the candle Erik had given them and now she had nothing but darkness to follow. She groped around in the dark, following the walls with her hands. Suddenly the wall dipped into a doorframe, and in the doorframe was a door. Meg couldn't remember if she had gone through a door when she had come towards the phantom's house. She decided to go through the door and then turn back if it was the wrong way. Meg stepped lightly through the door and shut it quietly behind her. She couldn't see much because in this tiny room, there was almost no light just a dim glow from a miniscule gap between the wall and the floor. Meg had obviously come the wrong way, she turned to the door again and reached for the handle. There was no handle on that side of the door though, the door was as smooth as any of the walls. Meg thought she had perhaps forgotten the location of the door and that the handle lay on a different wall. She felt each wall, there were six walls. The room was hexagonal shaped, every wall the same width and height and none of them had a handle. Meg, who was breaking out in a cold sweat, began pushing all her weight against each of the walls in hope that one would give way. But they didn't, she was locked into the tiny room and there was nothing she could do but collapse on the floor and fill the chamber with echoing sobs.
Fresh sobs could still be heard minutes later, and they were heard. Meg was snapped out of her sorrow when a voice called from beyond one of the walls.
"Who is in my torture chamber?" said Erik's voice. Meg jumped up and began to knock on the walls with her fists.
"It's me, Meg! Oh please let me out!" She pleaded desperately with Erik. A click came from one of the walls and it swung open, Erik stepped in and rounded on Meg.
"Well, well, look who came trespassing again!" Erik taunted her, laying his hand on her shoulder so it fit perfectly inside the bruise that lay there. Meg felt a wave of claustrophobia come over her, the tiny room did not allow for her to run away from Erik. Before she could think, Meg pushed Erik away from her, he was caught off balance and he stumbled backwards, hitting his head on the door harshly. The door swung closed with a bang and Erik turned, a look of the most desperate horror on his face, and he collapsed to the foot of the door, which lay as smooth and as solid as any of the walls.