Good Afternoon my Dearies (for those of you who have read this far),

I appreciate the views and I hope my writing style and character analysis are to your liking. This chapter is a little shorter than the last two and we are back in the mind of the beautiful Cassarah.

Enjoy!

XxxXxxX

Chapter 3- Nothing but a Man

What the hell was that!? That was not a ghost or a spirit. Ghosts are transparent. This was solid, tall and menacing. This was nothing but a man. I couldn't tell what was more terrifying, ghost or living being? It was strange; he could have passed as a person from the 1800s. His attire resembled that of a gentleman in high propriety from that century, with the vested suit and small top hat. The only thing that seriously threw off his moniker was the mask he wore on his face. As if chiseled out of porcelain, it complimented his bare side perfectly. I caught a glimpse of his eyes, white in comparison to the rest of the surroundings. They were as wide as mine in utter shock.

I stumbled out of the caverns and into the bright lights of the hallway. My lungs burned as my chest heaved to collect as much air as it could. I lifted my head and searched for Alex. He was long gone. That bastard! Crawling to the adjacent wall, I collected myself and wrapped my arms around my legs in a protective embrace. The burn in my chest was still present and tears welled within my eyes, blurring my vision even more. That was not what I was expecting to happen. This was supposed to be a silly game! It wasn't supposed to actually cause any kind of discovery. Alex thought that was a ghost, yet I begged to differ. I saw him...yes him! I looked right into the eyes of a man.

A shudder vibrated throughout my body. I needed to get out of there. I climbed up and began quickly towards the exit. Instinctively I reached for my pack of cigarettes and shoved the stick into my mouth. With trembling hands, I let the flame encircle the end of the cigarette and drew in deep. I watched as the smoke danced out into the cool, autumn air. The gust teased my hair and flipped it back behind my face. I needed to go home; I needed to get away from his place.

The wind carried me down the street away from the opera house as the moon lit the way toward the apartment. My thoughts raced around the scene of the man in the mask. What if he was a serial killer? What if he was a rapist, or peeping Tom? I shuddered again at all the possibilities this MAN could be. Should I tell someone? Who would believe me anyways? And how would I even begin to explain what I saw, or how I happened upon it?

The stroll home was quick yet I couldn't help glancing behind me every few steps. Each passing tree became more and more menacing as their branches bent and reached out for me. My steps quickened, the images of my imagination beginning to send me into a panic. Every so often a car would pass and throw ghoulish shadows onto the brick walls of the duplexes lining the streets. I hugged myself tighter and pressed on, knowing the apartment complex was only a street away.

Kristina was sitting in the living room, completely engrossed by a thick, branded book resting in her hands. When she heard the door slam shut, she jumped and dropped the book onto her lap. I must have looked like a mess because she instantly became worried.

"What happened?" She put the book onto the glass coffee table and came over to where I stood unmoving. "Cass, you alright?"

"Yeah...I just...we..." I stammered. I didn't know what to say.

"You look like you've seen a ghost. Was it your appointment?" She asked, gently leading me towards the couch. I swung my backpack off and laid it down onto the table. We both plopped down, facing each other.

"It wasn't the appointment. I was with Alex at the opera house...we dared each other to go down to the cellars…I think we ran into a ghost..." I said worrying my lip. I couldn't decide if I wanted to confide in her or not. I shook my head as if to answer myself. "How were rehearsals?"

She frowned. "Cut short. We were interrupted by a disturbance-The opera ghost...I'm beginning to believe this thing is real." She said haphazardly.

"Alex ran away." A smile turned the corners of my mouth. "So I guess I won that challenge in the end."

I stood and walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of wine. I walked back over to the hearth and gazed into the smoldering embers left from an earlier fire. The face of the man in a mask was haunting my thoughts. I just couldn't make any sense of it. Why would anyone live in the basement of the Paris opera house!? I'm sure it was dirty and cold down there. The old corridors gave that away. Rumors had it there was an underground lake and even a house nestled on the other side of the shore. I never really believed in any of those stories but now that I came face to face with this thing, anything could be possible. I fingered the neck of the glass absently unable to shake the thoughts.

"Are you sure you're okay? You're usually never this quiet." Kristina asked, picking up her book once more.

"I'm fine...just an exhausting day."

I put the glass on the table, grabbed my backpack and headed for my room. Flipping the light on, I sat down on my bed and sighed. I wondered if Alex was alright. He did leave in a huge hurry, and he didn't even wait for me to get out of the trapdoor. I could have been taken and swallowed by the darkness and he would have never known.

Pulling out my phone, I sent a text to him asking if he was alright. If he responded, then I would chew his ass out for leaving me behind. Reclining back onto my bed, I stretched my legs and began to swing them into the air, the anticipation of his response growing thick within my chest. The bed vibrated with his response. I snatched it up and opened the screen.

'Yeah I'm fine. I couldn't believe it. That scared the shit out of me.'

Fury enveloped my mind and I punched out a response.

'You selfish asshole! You left me alone. Anything could have happened to me!'

He instantly replied- 'sorry Cass. I panicked'.

I shut the phone and threw it onto my night stand. It was almost midnight and I needed to get to sleep. I had another grueling day of rehearsal tomorrow and I couldn't be late. I laid there in the dark for what felt like long, tedious hours. Sleep wouldn't come and at that point I knew it was pointless to lay there. Getting up, I grabbed the almost empty pack of smokes and walked out to the small balcony off of the living room.

I leaned against the rough brick as it scraped gently against my bare shoulders. I nursed the cigarette, trying to free the thoughts that warded off my slumber. The tree that guarded our apartment rustled and a muffled groan of a branch echoed in the silent night. I directed my attention to the sound. How bizarre that was since there wasn't even a breeze. Worrying my lip between my teeth, I flicked the stub over the edge of the balcony and slipped back inside. I lay in bed, finally defeated after the long day. I pulled the covers closer to my chin and began to drift off into a restless sleep.

X

"5, 6, 7, 8..." Frank counted out the beat as the ballet company rehearsed the same dance we had learned the other day. I tried to sneak in behind the instructor but without even turning around from his scrutiny he regarded me. "Ms. Cassarah. How nice of you to join us."

"Frank, I'm so sorry! My alarm-"

"I don't want to hear it. You're wasting my time. Get out of my rehearsal. You can come back later tonight on your own time."

"Fuck." I whispered. I could feel everyone's gaze on our argument, and my eyes cast down in embarrassment.

I sulked out into the hallway. I couldn't help but feel as if someone was watching me from the paintings and doorways lining the corridor. The crown molding was elegantly embroidered around the walls, as the doorways were hugged with gold trim. This place had become a second home to me and I couldn't bear the thought of losing it.

I sat outside the rehearsal room, listening to the calming music echo throughout the wing. The anticipation of my discovery from the night before was bursting out at the seams. I had to tell Alex. He had to know that what we encountered last night was not an apparition, but a flesh and blood man.

The dancers began to file out as Frank dismissed the rehearsal. Alex was the last one out, chatting intently with another female dancer. He frowned as soon as he saw me, the look of irritation and anger portrayed on my face.

I raised my eyebrows at him. "We need to talk."

"Look, if it's about last night, I know, I forfeite-"

"It's not about that..." I interrupted. "I mean it is, but I have to tell you something. Come on, let's go outside. I have a feeling these walls can hear."

His look of confusion was fleeting but we followed each other silently out of the south side exit. The sun shone brightly over the small courtyard in front of the Rue Scribe. All the trees were glimmering in a vast collection of fall coloring of orange, brown, yellow and red. It was as if we were in a living painting. I walked over to the nearest tree, leaned against it and lit up a cigarette. Alex followed suit, hanging off of the branch closest to me.

"Alex, what we encountered last night...that ghost...it wasn't..." I stammered, unable to find the words to express. "It wasn't..."

"I know what I saw Cassie. You can't tell me you didn't see it either." He leaned closer to me.

"I saw it alright. But Alex...it's not a ghost... It's..." I took a drag off of the cigarette between my fingers. "It was a man, Alex. A real, live person." The exhaled smoke swirled around us like an eerie fog on a desolate lake.

He burst out in an exasperated laugh. When he looked at me, his merry died away. "You serious?"

"Dead serious. I saw his face, well half of it anyway. He wears this mask, and clothes that look like someone from the 1800's wears. Alex, I looked right into his eyes...he was human."

"Do you think he lives down there? I wonder what he did to be hiding down there."

"I don't know. I know none of it can be good. Do you think I should tell someone?"

"I think it might be worth a shot...you never know. Maybe there is a reward for him."

"Alex, you coming or what?" One of the male dancers called from the entrance.

"I have to find out more...maybe I could figure out why he's here...?" I said more to myself than to anyone in particular.

"Cass, I've got to go... Be careful." He kissed my forehead and scampered off to meet his friend. Long after my cigarette was burnt out, I sat there still. I just couldn't figure this whole thing out. Perhaps only time would tell.

Later that night, after the rest of the dancing population had gone home, I was in the rehearsal room going over what I had missed from the workshop. With each bend, I felt the stress of the world melt away. Each twirl offered an escape from the daily anxiety of my past transgressions. My mind began to settle and think nothing about the day's events. Instead I felt the passion burn within me. The rush of the music washed away my worries. My body swayed with the rhythm as my head sagged in the ecstasy of the dance moves. Nothing could break me of this trance; nothing could draw me away from this moment. My feet carried themselves, pushed up into elegant points as I floated along the floor. I spun into a frenzied vortex, letting my legs carry me across into a pirouette. I dipped low, caressing the floor with my fingertips. When the music had ended, I fell to the floor panting and breathless. I finished my practice with a few stretches and changed out of my ballet shoes. Gathering my things into my backpack, I quietly closed the rehearsal room door. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see a figure standing at the opposite end of the hallway. Fear crept up my throat as my hands became clammy and cold. I slowly turned my head towards the end of the hall.

Like a flash of lightning it was gone. Gathering up all the courage I could muster, I ran to the end of the hall, where I caught a glimpse of a black jacket curling around another corridor. I raced after it as fast as I could go. The faint echoes of footsteps descended down the hall just before I was about to turn down. To my dismay, it was a dead end. How could it possibly be?

'You're losing it Cassie.' The voice inside my head chided. 'You're really losing it.'

I let out a long sigh and turned back toward the exit. My steps were quickened with fear of an unknown specter watching me intently. As I rounded another corner, I saw as plain as day, the figure of a man standing tall and still. He had a vested suit on, adorned with lavish embellishments, along with a fedora and a stark white mask. He had very masculine facial features. His eyes were dark, and set deep within his face. His jawline was pronounced and locked, making him appear to be made out of marble. The most haunting aspect was his lips, as they were coiled into a devilish smirk. I dropped my bag instinctively.

My hands balled into tight fists as I collected all the courage I could. "I...I know who you are."

"Is that so?" He sung out in a soft tenor voice. It was almost hypnotic in the way the syllables were effortlessly spoken. "Pray tell, who am I?"

This sound was like nothing my ears had ever comprehended before. It caused my courage to falter for a moment.

"Well I know you aren't a ghost..." I bit my lip to stave the tremble that took over. "I saw you."

"Are you so sure of such things?" He cocked his head to one side as a dark chuckle protruded deep from his throat.

The figure began to walk briskly toward me. I closed my eyes tight and started to hyperventilate. This can't be real...this isn't real!

I opened my eyes once again. He was gone, evaporated out of thin air. I searched each of the rooms and corners of the hallway but he was indeed gone. Feeling as if I was about to faint, I left the opera house.

This little discovery has now turned into a nightmare, terrifyingly haunting. The trip home was swift and without hesitation. I returned to a dark, empty apartment. The only light were the embers remaining from a dying fire and the smell of burning leaves filled the apartment. Not even Kristina's bedroom light was on. I knocked on her door, but she didn't answer. After a few more attempts, I opened it. It was indeed empty.

'That's strange. Where is she? She hardly ever goes out.'

Resigning to her absence, I went to my room and melted into my bed. The exhaustion swept over me like a heavy comforter. Sleep would claim me tonight. I had no doubt about that. My dreams were no longer filled with flashbacks of my drug using days, but instead were occupied with a man in a mask. He stalked me in my sleep, his eyes burning deep like hot coals to the core of my soul.

I woke with a jerk, the sun just barely touching the tips of the buildings outside my bedroom window. I yawned deeply, stretched my stiff arms and rose from the bedding. All at once, the memories of the night before came flooding back to me. My fingers began to circle the soft area around my temples. I rubbed the slumber away from my eyes and went out to the kitchen to fetch a glass of water. It was eerily quiet in the apartment, with nothing but the sound of a crackling fire and a city outside awakening.

Kristina lay sprawled out on the couch, her head tucked away beneath her elbow. She must have had a late night with someone. I couldn't imagine her staying that late rehearsing. In fact, the whole two years I lived with her, she had never come home later than me. I'll have to ask her later after practice what trouble she may have gotten into. She was five years younger than me and her innocence spoke loudly to me. I almost felt like her older sister, I was ready to protect her from the harmful things life can present. She was so gullible, naïve and airheaded at times – it was a cause for laughter and sometimes great concern.

My eyes rolled at her sleeping form. I turned and walked back down the hallway to my bedroom. Our rehearsals began at noon, so I still had a few more hours of sleep to try and enjoy. Though if I'm not dreaming about overdose, I'm now envisioning masked men chasing me around. Usually, this wouldn't bother me so much, as I kind of liked masked men but seeing as this particular man carried a rope around, it made me very unnerved. I sunk back under the sheets and thought myself right into a calm, sweet slumber.