Chapter 14: A Phantom's Fury
The residents of the community of outcasts only wished to live in peace... All except for one resident in particular by the name of Squelch... A man whose skin was made up of nothing but tattoos and an ever present glare on his hieroglyphic face... He yearned for vengeance on every normal of the world. He wanted to cause them pain. He wanted them to suffer a thousand times worse than all the freaks, oddities and outcasts that they had made suffer. It was a common routine of Squelch's to leave the community and cause trouble despite the protects of Gangle and Miss Fleck... However he had been in the community and witnessed the exchange between little Lily and the normal named Clara... He felt a burning hatred ignite within him. The filthy normal was no doubt lying through her teeth so that she could con her way into letting her and her filthy normal friends be allowed into the community... To Squelch... Clara was the worst normal of them all.
Squelch had gone to see Gangle and Miss Fleck to make his displeasure known,
"I say we throw them out and make a special example of that whore of normal that managed to manipulate you both" he growled,
"I understand your reasons but the masked man and the normals have earned their place" Gangle reasoned,
"Indeed. Little Lily has taken a bright shine towards the one they call Clara. As have the rest of the little chicks within our community" Miss Fleck pointed out, referring to the other children.
"Nothing but lies have blinded you all" Squelch insisted, slamming his hand on the table in anger,
"Calm yourself, Squelch... I suggest you accept the circumstances and I shall remind you that any trouble within this community will not be tolerated" Gangle warned but this only resulted in the tattooed man storming away in anger and frustration.
Squelch watched Clara with a burning gaze of hatred as she continued to fill the minds of the community's children with more and more lies as she played hide and seek with them, smiled at them, hugged them, laughed with them and Squelch clenched his fist tightly and thought of the glinting sharp shard of mirror that he always carried upon his person... He watched as the filthy normal read the story of Snow White to Lily and the other children,
"... With vicious intent swirling within the queen's heart. She approached the mirror and spoke the words..." Clara read,
"Mirror Mirror, on the wall. Who's the biggest liar of all?" Squelch interrupted with a sneer and a glare on his face aimed in Clara's direction,
"That's not what she says" Lily spoke up with a confused pout, looking at Clara whom simply smiled reassuringly at her,
"Of course not. She says..." Clara tried to go back to reading but Squelch stepped closer,
"...What?... No sweet, sugar coated lies this time, normal?" he growled and Clara saw how there was an instant unease among the children and Clara gently handed the book to Lily and stood, looking at Squelch gently,
"Look... I know that there are people in this community that understandably hate me, my friends and our presence here but... For the sake of keeping any potential fear of the children here at bay. Cay we please just...?" Clara tried gently with obvious fear in her tone due to the anger filled gaze on Squelch's face... He refused to let her finish and with a flick of his tattooed wrist, he sliced the mirror shard across Clara's cheek, the force and shock sending her clashing to the ground and the children cried out in fear,
"Clara!" Lily yelled, jumping off her bed and rushing to her side as Clara winced placing her hand against the bleeding cut that marred her cheek and Squelch developed a vicious smirk,
"... Mirror Mirror, on the wall... Looks like the normal's ugly after all" he mocked, striding forward and grasping Clara's arm before yanking her up so she stood with the intention of teaching her a further lesson,
"That is enough!" Gangle yelled firmly as he glared at Squelch whom instantly sent a mirrored expression in his direction,
"Release her" he instructed and Squelch held on to Clara's arm tightly for a long moment before finally releasing his grip, allowing her to fall to the ground and he stormed off.
It was sometime later that Clara winced as Gangle cleaned away the blood from her cheek,
"... You're lucky that it's not too deep... It will require stitches but it will heal and fade with time" He told her and Clara had to close her eyes tightly as he began to stitch the cut closed,
"... Thank you..." Clara murmured painfully,
"You're welcome... It's been a lot time since I've stitched a wound or treated any patient for that matter" Gangle explained as he finished stitching and proceeded to clean the area some more and Clara looked at him surprised,
"... You were a doctor once?" she concluded, watching as he nodded with a sad smile,
"... I hope you'll forgive my unwillingness to share my sad tale, Miss Clara... I'd rather continue to look towards the future" he explained and Clara nodded gently,
"I understand... Thank you, Dr Gangle" Clara told him gently causing him to look at her surprised but he managed a smile before watching her leave.
Clara was leaving the building in which Dr Gangle had seen to her wound when she saw Erik and Nadir re-entering the community after having left to carry out some business... Clara didn't have time to think when Erik looked towards her just as Nadir did the same... Both taking note of the treated wound on her cheek,
"Uh oh..." Nadir murmured despite his shock whilst Erik developed a firm expression on his masked face,
"Erik, it's not..." Clara tried,
"Who did this?" Erik demanded simply with a firm growl but before Clara could respond, a chuckle came from the direction behind her,
"... At least she looks like she belongs here now" Squelch mocked with a smug smirk causing Erik to glare in his direction,
"I must admit... It felt good to punish her" he continued,
"... Erik, don't let him goad you into a fight" Nadir warned firmly but Erik simply ignored him and whipped his sword from his belt,
"Oh it will feel a lot better for me when I kill you for doing so" he growled before launching at him,
"ERIK NO!" Clara yelled as Squelch grabbed an old crow bar to use as his own make shift sword as they instantly engaged in battle despite Clara and Nadir's protests... It wasn't long until Erik disarmed Squelch whom Erik applied a swift kick to his belly causing him to fall backwards and onto the ground... He raised his sword to finish him off but Clara instantly moved in front of him,
"Clara... Stand aside" Erik instructed firmly,
"No" she said firmly,
"Stand aside, Clara!" Erik yelled in order,
"I will not allow you to kill him just as I will not allow myself to be intimidated by your former phantom like, rage filled ways" Clara stated simply,
"He deserves far more than this! I will punish him for harming you and then I shall have him beg for mercy as well as your forgiveness as I make him bow and kneel at your feet" Erik growled, glaring at Squelch whom looked up at him in fear but Clara shook his head,
"He may have done wrong but this... This is not justice just as it is not your place to pass it. You are not the judge nor the jury and I sure as hell refuse to allow you to be the executioner in this scenario" Clara stated firmly as she aimed a warning glare in Erik's direction as a long seemingly endless moment of silence filled the community before Erik finally lowered his sword and Clara sighed, closing her eyes in relief before turning to Squelch just as Dr Gangle approached, watching as Clara offered her hand to the tattooed man whom looked at her stunned,
"... Why?..." he demanded,
"... Why would you defend me?" he pressed,
"Because I can tell almost certainly that no one ever has before" Clara answered, offering her hand one again to which he hesitantly accepted so that she was able to help him stand up and he still looked at her stunned,
"... You are not like any normal I have ever met" he murmured, watching as Clara smiled,
"... I'll take that as a compliment" she told him before looking at Gangle,
"... Let's just... start afresh" she suggested tiredly and the man in the top hat couldn't help but smile and nod,
"Agreed" he stated... Squelch stalked away silently as Erik glared after him,
"He should have been made to apologize" he growled angrily,
"Erik" Clara warned and the former phantom sighed... He finally stepped towards her and raised his hand to her cheek, brushing his thumb just below the stitched cut and noted how she winced slightly,
"Don't worry, Mister Mask" Gangle spoke up just as Miss Fleck came to his side with a gentle smile,
"Your wife will heal just fine. It will simply take time" he assured, prompting Clara and Erik to look at him surprised,
"Oh we're not..." they both chorused,
"She's not my wife" Erik explained,
"No. We're friends but not..." Clara tried,
"Good friends but yes we're not.." Erik contributed,
"Not that I wouldn't..." Clara tried,
"Absolutely, Any man would be lucky..." Erik attempted and the collection of babbling caused Gangle and Miss Fleck to chuckle and giggle before nodding,
"I see... Apologies for the misunderstanding" Gangle stated in amusement as Erik and Clara looked towards each other before both bashfully looking away as Clara's cheeks and Erik's ears turned a shade of pink that made Gangle and Miss Fleck giggle and chuckle once again.
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