Erik's POV

For days, I laid in bed, feeling as though I were going to die. I slept most of the time, knowing that my life could most certainly be over. Christine kept her eye on me most hours, making sure that I was getting all the fluids that I needed. Though, when a fever began to start, I knew she had other ideas on her mind.

"Erik," I had been sleeping one afternoon, but stirred the moment I heard her calling for me. When I opened my eyes, I saw her standing at the side of my bed, a look of concern displayed across her face. "Erik, I think you should go to the hospital. You've been deathly ill for days now… You have a fever and can't keep any fluids in your body."

Maybe Christine was right, but I wasn't about to go submit myself to a hospital filled with sick people. In Persian, Cholera was a common break out due to the horrible water and food. I, on the other hand kept away from everything. I boiled my water and never ate anything that I didn't personally kill myself. That was the way to avoid illness. Hospitals would be filled with bodies, and usually, once one found himself at the hospital, he would never come back. No, I wouldn't allow myself to suffer the same fate, no matter how sick I was. Plenty of liquids…That's what I had to keep telling myself. If I kept myself hydrated, it was possible that this illness would pass quicker. It might have been deadly in other places, but it wouldn't take me… I would never allow it to do so.

"Your breathing is labored, Erik," Christine continued, fixing the blankets around my bed. "You need to get some help, help that I cannot give. Please say that you will agree to go to the hospital?"

"No," I murmured. "I don't want to go. If I am to die, I will do it in this very bed, Christine."

"Don't say that. You'll be perfectly fine… But you need to go to the hospital, Erik. They can cure you."

"No, you have it all wrong," I groaned. "They will place me in quarantine with everyone else. I've seen what Persia has done with their sick, and I will not be prone to the same fate. No, if I am to die, I will do it alone and in this very bed, away from the sick."

"You won't be alone," Christine assured, taking my cold hand into her own. "I will come visit you every day. You're not contagious, and I won't be away from you."

"I said no!" I growled. "Now get out and leave me to rest."

Christine simply nodded and left me alone. The fire in my hearth might have been roaring hot, but my body was shivering as though it were the dead of winter. I held in my discomfort, filling up the chamber pot that was at the side of my bed and sleeping away the hours. Though, by nightfall, my body took a turn for the worse. My head began to spin and my hearing had faded so that I could only hear the sound of my beating heart. I blacked out that evening, and that's when I knew Christine had called the doctor, for when I woke, I noticed that I was being pulled out of bed. I would kill her for this… I would strangle that woman for doing something I had demanded that she didn't do. These strange people loaded me into an ambulance and took me away, their hands touching and probing my body. I was hideous enough without having others curiously gaze upon me. When my mask was taken away from me, I wanted to fight them all, but I couldn't, for I was too weak to do so. I might have been ill, but when I was carried into the hospital, I could already see the rows of beds that were being occupied by the sick. This was where they would toss me, and this is where they would leave me to die. Yes, it might be looking as though they wish to help, when in reality, they knew the fate of those with cholera was in God's hands. This was where I was most likely going to die, and once I did, I knew things would be better. The room I had been brought into smelled of fowl body fluids and sweat. I gagged just inhaling it, but soon became used to the odor. When I was placed onto the uncomfortable bed, the nurse covered me with a thin blanket, while another began to stick me with all sorts of contraptions. There was no sense in fighting them, so therefore, I went limp and closed my eyes, hoping that when I awoke, I would finally be in hell.

I wasn't sure how many hours I had been asleep, but when I opened my eyes, the blurriness began to fade, leaving a woman sitting at my side. I first believed it to be Christine, but when my sight came back to me, I was left sitting beside Madame Giry. I had not seen the woman in weeks, making me wonder why she was here…Or how she knew I was in the hospital?

"Ah, the patient is awake…Though, I would suppose it wouldn't be for very long. This illness has been known to kill."

"Wh…What do you want?" I weakly questioned.

"Well, seeing that you're on death's door, I have come by to know about your final wishes."

"Final wishes?" I groaned. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, you do have an entire amusement park that's on the brink of opening. If you die, who will it be handed over to?"

From out of her pocket, Madame Giry produced a piece of parchment and placed it in front of me.
"I took the liberty in deciding that for you, Erik. All you have to do is sign on the line below. Therefore, if you die, all of the proceeds and park will be handed over to Meg and I. We will take good care of everything, this I can assure you."

"You're mad…" I cringed. "Completely mad. I may be dying, Madame, but I will never leave anything to you. My park? Oh, you must be joking? I would never leave that to you. If anything, I would be leaving my belongings to the owner of the boardwalk…Now, get out and let me rest."

"Oh, Erik, you're making a mistake…A huge mistake."

"And just how am I doing that, Madame? Did you know that your daughter came to my home a few weeks back and tried to seduce me? Did you make her do that? Because if find it odd that she would actually fancy me… In all the years we've lived together, never did she ever come onto me in such a way. She wanted a job and was going to sleep with me in order to get it."

"And you denied her," Madame Giry growled. "Makes me wonder just why you did that? No one has ever denied Meg for anything, and yet, she was going to give you everything you have ever dreamed of."

"Madame, there is a lot that you don't know about me. You may think that you know me so well, but in reality, you know nothing. I may be in my forties, but I have known pain, and yes, I have known pleasure. You may think that women are disgusted by me, but there is one woman who has put that aside. Now, leave before I become enraged."

"Christine?" Madame Giry growled. "Is that who you speak of? Did she actually sleep with you, Erik? Oh, come now… She wouldn't touch you with a ten foot pole. You're hideous, and you know it. I've been here nearly two hours waiting for you to wake, and at least fifteen people have gazed upon your hideous face and cringed. No one could ever look upon you and love."

"I didn't say anything about love, Madame! Now, leave…Just go…"

"You will pay for what you have done to Meg and I. We were the ones who stood by you when times got tough. We let you into our home and kept you from the police. You're treating she and I like a load of garbage… As if what we have done for you means nothing at all. If not for us, you would have been in the gallows years ago, Erik. I know you have been spending time with Christine, but mark my words, you will get hurt again… She doesn't love you and she never will. You're unlovable and hideous. Who could ever love something as hideous as you?"

"Leave me…" I begged. "Just go."

"I will, Erik, but just remember what I have told you. Meg and I are the only ones who will ever be faithful to you. You're burning that bridge."

When Madame Giry left, I pressed my eyes closed, awaiting for sleep to take over once more, but a few moments later, I felt someone's hand wrap around my own and lightly squeeze it. From there, I opened my eyes to find Christine standing at my bedside. Yes, I was angry with her for calling the doctor, but she was here and that's all that mattered. She had promised me that she would visit, and she kept that promise. It was lonely in here all alone, but now that she was at my bedside, I felt as though I were back home and resting in my own bed…even though the springs of this hospital bed were digging into my spine.

"Your fever has come down a little," she said with a smile. "That's a relief."

She took a seat at my bedside and lightly brushed my distorted cheek with her fingers. To comfort myself, I closed my eyes and pressed my face into the pillow. I was weak… So weak, that I couldn't even hold my own head up. Sometimes, I wondered if this was what death felt like.

"Gustave misses you, Erik," Christine began. "He's been asking about you all morning. Though, as much as he wanted to come and visit, I thought it was best that I didn't expose the boy to all of this. He might have gotten nightmares if I brought him into this ward of the hospital. He doesn't need to see people dying…"

"People like me," I murmured.

"Erik, you're not going to die. You need to stay strong…"

"Since last night," I groaned. "Five beds have become empty. That's five in one night, Christine. Surely I'm next. Yes, you may be happy that my fever has come down, but my body still feels weak. I can't even bear to hold my head up."

"What's this?"

Christine switched the subject when she picked up the piece of parchment that Madame Giry had brought for me… A will of some sort, one that she had wanted me to sign. Oh, I would never sign my name upon that very paper! I would rather die a horrible death than to see my park ran my her and that despicable Meg!

"You're handing your park over to Madame Giry?" Christine curiously questioned.

"No, I'm not," I assured. "The woman stopped by this morning and wanted me to sign it over to her, should I die, but I refused. The woman is no good… I've come to accept that fact, for she is only after my money. For all I know, she could sell my park off and live the rest of her days rich and filled with endless spending. No, I refused to sign her paper and she left angry."

"Madame Giry was like a mother to me when I was a girl… You probably know this."

"I do, but time and greed can change a person. When I first came to the opera house, she was a different woman then. She was kind and caring, but as I have said before, time and greed can change a person, and sometimes, it's not for the better. There was a time when Madame Giry was decent, but that was before we came to America."

"And what of Meg? She's my best friend… We might not see each other as often as I had hoped to see her, but we're still close in heart."

"I hate to break the news to you, Christine, but your dear friend Meg, is nothing but a conniving, vaudeville whore."

"Erik, how dare you?!"

"Well, I only speak of the truth, Christine. A few weeks back, she came to my home asking for a job in my park. When I told her that you would be the lead star, she got angry and offered me her body in hopes that I would change my mind about you. She wouldn't stop… She tried to force herself upon me. And when I refused to give in to her little game, she became enraged and left… The Girys aren't what they used to be, Christine. Just trust me on that one."

"I didn't know that Meg came onto you," Christine pouted. "Why didn't you ever tell me this?"

"Because it wasn't important," I cooed. "But, Christine, if I do die in here, I can assure you that my park will not fall into Madame Giry's hands. Can you be my witness?"

"You're asking me to betray Madame Giry…"

"Christine, please, I beg of you. She is no good. If she was, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I need to hear it from your own lips. Promise me that if I do happen to die, that my park will not fall into her hands."

"Your park will not fall into Madame Giry's hands," Christine assured. "I promise, Erik."

"Good."

"Then, if not her, than who? Who is it that you would leave your park to?"

"The owner of the boardwalk," I said. "He would know what to do with it…"

"Erik, I know that people have died from this, but please promise me that you will keep fighting this? Please promise me that you won't give up…"

"Christine, if I survive this, I will be one lucky man."

"And I say that you will survive, Erik. You're strong…"

"At the moment, I feel weak. Some strong man I am."

"You will, Erik, I know this. Just because others have died doesn't mean that you will follow the same fate."

"Christine, dear," I scoffed. "If I survive this, I will take you out to dinner."

Christine smiled. "You have yourself a deal then, Erik."

"And not just the regular dinner," I continued. "Something fancy…the fanciest place on Coney Island."

"I'll have to start looking for the perfect dress to wear for you then."

But in my mind, I had only made that deal because I knew I wouldn't survive this. There would be no tomorrow, nor would there be a fancy dinner… No, there would only be a casket and a hole to put me in.

Poor Erik...Please review!