THE SONG OF THE OPERA GHOST

Chapter Ten

The Doctor was troubled.

He was continuing his search for secret passages, but his mind was really on Rose. He looked her way. She was further up the hallway, searching the walls. They had managed to get a lot done in the past few hours, but the Doctor couldn’t stop thinking about what Rose did. It wasn’t like her to go take a nap without telling him, and the way she had acted when he got near to her. She looked terrified, as if he were a serial killer about to strangle her. She hadn’t acted that way earlier, only when she returned from her “nap.” It made him wonder what had really happened. He had been with her long enough to know when something was off with her, and there were a couple of instances where she had been possessed by someone. He had several theories about this “Ghost,” one of them was that they were a Gelth-like being that had the ability to possess people and make them kill themselves. He didn’t know if that was correct, but it seemed plausible given the strange deaths, and Rose’s sudden change in behavior.

He stopped, stretched his back, and checked his watch. It was almost four in the morning now, and he was tired. He decided to call it a night, go back to the TARDIS with Rose, and let her get some sleep before she fell over. He wanted to run a few of his theories through the database, anyway.

“Rose,” he said, walking towards her.

She turned, and the Doctor saw that momentary flash of fear again. That was another thing he wanted to do, take Rose to the med bay, run a scan on her mind, and see if she really was possessed.

“Yes, Doctor?” she said, shifting nervously.

“I want to go back to the TARDIS. It’s nearly four a.m., and you need to rest while I run some information through the computer.”

“No, I want to stay here.”

“No!” the Doctor said, forcefully.

There was that momentary flicker of fear again.

“You are tired and so am I. We won’t find anything further tonight. Now, come on, and let’s get back home.”

He folded his arms over his chest, daring her to object. He studied her face closely. He could see fear and nervousness, although she was trying her best to cover it up. She opened her mouth to say something, but must have thought better of it, because she closed it again and nodded. The Doctor decided to try a little test. He held out his hand to her. Normally, Rose would have taken it without a second thought, but now, she stared at it as if unsure what to do. The Doctor raised his eyebrow. He was definitely taking her to med bay for a brain scan.

Finally, Rose hesitantly put her hand in his, and he closed it. She averted her eyes when he tried to look into them and stared at the floor.

“Come on, Rose,” the Doctor said, calmly. “Let’s go home.”

Rose nodded. The Doctor walked off and noticed that she hesitated a little before walking with him. He seethed with anger. Once again, someone had tampered with Rose’s mind. He was sure of it. Otherwise, why would she be so scared to be around him like this? And, this insistence of staying here when she had wanted to go home earlier was a part of it. The trick was getting Rose to tell him what had really happened when she had been missing, because he didn’t believe for one moment she had been up in box five napping.

As they walked through the moonlit night towards the TARDIS, the Doctor kept glancing back at Rose who was lagging along behind him. He noticed, every once in awhile, he’d catch her casting a longing look back towards the Opera House, and his anger would increase. He was sure that Rose had actually seen the Ghost, and he had done something to her, and when they got back to the TARDIS, he was gonna get to the bottom of it.

After about a half hour, they finally reached the safety of his ship. The Doctor smiled warmly, seeing the light burning through the frosted glass in the tiny windows. He glanced back at Rose and noticed she was looking back in the direction of the Opera House again.

“Rose, we’re home,” he said.

Rose turned her head, and the Doctor saw that momentary flicker of fear in her eyes once more. He turned his head back around, so she wouldn’t witness his reaction to that and reached into his pocket for his key. He opened the door, ushered her inside, and closed it. He took her hand, and without any comment, led her straight to the med bay.

As they walked past her bedroom, Rose tried to go inside, but the Doctor jerked her hand and walked on.

“Wait, that’s my bed,” she said. “I thought you brought me back here, so I could get some sleep.”

“I did, but I need you to do something first.”

“What?”

“I need to check you out.”

“Check me out?”

The Doctor sighed and turned to look at her.

“There’s something wrong with you, Rose. You’re acting differently, and I wanna find out why.”

“What are you going to do to me?” Rose said, fearfully.

The Doctor put his other hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

“I’m going to run a brain scan on you.”

“W…why?”

“Because, Rose, you aren’t acting like yourself, and I’m terrified you’ve been possessed again. It won’t hurt, but I just want you to do it, so I can be sure. Now, come with me to the med bay.”

“No!” Rose said, trying to pull away.

The Doctor tightened his grip on her hand.

“Yes, Rose, you are gonna do this if I have to restrain you to the examination table.”

“No, leave me alone!”

“No, I won’t let someone possess you again. Now, come on.”

Then, without warning, Rose kicked the Doctor as hard as she could in the balls. He fell to his knees in agony, while Rose wrenched her hand from his grip and ran for the front door. By the time he got back on his feet, she was on her way back to the Opera House. Cursing loudly in several languages, the Doctor shuffled slowly towards the console room with his hand over his genitals. He cursed again when he saw the front door hanging wide open. He walked over to it, stepped outside, and looked around for Rose. Ignoring his aching groin, he slammed the door shut and hurried back to the Opera House.

Rose ran up the steps to the front doors of the Opera House. She tried them and cursed when she found them locked.

“Erik!” she screamed, pounding on them. “Let me in, please!”

She pounded for a full minute, but he didn’t open the doors. Frustrated, she ran down the stairs and around the Opera House trying to find a way in. She ran around the perimeter, screaming at the top of her lungs for Erik, begging to be let in.

She rounded the corner and gasped when she saw someone leaning against the back wall of the Opera House. She gulped when she noticed how shady he looked.

“Hello, mademoiselle,” he said, giving her a sinister grin. “Bit late for a pretty thing like you to be out, no? Perhaps, you can come home with me.”

“Leave me alone,” Rose said, backing away. “I’m not interested in you.”

“Ah, but I’m very interested in you. More importantly, I’m more interested in what you can do for me, ma petit chou chou. Come with me, and I’ll give you room and board in exchange for the pleasure of your company.”

“No, leave me alone!”

Rose tried to dash away, but the man quickly caught her and held her tightly to his chest. He threw her up against the wall and grinned when Rose got the breath knocked out of her. He pressed himself up against her and held her with one hand while he began to take off his trousers.

“Please, let me go,” Rose whimpered.

“Don’t be afraid, ma cherie, I will be gentle. All you have to do is relax and let me do all the work.

He dropped his trousers. Holding his hand against her, he leaned down slightly, grabbed the bottom of her dress, and pulled it up enough to get his hand under there. Rose squeezed her eyes shut, trying not to see the lustful look on his face.

“Ah, yes, that’s it. Just relax and Gaston will show you a good time. I…”

Rose heard him stop talking. She opened her eyes, and she started to scream when she noticed his throat had been slit. Erik came out from behind him and slammed his hand over her mouth, as Gaston sank to the ground, spluttering and coughing up blood. He quickly pulled her away, as he fell over dead, and lowered the cowl from his head.

“Are you alright, my love?”

Rose nodded. The fear quickly turned to anger.

“Where were you? I’ve been calling for you! Why didn’t you come to me earlier?”

She gasped when Erik grabbed her arms.

“Because I ordered you to stay with the Doctor!” he said, angrily. “Now, because of this, he’ll suspect something is wrong.”

“He already does.”

“What do you mean?”

“He wanted me to go to his med bay for a brain scan.”

Erik cursed under his breath.

“Then, you must come with me and stay underground. It isn’t safe for you to be on the surface anymore. If the Doctor finds out about us, he won’t stop until we are both dead.”

“No, please, protect me from him.”

Erik smiled. He stroked her cheek.

“Don’t worry, Rose. I won’t let him harm you. I’ll make sure the Doctor never gets his hands on you, ever again.”

He looked around and quickly pulled the cowl back over his head.

“Now, hurry, before the gendarmes find this fool’s body,” he said.

Rose nodded and hurried with him, as he led her back to the hidden entrance to the underground lake.

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