THE SONG OF THE OPERA GHOST
Chapter Fourteen The Doctor lay on his side in the dark gulping in the cold, cool air. Each inhalation felt like Heaven to him after being in the murderous heat of the torture chamber. He didn’t know why Erik had chosen to install a trap door in the middle of the room, but he was glad he did. When he went through the hole, he had enough strength to hold his hands out and execute a roll, thus saving himself from a bump on the head or a broken neck. His strength had been depleted from the heat, but now, he was feeling much better. “Now I know how a rotisserie chicken feels,” he muttered to himself. He rolled onto his stomach and sighed, as the cold concrete chilled his stomach. If Rose’s life wasn’t in jeopardy, he would stay in this position forever. But, he had to get up and get back to her, no matter what it took. It wouldn’t take long for Erik to discover he had escaped, and when he did, Rose would pay the price. Groaning, he got to his knees. He heard the organ music above him, so unless Erik had extremely long arms, he hadn’t discovered he was missing yet. He looked up at the hole. He considered leaping up, grabbing onto the rim and pulling himself up to let Rose know he was alive. He had seen how anguished she had been, as she watched him dying, and he didn’t want her to think he really had. But, when he stood up, he stumbled forward and fell back to his knees. He knew then that it would take awhile before he could stand up properly, let alone jump. His head was spinning just from that one simple act, and he had to wait a moment until he got his equilibrium back. Then, suddenly, he heard the organ music stop. Cursing, he crawled further into the darkness, looking for a way out of the room. He crawled off to the right, and he grunted when his head hit something hard. He raised his hand and felt it. It was smooth. He guessed from the feel of it that it was made of wood. He ran his hand along it. It was both long and wide with a sliver of metal encircling the end of it. A barrel, perhaps? “NO, IT CANNOT BE!” The Doctor cursed when he heard Erik’s enraged scream. There was no time now to find out what the object was. He needed a door. He crawled along with his hand out in front of him, trying to feel for something that resembled a door. His hand felt something smooth and cold, and he paused as he inspected it. It was a step. He turned his body towards it, reached out, and felt another step. There were steps going up to somewhere. “Hang on, my love, I’m coming for you,” he murmured to himself. He crawled up the steps, taking care not to go too fast, lest he bump his head into a door or wall. After crawling up seven steps, his head finally touched a wooden door, and he breathed a sigh of relief. His relief was short-lived, however, when he found the doorknob, tried it, and the door stayed shut. “Blast, what a time to be without my screwdriver,” he muttered. Rose was terrified. If she turned the scorpion, the Doctor would be spared, but she would lose him forever. If she turned the grasshopper, they would both lose their lives, but they would be reunited after death, far from Erik’s madness. That is, if there were an afterlife, and they would both end up going to the same one. It didn’t matter though. The Doctor was too important to the universe. He had to survive, so he could continue to make a difference in people’s lives. She couldn’t be selfish. As horrifying as it was, she had to sacrifice herself, so he could live. But, was Erik telling the truth, about which was which. In her mind, the scorpion would be the one that would set off the bomb, not the other way around. Erik was completely certifiable, and there was no doubt in her mind that he would lie to her in order to trick her into blowing up the Opera House. The man was definitely nutty enough to do it. “Well, my dear, what is your decision?” Rose wanted to just grab the screwdriver, use it on the torture chamber door, jump into the hole, and be with the Doctor. He had it in his pouch, and she felt sure she could wiggle out of his grip and grab it from him. But, knowing Erik, he would activate the grasshopper the moment she jumped into the hole, and that would be the end of that. As if reading her thoughts, Erik dug her fingernails into her flesh. “Choose now, or I will choose the grasshopper for you!” he hissed in her ear. “How do I know you’re telling the truth about which one is which,” Rose said. “You don’t, little Rose, you’ll just have to have faith that I’m not lying to you,” Erik purred. “If I choose the scorpion, will you let the Doctor walk out of here unharmed?” “I give you my word; no harm will come to him. Of course, if the idiot decides to fight me, or come back for you at some point, then the deal is off.” Rose swallowed hard. “No…I’ll talk to him. I’ll…tell him not to come back for me,” she said, sorrowfully. Erik chuckled in her ear. “Hmm, for your sake and his, he better listen to you, then. Now, choose. I will not stand here forever with you. Choose, or I choose for you! Turn the figurine and decide his fate.” Rose choked back a sob, as she slowly lifted her hand, put it on the scorpion, and turned it. She squeezed her eyes shut, expecting the place to blow sky high, but nothing happened. She opened her eyes and looked around at Erik, who was smiling at her. “You have chosen wisely, my dear,” he said. Rose studied his face. There was something sinister about his expression. Suddenly, she had to see for herself if the Doctor was truly all right. “Let me see him,” she said. “Of course, my dear, follow me.” Rose saw him stifling his laughter. “Let me see him, now!” Erik feigned shock. “My, my, how very rude. After all I’ve done for you, Rose; you have the audacity to speak to me like that.” “Let me see him!” Rose screamed. Erik smirked. “Very well, follow me.” The Doctor sat on the top step rifling through his trouser pockets trying to find something, anything he could use to pick the lock. He found his psychic paper, some coins, and a picture of Rose that he carried with him everywhere he went, but nothing that would help him escape. Cursing under his breath, he slowly inched down the steps, hoping that there was something lying on the floor that he could use. Suddenly an overhead light came on, blinding him. He slammed his hand over his eyes, cursing profusely. Taking his eyes away, he saw he was in a small, stone room. He looked over and noticed he had been correct about the barrels, but his self-congratulation was short lived when he read what was stamped on each one. GUNPOWDER. He noticed there were wires connecting the barrels together. Wires, he guessed, that ultimately led to a detonator switch, somewhere. “Yup, I will definitely be burning my tuxedo trousers when I get back to the TARDIS,” he muttered. He frowned when he suddenly heard a loud, groaning sound. He looked over and noticed a section of the wall was sliding up by the barrels. His eyes widened when murky water gushed through it, flooding the room. “On second thought, I think I’ll go find the tuxedo shop and burn that to the ground instead.” He looked around frantically trying to find something to use on the door. Then, he noticed a couple of rusty nails lying by some wood on the far side of the room. Letting out a jubilant cry, he got to his feet and stumbled over to them. Grabbing the wood for support, he grabbed one of the nails, just as the water reached the spot. Turning back, he waded through the water to the steps and stumbled up them, as the room slowly filled with water. Rose waited beside Erik while he unlocked the door. She saw the smirk plastered on his face, and she knew something was wrong with the Doctor. She had been a fool to trust him. He was dead now, and she had been his executioner. Tormented thoughts filled her mind of what she might find when she looked into the hole. She knew if he was dead, then she might as well join him, since she would die inside from heartbreak and guilt. Erik opened the door, and she pushed past him into the room. Her heart stopped when she heard the sound of running water coming up through the hole. It started again when she heard the Doctor’s curses intermingling with the rushing water. Lunging at the hole, she felt to her knees. “Doctor!” There was a pause. “Rose?” Rose didn’t answer back. She was too busy looking at the rapidly rising water. “Rose!” Rose was snapped out of her reverie. “Doctor?” “Rose! Jump! Come to me!” Rose looked back at Erik. He had been lounging against the door, giggling at her, but the moment he heard that, he started running towards her. “Jump, angel, jump!” the Doctor yelled. Saying a silent prayer, Rose went headfirst through the hole, just as Erik made a grab for her. She hit the water with her hands out. Her hands hit the concrete, stopping her forward motion, and the rest of her body flopped into the water. She quickly surfaced, and blinked trying to get the water out of her eyes. She saw the Doctor sitting on the top step, holding his hand out to her. “Come to me, Rose,” he said, smiling. Rose swam to the steps and crawled up to the Doctor. The Doctor embraced her tightly, smirking at Erik, who was shouting curses at them. Not able to resist gloating, he showed him the rusty nail and grinned when Erik screamed at him. “You won’t escape, Doctor! You and Rose will both drown!” he said, as the Doctor turned and continued to pick the lock. “That water is from the underground lake, and it will overwhelm you before you have a chance to…” He trailed off when the Doctor suddenly grabbed hold of the doorknob, turned it, and opened the door. “You were saying?” he yelled back at Erik. “You will not escape alive, Doctor. There are booby traps scattered throughout my domain, and you and Rose will both die before you reach safety!” “Just like we would die in the torture chamber or drown before we got out of this room?” the Doctor taunted him. His eyes widened when Erik opened his mouth to sing. “Rose, cover your ears and run!” the Doctor yelled. They slammed their hands over their ears, scrambled out the door, and slammed it shut. Both of them crawled away from the door, getting away from the sound of his voice. When they were far enough away, they fell into each other’s arms. The Doctor smoothed her hair back, and rained gentle kisses on her forehead and cheeks while Rose wept with relief at seeing him alive and well. She laid her head on his chest while the Doctor held her protectively. The Doctor allowed her to linger there for a moment, before he gently pulled her away. “We have to go, Rose. We have to find out way back to the surface and back to the TARDIS before Erik recaptures us. And, if there are a lot of booby traps around, we’ll have to avoid them too.” “Oh, Doctor, I’m so glad you’re alive.” He gave her a loving smile. “I’m glad you are too, and I’m glad you’re unharmed and with me, instead of being at his mercy. Now, come on, we have to find a way out before he catches up to us.”
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