THE SONG OF THE OPERA GHOST
Chapter Eleven The Doctor speeded up when he saw the Opera House. Frantically, he began to look all around it, searching for Rose. He had locked the door on the way out, so there was no way she could get back in, not without help at any rate. That’s what really terrified him, that the Ghost had met her at the front door and took her somewhere where she would be hidden from him. His hearts pounded out of his chest imagining what might be happening to her, and he put on a fresh burst of speed. He noticed she wasn’t on the front steps or anywhere near it. He quickly decided to search around the perimeter, before using his sonic screwdriver to let himself back in. Turning, he ran around the left side, praying she was all right. He rounded the corner and froze in his tracks. Horror was etched onto his face when he saw the dead body, lying by the wall in a pool of blood. He closed his eyes. This was what he feared. He knew now that Rose was in terrible danger, and there was no doubt in his mind who had killed this man. He neared closer to him, knelt down, and quickly examined the body for any clues. Cursing softly when he found nothing he could use, he stood back up and looked all around, terrified that he would find Rose’s body lying close by. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw nothing else and started to walk off, in order to continue his search. “Halt!” The Doctor froze in his tracks and turned to see a gendarme running up to him. “Stay where you are and put your hands up!” he yelled at him. The Doctor obeyed. The gendarme looked down at the dead body and glared at him. “So, I have caught you in the act, eh, monsieur?” “No, you haven’t. I didn’t do this. I found the body!” the Doctor protested. “Then, why were you squatting down next to it?” “Because I was trying to see if he was still alive.” “A likely story. A well dressed man like yourself just happens to be out at 4:30 in the morning. And, by the Opera House too, are you perhaps trying to be the first one in line for tonight’s show?” “I had nothing to do with this.” “Come along, monsieur. You will accompany me to the police station, so we can question you.” The Doctor’s hearts sank. Every minute he stood arguing with the gendarme meant that Rose was in greater and greater peril. He hated to do this, but he had no choice. With lightning quick speed, he lunged at the gendarme and put his hands on the sides of his head. “What do you think you are doing, mon…” The gendarme closed his eyes and passed out. The Doctor followed him to the ground, searched his mind, and erased all trace of him from his memories. Once that was done, he stood back up. “Sorry, I hate going into people’s minds and fixing their memories, but I really have no choice. There’s someone depending on me now, and I don’t have time to dilly dally with the police, especially since I’m innocent. You’ll wake up in about five minutes, none the worse for wear, and I trust you’ll take care of this fellow for me.” Turning around, he resumed his search for Rose. Rose lay in bed staring up at the ceiling. Erik had brought her back to his lair, and insisted she sleep in his spare bedroom while he cleaned himself up and checked for any sign of the Doctor. She had been trying to sleep for the past half hour without success. The image of Gaston dying in front of her, as blood poured from the gash in his throat, kept repeating in her mind. She was grateful that Erik had saved her life, but…did he have to kill the man? Couldn’t he have just knocked him out? She swallowed hard thinking of the brutality of the killing, and Erik’s impassive expression, as he watched him fall to the ground, dead. It disturbed her deeply knowing her lover was capable of such a callous act. As she lay there, an image of the Doctor passed through her mind. She saw herself lying in bed with him on the TARDIS. He had his arms around her, but to her surprise, she didn’t look terrified or disgusted at it. In fact, she was enjoying it. She watched the image in her mind’s eye. She was looking at him, lovingly, while she stroked his cheek, and then, the image faded. Rose lay there, confused. If the Doctor was her enemy and wanted to hurt her, why would she imagine being in bed with him? And, why did she look so happy while she was doing it? She tried not to think about it, but then, another image of her and the Doctor popped into her mind. She saw them sitting on a blanket having a picnic together. They were laughing and teasing each other. Rose found herself smiling softly at the memory, which confused her even more. Rather than being repulsed by these visions, she found them to be extremely pleasant, even desirable. “My Doctor.” She blinked. Did she just say that? Yet, it felt right when she said it. She said it again to herself and found it rolled off her tongue easily, almost as natural to her as breathing. Frowning, she decided to try something. She searched for her memories for any happy memories of her and Erik together. The frown deepened when she couldn’t find any. She tried searching for sad memories, angry memories, indifferent memories, but there was nothing beyond what had occurred earlier in the evening. But, when she searched for the Doctor, she found many, many memories, both happy and sad of him. That confused her. How was it that she could remember him and not Erik? And, for that matter, why was the Doctor her enemy in the first place? She searched her mind trying to find the reason, but there was none. She sat up on the edge of the bed. The lack of memories, coupled with the brutal murder, unsettled her deeply. The other troubling thing was the mask Erik always wore. She searched her memories for a reason for it, but she couldn’t find any answer to that either. She stood up, determined to find the underlying cause of this, and find out what was really going on. She crept to the door, opened it, and peeked out. Erik was sitting at the organ working on what looked like a musical score. His cowl was down revealing the sparse, brown hair on the back of his head. She started to say something to him, but then, thought better of it when the image of him killing Gaston passed through her mind again. Suddenly, she feared the man who was supposedly her lover and longed for the man who was supposed to be her enemy. She looked from him to the right side of the room where his bedroom was, they had come in that way through a secret passage, and she knew it was better than trying to swim across the booby-trapped lake. She didn’t know why she needed to go to the Doctor, but it just felt right, just like when she called him my Doctor. The trick was to get over there without Erik seeing her, so she could slip away, undetected. Opening the door slightly, she squeezed through and pressed herself up against the wall. Keeping her eyes on Erik, she quietly inched her way towards his bedroom door. She froze when he coughed for a moment, but he quickly resumed his work, and she let out a soft sigh of relief. She hesitated a moment, half-afraid that he would look her way, but he kept his eyes on the musical score, and she slowly crept towards the door. Finally, after what seemed like hours, she made it to the bedroom door. She smiled. Erik hadn’t looked her way once. Now, all she had to do was go in the bedroom, go back down the secret passage, and find the Doctor. She turned and started to go through the door. “Where are you going, Rose?” She spun back around. Erik was staring right at her. Her mouth was dry and her palms sweaty, while he stared at her, intently. “I repeat, where are you going, Rose?” “I want to go take a walk,” Rose said, trying to remain calm. “I can’t sleep.” “I can’t let you do that, Rose. The Doctor might still be up there looking for you. If he finds you, he’ll kill you.” “Funny, he didn’t kill me when he had the chance,” Rose blurted out. Erik rose from the bench and walked over to her. “What are you implying?” he said. “The Doctor isn’t the one that murdered someone,” Rose spat out. “I had to do that to protect you, my love,” Erik said, putting a hand on the side of her face. She stiffened, when he let it slide down to her neck. “That man would have raped and killed you if I hadn’t done something.” “Did you have to kill him though? Couldn’t you have just knocked him out?” “Perhaps, but the man would have been back the next night to hunt for you. This way, he is no longer a threat.” “And is that what you’ll do to the Doctor? Kill him, so he’s no longer a threat?” Erik studied her. “Would you be sad if he did die? This man is your enemy.” “Why?” Erik frowned. “Excuse me?” “Why is he my enemy? What has he done? I’ve tried to remember what he did, and I can’t bring up any memories of him doing anything at all to us. Why is he our enemy?” It was her turn to study his face. She could see him averting his eyes. “Well? What has he done?” “Rose, come over to the organ and sing with me,” Erik said, suddenly. “I don’t wanna sing with you. I want you to give me a straight answer. Why do I remember the Doctor, but I can’t remember you. Why can’t I remember what the Doctor supposedly did to us? Why do you wear that mask? What are you hiding?” She gasped when Erik suddenly seized her arm. “Come to the organ, Rose, and sing with me first, then I’ll answer all your questions.” “Let go of me!” Rose screamed. With her free hand, she slapped Erik as hard as she could. Her hand caught the edge of the mask, and it flew off. Rose took one look at his disfigured face, and screamed in horror. “You little bitch! You’ll pay for that!” She grunted when Erik smacked her, and she sailed backwards into the bedroom. She quickly scrambled to her feet, as Erik followed her in. “I will hypnotize you so deeply, you won’t remember your own name, let alone the Doctor,” he said. Thinking quickly, Rose used the same tactic she had used on the Doctor and kicked him as hard as she could in the balls. Erik let out a gasp of surprise and fell to his knees. Rose hauled off and hit him across the face. As he fell back dazed, she turned and ran to the back of the bedroom. She threw back a red curtain, and ran up the secret passageway towards the surface. The Doctor let out a frustrated sigh. He had searched the perimeter of the Opera House and the surrounding area without any success. He decided that she must be inside somewhere. He walked along the right side of the Opera House on his way back to the front door when suddenly, a camouflaged hatch swung open several feet in front of him, and Rose scrambled up onto the street. “Rose!” Rose spun around and let out a relieved cry when she saw him. “My Doctor, I’m so sorry for what I did to you, please help me!” she said, running to him. The Doctor held out his arms to her. “Don’t worry, Rose, I’ll take you back to the TARDIS where you’ll be safe,” he said. Just then, Erik burst through the hatch. Rose screamed, and the Doctor sprinted towards her, as Erik let out an enraged roar and lunged at her. The Doctor tried to reach her first, but he wasn’t quick enough. He gritted his teeth when Erik grabbed Rose from behind, pulled out a dagger, and held it to her throat. “One more move, and the woman you love dies,” he snarled. The Doctor stopped in his tracks. “Please, let her go, just let her go,” he said. “Fight me, if you want to, but don’t hurt her.” “What’s wrong, Time Lord, afraid I’ll kill your beloved?” The Doctor gave him a shocked look. “How…how do you know who I am?” Erik smirked. “Forgotten who I am, have you? Well, I suppose that’s normal for you, just dump people off on far flung prison planets, and go on your merry way without another thought about them.” He chuckled when he saw the confused look on his face. “Still don’t know who I am? Well, I suppose I don’t look quite the same anymore. Of course, that is all thanks to you.” “I repeat, who are you and how do you know me?” the Doctor demanded. “I am Erik Ackerbie, Doctor.” The Doctor gave no reaction to that for a moment, and then, it slowly dawned on him. Erik nodded when he saw the realization sink in. “Yes, Doctor, it’s me,” he hissed. “At last, I have found you, and now, I will have my revenge.” “Doctor, what does he mean? Who is he?” Rose said. Erik glanced down at her. “I see my hypnotic spell has worn off now. That’s a shame. I was enjoying the fact that she thought I was her lover instead of you.” “Let her go, Erik.” “No, on the contrary, I will take this one and train her to be a great diva. She has a marvelous singing voice, Doctor. Did you know that? Has she ever sung to you? She’s so enchanting. Once I’m through with you, and her brainwashing is complete, I will take her to venues all over the universe, so she can perform.” “I’m warning you, you know what happened the last time you met me.” “Yes, Doctor,” Erik bellowed, startling both him and Rose. “I know exactly what happened to me. An insane convict on that prison planet you condemned me to, disfigured my face. My face is hideous now, and it’s all your fault!” The Doctor swallowed hard. “I’m sorry about that. But, you had a choice to use your gifts for the good of Gannett Seven, instead you terrorized people and kidnapped my companions. You brought this on yourself.” “Wrong, Doctor! You are the one who ruined my life, and now, you and your beloved Rose will pay dearly for your crimes.” “Let Rose go, I’ll go with you, just let her go. She’s not a part of this.” “She is now, Doctor,” Erik sneered. “And now, you are the one at my mercy, and this time, you are not wearing special earplugs. You will surrender to me, or I will slit her throat, here and now. Now, what will it be, Doctor? Will you come with me willingly, or would you rather hold Rose in your arms and watch, as she dies?” The Doctor narrowed his eyes, as his body shook with barely contained rage, a sight that amused Erik immensely. “Well?” “I surrender,” the Doctor said, through clenched teeth. Erik chuckled. “Very good, you made the right choice. Keep making the correct choices, and you might survive the night with your mind intact. Now, be a good little prisoner and walk towards that open hatch. Rose and I will follow behind you. Now, go!” The Doctor sighed. He glanced at Rose, shot her an apologetic look, and walked past Erik towards the hatch.
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