THE SONG OF THE OPERA GHOST

Chapter Sixteen

After the bed of spikes, the Doctor made Rose go slowly, so he could examine every inch of the corridor. He had nearly gotten Rose killed with his joking ways, and he wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.

To his surprise, no other death traps appeared, and they soon found themselves in front of a wooden door at the end of the corridor. The Doctor glanced around, suspiciously.

“I don’t like this,” he said. “Why are there no other booby traps after the bed of spikes?”

“Maybe he figured most people wouldn’t get that far, or maybe we missed some,” Rose offered.

“Maybe...maybe not. I still don’t like this. Stay by me.”

Rose nodded and came up close to his back. The Doctor neared the door.

“If something happens, run. Don’t worry about me, get yourself to safety, do you hear me?”

“Yes, Doctor.”

He looked at her.

“I mean it, don’t worry about me. Just run!”

“I will, I promise.”

The Doctor studied her face for a moment. Satisfied she would obey; he nodded and turned his attention back to the door. He reached out his hand and tentatively touched the doorknob. He quickly drew it back and rubbed his fingertips together. Satisfied that the doorknob was cool, he grasped it more firmly. Taking a deep breath, he turned the knob.

He jumped back when he heard a hissing. He cursed when he looked up and saw gas leaking out of the ceiling. He switched to his bypass system and looked at Rose.

“Rose! Run!”

“I can’t!”

The Doctor gave her a confused look and saw where she was pointing. His eyes widened in horror when he saw a wall blocking the corridor behind them.

“I knew it was too easy!” the Doctor growled.

He grabbed Rose’s shoulders and forced her to lie on the ground. Frantically, he looked all around for a way to switch off the gas and cursed when there was none. With a sigh of resignation, he sank down beside Rose, praying that the gas would only put her to sleep. He put his hand on her cheek and watched while her eyelids began to flutter.

“Rose, listen to me. I’ll get us out of this, I promise.”

Rose gave him a sleepy smile.

“I know you will, my Doctor. I know you will.”

He kissed her lips gently and watched as she slipped into unconsciousness. As he heard the gas switch off, he studied her face, took her pulse, and breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed her vital signs were still strong.

“Only knock-out gas,” he murmured. “He wants us alive. Good, then there is still hope for escape.”

He laid his head beside him.

“Hold on, my love, I will get us out of this,” he murmured.

He gave her lips one last kiss before he closed his eyes and pretended to be unconscious.

Erik opened the door and looked down at the unconscious captives in front of him. He stared at them, marveling at the fact that they managed to get to the door alive and uninjured. What shocked him even more was the human child had accomplished it along with the Time Lord. Even with his protection, he figured that at one point she would make a mistake and die. Seeing her here made him even more aware of just how much brains and power resided in her weak, primitive body.

“You choose your companions well, Doctor, I’ll give you that,” he said to him, “however, in the end, neither of you were no match for my sleeping gas. Shame, really, that after all this, you would be defeated by a simple trick. Apparently, you became overconfident in the end and your overconfidence will be your undoing.”

Bending down, he slung Rose over his left shoulder and grabbed him around the waist. Standing up, he walked back towards his lair, dragging him along.

Erik dropped the Doctor and Rose onto the floor of his lair. The Doctor opened his eyes a crack and watched him while he stood over them with an evil smile on his face.

“Now, let’s see. I suppose I could put them both back in the torture chamber, but that’s too merciful a death after all they’ve done. After mocking me, I want the Doctor to die a slow, painful death, and I want them both to be awake while it is happening. I want him to be fully aware of the agony I’m going to put him through. So, I suppose I will get some more rope, tie them both up and wait till they wake. And…I believe I have some more rope in my bedroom.”

He chuckled.

“Don’t go anyway, I’ll be right back,” he said, in a sickeningly sweet voice.

The Doctor opened his eyes a bit more and watched while he walked into his bedroom.

“That’s it, Erik, gloat all you want, I’ll be the one having the last laugh,” he muttered.

He closed his eyes back when Erik walked into the room carrying some rope in his arms. He kept calm and kept his body relaxed when he sensed Erik staring at him.

“Rest now, Doctor, because soon you’ll be screaming in agony,” he heard him say. “I’ll make you pay for defying me.”

The Doctor felt him kneeling down next to him. He hesitated a moment, waiting until Erik started to move him. Then, his eyes snapped open, and he took in Erik’s shocked expression with smug satisfaction.

“Peek-a-boo!” he said, gleefully.

He hit Erik as hard as he could in the face. When he reeled back, he leapt to his feet, grabbed him by his robe, and slammed him into the wall.

“Should have killed us when you had the chance, Ackerbie,” he said. “I think you’ll enjoy the prison on Volag Nok. It’s nice and cool all year round, and you get your own private cell! But, then again, maybe I won’t take you there. Maybe I’ll just finish you off right here!”

Erik opened his mouth to sing, and grunted when the Doctor punched him in the face. He grabbed the dagger from his belt and held it to his throat.

“Go on, give me a reason to slit your throat, please!” he said, with a murderous look in his eyes.

“You couldn’t do it, Doctor.”

He grunted when the Doctor pressed the blade against his throat.

“Oh no? Try me.”

“You don’t have the guts, Doctor. You aren’t like me. You’ll just take me to another prison planet, drop me off, and run away just like the last time. And if you do, I’ll find a way to escape, come back here and kill---“

He grunted when the Doctor slammed him into the wall.

“No, you won’t,” he growled at him. “Because I’m going to make sure you don’t threaten me, Rose, or anyone else ever again. So nighty-night for now.”

He punched him in the face and smirked when he heard his nose break, as he was knocked unconscious. He let go and watched him slump to the floor. He glanced down at the pouch on his belt, had a thought, and rifled through it.

“Ah-ha!” he cried, when he pulled out his sonic screwdriver.

He glanced around at Rose. When he saw she was still unconscious, he held the screwdriver up to his lips and gave it a loving kiss.

“I missed you, little buddy,” he said. “I’m so glad you’re alright. Now, you and I are gonna take care of this creep once and for all.”

He walked over to the torture chamber, went inside, and walked over to the trapdoor. He studied the button in the crack for a moment, and then pressed it.

“Oh, good,” he said, when the trapdoor swung back up and locked.

He lowered his screwdriver to the button, turned it on, and then tried it again. The smile widened when the trapdoor stayed shut.

“Good, now the little bugger can’t get out.”

He walked back out, walked over to Erik, and dragged him inside the torture chamber. He laid him on the ground under the noose, walked back out, closed the door, and locked it with the screwdriver.

He walked over to Rose, picked her up, and carried her back into the other bedroom to rest. Once she was comfortable, he came back out, grabbed the chair, set it down in front of the plate glass window, and waited for Erik to wake.

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