Phantom Revived

Chapter 2

Angel…
Angel…

I pause hoping and listening for some type of response,  but instead I am only given silence. I begin once more:

Where in the world could you be hiding?
Dark and strange, Angel?
I’ve come and returned to you, my tutor
Resilient and faithful…

I let my voice trail off on the last note. Silence continues to meet my ears. I open my mouth once more, breathing deeply to continue my call. Suddenly, I hear a quick snap through air and find my neck encased by rope. A lasso, no…a garrote. I am pulled deeper into the darkness, as the rope tightens ,and steals my breath from my lungs.
    The rope continues to tighten as I am dragged further into the darkness. I raise my hands, clawing at the deadly force around my neck in hope of receiving air. In my struggle, I drop the knife that I had once brought for protection. Yet, I couldn’t care, not when I couldn’t Breathe!
     From the darkness, the voice of the Phantom leers in a haughty, and deadly tone,

  Who dare taunts this tortured soul?
Who’s hopes could run so high?
You seem to forget, misguided one,
Keep your hand at the level of your eye…

That steady baritone that once seduced me into many trances, now fills my core with fear . As he trails off on his final note, he yanks me viciously towards himself, I assume, through the darkness. I feel the sharp edge of slab hit my side as I am dragged from the water to land in front of the outline of boots. I gasp for air as the ropes strength has given way under some slack. But my recovery doesn’t last for long, I soon feel a hand wind it’s way through my curls and yank my head up. On instinct, I grip the thick wrist connected to the hand. Pain shoots through my head, and a gasp leaves my lips.

“ Stupid, little wench. You shouldn’t have come down here to the darkness below. What did the little girl wish to see, hmm? Perhaps a look at the devil himself?”

His voice taunts me, so close in the darkness. My head continues to throb from his grip, the pain not allowing me to do anything but gasp. He chuckles menacingly, gripping me tighter.

“ Well you might as well take a good look. So many wish to see, yet those who have didn’t always live to tell about it. After all none, including you, could  keep their hands to the level of their eyes…”

Suddenly a flame appears before his face. Oh…that face. Smooth and handsome on the left, with a prominent jaw and half his nose. But on the right, scars and ridges cover his skin, making the overall appearance disproportionate and distorted. Wisps of light hair reflect off the top of his skull, thinning from left to right. Those dark, haunted eyes however,  remained closed and those lips, half smooth  half jagged, are turned up in a malicious smirk.

“ What’s the matter, child?” he asks, taunting me. “ Never seen a monster up close?”

Maniacal laughter fills the otherwise dark cavern, and a whimper escapes me. At this his smirk turns to a hateful smile and that’s when he opens those eyes.

Shock. Confusion. Hope……Horror.

All of these emotions pass across his face as he recognizes me. Within seconds he releases me and I fall onto the slab of stone, gasping for air and cradling my throbbing  head. A gasp of fear and confusion releases from him. He is frozen in his place.

“ Christine….?”

I am unable to answer through the hazing pain flooding my body. I am curled onto the stone,  struggling to release the now slack lasso from around my neck. My other hand still cradling my head. As if he is struck by lighting, he jolts and releases the rope at once. He drops to his knees beside me and begins to frantically pull at the rope encasing my throat, while supporting my injured head at the same time.

“ Christine…Christine…Dear God, what have I done?!”

His tone, although reverent, quickly becomes panicked and filled with regret. My throat finally is released from the garrote and air rushes to my lungs. I begin coughing furiously, clutching my burning throat.

“ Christine…Angel, I did not know that it was you. I didn’t think-I never would have thought that….” He trails off, but he doesn’t need to finish. I know what he was going to say. He would’ve never thought that I would return.

Blackness begins to fill my vision with little dots. I feel myself slowly fading from consciousness. I can see in his eyes that he knows that I am fading too. Panic fills his voice once more.

“Christine, stay awake. Please, keep your eyes open!” He frantically pets my head, trying to find some way to keep me from slumber. It’s okay, I want to tell him, I’ll wake again soon enough. But my voice fails me.
Instead, I slowly lift my hand, and place it on his deformed cheek. Shock fills his face as he places his hand over my own.

“Mon Angel….” I whisper.

That last image I see before I slip away, is the sliver of hope that glances though his eyes. Then darkness and silence overtake me.

(A/N: I'm so sorry I've been away for so long and haven't updated. Please feel free to comment feedback, hopefully you enjoy the next chapter! )