The Phantom's African Rose

Chapter 2: Saving the Phantom of the Opera

Evangeline's POV

I awoke to the feeling of snowflakes falling on my face. Snowflakes? It hardly snows down here. How is it snowing? It wasn't in the forecast! I thought to myself. I opened my eyes and found myself outside, in a cold heap of snow. I jumped up, dusted myself off, and looked around. Where am I? This doesn't look like Peachtree Street, Atlanta. Am I even in Georgia? The roads looked strange. Instead of concrete and white and yellow lines, the roads were made of cobblestones, like the ones you would see in those old-school photographs from the 1800's. There were no telephone poles, no traffic lights nor lights of any kind save the street lights and even THEY looked different. Back home, they were just grayish brown poles with a yellow or white light bulb, but these were black and when I got close to it, the insides looked like the oil lamps that were in my mama's antique closet. Okay, I know this isn't Atlanta. So where am I? I looked around some more until I passed a particularly large building that gave off a watered- down smokey smell. I turned around to see a huge building that was obviously set on fire not too long ago. Something about this place looked familiar, but I couldn't place a finger on it.

"You, boy! Stay away from there!" Someone called from behind me. I looked and saw someone in an old fashioned police uniform rushing towards me. Boy? I'm not a boy. I'm a girl! "This is a very dangerous area and the arsonist responsible is still at large. For your own personal safety, I suggest that you go home." Arson? That's a pretty heavy crime. Shouldn't there be reporters out here to tell the public about what's going on? I thought to myself.

"Excuse me, officer, but what happened here? What is this place?"
"Don't you know?" He asked, shocked. I shook my head. I don't even know where I am, so obviously I don't know. I scoffed in my head. He then continued to speak.
"This was the Opera Garnier one of the crowning jewels of Paris, France, but a horrible fiend has set this magnificent place on fire and has terrorized and killed innocent people both before and during last night's performance."

At first, I didn't really think about the story the officer told. Sure, I felt bad for everyone that got hurt, but at that moment, I was thinking about where I was. But that was before I heard him say Paris, France.

Paris, France. I'm in FRANCE? ! How is this possible? I was turning the corner to my house in Atlanta, Georgia which is all the way in the USA. Now I'm in France? ! This don't make no sense! I then thought about something else that was odd. Wait a minute. An arsonist who burns down a building this important to France would be all over the news right about now, especially if this was done just last night! Unless.....

"Sir, if I may ask, what year is this?" I asked the officer before he left.
"Well, it was New Years scarcely a month ago, so it is 1870. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, nothing important." I fibbed. It was important! I just realized that somehow, I have traveled back in time into the year 1870 and in a country far away from America.

As the officer (who had introduced himself as Inspector Leroux) left the scene, I began to turn the other way as I continued to process what just happened. In that moment, I heard a small Voice in my mind beginning to talk.
Go down there.
Huh?
Go down to the cellars of the Opera House. Someone needs you.
I was confused. But isn't that place dangerous? How will I find them?
I will show you the way to them.
But it's being watched by police officers-
I'll take care of that. Now go.

Just then, I walked back to the burned down building and suddenly it seemed like my feet were moving on their own. I practically sauntered up the steps to the open entrance, which was possibly knocked down in all of the commotion. The inside of the building looked understandably worse than the outside. The grand staircase that was in the middle of the room was charred and pieces of metal were either melted or covered in soot. The air around me smelled of smoke, almost making me choke. My feet led me to a room that was surrounded by dead flowers and burnt paintings. In the middle of the room was a smashed in mirror that showed a hidden passageway. As I looked into the dark passageway, the Voice came back.
Walk down the stairs and there you will find a lake. There will be a gondola waiting for you. Row across the lake with it and you will find an island.
I walked down the passageway and just as the Voice said, a boat was waiting for me. With some difficulty, I rowed across the lake and found some land. I got off and saw a house on top of it.

Now what?
Go inside. The door is open. And when you get inside, go straight to the room at the end of the hall.
I opened the door and rushed to the room at the end of the hallway. I ran inside and was instantly greeted by the sight of a black, sleek coffin and a not-so- pleasant smell.

Open the coffin and begin to pray for them. Their life depends on it.
Confused, I opened the lid and gasped in shock.

Inside the coffin, was a man, but that wasn't what shocked me. What shocked me was that this man was wearing a mask and was having convulsions and throwing up. Beside him was a box filled with needles, empty vials, a pipe, and some type of brownish colored powder shaped into cubes. I knew exactly who he was now. This was Erik, the infamous Phantom of the Opera.

And I was going to save his life.

A/N: So, what do you think? And yes, God is going to be part of this story. If you don't like it, then please don't leave hateful comments. The rest of you, please comment, vote, and share! M'kay, bye! ♡