In the name of our love

10. Goleh Laleh (Flower of Tulip)

       It had been months since Erik had stolen Melody from that Rouen street. And Melody had complained every day for the last two of those months. Erik only removed his mask when he was angry or as punishment for the girl when she disobeyed him. But that did not happen often now. 

       The Living Corpse sorted through the newspapers which he had taken from trash cans or anywhere that he could have grabbed without much attention. He flipped through the pages to the advertisement section. Erik's eyes caught the advertisement at the top of the paper, one in bold letters, pleading for a kidnapper to take them back their daughter. He looked at the people that placed the advertisement. His face lit up with amusement as he read the names of the wealthy couple--Mr and Mrs. de Chagney. 

      "Khareq al'eadh" he whispered. (Fantastic) Melody didn't bat an eye at his weird little language that he spoke. He spoke in so many different tongue that she didn't really bother to keep track any more. He turned to her and she glanced at the piano once again, which seemed to be his life and soul--other than her. Incredibly creepy but true. She often wondered if this had been like her mother's experience with the strange ugly musician. Although, if she ever escaped this place, she probably wouldn't care to speak of it ever again. She would rather just bury it deep within her mind to be forgotten forever. 

     Erik walked outside and Melody followed him, full of curiosity. He rarely went outside except to gather food and other supplies and even that was rare. The man beckoned her closer to him and she reluctantly obeyed him. His anger, his wrath, was horrible. He never harmed her... but his voice... it was like thunder. A storm without any end in sight. Yet other times he could be lovely as a picnic on a warm summer day--not that he took her out to such things. He just kept her in the house like a caged bird, forbidden to fly. Forbidden to leave and unable to. 

      She had tried to escape once, when he was gone to fetch food--supplies. He always called it supplies,as though they were on some sort of weird family camping trip. She had waited for half an hour before trying to sneak out of the house. However she was scared out of her wits by a trap which had gone off when she opened the door. A voice and a man made her back away. Melody was sure that the man and the voice were fake, but she had no way to prove it. They were frightening. Too frightening to attempt making the event happen again. The voice had threatened her, told her that her parents would die--that she would die--if she stepped further.

    When she hadn't listened, she received a scratch, then a burn from some sort of.... machine that threw flames at her. She backed away, terrified. It was some trick of Erik's, but she was too frightened to see how much farther that it might go--that he might go. 

   

     Erik beckoned her now. He told her to come outside. She hesitated for a long time until he finally grabbed at her wrist and pulled her along with him. Those hands. They were not covered by gloves now, like they had been when she first met him. They were uncovered in all their disgusting, terrifying glory. The dead-looking flesh stretched out and they were very... wet. Although it didn't feel like perspiration, like sweat. It felt different, but she didn't know how. Those wet, dead hands grasped her now. His bones dug into her wrist as he tugged her along behind him. 

      She tried to stop him, her feet digging deep into the dirt, only making her nearly fall with the effort. His hand was close to her face now, as she continued her efforts to stop him. It smelled. It smelled of decay and death. It smelled of old wine and rotten food. The stench made her want to throw up, but she held back the urge, turning away her face but still letting her feet dig in to the dirt. Her legs were covered in mud and dirt but she didn't care. She didn't want to see what that monster had in store for her.