Death Awakens

Chapter 4:
“Please pay attention, make the most of intermission everyone. Be prepared!”
The shrill, commanding voice startled Lila awake. “Young lady, you are not in the ballet corps. Where are you supposed to be?”
Lila looked around in a daze, not able to see anything but hazy outlines. “Um… I’m an alto…” she finally said.
“Chorus girls are stage right, not stage left. Please hurry. The others are waiting.”
Lila automatically shuffled her feet towards the direction the voice had indicated. As she moved the haze seemed to swirl around her and lift. Colors became evident, shapes took on more definition and she realized, she was back at the Opera Populaire.
“Oh thank goodness, it was only a bad dream,” Lila thought. “I have to tell Val I dreamed about dying. How morbid am I?” She bumped into someone, and apologized profusely for her clumsiness.
Airy laughter filled the air, “Don’t worry about it. I haven’t seen you before. What’s your name?”
Lila looked up then, cocking her head. “I haven’t seen you either.” She stuck out her hand, “My name is Lila Bouvet, Alto.”
The woman mimicked her sternness, thrusting out a hand and shaking Lila’s heartily. “Very pleased to meet you. My name is Christine Daae.”
Lila snorted. “That’s really funny, no seriously.”
A frown appeared on the woman’s face. “I don’t see why it’s funny. Do care to explain. My name is Christine.”
Lila blinked, but before she could respond, a stagehand came and shooed them all off the stage. The curtains drew back, the lights turned down, and the orchestra began playing a grating, harsh sound that was mocking and angry, frustrated and wild.

“This sounds so familiar,” Lila thought, peering from behind the curtain. She gasped at the hundreds of faces staring intently towards the stage. Men and women in the most beautiful clothes she had ever seen. And curiously, gendarmes lined the walls and heavily guarded the doors. How strange.

“You have come here, in pursuit of your deepest urge, in pursuit of that wish which till now has been silent… silent.”
Lila hummed along unconsciously, and then gasped as she realized what was actually being sung. There across the stage stood a striking figure of a man. Cape draped dramatically against broad shoulders, a menacing black mask covering his face, shielding the intensity of his eyes as bore into that woman… Christine!

This can’t happen. This couldn’t happen. This was impossible, Lila said. Someone has to be playing a joke. An enormously ridiculous, elaborate joke. She whirled around looking for someone familiar, looking for someone to jump out and say “surprise!” but she only received a stern look from a man holding the prop stands. Her movements were rustling the backdrop.
Lila turned back to the stage, watching as the two singers climbed the ramparts, finally joining, caressing each other as they sang, harmonizing their haunting melody.
“Please don’t pull the mask off. Please save him some dignity,” she found herself muttering through clenched teeth. But the woman did.
“Oh God! The chandelier!” Lila screamed, and she ran. She ran. Lila froze and looked down at her two legs, both perfect in size and shape. This had to be a dream. Her legs…
And then someone pushed her over as the giant chandelier shuddered. There were screams as people moved desperately to get out of the way. Lila was pushed along with the crowd, eventually backed against the wall, and trampled. There was pain, and Lila turned to her side as the fires began. Heat seared through her body, and she screamed in agony.