Taken: A Phantom of the Opera Fanfiction

Chapter 20: Running Away.

It happened just as they suspected.

Way too soon.

They found them.

6 months after our beloved Lauren and Erik first shared they loved each other, Phillip and his band of misfits were hot on their tails; and Erik knew it. Ever since he found out, he has been trying anything to steer them off course. But every attempt failed.

"Lauren, my dearest, where are you?" Erik yelled out from downstairs. "I'll be down in a second!" Lauren leaned onto a wall in her room, while putting on her shoes. She she took a quick look in the mirror before scurrying downstairs. "Im ready!" She smiles at him. "Alright good... Do you ha-" She picks up Crescent. "Right here!" Erik chuckles. "Good. The bags are already in the carriage. Have you forgotten anything?" She looks up and counts on her fingers. "Um...." She holds the necklace on her neck. "No I have everything." He nods and takes her hand. "They'll be here soon." She sighs. "I know... I'm going to miss this place though..." Lauren looks up and around at their home. "We can come back once they leave this place alone for good."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"That's it. That's the house." Phillip whispers to the men behind him, cowering at the thought of meeting the Phantom of the Opera. Madam Giry was not there. She has found a way to get out of the situation, and is trying to find Erik and Lauren. "I'll go first, you all follow." With a gun and a sword for dramatic effect in his belt, they walk towards the house. All the curtains are closed, and the door is, of course, locked. "Kick it in!" He yells. 4 men ram their shoulders against the door several times, until they burst open.

"Lauren!" Phillip yells and runs in to see an empty house. Leaves rush in from the wind. Almost all the furniture was still there, and it was covered in sheets. A letter was left on the table in the kitchen for him.

Phillip.

You must understand, that I am happy and well with the man you call a monster. We had to leave our home because I knew what you would do to him. How dare you. Please, just leave. I know you care about me, but it's not care anymore at this point. You just want him dead, and for me to be with you. But that's not what I want.

Go. Now.

Sincerely,
Lauren.

He held the letter and threw it to the ground. "Dammit!" A man goes over to him. "We can't find them. They're-" "Gone. I know." He sighs and slams his fists on the granite countertop. "We have spent all this time for nothing?!" He yells and throws his hands in the air. "Sir, we found something." Another man says to him as he walks through the door. "A woman a mile away says she saw them in a carriage. If we hurry, we can find them." He pushes past the first man, and runs out the door to his horse. "Let's go!" He snaps the reigns and the horse runs off.

"Lauren, come on! They're coming!"

"I know, my love, just hold on!"

She winces in pain as blood drips from her arm, as a branch snagged her as they ran past in the deep woods. They didn't have horses since they didn't want Phillip to know they had gone that far.
Erik rips off a piece of his undershirt and ties it around her arm. The cloth immediately is drenched in blood. "Shit..." He swears under his breath.

"Honey, it's okay. We need to keep going."  She says calmly. He groans in concern and nods reluctantly. He takes Lauren by the hand as they push through the crowded wood. "We'll be there momentarily..."
Ollie was running with them as the crunch of leaves trailed under their feet.

Horses.

They're pulled to a stop.

More leaves are heard crunching in the distance.

"Alright, we need to hurry up." Lauren takes charge and runs with haste. Erik runs beside her as they reach a man in a clearing, waiting for them with 2 horses. "Thank you so much for meeting us." He was an old friend of hers, and she contacted him as soon as they came up with a plan. Erik tosses him a small satchel with money in it. With a bow of the head, they were off. They snapped the reigns and the horses ran faster. "Lauren!" A man yells from the distance.

"Shit! Erik we have to hurry!" Erik grows more and more concerned as the horses behind them grow closer. Suddenly, Lauren's horse trips over a large tree trunk that rotted and fell. Erik pulls on the reins of his horse. "Lauren!" He hops off his horse and helps her up. He looks up and can clearly see its Phillip about 150 feet away. She gasps and grabs his hands. "Erik you have to go." He scoffs and picks her up. "Don't say that, you're coming with me." The horse neighs and stumbles back up to its feet.

As she walks over to Erik as he gets on the horse, the crunching of leaves comes to a halt behind them, and she feels an arm around her waist. A rifle is loaded and is pointed at Erik.

"Phillip get the fuck off me!" He seems confused at her language and why she's angry. "Erik run!" He looks at Lauren with sorrow as he mounts his horse and reluctantly leaves. She knocks the rifle out of his hands and stomps on his foot. "You asshole! Go to hell!" The men behind him start whispering and he shoots them a look. Madame Giry runs up to her and takes her by the hands and whispers to her. Whatever she said to Lauren, it calmed her significantly. She glares at Phillip as he motions for her to follow him.

What he didn't know, was Madame Giry had a plan.