Erik left his mask behind and ran as fast as he could. He knew the mob would be upon him if he didn't' hurry, ready to ensure he felt the weight of his crimes.

He fled through a small passage leading out of the catacombs beneath the opera house. A very tight squeeze, but he managed nonetheless, clutching only a cloak which he planned to use to obscure his malformed face.

He tore through the city streets, his face hidden in shadow underneath the black cowl of his cloak. Occasionally, a passerby would stare at him, perhaps confused by his odd attire, but none of them thought to pursue him.

He didn't know how long he ran, nor how far, but when at last he felt far enough from harm, he was in a dark, twisted wood cloaked in fog.

He sat on a rock underneath a gnarled tree, weathered by countless storms and winters. Reaching into his pocket, he found something smooth and round. He pulled it out to find a single ring.

His shoulders sunk. "I'd meant to give this to Christine," he sighed. "I'd almost forgotten I still had it with me."

He remembered how he'd had to let Christine go. How she'd left with her childhood sweetheart Raoul de Chagny as they declared their everlasting love. How happy they seemed together.

How he'd never find that kind of happiness. Not with a face like his, twisted and deformed.

He stared at the ring for a few moments; how it shined under the moonlight ever so slightly, how smooth and cool it felt in his hands.

He sighed deeply. "I suppose I won't be needing this anymore."

Gently he slipped the ring around a twisted branch near him. "My angel…" he muttered.

The wind suddenly began blowing harshly as the branch rattled in the wind. Erik could swear that the branch was moving independently.

It was then that he realized it was not a branch, but the arm of a human corpse, decayed until nothing was left of it but bone. And stranger still, it was moving much in the same way that the arm of someone living would.

The brittle looking fingers grasped Erik's hand, and in that moment, he did what any sensible man would have done.

That is to say, he screamed like a little girl.