Driven Further

"Why?..."

Erik watched Christine intently from his chair beside her bed. She was talking in her sleep. It was fascinating.

"D-don't… Get a..way…" She rolled over onto her stomach and raised her hand so that it was covering her face.

She was not merely speaking, he realized. She's having a nightmare! His heart cried out to her. Please, angel, don't be afraid! I don't want you to be afraid.

He was feeling more sane and down to earth than he had in what felt like a long time. She is having a nightmare about what I have done to her.. It was so very clear to him.

Erik sighed and felt tears come to his eyes as he continued to watch her. Have I destroyed you? Am I… being bad? A few memories from his miserable childhood came to the surface, and he shivered and shook his head. No! This is good. This is very good. His mind buried the memories once more. Oh, how he hated when they snuck up on him, for he was never fully prepared for their intensity.

It was time for a change of atmosphere. He hoped Christine would not awaken until he returned. Erik stood and left the room.

Nadir had a feeling Erik was with Christine, though he couldn't hear anything. When they had last spoken, it sounded like she was exhausted. He assumed she was asleep, and knowing Erik, he was probably watching her.

Everything is a nightmare. How could Erik have slipped so? And why did I not see until it was too late?

Suddenly, he heard the lock of his bedroom door click. He immediately turned down the volume on both his hearing device and walkie-talkie before hiding them and standing from his seat. Has he come to kill me?

Erik opened the door and saw Nadir standing nearby. "Hello," he greeted bitterly. Then, he closed the door and locked it with his key. He proceeded to take a seat next to the chair Nadir had previously been sitting on.

Nadir stood unmoving as he watched the man he had once considered a friend sit down, as if everything were fine between them. His brow furrowed in confusion.

A tired sigh escaped Erik's lips. "Sit down, Nadir. We need to talk."

He didn't move. "Erik, if we are to discuss my imminent death, then I would rather stand." In a low voice, he warned, "I must tell you, though, that I will not go down without a fight." One thing Nadir knew for sure was that it was pointless to defy Erik. He'd seen him use his weapon before.. the Punjab lasso.. He shuddered at the thought and tried to distract himself. That was when he noticed Erik's bandaged hands. He wondered what in the world had caused that but decided against mentioning it.

Erik sighed again and shook his head wearily. "Currently, I do not wish to kill you. Now, sit."

Nadir slowly did as he said. This was too strange..

"I suppose you know that Christine is now under my wing. And there is nothing you can do to stop me," he said with a smirk.

"Have you come to gloat?" Nadir asked with a dry tone. "Or is there a real reason you have come to see me?"

The masked man's lips actually curled upward. "Well Nadir, it seems you are the only person, besides Christine of course, that I can talk to. Currently, she is sleeping, so here I am." He shrugged gracefully.

Nadir's eyes narrowed. "Is this a trick, Erik, or do you mean what you say?"

"I am being completely honest. I wish to converse with you. But… oh dear, are you mad at me?"

The sarcasm was apparent in his tone, and Nadir nodded. "Oh yes, I am most definitely mad at you."

Erik pondered that. "Hmm.. Well, now that that is made clear, I suppose we can speak truthfully. There are a few things I wish to say. You see, earlier, when I unloaded my car, I came across Christine's cell phone. It seems her father has tried to call twice. Christine obviously did not answer. She has not been here for long, only a little over eleven hours, so he cannot be too worried yet."

"On the contrary, Erik, I believe he might be very worried."

"You see! That is why I wish to talk to you. We both have differing viewpoints. It is.. humorous for me to hear what you have to say." Nadir was frowning. "Yes, well, anyway, I am not sure if he knows Meg Giry's telephone number. I can only hope he doesn't, I suppose. It is a trivial matter, though." Again, he shrugged.

"And why do you say that?" Nadir asked suspiciously with a furrowed brow. He was trying to read into each word Erik spoke.

Erik smirked. "I have gotten rid of all traces of her, Nadir. I stripped her car of any evidence that she owns it. The license plate, all insurance, her luggage, every finger print.."

There was silence for a few moments before Nadir finally said, "It seems you did not think of everything, Erik. What of the vehicle identification number? Surely, you didn't strip the car of that." He crossed his arms and studied Erik with a knowing expression.

He was silent. Damn.. His eyes closed. The fool is right.. But.. "It hardly matters. The car had reached Alabama. It will take some time to trace it back here to Tallahassee."

It was obvious that Nadir had thought of something Erik hadn't. There is hope yet. "Soon, her father will know. There will be a search. There will be suspects."

"And I will not be one of them," Erik said quickly.

"Don't be so sure, Erik."

Erik growled. "Do not cross me, Kahn, for I can get rid of you at any moment." He stood. "Your worries are trivial. Christine is mine, and she will not be taken away from me." He walked towards the door. "Cross me again, Nadir, and I can make sure you regret it." Quickly, he unlocked the door, opened it, and left, making sure to lock it again.

Nadir was left feeling more hopeful than before.

When Erik reentered Christine's room, he fully expected her to still be sleeping. What he didn't expect was to see her sitting up and dabbing blood away from her forehead with a Kleenex. In fact, there were several bloody Kleenexes on the floor beside the bed. His eyes widened. "Oh god.." he breathed. He raced forward.

It seemed Christine had scraped her forehead with her hand while she slept. The pain and blood woke her immediately and initially scared the hell out of her, for she had nearly forgotten about her wound. She had turned on the bedside table lamp and had luckily seen that there were Kleenexes beside the lamp.

After a few minutes of dabbing at her forehead, she found that it was proving to be a difficult task to stop the blood. She kept having to use a new Kleenex.

Christine gasped when she heard the click of her door unlocking, and she felt like scooting as far away as possible when he opened the door and rushed to her side. The frown on his face and the look in his eyes were causing her to feel very uncomfortable and on edge. "Don't worry," she squeaked. "I'm fine." The last thing she wanted was him smothering her.

Erik wasn't going to believe her. "Oh, angel.." He frantically reached for another Kleenex from her bedside table and moved her hand away in order to put it against her forehead himself. His eyes were intense as they focused on her wound. "I have to stop the bleeding.. My angel cannot bleed," he murmured.

As always, Christine felt a sort of suffocation by how possessively caring he was. It just wasn't normal. 'Creepy' was more like it. "No, I've got it. Please," she added, remembering Nadir's words from earlier. She couldn't be too mean..

His eyes widened at her words. She'd said 'please'. It was the sweetest thing he had heard her say so far. Erik reached for her hand and placed it against the Kleenex before backing away. "Hold it against your forehead and apply pressure. I will get medical supplies." He practically ran out of the room without closing the door. Christine didn't try to flee, though. Instead, she leaned her head back and focused on trying to get the blood to stop. She didn't want to seem weak around him, and the fact that she was bleeding showed weakness.

Erik returned a short time later carrying a first aid kit. He dragged a chair close to her bed and begged, "Please, let me take care of you." He knew Christine, and knowing her, he was well aware of the fact that she didn't want to be pampered. She was a strong, independent young woman and he loved that. He loved every quality she possessed. However, he yearned to take care of her, so he hoped she wouldn't deny him the opportunity.

Christine looked into his eyes for a moment while thinking about the fact that this could be one step closer to freedom if she allowed him to help her. She nodded. "Ok."

He could have kissed her.. he was just that thrilled. He instantly opened the kit and withdrew rubbing alcohol, cotton balls, Neosporin, and a large bandage, since the injury took up a fairly wide area of her forehead. "Forgive me if this stings, Christine. The last thing I ever want is to hurt you," he whispered.

His words weren't heard as she suddenly noticed his hands. They were bandaged.. "What happened to your hands?" she couldn't help but ask. It wasn't concern she felt. She was only curious.

Erik stopped and didn't speak for a moment. She cares… She cares about my hands.. Presently, he wasn't important, only Christine was. "Nothing, my dear. Now, let's focus on you." He opened the rubbing alcohol and poured some onto a cotton ball. "Take deep breaths.." Then, he pressed it against her forehead.

Christine winced. She detested alcohol. It stung like crazy! No weakness, no weakness, her mind reminded. Her hands clung to the covers tightly.

He could feel her tenseness. "Shh, sweet angel," he cooed. "Everything will be fine."

Oh, how she wished to contradict his statement. Everything will not be fine! But she stayed silent. He removed the cotton ball and put some Neosporin on the area. Then, he unwrapped the bandage and placed it against her forehead. "There," he said, his work complete.

It was hard to force herself to thank him after everything he'd done to her -and since he was the cause of her pain-, but she managed to softly say, "Thanks."

Erik felt a surge of warmth in his heart. "You're welcome, darling." They were quiet for a while.

If only he didn't call her those things… 'Angel', 'Darling', 'My dear'.. They were the last words she wanted to hear, especially from him. But I can't think like that! Her heart began to pound nervously as she looked around. Distraction, distraction.. Her eyes landed on his hands, and she couldn't help but stare as their awkward silence stretched on. He noticed rather quickly and moved them where she couldn't see.

"Would you like for me to read to you?" Erik asked softly.

Christine blinked at the unexpected question. Read to me? Is he serious? "Read what?" Really, she hardly cared. She just wanted out of this mess.

"Well, on your book shelf there is a book of fairy tales. I think you will like hearing me read them." He pointed to the extravagant book shelves against a wall of the room.

She'd noticed the book shelves before, of course, because it -along with everything else in the bedroom- was elegant and fit for royalty. It had tons of books, one of which being what he was referring to. But fairy tales? What, does he think I'm a child? She wouldn't defy him, though. I have to try. "Ok."

Erik eagerly went to pick out the book. He only wanted her to be happy. Perhaps a fairy tale would be comforting for her to hear. He returned to his seat moments later carrying a beautifully bound book.

Christine barely paid attention at first. She was expecting to be bored, and she most definitely wasn't going to care.

But that was before he began to read. The moment he spoke, her attention was captured. He read so well. There weren't words to describe it, and she found she rather liked feeling like a young child again. She was enraptured with his voice and the text. Erik even spoke differently for each character. It was so engrossing that she smiled and laughed at appropriate times.

If it were possible, Erik was enjoying this more than Christine. To cause a smile to come to her face was almost more than he could stand. And to cause laughter? Well, he was elated.

He read to her for well over an hour, tale after tale. Christine was attentive the entire time. She was hooked to his voice while she pictured each story.

It wasn't until Erik paused to look at his watch that reality came back into full focus. At first, she was utterly confused. This is so nice.. but something feels wrong.. When Erik looked directly at her, she knew. I'm here against my will because of him. She couldn't deny it, though. His reading to her was one of the most pleasant experiences she'd had in a very long time.

Erik watched as the expression on her face changed. He didn't even have to ask if she'd enjoyed it. It seemed his reading had the power to put her mind in a wonderful place. He would have to remember that for future reference. "It's late, angel. You should sleep."

She noticed that his voice still held that same entrancing quality, but it wasn't affecting her in the way that it had previously. Now, it aggravated her. How could I have forgotten for even a moment that he's the bad guy? I like to be aware of my surroundings, and I wasn't. This can't happen again. "Ok," she said, trying to hide the aggravation and bit of shame she felt from her tone.

Christine allowed Erik to bring the covers up over her body, but she stayed tense as he did so. He then lightly traced the curve of her jaw without actually touching her skin. Again, her eyes came in contact with his bandaged hands, and again, he noticed and quickly hid them from her line of vision. She watched as he picked the Kleenexes up off the floor and took his first aid kit. Before he left the room, his eyes found hers and he sighed longingly.

When he was gone, Christine instantly knew what she wanted to do. Pushing aside the sleepiness she really did feel, she reached under her pillow to remove the walkie-talkie. But how do I know Erik isn't listening? How do I know he won't hear? The walkie-talkie was currently her most cherished item and she'd be damned if Erik caught her using it. I need to know if he's coming, so I can't go in the bathroom or the closet. After a few moments of thinking, she decided to put her head under her bed pillow to stifle the sound.

She wondered if Mr. Kahn would be asleep. Please be awake.. Pressing the button, she softly spoke. "Mr. Kahn?"

He was, indeed, awake. Actually, he'd been about to use the walkie-talkie himself. "Christine, how are you?"

She sighed. "Bad, of course. But how are you? H-he hasn't done anything else to you, has he?"

"No, no he hasn't. He came to speak to me, though. Christine, he tried to strip your car of all your information but didn't succeed. Authorities will trace the car back to you. Also, your father has called you twice."

Christine gasped, completely having forgotten about her cell phone. "Where is my cell phone?" she asked urgently.

"Erik has it. But Christine, there is hope. Everyone will soon know that you are missing. They will search for you."

She couldn't get too excited. "Yeah, but will they suspect Erik?"

There was a pause. "Your father has seen Erik around you. We can only hope he sees a connection." There was another pause. "I have to go."

Christine knew that meant Erik was there. She gulped and inwardly begged, Please don't hurt him, Erik..

Nadir turned the volume down on the hearing device and walkie-talkie. He held his breath nervously as Erik opened the door. Upon seeing him, he knew for a fact that Erik wasn't on to their conversing. Actually, he looked to be in a very good mood.

This whole situation was just so frightening. It's one thing when a kidnapper knows that what he is doing is wrong but continues regardless. It's another thing entirely when the kidnapper has no knowledge that what he is doing is wrong and, instead, thinks he is right while everyone else is wrong. Especially when that kidnapper is Erik.

Erik entered the room and exclaimed, "I read to her! I read to her and she loved it. Oh Nadir, the angel smiled and she laughed!"

The dark-skinned man stared at him not knowing what to say to that. Christine actually enjoyed anything involving Erik? After a second, he understood. Yes, Erik probably read to her using that hypnotic tone that I loathe.

"Are you not happy for me?"

It looked as though his words wouldn't make a difference, so he replied, "You know how I feel about this." As expected, Erik looked like he didn't hear him.

Erik took a seat next to Nadir and abruptly asked, "Would you like to know why my hands are bandaged?" He didn't wait for a reply. "I punished myself."

Nadir's brow furrowed in confusion. After saying something like that, how was the man still in such high spirits? "What do you mean?"

"Well, I discovered that I was the cause of her car wreck. I deserved punishment for it. In fact, I may punish myself again. It was very wrong of me."

Allah, he is insane. "Erik, what did you do to yourself?" he asked slowly.

"First, I looked in a mirror without my mask in place. As you should know, I don't like mirrors. I then punched the mirror, making it shatter. I took two of the shards of glass and squeezed them tightly in my hands, drawing blood. And then, I used them on my face." He actually laughed. "It was deserved."

Nadir was shocked. H-he didn't… Studying the man before him, his mind could see the truth. He did. Of course he did. It was sickening. "But why are you so happy, Erik?" He had to get to the bottom of this.

Erik clapped his hands together. "Christine is changing, Nadir. She is changing! She was concerned about my hands, can you believe that? And she enjoyed my reading to her. I made her smile and laugh," he exclaimed triumphantly. "She let me tend to her wound. Remember her forehead?" Nadir could only nod with a blank expression. "She is so very sweet, Nadir. My angel. My sweet, sweet angel…"

Nadir was horrified. I told her not to defy him… I did not know it would take this turn, though. Erik is becoming more and more insane. And I have done nothing but help the insanity grow.