Moving forward here. I know that some readers may be upset by certain characters' actions in this chapter, but each character is coming at this situation with their own unique life perspective.

Thank you for all the lovely reviews on the last chapter. I liked your insights into my villain and his contrasts to Erik.

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"Well, that was a disaster," said Daniel, one hand holding a phone and the other gripping a clipboard. "I told you it was too early to put him in there!"

Hope pushed past him, lips pursed, eyes wide with anger.

"Where are you going?" asked Daniel. He hurried after her, following her into Nicholas's room. Nicholas was still strapped down to the chair but now out of the black helmet and goggles, fully awake. Cords ran out of his body in all directions.

Nicholas blinked at them. Then he smiled. "Is Erik awake?" he asked. "Did you see what he tried to do to me? He was so violent! Is he awake now?"

"No," Daniel began. "We knew it all had to-"

Before Daniel could finish, Hope drew back her right hand and slapped Nicholas across the face.

"Ow! Bitch!" Nick flinched. His cheek turned bright red. "What the hell?"

"Do with you," Daniel softly finished with a swallow. He cleared his throat.

Glaring, Hope turned and left the room.

"Why didn't you wake up Erik?" Nick called after her, obviously undeterred by the slap. "I was only having fun. He was the one who started stabbing me." Nick sounded utterly delighted.

She ignored him, too angry to reply, and knew that he was lying. Daniel followed her. "Look," he said. "We have to get Nicholas to accept the System before we do that again. I warned you that he wasn't ready. It's going to take time. And tests. And then more time and more tests."

"You can't even get Erik worked out," she said, bitterly. "How are you ever going to fix Nick?"

Daniel lowered his head. "We always knew this was an ambitious project. SCI was never designed for mind manipulation. The individual has to want it, to accept it. Otherwise, it's not going to work. I don't know what's wrong with Erik. I'm still looking into it, experimenting with different things, playing around with his head."

Hope shook her head, disgusted and full of despair. "Patient D arrived this morning," she muttered. "You might as well make yourself useful by working on that." She left him standing there by himself.

They erased Alice's notebook.

They did not erase her message to Corey. Thank God for Corey. He was her bridge to the other side, and SCI was less able to mess with him. He told her everything that she had said on the phone. The horrible memories returned to her quickly, her brain filling in the gaps.

They briefly discussed Ben, but Corey knew absolutely nothing. He was shocked by what had transpired, increasingly furious with SCI. "I'll have to look into it," he said. "I'll ask around, see if any new patients came in with a similar profile."

Then the conversation turned to Erik. Alice remembered her discovery and nearly started crying again. She also remembered her conclusions.

"He's miserable here," she said as they sat in the kitchen. She and Corey had carried Erik to his bed. Erik lay there now atop the comforter, curled into a silent and motionless ball. "How can we even leave him alone? If he's in here trying to kill himself?"

Corey shook his head. "I wonder what's wrong with him. He was fine the first time he came here."

"It could be a lot of things. Imagine having all these conflicting memories running around in your head. Imagine that someone keeps messing with your thoughts and your brain. Just from my limited experience, I know it'd be torture." Alice grimaced. "What if they're torturing him? What if they've permanently altered him?"

"So you want him out?" Alice nodded. Corey winced. "The only way that I know how to do that is through Nadir. And you know what that means."

Alice stared forward, queasy. She did know what it meant. In an even voice, she replied, "Years ago, I wanted to die. I was miserable. No matter how much I begged my family and doctors, they wouldn't let me go. SCI was my miracle. I had hoped it would be Erik's miracle, too. It's not. I was wrong. It's no longer ethical to keep him here."

The time was growing later. The sun was going down, casting them in shadows. Corey stared forward and seemed to be thinking very hard. Alice knew that Corey enjoyed finding solutions to problems. He couldn't seem to come up with anything, his forehead crinkling in frustration. "So you want me…you want me to tell Nadir to get Erik out, no matter what happens?" Corey's voice trembled, and Alice could hear the unasked question – You want me to have him killed?

"I don't know what else to do." Alice spread out her hands. "I can't get Erik to talk to me, to tell me what he wants. After yesterday, I can't get him to say anything. Are we supposed to monitor him twenty-four hours a day to make sure he's not slitting his wrists? What kind of life is that?" Alice sighed. "I feel like I'm giving up. But I'm exhausted, and I have no other answer."

"It would exhaust anyone," said Corey. "Don't be so hard on yourself. This is an impossible situation. You've done everything that you can, more than I ever would have."

"I feel so damned bad for him. But what can I offer? Volleyball games? Movie nights? I don't even know what to say. I can't make him any promises that this is all going to get better." She placed her forehead in her palms. "Sometimes I resent him because he can't pull himself together. And I know that it's not his fault, so I feel even worse. Still, it's frustrating."

Corey got up and came to stand beside her. He bent down and put an arm her shoulders. "Alice. You've done the best that any of us can do. I think you're amazing. But maybe there is no way to fix this." Corey glanced to the side. "Maybe he needs more than any of us can give."

"What do you mean by that?" Alice asked. "What else can we give?"

Corey opened his mouth to reply but seemed to struggle with the words. "Never mind," he said. "It was a stupid comment."

Alice didn't press him into what might have been a painful conversation. After a moment, she got up. She went into the bedroom where Erik lay in his ball. Corey followed. Reaching out, she grabbed Erik's upper arm. She shook him and said, in her loudest voice, "Erik. Can you hear me?! We're going to try to get you out. And then that might be it. Once you're out, that might be it." Her voice cracked, but she continued, "Do you understand? If that's not what you want, you'd better scream. If you want to stay alive, to stay in here, scream. Scream it! Scream if you want to live!"

Erik was still and silent, unchanging. Alice glanced at his face. Erik's eyes were open, blankly staring forward. He gave no indication that he knew either of them were there. He looked nearly dead.

"We'll give him another couple of days," she said. "If he stays like this…."

"Right," said Corey. "I agree."

They remained at Erik's apartment for the rest of the night and the next day, waiting for a change in him that never happened. Alice finally got some sleep, leaning against Corey, a blanket spread over them both on the couch.

Eventually, she had to say it. "It's time to make the call."

During the thirty minute drive, Nadir received one phone call, which he answered. "I'm sorry. I can't talk right now." The person on the other must have persisted. In a firm voice, Nadir replied. "I can't, Corey. I'll call you back later."

Christine was curious but didn't pry. Corey…

There was something slightly familiar about that name.

She stared out the window as they drove down a winding dirt road. It was nearly evening. Even in the dim light, though, Christine was certain that Nadir had the cutest cabin she had ever seen, tucked back from the main streets. Perched on a hill, it had a perfectly triangular roof and four square windows. An empty red hummingbird feeder hung on the porch. The air smelled of pine. "I love it here," she said as Nadir helped with her luggage.

He glanced at the cabin. "Thank you. I wanted to get out of that city."

"So did I," she said.

They climbed a short set of steps up to the porch. Nadir fumbled for his key. "So you've been touring with a band?" he asked.

"Yeah." She shyly smiled. "It was a strange experience. But I'm glad I did it."

"Hm." He led her inside. She smelled burnt firewood. Beautiful Persian carpets covered the floorboards. There wasn't a lot of furniture. He had a couple of crimson armchairs in the living room, along with a simple square coffee table that matched the floors. A bowl of apples and bananas sat out on a kitchen table that had two chairs around it.

"Where do you do your shopping?" she asked.

"There's a town about twenty minutes away. It has a grocery store and a Wal-Mart. I can get anything I need there." He rummaged around in his cabinets and then set out a bag of tortilla chips and a jar of salsa. "I bought a roast chicken and some potato salad. I hope this will be enough for you?" He scratched the back of his head.

"As long as I don't have to eat Taco Bell again, I'm great," she replied. "Thank you. You didn't have to do anything."

"Well, I at least wanted to give you some dinner. Would you like tea?" he asked. "Or a soda?"

"Tea would be great, thanks."

He filled a kettle with water and put it on the stove.

She looked around his home, noting a black and white picture of a couple who must have been his parents. It was very quiet here. It also dawned on her that she didn't know Nadir very well. Any acquaintance of Erik had to be a complicated person. Still, she didn't sense danger. And Erik, while annoyed by Nadir, had always spoken of him in a positively tinted light.

After snacking on chips and potato salad, Christine settled into an armchair with her cup of black tea. Nadir sat in the other one, and they faced each other at a diagonal. "It's peaceful here," she murmured.

"I'm very grateful for it. I think I've had enough excitement in my lifetime." A moment of silence passed as they sipped their tea.

"So," she softly began. "I came here because I wanted to know a little more about Erik, from your point of view. He told me some things about his past. But not everything. And I thought…I thought maybe you could give a different perspective."

Nadir nodded. "I don't know the answer to everything that you might ask. Erik isn't…wasn't the type of person to give you his whole life story."

She inwardly winced at Nadir's change to past tense. As though Erik were dead. Still, she remained calm. "He said that he raised himself," she began, giving Nadir a window to continue.

"Yes. I only know a little about his childhood. He never knew his father. His mother was…not really a mother at all. Erik was severely neglected until she finally left him alone to die. After she abandoned him, he searched for her. When he found her, she pretended to not know who he was. So Erik was raised by the streets from about eight-years-old onwards."

"He said that he received no education, too," she said. "But he's so smart."

"He was mostly self-educated," Nadir agreed. "I think he made passing references to one of his mother's cousins. She was kinder. I think she taught him how to read and write, enough so that he could pick up the rest by himself."

"What happened to her?" Although Christine really meant – Why didn't she save him?

"I believe she died while Erik was still very young." Nadir shrugged. "Doesn't matter now. Erik raised himself. He learned to steal, to do whatever he needed to survive. And so he became a force to be reckoned with. A force with very little moral direction."

"I can't believe that social services or the foster system didn't step in," she said, shaking her head. "If I saw an eight-year-old running around the streets with no supervision, I'd call the police."

"I imagine that Erik was tall for his age, as well as frightening in appearance. So people probably thought that he was older and didn't want to get involved."

"That's sad," was all she could say.

Nadir nodded and continued, "I don't have a lot of details about the rest of Erik's youth. Except that very bad people used him to their advantage. He was a genius without any sense of right and wrong. He moved quickly and silently. His talents were coveted by some very evil men who were willing to pay him money to do their bidding."

"He killed for them…"

"Among other things. And that's where I came in. A lot of bad guys died in a short period of time, turf wars mostly. While I wasn't exactly unhappy about that, I also didn't like the idea of a mass murderer running around free. Erik knew that I was searching for him. He toyed with me for a while. I thought he was going to kill me. I was ready to arrest or kill him. But instead - we began a strange relationship. When it came to crimes dealing with drugs and weapons, Erik was my enemy. When it came to activities like human trafficking and child slavery, he was my ally. And so I turned a blind eye to many of his deeds. My career advanced. Erik continued to do what he did. It wasn't exactly an ethical arrangement, but we managed to do some good."

She nodded. "Erik mentioned some of that, how you two met."

"Yes. And it all went well until it became more…personal."

"Personal?"

"Erik slowly began to trust me. He told me things about himself, about his past. I listened, more curious than anything, shocked that this phantom of a man was making himself seem more human. He eventually revealed that he was tired of his current life. His primary employer was becoming more interested in activities that Erik found repulsive. I told Erik he should get out of the business. Go for it. But I didn't offer more support." Nadir leaned forward, grimacing. "I regret that. But Erik seemed invincible to me, unafraid of anyone. I didn't understand that he was subtly asking for my help…"

"Something bad happened, didn't it?" she asked, fingers pressing into her palms.

"Yes. Do you know this part?"

"Erik hinted at it, but he didn't want to tell me. It was very bad, wasn't it?"

"It was a disaster. I'll tell you enough to give you a basic understanding as to another reason for why Erik was…off-kilter. He was captured and put through hell for an entire month. There was physical torture, yes. But it was the mental torment that did the job. He was knocked unconscious and chained down. Somehow, either using drugs or virtual reality and a blindfold, they then convinced Erik that they had blinded him. Permanently. They said they had removed his eyes."

Christine shuddered. "But they obviously didn't."

"No. But, for a month, Erik believed that they had. They tortured and humiliated him, made him think that would be his permanent existence. And it even went beyond that…"

"What do you mean?"

Nadir hesitated as though trying to put it delicately. "His eyes weren't the only parts they claimed to have removed."

Christine felt her heart drop. "Did they?" she half-choked, her eyes locked with his. She nearly spilled tea on herself. The last months had made her stronger, but some things were still too horrible.

"No. Because all of this was done to terrify Erik into submission. A month doesn't sound like a long time. But every passing minute must have felt like hell – chained down and believing himself to be blinded and castrated, subjected to their cruelty and depravity for the rest of his life. He lost his mind in there, became catatonic. When it was over and the truth was revealed, his employer stated that that would be Erik's fate if Erik ever dared crossed him again. He made sure that Erik was hooked on an awful drug and forced him back into criminal life." Nadir leaned back into the chair. His right hand trembled slightly.

"You couldn't have known," Christine murmured, trying to reassure him, trying to reassure herself. "Erik does seem invincible at times. He wants to be seen that way, I think."

"I guess so." Nadir sighed. "For a year, Erik was out of my reach in more ways than one. I didn't see him for a long time. I saw his crimes. One night, when I came to investigate, he waited for me. With my gun drawn and pointed at his chest, I asked what had happened. Why was he still doing this? Erik claimed that it was his fate to be the Angel of Death. I could see the chaos in his eyes. The pills had made him insane. Still, I didn't shoot. I almost did. But then I caught sight of the scars on his arms and I knew…"

"That something bad had happened," she finished. No wonder Nadir wanted to hide away in this cabin. His memories were so sad.

"By some miracle, I got Erik to come with me, back to my apartment. He told me what had happened. He said he couldn't think anymore, could barely function – and that he saw no way out."

"What'd you do?"

To her relief, Nadir replied, "I helped him. I used every resource, every alliance, and every owed favor I had to take down that criminal enterprise. His employer was killed in the firefight, and Erik was free of that demon. I took Erik to my home. I got him off those pills. And then I told him to embrace his new life. I felt that I had done my job."

"That was probably the nicest thing that anyone had ever done for him," she said with a heavy heart.

"But I'm sure you can see the fatal flaw," Nadir murmured. "Why didn't Erik thrive?"

Christine thought about this and said, "He still had nothing. The bad was gone, but there was no good. No college degree or job. No friends except for you. No family. His face. His…social skills."

"Exactly. My career took off, and so I was overworked and exhausted. I thought Erik was resourceful enough to figure life out on his own. And he kind of did. Erik turned toward less violent activities, hacking and financial manipulations. He would visit me sometimes, and we would shoot the breeze. Occasionally, he still had a crime tip for me. His life wasn't exactly happy, but I thought everything would remain calm." A pause. "Then he lost his mind again. And I think you know why."

"Me."

"Yep. Erik had a terrible time handling feelings of…attraction. He didn't know what to do with them, and so he used the pills to numb himself. Then he killed someone. I couldn't overlook the murder of an innocent man. I was ready to arrest or kill him. SCI was a lifesaver."

"How did you know about SCI? Or that they would take Erik?"

"I had a friend who worked there," Nadir explained. "She knew Hope. Hope was interested in helping Erik." Christine saw a flicker of concern on Nadir's face when he mentioned Hope.

"Did you force him in?" she asked.

"No. Erik agreed to go on his own. He knew it was his last chance." Nadir shook his head in disgust. "The damned governor nearly ruined it all, nearly destroyed multiple lives, yours included. But we fixed it. We got very lucky," he finished. "And I am sorry you went through all that. I hope that you can return to your life knowing that everything is as it should be."

"He let me go," she said, finishing her tea and setting the empty cup on the table. It would take time for her to think about everything Nadir had said. But she knew - "I've forgiven him."

"You're a very brave and mature young woman," said Nadir with a gentle smile.

"I still care about him," she continued. "I want him to be happy. It all happened so fast at the end. I was never given proof that he was okay. And Hope - I've always had this strange feeling about her."

"Erik will be fine. He's in the best place that he could be. There's always an adjustment period, but he'll be fine."

"But you never see him, do you?" she pressed. "You never check on him. Do you get updates?"

"No. But I've previously seen him in that state. It's like a very deep sleep with a wonderful dream. And, Christine, Erik was ready to die." She flinched. "If Hope hadn't come to the rescue, Erik would have killed himself. I've done my best. We all have. Please, my dear girl. Go live your life. Erik is living his in the best way that he can."

Something else troubled her. "Does he have any say in what they do to him? Or is he tied down again?"

Nadir's eyes widened. "This is not torture. It's done with Erik's best interest in mind."

"You're certain of that?" she asked with more sharpness than she meant to.

"Would you rather have him in prison? Or dead? Those were the other options, remember?"

"No. But…" Christine gazed downward. This was not going anywhere. She had the feeling that Nadir wasn't being completely honest with her. "I just really hope he's okay."

"I'm sure he will be."

She tried one last time, "There's no way to check on him?"

Nadir was having a hard time keeping eye contact. "No, Christine. But he will be fine."

She grimly understood that Nadir was done with Erik. Nadir had tried multiple times to save Erik, and he was tired now. He would not help her.

"Thank you for sharing all this with me," she said.

"You're very welcome. But Erik would have wanted you to move on. Despite his atrocious actions, he did care for you. He would have wanted you to be happy."

She knew that was true. But she wasn't sure that she could be happy until she had proof. A current photograph of him laughing with friends, skipping through green meadows, whatever Erik did there. It would hurt her heart to see it. Because then she would have to let him go. But she would. As Erik had let her go. To be happy. After his horrible life, she would let him be happy.

She ate a little more dinner. Then Nadir showed her to the spare bedroom. It was also simply furnished with only a bed, nightstand, and unplugged television. Nadir probably didn't have a lot of guests. The white sheets were cold as she climbed into them. The thick blue and gold comforter was warm. Troubled, she lay there for a long time, listening to the wind and the soft rapping of bare branches against the cabin walls.

Was this really the end? This was as far as she would get? Her heart clenched. She knew of no one else who could help her or answer her questions.

Then she heard Nadir's voice in the distance, talking to someone, maybe over the phone.

She was now a very experienced eavesdropper.

Christine got up. The floor was freezing beneath her socks. She tiptoed to the door and put her ear up against it. She still couldn't hear him, so Christine quietly opened her door and stepped out into the short hallway. She made her way towards the living room. Nadir's voice was clearer - "I was hoping things would get better. This is not easy to do. It will involve law enforcement. Do you think he's close to death? Because that might be more peaceful." Another pause. "Well, have Alice consider that perspective. Yes, I understand that she – " Nadir sighed. "You explain to her what it will entail. If she still wants me to go forward, I will. But Erik will likely not make it." Christine covered her mouth with her hand. "I understand. I'm so sorry, Corey. I really am. Thank you. All right. Goodbye." After he hung up, Nadir quietly cursed.

Christine quickly walked back to her room and closed the door. She sunk down to her knees onto the floorboards. A sob escaped her throat. Please no. She felt panic, her heart pounding in her ears. Then she felt anger. She wanted to go out there and yell at Nadir. He had known things weren't going well for Erik. She had sensed it. How dare he lie to her? Why had he? To protect her? Because he thought that there was no hope for Erik? Her arms curled up against her chest.

She had to stay calm. She had to think.

Corey. Alice. She remembered now. They were the friends that Erik had mentioned in SCI. But if Corey called Nadir, did that mean Corey was here in the real world? That was confusing. Nadir might become suspicious if she started asking questions about him, though.

She went to bed in tears. She got about three hours of troubled sleep. She awoke with a simple plan.

"Hi Nadir." She greeted him in the kitchen the next morning, fully dressed and showered.

"Good morning, Christine." She could see concern in his eyes. He tried to hide it with a smile and warm words. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes," she lied.

"Good. I made some bacon and toast if you're hungry."

"Thanks." She took a breath. "Hey, could I use your phone? Mine isn't getting any reception here. I just need to make a quick call."

"Mine's not great either," he said. He didn't seem to suspect anything. "But you're welcome to try." He unlocked his phone and handed it to her.

"Thank you." Gripping the phone, she went back into her room. She searched Nadir's recent calls and was relieved to see that the information hadn't been erased. There was Corey's number at the top. She wrote it down and added the contact to her phone. Did he have anyone else in here? She scanned the other contacts.

Heh. He had Raoul. Oh! He had Hope. That was weird. He'd listed her as Hope I. V.

She saved that one, too, just in case it ever came in handy. She didn't dare call it now.

"Any luck?" Nadir asked when she returned to the kitchen.

"Not much," she replied. "It's no big deal." She munched on a piece of crunchy, salty bacon. Her stomach turned nervously. She prayed Nadir wouldn't suspect anything.

"If you'd like, I can take you into town later."

"Thank you," she said. "But I'll only stay here another day, if that's okay. I'd like to take a walk in the woods. It's pretty here."

"It's cold out there," he warned.

"I don't mind."

"Well, be careful. There are occasional black bears, too."

Nadir was so kind and caring that she couldn't hate him. She almost wanted to give him another chance to come clean with her, to confront him about the phone call with Corey. But even if Nadir agreed to help her, she doubted that he saw Erik's future consisting of anything but death or prison. Nadir could not be her ally. Their goals did not align.

Her phone did have a weak signal. After putting on a heavy coat and boots that Nadir had let her borrow, she headed outside. The boots were too big, and she nearly fell over in them. She walked a good distance from the cabin, not wanting Nadir to overhear her. Snow lingered on the ground, and it was cloudy out. She felt very alone.

Please work.

Christine closed her eyes as she pushed the button to make the call. Corey wouldn't recognize her number, so he might not answer. She prepared to leave a message but -

"Hello?" asked the voice of a younger man.

"Hi," she nearly whispered. "Is this Corey?"

"Yes. Can I help you?" He sounded nice enough, although a little suspicious, probably wondering if she were a telemarketer.

Here she went - "My name is Christine Daae. Yes, that Christine Daae. And I…" She looked at the sky. "I don't know what's going on. I don't even know what to say. Except - let me help you. If Erik is in trouble, let me help you. Please."

There was such a long silence that Christine was afraid that they had been disconnected. Finally, Corey uttered - "Holy crap."