Chapter 14

Grant's Residence… July 26

Christine's POV

My heart was racing as Michael and I walked towards the room. William Grant would be there. I felt like I would have a heart attack.

Before I knew it, we were there, before the closed door. I nearly passed out as Michael threw it open. There, standing in the middle of the room was none other than my kidnapper and rapist.

I was scared to death.

Then, once the initial frozen terror was out of the picture, my eyes found Erik's. I noticed that Grant had a sword. He introduced Erik to Michael, but it was not exactly an introduction, for they both knew him.

Suddenly, William kicked another sword towards us. Michael got it quickly and, just as quickly, I found the sharp blade against my throat. I swear I almost had a panic attack.

All of them were speaking, but I didn't register any of it. The sword scared me out of my mind.

Finally, I did register some words, and they were definitely not what I wanted to hear.

William spoke. "Wait until you see her naked."

I forced myself not to start whimpering like a baby. But this whole situation was just too much for me to bear.

Next thing I knew, the two of them were insisting on seeing Erik without his mask. How dare they?! But, there was nothing I could do with a sword to my throat.

And then, in a frenzy of action, William managed to slice the mask off Erik's face.

I gasped at William's heartless ways, and my face slightly paled at the sight. There stood Erik, my friend, without his mask. The deformity did look bad, I couldn't lie... But I just felt so horrible for him. How I wished to help him! There was nothing I could do.

As I continued to look, I came to the conclusion that his face was not nearly as horrible as the bastards we were dealing with. His deformity made no difference to me.

Erik was watching me in horror. Why? Did he expect me to help in some way? There's nothing I can do! I'm so sorry!

How I wished to know his thoughts and soothe his pain.

--

Erik's POV

The mask was off. My world crumbled. Christine was horrified. The monster was unleashed.

Lost in thought, I did not notice as William approached. He raised the sword to my face. I didn't even flinch as the tip barely tore into my rotten flesh.

Life was over for me. There was no reason to continue living. Memories of my past came rushing back.

"You little shit! You disgust me," my mother said. "I cannot take it any longer. I want you out of my house. You monster!"

Another memory made its way to my thoughts.

"Ew, who's the new kid? What's with the mask?" The orphans' whispers caused me to shrink back in shame. "I heard his own mother didn't want him. I bet he's really scary underneath that mask."

And then, all of the times William and his brother had beaten and humiliated me came rushing back, as well. They were the worst memories of all. They killed any sort of heart I might have had.

They were the cause of my monstrous ways, after all. I had never hurt anyone before Michael. He brought the beast out.

But now, as I stood before them without my mask, my shelter, I could not muster the strength to bring the raging beast forward.

Christine now hated me. I was nothing.

Suddenly, someone screamed, "Erik, defend yourself!" It was Christine. It was my beautiful Christine urging me not to give up.

Her words became my strength. I pushed the sword away as it came towards my face once more and stared at Grant with wild eyes. The beast was back, and I welcomed it.

With quick reflexes, I managed to kick him so that he fell to the ground. He dropped the sword in his process, and I grabbed it. With a malice the beast in me brought out, I cut into his face, just as he cut into mine.

Before I could do more, however, a sound behind me caused me to turn.

None other than Nadir entered the room holding a knife to Michael's back. He spoke with Middle Eastern venom in his voice. "Drop the sword, or my knife will be found in your intestines."

I watched as Michael immediately released Christine and threw her to the ground. He then quickly turned and pushed Nadir outside the room, sword and knife clanking together the whole time.

Once the two were out of the room, I stood there momentarily stunned, my sword still positioned over Grant's fallen body.

Christine was free. She stood beside the door obviously shocked about the previous occurrence. Then, she escaped her shock and our eyes locked.

"Now that Christine is free, there is no more leverage against my killing you. Now, you will die!" I yelled with determination.

"Wait!" Grant was panicking. "Wait. I need to explain." He looked at Christine. "I need to explain why I.. hurt you."

My anger increased. "No! Do not speak to her! She needs no further explanation."

Christine finally spoke. She had yet to until then. "No, Erik. It's alright. I do want him to explain."

I looked at her questioningly, and she forced a reassuring smile.

Grant spoke. "I will not lie. I was looking for a way to get to Erik. I was searching for him and had been for a while. Ever since he hurt my brother, I vowed to hurt him. Through some convenient connections, I managed to find him. So, it was all a matter of hurting him in a way that would force him to come here."

He continued, "I knew he'd never had a woman. I knew he'd never known such pleasure in the opposite sex. So, I came up with a plan. I decided to visit a club to find a girl, such as yourself. It proved I was in luck, as I found you walking the streets. That was not a wise decision on your part.

"Once you were unconscious, I dragged your body to my car and brought you to the woods behind Erik's house. I carried out the rest of my plan before leaving you in the woods. I never really left, though. Or, well, you were never alone. I made sure to have different men spying on you at all times."

Christine gasped and I glared him.

"Yes, my plan was very intricate and detailed." He laughed.

I would not take that. With blaring eyes, I pointed the sword to his heart warning him.

William instantly silenced his laughter. "I would not do that if I were you, Erik. I'm not finished. Do you wonder why I didn't kill you, Christine? Well, I had no intention of doing that. I only hurt you to the point of real suffering, didn't I? Then, you managed to make it to Erik. My plan was well on its way. You were doing everything I wanted. Of course, your time in the hospital took longer than I anticipated, but oh well."

"You're insane," Christine managed to say.

"No, you are wrong. The only insane person in this room is Erik."

I growled and cut his arm with the sword as another show of warning. "So, that is it, then? You said all of that only to come to this point? You are a foolish bastard." I raised my sword and was about to plunge it into his filthy heart.

"Wait!" Christine yelled. "Wait! Please, don't do this, Erik. Don't waste your time with killing him. Really, it's a waste. Please, don't do it!"

I hesitated at her words. "Christine, he has hurt too many people. He wants to kill us! Do not try to stop me."

"Yes, he's hurt us! Yes, he wants us dead! But, don't sink to his level! Nadir's right. We should hand them over to the police!"

"He hurt you, Christine. You could have died. Can you honestly tell me he does not deserve to die?"

"He does deserve death, but not from your hands. Please, Erik!" One more time, she begged, "Please," desperately.

Surprisingly, Grant refrained from speaking. Perhaps he knew that his voice would change my mind.

I looked at Grant, the sword, and then Christine. She meant more to me than this, I finally decided. My heart and soul rested in her hands. "Christine," I murmured. Then, louder I said, "Please bring me my lasso."

"Erik! No!"

"I am not going to kill him. I will simply bind him."

She was shocked, I could tell, and she quickly gave me the lasso.

I expertly tied the cat gut around his ankles and wrists. Keeping the sword threateningly positioned near his heart, I whispered, "Move or try to move, and you will die."

Christine nervously asked, "Erik, what about Nadir?"

I had forgotten my friend. The man who saved Christine's life. "I am sure he is fine." Although, I was a bit worried.

Just then, the door opened and an injured Nadir entered the room. He had a wound to his shoulder. Holding it with one hand, he proclaimed, "Michael is tied up with the rest of the henchmen." He then noticed William. "You did not kill him," he whispered. "I was so sure you would. What stopped you?"

I looked at Christine and confidently said, "She did," before terror entered my mind. My mask.. Neither of them have mentioned my face, but it must be making them sick.. I tore off a piece of my pant leg. It would serve as my mask. I tied it around my head with string from my previous mask.

Christine was standing as still as a statue, and I could tell she was trying to think of what to do next. She exclaimed, "We have to call the police!"

"I already have," Nadir replied. "They should be here shortly."

The three of us looked at each other. Christine breathed a sigh of relief and Nadir smiled. My eyes lingered on Christine. The angelic girl saved my soul from having the blood of Grant on my hands.

And that was when I realized... I love her.

I never was pleased with this chapter, not now or when the story was previously posted. It always felt too rushed and lacked too much detail. But, well, I'm having trouble fixing it.. So, I figured I would post it as it is. Hopefully, the next chapters will be better.

Thank you so much for reviewing! I appreciate them so much!

Please review :)

-Lauren