It's really long and you're going to want to kill me for it. Sorry. Please review. Ok I'll shut up.
Chapter 11-Out For a Hunt
"Erik." Nadir stood at the end of Erik's bed watching the vampire squirm in his sleep. Whether it was the pain of not eating or bad dreams the older vampire did not know.
Erik's eyes flew open and turned immediately to Nadir. "Well you slept late," Nadir commented with a friendly smile on his face.
Erik sat up slowly clutching his stomach. "Ohh," he moaned. "I'd hug you my friend but it hurts to move," Erik told him.
Nadir came to sit beside him on the bed. "Well that's what happens if you don't eat," Nadir said as he took something out of his coat pocket and handed it to Erik. "Here ya go my friend." To Erik's great relief it was a bag of blood that must have been stolen from a hospital.
Erik quickly grabbed the bag and began to drink its contents as if it was the best think he'd ever tasted. "Ah thank you!" Erik said when he was finished.
"Erik why haven't you been eating?" Nadir asked. It was the question Erik had been dreading sense yesterday when Anne said she was going to call him.
"I haven't found the time," Erik lied hoping for once that he'd fool Nadir.
"You're lying," Nadir replied plain and firmly. "Tell me the truth Erik," he demanded.
"Why so you can scold me when you find out the truth?" Erik yelled as he got out of the bed to get away from the short Persian man staring him down.
"Erik I'm your friend I want to help you!" Nadir told him. "Please tell me. If something like this happens again then you could die! I don't want that! Please tell me! Is it this girl that Anne tells me about?"
"Yeah…"Erik answered.
"Tell me Erik."
Erik gave a big sigh and went to sit beside Nadir. "I just can't kill anyone anymore. I can't find the heart to. I mean I just can't go out and take a soul and then go see her with those…innocent…big blue…. eyes. I just can't. It's not right," Erik explained. A tear began to trail down his eyes for the first time in awhile. "I'm falling for her Nadir. I'm falling for her big time."
"So that's the story," Nadir replied. "You've fallen for a beautiful ballerina and she's going to end up getting you killed."
"Yeah, that's the plain and simple truth," Erik said sadly.
"I can't believe it the very vampire that used to torture humans and kill them like they were bugs can't even kill to survive because of a ballet girl," Nadir whispered. "This is practically unbelievable Erik."
"I know it is pretty ridiculous," Erik replied, "but it is the truth."
Nadir stood up and dusted himself off. "Come with me," he ordered as he began to walk out of the door.
"Where are we going?" Erik inquired before getting up to follow him.
"We're going to get you back to normal," Nadir answered.
It was probably eight o'clock and the streets were crowded with busy people still running around like maniacs as they always did. This was also the time why went out to bars to get drunk with friends which also made it a perfect time for hunting.
"With luck there will be some drunk girls that won't even know what's coming to them," Nadir explained almost laughing. Within minutes they had found the perfect targets. Two women, probably no older then Christine, had started drinking early and were already on their way home drunk as dogs. Nadir turned to Erik and gave a menacing smile, and went to the girls.
Erik could only wonder how he was going to handle this one. Usually when killing women that weren't bad looking like these two were a male vampire would have some fun first (Erik never did this). Nadir wasn't bad looking especially when he was dressed like he was tonight, with a tight black shirt on, black pants, and a short black jacket on, but he also wasn't very handsome either, even with the clothes. He was a short Persian man with dark skin and the look of a geek. Erik could only hope the girls were drunk enough to not care or really know.
Erik watched as Nadir worked his charm with the two girls. They smiled and laughed drunkenly with every word the man said. They then nodded their heads back and forth; Nadir turned to Erik and motioned for him to follow them into a nearby alley. "Nadir what are you doing?" Erik asked himself before obeying his orders.
Erik followed slowly behind the three. The two women seemed to love Nadir, and he smiled at every word they said. They turned another corner out of Erik's sight, but with his heightened sense of hearing he could still hear them.
Nadir pushed one of the women up against the wall and began to kiss her all the way down her neck. "Hey I want some!" the other woman protested.
Nadir stopped to look at the woman. "Let my friend help you," he explained nodding toward Erik who had just appeared behind her. With a big smile on his face, Nadir turned back around to the other girl who was waiting rather impatiently.
The other woman turned to look back Erik. "Ah…um…hello," he stuttered. The woman's look told him what she wanted, and he wasn't exactly good at giving women that.
Smiling seductively, she walked over to Erik and tried to kiss him, but he refused. "Oh come on!" she begged playing with his jacket. "I promise you it'll be fun," she said. She touched his stomach and began to caress him further down then Erik found comfortable.
"I can't do this…it's just wrong," Erik replied before running to the entrance of the alleyway.
"Oh you're no fun!" the woman screamed.
"Erik!" Nadir called back.
"Don't worry about him," the woman demanded pulling the Persian into another kiss. He smiled before kissing her neck once more before opening his mouth and biting the woman.
"Ah." The woman liked it at first, but began to panic when she realized what he was doing. "What are you doing?" she asked him starting the struggle, but he was too busy sucking her dry to answer. He was also way too strong for her to fight off. "Help!" she screamed.
Quickly, the other woman ran to her friend's aid. "Get off of her you sicko!" she demanded hitting his back. Nadir didn't falter no matter how hard she hit. "Someone help this bstard is killing my friend!" she screamed.
Erik stood at the entrance of the alley listening to yelling of the women. As he expected no one came to help the screaming girl, and even though he was happy that Nadir would not have another victim it meant he would have to defy his best friend to help the girls. Her screams for help were getting louder and louder. Erik turned to look down the alley. "Oh God what am I about to do?" Erik asked himself before running down to help them.
Nadir dropped the dead woman and turned to the other one. The crying woman shut up and cowered in fear. "Please don't kill me," she pleaded as a tear fell from her eye.
"Sorry my dear that's a promise I can't make," he replied. But before he could strike Erik jumped in front of him.
"Leave her alone Nadir," Erik instructed.
Nadir glared at the taller vampire before him. "You've got to be kidding me Erik," he snorted.
"Run," Erik demanded of the girl who immediately obeyed. "I'm not kidding Nadir if you're going to hunt don't do it around me!"
"What are you going to do Erik? Keep stealing blood from the hospital or something?" Erik scoffed and began to walk off, but Nadir followed. "Killing is part of being a vampire; if you can't do it then you might as well not be one! Do you not want to be a vampire anymore?" Nadir asked Erik.
Stopping, Erik turned around to face the shorter man. "I want nothing more then to be free of this curse!" Erik yelled. Sighing, he sat down on a pile of newspapers in the alley. Pushing his long hair out of his face he said, "I want to be able to live without the blood of these humans, I want to see the sunrise, I want to feel the warmth of Christine's hand when she touches me. I'm tired of this life Nadir! I'm tired of being a vampire, and I'm tired of…" he touched the black mask on his face, " I'm tired of this face."
"Erik I'm the wrong person to ask for sympathy from," Nadir replied.
Erik looked up at him. "I don't want your sympathy." Erik's eyes turned to a sharp piece of wood beside the stack of newspapers he was sitting on. Slowly, he picked it up and held the sharp end toward his heart.
"Erik what are you doing?" Nadir commented.
"You have no idea how much I want to push this in right now and be through with this all. Be through with this horrid life I've had to live."
"Erik I'm not one for sympathy or advice, but if you kill yourself then Christine will never see you again, and you'll never know what kind of relationship might of developed between you two," Nadir explained.
With no kind of emotion displayed on his face at all, Erik looked from Nadir to the sharp piece of wood in his hand, and he dropped it. "You're right my friend," Erik replied. Nadir sighed with relief. Erik stood up and said, "I thank you for your help my friend but I must go, or I'll miss Christine's singing lesson." Erik then smiled and walked off. Before he got too far though he turned to Nadir. "You know you actually aren't too bad with advice."
"Insane bstard," Nadir said to himself before walking off as well.
"You're late," Christine mentioned when Erik entered the auditorium. "What's the matter?" Christine inquired when she saw the sad look on his face.
"What? Oh yeah umm…nothing," Erik lied. The truth was there were a lot of things that were wrong. Whether it was from the fact he would end up getting himself killed be cause he cared for a ballerina far too much, or the fact that he was deeply depressed at the moment.
"You're lying," Christine replied with a very investigative looking face. "You can't fool me. I live with a whole bunch of girls that go through problems everyday. What's the matter?" Erik sat down in one of the seats, and she went to accompany him.
"It's just that I've been feeling rather down sense I had a talk with one of my friends," Erik explained.
"Why are you down?"
"I was just thinking about my life. All the bad things that have happened to me," he turned to Christine, " and all the good things." She blushed.
With a smile on her face, she pushed a lock of his long hair behind his ear. "I'm glad I'm a good thing," she said.
"You're more then just a good thing Christine. You're the best thing that has ever happened to me," Erik told her. Christine gave an embarrassed smile, and her cheeks looks like bright red tomatoes. She looked so sweet and beautiful; Erik wanted to kiss her so badly, but he knew he had missed his last chance, and there was no getting it back. Because if this he was finding the moment slightly uncomfortable…and yet exhilarating.
Erik knew Christine was feeling uncomfortable with the moment too. He could see it in her eyes, and since they obviously weren't going to kiss, he was glad she broke the tender moment when she spoke. "So are we going to get back to my lousy singing lessons?" Christine asked jokingly as she got up and made her way toward the piano.
"Lousy?" Erik wondered what she was talking about it.
Christine turned to face him. "I mean I'm lousy, you're an amazing teacher and singer," Christine explained.
With a curious smile on his face Erik sat back in the chair and studied the girl. The tender, uncomfortable moment had turned into a playful one. "What makes you think you're terrible; personally I think you're ready for you big debut?" Erik told her wondering what her reaction would be.
"You think so?"
"Yeah," Erik replied confidently.
"Yeah?" She sat down on the piano bench. "Well Mr. confident you better revise your plan because Carlotta's still the lead here still," Christine said staring Erik down.
Smiling, Erik got up and took the seat beside Christine, and he turned to look at her. "Oh sweet Christine what makes you think I haven't thought that far yet. I've already devised a plan to get rid of the wretched screaming banshee," Erik explained to her.
"Oh really and what makes you think it'll work?" Christine wondered. She thought he was joking, but a part of her kind of hoped he was serious.
"Oh trust me my dear…it'll work," Erik answered.
All the ballet girls rushed around the dressing room getting ready for the last rehearsal before the performance of Hannibal. It was without a doubt going to be the biggest show of the season, and the two managers insisted that everything had to be just perfect.
"Meg have you seen my comb-," Christine asked Meg, but was cut off when a loud scream erupted from down the hall. From the sound, it had to be Carlotta. Everyone immediately went to the diva's aid…including Christine.
"Who did this?" Carlotta screamed from the hallway as she pointed into her dressing room. Being the small and petite girl Christine was, she was able to scoot through the gathering crowd easily, and was among one of the first to see the cause of all the trouble. She gasped at what she saw.
Leave was written in hug letters in red paint across her mirror. Christine almost laughed at the fact she knew Erik had to be the culprit. "Whoever wrote that it brilliant," she heard Meg whisper in her ear. Christine had to stop herself from bursting out laughing. The two girls scooted back through the crowd and made their way to the auditorium, which was practically empty since everyone was tending to the "poor" prima donna.
"You know she'll be complaining about it all week," Christine warned Meg as they began to stretch.
"Yeah, that's a must," Meg replied as she bent down to touch her toes. "Whoever wrote that is brilliant though. She really should leave; she gives this opera house a bad name."
"Sure as hell does."
"I wonder who would actually get the courage to do such a thing though?" Meg mentioned. Christine stood up to look at her friend who was currently covered in long, strawberry blonde hair, touching her toes.
"I have no idea," Christine lied. She looked up to pull back her hair, and some movement on a scaffold caught her attention. "Erik?" she whispered to herself.
"What did you say?" Meg looked up at her friend who was still staring up. Meg went over to see if she could see what had caught her best friend's undivided attention.
Erik glided silently above the stage to one of the backdrops. After writing the words on her mirror, hiding her costumes and other things, and dropping this thing on Carlotta, the screaming banshee was sure to leave. Then Christine would take over, and she was sure to be perfect. Erik looked down at the woman who he was falling for. She was staring right at him, and he knew that she knew he was there. Erik smiled. What an intelligent girl she was.
"Where is my costume!" A loud scream interrupted Erik from admiring Christine's beauty. An angry Carlotta stormed onto the stage in her robe followed by a large crowd of people; her makeup and headdress was on, and she looked absolutely revolting, but then again…she normally looked this way.
Carlotta glared at each one of ballet girls like she was their superior. Then her eyes stopped on Christine. "You! You did this!" she accused.
Christine looked taken aback. "I assure you I did not! How dare you accuse me?" Christine defended herself with.
"Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah yeah right. I hear you singing to yourself sometimes. Sometimes I even hear you singing in the auditorium when I leave late," she continued.
"Everyone sings!" Meg defended her friend proudly.
Erik watched the scene below him waiting for the perfect moment to let the backdrop go.
"Oh I can see that gleam in your eyes! You're jealous of me! You want my job!" Carlotta went on.
"Who doesn't want to be the star here? Everyone of these ballet girls wants it!" Christine screamed in her face.
Erik's knew the time was near…
"You'll never be the star because you're a worthless ugly orphan brat!" Carlotta yelled.
This was it! Erik untied the rope and laughed as the backdrop fell right on the terrible diva.
Christine and everyone else quickly got out of the way leaving the backdrop to land on Carlotta alone. Here posse along with the two managers immediately came to her aid. 'Ugh! That's it! I quit!" she announced.
"What!" Firmin, one of the managers, exclaimed. "You can just quit!"
Carlotta turned to glare at him with her big overly done with make up eyes. "Oh yes I can!" she snarled.
"But please! We will have to refund a full house if you don't!" One of the other managers, Andre, put in.
"Well you should have thought about that before you let this happen!" She pointed to the fallen backdrop. The two managers fought for a reply as the diva glared at them. "I thought so," she hissed.
"But please," Firmin begged.
"I'm leaving! Goodbye!" she screamed before storming off the stage. Meg smiled as she left, Christine stared at the scaffolds, and the managers were crying.
"What are we going to do?" Andre asked his co-worker.
Through tears Firmin replied with, "I don't know Andre I just don't know!"
"Christine Daae could sing it," Madame Giry put in. Everyone stared at the ballet mistress with interest.
"What?" Christine said out of shock. This was what she always wanted, and yet as everyone's eyes turned to her she felt like running.
"Yeah right," Andre snorted.
"It's the truth," Madame Giry continued. "She's been taking lessons from a marvelous teacher." She then turned to look above the stage as if she needed approval to continue. "Let her sing for you. I'm positive you'll be impressed."
Christine shivered as she felt everyone stare at her. "Well why not?" Firmin replied. "Come my dear," he ordered.
Christine shook with fear as she made her way to the front of the stage. She looked up once again for any sign of Erik, but there was none, and yet she could feel he was still around which gave her a small since of comfort. "The aria from act three," Reyer, the conductor, told Christine, and she nodded. She knew the song quite well, and when the piano began to play she felt comforted by its soft sound, and she let her soul out as she sang the words.
"Think of me, think of me fondly when we've said goodbye. Remember me, one in awhile please promise me you'll try. When you find that once again you long to take your heart back and be free. Please promise me that sometime you will think of me."
When she finished the song the whole auditorium was in complete silence, and they all had looks of awe on their face. Christine knew she had pleased the two managers for they were at a loss of words. "Well did you like it?" Christine asked in an attempt to break the silence.
"Did we like it?" Firmin exclaimed. "That was without a doubt the most beautiful thing I've ever heard," he answered.
Christine smiled softly.
"Congratulations Ms. Daae I believe you've got the part," Andre put in. Meg nearly squealed with delight. She was happier then Christine was about it. The two managers smiled before walking off along with a few other people.
"So you really did play those tricks on her?" Jamie, on of the other ballet girls, asked Christine who looked taken aback.
"Of course not. It's just a rather strange coincidence," she answered.
"Oh come on Christine you know you did it! Just admit it. You'll practically be a hero!" suggested Kathryn, another ballet girl.
Christine laughed. "No I really wasn't responsible," Christine responded before looking up for a sign of Erik once more but again he wasn't there.
"All right Christine, but whoever did get her to leave I want to personally thank," Jamie said before walking off along with the others leaving Meg and Christine.
"Ok Ms. Daae you've just gotten what you've always wanted. You're the new diva of the Opera Populaire what are you going to know next?" Meg joked.
"Practice?" Christine answered with a smile on her face.
"Practice? Oh come on that's boring! Let's celebrate!" Meg urged.
"Oh and how are we going to do that?" Christine wondered. She admired her friend for her crazy personality.
"Oh please we're in New York City. How are we not going to do this?"
"Alright we'll celebrate, but after the show. I don't want to do something stupid and blow it," Christine explained.
"Yay! After the show," Meg agreed before running off. Christine smiled at her friend's crazy personality. Meg was truly something.
"Psst." Christine looked to side to see a tall figure standing in the darkness.
"Erik?" The figure turned to face her.
"Yeah it's me," he told her.
"What are you doing here, and why are you hiding?" she wondered.
"Umm…I ah don't want anyone to see me," Erik lied. The truth was he had been burned pretty badly on the way over here, and he didn't want Christine to see him like this.
"They probably won't car-,"
"Christine!" Erik interrupted her as silently as he could.
"Ok, ok so was it you responsible for Carlotta leaving?" Christine asked completely knowing the answer.
Erik turned to look at her showing himself as much as he'd allow her to see. "Ah, I suppose I should thank you, although I wish I could have gotten here by myself," Christine said with regret in her voice.
"Christine look at me," Erik demanded. The beautiful ballet girl turned to look at him. "You deserve to have your chance, and I'm more then happy to give it to you. You would have never gotten it if I hadn't," he explained to her.
"Yeah I guess you're right," Christine agreed reluctantly. "Thank you Erik," Christine said. "For the lessons, for this. You've done a lot for me, and I feel like I've done nothing for you," Christine continued.
"No Christine." Erik took out then hand she had covered a few days ago and gently caressed her face. Christine closed her eyes at his gentle touch. " You've done far more for me then any other person in my life," Erik told her.
Smiling, Christine opened her eyes, but Erik had disappeared.
"Your on in five minutes," Firmin announced as he peeked his head in Christine's dressing room and immediately left.
"Oh God," Christine said as she looked in the mirror at herself. She had her costume on, and her makeup. She looked like a beautiful diva for the Opera Populaire, and she was. Her dream had come true; she was about to go out on stage and play the lead, and she could hardly believe it. Tears began to fall from her eyes as she thought about it, and her nerves began to get the best of her.
"Chrissy?" Christine turned around to see Meg walking into the dressing room with a big smile , and then she noticed the tears on Christine's face. "Oh Christine what's the matter?" She quickly ran to her best friend's aid.
"Meg, I've wanted this my whole life and…" Christine smiled a little bit, "and now my nerves are getting the best of me," Christine explained holding up her shaking hand.
Meg laughed. "Chrissy you've got nothing to worry about. I'm sure you'll do perfect," Meg comforted before giving her best friend a strong hug. "I love you Chrissy. And no matter what happens I'll always be there for you," she continued.
"Thanks Meg," Christine replied smiling.
"Ms. Daae?" Meg and Christine turned to see Firmin at the door. "It's time for you to go," he announced.
"Ok thank you," Christine said. Firmin smiled and left.
"Well are you ready Ms. Daae?" Meg joked.
"Yeah, I am," Christine answered. Then together, the two girls left the dressing room.
In the shadows of box 5 Erik sat waiting for the show to begin. He knew Christine would be beyond perfect if her nerves didn't get the best of her. He even wondered if he should have gone to see her before the show, but even after a good day of rest and some bags of blood the burns from the morning still looked pretty bad, and he didn't want her to see him like this.
The overture began, the curtain opened, and Christine walked on to the stage, and Erik's heart almost leapt from his chest. She looked so incredibly beautiful he could hardly believe it, and when she began to sing it seemed like time began to stop.
When the show was over with the whole audience was on their feet. Christine had been absolutely brilliant. Erik wished he could have let her see him, but he knew he had to leave before he was discovered.
Christine couldn't hold back her river of tears as she took her final bow. Her dream had come true, and everyone had loved her. She scanned the audience and the boxes, but she didn't see Erik anywhere. A shame it was, he was the person she wanted to see most at the moment.
After the show Meg and Christine decided to go to a bar the celebrate Christine's victory.
"Really Christine you were perfect!" Meg complimented as the walked down the crowded streets after the show.
"Thanks Meg," Christine replied sadly. She still felt a little down that she had not seen Erik.
"Why are you so down? This should be one of the happiest days of your life?" Meg asked.
"It's just that I wish someone could have been there," Christine answered.
"Who?"
"Just a friend," Christine told her.
"Is this a close friend?" Meg asked obviously hinting toward Christine having a boyfriend.
"N- well I'm not so sure anymore," Christine replied.
"Ahh," Meg played. "Well is he hot?"
"I don't know, I mean he's got an awesome body, but I've…I've…" Christine couldn't finish the sentence. The fact that she'd never seen Erik's face was kind of embarrassing.
"I've what?" Meg urged.
"I…ah…have never seen his face," Christine confessed. She started picking at her fingers to avoid eye contact with Meg.
"You've never seen his face?" Meg restated in shock.
"Well he wears a mask every time I see him," Christine explained.
"He wears a mask?"
"Yes!"
"Well don't you think that's kind of unusual?" Meg stated.
"Yeeeeessssss." Christine shrugged her shoulders. "He must have a reason. I don't want to push him," Christine explained.
"Well it's your call Chrissy, but it's still very unusual," Meg said.
"Meg I don't want to get drunk," Christine informed her friend as she pushed the shot glass away that Meg was practically pushing down her throat. Christine didn't even want to be at a bar right now. She kind of hated the music blaring with people drunk and dancing environment.
"Oh come on ChrisSY." She pushed the glass back into Christine's face. "Itll be FUN!"
"Meg I do not want to get drunk," Christine told her friend. She took the shot glass from Meg and poured it out on the bar.
"Party poPER!" Meg joked before burping. She was drunk as a dog, and Christine was dreading the morning when she'd definitely have a nasty hangover.
"You wanna dance?" A handsome man came from behind Meg and asked.
"OH Chrissy! This handsome man wants to dance with me!"
"I can see that. Just be careful," Christine warned her friend, but she had already run off with the man.
"That man will have her in his bed before she can even say the word sex," a female voice said to Christine from behind. Christine turned around to see a very beautiful woman with brown hair, blue eyes, and a devilish smile.
"Well I'll keep an eye on her. I think were going to leave in a few minutes anyway…she can barely stand." Christine turned around on the bar to see her friend dancing in a rather raunchy way with the man.
The woman laughed, and Christine couldn't help but notice she had two large canine teeth. "I'm Audrey," the woman said holding out her hand for Christine to shake.
"I'm Christine." She shook Audrey's hand, and almost shivered at the fact it was so cold.
"Christine? You by any chance wouldn't be Christine Daae?" the woman asked.
"The one and only," Christine replied.
"You don't say."
"What's the big deal?" Christine wondered.
"I was just talking with my friend, Erik, about you right before I came here," Audrey lied.
Christine looked at the beautiful woman with deep interest. "You…you know an Erik that knows me?"
"Yeah he says that you'll have become pretty close friends…really close friends."
"Yeah he's really nice," Christine replied.
"Like boyfriend and girlfriend?" Audrey asked.
"Maybe. Why is it so important to you?"
Audrey leaned in close so only Christine could here her. "I was just wondering if you've seen him…unmasked."
Told you it was long. Hope you liked it anyway.