In the Presence of an Angel (Phantom of the Opera Fanfiction)

Chapter 28- Striving to Succeed

Chapter 28- Striving to Succeed

Erik has messed with our lives long enough! Nadir's mind screamed while he listened through the hearing device that connected him to Christine's room. He listened in horror as Erik began to use his inescapable persuasive voice against the girl. She didn't have the strength to fight it, for who did? He is controlling her, as he has done before. He listened as they left her room.

Nadir stood from his chair and crossed his arms, his hands clutching his upper arms tightly. He simply couldn't take it any longer! Erik has gotten away with so much.. He stalked the girl, he kidnapped her, he locked her in a bedroom, he lied to her, and he is now manipulating her mind to his liking. The fact that Nadir was unable to stop him was having the power to increase his rage.

Usually, he was a kind, gentle man. He didn't like to be around drama, and he certainly didn't like violence. He liked a calm, peaceful atmosphere. The nightmare he was living was beginning to change his views, though. No longer was he the nice, quiet Iranian. No, he was now ready to resort to the very thing he hated most- violence.

For over a day, he had been treated as a prisoner in his own home, rarely acknowledged and given one plate of food and a glass of water. Nadir had had enough. I have changed my thinking. My previous thoughts that Erik is not in his right mind are false. Erik knows exactly what he is doing. He has turned into the monster he has always considered himself to be!

They were once comrades, partners in business. Nadir had once respected Erik for his talents and pitied him for his misfortunes. He used to listen to the man. He used to attempt to be his therapist, lingering on his every word and helping in any way he could.

He realized that Erik had once been his world. After all he had been through and experienced in Iran, Nadir had travelled to the United States in search of a decent life. He'd found it in architecture, and his career became the only thing he knew. Once Erik became the boss and the business had been renamed Delozier Designs, Nadir became even more attached to his job. Erik had been his only friend, and Nadir had trusted him.

That was now a part of the past, though. Erik has destroyed all chances of regaining any sort of bond we once held. I shall forever consider him my enemy, and I will do anything in order to save Christine from this hell. He was determined, and with that determination, he tried to devise a plan.

There wasn't much to work with. Erik had made sure of that. The only rooms he had access to were his bedroom, bathroom, and a closet. The only technology he possessed was the hearing device and walkie-talkie he had been using with Christine. There were no weapons, as Nadir had never felt the need to have them. How foolish I am. I tell Christine not to underestimate Erik, yet I cannot heed my own advice.

He looked towards his bedroom window, the window which he knew to be impossible to open and impossible to break through. Nadir then looked towards his bedroom door.. yet another escape that was impossible to break down. There wasn't a lock to pick, and there weren't screws on the knob to take off. He sighed wearily and distantly remembered the fact that he had barely gotten any sleep since being trapped in his room. A man of his age needed rest to get by.

I must remain strong, though, for both mine and Christine's sakes. Again, his eyes travelled the room, looking for any sort of help. Numerous ideas came to mind, all of which he knew wouldn't work. He could always hit Erik in the back of the head with a lamp to knock him unconscious. Or perhaps he could chain him to a piece of furniture using his bed sheets as rope. Or maybe he could trap him inside the bathroom or closet…somehow. None of his thoughts looked promising. Erik was sure to outwit him effortlessly. And using his own strength against the man would nearly be the equivalent of surrendering, for it would be like asking to lose.