Voice Of A Troubled Angel

Chapter Twenty-One: Night of Thunder

   Another week had passed since Ray's visit and Erik and Christiana had calmed and settled back into their happy lives.

  Erik kept tabs on her case and was relieved when things began to die down after she called Mr. Cathy again from an ancient pay phone in the next county. Christiana on the other hand, could not see how anyone could continue the search after being told how happy she was. And she certainly never thought her mother would go to extreme lengths to recover her.

  What neither of the lovers knew was that in Mrs. Dame's unstable mind, Christiana was the planet on which she survived, and Mrs. Dame had no intetion of not surviving. Christiana was hers and hers alone.

    So Christiana and Erik lived contentedly in their little secure, oblivious bubble for an entire week. Then, on Thursday night, they heard a sound that would change their lives forever.

   Someone was trespassing on Erik's property, and this was found out on a quiet evening.

   The two were sitting, wrapped around each other on the sofa when three gunshots rang out in the dark woods. Too close to tge house for comfort.

  Christiana nearly screamed in fright, Erik's hand covering her mouth the only thing stopping the noise. He extracted himself from her, turning off all the lights ans extinguishing their roaring fire.

   He could see very well in the dark, and living with him, she learned to adapt - but in the pitch black room she could detect nothing but his presence, which gave her comfort until he slid a flashlight into her hand.

   "You will go up to the attic and stay there until I come for you - until you know it is I at the door, understood? I'm going to investigate." His hard voice guided her to him and she caught up as he was leaving the room.

   She stumbled along the dark stairs after him as he sleekly made his way to his bedroom, where he kept his... protective mechanisms.

   "Erik, no!" She said, causing a racket when she fell on the final step.

  "Christiana, yes," he replied.

  She trailed him to his bookcase, where with a sweep of him arm the bound and typed decorations crashed to the floor and his sceret stash of weapons was revealed. He had enough to be considered an assassin's horde.

   He pulled on a pair of black leather gloves after shrugging out of his sweater and proceeded to stuff a thin, twisted wire up his sleeve.

   "It is probably just a hunter gone over my property line. He not have seen the No Hunting sign. I'll scare him and come right back."

  He shoved a pistol into the waist band of his dress pants and filled his pockets with assorted bullets and knives and devices she guessed he had invented.

  "You don't know if it's a hunter." She felt an inkling of fear at the sight of him lining himself with weaponry, though her fear of him being injured was far worse.
    "I'll be fine."

   "There were three shots back to back!" She flipped on the flashlight so she could see him and he immediately shoved it down with his hand.

  "Put that out!" He rushed to his bedroon curtains and closed them. "As long as there is no light coming from the house, no one can see it!"

   "Your own design, I know. But Erik..."

He was now dragging her up to the attic, holding her tightly so she would not fall again.

   "Christiana I know what I'm doing."

   "Erik I'm afraid."

   He smiled. "Don't be. I'm here to protect you."

   "I'm afraid for you."

  He pecked her on the lips. "If I die I'll come back and haunt you so that we can be together forever, yes? I love you. Don't worry."

  And he locked her in.

        

    Christiana sat there for a long time, wishing she was with him, praying he was alright. She paced and then she sat on the floor or on one of the plastic covered sofas and then he paced again. She even tried getting up onto the roof but the trap door was padlocked. That explained all the keys he had on his key ring at least.

   Finally she heard something, around an hour later though she could not tell how much time had passed. It was a loud crash from around the area of the first floor's parlor. But whether it cane from inside or out she couldn't tell.

   But Christiana was terrified for Erik. So of course she'd do the first thing that came to mind. She slipped out a hair pin and stuffed it into the lock on the door. She had done it once before when her mother locked her in her room for two days and she needed the bathroom. To her delight, the lock clicked on the first try both times.

  Se quiety padded down to the kitchen, this time feeling her way by sliding against the walls.

   She picked up the first two things she saw to defend herself with in case it wasn't Erik who had made the sound: a whisk and a carving knife.

   Another loud crash came from outside.

  Christiana opened the back door, glad that for whatever reason Erik's doors did not creak.

  "Hello Christy."

Next chapter is climax and thanks toal l of my wonderful readers!!!