Free at last.

That's what she had declared to everyone in the auditorium before making her confident and strong willed exit. The doors had swung open to reveal light bombarding eyes kept too long in the dark. At first Shilo had thought it was the sun but then remembered that the Genetic Opera always took place at night. The light was from the camera flashes of hungry reporters desperate for the truth of what had happened. By now all the observers had realized that this wasn't "all part of the show" that it was a real life tragedy that had left a desperately sheltered teenager stranded in a loud, bright, scary world that she didn't understand. She was free, that was the truth, but she honestly didn't know what to do with that freedom. So after shoving through the crowds of shocked observers and intrusive reporters Shilo did the only thing she could think to do. She walked.

Her tears had been spilled on the stage along with a hundred other emotions and copious amounts of blood, she was drained, empty, her emotional reservoir had been cleaned out, had she even wanted to cry, it would have been impossible.

All that was left to her were memories, blood soaked memories of losing everyone she cared about all within minutes of one another, and there was no place to escape those memories. No way to find peace from the blood.

Now out of line of the cameras and the prying eyes she walked slower, her feet shuffling and he head down rather than with the strong confident strides of a girl set free. The only measure of time passing for her was the cold seeping into her skin. The blood of her father that coated her skin was drying and cooling making patches of freezing skin underneath. Her dress was thin and short and the cold was seeping through her boots making her toes numb. Not that cold toes mattered terribly at this point, she had left the Opera cold from the inside out, the fact that the outside of her body finally registered that coldness didn't matter.

Eventually she stopped and looked up ready to take in her surroundings. She had expected to look up and have no idea where she was. She had expected to be panic tricked and afraid. She had expected to let herself start crying again. But she didn't. Her feet had taken her somewhere she recognized. The dumpsters and fire escapes lining brick walls that were plastered with posters of Blind Mag (she tore her eyes sharply away from the images of her dead god mother) and signs declaring that one should "Z up responsibly" and that "Graverobbers will be executed on sight." She was in the alley where the Zydrate support network gathered... to get their hit from the city's most popular Graverobber, a man who didn't declare his name, just let his addicts go on calling him Graverobber in reverence of the person who gave them their hit, for a price of course. Before the Opera that man had saved her from Rotti and taken her here where she'd watched him administer the glowing blue drug to his various junkies including Amber Sweet Rotti's only daughter who now owned GeneCo, and along with it the majority of the world.

It was sad that this was the only place that Shilo knew. The only piece of the outside world that she'd stood witness to was a black market drug dealing ring, run by an arrogant lecherous Graverobber with dirt under his fingernails. Shilo leaned against one of the brick walls. The alley appeared to be vacant other than herself and it allowed Shilo a moment to sit and collect herself. Or collect the broken pieces of herself into something of what she'd been before.

For seventeen years she had been protected, taken care of, her every need catered to, except, of course, the need to be free and do what she wanted. Sure she found ways around that too, sneaking out to visit her mother's tomb or catch bugs through the underground tunnels in her house, but it was never enough. And now she suddenly had freedom thrust upon her with no idea at all how to handle it or what to do with it. She didn't know how the world worked outside, except for what she'd seen here in this alley. The only thing she had even the smallest understanding of... was an illegal drug ring. Great.

At that final thought familiar noise suddenly erupted around her, the familiar pounding of stiletto boots on concrete and the chatter of a handful of Zydrate junkies all on edge and shaky, desperate for their next fix. Shilo stayed low and watched as they filtered into the alleyway in their brightly coloured pieces of clothing and bizarre hair. Men and women alike chatted and bickered as they pushed and shoved their way into the alley from all angles. She recognized a few... these were some of the people who had been watching the Opera on the screens outside the opera house, all filtering into their "addicts meeting" ready to get drugged up again. The chatter of the addicts rose and fell, every now and again someone would scream or shout and there would be a momentary raucous as two junkies fought over god knows what. Then moments later, came that low familiar voice from the end of the alley accompanied by the rhythmic stride of heavy boots on concrete and that condescending sing-song voice saying

"Zydrate comes in a little glass vial..." all the junkies perked up. Any bickering and fighting ceased and they all flocked to one end of the alleyway. Shilo had a feeling that Graverobber just loved making a dramatic entrance and having all his faithful addicts rush towards him and throw themselves at his feet ready to do anything to get that hit. Shilo rolled her eyes but stayed put as he walked out of the shadows at the end of the alley and into middle where she could see him from her hiding spot. She was always slightly astounded by how tall he was, and he always looked like a giant with all the layers of clothes he wore and that long multicoloured hair. Shilo watched as he smirkingly administered Zydrate to the clamouring junkies and saw the look of satisfaction on his face as they went down from the effects of the drug and he pocketed their money.

One girl wearing a lot of pink and green tried to catch his attention and looked up at him from the ground; she had curled herself around his leg vying for his attention next. He looked down at her with that arrogant smile and held out his hand. When she didn't have the money to give him his expression changed and he grabbed her by the neck and threw her off. She landed in a heap on the ground away from him, her spot quickly taken over by a customer who could pay. Shilo kept watching until the last of the junkies wandered away in a drugged haze or simply stayed where they had fallen on the concrete. She half expected the GeneCops or Amber Sweet to show up at any second but they never did. Instead, satisfied at his score Graverobber stepped around the people on the ground and strode forwards. Shilo ducked back down and hopefully out of sight as he strode by. She had no such luck. Without even slowing down he reached down and grabbed her arm out of the shadows and dragged her to her feet.

"Hey! Let go!"

"Amber has sent GeneCops out after you. Best stick with me kid" he said abruptly.

"What! Why?" Shilo gasped trying to keep in step with Graverobbers long stride.

"Because she hates you" he responded "she thinks you're going to bide your time and take GeneCo from her the first chance you get.. Don't ask me how I know." Shilo thought she knew already and she now understood why Amber hadn't come strutting down that alley, Graverobber had already... serviced... that client. She had seen their cat and mouse game last time she'd been here and though she'd been sheltered her whole life, she knew enough about men that she wasn't terribly surprised over what their relationship was. She tugged her arm away from him suddenly but didn't leave his side. She couldn't help but feel just a little safer in his familiar presence. Even if he was a drug dealer... he was also literally the only other person in the world that she knew, so she stuck by him. They walked for a while in silence until they hitched a ride on the back of a truck and arrived at another alleyway full of waiting junkies. With another dramatic entrance and another arrogant grin as his junkies surrounded him, Shilo was forced to step aside as he busily went about his job. Shilo watched in fascination as a junkie sunk to the ground before her. He was totally relaxed looking with a silly smile on his face as he closed his eyes and let the drug take over. As she watched, entranced, Graverobber suddenly appeared behind her. He bent so his lips brushed her ear.

"What's your fascination kid?" he asked as if he already knew the answer, so Shilo didn't bother to reply she just watched as the man before her slipped into what appeared to be a peaceful sleep. Suddenly she longed for that kind of peace. Away from nightmares and memories of things she'd rather forget. Graverobber smiled and chuckled slightly in her ear as he ran his hands from her shoulders down her bare arms and around her waist. One hand came up and pulled her hair away from her neck with surprising gentility that sent shivers all over her skin that wasn't from the cold. He didn't seem to care that she had blood all over her he just pressed the side of his face against hers and continued to run his hands up and down the sides of her body. With every touch more shivers ran over her skin but she wasn't so much paying attention to him as to the junkie, at peace on the ground. One hit couldn't hurt... not now when things are only getting worse for me, she thought. Its not like she'd become an addict with one hit. Right now all she could think of was peace, she didn't care that she would wake up either totally alone in a part of the city she didn't recognize or in the lecherous clutches of Graverobber, all she could think about was peace. Precious peace. She swallowed and exhaled, as if he were reading her mind one hand fell away from her body and when it returned cold metal brushed her bare arm.

"First time is free" he whispered in her ear pulling her hair away from her neck again. Shilo closed her eyes and as soon as she did visions of her father and Mag and Rotti all dying in pools of blood before a bewildered audience flashed before her, she opened her eyes again and all she did was nod once. She felt him smile and one arm curled around her shoulders so that she was held tighter to him so she could watch him place the little glass vial into the ornate Z-gun. Closing her eyes and ignoring the visions she let him brush the hair off her neck once more and press the tip of the gun against her skin. With a little pinch and a hushing sound from the gun Shilo gasped and opened her eyes. The world before her was slightly fuzzy around the edges and the colours were bright, her breath came easier as if she was suddenly getting more oxygen with each breath and she felt light, like her muscles had disintegrated and someone else was holding her up. Her heart beat changed between fast and slow beats and her vision slowly became more and more blurry. Her head lolled and her eyes closed as the rush, like standing up to fast, swooped through her body, every inch of her felt warm and calm and before she knew it her knees were buckling and she was sinking to the ground in what felt like slow motion. She never contacted the pavement though, she was just barely aware of arms catching her as she fell and lifting her off the ground, only adding to the rush and the feeling of lightness. With a sigh she felt her limbs go weak and her body give to the sweet darkness that enveloped her like the warmest of hugs. Like the hugs her father used to give her.

She woke up calm and happy, she drifted out of her dark haze and back into reality. She could feel her limbs again and the weight of her own body. She felt almost too heavy in comparison to the lightness she'd felt earlier. She was laying on a raised hard platform with something heavy draped over her. When she finally got around to opening her eyes she discovered that it was a jacket, a thick brown leather one, covering her body. She felt so tiny underneath it. She blinked a few times to take the remaining fog out of her eyes and slowly sat up. Beside the raised platform a trashcan fire burned brightly and Graverobber, looking significantly less daunting without his huge jacket on, sat on a milk crate leaning back against the brick wall with his feet perched on and upturned bucket reading the paper. Shilo stretched her neck and rubbed the spot that had been pierced by the Z-gun it felt slightly tender.

"How was your trip?" Graverobber asked from below her the little knowing lilt in his voice again.

"What happened to me?" she asked quietly

"What do you remember?" he replied folding the paper up and taking his feet off the bucket and setting them firmly on the ground.

"I uh... I remember getting the hit and feeling... calm... happy... and really light, after that I don't remember anything. I must have fallen asleep."

"nope" Graverobber said a chuckle in his voice "you didn't actually fall asleep until about an hour ago... you were really groggy and fuzzy, and you could barely walk but you were definitely awake." He smiled and chuckled again "I always like watching first timers... they are so amusing." Shilo exhaled and shot him a look

"What did I do?" she asked

"Not much... I carried you for a while before you kind of wiggled away and tried to walk... which you failed at by the way... and I just kind of guided you here." Shilo watched him closely looking for the lie... he was a lecherous creep... she'd seen a few times now how he treated his junkies and especially Amber Sweet... she wasn't sure if she trusted his saying that wandering around was all they did while she was under the influence. But in the end she decided not to pry. If she didn't remember she didn't need to. Plus, Graverobber was arrogant, he couldn't help it, if he had decided to have his way while she was under, Shilo told herself it would be written all over his face. Pushing the jacket off her she swung her legs off the edge of the platform and dropped to the ground, her head spun and her knees buckled under her weight as if she were getting used to it again. Graverobber stood quickly and wrapped his arms around her hauling her back to her feet and guiding her to the brick wall so she could lean on it.

"Remember this was your first time... you're going to feel the effects longer than more... seasoned users." Shilo half smiled as she rested her back against the wall.

"Have you ever taken a hit?" she asked,

"Nope" he said with that small smile "I don't do that shit... I just sell it." Shilo exhaled, she wasn't surprised

"You should" she said "to really get what it's like"

"No way" he replied "I have too many people after me to risk being out of it like that." Shilo's smile got a little bigger. He was standing rather close with one hand resting against the wall beside her head, Shilo looked up at him

"Why did you take care of me? I expected you just to leave me there with the rest of your junkies."

"I don't care about them." He said "they are just a source of cash to me." Shilo's heart thumped did that mean he cared about her. His gaze moved down her body and back up making her feel suddenly exposed. She looked away shyly but she could still feel his arrogant gaze and cocky smile aimed at her.

"You need to help me" she said without looking at him.

"Do I?" he responded his voice suddenly closer

"I don't know what to do" she said, ever conscious of his progressively getting closer and his stripping, penetrating gaze. "As strange as it is... you're the only person I know out here now. You and your... trade... I don't have anyone else." She finally forced herself to look at him unsure of what to do or say next. He lifted his chin and looked down his nose at her for a moment then tilted his head to the side.

"Think you want to be a Graverobber kid?"

"I have nothing else" Shilo replied not looking away from him. He placed his other hand on the wall on the other side of her body trapping her there. His eyes moving from her face over her body again.

"So you'll have to trust me" he said his eyes still, ever observant.

"I'm not Amber" she said defensively at the suggestion in his voice. He caught her gaze again

"Thank god... don't think I could handle another Amber." And he leaned in and kissed her neck gently then again working his way up to her jaw.

Shilo held still, the effect of the drug still making her head spin when she moved, and Graverobber kissing her didn't help that at all. She opened her mouth to protest but thought better of it at the last moment. He pulled away and looked at her.

"You're certainly no Amber" he said "she would have tackled me by now." Shilo just flicked her eyes around for a place for them to rest on which wasn't him... which was difficult when his looming form pretty much blocked her from everything else. Suddenly before she could react he wrapped his arms around her hips and hoisted her off the ground kissing the center of her chest. She smiled despite herself and tilted her head down to kiss him. He responded to the kiss hungrily and carried her over to the platform on which she'd been sleeping. She sat on the edge with her legs wrapped around his middle as he kissed her. She didn't know what else to do so she just followed his lead as best she could. Graverobber lifted himself up onto the platform so that she was forced to lay back and he hovered over her. He made to kiss her again but she pulled back.

"wait' she said... she paused for a long moment "could... could this count as payment?" she asked. Graverobber gave her that slightly malicious smile and rolled off her so he could reach into his pocket and pull out a little glass vial. He held it up for her to look at for a moment

"You're sure?" he asked. Shilo nodded. Under the influence of Z was the time when she felt numb and happy. She was calm and at peace, not haunted by visions of blood and death. She knew exactly what would happen while she was under this time and she was prepared to accept it.

"Okay" he agreed as he loaded the Z-gun "but this is the last time... You're worth more than being constantly under the influence of this shit." Shilo nodded. She figured he might say something like that, either that or let her become an addict. But she knew she had to face reality and get used to it at some point... just not right this second. His hand ran down her waist and leg, the pinch of the gun came this time on her thigh and she gasped as the rush hit her. She heard the gun tossed aside as Graverobber pulled her into him and kissed her hard. She wrapped her arms around him and that was the last thing she remembered as the Zydrate filtered through her system and darkness... safe blissful darkness ensued.