Author's Note: Hello, lovelies. Sorry for the delay, a lot's going on in my personal life.
The song I was listening to towards the end of this chapter was "Secret" by Madonna and the poem Graverobber recites to Shilo is called "The Ragged Words" by...Yeats.
Light Grilo action in this one...maybe a little more next chapter.
Enjoy!
Shilo ran downstairs and fell on the couch, letting the tears flow.
"Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Like he'd ever love someone like you. You're too damaged. Too broken. Stupid kid." Shilo thought to herself, holding her knees to her chin, trying to make herself as small as possible.
"I promised you I'd read you a poem tonight."
Shilo jumped up. She hadn't known Graverobber followed her down stairs.
"I'd still like to read to you, Firefly."
Shilo nodded, fighting a fresh onslaught of tears.
Graverobber walked to the kitchen table where the book had been left and looked through them. He scanned through to a different poem, choosing a new one instead of the one he promised to read to her.
He looked back and saw Shilo was trembling.
Graverobber walked over to the couch and sat next to her. She moved farther away from him.
"It'll be hard for me to read you this poem if you're far away like that," Graverobber said, moving closer to her and putting an arm around her.
"Don't cry, Firefly. You have no reason to cry. Let me hold you and read to you, and you'll see why, ok?" Graverobber said softly. He heard Shilo sniffle and take a deep breath, leaning into his chest.
He waited a few minutes before he started to read.
"O, hurry, where by water, among the trees,
The delicate-stepping stag and his lady sigh,
When they have looked upon their images
Would none had ever loved but you and I!
Or have you heard that sliding silver-shoed
Pale silver-proud queen-woman of the sky,
When the sun looked out of his golden hood?
O, that none ever loved but you and I!
O hurry to the ragged wood, for there
I will drive all those lovers out and cry
O, my share of the world, O, yellow hair!"
No one has ever loved but you and I."
Graverobber closed the book and put it on the table, wrapping his arms around Shilo.
"You don't have to be afraid of anything. Why do you think I keep coming back to you, hmmm?"
"Hero complex," Shilo answered immediately.
Graverobber chuckled, slightly taken aback by her lowered his mouth to Shilo's ear, gently breathing his next sentence into her.
"Far from it…so far from it. Why do you think I read poetry to you? When I read to you, the look on your face…you look so peaceful. So happy. So cherished," he said, moving his hand to her face, pulling her face to look into his looked deep into her eyes. He knew she'd been through much for someone so sheltered in her life. Her eyes were still red, still full of unshed tears. The last thing he'd ever want to do was hurt her.
He brought her face closer, gently touching his lips to hers. He could hear Shilo's sigh against his lips, a sigh of lips still remained on hers, gently massaging; testing the waters. He gently lowered his mouth to her bottom lip, one hand on the back of her head, the other on her hip. Shilo's hands moved to Graverobber's face, cupping his cheeks, instinctively drawing him in closer until she was leaning down on the couch, Graverobber on top of her.
He broke the kiss and moved to her neck, gently kissing and stroking the slender began to breathe heavily and tremble. Graverobber, feeling her shake, stopped.
"I'm sorry," Shilo whispered. "I…I don't know what to do. I've never done thi-"Graverobber put a finger to her lips.
"I know," he said softly, moving to kiss her softly.
But at that moment, something primal had awoken in Shilo. As Graverobber pulled back, she wrapped her fingers around his shirt, pulling him to her. She brought his lips to touch hers, feeling sparks when their lips met. She realized that the trembling earlier wasn't necessarily from fear, but a mixture of anticipation and excitement. Still, her inexperience frightened her. She was nervous, not completely knowing what to do.
She broke away from the kiss, looking unsure.
I don't know what to do, Graverobber," she chuckled. Graverobber laughed, causing her to smile.
"Do you trust me?" he asked, all humor gone from his voice, replaced by a seriousness Shilo had never heard before.
She swallowed and nodded her smiled and held Shilo's hand, leading her to her bedroom.
Shilo felt her breath catch as he laid down on the bed, his body intimidating her in many ways, exciting her and terrifying her all at the same time.
Shilo walked slowly, sitting on the bed beside him, heart pounding in her head.
Graverobber sat up, stroking her cheek.
"Don't be afraid, Firefly. We don't have to do anything, okay? If you want-"
Shilo interrupted him, her lips touching his with a ferocity he'd never experienced before. She gently pushed him back down, straddling him until they were both pressed against each other.
Something instinctive, primal, and hungry had entered Shilo. For all her inexperience, she felt it gave her leeway to experiment a little bit…
Numbness. Sweet oblivion coursed through Amber's veins in the form of blue, liquid strength.
She had given the surGens a diagram of how she wanted to look afterwards and was pleased with the results. Her eyes were now a smoky grey, her hair a dark blue. She had her bone structure altered, distorting her appearance. Then again, the bruising and puffiness had yet to fade away.
She leaned away from her mirror as she picked up her wrist phone to set up an appoointment with Shilo.
Shilo had already had enough time. It was taking too long. Amber had tried her best to be patient, but time was running out.
Amber had already broken so many promises. This was one she refused to break.
She steeled herself and dialed Shilo.
Tarja spent the past few hours talking with Naomi, a former surGen. Fortunately, Naomi was working with her now…in more ways than one.
It had been another difficult day for Tarja. Although the numbers of the children in the house had been dwindling, they left memories, pain cast in indelible ink. Always the same questions. The same sorrow.
This time, Tarja allowed herself to break down. After holding another young girl as she died, Tarja walked downstairs and hid in her bedroom, rocking herself and crying.
She didn't even hear Naomi open the door, or feel her crawl into bed beside her.
Naomi wrapped her arms around Tarja's crying form, stroking her hair and shoulder.
Tarja sobbed for a few more minutes before taking a deep breath.
"God, I'm turning to such a fucking pussy," she laughed, rolling over to face Naomi.
Naomi merely smiled, kissing her lover's lips."Nope, sweetie. You're human. Congratulations!"
Tarja stuck her tongue out at Naomi.
"Any news with the samples Graverobber brought back?" Tarja asked, sitting up in the bed.
"That's what I came to talk to you about, before being sidetracked by a certain angel's crying."
Tarja chuckled and leaned her head on Naomi's shoulder. They would talk about the results in a moment. Right now, Tarja wanted comfort, more than anything.
Incoming call from Amber Sweet. Incoming call from Amber Sweet.
"For the love of all things holy, please let the damn thing keep ringing," Graverobber groaned, trying to keep his temper in check. He wanted nothing more than to throw the damn thing across the room and keep experimenting with his Shilo.
Shilo looked unsure, hesitant. She smiled at Graverobber and gently began to touch his face, enjoying the feel of his skin against her fingertips.
He sucked in a deep breath when she stroked his temple.
"Sensitive, there?" she asked impishly.
"Only one way to find-"
"Shilo, this is Amber. I understand it's late now, but I need to leave you this message. We have a meeting scheduled tomorrow afternoon, and I'd appreciate it greatly if you could attend this one. Tomorrow at 2:00. I'll send the driver."
Shilo rolled her eyes before taking off her wrist phone and flinging it across the room.
Graverobber chuckled.
"Now, where were-"
"Incoming call from T.R. Incoming call from T.R."
"Why, Lord? Why have you forsaken me?" Graverobber asked turning his face to the ceiling.
"Who's T.R.?" Shilo asked, moving from his to get the phone.
"It's Tarja."
Shilo nodded and answered the phone.
"Graverobber?" Shilo heard Tarja ask.
"It's Shilo. I'll give the phone to him.""It's fine. Just tell him he needs to come over tonight. No harvest or anything, but we have to talk," Tarja said before hanging up.
Shilo, still holding the phone, turned to face Graverobber. He was getting dressed, a grim expression on his face.
"What's going on?" Shilo asked.
"Nothing good. I gave Tarja your frequency number if she needed to talk to me and she said she'd only call in an emergency."
"Ok. Well, let me get dressed and I'll come with you."
"No. I really don't want you back there. At least for a while."
Graverobber heard shuffling and turned around, seeing Shilo put on a pair of jeans underneath her dress and grab a heavy hooded coat from her closet.
"Dream on," she said, turning around to face him.
"Stubborn little minx," he mumbled, working on the ties for his boots.
"What was that?"
"Nothing," he said, pulling a smile from his sleeve.
Shilo scoffed and walked over to him, unlacing the boots he'd managed to turn into knots.
"Admit it. You'd be bored without me," Shilo said, smiling up at him.
"Ah, how much simpler life was," Graverobber wistfully.
Shilo slapped him on the chest playfully and quickly kissed him.
"Ah, how empty life was," he chuckled, kissing her again.
"Let's go.
They took the long route to Tarja's. Graverobber didn't want to risk running into another Repo Man, especially with Shilo in tow. He was vigilant, listening to every whisper in the wind, every echo in the footsteps.
He held Shilo's hand, gently running his thumb over the back of it.
When they reached the doorway, he turned to her.
"New rule this time, ok?"
"Ok…" Shilo said.
"You're not going to follow me or Tarja, ok? I want you to stay in the kitchen. Don't go upstairs. At all."
"Why?"
"Just promise me or we're turning around and I'm locking you in your room," Graverobber said.
Shilo flinched at this before nodding her head.
He gave her a soft kiss, trying to take away the sting of the threat he had made.
He entered the number on the keypad and walked Shilo into the kitchen, watching as she at down at the table. Graverobber stood at the doorway, looking down a hall.
A door behind Shilo opened and she screamed.
"Thanks, kid. Usually I make people scream in the bedroom, but the kitchen's just as good," Tarja said, winking at Shilo.
"It wasn't you! It was the noise! I didn't know there was a door in here," Shilo said, worried she might have hurt Tarja's feelings.
"Easy, Shilo," Tarja smiled, ruffling Shilo's hair affectionately.
The door behind Shilo opened again and she turned around to see who it was.
A very pretty woman came into the room. She had such long, dark red hair it made Shilo jealous. Her eyes were a dark green and her skin was the color of porcelain. Shilo silently wondered if she'd ever look as remarkable as the woman who entered, fighting a stab of jealousy as she saw the woman's endowments.
The woman walked over to Tarja and kissed her.
"Huh. Long time no see, stranger," the newcomer said, smirking at Graverobber.
"Naomi. Always a pleasure," Graverobber said, bowing gracefully.
Naomi turned around and smiled at Shilo.
"You're Shilo, right?" she asked.
Shilo nodded her head, slightly overwhelmed with so many people around her. Graverobber noticed this and walked behind her, gently rubbing her shoulders. She visibly relaxed, leaning against him.
"I didn't mean to startle you," Naomi said.
"It's fine. I'm just not really used to people."
"Ok. Well, you wouldn't mind if I borrowed Tarja and Graverobber for a bit, would you? I'd invite you, but I think the science shit might bore you to death.
Shilo smiled. She was beginning to like this woman."No problem," Shilo said, scooting her chair back a little.
"Stay there!" Tarja and Graverobber said simultaneously.
"I was just trying to lean back a little!" Shilo said defensively, crossing her arms over her chest.
"I'll meet you two downstairs, ok?" Graverobber said.
Naomi and Tarja walked downstairs, bantering back and forth.
"I'll be back soon, okay? And don't worry about Naomi. She's got a little bite to her, but she's still a good person," Graverobber said, stroking Shilo's hair.
"I'm not worried. I was just startled."
"Ok. Like I said, I'll be back soon and stay here."
He walked down the stairs and closed the door behind him.
"Ok, this is the deal. Those samples you got- and I don't even want to guess how the hell you got them- are similar to the samples we've gotten from the blood of the kids here. You were right when you suspected they were laced with Zydrate, but there's also something else," Naomi said, a pristine white lab coat on her body as she walked back and forth between centrifuges and microscopes.
"You remember how Mama Dearest said she was working on something all those years ago when we were just out of our teens?" Tarja asked, eyes on Graverobber. She saw how he visibly stiffened and watched as he balled his hands up. He nodded.
"Looks like this was her Grand Plan. In the sample you have, there's a compound in there that's similar to steroids, but it effects the body on a deeper cellular level. What it does is alter the DNA slightly, overcharging the mitochondria in the cells," Naomi said, still fiddling with samples.
"In English, or for the ones who have forgotten those terms?"
Naomi sighed dramatically and Tarja held back a laugh. She'd known Naomi long enough to know what was coming.
"Ok. For the little workout buildings in your body, this compound makes them work after business hours," Naomi replied.
Tarja let the laugh out. Graverobber rolled his eyes and continued.
"So what's the purpose?"
"It keeps the organs fresh. Usually, Repo Man have had to kill to get organs, but when the heart stops, cellular necrosis- cell death- occurs. It damage the organs to the point where they can only be used once, now. But this compound…it stops cellular death because the mitochondria is hyperactive. Therefore, it gives the organs more uses. But the problem is with the ones surviving the Repos. Because the mitochondria is hyperactive, the body or brain don't die for a while. It's torture."
"Fucking bastards," Tarja said.
"This helps us…." Graverobber said.
"A little more than you'd think. I can use these samples to at least make a vaccine of some sort. I know it won't do much for the victims with missing lungs or kidneys, but at least this way, they don't have to be in pain while waiting for death."
Silence filled the small lab. They were closer to at least giving the dying comfort. Just no closer in stopping the death.
Graverobber walked upstairs and saw Shilo sleeping, her head and arms resting on the table. He smiled softly.
"You can put her in my bed for now. As for you and me, we need to have a talk," Tarja said behind him.
Graverobber sighed as he lifted Shilo's sleeping form. He smiled when she wrapped her arms around him and snuggled deeper into his chest. Tarja followed them to the bedroom and watched as he put Shilo on the bed.
Tarja walked and covered Shilo with a small blanket before kissing her forehead.
She turned around and pushed Graverobber out of the room, pushing him into the kitchen.
"All right. I'm okay with her being here, especially with all the shit going on. But I'm just beyond fucking pissed at you."
"Me? What the fuck did I do?" Graverobber asked indignantly.
"You haven't told her."
He groaned and put his hands to his forehead.
"Yeah. That'd be great pillow talk. 'So Shilo. Just wanted to let you know I worked with your dad. Yup. He trained me to be a Repo Man.' Oh yeah. That'd go smoothly," he replied.
"Are you seriously that stupid?" Tarja asked with more venom than she usually would.
"What I don't see is how this concerns you, Tarja."
"It concerns me because I happen to like that little girl. You know her father lied to her her entire life! And she's in love with you and you're hiding something like this from her. There is more at stake here than your dirty little secret, Graverobber."
"She has a meeting with Carmela tomorrow," he said sullenly. It was Tarja's turn to groan.
"Let me guess. Another dirty little secret you haven't told her?"
"She knows I'm not fond of any of the Largos. She just assumes it's because of my occupation."
"You, my friend, are a fucking coward. These secrets you're keeping from her are going to kill her. Not in the sense you might think, but she's still going to die a little on the inside when she has to find out you've been lying to her."
Tarja left the room to go downstairs, slamming the door behind her.
"Secrets kill everyone, Tarja," Graverobber whispered.
