Chapter Three: A Rather Marrow Escape

Cold, gray morning light streamed in through Shilo's bedroom window. To a normal person, the light would have been welcoming, considering how smoggy the sky usually was. To Graverobber, the light was like a slap in the face. He was a creature of darkness.

Blinking slowly, he ignored the throbbing ache in his shoulder and slowly sat up.

God damn, I really need to take a piss.

Out of the corner of his eye, he spied movement. He turned.

The Kid–well, he couldn't really call her that now–lay on the other side of the bed. She was facing away from him, but he knew she was asleep by her slow, even breaths.

As quietly as possible, Graverobber stood up and made his way to the bathroom.

Shilo awoke to the sound of hot water running. She propped herself up on her elbows and turned to make sure Graverobber hadn't been woken up.

He wasn't in bed.

Graverobbers take showers?

Moments later, the door opened, and Graverobber stepped out of clouds of billowing steam. A white towel encircled his waist, but aside from that, he was naked. A raw, pink wound marred his shoulder.

Oh my God, he's in the buff. I've never seen a guy like that…not even Dad…

Shilo opened her mouth to say something, anything. She felt as though she couldn't have him standing there practically nude and not say something. "Y-you're…uh…"

"I'm what? Awake? Damp? Cold as fuck? Yes, yes and yes." He ran a hand through his hair, a wet, dark mess that looked oddly sexy hanging down in wet ringlets.

"You need clothes," she blurted out, glad she had found something logical to say.

"Do you have any? Because I don't mind walking around in the buff if you don't." He grinned lazily at her, and she wasn't sure if he was serious or not.

"I'm sure I'll find some," she replied hastily.

Graverobber watched as Shilo hurried out of the room. He chuckled to himself.

She's cute when you catch her off-guard. I should do it more often.

As his surroundings became more apparent, he found the laugh dying in his throat. Sure he was clean and rested, but nothing changed the fact that he was still on the run from that bitch Amber and her GeneCop minions. Or the fact that he had possibly dragged a blameless woman and a household of innocent children into the equation.

Shilo came back a few minutes later with a pair of jeans and a black shirt that had belonged to her father. Nathan had been a tad bit shorter and a little paunchier than Graverobber, but she was sure the clothes would fit him fine.

Timidly, she rapped her knuckles against the door. "Um, Graverobber? I've got you some clothes."

"Come on in," came the reply.

Shilo opened the door. Graverobber stood in front of her bedroom's one window, a palm pressed against the chilly glass.

"Are you alright?" she asked, laying the folded clothes down on the bed.

He turned his head to the side, enough for her to see his profile but still not making eye contact.. He looked serious, an expression she wasn't accustomed to seeing him with.

"Yeah," he murmured. "I'm…fine. Thanks for the clothes."

"Sure." She turned to leave.

"Wait," he called out.

Shilo turned back to him. He was facing her now.

"I need to talk to you," he explained.

"Can it wait till after you're dressed?" Shilo asked, a small smile forming on her lips despite her best efforts to keep her face straight.

Not that I mind, or anything. I don't think I've ever seen a better set of abs.

He ignored the quip, instead taking a step towards her. "If you've been outside at all, you'd know I'm being chased by a shitload of powerful people."

"I know."

"Well, then, you should also know that I appreciate all you've done for me, but I need to go."

Shilo's eyes widened. They stared at him with a mixture of surprise and hurt.

"Why?" she breathed.

"Why do you think, Kid? I made a mistake showing up at your door. I don't want to get you and your midgets in the middle of this…thing between me and Amber."

Shilo gnawed on her lip for a moment. When she spoke, it was not to him. Her eyes were over his shoulder, on the vista her window offered.

"Don't think I didn't realize the risk I was taking when you showed up at my door. I know what's going on, and I know the kind of person Amber can be. But I want you to stay. You've helped me more than I've probably deserved in the past, and I want to repay the favor. Not out of any sort of guilt or anything," she added, almost to herself. "Just because I want to. And if trouble comes knocking on my door because of this, I'll deal with it."

The calm, straightforward way she spoke really proved to him how much she'd changed. It was more than the hair or the (perky) tits. She had matured an impossible amount without her father's loving, controlling presence. No longer a slave to her genetics, she was an independent woman.

"Now," she said. "I'll let you get changed."

Fifteen minutes later, Graverobber came down the stairs, walking carefully because of his injury. Shilo and a handful of midgets crowded around the dining room table.

"You're up." she sounded surprised.

"Sticks and stones will break my bones…but bullets just tend to piss me off," he concluded, leaning in the doorway.

One of the girls turned to look at him. She was all of three or four, with an insane amount of freckles. "Why's your hair so long?" she asked.

These things talk?

He turned to look at Shilo. Shilo couldn't help but giggle at the confusion in his eyes.

"It looks like a girl's," a boy added.

"Theo!" Shilo reprimanded.

"What's your name?" the girl Shilo called Lily asked.

"Graverobber," he replied.

This sent the children into uproar.

"Graverobber?"

"That's not a name!"

"That's a nickname!"

"That's a superhero name!"

"Maybe I am a supehero," was his first answer.

Theo looked him up and down slowly. "You could be," he concluded.

Murmurs of approval went around the midgets' table.

Shilo snorted as she brought forth a pot of oatmeal and a ladle. "Don't be silly. He's…" she trailed off.

"Yes?" Graverobber prompted.

Shilo blushed. "He's a friend. Let's leave it at that." And with that, she began dishing out the oatmeal.

Shilo left the house later that day, the need to go to the market apparent. She asked Graverobber to keep an eye on the kids.

"Kid, I don't know a thing about keeping midgets calm," he said gruffly.

"It's the least you could do," came her practical answer, as she scooped up the kitten and handed it to Lily to look after.

Graverobber grinned and stretched, sprawling out on the armchair he sat in. "I suppose I could always Z them senseless…" he began.

"You wouldn't dare."

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Try me."

"Ha-ha. Very funny." Even with her back turned to him, he could tell she was smiling.

Shilo lifted a can of preserved peaches off the supermarket shelf. Her mouth watered.

I've got everything else…they're not that expensive…

The label gleamed at her, the rosy peaches taunting her.

"Excuse me, ma'am," someone said from behind her. Tucking the can into her shopping basket, she turned around.

"Ye–"

Her response died in her throat. Two GeneCops stood there, glaring at her from behind mirrored shades.

"We have reason to believe you are acquainted with a man known only as the Graverobber?" one of them asked.

"I…why?" she stammered, heart hammering in her chest.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

"This man is currently on the run from GeneCo officials. A GeneCop's body was found the night before in front of your family tomb, along with a set of prints leading to the door."

"Well…I don't know what to say," she told them, struggling to look the GeneCop in the eye. She'd always been a terrible liar. "He's certainly not with me."

The other GeneCop, the much bigger one, took a menacing step towards her. She turned, eyes sweeping the store for help. All the other customers had hurried out, leaving only her and the man at the cashier, who looked at her helplessly.

"Now, little lady, I think you need to think long and hard about wether or not you're telling the truth. Because you'll be in big trouble if it turns out you're lying."

"Then be glad I'm telling the truth," she replied, more firmly than she would have thought herself capable of.

The GeneCop glared at her for a long moment, nostrils flaring, and then stepped back. "Well then. Thanks for your cooperation."

"Have a nice day," she said with a mock annoyance to mask the trembling in her voice.

Shilo paid and left the store, her heart in her mouth.

A/N: So…you likey? Sorry it took so long to update. I've been really busy (hell, I still am) but I hope this was good! R&R, please! I won't keep going without reviews!