Chapter 2

Graverobber sat in his filthy recliner as if it were a throne for a long while, staring into the fire without really seeing as he thought long and deep. He wasn't thinking about thrones though, of course now; what would a Graverobber do with a throne? Get caught, that's what he would do. Instead, he thought about what it was that had made him take this young woman in, effectively making her unofficially his ward. Unofficially, because he wasn't about to tell the world of this random act of kindness. Granted, he was really the only person left in the world that would take her in in the first place. Normally, that wouldn't matter in the least to him. But… this time it did. And, no matter how long he thought on it that night, he couldn't put his dirt crusted finger on it.

That didn't stop him from trying though. This was the Graverobber, he was stubborn, and not likely to give up just because a certain thought eluded him. No, not in the least. In fact, it spurred him on, made him want to find that one elusive piece of thought, find it and force it into submission until he could make sense of it. And that just wasn't happening, tonight at least.

I'm not one for sympathy… but her. I don't know what to think. He said to himself silently, so as not to wake the sleeping teenager on the couch nearby. He shook his head, confused by his own actions, and wondering why he didn't just have her leave in the morning. Actually, he knew the answer to that one already. Graverobber, no matter all of those other things that people said about him, was a man of his word. He told Shilo that he would help her, and that was what he would do. And, to be honest, even with himself, he kind of found that he wanted to help her. Was it some sort of atonement for his sins? Not likely. But it was something that he couldn't name, and he was intrigued by it. Intrigued by one's own self… seriously, who wasn't? And, of those people that claimed not to be intrigued by themselves… who's lying through their teeth? Most of them, that's for sure.

Well, Graverobber knew something for certain: there was now a teenage girl living in his house. Well… crap. What did that mean, really? He had told her that he would get her a real bed, why had he even said that, he didn't know, but he had said it, and he was as good as his word; which made him good in the end, because he wasn't one to go against his word. But, he would get her a bed, sometime sooner rather than later. He would start looking into that probably in the morning. If not in the morning, then he would definitely start looking the next day. Though Graverobber was used to living in less than hospitable conditions, Shilo was not, and he didn't think that such an instantaneous change in living arrangements needed to get worse by her not even having a bed to sleep in.

With a sigh at himself, Graverobber settled back into the recliner to get more comfortable. He closed his eyes, hoping to get some sleep in some time before dawn. Though the night was the time that most people are out panting for Z, Graverobber wasn't out there every night. In fact, sometimes, he was out during the day. It was slightly less predictable. But, his day had been nearly as long as Shilo's had been. He, at least, had been up longer than she; though less interesting things had happened to him. Slightly less interesting, at least. He had met her in a graveyard, after all.

He drifted off to sleep, there were no sugar plums to dance in his head, nor were there vials or Zydrate taunting him in his slumber. In fact, he slept deeply enough that he didn't remember his dreams that night. Which might have just been for the best, it meant that he didn't remember the ghosts that haunted him as he slept. The decaying spirits of those he defiled in the graveyards coming back to get their vengeance in the night.

It was a few hours of peace. A few hours of peace that was so rare for the Graverobber. When he was awake, people were hounding him for his Zydrate, whether to buy it or to kill him for harvesting it. When he was asleep, he was haunted by the ghosts of those he harvested. Sometimes he really did wonder why he ever got into this business. It was so dangerous, on top of all of the other little bothers that it presented.

Oh well, he was in too deep to climb out of the pit that he had dug for himself over the years of harvesting and peddling illegal Zydrate. Too many people wanted him dead now, if he did try and find another living… those people would still want him dead. Those people that depended on him would still expect him to supply them with Zydrate. Not to mention that his past would prevent him from having very many job opportunities. Oh well, there were many things that he wouldn't be doing.

There were things that he regretted having done, but getting into this business wasn't usually one of them. Sometimes, yes, other times it was the best job. After all, for every market a submarket grows. It was just the way of things. And he was good at what he did. Even screaming in the middle of a graveyard full of men out to kill his kind, he still wasn't caught. Not once. But, when it was a matter of life and death, one didn't make mistakes in their line of work.

Shilo turned over in her sleep with a groan. Her own dreams weren't nearly as peaceful as her savior's were. She was plagued by nightmares of the previous day, reliving some of the most unpleasant moments that her mind could wrap itself around. She watched as she pulled her father's mask off, revealing him to be a Repoman. She watched Rotti shoot him while the stage was dark. Blind Mag's body still stuck upon the wrought iron fence. Honestly, who used a real wrought iron fence as a prop?

Shilo rolled over again, with another groan accompanying her pained dreams. Her movement and small stressed noises made Graverobber crack open an eye and look at her. Well, his sleep had been peaceful, before hers had become plagued as his usually were. He pushed himself up onto his elbows to get a better look over at the couch where the young female slept. Both of his eyes were open now, and he could see her fairly well in the dim light of the dying flame. There wasn't really much that he could do for her at this point. She was asleep, and sleep was best for her right now. The dreams would end in time. But, right now she would have to deal with the normal shock and fears that came with such a trauma.

Graverobber settled back into his recliner, hoping to get in another few hours of sleep before the sun rose and he had to go about his business. His business tomorrow would be hunting for a bed though, instead of his usual Zydrate peddling or harvesting. He let out a long breath and closed his eyes once more, hearing the occasional thrash from Shilo.

"You can get through this, Kid," he muttered under his breath at one of these points, without opening his eyes this time.

Shilo did not calm in her nightmares with those words. This was not a fairy tale, and simple words, simple gestures, simple actions don't work miracles. Not all the time. Shilo wasn't going to be fine just because Graverobber said that she would. Welcome to the real world.

Graverobber could already tell that morning was going to come too soon for the young woman sleeping on his couch. There was little he could do to stop time for her to get a decent about of sleep though, and it wasn't time that she had to worry about either. He couldn't make the dreams stop for her, and if he could, he would, if only so that he could go back to his dreamless sleep comfortably. Again, it wasn't going to happen.

He heaved another sigh. He had wanted to think earlier in the night, but now he found himself just wanting to stop. He needed to stop thinking and go back to sleep. And that sounded like a good idea, if only he could manage it with Shilo whimpering in the background like a lost and lonely puppy.

He shifted to his side to try and get more comfortable and to block out some of the quiet noises that Shilo was making in the process and closed his eyes to the embers of the fire staring at him through his lids. He spent a few more minutes trying to calm his mind before he tried to sleep once more. This time, he was successful, and Shilo's whimpering finally ceased within the hour.

[A/N: Pretty short chapter, and I kinda hate how it came out. I'm pretty sure I went way out of character on this one.... I'll do better next time, I promise. But, I did want to try and get a bit into Graverobber's head. Anyway, as always, read, review, constructive criticism, you know the drill.]