Chapter 6
As they were walking their ways through the alleys back to Graverobber's home, and Graverobber had pocketed the Zydrate gun in one deep pocket of his an coat, and the vial of Zydrate in another pocket, he glanced at her.
"You're going to need warmer clothes," he said. Shilo thought that it seemed out of the blue; then again, she was still wearing the strapless little black dress from the Opera the night before. Had it really been only yesterday? She hadn't noticed, maybe her mind had forced her not to notice. Her dress, her skin, her wig, all were matted with blood, and now spider's silk. Mustn't forget the spider's silk.
The very thought of still being drenched in her father's blood made her more nauseous than any fetid corpse. She took three steps away from Graverobber and threw up on the side of the building. It wasn't the worst thing in that alley.
"I-I need to bathe," she said when she came back to Graverobber, shaking like a leaf.
"We'll find you someplace to wash up after we find clothes for you," Graverobber said.
"Where will we be finding those new clothes?" she asked suspiciously.
Graverobber laughed at the boarded door to his home and pulling it open. He was already inside before he answered, "Depends, we might be able to find something in a dumpster, but most people just don't throw old clothes away."
Shilo looked at him quizzically. If they couldn't dumpster dive, then where would they go? The look granted her another one of Graverobber's ironic chuckles.
"Thrift store, Kid," he said simply.
"What if you're recognized? I mean, you're a wanted man," Shilo protested.
"Believe it or not Kid, but no one really wants to deal with GENCops enough to get me caught. It's not like I'm hurting them," he told her.
Graverobber disappeared into a part of the house that Shilo hadn't seen yet; actually, she hadn't been past the living room where that mattress was still sitting. He came back, pulling a hand out of one of his pockets.
"Let's go, Kid," he said and led the way out of the house once again.
It was really late, and Shilo didn't think that any place would be open at this hour. Not to mention, she was tired and wanted to do to bed more than just about anything.
But he led the way with a purpose, and Shilo followed him knowing that he knew a lot more than she did about how the city ran. She found herself, after fifteen minutes of walking, standing outside a small, dimly lit shop with a flickering neon sign proclaiming that it was open.
Graverobber walked in and Shilo followed, looking around. There were appliances, there were clothes, there were books, there was food, and there was sports equipment. There were all sorts of things, and Graverobber headed for the women's section. He started by looking at things like winter coats, and other heavy articles of clothing. Sometimes his lips would move, but no sound would come out, until he turned to her with another lesson.
"You don't look for clothes like this. They look warm, and they are, but it's bulky. It'll slow you down, inhibit your movement, and they're usually made of some material that'll make a lot of noise when you move; it'll rub against itself or something else, someone will hear it, and you're fucked," he told her.
"What you want," he said, moving down the aisle, "Is layers. Nothing too baggy, you might stumble over that," he pulled out a long sleeved shirt and handed it to Shilo, "Will that fit you?"
Shilo looked at it, plain black faded so much it was more of a gray and stretched out from overuse. She glanced at the tag; a large, "Definitely not."
He seemed undaunted, truthfully, he had gone right back to looking after handing her the shirt. He was already rifling through more shirts. He pulled out another one and tossed it towards her. She caught it and put back the other one before looking at the new one. It was white and button-down, long sleeves were slightly loose with a buttoned wrist cuff. It had a high neck line, which would probably rest about midway up her neck. It was a little dressy, but looked almost new, and according to the tag, was her size.
"This one'll fit," she told Graverobber who merely nodded while looking at other shirts. He picked up a bright green tee-shirt, stared at it for maybe five seconds, and then put it back to do the same thing with a light gray halter. He handed her the third shirt, which was a dark red tank top, the material was thin and stretchy and really long. It was different, but the tag said that it would fit, so she would wear it.
Graverobber had moved on to look at pants and Shilo started walking to join him, but something caught her eye so she stopped to see what it was. It was a black corset, a real one with steel boning and panels. She stared at it for a while, marveling.
"Get it if you want it," Graverobber said, still looking at the pants. Shilo shifted awkwardly, until she finally grabbed it and wandered over to Graverobber, who was still looking at those pants. "I don't know your size, you find something," he said and wandered elsewhere.
Shilo gaped at Graverobber as he walked away, then shrugged and turned to the rack of hanging pants and started sifting for her size. She wondered if Graverobber felt awkward standing in a store shopping with a teenage girl. She smiled to herself, this was the Graverobber, that cocky bastard, fawned over by addicts and screaming in the face of danger. Yeah, he would never feel awkward. Ever.
She paused at a pair of pants in her size, it was only the third pair that she had seen that would fit her. She liked this pair best so far, black and only slightly faded with use, though the left knee was ripped. She grabbed them and kept looking in case she found something she liked better. She found another four pairs in her size, but either they were in a sad state or she just didn't like them. After another few minutes of browsing, she went to find Graverobber. He had a leather belt in his hand, which he tossed onto the pile of clothes Shilo was holding.
"Now you need a coat and shoes," Graverobber said. He led the way around the store to where the coats hung on racks. He rifled through them as he had with the shirts. He pulled out a faded black trench coat. It only had one button and reached… she didn't know where it would reach on her. It seemed… well, it would work. Graverobber didn't even ask for her opinion about it, just grinned and it joined the pile. Then they wandered around until they got to the shoes. They were mostly boots, and Shilo went straight for those. She searched, and there was only one pair in her size that would be wearable. They were knee-high, steel toes with two-inch platforms and buckles going all the way up until the boot ended. Actually, they were about half a size too big, but with the belts and height of the boot, Shilo doubted it would be going anywhere.
"Is that all?" Shilo asked.
Graverobber thought for a moment, looking around the secondhand store, "You still have that bag you were wearing in the graveyard that first time?" he asked.
Shilo had to think for a moment to figure out what he was talking about, then said, "It's in my father's house… unless someone's already gotten to it."
Graverobber thought for half a minute, "Go grab another bag," he said, "You aren't ready to go back there."
Shilo wandered into the next aisle where there were lines of bags and purses. She stared at the line for a few minutes before seeing a gray messenger bag, she picked it up and examined it, finding that it was sturdy and would probably hold whatever she would need it for.
She turned and jumped when she saw Graverobber already standing behind her; she hadn't heard him come up, and he grinned at her for it, "Now we're done," he said, leading the way to the cashier where he paid, Shilo had never thought she'd see him pay for anything, and then they left to go back to the small, rundown house.
Back at the house, Graverobber handed Shilo the bag full of clothes, "Go change, I'll put your bed somewhere," he said, walking into the living room.
"Uhhh…" Shilo said, feeling awkward and shifting from foot to foot.
Graverobber paused, then turned around, put a hand on her shoulder, and bought her to the bathroom down the hall and to the right. There, he turned on the spout and a weak stream of water jetted into the tub.
"Water pressure here isn't that great, so you've gotta take a bath. Adjust the heat here, turn it off with this nozzle, and here's the drain plug," he said, pointing out various nozzles and a switch before getting up to leave her be, "Careful not to drink the water," Then he was gone.
Shilo cringed at the thought of what might be in the water, considering how often bodies were just dumped anywhere. She took off her wig, trying to brush it with her fingers before doing her best to clean it out and salvage it and setting it aside to dry while she bathed. She stripped down to nothing and piled the blood stiff clothing in a corner and stepped into the wonderfully warm water, watching the blood fleck off of her skin and stain the water faintly pink. She soaked and soaked, waiting for the blood to disappear from her skin and ruby body oils and grime from her body.
She got out of the tub and looked around. She didn't have a towel. She sighed and glanced at her clothes; she didn't know what to do with them. She didn't know how to wash them, and there were no tags, so she grabbed them and tossed them into the cooling water and watched the blood seep out of them. She poked at the fabric hoping to get more of the blood out and wondering vaguely if she was ruining it. She picked them up and wrung them out watching pink water drain. Her skin was dry enough now that she could finally get dressed and pulled the plug from the drain.
She donned the pants first before staring at the three shirts wondering which one went first. She decided to start with the white button down, the shirt was fitted except for the sleeves, which were loose enough to get in the way and the wrist cuffs were fastened in such a way that the sleeves were away from her hands at all times. Next came the dark red tank top slipped over her head, it was form fitting and clung to her figure through the other shirt she was wearing, showing all of those contours as well as all of her own, the material was thin and stretchy, and, best of all it was comfortable. She pulled it down and it reached down below her pelvis. Then there was the black corset. It was already laced, and she slipped into it, fastening the line of steel clasps, and realized that it needed to be tightened. She shifted from foot to foot awkwardly before going to crack open the door, remembering to slip her mostly dry wig back on.
"Graverobber?" she called, and heard Graverobber return a questioned response, "Do you know how to tie a corset?"
She heard him chuckle, followed by movement heading her way. Shilo turned red, the flush creeping across her neck and face, then Graverobber was there, grinning down at her as if it were the greatest joke he'd heard in a while. Shilo stepped into the hallway, still red with embarrassment and not wanting to meet his gaze. She turned her back on him so he could get to the laces.
"You might want to brace yourself against the wall," he told her, the laughter still there in his voice. Shilo did as she was suggested and braced her arms against the wall, half expecting the corset to slide down her torso when she did so, but Graverobber had already gotten a good hold on it. Graverobber untied the laces and started tugging at it with enough force that it was all Shilo could do to stay upright. No wonder he had told her to brace herself, she'd have fallen without warning. After a few minutes, Graverobber's arms wrapped around her, making her jump, the flush returning to her. But Graverobber was only wrapping the excess around her waist before tying it in place.
"Still jumpy, Kid," he said as he stepped back. Shilo straightened and muttered her thanks. She had never worn a corset before, not like this one, and found that she could barely breathe.
She went back into the bathroom to finish getting dressed. She buckled the belt around her waist, bypassing the belt loops on her pants for the simple reason that they were covered by the dark red tank top, and just let it sit freely on her waist. It would be annoying when she sat down and it moved, but she would deal with it. She slipped into the trench coat, which reached just below her knees, and buttoned the single button, which was just below her breasts, framing them. The coat was tight, a bit too small, but she could wear it, tight through the torso and flaring at the waist. A glance into the mirror told Shilo that she liked the look.
She pulled up the pant legs to put on her boots before pulling the material back into place, grabbed the messenger bag, and walked out of the bathroom. Graverobber was still in the hall, leaning against the wall.
"Looking good, Kid," he said, looking her up and down, but the look didn't seem sexual. That didn't stop Shilo from blushing, which made Graverobber chuckle.
"You're on your way to becoming a Graverobber," he said turning to walk down the hall. Shilo followed, not knowing where else to go. He led her to the living room and the fire in the fireplace. Her mattress was sitting against the wall in a corner, two sides of the mattress against the wall against walls, a blanket piled on top of it. Graverobber sat in his recliner and Shilo on the couch in front of the fire.
She wondered at what would happen next. She hoped that it involved sleep, because she was exhausted. She hadn't seen a clock anywhere in ages; either there hadn't been one or she had missed it, like she was missing so many things lately.
"What time is it?" she asked.
"About four," he responded.
Shilo threw herself back onto the couch with a groan, almost displacing her wig. No wonder she was so tired.
"Go to bed, Kid," she was told.
She pulled herself upright, "Where do you sleep?"
"You're sitting on it," he said with a grin.
She stood up feeling embarrassed, "Is it a pull-out?"
Graverobber stood, shaking his head, "Just a couch, Kid."
"Oh… well," she said awkwardly, something in her just didn't feel right having a bed when her host didn't, "The beds big enough for two people."
Graverobber laughed, "Don't worry about it Kid."
He waved Shilo to her mattress and stretched out on the couch. His feet hung off the edge. Shilo lay down, and had a quick mental struggle about whether to keep the wig on or not. On the one hand, she would likely ruin it if she slept in it. On the other, she didn't think that Graverobber knew she was bald yet, and didn't know how he would react. In the end, she decided to keep the wig for as long as she could and take it off while she slept, she would deal with the awkward staring or silence or whatever awaited her in the morning.
[A/N: Another chapter done, sorry that this one took so long. I blame classes that are taking over my life. Sorry that there is so much talk about clothes, really, I am, I'm not entirely sure how it got that out of hand. I'm also sorry that Graverobber is, once again, out of character. But, I did put a few little things in there that may, or may not, have a deeper meaning if you catch my drift. [/nudgenudge] Hope you enjoy it, even with the poor portrayal of Graverobber.
Now, to you amazing reviewers:
TimeBombTick: Oh really, I had thought that the plot device was pretty common by now. It's good to know that it isn't horrendously overdone already. =D Thanks for the review~!
Mepper22: I'm so glad to hear that you think this is one of the most realistic fics that you've read~ I'm curious about the one that you mentioned, do you mind telling me which fic that this other one was? I'm always looking for good fics to read. I'm also glad that I've got passed your critical mind, I love to hear that I've passed a person's 'test' or whatnot. It just makes my day~ Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the new chapter. Stalk away~!
Akito Megumi: Yes, more people must be introduced to Repo! Thank your friends for getting you addicted to the knife.... I mean, Repo! I hope you keep reading and enjoying and fangirling over the amazingness of Repo! (Have I mentioned Repo!?)
Future-Little-Mrs.-Teddy- Lupin: Yes, be a fugitive Shilo! I'm sorry that this update took so long! .;
SunrunnersFirebird: Thanks for the support! If I had a vial of Zydrate, I would totally give it to you (not really, I would keep it for myself and hoard it like the nut I am). Thanks for pointing that out, I really should go and fix that little blemish on the story. I thought that something seemed off when I was rereading it as I typed it up, but I couldn't put my finger on it. I guess that's what I get for writing in Biology class, instead of in front of my television, where I can fangirl and type at the same time. I'll try and keep an eye out for things like that in the future. Oh, and HARDCORE REPO! FANS: UNITE! I'm done now. .;
One final thing: Read and review, pretty please with a vial of Zydrate drizzled over the top? I wonder if it would have the same effect if it wasn't injected, but ingested... I doubt it though, because it isn't going straight to the blood stream... anyway, reviews show me your love and give me inspiration~ (Not to seem pushy or anything, it's just true). I'll try not to keep you hanging for so long next time, as long as school isn't being evil.]