Chapter 4

Graverobber shifted in his sleep. He dreamed that he was holding her in his arms, that she snuggled against him and returned his kisses and caresses. He moaned in his sleep from the rapture of his dream and turned over yet again. Sleepily, he opened his eyes and started as he appraised the situation. It hadn't been a dream, at least, not entirely. There she was, curled up against him, pressed close. Her face was buried in his chest, her arm curled limply around his waist. He reached out to her and brushed a stray strand of hair from her face. His finger trailed down the curvature of her cheek and he stared at her lips. "You're beautiful, " he whispered. With that he carefully extricated himself from her arms and left.

Shilo stretched and sat up in a panic. The cold was back and Graverobber was gone. His shirt and coat were no longer on the chair and, while the holsters and vials remained, his tool kit, and Z gun were gone. The sight of his holsters reassured her. It seemed unlikely that he would have left them if he wasn't planning on coming back. Still, where had he gone and why? She strained to listen for a moment. The building was silent. The only sound that reached her ears was the whistle of the wind through the cracks. She laid back down on the empty bed and imagined that she could still feel him beside her. She tugged the blanket that he had used up to her chin and inhaled deeply. She succumbed to sleep still smelling the combination of sweat and grave dirt that clung to it, scents that were distinctly his.

It was still early. The sun had just begun to set and paint the sky as Graverobber walked the streets to clear his mind. Even the brisk air couldn't drive the heat away. Her scent clung to him. He couldn't force the feel of her holding him from his mind. The thought drove him mad and made him hard. In his dreams he could taste her. He wanted her so badly, but she was just a kid. Not that there was anyone that would care about that anymore. Still, even he had morals. He shouldn't want her. Hell, it was against the law to want her, not that he'd ever really been a law abiding citizen in the first place. He battled with his own thoughts and feelings. She was alone as he was. She trusted him. It was obvious. If all she had really wanted was the Zydrate then there were easier ways to get it, other people to get it from. Instead of taking the easy way out, she'd followed him like a puppy and bent to his whims. Was it really so wrong then, he reasoned, to want her if she wanted him too? She was probably awake at this very moment wondering where he was and if he would come back.

The thought played in his mind and made him smile. Maybe he wouldn't go back, he thought. Perhaps he should just stay away, before things got even more complicated for him. He couldn't do that though. He knew. Besides, he'd left his holsters. He would have to go back to get them; and once he saw her again he wouldn't be able to leave her. He wandered into a small store and picked up a couple of sandwiches wrapped in cellophane. He dropped them onto the counter and fished a few credits from his pocket. For the first time in ages he found himself actually paying for something other than a beer. He laughed inwardly at himself and grabbed a bag of chips and a soda from the rack and added them to the sandwiches. He took the paper sack and left the shop. He stopped in another shop a block away and grabbed a beer before making his way back to Shilo.

Shilo slept fitfully. She tossed and turned and woke up every few minutes since she'd discovered Graverobber gone. She'd finally given up trying and just lay there with the blanket pulled up to her chin inhaling the heady scent. She closed her eyes and pretended that she could still feel him with her. She recalled how warm he'd been. His skin had been soft and smooth beneath her hand. She imagined laying her cheek against his bare chest and having him hold her. It was no more than a daydream, but if she concentrated hard enough, it felt almost real.

She pushed the thought from her mind. It was nothing but a girlish dream, and hadn't she learned by now that there was no sense in girlish dreaming? As she lay there she heard a floorboard creak. She sat up and hugged the blanket to her. She hoped that it was Graverobber. Her hopes were confirmed when he sauntered in the doorway holding a paper bag.

He sagged onto the bed and began rummaging through the bag. He pulled out a sandwich and handed the bag to Shilo. She dug into the bag to find a second sandwich, a bag of chips, and a can of soda. Graverobber leaned back against the wall propped one boot clad foot on the bed. He picked the beer can out of his pocket and popped the tab. He took a bite of his sandwich and washed it down with a big swig from the can. He didn't bother to look at her. "Eat up kid."

Shilo didn't need to be told twice. Her appetite was returning and she dug into the food. Graverobber finished his first and went over to where he'd left his holsters. He took off his coat and removed the tool bag that he had strapped on underneath. He dug through a pocket cleverly hidden in the lining of the coat and pulled out the missing Zydrate gun. He secured it in its own holster and it and the Zydrate holsters to his thighs. Shilo leaned back on her hands and studied him. Not once did he look at her as he adjusted the thigh straps. He pulled his coat back on and slung his tool kit over his shoulder so that it rested comfortably on his back. He bent down and picked up a shard of mirror that Shilo hadn't noticed before. He fished around in his pocket and pulled out a jar of white face paint and began applying it to his face. He wiped his hand on the rag by the wash bowl and pulled out a tube of black lipstick which he applied obvious practice. When he was done he replaced the shard, pulled on his gloves and left.

Shilo didn't follow him this time. Instead, she waited sat around and waited for him to come back. She used the time to explore the rest of the house. She pulled a flashlight out of her bag and began to poke into the corners and crevasses of the rooms. She didn't find much. Scraps of newspapers, a few wanted posters with Graverobber's face printed on them, more rags, and some trash. Shilo was slightly disappointed. She'd been hoping to find something a little more personal. She stuffed one of the wanted posters in her backpack and trudged disappointedly back to the room and waited for him to return.

Graverobber snuck around between the headstones being careful to keep out of the searchlights and made his way to the mass crypt. He was guaranteed to find something there without hardly having to lift a finger. Fresh corpses were dumped inside on a near nightly basis. He crouched behind a headstone as a guard walked past with his gun raised and quickly scurried to the next as soon as the guard had passed behind a nearby mausoleum. He made it to the crypt without being noticed and entered though a hole in the wall. The smell in the crypt was suffocating. Graverobber had learned early on to block it out and breathe through his mouth so that it wouldn't overwhelm him while he worked. He made his way among the sea of bodies until he came upon a good looking corpse.

Quickly and with the skill he'd mastered over the years, he slung his tool kit off of his back, removed the extractor and filled a vial within a few seconds. He stashed the vial in the holster and moved on to another body. Within the course of an hour he had collected around 10 vials. Not a bad haul for the night, especially since each vial held around 4 doses minimum. Some of the stronger stuff was more like 8 doses, but there wasn't much for quality tonight. The older the corpse the weaker the Zydrate. The more tainted a body was with drugs, and disease, the weaker the glow it gave off. It was a good thing that the impurities in a body didn't pass into the Zydrate or Graverobber would have a lot less buyers. Not that they cared about quality specifically, but that most of them would probably be dead. Still, just because they didn't care about quality didn't mean that Graverobber didn't.

The stronger and more pure the Z was the more he could sell it for, the more addicting it was too not to mention less dangerous. Tomorrow he'd make a trip to the cat house on Asylum St. and have Kitty fill him in on where the fresh graves were. Most of the cities cemeteries were filled with defaulted financees and junkies that couldn't pay for a real burial. When you can't pay, you end up in the trash and dumped in a place like this. Only the rich bastards ever got real burials anymore. And if you really had money you even got to go the whole six feet under. Digging up graves and breaking into heavily guarded tombs and mausoleums was a hell of a lot more work than scouring this place, but every so often he did it for the good stuff. Every so often he needed a change of scenery and a bit more of a challenge. He finished up and hit the street headed to his turf in Sanitarium Square.

The fresh Z sold out quick. Graverobber dropped a handful of credits into his pocket and listened to the satisfying clink they made when they hit each other. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and sauntered off down the street. Without even realizing it, his feet brought him, not to the run down building that he called home, but to Shilo's doorstep. He looked at the house. He'd seen it before. Hell, he'd been inside it's walls. It had looked depressing then when it housed only secrets and girl too frail to leave. Now that it's secrets were out and the little girl was gone it looked downright haunted. Before he knew it he was climbing over the gate and opening the front door. He wandered aimlessly through the house until he found himself in Shilo's room. Her bug collections and clothes were scattered over the floor. Her dresser stood open. He eyed it mischievously. He went over and ran his fingers over the rumpled clothing spilling out of it. Rumpled clothes hung out of the drawer. He pulled out a skirt. It was tiny. It'd be a miracle if it made it past her mid thigh. His mouth twisted into an evil smile. He stuffed the skirt in his bag and pulled out a shirt and jacket and added them to the collection as well and started to turn. He stopped. With the wicked grin still plastered on his face he returned his attention to the disheveled clothes. He began to rifle through them until he found what he was looking for. He added some stockings, a bra, and a pair of underwear to the bag. After a minute of silent debate he stuffed an extra pair of panties in a hidden pocket.

He took another quick look around, found nothing worth more than a moment of his attention and left the room. He stopped in the kitchen and poked through the cabinets for anything that might prove edible. There wasn't much, a few packages of instant noodles, but that was it. He grabbed those too and added them to his already bulging bag. On his way out of the house a glint of silver caught his eye. He made his way to the mantle and picked up a small oval picture frame. The silver filigree frame held a single grainy black and white picture of a much younger Nathan cradling a baby Shilo in his arms. The picture disappeared and he once again stole into the night.

Shilo was sleeping when Graverobber crept almost silently into the room. She was curled up on the bare mattress with the blanket clutched to her chest like a teddy bear. Without a sound, Graverobber removed his gear and laid it down like he always did. He wiped the makeup from his face and took off his boots. He made his way over to Shilo and watched her as she slept. Though it was far from freezing there was still a chill in the air. She shivered slightly in her sleep. Ignoring his better judgment, Graverobber lowered himself onto the mattress next to Shilo taking care not to wake her. He got comfortable and pulled her against his chest chasing the goosebumps away and fell asleep with her wrapped in his arms.