Author's Note: Nathan will be making his actual appearance very soon. Elena and Shilo couldn't hang out behind his back forever.

Chapter 4: Bad Ideas on Good Intentions

Another couple of weeks went by but this time around, I couldn't go a day without talking to Shilo at least once. She always had a question to ask me, or she wanted to tell me about the newest opera she watched on her TV, and about how Blind Mag was so beautiful, and how she wanted to sing like her someday. The meek little girl I had met a month ago was growing, and I could see it happening right in front of me. She wasn't as shy as she used to be. She had plenty to say and was becoming more bold with her questions, even asking me things only mothers and daughters talked about. I guess her father wasn't up for explaining some things to her just yet, which was understandable. I could just imagine that stuffy man being asked where babies come from. The thought made me snort.

We only had a few close calls with getting caught, but it was becoming evident that her father was becoming more and more suspicious. Especially since Shilo kept gaining things he didn't buy for her. The nail polish was the first. He questioned her about it but Shilo, being the smart little thing she was, said she found it in her mother's old belongings. He almost took it away from her, but she begged to keep it, telling him how much she liked the little bottle and he gave in. She told me all about it while I was coming back from a delivery.

"But how do you get paid if you 'freelance'?" Shilo's voice came from the communicator on my wrist. I was waiting at a red light with one foot down on the ground to keep myself balanced.

"Well, I guess I'm not a total freelancing courier, I have a boss. I go to a building where people either send in orders for packages to get picked up, or they drop them off there. And I have to sign a sheet to get the packages. I get paid for each one that I deliver plus a tip if I'm lucky. And if people enjoy my services enough, they can make a request for me to deliver to them again." Which doesn't happen as much anymore. People just didn't give a shit who was dropping of their things as long as they go them. "I'm actually kind of friends with my boss so he tosses a few extra deliveries my way so I have enough money to keep my apartment and pay for gas."

The light turned green and I kicked off the ground, moving along with the other vehicles. Not a whole lot of people had cars anymore, just the wealthy, and me. I got my little Vespa by doing a pay-to-own kind of deal, while slipping the guy some Zydrate I bought off of Graverobber to cheapen the deal. I should have guessed why people didn't dive as much as they used to. Gas was hella expensive.

So when I got paid, I got enough to pay my rent and keep my Vespa running. Food I guess wasn't as important to me as my job and a bed.

But then there was Shilo again, always willing me over with promises of food. Not that that was the only reason I went over there. I enjoyed giving her makeup tips and lending her new books to read. She's also been sharing her knowledge of insects with me. I had thought it was a weird hobby at first but grew to appreciate her love for them. They were pretty interesting.

"Oh, that's pretty neat I guess. I still think you should go back to working at the circus." Shilo answered and I gave a wistful sigh. I often wished I could go back too, but it was too late for that. Things got complicated after I left the first time and that was the only running circus on the island.

"Me too, Shi, believe me. When I worked there, I was allowed to sleep on the grounds and food was a lot easier to come by. That and I got to watch Operas first hand more than a couple of times. They love having side shows during some of the Operas.

"You're still going to show me how to do a split, right?" Shilo chirped with excitement practically leaking through the communicator. I let out a laugh as I turned a corner, stopping at my apartment first.

"Yes, yes. But baby steps okay? We don't need your father finding you with sprains." That was the last thing he needed to find, his daughter sprawled out on the ground with a injury and a strange woman in the room. "I also have a present for you."

Shilo gasped over the com, "You don't have to get me things, El!" It made me smile as I swung the bag over my shoulder and made my way back out. Shilo's father was suppose to be leaving for work any minute now. Now that I think of it, I never asked what his name was. I knew it started with a 'N' but that was about it. But then again, I never really cared enough to ask.

By the time I got up to the house, I saw her father leaving, getting back into that fancy car and pulling off. For a second, I swore he saw me and narrowed his eyes, but I could have saw it wrong. At least, I hope I saw it wrong.

Shilo was at the door to greet me, smiling away as she held the door open and closed it after I came in. I had showed her how to pick the lock to her bedroom door, so when her father wasn't around she could run around the house and do whatever she wanted. Who said she had to stay in just her room anyhow? She lived in that damn mansion too. God, I'm such a bad influence on her. At least I had the brains to tell her it was only okay to use on her bedroom lock. She had scoffed at me, tell me " yeah, I know!" before we moved on to something else.

"Dad made spaghetti tonight if your hungry." Shilo made her way up the stairs and I followed after her.

I have to say, the only part of the house I really didn't like was that hallway just outside Shilo's bedroom. It had holographic pictures of the same woman, over and over, all the way down the hall on either side. It was fucking creepy. I mean, I can understand missing your wife, but jesus man, you have to have a limit. I never said it out loud since Shilo walked right past them every time without even giving them a glance, it told me this was the norm here in her house. It was normal to have her mother's ghost literally everywhere.

We made it to her room and as soon as the door was closed, Shilo whipped around with a big grin on her face. "So what did you get me?"

I laughed and gave a shrug like I didn't know what she was talking about. "I thought you said I didn't have to get you anything." I teased and watched her smile drop. She actually believed me! "I'm kidding! Wow, try to look a little less depressed why don't you. Here, I know how much you like it." I pulled my bag's strap from my shoulder and held it out to her. She took it and stared down at the old thing for a few seconds before looking back up at me.

"Are you sure? You've had this for a really long time." She spoke softy. She got that way sometimes, her voice would just drop to barely above a whisper.

"Yeah, it's yours. I- uh, acquired a new one." I showed the new black bag that was a little smaller, looking closer to a purse. I wasn't about to tell her I got it from one of my neighbors after the Repoman came for her. She had always showed the thing off to me, waving it about because "I would never be able to afford something as nice as this" well, I didn't have to buy it so jokes on her. It was a bit twisted of me, I guess, but that's just how shit worked now. If I didn't nab it, someone else would have. And at least I wasn't low enough to steal her clothes like some of the other people in the building. I know she was wearing shoes before her body was taken away.

Shilo was happy to accept her gift as she hung it on a hanger near the door. She then just had to show me her new bugs that came in the mail. The glass case I had brought to her was nearly full now with different colored beetles and butterflies. Some of them just didn't look like bugs that lived around here anymore and I wondered how much they must have costed her father. She pointed out each one and told me all kinds of information about them that I would have never had known otherwise.

Afterwards, we sat on her bed as she painted my toe nails purple and talked. The subject fell back onto Blind Mag, the favored GeneCo soprano Shilo deeply admired.

"Have you ever met her?" Shilo asked as she lay on her stomach, trying her best to wipe away a smudge of purple she got on my toe and not the nail. I paid it no mind. I wore boots anyway.

"Hm, I've never talked to her in person, no. But I have been to one of her shows while I was still working for the circus. I was doing some aerial acrobatics off to the side during her performance. That and I had a uh, wealthy guy take me to one of the operas."

Shilo let out a sigh, "That's so cool. I wish I could go to one of her operas instead of just watching it on TV."

I frowned at her, "Hey, maybe you will someday. Don't rule it out just yet." I was trying to be reassuring but Shilo didn't seem to fall for it much. She just sadly nodded and went back to painting my toes.

"So Halloween is tomorrow." I changed the subject and put down the book I had been looking through to stare at the teenager in front of me.

"So?" Shilo asked in that same monotone 'not-now-I'm-pouting' voice. I poked her in the face with my big toe to get her attention and she sprung backwards letting out a squeaked, "Ew, gross!"

"Hey, my feet are mostly clean. Now I was saying; Halloween? You want to go out Trick-Or-Treating with me?"

She stared at me for a long minute, as if trying to figure out if I was fucking with her or not. She then narrowed her eyes at me, deciding that I was making some rude joke. "I can't, remember?"

"Uh, what about that mask of yours? Can't you just wear it and be fine?" I shrugged, leaning back on my elbows. "It'll be Halloween so no one will notice. They'll just think you're wearing a costume."

Her eyes widened as the realization hit her too. That probably didn't even come up as an option to her until I said it out loud. "But what about dad-?"

"He works at night, doesn't he? We'll just wait until he leaves and I'll take you out for some fun. You need to get out of this house eventually, Shilo. Wouldn't you like that?"

She suddenly jumped up off the bed, making me bounce slightly as she started darting around the room. "What will I go as? I've never been trick-or-treating before! Do we just go to people's houses? Do you think we'll get back before daddy does? What if he catches us?" She just as suddenly stopped, looking me right in the eye as if I had asked the question "I don't care if he catches us!" she declared before a smile spread across her face.

Uh oh, what have I created? I let out a light chuckle, sitting up. "Lets just be careful that he doesn't. I'd like to keep hanging out with you."

Shilo had told me a lot about her dad over the last few weeks. I think I knew more about him than I ever should have but I never stopped Shilo from venting, she needed to get it out to someone. I knew that he was a good father, not abusive like I had first thought. Well, not abusive physically. I think if I told the authorities from decades ago that her father has kept her locked up her room ever since she was old enough to walk, they would have done something about it. But now? Now, the police, or rather 'GeneCops' had other things they cared more about. Like graverobbers and busting people for taking street Zydrate. GeneCo ruled this whole city, so the people were no longer something the cops cared about. Whatever Rotti Largo cared about was what they focused on. It's just one of the reasons why this place has gone down the shitter.

But yeah, for the most part, Shilo's dad sounded like a good parent...he was just really paranoid and overprotective, I guess. I couldn't come up with any idea how it would play out if he ever caught us. I'd just rather not think about it.

We made a plan for the next day. I had left thinking it would be fine. I would finally show Shilo some of the city, keeping her safe and sound of course, and she would get some fresh air (through her mask) and some candy out of it. It would be fun!

Another neighbor of mine had about five kids, three of them being girls, so when I asked if I could maybe borrow an old Halloween costume, she was sweet enough to let me pick one out of the children's closet. She was one of my nicer neighbors. It was just sad that she had to resort to whoring to bring home the bacon. She said she didn't mind it, that it fed her children and kept a roof over their heads, but there were times when her eyes just looked hollow. Like she was lost in wondering how her life turned out like it had. Like I said, it was sad.

I found a tattered white dress that kind of reminded me of a undead bride gown. It would fit well with Shilo's gasmask. I just needed to fix it a bit to be more her size, it was a little too big as is. I thanked the woman and went back to my apartment, breaking out an old sewing kit I had forgotten I even owned. I had about three hours to spare before going over to get Shilo.

But three hours seemed to go by pretty damn quick because by the time I looked at the clock, I realized I would be late unless I left right away. I folded up the dress in my bag and ran out, grabbing my helmet on the way to the door.

I didn't see Shilo's father leave but I assumed he was gone when Shilo waved me up from her window. As I walked up the stairs, I noticed a pair of Jack-O-Lanterns sitting side by side on a table. One was carved a little better than the other but they looked adorable together. I couldn't smiling as I made my way up to Shilo's room.

She had loved the costume I brought her and ran straight to the bathroom that was connected to her room to change. When she came back out, I clapped for her. She gave a giggle and twirled around in a circle, showing off the dress.

"You look great. Ready for your first night out?"

"Yeah! Oh, wait- let me get my mask." She ran over to the row of hangers to pull down her gas mask. When she came back over to me, it was the first she actually looked at what I was wearing. She gave a laugh and made a gesture to my costume. "What are you dressed up as?"

"I'm a old school fighter pilot!" I stood proudly, my dusty old jacket with the fluff around the collar kind of reminded me of Graverobbers coat, only it was shorter and a hell of a lot cleaner. My grandfather had passed it down to me when I was little since my mom didn't have son until after he died. It was suppose to go down to every son of the family because apparently it was a real jacket one of my ancestors wore during World War 2. I'd never put it on until now, It just hung in my closet in a plastic bag.

Shilo opened her mouth to comment on it when we heard something outside her door. A jingling pair of keys as a pair of feet stood just outside her bedroom door. I felt all the air leave my lungs and looked around for somewhere to hide. Her bedroom window was closed and it would take to long to open it and slide out. Shilo and I looked at each other in a panic until I remembered her bathroom. I rushed towards the door and Shilo followed after me. She closed the door just as her bedroom door opened a second later.

"Shilo?" Her father called as he entered the room.

I looked down at Shilo, eyeing her and wondering why the hell she came in here with me instead of staying out there. He wasn't going to get mad seeing her in her own room. She bit down on her lip and shrugged up at me in a silent apology. I waved my hand at the door as if to say 'answer him!'. Shilo's eyes widened and her mouth opened into a 'o' shape. I rolled my eyes.

"Shilo, where are you?" He called again, obviously getting worried.

"I-I'm in the bathroom, Daddy." Shilo called out and we both heard him sigh in relief.

"Are you alright, Sweetie?" He called in, and I had to jump back when I realized he was right next to the door.

"Yeah- I'm just...I have cramps." Shilo answered back and shrugged over at me. I shrugged back. It was a good enough of a excuse to me.

It was quiet for a second before he cleared his throat. "Do you need anything? Feminine products or anything like that?"

I covered my mouth to keep from cracking up as Shilo cringed. "No, Daddy. I'm fine, thanks." She urged in that voice that practically hissed 'go away'.

"Well, I brought you up some cookies. I went out to the store before work...I'm really sorry we can't spend more time together for Halloween." The pain in his voice made my chest hurt. It was so...depressing. I noticed Shilo frowning down at her feet as she responded quietly.

"It's okay."

"I'll see you later tonight. If you're already asleep by the time I get back- Well, Happy Halloween. I love you, Shi."

"...I love you too, Daddy."

I was starting to reconsider taking Shilo out at this point. I sat on the edge of her bathtub, watching the expressions on her face change as she thought to herself. We listened as her father left the room and then went down the hall. We didn't even move until we heard the front door down stairs slam closed and the whole house fell silent.

"Shilo, if you don't want to go..."

Shilo shook her head, standing back from the door so she could pull it open. "No, I want to go. Come on." She left the bathroom without waiting for me to reply. I gave a sigh. A voice in the back of my head asked me what I was doing there, with a 15 year old girl, playing secret mommy. I glanced at myself in the mirror when I realized I had no answer for the voice other than 'she needs me', and I followed after her.

Shilo was already walking out her bedroom door with a coat in one hand and a pumpkin shaped cookie in the other. I glanced over at the plate of decorative sweets before leaving the room as well.

Shilo ran up to my bike, her excitement for the night back in full speed. I had to remember that she's never seen it up close. her head whipped back around to look at me, eyes wide like the excited child she was.

"We're riding your motorcycle?" She asked in a excited squeak.

"It's hardly a motorcycle, Shilo." I laughed as I took off my helmet, placing it over her head. It didn't fit very well with her mask and all but it worked. "It's a Vespa scooter. Motorcycles are normally a lot bigger and faster. This silly little thing just gets me where I need to go."

Her small pale hands raised up to touch the helmet before I gestured for her to hop on. After she was seated comfortably, I sat down in front of her and we were off.

By the time we mounted my bike for the seventh or eighth time, Shilo had a good sized bag of candy. Most houses around where I lived didn't give out candy anymore, at least nothing you could trust, so we hit up the richer neighborhoods and businesses like good Trick-Or-Treaters should. My doubts from earlier were completely shut down every time Shilo returned to me after getting her share of candy. The pep in her step spoke wonders for her lack of visible facial expressions.

I sat next to my Vespa as I watched the teenager carefully, more like a damn hawk, just in case some asshole decided to fuck with the wrong girl. She thanked the man cheerfully and wished him a Happy Halloween before skipping back over to me.

We were getting ready to leave when a woman dressed in bright pinks and yellows came up to us. Shilo kind of stood behind me as the woman greeted us with a high pitched voice, holding out a flyer. "Come to the GeneCo Halloween festival? It's free to enter for anyone under 18 and there's tons of things to do! I bet your daughter will love it!" She then bent down slightly, her five inch heels making her tower above both of us, so she could smile at Shilo. "There's games and prizes and everything!"

Her chipper voice made Shilo look up at me and I simply took the flyer, thanking the woman so she would leave. The moment she saw another person walking with their kids she trotted away.

"Can we go?" I had been staring at the flyer, unsure how safe for children it really would be, when Shilo piped up. I glanced down at her, one eyebrow raised.

"You actually want to go to this thing?" I asked. I didn't want her exposed to some of the- stranger people of this city. The people who attended very one of the GeneCo festivals. People who got multiple surgeries at the tents with the Genterns beckoning them inside. "I don't know, Shilo..." At least, that was one of the reasons why. I also really didn't want to chance running into certain people...

"Aw, come on, El! Please?" It was so damn hard saying no to the pout she gave me. There have been a couple of times already where I gave in to that pout.

I stared at Shilo a little longer, her giving me that goddamn pout. "Alright, fine. But only until midnight. Then we have to really get back, okay?"

Shilo gave a victory squeal, grinning mad as she got back onto the bike and stared at me expecting. I sighed, getting back on as well and we pulled away from the curb. I wasn't so sure this was a good idea.