Hacker

Chapter four part one

Alison stepped out of the shower. Steam wafted from her bare skin as it met the chilly air. Ali used the back of her hand to wipe the condensation off the mirror with a hiccup. A girl with charcoal hair and grey eyes flecked with blue stared back at her. The girl’s skin was unnaturally pale as if the sun had never smiled upon it. She had a heart shaped face with high cheek bones and straight nose, the tip of which was now bright pink. Her face was gaunt and a hollowness clung to her features. Alison wondered if this really was the wreck of a girl that she had become. She tried out a few practice smiles and ended up awkwardly baring her teeth. Alison’s eyes were still puffy but luckily the redness was already dying down, hopefully in ten minutes she would look reasonable. And by reasonable she meant looking more human than a drowned rat with a bad flu. She needed to stop feeling sorry for herself, it wasn’t an attractive quality.

Sighing without knowing it she readjusted the towel wrapped beneath her arms and opened the door to the cellar. She would have to ask the doctor where they had put her clothes. Flinching away from the idea that someone else must have undressed her Alison padded silently to her bed. The doctor was no where to be seen. Ali began rummaging through random drawers and cupboards, searching in vain for her clothes. Her hunt was fruitless and she had turned the place upside down. The bed was her last hope. Alison bent down on her hands and knees to get good a look under the bed. Jeez, do they ever dust under here? A monstrous sneeze quaked her entire body and a small dust cloud enveloped her face. The floor felt cold on her skin as she shuffled closer. A polite cough sounded behind her. Alison’s head slammed into the metal frame of the bed.

"Ow! bloody hell" She yelled, rubbing the back of her skull and giving Macy a dirty look.

"Ever heard of knocking?" Alison said a little more bitingly than she would have if she wasn’t in pain.

"What are you doing?" Macy asked, a smile playing at the corners of her lips. Macy wore her trademark overalls and her hair was tied back into a messy bun. Alison realised she was still on her hands and knees in nothing but a towel and a face full of dust. Blushing, Ali scrambled hastily to her feet and wiped at her face self consciously.

"Errrr looking for my clothes" Alison replied, her cheeks colouring further.

"Under the bed?" Macy asked with eyebrow raised and smile blooming.

"Well there is no need. We chucked those things out ages ago" Macy grimaced at the memory of them. Alison stared at her. Those things were the only pair of clothes she owned. Ali felt slightly insulted; they hadn’t been of great quality, sure- they were fraying around the edges and had a few tears but they weren’t nearly ready to be thrown out. An awful image of her running through the streets naked flashed through her brain. Her stomach clenched queasily.

"Um, so what am I going to wear?"

"These" Macy said with a grin that nearly split her face in half. She held up a grey bundle tied together with a pink ribbon. Alison felt torn between taking the bundle and being courteous.

"No, I couldn’t" Alison said.

"Nonsense, take it. I haven’t stayed up all night making these for you to not accept them" Macy said with her hip cocked to the right sassily and a determined light in her tired eyes. Ali hadn’t thought Macy as the sewing type but these people were full of surprises. Alison took the bundle. Courtesy was for people who could afford it. Excitement temporarily drowned out everything else as she carefully untied the pink ribbon. She wasn’t accustomed to receiving presents. Ali unfolded the silky fabric and gasped.

"I can’t take this, it must of cost a fortune!" Alison exclaimed. She spread out the clothes on the bed. The material felt alive beneath her fingers and the colour inconstant, shifting like a shadow on a moonless night.

"Did you think we would let you go to a gunfight with only your fists?" Macy said dismissively. Alison was speechless.

"Now put them on" Macy said bossily and gliding out of the room to give Alison some privacy.

"Knock when your ready" Macy called over her shoulder before closing the door to the cellar and heading upstairs. Alison glanced at the bundle on the bed, hesitated, and then began to dress.

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Yeah so Hacker has hit the one hundred reads mark (YAY!) , I’m cracking open the celebratory chocolates as I type. I may or may not be using this as an excuse to eat chocolate. Sorry for splitting this chapter into two, the second part will be up in a day or so, there will be lots of goodies in it. Please vote or comment if you liked it and thanks for reading. Have a wonderful day.