Borrowed Time

Chapter Three

 No one wants to wake Nicole in the morning. Even little Alice has learned by now that this only results in having things thrown at you. Oscar was all willing to send Mae up, but we decided to spare her, since it was only her second day with us and all. In the end, I was elected; sent to my death by a jury of my peers.

I walk up the stairs slowly, glancing back at the group uncertainly several times. This is a terrible idea. I knock quietly and there's no answer. I sigh and push the door open a tiny bit.

“Nicole?” I call softly.

“If you don't shut the door in five seconds, I am going to skin you alive and sell your organs on the black market.” The low, hoarse voice says on the other side.

I roll my eyes and shut the door, giving up after only the one feeble attempt. It's useless, really, that much I have learned. I take the stairs down two at a time and fall back into my seat at the table. Everyone is crowded around eating left over bagels from yesterday, except Nicole, of course, and Seven, who is huddled in the corner alone, the way she always is.

Seven was the last “bandit” that we'd found before Mae, and that was almost eight months ago. It was Xavier and I that found her. She was curled next to a dumpster, not sleeping, but rocking herself back and forth. Her skin was dark with dirt and soot, her hair was short and chunky, stuck together in random spikes. Her skin clung to her ribs and she looked more helpless than anyone I have ever seen. There was no explaining anything to her, or trying to convince her to come with us. She came right away, no questions asked. In all the time she's been with us, we've never once heard her mutter a single word. Seven doesn't really do much, and so we don't ask anything of her. Sometimes Gandalf tries, but his attempts are now few and far apart. We all have just sort of begun to leave her to herself. I feel bad about it sometimes, but I think that's what she wants.

“Mae will need some new clothes,” I announce when everyone is just about finished with their bagels. “I do believe a shopping trip is in order.”

Alice smiles excitedly and Mae looks a little uncomfortably down at herself, but smiles happily all the same. Gandalf, bless his heart, pulls his wallet straight out and starts handing Xavier large bills.

We live off of Gandalf's savings. We all know it will run out one day, but until then, we're golden. When Gandalf was twenty five, he inherited a large sum of money from his great uncle who'd passed. He was pretty much set for life before he started taking us in.

“You coming?” Xavier asks Oscar.

“Oh, you do know how much I love shopping for ten year old girls.” Oscar says sarcastically, instead going to sit in front of the television. Gandalf, who hates all things TV, allows this only because the next place we go to might not have one.

I stand up and go over to coat rack, where I pull on my leather jacket over the floral shirt I'd put on this morning. The rest of our little group follows, and in little to no time Xavier and I have gotten Alice and Mae into the car with few causalities. I slide into the front seat, and immediately apply a coat of lipstick, just because I can. Though Xavier has never been to this town and has no idea where he's going, he pretends like he does until finally he finds a mall. It's large, and looks like it has been completely constructed out of glass. Inside, people hurry around, arms full of bags. Ribbons and wreaths hang everywhere, and the entrance is lit with a string of white lights. Mae and Alice look up at it in such a way that I feel like it might as well be Cinderella's castle.

We pile out of the car and Xavier turns to me and smiles. “I'll take them to whatever store has Mae sized clothes, I think maybe you should get something for Seven.” He says and I nod, because he's right. We try, whenever possible, to get little things for Seven. Once, the house we were staying at had a crossword book laying around. Xavier had given it to Seven and without saying a word, she'd sat down and completed the whole thing in two days.