April 14 2017

I hope she isn't casing the joint, the way she's looking around, she might be trying to decide what to steal. "Er...uh...OK, no cops then. Do you want food? Or to clean up...like a shower? I have some clothes I was going to take to the women's shelter, they'd probably be a little big on you, but better than that coat maybe?

I nod at everything Shanna says. "A shower would be great. Thank you so much." I say, still acting rather more timid than I felt. "I... I'll take anything you can give me. And clothes would be great. I don't even know whose coat this is. I just found it and put it on because... well..." I ramble as I lift part of the nasty coat I'd been hugging around myself, revealing my nearly-shredded, bloody shirt and the scars beneath. "I've had kind of a rough night." I give a nervous laugh, doing what I can to play the part of a shocked victim.

Oh geez...she wasn't kidding. "How much of that is your blood? Never mind...the shower is over here." I lead her to the bathroom and set out fresh towels. "Let me know if you need anything. Use whatever you need form the soap or...you know... whatever."

Leaving the bathroom I make a shocked face at Caitlin and giver her a 'What do we do now!" look. No cops she said.

I thank Shanna again as she leaves me in the bathroom. I take great care in stripping away my bloody clothing and searching it for anything useful. Nothing. No wallet. No IDs. They stripped this girl of everything.
I don't wait for the water to warm up before getting into the shower. The cold water feels nice, and helps shock some energy into me before it begins to warm and soothe away the chill from the night and the aching of my muscles. I clean myself meticulously. Who knows how far Shanna's hospitality will reach and it may be a while before I can enjoy this kind of luxury again. The soap and the water sting against my scars, but they are far less painful than they were. I work the tangles out of my hair and give it a good scrub with Shanna's delicately scented shampoo. I'm not sure how long it took, but I step out of the shower, finally clean and scrubbed a little raw. I examine myself in the mirror as I dry, seeing for the first time the extent of the damage done to Allison.
Those men had a vision when they set out to do this. The wounds, while intended to be torturous, where made with precision. The scars formed an intricate pattern across my skin. It wasn't a pattern I was familiar with, but I could understand the intent. Those men knew what kind of Demon they were summoning. They just didn't know which one.

While Alison is in the shower I gather some older clothes for her. She's smaller than me so it's a little difficult. I find some stretch pants with a tie at the waist and an old t-shirt. When the water shuts off I gently knock on the door. "Allison, I'm putting the clothes outside the door here, and I'll be in the kitchen getting you some food ready. No rush though."

Wrapping myself in a towel, I quickly pop out to grab the clothes after Shanna leaves. My scars are very visible to whoever might see them as I shut the door again to get dressed. It was nice to feel clean and to have clothes that, while they didn't fit me quite right, didn't smell or feel like garbage. Now that I was warm, clean, and comfortably dressed, I leave the bathroom, quietly, to see if Shanna and Caitlyn were talking about me.