Descent

Chapter 7

The heart monitor beeped steadily as the Capitals newest guest laid snug in the bed provided to him, tubes running every which way, pumping him with fluids. When the boy, no older than five or six, had arrived, Raven was sure that he was done for. His arm and both legs were broken in addition to a nasty gash on his head. Apparently, he had been found some distance from the helicopter crash, and judging by his injuries, he had fallen quite a staggering height. High enough an impact like that would have killed anyone twice his size. He should have at least been sent into shock but he was unconscious the entire time. It was as if his body went into a standby mode, unable to wake just yet.

Lucky for him, The Capital was the only place she knew that still had functioning medical equipment. It came at no small price of course. Years of tedious labor to first get electricity up, her best techs switching between solar, wind and hydro until they found a combination that worked. The next step was going out and finding the equipment that would be necessary to her men and woman up and going. She had no time to take in guppies. She needed veterans, hardened individuals to keep this kingdom going. The hyenas were outside the walls of the capital, just waiting to get a bite of what she had built here.

Many mocked her for setting up shop in one location, her vexing nieces among them. Why settle in one spot when there was a whole country for the taking. For Raven the answer was simple: you can take a country with a kingdom backing you. That's what she tried to get through Vince's head before he started running amok up and down the east coast. Perhaps if he had listened to her, the Twins wouldn' have gunned him down in the first place. Perhaps if the Twins were not so focused on short term goals, they too could have joined her and her vision. Lord knows she could have used their ferocity and tenacity. All elements that her own daughter lacked.

Raven huffed as she continued to watch the monitor and its sharp lines go up and down. Oya and Neph laid at her feet, lying atop one another, making the faintest guttural sound. Raven looked down to the two oversized reptiles who easily took up a majority of the room.

"What, you two hungry already?" she chided.

Neph and Oya growled in unison. Having two trained, though still wild, crocodiles as pets was more of a novelty than it was practical. These particular twins ate maybe once a month, but they were particularly needy this month. Something in the air perhaps. A coming change. Before Raven could stand to tend to her beloved's needs, one of her underlings entered the room. The raider was dressed in a dingy labcoat, highlighted in Highwaymen insignias all over, signifying her rank and status. This particular grunt was one of the few doctors that had survived the Collapse, someone Raven found very useful to have on hand at a moment's notice.

"My Queen!" she spoke hurriedly, pausing upon seeing the two ancient reptiles. The two monstrosities turned their gaze to the resident doctor, figuratively licking their chops if they had the ability to.

"What is it?" Raven replied, a hint of annoyance trailing off her words.

The woman raised something in her hand. An insignificant vile of blood. Ramona did not bother wasting her breath, instead, waiting for the doctor to elaborate.

"I was reviewing the boy's diagnostic and noticed something strange about his blood."

Raven's patience began to grow thin as she listened, "Is there a point to this pointless discussion doctor? My babies are very hungry and you are holding us up."

On cue, the crocodiles began to shift, inching ever so slightly to the now nervous doctor.

"I-just-" they stuttered, "His blood does not match any official blood type. The closest type would be AB-negative but the levels aren't quite right. Now that could just be because of radiation, but I can't quite say that for sure without further researching. I do believe though that whatever anomaly is in his blood explains why he was able to survive that crash."

The Highwaymen Queen cocked a brow, before bursting into hysterical laughter. The doctor stood obviously uncomfortably, shifting their sight from their Queen to the monsters at her feet.

"You want me to believe that this boy has some sort of magical blood that kept him in one piece? Don't be absurd."

To be quite honest, this was the post-apocalypse, anything was possible. After mulling over the information some more, the Queen came to her decision. She was tempted to just feeding the doctor to her babies at that moment but it would make a grisly sight for the boy should he come to. Besides, the world was in short supply of capable people. The doctor had won herself another day. The Queen would keep an open mind, for now, gesturing for the doctor to leave.

"Continue your research. I want to hear about every update."

The doctor seemed relieved that they were not going to be crocodile food as they turned quickly to leave. Ramona snapped her fingers suddenly though, bringing them to a halt. They turned cautiously, dread marring their face.

"On your way back to your lab, if you could be a doll and tell my men to fetch an animal from the zoo. My babies are ravenous."

The doctor nodded her head quickly and urgently, skedaddling quickly out of the room. As Ramona went to stand, she heard a slight whimper. She turned to the bed where the unnamed boy rested. He was staring at the beasts down below before calmly looking around the room, seeming almost passive to Ramona herself.

"Mama?" he spoke just above a whisper, still dazed from the tragedy that led him here into her grasp.

Ramona King chuckled as she hovered over the boy, brushing the curls atop his head gently. He did not appear to be related to the man they found at the crash site. Their features were worlds apart which further added to the mystery of who these strangers really were.

"I'm not your mama, honey, but I can be your friend." she beamed cheerily as she took a seat beside him on the bed, "What's your name darling?" she began to probe.

The young boy stared at her wearily, clutching the bed sheets closer to his face, "My dad told me not to talk to strangers."

"That's fair enough." Ramona responded, trying to keep up the charade, her attempt to lull him into a false sense of security, "My mama told me the same thing growing up. But you don't gotta worry about me little one." she smirked as she continued to pet his head, "I'm going to be the bestest friend you ever had."

Slowly but surely, he began to lower the sheet from his face, "Is my sister here too?"

So there is more of them Raven thought. If what the doctor said was true, perhaps this sister of his had the same anomaly in her blood as well. Wherever she was hiding, she was sure her subordinates would find her. With a gleeful smile, Raven clasped her hands together, on the verge of laughing out of just how lucky she was today. Whatever secrets this bloodline held, she would find it and use it to her advantage.

"Your sister ain't here honey." she replied, "But why don't we get you some food, and you can tell me all about her, and then I can help you find her. Deal?"

Raven held out her pinky to the boy. A gesture she had not done since Dayana was, well, this boys age. A sacred pact. An unbreakable promise. The boy looked back and forth from the pinky to the mysterious woman before wrapping his pinky around hers. The deal was set, and if you knew Raven, you'd know she was a woman of her word, for better or for worse.