Descent

Chapter 12

Ramona King was a hard woman to impress so to see the boy found in the helicopter crash up and walking around his designated room was quite the sight. That was a trait her daddy instilled into her at a young age. He was what many would call a hardass. There was no mommy to kiss her booboos or sing her lullabies. There was only him. Ex-military. Former police officer. He had to work twice as hard to make a name for himself, all because he was quote on quote born the wrong color. For Ramona, growing up meant she had to work ten times as hard only ever getting a good job from her father.

Fate seemed to repeat itself when she had Dayana. Her father always seemed to have a word in how she was raised, so much so that when the apocalypse came, Ramona was almost grateful just because it meant she no longer had to listen to his criticism. She still maintained his high standards however, standards her daughter was failing to keep up with.

It wasn't all inherently Dayana's fault. In fact, Dayana's father was the main influencer and the reason why their daughter was the way she was. He was always so empathetic and soft. Choosing diplomacy over all else. After the apocalypse, Raven tried his method for a time. She even resisted her dear friend Vince's offer the first time around to join his merry group of Highwaymen because her dear husband convinced her not to.

The second time he offered she could not refuse. The Twins were only a couple years older than Dayana at the time. She did away with her pathetic husband and formed a new family. That lasted a while until Vince began to go soft in the head. Seeing an opportunity, she convinced Vince's Twins to take care of their dear pops before convincing them to head west while she set up shop in the southeast to create a new hub for the Highwaymen. After their little coup with the other Highwaymen leaders, it just left her with splinter cells looking to take her throne.

She had hoped Dayana would be the one to take over should death finally catch up with her, but as she stood amongst the doctors observing the boy known as Malik, she suddenly had other plans. She could start from scratch. But she would soon find out in a few moments, this boy had more going for him than she had initially believed.

"It's like his body didn't experience any trauma at all." One of the doctors standing by spoke astonished, "A few cuts and scratches but his body appears to already begin the healing process at an accelerated rate."

"Amazing." Raven responded watching from behind the glass at her latest investment.

"That's not all," the Doctor who had come to get her spoke excitedly, "The samples of his blood...well, I hope you don't mind but I took the liberty of doing a few tests."

Ramona turned to the doctor, curious, but with a hint of annoyance tinged on her voice. Only because she was mildly interested in what she had to say, the Highwaymen Queen would refrain from feeding this fool to her beloved Neph and Oya for acting without her permission.

"Oh? And what did you find out doctor."

With a gleeful expression, the doctor responded, "I think it's better if you see for yourself."

-----

The next day.

The following day was quite possibly the worst torture Mai had ever had to endure. Raven deemed Mai as part of the entertainment caste which apparently required having a burning, sticky substance placed all over her skin along with a small cloth before ripping it off. By then end of it, she felt like her entire body was tingling and burning. She could not be angry at the people doing it though. They were placed in the same position as she, dressed in the strangest and skimpiest clothing she had ever seen, combined with makeup and hair done in such extravagant ways all the while wearing collars with identification numbers and letters on it.