Descent

Chapter 19

Malik had only been on this earth for a few years but he was intelligent to know that the woman who claimed to be his friend was not who she affirmed to be. He laid with eyes barely open in the bed that he was sure he would die in as tubes sprawled all around his body, pumping fluids in and draining blood out. This had been a daily occurrence since he first awoke in this strange place. His supposed friend Raven would parade him around the interior of this maze-like a prized animal, showering him with gifts before returning him to this barren room.

The boy tried to raise his hand to pull the needle out but found himself becoming light-headed at the simple gesture. Malik converted his lips inward feeling both helpless and alone. You could not decipher it from his face but he was primed with anger and betrayal. Where had Mai run off to without him? Why did she not go to him in the garden? What was happening to Roger? Where had Raven taken him? Everyone here took what they needed from him but gave no answers as to why. Just how no one explained why his father left so soon. He longed to see his mother again. To hide his face amongst her hair and feel her arms around him. He wanted to feel his father's hands lift him into the air as he spun him under the blue blanketed sky. To run among the grounds of their home with Mai, taking in the sun and the scent of pine from the nearby forests.

He felt as though the longer he spent here, the more he was beginning to forget what that home and family looked like. He wanted to go home.

The door to the room opened without any warning, prompting Malik to sit up eagerly. He did not know why he had anticipated Mai to walk through the door. To see her hair flowing out from behind her like the heroes from the comics she would share with him. Instead, two individuals entered. Raven strolled in looking already annoyed by the man accompanying her. The most noticeable thing about the man was the fact that his shirt was unbuttoned, revealing a Buck tattoo across his chest.

"I'm just saying - instead of going to all-out war, you could market this stuff. Play every side of the table. If this little bugger's blood is as good as you say. You just need a way of showcasing it."

Malik watched silently as Raven looked over the machines that monitored his condition as she half-haphazardly responded, "Here I thought you just had your looks going for you Buck."

The two didn't seem to be aware that Malik was awake as they continued to speak.

"Let us wait and see how his sister's supply compares. After all, there's only so much blood we can get out of this little one, and hers is supposedly much more potent."

"Aye, but we don't know much about the side effects of a stronger dose."

"Well, I suppose we'll just have to run a few tests won't we."

Malik began to stir uncomfortably as they talked about his sister like she was some sort of livestock. When the two adults sensed his movement, the false smiles and happy faces were put on.

"Oh, sweetie did we wake you?" Raven asked almost pleasantly as she came to sit beside him.

She ran her fingers through his wild curls causing him to cringe. Raven quickly withdrew her hand, finding fault elsewhere instead of the fact that he wanted to be nowhere near her.

"Are these tubes bugging you? Let's take em' off for now."

As Raven began to remove the wires and tubes, his eyes drifted to the man, Buck. His facade had immediately fell, looking at Malik like some sort of insect that needed to be squashed.

"We have a day ahead of us today." Raven continued to speak, removing the last of the tubes that restricted Malik's movements, "Your sister is coming to pay a visit. You and I are going to go greet her. How does that sound?"

Malik's eyes immediately lit up, hopeful at the prospect of seeing his sister, but that hope was diminished considering that it was this false friend who was announcing the news. Raven looked viciously eager as she sat awaiting his response.

Malik's words contradicted his actions as he bowed his head humbly, fearful of the response he would illicit with what he was going to say.

"I don't want to go with you."

There was a moment of silence and a bit of Buck snickering before Raven responded, her tone drastically more tense and menacing.

"And why not?"

With his head still turned down low, Malik replied, "Because I know you hurt Roger. And you're going to hurt my sister."

With the last bit of strength he had, he looked up, glaring at her, "You're a bad person. My sister hurts bad people."

He could not see the man Raven's reaction, but he could feel the air in the room suddenly begin to thin, making it hard to breathe. It was a similar feeling to when his mother would lecture him over something he had done, but there was a tension here that made him wonder if maybe he should have kept quiet.

"After all I've done for you. Rescuing you from that nasty crash and nursing you back to health, this is the thanks I get."

Malik could not have foreseen that Raven would have yanked him by the arm, nearly jettisoning him from the bed as she plopped his already frail body onto the floor. Malik's eyes squinted and he drew his lips inward once more as he tried to refrain from making any sort of noise of pain. Raven was already yanking at the collar of his shirt as he tried to get his senses in order.

"You're a smart little boy. But I'm going to do more than just hurt her."

Raven placed both hands on his head, one gripping his chin and the other the top of his head as she forced him to look at her associate.

"Your sister made me look like a fool escaping this place. So when I drain every last bit of her blood and she's too weak to move, my friend here is going to fuck her until there's blood coming out of every orifice," as she said that, the man named Buck made a crude gesture, forming a "V" shape with his fingers as he wiggled his tongue between them.

Malik's stomach churned before the woman forced him to look back at her," When he's done, I'm going to feed her to my babies. And then, because I'm actually fond of you, you're gonna learn to never talk to me like that again. Do you understand me?"

Malik stared at Raven, his eyes motionless, refusing to give any sort of submission. Raven's expression fell flat as she released him, nearly shoving his head back as she did so. Before his head snapped to, Buck was already hoisting the boy up, throwing him over his shoulder.

The Seed boy kicked and shouted for him to let him go, pounding his malnourished hands against the man's back.

"Throw all the tantrums you want my boy." Raven said as all three proceeded to leave the room, "This show is just getting started."